That was an excellent one.

It isn't all that great, actually. Really cheesy and very predicable of how certain scenes are gonna turn play out. However, I guess that's the charm of it all, because I would consider this one of my guilty pleasures.

The storyline feels a little thin and moth-eaten in parts but this sequel is plenty of fun.

There's a more than satisfactory amount of boom-boom in the movie's trim running time.

Trio of male sky-divers touring the Midwest prepare for a jump in a small Kansas town, where their benefactor is an unhappily married woman with life regrets. Despite a tag-line that suggests parachutists "turn on" by falling free--as well the appearance of go-go girls in pasties and also a lovemaking scene between Burt Lancaster and a nude Deborah Kerr--"The Gypsy Moths" doesn't have a youthful spirit, nor does it offer its audience much of a lift (everyone is so downcast). This dim, square adaptation of James Drought's novel is rather a condescending portrait of lives in a rural community. The actors have been encouraged by director John Frankenheimer to deliver the melodramatic material with the utmost seriousness, and before long the narrative is grounded (literally and figuratively). Despite being reunited with Lancaster, her "From Here to Eternity" love-interest, Kerr seems misplaced; she's stiff and drably solemn. Lancaster is surprisingly subdued or contemplative, which works to draw the viewer in, and yet his character's fast attachment to Kerr isn't convincing. Aerial footage of the trio's Kansas jump is a long time coming; Frankenheimer is much more interested in pitting man against man, man against woman, wife against husband. It feels about as real as a TV soap opera. ** from ****

a beautiful film.for the unique science of a great director to explore each possibility of story. for the art to discover the essence of a special sport. for acting- Deborah Kerr - Burt Lancaster is a splendid couple - , for the Scott Wilson performance, for Gene Hackman use of his character nuances. a film about passion made in admirable manner, with high precision.because it represents a gallery of portraits, decisions and opportunities, with the South melancholic spirit, with the force of a dangerous passion. one of films who preserves the flavor of lost age. and who propose a touching, profound story, a delicate view about life , duty and sacrifice.

This movie about skydivers has some terrific aerial photography of their stunts and some masterful camera-work involving their activities on the ground. Unfortunately those earthbound activities don't add up to a convincing drama.Under John Frankenheimer's direction, the drama that unfolds as the three skydivers encounter the people of a small Kansas town is visually very pleasing. There is a fine nighttime sequence, seemingly choreographed to look almost dance-like, in which we follow Burt Lancaster and Deborah Kerr from her house, through the neighboring streets, to a playground. In general Frankenheimer makes innovative use of the camera to make us feel part of the action.Unfortunately, the story that unfolds while the skydivers are on the ground seems strangely unrelated to the scenes in the air. There is a vague sense that the skydivers have grown weary of their nomadic lives, but that's about it as far as motivation is concerned. For example, it doesn't explain why--SPOILER ALERT--Burt Lancaster's character commits suicide. In fact, both he and Deborah Kerr--obviously both fine actors--give inert performances in this movie. When Gene Hackman shares the screen with them, he blows them away.The critics have pointed out that this movie contains a lot of what could be called Americana in its views of small-town mid-American life, but I saw nothing of special interest in the way the town is presented. As for the scenes with the school orchestra, they have nothing to do with the ongoing story, except that, on the day of the big Forth of July parade, the orchestra finds the streets empty since everyone has gone to see the final skydive.Like other reviewers, I was taken aback to see glimpses of Deborah Kerr in the nude. Very out of character given her previous roles. But this was 1969, when it seems that every one in the arts--movie makers, novelists--had to bare it all, figuratively or otherwise.

During the sixties Burt Lancaster often worked with director John Frankenheimer, and the two were together responsible for a good film ("Seven Days in May"), an excellent one ("The Train") and a great one ("Birdman of Alcatraz"). I was therefore hoping that "The Gypsy Moths", made by the same director with the same star, would be a movie of similar quality. Unfortunately, it falls well short of the standards of any of those films. (I have never seen "The Young Savages", the first film they made together in 1961).It tells the story of three skydivers who arrive in a small Midwestern town to entertain the locals. It has some similarities in theme with George Roy Hill's "The Great Waldo Pepper", although that dealt with the barnstorming stunt pilots of the twenties rather than with skydivers. The first half of the movie contains little in the way of action but focuses on the relationships between the three men and the people of the town. Mike Rettig, the oldest and most experienced of the three, begins an affair with Elizabeth, his landlady and the aunt of his younger colleague Malcolm. Malcolm himself becomes friendly with a local girl, and Joe Browdy, the third member of the team, picks up a waitress in a sleazy bar. There is more action in the second half, when the team begin performing their shows, and Mike decides to try a particularly dangerous stunt.The film reunited Lancaster with Deborah Kerr, with whom he had previously appeared in "From Here to Eternity" and "Separate Tables". As in "From Here to Eternity" there is a love scene between them, and the differences between the two scenes serve as a good example of the way in which social values changed between the early fifties and the late sixties. In 1953 a few seconds of Kerr and Lancaster embracing on the beach in their swimsuits caused uproar. In 1969 a longer and more explicit sex scene including nudity was much less controversial.Frankenheimer, apparently, regarded this as one of his best films and was greatly disappointed at its lukewarm reception by the critics and the public, although it was welcomed by skydivers themselves who saw it as an opportunity to promote their sport. With all due respect to Frankenheimer, who at his best was an excellent director, I think that the critics were right.The best of the cast is Gene Hackman as Joe; at this time he was not yet a major star, despite being nearly forty, but he shows the talent that was soon to make him one. Lancaster, however, gives one of his weaker performances and never makes the rather world-weary Mike come alive. There is no sense of why Mike is so keen to risk his life.As for Kerr, her presence here is something of an embarrassment. The action scenes featuring skydiving stunts were well done, but Frankenheimer never succeeds in capturing the sense of excitement which Hill brought to "Waldo Pepper". For the most part the film never rises above the level of a dull soap opera. 5/10.