As this film was released in 1968 yet set in 1952, you're dealing with two different worlds, four presidents apart as well as going from the Korea War era to the height of the Vietnam War. Social issues in between those 16 years were massively different, so it's not surprising that the closeted gay man played by the recently Oscar winning Rod Steiger would have a difficult time accepting his own self Identity. Basically a very insecure but narcissistic self-hating brute, Steiger doesn't know how to romance man let alone reveal his feelings. He's the clod of all clods, someone who in the post Stonewall era would be referred to as a troll.
The funny thing is as great as Steiger is, you're supposed to despise him, and for a leading role in a movie to have a character so totally unlikable and yet be made to feel sorry for him (and not in the good way of feeling sorry for someone) is a rare thing. He is the type of character that they talked about in "The Boys in the Band" who will most likely knock himself off at the end of the movie, and it would take more than a decade for positive gay characters without these issues to start showing up in the movies. Steiger has one very revealing moment that puts everything into perspective about him right out there on the bar.
The object of his objectives is the handsome bright-eyed John Phillip Law, charming on every level, and if his character was gay, he probably wouldn't want to be seen socially with someone like Steiger. It's not just the physical, but the way that Steiger acts, the bull in the china shop, drunk or sober. Once he has Law under his thumb as his secretary, he's obsessively possessive, and his resentment of sweet Ludmila Mikaël is obvious from the start. When Law's colleagues try to analyze the newly arrived top sergeant, it's obvious that they are all suspicious of his motives and view him as possibly dangerous. Lots to take in with this character driven drama that is quite dated but was once considered daring and ahead of its time. Sadly ahead of its time in 1968 looked quite antique as the next decade rolled in.
The funny thing is as great as Steiger is, you're supposed to despise him, and for a leading role in a movie to have a character so totally unlikable and yet be made to feel sorry for him (and not in the good way of feeling sorry for someone) is a rare thing. He is the type of character that they talked about in "The Boys in the Band" who will most likely knock himself off at the end of the movie, and it would take more than a decade for positive gay characters without these issues to start showing up in the movies. Steiger has one very revealing moment that puts everything into perspective about him right out there on the bar.
The object of his objectives is the handsome bright-eyed John Phillip Law, charming on every level, and if his character was gay, he probably wouldn't want to be seen socially with someone like Steiger. It's not just the physical, but the way that Steiger acts, the bull in the china shop, drunk or sober. Once he has Law under his thumb as his secretary, he's obsessively possessive, and his resentment of sweet Ludmila Mikaël is obvious from the start. When Law's colleagues try to analyze the newly arrived top sergeant, it's obvious that they are all suspicious of his motives and view him as possibly dangerous. Lots to take in with this character driven drama that is quite dated but was once considered daring and ahead of its time. Sadly ahead of its time in 1968 looked quite antique as the next decade rolled in.