The Burning Cross

The Burning Cross (1947)

Genres - Drama, Crime  |   Sub-Genres - Message Movie, Political Drama  |   Release Date - Sep 1, 1947 (USA - Unknown), Sep 1, 1947 (USA)  |   Run Time - 77 min.  |   Countries - United States  |   MPAA Rating - NR
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Synopsis by Hal Erickson

At a time when Jim Crow segregation was de rigeur in the South and anti-lynching laws were still being voted down by certain legislators, the independently produced The Burning Cross provoked a great deal of controversy. Unlike previous films dealing with the Ku Klux Klan, this one wasn't afraid to identify the infamous organization by name. Hank Daniels plays Johnny, an embittered, unemployed war veteran who really goes off the deep end when his former sweetheart Doris (Virginia Patton) becomes engaged to Italian-American Tony (John Fostini). Seething with hatred and resentment, Johnny is easy pickings for the local branch of the KKK. Joining the hooded bigots in their terrorist activities, Johnny realizes what he's gotten himself into only when it's nearly too late. An excellent supporting cast includes those often underused black character actors Joel Fluellen and Maidie Norman as two of the Klan's targets. Far from a good film (its threadbare production values weigh heavily against it), The Burning Cross is nonetheless a fascinating one.

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Keywords

cult, evil, expose [revelation], indoctrination, KKK (Ku Klux Klan), racism, terror, veteran [military], white-supremacy