Dir. Daniel Petrie. 1961, 127 mins. 35mm. With Sidney Poitier, Ruby Dee, Claudia McNeil, Diana Sands. Lorraine Hansberry’s landmark vision of black family life made it to the big screen with nearly all the original Broadway cast intact. Poitier reprises his role as Walter Lee Younger, an ambitious husband and father living in poverty on Chicago’s South Side. When his recently widowed mother (Claudia McNeil) inherits a $10,000 life insurance policy, Walter sees a chance to build a better life for himself—but his mother has other ideas. Cast alongside his frequent co-star Ruby Dee as Walter’s much put-upon wife, Poitier delivers one of his defining performances in this heartrending drama of struggle in the face of overwhelming adversity.

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