Intruder in the Dust (1949)

MGM
Directed by Clarence Brown
My rating: 3 stars out of 4
IMDb
(Turner Classic Movies)

When a white man in a racist southern town is shot in the back, the police arrest an innocent black man. No one believes his story except for a teenager he once invited to his house, whom he convinces to dig up the grave of the dead man and retrieve the bullet which will prove his innocence. Instead, they find an empty grave and more questions. The body eventually shows up and the police, now convinced of his innocence, lay a trap to capture the real murderer. The incisive William Faulkner story does not always translate well to the screen, but it is a devastating portrait of hate and ignorance.