Elmer Gantry

This movie won Besp Picture in 1960. Adapted form the Sinclair Lewis novel of the same name it tells of a small revival troup making its way across the rural Midwest.

Burt Lancaster, Oscar winner for Best Actor plays Elmer Gantry a traveling salesman who does all the things a traveling salesman of the nineteen twenties normally did. He appears at the Revival of Sister Sharon Falconer and ingratiates himself with her and soon uses his sales skills to become part of the act.

Act is a troubling word however as he is, or tells himself he is , a believer and feels the glitz and show of the revival helps to bring people to God. For Sister Sharon there is no doubt of Gods word. Soon she fi ds herself attracted to Gantry and he of course loves her, or hismperception of her as all that is good.

Reporter Jm Lefforts played by Arthur Kennedy is another conflicted character. He would love to believe in God, is put off by the revivalist hucksterism, but still admires something he can not name in Gantry.

Buoyed by their success the revival comes to Zenith, a big city away from the rural roots of revivalism. The show is controversial and the city is split when Gantry leads followers to a brothel. Little does he know that one of the girls working their is Lulu, a woman who years earlier he had seduced leading to his dismissal from a seminary school and Lulu from the good graces of her Father, the Dean of the school.

Played by Shirley Jones lomg before she was Mrs. Partridge the very beautiful actress was striking in her role and also wn an Oscar for Best Supportng Actress. also in the movie was Jean Simmons as Sister Falconer. A good movie with a great cast.

Burt Lancaster was a great actor, a physically imposing man, who just filled the screen. Even singing on the soundtrack he captivatea. The movie was good but Lancaster was amazing.