Elmer Gantry (film)

Elmer Gantry
theatrical poster
Directed byRichard Brooks
Screenplay byRichard Brooks
Based onElmer Gantry
by Sinclair Lewis
Produced byBernard Smith
Starring
CinematographyJohn Alton
Edited byMarjorie Fowler
Music byAndré Previn
Production
company
Elmer Gantry Productions
Distributed byUnited Artists
Release date
  • June 29, 1960 (1960-06-29) (Los Angeles)
Running time
146 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Budget$3 million
Box office$5.2 million (rentals)

Elmer Gantry is a 1960 American psychological drama film directed Richard Brooks and starring Burt Lancaster, Jean Simmons, Arthur Kennedy, Shirley Jones, and Patti Page. An adaptation of the 1927 novel of the same name by Sinclair Lewis, it focuses on a charismatic con man who, along with an itinerant evangelist sister, stages revival sermons throughout the Midwestern United States, taking advantage of unknowing locals.

Elmer Gantry was nominated for five Academy Awards in 1961, including Best Picture and Best Score. It won Best Actor for Lancaster, Best Supporting Actress for Jones and Best Adapted Screenplay. Jean Simmons was nominated for the Golden Globe Award for Best Actress in a Motion Picture – Drama category.