Former US Army lieutenant Jason Higgs (Sidney Poitier), after becoming a black militant during the 1960s Black Revolutionary Movement, is wounded as he pulls a payroll heist to help imprisoned brothers, and has to hide from the police. Social worker Cathy Ellis (Joanna Shimkus) falls in love with Higgs while helping him elude capture.

• Sidney Poitier as Jason Higgs
• Joanna Shimkus as Cathy Ellis
• Al Freeman Jr. as Dennis Lawrence
• Michael Tolan as Inspector Hamilton
• Richard Dysart as Bernie
• David Steinberg as The Photographer
• Paul Winfield as Orville Turner
• Beverly Todd as Sally Carter / Dorothy Starr
• Vonetta McGee as Diane Lawrence
• Frank Marth as Warren

New York Times critic Vincent Canby called the film "Poitier's attempt to recognize the existence and root causes of black militancy without making anyone — white or black — feel too guilty or hopeless."^[2]Roger Ebert wrote that "Poitier has seldom been stronger or more human." but criticized the film for "a tendency to smooth corners and tinker with the plot."^[3]

The film score was composed by Quincy Jones and conducted by Stanley Wilson, and the soundtrack album was released on the Uni label in 1969.^[4][5]

Reception edit

Allmusic's Brandon Burke said the soundtrack had "In the strict sense of the word, The Lost Man was not a blaxploitation film, but its soundtrack (arranged by Quincy Jones) might lead you to think otherwise. ... Jones takes the sparse, groove-oriented route heard on the J.J. Johnson scores for Cleopatra Jones and Across 110th Street. This is most evident on downtempo numbers like the sultry "Sweet Soul Sister" (featuring Nate Turner & the Mirettes) and the opening theme. "Main Squeeze," however, is a funk bomb if ever there was one and, thankfully, its bass-driven motif runs throughout the LP. Recommended if you can find it".^[6]

Track listing edit

All compositions by Quincy Jones except where noted

1. "The Lost Man (Main Title)" (Lyrics by Dick Cooper, Ernie Shelby) – 2:35
2. "Sweet Soul Sister" (Lyrics by Cooper, Shelby) – 2:48
3. "Slum Creeper" – 3:22
4. "Rap, Run It on Down" (Lyrics by Cooper, Shelby) – 2:31
5. "He Says He Loves Me" (Lyrics by Diane Hilderbrand, Cooper, Shelby) – 3:45
6. "Main Squeeze" – 2:48
7. "Try, Try, Try" (Lyrics by Cooper, Shelby) – 2:46
8. "Need to Be Needed" – 4:46
9. "Up Against the Wall" – 4:20
10. "He'll Wash You Whiter than Snow" (Cora Martin) – 2:15
11. "End Title" – 1:58

Personnel edit

• Unidentified orchestra arranged by Quincy Jones and conducted by Stanley Wilson including:
  • Ernestine Anderson (track 5), The Church Choir (track 10), Venetta Fields (tracks 4 & 7), Geraldine Jones (track 11), The kids from PASLA (track 1), The Mirettes (tracks 2, 4 & 7), The Pree Sisters (track 5), Nate Turner (tracks 2 & 4) − vocals
  • Ray Brown − bass (track 11)
  • Arthur Adams − guitar (track 11)
  • Emil Richards − percussion
  • Carol Kaye − electric bass
  • Bud Shank − saxophone

• List of American films of 1969
• List of hood films

• The Lost Man at IMDb  
• The Lost Man at the TCM Movie Database
• The Lost Man at AllMovie