Preacherman 1971
Directed by
Albert T. Viola
Made by
Albert T. Viola Productions
Preacherman Plot Summary
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After a reckless liaison with a girl who turns out to be the daughter of White Oak County sheriff Zero Bull, the self-styled Preacherman Amos Huxley is beaten by the sheriff and his deputy and banished beyond the county line. He is found by local farmer Judd Crabtree, who brings the injured man to his home. There, Huxley crosses paths with Mary Lou, a young woman whose flirtations with several local boys have earned her a thorny reputation.
With a veneer of spiritual concern, Huxley pretends to want to baptize Mary Lou and steer her toward a more proper path. Yet his real aim is to manipulate her, pressing her into a string of sexual encounters while he keeps Judd distracted, sending him outside to “watch for the Angel Leroy.” This tangled web grows more complicated as Judd confesses to Huxley that his real money comes from an illegal moonshine operation, supported by [Zero Bull] and Bull’s brother-in-law. The revelation gives Huxley a dangerous idea: transform Judd’s bootlegging into a church-funded revenue stream, using Martha as the new supplier instead of the sheriff’s network.
The scheme heats up as Clyde Massingale, one of Mary Lou’s former lovers, reappears and resents Mary Lou’s newfound “salvation” and distance from him. Huxley tries to recruit Clyde into the enterprise, but Bull grows wary—aware that Clyde might know more about Huxley’s true past and the thinning bootlegging profits. The pressure mounts as the prisoner dragnet loosens its grip, and Huxley begins to believe he can slip out of the county with Mary Lou in tow.
Seeking one last burst of cash, Huxley convinces Judd and Martha to stage a large revival meeting, hoping the spectacle will pull in money and keep their operation alive. The plan seems to work at first, until Clyde betrays Huxley to Bull, who crashes the gathering. Judd creates a distraction long enough for Huxley and Mary Lou to flee, but a painful confession from Mary Lou—she loves Clyde—creates a crack in Huxley’s resolve. Undeterred, Huxley reminds Mary Lou that a substantial share of the profits awaits in her bedroom, a gesture meant to bind the pair to his scheme and to Judd.
As the escape unfolds, Clyde returns to Mary Lou and, with a mix of affection and cunning, misleads Bull and his deputy to protect the fleeing Huxley. With danger closing in, Huxley makes a break for the next county, leaving behind a tangle of loyalties, broken trusts, and fragile dreams of a new church-led community that may never come to be. The town’s fragile balance between faith, crime, and desire threads through every decision, shaping who gets hurt and who gets away.
In the end, the narrative pulls together the loyalties of those who dabble in sin and salvation, showing how greed, romance, and a longing for redemption collide under the pressures of small-town life. The characters—[Mary Lou], [Amos Huxley], [Zero Bull], [Judd Crabtree], [Martha], [Clyde Massingale], and [Deputy Leon]—each make choices that ripple through the community, leaving a lasting imprint on a county where the line between reverence and vice is often blurred.
Preacherman Timeline
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Huxley seduces Mary Lou and is banished
Amos Huxley has sex with Mary Lou, who is revealed to be the daughter of Sheriff Zero Bull. In the fallout, the sheriff and his deputy beat him and cast him outside the county line. He is warned never to return, setting the events of the story in motion.
Found and sheltered by Judd Crabtree
Huxley is left unconscious near the county line after the banishment. Judd Crabtree discovers him and carries him to his home to recover. This rescue foreshadows Huxley's reluctant stay in the county.
Huxley decides to stay amid a county roadblock
With a countywide roadblock hunting escaped convicts and likely him, Huxley resolves to stay with Judd. He also meets Mary Lou, who has been flirting with multiple local boys, a detail that unsettles the already tense dynamics. The decision anchors him in Crabtree's household.
Huxley manipulates Mary Lou under the pretense of baptism
Under the pretense of baptizing Mary Lou and curbing her lascivious behavior, Huxley exploits the situation to coerce multiple sexual encounters. He carefully diverts Judd’s attention by sending him outside to watch for 'the Angel Leroy.' The manipulation lays the groundwork for their illicit arrangement.
Judd reveals a moonshine operation
Judd confesses that he operates an illegal moonshine still, a scheme run with Sheriff Bull and Bull's shopkeeper brother-in-law. The revelation shows how far the town’s power structures are entangled with vice. Huxley begins to see a financial opportunity within this network.
Huxley proposes a revenue plan and new supplier
Huxley suggests that Judd can run the moonshine operation as a revenue source to build a new church. He plans to replace Sheriff Bull’s infrastructure with a traveling saleswoman, Martha, as the new supplier. The scheme aims to maximize profit while avoiding the sheriff’s direct control.
Operation expands, drawing in locals
Other locals are drawn into the venture, and the operation quickly grows into a lucrative enterprise. The community becomes complicit as liquor profits fund ambitions beyond simple survival. Huxley basks in the growing success while orchestrating the overall scheme.
Clyde Massingale grows jealous; Bull grows wary
Clyde Massingale, Mary Lou's former lover, resents his loss of access to her and to Huxley's new arrangement. Huxley attempts to recruit Clyde into the operation to keep him quiet, but Sheriff Bull senses a potential witness to Huxley’s past. Bull alerts Clyde to Huxley's criminal history.
Huxley plots a revival as a cover to escape
With the dragnet ending, Huxley sees a chance to flee with Mary Lou. He persuades Judd and Martha to stage a large revival event to maximize profits and cover the escape. The plan hinges on a public spectacle rather than a quiet exit.
