The Gypsy Moths

In many ways a flawed film - the attempt at mixing the action of a Grand Prix and the small town disillusionments of an All Fall Down doesn't entirely come off - The Gypsy Moths is none the less one of Frankenheimer's most satisfying works. Dealing with a trio of sky-divers who for a variety of reasons are growing ambivalent about their 'careers', and the inhabitants of a small town who feel both threatened and attracted to the parachutists, the film manages to catch equally well the quiet desperation of small town life and the growing disillusionment of incessant travellers in search of glamour. The performances by Lancaster, Kerr and Hackman are superb.