Overrated

Rating: 7/10 (13 April 2020)

There are so many reviews here of the film that my opinion of it will probably not be read. Do I like the film ? Not much, but it is worth the 7 I am giving it just because of the actors. Burt Lancaster made greater films, Montgomery Clift the same and Deborah Kerr has a ' Marilyn Monroe ' haircut, and she does her best to be a sexual object to hunk Burt Lancaster, but somehow I do not believe in their chemistry. Gloria Grahame could have convinced and that elusive thing called sexual desire could have been more convincing. Frank Sinatra is good and the film is a toned down version of the book, which was typical of the period. But it is a MALE film all over and macho to its fingertips. A lot of fights and that is not just the WW2 background. Fred Zinnemann's direction is bland, and it is bland visually. And Donna Reed is playing sexy and convincing. What more could the hetero-normative world want back then, but overall the film is dated and overrated. And don't forget the sexual waves!!!