☆ ☆ ☆ ½
The
Well (1951) – L. Popkin & R. Rouse
A young African-American girl goes missing
and a white man passing through town is accused of kidnapping her. Thus begins a tense day for the head of
police, as things break down along racial lines with each group suspecting
unfair biases at play. To be fair, the
film is very explicit that African-Americans suffer more prejudice and
injustice at the hands of whites than the other way around but it is also open
to the possibility that the white man (Harry Morgan, the only cast member I
recognised) is being assumed guilty without a trial by some. The editing of the film (lots of montage)
ratchets up the tension – which is almost at boiling point as mobs form and
senseless violent acts are committed.
But then the girl is found (we knew in advance that she had fallen down
a well) and the town rallies to use heavy machinery to extract her from the 60
ft. deep shaft. Uniting around this
common goal seems to completely dissipate any racial animosity that existed in
the previous 12 hours (as social psychological theory would predict). It’s all a bit unbelievable (partly due to
some wooden acting) yet still gives you a warm feeling when things work
out. If only our real problems were so
easily allayed.
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