The Defiant Ones (1958)

Director:

Stanley Kramer

Writers (WGA):

Nedrick Young (story) (originally as Nathan E. Douglas)
Harold Jacob Smith (screenplay)

Release Date:

27 September 1958 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | Crime | Thriller

Tagline:

One of the great ones!

Plot:

Two escaped convicts chained together, white and black, must learn to get along in order to elude capture.

Plot Keywords:

River Rapids | Spit In The Face | Child With Gun | Reporter | Car Trouble

Awards:

Won 2 Oscars. Another 13 wins & 19 nominations

Cast

Tony Curtis	...	John 'Joker' Jackson
Sidney Poitier	...	Noah Cullen
Theodore Bikel	...	Sheriff Max Muller
Charles McGraw	...	Capt. Frank Gibbons
Lon Chaney Jr.	...	Big Sam (as Lon Chaney)
King Donovan	...	Solly
Claude Akins	...	Mack
Lawrence Dobkin	...	Editor
Whit Bissell	...	Lou Gans
Carl 'Alfalfa' Switzer	...	Angus (as Carl Switzer)
Kevin Coughlin	...	Billy
Cara Williams	...	Billy's mother

Runtime:

97 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.66 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Westrex Recording System)

Certification:

Norway:16 | New Zealand:PG | Australia:PG | Finland:K-16 | Sweden:15 | UK:U | USA:Approved (PCA #18985) | West Germany:12

Filming Locations:

Between Piru & Fillmore, Southern Pacific Railroad, California, USA

Company:

Curtleigh Productions

Trivia:

Tony Curtis insisted that Sidney Poitier received top billing.

Goofs:

Continuity: Near the end of the film after Jackson falls in the mud trying to catch up to Cullen there is thick mud all the way up his front over his shoulders. In the next shot his right shoulder is suddenly unmuddied.

Quotes:

Noah Cullen: [after covering Joker's face with mud so it doesn't show in the moonlight] There, now just the meanness shines through.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "The Jeffersons: The Defiant Ones (#9.13)" (1983)

Soundtrack:

Long Gone

A well directed outing

I found this film very entertaining, thanks in part from great performances by both Sidney Poitier and Tony Curtis, and due to great directing by Stanley Kramer. The black and white cinematography is great, as is the story of a black man and a white man, chained together and on the run from the law, who hate each other more than captivity itself. Shared experiences and the realization that inside they are both very similar helps both men to understand each other. I also liked the friction between the gung-ho sheriff and the more laid-back, realistic one. The character of the bloodhound owner rings true to anyone who knows a person who breeds dogs. The only thing I didn't like about this film was the Poitier character's singing. I know thats its a big part of the film and it is a form of defiance on its own, but it bugged me none the less. Oh well, small criticism for a great film. But what's with woman who'll sell out her son to some guy who stumbles into her yard? Wrong priorities, I guess.