SunnyHello Nice effects though.

Acensbart Excellent but underrated film

Sameeha Pugh It is encouraging that the film ends so strongly.Otherwise, it wouldn't have been a particularly memorable film

Bumpy Chip It’s not bad or unwatchable but despite the amplitude of the spectacle, the end result is underwhelming.

moonspinner55 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 ****

bkoganbing As George Peppard said in The A-Team he did all that he did with the A Team for 'the jazz'. The Gypsy Moths is a film about 3 parachute jumpers who entertain in small town red state America in the late sixties. One is a young man Scott Wilson and he's brought the show back to his small Kansas town of Bridgewater. His two fellow jumpers are Burt Lancaster and Gene Hackman and these guys are at varying degrees of having their fill of 'the jazz'. Especially Lancaster, not too many notes left in his horn to blow any jazz.But all three feel they have an image to maintain especially in Wilson's home town. They all get invited to a home cooked meal at the house where William Windom, wife Deborah Kerr, and daughter Bonnie Bedelia live. There's some unusual history with Wilson and that family and all three are drawn into this unhappy family's domestic dispute.Burt Lancaster who was one of the most vitally alive men on the big screen is great as that vitally alive parachute jumper who jumps out of airplanes for people's entertainment. Alive only when he's in the air and even that's coming to an end. But he's one who wants to be in control of his own destiny and will be to the very end. Gene Hackman has his doubts and fears and gets them exorcised he feels at the midnight mass of the Catholic Church of wherever he's performing. Otherwise he's the original good time man who's in the business because it makes him money and gets him women. Lancaster and Hackman both have qualities that Wilson should emulate and distance himself from. This was the 6th and final collaboration between director John Frankenheimer and Burt Lancaster and all six of their films mark some of the best films of the Sixties. Gene Hackman was continuing to break out after his rave reviews from Bonnie And Clyde. And Deborah Kerr ignites some of that old From Here To Eternity chemistry with Lancaster as she realizes he might be her chance at happiness.The aerial and jump sequences are photographed beyond reproach. Those spectacular stunts and the men who do them stand in sharp contrast to some empty lives they lead.Definitely for fans Lancaster, Kerr, and Hackman.

jlandis3 The motel scene(shot in Wichita, Kansas on South Broadway) was filmed across the street from where I lived. In one shot you can see my house and the bar next door. Being a curious person, I wandered over early in the morning to see the "movie stars" up close. Was I surprised! Burt Lancaster and Deborah Kerr did not look too good in the early morning light with no make-up and in their bathrobes. In fact I had to be told who they were. I loved the movie, by the way. I did enjoy watching all of the people and how they worked with other. And Burt Lancaster and Deborah Kerr looked a lot better after a couple of cups of coffee and some make-up. I recommend this movie to anyone.

James Jones When action scenes for "Gypsy Moths" were about to be shot, mostly at the Benton,Kansas airfield, I was 18 and living in Wichita. Due to my interest in acting, mainly in High School productions, I, along with my five brothers and sisters and Mother who was a bit of a ham herself, answered a "cattle call" for crowd scenes at Benton Airfield. Because I was Burt Lancaster's general height and build and was the same size, 42 Long, I was upgraded to Stand-in for him and ended up standing in for all the principle male characters except Gene Hackman who used his brother. There was a scene in a park in El Dorado, KS where Deborah Kerr and Burt Lancaster sit on a merry-go-round and talk. He then stands up and leans in rather closely to Ms. Kerr. The director wanted to change the lighting on that particular shot to compensate for Mr. Lancaster's new position. He called for the "Seconds" to take the actors' places while they fine tuned the lighting. At that moment Deborah's stand-in was over by the swings, in the process of losing the greasy chili which had been catered that night and couldn't answer the call. John Frankenheimer was upset by her failure to report and acted like he was about to fire her, but, always the gracious lady, Ms. Kerr said she was fine just sitting there and would stand in for herself. The scene required that Burt Lancaster lean in to the point that their faces are mere inches apart. There she was, the consummate professional and I, standing in for Mr. Lancaster, was face to face with an actress I had loved ever since seeing her in such films as "From Here to Eternity" and "The King and I". It's understating my uneasiness by saying I was sweating bullets and worrying about my breath. She sensed my discomfort and proceeded to ask me questions like what I aspired to be (she didn't say 'when I grew up', which was, to me, just more evidence of her class) to set me at ease. At the time I was very interested in an acting career and she said that if I ever got to Hollywood to look her up and she would get me an appointment with her agent. What amazed me about the exchange was that I realized she was serious and would very probably have taken the time out of her busy schedule to do just that. My esteem for her grew many fold that night. Although I understand she now lives in Switzerland, I have often thought that even though I am in my 50's and gave up the thought of acting professionally years ago, it would be great if she still lived in Hollywood and I was able contact her. I would remind her of what she said 36 years ago and ask when she would be able to take me to see her agent. At 85 years old, I wouldn't be surprised if she said, "Give me a couple of minutes and we'll go over right now." Deborah Kerr, I still love you and I always will.