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The Defiant Ones picture

Two men (Tony Curtis, Sidney Poitier) of different races, who hate each other, escape from a chain gang... (Learn more)

Starring: Tony Curtis, Sidney Poitier, Theodore Bikel (View All)

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The Defiant Ones picture
Sidney Poitier and Tony Curtis in The Defiant Ones. (Photo: MGM)
About The Defiant Ones

Starring: Tony Curtis, Sidney Poitier, Theodore Bikel

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

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Quick Facts

US Release Date

7/31/58

MPAA Rating

Not Rated

Running Time

97 mins.

Language

  • English

Awards

  • Nominated for a Best Director award at the 1958 Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Scie Awards.
  • Nominated for a Best Editing award at the 1958 Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Scie Awards.
  • Nominated for a Best Actor award at the 1958 Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Scie Awards.
  • Winner of the Best Screenplay award at the 1958 New York Film Critics Circle [Festival Awards.
  • Nominated for a Best Supporting Actor award at the 1958 Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Scie Awards.
  • Nominated for a Best Director award at the 1958 Directors Guild of America [Festival/A Awards.
  • Winner of the Best Picture - Drama award at the 1958 Hollywood Foreign Press Association [F Awards.
  • Nominated for a Best Picture award at the 1958 Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Scie Awards.
  • Nominated for a Best Film - Any Source award at the 1958 British Academy of Film and Television Awards.
  • Nominated for a Best Supporting Actress award at the 1958 Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Scie Awards.
  • Winner of the Best Foreign Actor award at the 1958 British Academy of Film and Television Awards.
  • Nominated for a Best Director award at the 1958 Hollywood Foreign Press Association [F Awards.
  • Winner of the Best Original Screenplay award at the 1958 Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Scie Awards.
  • Nominated for a Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture - Drama award at the 1958 Hollywood Foreign Press Association [F Awards.
  • Winner of the Best Director award at the 1958 New York Film Critics Circle [Festival Awards.
  • Winner of the United Nations Award award at the 1958 British Academy of Film and Television Awards.
  • Winner of the Best Picture award at the 1958 New York Film Critics Circle [Festival Awards.
  • Winner of the Silver Bear for Best Actor award at the 1958 Berlin International Film Festival [Fe Awards.
  • Nominated for a Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role in a Moti award at the 1958 Hollywood Foreign Press Association [F Awards.
  • Nominated for a Motion Picture Promoting International Understanding award at the 1958 Hollywood Foreign Press Association [F Awards.
  • Nominated for a Best Black and White Cinematography award at the 1958 Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Scie Awards.
  • Winner of the Best Screenplay award at the 1958 Edgar Allan Poe Awards [Festival/Award Awards.

Distributor

  • MGM Home Entertainment
  • United Artists
  • United Artists Films