The Strange One (1957)
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63% of users liked it
(29 ratings)
In his film debut, Ben Gazzara repeats his stage portrayal of Jocko De Paris, a manipulative psychotic who holds a Southern military school in thrall. With the help of his flunkies, cadets Harold Knoble (Pat Hingle) and Roger Gatt (James Olson), Jocko sadistically terrorizes the underclassmen,… More In his film debut, Ben Gazzara repeats his stage portrayal of Jocko De Paris, a manipulative psychotic who holds a Southern military school in thrall. With the help of his flunkies, cadets Harold Knoble (Pat Hingle) and Roger Gatt (James Olson), Jocko sadistically terrorizes the underclassmen, forcing them to do his bidding. Efforts made by Major Avery (Larry Gates) to expose Jocko are constantly thwarted by the students' conspiracy of silence and by Jocko's own efforts to destroy Avery. Finally, cadet Robert Marquales (George Peppard, likewise making his first film appearance) can stand no more: turning the tables on Jocko, Marquales reveals the monster for the snivveling coward he really is. This filmization of Calder Willingham's play and novel End as a Man almost didn't make it to the screen due to its pronounced homosexual subtext. The filmmakers managed to circumvent the censors by removing three minutes of allegedly offensive footage, and by making the film's most overtly gay character a slimy, repulsive creep (another implicitly homosexual character, played by Arthur Storch, is depicted as merely wimpish and withdrawn). As a box-office come-on, Calder Willingham added the superfluous character of good-time gal Rosebud (Julie Wilson). ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Directed By
- Jack Garfein
- Written By
- Calder Willingham
- Genres
- Drama, Classics
Unrated,
- In Theaters
- Apr 12, 1957 Wide
- On DVD
- Jun 16, 2009
- Studio
- Sony Pictures Entertainment
Critic Reviews
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Phil Hall, EDGE Boston
Nobody in the film behaves or speaks like a real person.
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Dennis Schwartz, Ozus' World Movie Reviews
Though the homosexual subtext was daring for the 1950s, the film is much softer than the play.
See more critic ratings and reviews on Rotten Tomatoes
Fresh (60% or more critics rated the movie positively)
Rotten (59% or fewer critics rated the movie positively)
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Cast
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Ben Gazzara
as Jocko De Paris
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Pat Hingle
as Harold Knoble
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Peter Mark Richman
as Cadet Colonel Corger
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Paul E. Richards
as Perrin McKee
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Larry Gates
as Maj. Avery
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Geoffrey Horne
as Georgie Avery
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James Olson
as Roger Gatt
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Julie Wilson
as Rosebud
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George Peppard
as Robert Marquales
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Clifton James
as Col. Ramey
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Arthur Storch
as Simmons
