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.