• The entire cast is amazing but it’s Poitier’s show. Very rarely has he played such a (largely… there reformation here at the end) unlikeable character. He’s a fireball of energy
  • Like many stage plays of the era there is sharp writing, nastiness and acidity
  • Around Poitier Ruby Dee, Claudia McNeil and Diana Sands are superb
  • It’s the original stage cast— and it’s not their fault- it’s petrie’s- but it feels stage-bound and there’s some speechmaking surely that comes from borrowing so heavily from that art form and medium
  • 2 close-ups on Poitier- he’s the only character that gets one- one at the beginning and one half way through
  • An intelligent reflection on racism and the world stacked against this family
  • A film of true melancholy and squashed dreams
  • 4 fully formed and authentic characters
  • Recommend but not in the top 10 of 1961