John Frankenheimer directed The Gypsy Moths, based on the 1955 novel of the same name by James Drought.
Rating: C+ (** out of *****)
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The Gypsy Moths Movie poster
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The film concerns the impact of three barnstorming skydivers on a Midwestern American town, focusing on the differences in lifestyle and values between the town folk and the skydivers.
The Gypsy Moths stars Burt Lancaster, Deborah Kerr, Gene Hackman, and Bonnie Bedelia in her first film role.
This was the third teaming of Kerr and Lancaster, who had previously appeared in the Oscar winning From Here to Eternity (1953) and the Oscar nominated Separate Tables (1958).
The skydiving team “Gypsy Moths” visits a small town in Kansas to put on a show for the Fourth of July weekend. Mike Rettig, the leader, is accompanied by partners Joe Browdy and Malcolm Webson.
The skydivers stay at the home of Malcolm’s uncle and aunt, John and Elizabeth Brandon. Mike becomes romantically involved with Elizabeth, and her husband overhears them having sex.
Later on, he falls for local student Annie Burke, a boarder in the Brandon house, while Joe takes interest in a topless dancer.
During a skydiving exhibition, Mike performs a spectacular “cape jump” stunt but fails to pull the ripcord, falling to his death. His mates suspect that he committed suicide.
Before the team leaves, they bury Mike, and to pay for the expense, Malcolm does the same stunt that killed Mike.
In the end, he leaves by train that night, without attending Mike’s funeral.
The aerial sequences were shot at locations in and around Benton, Kansas, with a Howard DGA-15 (N22418) as the jump ship, flown by David Llorente and Larry Perkins.
The sport of skydiving was in its infancy, and the film featured an extreme variation of the sport, “batwings,” a precursor to modern wingsuit flying.
Frankenheimer struggles with giving the film the right tempo, resulting in a ponderous tale that lacked any energy, let alone adventure considering that it was about skydivers.
The Gypsy Moths ran in limited release in the U.S. Frankenheimer felt that the recent management change at MGM resulted in the film being re-edited “so it could debut at family-friendly Radio City Music Hall, where it would actually bomb.
After initial showings, the film was lengthened to 110 minutes and the rating changed to M (mature) audiences, an early version of PG.
Frankenheimer complained that the film did not get the same attention as his thrillers, The Manchurian Candidate (1962) and Seconds (1966), though critically those two were much better.
Rather uncharacteristically, Lancaster renders an indifferent performance.
Meanwhile, in two years, Hackman would become a major star after his Oscar winning performance in William Friedkin’s thriller, The French Connection.
Curio Item:
The film contains the only nude love scene in Kerr’s entire career. The actress would make one more film, Kazan’s The Arrangement (also in 1969, also a flop) before retiring from the big screen. She cited the lack of interesting parts and too much emphasis on nudity as major reasons for her decision.
Cast
Burt Lancaster as Mike Rettig
Deborah Kerr as Elizabeth Brandon
Gene Hackman as Joe Browdy
Scott Wilson as Malcolm Webson
William Windom as John Brandon
Bonnie Bedelia as Annie Burke
Sheree North as the Waitress
Carl Reindel as Pilot
Ford Rainey as Stand Owner
John Napier as Dick Donford
Credits:
Directed by John Frankenheimer
Screenplay by William Hanley, based on The Gypsy Moths 1964 novel by James Drought
Produced by Hal Landers, Bobby Roberts, Edward Lewis (executive)
Cinematography Philip H. Lathrop
Edited by Henry Berman
Music by Elmer Bernstein
Distributed by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
Release date: August 28, 1969
Running time: 107 min./110 min
