Reviews (23)

" Im On My Way"
An Oscar winning turn for Burt Lancaster and and Shirley Jones. Richard Brooks ,a terrific writer/director brings to the screen the saga of a bible salesman and all his tall tales.

Its a period piece ..but if you look closer whats old is new. Human nature..being what it is has cycles...and Religion has its own time and eternal ways.

You couldnt get a better cast that includes; Dean Jagger, Arthur Kennedy, and even the lighter Hugh Marlowe.( Edward Andrews)

Elmer Gantry,s success in the revival business is jeopardized when a prostitute comes back into his life( how many times has that occured before in literature?)

Richard Brooks superb screenplay..and Andre Previn,s riveting score add to the auroa of this fine film..with Lancaster ..playing ....himself.

SERMONS OF THE ZEALOUS PREACHER WERE NEVER MORE MEMORABLE!
Even if you find yourself falling asleep during a sermon, you won't be able to here. Brother Gantry won't allow it. Brother Gantry is the zealous, fiery new preacher who is here to warn the world that we're all sinners... and we'll go straight to hell if we don't repent! Repent and join the big baseball team headed by "Jesus Christ, himself!". As Elmer Gantry, Burt Lancaster is at the epitome of his charm and dynamic personality as the smooth-talking, fire-and-brimstone preaching character who brings an evangelical woman's (Jean Simmons) religious organization to prominence through his zestful sermons. It will work out just fine... as long as the people don't know that Brother Gantry is a lusty sinner himself, his best friend a blonde prostitute (Shirley Jones, who won a Best Supporting Actress Oscar for this role) and his flexible morals and ideals are hidden. Lancaster won a Best Actor Oscar for the role, and deservedly so, for he is Elmer Gantry: his sparkling blue eyes, and mile-wide smile set the standard of a persuasive salesman, selling religion to those manipulated by his exacting pull. Richard Brooks' incredible screenplay and crisp direction make "Elmer Gantry" the great Burt Lancaster film of all time.

love is the evening and the morning star!
Elmer Gantry, (Burt Lancaster), is a travelling evangelist with one eye on the Lord and one eye on the ladies! Elmer put's his amazing gift of the gab to use by preaching in tent meetings. Along the way he meets Sister Falconer, (Jean Simmons), who takes him under her wing, there working relationship soon turns personal.

Elmer Gantry is one of the greatest, (in my opinion), movies ever made. Burt Lancaster won his only oscar for his dynamic manic performance as the charlatan with a heart of gold. His preaching style is bombastic, his personal life morally bankrupt. It's really eerie how he resembles a number of "Evangelists", that I have come across in person or on the television. Elmer Gantry truly represents a lot of the tele-evangelists that have come and gone over the last 50 years or so as does Sister Falconer.

Watching Burt Lancaster in full flight as he belts out his sermons and slides across the platform is a true joy to behold. It's a really great actor in his prime, and wonderfully entertaining.

All in all it's a great romp with fantastic dialogue, wonderful performances and it's controversial theme packs a punch even today when Tele-evangelist, whilst know less popular, are still racking in the big bucks and filling stadiums with willing followers. To the Christian, let this film be a lesson for all of us, there are wolves in sheeps clothing around.

Thanks for reading and enjoy and maybe be educated by this wonderful film.

Two sides to a coin
In response to the reviewer who said this film was anti christian and to pass on this trash. I would like to say that this film represents a view of some peoples distasteful view of religion , but sure not all people feel this way. Un fortunately in this world, their are people who use religion to exploit and manipulte people- This is just a fact of life- Then there are people who see the true beauty in religion and and utililze it to help people obtain a higher good - Unlike this reviewer, I would suggest you do not pass on this trash! It is an outstanding film which really makes you think !

Move It On Over Kathryn Kuhlman, Kenny Hagin & Benny Hinn!
Burt Lancaster as Elmer Gantry & Jean Simmons as Sister Sharon Falconer. Elmer is a slick salesman who falls head over heals (HA, pun intended) for the self ordained healing prophetess preacher woman who certainly must have been modeled on Amy Semple-MacPherson's Four Square Gospel Church in exsistence today.

THE best Upton Sinclair novel in my humble opinion, with a top notch screenplay that follows the novel fairly well, given what you could actually film in 1960. The book itself is much more dicey & really delves into the character of Elmer and his weaknesses for booze, unfaithfulness of all kinds, and sex and is a great study into the mind of a master manipulator.

