Editing The Defiant Ones (section)

==Reception==
The film earned rentals of $2.5 million in the United States and Canada but did not perform as well overseas.<ref name=rentals/> It ultimately made a profit of $1 million.<ref name="tino"/>

===Critical response===
When the film was originally released, [[Bosley Crowther]], film critic for ''The New York Times'', lauded the production and the acting in the film, writing "A remarkably apt and dramatic visualization of a social idea—the idea of men of different races brought together to face misfortune in a bond of brotherhood—is achieved by producer Stanley Kramer in his new film, ''The Defiant Ones''...&nbsp;Between the two principal performers there isn't much room for a choice. Mr. Poitier stands out as the Negro convict and Mr. Curtis is surprisingly good. Both men are intensely dynamic. Mr. Poitier shows a deep and powerful strain of underlying compassion...In the ranks of the pursuers, Theodore Bikel is most impressive as a sheriff with a streak of mercy and justice, which he has to fight to maintain against a brutish state policeman, played by Charles McGraw."<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1958/09/25/archives/screen-a-forceful-social-drama-the-defiant-ones-has-debut-at.html |last=Crowther |first=Bosley |author-link=Bosley Crowther |work=[[The New York Times]] |title=Screen: A Forceful Social Drama; ' The Defiant Ones' Has Debut at Victoria |date=September 25, 1958 |access-date=February 23, 2011}}</ref>

''Variety'' praised the acting and discussed the film's major theme, writing "The theme of ''The Defiant Ones'' is that what keeps men apart is their lack of knowledge of one another. With that knowledge comes respect, and with respect comradeship and even love. This thesis is exercised in terms of a colored and a white man, both convicts chained together as they make their break for freedom from a Southern prison gang. The performances by Tony Curtis and Sidney Poitier are virtually flawless. Poitier captures all of the moody violence of the convict, serving time because he assaulted a white man who had insulted him. It is a cunning, totally intelligent portrayal that rings powerfully true...Curtis delivers a true surprise performance. He starts off as a sneering, brutal character, willing to fight it out to-the-death with his equally stubborn companion. When, in the end, he sacrifices a dash for freedom to save Poitier, by saving him from the swamp, he has managed the transition with such skill that sympathy is completely with him."<ref>{{cite news |title=The Defiant Ones |url=https://variety.com/1957/film/reviews/the-defiant-ones-1200419029/ |access-date=8 March 2023 |work=Variety |date=December 31, 1957}}</ref>

On Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds a rating of 91%, based on 58 reviews.<ref>{{Cite web | url=http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/defiant_ones | title=The Defiant Ones | website=[[Rotten Tomatoes]] }}</ref>

The February 2020 issue of ''[[New York Magazine]]'' lists ''The Defiant Ones'' as among "The Best Movies That Lost Best Picture at the Oscars."<ref>{{cite news|title=The Best Movies That Lost Best Picture at the Oscars|url=https://www.vulture.com/article/best-oscar-best-picture-losers.html|magazine=[[New York Magazine]]|access-date=March 17, 2025}}</ref>

