4953. Why does Lewis include him in the book? Web1. GENRE: Fiction, nonfiction He is a born salesman well versed with the bible. He uses the church to further his own ambitions for power and fame. Lewis seems to have had a particular loathing of the conversion experience that is so central to Protestant spirituality. Thanks to Stacia Kissick Jones and her movie review blog She Blogged By Night for the above, noted here: http://shebloggedbynight.com/2012/the-laughing-devil-in-his-sneer-brother-loves-travelling-salvation-show. Novels for Students. Remembering Jean Simmons Photos - CBS News Dooley argues that the novel fails because it is not a realistic portrayal of religion, and it lacks sufficient wit and humor to compensate for its unfairness. The trouble is, he needed a good reason for his broad and over-the-top acting. The church provided all the music he ever heard, his only oratory except for campaign speeches by politicians, all his painting and sculpture, and all his philosophic ideas. It applied the methods of historical and literary analysis in order to determine the authorship, date and place of composition of the books of the Bible. A serious obstacle to her goal is Gantry, but more so is the cautionary and caustic pen of Jim Lefferts (Arthur Kennedy), a Pulitzer Prize winning journalist who questions the personal and financial motives of her entourage. He is out for money and pleasure and powerand the ministry is the career which gives him all three. After dinner, the drunken Elmer picks a fight with a man who is heckling Eddie Fislinger, a fellow Terwillinger College student, as he preaches to an outdoor crowd. The Circuit: Stories from the Life of a Migrant Child. For some reason Richard Brooks seemed to think of himself as the man best suited to turning great novels and plays into films, but if the results were at best entertaining ("The Brothers Karamazov", "Cat on a hot tin roof") they tended to fall far short of the originals. Gantry threatens to avenge him but takes no action. A fast-talking traveling salesman with a charming, loquacious manner convinces a sincere evangelist that he can be an effective preacher for her cause. Elmers mind is shallow; he simply does not have the capacity for serious thought about such issues. Elmer starts to detest her when he finds out that she is cold, sexually. The preacher meets someone in the town, too: a waitress ( Lolita Davidovich) with a crippled young son. Excerpt from Babbitt It seemed that perhaps the world had taken a step away from irrational belief. Although most entertaining when Gantry is actually preaching (mainly in the opening half of the film), the intelligent script moves on from it's basic premise (that Gantry is a charlatan) to explore wider questions of the nature of humanity and society. (205) 348-6010 I love the big onesmurder, lust, cruelty, ambition! She invites Elmer to visit the old Falconer place in Virginia, but when they arrive, she confesses that she is really just Katie Jonas, born in Utica, whose father worked in a brickyard. WebIn 1960, Elmer Gantry, based on the best-selling 1927 novel by Sinclair Lewis, was brought to the screen by writer/director Richard Brooks. After collecting money from the patrons, Gantry takes a drunken barfly back to his hotel room. For several sessions of congress he had backed a bill for a federal censorship of all fiction, plays, and moving pictures, with a penitentiary sentence for any author mentioning adultery even by implication, ridiculing prohibition, or making light of any Christian sect or minister. Later judgments have also been mixed. At times he is almost satanic, a compendium of all the vices; they are too many and too flagrant for him to be real. The character of Sharon Falconer was loosely based on events in the career of the Canadian-born American radio evangelist Aimee Semple McPherson, who founded the Pentecostal Christian denomination known as the International Church of the Foursquare Gospel in 1927. It also underscores what Lewis saw as one of the greatest dangers in American societythe tendency toward excess not only in religion but also in production, consumption, patriotism, and the proliferation of institutions . Gaining and keeping followers is the key to the success of any religion, and religious leaders must recognize this and figuratively, though sometimes literally, sell the religion. Binch is a dreadful character who leers at Sharon and has an excessive interest in church fundraising. Box sets galore: New collections from David Bowie, Wilco, Joni "Elmer Gantry" can be considered the quintessential exploration into the omnipresent duality existing between a person's religious faith and simultaneous character defects. The angriest of Lewiss novels, Elmer Gantry seems to arise from impulses that invert the quixotic. She wore expensive clothes and jewelry and put on a spectacular show. Burt Lancaster acted in a number of excellent films during the late 1950s and early 1960s. Judson Roberts is an evangelist who is the state secretary of the Y.M.C.A. Elmers next position is at a church in Monarch. In 1905, after two years study, he is ordained. When Lefferts asks Reverend Quarles, the college president, an awkward question about some passages in the Bible, Quarles tells him not to question the ways of the Lord. Known as the enfant terrible of the Methodist church, he is ruthlessly critical of others. The college president declares that he is a born preacher, and everyone urges him to become a minister. In another scene, Falconer exhibits pride and materialism when she admits that she