The Pride and the Passion (1957)

Wonderfully offbeat film!

The story, direction, characters, and writing/dialogue is akin to taking a tranquilizer shot to the neck, but everything else was so well done.

Through painfully honest and emotional moments, the movie becomes irresistibly relatable

An old-fashioned movie made with new-fashioned finesse.

Where was Eli Wallach? Where was J. Carrol Naish? Where was anyone else the day Frank Sinatra was cast as a Spaniard in The Pride and the Passion? You know me, I love Frank Sinatra's acting career even more than his singing career, so if I tell you his performance was terrible, it really was. You don't have to waste two and a half hours of your time to find out if I'm right.Stanley Kramer, three years before his epic Spartacus, took on The Pride and the Passion, an epic Napoleonic war movie. Yes, there are thousands of extras, on-location filming, extensive battle scenes, and Cary Grant in a uniform. But the movie stinks. Sophia Loren, at only twenty-three-years-old, spent virtually the entire movie showing off her bosom to the audience, and despite their real-life affair, there were no sparks flying between her and Cary Grant. And given the choice between Cary Grant in a uniform and Frank Sinatra in schlumpy clothes and a laughable accent, is there really any suspense? So much for a love triangle. I can't recommend this movie, unless you really love tedious war epics.

The Pride and the Passion has some of the worst acting I've seen in a major movie. The only one substantially worse was El Cid. The two movies have something in common. Both movies include Sophia Loren, who has done some excellent acting in Italian films. Both movies have wonderful scores. This movie has excellent music by American wild man of music, George Antheil. El Cid has one of the great scores of Miklos Rozsa. Both movies are wonderful on the ears and eyes, but terrible acting. JB

Direct from the What Were They Thinking files comes this bloated pageant of staggeringly foolish proportions. All about getting a cannon through battles and assorted other nonsensical issues this overripe piece of twaddle has a few things in its favor, nice scenery and beautiful color photography. They are outweighed however by the inert direction of the usually competent Kramer and even more by the complete miscasting of the principle actors. Sophia is gorgeous and was just starting in American films so her being shoved into whatever was available at the moment no matter how unsuitable can at least explain her presence here. Cary Grant who would seem a natural in period films actually looks rather absurd and is stiff as a board, he apparently felt the same way and after this often referred to this film with mocking scorn. He and Sophia, who became involved during the making of this stinker, would be much more properly and happily paired the next year in Houseboat a delightful comedy which is the place to see them together, not here. Worst of all is Frank Sinatra preposterously cast as a Spanish freedom fighter with both an atrocious accent and wig. He is simply dreadful. Worth watching only to see how an A level film with major stars and a respected director can go wrong in pretty much every aspect.

During the Napoleonic wars, a magnificent 7 ton, forty two foot cannon was discarded by the retreating Spanish army. They had hoped to keep it out of French hands by dropping it into a deep ravine. At nearly the same time, a British naval Officer Anthony Trumbull (Cary Grant) is sent on a secret mission to recover the weapon from Miguel, the leader (Frank Sinatra) of the Spanish Guerreros. Since he cannot read, a beautiful native girl (Sophia Loren) must interpret the naval orders. Other interested parties include General Jouvet of the French Occupying forces in the walled city called Avila. Distrustful of each other, Trumball and Miguel must co-operate to accomplish both their aims. Trumbull wants to take it back to England, while Miguel wants to haul it across the country and lay siege to French Headquarters in Avila. With the French army searching for the rebels and their huge cannon, the movie centers on the awkward romantic triangle between the three main characters. However, this situation impedes the crux of the story and except for tense moments of personal conflicts, nearly loosing the cannon to natural obstacles and great loss of life, the movie eventually arrives at its destination. The cast of Grant as an Englishman is tolerable. Sinatra is a great Singer, but makes for an unconvincing Spaniard. Finally as the leading lady, Sophia is hard pressed to favor either intended. Nevertheless, the film does have some exciting segments, enough to mark it as a reluctant Classic. ****