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The Big Knife
USA 1955
produced by Robert Aldrich for The Associates & Aldrich Company
directed by Robert Aldrich
starring Jack Palance, Ida Lupino, Wendell Corey, Jean Hagen, Rod Steiger, Shelley Winters, Ilka Chase, Everett Sloane, Wesley Addy, Paul Langton, Nick Dennis, Bill Walker, Michael Winkelman
screenplay by James Poe, based on the play by Clifford Odets, music by Frank De Vol
review by Mike Haberfelner
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Available on DVD! To buy, click on link(s) below and help keep this site afloat (commissions earned) |
Always make sure of DVD-compatibility!!!
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Charles Castle (Jack Palance) is a man who seems to have everything:
He's a young, good-looking, a wildly popular moviestar, has a beautiful
house, a good relationship to the press even, a PR man, Buddy (Paul
Langton), who adores him, and his producer/mentor Stanley Hoff (Rod
Steiger) offers him a 7 year contract where he can more or less call the
shots - and the last one's exactly the rub, while that contract sounds
like a little piece of heaven, Charles' wife Marion (Ida Lupino) has long
seen through Hoff and noticed that he treats Charles like nothing more
than a puppet, and will probably let Charles only call the shots if it's
in his favour. Furthermore, she doesn't like what Charles has become, an
alcoholic womanizer who's more after the money than creating art these
days. So she gives him an ultimatum: Either he refuses to sign Hoff's
contract or she leaves him - and Charles is willing to give it all up for
her and their son (Michael Winkelman), too. But that's not as easily done
as it seems, as Charles is Hoff's money-printing machine so he's reluctant
to let him go - and he has some dirt on Charles to blackmail him into
signing, too: A couple of years back, Charles had an accident while
driving under the influence that cost a person's life, but his PR man
Buddy took the wrap and went to prison for it. Hoff though has a witness,
Dixie (Shelley Winters), who has been in the car with him back then, to
testify otherwise if bad comes to worse. So Charles loses - against Hoff,
and he loses his wife, at least for the time being ... Months later:
Charles is informed by Hoff's right-hand man Smiley (Wendell Corey) that
Dixie has become a liability of late, and she might be talking before
long, but before she does so, Charles hints at her having a nasty
accident. Charles invites Dixie over to talk her out of it, and at first
she seems game - but she likes less and less how she's treated by Hoff and
company, so despite her promises to Charles, she soon becomes a threat to
the whole operation - and now Charles, who has so far played turncoat to
get where he is today, finally has to choose sides, and whichever he
chooses, it won't end pretty ... Now it cannot be denied, The
Big Knife is not the subtlest of films as the play it's based on isn't
exactly free of melodramatics and Hollywood clichées. And with its only
very limited sets and lack of complex physical action the movie can't
denie its stage origins - and that said, having graduated from TV to the
big screen not long ago, director Robert Aldrich shows absolute mastery
when it comes to directing: The film is incredibly tense throughout thanks
to clever camerawork using many an unusual angle, film noir lighting,
masterful editing and of course a genuine understanding of the medium. And
that the cast (with Jack Palance giving one of his best performances) is
uniformly first rate of course also works in the film's favour. Not a
totally rounded out masterpiece perhaps, but perfect in many a way!
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