Top 12 Burt Lancaster Films

1. The Killers (1946)
2. Criss Cross (1949)
3. The Flame and the Arrow (1950)
4. The Crimson Pirate (1952)
5. From Here to Eternity (1953)
6. Vera Cruz (1954)
7. Sweet Smell of Success (1957)
8. Run Silent, Run Deep (1958)
9. The Leopard (1963)
10. The Train (1964)
11. The Professionals (1966)
12. The Swimmer (1968)

All My Sons (1948)

Plot:  Based on the Arthur Miller Play.  A Son confronts his father over making defective airplane parts that caused the deaths of 21 pilots.
Stars:  Edgar G. Robinson, Burt Lancaster.
Best Quote: A feast for the self-righteous; Ibsen for beginners; for the morally curious a sad bore... Entirely well-intentioned and sincerely acted; but not an interesting play and certainly not a movie - James Agee

Background
Lancaster pressured producer Hal Wallis into giving him the part "Chris Keller". With only a few film credits, Lancaster was already tired of playing tough guys and wanted some serious dramatic roles. Screenwriter Chester Erskine was skeptical - giving Lancaster the role, he said, was like "casting Boris Karloff as a babysitter". 

The Movie
All my Sons is a well-acted, well-directed movie about a story/characters I didn't care about. The E.G. Robinson character is guilty from the word go, and who cares about this greed-head's excuses?  He sent men to their deaths, because he wanted to be rich. Meanwhile, the Lancaster character is a self-righteous bore, and the mother, a nut. And to top it all,  we learn the dead son was so ashamed of his father, he went on a kamikaze mission!   How theatrical.  The whole story seemed pointless.

Acting
However, everyone gives a strong performance, although Robinson is slightly miscast.  Too often he reminds us of "Rocco" - the part needed someone more likable and not so obviously corrupt.  As for Lancaster, the critics were unkind in 1948, but I see nothing wrong - its a workmanlike performance.

Summary:  I don't like Arthur Miller's plays. I'm probably the only American who was bored by The Crucible and  thinks Death of a Salesman  was a pretentious play about a whiny loser.  So, unsurprisingly, I didn't like All My Sons - even though its a well made movie.

Trapeze (1956)

Plot:  A Circus Movie. A young acrobat wants an old veteran to help him do the unreachable "triple Somersault" while a beautiful girl comes between them.
Stars:  Burt Lancaster, Tony Curtis, Gina Lollobrigida

Background
In the mid-1950's Burt Lancaster and his partner Harold Hecht made a string of enormously popular films, that knocked Hollywood on its ear.  Vera Cruz, Apache, Marty, Gunfight at the O.K Corral and finally, Trapeze.  It seemed like Burt and Harold, had the pulse of the American public - and the offers poured in. MGM offered them control of the studio and $1 million for Lancaster to play Ben Hur, while U-A offered to pay off Hecht-Lancaster's debts AND buy them out for a huge sum. Lancaster took the U-A option -thank goodness.

The Movie
Trapeze was a wold-wide box-office smash.  People ignored the critics, and flocked to this simple story of two beefcake acrobats fighting over a neat little Italian job.  In the age of 20 inch B&W TVs you can understand why. No matter how standard the story, it must have been thrilling to see  those aerobatic scenes on a wide-screen in glorious technicolor.

60 years later, its much less thrilling.  Yes, the aerobatic scenes are still good,  But 80% of this 105 minute movie occurs on the ground, and its quite dull. The plot and characters come out of a silent movie, and nobodies a good enough actor to improve on the script.  Understandably, Heston turned down the Tony Curtis role - his character doesn't get the girl, and isn't particularly likable. And you can say the same about all three leads. Gina's ambitious and amoral, and Burt's a grumpy has-been. There's no humor, no great  passion, and its hard to care.

It's really a missed opportunity.  You had one of the funniest leading men ever (Tony Curtis)  and two other leads who'd shown their flair for comedy, but the movie has ZERO humor. Its completely 100% grave-yard serious.

