The Defiant Ones (1958)

NEUTRAL

Various

92%

1958, Drama, 1h 37m

RT Critics’ Score: 92% (UNBIASED)
RT Audience Score: 88%
Awards & Nominations: Won 2 Oscars
16 wins & 21 nominations total

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Critics Consensus

An advocacy drama that makes its points without belaboring them, The Defiant Ones relies on its clever concept and brilliant performances to repudiate racial prejudice.

Audience Consensus

The Defiant Ones is a movie that will make you feel like you’re on the edge of your seat, even if you’re just sitting on your couch. It’s got action, suspense, and a message that still resonates today. Curtis and Poitier give amazing performances, and the minor characters are just as real and engaging. Sure, there are some talky moments, but they’re worth it for the absorbing action. This movie isn’t just a statement about race relations, it’s a plain necessity for anyone who loves a good thriller. Put it on your “must” list, and get ready to be defiantly entertained.

Storyline

When the truck that is transporting convicts has an accident on the road, the inmates John “Joker” Jackson and Noah Cullen that are chained to each other escape. They hate each other but they need to help each other to succeed in their intent of going north to jump in a train and reach freedom. Meanwhile the humane Sheriff Max Muller organizes a posse to track them down in a civilized manner and respecting justice. Joker and Cullen reach a small farm where a lonely woman helps them to get rid of their chains. She offers to drive her car with Joker and her son Billy while Cullen would escape through the swamp to the railroad. But when Joker learns that she sent Cullen to a trap, he leaves her and is shot in the shoulder by Billy. Joker seeks out Cullen to save him and when they meet each other, their former hatred has changed to friendship and respect.

Production Company(ies)
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer,

Distributor
United Artists

Release Type

Filming Location(s)
Universal Studios – 100 Universal City Plaza, Universal City, California, USA

MPAA / Certificate
Not Rated

Year of Release
1958

Technical Specs

Color:

Color
Sound mix:

Dolby
Aspect ratio:

NA
Runtime:

1h 37m
Language(s):

English
Country of origin:

United States
Release date:

Release Date (Theaters): Sep 27, 1958 Original
Release Date (Streaming): Sep 16, 2008

Genre(s)
Drama

Keyword(s)
starring Tony Curtis, Sidney Poitier, Theodore Bikel, Charles McGraw, Cara Williams, Lon Chaney Jr., directed by Stanley Kramer, written by Harold Jacob Smith, drama, box office performance, budget, reviewed by Jonas Mekas, George Bourke, Mildred Martin, Kim Newman, Dickson Terry, Elston Brooks, Roger Moore, Harold V Cohen, Ches Washington, Bob Blackburn, Penelope Houston, Hope Pantell, MPAA rating, chain gang, racial prejudice, escape, deep bond, female landowner, advocacy drama, clever concept, brilliant performances, producer Stanley Kramer, distributor United Artists

Box Office Details

Worldwide gross: NA
Worldwide gross (inflation-adjusted): NA
Worldwide gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): NA
Worldwide tickets sold (est.): NA

US/Canada gross: NA
US/Canada gross (inflation-adjusted): NA
US/Canada gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): NA
US/Canada opening weekend:
US/Canada opening weekend (inflation-adjusted): NA
US/Canada opening weekend ranking (inflation-adjusted): NA

Budget and Earnings Details
Production budget (est.): NA
Production budget (inflation-adjusted): NA
Production budget ranking: NA
Marketing and distribution budget (inflation-adjusted est.): NA
Box office net earnings to date (inflation-adjusted est.): NA
ROI to date (est.): NA
ROI ranking: NA

Cast & Crew

Tony Curtis

John “Joker” Jackson

Sidney Poitier

Noah Cullen

Theodore Bikel

John “Joker” Jackson

Noah Cullen

Sheriff Max Muller

Capt. Frank Gibbons

Billy’s Mother

Tony Curtis – John “Joker” Jackson
Sidney Poitier – Noah Cullen
Theodore Bikel – Sheriff Max Muller
Charles McGraw – Capt. Frank Gibbons
Cara Williams – Billy’s Mother
Lon Chaney Jr. – Big Sam

