Lawman (1971)

Plot: A Deputy Marshal goes after the cowboys who accidentally killed an old man
Stars: Burt Lancaster,  Lee J. Cobb, Robert Ryan

Inspired by the the success of  Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, and The Wild Bunch,  Hollywood made a large of number of mediocre Westerns in the 1970-1972 time-frame.  Showing graphic violence and revisionist attitudes, they all bombed at the box office, and more or less killed off the Western. Exhibit One, is Lawman - which doesn't have one ounce of originality or authenticity. Lancaster gives one of his worst performances as a cold, sullen, Marshal who upholds the law, no matter what the cost.

The Laughable Ending
Its one of the most ridiculous shoot outs ever. Lawman Lancaster, rides out of town, and when a baddie tries to shoot him in the back, he jumps off his horse, rolls in the dust, and nails the bad guy with one shot.  (Try that at home!) He then faces three baddies and Lee J. Cobb in a High Noon showdown. One draws, and is dispatched. Scared, another drops his gun and runs in circles for 30 seconds -literally - until Burt drills him in the back.  This leaves Cobb's son, who's generously waited until his 3 buddies are dead to challenge Burt to a draw.  Bam, down he goes. At which point L.J. Cobb takes the gun...and... commits suicide!  Of course, Burt has fired off about 12 shots from his six-gun without reloading, but hey who's counting? Certainly not the director.

Summary: A bunch of tired old men - with a sour, tired old story. It bored the hell out of me. The "Graphic" 1970's violence looks fake, the actors are on autopilot, and everything looks like a episode of "Gunsmoke".  Rating *

The Midnight Man (1974)

Plot:  An ex-con gets a Campus security guard job and solves a murder mystery.
Stars: Burt Lancaster, Susan Clark
Best Quote: The Second Worst Film of 1974 - Vincent Canby

Burt Lancaster co-directed, and co-produced the movie with long-time friend Roland Kibbee - who'd been a Hollywood screenwriter (Vera Cruz & The Crimson Pirate) - but by the early 1970s, was the executive producer of Columbo.

So, its no surprise, that Midnight Man comes off - in production values, direction, story, and supporting cast - as a two hour Columbo episode.  Its completely mediocre and Lancaster acts almost comatose.  Lancaster ascribed the poor performance to having to both direct and act. The murder mystery itself is confusing and dull.  Set in South Carolina, we get the usual Yankee actors with fake southern accents, and threatening "rednecks" that seem to have wandered in from The Andy Griffith Show.

The idiotic "barn fight"
At the end, an unarmed Lancaster runs into a barn, pursued by a vicious dog, and two "redneck" killers with shotguns. So, how does Lancaster escape? Easy. The dog runs UP into a hayloft and then drops down on Lancaster- y'know like a jaguar - and gets impaled on a pitchfork. After that, one yokel climbs into the barn using a ladder - and Burt stabs him. Then, his partner, who's stood around while his buddy got killed, suddenly realizes he has a shotgun and blasts his way in - but Lancaster is ready for him. Burt drops a bale of hay on him, and then runs him over with a tractor! Incredibly, this is not comedy.

Summary: Done as a favor for his life-long friend,  The Midnight Man is an average TV Movie of the Week.  Don't bother - unless you're a Lancaster fan. Side note: based on this and The Kentuckian - Lancaster was no great shakes as a director.

Apache (1954)

Plot: Captured Apache Warrior Massai (Lancaster) escapes and makes his way back to his tribe and girlfriend.
Stars Jean Peters and Burt Lancaster.
Worst Quote: But will they not say that growing corn is woman's work?
-I am a warrior. What I do can never be woman's work.

Despite having one of the worst "trailers" ever, Apache is an OK film *IF* you can get past the casting. Blue-eyed Lancaster/Peters look ridiculous in their Apache fright wigs and bad makeup. The phony pseudo-Indian dialogue is just as bad.

And of course, "Apache" is historical nonsense. However, the action scenes (except for the fight in the corn field) are well done and Peters looks lovely - even with her silly wig.

Summary: A big dumb 50s Pro-Apache Western - likable when Lancaster stops talking and starts shooting and jumping from rock to rock. Rating **

Rainmaker (1956)

Stars Lancaster and Katherine Hepburn. 121 minutes.
Cons: Lackluster supporting characters. Earl Holiman. Hepburn slightly too old, sluggish pace, not enough Hepburn and Lancaster
Pros: Lancaster and Hepburn, final 25 minutes.

I've put down Hepburn as both a "pro" and a "Con".  This would've been a great role for her - in 1946. The part calls for a woman who looks about 30 (like Geraldine Page) and Hepburn was 49. So, for about 2/3 of the movie, she's too old for the character. However, once she and Burt Lancaster interact, she made me forget her age, and she's pretty good.

The other problem is the lackluster supporting cast.  Holliman and Corey were connected to Hal Wallis. That's why they were cast.  And Bridges was always a TV actor.  None of them is particularly "Western" or charismatic. Whenever Hepburn or Lancaster are offscreen - the movie dies.

The best thing about Rainmaker is Lancaster. He's a little over-the-top but movie needs his energy.

