In post Civil War America, former slaves are heading west to escape the south. Buck (Sidney Poitier) is one of the few colored guides leading the wagons. He and his charges are hounded by marauding whites intent on driving them back to work on the plantations. The white southerners use his wife Ruth (Ruby Dee) as bait in an ambush at his home but they both manage to escape. While he's on the run, he gets into a confrontation with a traveler of questionable intent (Harry Belafonte) and steals his horse. The traveler gets to a settlement where he runs into the marauders. With some quick thinking, the traveler pretends to be a preacher and the marauders offer him $500 as a bounty for Buck.
I like the first half of this western directed by Sidney Poitier. His style is functional but it does lack a certain flair. The main question is getting more guns for the former slaves. They have the money. It needs a scene where they try to buy more guns but get rejected by the locals. Obviously, this is alluding to the civil rights movement of that era. The never cessing search for the green valley is quite an image. I do have more questions about Buck's homestead. I thought the whites burnt it down. They're also not traveling that far if they keep coming back to it. The movie does run into a rut when they go robbing a bank. It would have been much better to return to the wagon train and they wait for a big final attack. Quite frankly, they lose the moral high ground once they steal other people's money. The Indians should ride to the rescue like the Calvary of the old westerns. The second half has a few weak points which is a little disappointing.
I like the first half of this western directed by Sidney Poitier. His style is functional but it does lack a certain flair. The main question is getting more guns for the former slaves. They have the money. It needs a scene where they try to buy more guns but get rejected by the locals. Obviously, this is alluding to the civil rights movement of that era. The never cessing search for the green valley is quite an image. I do have more questions about Buck's homestead. I thought the whites burnt it down. They're also not traveling that far if they keep coming back to it. The movie does run into a rut when they go robbing a bank. It would have been much better to return to the wagon train and they wait for a big final attack. Quite frankly, they lose the moral high ground once they steal other people's money. The Indians should ride to the rescue like the Calvary of the old westerns. The second half has a few weak points which is a little disappointing.