The first African-American to direct a major film for a Hollywood
studio was Gordon Parks, whose feature film debut "The Learning Tree"
was released in 1969. Parks may have shattered the glass ceiling but
there wasn't a tidal wave of opportunities that immediately opened for
other minority filmmakers, in part because there were so few with any
formal training in the art. One beneficiary of Parks' achievement was
Ossie Davis, who was internationally respected as a well-rounded artist.
He was a triple threat: actor, director and writer but his directing
skills had been relegated to the stage. In 1970 Davis co-wrote the
screenplay for and directed "Cotton Comes to Harlem", a major production
for United Artists. The film was based on a novel by African-American
writer Chester Himes and proved to be pivotal in ushering in what became
known as the Blaxploitation genre. In reality, it's debatable whether
"Cotton" really is a Blaxploitation film. While most of the major roles
are played by Black actors, the term "Blaxploitation" has largely come
to symbolize the kinds of goofy, low-budget films that are fondly
remembered as guilty pleasures. However, "Cotton"- like Gordon Parks's
"Shaft" films which would follow- boasts first class production values
and top talent both in front of and behind the cameras. Regardless, the
movie had sufficient impact at the boxoffice to inspire a seemingly
endless barrage of Black-oriented American films that were all the rage
from the early to mid-1970s. The Blaxploitation fever burned briefly but
shone brightly and opened many doors for minority actors.
The film was shot when New York City was in the midst of a
precipitous decline in terms of quality of life. Crime was soaring, the
infrastructure was aging and the city itself would be on the verge of
bankruptcy a few years later. Harlem was among the hardest hit areas in
terms of the economy. The once dazzling jewel of a neighborhood had
boasted popular nightclubs, theaters and restaurants that attracted
affluent white patrons. By the mid-to-late 1960s, however, that had
changed radically. Street crimes, organized gangs and the drug culture
spread rapidly, making Harlem a very dangerous place to be. It was
foreboding enough if you were Black but it was considered a "Forbidden
Zone" for most white people, who spent their money elsewhere, thus
exacerbating the decline of the neighborhoods. "Cotton Comes to Harlem"
serves as an interesting time capsule of what life was like in the area,
having been shot during this period of decline. Director Davis was
considered royalty in Harlem. Despite his success in show business, he
and his equally acclaimed wife, actress Ruby Dee, never "went
Hollywood". They stayed in the community and worked hard to improve the
environment. Thus, Davis was perfectly suited to capture the action on
the streets in a manner that played authentically on screen. Similarly,
he had a real feel for the local population. As with any major urban
area, Harlem undoubtedly had its share of amusing eccentrics and Davis
populates the movie with plenty of such characters.
The film opens with a major rally held by Rev. Deke O'Malley (Calvin
Lockhart), a local guy who made good and who is idolized by the
population of Harlem. O'Malley is a smooth-talking, charismatic con man
in the mode of the notorious Reverend Ike who uses religion as a facade
to rip off gullible followers. This time, O'Malley has launched a "Back
to Africa" campaign for which he is soliciting funds. It's based on the
absurd premise that he will be able to finance disgruntled Harlem
residents back to the land of their ancestry. The hard-working,
semi-impoverished locals end up donating $87,000 in cash but the rally
is interrupted by a daring daytime robbery. An armored car filled with
masked men armed with heavy weaponry descend upon the goings-on, loot
the cashbox and take off. They are pursued by two street-wise local
cops, "Grave Digger" Jones (Godfrey Cambridge) and his partner "Coffin"
Ed Johnson (Raymond St. Jacques). Davis provides an exciting and
colorful car chase through the streets of Harlem, as the cops fail to
snag the robbers. They also discover that O'Malley has gone missing,
leading them to believe that he orchestrated the heist himself so he
could keep the proceeds raised at the rally. The plot becomes rather
convoluted, as Jones and Johnson learn that a bale of cotton has arrived
in Harlem and its somehow connected to the crime. They assume that the
stolen money has been stashed in said cotton bale, which quickly changes
hands among the most unsavory characters in the community. Getting in
on the action is a white mob boss and his goons who are also trying to
recover the cotton bale. The cotton itself is resented in Harlem because
of its historical links to slavery and by the end of the film, the bale
ends up in a stage show at the famed Apollo Theater where it is used as
a prop in a bizarre production that involves historical observations
about the black experience intermingled with a striptease act! Through
it all, Jones and Johnson doggedly chase any number of people through
the streets, engage in shoot-outs and car chases and come in and out of
contact with Rev. O'Malley, who professes his innocence about being
involved in the robbery. The Rev isn't so innocent when it comes to
other unscrupulous activities such as chronically cheating on his
long-suffering girlfriend Iris (Judy Pace) and manipulating other women
in a variety of ways.
