Lilies of the Field
One day, Homer Smith (Sidney Poitier), a young black handyman who knows how to lay brick, move earth with a backhoe, build walls and roofs, and many another thing that can be done with a strong back and clever hands, happens upon a small group of Catholic nuns who need a man to do some work. He is rootless and on the road, and he’ll gladly do the work for a day’s wages. We are not near a big city, either, but in a near-desert area in Arizona, with only a single road going through.
What Smith doesn’t know is that the Mother Superior (Lilia Skala) has no money on hand to pay him with, and that she views him as sent by God to help them build a chapel. For the Catholics roundabout—ethnically Mexican and...
