The Strange One

Holocaust survivor Jack Garfein came to New York as a teenager in 1946, where he became a key figure in the theatre scene. He is famous for his stage productions and work at the Actors Studio, which overshadowed his two controversial film directing works, although they are regularly rediscovered. The Strange One was the sensational film debut for Garfein and lead actor Ben Gazzara, who as the autocratic Sergeant Jocko de Paris subjects cadets at a military school in the south to ritual acts of humiliation (‘hazing’). When an officer's son is dismissed as a result, resistance finally arises. Garfein had first staged the material in the theatre, Hollywood's production code demanded a reduction in homoerotic explicitness and also wanted to prevent the use of black actors in the era of racial segregation - to no avail. Garfein's portrait of the abuse of power also draws parallels to the fascist terror he himself experienced. (Christoph Huber)

Photo: Austrian Film Museum