The most delightful aspect of the film is the showcasing of some very
diverse talents of the era. Godfrey Cambridge (who made it big as a
stand-up comic) and Raymond St. Jacques enjoy considerable on-screen
chemistry even if the script deprives them of the kind of witty dialogue
that would have enhanced their scenes together. They make wisecracks
all the time and harass some less-than-savory characters but the
screenplay never truly capitalizes on Cambridge's comedic potential. The
film's most impressive performance comes from Calvin Lockhart, who
perfectly captures the traits of phony, larger-than-life "preachers".
He's all flashy good looks, gaudy outfits and narcissistic behavior.
Lockhart seems to be having a ball playing this character and the screen
ignites every time he appears. There are some nice turns by other good
character actors including pre-"Sanford and Son" Redd Foxx, who figures
in the film's amusing "sting-in-the-tail" ending, John Anderson as the
exasperated white captain of a Harlem police station that is constantly
on the verge of being besieged by local activists, Lou Jacobi as a junk
dealer, Cleavon Little as a local eccentric, J.D. Canon as a mob hit man
and Dick Sabol as a goofy white cop who suffers humiliation from
virtually everyone (which is sort of a payback for the decades in which
Black characters were routinely used as comic foils). The film has a
surprisingly contemporary feel about it, save for a few garish fashions
from the 1970s. It's also rather nostalgic to hear genuine soul music
peppered through the soundtrack in this pre-rap era. Happily, life has
not imitated art in the years since the film was released. Harlem has
been undergoing the kind of Renaissance that would have seemed
unimaginable in 1970. The old glory has come back strong and the center
of the neighorhood, 125th Street, is vibrant and thriving once again.
These societal perspectives make watching "Cotton Comes to Harlem"
enjoyable on an entirely different level than simply an amusing crime
comedy.
The film is currently streaming on Screenpix, available for subscription through Amazon Prime.
Here's a blast from the past: In August, 1966, Boxoffice magazine reported on the opening of a new, state-of-the-art 900+ seat movie theater: the Winchester in Lubbock, Texas. The description reads:
"It was constructed at a cost of about $250,000...Exterior finish of the the theatre is of face brick, Egyptian stucco and glass. From the 400-vehicle paved parking area, lighted and supervised, at the front of the Winchester, patrons enter the theatre under the canopy protection of a drive-through portico. (There is) an elaborate box office, with inside and outside service windows for convenience and a refreshment center highlights the foyer. Year around air-conditioning comfort-controls the entire structure. The projection room, with an all-transistor Century sound system, is equipped for all processes, including Cinerama. Projectors are Century with Strong Futura lamps...The 1,820- square-foot screen measures 28 x 65 feet. There is no stage. Invitational previews of the theatre and showings of the premiere attraction, "Doctor Zhivago", were held on August 16 and 17 and formal opening for the general public-a sellout- was held on August 18. A full house of dignitaries and opinion-makers, industry representatives, and Lubbock press, radio and television people were guests for the Tuesday affair."
