Master Sergeant Albert Callan (Rod Steiger) tries to overcome an overwhelming attraction he feels for one of his charges, handsome Private Swanson (John Phillip Law). Set in a post-World War II army post in France, war hero Callan barks orders to his underlings. Lonely in his solitude, remembering the frightening experiences of war, filled with self-loathing, and unable to act on his attraction to Swanson, Callan's affection festers into antagonism. He pushes Swanson constantly with verbal assaults and undeserved punishments. Oblivious to Callan's attraction to him, Swanson feels hatred for his Master Sergeant. The private is very dense, and is so hostile that it seems Callan would have to be crazy to chase after him. This film has very obvious symbols: a beer bottle handled as if it were a phallus, and fondled guns with the same message. It works against the melodrama, so when Callan finally grabs and kisses Swanson, there is no surprise, only an appreciation that lets us enjoy a performance while being aware of it. What is missing from "The Sergeant" is a revelation, something that would illuminate the sergeant's defeat and the private's salvation. Steiger is too good an actor to camp it up, but he lacks subtlety, and is mean, commanding, and pathetic in his courtship of the private. This despite the fact that a short opening sequence seems to establish the sergeant's lack of awareness about himself. During a patrol, Callan comes upon a German soldier. His gun jams and he pursues the soldier, finally strangling him in what is the reverse of an act of love.
The screenplay is by Dennis Murphy, based on his novel. When "The Sergeant" appeared in 1958, one reviewer described it as the story of a young man's personal discovery in a contest between good and evil. It squarely addresses the issue of homosexuality in an authoritarian environment where lower-ranked people have no defense against sexual predation. This central situation has been retained in Murphy's screenplay, but the point of view has been shifted to a dramatic vacuum between the private and the sergeant. John Flynn directed.
