Main Cast: Burt Lancaster, Deborah Kerr, Gene Hackman, Scott Wilson
Release Year: 1969
Country: US
Run Time: 106 minutes
MPAA Rating: R
Plot
John Frankenheimer directed this low-key drama about three men who stage a sky-diving thrill show and what happens when they roll into a small town in Kansas. Mike Rettig (Burt Lancaster) is the oldest of the group and more than a bit jaded; Joe Browdy (Gene Hackman) is the fast-talking MC who knows how to work the crowd; and Malcolm Webson (Scott Wilson) is the rookie of the group. When they get a job performing in Bridgeport, Kansas, Malcolm arranges for them to stay at the home of his Uncle John (William Windom) and Aunt Elizabeth (Deborah Kerr). John and Elizabeth's marriage has seen better days; they've grown apart from each other, and when Elizabeth meets Mike, a spark of passion catches fire between them which neither can fully control. The two fall into an affair, making love one night in the living room, not caring that John is watching them. However, this relationship does not bring Mike out of his depression and leads to a shocking incident at the group's next show. The Gypsy Moths marked the first time Burt Lancaster and Deborah Kerr had worked together since their memorable pairing in From Here to Eternity (1953). ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
Review
The Gypsy Moths is a frustrating and ultimately unsatisfying drama that nevertheless has a certain fascination and an ambiguous moodiness that some will find hypnotic, while others will find it tedious. Both views are right, and one's assessment of Moths will depend on how willing one is to put up with the film's undeniable flaws in order to appreciate its equally undeniable assets. Chief among those assets is its cast, a collection of sterling talent lead by Burt Lancaster's muscular but subdued Rettig. Lancaster captures the character's intense, unstoppable fatalism, but clearly hints at his desire to find something that makes life worth living. There's a combination of sadness, desperation, and tainted joy in his relationship with Deborah Kerr, whose carefully nuanced performance is simply lovely. Both of these stars provide star turns free of the self-conscious mannerism associated with the term, yet their characters remain unknown and hidden to the audience. Clearly, this is a choice of director John Frankenheimer and writer William Hanley, in keeping with their creation of an existential malaise, but it does have a distancing and alienating effect. This spills over into the performances of the other equally strong cast members, with the result that some viewers will simply stop caring about what happens. Frankenheimer's approach is laudable, but proves too heavyhanded and pretentious, but his aerial sequences are simply stunning and above reproach. Moths is an admirable attempt at psychological character study that comments upon the emptiness of many lives, but in the end it's too elliptical and obscure to succeed completely. ~ Craig Butler, All Movie Guide
George W. Davis - Art Director, Cary O'Dell - Art Director, Bill Thomas - Costume Designer, John Frankenheimer - Director, Henry Berman - Editor, Elmer Bernstein - Composer (Music Score), William J. Tuttle - Makeup, Philip H. Lathrop - Cinematographer, Hal Landers - Producer, Edward Lewis - Producer, Bobby Roberts - Producer, Henry W. Grace - Set Designer, Jack Mills - Set Designer, William Hanely - Screenwriter, William Hanley - Screenwriter, Lynn H. Guthrie - Second Assistant Director, James Drought - Book Author
The Gypsy Moths is a 1969 American film starring Burt Lancaster, based on the novel of the same name by James Drought. It is the story of three barnstormingskydivers and their effect on a midwestern American town. At the time, the sport of skydiving was in its infancy.
The movie also features Gene Hackman (fresh from his role in Bonnie and Clyde) and Deborah Kerr renewing her association with Lancaster from their previous work in From Here to Eternity and Separate Tables. The movie focuses on the differences in values between the town folk and the hard living skydivers and features Deborah Kerr's only nude love scene in her movie career.[1]
The director, John Frankenheimer, expressed his anguish and disappointment at the critical reception of this piece and subsequent narrow release in the United States. The film was widely seen in Australia and the local skydiving fraternity there were quick to seize the opportunity to promote their sport.
