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The Defiant Ones (1958)
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Overview
User Rating:
Writers (WGA):
Nedrick Young (story) (originally as Nathan E. Douglas)Harold Jacob Smith (screenplay)
Release Date:
27 September 1958 (USA) moreTagline:
One of the great ones! morePlot:
Two escaped convicts chained together, white and black, must learn to get along in order to elude capture. full summary | add synopsisAwards:
Won 2 Oscars. Another 13 wins & 19 nominations moreNewsDesk:
(9 articles)
Interview: Legendary Star Tony Curtis Likes it Hot in His Life, Career (From HollywoodChicago.com. 31 March 2009, 10:26 AM, PDT)
[DVD Review] Sidney Poitier Collection
(From JustPressPlay. 2 February 2009, 9:30 PM, PST)
User Comments:
Superb! moreCast
(Complete credited 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 |
Additional Details
Parents Guide:
Add content advisory for parentsRuntime:
97 minCountry:
USALanguage:
EnglishColor:
Black and WhiteAspect Ratio:
1.66 : 1 moreSound 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:12Fun Stuff
Trivia:
A technical advisor on board during filming had to go uncredited, because he was a real-life chain gang escapee who was still a wanted man. moreGoofs:
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. moreQuotes:
Noah Cullen: [to John] Go on, tell me all that big talk about Charlie Potatoes, when the chains off and nobody chasing you. Come on. You can't, can you? You can't because you're nothing. You're not even a man! You're a monkey on a stick. That cracker mob back there, they pull the string and you jump.[John punches him]
more
Movie Connections:
Referenced in "Everybody Hates Chris: Everybody Hates the Buddy System (#2.6)" (2006) moreSoundtrack:
Long Gone moreFAQ
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The brilliant performances of Poitier and Curtis highlight this incredible film from the great Stanley Kramer. In the finest role of his career, Curtis shines especially as the man forced to fight for survival, not only from the law, but from Poitier, who is his enemy simply because of the color of his screen. Through their fight for survival, an unlikely kinship develops. Bikel and Williams are also wonderful in key supporting roles, as is Lon Chaney Jr.