The Strange One
Directed by Jack Garfein
Written by Calder Willingham from his novel and play
1957/USA
Horizon Pictures/Columbia Pictures Corporation
First viewing/Netflix rental
“Never do a wrong thing to make a friend–or to keep one.” ― Robert E. Lee
This strange and disturbing film gave movie-goers Ben Gazzara and Pat Hingle among others.
The story takes place at a military college is the South, which is run with a strict disciplinary system and a tradition of respect by underclassmen toward their seniors. Jocko De Paris (Gazzara) is in his senior year and quickly reveals himself to be a sadist, if not an outright psychopath.
He organizes an after hours poker game with plenty of liquor in the room of freshmen Simmons (Arthur Storch) and Robert Marquales (George Peppard, also in his film debut). Also present are Jocko’s roommate Harold Koble (Hingle) and another upperclassman who is known to be violent when drunk. The cadet next door reports the noise of an obvious fight coming from the room to his father, an officer at the school. The next morning, that cadet is found badly beaten and passed out on the quad. A blood test shows he has been drinking heavily. He is expelled.
Obviously, the participants in the previous night’s revelry know exactly what happened but Jocko has orchestrated matters such that they cannot report them without getting expelled themselves. He spends the rest of the film tormenting Simmons by setting him up with a blind date and dodging the friendly advances of a very odd self-styled novelist cadet. Will Jocko ever get what is coming to him?
I hate injustice and cruelty and this movie provoked a reaction in me that guarantees it will never get a repeat viewing. The acting however is excellent. Gazzarra’s character is utterly despicable. There is a very obvious homosexual undertone to the relations among the cadets. Whether it is homophobic or homoerotic is hard to say.
Trailere
