THE OUTSIDER
US, 1961, 108 minutes, Black and white.
Tony Curtis, James Franciscus, Gregory Walcott, Bruce Bennett, Vivian Nathan.
Directed by Delbert Mann.
The Outsider is the story of Ira Hayes, an Indian who was amongst the group who raised the flag on Iwo Jima. The statue of the soldiers raising this flag became one of the main emblems summarising American experiences in the Pacific war. John Wayne appeared in The Sands of Iwo Jima immediately after the war. Clint Eastwood made Flags of Our Fathers in 2006 as well as the story of the war in the Pacific from a Japanese perspective, Letters from Iwo Jima. Adam Beach gave a very strong performance as Ira Hayes for Clint Eastwood, his ordinariness at Iwo Jima, his reaction to the promotion tour and his sad end.
The film starred Tony Curtis. Not many years earlier, critics would have said that he was incapable of serious roles – thinking of such mediaeval epics as The Black Shield of Falworth. However, teaming with Burt Lancaster in 1957 he made The Sweet Smell of Success and received very strong critical support. He was also well reviewed for Spartacus. During the 1960s he made a number of more serious films including The Great Impostor and The Boston Strangler.
While the film shows the war action, it shows the life of Ira Hayes after the event and how the celebrity in some ways ruined his life, especially as regards his alcoholism. Curtis is persuasive in all aspects of portraying the character and personality of Ira Hayes.
The film was directed by Delbert Mann who had won an Oscar for his first feature film, Marty, in 1955. He was generally seen as a television director. However, with The Bachelor Party, Desire Under the Elms, Separate Tables, Middle of the Night, he showed he was skilled at serious film-making. During the 1960s he made The Dark At The Top Of The Stairs but his films tended to be lighter, especially two Doris Day vehicles, Lover Come Back and That Touch of Mink. However, from 1972 onwards he was prolific in making telemovies, making four alone in 1978. His films are usually imbued with a deep sense of humanity.
1. The significance of the title of the man in war, of an American? The tone of this title?
2. How important was the black and white photography, the sombre tone and atmosphere of the film? How adequate was the title for theme and atmosphere?
3. How important was the performance of Tony Curtis? How convincing in this role? How much compassion and understanding?
4. The focus on the Indian theme: the Indian as a man, as an American, as a man in war, with a heritage of inferiority, as focussed in alcoholism? What insight into the plight of the modern American did the film give? With how much understanding and compassion?
5. How well did the film focus Ira Hayes at the centre? Were the audience in sympathy with him? Was the audience interested in his life and in his career? How well did the film situate Ira in the reservation and among the Indians? His response to the war and his volunteering? The effect of the Marines and their training on Ira? The racist attitudes of the men? His loneliness and his friendship with Sorenson? How well was he assimilated into the Marines? Ira's role in the war? its impact on him, his heroism, his being at Iwo Jima?
6. The impact of being feted in America? His drunkenness and inability to cope with all the publicity and the ballyhoo? The effect of the disgrace on him? His return to the Indians and their attitudes towards him? Should they have given him more confidence? His failure at the delegation to Washington? His jobs, in jail, drunkenness, degradation? What effect did this have on him? Why did he finally return? his relationship to his family and the other Indians? his aim on returning? His desire to be elected? His disappointmmt? What were the overall influences on his taking to drink and going out to die in the hills? How moving was his death? How much of a failure was he? Whose resporalbility was this? How important was Ira's friendship with Sorenson? How well was this established in the film? Was it overdone? As a focusing for the themes of racism?
7. The film as a war film, the battles, the war atmosphere, Iwo Jima and its importance? The aftermath of battles in morale-boosting, the personnel being used, the brave? The genuine and the fake? What comment on militarism did this make?
8. How convincing were the sequences of Ira drifting? His humiliation? Cleaning bars, toilets?
9. How well did the film give attention to the details of Indian reservation life? How interesting and convincing were these glimpses? The organization of the reservation, delegations, elections?
10. How ironic were all the possibilities for Ira, and yet he failed? The portrayal of the effect of failure?
11. How much compassion was elicited from the audience in the death sequence? Emotions? How horrifying? a judgment on what went before?
12. In England the death sequences were edited. How would this change the whole impact of the film?
13. How much of a film of insight was this into human nature, the quality of life, success, the pressures of circumstances, society and its justice, problem of alcoholism, death?
