Take a Giant Step (1959)

(On Cable TV, February 2021) It’s fascinating to go back in movie history and discover works that anticipate trends of later decades. While stories of black teenagers coming of age are now commonplace, there were virtually unknown in 1959, at least from mainstream movie studios. That makes Take a Giant Step all the more fascinating, even despite some clumsiness and a performance from young lead actor Johnny Nash that could be best qualified as earnest — it’s interesting by later, more naturalistic standards, but it does feel overly modern in a film that is otherwise pure 1950s filmmaking. There’s a lot to like in the way the film intelligently dissects pervasive racism even in so-called progressive environments, as a young black teenager in a northern US city gradually realizes that his coming-of-age also means being far more vulnerable to discrimination and isolation. Various characters all have a take on what this means, and the young protagonist’s quest lies in trying to fit the pieces together. Ruby Dee turns in a very likable performance as a housekeeper, as does Estelle Hemsley as the elderly voice of reason. Still, it’s the film’s willingness to engage in issues that still continues to impress 60 years later, more than the film’s lower-end production values or the varying acting style clashing in the film. While Burt Lancaster does not appear in the film, he was one of its producers who managed to bring Take a Giant Step from stage to film, and apparently had a hand in selecting Nash for the role — further cementing his reputation as an iconoclast in a leading man’s persona.