The Strange One
Encyclopedia
The Strange One is a 1957 black-and-white
film
about students faced with an ethical dilemma
in a military college
in the Southern United States
. The film is adapted from a novel and stage play by Calder Willingham
called End as a Man, and the film is sometimes referred to by that name.
The cast includes Ben Gazzara
, George Peppard
, Pat Hingle
, Geoffrey Horne
, James Olson
, and Larry Gates
. The film was produced by Sam Spiegel
, directed by Herb Gardner and Jack Garfein
and is noteworthy due to the entire acting and technical staff being from the Actors Studio
of New York City
.
The film focuses on the dehumanization associated with the tradition of hazing
within the college and is noteworthy for its portrayal of homoerotic
themes – and at least one homosexual character – at a time when the Hayes Code prohibited such expression.
One night, he frames George Avery, the son of a staff member, making it appear that he got drunk and fell unconscious on the quadrangle all by himself. Cadet Avery is expelled, and DeParis sees to it that every cadet who took part in the incident lies during the investigation to conceal his own involvement. Two freshmen, along with the roommates of DeParis and the regimental commander, eventually decide to end DeParis' manipulation of them and the school. By the time DeParis is cornered in a restaurant in the nearby town, a great many cadets have banded together against him.
The regimental commander orders him to sign a statement confessing to engineering Avery's expulsion and going to great lengths to conceal the truth from investigators. Initially reacting with smug confidence and indignant anger at being accused, DeParis finally folds and signs the statement, asking that he be allowed to leave quietly. The cadets then take him away from the restaurant and start dragging an increasingly frantic DeParis towards a railroad track. Instead of throwing him in front of the approaching train, they put him on board once it stops. As the train begins to move again, DeParis runs to the rearmost car and rails at the watching cadets, shouting furiously, "I'll be back! I'll get you guys! You can't do this to Jocko DeParis!"
Black-and-white
Black-and-white, often abbreviated B/W or B&W, is a term referring to a number of monochrome forms in visual arts.Black-and-white as a description is also something of a misnomer, for in addition to black and white, most of these media included varying shades of gray...
film
Film
A film, also called a movie or motion picture, is a series of still or moving images. It is produced by recording photographic images with cameras, or by creating images using animation techniques or visual effects...
about students faced with an ethical dilemma
Ethical dilemma
An Ethical dilemma is a complex situation that will often involve an apparent mental conflict between moral imperatives, in which to obey one would result in transgressing another....
in a military college
Military academy
A military academy or service academy is an educational institution which prepares candidates for service in the officer corps of the army, the navy, air force or coast guard, which normally provides education in a service environment, the exact definition depending on the country concerned.Three...
in the Southern United States
Southern United States
The Southern United States—commonly referred to as the American South, Dixie, or simply the South—constitutes a large distinctive area in the southeastern and south-central United States...
. The film is adapted from a novel and stage play by Calder Willingham
Calder Willingham
Calder Baynard Willingham, Jr. was an American novelist and screenwriter. He cowrote several notable screenplays, including Paths of Glory and One-Eyed Jacks ....
called End as a Man, and the film is sometimes referred to by that name.
The cast includes Ben Gazzara
Ben Gazzara
-Early life:Gazzara was born Biagio Anthony Gazzara in New York City, the son of Italian immigrants Angelina and Antonio Gazzara, who was a laborer and carpenter. Gazzara grew up on New York's tough Lower East Side. He actually lived on E. 29th Street and participated in the drama program at...
, George Peppard
George Peppard
George Peppard, Jr. was an American film and television actor.Peppard secured a major role when he starred alongside Audrey Hepburn in Breakfast at Tiffany's , portrayed a character based on Howard Hughes in The Carpetbaggers , and played the title role of the millionaire sleuth Thomas Banacek in...
, Pat Hingle
Pat Hingle
Martin Patterson "Pat" Hingle was an American actor.-Early life:Hingle was born Martin Patterson Hingle in Miami, Florida, the son of Marvin Louise , a schoolteacher and musician, and Clarence Martin Hingle, a building contractor. Hingle enlisted in the U.S. Navy in December 1941, dropping out of...
