wes-connors Paul Newman (as Captain Edward W. Hall Jr.) returns home from the Korean War, on a stretcher, after being held in an enemy prison camp. At first, Mr. Newman is treated as a recovering war hero. After evidence surfaces to reveal he collaborated with the enemy, Wendell Corey (as Major Sam Moulton) serves Newman with court-martial papers. This doesn't sit well with military-minded father Walter Pidgeon (as Colonel Edward W. Hall Sr.). Newman's widowed sister-in-law, Anne Francis (as Aggie Hall) is more understanding...A re-make of the Rod Serling's television version "The Rack" (1955), with Mr. Corey reprising his thankless prosecutorial role; this is a very well-acted, thought-provoking drama. It is also one of Newman's best early feature film performances. Smaller parts, like those essayed by Cloris Leachman (as Caroline) and James Best (as Cassidy), provide an added incentive to watch. However, the ending, whatever the filmmakers' intentions, is not very well-handled.****** The Rack (11/2/56) Arnold Laven ~ Paul Newman, Walter Pidgeon, Wendell Corey, Anne Francis

MartinHafer This was Paul Newman's third movie. His first, THE SILVER CHALICE, he later described as one of the worst movies ever made. His second, SOMEBODY UP THERE LIKES ME was an excellent film and finally gave Newman some recognition, but some people must have thought that his success could have been a fluke--especially after his first film. However, his excellent and relatively restrained performance in THE RACK helped him be a genuine star.The film begins with Newman and other soldiers returning from North Korean prisons after the war. At first, his father the Colonel (Walter Pidgeon) is ecstatic to see his return, but this revelry comes to a halt when just a short time later Newman is up on charges at a court martial for being a collaborator. How much he assisted his captors, what they did to break him and what demons Newman was struggling with make this all a very interesting and unusual. So unusual, in fact, that you have to admire the producers and writer (Rod Serling) for taking a bit of a risk.The acting is exceptional as are the writing. About the only potentially disappointing aspect of the film is the ending. While I didn't mind how ambiguous it was, I am sure many will feel disappointed that the film seems to end prematurely. Still, it's an excellent film and well worth your time.

Michael Bo There lies a great film hidden in the depths of 'The Rack', one that honestly and unflinchingly dares pronounce its indictment of the American way of life, of a people uninformed about the democratic traditions of their country as well as of the exact nature of Communism.But 'The Rack' is not quite that film, although in long stretches it is pretty good. Paul Newman in his second starring role plays Captain Ed Hall, being court martialed for betraying his country when he was a prisoner of war in Korea by collaborating with his captors. It turns out he was mentally tortured, brainwashed as it were, and there is an emotional forthrightness of the scenes concerning the captain's breakdown that are engaging, and the central between Newman and Walter Pidgeon as his staunch colonel father will draw tears, although Newman is not yet the acute and instinctively brilliant actor he would become.So, see it by all means next time it is aired on TCM, it's not half bad. Only, it ought to have been better.

Robert J. Maxwell This is an early effort of Paul Newman's -- made after Silver Chalice but not released until after Somebody Up There Likes Me -- and it shows. Newman tries too hard and, indeed, most of the performances of the fine cast are below their usual levels, elementary and overspecific, done by the numbers, as if aimed at an audience of high school kids. Rod Serling's script isn't entirely to blame. There is less of his poetics, only the occasional "horizon of endurance limits" or whatever. But the plot is fully sketched in, with nothing left to the imagination. What is visualized and covert in Cool Hand Luke, is here overt and not visualized, the action being confined to a courtroom and one or two other sets. A major problem with The Rack is the direction. None of the performances is modulated. The witnesses speak rapidly and clearly and loudly, in a way no one does in life off the screen. When Newman's character is called upon to mumble part of his testimony because of its intimate and personally revealing nature, he does so with his hand in front of his mouth, as if the audience were too insensitive to otherwise realize he was mumbling. Worse, his defense counsel tells him openly that we can't hear him clearly because he is holding his hand in front of his mouth -- in case we missed the fact that he was holding his hand in front of his mouth before. All that's missing to drop the scenario down to an elementary school level is for Newman to look up and ask something like, "You mean they can't hear me because I'm holding my hand in front of my mouth?" And for defense counsel to reply, "That's right. You're holding your hand in front of your mouth, so they can't hear you." Yet, the issue dealt with -- should we hold an otherwise brave man responsible for finally giving up in the face of nearly hopeless odds -- is treated with some maturity. The ending doesn't leave us with the kinds of easy answers we might expect. None of the cast or crew are at their best here, but it's not a boring film either.