The Pride and the Passion

The Pride and the Passion Review

Stanley Kramer's "The Pride and the Passion" certainly deserves the pans it has received over the years; often sluggish, miscast in both male leads (Cary Grant never looked comfortable in 'period' films, and Frank Sinatra's Spanish accent is as bogus as his 'peasant' hairpiece), and only rarely capturing any sense of the Napoleonic era in Spain.

But there are aspects that do shine, and make the film worthwhile; the film score (by George Antheil) echoes "Bolero", and combines romantic and militaristic themes quite effectively; the sheer spectacle of an army of extras against the visual splendor of the Spanish countryside; the climactic assault on French-occupied Ávila (the giant cannon, when finally fired, does NOT disappoint); and young Sophia Loren, more exotic and untamed than in her later 'superstar' period, here oozing sheer sex appeal and heavy-lidded desire (little wonder why Grant fell madly in love with her!).

The backstories about the production are legendary, from Grant's dogged pursuit of Loren (forcing Carlo Ponti to actually make a lasting commitment to her), to Sinatra's sulleness, as stories of Ava Gardner's wild indiscretions filled tabloids. Certainly the long location schedule and frequent delays, trying to manage thousands in key scenes, fueled the tension on the set. Yet little of this appears in the final film (even the Grant/Loren love scenes are surprisingly restrained).

I love individual moments; the final attack, of course (watch how quickly Grant leaps away the cannon each time he touches off the wick!), and Grant fulfilling Sinatra's dream; the holy pageant, as the disguised cannon passes the French garrison, unnoticed; the bullring sequence (even Sinatra's accent doesn't ruin it), as an entire town joins in to help pull the cannon. Individual scenes 'make' this film!

So I acknowledge the bad, but highly recommend the film for what it does succeed in. "The Pride and the Passion" is worth owning!

The Pride and the Passion Overview

During Napoleon's invasion of Spain, the fate of the Spanish partisans rests with an elaborate, magnificent, and extremely heavy cannon--which the French have lost. Despite the high-wattage star power on display, this gun is the true star of The Pride and the Passion, a massive Stanley Kramer production that employs vast swatches of the Spanish countryside (and a few thousand Spaniards). And the stars? Well, they're among the biggest of their day--the only problem is, they're miscast. Frank Sinatra plays the scruffy, illiterate partisan leader, Cary Grant the uptight British captain who covets the gun for his country, Sophia Loren the peasant woman shared by both men. It says something about these effortless stars that they all look extremely uncomfortable in this movie. Grant is robbed of his humor and thus awkward (although his marvelous athleticism is much on display), and Loren is badly made-up and stuck in nobility. Sinatra fares the worst, however, including a disastrous Spanish accent, complete with rolled "r"s. Physically, the movie's pretty impressive, with some eye-filling scenes of extras pushing the heavy cannon up hill and over dale; Franz Planer's cinematography is picturesque, except in some obvious studio inserts. One big draw: the mighty, Iberian-flavored music by George Antheil, one of the composer's best scores. But you'd better like the music and the cannon, because the rest of the film hovers between the tranquilizing and the cheesy. Amazingly, it was one of the top ten box-office films of its year. --Robert Horton

The Pride and the Passion Specifications

During the napoleonic wars when the french have occupied spain some spanish guerilla soldiers are going to move a big cannon across spain in order to help the british defeat the french. Studio: Tcfhe/mgm Release Date: 05/13/2008 Starring: Cary Grant Sophia Loren Run time: 132 minutes Rating: Nr Director: Stanley Kramer

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