Intruder in the Dust

Intruder in the Dust (1949) is a crime drama directed by Clarence Brown, adapted from William Faulkner's novel — watch it online on iFILM. Rural Mississippi in the 1940s: Lucas Beauchamp, a Black farmer known for never bowing to white pressure, is found standing over a dead white man with a recently fired pistol in his hand.

The evidence looks airtight, and the town is already moving toward a lynching. The respected lawyer Gavin Stevens won't touch the case. That leaves a white teenager named Chick Mallison, who owes Beauchamp a debt, to ride out to the cemetery at night and dig for proof. Juano Hernández plays Lucas with an unbendable dignity that is quietly riveting.

Brown filmed on location in Faulkner's own Oxford, Mississippi, with local residents filling the crowd — giving the film a documentary weight that sets it apart from polished studio fare of the era. Stream Intruder in the Dust (1949) on iFILM.