****SPOILERS**** Things really start to heat up in Attoka County Alabama when a group of civil rights activists lead by former native Chicago's Loretta Sykes,Lola Falana,in attempting to get the blacks in town to register to vote in the upcoming election. The already explosive situation couldn't get any worse when local woman Nancy Poteet, Linda Evens, is attacked and raped in her car by an unknown and what looked like, in the dark, black masked assailant. With the local population up in arms and thirsting for blood it's up to the town sheriff former Klansman and now middle of the road, in getting the black vote, Track Bascomb, Lee Marvin, to keep the peace and prevent any more bloodshed. As things turn out local angry black man Garth, O.J Simpson,has other ideas and starts a one man war against the Klan polarizing the white and black population in town even farther.
In all this violence there's Attoka's royal blooded, his family goes back eight generations, and only white liberal Breck Stancill, Richard Burton, who's really pushing the envelope in allowing local backs to live on his property rent free who's live in girlfriend just happens to be the just assaulted Nancy Poteet. With the voter march about to start Garth takes out, with a sniper rifle, one of the local Klansman that has the rest of the Klan in retaliation kidnap and rape Loretta making it look like a black, not Klansman, did it! Sheriff Bascomb in trying to keep the lid on all this violence and prevent it from blowing a major fuse is forced to confront the entire Klan, that he was once a member of, from burning the hated Stancill, in being against his liberal views, house down together with him and all the black homeless persons living there!
****SPOILERS**** Flaming final with Sheriff Bascomb together with Stancill holding off scores of Klansman who are attacking Stancill's home or better yet bunker who's bulky Klan outfits and hoods covering their eyes make them easy targets. Despite doing everything possible to prevent it there's nothing that Sheriff Bascomb could do to keep the Klan on a leash or in line that by the end of the movie had almost the entire Attoka County up in flames with him as well as Stancill and dozens of residences, black and white, never living to see the light of the next day.
P.S It was reported that both Lee Marvin and Richard Burton were so drunk during the filming of the movie that years later when they ran into each other at a party they couldn't remember being in it! In fact Richard Burton got so drunk while making the movie "The Klansman" that he was hospitalized for over a month so he can dry out and continue acting in it. Marvin seemed to be able to hold his booze or liquor far better then Burton who reportedly guzzled down as much as three bottles of vodka a day during filming. Burton was so smashed that in many scenes in the film like in the fight with Klansman Butt Cut Cates, Cameron Mitchell, was having great difficulty or even unable to stand on his feet and had to be filmed most of the time either laying in bed of sitting on a couch!
In all this violence there's Attoka's royal blooded, his family goes back eight generations, and only white liberal Breck Stancill, Richard Burton, who's really pushing the envelope in allowing local backs to live on his property rent free who's live in girlfriend just happens to be the just assaulted Nancy Poteet. With the voter march about to start Garth takes out, with a sniper rifle, one of the local Klansman that has the rest of the Klan in retaliation kidnap and rape Loretta making it look like a black, not Klansman, did it! Sheriff Bascomb in trying to keep the lid on all this violence and prevent it from blowing a major fuse is forced to confront the entire Klan, that he was once a member of, from burning the hated Stancill, in being against his liberal views, house down together with him and all the black homeless persons living there!
****SPOILERS**** Flaming final with Sheriff Bascomb together with Stancill holding off scores of Klansman who are attacking Stancill's home or better yet bunker who's bulky Klan outfits and hoods covering their eyes make them easy targets. Despite doing everything possible to prevent it there's nothing that Sheriff Bascomb could do to keep the Klan on a leash or in line that by the end of the movie had almost the entire Attoka County up in flames with him as well as Stancill and dozens of residences, black and white, never living to see the light of the next day.
P.S It was reported that both Lee Marvin and Richard Burton were so drunk during the filming of the movie that years later when they ran into each other at a party they couldn't remember being in it! In fact Richard Burton got so drunk while making the movie "The Klansman" that he was hospitalized for over a month so he can dry out and continue acting in it. Marvin seemed to be able to hold his booze or liquor far better then Burton who reportedly guzzled down as much as three bottles of vodka a day during filming. Burton was so smashed that in many scenes in the film like in the fight with Klansman Butt Cut Cates, Cameron Mitchell, was having great difficulty or even unable to stand on his feet and had to be filmed most of the time either laying in bed of sitting on a couch!