''The Liberation of L.B. Jones'' is a 1970 American neo noir film directed by

William Wyler William Wyler (; born Willi Wyler (); July 1, 1902 – July 27, 1981) was a Swiss-German-American film director and producer who won the Academy Award for Best Director three times, those being for '' Mrs. Miniver'' (1942), ''The Best Years of ...

, his final project in a career that spanned 45 years. The screenplay by Jesse Hill Ford and

Stirling Silliphant Stirling Dale Silliphant (January 16, 1918 – April 26, 1996) was an American screenwriter and producer. He is best remembered for his screenplay for '' In the Heat of the Night'', for which he won an Academy Award in 1967, and for creating ...

is based on Ford's 1965 novel ''The Liberation of Lord Byron Jones''. The novel, in turn, was based on events that happened in a Southern town where writer Ford lived. After he wrote the book, he was verbally attacked for writing about the events that had occurred in his town. The motion picture's release added to the controversy, especially in

Humboldt, Tennessee Humboldt is a city in Gibson and Madison counties, Tennessee. The population was 8,452 at the 2010 census, a decline of 1,015 from 2000. It is the principal city of and is included in the Humboldt, Tennessee Micropolitan Statistical Area, which ...

, where Ford lived. The film stars

Roscoe Lee Browne Roscoe Lee Browne (May 2, 1922 – April 11, 2007) was an American actor and director. He resisted playing stereotypically black roles, instead performing in several productions with New York City's Shakespeare Festival Theater, Leland Hayward' ...

Lee J. Cobb Lee J. Cobb (born Leo Jacoby; December 8, 1911February 11, 1976) was an American actor, known both for film roles and his work on the Broadway stage. He often played arrogant, intimidating and abrasive characters, but he also acted as respectabl ...

Lola Falana Loletha Elayne Falana or Loletha Elaine Falana (born September 11, 1942), better known by her stage name Lola Falana, is an American singer, dancer, and actress. Early life Lola Falana was born in Camden, New Jersey. She was the third of si ...

Anthony Zerbe Anthony Jared Zerbe (born May 20, 1936) is an American actor. His notable film roles include the post-apocalyptic cult leader Matthias in ''The Omega Man'', a 1971 film adaptation of Richard Matheson's 1954 novel, '' I Am Legend''; as an Irish C ...

Lee Majors Lee Majors (born Harvey Lee Yeary; April 23, 1939) is an American actor. Majors portrayed the characters of Heath Barkley in the American television Western series ''The Big Valley'' (1965–1969), Colonel Steve Austin in the American televisio ...

, Arch Johnson,

Yaphet Kotto Yaphet Frederick Kotto (born Frederick Samuel Kotto; November 15, 1939 – March 15, 2021) was an American actor known for numerous film roles, as well as starring in the NBC television series '' Homicide: Life on the Street'' (1993–1999) as ...

Eve McVeagh Eva Elizabeth "Eve" McVeagh (July 15, 1919 – December 10, 1997) was an American actress of film, television, stage, and radio. Her career spanned 52 years from her first stage role through her last stage appearance. Her roles included leading ...

, Chill Wills and

Barbara Hershey Barbara Lynn Herzstein, better known as Barbara Hershey (born February 5, 1948), is an American actress. In a career spanning more than 50 years, she has played a variety of roles on television and in cinema in several genres, including weste ...

in an early role.

