Buck and the Preacher is a 1972 American Western film starring
Sidney PoitierSir Sidney Poitier, KBE is a Bahamian-American actor, film director, author, and diplomat. He broke through as a star in acclaimed performances in American films and plays, which, by consciously defying racial stereotyping, gave a new dramatic credibility for black actors to mainstream film...
as Buck and
Harry BelafonteHarold George "Harry" Belafonte, Jr. , is an American musician, actor and social activist. One of the most successful popular singers in history, he was dubbed the "King of Calypso", a title which he was very reluctant to accept for popularizing the Caribbean musical style with an...
as the Preacher. Buck is a trail guide leading groups of former slaves trying to
homesteadThe Homestead Act was a United States Federal law that gave an applicant freehold title up to 160 acres of undeveloped land outside of the original 13 colonies. The new law required three steps: file an application, improve the land, and file for deed of title. Anyone who had never taken up arms...
in the
WestThe Western United States, commonly referred to as the American West or simply "the West," traditionally refers to the region comprising the westernmost states of the United States. Because the U.S. expanded westward after its founding, the meaning of the West has evolved over time...
, immediately after the
American Civil WarThe American Civil War , also known as the War Between the States and several other names, was a civil war in the United States of America. Eleven Southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America...
. The Preacher is a
swindlingA confidence trick or confidence game is an attempt to defraud a person or group by gaining their confidence...
minister of the "High and Low Order of the Holiness Persuasion Church". Together, they protect a
wagon trainA wagon train is a group of wagons traveling together. In the American West, individuals traveling across the plains in covered wagons banded together for mutual assistance. Although most trains elected a captain and created by-laws, in reality the captain had little authority...
from bounty hunters.
This is the first film Sidney Poitier directed.
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Buck and the Preacher is a 1972 American Western film starring
Sidney PoitierSir Sidney Poitier, KBE is a Bahamian-American actor, film director, author, and diplomat. He broke through as a star in acclaimed performances in American films and plays, which, by consciously defying racial stereotyping, gave a new dramatic credibility for black actors to mainstream film...
as Buck and
Harry BelafonteHarold George "Harry" Belafonte, Jr. , is an American musician, actor and social activist. One of the most successful popular singers in history, he was dubbed the "King of Calypso", a title which he was very reluctant to accept for popularizing the Caribbean musical style with an...
as the Preacher. Buck is a trail guide leading groups of former slaves trying to
homesteadThe Homestead Act was a United States Federal law that gave an applicant freehold title up to 160 acres of undeveloped land outside of the original 13 colonies. The new law required three steps: file an application, improve the land, and file for deed of title. Anyone who had never taken up arms...
in the
WestThe Western United States, commonly referred to as the American West or simply "the West," traditionally refers to the region comprising the westernmost states of the United States. Because the U.S. expanded westward after its founding, the meaning of the West has evolved over time...
, immediately after the
American Civil WarThe American Civil War , also known as the War Between the States and several other names, was a civil war in the United States of America. Eleven Southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America...
. The Preacher is a
swindlingA confidence trick or confidence game is an attempt to defraud a person or group by gaining their confidence...
minister of the "High and Low Order of the Holiness Persuasion Church". Together, they protect a
wagon trainA wagon train is a group of wagons traveling together. In the American West, individuals traveling across the plains in covered wagons banded together for mutual assistance. Although most trains elected a captain and created by-laws, in reality the captain had little authority...
from bounty hunters.
This is the first film Sidney Poitier directed.
Vincent CanbyVincent Canby was an American film critic.Canby was born in Chicago, Illinois, the son of Katharine Anne and Lloyd Canby. He became the chief film critic for The New York Times in 1969 and reviewed more than 1000 films during his tenure there...
of
The New York TimesThe New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded in 1851 and published in New York City. The largest metropolitan newspaper in the United States, "The Gray Lady"—named for its staid appearance and style—is regarded as a national newspaper of record...
said Poitier "showed a talent for easy, unguarded, rambunctious humor missing from his more stately movies".
The notable
bluesBlues is the name given to both a musical form and a music genre created within the African-American communities in the Deep South of the United States at the end of the 19th century from spirituals, work songs, field hollers, shouts and chants, and rhymed simple narrative ballads...
musician
Brownie McGheeWalter Brown McGhee was a blues singer and guitarist best known for his collaborations with the harmonica player Sonny Terry.-Life and career:...
wrote and performed the film's soundtrack.
Cast
- Sidney Poitier
Sir Sidney Poitier, KBE is a Bahamian-American actor, film director, author, and diplomat. He broke through as a star in acclaimed performances in American films and plays, which, by consciously defying racial stereotyping, gave a new dramatic credibility for black actors to mainstream film...
- Buck
- Harry Belafonte
Harold George "Harry" Belafonte, Jr. , is an American musician, actor and social activist. One of the most successful popular singers in history, he was dubbed the "King of Calypso", a title which he was very reluctant to accept for popularizing the Caribbean musical style with an...
- The Preacher
- Ruby Dee
Ruby Dee is an American actress, poet, playwright, screenwriter, journalist, and activist.-Early years:Dee was born Ruby Ann Wallace in Cleveland, Ohio, the daughter of Gladys Hightower and Marshall Edward Nathaniel Wallace, a cook, waiter, and porter. After her mother left the family, Dee's...
- Ruth
- Cameron Mitchell
Cameron Mitchell was an American film, television and Broadway star with close ties to one of Canada's most successful families, and considered, by Lee Strasberg, to be one of the founding members of The Actor's Studio in New York City.-Early life and career:Born Cameron MacDowell Mitzel in...
- Deshay
- Denny Miller
Denny Scott Miller is an American actor, perhaps best known for his guest-starring roles on Gilligan's Island and as Tarzan in the late 1950s....
- Floyd
- Nita Talbot
Nita Talbot is an American actress. Talbot is a durable leading lady who spent the first decade or so of her career playing "slick chicks" and sharp-witted career girls, but is perhaps best known for her role as the White Russian spy in the 1960s sitcom, Hogan's Heroes, as well as Sheila Fine in...
- Madame Esther
- John Kelly
- People :* John Kelly of Killanne , leader of the Irish Rebellion of 1798 in Wexford* John Kelly , Congregational minister* John Larry Kelly, Jr...
- Sheriff