The play and movie screenplay were both written by the wonderful Ossie Davis, who starred in the movie -- and original stageplay -- as Purlie Victorious Judson, an itinerant preacher who comes to town, to wrest the local church and control of the area from the plantation owner, Old Cap'n.
I had mentioned before that the role of Old Capn's son was played in the movie by a young Alan Alda. And that's the treat here -- the clip below features extensive footage of Alda and Davis together. Alda, in fact, like Davis, was re-creating the role he had played in the Broadway production.
(In the scene, Purlie has had to hide out, and is up in a tree house, where Alda has been sneaking him food. The role of Idella here is played by Beah Richards, who had a long career and who you might recognize, most notably perhaps as Sidney Poitier's mother in Guess Who's Coming to Dinner in 1967 -- a good year for her because that same year she was also in the Oscar-winning Best Picture, In the Heat of the Night, in the memorable role of the backroom abortionist, Mama Caleba. And she also was in Hurry Sundown that year -- as well as an episode of I Spy.)
And so, without a song in sight, here then is Purlie Victorious.