Lilies of the Field

Homer Smith (Sydney Poitier) is an ex-GI drifter who takes a temporary handyman job at a Southwestern farm maintained by five German nuns, where the Mother Superior wants to build a chapel. She is convinced that the personable Homer has been sent from Above to help her realize her dream. He protests loudly and rudely, but she will not be dissuaded. How Homer accomplishes her goal, endears himself to the surrounding townsfolk, and avoids an arrest for a previous crime, comprises the heart of Lilies of the Field. His performance netted Poitier a Best Actor Oscar, the first ever awarded to an African American man.