No Way Out is the gripping story of what happens in a small town when white prejudice causes the eruption of black-white violence. The story centers on a black doctor (Sidney Poitier) who must care for two brothers, who are also criminals, in the hospital where he is an intern. When one brother dies from natural causes, the other brother (Richard Widmark) believes that the doctor has deliberately murdered his brother. The doctor’s supervisor (Stephen McNally) knows him to be innocent, however, the brother will not allow an autopsy to prove it. The two doctors enlist the help of the man’s widow (Linda Darnell) to give permission for the autopsy. The brother, aided by another brother who is deaf and dumb, but who can read lips, basically seeks to intimidate her into not allowing the autopsy. In the meantime, he spreads the word that this doctor has killed his brother, and a terrible violence erupts between blacks and whites in the town.  In the dramatic concluding scene, the brother finds himself fatally wounded, and he is dependent on the man he hates so much to save his life.

Back to Movie List