'A small and tepid exposition of one man's absurd cantankerousness'

摘要

The New York Times pulled no punches in its 7 March 1963 review of The War Lover. "[The] fellows who sit in the cockpit of the one plane on which the actions center are a dull pair and are rendered even duller by poor acting and weak direction", Bosley Crowther wrote. "Steve McQueen is the emotionally-mixed-up pilot who tries to steal his co-pilot's girl. Robert Wagner is the co-pilot and Shirley Anne Fields [sic] is the girl. Altogether they make what at best is an average drama of love and jealousy into a small and tepid exposition of one man's absurd cantankerousness." Crowther was known for his scathing reviews. Variety was kinder. "This production of John Hersey's novel The War Lover is accomplished in all respects save one: lack of proper penetration into the character referred to by the title", it said. "The scenario seems reluctant to come to grips with the issue of this character's unique personality - a 'war lover' whose exaggerated shell of heroic masculinity covers up a psychopathic inability to love or enjoy normal relationships with women". This is a fair summation of the plot, in which McQueen's character, Capt 'Buzz' Rickson, and his navigator 1st Lt Ed Bolland, played by Robert Wagner, vie for the attentions of the same woman, Daphne Caldwell, portrayed by Shirley Anne Field. It is indeed a shallow exposition of Rickson's psychology, which might otherwise have been quite an interesting theme.