The Gypsy Moths
Encyclopedia
The Gypsy Moths is a 1969 American film starring Burt Lancaster
, based on the novel of the same name by James Drought. It is the story of three barnstorming
skydivers and their effect on a midwestern American
town. At the time, the sport of skydiving was in its infancy, yet the movie featured an extreme variation of the sport known as wingsuit flying
. Influenced by this movie, wingsuits gained a prominent resurgence in the 21st century. Todd Higley, a prominent skydiver in the Seattle area today, is said to have been the main technical advisor and stunt double for Mr Lancaster, and today is well known for having invented wingsuit BASE jumping.
The movie also features Gene Hackman
(fresh from his role in Bonnie and Clyde
) and Deborah Kerr
renewing her association with Lancaster from their previous work in From Here to Eternity
and Separate Tables
. The movie focuses on the differences in values between the town folk and the hard living skydivers and features Deborah Kerr's only nude love scene in her movie career.
The director, John Frankenheimer
, expressed his anguish and disappointment at the critical reception of this piece and subsequent narrow release in the United States. The film was widely seen in Australia and the local skydiving fraternity there were quick to seize the opportunity to promote their sport.
Elmer Bernstein
composed the score.
), who is anxious to get in a good show. He is accompanied by his partners, Joe Browdy (Hackman
) and Malcolm Webson (Scott Wilson
). They come to the Midwest, where they stay at the home of Malcolm's uncle and aunt (William Windom
, Deborah Kerr
), but soon things do not come together as they should for the team. They are hit by excessive behavior, sex, and Mike suddenly being romantically involved with Malcolm's aunt, while Malcolm falls for local student Annie Burke (Bonnie Bedelia
). As they learn, there is a serious difference between being professional skydivers and being plain people.
and The Manchurian Candidate
. Despite this, he would call this his favorite film.
, and a Howard DGA-15
was used as the jump ship. Hackman (as Joe Browdy) has a great line in discussing the plane; after correctly decoding the "DGA" designation, he opines that "You're much better off jumping out of it, than taking a chance on landing it.". This line was probably unscripted, but attributable to the Howard's pilot, David Llorente.
Burt Lancaster
Burton Stephen "Burt" Lancaster was an American film actor noted for his athletic physique and distinctive smile...
, based on the novel of the same name by James Drought. It is the story of three barnstorming
Barnstorming
Barnstorming was a popular form of entertainment in the 1920s in which stunt pilots would perform tricks with airplanes, either individually or in groups called a flying circus. Barnstorming was the first major form of civil aviation in the history of flight...
skydivers and their effect on a midwestern American
Midwestern United States
The Midwestern United States is one of the four U.S. geographic regions defined by the United States Census Bureau, providing an official definition of the American Midwest....
town. At the time, the sport of skydiving was in its infancy, yet the movie featured an extreme variation of the sport known as wingsuit flying
Wingsuit flying
Wingsuit flying is the sport of flying the human body through the air using a special jumpsuit, called a wingsuit, which adds surface area to the human body to enable a significant increase in lift. Modern wingsuits, first developed in the late 1990s, create the surface area with fabric between the...
. Influenced by this movie, wingsuits gained a prominent resurgence in the 21st century. Todd Higley, a prominent skydiver in the Seattle area today, is said to have been the main technical advisor and stunt double for Mr Lancaster, and today is well known for having invented wingsuit BASE jumping.
The movie also features Gene Hackman
Gene Hackman
Eugene Allen "Gene" Hackman is an American actor and novelist.Nominated for five Academy Awards, winning two, Hackman has also won three Golden Globes and two BAFTAs in a career that spanned five decades. He first came to fame in 1967 with his performance as Buck Barrow in Bonnie and Clyde...
(fresh from his role in Bonnie and Clyde
Bonnie and Clyde (film)
The film was originally offered to François Truffaut, the best-known director of the New Wave movement, who made contributions to the script. He passed on the project to make Fahrenheit 451. The producers approached Jean-Luc Godard next...
