The Great Santini

Duvall is Colonel 'Bull' Meechum - ace Marine fighter pilot, obsessive disciplinarian and family man who drives his wife and kids perilously close to the edge. His performance, and that of O'Keefe as his confused, loyal elder son, hold together the shoddy script by force of Method acting alone. But Carlino's direction doesn't help: he was responsible for the atrocious Sailor Who Fell from Grace with the Sea, and The Great Santini suffers from the same triteness, with its Deep South setting and a 'progressive' racial subplot that plunges deep into tear-jerk territory. See it for the acting; wallow in the sentiment.