Double Feature
Buck and the Preacher
Buck and the Preacher is an immensely satisfying Western which marked Sidney Poitier’s directorial debut, as well as his first screen pairing with superstar Harry Belafonte. Poitier stars as Buck, an ex-Union Army Cavalry sergeant who becomes a scout for freed slaves heading to the Colorado frontier. Tagging along with him are his wife (Ruby Dee in a scene-stealing performance) and a Bible-thumping con artist known as the Preacher (Belafonte). Attacked by racist bounty hunters determined to return the former slaves to a life of sharecropping in Louisiana, Buck and his followers must summon all the courage they have in order to reach their destination and help settle the Wild West. (Sony Pictures)
- Director
- Sidney Poitier
- Writer
- Screenplay by Ernest Kinoy, Story by Ernest Kinoy and Drake Walker
- Starring
- Sidney Poitier, Harry Belafonte, Ruby Dee, Cameron Mitchell, Denny Miller, Nita Talbot
- Year
- 1972
- Country
- USA
- Format
- 35mm
- Running Time
- 102 minutes
Thomasine & Bushrod
Gordon Parks, Jr. directs this western-romance with a twist, often compared to Bonnie and Clyde, whose fresh take on the genre was written and produced by, and starred Max Julien (Cleopatra Jones). Vonetta McGee (Blacula) is featured as the female bounty hunter who resumes an old romance with bandit Bushrod (Julien). Amid the changes transforming the country at the beginning of the twentieth century – cars replace horses and trails turn to roads – the “wild” west of the 1900s is gradually being tamed. It’s still a tough, hard place to make a living, but Thomasine and Bushrod are prepared to try. Hounded by Sheriff Bogardie (George Murdock), they proceed on a spree of bank robberies, sharing their loot with the poor living on the harsh frontier. Bushrod’s old buddy, Jomo (Glynn Turman, Cooley High), turns up just when they need him most, and the trio plan their next heist together. (Sony Pictures)
- Director
- Gordon Parks Jr.
- Writer
- Max Julien
- Starring
- Max Julien, Vonetta McGee, George Murdock, Glynn Turman, Juanita Moore
- Year
- 1974
- Rated
- PG
- Country
- USA
- Format
- 35mm
- Running Time
- 95 minutes