Elmer Gantry may have a rather unsavoury past but the one thing he can do better than anyone is sell himself, pots, pans, anything. When he teams up with evangelist Sister Falconer, he sells religion from a tent to 1920's America, helping Falconer with her aim of getting out of the tent into her own temple and building a proper congregation. Gantry's noisy methods seem to work, even if they draw derision from the religious establishment and attacks from the cynical press. However as the pressure builds to tear him down, can Gantry prevent his past from returning to haunt him? I'm sure back in 1960, this film must have been pretty controversial, shocking and challenging in its portrayal of evangelistic religion as cynical, money-grabbing and being as much about show business as God. Watching it today, it is hard to be surprised by any such suggestion since my cynical generation is much more accepting that nothing is what it seems and everyone has an agenda. Despite this though the film is still quite engaging and enjoyable as it delves into this world with a certain amount of glee; the fact that it peels off this world to look at Gantry specifically is a bit of a shame because it cuts under that focus a little. Connected to this it must be said that I did think the plot was a little thin at times and the strength of film does lie in the general portrayal of the world rather than the nitty-gritty of any one character or thread (although even the thin bits are pretty good).
Lancaster gives a great performance as a complex man hidden behind a smile, a warm handshake and a lot of words; even today it stands up well as a damning portrayal of evangelists and it is hard to tell the difference between him in "salesman" mood and some of the ones that are on US TV all day. Simmons is good even if her character means that she is silent and serious and very much in the shadow of the title character. Support is roundly good from Kennedy, Jagger, Jones and others but it is Lancaster that really gives the film a boost.
Overall this is a good film that is still worth seeing even if time has lessened the impact it would have once had. The acting is good and the plot is enough to do the job, even if the really good material comes from the general damning commentary on the state of play with the world of evangelistic religion.
Lancaster gives a great performance as a complex man hidden behind a smile, a warm handshake and a lot of words; even today it stands up well as a damning portrayal of evangelists and it is hard to tell the difference between him in "salesman" mood and some of the ones that are on US TV all day. Simmons is good even if her character means that she is silent and serious and very much in the shadow of the title character. Support is roundly good from Kennedy, Jagger, Jones and others but it is Lancaster that really gives the film a boost.
Overall this is a good film that is still worth seeing even if time has lessened the impact it would have once had. The acting is good and the plot is enough to do the job, even if the really good material comes from the general damning commentary on the state of play with the world of evangelistic religion.