“No one is born hating another person because of the color of his skin, or his background, or his religion. People must learn to hate, and if they can learn to hate, they can be taught to love, for love comes more naturally to the human heart than its opposite”

These words were written by the brilliant Nelson Mandela in his autobiography, and have adorned many murals and classroom walls across the world, particularly as the global community continues to fight against racism and bigotry, which is ingrained in many aspects of contemporary society. Perhaps a lengthy and somewhat over-used quote, but one that nonetheless puts into words the entire concept of civil rights and the importance of eradicating bigotry in all of its forms. In particular, it relates quite closely with the premises of many very strong social dramas produced over the years, since regardless of the precise subject matter, there has always been the sense of trying to argue towards global equality. A film that this can easily be applied to is Pressure Point, in which director Hubert Cornfield and co-screenwriter S. Lee Pogostin adapt the casebook The Fifty-Minute Hour by psychologist and criminologist Robert Mitchell Lindner, which tells the story of a black psychiatrist who relays his experiences just after the end of the Second World War, where he was forced to treat a patient who happened to be a white supremacist, and very closely aligned with the sentiments of the Nazi Party, who were still considered a dangerous and dynamic political force at the time. The film tracks their interactions, starting from their earliest therapy sessions where they prove to be in stark combat with one another, right to the very end of their work together, when it is revealed that this psychiatrist is the only person standing in the way of this bigot receiving parole, being singularly unable to see the value in such a person returning to society. A very simple film with straightforward themes and a palpable sense of tension, Pressure Point is very effective, although not entirely original, and it contains a few elements that have not allowed it to age quite as well as those films that would become more prominent when it comes to exploring the same themes, leading to a solid but mostly very conventional work.

Pressure Point came about at a very important moment in the United States history – the country had covered adequately from the Second World War, but were still engaged in the tensions relating to the Cold War, and thus the political and social atmosphere was far from pleasant. The fear of the encroaching influence of Communism and the desire to assert dominance over other global superpowers ultimately meant that the country was in a state of disarray. In between all of this, the Civil Rights movement was continuing to take shape, and by the time the country had reached the early 1960s, considerable work had been done in terms of visibility for the cause, even though there was still a long way to go. In an effort to spread the message and incite dialogue, many left-leaning filmmakers and writers worked laboriously to bring these ideas to the mainstream, and the results were films such as this – simple, well-crafted social realist dramas that enlist popular stars and have them acting out scenarios  directly related to the issues of the day. Only slightly elevated from the afterschool specials that have come to represent this style of heavy-handed storytelling, but still existing within that same general arena, Pressure Point is an effective but mostly predictable film that offers very little in terms of originality, but overcomes this through the importance of its message. Watching it from a contemporary perspective, we might find some of its politics slightly dated, and we can mercifully say that the bigotry on display in this film, which still in existence, is far less widespread today as it was at the time. Yet, there is still something quite raw about this film, and it has a lot of resonance in ways that we would not normally anticipate, which is part of the film’s overall impact and the reason it works so well, at least in terms of representing the trials and tribulations of the communities that worked labouriously to enter professions usually reserved for others, but who still have to face discrimination in every aspect of their daily lives, both in terms of professional endeavours and personal relationships. This is where the importance of this film emerges, and we gradually start to see its ideas growing to fit the overall narrative as it progresses.

