Sidney Poitier made his directorial debut with "Buck and the Preacher", in which he played a wagon-master leading freed slaves across the Old West. The whole time, they have to battle night-riders trying to return them to slavery in Louisiana. But then, Poitier joins up with Harry Belafonte, a reformed thief spreading the Gospel across the Old West, and they figure out a way to protect the freed slaves.
Probably the most important aspect of this movie was that it came out around a time when Hollywood was releasing many blaxploitation movies portraying African-Americans as kick-ass brothers and sisters with hearts of gold. This one focused seriously on a part of black history in the United States, and did a very good job at it. I certainly recommend this movie. Also starring Ruby Dee and Denny Miller (a character actor who appeared twice on "Gilligan's Island").
