In Mississippi men like Lucas Beauchamp (Juano Hernandez) are a rarity. A black landowner in a depressed southern town his pride and refusal to bow before the white man rankles many. When one of the Gowrie clan is found dead with Lucas standing over him the townsfolk figure the chicken has come home to roost and plan a Monday neck tie party, given Sunday is a day of worship. A young boy (Claude Jarman) once rescued by Lucas implores a reluctant lawyer (David Brian) to take his case but the mob growing impatient feels there will be no need for that.
Director Clarence Brown's sober telling is a tense tale of bigotry and injustice in which he substitutes raging fury with percolating hatred, the desire for revenge no way lost in the subtlety. The faces of hate read like a book.
Juano Hernandez gives a towering performance as a man in full in the most dire of situations. He's not free of his own petty pride but he does retain an admirable, stoic dignity in contrast to all those around him. Brian and Jarman offer interestingly conflicted performances while Will Geer, Porter Hall and Elizabeth Patterson (who threatens to steal the picture in a Mother Courage moment credibly flesh out the community.
In 1949 MGM was making a drastic transition from Louis Mayer Andy Hardy pics to Dore Schary's more serious and socially conscious films like Battleground and Intruder. Dust lost money at the box office but continues to pay off nobly to this day with its powerful message.
Director Clarence Brown's sober telling is a tense tale of bigotry and injustice in which he substitutes raging fury with percolating hatred, the desire for revenge no way lost in the subtlety. The faces of hate read like a book.
Juano Hernandez gives a towering performance as a man in full in the most dire of situations. He's not free of his own petty pride but he does retain an admirable, stoic dignity in contrast to all those around him. Brian and Jarman offer interestingly conflicted performances while Will Geer, Porter Hall and Elizabeth Patterson (who threatens to steal the picture in a Mother Courage moment credibly flesh out the community.
In 1949 MGM was making a drastic transition from Louis Mayer Andy Hardy pics to Dore Schary's more serious and socially conscious films like Battleground and Intruder. Dust lost money at the box office but continues to pay off nobly to this day with its powerful message.