The Big Knife is not for everybody. Some will find it very literate, well-directed and acted(mostly), handling the tense and satire aspects deftly, while others will find it overdone. Both viewpoints are completely understandable, for me there were parts where the film did fall into the latter camp but most of the time it was the former.As an adaptation of the stage play, which is very compelling and thought-provoking, it is very faithful and translates well adaptation-wise. As a film, it's far from perfect but it comes over well as a film.There are a few things that don't come off quite as successfully as the rest of the film. Rod Steiger has a very ruthless character, but for my tastes Steiger plays the role too broadly to the point that Hoff felt more of a cartoonish caricature than a real person, to the extent that it came close to hurting the balance of the film and he didn't come over as very threatening. In his performance, there is a lot of camp and scenery-chewing, but not enough of the menace that the role so ruthlessly written needs. The ending does dissolve into contrived melodrama, which is where it is most understandable as to why some will find the film overdone, and felt rushed as well. Lastly, the film does feel over-scored in places, in the places where there is music the blaring music cues felt intrusive.With the exception of Steiger, the performances are very good. Jack Palance's powerhouse lead performance is one of his best, while Ida Lupino is heart-wrenching and dignified. Wendall Corey wisely underplays and is very entertaining, and Everett Sloane, Jean Hagen(chilling in a role so different to hers in Singin' In the Rain) and a memorable Shelley Winters(in a performance that hits hard) do equally pleasingly. The script is remarkably literate and intelligent, with the tension being portrayed quite realistically and the satire being boldly lacerating. The story moves deliberately, but the tension present is enough to haunt the mind and the subject matter is a bold one and told in a biting, sometimes fun and poignant way. The Big Knife is photographed with class and atmosphere, the production values are appropriately claustrophobic and Robert Aldrich's direction is more than able, often excellent.Overall, a very acquired taste, but for this viewer while not without flaws it was a well done film. 7/10 Bethany Cox

Idealistic film star Jack Palance (as Charles "Charlie" Castle) doesn't want to sign a new contract with his studio. Instead, he'd like to patch up a failing marriage with Ida Lupino (as Marion). But tyrannical movie mogul Rod Steiger (as Stanley Shriner Hoff) won't take no for an answer. He reminds Mr. Palance about a scandalous incident covered-up by the studio, and demands the actor sign. Shady henchman Wendell Corey (as Smiley Coy) and Hollywood types hang around Palance's Bel Air estate while we wait for a decision... This was a 1949 Broadway play written by Clifford Odets and directed by Lee Strasberg for John Garfield. Unfortunately, Mr. Garfield died of a heart attack in 1952 at age 39, or he might have starred in this film. At one point, the main character is provided with a phony "heart attack" story... There is a hint of Garfield in Palance's manner; possibly, the director and/or star saw Garfield in the play, or Mr. Odets influenced the proceedings. Film director Robert Aldrich makes this a fine acting ensemble piece, and everyone does well in that regard. Most memorable of the lot is probably Mr. Steiger, who takes a bite out of ruthless studio bosses like Louis B. Mayer and Harry Cohn. Relying mostly on camera angles, close-ups and music cues; "The Big Knife" does not, however, reach full potential as cinematic art. ******** The Big Knife (8/55) Robert Aldrich ~ Jack Palance, Ida Lupino, Rod Steiger, Wendell Corey

Unless you understand that The Big Knife was Clifford Odets's one finger salute to Hollywood and its mores, you will not understand the film at all. Odets after some bad times in tinseltown went back to his first love which was the theater and wrote this play which ran for 109 performances in the 1949 season on Broadway.In the lead roles of actor Charlie Castle and producer Marcus Hoff, Odets cast a couple of guys who were having difficulty finding employment in Hollywood at that time as well, kindred spirits from the Group Theater back in the day, John Garfield and J. Edward Bromberg. Garfield who certainly could bring his own life into the part plays Odets himself who had as tempestuous personal life as his creation Charlie Castle. He feels starved creatively because of the junk he's been doing in Hollywood, not the stuff of social significance that Odets did back Group Theater days.Jack Palance plays Castle in the film and while he does justice to the part I only wish John Garfield had lived to do the screen version of what he created. He had an unceasing rebellion against Warner Brothers for the stereotypical tough guys parts he was being cast in. But just after he broke free came the blacklist.Rod Steiger is malevolence itself as the producer whom I believe was based on Louis B. Mayer. Odets dealt with him through his then wife Luise Rainer over at MGM. Mayer was not liked even by his fellow studio moguls and he had been toppled in a studio power play at MGM a few years earlier. Had he still been in charge at MGM, I'm willing to bet The Big Knife might never have been made even as an independent film with a United Artists release.Director Robert Aldrich filled out the rest of the cast with familiar Hollywood names like Ida Lupino as Palance's estranged wife, Everett Sloane as his long suffering agent, Wendell Corey in a role that has to be modeled on MGM's fixer who knew where all the bodies were buried Eddie Mannix, Shelley Winters as the bimbo like starlet who can put an end to Palance's career and Ilka Chase as a Hedda Hopper like columnist who is the self appointed keeper of the Hollywood morals. Chase's scenes are at the beginning of the film and she really has the columnist character dead on.On stage the entire play is set in the living room of the Palance/Lupino Hollywood style mansion. Like the house in Long Day's Journey Into Night, the opulent living room becomes a character itself, showing the velvet and comfortable trap that Palance is in and why he just can't give up all this comfort, even for the art that used to motivate him.Odets might have done better had someone else a little more dispassionate had written this based on his memoirs. The Big Knife gets a little too personal at times. And it never quite loses the stage origin even with a few scenes away from the house. But the acting his first rate from a first rate cast. I'd watch The Big Knife as a look into the mind of Clifford Odets.

A movie star is a money making machine, it is a big business, and the fear of something that would make the machine stop can become an obsession, and start ruling. Dignity and integrity on one side and weakness on the other.This is an ever present theme. Clifford Odets knew very well how to write about it and in this adaptation of his play, director Robert Aldrich was able not to make it like filmed theater, in great part due to the excellent cinematography of Ernest Laszlo. Jack Palance is Charlie Castle, the movie star , a torn man, driven by his fears. Ida Lupino is his wife Marion, trying to make him keep his integrity. Rod Steiger as Stanley Hoff, the movie mogul, gives an unforgettable performance. Shelley Winters is a drunk starlet, and Jean Hagen a sexy, unfaithful wife. The story builds up very well, great performances, a film worth seeing.