The Man in the Glass Booth

Although I have not seen this film for years it sticks in my mind as one of the best, particularly for its type, ie a courtroom dram, with few different scenes, (the other similar movie I liked was Twelve Angry Men.

The acting is superb, particularly Max Schell as the Nazi and the twists keep the viewer alert.

It is the type of movie that should be shown on TV much more often. It does have a message as well.

Maximilian Schell defines acting in this superlative effort which I have used in my classes when discussing the Holocaust. When you watch it, keep an open mind and don't be put off by sayings such as "What is a Christian but a Jew with an insurance policy? Rent it and watch it...I guarantee you will be impressed and troubled by the implications of the subject matter.

A fairly fascinating film, with a thought-provoking, albeit rather contrived, twist at the end, the material is helped a great deal by Maximilian Schell's Oscar nominated performance as the title person. Schell is startlingly good, considering what he has to do, balancing out two different eccentric personalities that are part of his one character. The character he plays is the most intriguing element throughout, but it does have a tendency to dominate, and therefore overshadow the things that film has to say. It also takes a while to get where its going, however the second half is highly intense stuff, and the film is merited by interesting ideas the whole time through.

Nice film with magnificent performances about a successful Jew who is kidnapped by Mosad to respond his crimes .It deals with a wealthy Jewish businessman is suspected of being a Nazi war criminal.

This is a retelling of a novel written by actor Robert Shaw, from whose credits he requested his name be removed, and it was adapted as a play by prestigious playwright Harold Pinter who also carried it to stage at a Broadway theater. It works up a certain weight in its exploration of interesting issues as wrong accusation, guilt, responsability and forgiveness .This one belongs to American Film Theater in which it tries to embalm theatrical interpretations. Being freely based on the life of Otto Adolf Eichmann, the picture depicts the arrest and subsequent trial of the former Nazi by the Israelies accused of being a former Nazi concentration commandant. The film's title is derived from the fact that Eichmann sat in glass booth during his trial. And his character has been also adapted in The trial of Adolf Eichman 1997, Eichmann 2007 by Robert Young with Thomas Kretschmann, Franca Potente, Stephen Fry and Hanna Arendt 2012 by Margarette Van Trotta with Barbara Sukowa, Julia Jentsch, Jane McTeer. Cast and support cast provide terrific acting, but it still emerges as stagily verbose. Starring Maximiliam Schell gives a fabulous performance, he delivers a self-indulgent playing, though overacting, at times. He is welll accompanied by a pretty support cast as Louis Nettleton as a prosecutor, Luther Adler as a Judge, Leonard Cimino as a witness, Henry Brown, Lawrence Pressman, among others.

The motion picture with adequate cinematography by Sam Leavitt, being professionally directed by Arthur Hiller. He was a good professional with long career and life, as he died at 93. Hiller directed all kinds of genres with penchant for dramas and comedies. Including important films with the greatest actors, such as : The Americanization of Emily, The miracle of the white stallions, Promise her anything, Plaza suite, Man of La Mancha, The in-laws, Making Love, Tobruk, Silver streak, Nightwing, Author author, Teachers, Outrageous fortune, The lonely guy, See no evil hear no evil, Taking care of business, The babe, among others .Rating 7/10 .Well worth watching. Better than average

As has been said in some of my reviews for the other twelve films making up the American Film Theatre series, the American Film Theatre series was an interesting and ambitious project but was also uneven. None of the thirteen films are terrible, one was close to though, but only three are great. 'The Man in the Glass Booth' was also seen as it was written by actor Robert Shaw and to see whether the Oscar nomination (the only performance in the American Film Theatre that was nominated for an Oscar) for Maximillian Schell was deserved.

My conclusions were that Schell's nomination was worthy, but it was a case of the performance being much better than the film itself (same with the subject matter being better than the film). Which left me intrigued but also a little cold. 'The Man in the Glass Booth' is not one of the worst of the American Film Theatre films, it's a lot better than 'Rhinoceros' and particularly 'Jaques Brel is Alive and Well and Living in Paris'. It is also not one of the best, it's no 'The Iceman Cometh', 'The Homecoming' or 'Butley'. Would put it somewhere bang in the middle.

Schell, the heart and soul of 'The Man in the Glass Booth', is extraordinary in the lead role. All the acting in fact is very good, though the rest of the cast are never on the same level as Schell. The second half is a lot better than the first half, with most of the second half being riveting and tension filled.

'The Man in the Glass Booth' is nicely filmed and the setting is simple and intimate without being too stifling. There is some thought-provoking and sincere writing.

However, 'The Man in the Glass Booth' had potential to be a lot better, especially considering the subject and the lead performance. The first half as indicated isn't as involving as the second. Parts are on the sluggish side while the writing is not as natural and can be mannered. While liking the second half a lot, the twist is somewhat contrived.

Furthermore the action was too confined and static. Arthur Hiller's direction has moments, but tended to be undistinguished and in need of more subtlety.

Concluding, definitely worth a one time watch but didn't blow me away. 6/10.