Director
Daniel Petrie
Leading Actors/Actresses
Sidney Poitier, Claudia McNeil
Supporting Actors/Actresses
Ruby Dee, Diana Sanda
Genre
Drama
Language
English
Awards
Canned Film Festival Best Director Award 1961
Date of Release
1961
Producer
Ronald H. Gilbert, Philip Rose, David Susskind
Setting and Context
Chicago, late 1950s against a background of social segregation
Narrator and Point of View
No narrator and the point of view is third-person as if from the outside looking in
Tone and Mood
Depressing and hopeless yet hopeful at the same time. Angry and combative
Protagonist and Antagonist
Lena is the protagonist and for much of the movie her son is the antagonist
Major Conflict
Conflict between Walter and his mother about the way in which she should use the $100,000 check
Climax
The family move into Clybourne Park neighborhood despite the opposition of its predominantly white citizens
Foreshadowing
Walter's unraveling foreshadows he fact that Lena is going to relent and give him a portion of the money despite her disapproval of the liquor store partnership
Understatement
There is no official segregation in the Chicago area but this understates the issue because the citizens of Chicago have a tendency to segregate themselves and this therefore understates the segregation and prejudice issues that are prevalent
Innovations in Filming or Lighting or Camera Techniques
No specific techniques used
Allusions
No examples in this movie
Paradox
The fact they are not welcome in the neighborhood makes Lena more determined to move there
Parallelism
There is a parallel between the way in which the white citizens of Clybourne Park and the black citizens of inner Chicago segregate themselves and live within their own racial group
