La marque du faucon

It's important to understand the context for "The Mark of the Hawk". Following WWII, colonies around the world were pushing very hard for independence from the mother countries (specifically, France, the UK, Belgium and the Netherlands). In some cases, wars for independence broke out (such as in Indonesia and Vietnam) and others they worked with the mother country for gradual independence.

This film is set in an African nation controlled by the Brits...and the local natives, naturally, want the colonizers out and an installation of their own government. Unfortunately, locals distrust even their own elected officials and Obam (Sidney Poitier) has his hands full trying to both work with the British in order to get them to leave AND maintain the good will of his own people. However, his own brother is an angry man and sees Obam as a sellout...and other locals seem like-minded. Will Obam be able to somehow please everyone and navigate this period peaceably? Oh, and as for the hawk...that's a symbol of the radical resistance.

This film has some excellent black actors...not only Poitier but Eartha Kitt and Juano Hernandez. Of course, for that matter, the 'Africans' listed above are also Americans. I wonder how the movie would have been with African and Brits in the leads instead. Who knows?!

So is it any good? Yes. I like that it deals with colonialism and nationalism...topics rarely dealt with in films of the day. It also is quite interesting and was well crafted. Well worth seeing...though Kitt's singing seemed out of place and the film was a tad preachy.

This movie is ultimately about a black African selling out to white colonialists. Not exactly the kind of part that you might expect Sidney Poitier to take on. Considering the year made (1957?) it may just have been that Sidney needed the work. In any case, he does a fine acting job as Obam, a newly elected representative. The same cannot be said for Eartha Kitt - who plays Obam's wife. In a sequence that seems rather out of place she sings her first hit song. A much better acting job is done by Clifton Macklin as Obam's revolutionary brother, Kanda. The tension between the two carries the movie through to it's rather sappy religious-tinged ending. If you are a Poitier fan, it's a must see.

Although Sidney Poitier was not first billed, his character was definitely one of the main 3, and if it wasn't for him this movie would never make it past the 2 star mark. His acting carried this movie. It has a decent story about the Africans wanting freedom in their own country and although it didn't really have a B movie feel to it, there wasn't much there. The story was told well and the camera work was OK but you never really care about any of the characters. Sidney Poitier and his character's brother were the only ones who had any believable emotions. The rest of the cast had the same "look at me act" feel I got when watching the 1934 version of "The Scarlet Pimpernel"

After watching this it is not hard to see why Sidney Poitier was nominated for an Academy Award the next year, he is just such a good actor in a time where acting was less about believability and more about stage presence.

This interesting story deals about OBAMA a freedom fighter facing colonialism and set against the backdrop of apartheid .It's a serious colonial story about rebellion in an African country very compelling made and deserving a fine treatment with poignant moments . The story focuses on the segregation's opposition by Obam as well as the events leading up a rebellion by the organization of the Mark of Hawk. Obam renounce for living resignedly with discrimination and apartheid confronting the system for gaining independence. It's utterly convincing and does powerful and moving statement about the colonialism and apartheid. This exciting and startling drama maintains a strong grip throughout, however is urgent a digital remastering but the copy-film is worn-out. The best scenes are referred about a flashbacks in China where a Christian missionary, well played by John McIntire, is prisoned by the Mao's communists and his Chinese son . Superb casting with fine all around acting. Good ensemble actors, both Sidney Poitier as freedom fighter to get racial equality and Eartha Kitt turn in wonderfully performances, furthermore include song titled 'This man is mine'sung by Kitt, the future cat-woman in Batman TV series . John McIntire is splendid as doomed preacher and awesome Juano Hernandez in an understated, restrained performance.This feature with hopeful message of potential racial harmony is well realized by Michael Audley in his first and only one.

This thought-provoking, well-meaning expose that, like many others, focuses on African and white people conflicts , such as those also starred by Sidney Potier : 'Something of value'(1957)by Richard Brooks ,again with Juano Hernandez and set in Kenia with terrible revolutionary group named 'Mau Mau' , a 'Mark of Hawk'-alike, and 'Cry the beloved country¨(version 1951)by Zoltan Korda again with Sidney Poitier and set in South Africa where the oppression,horror and destruction of apartheid system are equally exposed.

Notable for being Eartha Kitt's screen debut, this film is a political potboiler with heavy religious overtones. The setting is an unnamed country in pre-independence Africa, where Obam (Poitier) is a newly elected representative. Agitating for independence, he clashes with the colonial government, his firebrand younger brother Kanda (Clifton Macklin) and newly arrived missionary Mr. Craig (John McIntire).

Some of the speeches get tiresome and a ten minute flashback in the middle of the film slows the plot to a crawl, but the always watchable Poitier still manages to carry the film to it's improbable conclusion. Eartha is cast waaay against type as Obam's demure wife Renee, but then again we are treated to a rendition of her first gold record song ("This Man Is Mine") which is more than worth the wait.