Among playwrights and authors lured to Los Angles in the last century, this view of the industry is not uncommon. So we took the drumroll from Nuremberg and put it under the Hoff character's entrances and exits. New York Times film critic Bosley Crowther, was disappointed and believed the plot lacked credibility. He is adamantly refusing to agree to the contract. A police lt. is ordered to stop investigating deadly crime boss Mr. Brown, because he hasn't been able to get any hard evidence against him. The film stars Jack Palance, Ida Lupino, Wendell Corey, Jean Hagen, Rod Steiger, Shelley Winters, Ilka Chase, and Everett Sloane.[5]. When 2 detectives steal $80,000 from a dead robber, one of them suffers from a guilty conscience which could lead to murder. Hoff and Smiley try one more extortion ploy, producing recordings secretly made of Marion with Hank. Having had Hank take her back to Castle, Marion arrives while Dixie is there. Roundabout Theatre Company presents Clifford Odets’s classic tale about keeping your integrity in the face of success. Charles Castle is a successful Hollywood actor who has opted for screen success over art. View production, box office, & company info. The film stars Jack Palance, Ida Lupino, Wendell Corey, Jean Hagen, Rod Steiger, Shelley Winters, Ilka Chase, and Everett Sloane. In this screen adaptation of a Clifford Odets play, Castle is pressured by his studio boss and manipulated into a potentially murderous cover-up to protect his career. This is a movie for which the word powerful was truly invented. Overview; Synopsis; Credits; Photos & Videos; Film Details; Articles & Reviews; Quotes; Notes; Brief Synopsis. The Big Knife is a mostly good adaptation of a Clifford Odets play about a Hollywood actor who's being blackmailed into studio servitude while trying to patch up his failing marriage. Charles Castle is a successful Hollywood actor who has opted for screen success over art. But, his wife Marion has taken their young son and is living separately from him; she is, in fact, on the verge of filing for divorce. English 0822201151. Undoubtedly daring in its day, The Big Knife remains intelligent and literate, but saved from 'safety' by Palance and Steiger's obviously mutual loathing. National Theatre on February 24, 1949 and closed on May 28, 1949 after 109 performances. 1h 51m 1955. Charlie Castle is, on the surface, a success. Meanwhile, Smiley, who has been attending a party at one of Castle's neighbors, drops in to tell the actor that Dixie Evans, a struggling starlet who happens to have been in the car with Castle the night of the accident, is threatening to reveal what she knows about the crash. She won't go back to him otherwise. French box office results for Robert Aldrich films, "Roundabout Revival of Clifford Odets' 'The Big Knife' Ends Broadway Engagement June 2", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=The_Big_Knife&oldid=1019683386, Short description is different from Wikidata, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License, Venice Film Festival: Golden Lion, Robert Aldrich; 1955, This page was last edited on 24 April 2021, at 20:20. The Big Knife has an early main title design from Saul Bass, and another extra is a half-hour documentary by Bass in which he explains his famous title sequences. The Big Knife (1955) "A Journey to the Dark Heart of Hollywood" TMDb Score. The Big Knife doesn't directly chronicle his experiences, but it brutally spotlights a ruthless, cruel, hedonistic, and amoral society that treats people as commodities, then discards them on the scrap heap when they've lost their value. Why the special treatment for Winters? Castle asks for a bath to be drawn and, after pledging to Marion "a better future", goes upstairs. Today's viewer will have to adjust to the pace and style but that's easy and the rewards to those attuned can be high.There's enough depth to the material for a second viewing, which helps bring out the characters even more vividly. The Big Knife: Theater Review David Rooney. Use the HTML below. Temporarily Out of Stock Online. Directed by Lee Strasberg, who had worked with Odets at the Group Theatre, and starring fellow Group Theatre alumnus John Garfield. While The Big Knife was never positioned as a commercial film for the masses, it still failed to find an appreciative audience at the time of its release in the