This film has a timeless quality given the New WORD FAITH MOVEMENT goin on. Call it "Name It & Claim It" Message or The "Health & Wealth" Gospel but Elmer & Sister Sharon could go up against the 1950/60's Kathryn Kuhlman, 1970/80's Kenneth Hagin or Kenneth Copeland, or our new millenium savior, Benny Hinn, ANY OL' DAY! A TRUE GEM of a film, not to be missed!

In MY TOP 25 FILMS of ALL TIME. ... Read more

Reviews (23)

" Im On My Way"
An Oscar winning turn for Burt Lancaster and and Shirley Jones. Richard Brooks ,a terrific writer/director brings to the screen the saga of a bible salesman and all his tall tales.

Its a period piece ..but if you look closer whats old is new. Human nature..being what it is has cycles...and Religion has its own time and eternal ways.

You couldnt get a better cast that includes; Dean Jagger, Arthur Kennedy, and even the lighter Hugh Marlowe.( Edward Andrews)

Elmer Gantry,s success in the revival business is jeopardized when a prostitute comes back into his life( how many times has that occured before in literature?)

Richard Brooks superb screenplay..and Andre Previn,s riveting score add to the auroa of this fine film..with Lancaster ..playing ....himself.

SERMONS OF THE ZEALOUS PREACHER WERE NEVER MORE MEMORABLE!
Even if you find yourself falling asleep during a sermon, you won't be able to here. Brother Gantry won't allow it. Brother Gantry is the zealous, fiery new preacher who is here to warn the world that we're all sinners... and we'll go straight to hell if we don't repent! Repent and join the big baseball team headed by "Jesus Christ, himself!". As Elmer Gantry, Burt Lancaster is at the epitome of his charm and dynamic personality as the smooth-talking, fire-and-brimstone preaching character who brings an evangelical woman's (Jean Simmons) religious organization to prominence through his zestful sermons. It will work out just fine... as long as the people don't know that Brother Gantry is a lusty sinner himself, his best friend a blonde prostitute (Shirley Jones, who won a Best Supporting Actress Oscar for this role) and his flexible morals and ideals are hidden. Lancaster won a Best Actor Oscar for the role, and deservedly so, for he is Elmer Gantry: his sparkling blue eyes, and mile-wide smile set the standard of a persuasive salesman, selling religion to those manipulated by his exacting pull. Richard Brooks' incredible screenplay and crisp direction make "Elmer Gantry" the great Burt Lancaster film of all time.

love is the evening and the morning star!
Elmer Gantry, (Burt Lancaster), is a travelling evangelist with one eye on the Lord and one eye on the ladies! Elmer put's his amazing gift of the gab to use by preaching in tent meetings. Along the way he meets Sister Falconer, (Jean Simmons), who takes him under her wing, there working relationship soon turns personal.

Elmer Gantry is one of the greatest, (in my opinion), movies ever made. Burt Lancaster won his only oscar for his dynamic manic performance as the charlatan with a heart of gold. His preaching style is bombastic, his personal life morally bankrupt. It's really eerie how he resembles a number of "Evangelists", that I have come across in person or on the television. Elmer Gantry truly represents a lot of the tele-evangelists that have come and gone over the last 50 years or so as does Sister Falconer.

Watching Burt Lancaster in full flight as he belts out his sermons and slides across the platform is a true joy to behold. It's a really great actor in his prime, and wonderfully entertaining.

All in all it's a great romp with fantastic dialogue, wonderful performances and it's controversial theme packs a punch even today when Tele-evangelist, whilst know less popular, are still racking in the big bucks and filling stadiums with willing followers. To the Christian, let this film be a lesson for all of us, there are wolves in sheeps clothing around.

Thanks for reading and enjoy and maybe be educated by this wonderful film.

Two sides to a coin
In response to the reviewer who said this film was anti christian and to pass on this trash. I would like to say that this film represents a view of some peoples distasteful view of religion , but sure not all people feel this way. Un fortunately in this world, their are people who use religion to exploit and manipulte people- This is just a fact of life- Then there are people who see the true beauty in religion and and utililze it to help people obtain a higher good - Unlike this reviewer, I would suggest you do not pass on this trash! It is an outstanding film which really makes you think !

Move It On Over Kathryn Kuhlman, Kenny Hagin & Benny Hinn!
Burt Lancaster as Elmer Gantry & Jean Simmons as Sister Sharon Falconer. Elmer is a slick salesman who falls head over heals (HA, pun intended) for the self ordained healing prophetess preacher woman who certainly must have been modeled on Amy Semple-MacPherson's Four Square Gospel Church in exsistence today.

