Slaves (1969)

User Rating:

4.4/10   

Director:

Herbert J. Biberman

Writers:

Herbert J. Biberman (writer)
John O. Killens (writer)

Release Date:

25 May 1972 (Hungary)

Genre:

Drama

Tagline:

For the slave - courage knew no chains - For the master - desire knew no colour in the savage world of the Old South!

Plot:

A Kentucky slave (Ossie Davis) fights for his freedom from cruel overseer (Stephen Boyd) whose mistress...

Plot Keywords:

Kentucky | Mistress | Miscegenation | Atrocity | Slavery

Awards:

1 nomination

Cast

Dionne Warwick	...	Cassy
Ossie Davis	...	Luke
Stephen Boyd	...	MacKay
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Marilyn Clark	...	Mrs. Bennett
Nancy Coleman	...	Mrs. Stillwell
Julius Harris	...	Shadrach
James Heath	...	Luther
David Huddleston	...	Holland
Eva Jessye	...	Julie
Oscar Paul Jones	...	Zacharious
Aldine King	...	Emmeline
Robert Kya-Hill	...	Jericho
Gale Sondergaard	...	New Orleans lady
Shepperd Strudwick	...	Mr. Stillwell
Barbara Ann Teer	...	Esther

Runtime:

110 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Eastmancolor)

Sound Mix:

Mono

Filming Locations:

Louisiana, USA

Company:

Slaves Company

Trivia:

Loosley based on Harriet Beecher Stowe's classic of anti-slavery propaganda, Uncle Tom's Cabin (1903/II).

Movie Connections:

Edited into Afro Promo (1997)

Listen to the music Forget the film.

Nothing can be said about this being a great film. It isn't. The acting is amateurish and the story is pure melodrama that reeks of the staleness of another time in casting when broad caricature was passed off as great emoting. But the music is pure Bobby Scott, a jazz stylist with great command of a music form. Bobby was proud of his accomplishments as a songwriter and composer, and this one was no exception. He loved the fact that he got this one away from Burt Bacharach despite that it was done for that songwriter's golden goose, Dionne Warwick. So forget the hoky acting and plot. Listen to the sounds of the great Bobby Scott. (I should also mention that both the director/screenwriter Biberman and actress Gale Sondergard, were blacklisted talents so that at least makes this film noteworthy.) Okay so maybe it is historic in that it marks the acting debut of singer Dionne Warwick, but so what? She was no better than Gladys Knight as a thespian, and believe me, that is no compliment. Like I said. Watch the cinematography and listen to the music on the soundtrack and if you do anything else, don't say I didn't warn you.