Summary: Its better in French. If you like Circus movies, or the stars involved, I'd give it a whirl. Otherwise, skip it.

Devil's Disciple (1959)

Plot: Based on the GBS play. While General Burgoyne's British army marches on Saratoga, a small-town rogue and local minister discover their true vocations.
Stars:  Laurence Olivier,  Kirk Douglas, Burt Lancaster.
Best Quote: Martyrdom, sir, is what these people like: it is the only way in which a man can become famous without ability.

Background
Originally planned as a $3 million technicolor spectacular, this Douglas-Lancaster production was downsized to a low-budget, B&W feature. Lancaster, a perfect fit for the high-spirited "devil's disciple" was shunted off to the Minister part to make room for Kirk Douglas.  Needless, to say it was a box office bust, with Lancaster grousing that Olivier not only got all the good lines, he was the only one who made any money.

The Movie
Its a curiously tepid and dull movie.  A slow 82 minutes - it only comes alive when Oliver - as General Burgoyne -  is onscreen tossing out Shavian bon mots. But that's only 15 minutes. The rest of the movie revolves around Kirk Douglas playing a rebellious black sheep while Lancaster plays the upright Church of England Minister. Unfortunately, Lancaster is very bland in the role.  Whereas someone like Jimmy Stewart or Marlon Brando could add something to a standard part, Lancaster couldn't. He needed to play a complex character to be effective.   As for Douglas, he's a little over-the-top, but is adequate as the "lovable rogue"  - its not much of a stretch.

The actresses aren't given much to do - the movie revolves around "The Big Three".

The Play
To me, the movie script is better than the play - but then I'm not a George Bernard Shaw fan. GBS' prefaces are often better than his plays, and his plays are better read -  than seen. The only ones I truly enjoy are Pygmalion and Man and Superman.  Partly, its because GBS' cynical, anti-bourgeois attitude has became cliched and commonplace. I mean, taking digs at the military and religion? Whoa, Nellie!

But mostly, its because Shaw's artificial characters (usually representing political points of views) are always spouting polished epigrams or pushing their politics.  I don't think he ever created a realistic,  flesh and blood character - funny or not. If Shaw were alive today, he'd be writing for  Stephen Colbert - and that's not a compliment.

Maybe, I'm just prejudiced. IMO, Shaw was a "contrarian"  - which I loath. Basically, anything the average middle class Englishmen liked - he was against.  Shakespeare, Red meat, marriage, God, King, and Country.  Shaw was a  big crank.  What can you say about a man who left large sums of $$ to reform English spelling!  Reading his biography, he was an extremely odd duck, who lived way past his "Sell Date".  Its great he lived long enough to see both Abe Lincoln and the A-bomb. Too bad, he didn't have the wisdom to stop commenting on public affairs, when he was out of touch.

The Letter (1940)

Best Quote:  With all my heart, I still love the man I killed.

The wife of a rubber plantation administrator (Bette Davis) shoots a man to death and claims it was self-defense; a letter in her own hand may prove her undoing. Davis never looked more charming and turns in a smashing performance. And what big eyes she had! The supporting cast is also excellent. Production values are high and camera work excellent. The story is simple but effectively told. Fast paced with no fat in the screenplay. Very Good melodrama. Rating ***

Tom Jones (1963)

Best Quote: There are a set of religious, or rather moral writers, who teach that virtue is the certain road to happiness, and vice to misery, in this world. A very wholesome and comfortable doctrine, and to which we have but one objection, namely, that it is not true.”

Based on the 18th century comic masterpiece. The movie ditches Fielding's bemused, satirical wit for mugging, slapstick, and bawdiness. Often described as ribald and hilarious - I found it smirky and unfunny. One man's "ribaldry" is another man's "tedious vulgarity'. Further, the plot is episodic, the direction often annoying, and Tom Jones -the character - a bore. On the plus side, Susannah York and movie are nice to look at and Edith Evans is always funny. Rating **1/2 

Roadblock (1951)

Plot: In a change of pace, Charles McGraw plays an insurance investigator gone wrong.  He starts out honest - but when he meets a beautiful model (Joan Dixon) who likes big money - well, you know the rest

The Good. Like Armored Car Robbery, it covers familiar ground, but does it expertly.  We get some well played scenes:  Dixon pretending to be McGraw's wife for a half-airplane fare, a twist beginning with McGraw fooling a crook, and an exciting chase down the LA River bed.  Louis Heydt and Milburne Stone (Gunsmoke) lend fine support.

