Review of The Pawnbroker (1965) by Aaron B — 28 Aug 2007

Very strong movie - almost a great one. It treats the Holocaust at the level of the individual psyche, presenting a survivor and asking how much of him actually survived. I can see why Steiger's performance was so ballyhooed, but his effective underplaying is marred by a handful of moments of over-the-top angst.

There is terrific acting from most of the supporting cast, particularly Geraldine Fitzgerald and Brock Peters. The only consistent problem I had with the movie was Quincy Jones's score, which intrudes distractingly in the melodramatic style common to television dramas of the era.