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The Big Knife (1955)
Rate:
9
Viewed:
8/21
8/21:
Since the release of Sunset Boulevard in 1950, Hollywood hadn't been dark again until The Big Knife came out five
years later.
As strong as the cast is which includes three future Oscar winners, it's Jack Palance who gives the most powerful performance,
leading to the shocking end. Ironically, Jack Palance managed to outlive everybody else in real life. Given his odd-looking
Patrick Swayze face, the rumor is that the former boxer, while serving in the military, was bailed out of a flaming bomber
plane, so he was forced to have a reconstructive surgery.
Yes, the film is stagy, which stays within the confines of nearly one set, and has problems with editing in spots, but the
writing is a masterpiece and the way Jack Palance makes it come alive is amazing. What a shame he wasn't given an Oscar
nomination. It's the most complex character of his career. Ida Lupino, Shelley Winters, Everett Sloane, and Wendell Corey
are great, but Rod Steiger may have overacted a bit.
When Charlie Castle said his back was hurting, it's most certainly a metaphor of how spineless he's in the face of
pressure, regardless of his massive physique. Still, it's a surprise because he had plenty of support from his wife and agent
to go against the grain. As gregarious as Charlie was, he ultimately didn't redeem himself at the end. The suicide is
a stupid move on his part.
In a way, the story feels like what happened to John Garfield (he played Charlie for the Broadway show) who died of a heart
attack at age 39 from the stress of dealing with the communist scare which affected everybody in Hollywood. Sure,
it may be about others as well. Hoff, who's played by Rod Steiger, is probably an amalgam of the former studio czars, Harry Cohn
and Louis B. Mayer, with a bit of Howard Hughes thrown in. Patty Benedict is Hedda Hopper.
All in all, thanks to the masterful writing and Jack Palance's powerhouse performance, The Big Knife is as noir
as it gets.