Intruder in the Dust (1949)

In 1940s Mississippi, two teenage boys and an elderly woman combine forces to prevent a miscarriage of justice and clear a black man of a murder charge.

Director:

Clarence Brown

Writers:

William Faulkner (novel), Ben Maddow

Stars:

David Brian, Claude Jarman Jr., Juano Hernandez

Nominated for 2 Golden Globes. Another 2 wins & 6 nominations.

Cast

Complete credited cast:
David Brian	...	John Gavin Stevens
Claude Jarman Jr.	...	Chick Mallison
Juano Hernandez	...	Lucas Beauchamp
Porter Hall	...	Nub Gowrie
Elizabeth Patterson	...	Miss Eunice Habersham
Charles Kemper	...	Crawford Gowrie
Will Geer	...	Sheriff Hampton
David Clarke	...	Vinson Gowrie
Elzie Emanuel	...	Aleck
Lela Bliss	...	Mrs. Mallison
Harry Hayden	...	Mr. Mallison
Harry Antrim	...	Mr. Tubbs

Storyline

Rural Mississippi in the 1940s: Lucas Beauchamp, a local black man with a reputation of not kowtowing to whites, is found standing over the body of a dead white man, holding a pistol that has recently been fired. Quickly arrested for murder and jailed, Beauchamp insists he's innocent and asks the town's most prominent lawyer, Gavin Stevens, to defend him, but Stevens refuses. When a local boy whom Beauchamp has helped in the past and who believes him to be innocent hears talk of a mob taking Beauchamp out of jail and lynching him, he pleads with Stevens to defend Beauchamp at trial and prove his innocence.

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Plot Keywords:

lynching | drool | drooling man | widower | throwing money on the ground | 

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Genres:

Crime | Drama

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Certificate:

Approved

Did You Know?

Trivia

This was not Elizabeth Patterson's first foray into William Faulkner territory. She had previously appeared in The Story of Temple Drake (1933), adapted from his 1931 novel "Sanctuary".

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Goofs

When Chick comes out of the water his hair is dry even though he had been completely under water. But, when he get to Lucas's cabin and takes off his wet clothes, his hair is wet.

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Quotes

John Gavin Stevens: [to Chick] In matters of life and death a man's vocabulary is almighty small.

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Connections

Featured in Some of the Best: Twenty-Five Years of Motion Picture Leadership (1949)

User Reviews

A neglected classic

An unjustly neglected classic, "Intruder in the Dust" is one of the great films of the 1940's which has unfortunately slipped into obscurity. Based on a story by William Faulker, and shot in his hometown of Oxford, Mississippi, "Intruder" tells the story of Lucas Beauchamp (played with great dignity by Juano Hernandez), a black man unjustly accused of the murder of a local white man, and a white boy (Claude Jarman, Jr.) who uses this situation as an opportunity to pay a previous debt to Beauchamp. Terrific acting, especially by two great character actors, Porter Hall (as the dead man's father) and Elizabeth Patterson (best known as Mrs. Trumbull on "I Love Lucy") as an old woman willing to stand against the townspeople to see that right is done. This straightforward, tense and sincere study of racial bigotry deserves to be seen more.

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

20 March 1950 (UK)

Also Known As:

The Intruder

Filming Locations:

Holly Springs National Forest, Potts Camp, Mississippi, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$988,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM)

Technical Specs

Runtime:

87 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Sound System)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1