It's obvious that the military college cadet played by Ben Gazzara thinks he's top dog, but what he is is a stinking, rotten bully. He turns on fellow cadets just for fun, but I certainly wouldn't want him next to my side during a war. He's obviously a sociopath of the highest order, framing a cadet for public drunkenness, and his big mistake is doing it to the son of Captain Larry Gates who does a complete investigation of the case. Gazzara has backing from several of his fellow cadets, and that leads to a violent confrontation between Gazzara and Gates that gives further evidence of Gazzara's malevolent capabilities.
Gazzara has other victims including those he manipulates into supporting his evil schemes and another he refers to as "cockroach" who for some reason seems to have a crush on him. George Peppard, Peter Mark Richman and Geoffrey Horne are among the other cadets, and they make for an outstanding ensemble for a rather depressing story. After all, this is supposed to represent the best of what the American military has to offer, and Gazzara's character is completely evil with no guilt about who he hurts. Broadway musical vet Julie Wilson has a small part as Gazzara's date.
This is better than I remembered it to be from a previous viewing, probably because I see it from a more realistic view of the evils of humanity than I did when I was younger and how people can be controlled by them in order to protect themselves. Gazzara But as bullies get over, they find that they're not consistently successful and eventually the bones they grab onto in order to devour end up causing them to choke.
Gazzara has other victims including those he manipulates into supporting his evil schemes and another he refers to as "cockroach" who for some reason seems to have a crush on him. George Peppard, Peter Mark Richman and Geoffrey Horne are among the other cadets, and they make for an outstanding ensemble for a rather depressing story. After all, this is supposed to represent the best of what the American military has to offer, and Gazzara's character is completely evil with no guilt about who he hurts. Broadway musical vet Julie Wilson has a small part as Gazzara's date.
This is better than I remembered it to be from a previous viewing, probably because I see it from a more realistic view of the evils of humanity than I did when I was younger and how people can be controlled by them in order to protect themselves. Gazzara But as bullies get over, they find that they're not consistently successful and eventually the bones they grab onto in order to devour end up causing them to choke.