A Raisin in the Sun **** (1961, Sidney Poitier, Claudia McNeil, Ruby Dee) – Classic Movie Review 7308

Director Daniel Petrie’s 1961 drama A Raisin in the Sun is a satisfying, moving and involving, though virtually one-set, filmed theatre version of Lorraine Hansberry’s long-running Broadway play, which won the 1959 New York Critics Award. It was nominated for two Golden Globes: Best Actor – Drama (Sidney Poitier) and Best Actress – Drama (Claudia McNeil).

In the story, an African-American family dreams of moving to a bigger house in a better area, but the son, limousine driver Walter Lee Younger (Sidney Poitier), loses the $10,000 his mother (Claudia McNeil) gets on his father’s death in a bad investment.

Seven actors from the stage show (including Poitier and McNeil) rivet the attention, though McNeil is particularly admirable and adept in handling the show’s wittiest dialogue. Director Petrie keeps the camera on the move and the film on the boil. Token Caucasian character Mark Lindner (played by busy character actor John Fiedler) is the least well-drawn character. Playwright Lorraine Hansberry made the record books by being the first African-American woman to have a play on Broadway.

Also in the cast are Ruby Dee, Diana Sands, Louis Gossett Jr (in his film debut), Ivan Dixon, Stephen Perry, Joel Fluellen, Roy Glenn, Ray Stubbs, Louis Terkel, Rudolph Monroe, Thomas D Jones and George DeNormand.

Poitier and Ruby Dee play husband and wife here and again in Buck and the Preacher (1972).

There was a tense relationship between Poitier and McNeil, as McNeil thought the film should be seen via her character’s point-of-view, supported by playwright Hansberry, while Poitier believed his character’s struggles should be the focal point of the film. McNeil was less than ten years older than Poitier.

The title comes from Langston Hughes’s poem, Harlem (What Happens To A Dream Deferred?).

The original Broadway production opened at the Ethel Barrymore Theater in New York City on 11 March 1959 and ran for 530 performances. Poitier, McNeil, Ruby Dee, Diana Sands, Ivan Dixon, Louis Gossett Jr and John Fiedler re-create their stage roles in the movie.

It was a hit on Broadway again in 2004, starring Sean (P Diddy/Puff Daddy) Combs in Poitier’s old role as limo driver Walter Lee Younger and, as his wife, Phylicia Rashad, who became the first African-American actress to win a Tony Award for a leading dramatic role in the play.

© Derek Winnert 2018 Classic Movie Review 7308

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