The Defiant Ones

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The Defiant Ones ★★★½ 1958

Thought-provoking story about racism revolves around two escaped prisoners (one black, one white) from a chain gang in the rural South. Their societal conditioning to hate each other dissolves as they face constant peril together. Critically acclaimed. 97m/B VHS, DVD . Tony Curtis, Sidney Poitier, Theodore Bikel, Lon Chaney Jr., Charles McGraw, Cara Williams; D: Stanley Kramer; W: Nedrick Young, Harold Jacob Smith; C: Sam Leav-itt; M: Steve Dorff. Oscars '58: B&W Cinematog., Story & Screenplay; British Acad. '58: Actor (Poitier); Golden Globes '59: Film—Drama; N.Y. Film Critics '58: Director (Kramer), Film, Screenplay.

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