Joseph L. Mankiewicz's film about racial tolerance is an important artifact. I can imagine that in 1950 it made a bold statement and created a great stir in the populous. Sydney Poitier plays an African-American doctor who is accused of killing a patient, the brother of a racist criminal. The racist criminal played with vile spite by Richard Widmark then sets out to destroy Poitier even as Poitier tries to prove that it wasn't his fault that his patient died. It's a solid drama with strong performances throughout especially by Poitier. Thankfully it's themes, while no less truthful, are kind of irrelevant today. I'm not saying there's no more racism in the world, there is, but for most choosing to watch an old film like this turn out to be pretty liberal minded. But maybe that's a false assumption. For me, the social commentary is obvious. Still it's an entertaining film and I'd recommend it if you like traveling back in time to another cinematic era. Grade: B+.
BTW: Ossie Davis' first film.
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