In the following essay excerpt, Dooley calls Elmer Gantry a picaresque novel that begins as a satire of revivalism.. Besides the rise of world fundamentalism and revelations of sexual abuse by big-name evangelists and Catholic priests, Elmer Gantry calls up popular figures such as Sarah Palin. But they could be healed constantly, and of the same disease.. Besides being an effective satire targeted against religious hypocrisy, Elmer Gantry provides insight into the clash of cultural forces in America in the 1920s. The two make a successful onstage pair, and their chemistry extends to romance. In fact, the question of whether Elmer is a human being or an ogre in the novel is a relevant one. The film is basically how Hollywood, in the late 1950s, viewed tent religion in the early part of the twentieth century. We didn't want to make just any bourbon--we wanted to make the best bourbon. Mrs. Evans Riddle is the proprietor of the Victory Thought Power Headquarters in New York. But it's Elmer's past, which catches up with him in Zenith, that may be his, and by association Sister Sharon's, downfall. Gantry, too. If there are two dates, the date of publication and appearance The Allegory of Lov, Lewis, Sinclair Barney Bains is a deacon at the Baptist church in Schoenheim and the father of Lulu. As a boy, the Baptist church was all he knew. Be the first to contribute. But what perhaps made Elmer Gantry seem like such an act of outrage to so many readers is that Lewis did not simply treat religion in relation to other aspects of American life; he saw it instead as the molder of basic attitudes, most of which were, in his opinion, bad. Twin Cities Daily Planet (https://www.tcdailyplanet.net/film-review-burt-lancaster-s-oscar-winning-elmer-gantry-trylon-theater-monday-and-tu/). Elmer meets up again with Lulu, now married to Floyd Naylor, and they resume their flirtation. It is not merely a case of the good priest versus the bad priest. For the most part they are hypocrites, not even believing the doctrines they preach to their congregations every week. At their next revival, the tent catches fire and kills a hundred people, including Sharon, but Gantry climbs over trapped women and escapes. Buy, Sell, and Trade your Firearms and Gear. He wears fine clothes, yet he rides the railways like a vagabond. WebHow does the novel Elmer Gantry end? Horace Carp is a student at Mizpah Theological Seminary. During this period, traditional religious believers were deeply disturbed by the encroachments made on faith by science and secularism. REL 360: Popular Culture/Public Humanities, Peoples Temple of the Disciples of Christ, Humans and Nazis: Reevaluating the Conversation of. He has a Ph.D. from the University of Chicago who espouses a very liberal theology. As the film progresses, we learned of Elmer Gantry's past especially his own previous desire to be a minister/preacher. She is flirtatious, and able to get men to do her bidding. In another service a couple comes forward to ask that Falconer cure the husbands deafness. Elmer Gantry sets out to do just that in the world of evangelical revivalists, and an examination of the complicated relationship between the congregations and the religious leaders of the film may help illuminate the popularity of many religious movements, even those that appear to be a farce from the outside. New collections from David Bowie, Wilco, Joni Mitchell, Joe Strummer and more The following was written for REL 360: Popular Culture/Public Humanities. Elmers start at religious leadership is rocky. West, Rebecca, Review of Elmer Gantry, in Sinclair Lewis: A Collection of Critical Essays, edited by Mark Schorer, Prentice-Hall, 1962, pp. Jim is the college freethinker and the only person who has any influence on Elmer. He takes care to point out that people return again and again to get converted, which would seem to negate the idea that they are saved in a once in a lifetime experience. Elizabeth Taylor, Best Actress winner for Butterfield 8. Bell, a Black youth who had recently transferred out of Central to the High School for Recording Arts, was on Centrals campus to visit one of his former teachers. WebToday universally recognized as a landmark in American literature, Elmer Gantry scandalized readers when it was first published, causing Sinclair Lewis to be "invited" to a jail cell in New Hampshire and to his own lynching in Virginia. Sit down and take in everything this film is offering, you won't be disappointed. 