The Learning Tree [Criterion Collection]

Director: Gordon Parks Gordon Parks

Overview

Gordon Parks' adaptation of his own novel The Learning Tree stars Kyle Johnson as Newt, a black teenager living in 1920s Kansas. He is an intelligent even-tempered young man who meets the many racial prejudices he faces with composure and pride. His best friend Marcus (Alex Clarke) is hot-headed and prone to react emotionally when confronted with life's problems. Newt gets into a difficult situation when he witnesses a murder and must decide if he should come forward to clear the man being framed for the crime. Doing so would forever change his own life, as well as Marcus'. In 1989, the film was selected to the National Film Registry in the Library of Congress.

Product Details

Release Date:	12/14/2021
UPC:	0715515267014
Original Release:	1969
Source:	Criterion Collection
Language:	English
Time:	1:47:00
Sales rank:	15,176

Cast & Crew

Performance Credits

Kyle Johnson	Newt
Estelle Evans	Sarah
Alex Clarke	Marcus
Dana Elcar	Sheriff
Joel Fluellen	Uncle Rob
Richard Ward	Booker
Malcolm Atterbury	Silas
Mira Waters	Arcella Jefferson
Russell Thorson	Judge Cavanaugh
Peggy Rea	Miss McClintock
Carole Lamond	Big Mabel
Kevin Hagen	Doc Cravens
James 'Jimmy' Rushing	Chappie Logan
Dub Taylor	Spikey
Felix Nelson	Jack Winger
George Mitchell	Jake Kiner
Saundra Sharp	Prissy
Stephen Perry	Jappy
Don Dubbins	Harley Davis
Jon Lormer	McCormack
Morgan Sterne	Mr. Hall
Thomas Anderson	Pastor Broadnap
Philip Roye	Pete Winger
Hope Summers	Mrs. Kiner
Carter Vinnegar	Seansy
Bobby Goss	Skunk
Alfred Jones	Cap'n Tuck
Zooey Hall	Chauncey Cavanaugh
Gordon Parks Sr.	Composer
Tom McIntosh	Composer

Technical Credits

Gordon Parks Sr.

Gordon Parks Sr.	Producer,Screenwriter
Albert Whitlock	Special Effects
Gordon Parks	Director
Albert J. Whitlock	Special Effects
Robert Miller	Sound/Sound Designer

Editorial Reviews

The first major studio production directed by an African-American, The Learning Tree is a solid film that doesn't need that historic fact to be enjoyed. 57 years old when the film was released, photographer-turned-director Gordon Parks took credits as writer, producer, director, and music composer. His next film, the action-filled Shaft, was a huge hit, leaving critics to wonder what other great films he might have been made had been allowed to start his directing career earlier. Unlike Shaft, Parks' work in The Learning Tree is quietly paced and more realistic. It's one of the few films of its era to present an insider's view of black life in the United States. The story is solid, the acting good, and the cinematography by Burnett Guffey superb. The film was not a commercial success, but in 1989, it was one of the first 25 films chosen for protection by the Library of Congress's National Preservation Board.

All Movie Guide - Richard Gilliam