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The Defiant Ones (1958)
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Overview
User Rating:
Director:
Writers (WGA):
Release Date:
27 September 1958 (USA)
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Tagline:
One of the great ones! more
Plot:
Two escaped convicts chained together, white and black, must learn to get along in order to elude capture. full summary | add synopsis
Plot Keywords:
Convict
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Police
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Escaped Convict
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Chain Gang
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Prison
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Awards:
Won 2 Oscars.
Another 13 wins
&
19 nominations
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NewsDesk:
(10 articles)
Poitier Awarded Medal of Freedom
(From The Wrap. 12 August 2009, 2:42 PM, PDT)
Interview: Legendary Star Tony Curtis Likes it Hot in His Life, Career
(From HollywoodChicago.com. 31 March 2009, 10:26 AM, PDT)
(From The Wrap. 12 August 2009, 2:42 PM, PDT)
Interview: Legendary Star Tony Curtis Likes it Hot in His Life, Career
(From HollywoodChicago.com. 31 March 2009, 10:26 AM, PDT)
User Comments:
A well directed outing
more (44 total)
Cast
(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:
Runtime:
97 min
Country:
Language:
Color:
Aspect Ratio:
1.66 : 1 more
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:
Company:
Fun Stuff
Trivia:
The film's co-writers, Nedrick Young and Harold Jacob Smith, were cast as the prison truck drivers, with the writing credits below their faces, because Young was blacklisted and writing under a pseudonym at the time and producer Stanley Kramer wanted to identify them truthfully.
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Goofs:
Continuity: The dirt on the shirts throughout the film goes from clean to dirty to clean and dirty. So does the dirt on the faces.
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Quotes:
John 'Joker' Jackson:
Ya'll can't lynch me! I'm a white man!
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Movie Connections:
Referenced in "That Girl: The Defiant One (#3.22)" (1969)
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Soundtrack:
Long Gone
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FAQ
This FAQ is empty. Add the first question.more (44 total)
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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.