Victorious in the End

So, this is that "other" posting about Purlie mentioned that's a little different.  It's not actually Purlie, but a five-minute clip from the 1963 movie it's based on, Purlie Victorious.  (And that, in turn, is based on the original stage play.)

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.