===Awards and nominations===
{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Award
! Category
! Subject
! Result
|-
| rowspan="9"| [[31st Academy Awards|Academy Awards]]<ref>{{cite web |title=31st Academy Awards |url=https://www.oscars.org/oscars/ceremonies/1959 |website=oscars.org |access-date=8 March 2023}}</ref>
| [[Academy Award for Best Picture|Best Picture]]
| rowspan="2"| [[Stanley Kramer]]
| {{nom}}
|-
| [[Academy Award for Best Director|Best Director]]
| {{nom}}
|-
| rowspan="2"| [[Academy Award for Best Actor|Best Actor]]
| [[Tony Curtis]]
| {{nom}}
|-
| [[Sidney Poitier]]
| {{nom}}
|-
| [[Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor|Best Supporting Actor]]
| [[Theodore Bikel]]
| {{nom}}
|-
| [[Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress|Best Supporting Actress]]
| [[Cara Williams]]
| {{nom}}
|-
| [[Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay|Best Story and Screenplay – Written Directly for the Screen]]
| [[Nedrick Young]] and [[Harold Jacob Smith]]
| {{won}}
|-
| [[Academy Award for Best Cinematography|Best Cinematography – Black-and-White]]
| [[Sam Leavitt]]
| {{won}}
|-
| [[Academy Award for Best Film Editing|Best Film Editing]]
| [[Frederic Knudtson]]
| {{nom}}
|-
| [[Bambi Award]]s
| Best Actor – International
| Tony Curtis
| {{nom}}
|-
| [[Bodil Awards]]<ref>{{cite web |title=1959 |url=https://www.bodilprisen.dk/aar-for-aar/1959-2/ |website=Bodilprisen |access-date=8 March 2023 |language=da}}</ref>
| [[Bodil Award for Best American Film|Best American Film]]
| rowspan="2"| Stanley Kramer
| {{won}}
|-
| rowspan="2"| [[8th Berlin International Film Festival|Berlin International Film Festival]]<ref>{{cite web |title=Prizes & Honours 1958 |url=http://www.berlinale.de/en/archiv/jahresarchive/1958/03_preistr_ger_1958/03_Preistraeger_1958.html |website=Berlinale |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131015121020/http://www.berlinale.de/en/archiv/jahresarchive/1958/03_preistr_ger_1958/03_Preistraeger_1958.html |archive-date=October 15, 2013}}</ref>
| [[Golden Bear]]
| {{nom}}
|-
| [[Silver Bear for Best Actor|Silver Bear]]
| Sidney Poitier
| {{won}}
|-
| rowspan="3"| [[12th British Academy Film Awards|British Academy Film Awards]]<ref>{{cite web |title=Film in 1959 |url=http://awards.bafta.org/award/1959/film |website=awards.bafta.org |access-date=8 March 2023}}</ref>
| colspan="2"| [[BAFTA Award for Best Film|Best Film of any Source]]
| {{nom}}
|-
| rowspan="2"| [[BAFTA Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role|Best Foreign Actor]]
| Tony Curtis
| {{nom}}
|-
| Sidney Poitier
| {{won}}
|-
| [[11th Directors Guild of America Awards|Directors Guild of America Awards]]
| [[Directors Guild of America Award for Outstanding Directing – Feature Film|Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Motion Pictures]]
| Stanley Kramer
| {{nom}}
|-
| [[Edgar Award|Edgar Allan Poe Awards]]
| [[List of Edgar Allan Poe Award for Best Motion Picture Screenplay winners|Best Motion Picture]]
| Nedrick Young and Harold Jacob Smith
| {{won}}
|-
| rowspan="5"| [[16th Golden Globe Awards|Golden Globe Awards]]<ref>{{cite web |title=16th Golden Globe Awards |url=https://www.goldenglobes.com/winners-nominees/1959 |website=Golden Globes |access-date=8 March 2023}}</ref>
| colspan="2"| [[Golden Globe Award for Best Motion Picture – Drama|Best Motion Picture – Drama]]
| {{won}}
|-
| rowspan="2"| [[Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Motion Picture Drama|Best Actor in a Motion Picture – Drama]]
| Tony Curtis
| {{nom}}
|-
| Sidney Poitier
| {{nom}}
|-
| [[Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actress – Motion Picture|Best Supporting Actress – Motion Picture]]
| Cara Williams
| {{nom}}
|-
| [[Golden Globe Award for Best Director|Best Director – Motion Picture]]
| Stanley Kramer
| {{nom}}
|-
| [[Motion Picture Sound Editors|Golden Reel Awards]]
| colspan=2| [[Golden Reel Award for Outstanding Achievement in Sound Editing – Sound Effects and Foley for Feature Film|Best Sound Editing – Feature Film]]
| {{won}}
|-
| rowspan="5"| [[Laurel Awards]]
| colspan="2"| Top Drama
| {{draw|4th Place}}
|-
| Top Male Dramatic Performance
| Sidney Poitier
| {{nom}}
|-
| Top Male Supporting Performance
| Theodore Bikel
| {{draw|5th Place}}
|-
| Top Cinematography – Black and White
| Sam Leavitt
| {{won}}
|-
| Top Score
| [[Ernest Gold (composer)|Ernest Gold]]
| {{draw|5th Place}}
|-
| rowspan=3| [[1958 New York Film Critics Circle Awards|New York Film Critics Circle Awards]]<ref>{{cite news |last1=Crowther |first1=Bosley |title=THE 'BEST' OF 1958; Critic Selects 'Top Ten' Films and Comments on Group Awards |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1959/01/04/archives/the-best-of-1958-critic-selects-top-ten-films-and-comments-on-group.html |access-date=8 March 2023 |work=The New York Times |date=January 4, 1959}}</ref>
| colspan="2"| [[New York Film Critics Circle Award for Best Film|Best Film]]
| {{won}}
|-
| [[New York Film Critics Circle Award for Best Director|Best Director]]
| Stanley Kramer
| {{won}}
|-
| [[New York Film Critics Circle Award for Best Screenplay|Best Screenplay]]
| rowspan="2"| Nedrick Young and Harold Jacob Smith
| {{won}}
|-
| [[11th Writers Guild of America Awards|Writers Guild of America Awards]]<ref>{{cite web |title=1959 Awards Winners |url=http://www.wga.org/awards/awardssub.aspx?id=1551 |website=wga.org |access-date=8 March 2023 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20121205095022/http://www.wga.org/awards/awardssub.aspx?id=1551 |archive-date=2012-12-05}}</ref>
| [[Writers Guild of America Award for Best Written Drama|Best Written American Drama]]
| {{won}}
|}
'''[[AFI 100 Years... series|American Film Institute]]'''

* [[AFI's 100 Years...100 Cheers]] - #55<ref>{{Cite web |title=AFI's 100 Years...100 Cheers |url=https://www.afi.com/afis-100-years-100-cheers/ |access-date=2023-12-13 |website=American Film Institute |language=en}}</ref>