Kubrick at his most commercial.

Rating: 5/10 (5 January 2019)

Not half as good as Kubrick's Paths of Glory, but at 3hrs and 17mins it's twice as long. Kirk Douglas, superb in Paths of Glory, is not always effective or varied enough here and the film's wayward focus makes for a wearying and sometimes tedious 3 hours. The interior set design is unpersuasive as well as uninteresting. The varied cast includes Olivier and Laughton who seem at home in their roles as well as Woody Strode who cuts a striking figure, a rather embarrassing Tony Curtis, handsome John Gavin and beautiful Jean Simmons who is moving particularly in the film's satisfying last scene. I much prefer Kubrick's next feature the outrageously funny Lolita (1962) as well as the superb 88min Paths of Glory (1958).