The Sergeant

Master Sergeant Albert Callan (Rod Steiger) is one tough G.I. During World War II, he killed an enemy soldier with his bare hands. Now in postwar France, he wrests control of his army post away from an ineffective superior. But another Sergeant Callan lives behind the snarl and the stare: a man overwhelmed by his repressed attraction to a handsome young private (John Phillip Law). In this insightful exploration of homosexuality made in an era of widespread intolerance, Steiger (The Pawnbroker, In the Heat of the Night) gives a stunning performance -- one both volcanic and nuanced -- that illuminates Callan's tragic, tormenting battle with his true nature.