Elmer Gantry Overview:

Elmer Gantry (1960) was a Drama Film directed by Richard Brooks and produced by Bernard Smith.

The film was based on the novel of the same name written by Sinclair Lewis published in 1927.

SYNOPSIS

Fine adaptation of Sinclair Lewis's 1927 novel about a charismatic ex-football player who becomes an evangelist, plagiarizing speeches to promote himself above all else as he successfully exploits the folks of America's Corn Belt during the '20s.

(Source: available at Amazon AMC Classic Movie Companion).

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Academy Awards 1960 --- Ceremony Number 33 (source: AMPAS)

AwardRecipientResult
Best ActorBurt LancasterWon
Best Supporting ActressShirley JonesWon
Best Music - ScoringAndre PrevinNominated
Best PictureBernard Smith, ProducerNominated
Best WritingRichard BrooksWon
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BlogHub Articles:

SUMMER UNDER THE STARS BLOGATHON: Shirley Jones in ELMER GANTRY (1960)

By Lara on Aug 28, 2013 From Backlots

Today’s star of the day on TCM is the ever-popular Shirley Jones, a talented and versatile performer who made a name for herself in movie musicals and ultimately went on to steal America’s heart as Mrs. Partridge on the 1970′s television series “The Partridge Family.” A... Read full article


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Quotes from

Elmer Gantry: I was accosted by three painted women. Your streets are made unsafe by shameless, diseased hussies, rapacious pick-pockets, and insidious opium-smokers.


Elmer Gantry: Sin, sin, sin! You're all sinners! You're all doomed to perdition!


Sister Sharon Falconer: But tonight is a thousand years away.


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Facts about

George F. Babbitt, the main character in Sinclair Lewis' 1922 novel "Babbitt", is a minor character in "Elmer Gantry". His character is the one most responsible for bringing Sister Sharon's revival to his home town of Zenith and just so happens to be the brothel's landlord.
In a hate-filled sermon, Gantry denounces a number of "heresies" including "Russellism". This is a reference to Charles Taze Russell, first president of the (current) Watchtower Bible and Tract Society, the legal organization used by Jehovah's Witnesses.
Director Richard Brooks did not want Shirley Jones for the role of Lulu Bains, but Burt Lancaster insisted. As a result, Brooks gave Jones no direction in the filming of a very difficult scene. Brooks eventually admitted to her that he couldn't see anyone else in the role.
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Best Actor Oscar 1960






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Also released in 1960




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