This promises to be a fun and welcome change from the sex, grue and gore of the past nights. Jes' good ol' boys night with a perfect duo of Sam Peckinpah's JUNIOR BONNER (1972) and the rarely-shown TICK...TICK...TICK (1970). But Quentin came out to promise that these were not your typical redneck drive-in flicks. He wasn't talking GATOR. He went into a fun spiel on how badazzz Jim Brown was, especially in THE DIRTY DOZEN. This film was his first serious acting and QT praised him for pulling it off. He detailed the odd history of director Ralph Nelson, who went from SOUNDER to LILIES IN THE FIELD to SOLDIER BLUE and beyond. I'd been wanting to see this for a long time, since I noted the soundtrack in various record stores over the years. The mic hit the stage and I lit into my nachos.

There was a good array of themed trailers and then TICK...TICK...TICK.

This MGM film was definitely going for a IN THE HEAT OF THE NIGHT vibe. Harry Knowles has his accurate report here. And I really enjoyed this film. It's more gentle than one might think from the explosive title, but it's a lovely character drama about the transition to a new age where a Black Man is elected sheriff in a bigoted southern town. George Kennedy plays the decent, confused ex-sheriff who reluctantly helps the man who's taking his job amid the usual racial tensions. Frederic March plays the crotchety mayor and he's a pleasure as usual in his last film. A great unsung actor. Ralph Nelson creates a palatable ambiance of sweat and rage, and the ending promises change if not evolution.