The Great Waldo Pepper *** (1975, Robert Redford, Bo Svenson, Bo Brundin, Susan Sarandon, Geoffrey Lewis) – Classic Movie Review 5443

Director George Roy Hill’s 1975 period adventure movie showcases Robert Redford at his matinée idol peak, all gleaming and dashing, as a daredevil plane acrobat called Waldo Pepper.

Hill, Redford’s director on The Sting (1973) and Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, brings all the gloss and confidence he lavished on those films, but unfortunately not the same unshakeable verve and entertainment value.

Surprisingly, alas, it is the usually expert and dependable William Goldman’s screenplay that is just a mite under power this time.

However, the movie is entirely enjoyable just the same, and the expensively re-created Twenties atmosphere, with Robert Surtees’s cinematography and Henry Bumstead’s production designs, and the gently humorous air of self-parody are totally ingratiating.

Also in the cast are Bo Svenson, Bo Brundin, Susan Sarandon, Geoffrey Lewis, Edward Herrmann, Philip Bruns, Roderick Cook, Kelly Jean Peters,  and Margot Kidder.

© Derek Winnert 2017 Classic Movie Review 5443

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