A truckload of convicts is being transported to a work farm, where the prisoners will work as part of a chain gang. Noah Cullen (Sidney Poitier), a black man serving an 8-year prison sentence for assault and battery, and John Jackson (Tony Curtis), a white man serving a sentence for robbery, are shackled together. Though the two men completely despise each other, the right arm of Cullen and the left arm of Jackson bind them together; when the truck they are riding in is involved in an accident, the two men make their escape.
Try as they might, Cullen and Jackson are unable to break the chain binding them to one another; therefore, though each man would prefer to travel in a different direction, they have no choice but to compromise and work together. Over and over again---as they navigate a fast-moving river, as they climb up from a deep pit, as a lynch mob comes at them, as the lawmen hunting them grow ever-nearer---the two men must put aside their racial differences and support one another. Eventually, as the men grow to respect each other, a friendship is formed.
This is an amazingly acted film. Both Sidney Poitier and Tony Curtis were wonderful in their roles; in fact, both men received a Best Actor Academy Award nomination for their work---a first nomination for each man. It certainly seems to be that the loss of Marlon Brando was absolutely not a detriment to this film. It worked beautifully with Tony Curtis in the white man role.
When the credits appear at the beginning of the film, both Curtis and Poitier's names are listed before the film title. According to Robert Osborne's wonderfully informational snippets, this was the first film of Mr. Poitier's in which that happened. And it happened at the request of Tony Curtis, who felt that Poitier's contribution to the film was just as great as his own. Perhaps that seems like a no-brainer to us now; however, back in 1958, with the racial situation being far different, it was probably quite unexpected for Mr. Curtis to have made that request. I'm glad he did, though, as he was correct---Sidney Poitier was just as much the star of the film as Tony Curtis was.
The Defiant Ones is really an amazing movie---well-acted, well-directed, and featuring the kind of bold storyline to which I tend to gravitate. I definitely highly recommend it. Although I'm not entirely certain the film is out on DVD, TCM will be airing it Friday, February 17th, at 2:30 p.m. (EST).
Happy viewing!!
