the personnel in the arrangement remind me of the la lakers basketball team ( around the time this film be make ) when they have hall of famers wilt chamberlain and jerry west and elgin baylor on the same squad . there be great expectation for a team with three superstar but they never jell a a unit and be a dismal failure overall . such be the case with elia kazan the arrangement and a crashing and sloppy out of touch melodrama of marital infidelity and despair . it would be hard to surpass the ten year run that elia kazan have a a film director from 1947 57. just about everything he direct turn to gold and those that do not then ( boomerang and panic in the street and face in the crowd ) have that respect today . in the early 60 he be still produce quality work ( splendor in the grass and america and america ) when he turn to write a best seller ( the arrangement ) eventually bring it to the screen in the late sixty . kazan and an actor director if their ever be one and who translate the word and feeling of john steinbeck and tennessee williams to film so well seem to be at a loss with his own work and his ability to coax well measure performance out of his cast . kirk douglas and deborah kerr and faye dunaway be uniformly shrill from start to finish mop from one scene to another and make it hard to believe they could feel tenderness for anything . the scene between douglas and his mistress ( dunaway ) lack intimacy and warmth and their passion force . with his wife ( kerr ) there be total detachment and not even a hint of why they get together in the first place . kerr for her part seem like she still in rehearsal . lack both sincerity and push she be badly miscast . richard boone a eddie overbear old man add to the disaster with complete over the top bombast and make a lot of noise and say nothing that bring incite to the role . have fail at what he do best ( direct actor ) kazan go on to embarrass himself far by employ some of the late technique ( include batman pop art ) to be au courant in this heady era of american film but in his hand he fumble . even the highly regarded cinematographer and john surtees flounder with sloppy camera movement and uninspired composition . it a if everyone attach to the making of the arrangement suffer from talent amnesia . kazan have certainly lose his touch and the arrangement in one full swoop symbolize that decline . a a film director he have nothing leave in the tank .