Boobirt Stylish but barely mediocre overall

AutCuddly Great movie! If you want to be entertained and have a few good laughs, see this movie. The music is also very good,

Twilightfa Watch something else. There are very few redeeming qualities to this film.

Allissa .Like the great film, it's made with a great deal of visible affection both in front of and behind the camera.

bkoganbing The Rack casts Paul Newman in his third film as a returning prisoner of war who is put on trial for collaborating with the enemy during the Korean War. After the disaster of The Silver Chalice and his subsequent success in Somebody Up There Like Me, Newman's performance in The Rack assured his future stardom.Making things triply worse is the fact that Newman comes from a military family. His father Walter Pidgeon is in the service, his brother was killed in Korea, and the brother's wife Anne Francis has stayed with Pidgeon. It was after a welcome home party for Newman that Pidgeon receives the word about Newman's court martial. Walter Pidgeon gives the best performance in the film, his scenes with Newman after he gets the news are what great acting is all about.Prosecuting Newman is Wendell Corey and his defense counsel is Edmond O'Brien a good pair of cinematic legal adversaries if there ever was one. Also in the film is Lee Marvin who was a fellow prisoner and who is the original accusatory witness against Newman. Marvin's scene in the witness stand is also classic.The Pacific Theater of World War II and later the Korean War put us against enemies of an oriental culture and the second one flavored with Marxism. Their view of prisoners was one radically different from the western one. Someone who didn't die at his duty and allowed himself to be captured was one worthy of contempt. It's why the atrocities that happened and more important the fact that the prison keepers never viewed what they did as atrocities. These were all new issues for the American public to face. It would come even closer to home during the Vietnam War.The Rack is the story of one man who reached a breaking point while in captivity. Those points are not the same with every individual. That fact is brought out quite clearly in this fine film.

arbarnes Paul Newman's second film (but released after "Somebody Up There Likes Me") demonstrates that, even then, he was the truly finest screen performer around. But the very nature of his style has always placed him behind –or to the side of– more "bravura" actors of the time. Unlike Brando and Clift and Dean- he is much less self-centered; in other words he is a sharing actor. This puts the SCENE in focus more than the performance, and in this extremely underrated (and almost forgotten) courtroom drama you have one of the best scenes I have ever come across - a simple dialogue between Newman and his father, played by Walter Pidgeon (who gives one of HIS best performances here). The short scene takes place towards the end of the film and is pivotal to the story. It is a miniature master-class in technique, communication (or lack of it) and truth. There are clear parallels to "East of Eden" but somehow the shading here is less stark, which makes the confrontation so much more -real. Courtroom dramas, especially American ones, almost always work as on screen. The inbuilt tension and clear pattern of procedure, with gradual unraveling of facts and insights, is compelling, no matter what the case or period. This one is no exception. There are many cadences and moral issues are raised that one sometimes wishes could have gone even further. Otherwise the screenplay (based on a tele-play) is taut, careful and intriguing. So are the characters: Wendell Corey and Edmond O Brien as defense and prosecuting counsel respectively are particularly noteworthy, and utterly believable in parts that could easily have been stereotypes. If one must criticize, I would have to say that the first part of the film, before the court case begins, could have been curtailed slightly. Not because it is in any way uninteresting, but because it seems somehow rather unnecessary -as if just placed in to flesh out the film. But this is a minor criticism of a film that really deserves to be better known.

Michael_Elliott Rack, The (1956) *** (out of 4) Paul Newman, in his third film, plays Korean War vet who was a POW for three years. When he returns home he's brought up on treason charges and faces a court marshall. This film is based on a Rod Serling teleplay so the material makes for a good movie, although in the end I'm not sure what type of message it's sending out. The POW was tortured, not physically but mentally, and the film takes a look at this and what one's breaking point is. A lot of questions about loyalty to your country is brought up during the court scenes but some might be confused by what the ending tries to say or the complete turn around that seems to happen half way through the film. There's also the added plot of Newman's character not being able to connect with his hard boiled father (Walter Pidgeon) and connecting to his dead brother's girlfriend (Ann Francis). The film's screenplay has a lot of great sequences in it but it never really becomes clear on what it's trying to say. Is the film trying to claim that everyone has a breaking point? Is it trying to say that everyone should reach a breaking point but keep going for your country? The film seems to want to have its cake and eat it too as both sides are given credit yet neither takes the stage over the other. What works the best here are the performances with Newman stealing the film with his passionate character. The torture Newman displays is very striking and wonderfully done, which is rather amazing considering this was only his third film. Pidgeon has some equally impressive scenes as does Cloris Leachman. Lee Marvin, playing a tortured vet, also comes across very good in his few scenes. Wendell Corey and Edmond O'Brien are also very good. While the film's message might be someone confusing the film still works as a nice drama with plenty of good performances.

suzykeen I have to agree this is one of Pauls best movies and it never seems to come up when he is mentioned, the cast is also terriffic. I am sorry it has gone so unnoticed I can only think that it may have been set about the Korean War and that doesnt seem to get much attention.. I thought the acting was sincere and I was draw to this character that seemed to feel he lost his way by being human..