Summary: Its  a lost opportunity. Had Rainmaker been shorter, and better cast, it might have been a great movie.  As is, the first 40 (Burt-less) minutes were hard to get through - but the movie then comes to life as Lancaster and Hepburn start dominating. Rating **1/2

Burt Lancaster - 12 Least Favorite Movies 1946-1975

1. Desert Fury (1947)
2. All My Sons (1948)
3. Jim Thorpe - All American (1951)
4. Vengeance Valley (1951)
5. The Unforgiven (1960)
6. Judgement at Nuremberg (1961)
7. A Child is Waiting (1963)
8. Gypsy  Moths (1969)
9. Castle Keep (1969)
10. Lawman (1971)
11. Executive Action (1973)
12. Midnight Man (1974)

Six Best and Six Worst - Burt Lancaster Performances

Best Performances:
01.  Prince Selina - The Leopard (Italian dub)
02.  Elmer Gantry - Elmer Gantry
03.  Joe Erin - Vera Cruz
04.  Captain Vallo - Crimson Pirate
05.  Lt. Bledsoe - Run Silent, Run Deep
06.  J.J. Hunsecker - Sweet Smell of Success

Basically, Burt was a Movie Star - not a great film actor. He was a smart, athletic, good-looking, charismatic, fellow with a charming grin. His best performances came in movies where the role fit his talents. In Elmer Gantry he's the charismatic, larger-then-life conman. In  Vera Cruz, the smiling damned villain.  In Crimson Pirate,  the charming hunk flying through the air, In Run Silent, Run Deep, the tough, smart, naval officer.  In Sweet Smell of Success, the cold arrogant authority figure. And in the Leopard,  he's *physically* every inch the Sicilian Aristocrat.  With a dubbed Italian voice he's great.

Worst Performances:
01.  Mangiacavallo - The Rose Tattoo
02.  Bob Valdez  - Valdez is Coming
03.  Wyatt Earp - Gunfight at the OK Corral
04.  Mel Bakerfeld - Airport 
05.  Major Falconer - Castle Keep
06.  John Malcom - Separate Tables 

In his worst performances, Lancaster was robotic and bland.  Lancaster could be surprisingly dull in generic leading man roles, and I think they're some of his worst.  Unlike say Jimmy Stewart or  William Holden, he needed to play a complex character. He's robotic in Gunfight, boring in Airport, and hides behind an eye-patch and helmet in Castle Keep.  And he was terrible with accents, and unable *vocally* to play ethnics or foreigners - which makes Valdez and the Rose tattoo so embarrassing. Both movies are also, outside his range.  He's no Charles Bronson action hero, and Anna Magnani blows him off the screen in Rose Tattoo. Which lead us to Separate Tables, where he's completely out of his depth as a writer with "issues".   Lancaster can only portray anger, all the other character's emotions are beyond him.

Buffalo Bill and the Indians (1976) - Robert Altman

Plot:  Buffalo Bill tries to get Sitting Bull to join his Wild West Show
Stars:  Paul Newman, Burt Lancaster, Geraldine Chaplin
Best Quote: Altman makes the point that Buffalo Bill was a flamboyant fraud, then belabors it for two hours. Not without interest, but still one of the director's duller movies - Leonard Maltin.

Even Altman fans don't much like Buffalo Bill and I wouldn't disagree.  Problem one is Paul Newman as "Bill Cody".  As written, the character should be larger-than-life, full of bluster and Old Western charm. Which Paul Newman isn't. He's  handsome as hell in his dyed goatee , but he's not a cowboy and Newman was never "larger than life".  He was "Fast Eddie" or the cool prison inmate or PI.  Nor was he good at comedy. The part should've gone to Burt Lancaster, who effortlessly dominates  his few scenes.

Other problems?  Its a long shaggy dog story with no character development, has bad sound, and some cheap looking sets.  There a few good scenes, and a few good characters (Sitting Bull and William Halsey) - but the movie could be 30 minutes shorter, without losing a thing.

Politics? Of course, its a revisionist Western - Altman wouldn't make any other kind.  We get the same tired point over and over: the Indians are good/noble - the whites are cheats/frauds.

Summary:  Its more interesting to read about then see. Very minor Altman. Lancaster fans shouldn't bother - he's only onscreen for 15 minutes.

The Train (1964)

Plot:  In August 1944,  the Germans try to transport Art masterpieces from Paris to Nazi Germany. The French Resistance tries to stop them.
Stars:  Burt Lancaster, Paul Scofield, Jeanne Moreau
Best Quote: A painting means as much to you as a string of pearls to an ape. You won by sheer luck. You stopped me without knowing what you were doing or why.... The paintings are mine. They always will be. Beauty belongs to the man who can appreciate it. They will always belong to me, or a man like me. 

The Train is one the best WW2 action movies and we can thank Lancaster for it.   He replaced Director Arthur Penn with John Frankenheimer and turned a turgid art/war drama into a slam-bang action movie. Shot in a semi-documentary,  gritty/beautiful B&W, there's no CGI here, all the train crashes and explosions are real. For example, the Allied bombing of a rail yard was accomplished with real dynamite!

The plot is simple
Can Lancaster stop Scofield from getting the Art to Germany? Some have criticized the "slow start" but I didn't feel that - at all.  There is some "Is the art worth all these lives?" talk,  but mostly the Art is the McGuffin - driving the action.  Overall, the direction is brilliant.

Acting
Except for Lancaster, who's not much of a Frenchman,  the casting is impeccable. Scofield is excellent as the ruthless, art loving, German Colonel and the supporting German/French actors are equally good. They aren't given much to do, but they do it very well.  We shouldn't forget the Trains either.  They're photographed so often, they're practically co-stars.