THE best Upton Sinclair novel in my humble opinion, with a top notch screenplay that follows the novel fairly well, given what you could actually film in 1960. The book itself is much more dicey & really delves into the character of Elmer and his weaknesses for booze, unfaithfulness of all kinds, and sex and is a great study into the mind of a master manipulator.

This film has a timeless quality given the New WORD FAITH MOVEMENT goin on. Call it "Name It & Claim It" Message or The "Health & Wealth" Gospel but Elmer & Sister Sharon could go up against the 1950/60's Kathryn Kuhlman, 1970/80's Kenneth Hagin or Kenneth Copeland, or our new millenium savior, Benny Hinn, ANY OL' DAY! A TRUE GEM of a film, not to be missed!

In MY TOP 25 FILMS of ALL TIME. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

It beats the 11:35
If you look close. For that matter if you do not look close, you can see yourself and others in this movie. Kim Novak (Cathy) is a sociologist who finds a perfect setup for applied research. Now before you cover your kid's eyes, it is not that type of movie. In fact every time a juicy story starts, some train comes by and all we get is the punch line. It must be an educational movie as the husbands tell their wives that they signed up for classes at "The new School for Social Research" I looked it up and the school is real. One class is "creative accounting"

Be sure to look at the cast list. It is fun to try to remember other movies that they were in. ... Read more

Reviews (6)

a great film
Jennifer Jones and Mongomery Cliff, are a very romantic couple in this films, about a married woman with a child, who has an affair an dis in love with a man in whom she meets when she takes a trip to Rome. It's v ery romantic and very entertaining and interesting all the way through. Jennifer and Montgomery Cliff have a wonderful chemistry through the entire film, true lovers.

Illicit Love in the 50's... It was Hot!!!
I loved it. We always think of the 50's as being so pure and correct. Here we see people were just as prone to adultery as they are today. This movie shows how a torrid love affair can be filmed without taking off the clothes. It is the story of an American housewife who has been visiting her sister in Italy and ends up having an affair with a college professor. They are insanely in love. She is at the train station preparing to leave for home.
Professor shows up. It is awkward because her innocent nephew is there to see her off.

In this train station we see uninhibited lust, the insanity of being in love, all of this against the backdrop of the daily activities in the train station. I was breathless, glued to the set!!!

This type of story is some much more difficult to tell without the torrid bedroom scenes, but sooooo erotic.

Montgomery Cliff as the Professor could not pull of the Italian bit. He did not look it, nor sound it. He was thin, rackish, the last actor I would have expected to be cast in such a role. But he did an excellent job. He was moody, explosive, begging, sobbing, demanding. I didn't know he had it in him.

I enjoyed it throughly.

I wish we could see more films like this today. Love and lust with artistry. It takes nothing to make this work with full body contact between unclothed actors. This took real directing and acting talent.

An Indiscretion Too Long
It is always interesting to see the awesomely beautiful Jennifer Jones and I waited keenly to see the NTSC format video (as a PAL format was not available in the U.K.) which can be played on my VCR.Oh but what a hullabaloo about nothing!What was the indisretion?The Italians, of all people, dragging two innocent people out of a railway car up before the "beak", who as far as is shown on film, were not doing anything untoward! The whole film could have been cut in half for the paucity of action and dialogue.How could anyone cast Montgomery Clift as a native Italian.Were there not some American/Italian actors sufficiently known in 1952(a latter day Al Pacino) who could have been cast by Selznik and at least spoken some authentic Italian to his countrymen? The highlight was seeing "Tony", Richard Beymer from the 1960 film West Side Story, playing a little boy and cast as "Dick Beymer"!

good programmer
Slightly turgid and tepid programmer, INDISCRETION OF AN AMERICAN WIFE stars Jennifer Jones and Montgomery Clift as adulterous lovers in Rome.

Directed by Vittorio De Sica, the film tells of Mrs Mary Forbes (Jennifer Jones), who falls in love with Giovanni Doria (Montgomery Clift). Mary realises the affair has to end and reluctantly waits at Central Station for a train to Paris.

Clift's Italian accent is terrible, but Jones is very watchable here. She is very good, and Clift's performance is also remarkable.

