Wow! Such a good movie.

Don't listen to the Hype. It's awful

There's no way I can possibly love it entirely but I just think its ridiculously bad, but enjoyable at the same time.

This is a gorgeous movie made by a gorgeous spirit.

The Big Knife is not for everybody. Some will find it very literate, well-directed and acted(mostly), handling the tense and satire aspects deftly, while others will find it overdone. Both viewpoints are completely understandable, for me there were parts where the film did fall into the latter camp but most of the time it was the former.As an adaptation of the stage play, which is very compelling and thought-provoking, it is very faithful and translates well adaptation-wise. As a film, it's far from perfect but it comes over well as a film.There are a few things that don't come off quite as successfully as the rest of the film. Rod Steiger has a very ruthless character, but for my tastes Steiger plays the role too broadly to the point that Hoff felt more of a cartoonish caricature than a real person, to the extent that it came close to hurting the balance of the film and he didn't come over as very threatening. In his performance, there is a lot of camp and scenery-chewing, but not enough of the menace that the role so ruthlessly written needs. The ending does dissolve into contrived melodrama, which is where it is most understandable as to why some will find the film overdone, and felt rushed as well. Lastly, the film does feel over-scored in places, in the places where there is music the blaring music cues felt intrusive.With the exception of Steiger, the performances are very good. Jack Palance's powerhouse lead performance is one of his best, while Ida Lupino is heart-wrenching and dignified. Wendall Corey wisely underplays and is very entertaining, and Everett Sloane, Jean Hagen(chilling in a role so different to hers in Singin' In the Rain) and a memorable Shelley Winters(in a performance that hits hard) do equally pleasingly. The script is remarkably literate and intelligent, with the tension being portrayed quite realistically and the satire being boldly lacerating. The story moves deliberately, but the tension present is enough to haunt the mind and the subject matter is a bold one and told in a biting, sometimes fun and poignant way. The Big Knife is photographed with class and atmosphere, the production values are appropriately claustrophobic and Robert Aldrich's direction is more than able, often excellent.Overall, a very acquired taste, but for this viewer while not without flaws it was a well done film. 7/10 Bethany Cox

This drama is Robert Aldrich's attempt to adapt a Clifford Odet's play to the big screen. Charles Castle(Jack Palance)is a rugged Hollywood star still oozing charm and sex appeal; but he has decided to leave show business in hopes of spending his efforts on reconciling with his estranged wife Marion(Ida Lupino). Head honcho of the studio Stanley Shriner Hoff(Rod Steiger)is more than willing to beg and coerce Castle into signing another contract with the studio that will tie him up for the next 14 years. If need be, Hoff will blackmail his star trying to cover-up a dark incident protecting his lucrative career.Also featured in this cynical look at the old Hollywood Studio system are: Wendell Corey, Shelley Winters, Everett Sloan, Ilka Chase and Paul Langton.

Idealistic film star Jack Palance (as Charles "Charlie" Castle) doesn't want to sign a new contract with his studio. Instead, he'd like to patch up a failing marriage with Ida Lupino (as Marion). But tyrannical movie mogul Rod Steiger (as Stanley Shriner Hoff) won't take no for an answer. He reminds Mr. Palance about a scandalous incident covered-up by the studio, and demands the actor sign. Shady henchman Wendell Corey (as Smiley Coy) and Hollywood types hang around Palance's Bel Air estate while we wait for a decision... This was a 1949 Broadway play written by Clifford Odets and directed by Lee Strasberg for John Garfield. Unfortunately, Mr. Garfield died of a heart attack in 1952 at age 39, or he might have starred in this film. At one point, the main character is provided with a phony "heart attack" story... There is a hint of Garfield in Palance's manner; possibly, the director and/or star saw Garfield in the play, or Mr. Odets influenced the proceedings. Film director Robert Aldrich makes this a fine acting ensemble piece, and everyone does well in that regard. Most memorable of the lot is probably Mr. Steiger, who takes a bite out of ruthless studio bosses like Louis B. Mayer and Harry Cohn. Relying mostly on camera angles, close-ups and music cues; "The Big Knife" does not, however, reach full potential as cinematic art. ******** The Big Knife (8/55) Robert Aldrich ~ Jack Palance, Ida Lupino, Rod Steiger, Wendell Corey

The Big Knife (1955)You always expect something edgy and a hair impolite with a Robert Aldrich film, from his over-the-top film noir cult classic "Detour" to the bizarre and gripping "What Ever Happened to Baby Jane?" It's almost as though his rich upbringing and rejection of a nice political life made him a fearless renegade. Give him credit. He cracked the Hollywood doldrums of the 1950s and early 60s like few other directors (Kubrick comes to mind as a big budget parallel). So you can get a lot out of "The Big Knife" in understanding Aldrich. And you can really enjoy a superb set of performances, mainly by Ida Lupino as the leading man's wife, and by Everett Sloan in an aging version of his usual submissive chumminess. Rod Steiger is there, powerful and a bit overacted, if you can overact in an Aldrich movie, and the headliner, Jack Palance, does his best at being a leading man, and is pretty fine, especially since his role is as a Hollywood actor with flaws.Throw in some really crisp cinematography by Ernest Lazlo, one of the best of his generation. Sometimes the camera will take on an angle that rocks you slightly, as when it is looking up from the floor at Palance on the massage table, with his agent towering overhead. More subtle is Lazlo's fluid long takes, or even fluid short takes, where the camera just makes sense of a scene not by framing it right (which is expected) but by moving it during the take. Once you notice it, you appreciate more and more how the interior of this house (the set for the whole movie) is made dimensional and alive.I say all this up front because the movie struggles against the story and writing despite all this. It's a play adapted to the screen, but rather literally, with the one main set for all the shooting. And it talks a lot. I don't see this working even on a stage, where you want and get dialog. Here it's almost deadening. Not that it quite is ever boring, but it tries too hard, and it pulls a couple of sensational twists out as it goes, with another sensational twist at the end. On top of all that is just a level of credibility. None of these Hollywood businessmen strike you as quite right, and what they say or do is all caricature.Not that we expect a movie, especially an Aldrich movie, to be believable. But there has to be some compensating excitement. This one, with a great noir title but no real noir qualities, never quite flies. It's worth watching if you like Lupino or Aldrich in particular, and it has moments of real intensity, but that might not be enough in the big picture.