be alright. Baby, I feel so free inside”. Cast Ivan Dixon as Duff Anderson Abbey Lincoln as Josie Dawson Yaphet Kotto as Jocko Leonard Parker as Frankie Stanley Green as Reverend Dawson Eugene Wood as Johnson Helen Lounck as Effie Simms Julius Harris as Will Anderson, Duff's father Gloria Foster as Lee Gertrude Jeannette as Mrs. Dawson Tom Ligon as Teenager William Jordan as Teenager Production The screenplay was written by Robert M. Young and Michael Roemer, who drew on his own background as a Jew persecuted by Nazis. Roemer had fled Nazi Germany as an 11-year-old child on the Kindertransports. Before starting to write, Roemer and Young went on a quest to understand and get to know the African-American culture of the South. They “left on an Underground Railway in reverse”. As liberal Jews in the South, they were treated by whites as pariahs and warned that their food might be poisoned, causing them to relate strongly to the black families whom they met. They allowed themselves to be passed on from one family and community to the next so they could learn as much as possible about the relationships and experiences. One morning in Mississippi, the plot of a young couple's struggles and the man's relationship with his father came to Roemer, and the script was written in six weeks as soon as they were back in New York City. Although the script was written quickly, casting took several months. Charles Gordone was responsible for introducing the writers to some of the main talent, including Broadway actor Ivan Dixon, who went on to play the role of Staff Sergeant James Kinchloe on the CBS-TV sitcom Hogan's Heroes, and jazz great Abbey Lincoln. Julius Harris made his acting debut in the film playing Duff's father. Harris was a nurse before he was cast, but had always wanted to act. Yaphet Kotto also had his first credited movie role in the film, playing a railroad worker. Both Harris and Kotto went on to appear in many more films and television programs over the next four decades. At the last minute, the film's title was almost changed to Duff Anderson. Reception Nothing but a Man premiered at Philharmonic Hall and had a limited run in a few cities, receiving rave reviews at the New York Film Festival and winning a coveted prize at the Venice Film Festival. However, according to Roger