Favorite Sidney Poitier performance

I just saw “Paris blues” again, I love that film of course mainly for Paul Newman. It was interesting that they tried to get a relationship between Newman’a character and diahanne Carroll’s character but anyway I Digress. My other favourites are “no way out”, “in the heat of the night” and “blackboard jungle”

He’s brilliant in Pressure Point. He’s another person who won an Oscar for the wrong film. I wasn’t a big fan of Lillies of the Field.

R1 Sidney and Diahann had great chemistry so it worked out in the end. Too bad he apparently treated her like shit in real life.

"Tp Sir, with Love" with Pat Routledge as a teacher, a slender teacher in 1967.

Yes r3 they did. I still would have been more interested to see the interracial affair between Newman and Carroll. They both were quite breathtaking in this movie. Perhaps Poitier and Woodward could have had a romance too.

R5 It’s kinda crazy Poitier and Woodward are still alive.

I also love “edge of the city” and “the defiant ones”. He sure did make a lot of great movies.

[quote] He’s brilliant in Pressure Point.

This is one I haven’t seen and am going to check it out immediately. Thanks!

Absolutely it’s To Sir With Love.

R7 He had great chemistry with John Cassavetes in Edge of the City. They should’ve been a couple in that film.

"To Sir With Love"

"Paris Blues"

and, for the face-slapping felt around the world, "In The Heat Of The Night" (..."they calll meee Mr. Tibbs!").

[quote] He’s another person who won an Oscar for the wrong film. I wasn’t a big fan of Lillies of the Field

So true. I barely remember that film now. But I remember all the others on this thread much better.

R12 I think he only won for that film so the Academy could pat themselves on the back for rewarding a Black man in the Best Actor category. The fact they never nominated him again afterwards is sad but not surprising.

Raisin In The Sun.

His VPL should have won the Oscar!

I would choose PARIS BLUES and EDGE OF THE CITY as well. In the 60's he had a tendency to overact at times. He's OTT in A RAISIN IN THE SUN, as if he's giving a stage performance. The rest of the cast is so much better. I also watched THE SLENDER THREAD with him and Anne Bancroft, and he overplays that role too.

R10 Poitier also had great chemistry with Tony Curtis in The Defiant Ones. Another film with gay undertones.

I loved In the Heat of the Night. Lee Grant, Rod Steiger, and yes, the slap head round the world. And even though people say it is crap now and yes, it's out of date, I liked Guess Who's Coming to Dinner. The young girl was annoying, but I enjoyed Tracy and Hepburn, and the rest of the cast.

Sidney's Walter Lee in Raisin in the Sun was exquisite. What a cast!!! He did a remake of an old James Mason movie that I really liked too, Odd Man Out from 1947, and Sidney in The Lost Man, 1969.

To Sir, With Love. He’s also great in A Patch of Blue but Winters and Elizabeth Hartman have the showier roles.

Bump

R19 Hartman was heartbreaking in her role. The Oscars love awarding abusive mother’s so Shelley’s win isn’t surprising.

OP, Mr. Poitier did win Best Actor two years before. Or maybe you should just get your mouth checked.

R22 So what? Shelley Winters had already won an Oscar too before A Patch if Blue. She can win two Oscars but Sidney can’t?

A Patch of Blue*

Personally I found his acting rather overblown,but dont deny some of his movies were good.

R21=Peggy Wood

R26 Mo’Nique and Allison Janney in recent years.

Bump

Carmen Jones

I assume his three 1967 hits all canceled each other, that's why he wasn't nominated for that year; he deserved nominations for either To Sir With Love or In the Heat of the Night.

Let’s keep in mind that Shelley won two Supporting Actress Oscars—Though arguably that’s typically a more interesting category than Leading Actor.

Every damned thing he ever did. Everything.

Just watched his debut performance in No Way Out. Poitier should be held in the same esteem as Brando.

Roots

RIP Sidney. Your contributions to cinema and the world will never be forgotten.

Richard Widmark was frightening in "No Way Out".

"Widmark was apparently very uncomfortable with some of the racist comments his character, Ray Biddle, made, especially given his friendship with Sidney Poitier. As a result, after some of the takes involving particularly venomous remarks, Widmark apologized to Poitier."

Forty years later, when the National Board of Review awarded Widmark its career achievement award in New York, Poitier was flown in to present it: Widmark said to his old friend, "Sid, I can't believe you came all the way to California to do this for me." Poitier replied, "For you I would have walked!".

--from IMDB

Guess Who's Coming To Dinner....

Sorry, that should be Los Angeles, not New York.

I just saw that he died on the same day as Peter bogdanovich who directed him in the sequel for “to sit with love”. Interesting coincidence.

I loved him in the Nutty Professor movies and those Big Mamma films. Wasn’t he the monkey in those Curious George books too? Such a great actor despite being so darker skinned on screen.

He and Tony Curtis were great in The Defiant Ones which was also a great movie, which could have gone completely wrong tonally, but didn't because Sidney and Tony were such great actors.

[italic]In the Heat of the Night[/italic] is such a great movie. That's my favorite Poitier movie. I was happy to see him again as a supporting actor in [italic]Sneakers[/italic].

Shelley didn't have much competition that year.

Never realized Poitier wasn't nominated. He wasn't nominated for any of his 1967 films and all three were great. Why? Too many? Cancelled each other out?

Is career seemed to slow down so much in the 70s which is odd since that's when movies started getting more adventurous. Why did he not get roles anymore?

He started directing movies in the early 70s and had a run of comedy hits, but then "Hanky Panky", "Fast Forward", and and "Ghost Dad" killed his directing career.

R43 I wouldn’t be surprised if his persona no longer fit the times. He was criticized for playing safe and noble Black male characters.

R43 Sidney received more love from the BAFTA’s, surprisingly enough. They nominated six times and gave him one win, for Lilies of the Field.

Raisin in the Sun. His Walter Lee was magnificent. And then several years ago I saw Denzel perform that role on Broadway in Kenny Leon's production.

Heat of the Night was very entertaining and watching Rod Steiger with Sidney, as hammy as he was, is very enjoyable, but the movie is so full of stereotypes it doesn't stand up well over time. It is dated, and the naivete is embarrassing. And really as much as I loved Lee Grant, OMG what an over the top performance. Steiger was over the top too.

[quote] Lee Grant, OMG what an over the top performance.

I don’t think it was so over the top. Her husband had just been murdered after all.