Serial Number: 19232
Title: Big Knife, The (1955)
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Country of Origin: US
Genre: Private Gallery - The 50's
Subject:
Size: LC
Condition: NM
Card Number: 7
Price: $NOT FOR SALE
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| Actors/Actresses: Jack Palance, Rod Steiger, Everett Sloane |
| Notes: Director: Robert Aldrich; An atypical film noir, to be sure, about Hollywood in the 50’s, based on a 1949 play by Cliford Odets. The standard Tinseltown list characters are paraded through, given the opportunity to exhibit their worst behavior: The ruthless studio Boss, his weasel press secretary, the blonde starlet that meets her tragic end, the womanizing sell out big movie star, the obligatory pushy gossip columnist, the philandering wife etc. etc. Steiger as the Studio Boss might have been modelled after Louis B. Mayer of MGM, who was a notorious crier, when it suited him, but the consensus is that he was more likely based on Harry Cohn of Columbia Pictures, who had a reputation as a tyrant who could scream and curse his actors. Everett Sloane in the role of the loyal agent has a slight accent, and mixes in Yiddish words in his conversation. The most pleasant surprise is Jack Palance, who gives a nuanced performance, displaying at times a charming and tender side which he did not exhibit in too many roles. |
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