The Bad.  Its a B movie, so its light on character development. Dixon  goes from Gold-digger to happy homemaker in the wink of an eye, while McGraw spirals - too quickly - from Square Cop to crooked killer.  I know Dixon can sure fill out a sweater, but this is Charles McGraw!

Summary: Not as good as Armored Car Robbery - but there's never a dull moment.  Exciting car chases, square-jawed McGraw playing the sap, a beautiful dame, and only 73 minutes. What more do you want?

Armored Car Robbery (1950)

Plot:  The title tells it all.  First a heist, then the chase. Can McGraw catch the crooks before they get to Mexico?
Stars:  Charles McGraw, Adele Jergens, William Talman
Best Quote:
-We hit pay dirt. The gal in question is Yvonne LeDoux, a burlesque queen..
-Benny's widow, huh?
-You should see her workin' clothes Imagine a dish like this married to a mug like Benny McBride... the naked and the dead.

A well-done 67 minute B movie. Its low budget, but it moves fast, has great location shots of LA, and the action is well done.  The cast is fun to watch. We see a lot of long-legged Jergens in her skimpy Burlesque outfit - and that's all for the good.  Hamilton Burger is quite good as the brainy, ice-cold crook, and McGraw is tougher than nails. Added bonus: Talman kisses the girl, and has an unexpected rendezvous with an airplane propeller.

Summary:  A neat little crime movie.  Judging by Burr and Talman, good psycho villains make the best TV Lawyers.

Lafayette Escadrille (1958)

Plot:  A young man joins a WW 1 French fighter squadron and falls in love with a French girl.
Stars:  Tab Hunter, Etchika Choureau, David Janssen, Clint Eastwood
Best Quote: A monument stands in aging splendor on the outskirts of Paris. A war turned to stone in the broad museum of Europe. To the Americans who wore French uniforms, who fought in French planes, and fell in love with French women, history has reserved two words: Lafayette Escadrille.

Made by award winning director William Wellman (Wings,  Battleground, The High and the Mighty) this was supposed to be his tribute to his fellow World War One pilots*.  Unfortunately, its pretty mediocre and low budget.  This is the kind of movie that should have tons of great flying scenes, shot in technicolor.  But it doesn't.   Its B&W, and takes Tab Hunter 80 minutes to get into combat. And the 10 minutes of aerial action are pretty standard (except for one vivid scene where Hunter is saved from being shot down by sheer dumb luck).

What are the first 80 minutes like?  Its mostly service comedy/training scenes and a love affair between Choureau (who's quite attractive) and Hunter (who's bland, but does well enough).  Its not bad, its just familiar. However,  we get one surprising twist, Hunter deserts and ends up working as Parisian whore house tout!**  Ooh, la, la. Of course, he later redeems himself by joining the  US Air Service.

The supporting cast isn't given much to do, but does it well enough.  Eastwood has about 2 lines.

Summary:  One of Tab Hunter's more obscure films, this ode to WW1 flyers barely gets off the ground.  Definitely a missed opportunity. Wellman shows flashes of directorial brilliance,  but we get too much talking - and not enough fighting.

*Wellman wanted Tab Hunter to die in the first and final dogfight, but Warner's insisted on a happy ending, which is a good thing. The movie goes on for another 3 minutes, after Hunter survives and shows him getting married.
** - Absurdly, some reviewers think Hunter becomes a Parisian male prostitute!

Postscript - The Tribute that Wasn't
It seems the actual, surviving members of the Lafayette Corps (most of them in their 60s) were less than pleased with the movie.  They were angered the film's hero was a deserter/pimp and showed the training center as a "summer camp for wayward boys"  - complete with pranks.