Also starring a very young Richard Beymer (billed here as Dick Beymer), Gino Cervi, Maria Pia Casilio, Enrico Olorio, Nando Bruno and Paolo Stoppa.

Classic Noir Timepiece - TERMINAL STATION
...THERE IS MORE HERE TO BE STUDIED!!

Even with all the chaos that went on during the production, we have a fantastic, moody timepiece starkly, darkly noir. Yet it is lavish too - in terms of the overwhelming images, and Clift's luminous performance. His real angst and tension spilled into Monty's portrayal here, and we have a sense of his explosive frustration right on the screen.

I highly recommend "Indiscretion" because no matter what, it WAS amazing filmmaking that Selznick could not wreck, even if he tried! Amongst the fascinating Terminal Station background, with its surreal inhabitants & images; the tense Jennifer Jones and translucent Montgomery Clift. Jones' forays into pressure dealing with the guilt and suicide of ex-husband Robert Walker, and present husband, David Selznick, keeping her off balance; she was also pressured & it shows. It seems a rare view to me of what Hollywood angst could do to a certain caliber of performer at times - baring their personas & intertwining it with what transpired on onscreen.

This is a fascinating classic of the genre even in its less than finalized state, and it shows Montgomery Clift in an exotic portrayal NOT to be missed. ... Read more

Description

In a world overflowing with musical imitators, The Singing Rage- Miss Patti Page remains an original! Now the barefoot girl from Claremore, Oklahoma, is back!Always beautifully dressed and coiffed, she performs 18 delightful staged numbers of the classic songs that made her famous.

Patti Page has released over 80 albums and 157 singles (with sales of over 70,000,000)- an astounding 110 of which reached the Billboard charts. Her 13 gold records include such standards as "I Went To Your Wedding," "Mr. & Mississippi," "Doggie In The Window" and "Tennessee Waltz" (almost 8 million sold) which is the second biggest-selling single ever, after "White Chrisman."

A musical pioneer, she was the first to record with the now-standard overdubbing process, singing lead and background vocals. She was also the first artist to become a "crossover" sensation... and she is the only musical performer in history to have her own weekly series on all three networks.

Patti's beauty, vocal purity and unpretentious style have placed her in a category of her own, earning her the respect of fellow artists and love of millions of fans around the world. "The Patti Page Sound" can be both warm and fiery hot, religious in feeling, but also provocative. But whether happy, melancholy or brazen, it is always real!

V.I.E.W. Video is proud to present "Patti Page Video Songbook, an outstanding historical tribute to one of the greatest pop and country artist ever!

SONG SELECTIONS:
1) How Much Is That Doggie In The Window?
2) I Don't Care If The Sun Don't Shine
3) I Went To Your Wedding
4) Melody of Love
5) Oklahoma Blues
6) A Blossom Fell
7) Smiles
8) Tennessee Waltz
9) Mr. & Mississippi
10) When Your Lover Has Gone
11) Everyday I Fall In Love
12) You Call Everybody Darling
13) Would I Love You?
14) In The Blue Of Evening
15) Way Down Yonder In New Orleans
16) Sunny Side Of The Street
17) Father, Father
18) This Is My Song ... Read more

Reviews (1)

Patti Page- The Singing Rage!
Take a sentimental journey with the best-selling female vocalist of all time performing 18 of her greatest hits. This collection of splendid clips shows off the lovely "singing rage" in all her elegance and vocal purity. Includes: "How Much Is That Doggie in the Window," "Tennessee Waltz," "I Went to Your Wedding" and many more. #1326 - 45 min - B&W ... Read more

Reviews (6)

a great film
Jennifer Jones and Mongomery Cliff, are a very romantic couple in this films, about a married woman with a child, who has an affair an dis in love with a man in whom she meets when she takes a trip to Rome. It's v ery romantic and very entertaining and interesting all the way through. Jennifer and Montgomery Cliff have a wonderful chemistry through the entire film, true lovers.

Illicit Love in the 50's... It was Hot!!!
I loved it. We always think of the 50's as being so pure and correct. Here we see people were just as prone to adultery as they are today. This movie shows how a torrid love affair can be filmed without taking off the clothes. It is the story of an American housewife who has been visiting her sister in Italy and ends up having an affair with a college professor. They are insanely in love. She is at the train station preparing to leave for home.
Professor shows up. It is awkward because her innocent nephew is there to see her off.

In this train station we see uninhibited lust, the insanity of being in love, all of this against the backdrop of the daily activities in the train station. I was breathless, glued to the set!!!

