Burt Lancaster won an Oscar and many people rave about his performance in this film, but I think that he was too far over the top. I think he would have been a lot better if he had turned it down a couple of notches.
shareAfter having read the novel on which it was [loosely] based, I got the distinct impression that Sinclair Lewis purposely portrayed Elmer Gantry as over-the-top. He had an axe to grind against Christians in general.
shareMy grandfather was a hellfire preacher, and I can assure you, that aside from the monkey and one or two other things, this is not too far from the truth. The preachers are pretty lively - cartoonish you might say - and people do things like talk in tongues. My father said they used to roll in the aisles too - it actually turned him off religion. It's also not my personal cup of tea, but a lot of people do indeed act like this and go to churches like this. Lancaster actually nailed this character - the character is a performer, as are many preachers by nature, and is just "over the top" by nature.
Lancaster was the best - I love how he seduces Sister Sharon in this - what a force of nature!
I'm a long-time traditional Catholic and still attend the old Latin rite Mass, so when I was asked to attend an Evangelical gathering several years ago as a journalist, I did so as an assignment. I have to admit, some of the behavior actually gave me cause for alarm. The auditorium had more than 1,000 in attendence, and a good many were not only frenetically vocal but also animated to the point I thought some were going to run onstage. It reminded me more of an NFL crowd than what I believe should be a group of Christians at worship. After about an hour, I got out of there, because it was getting damn scary. So no, I don't think Lancaster's performance was cartoonish.
shareI agree. I'm from Kentucky and you see alot of Evangelical and revival meetings that are like that. The more energy you have the more the people get worked up and can "feel the spirit" when it's just adrenaline. He was spot on. I also like Shirley Jones. True, you've seen that kinda performace before from others. However, I think she had a shock factor that still exists. She was great as the preachers daughter turned hooker, but she was the girl next door (which her charcter had been) who was now in her slip looking VERY, VERY sexy and doing things she hadn't done before. Like Charlize Theron in Monster. She uglified herself and everyone was just so stunned! She's never done soemthing like that since and whenever you watch it you are just stunned. I personally think Jennifer Connelly in House of Sand and Fog should have won, however after I watch Monster I pick her~ simply cause it's so different. Also, the director never gave her any help. Brooks didn't want her and so he let her act however she wanted...and it won her an Oscar and an apology from him!
shareAnyone who thinks Lancaster's performance was "over the top" has obviously never seen real Evangelical or Revivalist preachers. I went to revivals when I was a child and saw speaking in tongues, snake-handling and hellfire/damnation sermons. Gimme that old-time religion!
share I kind of agree. I just saw this film for the first time and I found his performance hard to believe a lot of the time. It's not that was bad, and I do love him as an actor, but it jumped back and forth between being real and then seeming too "on" in a way that just was an overload to the screen. I often feel this about Kate Hepburn. People argue about her being good or bad, but to me she just tended to be not the best FILM actress. She was better for stage, with her larger gestures and sometimes melodramatic tones. Lancaster knew how to pull back a bit, but even he (besides in Gantry,) had times of overwheleming a much more subtle medium. It doesn't take that kind of energy well, not like stage does. That's my take.
"He's the very pineapple of politeness"
I think most of the people complaining about it haven't set foot in evangelical country.
shareHe turns the charm way, way up for this role, and it works. Elmer Gantry is one of his best and most complex roles.
Also: portrayal
Burt Lancaster won an Oscar and many people rave about his performance in this film, but I think that he was too far over the top.
Its OK most of the TV preachers are cartoonish.
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