South Seas Woman (1953)

Plot: In November 1942, a US Shanghai Marine must explain at his Court-martial how he ended up deserting, stealing a boat, and being picked up off Guadalcanal with a beautiful Showgirl.
Stars: Burt Lancaster, Virginia Mayo, Chuck Connors

Mayo and Lancaster have a good time in this rather silly story, that seems to have been stolen from a first draft "Road to Zanzibar" script**.  I mean, how in the world do Connors/Mayo/Lancaster get from November 1941 Shanghai to French Polynesia and then to August 1942 Guadalcanal? Even more ridiculous, Connors sacrifices himself by jumping aboard a speeding Japanese Destroyer and tossing a bag of TNT down the smokestack!  You can practically see the Lancaster and the producers winking at us and saying "don't take these combat scenes seriously - laugh along with us".

Summary: I saw the subversive humor on re-watch,  but in first viewing, the change from screwball comedy to battle scenes was jarring. But even with that, the filler trial scenes, mediocre script, and low production values  - make this no more than an enjoyable time waster. But Lancaster and Mayo are an attractive pair - too bad the script wasn't better. 

** One of the recurring jokes?Lancaster constantly frustrates Connors-Mayo attempts to wed, and of course, like Crosby, Burt ends up with the girl at the end.

Go Tell the Spartans (1978)

Plot: In 1964 Vietnam, a US military advisory group struggles to deal with the VC and their limited resources.
Stars: Burt Lancaster
Best Quote: If your History teacher says "We're going to watch a really good movie on the beginning of the Vietnam War", DON'T BELIEVE HIM! - IMDB Reviewer 

The Movie
This movie has received high praise - which puzzles me. Shot in 31 days in SoCal with a nobody supporting cast and hokey soundtrack - its slow-moving and predictable. The direction and action scenes are at TV-movie levels. And Lancaster is far too old for the role. No amount of "Hollywood Magic" can turn 65 y/o Burt into a 45 y/o Army combat officer.  Hilariously, the 58 y/o "commanding General"  looks younger than Major Lancaster.

Summary: The movie hasn't aged well. Go Tell the Spartans did it first, but Platoon and We were Soldiers  do it much better.

Lancaster Involvement
According to his Bio, Lancaster was so smitten with the script/role that he not only took a small salary, he chipped in $150,000 to keep the cameras rolling.  He later remarked it was "the best role I've been offered in years" and "for once, I don't have to change a word of the script" .  During production, Lancaster injured his knee playing golf,  so to explain the limp, his on-screen character was shot in the leg.

Executive Action (1973)

Plot:  Conspiracy theory movie showing how JFK was assassinated by a group  of Texas Oil Men and the CIA
Stars: Burt Lancaster, Robert Ryan, Will Geer

This is one bizarre movie. Y'see, What-if, and I'm not saying its true, *wink*wink*, JFK was killed by a bunch of Texas Oil men and the CIA? I mean, what-if they had to kill JFK because he was going to get us out of Vietnam and lead a "Black Revolution"?

If there's any doubt Burt Lancaster was a lefty this should put them to rest.  Written by Communist Dalton Trumbo and based on a book by former Communist Mark Lane, this movie tries to pin the JFK assassination on those terrible right-wingers.  The fact that Oswald was A COMMUNIST who shot JFK because of his attacks on Castro, is swept under the rug.

Simply as a movie, its a freakin' bore - unless you're a Kennedy Assassination obsessive. And any assassination nut should watch Oliver Stone's JFK instead. Its just as phony, but its well made.

Summary:  Lancaster declared Rope of Sand his worst movie, but Burt was letting his politics overrule his artistic sensibility.  Executive Action is the worst.  Its a bad TV-docudrama.

Rope of Sand (1949)

Plot: A man abused by a sadistic mining company cop, returns to steal the diamonds he'd previously found
Stars:  Burt Lancaster, Claude Rains, Peter Lorre, Paul Henreid , Corinne Calvet
Best Quote:  The worst film I ever made - Burt Lancaster.

