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When a movie has you begging for it to end not even half way through it's pure crap. We've all seen this movie and this characters millions of times, nothing new in it. Don't waste your time.

There are moments that feel comical, some horrific, and some downright inspiring but the tonal shifts hardly matter as the end results come to a film that's perfect for this time.

One of the film's great tricks is that, for a time, you think it will go down a rabbit hole of unrealistic glorification.

Trio of male sky-divers touring the Midwest prepare for a jump in a small Kansas town, where their benefactor is an unhappily married woman with life regrets. Despite a tag-line that suggests parachutists "turn on" by falling free--as well the appearance of go-go girls in pasties and also a lovemaking scene between Burt Lancaster and a nude Deborah Kerr--"The Gypsy Moths" doesn't have a youthful spirit, nor does it offer its audience much of a lift (everyone is so downcast). This dim, square adaptation of James Drought's novel is rather a condescending portrait of lives in a rural community. The actors have been encouraged by director John Frankenheimer to deliver the melodramatic material with the utmost seriousness, and before long the narrative is grounded (literally and figuratively). Despite being reunited with Lancaster, her "From Here to Eternity" love-interest, Kerr seems misplaced; she's stiff and drably solemn. Lancaster is surprisingly subdued or contemplative, which works to draw the viewer in, and yet his character's fast attachment to Kerr isn't convincing. Aerial footage of the trio's Kansas jump is a long time coming; Frankenheimer is much more interested in pitting man against man, man against woman, wife against husband. It feels about as real as a TV soap opera. ** from ****

During the sixties Burt Lancaster often worked with director John Frankenheimer, and the two were together responsible for a good film ("Seven Days in May"), an excellent one ("The Train") and a great one ("Birdman of Alcatraz"). I was therefore hoping that "The Gypsy Moths", made by the same director with the same star, would be a movie of similar quality. Unfortunately, it falls well short of the standards of any of those films. (I have never seen "The Young Savages", the first film they made together in 1961).It tells the story of three skydivers who arrive in a small Midwestern town to entertain the locals. It has some similarities in theme with George Roy Hill's "The Great Waldo Pepper", although that dealt with the barnstorming stunt pilots of the twenties rather than with skydivers. The first half of the movie contains little in the way of action but focuses on the relationships between the three men and the people of the town. Mike Rettig, the oldest and most experienced of the three, begins an affair with Elizabeth, his landlady and the aunt of his younger colleague Malcolm. Malcolm himself becomes friendly with a local girl, and Joe Browdy, the third member of the team, picks up a waitress in a sleazy bar. There is more action in the second half, when the team begin performing their shows, and Mike decides to try a particularly dangerous stunt.The film reunited Lancaster with Deborah Kerr, with whom he had previously appeared in "From Here to Eternity" and "Separate Tables". As in "From Here to Eternity" there is a love scene between them, and the differences between the two scenes serve as a good example of the way in which social values changed between the early fifties and the late sixties. In 1953 a few seconds of Kerr and Lancaster embracing on the beach in their swimsuits caused uproar. In 1969 a longer and more explicit sex scene including nudity was much less controversial.Frankenheimer, apparently, regarded this as one of his best films and was greatly disappointed at its lukewarm reception by the critics and the public, although it was welcomed by skydivers themselves who saw it as an opportunity to promote their sport. With all due respect to Frankenheimer, who at his best was an excellent director, I think that the critics were right.The best of the cast is Gene Hackman as Joe; at this time he was not yet a major star, despite being nearly forty, but he shows the talent that was soon to make him one. Lancaster, however, gives one of his weaker performances and never makes the rather world-weary Mike come alive. There is no sense of why Mike is so keen to risk his life.As for Kerr, her presence here is something of an embarrassment. The action scenes featuring skydiving stunts were well done, but Frankenheimer never succeeds in capturing the sense of excitement which Hill brought to "Waldo Pepper". For the most part the film never rises above the level of a dull soap opera. 5/10.

Most books of movie reviews agree with the other reviewer here, they like it a lot. Well I just saw this movie and I thought it was pretty awful. The incredible cast (Hackman, Lancaster, Windom, Kerr, Bonnie Bedelia, Sheree North) is just wasted. The dialogue is spoken with so many long pauses the movie would be 30% shorter if you edited it to sound like real people talk.And to accept the plot, you must accept these premises:Professional sky divers are scared every time they go up.Professional sky divers would risk their lives to pop the chute too low to the ground to give the crowd a thrill.It's dangerous to jump with a "cape" because you will think you can fly and forget to pull the rip cord.Does any of this sound reasonable to you? I will say this, there are some spectacular aerial photography scenes at the start and end of the movie, and yes Debbie looks great for 48!

Being an aviation enthusiast, but not a jumper - I was drawn to this movie. Burt Lancaster plays "Mike Rettig" in the sort of role he is best at, plenty of action, with an eye for a pretty face. The pretty face in this case being Deborah Kerr. Miss Kerr was approaching 50 years of age when this movie was made, but was able to been seen close-up and naked with Burt Lancaster in what what must be one of the few (if the only) scenes where Miss Kerr reveals all. A far cry from the many Nuns she has played in her career. Compare her in this with "Heaven knows, Mr Allison" with Robert Mitchum. Gene Hackman provides good support as the reckless carefree "Joe Browdy", seeking out the local haunts for loose women. William Windom brilliantly plays Kerr's isolated and betrayed husband. A good film that happily TCM repeats regularly - thank goodness!