This film initially takes place in Kentucky with a black slave by the name of "Luke" (Ossie Davis) returning from Ohio where he has just sold several horses for a handsome profit in the service of his owner "Mr. Stillwell" (Shepperd Strudwick). Although Luke is expecting his freedom sometime in the near future, not long afterward he is informed by Mr. Stillwell that, because of financial hardship, he is being sold back on the slave market. Needless to say, this news, along with the fact that he has to leave his wife and children, breaks Luke's heart but, with no choice in the matter, he accepts his fate with great resignation. A few days later, he is sold to a cruel Mississippi plantation owner named "Nathan MacKay" (Stephen Boyd) who, for the sake of his own ego, whips and humiliates the once-valued negotiator out of pride and ignorance. Yet even then, Luke remains steadfast and resolute in his beliefs and this eventually creates a major problem for Nathan and several other people working on the plantation. Now, rather than reveal any more, I will just say that this film certain had its possibilities but it turned out a bit too raw and brutal for my tastes. That not to say, however, that conditions weren't as bad as depicted in this movie. They were much worse in some cases. But the interaction among many of the characters seemed rather odd and somewhat uncharacteristic at the time. At least, that's the way it seemed to me. Be that as it may, although conditions were quite horrible for slaves in the antebellum South, I don't believe this movie was as realistic as it could have been and I have rated it accordingly. Average.
