Critics: The Pearls of Pauline

When Critic Pauline Kael goes to the movies, she often spends as much time looking at the audience as at the screen. While watching Bonnie and Clyde, she noticed that a woman sitting near by kept insisting rather frantically, "It's a comedy, it's a comedy." That reaction, thought Miss Kael, aptly reflected the film's unsettling mixture of violence, humor and tragedy. Watching The PARIS.MATCH Defiant Ones in an audience composed of whites and Negroes, she noted two reactions when the black convict, Sidney Poitier, sacrifices his own...

Want the full story?

Subscribe Now

Subscribe
Subscribe

Learn more about the benefits of being a TIME subscriber

If you are already a subscriber sign up — registration is free!