10 Video Games That Need a Live Action Adaptation, 2023's Most Anticipated Sequels, Prequels, and Spin-offs. Everyone congratulates him on his conversion. After this catastrophe, he briefly acts as a "New Thought" evangelist, and eventually becomes a Methodist minister. It seemed that perhaps the world had taken a step away from irrational belief. Mark Schorer, then of the University of California, Berkeley, notes: "The forces of social good and enlightenment as presented in Elmer Gantry are not strong enough to offer any real resistance to the forces of social evil and banality." But not long after that he lost his faith in God altogether and became an atheist. Ive made herby prayer and by having a right to be her!. He is a simple, decent, pious man who is loved by his congregation. 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. Elmer moves in ever-higher social circles and goes on a three-month speaking tour aimed at the youth of America. ." It's sophisticated script, complex characters, and wonderful acting opened a whole new world for me. He marries well and eventually obtains a large congregation in Lewis's fictional Midwestern city of Zenith. 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. Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window), Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window), Click to email a link to a friend (Opens in new window). The evangelist Sharon Falconer, although she is not attached to any particular church, is no exception to the anti-religion theme. Introduction of Gantry Girder. Reverend Jacob Trosper is the dean and chief executive of Mizpah Theological Seminary. Yet at the fire, it is Sharon who is heroic. On the trip to his new church, he gets drunk and carouses with women; he is discovered and is dismissed from the seminary. Elmer Gantry shows the necessity and sincerity involved in these functions, as well as the dangers of falling into the trap of hypocrisy and greed, through its highly humanized leads, Elmer Gantry and Sister Sharon Falconer. He badgers her until she allows him to preach. Binch is also a snob who has contempt for other preachers. A popular singer with a voice like French silk pie, Page is most famous for her hit song Tennessee Waltz. When she first appears onscreen, shes got such presence you might think she was the main heroine. As the years went on, however, compromises were reached, and these can be seen in the career of Elmer, who begins as a fundamentalist and winds up as the pastor of a large, urban church. Encyclopedia.com. For example, the division between Northern and Southern Baptists is explained in this way: [B]efore the Civil War the Northern Baptists proved by the Bible, unanswerably, that slavery was wrong; and the Southern Baptists proved by the Bible, irrefutably, that slavery was the will of God. Later in the novel, Frank Shallard realizes how threatened conservative clergymen are by scientific knowledge and how inadequate they are to preside over educational institutions. Her voice was warm, a little husky, desperately alive. Source: Martin Light, Mantrap and Elmer Gantry, in The Quixotic Vision of Sinclair Lewis, Purdue University Press, 1975, pp. TAKE NOTE: The films opening title sequence includes this advice: Due to the highly controversial nature of this film, we strongly urge you to prevent impressionable children from seeing it!, You can read the full Sinclair Lewis novel Elmer Gantry online at Project Gutenberg Australia, here:http://gutenberg.net.au/ebooks03/0300851h.html, You might want to watch some Patti Pagemaybe Whatever Lola Wants, here:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZSsH_i6xpf8. I think she does a brilliant job but I wished that she had more speaking moments. But the only good ministers of the Gospel seem to be those who, like Dr. Bruno Zechlin, the Old Testament scholar at Mizpah, have given up their religious beliefs. But it certainly was worth the wait. He calls out to God for help. But though this satire is perhaps the best part of the book, revivalism is not the only target. Lewis divorced his wife in 1928, and married Dorothy Thompson. He joins up with Mrs. Evans Riddle, who teaches New Thought, a Westernized version of Indian religion. He is immediately attracted to her and also sees her revival meetings as a way to make money. But throughout his career he wonders whether there is any value in his work. Literally, in one case, when the tabernacle catches fire at the end of the movie. Elmer starts his career as a Baptist and then joins up with a charismatic but equally unprincipled female revivalist