Intruder in the Dust (film)

Synopsis

The film closely follows the plot line of the Faulkner novel. It tells the story of Lucas Beauchamp, a respectable and rich black man, who is unjustly accused of the murder of a white man.

Cast

Reception

According to MGM records the film earned $643,000 in the U.S. and Canada and $194,000 elsewhere, for a worldwide box office of $837,000.

The film earned Juano Hernández a Golden Globe nomination for "New Star of the Year". The film was listed as one of the ten best of the year by the New York Times. Faulkner said of the film: "I'm not much of a moviegoer, but I did see that one. I thought it was a fine job. That Juano Hernández is a fine actor--and man, too."

More than 50 years later, in 2001, film historian Donald Bogle wrote that Intruder in the Dust broke new ground in the cinematic portrayal of blacks, and Hernández's "performance and extraordinary presence still rank above that of almost any other black actor to appear in an American movie."