Pressure Point is a very simple film, and is mainly designed to be a two-hander between a pair of actors, who occupy the lion’s share of the film. Ostensibly based on the original writer’s casebook taken from his own experiences as a psychiatrist towards the middle of the 20th century, the film casts Sidney Poitier as the dedicated but fiery therapist forced to reconcile his own experiences as a black man in the United States with his professional commitments, which brings him into contact with a hateful young man, who is in turn portrayed by Bobby Darin, who commits wholeheartedly to the role. Both actors are excellent, and they handle a very challenging script with dedication and aplomb, delivering striking, heartfelt performances that are driven almost entirely by the strength of the themes that the film is exploring. Neither of them are strangers to socially-aware, complex films about important issues at the time, and as a result they’re both good fits for the roles, even if they’re somewhat obvious in hindsight. Poitier in particular is always exceptional, and he does well in playing these stoic, principled men who face adversity directly and always manage to find the resolve to persist and continue to embody all the best qualities of humanity. It’s a role we’ve seen the actor play countless times, but we can forgive the predictability based on how moving he consistently is throughout the film, and how he handles some surprisingly dense material. Darin has the more traditionally challenging role, playing the part of a hateful young man who is clearly inclined towards villainy, but who we start to understand is only this way as a result of social conditioning. Its very important that the film doesn’t give us a glimpse into Darin’s character outside of these therapy sessions, which makes the final reveal that he is actually a hardworking, remorseful prisoner doing his best to serve his time in peace outside of that office all the more shocking, implying that bigotry can sometimes be hidden in the souls of the most seemingly placid and peaceful individuals. The pair are exceptional together, anchoring this film and making it far more engaging than it perhaps would have been in any other context.

However, as strong as it may be in certain areas, Pressure Point is also a film that has its shortcomings, which is a result of it being produced for the immediate audience, rather than striving to have a further reach. Both in terms of the style and its execution, there are a few elements that leave us slightly underwhelmed. Undeniably, the importance of the film’s message is placed front-and-centre, to prevent even the slightest sense of argument towards the film being too overly ambigious about its underlying themes. However, its in this tendency towards constantly hammering the message home that we find the film tends to be the most overwrought, since it feels impelled to consistently remind the viewer that what they are witnessing is essentially a battle between good and evil, represented in the moralistic psychiatrist who endures the most hateful racist rhetoric, and the bigot who spews every slur and exclamation of hatred he can muster, almost as if he is trying to intentionally break the spirit of someone who is attempting to help him. Perhaps at the time, the film made an impression – after all, this was an era where the boundary between racism and socially-conditioned prejudice was much more vague, and even those who may not have been dyed-in-the-wool bigot likely held views that placed people of colour as being somewhat inferior. Yet, there are many other films from this era that manage to explore these themes without the somewhat limiting structure of having the majority of the film take place between only two characters as they sit in a single room, debating and providing their perspective. It is a weighty film, and one that is only made more dense by the heavy-handed storytelling. The importance of the storyline is not dismissed, its just the manner in which it is delivered that can begin to sway our attention. Still, it is vitally important to remember that Pressure Point is a product of its time, and while its politics and perspective may seem dated from a modern perspective, its still undeniably an important work, at least in terms of the themes being explored.

As admirable as the intentions behind it may have been, Pressure Point is only effective from the perspective of offering a poignant piece of social commentary, and its message is undeniably important but still delivered in a manner that feels slightly too overwrought. However, this is proof that some films are not intended to be viewed as timeless, eternally-resonant works, but rather products of their time, designed to capture the zeitgeist of a particular moment by compressing dominant mentalities, beliefs and concepts into a single cohesive story. In this regard, the film is a success – a simple, straightforward social drama featuring excellent performances from its two leads, who guide us through the challenging narrative in a manner that is meaningful and easy to understand. It may seem like we are being force-fed the social commentary, but this film had to make its intentions clear to erase any sense of vagueness that could come about in relation to its political viewpoint, since it was still a hot-button issue at the time. It may seem tame by contemporary standards, and it is true that it is a mostly very simple drama, but Pressure Point is far more coherent and compelling than we would initially expect, proving to be a quiet but forceful exploration of the past, as seen through the eyes of two people on opposite sides of the social and cultural spectrum who are forced to be in contact with one another, learning many lessons along the way about the impact of hatred and bigotry, and how it can tarnish the human soul. Complex in theory and straightforward in execution, this film is the quintessential social realist drama with a message, proving to be extremely effective and truly very poignant from start to end.