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The Well More at IMDbPro »
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| Index | 14 reviews in total |
14 out of 16 people found the following review useful:
Unusually bold look at racial tension ultimately lacks courage of its convictions, 30 September 2002
Author:
bmacv from Western New York
In 1951, Rosa Parks had not yet declined to move to the back of the bus, the
schools had yet to be desegregated, and pleas for racial equality were
generally spurned as part of a `pinko' agenda. So It must have taken some
measure of courage to make this movie, for one of its two themes is racism.
Its second theme – and the one that ultimately trumps the first – involves
the rescue of a little black girl (and parallels, minus the cynicism, Billy
Wilder's Ace in the Hole/The Big Carnival of the same year).
The trouble starts with the girl's disappearance. Rumors start to fly: A
stranger was seen buying her a clump of posies. Is a child-killer on the
loose? Will he get away with it because he's white? Soon fist-fights,
beatings and acts of arson, all committed on racial grounds, tear the down
apart. The drifter (Harry Morgan), when found, proves to be related to a
town big-wheel who, when his construction company is set afire, becomes the
chief rabble-rouser. The townsfolk of color, meanwhile, clamor for Morgan's
hide. It falls to the sheriff (Richard Rober) first to locate the girl then
to stem the violence before a lynch mob coalesces. Suddenly, by chance, the
girl is discovered deep down an abandoned well....
Probably, in 1951, there was no way out of the story than the one taken.
But it's pure Hollywood – which is to say, a harp concerto played on the
heart strings. The whole town, black and white, joins together in a tense,
all-night rescue effort helmed by the construction magnate and Morgan, who
luckily happens to be a mining engineer. (Here, something curious occurs.
The digging of a parallel shaft, with monstrous drill-bits assaulting the
earth to Dimitri Tiomkin's pounding score, becomes all but abstract – and
primitively, uncomfortably sexual.)
The minor but ever interesting Russell Rouse wrote and, in his first go,
directed The Well (though he shares that credit with producer Leo Popkin).
It features a large (and largely unknown) cast who bring authenticity and
occasionally depth to their roles. The story holds attention – despite a
glaring break in the middle, when the focus shifts from racism to rescue.
And again, for its era, it was bold and topical (brutal race riots plagued
post-war America). But from a modern perspective, it just ends too soon.
The uplifting rescue will be the talk of the town for three days, while the
ugliness that flared up will linger on. There's not a hint of that at the
conclusion, with Tiomkin outdoing even John Williams in gaudy
triumphalism.
10 out of 10 people found the following review useful:
Taut, gripping drama of racial tensions, 7 July 2001
Author:
Ralph Sampson (ralphsampson) from Harpers Ferry, VA
This lean, low-budget "B" movie is a perfect example of what excellent
independent film making should be about. Take a thesis that involves
elements a bit too controversial for mainstream Hollywood. Draw your
characters three-dimensionally. Film it as it is actually seen through the
townspeople's eyes. And find as many people as you can who are perfect for
the roles as written, regardless of acting experiences.
This tale of a five-year-old "Negro" (by the vernacular of the time) girl
who disappears and is believed kidnapped. A lot of groupthink,
projections,
assumptions and ventings of anger follow until the town finally mobilizes
to
locate and rescue the girl. As fresh and taut today as it was fifty years
ago, the Well should be a staple requirement for everyone who wishes to get
into independent films.
9 out of 9 people found the following review useful:
An unforgettable film., 5 September 2005
Author:
drywitt99 from United States
I can remember seeing this film twice. Once, when it was first released on TV in the late 50s or early 60s; and a second time, in the early 70s. And yet, my memories of it are crystal clear. And it's impact on me as strong as ever. I must admit to being quite surprised to find out that it had actually been nominated for two Academy Awards. Given the racial and political climate of that era, that recognition is remarkable. A wonderful "little" film, that uses strong, clearly drawn characters to tell a powerful story. And not a single computer-generated special effect in sight. Perhaps, the finest "B" picture ever made.
7 out of 7 people found the following review useful:
A taut drama of racial tensions in a small town., 21 October 1998
Author:
bux from Tecumseh ok
Racial tensions are already at a fever pitch, when a tiny black girl disappears. A white traveler, passing thru is suspected. This is a grim, gripping tale of bigotry and redemption. Morgan is outstanding as the sympathetic white traveler who ultimately is the town's salvation. Without a doubt, Morgan should have received the Oscar for this one!
6 out of 6 people found the following review useful:
Education Through Entertainment, 7 November 2008
Author:
Neil Turner from Annapolis, Maryland
As a boy growing up in the 1950's South being surrounded by racial and
religious prejudices (My father made Archie Bunker seem like a
bleeding-heart liberal.) I remember being impressed and educated by
seeing two great little films. The Well was one and Storm Warning was
the other. Both were made in 1951. I guess you could say that Storm
Warning was an A-movie as it featured Ginger Rogers, Ronald Reagan, and
Doris Day as the stars.