Burt Lancaster's least favorite film,  Rope of Sand is a sorta of Casablanca with Diamond smuggling. Everyone does their standard shtick. Lorre is the sleazy lounge lizard, Rains the elegant Cad,  Lancaster the tough-guy, and Calvert the sexy vamp. The only change is Henreid, instead of being a hardcore idealist, he's the hardcore corrupt-o-crat. Oh, and Sam Jaffe shows up as a mysterious foreigner or something.

Despite all the high powered acting talent, the movie is hard to follow and hard to care about. Blame the writing.  Everyone's a stock character who does exactly what you'd expect, while taking a long time to do it.  They talk, but its all either silly or forgettable.

Summary:  A dull misfire. The leading lady has an annoying voice and Lancaster just goes through the motions.  I agree with Burt - if not his worst movie, its in the bottom five.

Valdez is Coming (1971)

Best Quote: Where did you learn how to shoot so well.  Hunting Buffalo?
- No. Apache.
- When?
- When I didn't know any better.

Burt Lancaster stars in this brutal, low-budget Western about a Mexican American deputy seeking revenge and justice.  Unfortunately, Lancaster isn't a believable Mexican-American or a good action hero.

Story? Chock full of action and only 90 minutes, its the standard action movie plot. The bad guys mistreat an average Joe, but they've picked on the wrong man.  Y'see, Valdez is a US Army Vet.  He knows how to shoot and track better than anyone - and he starts picking off the bad guys.

Why did Lancaster do it?  Probably the racial politics.  I've never seen a movie that so clearly sets up the evil white man vs. women & people of color trope.   Literally every white man is a villain or a weakling,  and every noble victim/good person is non-white.  Subtle it ain't.  The movie sets this trope up at the very start. The bad guy  thinks an ex-army man is the deserter that killed his friend. When Valdez goes to confirm this, the bad guy sends one of  his white henchman to kill the man, in violation of Valdez's promise of no gun-play.  And that ex-army man turns out to be....black.  Before that, his Apache wife, goes out under gunfire to get some water. The bullets ( shot by a snickering white henchman) barely miss her. But she shows more courage then a medal of honor winner.

And the bad guy's wife, starts out bad - but that's only because she believed his white man lies.  She becomes "politically correct" after Bob Valdez talks to her. Burt Lancaster was a hard-core lefty who loved this kind of thing.

Summary: Starring one of my favorite supporting actors, Frank Silvera.  Valdez is full of action but has a miscast lead, and a mediocre story/script.  The part needed Charles Bronson - not 58 year-old Elmer Gantry.

The Great Waldo Pepper (1975)

Plot: A 1920's barnstorming Pilot dreams of meeting Kessler, the great German Ace, in combat.
Stars: Robert Redford, Susan Sarandon
Best Quotes:  None

Produced by George Hill, (Director of  The sting and Butch Cassidy), I was expecting an upbeat movie, with some great aerial stunts and maybe a nice romance.  And I got that for first 50 minutes.  Then, for some reason, the movie went "dark" and took a wrong turn.

Sarandon (the love interest) goes on a "wing walk".  At first, we laugh as she expresses comical terror, then get concerned, and finally breathe a sigh of relief when Redford  rescues her. Oh, wait - scratch that.  Actually, she falls to her death. Say what?

Then ten minutes later,  Redford's buddy dies a gruesome death. He burns to death, when a yokel smokes near the plane crash. Why kill him off?  I don't know.  But it leads Waldo Pepper to Hollywood where he meets Kessler. Both of them are unhappy, and they decide to dogfight. Why? Its not made clear. The dogfight ends with both Kessler and Pepper still flying. But then - in an American Graffiti like tack-on, we learn Waldo Pepper (and presumably Kessler) have died. Why the downer ending? Who knows.

Summary:  Some great aerial sequences and stunts, can't make up for the downer story and shallow characters.  A disappointment.

