Buck and the Preacher (1972)

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Buck and the Preacher (1972)

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Buck and the Preacher is a 1972 American Western film starring Sidney Poitier as Buck and Harry Belafonte as the Preacher. This is the first film Sidney Poitier directed. Vincent Canby of The New York Times said Poitier "showed a talent for easy, unguarded, rambunctious humor missing from his more stately movies". The notable blues musicians Sonny Terry and Brownie McGhee performed in the film's soundtrack, composed by jazz great Benny Carter.

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Buck and the Preacher (1972)

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Plot: Buck and the Preacher opens with deep rhythm and blues soundtrack reminiscent of a modern John Wayne Western that was given deep soul and harmony from the 1970. The camera then switches scenes into a camp of African Americans who were just freed from slavery and are traveling West for a better life. Suddenly, a band of men on horseback terrorize the camp by burning wagons and tents and killing men, women and children. The leader of these white bandits, DeShay (Cameron Miller), is wearing an old cavalry jacket hinting at his military past.
Buck (Sydney Poitier) enter the scene and dismounts his horse about to walk up to his home. DeShay makes Buck wife, Ruth (Ruby Dee), wave to him as if everything is all right. Buck begins to approach the house and is then engulfed in a firefight between DeShay posse. He gets on his horse and flees the seen after being chased by the posse and stops at an apparently empty campsite that has a campfire, food and a horse. A naked man, the Preacher (Harry Belafonte), is washing at the stream below and approaches the campsite to dress, but Buck stops him and steals his horse and breakfast at gunpoint. The Preacher dresses and takes Buck horse to the nearest town where he grabs a drink and finds out the location of the nearby camp from an African American boy working at the general store. The Preacher is approached by DeShay and is told that any information leading to finding Buck or bringing Buck in dead or alive will be a five hundred dollar reward. The Preacher is excited about this because he has a good feeling Buck is out by the African American wagon camp the little boy spoke of earlier. Buck returns to the camp to be told by the men that the elder wise man thinks they should continue West and not turn back.

–from wikipedia

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Buck and the Preacher (1972)

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Buck and the Preacher (1972)

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Buck and the Preacher (1972)

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Buck and the Preacher (1972)

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Buck and the Preacher (1972)

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