A Raisin in the Sun (1961)

A substantial insurance payment could mean either financial salvation or personal ruin for a poor black family.

Director:

Daniel Petrie

Writers:

Lorraine Hansberry (play), Lorraine Hansberry (screenplay)

Stars:

Sidney Poitier, Claudia McNeil, Ruby Dee

Nominated for 2 Golden Globes. Another 3 wins & 5 nominations.

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Sidney Poitier	...	Walter Lee Younger
Claudia McNeil	...	Lena Younger
Ruby Dee	...	Ruth Younger
Diana Sands	...	Beneatha Younger
Ivan Dixon	...	Asagai
John Fiedler	...	Mark Lindner
Louis Gossett Jr.	...	George Murchison (as Louis Gossett)
Stephen Perry	...	Travis Younger
Joel Fluellen	...	Bobo
Louis Terrel	...	Herman
Roy Glenn	...	Willie Harris

Storyline

Walter Lee Younger is a young man struggling with his station in life. Sharing a tiny apartment with his wife, son, sister and mother, he seems like an imprisoned man. Until, that is, the family gets an unexpected financial windfall...

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Plot Keywords:

apartment | black family | brother sister relationship | segregation | black american culture | 

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Taglines:

The Prize-Winning Drama That Warms The Screen With Its People and Its Passions!...

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Genres:

Drama

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Certificate:

Approved

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

18 September 1961 (Sweden)

Also Known As:

Ein Fleck in der Sonne

Filming Locations:

Chicago, Illinois, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$1,500,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Columbia Pictures Corporation

Technical Specs

Runtime:

128 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Sound Recording)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Louis Gossett Jr.'s film debut.

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Quotes

Walter Lee Younger: [to George Murchison, Beneatha's date] How come all you college boys wear them faggoty-looking white shoes?

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Connections

Edited into Afro Promo (1997)

User Reviews

The Greatest Story Ever Told

This is the embodiment of the Mr. Langston Hughes poem that obviously inspired Ms. Lorraine Hansberry to write this wonderful piece. What indeed DOES happen to a dream deferred? Each of the adult main characters has a dream about what should be done with the $10,000 insurance policy paid after the Younger patriarch's death, and each person's dream is challenged. I most identify with the character of Beneatha, the doctor-to-be in a time when few women, and even fewer Black women, could achieve this dream. This is a story of dreams, of family, of strength, of sacrifice, of mistakes and of recovery from the consequences of those mistakes. Whenever I need a dose of inspiration, when things in my own life seem too difficult to conquer, I watch A Raisin in the Sun and feel strong again. The acting in this film is so incredibly moving that there are parts (and I won't give them away) that are so disheartening and sad that they still move me to tears, after all these years and after all the times I have watched it. It is truly the greatest story ever told.