The Well was definitely a B-movie, but its subject matter gave it a
step-up on most of the B-movies of the time. Keep in mind that this was
a period in time in which people went to double features and the local
movie house and drive-ins as television was just an infant and not
available except to a few. B-movies were generally low-budget films
cranked out for more or less mindless entertainment.
The plot is pretty standard. A little Black girl is on her way to
school and wanders into a field to pick some flowers where she falls
into an abandoned well. The search for the little girl is begun. A man
in town to visit his uncle - a rich and powerful businessman - who was
seen talking to the girl comes under suspicion. As he is "grilled" by
the police, the uncle storms into the station and demands his release
to no avail. As the uncle is leaving the station, he is questioned by
the little girl's father who has heard of the nephew. There is a
scuffle, and the uncle falls and is injured. As news of the incident is
spread and embellished with false rumors, all hell breaks loose. Just
as the town is on the verge of an all-out racial riot, a boy rushes in
to announce that he has discovered the little girl's things next to the
well. From that point on, all the town's energies are concentrated upon
saving the little girl. The uncle provides heavy equipment from his
business, and the nephew - who just happens to be a mining expert - is
convinced to save the day.
All of this is carried out in over-the-top B-movie melodramatic fashion
supported by just about every '50's cliché character including the
strong lawman leader; his sensible love interest; the businessman who
runs the town; the pleading, helpless mother; the racially biased beat
cop; and young people of both races who run rampant destroying property
and beating on each other.
So why the eight stars? The time. The content. The message. Since the
beginning of film, movie makers have strived to bring education to
their audiences through entertainment. This film surely deserves
recognition for demonstrating the evils of racial prejudice and rumor
in an effective and entertaining fashion.
7 out of 8 people found the following review useful:
"WELL" done B movie, 22 May 2003
Author:
nostrilingus from fabulous Las Vega$!
A perennial late-night TV favorite during the 60s and 70s, THE WELL is
a taut, sharply directed little bottom-berth programmer which denotes
the gradual escalation of a massive racial conflict within a rural U.S.
community, ignited by the suspicious disappearance of a little black
girl. In truth, she had become lodged inside a deep forgotten well, yet
remarkably remained alive. The film's concluding moments focus on the
girl's rescue-attempt, an enormous undertaking which draws the entire
town to spectate. These scenes crackle with edge-of-your-seat
intensity, and are surprisingly well realized for a picayune production
such as this is(and I suspect that it's story was inspired by the
famous Kathy Fiscus tragedy of 1949).
Though it does show the grubbiness of under-funding, THE WELL is a
first-rate example of second-string cinema, and a film which bravely
touches on sensitive sociopolitical issues which Hollywood nearly
always skirted at the time. This one is often regarded as "film noir",
though I'd personally disagree...stylistically there is some minor
distinction to that effect, but the basic elements within the story
would render it an anomalous addition to the noir canon.
6.5/10
5 out of 5 people found the following review useful:
Excellent and potent sleeper from the early 50s., 8 August 2009
Author:
JohnRouseMerriottChard from United Kingdom
This is a normal small American town, for years the mixed race
inhabitants have lived in total harmony as one community. But when
little black girl Carolyn Crawford falls down a well, she's feared to
have been kidnapped, and this after having last being seen with a white
man in town. This town becomes something completely different....
The Well, a B budgeted movie with a cast consisting largely of
unknowns. Dually directed by two equally unheralded men. Boasting a DVD
cover that has nothing to do with the theme of the film, and shunted
out of conscious by the release the same year of Billy Wilder's bigger
produced, "person in underground peril," Ace In The Hole.
It's a crime in itself that this B movie gem has had the odds stacked
against it getting wider and more productive exposure. For
thematically, which is three fold, it's a film that desperately
deserves more people to take it on and appraise it in the modern age.
Released in 1951, before racial tensions were to explode into American
history, The Well is a brave offering from co-writer's Russell Rouse
{also co-director} and Clarence Greene. Not content to just offer up a
one dimensional rescue piece concerning mixed races, they take the ugly
racial aggression here and sit it next to the ugliness of human wild
fire ignorance. From a dubiously casted assumption, this town implodes,
and it's an ugliness that paints the human race in a dim and
unflattering light. Even the police, on who this town depends on, are
pulled along by the tide of insanity. Five burly officers interrogating
one bemused and frightened suspect, they have their man regardless of
facts. Something that over the course of history we know has reared its
ugly head. It very much reminded me of a Rod Serling Twilight Zone
episode called "The Monsters Are Due On Maple Street". Anyone familiar
with that particular piece will have some idea of what drives The Well
forward.
Possibly part inspired by the sad and tragic case of little Kathy
Fiscus, who in 1949 fell down a San Marino well, Rouse's picture shifts
to an equally, and engrossing gear for its final third. After having
been caught up in the town coming apart, we, as well as the town,
suddenly get a jolt back to earth. There is after all a little girl
missing here. Now we get the inevitable tonal shift that most viewers
would have expected, but it's no less dramatic for it. And it's now
when the film well and truly makes its point, a point of reference that
should be heeded as long as we all shall live.
