The Well

Compelling and provocative, with effective overacting and propagandist style camera angles. The situation cleverly leaves moral ambiguity and a false sense of security, highlighting the precariously thin-bound path of racial relations. The insidious advertising poster is all too telling...

For the first half of the film this is a great companion piece to Phenix City Story, with a town's rising racial tensions approaching a boiling point. In the second half a key plot point happens and it becomes a different film. It's still tense and compelling, but it loses a bit of the powder keg energy of that first half. The performances and the cinematography aren't anything special, but they're enough to deliver the writing in a very effective way, which is the highlight of the film.

Despite its implausible plot, uneven pacing and dated acting styles, this is worth a watch for its handling of themes of racism and mob mentality in a small town.

In this moral tale, the disappearance of a little girl sparks a town-wide race war, and the discovery that she had fallen into a well brings it to an abrupt halt. It is about average in levels of silliness for Hollywood of that era. Underlying the hammy delivery is generally passable dialogue, but there are also such goofy moments as when a medical doctor sternly declares: "the fact that she is still alive indicates that she is able to breathe"

The Well (1951) feels almost too radical for its time. Certainly a picture with fingers on the pulse. The racial tension could cut you like a knife. There is a simplistic approach to the film making, but in a way the raw production fit the realism of it all. At the same time it also felt like the production got sharper as the movie progressed. Positively surprised that this received two Oscar nominations. Daring leap for 1951, even if they played it safe the second half of the picture.

Estreava há 70 anos nos EUA. Com a mesma pegada d'A Montanha dos Sete Abutres, mas inversamente diferente por acabar em uma reconciliação racial, enquanto o filme do Wilder é cínico até o fim na discussão ética. Pode parecer um filme avançado nos direitos civis, mas não sei até que ponto isso não é uma manobra mercadológica, pois Popkin era dono de cadeia de cinema para negros no apartheid norte-americano e pacificar a luta racial, "amansar" os negros sempre foi o ideário branco.

At its best this is like Do the Right Thing--although with a 50's societal & cinematic language. It wonderfully examines small-town prejudices, simmering tensions, and how white women weaponizing racism against black men leads to a lynch mob. However the shaky final third turns it into a mining docudrama with overwrought performances and unanswered questions. Still, it's well-made; especially the montages (although the reaction shots get tiresome). Recommended, although your mileage may vary.