HYBRID PROGRAM: IN-PERSON AND STREAMING ONLINE

Lilies of the Field (Ralph Nelson, 1963, 94min.)

Linda DeLibero, senior lecturer and special advocate for alumni and outreach, and former director of the JHU film and media studies program

Homer Smith, an itinerate handyman drifting westward across the Arizona desert, encounters a tiny convent of German nuns who corral him into building their much longed-for chapel. Together with some local Mexicans, he accomplishes the task and moves on. End of story. To understand how this simple fable of communal goodwill became a cultural phenomenon, it helps to remember that Lilies of the Field arrived in theaters between the March on Washington and JFK’s assassination. Against this backdrop of profound social change and political violence, the warm-hearted fable worked as a potent charm against divisiveness and hatred. The film barely makes mention of race, but Poitier’s presence alone transformed the movie into a touchstone of racial tolerance. It didn’t hurt that Poitier has never been so beautiful or charismatic, radiating that something extra that made him a star. And indeed, with this, his 19th film, he finally became a genuine movie star, as well as an historic figure: the first Black man to win an Academy Award for Best Actor.

ASG’s 2023 Film Series is in collaboration with the Renaissance Institute at Notre Dame of Maryland University

$10 fee for guests (No charge for ASG members, ASG subscribers and RI members)