Review of No Way Out (1950) by Martin T — 01 Apr 2010
Not to be confused with the Kevin Costner No Way Out, a remake of a different noir film, The Big Clock. This No Way Out is a tense, incisive racial issues movie. And unlike some other movies in the "Fox Film Noir" line, it pretty much fits the noir genre as well.
It seems way ahead of its time, a brutally frank look at racism, with Richard Widmark playing the vilest character of his career He says some absolutely heinous shit, but it never seems gratuitious, exagerrated, or phony.
Poitier in his first Hollywood role sets the standard for his career: powerful, intelligent and dignified. I'd say this is a far better film than Guess Who's Coming To Dinner? or In the Heat of the Night.
Linda Darnell is very good in it as well... not as electric as her role in Fallen Angel, but it's a more complex character. A movie as explosive in its depiction of racial conflict at its time as Do the Right Thing was nearly 40 years later (both films, coincidentally, featuring Ruby Dee and Ossie Davis).
This review of No Way Out (1950) was written by Martin T on 01 Apr 2010.
No Way Out has generally received very positive reviews.
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