HURRY SUNDOWN

US, 1967, 141 minutes, Colour.
Michael Caine, Jane Fonda, John Philip Law. Faye Dunaway, Diahan Carrol, Robert Hook, Burgess Meredith. Beah Richards. Jim Backus.
Directed by Otto Preminger.

Hurry Sundown was one of those films that everybody enjoyed themselves attacking and condemning for its bad taste, length, acting, direction by proverbially bad director Otto Preminger, for double meaning sex references and phallic symbols and patronising attitudes towards African Americans. There is probably some truth in all of this, but for most audiences it would probably prove to be interesting and raise issues, which are quite important, in the context of an interesting story.

1. What was the main theme of this film? Why?

2. The blacks sang the song which included the words "Hurry Sundown". What did they mean in the song? How does this throw light on the meaning of the film?

3. The film's structure, especially in the opening stages, is a paralleling of the two couples - Henry and Julie and Rad and Lou. How was this done cinematically? How effective was it? Note the styles of their Christian names, their love, their children and their impact in their own lives, money, ambitions, attitude to blacks.

4. A reviewer attacked this film as typical of the 'open season' on the South and said it was a harsh caricature of the South, bullying its victim. How true was this? What aspects of the film support this? What aspects would negate this?

5. What picture of the South did the film give you?

6. Did the film take sides for whites and blacks? what sequences or pieces of dialogue indicate this?

7. What kind of a man was Henry Warren? What were his origins? Why was he so ambitious? How ruthless was he? How much feeling had he? How much love? What did the Riverside project mean to him? Why? Why had he not gone to the war? Why did Charles think so much of him? What was his attitude towards his wife? Child? What did the saxophone mean to him?

8. What kind of a woman was Julie? A Southern belle? How spoilt? How arrogant? How loving - to Henry, her son, Aunt Rose? How proud and vindictive was she? Why did she turn against Reeve? Why did Henry mean so much to her? How happy was her life in comparison with the McDowells?

9. Is it fair to characterise the McDowells? as 'the goodies' and the Warrens as 'the baddies'? How attractive were Rad and Lou as a couple? What picture of family life did they show? How important was money to them?

10. How did Rad relate to Reeve? Why?

11. Did you like Reeve? Why did he have a chip on his shoulder? Was Rose a good woman? Was she a 'white man's nigger'? Should she have fought for her land? What principles were at stake?

12. Did cousin Clem do the right thing as a clergyman towards whites and blacks?

13. Were the Purcells caricatured: what kind of a man was the Judge? How 'political' was he? How did he handle the trial? How prejudiced was he? Why was his wife a snob and his daughter a slut?

14. Were the men in the store and their humiliation of Reeve and their threatening of Rad typical Southerners? Why? What of the sheriff?

15. How irresponsible and malicious was Henry - in his rigging of the trial, in his action against Rad, in the injury of his son, in his lies and manipulation of Julie, in his plan for the explosives?

16. Did Rad do the right thing with the deed? Why? Was Lou right in being afraid for him? Why did Charles betray his father?

17. Vivian, how shrewd was she? What impact did she make on Julie?

18. The ending of the film - Henry's jeers, Julie's quest for her son, Charles' death and the losses for the McDowells?, the plan to build up again? Was this meant to be a lesson for an American audience? How?

19. Was this popular fiction or a serious problem about the South? a good film? effective? Why?