5. Stars In My Crown (1950)
Not a major player on the KKK film list, Stars in My Crown is a Western that follows the travails of the town Walesburg shortly after the American Civil War and a number of its citizens - Josiah the preacher, Dr Harris Jnr the physician. The KKK enter the film in the following scenario. Leading businessman Lon Backett wants to buy the land of freed slave Uncle Famous Prill in order to keep his mine in operation. Uncle Famous doesn't want to sell. The out of work miners trample his crops and scatter his livestock. They issue Uncle Famous an ultimatum - get out or else. He refuses to budge and he refuses armed help. Josiah waits with Uncle Famous for the mob to show up dressed in Ku Klux Klan garb. Josiah offers no resistance but asks them to listen to Uncle Famous's will. With each item, he slyly reminds the beneficiary of Uncle Famous's kindness to them. Ashamed, they slink away. Afterwards, Josiah's son picks up the pieces of paper Josiah was reading from. Josiah says "it was God's will". Stars in My Crown was rather radical for having a black man in a leading role in Hollywood in 1950. It is bold in its examination of race relations - a taboo subject that everyone wanted to sweep under the carpet. It is maybe a bit idealistic in how all the white town inhabitants loved Uncle Famous but it is surely better to portray love than hate or indifference. I also like the way that Josiah gets through to the Klansmen. It is touching without being cloying.