The Defiant Ones (1958) User Reviews (105)

Chains Unchained...

[Xstal · 8/10 · 8 August 2020]

... but no Charlie Potatoes: like the races they represent, two escaped cons battle through the swamps, and their prejudice, to demonstrate there's so much more to who we are than the colour of our skin.

Sydney Poitier and Tony Curtis are outstanding!

Cellmates and Soulmates

[bkoganbing · 8/10 · 8 August 2007]

There is this story going around that Robert Mitchum refused the part Tony Curtis eventually played because he did not want to work with a black man. The actual story is that Mitchum who did spend time on a southern chain gang said there was no way that back in the day a black and white man would have been chained together in the first place. In fact Stanley Kramer must have taken the critique in stride because sheriff Theodore Bikel has a line of explanation saying the warden had a sense of humor.

Though the film dates a bit, it's still quite dramatic even now. Tony Curtis and Sidney Poitier chained together have an unplanned jail break while being transported. Curtis has all the attitudes typical of his time and Poitier doesn't take nothing off anybody. Still joined at the hip as they are, they do need each other and find eventually there's more that unites than divides them.

Besides Theodore Bikel in a strange role for him as a laconic southern sheriff, look for good performances from Lon Chaney, Jr. who runs a turpentine work camp who saves Curtis and Poitier from a lynching and Cara Williams as a trampy white trash farm lady whose needs haven't been met for a while.

Tony Curtis in an incredible act of generosity insisted on equal billing for Sidney Poitier since due to the nature of the film, they are on screen together for most of it. That act of generosity may have cost him an Oscar for both he and Poitier were nominated for Best Actor, but lost to David Niven for Separate Tables. An act that rankles Tony Curtis to this day because at the drop of a hat he will insist Niven got 'his' Oscar.

Despite the sour grapes, The Defiant Ones though dated is still a good bit of cinema.

Covers A Lot Of Ground

[ReelCheese · 8/10 · 9 October 2006]

This Stanley Kramer classic covers a lot of ground -- literally and figuratively. Tony Curtis and Sidney Poitier are white and black inmates who, while chained together at the wrist, escape their captors when their prison truck hits the ditch. Now Curtis is forced to put aside his prejudice and work with his new partner in getting the cuffs off and ensuring their newfound freedom lasts.

As its reputation suggests, THE DEFIANT ONES is first and foremost a study of racism. It has a deliberate unpleasantness about it as it brings to life the unsavory attitudes of the past. A young boy who stumbles across the convicts races to the arms of Curtis for fear Poitier will hurt him. A lonely farm wife who takes the men in has to be told that yes, Poitier deserves a meal, too. And as the men face hanging at the hands of some rednecks, Curtis appeals to them on the grounds a white man can't be lynched. Yet the film carries no tired, moralistic messages, instead allowing the racism on display to speak for itself.

THE DEFIANT ONES goes well beyond its central theme. It's an exciting adventure, along the lines of THE FUGITIVE, as our anti-heroes elude their captors and try to survive in the unforgiving wilderness. It's a story of raw human emotions at work and of overcoming adversity by putting our trust in others. And it's a story of loyalty and the capacity of the human heart to change. We come away with the sense that the people involved with this picture knew they were part of something truly special.

Though he was given second billing, Poitier easily steals the show with his dignified performance. He brilliantly conveys the tortured, yet still upbeat soul of a young black man who came of age in a time of unimaginable difficulty. He often doesn't have to speak to let us know the pain he has and will continue to endure. Poitier proves that critics aren't just being kind when they cite him as one of the great black actors of his or any other era (though as we see here, he is definitely no singer!).

THE DEFIANT ONES moves just a touch slow at times, particularly when the focus is placed on Curtis. But this is a movie as important as it is worth watching.

The Poitier/Curtis Jail-Break Classic

[mdm-11 · 2 October 2004]

Sidney Poitier continues to break race barriers with this formula jail-break drama. Teamed with Tony Curtis, the escaped prisoners encounter many situations, where their difference in color seems to matter more than the fact that both are fugitives from the law. Throughout the film, the viewer empathizes with the escapees, figuring that they always got a bum deal in life. A scene towards the end, where a single mother sees a chance to "hook up" with Curtis, shows how Curtis, although often disagreeing, even physically fighting with Poitier, still sees Poitier as an equal in their quest for freedom. Rather than "sell out" his friend, he would rather die trying to save him. The inevidable ending (remember that one of the rules in Old Hollywood was that the bad guys can never win)is quite moving.