preacher. Many of my neighbors and friends see the furious posts on Facebook, with all the hysterical warnings about the imminent destruction of public education as we know it, and are honestly confused. Light examines what he sees as quixotic elements in the novel, especially in the characters Sharon Falconer and Frank Shallard. Finally, in the summer of 2005 I took a look after seeing several Burt Lancaster films and being reminded how good an actor he was. He successfully schemes to become pastor of the prestigious Yorkville Methodist Church in New York and the new executive secretary of Napap. Harry Zenz vehemently disagrees with Eddie. [2][3] After Elmer writes a critical comment about him on a blackboard, Zechlin, who is suspected of heresy, is forced into retirement by the Seminary. It is the Morning and the Evening Star. These help her to put on a dramatic show that wins many converts. But he is caught stealing from the collection and is fired. Good drama that had the potential to be one of the greats. 2 hr 26 min. External Reviews One might say that on matters of truth, he is neutral; he is not a believer or a nonbeliever. They were outside of respectable societylike Kingsand I am not sure but that this was better for their art and their happiness than to be classed as lecturers, tax-payers, tennis-players, suburban householders, and lovers of dogs.' Lewis married Grace Livingston Hegger in 1914, and they had one son, Wells, in 1917. DIED: 1963, Oxford, England She is looking to work in Applied Business Anthropology. 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. Have faith! Drama. I am Sharon Falconer now! SYNOPSIS One of the first scenes with Sister Sharon Falconer involves her asking for donations from these people. Based on the muckraker Sinclair Lewis' novel, and superbly translated to the screen by Richard Brooks (In Cold Blood , The Professionals, Cat on a Hot Tin Roof), this story of huckster-ism by religion is a masterpiece. He speaks in many big cities and acquires a new secretary, Hettie Bowler, with whom he has an affair. How would you describe his demeanor? An example is the bizarre marriage ceremony which takes place between Elmer and evangelist Sharon Falconer before her grotesque shrine. After Sharon dismisses him in favor of Elmer, Cecil tries to conduct a rescue mission in Buffalo. A lady runs by Elmer in a blue jacket, and her jacket is on fire. We are going to find the golden Scriptures written in our own hearts, we are going to sing together, laugh together, rejoice together like a gathering of April brooks, rejoice that in us is living the veritable spirit of the Everlasting and Redeeming Christ Jesus!, Declining from this spirituality, she gives her gospel-crew a pep talk: lets hit people hard for money-pledges. Some while later Shallard goes on a lecture tour to speak against fundamentalism. The subject was tastefully handled and written for adults. 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! "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 novel tells the story of a young, narcissistic, womanizing college athlete who abandons his early ambition to become a lawyer. Think about how Jim would view Elmer, and how he might react to what Elmer says. It is the hour! At Sparta, Elmer gains statewide fame for his sensational sermons denouncing drinking and other sins. By so doing they give themselves an advantage over the general public. His decision to enter the ministry is dishonest and contrary to his own nature, and it costs him the respect and friendship of his agnostic college roommate, Jim Lefferts. The tents are filled with people clamoring to see Sister Sharon Falconer. And fortunately for us, it gives BURT LANCASTER the kind of role that would rightly win him an Academy Award as Best Actor in 1960. . Harry Zenz does not believe a word of what he is taught at the seminary. The movie provided Burt Lancaster, Shirley Jones, and Richard Brooks all with Oscars and it has become a classic. I give this movie a 10 only because there is nothing above that. He is so good that it is hard to However, these were exercises in popular, rather than literary, fiction. They had a son, Michael, in 1930, the same year that Lewis became the first American to win the Nobel Prize for Literature. But we sure view it differently 80 years after the book and 55 years after the movie debuted. McPherson was involved in a scandal in 1926. In the novel, people in Nebraska say that Sharon Falconer compares with the great evangelists of the past, naming Gipsy Smith