The Defiant Ones DVD (1958)

The Defiant Ones

1958

Overall rating: 3.5 out of 5

from 1042 members

Convicts Tony Curtis and Sidney Poitier escape from a chain gang. Curtis' character, John Joker Jackson, hates blacks, while Poitier's character, Noah Cullen, hates whites. However, the men are manacled together, forced to rely on each other to survive. Captured at one point by a lynch-happy mob, the convicts are rescued by Big Sam (Lon Chaney Jr.), himself a former convict. The men are later sheltered by a lonely, love-hungry widow played by Cara Williams, who offers to turn in Cullen if Joker will stay with her. By the time the two men are within hailing distance of a train that might take them to freedom, they have become friends. The script for The Defiant Ones is credited to Harold Jacob Smith and Nathan E. Douglas. The latter was really Nedrick Young, a blacklisted writer, whom producer Stanley Kramer hired knowing full well that Young was using an alias (when Douglas' credit appears onscreen, it is superimposed over a close-up of a truck driver -- played by Nedrick Young). Both the script and the photography by Sam Leavitt won Academy Awards. If you look closely, you'll notice that the actor playing Angus is former Little Rascal Carl Alfalfa Switzer, making his last screen appearance. The Defiant Ones was remade for TV in 1986, with Robert Urich and Carl Weathers in the leads.~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

The Defiant Ones details

Format:	U DVD
Starring:	King Donovan, Lawrence Dobkin, Tony Curtis, Kevin Coughlin, Charles McGraw, Lon Chaney Jr., Whit Bissell, Cara Williams, Carl 'Alfalfa' Switzer, Claude Akins, Theodore Bikel, Tony Curtis, Sidney Poitier
Director:	Stanley Kramer
Genre:	Drama - General
Studio:	MGM ENTERTAINMENT

DVD 1 disc

Name	Discs
The Defiant Ones	U Feature

DVD Information

Run time:	1 hour 36 minutes
Rental release:	15 Apr 2002
Main languages:	English
Dubbed:	German, French, Spanish
Subtitles:	Dutch, English, French, Italian, Spanish
Hearing impaired subtitles:	English, German

Write your own review

Most helpful review The Defiant Ones

The Defiant Ones

By a customer from UK , 04 Sep 2004

[Highly rated reviewer]

Gripping drama of racial tensions as two convicts, one black, one white escape from the authorities chained together. A real winner with superb performances from Sidney Poitier and Tony Curtis.
- Was this review helpful to you?
- (8) Yes |
- No (0)
Report this review

All reviews

(12)

Sort by:

Going Back To Roots!?!?

By laneyb (256 reviews) from Rochester, Kent , 24 Feb 2012

Great Movie. Love 'Tony Curtis' and 'Sidney Poitier' anyway, they are Great actors, so that with the added fact I have always enjoyed films about prisons, chain-gangs and such-like, it was inevitable I'd enjoy this.

Given that these two characters are also racist, plus their is a fair amount of prejudice involved, it took me back a bit to the days of the Great story of 'Roots'.

Now there IS a Story to watch!!
- Was this review helpful to you?
- (0) Yes |
- No (0)
Report this review
Defiant Ones

By a customer from Biggar , 12 Aug 2008

Engaging performances from both Poitier and Curtis as escaped prisoners chained together. Some subtle observations about race and prejudice and some good supporting performances.
- Was this review helpful to you?
- (1) Yes |
- No (0)
Report this review
Black and white issues

By RJNeb2 (922 reviews) from London , 15 Mar 2008

Kramer's terse and potent chaingang classic has lasted well over the years. Poitier is typically good value and Curtis is quite the revelation as the white cracker prisoner chained to an equally belligerent black man, and the film still finds time to make some telling comments about racism and how some glimmers of humanity can show up in some of the most unexpected places.
- Was this review helpful to you?
- (1) Yes |
- No (0)
Report this review
Worth a Watch

By nc59 (29 reviews) from Devon , 21 Jan 2008

The old one's are the best!
- Was this review helpful to you?
- (1) Yes |
- No (0)
Report this review
The Defiant Ones (1958)

By a customer from England, London , 16 Dec 2007

Gripping drama of racial tensions as two convicts, one black, one white escape from the authorities chained together. A real winner with superb performances from Sidney Poitier and Tony Curtis.
- Was this review helpful to you?
- (3) Yes |
- No (0)
Report this review