The stuff dreams are made of…and nightmares too.
There are a couple of reasons why The Big Knife is not the classic it so rightfully deserves to be. The film, which is overflowing with noir stylings, was made long after the era was over, while its criticism of Tinseltown naturally resulted in a lack of support from the industry. Yet The Big Knife works so well, and in such dark, maddening ways, that it could almost function as a horror film about show business. The film was considered especially bleak, even by the melodrama standards of the day. And yet there’s nothing but morbid fascination to be had at watching director Robert Aldrich bring one of Clifford Odets’s finest works to life as the two brilliantly tear away at the dark underworld found in the glamorous Hollywood of the 1950s.
In The Big Knife, Hollywood movie star Charlie Castle (Jack Palance) finds himself bullied into a new contract by the head of the studio (Rod Steiger), despite the fact that it will mean the end of his estranged marriage to Marion (Ida Lupino). Making matters even worse is a reputation-ending crime involving Charlie and actress Dixie Evans (Shelley Winters) as well as the cover-up he’s being forced to take part in because of it.
While The Big Knife missed the film noir period, so much about its plot and overall existence contains such a noir stain that it’s certainly easy to see how the film would have functioned in that era. Besides the Los Angeles setting, there’s the past crime coming back to haunt the main character, the presence of Dixie, who proves to be a sad case full of regrets in pure noir fashion, and the overall struggle of trying to find some bright light in a life full of darkness. Emotionally, the film is loaded with despair for days, particularly in the marriage of Charlie and Marion. Their romance proves to be the one true thing in a town specializing in image and superficiality. It’s a marriage struggling to survive despite the studio, and Hollywood in general, trying to tear the couple apart. With the two fighting to find a way to make things work and stay together, The Big Knife offers up an honest look at what husbands and wives in the spotlight go through once fame enters the household.
Yet it’s The Big Knife’s dark view of Hollywood as seen through the eyes of both Odets and Aldrich which gives the film its power to compel. This is an incredibly cynical film, with nearly all but the two leads coming off as devilishly evil figures. The gossip columnist functions as flashily-dressed harbinger of doom while Charlie’s agent and business manager keep tabs on their prized client so relentlessly they may as well be his prison guards. No one is more menacing however than Stanley Shriner Hoff, the studio head who operates almost like a mob boss and who considers his star part of the movie mafia family from which he will never be free. The way behind-the-scenes practices are put under the microscope, including literally getting rid of people as a way of fixing things and maintaining images, is incredibly nightmarish. At the same time, the life and death view placed on studio contracts is played so seriously, it could almost be comedic if it weren’t so tragic.
It’s a shame that Palance wasn’t given more credit as a leading man than he was since his work in The Big Knife is sheer poetry. The actor delves into his role so deeply, he actually takes the character of a movie star God and makes the audience cry for him thanks to the unending conflict and torment he’s wrestling with. Lupino is likewise brilliant as the trophy wife finally fed up with the paltry existence she was living, but is still torn by the love she feels for her husband. Of the remaining actors, it’s Winters who comes in and dazzles in one long extended scene as a past her prime contract player making the proceedings both sadder and more compelling.
To only focus on a couple of characters is unfair, however, since each and every performer within The Big Knife has his or her moment thanks to a collection of genuinely well-written characters. As a play brought to the screen, The Big Knife feels stagey for sure, with most of the film taking place in Charlie’s Bel Air home. Yet the film is saved thanks to its plot and especially by Odets’s unmistakable dialogue. “Am I the worst oaf in the world?” Charlie asks Marion. “The world is a big place,” she replies. “But you’re the worst one in my life.” In many ways, The Big Knife works as a precursor and companion to Aldrich’s most famous film, Whatever Happened to Baby Jane?, with its characters undone by the very industry they surrender their lives to and the damaged souls that Hollywood has the power to turn them into.
The Package
The main highlight among the stunning transfer and scholarly commentary is the short documentary on designer Saul Bass, one of the great poster/title credits designers of all time responsible for the likes of Psycho and Vertigo.
The Lowdown
Harsh to the point of horrifying, The Big Knife shows that the studio has your back as well as your soul.
The Big Knife is now available on Blu-ray and DVD from Arrow Films.