as one of them. He marries Cleo but gets bored with her and resents her lack of sexual passion. Nevertheless, Lewis supplies sufficient background to account for Elmers going into the ministry. Complex, Fascinating, Relevant; A Must See, A Much Better Than Average Literary Adaption, A thought-provoking look at revivalist religion in which includes the magnetic presence of Burt Lancaster. Gantry threatens to avenge him but takes no action. Fascinating - 1960's "Elmer Gantry," based on the Sinclair Lewis novel, could be made today with nothing changed and be as powerful - maybe more powerful - than it was in 1960. It begins as a satire of revivalism: Elmer is thrown out of a Baptist seminary, becomes a farm implement salesman, and then finds his nicheor pedestalas a Billy Sunday partnered with an Aimee Semple McPherson. They have better chemistry between them than Simmons and Lancaster did, but Elmer Gantry is the grandaddy of them all. The famous evangelist Billy Sunday called Lewis Satans cohort.. Gantry's entire repertoire is performed with encyclopedic thoroughness and accuracy. Having ridiculed the unfortunate Dr. Binch, Lewis removes him from the scene and never mentions him again. He soon discovers he has a gift for preaching, and he loves the feeling of power he gets when his sermons move his congregation. If "Elmer Gantry" worked better than most was largely due to Brooks ability to tell a rattling good yarn at a cracking pace and to the performances of a superb cast. Co-stars Jean Simmons and Shirley Jones. Matthew Gregory Lewis . Thus, Schorer concludes, there is no pressure upon Elmer to be forced into a position of new self-awareness. Transforming the community and its residents is the main goal of Northside food system organizers, who are using food as a tool to aid in that transformation. Excellent recounting based on the controversial Sinclair Lewis novel that got three Academy Awards . Elmer joins the Methodists and is sent to the small town of Banjo Crossing, where he falls in love with Cleo Benham, the daughter of a church trustee. Shirley Jones won Best Supporting Actress for her role as the preachers daughter turned prostitute. The Baptist influences to which Elmer is subjected in his youth, particularly at Terwillinger College and Mizpah Theological Seminary, are handled very roughly. Even the physical description of Binch is calculated to evoke disgust: Dr. Lewis, C.S. John K. Roth. But both the show and their relationship are threatened when one of Gantry's ex-lovers decides that she must settle a score with the charismatic performer. She dresses in exotic outfits such as Grecian robes, and uses a gold and white pyramidal altar. Lewiss reputation as a satirist of American life continued to develop in the 1920s with the novels Babbitt (1922), Arrowsmith (1925), Elmer Gantry (1927), and Dodsworth (1929). His flamboyant preaching style makes a big impression on the small town. Richard Brooks spent years trying to bring ELMER GANTRY to the screen. He plans to quit the church and get a good job selling real estate. Retrieved February 23, 2023 from Encyclopedia.com: https://www.encyclopedia.com/arts/educational-magazines/elmer-gantry. He goes to live with his niece and dies within two years. Whatever I may choose to do, though it might be sin in one unsanctified, with me God will turn it to his glory. Philip McGarry is the minister of the Arbor Methodist Church in Zenith. The publication day of Elmer Gantry found him wandering through Europe with Ramon Guthrie; from Dubrovnik, Yugoslavia, he commented in the most innocent tones on the stir he had caused: The violent Kansas City blokes have been asinine. Grebstein, Sheldon Norman, Sinclair Lewis, Twayne United States Authors Series, No. At the novels beginning, Gantry is captain of the football team at the rowdy campus at Terwillinger College, a Baptist school. Happiness is the key to success. Shortly after the publication of Elmer Gantry, H. G. Wells published a widely syndicated newspaper article called "The New American People", in which he largely based his observations of American culture on Lewis' novels. 