always wanted her own church with a giant glowing cross. (540) 7.7 2 h 26 min 1960 13+. As Elmer turns an attractive and charming preacher with a large audience . Hes the all-American salesman: hed believe, really believe, in anything he thought youd buy. He spends a year there, and three years in Vulcan, where Cleo gives birth to two children. Elmer Gantry, then, is notable as the book in which Lewis moved religion to the center of his critique of American values and declared it to have failed. Bill Morgan sees thru Elmer and tells Sharon that in 1917 he was expelled from the seminary for seducing the deacon's daughter. Richard Brooks spent years trying to bring ELMER GANTRY to the screen. In Elmer Gantry, Sinclair Lewis uses the character of Elmer Gantry to represent, without nuance or ambiguity, what he viewed as the prototypical evangelical minister of his day: ambitious and charismatic; driven by his lust for women, money, and power; and completely unrepentant in his scorn for those who believe in the faith he deceptively proclaims. A Best Actor Oscar went to Burt Lancaster for his outstanding performance as a con-man-turned-preacher in this provocative indictment of religious corruption. document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); Copyright 2022 The University of Alabama Mahlon Potts is the influential minister of the First Methodist Church in Zenith. Gantrys fame continues to grow, and he is soon preaching at churches across America. Yet at the fire, it is Sharon who is heroic. Elmer Gantry | Encyclopedia.com You're all doomed to perdition! If all of them are there, he says. Also, Neil Diamonds 1976 live performance of his song Brother Loves Travelling Salvation Show, here:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Brt4r_y1y4Q#t=68In a very Elmer Gantry moment, starting at 2:54, after singing the Lord gave us two good hands, brothers and sisters, one for the givin and one for the takin, Diamond stretches out his hand toward a young woman who places in it the key to what must be her hotel room. After several years as a travelling salesman of farm equipment, he becomes manager for Sharon Falconer, an itinerant evangelist. At Mizpah Theological Seminary, Elmer and his fellow students all smoke in their dormitory, even though smoking is practically forbidden. Webthe return nicholas sparks ending explained; Nach Altersklassen. Blessed Virgin, Mother Hera, Mother Frigga, Mother Ishtar, Mother Isis, dread Mother Astarte of the weaving arms, it is thy priestess . They read from the Song of Solomon. He thinks they might, for all he knows, be true, and that is enough for him. Tracing two years in th, Matthew Gregory Lewis In the following essay excerpt, Light examines quixotic elements in Elmer Gantry. Gantry uses his own quick wit and Bible knowledge to become an indispensable part of Sister Sharon's roadshow, but his past soon catches up with him in the form of Lulu Bains, now a prostitute. From the exceptionally talented pen of noted author Sinclair Lewis comes this entertaining story of a fast-talking, yarn-spinning vacuum salesman with the natural gift of persuasion. Floyd Naylor is a large and rather stupid farmer in Schoenheim who is in love with Lulu Bains, whom he eventually marries. After exposing the professors secret, As Mark Schorer has pointed out, Elmer is rarely aware of himself as a hypocrite and achieves neither insight nor growth. [2][3] Excellent recounting based on the controversial Sinclair Lewis novel that got three Academy Awards . Despite this though the film is still quite engaging and enjoyable as it delves into this world with a certain amount of glee; the fact that it peels off this world to look at Gantry specifically is a bit of a shame because it cuts under that focus a little. Lancaster's performance is so rich, so real, that the viewer knows this man, knows what Gantry smells like (sweat and eau de cologne) and what he eats (big slabs of beef). Chester Brown is a prominent Methodist preacher in Zenith and one of Elmers rivals. WebThis count will explain the meaning of Macrons declaration that peace, security, and stability in Europe, and in the Ukraine, are for Europeans to agree with Russia. Now dont you go explaining! Satire ridicules its subject, with the intention of arousing contempt or scorn in the reader. An example is the bizarre marriage ceremony which takes place between Elmer and evangelist Sharon Falconer before her grotesque shrine. There have been five adaptations of the novel. This script is a transcript that was painstakingly transcribed using the screenplay and/or viewings of Elmer Gantry. During the 1930s and 1940s, Lewis published a further nine novels, as well as plays and short stories. eNotes.com, Inc. The tents are filled with people clamoring to see Sister Sharon Falconer. I believe! How long would a drunkard listen to the counsel of one who had never been inside a saloon? Directed and written by Richard Brooks, based on the 1927 novel by Sinclair Lewis. Fired from the Seminary, he is hired as a traveling salesman of farm implements. pat hingle elevator accident Elmer Gantry I have told you a mystery. She is the supreme fantasist. After two years as a traveling salesman, Gantry attends a revival meeting and is immediately bewitched by the evangelist Sharon Falconer. He has an affair with female evangelist Sharon Falconer, which ends with her death in a flaming tabernacle. He begins a course of home study, in a brief episode which must play ironically against Benjamin Franklins self-education. Amoral and relentlessly ambitious, Elmer builds a