Lilies of the Field

"Sidney Poitier as the life-loving ex-GI who one day encounters five nuns escaped from beyond the Berlin Wall..."

1963 1h 34m EN

👍

7.2

SOLID

🔥

92%

CERTIFIED FRESH

👌

METACRITIC

⭐

7.5

IMDB

★7.2TMDB · 235🍅92%Rotten Tomatoes●61Metacritic★7.5IMDB · 14,784

ComedyDrama

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

An unemployed construction worker heading out west stops at a remote farm in the desert to get water when his car overheats. The farm is being worked by a group of East European Catholic nuns, headed by the strict mother superior, who believes the man has been sent by God to build a much needed church in the desert.

“Sidney Poitier as the life-loving ex-GI who one day encounters five nuns escaped from beyond the Berlin Wall...”

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Cast

Sidney Poitier
Homer Smith
Lilia Skala
Mother Maria
Lisa Mann
Sister Gertrude
Isa Crino
Sister Agnes
Francesca Jarvis
Sister Albertine
Pamela Branch
Sister Elizabeth
Stanley Adams
Juan Acolito
Dan Frazer
Father Murphy

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Ralph Nelson
Writers: James Poe
Languages: German, English, Spanish
Countries: United States of America

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

MONEY

Did you know

Shot for just $0.2M — micro-budget by Hollywood standards.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

MONEY

Did you know

Grossed $7M — a 28.3× return. The kind of profit studios chase for a decade.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

ERA

Did you know

63 years old — a genuine piece of film history.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

WORLD

Did you know

Dialogue crosses 3 languages: German, English, Spanish.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

CINEMA

Did you know

Part of the "Lilies of the Field Collection" — so the characters or world continue elsewhere.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Ralph Nelson, shot by Ernest Haller. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

ERA

Did you know

Original score by Jerry Goldsmith. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor John W. McCafferty shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Ralph Nelson directs. Ernest Haller behind the camera. Jerry Goldsmith scores. John W. McCafferty cuts. Runs lean at under 100 minutes. Made its budget back several times over at the box office. Produced in United States of America. Dialogue in German, English, Spanish.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

1Shot for just $0.2M — micro-budget by Hollywood standards.
2Grossed $7M — a 28.3× return. The kind of profit studios chase for a decade.
363 years old — a genuine piece of film history.
4Dialogue crosses 3 languages: German, English, Spanish.
5Part of the "Lilies of the Field Collection" — so the characters or world continue elsewhere.
6Directed by Ralph Nelson, shot by Ernest Haller. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
7Original score by Jerry Goldsmith. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
8Editor John W. McCafferty shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
9Sidney Poitier and Lilia Skala and Lisa Mann carry the top of the cast.
10Marketing tagline: "Sidney Poitier as the life-loving ex-GI who one day encounters five nuns escaped from beyond the Berlin Wall...".
11IMDB entry: tt0057251 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
12Classified under 24 themes, including "based on novel or book", "nun", "arizona", "homelessness".

The technical file

Cinematography: Ernest Haller
Original score: Jerry Goldsmith
Editing: John W. McCafferty
Runtime: 94 min · 1h 34m
Status: Released
Budget: $247,000
Box office: $7,000,000
Return: 2834% of budget
Original language: EN
Certification (US): NR
IMDB: Lilies of the Field (1963)
Rotten Tomatoes: 92% 🍅 Fresh
Metacritic: 61/100
IMDB rating: 7.5/10 · 14,784 votes
MPAA: Approved

Awards

Won 1 Oscar. 13 wins & 13 nominations total

National Board of Review: Top Ten Films
Academy Award for Best Actor
Golden Globe Award for Best Film Promoting International Understanding

Individual records documented via Wikidata; the summary above may count more.

Part of

Lilies of the Field Collection

Also by

Ralph Nelson

Trailers & featurettes

Watch the pieces

Community reviews

What people are saying

CinemaSerf2023-05-24
★ 7/10
This is one of my favourite performances from Sidney Poitier. Normally his characterisations were settled in an environment of racist and/or bigoted undertones. This drama actually has a much lighter, more comedic, touch to it. He is "Homer" a travelling factotum who happens upon five German nuns who who are bent on building a chapel - but they have no money, no labourer, and practically no way of communicating with their largely Spanish speaking neighbours. Now "Homer" is a kindly soul, so when the headstrong and determined "Mother Maria" (Lilia Skala) coaxes and cajoles him to help them out he is gradually drawn into their community - despite himself! He starts to teach them English, they start to teach him... well suffice to say nothing quite goes as planned for anyone as the story heads to it's obvious, but vindicating, solution. There's an enjoyable dynamic on screen here - some singing, some humour and as a general semblance of society builds, we begin to wonder who is doing whom more good. Ninety minutes just flies by, and it really is well worth catching up up with.

Production companies