on 11/3/2025, 4:33 pm
Well-written but ultimately hollow essay from the usually reliable Sarah Weinman (which will also be in the lavish booklet accompanying the hagiographic ascension of Guillermo del Toro's bloated version of NIGHTMARE ALLEY).
I could not disagree with Weinman more profoundly with respect to del Toro and Kim Morgan's decision to turn Stan Carlisle into a killer...
The change in backstory from book to film adds to the torment of the character, helping to make Cooper’s rendition particularly memorable.
On the contrary, it makes the rendition particularly morbid and mummified, and leeches out the bravado of Stan Carlisle that is so evident in Gresham's novel and in Tyrone Power's superb performance in the 1947 original.
The so-called more faithful version of Gresham's novel also omits the sexual chemistry between Stan and Lilith Ritter, which is quite explicit (but was excised from the 1947 due to the censorship issues in place at the time).
Del Toro tweaked the black-and-white version recently (making the film even longer), and we'll have to wait to see it to determine if he really solved the technical problems with the hastily released version of it back in 2022, when the box office failure of the color version produced the first frenetic attempts to salvage the film's reputation (including Scorsese's not-so-veiled edict to the Academy to give it a Best Picture nomination).
The insiders are now hard at work doing the rest of that task with a Criterion-sponsored sendoff later this month.
Our two-word assessment--caveat emptor.
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