review for I Am a Camera on AllMovie

I Am a Camera has lost a considerable amount of punch through the years, partially because the musical film version (Cabaret) is on the whole a better realized version of the basic story. Too, the film is somewhat bowdlerized from the stage play, although not as much as might have been supposed. More problematic is the fact that the leading male character is essentially a cipher -- and an annoying one at that. Things happen TO rather than WITH Christopher, and the amount to which this character allows himself to be victimized becomes actively annoying. Fortunately, Lawrence Harvey has sufficient charm to help mitigate this effect. Even more fortunately, the film is really all about Julie Harris and her marvelously mannered performance. Sally Bowles is an over-the-top character, and Harris plays her full out -- but with enough skill to keep her from being a simple caricature. Occasionally Harris plays a little too much for the audience instead of for the camera, but this is very rare; most of the time she does a splendid job of making a theatrical character work on celluloid. Aside from the leads (and from some very nice supporting work by Anton Diffring), there's also some nice camerawork and a number of witty lines and situation. But there's also a ridiculous framing sequence, an inability to deal with Christopher's sexuality and an avoidance of deeper issues that are troubling. Still, if Camera is less than perfect, it's still valuable for capturing one of Harris' brightest performances.