Definitely among the established Hollywood Classics. Although many of the "old ways" have changed drastically since the late 50s, this film offers insight into a piece of Americana many people living today can still recall. An important piece of Film History, and highly recommended.

The performances by Tony Curtis and Sidney Poitier are virtually flawless.

[robfollower · 9/10 · 10 February 2019]

A prison truck is transporting a group of convicts when it runs off the road and crashes. Two convicts escape - Johnny (Tony Curtis), a white man, and Cullen (Sydney Poitier), a black man. They loathe each other, especially as Johnny is an ignorant racist. However, they are chained together and have to rely on each other to escape and survive. Meanwhile, the State Police plus the local Sheriff and a ragtag bunch of deputies, assisted by tracker dogs, are hot on their trail.

With enough thrilling action to keep it enjoyable today, this is an important film that provided Poitier with a breakthrough role and helped Curtis to escape the simplistic hero mode in which his talents had too often been wasted. If you look closely, you'll notice that the actor playing Angus is former Little Rascal Carl "Alfalfa" Switzer, making his last screen appearance. This is one of underrated producer/director Stanley Kramer's finest humanitarian films. The Defiant Ones won the Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay. The performances by Tony Curtis and Sidney Poitier are virtually flawless. Both Curtis and Poitier deservedly received Best Actor Oscar nominations. 9/10

Escape from the chain gang

[jotix100 · 8/10 · 1 October 2006]

Stanley Kramer was a Hollywood producer who turned into a director. He shows he had a promise when he undertook the direction of this production that involved race relations in the America of the 1950s, where segregation was still in place. To even set the story in the Deep South, as he did here, shows that Kramer was clearly not afraid of whatever repercussions the movie would get, or the problems associated for showing this situation to wide audiences.

Basically, this is the story of two men who are shackled together, one white, one black, as they are being transported to a forced labor camp. When their bus suffers an accident, Joker, the white man, and Noah, the black one, see it as their opportunity to escape. There is one problems though, they can't get the chain that binds their wrists to be cut, however much they try.

The sheriff of the place where the accident happens, quickly organizes a manhunt throughout the area. It will be only a matter of time when these two convicts will be caught. What starts as two men trying to avoid being captured, turns out into a sort of friendship between Joker and Noah. Joker, will never accept Noah, and vice versa, but they must stick together if they want to survive.

Tony Curtis, who up to this point in his career, had only been given light roles to play, is the unexpected surprise of the film. In fact, this is one of the best roles he ever played in the movies, bar none. Sidney Poitier, on the other hand, plays against type in the movies. We always saw him as the decent black man who was a noble creature and wasn't appreciated. In this film, none of those qualities are shown by his character, who must deal with the burden of having to drag Joker along at the same time he is trying to save his own skin.

The supporting cast made an excellent contribution to Mr. Kramer's direction. The excellent Theodore Bikel played Sheriff Max Muller with conviction. Charles McGraw, Leon Chaney Jr., Claude Akins, and Cora Williams contribute to make this film better than it could have been.

The brilliant black and white photography by Sam Leavitt enhanced the film. Stanley Kramer deserved credit for bringing this story into the screen at a time when no one was doing anything as daring as what he did.

Painful but Necessary

[rmax304823 · 7/10 · 11 January 2009]

Two prisoners, one black (Sidney Poitier) and one white (Tony Curtis), escape after they've been shackled together by the wrists. They are pursued by a posse led by Sheriff Theodore Bikel. After several adventures they are captured.

The plot is sketched out schematically. Every scene makes its point, then we move on to the next scene, which makes ITS point, until the two men are lying exhausted next to the railroad tracks and resigned to their recapture, Curtis still resentful, Poitier defiantly cheerful, both doomed.

The point of the film -- and I hate to say this -- is that we are all brothers under the skin, shackled together by our common humanity, not to mention our physicality.

The plot is tightly wound and the points spelled out so that they can't be easily missed -- like "Stagecoach" or "High Noon." Nothing and nobody is in the least bit ambiguous or quirky. There's the humane sheriff, the rabid redneck crowd, the bitter inmates, the horny widow, the suspicious kid, and so forth.

