Slaves (1969)

Starring:

• Dionne Warwick
• Ossie Davis
• Stephen Boyd
• Julius Harris
• Marilyn Clark
• Gale Sondergaard
• Shepperd Strudwick
• Nancy Coleman
• David Huddleston
• Eva Jessye
• Robert Kya-Hill

Storyline

Ossie Davis and his family have long been the trusted slaves of kind master Sheppard Strudwick. Although he hates the system and has vowed never to sell a slave, Strudwick is forced to sell Davis to pay a debt. On the auction block in New Orleans, Davis is bought by crafty plantation owner Stephen Boyd who lives in splendor with his alcoholic slave mistress, Dionne Warwick. Warwick is attracted to Davis’ fire and pride, but he rejects her in the cotton fields. Boyd is being courted by a married neighbor (Eva Jessye) who shocks her female friends with her outspoken opinions about slavery and southern womanhood. Davis steals liberation papers from Boyd and plans to escape, as does Miss Warwick. The elaborate plot fails, and Davis is flogged to death by an angry Boyd. A faithful servant in the plantation house then sets fire to the cotton sheds, allowing Miss Warwick to make good her escape with the aid of Miss Jessye.