Two-and-one-half hours of talk, and generally dull film-making. The very nice, red bi-plane in the opening scene is misleading, as it suggests we're in for more excitement than this movie ever delivers. In the cast, younger stars lack on-screen charisma and chemistry. Alan Ladd is wooden as he ever was, while fellow veterans Martin Balsam, Bob Cummings and sadly wasted Audrey Totter offer the best performances. That's not saying much, though, when the script and dialog are as awful as this.
This is a big soap-opera that never achieves the coveted "So Bad It's Good" designation--it's just bad.
Review of The Carpetbaggers