Burt Lancaster
This is one of Lancaster's better roles. Despite playing a Frenchman, this is "Action Star Burt" - not "Serious Dramatic Burt". He runs, he leaps, he  falls off trains, and tangles with the German Guards. And Lancaster was smart enough to skip the French Accent and his character - athletic, tough, and laconic - fits him like a glove.  His scenes with the Jeanne Moreau are excellent as he shows the necessary war weariness and gritty, working-class attitude.

Summary:  One of my favorite Burt Lancaster movies.  An excellent war movie. Its a fictional story but feels realistic. Probably action fans and train buffs will appreciate it most.

Castle Keep (1969)

Plot:  A squad of GI's -commanded by a Major - occupy a Fantasy Belgium Castle in December 1944.
Stars:  Burt Lancaster, Patrick O'Neal, Peter Falk
Best Quote:  Castle Keep is  an ambitious oddity, as though a marriage had been arranged between Catch 22 and A Long Day's Dying, and neither party felt much confidence in the outcome..its so hit or miss that one wonders if they could see the target for the pretensions - The Spectator  

A 1969 Box office dud, and almost completely forgotten, I found  Castle Keep dull and bizarre.  I'm a fan of WW 2 movies - but not of surrealism - and this is *feeble* surrealism. I didn't enjoy  plowing through this plot-less, badly directed, badly written mess, trying to find a "deep" symbolic meaning, or the occasional witty line. Maybe they should have hired Luis Bunuel - instead of Sidney Pollack.

Side Note:  Its astounding that The Quiet Man was turned down by every major studio, Welles' Chimes at Midnight had to be self-financed, and Heston spent years getting a studio to do the The Warlord.  Yet this turkey was green-lighted by Columbia for $8 million. Its says a lot about Hollywood.

Burt Lancaster
Burt plays a 56 y/o Army Major with an eye-patch.  And when he wears a helmet you can barely see his face.  It must have been an easy paycheck.

Twilight's Last Gleaming (1977)

Plot: A disgraced USAF general takes over an ICBM silo, and threatens to start nuclear war unless his demands are met.
Stars: Burt Lancaster, Charles Durning, Richard Widmark, Paul Winfield,  Burt Young
Best Quote:  Gentlemen, we are now a superpower.

Twilight's Last Gleaming has some excellent actors and a good story idea but its botched in execution. You can start with the casting.  Charles Durning is simply awful. Nobody would elect this fat, sweaty guy as President!* Second, for a "thriller" its simply too long (2.5 hours) and too sluggish. Lancaster and his buddies take a long 30 minutes to take over the silo and make their demands.  And once they do, we spend another static, gabby, 110 minutes before the President agrees to Lancaster's terms**.  Almost all the 110 minutes is spent in only two places: the Oval Office and Silo Launch room.  Its talk, talk, talk - on two cheap sound-stages.

The Credibility Problem
So many absurd things happen - it hurts the movie.  I'll list some:

• 64 y/o Lancaster not only breaks out of Prison with 3 accomplices - he gains control of an ICBM missile site with nothing more than a few pistols and some social security numbers!
•  Evidently, none of the scriptwriters  heard of things called  "Picture Badges".
• One person - by themselves - can't fire off an ICBM.
• Why does Lancaster demand the President read the NSC memo on TV? Lancaster *has* the NSC minutes.  Why not just give them to the Press?
• No General would allow a sniper to shoot the POTUS

The Biggest Problem of All
The movie wants us to root for Lancaster. He's been framed for murder one (it was actually manslaughter) and he wants America to be told *THE TRUTH* about Vietnam - dammit! The problem is, he's willing to start a nuclear war and kill 100 million Russians and Americans. And he's not bluffing. Half-way through the movie, he stops a Widmark attack by activating the launch.  And Lancaster does kill five or six people getting into the Silo.  But they're just "red-shirts" so they don't count. But then we find out, THE TRUTH ABOUT VIETNAM - isn't anything special. Y'see we got into Vietnam and  killed hundreds of  thousands and committed atrocities to prove to the USSR we were "capable of anything".  Yeah, sure.  Okey-dokey.

Lancaster Performance
Burt doesn't have much to do much acting- except sit in the Control room, make demands, and calm down Winfield and Young.

* = The producers had Joseph Cotton, Charles McGraw, Widmark and Lancaster. But they gave the POTUS part to Durning. Incredible.
** = To make it even duller, any wide-awake viewer knows the POTUS has to agree to the terms - the alternative is nuclear war.

Burt Lancaster Films - 1946-1975

I did a review of Burt Lancaster's films from 1946-1975, and I don't think any other American Leading Man did such a wide variety of films, or went through such distinct and varied career changes. Analysis as follows:

Crooked Burt 1946-1949
In the first four years of film career, Lancaster made 9 films, all of which except All my Sons, was a film Noir/crime movie. He was Barbara Stanwyck's murderous husband in Sorry Wrong Number", a vengeful gangster in I walk Alone, a reformed killer in Kiss the Blood off my Hands, a tough lifer in Brute Force, and a fall guy who gets involved in a Heist in The Killer and Criss Cross.  Only in Desert Fury is Lancaster on the right side of the law.

