Rod Steiger creates an amazingly scary and threatening portrait here.
As MSgt. Albert Callan, he is a WWII hero, having chased down and strangled an enemy combattant who'd killed the company gunner. Callen is 100% alienated from his fellow man, and possesses nothing but a military career launched at age 16.
Everything changes when Callan lays eyes on Pfc. Tom Swanson (John Philip Law), who excels at his job in the field and is quickly strong-armed into taking a job as Callan's secretary.
The movie becomes increasingly cringe-worthy as we watch the alcoholic Callan close in on Swanny, isolating him from his girlfriend and peers. Never more creepy and threatening than when he smiles, Callan recalls a spider stalking its prey, the ship master of "Billy Budd,"and the crazed captain of "Mutiny on the Bounty." The viewer squirms as the rapidly unraveling Callan declares his need for Swanny with a shockingly forceful kiss on the lips.
One's heart pounds in the movie's final frames, as one ponders whether the mortally shamed Callan will be a killer or a suicide.
The cinematography here is wonderful. I love the starkness of the camp-like base, with its plain wooden structures and misty landscape, lighted by the fires of local prostitutes who mill at some bombed-out rubble.
Observing Steiger's stunning performance, I often remembered late actor James Gandolfini, who carried a similar air of vulnerable toughness in his portrayal of Tony Soprano.
This movie seems much less well-known than Steiger's more famous work in "The Pawnbroker," released four years earlier. But i it is no less worth viewing.
As MSgt. Albert Callan, he is a WWII hero, having chased down and strangled an enemy combattant who'd killed the company gunner. Callen is 100% alienated from his fellow man, and possesses nothing but a military career launched at age 16.
Everything changes when Callan lays eyes on Pfc. Tom Swanson (John Philip Law), who excels at his job in the field and is quickly strong-armed into taking a job as Callan's secretary.
The movie becomes increasingly cringe-worthy as we watch the alcoholic Callan close in on Swanny, isolating him from his girlfriend and peers. Never more creepy and threatening than when he smiles, Callan recalls a spider stalking its prey, the ship master of "Billy Budd,"and the crazed captain of "Mutiny on the Bounty." The viewer squirms as the rapidly unraveling Callan declares his need for Swanny with a shockingly forceful kiss on the lips.
One's heart pounds in the movie's final frames, as one ponders whether the mortally shamed Callan will be a killer or a suicide.
The cinematography here is wonderful. I love the starkness of the camp-like base, with its plain wooden structures and misty landscape, lighted by the fires of local prostitutes who mill at some bombed-out rubble.
Observing Steiger's stunning performance, I often remembered late actor James Gandolfini, who carried a similar air of vulnerable toughness in his portrayal of Tony Soprano.
This movie seems much less well-known than Steiger's more famous work in "The Pawnbroker," released four years earlier. But i it is no less worth viewing.