HotToastyRag Where was Eli Wallach? Where was J. Carrol Naish? Where was anyone else the day Frank Sinatra was cast as a Spaniard in The Pride and the Passion? You know me, I love Frank Sinatra's acting career even more than his singing career, so if I tell you his performance was terrible, it really was. You don't have to waste two and a half hours of your time to find out if I'm right.Stanley Kramer, three years before his epic Spartacus, took on The Pride and the Passion, an epic Napoleonic war movie. Yes, there are thousands of extras, on-location filming, extensive battle scenes, and Cary Grant in a uniform. But the movie stinks. Sophia Loren, at only twenty-three-years-old, spent virtually the entire movie showing off her bosom to the audience, and despite their real-life affair, there were no sparks flying between her and Cary Grant. And given the choice between Cary Grant in a uniform and Frank Sinatra in schlumpy clothes and a laughable accent, is there really any suspense? So much for a love triangle. I can't recommend this movie, unless you really love tedious war epics.

othershos The Pride and the Passion has some of the worst acting I've seen in a major movie. The only one substantially worse was El Cid. The two movies have something in common. Both movies include Sophia Loren, who has done some excellent acting in Italian films. Both movies have wonderful scores. This movie has excellent music by American wild man of music, George Antheil. El Cid has one of the great scores of Miklos Rozsa. Both movies are wonderful on the ears and eyes, but terrible acting. JB

jjnxn-1 Direct from the What Were They Thinking files comes this bloated pageant of staggeringly foolish proportions. All about getting a cannon through battles and assorted other nonsensical issues this overripe piece of twaddle has a few things in its favor, nice scenery and beautiful color photography. They are outweighed however by the inert direction of the usually competent Kramer and even more by the complete miscasting of the principle actors. Sophia is gorgeous and was just starting in American films so her being shoved into whatever was available at the moment no matter how unsuitable can at least explain her presence here. Cary Grant who would seem a natural in period films actually looks rather absurd and is stiff as a board, he apparently felt the same way and after this often referred to this film with mocking scorn. He and Sophia, who became involved during the making of this stinker, would be much more properly and happily paired the next year in Houseboat a delightful comedy which is the place to see them together, not here. Worst of all is Frank Sinatra preposterously cast as a Spanish freedom fighter with both an atrocious accent and wig. He is simply dreadful. Worth watching only to see how an A level film with major stars and a respected director can go wrong in pretty much every aspect.

ragosaal I was a bit more than a kid when I saw "The Pride and the Passion" for the first time in theatres back in the late 50's and I remember I thought it was kind of slow and even boring at times. But then I saw it again not long ago and surprisingly -because it usually goes the other way around- I found it a watchable and sort of interesting epic spectacular in the times when Napoleon ruled in Spain.Though "The Pride and the Passion" doesn't match in my opinion other directing works of Stanley Kramer such as "The Defiant Ones" or "Judgment at Nuremberg", this film has a sort of heroic and epic that reaches a reasonable level. It has well dosed and skillfuly handled action sequences, wide open sceneries in Spain, good color photo and a very appropriate musical score that gives it a sense of greatness. However I still think it could have been a bit shorter and that would have improved the product.Cary Grant renders a very convincing performance as the British officer that knows how to shoot the huge cannon; Sophia Loren is good too and Frank Sinatra, if not brilliant whatsoever, comes out acceptably as an Spanish "guerrillero" leader and by the middle of the film you get used to him.Not a classic or even a classical late 50's or early 60's epic spectacular "The Pride and the Passion" is an acceptable historical action film worth a watch.