statewide and national reputation as a fiery preacher who never tires of denouncing vice, while at the same time feeling no need to curb his own vices, particularly adultery. The Chickasha Daily Express (Chickasha, Okla.), Vol. 57, No. 175, When Elmer is converted, Jim moves out of his room in disgust. Ad Locust is a traveling salesman for the Pequot Farm Implement Company who befriends Elmer on the train to Monarch. There, Gantry befriends the Methodist bishop and is appointed pastor of a church in Banjo Crossing. Elmer Gantry At Sparta, Elmer gains statewide fame for his sensational sermons denouncing drinking and other sins. Thats Elmer Gantry. Elmer Gantry begins in 1902. Burt Lancaster, Shirley Jones each won an Oscar for 1960's Elmer He calls out to God for help. She is a monstrous creation who seems to grow in size with each revelation of her craziness. "Elmer Gantry" is an amazing film that does not seem dated at all, having lost none of its bite or appeal with the passing of time. The sociological factor that works against Elmer is the entire small-town Protestant environment in which he was raised. As a preacher, he shamelessly plays on peoples emotions and their fear of Hell. This site built with Project Largo from INN and proudly powered by WordPress. As Lewis so devastatingly wrote, Elmer got everything from the church and Sunday School, except, perhaps, any longing whatever for decency and kindness and reason. The implication is that those three qualities were not present in the Baptist church of Paris, Kansas. 10 Video Games That Need a Live Action Adaptation, 2023's Most Anticipated Sequels, Prequels, and Spin-offs. Bains initially forces Elmer to agree to marry Lulu, but later, after Elmer shows him Lulu kissing Floyd Naylor, he orders Lulu to marry Floyd. Mel Gibson aside, you don't expect to see a sympathetic portrayal of religion in the movies; from 'Night of the Hunter' onwards, the dodgy preacher has been a more common character than the saintly one, and there's another kicking for the born-again movement in 'Elmer Gantry'. , Sinclair Lewis: An American Life, McGraw Hill, 1961, pp. The result would be the fascist state against which Babbitt, in anticipation of 1984, warns. Is he successful? So scandalous was Lewiss portrayal of religion that the novel was banned in several cities and denounced from pulpits across the nation. Dr. Otto Hickenlooper is a prominent Methodist minister in Zenith, and one of Elmers rivals. Elmer Gantry (DVD, 2001, Vintage Classics He dealt with the connection between small-town provinciality and the religious proclivities of the time, the relationship between the gospel of Christianity and the gospel of business; and, because the novel was written out of the atmosphere surrounding the Scopes Monkey Trial, he dealt with the conflict between science and religion. He graduated from Yale in 1908 and worked in various jobs in the publishing industry, including editor, reporter, manuscript reader, and reviewer. Published in 1922 The Faithful Dog who saved his master during a terrific conflagration . (Later Elmer runs from a conflagration, saving no one but himself. Meanwhile, Babe Ruth was closing in on the home run record. WebMemorable Moments. In the film, Gantry happens upon one of Falconers revivals being held in a country town. McPherson was involved in a scandal in 1926. Metacritic Reviews. When Gantry is framed as a philanderer, both Falconer and Gantry endure the wrath of an angry public in Zenith, but are quickly restored to their pedestals upon a retraction. Traveling with the show is Pulitzer Prize-winning columnist Jim Lefferts, who looks at the show and Elmer with a critical eye, although Sister Sharon, William, and Elmer welcome him. Evangelist Billy Sunday called Lewis "Satan's cohort". plus-circle Add Review. British guitarist and vocalist. In fact, the film's theatricality can almost be seen as a strength, for it's constructed like a well-written play. Taken from the classic Sinclair Lewis novel of the same name, director Richard Brooks garnered an Oscar for Best Screenplay for his adaptation, and Burt Lancaster won his sole Best Actor Oscar for his performance as Elmer Gantry. It shines upon the cradle of the babe, and sheds its radiance upon the quiet tomb As Elmers career begins its ascent, we learn something more of the images which fill his mind: For all his slang, his cursing, his mauled plurals and singulars, Elmer had been compelled in college to read certain books, to hear certain lectures, all filled with flushed, florid polysyllables, with juicy sentiments about God, sunsets, the moral improvement inherent in a daily view of mountain scenery, angels, fishing for souls, fishing for fish, ideals, patriotism, democracy . Jim tries to persuade Elmer not to go along with it, but when Elmer attends the Annual Prayer Week he cannot resist the emotionalism of the service. I can kiss you like this Quickly she touches his cheek, Yes, or passionately, terribly passionately, and it would only symbolize my complete union with Jesus! His quest for God is a secular quest. WebVoila! Her main supporter is worldly William Morgan (Dean Jagger) who believes in Falconer, and sees Gantry and Lefferts for the opportunistic impediments they are. 99107. "Elmer Gantry - Summary" Literary Essentials: Christian Fiction and Nonfiction Lancaster's vitality as a sinful preacher lights up the screen "Love is the morning and the evening star! He does not really hate sin, because it is useful to him: the more vice he can discover and denounce, the more his reputation as a man of God grows.