A Raisin in the Sun (1961 film)
| A Raisin in the Sun | |
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One of original theatrical posters
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| Directed by | Daniel Petrie |
| Produced by |
Philip Rose David Susskind |
| Screenplay by | Lorraine Hansberry |
| Based on | A Raisin in the Sun by Lorraine Hansberry |
| Starring |
Sidney Poitier Ruby Dee Claudia McNeil Diana Sands Stephen Perry |
| Music by | Laurence Rosenthal |
| Cinematography | Charles Lawton, Jr. |
| Edited by |
William A. Lyon Paul Weatherwax |
| Distributed by | Columbia Pictures |
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Release date
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Running time
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128 min. |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $1.5 million |
A Raisin in the Sun is a 1961 drama film, starring Sidney Poitier, Ruby Dee, Claudia McNeil, Diana Sands, Roy Glenn, and Louis Gossett (in his film debut), and adapted from the 1959 play of the same name by Lorraine Hansberry. It follows a black family that wants a better life away from the city.
In 2005, A Raisin in the Sun was selected for preservation in the United States of America National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant".
The Younger family - Walter Lee, his wife Ruth, younger sister Beneatha, son Travis and mother Lena - live in a small apartment in Chicago's East side. They are anticipating a life insurance check for Lena's husband's death in the amount of $10,000, and each of them has an idea as to what he or she would like to do with this money. Matriarch Lena wants to buy a house to fulfill the dream she shared with her deceased husband. Walter Lee would rather use the money to invest in a liquor store, believing the income would put an end to the family’s financial woes. Ruth, wanting to provide more space and better opportunities for Travis, agrees with Lena. Beneatha would like to use the money to pay her medical school tuition.
Lena spends $3,500 for a down payment on a house in Clybourne Park, and after being agitated many times by Walter, gives him the remaining $6,500 and tells him to save $3,000 of it for Beneatha's medical school and take the remaining $3,500 for his own investments. Meanwhile, Ruth discovers she is pregnant and, fearing another child will add to the financial pressures, considers having an abortion. Walter voices no objection, but Lena is strongly against it, saying "I thought we gave children life, not take it away from them".
Beneatha rejects her suitor George, believing he's blind to the problems of their race. Her Nigerian classmate Joseph Assangai proposes to her, wanting to take her to Africa with him after they finish school, but she is unsure what to do.
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