Intruder in the Dust

Intruder in the Dust is a 1949 crime drama film produced and directed by Clarence Brown and starring David Brian, Claude Jarman Jr. and Juano Hernandez. The film is based on the 1948 novel Intruder in the Dust by William Faulkner. Plot The film closely follows the plot line of the Faulkner novel. It tells the story of Lucas Beauchamp, (pronounced 'Bee-cham'), a respectable and independent black man, who is unjustly accused of the murder of white man Vinson Gowrie. Through the help of two teenage boys, the town lawyer and an elderly lady, he is able to prove his innocence. Cast Juano Hernandez as Lucas Beauchamp David Brian as John Gavin Stevens Claude Jarman Jr. as Chick Mallison Porter Hall as Nub Gowrie Elizabeth Patterson as Miss Eunice Habersham Will Geer as Sheriff Hampton Charles Kemper as Crawford Gowrie David Clarke as Vinson Gowrie Elzie Emanuel as Aleck Lela Bliss as Mrs. Mallison Harry Hayden as Mr. Mallison Harry Antrim as Mr. Tubbs, prison warder Dan White as Will Legate, jailhouse guard Gene Roper as son of country store owner Production Clarence Brown, who had been born in Massachusetts but was raised in Tennessee, wanted to do a film version of the book when it was released in 1948. As a mainstay of MGM for over two decades, he asked studio head Louis B. Mayer about doing a film adaptation, but he had his doubts over whether it would be a profitable venture. Dore Schary, recently brought in as a vice president of production, gave support to Brown, which allowed the film to go through. Brown insisted on filming in Oxford, Mississippi, where Faulkner had lived for most of his life.