The Big Knife

The Associates & Aldrich’s first independent production was an immediate slap in the face to the studio system: Clifford Odets’ play about dehumanization in the film industry was inspired by his own experiences in the Dream Factory, and Aldrich’s aggressively theatrical film adaptation possesses a sharpness that makes the glamorous stylings of thematic predecessors like *Sunset Boulevard* look outdated. The talented actor Charlie Castle (Jack Palance) has become a disillusioned alcoholic. Because he submits to studio boss Stanley Hoff (Rod Steiger as a white-haired parody of moguls like Harry Cohn and Louis B. Mayer) and his criminal henchman (Wendell Corey), his wife (Ida Lupino) threatens to leave him. Aldrich’s regular actor Wesley Addy advises in vain: “Struggle, you may still win a blessing!” A hellish vision of Hollywood as a crossroads of abhorrent capitalism and corrupted art. (C.H.)