Buck and the Preacher

By boldly balancing historical responsibility with modern social critique, Poitier establishes his Western masterpiece as both a time capsule and timeless adventure, flowing effortlessly between the genre’s entertaining shootouts and robberies and the prescient commentary of subverting racist systems by all means necessary. Read full review

Buck and the Preacher is a classic and iconic Western—brightly colored, beautifully assembled and channeling social issues through its plot rather than tacking them on in an obvious or distracting manner. Read full review

The forthright, punchy screenplay shows Kinoy’s TV background, but there is a galloping energy to the whole drama. Read full review

For all of Buck and the Preacher’s serious attempts to function as a revisionist western by centering Blacks in the narrative and examining the critical role they played on the frontier, it’s also a wildly entertaining film. Read full review

A modest entertainment made intriguing by the race element. [15 May 1972, p.14]

Poitier relieves the melodrama, thankfully, by livening up the picture with his sense of humor. [29 Apr 1972, p.187]

[Poitier] does a surprisingly strong job of directing (his initial attempt) this well-written, meaningful script by Ernest Kinoy. [16 Jun 1972]

Lively entertainment underlined by some stinging social comment. [04 May 1972, p.17]

[Poitier] is indeed so good that he almost enables one to forget that "Buck and the Preacher" is simply a standard Western with a slightly different twist. [10 May 1972, p.17]

Buck and the Preacher, Sidney Poitier's first film as director as well as star, is a loose, amiable, post-Civil War Western with a firm though not especially severe Black Conscience. Read full review

This is one of very few westerns that casts African-Americans in the lead roles. [27 Jun 2015, p.32]

Directed by and co-starring Sidney Poitier, it is at least competently made and has a few, fleeting moments of genuine fun. Read full review

It is pleasant enough, but somehow - despite excellent performances by Poitier (the intrepid wagonmaster) and Belafonte (a roguish preacher) - it never quite clicks. Read full review

As a director, Poitier hasn't come up with any startingly new twists on the old Western cliches. [11 May 1972, p.14]

With all due respect to Poitier as a dramatic actor, "Buck and the Preacher" is as bad a Western as many of the routine white-made Westerns. Its only redeeming feature is Belafonte, who steals the picture from the stone-faced Poitier with an engaging clever comic performance of the likable scraggly bearded rapscallion. [05 May 1972, p.51]

Stereotypes abound in this foolish, witless western--a production misusing the fine talent in its cast. Read full review