The Big Knife (1955)
Jack Palance has been immortalized as Curly from City Slickers, and it’s a good thing, too – before that comeback, he made terrible European flicks for thirty years. But before all that, he actually acted. If you can’t imagine him in a heavy drama, rent The Big Knife. It's a classic Kirk Douglas role, but watching Jack in it makes you think there's no other actor who could have taken it on. John Garfield did the part on Broadway, which is to be expected since he frequently worked with playwright Clifford Odets. Had he lived, Julie would have been fine on the screen as well, but my point is that Jack Palance was wonderful. There were lots of heavyweight dramatic actors in 1955 (Burt Lancaster even turned it down), but in this movie we forget all about them.
In this heavy cynical drama, stars as a Hollywood actor with skeletons in his closet. He is temperamental and cruel when he argues with his soon-to-be ex-wife Ida Lupino, but he’s scared and malleable in his scenes with his agent, Everett Sloane. Everett has been with Jack for a long time, and he knows where the bodies are buried. There's a particular body that’s starting to get unearthed, and Everett wants to do everything possible to keep it covered. Blackmail and deceit take front seats in the story. It is not a feel good movie, so you might want to have a comedy on hand for a double feature. This movie shows the seedy side to Hollywood, one a lot of people didn't want to talk about at that time. It took guts to make this movie. There have been lots of movies in the decades since, like L.A. Confidential, that have watered down the message of this original. But keep in mind that up to 1955, when Hollywood made a movie about itself, it was usually light fare. Everyone involved in this movie took a chance, and perhaps Jack was forced abroad after putting his face on the big screen. Or perhaps he merely had a bad agent. He should have employed Everett!
Want to watch it? Click here to see it on ok.ru and thanks "Jack" for posting!
More Shelley Winters movies here!
In this heavy cynical drama, stars as a Hollywood actor with skeletons in his closet. He is temperamental and cruel when he argues with his soon-to-be ex-wife Ida Lupino, but he’s scared and malleable in his scenes with his agent, Everett Sloane. Everett has been with Jack for a long time, and he knows where the bodies are buried. There's a particular body that’s starting to get unearthed, and Everett wants to do everything possible to keep it covered. Blackmail and deceit take front seats in the story. It is not a feel good movie, so you might want to have a comedy on hand for a double feature. This movie shows the seedy side to Hollywood, one a lot of people didn't want to talk about at that time. It took guts to make this movie. There have been lots of movies in the decades since, like L.A. Confidential, that have watered down the message of this original. But keep in mind that up to 1955, when Hollywood made a movie about itself, it was usually light fare. Everyone involved in this movie took a chance, and perhaps Jack was forced abroad after putting his face on the big screen. Or perhaps he merely had a bad agent. He should have employed Everett!
Want to watch it? Click here to see it on ok.ru and thanks "Jack" for posting!
More Shelley Winters movies here!