As you watch Elmer Gantry you quickly realize just one thing: how dated this film is! Not to say that it is a bad film because it isn't, but it also isn't a great film. Everything about this film was done in extremes, most notably the two main characters. Burt Lancaster's Elmer Gantry and Jean Simmons' Sharon Falconer come at life from two totally different perspectives, but the two are almost dead even in their religious fervor and deep convictions. I for one do not believe that no matter how hard he tried, Elmer Gantry could not win over Sister Sharon as easy as he did. The film boasts a superior main cast of actors from the 1950's and early 1960's who are no longer with us: most notably Dean Jagger and Arthur Kennedy. The one drawback to this film is its length, but the again most films from this period were close enough to two and a half hours in duration. But, like any great film, the climax of this one surely packs a punch! Religious allegory runs rampant through this, especially in the final scenes.
Elmer Gantry went into the 1960 Academy Awards ceremony with five nominations, including Best Picture. The film won three Academy Awards: Best Actor (Burt Lancaster), Best Supporting Actress (Shirley Jones), and Best Writing/screenplay (Richard Brooks). It lost the Best Score Award to Exodus and the coveted Best Picture Award to Billy Wilder's The Apartment.
My rating: 3 stars
Elmer Gantry went into the 1960 Academy Awards ceremony with five nominations, including Best Picture. The film won three Academy Awards: Best Actor (Burt Lancaster), Best Supporting Actress (Shirley Jones), and Best Writing/screenplay (Richard Brooks). It lost the Best Score Award to Exodus and the coveted Best Picture Award to Billy Wilder's The Apartment.
My rating: 3 stars