I missed taping it this past weekend and my ma was kind of relieved...she said the book she read in school was so bad, and she and my father don't like the movie...but they don't say why. Now I haven't seen it myself but it doesn't sound too bad...so anybody who has seen it, can you please explain what all the hubbub is?
shareI don't think it's bad at all but some may feel it's extremely melodramatic and over the top. Plus the lead character played by George Peppard has no redeeming qualities.
Professional Jayne Mansfield fanatic/lover™ since 1980.
Maybe it's just for its time that it was outrageous, it began with a mature rating and today is only PG. Is there anything that you could figure for 40 years ago it would be considered bad?
shareLots of sexual overtones and Carroll Baker had a nude scene but I didn't think that made it to American theaters.
Professional Jayne Mansfield fanatic/lover™ since 1980.
exactly, its way over the topWhen there's no more room in hell, The dead will walk the earth...
Well for starters George Peppard asks Elizabeth Ashley
what she wants to see while on their honeymoon, and
she says, "lots of lovely celings." This is very vulgar,
as it implies that they'll be touring several cathedrals,
and they are not Catholic. So, her remark is clearly
anti-Catholic. Also, it's a slap in the face of blind
people. What a crude, vulgar movie.
Oh, it's not that bad. Get some popcorn and watch it, being prepared for "over the top" sequences. People are asking too much of it.
"I can understand it, but I don't like it none!"--Cheyenne.
It's not good at all but it LOOKS great and (in its day) it was considered complete trash. Still, it was passed by the Production Code back then with no problem. Today it's fairly tame and actually kind of dull. The acting is bad (except for Ashley and Baker) and the script is full of unintentionally funny dialogue. So just sit back and enjoy. It's kind of fun to see what was considered an adult film back in 1964.
share"Well for starters George Peppard asks Elizabeth Ashley
what she wants to see while on their honeymoon, and
she says, "lots of lovely celings." This is very vulgar,
as it implies that they'll be touring several cathedrals,
and they are not Catholic."
Oh, really? I must have an un-redeemably dirty mind, because when I first heard that line, I didn't even think about "they'll be touring cathedrals"--I went straight to "they'll be breaking hotel beds all over the world." :)
Bravo, nonoclaudine.
shareThose cathedral ceilings can be very suggestive. The Adam and Eve stuff in the Sistine Chapel is really over the top. If a non-Catholic looks at it, ah, trouble. LOL
Seriously folks when the "Carpetbaggers" was released, in 1964, the ads suggested it was for adult audiences. When it was recently re-released it was rated "PG"; about the same as some resent Disney pictures. Then there were all the times this movie was run on the "Early Show". How times have changed.
TAG LINE: True genius is a beautiful thing, but ignorance is ugly to the bone.
Well, there's a scene where Jonas Cord Jr. is implied to have had sex with his stepmother. There is a scene where Mrs. Jonas Cord Jr. and her daughter walk in on a nude prostitute/starlet who's only wearing a mink coat and nothing else. There is a scene where Jonas Cord Jr. is eyeing a pornographic film of his fiance prostitute/starlet that she just handed to him. You know, the typical Disney fare.
When Jason breaks in on the filming of a scene, he basically says that the actress and the director were sleeping together. This just wasn't shown in a film. After "Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf" released the same year, things changed.
"Two more swords and I'll be Queen of the Monkey People." Roseanne
Also I'm sure the Harold Robbins novel was much more graphic for 1964 tastes. So your parents preconception for the film was probably colored by it. I saw the film on network television in the late 60's and loved it.
shareIt means she wants to have lots of sex, hence, she would be looking at the ceilings.
shareWhy would someone who is having sex be looking at the
ceiling? If Elizabeth Ashley meant to imply that she'd
be sexually active while in Europe she would have said
"lots of lovely jam jars" .... or so it would seem.
There is at least one very powerful and effective scene in the film on which I won't expand and spoil anything.First time viewers,remember the scene where Jonas enters a dark room and reveals his tormented soul.Everything in this key scene is haunting:acting,photography,directing and on top of everything,Bernstein's harrowing score.As far as the rest of the film is concerned,I believe it is a very fair and interesting effort of a talented director on Robbins' material(OK,I admit I am a devoted Dmytryk fan,I consider him one of the best directors of his era and I occasionally watch films like The Betsy,not being able to view original releases).I also note the Jonas/hooker scene,it's very tender and daring at the same time for a major 1964 production.
shareHi, I just posted a great review for this film. Outstanding cast and a movie certainly worth the watch. Alan Ladd is nothing short of remarkable as Nevada Smith. A steller performance that should have gained him at least a nomination if not the Oscar for this. Unfortunately he died before he could bask in the sunlight of the wonderful reviews.
shareIt's so bad it's good like in the vein of Valley of the Dolls. Harold Robbins trashy novel trashingly translated to the screen, my take on it fwiw. I also read somewhere (maybe in the trivia section) that its loosely based on Howard Hughes.
share