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. Terwillinger College and Mizpah Theological Seminary are both fundamentalist institutions. What are his leading characteristics? The book was banned in Boston and other cities and denounced from pulpits across the United States. The footballer wins by flattering Elmer, insulting Elmers courage, and challenging Elmer to a fight over The Lord. Elmer escapes by knocking other people out of the way, but Sharon is burned to death. His genius took its chance in mockery, parody, grotesquerie, and excessive performance. Eventually pressure from Gantry and his own conscience force Frank to resign from the ministry and turn to social work. Were in the temple of the Lord! Elmer, with the help of T. J. Rigg, turns the tables on her and preserves his career. Real name: David Terry. He has an affair with female evangelist Sharon Falconer, which ends with her death in a flaming tabernacle. 2023 eNotes.com, Inc. All Rights Reserved. In 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, I'm sure back in 1960, this film must have been pretty controversial, shocking and challenging in its portrayal of evangelistic religion as cynical, money-grabbing and being as much about show business as God. Kraus used []. but I have my doubts ", Wow! NATIONALITY: British Edward A. Martin, "The Mimic as Artist: Sinclair Lewis". Webthe return nicholas sparks ending explained; Nach Altersklassen. 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. Other Kansas City ministers Lewis interviewed included Burris Jenkins, Earl Blackman, I. M. Hargett, Bert Fiske, and Robert Nelson Horatio Spencer, who was rector of a large Episcopal parish, Grace and Holy Trinity Church, which is now the cathedral of the Episcopal Diocese of West Missouri. Shallard attempts to stand against Gantrys attempts to destroy him, but eventually he resigns from his pulpit. The pious but stupid Eddie complains that [E]verything we Baptists stand for is threatened by those darn so-called liberals . He is referring to the practice of open communion, which is favored by liberals, as opposed to the closed communion of the fundamentalists, according to which only Baptists are allowed to participate in the rite. ." It's the prohibition era. ", Jesus was a simple virtuous teacher, . There, Gantry befriends the Methodist bishop and is appointed pastor of a church in Banjo Crossing. The steady accumulation of damning portraits of those whose spiritual home is the Protestant church, and the lack of any serious counterweight to them, led Rebecca West, in a hostile review of Elmer Gantry that first appeared in 1927, to write that Lewis lacked the necessary requirement of the satirist, which was to fully possess, at least in the world of the imagination, the quality the lack of which he is deriding in others. Wests point was that Lewis effectively exposes the charlatans and the way they misuse their power, but fails to show how that religious power might better be used. He ends up as a minister in the Episcopal church. Notify me of follow-up comments by email. It looks like we don't have any synopsis for this title yet. Every decision Elmer makes thereafter is one of compromise. 5 Mar. He is encouraged to stay in the church by the Reverend Andrew Pengilly, and he ends up as a minister of a Congregational church in Zenith. Driven by ambition to become a bishop, he is hugely successful, and is given bigger and bigger churches. Many reviewers have already remarked on this terrific movie far better than I can, so this message is really for younger people interested in serious film. Encyclopedia.com gives you the ability to cite reference entries and articles according to common styles from the Modern Language Association (MLA), The Chicago Manual of Style, and the American Psychological Association (APA). Elmer Gantry subtitles. The bill had always been defeated, but it was gaining more votes in every session [407408]. President Putin and I agree, Macron said. In Zenith, Elmer meets Bishop Toomis, a prominent figure in the Methodist Church. Phrozen Sonic Mini 3D Printer: Buy or Lease at Top3DShop 4.3 out of 5 stars 53. He is ordained despite the examiners doubts about his orthodoxy, and he takes charge of a small church in Catawba. For that matter, one year after Elmer Gantry, Burt Lancaster appeared in the same movie as William Shatner, Judgment at Nuremberg (1961). And yet Im not a liar! Metacritic Reviews. Later, Lewis will show Elmer no mercy, but at this stage his target is not so much the soon-to-be preacher but the social and psychological context in which he is formed. Dinner at the Governors Ball with Eddie Fisher. There is no character development, and so Elmer, after his character is first established, does not change during the course of the novel. Frank finds some shame in being a preacher and longs to prove that he is nevertheless a real man. Not only had he been swathed in theology, but all his experience