THE BEDFORD INCIDENT

THE BEDFORD INCIDENT - 1965

RATED - NR but probably PG for adult themes.

RATINGS - 44 Amazon (4.5/5), 16,139 Netflix (3.6/5), 1,306 IMDB (7.5/10).

STARRING - Sidney Poitier, Richard Widmark.

THEMES - Cold War, Nuclear War, Justice

STORY - It's during the height of the Cold War and a U.S. Naval destroyer, The Bedford, is racing through the icy waters of the North Atlantic as it tracks a Russian sub below. So the film opens and then a Navy helicopter comes into the picture keeping pace overhead with the destroyer. Two men, a black photojournalist, Ben Munceford (Poitier), and a Navy medical doctor, Liet. Cmdr. Chester Potter (Martin Balsam) are lowered onto the deck. Both men will come to wish they had not left the helicopter as they are introduced to Captain Eric Finlander (Widmark), the destroyer's skipper. Finlander is obsessed with pursuing and confronting this sub which has violated territorial waters. He knows he is pushing the sub beyond its limits to stay submerged and something will have to give sooner rather than later. As Mumceford, who is doing a feature on Finlander (he stood up to the Navy after a 'Cuba' affair and was subsequently passed over for Admiral) and Potter observer the Captain and the crew, they can see that not only is the sub reaching the breaking point of being submerged but The Bedford's crew of over 200 sailors is also being pushed physically and psychologically to the limit by constantly being called to 'GQ' (full alert) with very little rest. The tension and friction build to the breaking point on the ship as they continue to pursue relentlessly the cornered sub. This is a little known but powerful drama about the Cold War. One wonders how many of these incidents happened or nearly happened in real life. How many Cuban Missile Crises and Bedford Incidents have there been that brought the world to the brink of nuclear disaster? Poitier and Widmark are at the top of their game. Just a footnote - Wally Cox does an outstanding job playing the 'Radar' of the ship. Enjoy. Lu G. for Lu's Reviews. 08/06/2008.

LINKS - AMAZON, IMDB, TCM(Spoilers Here)

A PATCH OF BLUE

A PATCH OF BLUE - 1965

RATED - NR but probably PG for minor violence & language.

RATINGS - 52 Amazon (4.5/5), 61,259 Netflix (3.9/5), 1,903 IMDB (7.9/10).

AWARDS - 1966 Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress (Shelley Winters) plus 5 Academy nominations. 1967 BAFTA Best Actor nominee (Sidney Poitier).

THEMES - Racial reconciliation, relationships, love, justice.

STORY - Imagine, you're 18 years old, blind, uneducated and virtually a prisoner of your own home. Your father is gone, your mother is abusive, demanding and overbearing and your grandfather is a hopeless alcoholic. Salina (Elizabeth Hartman) is that young woman, who is confined to a dumpy, small apartment and for practical purposes, is the personal slave of her mother(Shelley Winters) and 'ol granpa'. She knows her way around the apartment without hesitation and cooks, cleans and washes their clothes. She also strings beads to earn money and has a daily quota. On a rare day, someone takes her to the park and leaves her until night when 'ol granpa' picks her up on his way home from the bar. One day, she's noticed by Gordon (Sidney Poitier) who befriends her. They eventually become friends. She remarks one day that 'friend' is her new favorite word and asks Gordon what his is. He replies 'tolerance'. While Salina is color blind (literally) Gordon is struggling with his own racial feelings. His brother, a doctor, belittles him for helping a white girl. 'Let Whitey take care of their own', he says. This is a story about friendship, racial prejudice and what it means to be truly color blind. This movie was made in the middle of one of the most racially charged decades of our history to put it into perspective. The story builds to an emotional climax when the mother discovers she's been seeing a black man. Another gem with Sidney Poitier. Lu G. for Lu's Reviews. 04/25/2008.

LINKS - AMAZON, IMDB.

GUESS WHO'S COMING TO DINNER

GUESS WHO'S COMING TO DINNER - 1967

RATING - NR but probably PG for language and adult themes.

RATED - 118 Amazon (4.5/5), 7,545 IMBD (7.7/10), 386,582 Netflix (3.9/5), Roger Ebert (4/4)

STARRING - Sidney Poitier, Katherine Houghton, Spencer Tracy, Katherine Hepburn.

THEME - Racial prejudice.

AWARDS - 2 Academy Awards (Best Actress & Original Screenplay) plus 6 Academy Award nominations, AFI Top 100 Passions, AFI Top 100 Movies, 1969 BAFTA Best Actress & Actor (Hepburn & Tracy).

STORY - The film begins with Joey Drayton (Houghton) and Dr. John Prentice (Poitier) arriving at San Francisco Int'l Airport and we soon learn that after meeting 10 days ago in Hawaii and falling head over heels in love they are going to inform Joey's parents (Hepburn & Tracy) of their plans to be married and ask for their blessing. The problem, of course, is that John is African-American. A perfect son-in-law in every possible way, Joey is absolutely positive her wealthy, liberal (progressive) parents will wholeheartedly endorse their 'mixed' marriage. Wrong!! Being progressive was fine as long as it was someone else's life that was affected. Can the Draytons reconcile their values and the values they raised Joey to live by and the real-life situation at hand? To complicate matters, John is leaving the country that evening and has told them privately, he will cancel the marriage plans if they do not unreservedly support their marriage before he leaves. Many, if not most, of you are familiar with the story. It was shocking at the time. No black man had ever kissed a white woman on the 'big screen'. There were 16 states with laws on the books that made interracial marriages illegal. Stanly Kramer was indeed making a social statement with this movie. As a Jewish man, he knew prejudice first hand. As a result of this movie the laws were changed in all 16 states. Do movies influence culture?? Remember GIDEON'S TRUMPET. Watch this movie for what it was-a statement about racial prejudice but also ask yourself where are the injustices today that need to be fixed? How can we become part of the solution? A great movie then and still today. Lu G. for Lu's Reviews. 2/17/2008.

LINKS - AMAZON, IMBD, ROGER EBERT

SEPARATE BUT EQUAL

SEPARATE BUT EQUAL - 1991

RATING - PG

STARRING - Sidney Poitier, Burt Lancaster

AWARDS - 7 Emmy Nominations, 2 Wins

RATINGS - 24 Amazon ratings (5/5), IMBD (7.5/10)

STORY - SEPARATE BUT EQUAL is one of my favorite movies. Nominated for seven Emmy Awards. It is about the 1954 Brown v. Board of Education Supreme Court Case. Starring Sidney Poitier as Thurgood Marshall, the lead attorney for the NAACP, Burt Lancaster, as John W. Davis, arguing the other side, and Richard Kiley, as Chief Justice Earl Warren, it is a powerful story about one of the most important Supreme Court Decisions in the history of our country. The first half is set in South Carolina and depicts the human side of that tragic law called 'separate but equal'. They were separate but anything BUT equal. The second half is the legal battle. My only comment would be that this should be REQUIRED WATCHING to understand the background of the civil rights' movement and the racial situation in our country. As entertaining as it is educational. Five stars all the way. Unfortunately, it's hard to buy (VHS is still relatively cheap but very expensive on DVD) but readily available from Netflix, etc. Lu G. for Lu's Reviews. 10/20/2007.

LINKS - AMAZON, IMBD