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Horrible Piece of Trash

posted 10 years ago by m60green
6 replies | jump to latest

I'm mad at myself for watching this crap almost all the way through. One thing, I didn't find it dated at all. Like today, the miserable people in this miserable movie treat each other badly.

[–] richard.fuller1 9 years ago

I'm watching it now and it is extremely ridiculous. I can't believe Clift was supposed to be such a good actor. He's an absolute loser here. The idea his reasoning and thinking here is supposed to be intense and striking a nerve is absolutely pathetic, and yes, the same way people still behave today.

What's horrible is their thinking that they are the only ones touched by unhappiness.

[–] PixieInChains 8 years ago

Someone was always hailed as the "Greatest Actor" ever if they died young in the 20th century, and then they became some sort of icon (look at Marilyn Monroe). In this particular movie, Montgomery Clift (who was just so-so anyway) was showing the effecrs of alcoholism and lifetime chain smoking, and sort-of reminded me of the old-time actor, Richard Dix, by the time he did the 'Whistler' movies - slurring words, halting sentences, forgetting lines and so making long pauses with an occasional "Uh huh" inserted, inability to focus eyes, etc.

The pairing of Clift with Dolores Hart in this movie was the same crap that 'Hollywood' does to this day - try to brainwash the viewers by pairing up the old and ravaged male has-been with some much-younger and beautiful woman, in an attempt to portray him as still hot and relevant. In actuality, the viewer is going "Oooh, yuck!" and the attempt totally backfires.

[–] richard.fuller1 8 years ago

I've totally forgotten what this movie was about. 

[–] SamHardy 7 years ago

Interesting reactions here. Just goes to show I guess how subjective people are about movies. It is a dialog driven story so right off the bat some people are gonna find it too boring. Sorry, no car crashes here. I found it a great opportunity to watch two acting legends Clift and Ryan bounce off each other. Very well written script. While I am not sure I would say it is a pleasant movie, I was not able to take my eyes off it. For fans of cinema, you will find it does not fit into the style of movies being made in the 50's. That is a good thing in my book. I say, see it.

[–] jdsuggs 7 years ago

I'm with you, Sam- I thought it was terrific, and it'll stay with me. It's a character film, peeling back the messed-up lives of several people in a really interesting, believable way. Only Robert Ryan's character seems unredeemable- and he doesn't back away from him, so it's ultimately the most interesting.

Because the script was so original and so unstereotypical I never knew where it was going. And it really went somewhere.

[–] brunodutch 7 years ago

Thank God a couple of you have some sense. I hadn't seen this before though I knew the novella. It's the first film by a director who was at the time a young stage director of promise. The acting from all the cast is unusually good - as is the sardonic script - and I think it's Clift's best performance. Presented as a morality tale in an unnamed American city, it has overtones of Faust. And there is no easy happy ending though there is an extremely well-plotted resolution. It's hinted that all the central characters will find some redemption (note that Robert Ryan makes a little nosegay to take to his wife who waits for him in the bar suggesting that he will forgive her for her past indiscretion and move on). People don't seem to know any more that Clift had a distinguished career on stage before he, reluctantly, went to Hollywood. The scene in this film in which he gets drunk is a marvel. And let's take a moment to point to the Fine performances by Robert Ryan and Myrna Low. So glad to have seen it.