Trailer
Plot summary
Luther Brooks trained at the county hospital and became its first African American physician. Chief resident Dan Wharton mentors him, and Brooks still doubts his own judgment. On the prison ward he receives Johnny and Ray Biddle, brothers wounded in the leg during a robbery attempt. Ray, a bigot, insults him throughout. Johnny's confusion and dilated pupils look to Brooks like a brain tumor, so he performs a spinal tap. Johnny dies, and Ray blames Brooks and swears revenge. Wharton believes the doctor chose correctly, though he admits the diagnosis could be wrong. Brooks asks for an autopsy to settle it; Ray will not consent, and the hospital head refuses as well, fearing a scandal involving its only black doctor would endanger funding. Brooks and Wharton then call on Johnny's widow, Edie Johnson.
Cast
Did you know?!Facts and trivia about No Way Out (1950)
Can contain spoilers, watch the movie first.
- Director Joseph Mankiewicz picked Sidney Poitier from a small group of finalists to play Dr. Luther Brooks; the role launched Poitier's film career.
- Studio production head Darryl F. Zanuck first approved a script in which Luther was killed, but changed the ending after feeling it left a "feeling of utter futility".
- Chicago's Mayor Kennelly lifted a ban on the film only after three to four minutes, including scenes of black and white characters preparing for a riot, were cut; a special committee had recommended lifting it.
- The National Newspaper Publishers Association passed a resolution protesting racial epithets in all films, singling out No Way Out, where slurs are used thirty-five times; it called the terms inappropriate for a "decent society".
- No Way Out was the first film to pair Ossie Davis and Ruby Dee on screen; both were uncredited, and it marked Davis's film debut.
