Mankiewicz's usually understated political convictions are made clear by his direction of one of post-WWII Hollywood's most daring liberal productions – a fierce and uncompromising attack on racism. Reportedly upset by Fox's Pinky – whose exploration of interracial romance was thwarted by the controversial casting of a white actress, Jeanne Crain, in the role of an African American – Mankiewicz convinced Darryl Zanuck to respond with a searing indictment of racist tendencies in middle America. Working from a story by co-screenwriter Lesser Samuels, Mankiewicz crafted a powerfully allegorical and suspenseful narrative that steadily builds in tension to reach its explosive climax. Most important to the project was the choice of Sidney Poitier who made his extraordinary screen debut as a young African American doctor, and Richard Widmark bringing a troubled three-dimensionality to his sneering racist thug. Banned in Chicago for fear that it would incite race riots, No Way Out was not released in the South and was prohibited from being screened on Sundays in Massachusetts. – HG