X
- 1958
- Approved
- United Artists
- 1 h 36 m
- 1958
- Approved
- United Artists
- 1 h 36 m
Summary Two escaped convicts chained together, white and black, must learn to get along in order to elude capture.
Directed By: Stanley Kramer
Written By: Nedrick Young, Harold Jacob Smith
- 1958
- Approved
- United Artists
- 1 h 36 m
- 1958
- Approved
- United Artists
- 1 h 36 m
The Defiant Ones
69
7.3
Where to Watch
Summary Two escaped convicts chained together, white and black, must learn to get along in order to elude capture.
Directed By: Stanley Kramer
Written By: Nedrick Young, Harold Jacob Smith
Where to Watch
Top Cast
Metascore
Generally Favorable
Based on 8 Critic Reviews
69
75% Positive
6 Reviews
6 Reviews
25% Mixed
2 Reviews
2 Reviews
0% Negative
0 Reviews
0 Reviews
Metascore
Generally Favorable
Based on 8 Critic Reviews
69
75% Positive
6 Reviews
6 Reviews
25% Mixed
2 Reviews
2 Reviews
0% Negative
0 Reviews
0 Reviews
The performances by Tony Curtis and Sidney Poitier are virtually flawless. Poitier captures all of the moody violence of the convict, serving time because he assaulted a white man who had insulted him. It is a cunning, totally intelligent portrayal that rings powerfully true.
Though the political lesson drives the movie, the action is also effective as the odd couple flees from their oppressors. This is an engrossing depiction of racial tensions and an oppressive penal system.
A remarkably apt and dramatic visualization of a social idea—the idea of men of different races brought together to face misfortune in a bond of brotherhood — is achieved by Producer Stanley Kramer in his new film, The Defiant Ones.
Nearly a decade before the supper-table racial detente of Guess Who's Coming to Dinner, Kramer mined the subject matter of racial divisiveness in the groundbreaking The Defiant Ones, which paired Curtis and Poitier as hunky prison escapees unhappily bonded to each other by means of metal chains and the mutual need to survive.
Kramer was never much of a director, but there's still power in some of the performances, especially Poitier's.
The suspense of the manhunt in the swamps never really overcomes the dead weight of Kramer's 'message', but pleasures are to be found in the supporting roles of McGraw and Chaney.
User Score
Generally Favorable
Based on 9 User Ratings
7.3
78% Positive
7 Ratings
7 Ratings
22% Mixed
2 Ratings
2 Ratings
0% Negative
0 Ratings
0 Ratings
User Score
Generally Favorable
Based on 9 User Ratings
7.3
78% Positive
7 Ratings
7 Ratings
22% Mixed
2 Ratings
2 Ratings
0% Negative
0 Ratings
0 Ratings
There are no user reviews yet. Be the first to add a review.
Awards
Academy Awards, USA
• 2 Wins & 9 Nominations
Golden Globes, USA
• 1 Win & 6 Nominations
Laurel Awards
• 1 Win & 5 Nominations
