Elmer Gantry

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Jeff S Burt Lancaster is spell-binding in this fascinating film that's often humorous, frequently insightful, and somehow manages to be incredibly poignant while it's being exploitive. Elmer Gantry illustrates that many of the most deleterious vices can seem anything but sinful. Rated 4.5/5 Stars •  Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars 03/09/24 Full Review Alec B Often it appears to be engaging in the kind of hypocritical moralizing the movie is also condemning. That said Lancaster is completely captivating as is the rest of the cast. Rated 3.5/5 Stars •  Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 02/20/24 Full Review John H Amazing film about false worship but also faith Rated 5/5 Stars •  Rated 5 out of 5 stars 02/13/24 Full Review Lequisha S [11/3/20]: [didn't officially rate it, putting 4.5*] "I genuinely loved it, had well-rounded characters. Liked that they condemned commercialization of religion and showmanship preaching instead of the entirety of organized religion. Very charismatic performance." Rated 4.5/5 Stars •  Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars 06/29/22 Full Review Audience Member Often it appears to be engaging in the kind of hypocritical moralizing the movie is also condemning. That said Lancaster is completely captivating as is the rest of the cast. Rated 3.5/5 Stars •  Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 02/13/23 Full Review andres s Interesting how they had to put that message of warning at the beginning of the movie basically saying you shouldn't show this movie to young kids who might think that it's real because they might be influenced by it. Burt Lancaster does a terrific job playing Elmer Gantry. He definitely has a presence and makes sure everyone knows it. He seems like the kind of person that can get anyone to believe in the tooth fairy or Santa. Seamlessly and without trying, makes an impression on people. Unfortunate that he's a charming fake two-faced con man. God, it's really hard to like Gantry or even look at his face. He's so fake. Wow, but Jean Simmons, the girl who plays Sister Sharon is really pretty. Real cute. It's almost scary to see how this Revivalism can so easily turn into something sinister where you're brainwashing people so you can make more money. The more people you convert, the more money can you make. Now religion has become a money making business for any greedy businessmen. Funny how now Gantry is leading people as if they're an angry mob. Even fitted with torches and axes. Crazy how his ex lover, the prostitute, blackmailed the fuck out of him basically ruining his image. One act of sin publicized from the press and the whole town loses their fucking mind. Holy shit when the church was burning and everyone was losing their shit and screaming at the top of their lungs. Some of the screams and shit were actually funny but also terrifying because it was almost like they were burning in hell. Pretty dark ending how Sister Sharon basically burned to death along with the church. She believed that God was going to save her so much, that she stayed. I guess part of the reason the church burned down was because they were selling lies to followers and the final straw was with the guy at the end who couldn't hear and they wanted to make it seem like the Sister made him hear again. Elmer's purpose was to show that anyone can con their way into being some sort of religious figure for people to look up to. All You need is a loud voice, to make an impression and to have some knowledge at hand. This movie highlights how easy it is for an attractive and confident person to make an impression on people. The problem lies whether the person's intentions are good or evil as we've seen with some of these preachers of mega churches that use their followers for their self interest so they can buy themselves a private jet or a yacht. It's terrifying to know that the media and press are the true gods. They are the one thing that everyone believes in. Very controversial topic to touch on especially for it's time. But I'm glad this movie exists. Hopefully it will make people question a little bit more instead of just being satisfied with what's spoon fed to them. Even though I thought it was a tremendous movie, I don't think I'd watch it again. Rated 4/5 Stars •  Rated 4 out of 5 stars 03/30/23 Full Review Read all reviews

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