Customer Reviews

The Well

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

A Black child slowly walks across a field picking flowers. As she appears in full view, she seems to drop off the bottom of the screen. The camera now move up and focuses down on a small well that she has fallen into. Dimitri Tiompkin's music profoundly enhances this scene and the rest of the movie. When she is reported missing, the police determine that the last person to see her was a white man (the actor is Henry Morgan, later known as Harry Morgan from Dragnet and MASH). The scenes of racial turmoil, interspersed with the scene of the field where the girl fell into the well, produce a feeling of disquieting intensity in the viewer. Even 40 after seeing The Well for the first time, I still get chills watching it.

I can remember at age 9 sitting home in my living room all alone watching this movie. It caught my eye because of the racial issues involved. The disapperance of a black child caused a huge uproar in a small town. She was last seen talking to a white man who was later accused of kidnapping her. The turn of events are really interesting. I purchased this movie last year and watched it again for the second time. This is a very captivating classic. I am glad I was able to add it to my video collection.

I saw this movie for the first time 30 years ago. It was excellent. I have seen it many times since then. It sends you through a range of feelings from anger to absolute joy. It is a study of human emotions. I highly recommend the film. I guarantee you will enjoy it.

This is a pretty fascinating little film. The other reviewers have pretty much told the story , so I won't be repetitive on that.

But what is really interesting is the portrayal of the Black characters. The film aviods rank stereotypes of the time and most of the Black characters are shown as decent, intellligent, and well-spoken (aside from the thuggish rioters, who are not the main characters). Similarly, it's also good that the film makes differences between the wild White rioters and the decent White characters who try to stop the madness. Overall, a very anti-racist film for it's time that deserves to be better known. Yeah, some of the dialogue and actiong are corny by modern standards, but it's still a good film that is really more about good vs. evil than Black vs, White.

This movie was filmed on location in Marysville and Yuba City, CA in 1950. The towns were supposed to portray a town in the deep south such as Georgia or Mississippi. The students in the class room scenes were kids from the Marysville Elementary School, first grade. I know because I was in the scenes. As extras, we were paid the sum of $15.00. Another scene was taken next to the school where a black lady was almost run down by a car. The school students were in another scene playing on playground equipment at the park. Many of the historic buildings shown in both Yuba City and Marysville are still standing today, 1999.

For an enjoyable movie with a good ending, watch it!

All of the previous reviews here were based on the VHS release of this movie, so I'll offer a few comments regarding the DVD. First off, the cover photo on the Image Entertainment release has absolutely NOTHING to do with what happens in the film. It's a publicity shot of the actors designed to catch your attention, but it gives the suggestion that the story is some sort of romantic melodrama, which this movie definitely is NOT.

As for the picture and sound quality of the DVD, the film obviously has not undergone any restoration. There are multiple scratches (resulting in vertical white lines) running through a good portion of the movie, and quite a few specks and splotches as well. Nonetheless, the overall picture quality is quite acceptable; in fact, the defects in the film almost enhance the vintage feel of the story.

The comments by other viewers are mostly accurate. Yes, the acting and dialogue do occasionally show the marks of a low-budget production. However, there's a certain emotional undercurrent and sense of urgency in this movie that really makes for some tense viewing. All in all it's a riveting film and quite ahead of its time in its exploration of race relations.

I disagree with the person who stated that THE WELL is good for only a single viewing. In my opinion this is an extraordinary little film that not only holds up as a thought-provoking drama but remains important to see as a notable part of motion picture history. It belongs in anyone's collection of classic movies.

This is an obscure film, most people have never heard of nor seen. If I could, I would recommend EVERY teen and adult watched this film.

Set in the 50's in a small town, a little black girl is missing. She was last seen talking to a white stranger in town. The man denies any wrong doing...you can guess what happens...Race riots begin, the town goes crazy, luckily the sheriff Kellog is a level headed , sensitive, ( and kind of a hottie) reasonable soul who tries to disarm the tension and violence.

When the child ends up being found in a well, ( she fell into on accident) the towns people come together and forget their biases in hopes of rescuing her..

This movie is poignant, in regards to the race relations in today's day and age too...This could easily happen in any town across the US, let's just hope if it did, we would ALL come to are senses before it was too late.

I nominated this film for the National Film Registry.

Though 'Birth of a Nation' and 'Gone With the Wind' are probably considered the most well-known race depiction films, 'The Well' should be better known as it is just as informative as these older classics.

Other viewers failed to note that despite the wooden acting, one of the films finest attributes is its unsparing view of human nature: depicting human viciousness expressed principally through mob violence and rumormongering (e.g., to get her boyfriend's attention a coquette lies about victimization by a Black man, not caring that the lie fuels a race riot).

I had not seen this film since the 1970s. I believe the local networks stopped showing it because whites in the film frequently use the 'n' word, which, even in the 21st-century is shocking in film.

As an aside, the film is timely because it throws a strong historical light on race relations, a key topic in this '08 election season.

I ORIGINALLY SAW THIS MOVIE IN 1958 WHEN I WAS 5 YEARS OLD. TO
THIS DAY I REMEMBERED IT AS RIVETING.I NEVER FORGOT THE IMAGE OF
THE WELL DRILLING EQUIPMENT TOWERING ABOVE THE WELL.
UPON REWATCHING" THE WELL" I IMMEDIATELY NOTICED HOW DATED IT WAS.
THE CHARACTERS USE EXCESSIVE FACIAL EXPRESSION AND ESSENTIALLY OVER ACT TO DRIVE HOME DRAMATIC POINTS. UNFORTUNATELY REAL PEOPLE SIMPLY DON'T ACT THAT WAY.
THE PLOT CENTERS ON HOW AN AVERAGE TOWN DESCENDS INTO MOB VIOLENCE WHEN A BLACK GIRL, LAST SEEN WITH A WHITE MAN, DISAPPEARS.THE IMMEDIATE ASSUMPTION IS THAT HE'S MURDERED HER, WHEN IN FACT SHE'S FALLEN INTO AN ABANDONED WELL. THE TOWNSFOLK
IMMEDIATELY BECOME MARAUDING BANDS OF CLUB WIELDING THUGS INTENT ON RACIAL GENOCIDE.OF COURSE,WHEN THE GIRL IS DISCOVERED AT THE BOTTOM OF THE WELL, THE TOWN REUNITES TO SAVE HER.THESE RADICAL MOOD TRANSFORMATIONS ARE SIMPLY TOO MUCH TO BELIEVE.
THE WELL IS GOODFOR ONE VIEWING,BUT IS NOTHING TO BE WATCHED OVER AND OVER AGAIN.

This was a great movie about a little girl who falls down a well and how at first both sides allow their own racial prejudices to tear the town apart until they realize that only by working together can they save the little girl.The movie was made in 1951 and starred Richard Rober Christine Larson Barry Kelley and Harry Morgan(of MASH Fame)as the prime suspect since he was the last one seen with her .And also in the great cast were actors whos faces are known but not their names and in particular Maidie Norman as the girls mother did an excellent job .as did Robert Osterloch,Tom Powers,Lane Chandler,Michael Ross and Gwendolyn Lane as the littlegirl all were excellent.I reccommend this classic story for everyone to see.