Themes: Race Relations, Small-Town Life, Crisis of Conscience
Main Cast: Kyle Johnson, Alex Clarke, Estelle Evans, Dana Elcar, Mira Waters
Release Year: 1969
Country: US
Run Time: 107 minutes
MPAA Rating: PG
Plot
Gordon Parks' adaptation of his own novel The Learning Tree stars Kyle Johnson as Newt, a black teenager living in 1920s Kansas. He is an intelligent even-tempered young man who meets the many racial prejudices he faces with composure and pride. His best friend Marcus (Alex Clarke) is hot-headed and prone to react emotionally when confronted with life's problems. Newt gets into a difficult situation when he witnesses a murder and must decide if he should come forward to clear the man being framed for the crime. Doing so would forever change his own life, as well as Marcus'. In 1989, the film was selected to the National Film Registry in the Library of Congress. ~ Perry Seibert, All Movie Guide
Review
The first major studio production directed by an African-American, The Learning Tree is a solid film that doesn't need that historic fact to be enjoyed. 57 years old when the film was released, photographer-turned-director Gordon Parks took credits as writer, producer, director, and music composer. His next film, the action-filled Shaft, was a huge hit, leaving critics to wonder what other great films he might have been made had been allowed to start his directing career earlier. Unlike Shaft, Parks' work in The Learning Tree is quietly paced and more realistic. It's one of the few films of its era to present an insider's view of black life in the United States. The story is solid, the acting good, and the cinematography by Burnett Guffey superb. The film was not a commercial success, but in 1989, it was one of the first 25 films chosen for protection by the Library of Congress's National Preservation Board. ~ Richard Gilliam, All Movie Guide
Joel Fluellen - Uncle Rob; Malcolm Atterbury - Silas Newhall; Richard Ward - Booker Savage; Russell Thorson - Judge Cavanaugh; Peggy Rea - Miss McClintock; Thomas Anderson - Pastor Broadnap; Don Dubbins - Harley Davis; Kevin Hagen - Doc Cravens; Zooey Hall - Chauncey Cavanaugh; Carole Lamond - Big Mabel; Jon Lormer - McCormack; George Mitchell - Jake Kiner; Felix Nelson - Jack Winger; Stephen Perry - Jappy; Philip Roye - Pete Winger; Morgan Sterne - Mr. Hall; Hope Summers - Mrs. Kiner; Dub Taylor - Spikey; Saundra Sharp - Prissy
Credit
Edward D. Engoron - Art Director, Gordon Parks - Director, George Rohrs - Editor, Tom McIntosh - Composer (Music Score), Gordon Parks - Composer (Music Score), Tom McIntosh - Musical Direction/Supervision, Burnett Guffey - Cinematographer, Gordon Parks - Producer, Albert J. Whitlock - Special Effects, Robert Miller - Sound/Sound Designer, Gordon Parks - Screenwriter, Gordon Parks - Book Author
The Learning Tree is a 1969drama film which tells the story of a young African American growing up in a rural setting in the early part of the 20th century, when racial discrimination was a social norm, legally sanctioned in parts of the United States.
