The Great Santini ***½ (1979, Robert Duvall, Blythe Danner, Michael O’Keefe, Lisa Jane Persky) – Classic Movie Review 5398

The Great Santini has got one of those corny taglines that might actually put people off watching a movie: ‘The bravest thing he would ever do was let his family love him.’ When the tagline or trailer is off-putting, the going gets tough for movie-goers. But, this time, let us not be put off too easily.

Writer-director Lewis John Carlino’s 1979 drama turns a decent novel from Pat Conroy (author of The Prince of Tides and The Lords of Discipline) into a strong, good, liberal film about a strict, drunken army father, Lieutenant Colonel ‘Bull’ Meechum (Robert Duvall), and the problems he brings to his wife Lillian (Blythe Danner) and children (Michael O’Keefe and Lisa Jane Persky).

Admittedly, Carlino’s screenplay is sometimes muddled and runs into overtime at a long-seeming 116 minutes. But the acting is impeccable. There is great power in Duvall’s performance and in the exploration of his character’s abusive central relationship with his son. As Ben Meechum, O’Keefe keeps up with Duvall well, and both actors were Oscar nominated, Duvall as Best Actor and O’Keefe as Best Supporting Actor.

It is also known as The Ace.

It runs 116 minutes, is made by Bing Crosby Productions, released by Orion and Warner, shot in widescreen and Technicolor by Ralph Woolsey, produced by Charles A Pratt, scored by Elmer Bernstein and set designed by Jack Poplin.

The Great Santini was drawn from Conroy’s experiences as the oldest of seven children of an abusive Marine Corps colonel father.

South Carolina author Pat Conroy died of pancreatic cancer on 4 March 2016, aged 70.

Duvall went on to win the Best Actor Oscar for Tender Mercies (1983). He has six other Oscar nominations – for The Godfather (1972), Apocalypse Now (1979), The Great Santini, The Apostle (1997), A Civil Action (1998) and The Judge (2014).

Ralph Woolsey died on March 23, 2018.

Director of photography Ralph Woolsey died on March 23, 2018, aged 104. He won one Primetime Emmy for an episode of It Takes a Thief (1968), and was nominated for Maverick (1957) and 77 Sunset Strip (1958).

© Derek Winnert 2017 Classic Movie Review 5398

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