Sidney Poitier as Walter Lee is the "giant...surrounded by ants" as he dreams of escaping his job as a chauffeur and investing in a liquor store. Poitier's body language and subtle gestures as he argues about how to spend his mother's ten thousand dollar life insurance check powerfully convey his anguish. The close-up of Poitier's slow transition from an insolent and angry young man to a tearful and repentant son in one scene with his mother is unforgettable. Claudia McNeil, as the mother, is stalwart, strong, and full of pride. Ruby Dee, as the devoted wife, trying to decide whether to have an abortion in order to lighten her husband's load, is simultaneously resolute and resigned. Diana Sands, as Beneatha, the agnostic medical student, reflecting the beginning of the "Roots" and "Black Power" movements, provides some comic relief as she practices African "home-from-the-hunt" dances.

At the heart of the play is the issue of discrimination against black people and the limitations on their dreams, and the filming in black and white is appropriate. The small dying houseplant that Lena nurtures remains the major symbol here, as it is in the play, but through the cinematography new symbols emerge. The kitchen cupboard door opens and shuts as family members open and shut themselves to each other and the outside world, and numerous scenes take place between two people with a door in the background, opening and closing as their emotions change. The film quality and its high contrast have withstood the test of time, the sound is good, and the acting, especially as revealed in the close-ups, makes this a classic film, better than any stage version I have ever seen or imagined. Mary Whipple