U.S. Robert Aldrich settles accounts with the film factory.Great actors, cynical story. "You're through," Smiley tells the actor. He then goes after Brown's girlfriend who despises him, for information instead. The Big Knife is presented in three acts, all the action taking place in the luxurious yet casual “playroom” of Charlie Castle’s Beverly Hills home. 10.0 Out Of Stock Overview. Bel Air. Lights, Camera, Action! Select a Package {{ subscription.title }} “ !” This is rated 4 out of 5 stars "A thrill!" mr. film noir stays at the table A retired mob accountant is drawn back in when his brothers, who have recently made a hit for the organization, decide to go to the authorities. The actress immediately leaves and the couple have an intense conversation; Marion makes it clear she is at least willing to try again to rekindle their marriage. And this viewer, for one, was not convinced.[8]. Read More. Buddy's aggressively flirtatious wife, Connie, comes by; despondent, Castle allows the darker side of his nature to prevail and he sleeps with her. A doomed female hitchhiker pulls Mike Hammer into a deadly whirlpool of intrigue, revolving around a mysterious "great whatsit". The Big Knife book. Crime, Certificate: Passed The Big Knife was released to DVD by MGM Home Video on April 1, 2003 as a Region 1 widescreen DVD. The Big Knife Clifford Odets' 1949 agenda-driven dissection of Hollywood's inherent corruption is more effective as a lecture on the evils of excessive success than it is as a viable legiter. However, Hoff and his right-hand man, Smiley Coy, have knowledge of the truth behind a hit-and-run accident in which Castle was behind the wheel and which resulted in a death. The Big Knife - Feb 24, 1949 National Theatre (Original) Shows That Opened That Season: 2012-2013. New York Times13 Mar 1955: X5. In 1945, an American Infantry company sets up an artillery observation post, but tensions between Captain Cooney and Lieutenant Costa run high. Unemployed cowhand Jim Garry is hired by his dishonest friend Tate Riling as muscle in a dispute between homesteaders and cattleman John Lufton. MGM's DVD of The Big Knife is a decent transfer that looks all right flat, but has lots of dead space top and bottom meant to be cropped away by theater masking. He gets into the bath and ends his life. The Big Knife. Keep track of everything you watch; tell your friends. He must make critical decisions regarding his career, his marriage, his art & morality. Harvey Fela! Smiley lays out a plan to achieve this which involves Castle, and murder. In this screen adaptation of a Clifford Odets play, Castle is pressured by his studio boss and manipulated into a potentially murderous cover-up to protect his career. In spite of seemingly redeeming himself in many ways, Castle is devastated by the fact that he has betrayed a friend, sacrificed his integrity and anguished the woman he adores. He wrote: Actually, it looks as though The Big Knife originally was written and aimed as an angry, vituperative incident of the personal and professional morals of Hollywood. [10] The first Broadway revival opened at the American Airlines Theatre on April 16, 2013, produced by Roundabout Theatre Company, directed by Doug Hughes and starring Bobby Cannavale and Richard Kind.[11]. Action, Certificate: Passed The Big Knife The bit rate is a bit light at first (the stylized titles, with Charlie perhaps already in his bathtub, are rathy buzzy) but clears up mostly later on. She wants to damage Hoff, not Castle. We'd had twenty years of petty dictators running the industry, during which time everybody worked and everybody got paid, maybe not enough, but they weren't on relief. After 1945, six German ex-soldiers are hired to defuse unexploded Allied bombs in the ruins of Berlin. The film was made for Aldrich's own company.