 Box Office Burt  1950-1957
This was Lancaster's most popular time.  Determined to shake off the Film Noir image (and make some $$), he made 18 films during this period, including 5 Westerns (all in Technicolor),  5 Adventure Comedies,  Trapeze which showed off his acrobat skills,  a rom-com (Mr. 880), a sports BioPic (Jim Thorpe - All American), and a war movie (From Here to Eternity). Only 4 of his movies were serious dramas (Rainmaker, Rose Tattoo, Sweet Smell of Success, and Come Back Little Sheba).  This was Lancaster at his most charming and athletic - and the American Public loved it.

Serious Actor Burt 1958-1964
Lancaster changed once again, deciding that he'd made enough money and it was time to stretch as an actor. And so, during this 7 year period, Burt made 12 films -  8 of which were serious dramas.  The other four movies?  A war film with Clark Gable (Run Silent, Run Deep),  a Shavian comedy with Larry Olivier (Devils Disciple),  a WW2 movie playing a French train engineer (The Train) and his only Western (The Unforgiven) with Audrey Hepburn and John Huston.  All the serious drama didn't pay off at the Box Office - but did with the critics - as Lancaster got two AA nominations (Elmer Gantry and Birdman of Alcatraz)

Aging Burt - Final Call as Leading Man 1965-1975
Despite being fairly old for a leading man, Lancaster continued to make a lot of movies. During these 11 years he made another 14 movies. Whether out of choice or necessity, he cut back on the serious dramas and added a lot more Westerns and action spy films. Unfortunately, few of them were hits, and some were box office bombs.  Of the 6 westerns, only one was both popular and good - The Professionals.  Two others got critical approval (The Scalphunters and Ulazna's Raid)  but did little business.  His 3 Spy/Political/Crime movies died without a trace.  As for the other five movies.  The Swimmer has become a cult movie but was hated by the critics and the public.  His Italian film (The Conversation Piece) was ignored,  and the Gypsy Moths and Castle-Keep  were considered complete misfires.  Out of 14 films, only Airport  was massively popular - and Lancaster was part of large ensemble Cast.  By 1975, even the most friendly producer knew 62 y/o Burt was past his "sell date" as a leading man.

The Big Picture 1946-1975 - What's Missing
Looking over the 53 movies during the 30 year period, we find 12 Westerns,  10 film-noir/crime movies,  15 or more serious dramas,  but none of the following:

• Sword and Sandal Movies
• Serious Romance movie (and only 1 Rom-com)
• Detective Movies (Police or Private)
• Science Fiction
• Musicals
• Contemporary Comedy 

Not  the All-American Hero
Lancaster only appeared in 4 War movies,  and only once in combat as an American Serviceman (Run Silent Run deep).  In the other three,  he's a French Train Engineer who joins the resistance, a crazy, one-eyed officer in a fantasy anti-war pic (Castle Keep), and a desk-bound Sergeant just before Pearl Harbor (From here to eternity).

Forget the Suit
Lancaster rarely played the typical Leading man part as a "Middle Class Professional" or  Business Exec.  He played a D/A ( young savages), a Psychologist (A Child is Waiting) and an Airport Manager (Airport). Otherwise, he left those roles to Gregory Peck.  Note: In the Swimmer, he's a failed, crazy, Madison Ave. exec - and only wears a swimsuit. In the Conversation Piece he's a retired Italian Art Professor.

Also, Lancaster never played a Pilot, Engineer, Doctor, Reporter, or Sea Captain (Tracy did all five).

Not John Wayne
 Of his 12 Westerns 2 were comedies,  2 were adventure films about Mercenaries in Mexico,  3 were anti-racism tomes (Unforgiven, Apache and Valdez is Coming), 2 were Law and Order Westerns, and in 1 he was a frontiersman in 1820 Kentucky.  Lancaster only fought the Indians in 2 movies, and then only reluctantly. He was NEVER the *serious* gunfighter, lone Cowboy or Calvary Officer.

1900 (1976)

Plot: Both born in 1901, two Italian Boys (one rich, one poor) view and participate in the 20th Century struggle between Communism and Fascism
Stars: Robert De Niro, Donald Sutherland, Gérard Depardieu, Burt Lancaster
Best Quote: Bertolucci had his pick of actors a free run with his budget, the freedom to make a personal film. And he blew it - Roger Ebert

An Epic, five hour film, 1900 is notable for its international cast, beautiful cinematography, and the occasional striking, interesting set-scene. Unfortunately, it also has cardboard/cartoon characters,  over-the-top violence, lots of poop, male nudity, and a rambling plot that goes nowhere.

You get the impression Bertolucci just winged the whole thing, arriving on the set everyday saying: "Hey, lets do something crazy " and coming up with stuff like: De Niro showing his ding-dong,  De Niro doing cocaine, manure coming about of a horse's anus, child rape/murder, and a cat being head-butted to death.

So, its a pretty long five hours. How did anyone get through this in 1976?  Did every theater ticket come with a flask of Whisky?

And politically the film is a bore. Bertolucci was a Marxist. So, everything is a cartoon.  The Fascists are child murderers (really),  the Commies are the good guys, and the  Bourgeois land owners are worthless and stupid.

This is the kind of movie, you must watch on DVD.  You can fast forward when things get dull or half-watch it and do the laundry. And because there's no real plot or character development you won't really miss anything. Occasionally, when it gets interesting - you can tune in.

