The Liberation of L.B. Jones

Infobox Film
name = The Liberation of L.B. Jones


image_size =
caption = DVD cover
director = William Wyler
producer = A. Ronald Lubin
writer = Jesse Hill Ford
Stirling Silliphant
narrator =
starring = Roscoe Lee Browne
Lee J. Cobb
Lee Majors
Anthony Zerbe
music = Elmer Bernstein
cinematography = Robert Surtees
editing = Carl Kress
distributor = Columbia Pictures
released = March 18, 1970 USA
July 8, 1970 FRA
runtime = 102 minutes
country = United States
language = English
budget =
gross =
preceded_by =
followed_by =
website =
amg_id =
imdb_id = 0065979

"The Liberation of L.B. Jones" is a 1970 American drama film directed by William Wyler, his final project in a career that spanned forty-five years. The screenplay by Jesse Hill Ford and Stirling Silliphant is based on Ford's 1965 novel "The Liberation of Lord Byron Jones".

Plot Synopsis

The title character, a wealthy African American funeral director in fictional Somerset, 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. The man escapes and eventually confronts the two policemen, who shoot and castrate him but are not held accountable for their actions, despite their confession. Bumpas subsequently is murdered by Sonny Boy Mosby in retaliation for a vicious beating he once inflicted on the man.

Principal cast

*Roscoe Lee Browne ..... L.B. Jones
*Lee J. Cobb ..... Oman Hedgepath
*Lee Majors ..... Steve Mundine
*Anthony Zerbe ..... Willie Joe Worth
*Lola Falana ..... Emma Jones
*Arch Johnson ..... Stanley Bumpas
*Barbara Hershey ..... Nella Mundine
*Yaphet Kotto ..... Sonny Boy Mosby

Critical reception

In his review in the "New York Times", Vincent Canby said, "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 involvment . . . I must say I wasn't bored by it, just depressed." [ [http://movies.nytimes.com/movie/review?res=9901E3D7173EE034BC4152DFB566838B669EDE "New York Times" review] ]

"Variety" called it "not much more than an interracial sexploitation film." [ [http://www.variety.com/review/VE1117792571.html?categoryid=31&cs=1&p=0 "Variety" review] ]

"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." [ [http://www.tvguide.com/movies/liberation-lb-jones/review/104209 "TV Guide" review] ]

Awards and nominations

Lola Falana was nominated for the Golden Globe Award for New Star Of The Year - Actress but lost to Carrie Snodgress in "Diary of a Mad Housewife".

References

External links

* [http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0065979/ "The Liberation of L.B. Jones" at the Internet Movie Database]