Plot

Two chained-together escaped convicts, one white and one black, must learn to get along in order to elude capture.

When the truck that is transporting convicts has an accident on the road, inmates John "Joker" Jackson and Noah Cullen, who are chained to each other, escape. They hate each other but they need to help each other to succeed in their intent of going north to jump into a train and reach freedom. Meanwhile the humane Sheriff Max Muller organizes a posse to track them down in a civilized manner and respecting justice. Joker and Cullen reach a small farm where a lonely woman helps them to get rid of their chains. She offers to drive her car with Joker and her son Billy while Cullen would escape through the swamp to the railroad. But when Joker learns that she sent Cullen to a trap, he leaves her and is shot in the shoulder by Billy. Joker seeks out Cullen to save him and when they meet each other, their former hatred has changed to friendship and respect.—Claudio Carvalho, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

After the truck transporting them is sideswiped and run off the road in a heavy rainstorm two convicts, John 'Joker' Jackson--who is white--and Noah Cullen--who is Black--go on the run. They hate each other, but being chained together forces them to cooperate. Their goal is to travel 60 miles north where Noah once worked and catch a train that he hopes is still running that route. While the local Sheriff tries to apprehend them--in spite of a well-meaning but somewhat rules driven and humorless State police captain--Joker and Noah develop an odd friendship and an unexpected degree of loyalty.—garykmcd

In 1950s America, members of a chain gang are being transported through the South when their truck crashes. Two of the convicts, John "Joker" Jackson and Noah Cullen, who are chained together, find an opportunity to escape. Jackson is white, Cullen is Black, and at first they appear to be opposites in every way. But as they flee across the country, the two form a deep bond. A female landowner leads Jackson to make a difficult decision about his own freedom.—Jwelch5742

A prison truck is transporting a group of convicts when it runs off the road and crashes. Two convicts escape: Joker (Tony Curtis), a white man, and Cullen (Sidney Poitier), a Black man. They loathe each other, especially as Joker is an ignorant racist. However, they are chained together and must rely on each other to escape and survive. Meanwhile, the State Police plus the local Sheriff and a ragtag bunch of deputies, assisted by tracker dogs, are hot on their trail.—grantss