I'd consider that a weakness, but it's made up for by the depth given to some of the characters. They may be stereotypes but they're pretty hominid after all. Take that horny widow, for instance. Here she is, isolated in a ramshackle house in some Southern state, deserted by her husband, left with a kid who shoots rabbits for meals. She's shallow, selfish, and something of a racist. Yet she seems attracted enough to Tony Curtis, despite his phony nose, to give up everything, gather her dollars together, and run away with him. It's an invitation to share her future. And there's no reason to believe she's especially fickle or that he's less than just an instrument to get her away from her stagnation -- although he IS an instrument. The widow needs a man to jump start her, and Curtis has done it. She's a complex person and ultimately kind of pathetic.

The movie today would have been shot in the real South. As it is, it looks like California in the rainy season. Those granite rocks to which the pair cling as they make their way across that rushing river look distinctly as if they'd tumbled down from the Sierras, which they have. The little flakes of mica that scintillate under the California sun seem to be winking at us. Let's all pretend that this is the hinterland of Georgia or someplace. It doesn't kill the movie. It's just a distraction, as is the unbelievably formulaic lynch mob.

Stanley Kramer directed this and, as usual, he's trying to teach us a lesson the way a teacher teaches the ABCs to a kindergarten class. It seems condescending to us now, fifty years after its release, but it was necessary for some of us in 1958. Maybe the lesson is still relevant.

Very strong perfomances by Toni Curtis and Sidney Poitier

[frankde-jong · 8/10 · 3 December 2019]

Opposite characters doomed to each other by handcuffs is an old theme in movies that goes back to at least "The 39 steps" (1935, Alfred Hitchcock). In that film the opposites where man and woman, in "The defiant ones" it is black and white. By taking racism as its subject the film is very liberal in a time that the civil rights issue was firm on the political agenda.

The film thanks a lot to its two main characters. In the first place Sidney Poitier as Noah Cullen. Poitier was the only black star actor of its time and was frequently cast in a film wit racism as its subject. Think of films such as "In the heat of the night" ( 1967, Norman Jewison) and "Guess who's coming to dinner" (1967, Stanley Kramer). This type casting can be interpreted as a sort of racism of its own kind.

Even more striking is the performance of Tony Curtis as John Jackson. In the beginning he was casted as the handsome guy. The year before "The defiant ones" he had proven with "Sweet smell of success" (1957, Alexander Mackendrick) that he was capable of serious acting too.

Director Stanley Kramer has the image of being more or less a moralist. In his films the social engagement is sometimes a bit to explicit. Apart from the earlier mentioned "Guess who is coming to dinner" (1967) one can think of films such as "Inherit the wind" (1960) and "Judgement at Nuremberg" (1961). In "The defiant ones" there is the right mix between social engamement, action and a sultry form of eroticism. In this respect the film has much in common with "In the heat of the night" ( 1967, Norman Jewison).

Quality, even if it's not for me

[blott2319-1 · 6/10 · 7 February 2022]

The Defiant Ones is the story of 2 escaped convicts who must work together despite their general hatred for one another. What I found most interesting about this film is that they didn't go out of their way to establish the protagonists as innocent of their crimes, or exceedingly virtuous men. Typically that is how a filmmaker will get you to root for the main characters, because we as an audience are personally offended by the fact that they've been falsely convicted. Instead, these are not men who are all that likable, and by all rights we should be rooting for them to get caught and returned to prison. That is the way I felt through most of the film, but even I turned around eventually and found myself on their side.

It helps quite a bit that Tony Curtis and Sidney Poitier are in the lead roles, because they both are charming and are able to develop these characters quite well. What makes The Defiant Ones a successful movie is that you believe the change and growth of these two men as they spend so much time together. I was slapping my forehead occasionally at some of the dumb decisions they make on their journey, but I suppose they were never established as criminal masterminds. It made the film mildly frustrating as I was already struggling to like the protagonists and then also had to deal with them making bone-headed mistakes. Yet I was interested in their journey, and by the end I was happy with how dramatically the two men had changed. The Defiant Ones isn't exactly my type of movie, but it is well-made and I can see why it has been lauded by many.

