Conrack

Conrack
1974 Promotional Poster for "Conrack"
Directed by	Martin Ritt
Written by	Pat Conroy (novel) Harriet Frank Jr. Irving Ravetch
Starring	Jon Voight Paul Winfield Madge Sinclair Antonio Fargas Hume Cronyn
Music by	John Williams
Cinematography	John A. Alonzo
Editing by	Frank Bracht
Distributed by	20th Century Fox
Release date(s)	March 27, 1974
Running time	106 minutes
Country	United States
Language	English

Conrack is a 1974 film based on the 1972 autobiographical book The Water Is Wide by Pat Conroy, directed by Martin Ritt and starring Jon Voight in the title role, alongside Paul Winfield, Madge Sinclair, Hume Cronyn and Antonio Fargas. The film was released by 20th Century Fox on March 27, 1974.

Synopsis

The story follows a young teacher (Jon Voight) in 1969 assigned to an isolated Yamacraw Island off the coast of South Carolina populated mostly by poor black families. He finds out that the children as well as the adults have been isolated from the rest of the world and speak a dialect called Gullah and "Conrack" is their way of saying his name "Conroy." The school is a two room school with the Principal (Madge Sinclair) teaching grades one through four and Conrack teaching the higher grades. He discovers that they know very little. He tries to teach them about the outside world and comes in conflict both with the principal and Mr. Skeffington (Hume Cronyn), the superintendent. This comes to a head when he takes them to Beaufort on the mainland to go trick or treating, which the superintendent has forbidden. He also must overcome parental fears of "the river." As a result, he's fired. As he leaves the island for the last time, the children come out to see him leave, bringing along a record player on which they play the beginning movement of Beethoven's Fifth Symphony as he leaves.

Critical reception

The film received a primarily positive response upon its release and currently has a "Fresh" score of 88% on reviewing site, Rotten Tomatoes. It has never been released on DVD though it remains available through other means, such as VHS as well as online streaming.

Cast

• Jon Voight as Pat Conroy
• Paul Winfield as Mad Billy
• Madge Sinclair as Mrs. Scott (school principal)
• Tina Andrews as Mary
• Antonio Fargas as Quickfellow
• Ruth Attaway as Edna
• James O'Rear as Postman
• Gracia Lee as Mrs. Sellers
• C.P. MacDonald as Mr. Ryder
• Jane Moreland as Mrs. Webster
• Thomas Horton as Judge
• Nancy Butler as Mrs. Ryder
• Robert W. Page as Mr. Spaulding
• Hume Cronyn as Mr. Skeffington (school superintendent)
• Mac Arthur Nelson as Mac
• Kathyrn Turner as Katt

External links

• Conrack at the Internet Movie Database
• Conrack at the TCM Movie Database
• Conrack at AllRovi