Bull raids the revival; escape sequence begins
Clyde betrays the setup by tipping off Bull, who raids the revival. Judd distracts the sheriff long enough for Huxley and Mary Lou to escape, but Mary Lou reveals she loves Clyde. The escape plan is put into motion amid chaos.
Huxley secures a getaway and leaves profits behind
Amid the escape, Huxley tells Mary Lou he has left a large share of profits in her bedroom for herself and Judd. He then runs off alone, seeking to put distance between himself and the sheriff’s reach. The departure marks a turning point as loyalty and love are tested.
Clyde aids the escape by misdirection
Clyde reconciles with Mary Lou and misleads Sheriff Bull and his deputy. This ruse clears the path for Huxley to reach the next county free and clear. The community’s tangled loyalties determine who wins and who loses.
Preacherman Characters
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Amos Huxley (Albert T. Viola)
A self-proclaimed Preacherman who weaponizes faith and sexuality to manipulate Mary Lou and cash in on a moonshine scheme. He is cunning, opportunistic, and willing to deceive anyone to get what he wants, including Judd and Mary Lou. His plans hinge on building wealth through religious veneer and reckless risk-taking, until his schemes threaten to unravel.
Sheriff Zero Bull (Bill Simpson)
A powerful sheriff whose authority is entangled with the town’s illicit economy. He enforces the law with a heavy hand while quietly tolerating or exploiting bootlegging networks. His keen sense of threat from Huxley and Clyde pushes him to raid gatherings, revealing a complex mix of vigilance and corruption.
Judd Crabtree (Esty F. Davis Jr.)
A local farmer who moonlights as a bootlegger and business-minded opportunist. He agrees to exploit the revival for revenue and recruits others to sustain the operation, blurring lines between honest farming and illegal enterprise. Pragmatic and calculating, he embodies the town’s moral ambiguity.
Mary Lou (Ilene Kristen)
A young woman whose flirtatious behavior makes her a focal point of manipulation. She becomes entangled in Huxley’s schemes under the guise of spiritual support, while wrestling with her own feelings for Clyde. Her arc centers on vulnerability, autonomy, and the consequences of exploitation.
Clyde Massingale (Adam Hesse)
Mary Lou’s former lover who reacts with jealousy as she becomes involved with Huxley’s scheme. He is drawn into the illicit enterprise and becomes a counterforce to Huxley’s manipulation, using charm and persistence to navigate a dangerous social landscape.
Martha (Marian Brown)
A travelling saleswoman recruited to supply the moonshine operation, attracted to Judd and drawn into the revenue-driven plot. She helps professionalize the illicit distribution and becomes another piece in the town’s economic web of exploitation.
Preacherman Settings
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Location
White Oak County, Judd Crabtree's Farm
The film unfolds in a rural White Oak County, a tight-knit community framed by farms and small-town roads. Law and order clash with illicit activity as the sheriff tolerates or profits from a moonshine operation. Judd Crabtree’s farm and the surrounding town become the stage for a tense interplay of faith, crime, and communal secrets.
Preacherman Themes
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Power Money
Power and money fuel the town’s moral rot. The sheriff leverages his official position to protect and profit from bootlegging, while Huxley schemes to monetize religious influence for personal gain. The revival economy becomes a sleek cover for illicit revenue, exposing how wealth can corrupt leadership and community norms.
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Religious Hypocrisy
Religious veneer is weaponized to control and manipulate others. Huxley uses baptism and pseudo-piritual authority to lure Mary Lou into exploitation, turning sacred rituals into instruments of seduction. The community’s faith is shown as a tool that can be bent to shield crime and line pockets.
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Manipulation & Romance
Romance and affection are weaponized to serve a larger scheme. Huxley preys on Mary Lou’s vulnerability, blurring lines between seduction and coercion. Relationships become strategic moves in a plot to extract wealth and mete out revenge, revealing a corrosive view of love in a corrupt town.
Preacherman Spoiler-Free Summary
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In a quiet corner of North Carolina, the rhythm of daily life moves between church bells and the low‑hum of moonshine stills, a place where faith and whispered vice have long settled into an uneasy truce. The town’s slow‑moving charm is tinged with a restless curiosity, as residents keep a wary eye on any newcomer who promises big changes. Against this backdrop, a smooth‑talking preacher arrives, his smile as polished as the wooden pulpit he plans to claim, and the air suddenly feels charged with the promise of salvation that might be too good to be true.
Amos T. Huxley is the kind of charismatic figure who can turn a simple sermon into a spectacle, his grandiose promises resonating with a community hungry for guidance. Yet beneath his polished exterior lies a talent for manipulation that makes the townspeople both hope and hesitate. Among those most captivated is the young Mary Lou, whose reputation for flirtation and longing for something steadier makes her especially vulnerable to Huxley’s attentions. Their dynamic crackles with a mix of curiosity, desire, and the subtle power play of a preacher seeking a confidante for reasons that feel as holy as they are selfish.
The delicate balance of the town begins to shift when Judd Crabtree, a farmer with a past close to Mary Lou and a keen sense of what lies beneath Huxley’s sermons, grows suspicious of the preacher’s rapid rise. His wariness pushes him toward the local authorities, hinting that the line between worship and exploitation may soon be tested by law and order. The looming presence of the sheriff and his deputies adds a layer of tension, suggesting that the community’s quiet routines could be upended by the clash of faith, ambition, and hidden agendas.
The film settles into a tone that is both warm and uneasy, a slow‑burning drama that lets the Southern landscape breathe while the characters navigate the gray area between redemption and deceit. With each polite greeting and lingering glance, the audience is invited to wonder how far a charismatic outsider can go before the town’s collective conscience forces a reckoning, leaving the promise of salvation hanging in the humid air.
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