Its too bad. Because the movie LOOKS great. And Bertolucci obviously knew how to film an interesting scene. Unfortunately, he can't tell a story. Or create good, interesting, characters. Or provide any insight into human nature or politics that would surprise a 14 year old.

Lancaster - Burt's really a bit player in this one, showing up at the beginning and playing the old Landowner.  His big scene occurs in a barn, where a young maiden milks a cow and then tries to have sex with him.  But poor Burt, can't do it - he's too old, so he kills himself.  Lancaster does the scene well enough. According, to one biographer he was so obsessed with working with Bertolucci (who'd turned him down for Last Tango) that he worked for scale.

Come Back, Little Sheba (1952)

 Come back Little Sheba is not really my kind of movie.  Based on the award-winning Broadway play, it stars Oscar winning Best actress Shirley Booth as a middle-age housewife trying to keep her loser husband "Doc" (Burt Lancaster) off the bottle. Its a short 97 minutes and only has 2 other significant characters - a young female lodger (well played by Terry Moore) and her boyfriend.

Its somewhat downbeat and the language seemed like 2nd rate Tennessee Williams but  it kept my interest.  However, its lost some of its punch, given the change in sexual mores and attitudes toward Alcoholism.

Summary:  Thank God for Shirley Booth - she made the whole thing watchable. But if you're a fan of the actors or William Inge, you might give it a look.

Post Script: Burt Lancaster
Lancaster's performance is best described as "adequate".  On the plus side, athletic 39 y/o Burt convincingly plays an alcoholic 50 y/o - and doesn't embarrass himself.  But there's no chemistry between him and Booth, and he lacks the emotional depth to add anything to the part.  The role calls for pathos and except for Kirk Douglas there's nobody with less "pathos" then Burt Lancaster.  The role really should've gone to:  Fred March, Tracy, Bogart or even Cagney.

Airport (1970) - Seaton

Plot:  An Airport manager, has to deal with personal problems, a mad bomber, a stuck 707, a snow storm,  *and * a little old lady stowaway - all in one night. 
Stars:  Burt Lancaster, Dean Martin, George Kennedy,  Jacqueline Bisset, Jean Seaberg
Best Quote:  -The instruction book said that was impossible.
Joe Patroni: That's one nice thing about the 707. It can do everything BUT read.

A re-watch on my part, Hated by the critics but loved by the audience, Airport is the grand-daddy of the 1970s disaster movies and one of the best. Airport has a lot of things going for it. Nostalgia value, intentional AND unintentional humor, some fine supporting acting and -once it gets going  -a slick, and engrossing plot.  Lets take them in order.

Shrimp and Caviar - For Everyone!

Nostalgia value AND unintentional humor
Anyone who travels by air in 2018, has to smile, or even laugh out loud, at the air travel world of 1970.  Van Heflin walks on board with his attache case full of dynamite - and no one even inspects it. I guess that would be rude. Even more incredible, he lights up a cigarette in mid-flight, and never even asks for permission!  No "None smoking sections" on this flight.  Meanwhile, the first class passengers are eating shrimp and caviar and I didn't see a single overhead bin jammed with luggage.

During the flight, we get a clue why everything is so luxurious.  A snotty passenger states he's paying $474 (one-way tourist) to go Chicago-Rome.  That's equal to $4,000 today. No doubt if a 2018 round-trip to Chicago-Rome cost $8,000,  we'd be back to 1970 standards.

And then there's Airport's  "liberated" sexual morality, which today seems like the opposite.  We have two bright young things (Seaberg and Bissett) having affairs with older married men (Lancaster and Martin).  But we're not supposed to look down on anyone  or be prudish.  Hey, its 1970 -those girls "know the score" -  and being pregnant is Bissett's problem. And we're supposed to sympathize with Lancaster - after all his wife's a shrew and he has an Airport to run, dammit! The male chauvinism meter is off the charts.

Intentional Humor
Nothing upset the elite critics more - or made me laugh more - than Airport's mainstream, often corny humor.  Whether its Helen Hayes being cute and funny or Martin giving the airplane nerd some double-talk or Kennedy barking out a Petroni quip or a Priest "accidentally" hitting a cowardly whiner - I love the humor.

The Great Supporting Cast
The heart and soul of Airport is the great supporting cast.  We can start with Van Heflin and Maureen Stapleton who add some pathos as the crazy bomber and sad wife. Then there's George Kennedy, so lively and interesting, he made a career out the role. And who can forget Helen Hayes, who was AA nominated?  Even some of the smaller roles are well done. There's Gary Nelson, the Pipe smoking Pilot, Barbara Hale - Dean Martin's Wife.  Larry Gates as the pompous Boss - how dare he disagree with Burt Lancaster. Burt's trying to run an Airport - dammit! And of course, Jessie Royce  as the wealthy smuggler.  Who else would smuggle in a diamond bracelet on her pet poodle?

Slick and Engrossing Plot
Once Airport finally gets in the air (about the 1 hour mark) - it draws you in, even though we all know no plane with Dean Martin is going to crash.  Will Van Heflin explode the bomb?  Will Dean-o land the plane before it falls apart?  Will Kennedy clear runway 2-9 in time?