had been in books instead of the speech of toiling men. A more elaborate kind of fantasy arises out of Lewiss belief that formal religion is based on the self-interest of its leaders. The film leaves the realities of these mystical happenings up to interpretation, and so gives the congregants active, if small, roles in the narrative. He welcomes Elmer into the Methodist church. He is coerced into becoming a minister because his family, his town, and his college are so tightly structured around the church. Since he is ordinarily only a caricature, we cannot consider him a believeable human being; and when Lewis tells us that he has a conscience, we refuse to believe it. He begins a course of home study, in a brief episode which must play ironically against Benjamin Franklins self-education. It is Elmers Napoleonic ambition to combine all such organizations to the greater glory of himself: He would combine in one association all the moral organizations in Americaperhaps, later, in the entire world. Is he successful? B. Lulu Bains is the daughter of Barney Bains. In 1944, his son Lieutenant Wells Lewis was killed in action in France during World War II. Many of the people attending the revivals would then be working-class individuals. WebElmer Gantry is a fast-talking, hard-drinking traveling salesman who always has a risqu story and a hip flask to entertain cronies and customers alike. One cleric suggested that Lewis should be imprisoned for five years, and there were also threats of physical violence against the author. Where she is quiet and gentle with her manner of preaching, he is all fire and brimstone, literally throwing himself about the audience and inflaming them into repentance. The relentless, unrelieved exposure of religious hypocrisy, while amusingly presented in parts, tends to become wearying. Lit by fire, Lancaster (Elmer Gantry) preaches to a crowd. Juanita Klauzel is Elmers girlfriend in Cato, Missouri, when he is a student at Terwillinger College. Dr. Howard Bancock Binch is a prominent Baptist who defends the literal interpretation of the Bible in his writings. There have been five adaptations of the novel. Gantrys pugnacious sermons quickly make him popular in Zenith, but the workload soon overwhelms him and alienates him from Cleo. 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. Pursuing a career as a freelance writer, Lewis began to produce fiction with ease and ingenuity, and he published five novels from 1912 to 1919. Sharon is supposed to be a firebrand, based on evangelist Aimee Semple McPherson, part Houdini, part Teddy Roosevelt, who preached a dramatic God. The purpose of Napap is to make life conform to the ideals agreed upon by the principal Christian Protestant denominations. This would be accomplished by combining into one association all the moral organizations in Americathe Anti-Saloon League, the Lords Day Alliance, the Watch and Ward Society, and the Methodist Board of Temperance, Prohibition, and Public Moralsand then lobbying for legislated morality. Simulation Theory: How is Religion Part of It? As the good Sister employs him as a Bible-spouting person to expand the God Will and along the way he gets considerable success . Elmer pulls the burning jacket off her, and beats out the flames. One thing he is aware of is that professing belief serves his purposes very well, and for all he knows, every word of Baptist or Methodist dogma might be true. He became known in the 1920s for his books that satirized the spartan materialism and intolerance that 3360. The one completely positive character in the book, Frank Shallard, wants to make Christianity an active force for social good; as it is, it is a negative force, a threat to freedom. Now dont you go explaining! It is success that proves faith in this religion, not the other way round. Elizabeth S. Prioleau, "The Minister and the Seductress in American Fiction: The Adamic Myth Reduz". Nevertheless, it is soon apparent that he has gone too far; to him, Christianity is not only untrue, but inconceivable. Gene Warren and Tim Baar, The Time Machine. Jim observes his defeat from his bed, laid ill with a bug no doubt divinely-sent. Still, Falconer dies for her beliefs and is shown to fervently believe in God; she clearly wants to save people. He had learned to assemble Jewish texts, Greek philosophy, and Middle-Western evangelistic anecdotes into a sermon. Franks mentor has been Father Pengilly, a fanciful figure whom we have already discussed.
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