) and Deborah Kerr
Deborah Kerr
Deborah Kerr, CBE was a Scottish film and television actress from Glasgow. She won the Sarah Siddons Award for her Chicago performance as Laura Reynolds in Tea and Sympathy, a role which she originated on Broadway, a Golden Globe Award for the motion picture The King and I, and was a three-time...
renewing her association with Lancaster from their previous work in From Here to Eternity
From Here to Eternity
From Here to Eternity is a 1953 drama film directed by Fred Zinnemann and based on the novel of the same name by James Jones. It deals with the troubles of soldiers, played by Burt Lancaster, Montgomery Clift, Frank Sinatra and Ernest Borgnine stationed on Hawaii in the months leading up to the...
and Separate Tables
Separate Tables (film)
Separate Tables is a 1958 American drama film based on two one-act plays by Terence Rattigan that were collectively known by this name. It was directed by Delbert Mann, and adapted by Rattigan, John Gay and an uncredited John Michael Hayes. Mary Grant designed the film's costumes.The film took the...
. The movie focuses on the differences in values between the town folk and the hard living skydivers and features Deborah Kerr's only nude love scene in her movie career.
The director, John Frankenheimer
John Frankenheimer
John Michael Frankenheimer was an American film and television director known for social dramas and action/suspense films...
, expressed his anguish and disappointment at the critical reception of this piece and subsequent narrow release in the United States. The film was widely seen in Australia and the local skydiving fraternity there were quick to seize the opportunity to promote their sport.
Elmer Bernstein
Elmer Bernstein
Elmer Bernstein was an American composer and conductor best known for his many film scores. In a career which spanned fifty years, he composed music for hundreds of film and television productions...
composed the score.
Plot
The title refers to a skydiving team that visits the Midwest for a show: the leader is one Mike Rettig (LancasterBurt Lancaster
Burton Stephen "Burt" Lancaster was an American film actor noted for his athletic physique and distinctive smile...
), who is anxious to get in a good show. He is accompanied by his partners, Joe Browdy (Hackman
Gene Hackman
Eugene Allen "Gene" Hackman is an American actor and novelist.Nominated for five Academy Awards, winning two, Hackman has also won three Golden Globes and two BAFTAs in a career that spanned five decades. He first came to fame in 1967 with his performance as Buck Barrow in Bonnie and Clyde...
) and Malcolm Webson (Scott Wilson
Scott Wilson
Scott Wilson was a judge on United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit from 1929 to 1942.-Early life:Scott Wilson was born on January 11, 1870, in Falmouth, Maine. He graduated from Bates College in Maine in 1892 and then studied at the University of Pennsylvania...
). They come to the Midwest, where they stay at the home of Malcolm's uncle and aunt (William Windom
William Windom
This page is about the former United States politician. William Windom was an American politician from Minnesota. He served as U.S. Representative from 1859 to 1869, and as U.S. Senator from 1870 to January 1871, from March 1871 to March 1881, and from November 1881 to 1883...
, Deborah Kerr
Deborah Kerr
Deborah Kerr, CBE was a Scottish film and television actress from Glasgow. She won the Sarah Siddons Award for her Chicago performance as Laura Reynolds in Tea and Sympathy, a role which she originated on Broadway, a Golden Globe Award for the motion picture The King and I, and was a three-time...
), but soon things do not come together as they should for the team. They are hit by excessive behavior, sex, and Mike suddenly being romantically involved with Malcolm's aunt, while Malcolm falls for local student Annie Burke (Bonnie Bedelia
Bonnie Bedelia
Bonnie Bedelia Culkin is an American actress best known for her supporting roles in the action film Die Hard and the courtroom drama Presumed Innocent...
). As they learn, there is a serious difference between being professional skydivers and being plain people.
