333. The Defiant Ones (1958)

Directed By Stanley Kramer

Synopsis

A black and a white prisoner are chained together and escape from an overturned transport truck. Hilarity ensues.

Review

One of the first films on the list to very seriously address questions of racial prejudice and integration, The Defiant Ones is also the first great part by Sidney Poitier, who plays a fiercely conscious black man.

The film works as an obvious allegory of American race relations. Blacks and Whites are chained together and there is no answer except cooperation, which comes hard and demands much from both parties but can be rewarding.

Of course it isn't very rewarding here as they both get caught, but the reward comes in the more moral and personal salvation of both characters as human beings. Tony Curtis has left his good looking boy parts behind him and starts the film of as horribly bigoted. They are both redeemed in the end, however. The fact that such an obvious allegory works so well as a film is part of is to be loved about this work. Sidney Poitier's character and performance alone would guarantee this film's place in history, but there is plenty more to love here.

Final Grade

9/10

Trivia

From Wikipedia:

It won Academy Awards for Best Cinematography, Black-and-White and Best Writing, Story and Screenplay - Written Directly for the Screen, and was nominated for Best Actor in a Leading Role (Tony Curtis), Best Actor in a Leading Role (Sidney Poitier), Best Actor in a Supporting Role (Theodore Bikel), Best Actress in a Supporting Role (Cara Williams), Best Director, Best Film Editing and Best Picture.

Getting out of the clay pit: