It was on the steamer home that he met and became intimate with J. E. North, the renowned vice-slayer, executive secretary of the National Association for the Purification of Art and the Pressaffectionately known through all the evangelical world as the Napap. Mr. North was not a clergyman (though he was a warm Presbyterian layman), but no clergyman in the country had more furiously pursued wickedness, more craftily forced congressmen, through threats in their home districts, to see legislation in the same reasonable manner as himself. A serious obstacle to her goal is Gantry, but more so is the cautionary and caustic pen of Jim Lefferts (Arthur Kennedy), a Pulitzer Prize winning journalist who questions the personal and financial motives of her entourage. Photographer Nancy Musinguzis recent photos captured the over 7,000 people []. There, Gantry befriends the Methodist bishop and is appointed pastor of a church in Banjo Crossing. After North invites him to lecture for Napap, Elmer is filled with ambition to combine all the moral organizations in America, with himself as the leader. Gantry was in the middle of trying to settle down and marry Sharon when she saw that shooting star at the end, and from that moment, she seemed to feel truly touched by God. Then read chapter 30, section 5, where Jim reappears. Liking the idea of having power over an audience, Elmer convinces himself he has been called to the ministry. He successfully schemes to become pastor of the prestigious Yorkville Methodist Church in New York and the new executive secretary of Napap. 99107. REL 360: Popular Culture/Public Humanities, Peoples Temple of the Disciples of Christ, Humans and Nazis: Reevaluating the Conversation of. The adverse publicity helped sales, and 175,000 copies were sold in less than six weeks. In The Master, Joaquin Phoenix plays an alcoholic failure who falls in thrall to cult leader Lancaster Dodd (Philip Seymour Hoffman). There have been five adaptations of the novel. He had learned to assemble Jewish texts, Greek philosophy, and Middle-Western evangelistic anecdotes into a sermon. Franks mentor has been Father Pengilly, a fanciful figure whom we have already discussed. Besides the rise of world fundamentalism and revelations of sexual abuse by big-name evangelists and Catholic priests, Elmer Gantry calls up popular figures such as Sarah Palin. Except in some of its sexuality (there are a couple cringe-making lines), however, the film doesnt feel outdated today. Elmer Gantry is a nuanced look at the world of evangelists and revivals. Have faith! Were in the temple of the Lord! Webthe return nicholas sparks ending explained; Nach Altersklassen. And she does look sexy in a slip. A modernist movement, led by such preachers as Harry Emerson Fosdick and reinforced by the essays that appeared in The Christian Century, was concerned with making the church more of a live option for the intellectual and the sophisticated city dweller. She was reported missing after swimming off Venice Beach, California, turning up five weeks later in Mexico, claiming she had been kidnapped. Jean Simmons appeared in the Star Trek: The Next Generation episode The Drumhead (1991) as Rear Admiral Norah Satie. Source: Bryan Aubrey, Critical Essay on Elmer Gantry, in Novels for Students, Thomson Gale, 2006. Retrieved February 23, 2023 from Encyclopedia.com: https://www.encyclopedia.com/arts/educational-magazines/elmer-gantry. Lewis preferred the liberal Birkhead to the conservative Stidger, and on his second visit to Kansas City, Lewis chose Birkhead as his guide. It is not so much that he does not believe in God. She tells Elmer that she has visions; God talks to her. [2][3] The growth of fundamentalist Christianity in contemporary America is a source of bafflement to those who just don't get it; including, by and large, the movie industry, which may like to end its films with sanctimonious moralising, but which usually reserves the right to serve us substantial portions of sex and violence beforehand. WebOn publication, Elmer Gantry had a sensational reception. Gantrys mother is a strict fundamentalist, so Gantry spent much of his childhood in church, where he learned the dour lifestyle of a Christian. Elmer Gantry (1960) - Plot Summary - IMDb He is a well-educated Englishman in his early thirties with a colorful past. Nellie Benton is Jim Lefferts girlfriend when he is a student. Their satisfaction comes from functioning healthily, from physical and mental exercise, whether it be playing tennis or tackling an astronomical problem. While this notion of religious rites on the tennis court is rather curious, Lewis seems nevertheless to acknowledge a religious impulse, even if he would eliminate God and organized churches. Meanwhile, Babe Ruth was closing in on the home run record. Wests point is a telling one. The merit of this argument is undermined because it is given by Babbitt, not out of caring for the citizens of Zenith, but rather because he stands to gain the most financially from the revival. Already a member? On his return, Elmer meets J. After several failed efforts to hear God calling him to the ministry, Gantry shares a bottle of whiskey with Jim and emerges with the feeling of having received the call. Contact UA. It is success that proves faith in this religion, not the other way round. Within the Cite this article tool, pick a style to see how all available information looks when formatted according to that style. Gantry turns out to be the perfect publicity compliment to Sister Sharon, who, unlike him, is a true believer. When a charismatic preacher comes to town for a revival meeting, he seeks out Gantry and tricks him into attending. Only the novels It Cant Happen Here (1935) and Kingsblood Royal (1947) have stood the test of time. Mel Gibson aside, you don't expect to see a sympathetic portrayal of religion in the movies; from 'Night of the Hunter' onwards, the dodgy preacher has been a more common character than the saintly one, and there's another kicking for the born-again movement in 'Elmer Gantry'. In fact, the film's theatricality can almost be seen as a strength, for it's constructed like a well-written play. Lewis researched the novel by observing the work of various preachers in Kansas City in his so-called "Sunday School" meetings on Wednesdays. His ambition knows no bounds. Buy, Sell, and Trade your Firearms and Gear. [5], However, the book was a commercial success. She has created an enchanted image of herself, and she has convinced her audience of that image, so that they see her as she wants to be seen, and only we, given glimpses of another self when she reveals herself to Elmer, come to know how complete and insane is her transformation. The pious but stupid Eddie complains that [E]verything we Baptists stand for is threatened by those darn so-called liberals . He is referring to the practice of open communion, which is favored by liberals, as opposed to the closed communion of the fundamentalists, according to which only Baptists are allowed to participate in the rite. ", Movie Lacks Something, But a Stunning Lead Performance Isn't It. Im afraid! He replies, Thats damned nonsense! Later he says, Come on now, Clee, show some spunk! Making fun of her, he thinks, Fellow ought to be brutal, for her own sake. Brute, fake, or philanderer, Elmer Gantry seems nevertheless destined for a successful career. The bill had always been defeated, but it was gaining more votes in every session [407408]. He meets Elmer on a steamer home from Europe and invites him to lecture on behalf of Napap. User Ratings His portrait of a golden-tongued evangelist who rises to power within his church-a saver of souls who lives a life [4] One cleric suggested that Lewis should be imprisoned for five years, and there were also threats of physical violence against the author. Lewis finished the book while mending a broken leg on Jackfish Island in Rainy Lake, Minnesota. The consulting analyst's duties generally include planning studies and analyses of the business problems or issues, the consultants have been asked to help resolve. | The famous evangelist Billy Sunday called Lewis Satans cohort.. They were outside of respectable societylike Kingsand I am not sure but that this was better for their art and their happiness than to be classed as lecturers, tax-payers, tennis-players, suburban householders, and lovers of dogs.' But he had never encountered vice . But the honest man who dares to live according to his convictions, and to speak about them in public, has no place in a superstitious society; when he gives an antifundamentalist lecture, Frank is beaten and blinded. Fifty years since I married a preacher! He advises Elmer not to denounce vice directly, by naming names and giving addresses of illegal drinking places, because the owners of such buildingswho of course have no knowledge of any illegal activitiesare often leading church contributors and attacking them would jeopardize their support for the church. This was not the last of McPhersons affairs; one of her lovers described the homemade altar in her apartment, in front of which they would make lovewhich is strikingly similar to the scene in Chapter 12 of Elmer Gantry, in which Elmer and Sharon also make love before an altar in her house in Virginia. Like everything else in the Lone Star State, our dreams were big from the start. Pretending to be outraged, Elmer resigns his position. As a character, Dr. Gantry lacks verisimilitude, and he lacks it more the longer he lives.. In Elmer Gantry, the object of Lewiss satire is not only Elmer himselfwho after the tabernacle fire rescued at least thirty people who had already rescued themselves .but the entire clerical profession and the fundamentalist Protestant dogmas they represent. Hettie Dowler becomes Elmers secretary at Zenith when Elmer is already famous. ", Jesus was a simple virtuous teacher, . At a revival meeting he does not like to include all the preachers in town. publication online or last modification online. Literally, in one case, when the tabernacle catches fire at the end of the movie. She is also an insane perversion of the sanctity of the elect, for she declares to Elmer, I cant sin! Elmer is the great man steadily making his way upward in the worldthe man of immoderate personal ambitionand the great man hasnt time for scruples. When he at last finds the courage, now that he is out of the church, to speak his mind, he is viciously attacked and blinded by fundamentalist fanatics. Can there ever have lived a clergyman with Elmers astonishing range of vices: his chronic insincerity, his hypocrisy, his lust, his overweening ambition, his cynicism, his appalling behavior to his family? TAKE NOTE: The films opening title sequence includes this advice: Due to the highly controversial nature of this film, we strongly urge you to prevent impressionable children from seeing it!, You can read the full Sinclair Lewis novel Elmer Gantry online at Project Gutenberg Australia, here:http://gutenberg.net.au/ebooks03/0300851h.html, You might want to watch some Patti Pagemaybe Whatever Lola Wants, here:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZSsH_i6xpf8. The movie was not just a group of scenes depicting sex and violence. "Elmer Gantry" is an amazing film that does not seem dated at all, having lost none of its bite or appeal with the passing of time. Driven by ambition to become a bishop, he is hugely successful, and is given bigger and bigger churches. After collecting money from the patrons, Gantry takes a drunken barfly back to his hotel room. Is there really a conflict between science and religion, between reason and faith, or can the two live in harmony? He joins the staff of a metaphysical cult but is fired when he is caught stealing from the collection plate. It has provided much of his and Americas taste in architecture, clothing, music, literature, philosophy; it has provided everything but any longing whatever for decency and kindness and reason.. In the following essay excerpt, Light examines quixotic elements in Elmer Gantry. It is the Morning and the Evening Star. McPherson preached in southern California from 1918 to the 1940s. After exposing the professors secret, Gantry receives an anonymous gift of thirty dimes, which he uses to buy photographs of strippers. During the opening service, with a crowd of more than four thousand, fire breaks out. WebToday universally recognized as a landmark in American literature, Elmer Gantry scandalized readers when it was first published, causing Sinclair Lewis to be "invited" to a jail cell in New Hampshire and to his own lynching in Virginia. Sharon is supposed to be a firebrand, based on evangelist Aimee Semple McPherson, part Houdini, part Teddy Roosevelt, who preached a dramatic God. Therefore, be sure to refer to those guidelines when editing your bibliography or works cited list. (February 23, 2023). It's sophisticated script, complex characters, and wonderful acting opened a whole new world for me. A Best Actor Oscar went to Burt Lancaster for his outstanding performance as a con-man-turned-preacher in this provocative indictment of religious corruption. Box sets galore! Though the bulldog of the football team in college, Elmer shows his cowardice during the fire in Sharon Falconers tabernacle (which is built out over the water): In howling panic, Elmer sprang among them, knocked them aside, struck down a girl who stood in his way, yanked open the door, and got through it the last, the only one, to get through it. He then ran out a little into the surf and dragged in a woman who had already safely touched bottom, and then at least thirty more who had already rescued themselves. Starring Shirley Jones Arthur Kennedy Burt Lancaster Patti Page Jean Simmons. It also underscores what Lewis saw as one of the greatest dangers in American societythe tendency toward excess not only in religion but also in production, consumption, patriotism, and the proliferation of institutions . Id sell anything.. One of the first scenes with Sister Sharon Falconer involves her asking for donations from these people. Gantry maintains friendships with most pastors in Zenith but loathes Philip McGarry, a pastor in a poor neighborhood who has been a friend and mentor to Shallard. Gantry, too. It's a first rate film! Elmer Gantry (DVD, 2001, Vintage Classics Her main supporter is worldly William Morgan (Dean Jagger) who believes in Falconer, and sees Gantry and Lefferts for the opportunistic impediments they are. Shirley Jones won Best Supporting Actress for her role as the preachers daughter turned prostitute. Institutionalized religion has attracted its fair share of satirical assaults in its time, but Elmer Gantry must surely rank as the most savage in American literature. In 1944, his son Lieutenant Wells Lewis was killed in action in France during World War II.
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