This type of story is some much more difficult to tell without the torrid bedroom scenes, but sooooo erotic.

Montgomery Cliff as the Professor could not pull of the Italian bit. He did not look it, nor sound it. He was thin, rackish, the last actor I would have expected to be cast in such a role. But he did an excellent job. He was moody, explosive, begging, sobbing, demanding. I didn't know he had it in him.

I enjoyed it throughly.

I wish we could see more films like this today. Love and lust with artistry. It takes nothing to make this work with full body contact between unclothed actors. This took real directing and acting talent.

An Indiscretion Too Long
It is always interesting to see the awesomely beautiful Jennifer Jones and I waited keenly to see the NTSC format video (as a PAL format was not available in the U.K.) which can be played on my VCR.Oh but what a hullabaloo about nothing!What was the indisretion?The Italians, of all people, dragging two innocent people out of a railway car up before the "beak", who as far as is shown on film, were not doing anything untoward! The whole film could have been cut in half for the paucity of action and dialogue.How could anyone cast Montgomery Clift as a native Italian.Were there not some American/Italian actors sufficiently known in 1952(a latter day Al Pacino) who could have been cast by Selznik and at least spoken some authentic Italian to his countrymen? The highlight was seeing "Tony", Richard Beymer from the 1960 film West Side Story, playing a little boy and cast as "Dick Beymer"!

good programmer
Slightly turgid and tepid programmer, INDISCRETION OF AN AMERICAN WIFE stars Jennifer Jones and Montgomery Clift as adulterous lovers in Rome.

Directed by Vittorio De Sica, the film tells of Mrs Mary Forbes (Jennifer Jones), who falls in love with Giovanni Doria (Montgomery Clift). Mary realises the affair has to end and reluctantly waits at Central Station for a train to Paris.

Clift's Italian accent is terrible, but Jones is very watchable here. She is very good, and Clift's performance is also remarkable.

Also starring a very young Richard Beymer (billed here as Dick Beymer), Gino Cervi, Maria Pia Casilio, Enrico Olorio, Nando Bruno and Paolo Stoppa.

Classic Noir Timepiece - TERMINAL STATION
...THERE IS MORE HERE TO BE STUDIED!!

Even with all the chaos that went on during the production, we have a fantastic, moody timepiece starkly, darkly noir. Yet it is lavish too - in terms of the overwhelming images, and Clift's luminous performance. His real angst and tension spilled into Monty's portrayal here, and we have a sense of his explosive frustration right on the screen.

I highly recommend "Indiscretion" because no matter what, it WAS amazing filmmaking that Selznick could not wreck, even if he tried! Amongst the fascinating Terminal Station background, with its surreal inhabitants & images; the tense Jennifer Jones and translucent Montgomery Clift. Jones' forays into pressure dealing with the guilt and suicide of ex-husband Robert Walker, and present husband, David Selznick, keeping her off balance; she was also pressured & it shows. It seems a rare view to me of what Hollywood angst could do to a certain caliber of performer at times - baring their personas & intertwining it with what transpired on onscreen.

This is a fascinating classic of the genre even in its less than finalized state, and it shows Montgomery Clift in an exotic portrayal NOT to be missed. ... Read more

Amazon.com

In Cause for Alarm, Loretta Young is an elegantly tailored happy homemaker caring for her invalid husband (Barry Sullivan), a former pilot suffering from a mysterious heart disease that has driven him to almost complete madness. Convinced his wife and his doctor are in collusion to kill him, he's carefully recorded the "evidence" of their crime in a letter to the district attorney and prepares to turn the tables on them, but even his own sudden death can't stop the chain of events that plunges his wife into a waking nightmare. An unusual entry into the film noir school of paranoia, TayGarnett's melodramatic thriller trades the dark alleys and long shadows of urban menace for the sunny, tree-lined streets of middle-class domesticity. Young, so often cool, calm, and carefully coifed in her studio roles, beautifully evokes the American Dream as the dutiful wife who collapses into a state of hysterical desperation. Spinning a web of lies to retrieve the damning letter, her world falls apart around her as she unwittingly sinks herself deeper into a morass of suspicion and circumstantial evidence. Though this is less slick and stylish than his claim to film noir fame The Postman Always Rings Twice, Garnett spins a simple premise into a tense, terrifying ordeal, and Young's deadened narration adds an eerie mood of doom to the suburban setting. --Sean Axmaker ... Read more