In The Devil's Disciple, George Bernard Shaw's witticism takes far too long to get to the actual plot. There's too much social commentary and character development before the real plot happens - so much so that when the big scene finally arrived, I'd fallen asleep and had to watch Part 2 the next night. It's a pre-Revolutionary War movie about how incompetent everyone was, and how smart-aleck Americans are far more interesting than stiff-upper-lip Brits.
Burt Lancaster plays a calm, collected Reverend married to a very fickle, emotional Janette Scott. Kirk Douglas is a rabble-rouser that no one likes, but who gets the meat of the lines and the movie. As the producer, why would Burt Lancaster give himself the lesser of the two roles? Kirk Douglas gets to have all the fun, smirking his way through his clever lines and charming banter. Burt is merely the pious preacher who does everything possible to tamp down his usual energy. And why would Laurence Olivier take such a small, lousy part? Maybe he'd just been cast in Spartacus and wanted to do a favor for Kirk Douglas. He's really irritating in this movie, so if you prefer him in his Shakespearean glory or looking like Heathcliff, don't rent it.
Burt Lancaster plays a calm, collected Reverend married to a very fickle, emotional Janette Scott. Kirk Douglas is a rabble-rouser that no one likes, but who gets the meat of the lines and the movie. As the producer, why would Burt Lancaster give himself the lesser of the two roles? Kirk Douglas gets to have all the fun, smirking his way through his clever lines and charming banter. Burt is merely the pious preacher who does everything possible to tamp down his usual energy. And why would Laurence Olivier take such a small, lousy part? Maybe he'd just been cast in Spartacus and wanted to do a favor for Kirk Douglas. He's really irritating in this movie, so if you prefer him in his Shakespearean glory or looking like Heathcliff, don't rent it.