Synopsis
An unemployed construction worker heading out west stops at a remote farm in the desert to get water when his car overheats. The farm is being worked by a group of East European Catholic nuns, headed by the strict mother superior, who believes the man has been sent by God to build a much needed church in the desert.
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Cast
- Sidney PoitierHomer Smith
- Lilia SkalaMother Maria
- Lisa MannSister Gertrude
- Isa CrinoSister Agnes
- Francesca JarvisSister Albertine
- Pamela BranchSister Elizabeth
- Stanley AdamsJuan Acolito
- Dan FrazerFather Murphy
- Bobby DriscollMexican Holding Chapel Door (uncredited)
- Ralph NelsonMr. Ashton (uncredited)
Recommendations
- 83
Portland Oregonian
Sidney Poitier and Lilia Skala make a fine odd couple in this whimsical drama of a wandering handyman who is persuaded to help a tiny community of German nuns build a convent in the American desert. [25 Dec 1992, p.AE05] - 80
Variety
Made on a modest budget and filmed entirely on location in Arizona, Lilies reveals Sidney Poitier as an actor with a sharp sense of humor. - 80
The Hollywood Reporter
Lilies of the Field is a funny, sentimental, charming and uplifting film, in which intelligence, imagination and energy are proved again to be beyond the price of any super-budget. - 80
Orlando Sentinel
Poitier's performance and Nelson's low-key direction carried this delightful vehicle, adapted to the screen by James Poe from William E. Barrett's eloquent novel. [14 Jan 2001, p.17] - 75
TV Guide Magazine
This was a small, low-budget picture that went straight for the heart and succeeded critically as well as financially. - 60
Empire
An uplifting film that cemented the reputation of its star. - 60
Time Out
It might be significant as an early independent movie made good, but Poitier got better when he got angrier for In the Heat of the Night four years later. - 40
Chicago Reader
Well-meaning rot from 1963.
