The Pride and the Passion (1957)

User Rating:

5.5/10   

Director:

Stanley Kramer

Writers:

C.S. Forester (novel)
Edna Anhalt (screen story and screenplay) ...

Release Date:

10 July 1957 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Adventure | Drama | Romance | War

Plot:

The story in this movie deals with the perseverance of Spaniards to take back their country from the...

Plot Keywords:

French | Spain | Cannon | British | Napoleonic

Awards:

1 nomination

Cast

Cary Grant	...	Anthony
Frank Sinatra	...	Miguel
Sophia Loren	...	Juana
Theodore Bikel	...	General Jouvet
John Wengraf	...	Sermaine
Jay Novello	...	Ballinger
José Nieto	...	Carlos (as Jose Nieto)
Carlos Larrañaga	...	Jose (as Carlos Larranaga)
Philip Van Zandt	...	Vidal
Paco El Laberinto	...	Manolo (as Paco el Laberinto)
Julián Ugarte	...	Enrique
Félix de Pomés	...	Bishop
Carlos Casaravilla	...	Leonardo
Juan Olaguivel	...	Ramon
Nana DeHerrera	...	Maria (as Nana de Herrera)

Runtime:

Germany:125 min | USA:132 min | Argentina:133 min | UK:132 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English | Spanish

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Recording)

Certification:

UK:PG | Finland:K-12 | West Germany:12 | Sweden:15 | Argentina:13

Filming Locations:

Ciudad Encantada, Cuenca, Castilla-La Mancha, Spain

Company:

Stanley Kramer Productions

Trivia:

By all accounts, Frank Sinatra was at his most obstreperous throughout the making of this film. Among other things, he refused to use the car supplied him by the studio, insisting upon having his Ford Thunderbird flown all the way to Spain at the studio's expense. In addition, he almost caused an international incident when he hung a banner from his hotel room window reading "Franco is a Fink", referring to Spain's dictator, Francisco Franco. In hindsight, Sinatra referred to the whole experience as "underwhelming".

Goofs:

Revealing mistakes: After the cannon has tumbled down the hillside it comes to rest in a ditch. The Englishman inspects it and proclaims that the barrel has been separated from the carriage. But in plain view the cannon has almost broken in two since it is not of metal.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Magnavox Presents Frank Sinatra (1973) (TV)

Watchable Epic from Stanley Kramer

I was a bit more than a kid when I saw "The Pride and the Passion" for the first time in theatres back in the late 50's and I remember I thought it was kind of slow and even boring at times. But then I saw it again not long ago and surprisingly -because it usually goes the other way around- I found it a watchable and sort of interesting epic spectacular in the times when Napoleon ruled in Spain.

Though "The Pride and the Passion" doesn't match in my opinion other directing works of Stanley Kramer such as "The Defiant Ones" or "Judgment at Nuremberg", this film has a sort of heroic and epic that reaches a reasonable level. It has well dosed and skillfuly handled action sequences, wide open sceneries in Spain, good color photo and a very appropriate musical score that gives it a sense of greatness. However I still think it could have been a bit shorter and that would have improved the product.

Cary Grant renders a very convincing performance as the British officer that knows how to shoot the huge cannon; Sophia Loren is good too and Frank Sinatra, if not brilliant whatsoever, comes out acceptably as an Spanish "guerrillero" leader and by the middle of the film you get used to him.

Not a classic or even a classical late 50's or early 60's epic spectacular "The Pride and the Passion" is an acceptable historical action film worth a watch.