The Best Movie on Racism

[ragosaal · 8/10 · 26 August 2006]

Kramer's story about to escaped prisoners hooked up together, black and white, is still the best picture ever made on racism. At first they hate each other, but through their run for freedom they even become true friends and the different color of their skins actually disappears and they are just to men who like each other. Sidney Poitier is good as always and Tony Curtis gives what is probably his best performance ever in drama, matched only by his acting in The Boston Strangler later in 1967. The supporting cast is also good and correctly chosen. Although real action scenes are just a few, Kramer manages to keep attention permanently for viewers along with an increasing interest in how things turn out. Time has not affected the film which still stands as a big one.

Uneven but effective chase drama

[Danimal-7 · 7/10 · 1 September 1999]

Possibly Stanley Kramer's most famous directorial entry, THE DEFIANT ONES is the story of "Joker" Jackson (Tony Curtis) and Noah Cullen (Sidney Poitier), two tough-as-nails convicts who are accidentally freed when the truck that transports them overturns. But they are not freed from each other, for they are linked at the wrist by a two-foot chain. Now Jackson, a redneck white racist, and Cullen, a bitter and resentful black man from a poverty-stricken family, must cooperate if they are to escape. There is a subplot that follows the sheriff's posse pursuing them, but it is poorly developed and serves mostly to slow the movie down.

THE DEFIANT ONES gets its strength from the study of the two leads' changing characters. Sidney Poitier's bravura performance as Cullen earned him a well-deserved Best Actor nomination. Cullen is no saint, but his resentment comes across as heartfelt, never as whining. Poitier's timing is superb; at one point he breaks out laughing at Jackson's fumbling efforts to ignore him at the exact same instant that I did. I am not a fan of Tony Curtis, and he is frequently guilty of overacting here, but he undeniably sparks excellent chemistry with Poitier, and with Cara Williams also (the lonely abandoned wife with whom the two fugitives take shelter). The two-foot steel chain will stand alongside the Maltese Falcon and the One Ring as the best plot devices in cinematic history. It is fascinating to watch a link of respect and mutual reliance grow between the two men, more durable than the physical link. The best line in the movie, now unjustly forgotten, comes after the chain has been removed. Cullen raises his bare wrist and encourages the injured Jackson: "Come on, Joker, you' draggin' on the chain!"

Samuel Leavitt won a merited Oscar for his sharp, glowing cinematography. Jacob Smith's and blacklisted Nedrick Young's screenplay also won an Oscar, but that choice is more questionable; for every good line there is an artificial-sounding clunker, and one of the climactic plot twists is painfully predictable. But they do deserve credit for their ending, which is warm and yet completely avoids the feel-good Hollywood denouement that I was expecting. The supporting cast's attempts at Southern accents uniformly stink; the only standout is Lon Chaney, Jr. as a compassionate ex-convict.

There is much to dislike about the DEFIANT ONES, but much more to like. Kramer did well with this movie, but he did better on his lesser-known efforts JUDGMENT AT NUREMBERG and INHERIT THE WIND.

Two chained convicts tried to escape

[esteban1747 · 8/10 · 15 August 2002]

I have seen this film several times and each time I am feeling that this is one of the best drama I've ever seen. There are new remakes of this film, but the original is the best. Acting of Sidney Poitier is without any doubt superb, while Tony Curtis did also his best. The director, Stanley Kramer, chose a very good and interesting plot, how two different persons can have better relationship and interests when they fight together for their lives. No matter if one is black and the other white, or no matter if one is atheist and the other Christian, at the end they will understand each other because their cause is only one and is the same, to become free.

Full marks for guts, more than half marks for merit

[Spleen · 6/10 · 14 December 2001]

Proof that Stanley Kramer's decision to idealise the Sidney Poitier character in "Guess Who's Coming to Dinner" was a conscious, thought-out move (some would say it was a mistake for all that, but that's another matter), and not a cowardly or patronising one. Poitier's convict here has streaks of nobility - Curtis's does too - but the aggression for which he was jailed is real enough.

For the first half, everything is firmly screwed in place: the black and the white convict chained together, the local volunteers tracking them down, the humane sheriff trying to keep his forces in check. Things started to shake themselves loose when the woman makes an entrance. The story had worked well so long as the two convicts were estranged from civilisation, with only each other to fall back on, and it might have continued to work, if the woman had been interesting in some other way than as a plot device. In fact things got better again as soon as she vanished from the screen.

