Still, the film was a huge hit, earning Poitier an Oscar nomination for lead actor (making him the first man of color to earn the distinction) and his star continued to rise. While 1958’s The Defiant Ones has its heart in the right place, and both Poitier and Tony Curtis are fabulous as black and white prisoners chained together, trying to make an escape, it is Curtis who is given the lion’s share of opportunities to express anger, frustration, and rage at his circumstances. Often, Poitier played the dignified black man who endured the incivility of others due to the color of his skin. Being of the time he lived in, many of Poitier’s most definitive roles tended to center around race in our society. How it isn’t thought of in the same breath as On The Waterfront is a mystery to me.
It’s a film with real grit, humor, and tragedy. Directed by Martin Ritt, Edge of the City is akin to the “kitchen-sink” Brit dramas of that era and is woefully under-appreciated by historians. One of my personal favorites is Edge of the City, where he and John Cassavettes play New York City longshoremen who strike up an unlikely friendship. It was one of the rare times that Poitier was allowed to play a rebellious character and to put it plainly, he was electric.Īfter The Blackboard Jungle raised his profile, the quality of roles that came Poitier’s way grew in esteem and visibility. Strong notices for his performance earned Poitier regular work on film until his breakout performance in Richard Brooks’ The Blackboard Jungle in 1955. In 1950 Poitier scored his first significant role as a doctor treating a bigoted patient (played by Richard Widmark) in Joseph Mankiewicz’s No Way Out. It wasn’t until scoring a leading role in a late ‘40s Broadway production of Lysistrata that he gained notice. Unable to carry a tune and saddled with a Bahamian accent he had to work diligently to rid himself of, success did not come quickly for Poitier. Because those of us who know (and we are legion) are more than happy to do it for him.Īt the age of fifteen Poitier moved to Miami where he would later join the American Negro Theater. Poitier would never stand up and tell you what a gorgeous titan of cinema he was, but that’s okay. Maybe that’s why he lived a life so full of humility and grace. This most beautiful of men had no idea just how beautiful he was.
The only way for Poitier to know what he looked like was to view his reflection in a body of water. One of my favorite stories about Sidney Poitier is that he was so poor growing up in the Bahamas that he didn’t have access to a mirror until he reached the age of ten when his family moved to Nassau.
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