Town Without Pity deserves credit for trying to tackle some explosive subject matters -- several explosive subject matters, actually. For a film in 1961 to take on rape, let alone gang rape, let alone gang rape by U.S. servicemen stationed abroad took guts. For it to also take on the hypocrisy and pettiness of a community affected by this heinous act and then to further address the issue of the victim's potential "complicity" took even more guts. Unfortunately, what could have been a truly fascinating, in-depth look at the complexities of these issues comes off instead as overblown and overwrought, a film with a lot of posturing and theatrics instead of a serious consideration of the issues. As a result, much of Town feels exploitive rather than insightful. It's still powerful stuff, mind you, and that sheer power will be enough for many viewers. Gottfried Reinhardt's direction is uneven; when he connects, he makes the material jump, but when he misses, it seriously affects the film's impact. And it was a major miscalculation to use constant voiceover narration, a tactic which quickly becomes grating. Kirk Douglas does a splendid job as the defense attorney trying to save his guilty clients from the death penalty, Christine Kaufmann does quite well as the victim and E.G. Marshall is solid as her lawyer. Perhaps the most surprising work comes from Frank Sutton (TV's Sgt. Carter on Gomer Pyle) as one of the rapists and the best work from a magnetic Robert Blake as one of the other violators. And yes, Gene Pitney's hit song does indeed come from this movie -- unfortunately, played so frequently that it becomes as annoying as the narration.