MEMBER MOVIE NIGHT | No Way Out

(Joseph L. Mankiewicz, US 1950, 106 min., 35mm)

Sidney Poitier’s screen debut comes in this fiery crime drama fueled by racial tensions. When Johnny and Ray Biddle (Dick Paxton and Richard Widmark) are both shot while attempting a robbery, they are brought to the county hospital where the hospital’s first Black doctor, Luther Brooks (Poitier) tends to their wounds. When Johnny dies while Luther is attempting to relieve the pressure on his brain, the racist Ray accuses Luther of killing him. Throughout the night, as tensions rise across the city, Ray escapes and takes Luther hostage, leading to a violent confrontation. Husband and wife Ossie Davis and Ruby Dee have supporting roles as Luther’s brother and sister-in-law.