The Flaws
On re-watch, its really dull the first 30 minutes.  This part should be titled "Airport Manager" - as you follow an obviously bored Burt Lancaster, as he fights with his wife,  schmoozes with Girl Friday Seaberg, convinces Kennedy to deal with that stuck airplane on runway"Two-niner", and  tells his boss he's going to keep the airport open, no matter how much it snows - dammit.  Fortunately, Van Helflin and Stapleton arrive at the 32 minute mark, and things get much more interesting.

Mister 880 (1950)

Plot: A Treasury Agent (Lancaster) tries to catch an amateur counterfeiter who only fakes $1 bills.
Stars:  Burt Lancaster, Dorothy McGuire, Edmund Gwenn

Based on a true story, Gwenn plays an old antique dealer who counterfeits to eek out a small living. Lancaster suspects Gwenn's next door neighbor McGuire of being involved, and romantic comedy ensues. Of course, it all ends happily.  Fairly popular in 1950 (ranked 56th in Box office) its a charming bit of fluff notable for Gwenn's delightful - Oscar Nominated -performance.  Its not a great movie, but I enjoyed the low-key comedy.


Burt Lancaster
Lancaster did this as a change of pace. After 8 crime movies and All My Sons, he wanted to do something a little more light.  He's perfectly adequate in the lead role, being suitably charming and handsome. However,  Bill Holden or Glenn Ford would've been a better fit.  Lancaster's only try at a Rom-Com, he decided his charm/comedic skills were better served in action spoofs.

Ten Tall Men (1951)

Plot:  Technicolor Comedy Adventure.  During the Rif war,  French Foreign Legion soldiers kidnap a Berber princess to forestall an attack.
Stars:  Burt Lancaster,  Jody Lawrance

I can't say much about Ten Tall Men. It's an ordinary  - 2.5 star - Comedy Adventure film. The plot is simple and we get the standard fist fights, pretty women, chase scenes, and dastardly villains. And a few laughs.  

Its the sort of movie, where the kidnapped princess picks up a rifle and points it at Lancaster, and he just smiles. She shoots and misses. He smiles. She fires again, and click.  Out of ammo. Lancaster smiles.

The whole thing is built around Lancaster, and doesn't require much except his charming smile and massive pecs.  The supporting cast is adequate - but makes little impression. Best Scene? The Legionaries dress as women to fool the Berber bandits.

Summary:  Lancaster made 5 action/comedy films between 1950-1954 and Ten Tall Men is the least remembered - with good reason.  Flame and Arrow and Crimson Pirate are better all round, His Majesty O'Keefe has a memorable Fiji location, and South Seas Women has more comedy and co-stars Virginia Mayo. But Lancaster fans might enjoy it.

Book Review - Burt Lancaster: An American Life - Buford

Published in 2000, this the last and best Burt Lancaster biography on the market. Its well written and covers Lancaster's pre-Hollywood life, films, and last years in adequate detail.  It gave me a whole new perspective on Burt Lancaster.

Burt Lancaster - The Good
Probably the best thing about Burt Lancaster, was that he loved to make movies. He started late at age 33, but he made up for it, shooting an incredible 53 films (not counting Cameos) between 1946-1975.  Unlike say, Brando or Bill Holden, Lancaster loved acting and worked constantly to get himself "Serious" parts and improve himself.  He could be "Hell on wheels" with his directors, but as shown by his relationship with Visconti, he really just wanted to work with talented people and make good movies.

And he was loyal to his friends. Lancaster found role for Nick Cravat, his circus partner, all through his life - and he showed the same loyalty to other old friends.  And while I dislike  his politics, he put his "money where his mouth was" by producing Left-wing movies and donating his time and money to causes he believed in.  And his strong beliefs had good side effects. He turned down both Ben Hur and Patton because of his politics.  He would've been  terrible in both roles!

Burt Lancaster - The Bad
Its the other side of the same coin. Acting-wise, his reach often exceeded his grasp - and he took roles that should have gone to better actors.  Cf: Spenser Tracy in Separate Tables or Frederick March in Come Back Little Sheba or pretty much anyone in Rose Tattoo.  At times, he comes off as an egomaniac.  For example, his one-sided rivalry with Brando. He campaigned for Brando's role in Streetcar, The Godfather and Last Tango -  and fortunately lost all three.

And of course, his drive for success, often resulted in hurt feelings and angry co-workers. Given his mediocre direction on "The Kentuckian"   and his mixed record as a producer, its unclear whether his desire for perfection was equaled by his talent. Larry Olivier provides an anecdote (not given in the book) of Lancaster telling him how to do a scene on Devil's Disciple.  Olivier took it in good humor, and asked Lancaster to "act it out for him" - which of course Burt couldn't do, and the matter was dropped.

Burt Lancaster - Surprising Facts

• Lancaster was an enormous Opera fan and, in 1970,  played the lead in a small LA Opera production. Evidently, his *real* dream was to become an Opera Director or Star. Yet, he never made a musical. 
• Not only did Lancaster break into movies at the relatively old age of 33, hut he'd spent the previous 12 years performing as an acrobat.
• Lancaster had plastic surgery in the 1960's to keep his youthful appearance.
• Lancaster didn't know how to swim or play Football.  He learned Football on Jim Thorpe and swimming in - you guessed it - The Swimmer. He never liked riding horses, and his Westerns are notable for his limited time on horseback.
• When John Wayne offered to do a movie with him, Lancaster thought it was funniest suggestion ever. 

