The Strange One (1957)

Jocko De Paris, cadet leader in a Southern military academy, so manipulates events that George Avery, Jr., son of the school's executive officer, is found drunk and expelled. Through ... See full summary »

Director:

Jack Garfein

Writers:

Calder Willingham (screenplay), Calder Willingham (novel)

Stars:

Ben Gazzara, Pat Hingle, Peter Mark Richman

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Ben Gazzara	...	Jocko De Paris
Pat Hingle	...	Harold Koble
Peter Mark Richman	...	Cadet Colonel Corger (as Mark Richman)
Arthur Storch	...	Simmons
Paul E. Richards	...	Perrin McKee
Larry Gates	...	Major Avery
Clifton James	...	Colonel Ramsey
Geoffrey Horne	...	George Avery
James Olson	...	Roger Gatt
Julie Wilson	...	Rosebud
George Peppard	...	Robert Marquales

Storyline

Jocko De Paris, cadet leader in a Southern military academy, so manipulates events that George Avery, Jr., son of the school's executive officer, is found drunk and expelled. Through various pressures, Jocko silences such involuntary accomplices as his roommate Harold Koble, football star Roger Gatt and freshmen Robert Marquales and Maynard Simmons, a girl-fearing cadet whom Jocko terrorizes into dating Rosebud, a town girl.

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Plot Keywords:

cadet | military | military academy | gay subtext | hairy chest | 

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Taglines:

You'll never forget BEN GAZZARA as the louse, "Jocko"

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Genres:

Drama | Film-Noir

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Certificate:

Not Rated

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

20 September 1957 (West Germany)

Also Known As:

End as a Man

Filming Locations:

Shamrock Studios - Winter Park, Florida, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Horizon Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

100 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Sound Recording)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Movie debut of Ben Gazzara.

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Connections

Version of Sorority Girl (1957)

User Reviews

So much of the content is intimated, touched upon, that the final result feels half-empty...

Not an easy picture to dissect. Director Jack Garfein's first film, an adaptation of Calder Willingham's novel and play "End as a Man", scripted by Willingham, is rather like "The Lord of the Flies" as filtered through the Actor's Studio. Military college cadet Ben Gazzara intimidates his roommate and the terrified freshman class after instigating the beating of a rival; seems he's such a proficient con-artist, he makes the unprovoked attack look like a one-man drunken rampage and gets the unfortunate kid expelled. Despite Willingham's penchant for high-flown prose (especially in regards to Gazzara's bully, who talks like he's been hustling on the streets of New York City for 40 years), this is an extremely well-crafted, well-acted psychological drama, though the movie ultimately lacks punch because the plot is just a series of quick hits on the viewer. Willingham and Garfein want to make several important points and observations, but the restraints of the era seem to have the filmmakers tied up in knots. None of this explains how Gazzara so easily demoralizes everyone with a few well-chosen words and stern expressions, or how he manages to get even his superior (the victim's own father!) stammering with exasperation. The third act of the film is drawn out for very little purpose; instead of getting a substantial look into these complex personalities, we're offered a showy revenge fantasy. These hysterics are useless and, ultimately, irrelevant. ** from ****