dlma1 M
This is the story of a manipulative senior cadet (Ben Gazzara) at a Military Academy who schemes to eliminate rivals and bullies younger cadets. Gazzara, in his first performance, is brilliant. Interestingly, this the first film directed by and starring exclusively members of the New York Actor's Studio. It is dark and sometimes disturbing drama which is well-directed and acted by all. My only complaint is Arthur Storch's performance as Simmons - for some reason he chose to wear false buck teeth which are distracting and add nothing to his performance (he didn't wear them in the play based on the same novel as the movie). Also stars a young Pat Hingle (strange seeing him here - I'm used to seeing him as a kindly uncle or as Commissioner Gordon in Batman!). George Peppard, James Olson, Peter Mark Richman, and Paul E. Richards are all very good as Gazzara's fellow cadets. Recommended for drama fans.
Rated 3.5/5 Stars •
Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars
06/10/23
Full Review
Audience Member
"The Strange One" is a strange film. I missed the point, unless there was one besides the obvious: of all our institutions, one that comes closest to replicating hell is the all-male military college. In this particular bastion of bullying and elitism, Jocko De Paris (Ben Gazzara) is the grand master of the arts. The story of cruelty and classism getting its comeuppance is as old as drama itself, but Jocko's almost makes the viewer wonder if the punishment is worse than his crime. And Calder Willingham's original story didn't include this ending, so overall there is considerable ambiguity as to what conclusions we are to draw.
What is obvious, on the other hand, is the homoerotic subtext of the movie. How producer Sam Spiegel and director Jack Garfein avoided the censors' blue pencil who knows, but the only thing less obvious would have been to insert asterisks beside the various images with explanatory footnotes below. In the bland fifties a gay character in a mainstream movie was a rare event indeed.
Jack Garfein and the principal cast members were students of the Actors' Studio, and these young lions, Pat Hingle, Arthur Storch, James Olson, and especially Gazarra, who makes the man you love to hate almost likeable, as well as George Peppard, essaying a Southern drawl, had long careers.
This is probably not the best movie Sam Spiegel produced (he gave us "The African Queen, "On the Waterfront" and "The Bridge on the River Kwai), but it is worth seeing, featuring quality people on both sides of the camera.
Rated 3.5/5 Stars •
Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars
02/03/23
Full Review
stu b
Obscure but compelling drama about life at a military college in the 1950s south.
Ben Gazzara is riveting in his first film role as Jocko de Paris, the Big Man on Campus who rules his fellow cadets, particularly the underclassmen, with rabid and sadistic glee. When one of the weaker cadets--the Major's son, no less--is found drunk and beaten on the quad one morning, de Paris (who orchestrated the whole thing, of course) begins a campaign of denying all culpability even as he frames his cronies for the crime. Will anyone stand up to him? If so, who? Shot in noirish black- and-white with a kind of claustrophobic staginess that it comes by honestly; it started as a play, the first full-fledged production ever attempted by the revered Actors Studio. Also starring Pat Hingle, George Peppard, and Arthur Storch, all of whom appeared in the play as well, and were making their screen debuts. Beautifully directed by the Studio's own Jack Garfein (who had directed the play), with a script by original playwright Calder Willingham. Not all the performances work, and the somewhat off-kilter ending almost undercuts everything that precedes it, but not quite. Worth seeing, if only for the glimpse it offers into what all these young actors were doing before they became famous.
Rated 3.5/5 Stars •
Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars
07/11/22
Full Review
william k
Unusual military academy drama with some debut performances of Actors Studio including an especially vicious Be Gazzara is clearly stage-bound but suspenseful.
Rated 3/5 Stars •
Rated 3 out of 5 stars
03/31/23
Full Review
Audience Member
The Strange One is set in a military academy. It's a pretty safe bet that any movie set in a military academy is going to feature a lot of sadism and cruelty, with a rich dollop of homosexual overtones. The Strange One delivers this in spades. This is another movie that I'm a little surprised isn't a bigger cult hit because of the eccentric performances and the subversive subtexts.
It's the first of two movies directed by Jack Garfein, who gave every indication of being another in a long string of first-rate film directors to come out of the Actors Studio. He met disfavor in Hollywood when he bucked interference from his producers; Ben Gazzara, who stars in the movie, believes that Sam Spiegel, the movie's producer, purposely tanked the movie with poor promotion and distribution because of his animus for Garfein. Garfein spent the rest of his productive career (he's still alive, by the way) as a highly regarded stage director and acting teacher.
This movie is based on a stage play called End As a Man, which was adapted from Calder Willingham's novel of the same name. It was successfully produced on Broadway, and most of the actors from the play perform in the movie. It was among the first movies for most of the company, and many of them had enduring careers - Ben Gazzara, Pat Hingle, George Peppard and an almost unrecognizable James Olson.
There are some similarities between this movie and Billy Budd, which I had seen just the night before. Both feature sociopathic sadists in positions of power. The authorities above him recognize his evil, but are unable to bring him to justice. In Billy Budd, the sociopath is brought down by a Christ-like character. In The Strange One, true to its socialist-leaning Actors Studio roots, the sociopath is brought down by the collective, moved to do the right thing by a fundamental sense of justice. These two movies would make a terrific double-feature.
This is a fascinating movie, both historically and on its own merits. See it if you get a chance.
Rated 4.5/5 Stars •
Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars
12/30/15
Full Review
Audience Member
marks the film debut of the gr8 ben gazzara in this suspenceful drama
Rated 3/5 Stars •
Rated 3 out of 5 stars
01/21/23
Full Review
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