Editing The Defiant Ones (section)

===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>