Reception
The film ran in limited release in the U.S. and saw few theaters taking it in for extended showings. Soon as it appeared, it disappeared, not getting an audience and it did not run until it came to TV years later. Director John Frankenheimer was depressed. He felt the film did not get enough attention as his thrillers, like SecondsSeconds (film)
Seconds is a 1966 American film starring Rock Hudson. Characterized sometimes as a science fiction thriller, but with elements of horror, neo-noir, psychedelia, and drama, it was directed by John Frankenheimer with a screenplay by Lewis John Carlino. The script was based on a novel by David Ely...
and The Manchurian Candidate
The Manchurian Candidate
The Manchurian Candidate , by Richard Condon, is a political thriller novel about the son of a prominent US political family who is brainwashed into being an unwitting assassin for the Communist Party....
. Despite this, he would call this his favorite film.
Location
The remarkable aerial sequences were filmed at Benton, KansasBenton, Kansas
Benton is a city in Butler County, Kansas, United States. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 880.-Geography:Benton is located at . According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of , all of it land.-Demographics:As of the census of 2000, there were 827 people,...
, and a Howard DGA-15
Howard DGA-15
|-See also:-References:*Bushell, Sue J. "Some Damn Good Airplanes". Air Enthusiast, Thirty-two, December 1986-April 1987. Bromley, UK:Pilot Press. pp. 32–44.-External links:* * * *...
was used as the jump ship. Hackman (as Joe Browdy) has a great line in discussing the plane; after correctly decoding the "DGA" designation, he opines that "You're much better off jumping out of it, than taking a chance on landing it.". This line was probably unscripted, but attributable to the Howard's pilot, David Llorente.
Additional cast
- Gene HackmanGene HackmanEugene Allen "Gene" Hackman is an American actor and novelist.Nominated for five Academy Awards, winning two, Hackman has also won three Golden Globes and two BAFTAs in a career that spanned five decades. He first came to fame in 1967 with his performance as Buck Barrow in Bonnie and Clyde...
- Sheree NorthSheree NorthSheree North was an American actress, singer, and dancer. She was known for being 20th Century Fox's answer to Marilyn Monroe from 1954 to 1956...
- Scott WilsonScott Wilson (actor)Scott Wilson is an American actor.-Movies:Wilson appeared in such films as In the Heat of the Night, In Cold Blood, The Gypsy Moths, The Great Gatsby, The Right Stuff, A Year of the Quiet Sun, Malone, Dead Man Walking, The Grass Harp, Junebug, The Host, Monster, Young Guns II, Pearl Harbor, and...
- William WindomWilliam Windom (actor)William Windom is an American actor. He is perhaps best known for his work on television, including several episodes of The Twilight Zone; playing the character of Glen Morley, a congressman from Minnesota like his own great-grandfather and namesake in The Farmer's Daughter; the character of John...
- Bonnie BedeliaBonnie BedeliaBonnie Bedelia Culkin is an American actress best known for her supporting roles in the action film Die Hard and the courtroom drama Presumed Innocent...
- Ford RaineyFord RaineyFord Rainey was an American film, stage and television actor.-Early life:Rainey was born in Mountain Home, Idaho, the son of Vyrna , a teacher, and Archie Coleman Rainey. Rainey graduated from Centralia Junior College in Washington state and the Cornish Drama School in Seattle. He first acted on...
- John Napier
- Carl BoenishCarl BoenishCarl Boenish considered the father of modern BASE jumping, was a freefall cinematographer, who in 1978 filmed the first jumps from El Capitan using ram-air parachutes. These jumps were repeated, not as a publicity exercise or as a movie stunt, but as a true, recurring recreational activity. This...
, aerial cinematographerCinematographerA cinematographer is one photographing with a motion picture camera . The title is generally equivalent to director of photography , used to designate a chief over the camera and lighting crews working on a film, responsible for achieving artistic and technical decisions related to the image... - Carl Reindel