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


Entre Deus e o Pecado (1960) / Elmer Gantry (1960)

By L? on Nov 30, -0001 From Critica Retro

Entre Deus e o Pecado (1960) / Elmer Gantry (1960) Quando um filme garante um Oscar a um ator, n?s cin?filos rapidamente ficamos interessados neste filme. Quando o ator que ganhou o Oscar tem uma carreira t?o prol?fica e interessante quanto a de Burt Lancaster, s? podemos imaginar que sua perf... Read full article


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Quotes from

Elmer Gantry: I have here in my pocket - and thank heaven you can't see them - lewd, dirty, obscene, and I'm ashamed to say this: French postcards. They were sold to me in front of your own innocent high school by a man with a black beard... a foreigner.


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.


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.
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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