THE UPPER CHAMBER (1963)
Directed by Buck Richard Pennington
60 minutes
Written and produced by Robert L. Goodwin. With Lew Ayres, Reed Hadley, Duane Grey, Preston Hanson, and Robert L. Goodwin. Preserved by the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture. This expertly written and mounted drama eavesdrops on four men awaiting execution on death row. In their final hours, as they contemplate the nature of fate, their stories are juxtaposed against the tale of the crucifixion, with the men appearing in flashback biblical scenes that replicate key events in their present-day lives. The screening on Sat, July 11 will be introduced by Ina Archer, artist, filmmaker, and Media Conservation and Digitization Specialist at NMAAHC.