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   3,790 votes
MOVIEmeter: ?
Down 56% in popularity this week. See why on IMDbPro.
Director:
Richard Brooks
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:
Drama more
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
Plot Keywords:
more
Awards:
Won 3 Oscars. Another 8 wins & 10 nominations more
NewsDesk:
(6 articles)
Actor Maross Dies
 (From WENN. 11 November 2009, 8:11 AM, PST)
The Golden Age Of TV Comedy Returns: Disgraced Evangelist Jim Bakker To Auction Off Episodes Of His Series
 (From CinemaRetro. 8 March 2009, 4:11 AM, PDT)
User Comments:
However You See This, It's Fascinating more (54 total)

Cast

  (in credits order) (verified as complete)

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
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Harry Antrim ... Man in saloon (uncredited)
Larry J. Blake ... Mac (bartender) (uncredited)
Peter Brocco ... Benny (photographer) (uncredited)
Budd Buster ... Valet (uncredited)
George Cisar ... Friend (uncredited)
Ralph Dumke ... Friend (uncredited)
Sally Fraser ... Prostitute (uncredited)
Everett Glass ... Rev. Brown (uncredited)
Sol Gorss ... Hobo in boxcar (uncredited)
Mary Adams Hayes ... Salvation Army worker (uncredited)
Charles Horvath ... Hobo in boxcar (uncredited)
Rex Ingram ... Preacher of black congregation (uncredited)
Colin Kenny ... Extra at revival meeting (uncredited)
Mike Lally ... Radio station official (uncredited)

Norman Leavitt ... Friend (uncredited)
Robert P. Lieb ... Police captain (uncredited)

Barbara Luna ... Prostitute (uncredited)
John McKee ... Photographer / Reporter (uncredited)

David McMahon ... (uncredited)
Ed Nelson ... Man on phone at Sister Sharon headquarters (uncredited)
William H. O'Brien ... Train conductor (uncredited)

Gloria Pall ... Girl in brothel (uncredited)
Milton Parsons ... Revivalist (uncredited)
Charles Perry ... Man at revival meeting (uncredited)
John Qualen ... Sam (storekeeper) (uncredited)
Dan Riss ... Radio announcer (uncredited)
Max Showalter ... Deaf man (uncredited)
Marjorie Stapp ... Lady in red on Christmas Eve (uncredited)
Bert Stevens ... Choir member (uncredited)
Jack Stoney ... Revival tent roustabout (uncredited)
Ken Terrell ... Blind man (uncredited)
Dale Van Sickel ... Egg thrower (uncredited)
Ray Walker ... Friend (uncredited)
Michael Whalen ... Rev. Phillips (uncredited)
Guy Wilkerson ... Clean-up man (uncredited)
Jean Willes ... Prostitute (uncredited)
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Directed by
Richard Brooks 
 
Writing credits
(in alphabetical order)
Richard Brooks  screenplay
Sinclair Lewis  novel

Produced by
Bernard Smith .... producer
 
Original Music by
André Previn 
 
Cinematography by
John Alton 
 
Film Editing by
Marjorie Fowler 
 
Art Direction by
Edward Carrere  (as Ed Carrere)
 
Set Decoration by
William F. Calvert  (as Bill Calvert)
Frank Tuttle 
 
Costume Design by
Dorothy Jeakins 
 
Makeup Department
Harry Maret .... makeup artist
Robert J. Schiffer .... makeup artist (as Robert Schiffer)
Joan St. Oegger .... hair stylist
 
Production Management
Gilbert Kurland .... executive production manager
 
Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Tom Shaw .... assistant director (as Thomas P. Shaw)
Robert Webb .... second assistant director (uncredited)
 
Sound Department
Fred J. Brown .... sound effects editor (as Fred Brown)
Harry D. Mills .... sound (as Harry Mills)
 
Stunts
Bob Herron .... stunts (uncredited)
Charles Horvath .... stunts (uncredited)
 
Camera and Electrical Department
Richard H. Kline .... camera operator (uncredited)
 
Editorial Department
Leonard Doss .... color consultant (uncredited)
 
