Elmer in a nutshell

Richard Brooks' adaptation of Sinclair Lewis' "Elmer Gantry" provided CineVerse with a fascinating character study and expose on religious charlatans, as evidenced by our engaging discussion last evening. Here's a roundup of major talking points:

WHAT SURPRISES YOU ABOUT “ELMER GANTRY” AND DEFIES YOUR EXPECTATIONS?

·       The con man character of Gantry is surprisingly complex, unlike the character written for the novel; he can be a charlatan and a generous soul, a true believer and a hypocrite, a reliable friend as well as an egotistical narcissist, capable of both lust and love

·       Likewise, Falconer is portrayed as a likeable, real person with forgiveable faults

·       Shirley Jones can act, and evoke many things in her character: sexiness, sympathy, hateful scorn, sweetness and innocence

·       The film tackles many themes, and serves as a possible criticism of religion, but is probably more of a critique of religious hucksters and opportunists than of any particular faith or religion

·       At a time when epics typically hit theaters in the widescreen aspect ratio, the filmmakers chose the old-fashioned 1.33 aspect ratio; the advantage of this framing was tighter compositions, lending more claustrophobia and density to the misc en scene

·       For a 1960 picture, Elmer Gantry pushes the envelope in its adult content, depicting Lulu prostituting herself and the sex scandal she and Gantry are involved in

·       The filmmakers chose to adapt only about a third of Sinclair Lewis’ original 1927 novel and added and changed characters: Babbitt’s role was expanded and Lefferts was altered into a friend and foil to Gantry; also, other men of the cloth were portrayed as upright and decent, unlike in the book

THEMES EXPLORED IN ELMER GANTRY

·       Hypocrisy and duplicity

·       Man’s contrasting natures: the fact that Gantry can be both loyal and disloyal, truthful and deceiving, loving and lusting

·       Fall from grace: how the people and things we so strongly believe in can be exposed as false, and how social climbers can come crashing down

HOW DO YOU INTERPRET THE CONCLUSION OF ELMER GANTRY—WHAT HE SAYS ABOUT PUTTING AWAY CHILDISH THINGS, AND HOW HE WALKS AWAY? WHAT IS HE APPARENTLY LEAVING BEHIND?

·       The finale is deliberately unclear and open-ended, suggesting many possibilities

·       Perhaps Gantry is walking away from being an evangelist, or religion in general

·       Perhaps he’s merely commenting that one phase of his life has ended, and now he’s more mature

FILMS THAT REMIND YOU OF ELMER GANTRY

·       Inherit the Wind

·       The Rainmaker (featuring another con man character played by Lancaster)

·       A Face in the Crowd

OTHER MOVIES DIRECTED BY RICHARD BROOKS

·       The Blackboard Jungle

·       The Brothers Karamazov

·       Cat on a Hot Tin Roof

·       Sweet Bird of Youth

·       Lord Jim

·       In Cold Blood