The Conversation Piece (1974) - Visconti

Plot:  An Italian Professor's quiet life is interrupted by bositerous, unwanted, tenants upstairs.
Stars:  Burt Lancaster, Helmut Berger, Silvana Mangano, Claudia Marsani

This was Visconti's last movie, shot on a soundstage, with Lancaster as the backup Director. As you might expect, the whole thing is a gab-fest. Unfortunately, I could only see the English Dub version, even though everyone (except Berger) sounds better in the non-subtitled Italian.

The Good? No doubt much of the humor got lost in translation - but the story still held my interest. The Professor begins by despising these vulgarians and ends by regarding them as adopted family.  The set design is brilliant, the direction good.  Everyone looks the part.  Berger does an excellent job with his character, everyone else is adequate.

The Bad:  Unlike Visconti, I didn't love - or even like - these obnoxious characters.  Marsani is an airhead, while Mangano is hard & shrill. Berger (the Bi-sexual, Left-wing, drug dealer)  who the Professor falls in love with - is particularly hard to take.  Some scenes fall flat: including a badly done threesome bi-sex scene (complete with Auden and a 60's pop song) and an extremely fake looking suicide.

Lancaster:  He looks the part, but is vocally inexpressive. The Italian voice dub highlights his limitations.  Burt talks slow and quiet - but old/dignified shouldn't equal bland. The role required a better film actor - to add something to the character. Olivier had accepted the role, but later backed out. Too bad.

Summary:  Minor Visconti.  A gabby, talk fest that's probably better in Italian. Not bad, just mediocre.  A Product of its times.

Jim Thorpe All American (1951)

Plot: The Life Story of Jim Thorpe, America's greatest athlete, who was stripped of his Olympic Medals on a technicality.
Stars:  Burt Lancaster, Charles Bickford, Phyliss Thaxter
Best Quote:  "I had a funny feeling watching Burt do the things I did...I don't think I was ever that handsome" - Jim Thorpe

Typical Hollywood Sports Biopic based on Jim Thorpe's 1950 autobiography.  Like Pride of the Yankees (Lou Gehrig),  or Follow the Sun (Ben Hogan)  - the real story is sanitized, fictionalized and made more dramatic**.  The whole thing was designed to inspire what Casey Stengel called "The Youth of America."  - not tell the literal truth.

And there's nothing wrong with that, but it makes for a standard/mediocre movie.  Unless you're a Lancaster or Jim Thorpe fan, I'd skip it.

Burt Lancaster
Lancaster does well in the athletic scenes, but even with darkened hair and makeup, he's about as Indian as Gregory Peck. Burt doesn't have to do much acting, and at 38 is a little to old for the HS scenes.

According to Thaxter,  Lancaster didn't like doing "love scenes" and would rehearse endlessly in a mirror to get them right.  This sounds correct. Although Lancaster is famous for his From Here to Eternity beach scene with Deborah Kerr -  his filmography shows little romance.  Lancaster made 40 films from 1946-1964 - but probably no leading man kissed fewer girls.

** = Thorpe, for example, had 3 wives, but movie Thorpe is only in love Phyllis Thaxter.

Ulzana's Raid (1972)

Plot:  An old Indian scout and US Calvary Troop pursue a raiding band of Apache
Stars:  Burt Lancaster, Bruce Davison, Richard Jaeckel
Best Quote: Just don't water the beef before you weigh 'em. You'd be surprised how many steaks there are in two gallons of river water.

I wish I could've liked Ulzana's Raid better than I did.  It has a lot of good things going for it. An intelligent script, Indians that look and speak like Native Americans**, and a semi-realistic depiction of 19th Century Indian warfare.  But its curiously cold and un-engaging - partly because Aldrich is no John Ford, partly because Davison is so mediocre, and partly because it doesn't take sides. As Lancaster says "hating the Apache is like hating the Desert" - so we root for no one.

Positives? The last 15 minutes are great, as Ulzana lures the Calvary into a trap and then is foiled by Ke-Ni-Tay. An excellent down-beat but realistic ending.

The Problem with Lancaster  
Despite the critical praise, I think Burt was too bland. The Indian scout is just a standard "Good Guy" role - and he was never great at those.  Too bad Mitchum, Stewart, Ford, Holden, Douglas, or Heston weren't available. Someone who could add some pizazz. And the wise old Indian scout is a bit of a bore. He's always right and always has a sardonic comeback.

** = many Apache are played by Hispanics, but at least its not Frank de Kova or Jeff Chandler!

The Scalphunters (1968)

Plot: Set in 1860 New Mexico,  A trapper fights a  band of "Scalphunters" to recover his furs, while an escaped slave schemes his way to freedom.
Stars:  Ossie Davis, Burt Lancaster, Shelly Winters, Tele Savalas
Best Quote: Throw you in a pig-pen, and you'd come out the Vice-President of Hogs.


The Scalphunters starts out well - but ends badly.  The first hour is a comic delight, as Davis schemes and schmoozes, Lancaster bickers with Davis, and Savalas plays the over-the-top villain. But then the story goes into repeat mode. It takes a repetitive 25 minutes before the final shootout. After which, Davis should've gone off alone to Mexico  - the end. But no, the movie drags on for 15 minutes, and we get one of the longest/dullest fist-fights ever filmed. Even John Ford would've been bored.  Too bad.