Music Department
Ken Darby .... associate music supervisor
Kenyon Hopkins .... conductor (uncredited)
Albert Woodbury .... orchestrator (uncredited)
 
Crew verified as complete


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Additional Details

Parents Guide:
Add content advisory for parents
Runtime:
146 min
Country:
USA
Language:
English
Color:
Color (Eastmancolor)
Aspect Ratio:
1.66 : 1 more
Sound Mix:
Mono (Westrex Recording System)
Certification:
Norway:16 | West Germany:16 (f) | Australia:PG | Finland:K-16 | Sweden:15 | UK:PG | USA:Unrated
Company:
Elmer Gantry Productions more

Fun Stuff

Trivia:
After this film was released, Burt Lancaster got a letter from a boyhood friend he had not heard from in years. The friend wrote him that Lancaster's part in this film was the closest to the way Lancaster acted in real life when they were kids. more
Goofs:
Continuity: The first time we see Lulu, she leans on the back of a chair, a newspaper in her hand, and her right shoulder strap has fallen down. In the next shot her left shoulder strap is down instead. more
Quotes:
George Babbitt: Besides, I'm for a free press, for free enterprise... and for whatever the hell the other freedoms are! more
Movie Connections:
Referenced in "Women of the House: Women in Film (#1.9)" (1995) more
Soundtrack:
I'm on My Way more

FAQ

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User Comments

   (Comment on this title)
27 out of 41 people found the following comment useful.
However You See This, It's Fascinating, 23 October 2006
9/10
Author: ccthemovieman-1 from Lockport, NY, United States

It took a long time before I watched this movie on VHS. I had boycotted it for years, thinking it was too anti-Christian to support with my money, either renting or buying it. Finally, in the summer of 2005 I took a look after seeing several Burt Lancaster films and being reminded how good an actor he was. Well, he didn't disappoint here, either, with a fantastic performance as those of you who have seen this already know. Lancaster is absolutely mesmerizing as "Elmer Gantry." At times I wondered if he wasn't overacting, but his character called for a very animated salesman-type person. So, I'll give him the credit and assume he was just playing his role, not hamming it up too much as it often appears.

"Gantry" gave the best speeches in this film and even though many people think he was the charlatan all the way through, I disagree. I think he had changed in the end. At any rate, Lancaster made him into a believable person.

He certainly was a lot more believable than Jean Simmons' female evangelist, "Sister Sharon." Anyone who knows Scripture, knows that NO evangelist - real or not - would say or do some of the things she said-did in here. Nonetheless, Simmons gives just as riveting a performance as Lancaster, her character just being lower-key than the fiery "Gantry."

The most shocking role to me was played by wholesome (can you say "Oklahoma!"?) Shirley Jones, who only appears in the last part of this long film but plays a memorable character: a hooker who had past encounters with Elmer Gantry and now wants to expose him for the womanizing heathen she thinks he is, and succeeds in doing so but is ashamed of her actions in the end.

Arthur Kennedy also is fascinating as the skeptical atheist-type newspaper reporter who softens quite a bit at the end. Meanwhile, the big-city businessman "George Babbitt" (Edward Andrews) was the only really annoying and overblown character in the film and typical of what Hollywood does today when they want to make a "relgious" person look bad.

I mention all these actors before remarking about the story because the acting and the characters are what make this movie so well-done and entertaining. As for the story, I don't believe this film is the "expose" and critical critique of evangelists Liberal film critics would have you believe. In fact, compared to filmmakers in the following decade - the '70s - they were quite tolerant. "Sister Sharon" was basically a sincere - if not misguided in spots - evangelist and a Believer and so was "Elmer" as he says at the end of the film.

Yes, there is some theology nonsense in here that simply isn't Scriptural and there is an obvious Hollywood bias against evangelists, but I expected far worse. To be fair, there were a lot of Biblically-sound lines in this script, too. And - by the way - not all evangelists are corrupt, despite what you see on film. (Don't hold your breath waiting for Hollywood to do a bio on the most famous one of them all: Billy Graham.)

As a Christian, I still don't trust the intent of the filmmakers but I found the film fascinating overall and think it's excellent work. I'm glad I got the movie. Better late than never!

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