No Way Out (1950)

Directed by Joseph L. Mankiewicz. Starring Sidney Poitier, Linda Darnell, Richard Widmark, Stephen McNally, Mildred Joanne Smith, Dots Johnson, Amanda Randolph, Harry Bellaver, Stanley Ridges, Bert Freed, Ossie Davis.

Junior resident Poitier treats two wounded criminal brothers in the hospital’s prison ward, and when one of them dies under the black doctor’s care, the other—a vindictive, avowed racist played with wild relish by Widmark—sends out his other brother (Bellaver) to incite race riots in a primarily black neighborhood as retaliation. Racially-charged drama has the expected dated and sermonizing elements, and never fully intertwines its narrative threads (including sub-plots involving Poitier’s family and Widmark’s bitter ex (Darnell)), but its visceral impact is irrefutable, pulling no punches during its candid exposure of ignorance, vengeance, hate and violence. Poitier does fine work in his first feature film role (not counting a prior appearance as an extra), though he’s awfully young to be a doctor, even an intern—he’d play a high school student five years later in The Blackboard Jungle. Also Davis’ first screen role; his wife, Ruby Dee, appears briefly.

77/100