Postscript: William Goldman's Version
According to screenwriter Goldman in "Adventures in the Screen Trade"; the film died commercially because of Sarandon's death.  The audience - specifically, the female audience - wouldn't accept Sarandon's death, and tuned out the movie.  Furthermore, both he and the director (George Hill) knew of the negative audience reaction, but refused to re-shoot the scene because it "wouldn't have made a better movie".  

To me, this just proves that the movie-makers were determined to make a "feel-bad story" about American barnstormers. And why do that?  Goldman doesn't say. For some reason, the people involved wanted to make a downbeat movie about a romantic topic - and they succeeded.  What's absurd is that killing off Sarandon accomplishes only one thing-  it gets rid of her character,  But they didn't need to kill her to do that.

Criss-Cross (1949)

Plot:  A beautiful dame,  a Gangster, a Fall Guy, and some money. Need I say more?
Stars: Burt Lancaster, Yvonne De Carlo,  Steve McNally, Dan Duryea
Best Quote: She's all right, she's just young.
-Huh! Some ways, she knows more than Einstein.

Poor Burt Lancaster. Only three years after "The Killers" and he still hasn't learned.  Once again, he's involved in a Heist with a beautiful, two-timing Dame.  (This time De Carlo - not Ava Gardner). What's wrong with this lunkhead?   His best friend, bartender, and even his mother try to warn him off, but to no avail.

And yes, the plot is somewhat familiar - but well done, especially the last 30 minutes. And we get a twist,  the femme fatale and fall guy truly love each other - I think.  Its confusing. Anyway, their "love affair" burns up 35 minutes of this 87 minute movie. Whether you find that a plus depends on you. The action and location shots of 1949 SoCal are good. The ending is swift and memorable.

Acting?  Lancaster was always  good as the dumb oaf.  De Carlo sizzles as the "Bad Girl". Supporting cast?  Good, except for the very stiff Steve McNally - who's better at playing villains than the "best friend".

Plot Holes? Bonus points for how Anna gets the money at the end, why Steve isn't killed during the Heist, or how Slim got to Anna's House so quickly.

Summary:  A well done film-noir with some sluggish romance in the middle, and a nice ending. Overall, pretty good -  but the The Killers is better.

Birdman of Alcatraz (1962)

Plot:   Based on a true story, an imprisoned killer studies Birds.
Stars:  Burt Lancaster, Karl Malden, Tele Savalas, Thelma Ritter
Best Quote:  The film's message is that no matter how abhorrent the crimes you may have committed, redemption is still possible, provided you develop a worthwhile hobby. - Joe Quennan 

Fairly interesting Prison Biopic about Robert Stroud, a "lifer" turned Bird Doctor.  This was Burt Lancaster's baby, he was obsessed with Stroud, and hoped this picture would win him parole (it didn't).

The acting is excellent.  I've never been a fan of "Serious Dramatic Burt" but its a role tailor made for him and he has the charisma to pull it off.  Malden, takes a nothing role and makes it interesting. As for Savalas, I've never seen him so scary-ugly.  He's one actor that shouldn't be shot in close up!

Flaws?  No matter how well done, it's still just 2.5 hours of Burt Lancaster in a prison cell. The plot can fit on a cocktail napkin.  Hotheaded prisoner kills prison guard, gets  solitary confinement for life, learns how to treat birds, mellows out and becomes a wise old man. Its far too long, given the story. The last 45 minutes in particular are dull, as Lancaster goes to Alcatraz, without the birds, and writes about penal reform.

Stroud the Secular Saint
Another annoying thing.  After he discovers birds, the movies turns Lancaster into a  mild-mannered wise-man. He's Albert Schweitzer in a prison suit. Lancaster has all the good lines, and *always* has a sardonic rejoinder or a pearl of wisdom to dispense. He quotes prison regulations to the Warden, amazes reporters by detailing the specifications of a Boeing 707, and single-handedly ends the "Battle of Alcatraz". He's so awesome, the Prison Doctor labels him a "'Genius" and demands Stroud be paroled and given a medical laboratory - for the benefit of mankind!

