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: [repeated] Love is the morning and the evening star.


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


Lulu Bains: Oh, he gave me special instructions back of the pulpit Christmas Eve. He got to howlin' "Repent! Repent!" and I got to moanin' "Save me! Save me!" and the first thing I know he rammed the fear of God into me so fast I never heard my old man's footsteps!


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Facts about

200 stunt people and 1200 extras were used for the fire scenes.
For the film's debut on US network television, the subplot featuring Shirley Jones in her Oscar-winning role as a prostitute was largely excised. This was because Jones was then the star of the hugely successful and very wholesome The Partridge Family.
Among the writers Gantry condemns in one of his sermons is Sinclair Lewis, the author of the book the film is based on.
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Best Actor Oscar 1960






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Also directed by Richard Brooks




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Also produced by Bernard Smith




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Also released in 1960




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