At first rather annoying in its heavy emphasis on reenactments, this movie ultimately proves fascinating, simply because the complicated, highly dramatic tale it tells still almost defies belief.

This is a small, humorous movie in some ways, but it has a huge heart. What a nice experience.

It’s not bad or unwatchable but despite the amplitude of the spectacle, the end result is underwhelming.

The film never slows down or bores, plunging from one harrowing sequence to the next.

When Richard Widmark and his brother are shot in a robbery gone wrong, they are rushed to the hospital. Both are pretty racist and not afraid to show it, so when young doctor Sidney Poitier attends to their injuries, they verbally abuse him. Sidney thinks the stream of hatred is due to a brain tumor, but in his diagnosis and treatment, one brother dies. Richard Widmark believes Sidney murdered his brother on purpose, because racism in the hospital runs rampant on both sides, and he tries to get even. There's "no way out" of the hospital, but also no way to escape the hatred in the air.Not only is this one of the great shocking films of the 1950s that deals with racism, but it marks Sidney Poitier's film debut! It was quite a break for him, although he had to lie about his age to get the part, and he gives the first of many performances that break the color boundary in acting. You'd be hard pressed to see a movie that cast a black actor as a doctor in the 1940s. Both leads put their whole hearts into their performances; you'd never believe they were friends offscreen. Dick actually felt so terrible about saying racial slurs to Sidney that in-between takes, he would often apologize—it just goes to show you sometimes actors who get typecast as the bad guy are actually nice in real life!

No Way Out was Sidney Poitier's debut film it he sure benefited from beginners luck. Dr. Luther Brooks (Poitier) is an African American doctor who is assigned to treat two white trash robbers in the prison ward, brothers Johnny (Dick Paxton) and Ray Biddle (Richard Widmark). While Luther is tending to Johnny's wounds Biddle jeers at Luther and shouts racial slurs. When Johnny dies of a brain tumor Biddle starts holding Luther responsible because of his ethnicity. Although Luther had no part in Johnny's death, Biddle insists that it was him. Dr. Dan Wharton (Stephen McNally) Luther's superior believes Luther and so do the rest of the hospital staff, but Biddle tells his white trash friends and a big race riot erupts in the city. This overall is a great movie and I highly recommend it. Poitier would prove himself time and time again after this film.

As a "baby-boomer" I recall having been shocked by this film back in the '60s when it was shown on TV...even then with a cautionary advisory for younger viewers. It was in Chicago where I saw it...at that time Amanda Randolph was starring on "Make Room For Daddy" with Danny Thomas, and her famous sister, Lillian Randolph--famous for the roles she did in the "Tom and Jerry" cartoons, and the many film and radio roles she did--such as on "The Great Gildersleeve ( Birdie)" and her unforgettable presence in "It's a Wonderful Life"--had retired from show-biz and had settled in Chicago. "No Way Out" is a film that scrapes raw nerve endings. It gets right to the point, and is shocking because of the level of honesty it brings to the screen on the matter of race relations in America, circa 1950. The film definitely broke new ground, and was a break-out movie for Sidney Poitier, as well as Ossie Davis and Ruby Dee and others in the cast. Poitier is Dr Luther Brooks, trailblazing doctor put in control over a hospital ward who gets no respect and is constantly under the gun. When a patient in his care dies under what appear to be questionable circumstances, the groundwork is laid for for racist feelings to come to the fore. And, as word gets in the breeze, it comes to the point where a race riot could possibly ensue. Turns out that Brooks made the right diagnosis and took the right actions...but will word get around in time enough to quell the racial tensions that have heightened to nearly a fever pitch? This film is very intense, and can stand alongside of any of the films of today...it is honest, well scripted, well acted, and frightening in its delivery. It will have you on the edge of your seat. I recall back in the 80s and 90s when the Gen-X-ers were first seeing it in AMC and other cable outlets. Most did not know that things were as they were in that period of "pre-civil rights movement" America, and they were shocked to discover that such a film had been made. This is a film that not only changed cinema, but which also helped change America...and on that basis alone it is worth a watch...and I am sure you may want to watch it more than once.

NO WAY OUT is one of the best films about race prejudice that Hollywood ever made. One of the reasons this is so is because of the crude, evil and unflinching language used throughout the movie. If the movie were made now, it would most likely be sanitized--and that's a shame, as the vileness and stupidity of racism is diminished when film makers censor their message in order to avoid offending people. This movie is patently offensive--and because of that, it succeeds in telling a story that really packs an emotional wallop.Sidney Poitier plays a young doctor who was unfortunate enough to treat two brothers who are thieves on the jail ward of the hospital. Unfortunate, because one brother dies (through no fault of the doctor) and the other is such an insane racist (Richard Widmark) that he is sure the doctor killed his brother--though it's only because Poitier is black that he believes this. In Widmark's view of the world, blacks are garbage and he gives this doctor nothing but hatred and disrespect. Even when it is proved that Poitier did NOT kill this patient, Widmark is determined to get revenge...one way or another. There's a heck of a lot more to the plot than this, but I'll hold back so I won't spoil the suspense. And, speaking of suspense, this is one of the tensest films I've seen in some time--it kept my interest every minute.Some performances are worth noting. First, Stephen McNally plays one of his rare performances as a nice guy. Usually, he played heavies--gangster types. Here, he plays a fine human being--and I was shocked to see this. Second, Richard Widmark really did a great job. I know in real life he was a very liberal man and a champion of causes such as race relations. Yet, you'd never know it based on this venomous performance--he is one of the nastiest, if not the nastiest, racist I've seen on film. He gave a very ugly face to white supremacy--and showed just how sick racism is. As for Poitier, he was just great--as you'd naturally expect. I was just surprised that this was his first Hollywood type role--he seemed like an experienced vet.I think, however, the biggest stars of the film are the screen writers (Joseph L. Mankiewicz and Lesser Samuels) and director (Mankiewicz once again). The screenplay was simply amazing--convincing, taut and believable. The direction was also first-rate--something you'd expect from the same guy who brought us classics like ALL ABOUT EVE and A LETTER TO THREE WIVES. One scene in particular that I loved was when the flare was fired. That long pause as everyone was just frozen before the race riot began was brilliant--many directors wouldn't have used the pause and would have missed this chance to build the tension.A great film.