The Cool World 1963

Bosley Crowther, New York Times: As we've come to expect of Miss Clarke's pictures, it is boldly and studiously styled as a literal documentation of a particular social scene, and its attack is more that of the reporter than of the interested teller of a tale. Read more

Jonathan Rosenbaum, Chicago Reader: It certainly had a visceral impact when it first appeared, helped enormously by Baird Bryant's cinematography and Dizzy Gillespie's score. Read more

Time Out: Often crudely photographed, but with a brilliantly multi-layered sound-track which integrates some fine jazz. Read more

Variety Staff, Variety: Sometimes the characters get a bit lost in the general schematics of the pic, which at times waters down its underlying irony. But, overall, Clarke has a firm hold on her characters and story. Read more