This was a rather limp rendition of the Alec Waugh novel except that it became very controversial in the 1950's Southern United States because of interracial issues.

Harry Belafonte, a local politician, has a relationship with a white woman. The interracial kiss was a big deal in 1957.

James Mason plays Maxwell Fleury, a planter, who commits a murder and is torn by it. He also learns that he is part Black something he never knew. This racial mixing was also controversial in 1957.