Newman is an Army captain who returns to the U. S. after having been a POW for over two years in Korea, and is promptly charged with collaboration
Most of the film centers on his court-martial, which reveals that he did indeed cooperate with his captors after intensive psychological torture
Since he admits that he never reached the breaking point, he is found guilty, but the film suggests that society is responsible in not better preparing soldiers for the new methods of torture
From the moment he first appears in a wheelchair to be interviewed by a psychiatrist (evoking memories of Brando in "The Men"), through intense scenes with his father (Walter Pigeon), a cold, stern career officer, to the climactic confession, Newman projects the brooding, nervous, introverted quality of a man still in a state of emotional shock
Method mannerisms that Newman carries from film to film first appear here, and although sometimes overdone, they are generally effective: his glistening eyes, nervously moving lips and rapid blinking; his habits of rubbing his head, looking away from people and putting his hand over his mouth while speaking All of these suggest a man burdened with guilt, withdrawn into his own world of shame and bitter memories
Newman is at his best during the trial, when he describes the prison camp horrors Staring straight ahead, he recites his experience in a cool, deliberate manner, to prevent himself from breaking down But he finally cries when recounting the fear of loneliness that led him to give ina fear that was born, in his childhood, when his mother died and his father never had time for him He cries out: "My father never kissed me!"
Thus ultimately the film's focus is the alienation between child and parent, which places it in the tradition of many mid-fifties movies, including Dean's "Rebel Without a Cause" and "East of Eden."
That theme would continue in Newman's films: from "Somebody Up There Likes Me," through "Cat on a Hot Tin Roof" and others, to "Hud," he plays men with serious problems in relating to a father or father-figure In that context, "The Rack's" central scene, which follows the confession, has the father attempting a reconciliation The two sit in a car, with Newman again staring straight ahead, maintaining the barrier between them He stiffens as his father puts his arm around him, but finally gives in as the old man does kiss him It's the film's most poignant momenta personal victory for the soldier, who loses everywhere else
From the moment he first appears in a wheelchair to be interviewed by a psychiatrist (evoking memories of Brando in "The Men"), through intense scenes with his father (Walter Pigeon), a cold, stern career officer, to the climactic confession, Newman projects the brooding, nervous, introverted quality of a man still in a state of emotional shock
Method mannerisms that Newman carries from film to film first appear here, and although sometimes overdone, they are generally effective: his glistening eyes, nervously moving lips and rapid blinking; his habits of rubbing his head, looking away from people and putting his hand over his mouth while speaking All of these suggest a man burdened with guilt, withdrawn into his own world of shame and bitter memories
Newman is at his best during the trial, when he describes the prison camp horrors Staring straight ahead, he recites his experience in a cool, deliberate manner, to prevent himself from breaking down But he finally cries when recounting the fear of loneliness that led him to give ina fear that was born, in his childhood, when his mother died and his father never had time for him He cries out: "My father never kissed me!"
Thus ultimately the film's focus is the alienation between child and parent, which places it in the tradition of many mid-fifties movies, including Dean's "Rebel Without a Cause" and "East of Eden."
That theme would continue in Newman's films: from "Somebody Up There Likes Me," through "Cat on a Hot Tin Roof" and others, to "Hud," he plays men with serious problems in relating to a father or father-figure In that context, "The Rack's" central scene, which follows the confession, has the father attempting a reconciliation The two sit in a car, with Newman again staring straight ahead, maintaining the barrier between them He stiffens as his father puts his arm around him, but finally gives in as the old man does kiss him It's the film's most poignant momenta personal victory for the soldier, who loses everywhere else