Film Friday: «The Defiant Ones» (1958)
In honor of Tony Curtis's 91th birthday, which is today, this week on "Film Friday" I bring you the film that gave him the only Academy Award nomination of his career. Theatrical release poster Directed by Stanley Kramer, The Defiant Ones (1958) begins when a tr uck transport ing chain gan g convicts crashes on a rainswept Southern road and two prisoners escape: Noah Cullen ( Sidney Poitier ), a b lack man who re acts violently to racial insults; and John "Joker" Jackson (Tony Curtis), Souther n white bi got. Despite their mutual loa thing, they are f orced to cooperate , as they are chained together. Meanwhile, S heriff Max Muller (The od ore Bikel) , a hum ane lawman, is pressured by the governor to organize a posse to capture the escapees. He also must contend wi th a n agress ive state police captain, Frank Gibbons (Charles Mc Graw) , and a dep uty, Solly (Kin g Don o van) , who val ues his bloodhounds more than t he lives of the convict...