He had become an icon in the fight for civil rights in the United States, and had marked Hollywood with his presence and his style. Sidney Poitier, the first African-American comedian to obtain the Oscar for best actor in 1964, has appeared in about fifty films, and has directed ten. Here are the 5 main ones.
The chain – 1958
In this drama directed by Stanley Kramer, Sidney Poitier shares the poster with Tony Curtis, in the skin of two prisoners, one white, the other black, who must be transported to a new prison.
Both racists, they will have to collaborate despite everything, when the van had an accident and they were able to escape. Tied by a chain, they will end up learning to appreciate each other during their flight, noting that, one like the other, they are victims of discrimination and humiliation. With this powerful role, Sidney Poitier will get his first Oscar nomination.
Field Lily – 1963
If there was only one role to remember, it would be this one. It is indeed by interpreting the character of Homer Smith, that the actor will obtain the following year the Oscar for best actor, becoming the first African-American to be rewarded by the Academy, and thus make history. .
In this film by Ralph Nelson, he plays this itinerant handyman, who walks in the Arizona desert. He then meets German nuns, who will ask him for multiple services, including that of building a chapel, which he will do without, ultimately, asking for any remuneration. A film full of good feelings, which celebrates mutual aid and benevolence.
In the heat of the night – 1967
A title that slams, especially in VO (“In the Heat of the Night”), for a powerful film, released the year of great race riots in the United States. Winner of five Oscars, including that of best film, the feature film by Norman Jewison plays with preconceptions of all kinds.
Sidney Poitier plays a black policeman from northern America, who finds himself accused of a murder which has just occurred, in a racist village in the south. Released, his boss will ask him to stay there to investigate. If he faces hostility from the locals, he himself cannot help but assume that the white pastor is necessarily the culprit. A real lesson against Manichaeism, carried by music by Quincy Jones.
Guess who’s coming to dinner … – 1967
This film, like the previous one, is to be put in the context of the civic movements carried by the black community in the United States that year. And in many ways, he makes multiple references to it. Sidney Poitier in fact plays Doctor John Prentice, who will be introduced by his future and young wife Joey, white, to his parents.
The film, signed again by Stanley Kramer, therefore deals with co-education in couples, “which would be illegal in several states” as Joey’s father said in the film, while the same year the United States Supreme Court declared unconstitutional all laws prohibiting inter-ethnic marriages. Often criticized for this role of “black service” not representing the social reality of his community, Sidney Poitier will explain that he preferred “to demonstrate that the man is more good than bad”. Moreover, in one scene of the film, the cook, who is asked who is coming to dinner, replies “The Reverend, Martin Luther King?” murdered while the film was still showing, the studios will then ask that this scene be cut.
Uptown Saturday night – 1974
Sidney Poitier holds a double hat in this comedy, as actor and director. It forms a high-flying triplet, accompanied by Bill Cosby and Harry Belafonte. It marks its time by the fact that African-Americans this time play the leading roles, without being caricatured, while meeting a real popular and non-community success.
We follow Sidney Poitier in the company of Bill Cosby, in search of a wallet stolen during a hold-up, and which contains a winning lottery ticket. The film, which Will Smith has acquired the rights to, is set to be remake soon with Denzel Washington.