The reviews lean firmly positive, with six of seven recommending it. The praise clusters around the two leads: Tony Curtis and Sidney Poitier, shackled together and on the run through the South, are called strong, tough or intense by nearly every critic, and several credit Stanley Kramer’s direction with handling the racial antagonism between them both forcefully and sensitively. Most agree the film still carries some force as a plea for common humanity, and that it moves at a brisk pace.
Where they part is on how well the message has worn. The older reviews take the social drama at face value; the later ones treat it as a period piece rescued by its performances, with Time Out saying it would be a musty museum piece without them. Empire goes furthest, finding it works better as a high-concept thriller than as a statement on race, and Eye for Film notes an imbalance in the racial dynamics. Nobody dislikes it.