- published: 18 Jun 2014
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Sounder is a 1972 film starring Cicely Tyson, Paul Winfield, Kevin Hooks, Carmen Mathews, Taj Mahal, Eric Hooks and Janet MacLachlan. It was adapted by Lonne Elder III and directed by Martin Ritt from the 1970 Newbery Medal-winning novel Sounder by William H. Armstrong and spawned a sequel, Part 2, Sounder (1976).
Based on sixteen reviews, Sounder holds an 88% "Fresh" score (and an average of 7.7/10) on Rotten Tomatoes. In his Family Guide to Movies on Video, Henry Herx wrote: "[Sounder] captures the humanity of [its] characters and a fine, distanced sense of its sleepy Southern locale. The movie earns a deep emotional response from its audience because its [appealing] story and characters are believable. Not only a valid examination of the black experience in America, it is also a fine family experience." He added that the boy's search for his father "provides additional drama".
The film was nominated for four Academy Awards: Best Picture (by Robert B. Radnitz), Best Actor (Paul Winfield), Best Actress (Cicely Tyson) and Best Adapted Screenplay (by Lonne Elder III).
The Morgans, a loving and strong family of Black sharecroppers in Louisiana in 1933, face a serious family crisis when the husband and father, Nathan Lee Morgan, is convicted of a petty crime and sent to a prison camp. After some weeks or months, the wife and mother, Rebecca Morgan, sends the oldest son, who is about 11 years old, to visit his father at the camp. The trip becomes something of an odyssey for the boy. During the journey he stays a little while with a dedicated Black schoolteacher.
Keywords: 1930s, adolescent, african-american, against-the-odds, arrest, baseball, black-american, black-family, book, boy
Actors: Michael A. Hoey (editor), Cicely Tyson (actress), James Best (actor), Paul Winfield (actor), Marvin Weldon (miscellaneous crew), Martin Ritt (director), Janet MacLachlan (actress), Jerry Leggio (actor), Taj Mahal (actor), Taj Mahal (composer), Kevin Hooks (actor), Sidney Levin (editor), Carmen Mathews (actress), Robert B. Radnitz (producer), Frank Weatherwax (miscellaneous crew),
Plot: The Morgans, a loving and strong family of Black sharecroppers in Louisiana in 1933, face a serious family crisis when the husband and father, Nathan Lee Morgan, is convicted of a petty crime and sent to a prison camp. After some weeks or months, the wife and mother, Rebecca Morgan, sends the oldest son, who is about 11 years old, to visit his father at the camp. The trip becomes something of an odyssey for the boy. During the journey he stays a little while with a dedicated Black schoolteacher.
Keywords: 1930s, adolescent, african-american, against-the-odds, arrest, baseball, black-american, black-family, book, boy