The Well

On a shoestring budget, United Artists has produced a powerful picture. "The Well" owes its unusual impact to realistic handling of a brutal social phenomenon--the race riot. For those who haven't seen a race not build up, for those who haven't seen a bunch of plain ordinary guys turn into a pack of sadists, this picture is a must.

Most race riots in this country are triggered off by rumors of some aggressive act by a Negro, but "The Well" uses a new twist. This time a Negro girl disappears and suspicion points to a white man. There are immediate rumors that she has been attacked, but that the man will get off easy because of his color and connections in the town. Meanwhile, the whites wonder what "the niggers are trumping up" and when someone is accidentally knocked down on the street, rumors spread that he was attacked by a group of Negroes. At this point "The Well's" tempo speeds up with flash shots of excited crowds in different parts of the city. It isn't long before gangs of teenagers start roaming the streets and smashing windows in the colored section. As the contagion spreads, the older folks join in. Negroes are dragged from their cars and worked over, and in retaliation the Negro gangs fire a warehouse. These are brutal scenes; it's hard to believe that the participants are human beings, but the same crazed mobs have been seen in St. Louis and Detroit.

Only the news that the girls has been discovered (at the bottom of a well) saves the town from mass riot. This is an implausible touch, but in introduces what might almost be another story--a dramatic rescue operation based on the Kathy Fiscus tragedy. Excellent night photography highlights these scenes as Negroes and whites work together in the glare of automobile headlights to tunnel through to the girl. This brings a fast moving climax to a picture that's good entertainment, and something to think about.