[6]. Marion does not want him to renew his contract with powerful studio boss Stanley Shriner Hoff, and will not agree to a reconciliation with her husband if he signs. Their marriage is on the rocks and she pleads that Charles takes the rest that he desperately needs and to not sign. Quick view Add to My Wish List. $203.96. Want to share IMDb's rating on your own site? ' The Big Knife' Aimed At Screen -- AddendaBy A. H. WEILER. "At the time, I thought that kind of theatrical flavoring was extraordinary. "The Big Knife’s first Broadway revival is muscular, moody and stylish, with a mostly solid cast under Doug Hughes’s shrewd direction." Castle's defiance enrages Hoff, who is willing to do anything, including blackmail regarding the accident, to force the actor to commit to a seven-year deal. Get a sneak peek of the new version of this page. Certificate: Passed Subsequently, Marion and Hank attend a gathering at Castle's place after which Castle prevails upon his wife to listen once again to his reasoning as to why they should reunite. Need some help finding the best things to watch on Netflix? Buy Online, Pick up in Store Check Availability at Nearby Stores. Influential gossip columnist Patty Benedict wants the lowdown on the marriage, but Castle refuses to confirm anything for her. The Big Knife Synopsis A Hollywood mogul (Rod Steiger) bullies a star (Jack Palance) to renew his studio contract. Johnny Damico botches a murder case and is suspended from the force. Not as flashy or melodramatic as some and certainly not as well known, but still directed with surety and skill. David Cote, time out new york. This is the clear implication of what is presented on the screen...But the simple fact is that Mr. Odets—and James Poe, who wrote the screen adaptation—were more disposed to extreme emotionalism than to actuality and good sense. The play The Big Knife written by Clifford Odets and directed by Robert Aldrich is mainly revolved around the character Charlie Castle. A female inmate is whisked out of prison and into a police guarded hotel until the district attorney can convince her to testify against the mob in the upcoming trial. [7], Aldrich later said he wished he and the writer had cut down Clifford Odets' play. The Big Knife is a 1955 film noir directed and produced by Robert Aldrich from a screenplay by James Poe based on the 1949 play by Clifford Odets. In reality, he is put undercover to identify the mysterious boss of the NY waterfront who has murdered everyone in his way. In the end, the simple fact of blackmail works and Castle signs the new contract. Hollywood actor Charles Castle is pressured by his studio boss into a … Directed by Lee Strasberg, the play starred John Garfield as Charles Castle. He will stop at nothing at getting a new contract signed.Ida Lupino is also extremely fine as Charles Castle's (Palance) wife. The Big Knife addresses themes of the individual’s struggle to maintain personal integrity. But the big rebuff that Odets suffered was at the hands of Columbia, so there was more of Cohn in the original play than there was of Mayer. Read 6 reviews from the world's largest community for readers. After a brief, quiet respite, Buddy storms in to reveal that he has discovered Castle's fling with Connie; rather than take Castle up on his offer to allow himself to be hit, Buddy spits in his face. [2], The Big Knife premiered on Broadway at the You must be a registered user to use the IMDb rating plugin. Smiley suggests Castle invite her over, to talk and see if he can persuade her to keep quiet. Thomas Robbin. But their drama arrives at a defeatist climax. Let our editors help you find what's trending and what's worth your time. The Big Knife is Odets’s view of Hollywood as a town without a heart that annihilates artistic ambition and ruins lives, all of which was also seen in the Coen brothers’ Barton Fink, a send-up of Odets’s time in Hollywood. Synopsis. The film stars Jack Palance, Ida Lupino, Wendell Corey, Jean Hagen, Rod Steiger, Shelley Winters, Ilka Chase, and Everett Sloane. The well-manicured area of LA where the successful actors, producers and directors in Hollywood live. He must make critical decisions regarding his career, his marriage, his art & morality. Finally spurred to stand up for his ideals, the actor summons Hoff and Nat and, with Marion present and now aware of Dixie's presence the night of the accident, defies these ruthless men who employ him; he also mandates that nothing should happen to Dixie. She has had enough of his drunken womanizing and of the fact that he has relinquished his ideals for lower Hollywood expectations. Hogue X5 3.5" Folding Knife Modified Wharncliffe Plain Edge Aluminum G10 Insert Handle CPM154 Stainless Steel Black. Directed by Robert Aldrich. Observation post, but tensions between Captain Cooney and Lieutenant Costa run high hated them ' Big! 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