Sunday, May 23, 2010

Tired Old Queen at the Movies: 'No Way Out' (1950)


This week, Steve Hayes reviews "No Way Out." The Tired Old Queen Says:

Racial tensions seethe and a city is torn apart by hate when Sidney Poitier as a young intern in a large metropolitan hospital comes up against racist Ray Biddle played by Richard Widmark in Joseph L. Mankiewicz's searing "No Way Out" (1950). Also starring Fox siren Linda Darnell, in a dramatic turn as the right girl from the wrong side of the tracks, this was the film that established Poitier as a major talent and further secured Richard Widmark's reputation as the king of menace. Director Mankiewicz pulls out all the stops to show the difficulties that arise in a city where emotions run just below the surface, where everyone is expected to know their place and nobody is truly free -- where love and hate walk hand in hand and there's no such thing as being just a little prejudiced. Its explosive, its in your face, it wont go away, its unforgettable, there's "No Way Out."

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