Of Course, its all Lies
As you would expect,  the real Robert Stroud was not a secular saint or a "genius". He was disliked by his fellow inmates and was a dangerous psychopath. He'd killed a guard, knifed another inmate, attacked a couple more, and had threatened more violence if released. There was  no parole, because Stroud had shown no remorse, and might kill again.

And he had nothing to do with ending the "Battle of Alcatraz", his IQ was 116, and Stroud killed the guard in cold blood.  He wasn't friends with Wardens and his book on Penal reform couldn't be published because it was libelous. Stroud used it to settle old scores.

Lancaster's Odd Love for Stroud
Which brings up the question, why did Lancaster love this guy so much, make a dishonest  movie, and want him paroled?  Lancaster knew the real Stroud was a dangerous psychopath.  And no one thought Birdman of Alcatraz was going to be a box-office smash.  Per his Bio, Lancaster loved that Stroud "Would not kowtow, or make polite amends for what he did. He never said Daddy." and "he made something out of a miserable existence".  Pretty lame reasons for trying to parole a dangerous killer.

Separate Tables (1958)

Plot:  Based on Terrance Ratigan plays.  People in an English Seaside hotel work out their "issues".
Stars:  Burt Lancaster, David Niven, Deborah Kerr, Rita Hayward, Wendy Hiller
Best Quote:  Well, my views of Major Pollock are that he's always been a crashing old bore and a wicked old fraud, and now I hear he's a dirty old man too. I'm not surprised, and, quite between these four walls, I don't give a damn.

Separate Tables is serious drama that got produced because Burt Lancaster wanted to do some serious acting.  And he cast Hayward, Niven and Kerr, who also wanted to do some serious acting. So, its not surprising that the most pleasurable thing about the movie is...the serious acting. Its first rate - except for Burt Lancaster.  However, the problem is the plot. It bounces back and forth between the Lancaster-Hayward-Hiller love triangle  - which is boring, and everything else - which is interesting.

And once again Lancaster is a bad fit for a serious role.  I mean, what the hell is Burt Lancaster doing in an English seaside hotel? Why is this vigorous American, with his movie star looks, rooming with old English ladies and engaged to Wendy Hiller?  Its no more believable than John Wayne playing "My Fair Lady." Maybe Clift or Brando could have pulled if off, but not Burt.

Summary:  If you can see it on DVD and fast-forward past Burt, its pretty good.

Desert Fury (1947)

Plot: The daughter of a small-town Casino owner, gets involved with a Gangster - despite everyone telling her not to.
Stars: Mary Astor, Lizabeth Scott,  Burt Lancaster, John Hodiak.
Best Quote: Desert Fury wouldn't have launched anyone's career. It starred a Station Wagon - Burt Lancaster.

This was to be Burt Lancaster's film debut,  but "The Killers."came out first. Half film-noir, half melodrama and filmed in technicolor, its, well, extremely odd. First, there's the casting. We get:

• Mary Astor, who's only 41, and looks younger, playing the Mother of 50. Everyone treats her like an old maid*. 
• Lizabeth Scott,  she's supposed to be a naive small-town girl & Astor's daughter.  Yeah right. She looks like a $million though.
•  John Hodiak and sidekick Wendell Corey. They're supposed to be tough-guy gangsters - and fail.
•  Burt Lancaster - he's a supporting character. The dull, good boy.  Throughout the movie, you'll be thinking, "Why isn't Burt the star of this thing?" 

The story is beautifully photographed, but equally strange.  There's little plot, we mostly follow  a beautifully-clothed Scott around town - in a nice car - where she flirts with Bad Boy Hodiak and Good Guy Burt, and ignores Mother Astor's warnings. The whole thing ends with a nice high-speed chase and a well-deserved death. 

Summary:  An average Noir with some good - if miscast - actors, a thin, melodramatic story, and some nice photography.  Unless you're a big fan of the actors, or 40s Noir, I'd skip it**.

