Sidney Poitier: The Man and His Films
Sidney Poitier, who was born in Miami, Florida, but grew up on Cat Island in The Bahamas, was the first male African American to win the Oscar for Best Actor (as Homer Smith in Lillies of the Field (1963)). He went on to become a director of nine films and producer of three. His early films dealt with race, bigotry, anger, and hatred but he always played those roles as a man of intelligence, dignity and humble pride. In 2002, he received an honorary Oscar “for his extraordinary performances and unique presence on the screen and for representing the industry with dignity, style and intelligence.” If you want to see a list of his awards, honors and nominations, click on the quote.
Which one of his films is your favorite?
Discuss his work here.
P.S. I never knew he did a third film as Virgil Tibbs, “The Organization” (1971). You learn something new every day.
Which one of his films is your favorite?
Discuss his work here.
P.S. I never knew he did a third film as Virgil Tibbs, “The Organization” (1971). You learn something new every day.
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- DirectorRalph NelsonStarsSidney PoitierLilia SkalaLisa MannA travelling handyman becomes the answer to the prayers of nuns who wish to build a chapel in the desert.
- DirectorJoseph L. MankiewiczStarsRichard WidmarkLinda DarnellStephen McNallyTwo hoodlum brothers are brought into a hospital for gunshot wounds, and when one of them dies the other accuses their black doctor of murder.We are not talking about the Kevin Costner film of the same name. This is a different movie from that one.
- DirectorNorman JewisonStarsSidney PoitierRod SteigerWarren OatesA black Philadelphia police detective is mistakenly suspected of a local murder while passing through a racially hostile Mississippi town, and after being cleared is reluctantly asked by the police chief to investigate the case.
- DirectorStanley KramerStarsSpencer TracySidney PoitierKatharine HepburnA couple's attitudes are challenged when their daughter introduces them to her African-American fiancé.
- DirectorStanley KramerStarsTony CurtisSidney PoitierCara WilliamsTwo chained-together escaped convicts, White and Black, must learn to get along in order to elude capture.
- DirectorGuy GreenStarsSidney PoitierShelley WintersElizabeth HartmanA blind, uneducated white girl is befriended by a black man who becomes determined to help her escape her impoverished and abusive home life by introducing her to the outside world.
- DirectorDaniel PetrieStarsSidney PoitierClaudia McNeilRuby DeeA substantial insurance payment could mean either financial salvation or personal ruin for a poor black family.
- DirectorRichard BrooksStarsGlenn FordAnne FrancisLouis CalhernA new English teacher at a violent, unruly inner-city school is determined to do his job, despite resistance from both students and faculty.
- DirectorJames ClavellStarsSidney PoitierJudy GeesonChristian RobertsIdealistic engineer-trainee and his experiences in teaching a group of rambunctious white high school students from the slums of London's East End.
- DirectorOtto PremingerRouben MamoulianStarsSidney PoitierDorothy DandridgeSammy Davis Jr.A woman whose past is scorned by nearly everyone around her meets a man who'd love her regardlessly- if only everyone else would allow them to.
- DirectorPhil Alden RobinsonStarsRobert RedfordDan AykroydSidney PoitierA security pro finds his past returning to haunt him when he and his unique team are tasked with retrieving a particularly important item.
- DirectorHubert CornfieldStarsSidney PoitierBobby DarinPeter FalkA Black prison psychiatrist is assigned the distasteful task of helping a paranoid American Nazi charged with sedition.
- DirectorSydney PollackStarsSidney PoitierAnne BancroftTelly SavalasCollege volunteer Alan Newell is working alone at the crisis center one evening when he receives a telephone call from suicidal caller Inga Dyson, who has swallowed a bottle of sleeping pills. Can Alan save her?
- DirectorZoltan KordaStarsCanada LeeSidney PoitierCharles CarsonIn the back country of South Africa, black minister Stephen Kumalo (Canada Lee) journeys to the city to search for his missing son, only to find his people living in squalor and his son a criminal. Reverend Msimangu (Sidney Poitier) is a young South African clergyman who helps find his missing son-turned-thief and sister-turned-prostitute in the slums of Johannesburg.
- DirectorMartin RittStarsJohn CassavetesSidney PoitierJack WardenThe budding friendship of two NYC longshoremen is threatened by a notably repugnant co-worker.
- StarsSidney PoitierBurt LancasterRichard KileyA dramatization of the American court case that destroyed the legal validity of racial segregation.
- DirectorJames Wong HoweStarsDane ClarkPatricia BreslinSidney PoitierThe story of Abe Saperstein and the creation of the Harlem Globetrotters.
- DirectorWilliam A. WellmanStarsWalter BrennanPhil HarrisBrandon De WildeAn old man and a young boy who live in the southeastern Mississippi swamps are brought together by the love of a dog.
- DirectorJames B. HarrisStarsRichard WidmarkSidney PoitierJames MacArthurAn American destroyer Captain is determined to confront a Soviet submarine caught violating territorial waters. Perhaps too determined.
- DirectorRalph NelsonStarsJames GarnerSidney PoitierBibi AnderssonIn Apache territory, a supply Army column heads for the next fort, an ex-scout searches for the killer of his Indian wife, and a housewife abandons her husband in order to rejoin her Apache lover's tribe.(So shoot me for putting this one in here, but I like westerns.)
- DirectorSidney PoitierJoseph SargentStarsSidney PoitierHarry BelafonteRuby DeeA wagon master and a con-man preacher help freed slaves dogged by cheap-labor agents out West.Starred, directed and was an uncredited producer.
- DirectorSidney PoitierStarsSidney PoitierEster AndersonYvette CurtisAn African-American doctor falls in love with the niece of an African ambassador during his vacation in London, but it turns out that she is suffering from a rare terminal illness.Starred and directed
- DirectorJames GoldstoneStarsSidney PoitierWill GeerBradford DillmanA man who returns to his hometown for a funeral may have a much larger purpose in life than those around him can see.Starred, and produced
- DirectorSidney PoitierStarsSidney PoitierBill CosbyHarry BelafonteAt Madame Zenobia's illegal nightclub, when Steve Jackson and Wardell Franklin get robbed of their wallets containing a winning lottery ticket, they set out to recover it.Starred, directed, and produced
- DirectorSidney PoitierStarsSidney PoitierBill CosbyCalvin LockhartTwo Atlanta men raise funds for their charity by rigging boxing matches in New Orleans, but their tricks attract the mob's attention.Starred and directed