Plot

L.B. Jones, a wealthy African-American funeral director in fictional Somerton, Tennessee, seeks legal representation from the local law firm run by Oman Hedgepath and his newlywed nephew Steve Mundine. Jones is seeking a divorce from his considerably younger wife Emma, alleging she had an affair with white police officer Willie Joe Worth, whom he suspects is the biological father of her unborn child. In an effort to avoid a public scandal, Worth begs Emma not to contest the divorce, but she hopes to collect enough alimony to allow her to maintain the lavish lifestyle to which she has become accustomed. When she refuses to cooperate, Worth severely beats her, then, with the aid of fellow officer Stanley Bumpas, arrests Jones on false charges after he refuses to withdraw the divorce suit. Jones escapes and eventually cornered, he confronts the officers and is handcuffed. He quietly and respectfully refuses to cooperate even at gunpoint, and Worth murders him, with Bumpas casually watching. Worth, initially cool, is suddenly horrified by what he has done and then even more so at Bumpas's subsequent, but cold bloodily practical actions in treating Jones's body like it was a side of beef and hanging it from a wrecker hook. Bumpas slashes the body and removes Jones's shoelaces to make it look like it was done by other black persons in a revenge-type killing. Initially another black man and Emma are forced to confess to the murder, but Hedgepath quickly discovers that the man was in jail at the time of the murder and also the confessions were obtained with a cattle prod which appears to be commonplace at the jail. The charges immediately are dropped and Worth, who has been shocked by his own actions, turns himself in and confesses to Hedgepath and the Mayor, in part suggesting that Hedgepath may have accidentally, but with no intent, influenced him to take action. Worth is willing to take all responsibility. However, he and Bumpas are not held accountable by City Attorney Hedgepath, who in typical Southern fashion, sweeps the problem under the rug, and makes himself a true accessory after the fact by disposing of the murder weapon and the murder is covered up quietly. The mayor wants nothing to do with any of this and is happy that Hedgepath handles it so as not to disrupt the reputation of the community. Hedgepath props up Worth enough with thoughts of his family so that Worth accepts the burden of guilt without the need to confess and although he gives Worth a choice it is clear that Hedgepath has significant influence over Worth. The two officers are not held accountable for their actions. However, almost immediately, Bumpas, off duty, is murdered very deliberately and coolly by Sonny Boy Mosby in partial retaliation for a vicious beating he once inflicted on the man. Sonny had recently decided not to retaliate against Bumpas for the beating, but the murder and cutting up of Jones was apparently the final straw for Mosby. The murder is gruesome, but Sonny makes it appear to be an agricultural accident, rather than a revenge killing. Worth keeps his job, Emma is under the presumption she will be getting Jones's money, although there is a suggestion that she might have a little guilt and will be ostracized by the black community. Hedgepath is apparently abandoned by the remnants of his family with the Mundines moving out. Mosby, unsuspected, leaves town on a train, apparently with a clear conscience but a look of maturity.

Cast

as L.B. Jones *

as Oman Hedgepath *

as Steve Mundine *

as Willie Joe Worth *

as Emma Jones * Arch Johnson as Stanley Bumpas *

as Nella Mundine *

as Sonny "Sonny Boy" Mosby * Chill Wills as Mr. Ike *

Dub Taylor Walter Clarence "Dub" Taylor Jr. (February 26, 1907 – October 3, 1994),Dub Taylor, 87, Actor in Westerns, The New York Times, October 5, 1994, Section B, Page 12 was an American character actor who from the 1940s into the 1990s worked extens ...

as Mayor *

as Mrs. Griggs

Production

Ford wrote the first screenplay himself then Stirling Silliphant was brought in to do a draft for $200,000. William Wyler was paid $600,000. Shooting took place 2 June to 11 July 1969.

Critical reception

Wyler's last screen film received mixed reviews; some appreciating his effort felt it was not powerful enough. In his review in ''The New York Times'',

Vincent Canby Vincent Canby (July 27, 1924 – October 15, 2000) was an American film and theatre critic who served as the chief film critic for ''The New York Times'' from 1969 until the early 1990s, then its chief theatre critic from 1994 until his death in ...

wrote "I'm sure that Wyler and his screenwriters...were out to make a suspense movie that would also work as contemporary social commentary. In the interests of melodrama, they have simplified the characters from Hill's novel to such a degree that they seem more stereotyped than may have been absolutely necessary...Wyler's direction is notable only for the coldness and for an impatience to get on with the story at the expense of any feeling of real involvement...I must say I wasn't bored by it, just depressed." ''Variety'' called it "not much more than an interracial sexploitation film." ''TV Guide'' rates it two out of a possible four stars and comments "Though the cast gives some strong performances, ultimately the film is an empty affair. The questions of racism and southern prejudice had been well handled by other films long before this. Had it been made 10 years earlier it would have been a landmark, but in 1970 it was no longer fresh material. The script is pockmarked with cliches and stereotypes, though the technical aspects are fine. This last film of director Wyler was nothing special."''TV Guide'' review
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Awards and nominations

Lola Falana was nominated for the Golden Globe Award for New Star of the Year – Actress.

References

External links

* * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Liberation Of L.B. Jones, The 1970 films 1970 drama films American drama films 1970s English-language films Films scored by Elmer Bernstein Films about interracial romance Films based on American novels Films set in Tennessee Films directed by William Wyler Columbia Pictures films Films with screenplays by Stirling Silliphant 1970s American films