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      The Well

      Released Sep 26, 1951 1h 25m Drama List
      100% 9 Reviews Tomatometer 40% 50+ Ratings Audience Score When a little black girl goes missing, and rumors circulate that she was last seen with a white man, Claude Packard, Sheriff Ben Kellogg has his hands full trying to quell tensions between the black community, who fear Packard will be treated leniently, and the white reactionaries who worry he will be lynched. Read More Read Less

      Critics Reviews

      View All (9) Critics Reviews
      Jerry Renshaw Austin Chronicle The pace and direction of the film help maintain a great deal of tension from start to finish, and despite the obscure cast, the performances are uniformly good. Aug 7, 2020 Full Review Richard Brody New Yorker It's a remarkable movie, one that both highlights the central American crisis with dramatic audacity and, with a documentary-rooted sense of nuance, reveals its underlying, endemic social framework. Aug 7, 2020 Full Review Variety Staff Variety High drama and suspense are embodied strongly in this production. Mar 26, 2009 Full Review Nell Dodson Russell Minnesota Spokesman-Recorder Your eyes may fill with tears once or twice and your heart will tug at your conscience. Jan 15, 2022 Full Review Edward Murrain New York Age You'll plummet down into a myriad of faith, pride, anger and victory in The Well. Jul 13, 2021 Full Review Clyde Gilmour Maclean's Magazine The sudden smoothing over of race prejudice at the climax of this interesting yarn is a little too quick and slick for complete plausibility. In the main, however, it's a forceful and moving suspense story... Dec 3, 2019 Full Review Read all reviews

      Audience Reviews

      View All (7) audience reviews
      Steve D Too simple in its resolution. Rated 3 out of 5 stars 04/05/24 Full Review Audience Member 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. Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 02/04/23 Full Review Audience Member Thank god for the fast forward button. Even from this genre, 1hr & 25 mins was way too long. A complete hash of a dramatic shift in politics. Quite possibly the worst film I have ever seen. Rated 1 out of 5 stars 02/22/23 Full Review Audience Member i found it minorly engaging. it was better when they were fussing and fighting than when they all got together to rescue the little girl. then it all seemed drawn out. put it this way, it weren't exactly to kill a mocking bird... Rated 2 out of 5 stars 02/14/23 Full Review Audience Member A dated but progressive 'B' movie which has an interesting, almost documentary style to put across of lot of themes which provoke a lot of thought. Rated 3 out of 5 stars 02/06/23 Full Review Audience Member A 50's indie message picture. Pretty poorly acted, except for Henry Morgan. But there are still moments in the first half of the film which ring true, sadly. The second half is kind of like the idealistic and sentimental mirror image of Wilder's Ace in the Hole. Rated 3 out of 5 stars 02/13/23 Full Review Read all reviews Post a rating

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      The Well

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      Movie Info

      Synopsis When a little black girl goes missing, and rumors circulate that she was last seen with a white man, Claude Packard, Sheriff Ben Kellogg has his hands full trying to quell tensions between the black community, who fear Packard will be treated leniently, and the white reactionaries who worry he will be lynched.
      Director
      Leo C. Popkin, Russell Rouse
      Producer
      Harry M. Popkin
      Screenwriter
      Russell Rouse, Clarence Greene
      Distributor
      United Artists
      Genre
      Drama
      Original Language
      English
      Release Date (Theaters)
      Sep 26, 1951, Original
      Release Date (DVD)
      Aug 28, 2007
      Runtime
      1h 25m