Solid and intelligent, but the other well-known Kramer films, considered as films, are better.

A Ridiculous Melodrama That Has Dated Very Badly

[Theo Robertson · 5/10 · 16 June 2005]

I had never seen THE DEFIANT ONES and I sat down to watch it a couple of days ago in eager anticipation since this was regarded as a classic American movie from the 1950s , I mean we're talking about the movie with " the white convict and the black convict handcuffed and on the run " . After seeing it I thought perhaps the critical acclaim was to do with the TVM remake that starred Robert Urich because this is a film so melodramatic and dated that any cynical audience member will either fall asleep through boredom or throw popcorn at the screen

A truck carrying members of a chain gang crashes and a couple of convicts escape . The cops leading the hunt are shocked to discover that the authorities have in their infinite wisdom shackled a white guy to a black guy . You might have thought they might have been more surprised that considering the spectacular crash the two escapees manged to run away without a scratch between them

The action cuts to the two felons on the run John " Joker " Jackson and Noah Cullen and just in case there's any blind people in the audience who haven't realised that Tony Curtis is white and Sidney Poitier is black they call each other all sorts of racist names . At this early point I knew instantly where the story was going so all the name calling seemed superfluous in the end and to be blunt I was never convinced that these characters would exist in reality , in fact I couldn't believe they were characters at all , just a couple of actors playing roles

And as the story went on I realised I was getting battered over the head with the message " Racism is wrong and we should look beyond the colour of a persons skin in order to survive " . Thank you for pointing this out but I would have come to the same conclusion without it getting rammed down my throat . If the movie had been subtle then I would have regarded it better but that's the problem it's not a subtle movie at all - It's an often ridiculous melodrama best summed up by the ending which is both entirely predictable and laughably illogical

Another Stanley Kramer great.

[yenlo · 10 August 1999]

A great job by Stanley Kramer on this film. Tony Curtis and Sidney Poitier turn in stellar performances as two convicts who get an unexpected shot at escape but are held together by a length of chain. They must learn to overcome their racial dislike of each other in order to survive and gain their freedom. But will they? The film is shot in black and white and had it been shot in color it would not have been as good. A remake was done some years later which was passable but didn't match this original version.

Defiantly Great ****

[edwagreen · 10/10 · 26 December 2005]

A totally absorbing film showing great acting talents of Tony Curtis and Sidney Poitier as escapees from a chain gang. Chained together, they must get along to survive and conquer the racial prejudices that divide them so.

Both actors received best actor nominations. For both being nominated, David Niven was given a gift that year of the best actor award for Separate Tables.

Comedienne Cara Williams shines as a woman they meet while on the lamb. While her part is brief, Williams is gritty and was nominated for best supporting actress as well as sheriff Theodore Bikel, in the supporting category as well. His relentlessness in trying to capture the two is memorable.

The film is truly an excellent character study. Its ending will have you stand up and cheering.

The title speaks for itself. *SPOILERS*

[ctrout · 10/10 · 1 February 2004]

This great film follows two escaped convicts (Tony Curtis and Sidney Poitier) as they try to out run the law. The problem is that both men are chained together. The bigger problem is that one is a white southern man and the other is a black man. The viewers know that by the time the police find them, the two men may have already killed each other.

The two men form a bond with each other along the way. Each man tells their story and the other one listens. They reluctantly become friends as they go through woods, rivers, and clay pits to get to the train that leads out of town.

The two come across a house where a woman (Cara Williams) and her son are living. When they get there, they break the chain that has held them together all this time. They stay the night in the house and when Poitier falls asleep, Williams takes a liking to Curtis. In the morning, the two love birds plan to escape in a car while Poitier has to run through a swamp to get to the train.

Curtis discovers that it's a trap and runs to help Poitier. They find each other and get to the train where Poitier jumps on and reaches out to Curtis, who can't make it on to the train. Poitier realizes this and jumps off. The two fall down a hill and are captured by the police (Theodore Bikel and Charles McGraw.)

This film is a great one. It's a must see film for anyone who likes gritty action. The performances are top notch and the editing is flawless. And the story and cinematography won oscars. Truly a great film.