, Geoffrey Horne
Geoffrey Horne
Geoffrey Horne is an actor, director, and acting coach at the Lee Strasberg Theatre and Film Institute. His screen credits include The Bridge on the River Kwai, Bonjour Tristesse, The Strange One, Two People, The Twilight Zone episode 'The Gift' in 1962, and as Wade Norton in "The Guests" episode...
, James Olson
James Olson (actor)
-Life and career:Olson was born in Evanston, Illinois and graduated from Northwestern University. He performed stage work in and around Chicago before his 1956 film debut in The Sharkfighters...
, and Larry Gates
Larry Gates
Larry Gates was an American actor probably best known for his role as H.B. Lewis on daytime's Guiding Light and as Doc Baugh in the film version of Cat on a Hot Tin Roof...
. The film was produced by Sam Spiegel
Sam Spiegel
Sam Spiegel was an Austrian-born American independent film producer.-Life and career:Spiegel was born in Jarosław, Galicia, Austria-Hungary as Samuel P. Spiegel to a German-Jewish father and Polish mother and educated at the University of Vienna. His brother was Shalom Spiegel, a professor of...
, directed by Herb Gardner and Jack Garfein
Jack Garfein
Jack Garfein, born July 2, 1930 in Mukacevo, Carpathian Ruthenia, Czechoslovakia, now Mukacheve, Ukraine, is an acting teacher and former motion picture and theater director....
and is noteworthy due to the entire acting and technical staff being from the Actors Studio
Actors Studio
The Actors Studio is a membership organization for professional actors, theatre directors and playwrights at 432 West 44th Street in the Clinton neighborhood of Manhattan in New York City. It was founded October 5, 1947, by Elia Kazan, Cheryl Crawford, Robert Lewis and Anna Sokolow who provided...
of New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
.
The film focuses on the dehumanization associated with the tradition of hazing
Hazing
Hazing is a term used to describe various ritual and other activities involving harassment, abuse or humiliation used as a way of initiating a person into a group....
within the college and is noteworthy for its portrayal of homoerotic
Homoeroticism
Homoeroticism refers to the erotic attraction between members of the same sex, either male–male or female–female , most especially as it is depicted or manifested in the visual arts and literature. It can also be found in performative forms; from theatre to the theatricality of uniformed movements...
themes – and at least one homosexual character – at a time when the Hayes Code prohibited such expression.
Plot
Cadet Staff Sergeant Jocko DeParis is a senior at the fictional Southern Military College, located in the Southern United States. Using the authority of his own rank, his father's connections with the school, and the college's tradition of allowing upperclassmen to bully new cadets, DeParis effectively does what he pleases. Everyone at the school is either afraid of him or believes he is a normal or even exemplary cadet.One night, he frames George Avery, the son of a staff member, making it appear that he got drunk and fell unconscious on the quadrangle all by himself. Cadet Avery is expelled, and DeParis sees to it that every cadet who took part in the incident lies during the investigation to conceal his own involvement. Two freshmen, along with the roommates of DeParis and the regimental commander, eventually decide to end DeParis' manipulation of them and the school. By the time DeParis is cornered in a restaurant in the nearby town, a great many cadets have banded together against him.
The regimental commander orders him to sign a statement confessing to engineering Avery's expulsion and going to great lengths to conceal the truth from investigators. Initially reacting with smug confidence and indignant anger at being accused, DeParis finally folds and signs the statement, asking that he be allowed to leave quietly. The cadets then take him away from the restaurant and start dragging an increasingly frantic DeParis towards a railroad track. Instead of throwing him in front of the approaching train, they put him on board once it stops. As the train begins to move again, DeParis runs to the rearmost car and rails at the watching cadets, shouting furiously, "I'll be back! I'll get you guys! You can't do this to Jocko DeParis!"