Performances? Its the best thing about the Scalphunters.  Everyone  is doing what they do best - and Davis and Lancaster have good chemistry as "the Bickersons".

Direction?  Pollock shows that he's no  Anthony Mann. The action scenes are barely competent. Like most 60s/70s  movies, the so-called "Grisly" "Bloody" violence looks incredibly fake. Some actions scenes are well done for instance: Lancaster attempt to steal the pack horses at night and Lancaster's escape from the Savalas henchmen.

 Realism? Forget it. The Scalphunters is a comedy and anti-racist propaganda.  But evidently some people take it seriously. So, to point out the obvious:

• There were no USA "Scalp-hunters" - the American governments (local, state, territorial) *never* paid for Indian scalps. That was Mexico.
• There's no way Savalas could feed his 25 horses, 8-10 henchmen and 4 women in the middle of the  Guadalupe Mountains. And who built all those roads in the middle of nowhere?
• Despite traveling in mountainous, rough Indian country with 3 heavily laden wagons, the scalphunters never take any precautions. They get drunk, dance and sing at night, and can't prevent one trapper from almost killing them all.  But they are the ones who surprise 10 Indians, in broad daylight! 

The young Savages (1961)

Plot: When 3 Italian Gang members kill a blind Puerto Rican boy in Spanish Harlem - the local D/A wrongly thinks its an open-and-shut case.
Stars:  Burt Lancaster, Shelly Winters, Edward Andrews,  Tele Savalas

Back in 1961. this was considered a hard-hitting examination of racism, juvenile delinquency, and the death penalty -  but today it seems rather confused and unrealistic.  First, Lancaster and Winters don't seem the least bit Italian (why was Lee Grant even hired?) , and there's other silliness:

• All the JD's are 5-7 years too old, and fair-haired blue-eyed  John Chandler, leads the Italian Gang;
• D/A Lancaster ignores the police and becomes a one-man investigation squad and puts his life in danger; 
• 8 Gang-members beat Lancaster with chains, but he's OK the next day;
• Tele Savalas's has the last name "Gunderson"; and
• Ignoring his Boss, Lancaster switches sides during the trial, and exonerates two of the Defendants.  

The film's legal politics are equally confused.  What does it matter that a defendant has a high IQ?  Or that the murder victim wasn't a "nice guy" or his sister was a prostitute?  No matter how you slice it, three guys deliberately murdered a blind boy!

And we don't get a serious debate about the death penalty.  Corrupt Ed Andrews (the authority figure who's always wrong) asks for it, because it will help his reelection, while Cop Salvalas mindlessly grumbles about "stringing them up".  And D/A Lancaster? He starts out favoring the Death penalty, but changes after he almost strangles one of his Chain wielding attackers.  He suddenly realizes "anyone can kill"  - and therefore, its impossible to prove someone committed premeditated murder!

Positives?  That aside, The Young Savages is a low budget, well-acted, well-directed film.  The location shots of 1961 NYC are fascinating, and story moves at a fast clip.  Set design and score are good.  Best Scene? The murder at the start has some stunning, if derivative shots.  Lancaster was unhappy and detached at times ( he only did it because of his U/A contract) but you can't tell from his performance.

Burt Lancaster - L'Enfant Terrible

I'm reading a biography of Burt Lancaster, and just wanted to list all the people Lancaster abused or made angry while making movies:

• Ten Tall Men (1951) -  Angry at Lancaster's obnoxious behavior, Director William Goldbeck walks off the set, and is replaced by Robert Parish
• Crimson Pirate (1952) - Director Siodomak declares Lancaster a "megalomaniac", and "possibly mentally ill" after being disgusted by his "filthy language" and "abusive attitude". 
• Separate Tables (1958)  - Olivier and Vivian Leigh quit after Lancaster demands to play the "John Malcolm" role in leiu of Spenser Tracy.  Director Delbert Mann refuses to work with Lancaster again, after the picture is cut to make Lancaster's part bigger and add a popular song.
• Run Silent, Run Deep (1958)  Director Wise is annoyed when Lancaster and Hill constantly rewrite the script and later make the final cut without him.
• Devil's Disciples (1959)  Lancaster fires Director Mackendrick 
• The Unforgiven (1960)- John Huston and Lancaster don't get along. Later, Huston calls it the "only film of mine I disliked making"
• Judgment at Nuremberg (1961) Maximilian Schell and Lancaster get in shouting match. Lancaster walks off Mike Wallace talk show when asked about it.  
• The Young Savages (1961) - Lancaster dislikes Lee Grant - has her fired - after one day. Later, Shelly Winters and Lancaster get into a screaming match onset. 
• Birdman of Alcatraz - (1962) - Lancaster fires Director Charles Chrichton 
• The Train (1964) - Lancaster fires Director Arthur Penn after one week of shooting
• The Swimmer - (1968) Director Perry clashes with Lancaster.  Lancaster and the Studio  reshoot much of the movie, only 1/2 of the Perry's footage is used.
• Airport (1970) -  During production  Lancaster is cold and aloof.  Refuses to thank Ross Hunter for the role or promote the movie.  Publicly calls it "the biggest piece of Junk" right before the Oscars.  
• Little Treasure (1985)  During rehearsal, Margot Kidder grabs Lancaster after being told not to. Lancaster responds by slapping her.  She starts kicking him and the two go down to the ground.  To forestall an assault and battery charge,  Lancaster apologizes.