Engaging on-the-run thriller

[Leofwine_draca · 7/10 · 24 February 2019]

THE DEFIANT ONES is an engaging little 'on the run' thriller that explores various aspects of life in early 20th century America. It's - to my knowledge - the first of the films featuring the trope of having the two main characters chained together throughout the movie (Hitchcock used the idea to a lesser degree in his earlier movies), a trope which has served writers well over the ensuing decades. Here, the idea is handled with freshness and vigour, and it helps tremendously that both Tony Curtis and Sidney Poitier are excellent as the charismatic lead roles. The plot itself is pure simplicity, but this allows for plenty of character vignettes and show-don't-tell vignettes.

Unforgettable Anti-Racism Classic

[claudio_carvalho · 8/10 · 4 January 2015]

When the truck that is transporting convicts has an accident on the road, the inmates John "Joker" Jackson (Tony Curtis) and Noah Cullen (Sidney Poitier) that are chained to each other escape. They hate each other but they need to help each other to succeed in their intent of going north to jump in a train and reach freedom. Meanwhile the humane Sheriff Max Muller (Theodore Bikel) organizes a posse to track them down in a civilized manner and respecting justice. Joker and Cullen reach a small farm where a lonely woman helps them to get rid of their chains. She offers to driver her car with Joker and her son Billy while Cullen would escape through the swamp to the railroad. But when Joker learns that she sent Cullen to a trap, he leaves her and is shot in the shoulder by Billy. Joker seeks out Cullen to save him and when they meet each other, their former hatred has changed to friendship and respect.

"The Defiant Ones" is an unforgettable anti-racism classic when the United States were openly racist. Stanley Kramer is responsible for two of the best anti-racism movies, "The Defiant Ones" and "Guess Who's Coming to Dinner", both with Sidney Poitier. Tony Curtis and Sidney Poitier have memorable performances. I would like to know how the reception of this movie from the audiences in 1958 was. My vote is eight.

Title (Brazil): "Acorrentados" ("Chained")

Nicely and critically acclaimed Stanley Kramer film about two escaped and chained convicts who join forces to getaway

[ma-cortes · 7/10 · 13 August 2022]

A brooding and thought-provoking story dealing with the racial intolerance , set in 1950s America, in which two (one black , one white) escaped convicts : Tony Curtis, Sidney Poitier, chained each other become forced to collaborate in order to flee themselves from relentless pursuers in the rural South . Their societal conditioning to hate each other dissolves as they take on constant danger together. As a merciless posse is formed with avenger deputies, racist villagers , state patrolmen and local sheriff going after them . They could not like each other less. They could not need each other more. One of the great ones!

An interesting and provoking movie about racism revolving around two escaped prisoners from a chain gang , including engaging message about fellowship and collaboration between races. It contains intense drama , intrigue, noisy action, and enjoyable dialogue. Awesome acting from starring duo : Tony Curtis who gave him another chance to break away his beefcake image and Sidney Poitier who sings some emotive sings . They are two stunning protagonists showing versatility when eventually get rid of their chains, then their hostility has been changed into respect and fraternity. The support cast is frankly well with notorious secondaries and familiar faces, such as : Theodoro Bikel, Lon Chaney Jr , Charles McGraw, Claude Akins , Lawrence Dobkin, Whit Bissell , Cara Williams , King Donovan, Car ¨Alfalfa¨ Switzer , among others.

It contains a luminous and dazzling cinematography by cameraman Sam Leavitt . As well as adequate and exciting musical score by Ernest Gold. The motion picture was brilliant and competently produced and directed by Stanley Kramer. He was a notorious producer and director who made succesful films, such as Judgement at Nuremberg , Inherit the wind, Ship of fools, The Pride and the Passion and many others . Kramer developed a long career as a prestigious writer, producer, director making a lot of films . In The Defiant Ones (1958) Kramer makes an attractive and enthralling show thanks to the two greatest protagonists : Sidney Poitier and Tony Curtis , earning a well deserved Academy Award for its script from Nathan Douglas and Harold Jacob Smith . As Kramer directed or produced films of all kinds of genres, as drama , Historical , Western , Science Fiction, such as : Not as a stranger , My Six Convicts , High Noon , The Sniper , A Child Is Waiting , The pride and the passion, On the beach , It's a mad, mad, mad world, Guess who is coming to dinner, The Caine Mutiny , The secret of Santa Vittoria, Oklahoma crude, The domino principle, The runner stumbles and several others . The pic will appeal to Poitier and Curtis fans . Rating 7/10. Better than average. Well worth watching.

