Social awkwardness, insincerity, embarrassment, hypocrisy, rasping fury, and feigned exuberance were never portrayed more convincingly than by Kennedy in this movie. This and A Summer Place have to be two of his greatest performances.
Yes! One of the all time great snivellers in cinema...what a weasel! But his characters had three dimensions too! He was the father in The Window, but the roles that stand out are Some Came Running, A Summer Place, They Died a With Their Boots On and Peyton Place...oh, and The Lusty Men.
Takes two to tumble it takes two to tango
Speak up don't mumble when you're in the combo
Yes, but many more than those you list. He was often superb as the second male lead, forming a sort of moral reference point for the main leads. His role here is a sort of play on that.
Yes, Frank is the bad guy, but Kennedy makes him a rounded character. More men are like him than they are like Dave or Bama.
Also great in:
Elmer Gantry (1960)
Barabbas (1961)
Lawrence of Arabia (1962)