The Big Knife is a 1955 American melodrama film directed and produced by Robert Aldrich from a screenplay by James Poe based on the 1949 play by Clifford Odets.

The film stars Jack Palance, Ida Lupino, Wendell Corey, Jean Hagen, Rod Steiger, Shelley Winters, Ilka Chase, and Everett Sloane.

[5] The story delves into the dark side of Hollywood, exploring themes of corruption, betrayal, and the destructive nature of fame.

The film is noted for its intense atmosphere and sharp critique of the pressures and moral compromises inherent in show business.

It received critical acclaim for its direction, screenplay, and strong ensemble cast, cementing its place as a significant work in 1950s American cinema.

In Los Angeles, movie actor Charlie Castle (in voice-over narration) admits he "sold out his dreams but can't forget them."

Charlie declines to discuss the matter, and Patty instead inquires about a years-old scandal, involving a fatal accident that sent Buddy to jail.

Alone together, Marion questions her husband's future career plans, including whether Charlie will sign a new seven-year contract to Stanley Hoff, the studio boss.

Later that day, Charlie's agent Nat Danziger, who has met with Hoff, advises him to sign the contract or face jail time.

He wrote: Actually, it looks as though The Big Knife originally was written and aimed as an angry, vituperative incident of the personal and professional morals of Hollywood.

[8] The Chicago Tribune wrote: This tale of blackmail, intended murder, marital infidelity and eventual suicide boasts some excellent performances.

It is laid in Hollywood, and Rod Steiger gives his role—that of a domineering, outwardly emotional but inwardly cold blooded producer—such conviction that it just about carries the film….The basic plot was cunningly conceived, and there are some bluntly effective scenes, but unfortunately the story is turgid with typical Odets dialog.

The author seems to be in love with the sound of his verbose and often meaningless prose, and most of the characters are forced to deliver it in long and boring speeches…..The audience accepted these wordy flights stolidly, but reacted definitely to Everett Sloane as a mealy-mouthed agent, to Wendell Corey as an efficient hatchet man for the ruthless producer, and to Jean Hagen and Shelley Winters as a couple of aggressive females.

[9] Film critic Dennis Schwartz wrote in 2004: Robert Aldrich... directs this intelligent noirish melodrama...The film did not have a good box office according to Aldrich because the public never felt sympathetic to Palance's character and Palance himself didn't have matinee star good looks to make his part believable as a Hollywood star.

No major studio would make this exposé on tinseltown, so it was made by United Artists on a low-budget and shot in 16 days...The movie stresses that the struggle is a personal one over survival and redemption rather than idealism, which allows the sparks to fly among the disagreeable leading characters as they trade lines only an insider could pen.

He expresses all his anguish and hurt in the star system he willingly signed on for to reap the benefits of the rewards, and shows the futility that boggles his mind to the point he doesn't realize when he's acting or speaking for real.

"[10] Film critic Jeff Stafford wrote in 2008: [Of the previous Hollywood-exposé dramas] none...can match the negative depiction of the movie business and its power brokers offered in The Big Knife...The use of long takes by cinematographer Ernest Laszlo adds greatly to the film's claustrophobic tension and the mingling of fictitious names with real ones (Billy Wilder, Elia Kazan, William Wyler and others) throughout the dialogue gives The Big Knife a candid, almost documentary-like quality at times.