Well worth a watch, even after 60 years

[alconway · 8/10 · 11 December 2018]

Saw this listed as a classic, hadn't heard of it before but really enjoyed it.

So what do we think of it nowadays?

[lee_eisenberg · 7/10 · 3 July 2005]

Obviously, when "The Defiant Ones" first came out, it was probably a revolutionary idea: a white man and a black man chained to each other escape from a chain gang and have to put aside their differences to survive. I guess that nowadays, we look at it and feel that they were trying to look good by portraying social issues. No matter, it is a pretty good movie, and Tony Curtis and Sidney Poitier do an intense job as John "Joker" Jackson and Noah Cullen, respectively. Not to sound wimpy or anything, but the movie does have a good point in affirming that if we want to accomplish our goals, we do have to accept each other. Stanley Kramer did always have some good ideas for movies, with this one, as well as "Inherit the Wind", "It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World" and "Guess Who's Coming to Dinner".

Bound for Friendship

[view_and_review · 10/10 · 16 August 2019]

Before Sidney Poitier was brought home for dinner by a white woman he was escaping the law with a white man.

Sidney Poitier plays Noah Cullen, a convict that is chained to a mildly racist (for his era) white convict named Johnny "Joker" Jackson (Tony Curtis). They are unfortunate enough to be cuffed together at the wrists when their paddy wagon overturns. They escaped but will they kill each other before they get clear of the law?

This is an incredible movie in general but I think being made in 1958 makes it all the more incredible. The social implications and the social relevance for that time was monumental. You have a Black and white man chained together and both want to escape the law. Clearly, they can't remain together whether they like each other or not, but they are joined at the wrists. As Noah put it after Joker said they weren't married:

"You married to me alright Joker. Now here's the ring (holding up their chains), but I ain't goin' south on no honeymoon now!"

There was some fantastic dialog throughout this classic film and the above line alone tells you how divergent their destinations were, figuratively and literally, but someone was going to have to give.

As the movie went on you could see a friendship budding between the two. Slowly the barriers between them were eliminated and they realized, without saying as much, that nothing separated them except color. I absolutely loved this movie.

compelling movie but Curtis and Poitier not quite mean enough

[SnoopyStyle · 7/10 · 20 January 2015]

A prison truck in the deep south crashes. Prisoners John Jackson (Tony Curtis) and Noah Cullen (Sidney Poitier) are chained together and escape. Easy going Sheriff Max Muller (Theodore Bikel) leads the posse to catch the prisoners. Capt. Frank Gibbons (Charles McGraw) is more gung ho. The two prisoners hate other on the simple racial divide.

The dialog is a bit too written. The chase group tries to be comical. I like Curtis and Poitier but they don't really have the gritty anger. They're not mean enough to be criminals. This tackles the serious racial divide. Director Stanley Kramer gets on a nice run from here on. The pairing is probably a bit too nice. It's a little hard to believe them as hardened criminals. Otherwise it's a pretty good movie.

Badly dated drama

[preppy-3 · 5/10 · 15 December 2010]

In the deep South a car transporting prisoners to jail crashes. Most of the prisoners live but two escape--John Jackson (Tony Curtis) and Noah Cullen (Sidney Poitier). They're also chained to each other. Naturally they hate each other but (sigh) slowly learn to respect and care for each other.

What a dated movie. Seriously--THIS won a Best Screenplay Oscar? I find it hard to believe that even in 1958 this was considered daring. The talks and insights are thoroughly predictable and I actually rolled my eyes a few time at how obvious this was getting. Also there are glaring lapses in continuity---after Jackson and Cullen are caught in a raging river AND running through the rain, Jackson's cigarettes AND matches are completely dry and we get to watch him smoke nonstop. To make matters worse they run into a woman (Cara Williams) at the end and the film comes to a screeching halt (and it was already slow to begin with!).

On the plus side--the acting was great. Curtis and Poitier play well off each other and make their change from hatred to caring seem realistic. Also it was fun to see Lon Chaney in a rare dramatic role and he was great! It was well directed by Stanley Kramer and won a well-deserved Oscar for cinematography. But, all in all, I found this boring, heavy-handed and slow-moving. Time is not kind to all movies and this is proof positive of that! I give it a 5.