Having a cast of relative no names, tho Barry Kelley as Sam Packard and
Harry Morgan as Claude Packard will be names to some {ie:me!} really
gives the film a grounded in reality feel. It's not hard to accept
these people as small town residents, and thus the film is far better
for it. The story is further aided by the score from Dimitri Tiomkin,
at times funereal, at others a booming bombastic character itself.
Sadly the print of the film is desperately in need of a remaster, which
as it's unlikely to get one, means that the cinematography work of
Ernest Laszlo struggles to come thru. But don't let the print put you
off, if you get the chance to see this film then don't pass up the
chance, for you may find yourself better off for the experience. 9/10
4 out of 4 people found the following review useful:
Gripping Racial Drama, 8 August 2010
Author:
dougdoepke from Claremont, USA
Okay, we all know how poisonous rumor can be. Just repeating something
doesn't make it so. Mix in a common human liking for embellishment,
along with a readiness to believe the worst about certain groups of
people, and you get tinder for explosive situations. This movie makes
the most of such ordinary human tendencies. The first half amounts to a
textbook example of how such tensions can break apart an any-town
community. More importantly, the filmmakers do it in expert fashion.
First, a little black girl goes missing. Then rumor feeds on old racial
grudges, fractures erupt into violence, and race war looms beyond what
local authorities can handle. Note how the scenes build on one another,
spreading to ever more people like a virus. This first half is about as
intense and well edited as any film of the period.
The second half shows the community coming back together after the
split. Happily, the races unite around a common concern to rescue the
little girl from the well. This part's uplifting, especially when the
movie shows individual skills combining across racial lines into an
effective community action. But it also goes on too long, even after
we've gotten the point. There's suspense here, but not enough to carry
45 minutes of drilling machinery. Nonetheless, the two halves do
combine into a pretty powerful cautionary tale.
I like the way the filmmakers mix average looking actors (Osterloh,
Engle) with the ordinary townfolk. That, along with location
backgrounds creates the needed any-town atmosphere. Too bad IMDb is
unable to identify these filming locations— they deserve credit. On the
whole, it's a really well acted drama, Harry Morgan's hapless Claude
Packard being a special standout. Note how deftly he moves from anger
to sorrow in the confrontational office scene with his uncle (Kelley).
Rober's excellent too, as the standup sheriff. Someone, however, should
have told the comedic Ed Max (the milkman) that this was not a comedy.
There is one interesting angle to ponder. Suppose that initial scene of
the girl falling into the well were eliminated. Then we wouldn't have
the advantage of being able to judge the actions of the various
individuals. For the movie's purposes, I think this first scene is
required so that we can see how misguided the town's reactions are.
Nonetheless, I think it's interesting to consider how our perceptions
might alter were we unsure of the girl's fate at the outset.
It's also worth noting that the folks here-- producer Popkin, director
Rouse, and writer Greene—are also the folks responsible for that
powerful noir classic DOA (1950). Add that gem to this one and we get a
very talented team of independent filmmakers. Too bad they came
together at the tail end of the B-movie era. Also, their brand of
social-conscience filmmaking was about to freeze up in the face of the
McCarthy-ite chill of the early 50's. Nonetheless, the lessons of this
movie remain as valid and telling as they were 60 years ago, plus
making for darn riveting film entertainment.
5 out of 6 people found the following review useful:
Seek and hopefully find this movie, 3 June 2006
Author:
pmbtv from USA
"The Well" is a terrific little movie, and a bold one for 1951. It takes one of the very earliest looks at racism and how it can ... and did in real life in the next decade ... tear apart a community and ultimately a nation. Obviously made on a shoestring budget by mostly unknowns. Some of those involved in the making of this film, I believe, later were blacklisted in Hollywood during the Red-baiting McCarthy era that soon followed. The suspense is relentless and some scenes are heartbreaking. An obscure, near-masterpiece. It deserves to be seen on any level and judged, for the most part, by the standards of its day. Using that yardstick, perhaps it actually deserves a 10. Unfortunately, I doubt many people have seen or heard of this film. HEY, I WOULD LOVE TO HAVE A COPY OF THIS MOVIE!
6 out of 8 people found the following review useful:
Excellent!, 27 August 2002
Author:
Space_Mafune from Newfoundland, Canada
A little black girl falls down a well. Police search for her to no avail.
Soon it is discovered she was seen with an older white man that same day.
All of this leads up to the man being arrested and racial tensions rising
and eventually spinning out of control. Entirely believable for the time
and
era.
This terrific films studies the make-up of a small town and displays both
the town at its ugliest(when the town so easily and realistically descends
into a mob) and at its finest(when they discover the little girl's real
whereabouts and set out to try and rescue her). The actors/actresses in
this
film are well-chosen as they look and act like real townfolk.
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