Sidney Poitier as "Brother John"

[Worf101]

I'd been hearing about this film for years and I finally went out and bought it. A boy of strange birth, leaves home to wander the earth at 16. He only returns to Alabama suddenly and mysteriously when a relative or friend dies. He knows without being told when loved ones are gone before they know they're even sick. This "talent" is questioned by the doctor that birthed him (played to a tee by character actor Will Geer) who knows he'll show up when his sister, now terminally ill dies.

Brother John does show up, right in the middle of a full blown Civil Rights explosion. Eventually he's suspected of being a "nothern Nigra Agitator" by the powers that be and the more they find out about him, the less the authorities like it. Stoic and calm, Brother John is the "anti" Blaxplotation hero. He eschews violence and only uses it when he has to and then in an almost "polite" way. Vaguely reminiscent of "The Day The Earth Stood Still" in its discussion of man's inhumanity to his fellow man. I enjoyed it despite its dated look and speech. Poitier is a national treasure.

Da Worfster

[Smokey]

That sound like an interesting movie. I might have ran cross that movie in Biglots bargain bin, but not sure. I saw his picture on DVD and thought it was In the Heat of the Night, but it wasn't. Now have to go back and check again.