* = in one scene, Astor senses that Lancaster is getting a little nervous, so she says "Don't worry. If this was 10 years ago, I might have done something"  -  Astor was 41,  Burt was 34 in 1947!
** = However, according to various IMDB Reviews there's a "strong Gay subtext" - I didn't see that, but if you like that kind of thing, this is the kind of film you might like.  

The Unforgiven (1960)

Plot:  A frontier family is caught between Indians and hostile neighbors when it's suspected their daughter is a Kiowa Indian.
Stars:  Burt Lancaster, Audrey Hepburn,  Lillian Gish,  Audie Murphy

What Were They Thinking?
I mean, Audrey Hepburn as a Kiowa Indian? Burt Lancaster and Audie Murphy as brothers? Joseph Wiseman as a Preacher?  John Huston directing an action Western?

Pretty much forgotten by everyone, and a box office bomb when released, The Unforgiven was a Burt Lancaster Production designed to "Fight Racism".   I mean, how can you hate "Injuns" when they're Audrey Hepburn?  Unfortunately, no one involved, knew how to make either a Western or a subtle point about race relations, so The Unforgiven is a heavy-handed exercise in the obvious.

So What About the Movie?
Ok, so ignoring all miscast actors, and the absurd anti-racist plot, is the movie any good? Well, not really.

First, for a movie that's "anti-racist" it shows the Indians in a pretty bad light.  The Kiowa's want Audrey back, and are willing to kill any white who stands in the way.  Not Nice.

 And Huston's action scenes are awful and insulting to the Indians.  They attack the Homestead in the stupidest way possible, rushing toward the house in broad daylight, and getting shot down like clay pigeons in a target gallery. Incredibly, at the end, we're supposed to cheer Audrey when she shoots her brother, a Kiowa, who's come to "rescue her". Really.

Second, we get those stereotypical Hollywood racists, who just can't stand "injuns" - even if they've spent their whole lives with a white family and look like Audrey Hepburn. Why even Audie Murphy, her brother, just can't stand the sight of her, after he finds out she's a "redskin" (of course, he changes his mind).

The whole movie is a phony from beginning to end.  To increase the absurdity the Frontier house in the Texas Panhandle - isn't a sod hut, but a neat little place that would look fine in Home and Garden magazine - it even comes with a Grand piano you can play Mozart on!

Positives?  Lilian Gish shows her star quality as the feisty mother. And Audie Murphy and Audrey Hepburn do what they can with their characters and dialogue. She's badly cast, but you can't blame Hepburn for this stinker.

Summary:  Produced by Burt Lancaster, The Unforgiven was doomed from the start.  Freud said, Anatomy is Destiny, and so are an actor's looks and voice.  No matter how hard she tried, Audrey Hepburn couldn't play a believable Frontier Girl or a Kiowa Indian. And John Huston couldn't be John Ford.  Blinded by the potential international box office and civil rights politics, Lancaster made the wrong casting decisions, hired the wrong director, and  tried to make do with a bad script.  The result: An unforgiving bore.

I Walk Alone (1947)

Plot: After 14 years in Prison, a Gangster wants to renew "the old friendship"  with his now successful Ex-partner.
Stars:  Kirk Douglas, Burt Lancaster, Lizabeth Scott
Best Quote:  -For a buck, you'd double-cross your own mother.
-Why not? She'd do the same to me.

The critics weren't  kind in 1947, one suggesting the Movie "walk alone - off a cliff". Its a predictable film-noir, whose only interest - today - is the three leads.  Douglas is the manipulative, weasel Night-club owner,  Burt's the straight-forward ex-con, and Scott is sultry Nightclub singer torn between the two.  Sounds familiar right? It's OK, but its high on talk and low on action. And why we're supposed to root for Gangster Lancaster, an unreformed crook, is anyone's guess.

Summary: If you want to see Burt and Kirk talk to each other for 40 minutes - this movie's for you. Otherwise, its a standard Gangster revenge movie.  Kirk is painfully thin in this one. Amazing the same guy did Champion.