Southern Movies: 1970s
Movies set in or about the South, and made in the '70s
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- DirectorWilliam WylerStarsLee J. CobbAnthony ZerbeRoscoe Lee BrowneA successful African American businessman has a quarrel with a white policeman, suspecting that he is having an affair with his wife. The policeman's colleagues are seeking to avoid publicity.
- DirectorRalph NelsonStarsJim BrownGeorge KennedyFredric MarchRacial tensions threaten to explode when a black man is elected Sheriff of a small, racially divided town in the deep south.
- DirectorJohn FrankenheimerStarsGregory PeckTuesday WeldEstelle ParsonsHenry Tawes, a middle-aged sheriff in a rural Tennessee town, is usually the first man to criticize others for their bad behavior. Miserable in his marriage, Henry falls in love with teenage Alma, who is the daughter of local criminal.
- DirectorStuart RosenbergStarsPaul NewmanJoanne WoodwardAnthony PerkinsA radio station in the Deep South becomes the focal point of a right-wing conspiracy.
- DirectorDon SiegelStarsClint EastwoodGeraldine PageElizabeth HartmanWhile recuperating in a Confederate girls' boarding school, a Union soldier cons his way into each of the lonely women's hearts, causing them to turn on each other, and eventually, on him.
- DirectorAlbert T. ViolaStarsAlbert T. ViolaIlene KristenAdam HessePhony backwoods preacher Amos T. Huxley stays in a small North Carolina town long enough to fleece his congregation, swindle the profits from a moonshine still, and seduce dumb blonde Mary Lou. Mary Lou's ex-boyfriend becomes suspicious of the preacher and gets the local police to investigate his actions.
- DirectorWilliam BayerStarsRobert Earl JonesJared MartinJ.A. PrestonA racially diverse acting troupe takes their stage play on the road, one which they hope will encourage voter registration. Under escalating internal tensions, the actors split into race groups and abandon the show.
- DirectorHerschell Gordon LewisStarsJeffrey AllenTim HoltGloria KingA redneck con artist sets himself up as a preacher in a small Deep South town to run his moonshine distillery and clashes with a number of locals and a federal agent bent on shutting his operation down.
- DirectorJohn BoormanStarsJon VoightBurt ReynoldsNed BeattyIntent on seeing the Cahulawassee River before it's dammed and turned into a lake, outdoor fanatic Lewis Medlock takes his friends on a canoeing trip they'll never forget into the dangerous American back-country.
- DirectorMartin RittStarsCicely TysonPaul WinfieldKevin HooksThe oldest son of a loving and strong family of black sharecroppers comes of age in the Depression-era South after his father is imprisoned for stealing food.
- DirectorCharles B. PierceStarsWillie E. SmithJohn P. HixonVern StiermanA documentary-style drama about the "Fouke Monster", a Bigfoot-type creature that has been sighted in and around Fouke, Arkansas since the 1950s.
- DirectorAnthony HarveyStarsKatharine HepburnSam WaterstonJoanna MilesAmanda Wingfield dominates her children with her faded gentility and exaggerated tales of her Southern belle past. Her son plans escape; her daughter withdraws into a dream world. When a "gentleman caller" appears, things move to crisis point.
- DirectorPhil KarlsonStarsJoe Don BakerElizabeth HartmanLeif GarrettBased on the life of Tennessee sheriff Buford Pusser, who almost single-handily cleaned up his small town of crime and corruption, but at a personal cost of his family life and nearly his own life.
- DirectorAlbert T. ViolaStarsAlbert T. ViolaMarian BrownBob Berg"Preacherman" Amos T. Huxley meets his match in five-time widow Alzena Suggs.
- DirectorJoseph SargentStarsBurt ReynoldsJennifer BillingsleyNed BeattyAn ex con teams up with federal agents to help them with breaking up a moonshine ring.
- DirectorRichard BlackburnStarsLesley TaplinCheryl SmithWilliam WhittonA young girl who returns to her hometown to see her dying father finds herself being drawn into a web of vampirism and witchcraft.
- DirectorBeverly SebastianFerd SebastianStarsClaudia JenningsSam GilmanDouglas DirksonDesiree lives deep in the swamp and supports herself and her siblings by poaching. Ben and deputy Billy hope to get a little sexual comfort from the "Cajun swamp rat" when they catch Desiree trapping 'gators, and give chase. Desiree outsmarts them but Billy accidentally shoots Ben and tells his sheriff dad that Desiree did it. Ben's dad and sons join them in the search party and quickly get out of control. Soon the hunters become the hunted as Desiree exacts her revenge for their violence against her family.
- DirectorTerence YoungStarsLee MarvinRichard BurtonCameron MitchellA local Sheriff tries to keep the peace as racial strife hits his small Alabama town as tensions boil over when a black man is accused of raping a white woman.
- DirectorDaniel PetrieSidney SheldonStarsJan-Michael VincentJoan GoodfellowPamela Sue MartinIn a rural 1940s southern town, a socially awkward high school girl is taken advantage of by the boys, because it's the only way she knows to relate to boys.
- DirectorRichard ComptonStarsAlan VintCheryl WatersMax Baer Jr.A vengeful Southern sheriff is out for blood after his wife is brutally killed by a pair of drifters.
- DirectorMartin RittStarsJon VoightPaul WinfieldMadge SinclairThe true story of Pat Conroy, a handsome, idealistic Caucasian who is an elementary-school instructor for a group of poor Black children in an isolated school.
- DirectorWill ZensStarsSherry RobinsonDon JonesTonia BryanA city cop is sent out to the country to go undercover and bust up a ring of moonshiners run by a woman and her three hot teenage daughters.
- DirectorDavid WorthRichard RobinsonStarsLeslie UggamsShelley WintersMichael ChristianA wrong turn on a jazz singer's road trip results in her car breaking down near an isolated lodge run by a faded starlet and a young, homicidal Elvis impersonator.
- DirectorJohn G. AvildsenStarsBurt ReynoldsArt CarneyConny Van DykeW. Bright (Burt Reynolds) is a robber with a heart of gold who travels the South knocking off banks and gas stations owned by a corrupt businessman. When he hijacks a car, he meets an aspiring country band, the Dixie Dancekings, led by Dixie (Conny Van Dyke). The two sides eventually take a liking to one another, especially after the Dancekings realize the size of Bright's thefts. Trailed by religious zealot cop Deacon Gore (Art Carney), Bright helps the band make it big while on the run.
- DirectorWalter HillStarsCharles BronsonJames CoburnJill IrelandThe saga of a drifter who turns to illicit bare-knuckle boxing in Depression-era New Orleans.