MovieChat Forums > The Big Knife (1955) Discussion > Rod Steiger completely took me out of th...

Rod Steiger completely took me out of the movie

posted 15 years ago by SeanJoyce
14 replies | jump to latest

People harp on how over-the-top Palance and Winters were, and they may have points, but my main beef here was Steiger.

If there was ever an obvious case of an actor trying desperately to emulate another, this one takes the take. Steiger wanted so bad to be Brando it was nauseating. The intonations, vocal inflections, body gestures...all there to achieve the Brando effect. Unfortunately, his blatant mimicry failed him.

I know that Steiger is a respected actor who was likely entranced by Brando after they filmed On the Waterfront together the previous year, so he was probably going through a transient stage of hopeless adoration. Yet, you know how when people talk about actors abusing Brando's techniques to the point of histrionics? This right here is one of the worst instances of it.

"...if that was off, I'd be whoopin' your ass up and down this street." ~ an irate Tarantino

[–] 15 years ago

[deleted]

[–] mikainen 11 years ago

I have to agree with you. First, I wasn't sure whether it was a joke. I guess he was for real.

[–] mike-848 11 years ago

I didn't see that at all about Steiger. But it seemed that almost everyone was 'method acting' in a stage play in this film. All that 'angst' became annoying after a while.

[–] elliotjames2 11 years ago

I;m in the minority here. I enjoyed Steiger boiled ham ranting and raving and exploding. I've rewatched this movie just for his bully boy antics.

Franchot Tone did a nice oily job, as good as any Washington DC congressmen.

[–] NewtonFigg 10 years ago

A good actor disappears into the character. Steiger has done a lot of very good work, but in this film, you can see him acting.

[–] elliotjames2 10 years ago

That's what I liked about the movie, his ham-fisted yelling and screaming, over the top and scenery chewing.

[–] holbrookp 9 years ago

I have never seen the film all the way through, but I always make sure to catch Steiger giving his rant, "Everything goes, Charlie. The house goes, the paintings go, and you! Oh, you go! Oh, no, Charlie. Oh, no. You threw away a kingdom today."

It's my favorite Steiger scene in all his movies.

"All necessary truth is its own evidence." - Ralph Waldo Emerson

[–] tag65 9 years ago

He's absolutely ridiculous and terrible. I was able to endure the awful dialogue in this because I like Jack Palance so much. But Steiger ruined this movie. That and the agent's big crying scene. They were both too bad to be laughable.

[–] holbrookp 9 years ago

I agree. The acting is bad. Makes me wonder why nobody there saw it and didn't do anything to stop it. But I still enjoy it. I'm weird. I sometimes like movies because they're bad! And the agent's crying was cringe-worthy, I agree.

"All necessary truth is its own evidence." - Ralph Waldo Emerson

[–] Agamemnon7 9 years ago

I usually love Rod Steiger's performances, but I agree that he is terrible in this film. He'd just been nominated for an Oscar and I guess he felt he could do no wrong.

He doesn't remind me of Brando here, though. I think he's more in the mold of Lee J. Cobb, ON THE WATERFRONT's Johnny Friendly, but he isn't nearly as good at it and he doesn't have Kazan to reign him in.

No real complaints about anyone else in the film, although you can tell they shot it like a play in a short 15 days. More time would have toned it down and made it a better movie, but they probably did not have the budget for that.

As a record of a play I like, I think it's pretty good. Much better than the revival at the Roundabout a couple of years ago, which had two weak leads but a great supporting cast.

[–] Prismark10 9 years ago

Steiger was broad but maybe the studio head he was emulating was actually like that!

Its that man again!!

[–] eyebrowmorroco 9 years ago

I thought he did well.

[–] przgzr 8 years ago

I've never really liked Palance and never cared much for Ida Lupino so it were Aldrich and Steiger (and, yes, Winters) why I decided to watch it.

Now, while I didn't start liking Palance I must admit that he was different than I expected, and Lupino was good but still not becoming one of the actresses that would make me want to see a movie, Steiger's acting was absolutely his worst and one of the most annoying acting that I've ever seen. Unlike sokme other posters I find Winters acting one of the good ones here, what I can't say for Hagen; also better than the rest were Sloane and Chase, while Addy and Langdon didn't leave any impressions, what is a complent in this movie: the acting was rather normal during first 30 minutes, but the more movie comes near its end the more the acting becomes wooden, stiff, theatrical in the worse possible meaning. Something like old European TV movies based on plays.

[–] Crystal (534) 5 years ago

I like Winters.