Ossie Davis is a tower of strength as a Kentucky slave in 1850, promised his freedom by his well-meaning white master but, instead, sold off to an auctioneer. He is eventually 'purchased' by an extremely moody Mississippi cotton plantation owner who has relocated from the north--and who keeps a black "wench" in his bed. Director and co-screenwriter Herbert J. Biberman apparently had sincere intentions here, but his film--cheaply produced and cheaply presented--comes off as sensationalistic (the title "Slaves" may as well be followed with an exclamation point). Pop singer Dionne Warwick (in her acting debut) has dramatic eyes and a curious smudge of a mouth, but her role as Stephen Boyd's mistress doesn't make much sense, and her introductory scenes--drunk and painting up her face--are confusing and off-putting. One sequence, a grueling day for the slaves picking cotton in the sun, and later weighing their results in the rain, is atmospheric and hard-hitting; but only when Davis is on-screen does Biberman get anything heartfelt going. The rest of "Slaves" is crude, and processed for shock value. *1/2 from ****
Review of Slaves