Stanley Kramer

Harold Jacob Smith

Stanley Kramer

Director

Writer

Producer

Director(s)
Stanley Kramer

Writer(s)
Harold Jacob Smith

Producer(s)
Stanley Kramer

Film Festivals

Awards & Nominations
Won 2 Oscars
16 wins & 21 nominations total

Academy Awards

Top Reviews

Jonas Mekas

George Bourke

Mildred Martin

Kim Newman

Dickson Terry

Village Voice

Miami Herald

Philadelphia Inquirer

Empire Magazine

St. Louis Post-Dispatch

THE DEFIANT ONES
All Critics (54) | Top Critics (22) | Fresh (49) | Rotten (5)
One can feel that Kramer, instead of letting the idea grow from an inner necessity, started with a cliche: “Now I am going to make a social film.”

April 20, 2022

Jonas Mekas
Village Voice
TOP CRITIC
Its message is absorbingly wrapped however, in elements of acute suspense and blood raw action that should excite even those who deplore the integration of sobering thought and fiction in their movie entertainment.

January 30, 2021

George Bourke
Miami Herald
TOP CRITIC
The Defiant Ones is a film no one with mind or heart is likely to forget in a long, long time.

January 30, 2021

Mildred Martin
Philadelphia Inquirer
TOP CRITIC
This Stanley Kramer messageathon plays better as a high-concept thriller than a statement about race relations or the human condition.

January 30, 2021 | Rating: 3/5

Kim Newman
Empire Magazine
TOP CRITIC
Credit goes to producer, director and writers for a picture which combines a strong social document with about as much excitement and suspense as you could ask for.

January 30, 2021

Dickson Terry
St. Louis Post-Dispatch
TOP CRITIC
Stanley Kramer, who has been responsible for some of Hollywood’s greater motion pictures, has a little masterpiece in The Defiant Ones.

January 30, 2021

Elston Brooks
Fort Worth Star-Telegram/DFW.com
TOP CRITIC
Kramer gets a message he felt America needed to hear and probably still needs to hear on the screen in an artful, just-edgy-enough and still-entertaining film that retains its claim as a “classic”

June 25, 2021 | Rating: 3/4

Roger Moore
Movie Nation
The Defiant Ones is a great one all the way. It’s a throbbing photoplay made by a man with a conscience.

January 30, 2021

Harold V. Cohen
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
Both Curtis and Poitier turned in superb performances.

January 30, 2021

Ches Washington
Pittsburgh Courier
Curtis and Poitier, carrying most of the acting load, both do well, and in addition, there are some very real minor characters. It’s a film with something to say, but apart from a few moments which tend to be talky, it says it with absorbing action.

January 30, 2021

Bob Blackburn
Ottawa Citizen
This is the point made by The Defiant Ones: not an attack on colour prejudice in terms of morality, but of plain necessity.

January 30, 2021

Penelope Houston
Observer (UK)
It is a picture to be put on everyone’s “must” list.

January 30, 2021

Hope Pantell
Baltimore Sun…

Plot
When the truck that is transporting convicts has an accident on the road, the inmates John “Joker” Jackson and Noah Cullen that are chained to each other escape. They hate each other but they need to help each other to succeed in their intent of going north to jump in a train and reach freedom. Meanwhile the humane Sheriff Max Muller organizes a posse to track them down in a civilized manner and respecting justice. Joker and Cullen reach a small farm where a lonely woman helps them to get rid of their chains. She offers to drive her car with Joker and her son Billy while Cullen would escape through the swamp to the railroad. But when Joker learns that she sent Cullen to a trap, he leaves her and is shot in the shoulder by Billy. Joker seeks out Cullen to save him and when they meet each other, their former hatred has changed to friendship and respect.

Trivia