This movie is completely torpedoed by a terribly muddled, senseless final half hour that not only left me scratching my head, but almost tearing my hair out in frustration. The first two hours are reasonably effective as it plunges into the themes of religion, sex, hippocrisy and Show Biz; though I was always aware I was watching a movie - there's an artificiality to it that left me somewhat cold. Nevertheless, Burt Lancaster is riveting and Jean Simmons and Dean Jagger have their moments as well. But in the final reel, character motivations don't just become fuzzy, they become downright unfathomable. Maybe it had something to do with Production Code restrictions of the time - whatever the case, it doesn't make any sense at all. I think the producers of the film were just determined to have a big, apocalyptic climax, even at the expense of artistic merit.
Review of Elmer Gantry
