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rsr5001
Reviews
Elmer Gantry (1960)
Confused
I'm confused as to how anyone could see this movie as anything short of a 2 and a half hour torture session. You might say that I, being young and not akin to the slower pace of 60s classics, have a skewed few on films like these. But honestly there is no plot here and no one wants to watch Burt "My Face is Fastened into a Smile with a Steel Pin" Lancaster exercise his obnoxious grin for that long. The name Elmer Gantry alone is a turnoff, it sounds like a cheap rip-off of a glue company. I have an appreciation for classic movies, but this is as far from classic as You've Got Mail. I'd like to see the writing process for a movie like this. "Hmm what should happen next. Here's an idea: let's put in another scene of Elmer Gantry singing, because 6 scenes of coma-inducing Burt Lancaster chants aren't enough. And while we're at it, let's show Burt Lancaster smiling again." Sick. Just sick. And to think this movie would be lauded as one of the true classics makes me want to take a cheese grater to my face. Down with Gantry!