lilies of the field

original film poster Directed by Ralph Nelson Produced by Ralph Nelson Written by James Poe Starring Sidney Poitier

Lilia Skala Music by Jerry Goldsmith Cinematography Ernest Haller, ASC Editing by John McCafferty Distributed by United Artists Release date(s) 1963 Running time 94 min. IMDb

Lilies of the Field is a 1962 book by William Edmund Barrett which was made into a 1963 film and adapted for the musical stage with the title Look to the Lilies. It tells the story of a Black-American itinerant worker who encounters a group of East German nuns who are convinced he has been sent to them by God to help them build a new chapel.

The film, which stars Sidney Poitier, Lilia Skala, Lisa Mann, Isa Crino, Francesca Jarvis, Pamela Branch, Stanley Adams and Dan Frazer, was adapted by James Poe from the novel. It was produced and directed by Ralph Nelson. The title comes from Matthew 6:28 a portion of the Sermon on the Mount in the New Testament.

Poitier won the 1963 Academy Award for Best Actor, the first time a black man won a competitive Oscar in the USA.[1][2] The film was also nominated for Best Actress in a Supporting Role (Lilia Skala), Best Cinematography, Black-and-White, Best Picture and Best Writing, Screenplay Based on Material from Another Medium.[3] Contents [hide] 1 Plot 2 Trivia 3 References 4 External links //

Plot

Homer Smith is an itinerant handyman/jack-of-all-trades who stops at a farm in the Arizona desert to get some water for his car radiator. The farm is run by a group of German nuns. He is persuaded to do a small roofing repair by Mother Maria. He stays overnight, believing that he will be paid in the morning. He tries to persuade Mother Maria by quoting a bible verse but Mother Maria responds with a verse saying, Look at the lilies of the field, they continue to appear beautiful even though they get no payment. The bloom is to honor God, but not to get paid for their work.

In fact, the nuns have no money and subsist only by living off the land, on what vegetables the arid climate provides, and some milk and eggs. Even after being stalled/stonewalled when asking for payment, and after being persuaded to stay for a meal, and against his better judgment, Smith agrees to stay another day to help them with other small jobs, always with the faint hope that Mother Maria Marthe, the head nun (called "Mother Maria" and played by Lilia Skala in the film) will settle with him.

As Smith's strength and many construction skills, and tools, are revealed to the small order of nuns as he finishes the repairs needed, they come to believe that he has been sent by God to help them in their dream of building a chapel for the nearby townsfolk.

Soon, the weekend is upon them, and