The Gypsy Moths (1969)Three skydivers and their travelling thrill show barnstorm through a small midwestern town one Fourth of July weekend. Director:John Frankenheimer |
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The Gypsy Moths (1969)Three skydivers and their travelling thrill show barnstorm through a small midwestern town one Fourth of July weekend. Director:John Frankenheimer |
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| Complete credited cast: | |||
| Burt Lancaster | ... |
Mike Rettig
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| Deborah Kerr | ... |
Elizabeth Brandon
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| Gene Hackman | ... |
Joe Browdy
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| Scott Wilson | ... |
Malcolm Webson
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| William Windom | ... |
V. John Brandon
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| Bonnie Bedelia | ... |
Annie Burke
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| Sheree North | ... |
Waitress
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Carl Reindel | ... |
Pilot
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Ford Rainey | ... |
Stand Owner
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John Napier | ... |
Dick Donford
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On a 4th of July weekend, three barnstorming skydivers arrive to perform in a small Kansas town. They are hosted by the youngest member Webson's aunt, the unhappily married Elizabeth. While Browdy one-nights with a topless dancer, a doomed romance flares up between Elizabeth and Rettig. Tension builds, and explodes with a spectacular skydiving show. Written by Markku Kuoppamäki
Burt Lancaster, Gene Hackman, and Scott Wilson portray a team of professional sport parachutists barnstorming their way through small-town America.
The movie features some fine performances, particularly Lancaster's. I enjoyed the way the small town was depicted; it felt curiously familiar and yet distant at the same time. The movie holds its own, even 30 years after its initial release.
The jumping sequences are fantastic...truly the finest jump sequences ever captured on film at that time (1969). Pay particular attention to the 'cape' jumps, particularly the last one (Scott Wilson's) which gets me bug-eyed every time I see it (yes, I'm a jumper too).
Longish and slow-moving at times but well worth it.