The Defiant Ones (1958)

User Rating:

7.7/10   

Director:

Stanley Kramer

Writers (WGA):

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

Release Date:

27 September 1958 (USA)

Genre:

Crime | Drama | 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:

Convict | Police | Escaped Convict | Chain Gang | Prison

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:

Elvis Presley wanted the role of Joker Jackson, hoping to co-star with Sammy Davis Jr. (who had been first choice for the role of Noah Cullen) but was persuaded by his manager not to do the film.

Goofs:

Crew or equipment visible: As John and Noah are swept downriver together, a person is seen on the shore moving into the top of frame, watching the two men.

Quotes:

Law officier: How come they chained a white man to a black?
Sheriff Max Muller: The warden's got a sense of humor.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Navy NCIS: Naval Criminal Investigative Service: Chained (#2.10)" (2004)

Soundtrack:

Long Gone

Another Stanley Kramer great.

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.