Truly Dreadful Film

One of the best films i have seen

This movie feels like it was made purely to piss off people who want good shows

If you're interested in the topic at hand, you should just watch it and judge yourself because the reviews have gone very biased by people that didn't even watch it and just hate (or love) the creator. I liked it, it was well written, narrated, and directed and it was about a topic that interests me.

Trio of male sky-divers touring the Midwest prepare for a jump in a small Kansas town, where their benefactor is an unhappily married woman with life regrets. Despite a tag-line that suggests parachutists "turn on" by falling free--as well the appearance of go-go girls in pasties and also a lovemaking scene between Burt Lancaster and a nude Deborah Kerr--"The Gypsy Moths" doesn't have a youthful spirit, nor does it offer its audience much of a lift (everyone is so downcast). This dim, square adaptation of James Drought's novel is rather a condescending portrait of lives in a rural community. The actors have been encouraged by director John Frankenheimer to deliver the melodramatic material with the utmost seriousness, and before long the narrative is grounded (literally and figuratively). Despite being reunited with Lancaster, her "From Here to Eternity" love-interest, Kerr seems misplaced; she's stiff and drably solemn. Lancaster is surprisingly subdued or contemplative, which works to draw the viewer in, and yet his character's fast attachment to Kerr isn't convincing. Aerial footage of the trio's Kansas jump is a long time coming; Frankenheimer is much more interested in pitting man against man, man against woman, wife against husband. It feels about as real as a TV soap opera. ** from ****

Even though this movie does not live up to the Frankenheimer standards that I enjoyed in his early 60s movies, I found it enjoyable enough. The sky diving was interesting, and the back story was OK in this last of a long series of Frankenheimer-Lancaster collaborations. Wow, my heart was in my throat during many of the sky diving scenes. And, who would have thought that we would see Burt Lancaster and Deborah Kerr in another illicit love affair--16 years after From Here to Eternity (1953). To the classical film fan, it is hard to imagine seeing them in THIS movie without thinking of them at THAT movie.

Frankenheimer when he was still at the top of his game. He made "The Gypsy Moths" in 1969 and if it isn't quite in the same class of his earlier sixties work it is still a very fine and underrated film. The Gypsy Moths of the title are three daredevil skydivers, (Burt Lancaster, Gene Hackman and Scott Wilson), who land, literally, in a small Midwestern town one 4th of July weekend where their presence disrupts the lives of a few of its female citizens, chief of whom is Deborah Kerr as the unhappily married aunt of the Wilson character and who has a brief tryst with Lancaster.Although the film deals with an activity that has all the potential for excitement its main concern is the relationships that develop between the characters. It's a beautifully written and acted picture, (Kerr, Lancaster, Hackman and Wilson do some of their best work here), and Frankenheimer conjures up the atmosphere of a small town sweltering in the summer heat superbly. Today the film is seldom revived which is a pity as it remains one of the best American films of its period.

Actor & director combo Burt Lancaster and John Frankenheimer team for this appealing film that explores the lives of three sky divers, played by Lancaster, Gene Hackman, and Scott Wilson. They come to a small Midwest town named Bridgeville where they stun the locals with their aerial feats. Meanwhile, they affect the lives of some of the local woman. Mike Rettig (Lancaster) finds himself falling for Elizabeth Brandon (Deborah Kerr), who happens to be the aunt of Malcolm Webson (Wilson).Fundamentally, this is a good story (scripted by William Hanley, based on the novel by James Drought) well told, and it's punctuated by absolutely dazzling sky diving footage. Some viewers may wish there was more of this type of thing in the movie and less romance. The film flirts with melodrama (such as a back story involving Elizabeth) but Frankenheimer and the actors help keep it on an even keel.It's the cast that makes this worth watching. The majority of the performances are agreeably subtle, with the exception of Hackman, who's playing the extrovert of the group anyway. Lancaster and Kerr have a very alluring sex scene; both actors look incredibly good. Hackman strikes up a relationship with a hottie waitress (Sheree North) while Wilson is attracted to the college student (Bonnie Bedelia) who's boarding with the Brandons. North absolutely sears the screen. William Windom is good as Kerrs' husband whose aloof nature is a factor in her being turned on by Lancaster.Frankenheimer gets great use out of the real Midwestern locations (this was filmed in various parts of Kansas); the movie is definitely a real slice of Americana. Overall it's endearing enough and exciting enough to make it an okay view; it's ultimately rather predictable, but it remains watchable throughout.Seven out of 10.