IMDb > Elmer Gantry (1960)
Elmer Gantry
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Elmer Gantry (1960) More at IMDbPro »

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Elmer Gantry (1960) -- Trailer for this epic tale of an all American boy

Overview

User Rating:
7.8/10   3,771 votes
MOVIEmeter: ?
Down 20% in popularity this week. See why on IMDbPro.
Director:
Writers:
Richard Brooks (screenplay)
Sinclair Lewis (novel)
Contact:
View company contact information for Elmer Gantry on IMDbPro.
Release Date:
7 July 1960 (USA) more
Genre:
Tagline:
The screen has never known a man like ELMER GANTRY more
Plot:
Elmer Gantry is a fast talking, hard drinking traveling salesman who always has a risqué story and a... more | add synopsis
Awards:
Won 3 Oscars. Another 8 wins & 10 nominations more
User Comments:
"Love is the morning and the evening star!" more (54 total)

Cast

  (Complete credited cast)

Burt Lancaster ... Elmer Gantry

Jean Simmons ... Sister Sharon Falconer, nee Katie Jones
Arthur Kennedy ... Jim Lefferts
Dean Jagger ... William L. Morgan
Shirley Jones ... Lulu Bains
Patti Page ... Sister Rachel
Edward Andrews ... George F. Babbitt (as Ed Andrews)
John McIntire ... Rev. John Pengilly
Hugh Marlowe ... Rev. Philip Garrison
Joe Maross ... Pete
Philip Ober ... Rev. Planck
Barry Kelley ... Police Capt. Holt
Wendell Holmes ... Rev. Ulrich
Dayton Lummis ... Mr. Eddington, newspaper publisher
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Additional Details

Runtime:
146 min
Country:
Language:
Color:
Color (Eastmancolor)
Aspect Ratio:
1.66 : 1 more
Sound Mix:
Mono (Westrex Recording System)

Fun Stuff

Trivia:
A highly controversial novel in its day, no studio initially wanted to finance the film. more
Goofs:
Errors in geography: The location where Sister Sharon confronts the police captain and fire chief over erecting her tent is purported to be in Lincoln Nebraska. The opening part of the scene shows mountains in the background. There are no mountains around Lincoln. more
Quotes:
Elmer Gantry: Sin, sin, sin! You're all sinners! You're all doomed to perdition! more
Movie Connections:
Soundtrack:
Let Jesus Come into Your Heart more

FAQ

This FAQ is empty. Add the first question.
12 out of 20 people found the following comment useful.
"Love is the morning and the evening star!", 1 October 1999
10/10
Author: JW-27 from Boston, MA

"Elmer Gantry" can be considered the quintessential exploration into the omnipresent duality existing between a person's religious faith and simultaneous character defects. Burt Lancaster is bold and provocative as the title character who is preaching to you one moment and drunk and surly the other. The acting and directing is superb to the point that it becomes difficult to remember that it is only a movie. Jean Simmons is lovely and convincing as as Sister Sharon Falconer, the charismatic female evangelist who wins Gantry's heart (and lust)as they team up to jump-start America's dwindling religious beliefs. Of course, turmoil closes in on them as their inherent instincts of love overpower their adherence to the Christian principles they attempt to profess.

This is a searing message, indeed, that should be heeded by the Jimmy Swaggarts and Oral Roberts' of the world. Evangelism can be a dangerous platform when it allows a single person to rise to power while removing him (or her) from the fact that he is still a human and, thus, still vulnerable to the instincts and flaws he vehemently opposes on stage. It is thrilling to see how the Bible-Belt public shift their view so quickly when they first support and believe in the sincerity of Gantry and Sister Falconer but then witness their humanity and become violent. The scene where the heckling crowd throws garbage at the ostracized couple while a man plays a jazzed up rendition of "Onward Christian Soldiers" on the trumpet after Gantry is caught with a prostitute (played to the hilt by Shirley Jones) is both amusing and sad. If you enjoyed the book, you will not be disappointed with the movie in the least.

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Message Boards

Discuss this movie with other users on IMDb message board for Elmer Gantry (1960)
Recent Posts (updated daily)User
Elmer Gantry vs. Carrie CahillSellers
Shirley Jones Won An Oscar For This??? kdboles
What about the funny? freelocalradio
Very relevant for America today diesel-magoo
Casting for remake of Elmer Gantry mudgejl
Arthur Kennedy was great in this! wtl471629
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