Gathering of Old Men

A murder upsets the tranquility at a Louisiana sugarcane plantation in this tough-minded racial drama. When the local sheriff (Richard Widmark) begins investigating, he finds he's got more than his share of suspects when a group of elderly black men confesses to the crime en masse. Turns out, the dead man happened to be a vicious racist whose murder is viewed as a long-overdue act of justice, regardless of who committed it. While the locals are shocked over the killing, a young plantation owner Candy Marshall (Holly Hunter) joins ranks with the black men as, together, they rally against the brewing tide of anger and outrage, and stand up for their dignity.