The Defiant Ones

The Defiant Ones

1958. USA. Directed by Stanley Kramer. With Tony Curtis, Sidney Poitier, Theodore Bikel. In some ways a nearly forgotten artifact of the socially significant, serious school of Hollywood filmmaking, Kramer (1913–2001) cashed in on the struggle for racial equality, a nightly feature on television news, just as he would with nuclear war (On the Beach), the Holocaust (Judgment at Nuremberg), Biblical backwardness (Inherit the Wind), and interracial marriage (Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner). Kramer was more of a savvy producer than a creative auteur, but he managed to get six Best Picture Oscar nominations, including one for The Defiant Ones. If he had not existed, someone would have had to invent him. 97 min.