Oscar-nominated director Norman Jewison has passed away at age 97. Born in Canada, he served in the Canadian navy in WWII. He made his mark in Hollywood in the mid-1960s. His first directorial effort, the romantic comedy "40 Pounds of Trouble" starring Tony Curtis was a hit. This led to him directing Doris Day and James Garner in "The Thrill of It All", one of the most popular movies of 1963. More hit comedies followed including "Send Me No Flowers" with Doris Day and Rock Hudson and the all-star production of "The Art of Love". Jewison got his first opportunity to direct a drama when the mercurially-tempered Sam Peckinpah was fired from "The Cincinnati Kid" starring Steve McQueen in 1965. Jewison stepped in to replace him, earning critical praise. A string of very popular and diverse films followed including the classic Cold War comedy "The Russians are Coming. The Russians are Coming", the racially-tinged crime drama "In the Heat of the Night" which won the Best Picture Oscar and the classic crime caper "The Thomas Crown Affair". Jewison was hoping to cast Sean Connery in the lead role but was persuaded by Steve McQueen to give him the part because McQueen very much wanted to prove he could play a sophisticated rogue. The film was a major hit and spawned a popular 1999 remake starring Pierce Brosnan.
Jewison's diversity as a filmmaker was illustrated by his direction of the high profile 1971 musical "Fiddler on the Roof", based on the Broadway stage production. Jewison was amused when, upon being hired, he confessed to the United Artists brass that he not Jewish, despite his surname. The irony of him directing the ultimate Jewish musical was not lost on the executives who were Jewish. They believed Jewison could be entrusted with the film and it proved to be a major hit in an era in which many other big-budget musicals had flopped. Jewison was nominated for the Best Director Oscar and would be nominated again for the 1987 smash hit comedy "Moonstruck" starring Cher, who did win an Oscar for the film. Not all of Jewison's films were successful critically and at the boxoffice. Among those that didn't meet expectations were "F.I.S.T." and the screen adaptation of "Jesus Christ, Superstar". His futuristic thriller "Rollerball" under-performed in 1975 but has developed a loyal following in the ensuing years. The political satire "And Justice for All" was well-received as was the film adaptation of the play "A Soldier's Story" but most of his other films were not especially successful critically or commercially, although his 1999 production of "The Hurricane" saw Denzel Washington nab a Best Actor nomination in the true life story of former boxer "Hurricane" Carter, who waged a long campaign to prove that he was unjustly jailed for murder. Jewison's film was a lightning rod for controversy. Carter's supporters welcomed the sympathetic portrayal of him as a victim of a racist justice system. Others accused Jewison of being naive and ignoring considerable evidence that Carter was guilty. Either way, Jewison proved he could still stir things up on the big screen. His last big screen feature film was the little-seen "The Statement" starring Michael Caine.
Norman Jewison was a consummate professional who was respected by his peers and appreciated by movie fans worldwide. He was an early contributor to Cinema Retro and we join film lovers around the globe in mourning his passing. For more, click here.
By the time Burt Reynolds finally starred in the 1972 classic
"Deliverance", he had been paying his dues in Hollywood for many years
with varying degrees of success on television. His feature films,
however, were strictly "B" grade. Saul David, who produced a 1970 film
starring Reynolds titled "Skullduggery", bemoaned at the time that he
should have been a major movie star but bad luck seemed to always
interfere. Reynolds wisely cultivated an image as a hip, towel-snapping
wiseguy through appearing on seemingly every American game and chat
show. His appearances on "The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson" merited
"must-see TV" status. Ironically, "Deliverance" entirely abandoned this
popular image of Reynolds and afforded him a dramatic role that he
fulfilled with excellent results. But the success of the film made
Reynolds anxious to prove he could sustain his boxoffice clout without
the help of a strong co-star, in the case of of "Deliverance", Jon
Voight. Reynolds chose wisely for his follow-up feature. "White
Lightning" was developed under the working title "McClusky". The role of
a hunky, charismatic southern good ol' boy fit Reynolds like a glove
because it allowed him to incorporate his penchant for performing stunts
with his flippant, wise-cracking TV persona.
Filmed in Arkansas, the movie finds Reynolds as "Gator" McClusky, a
man doing prison time for running illegal moonshine. Gator still has
another year to spend on the prison farm when he gets word that his
younger brother has been murdered. (We see the scene play out over the
opening credits in which two young men are brutally drowned in a swamp
by the local sheriff, J.C. Connors (Ned Beatty) and his deputy.) Enraged
and spoiling for revenge, Gator accepts a deal to work undercover for
federal agents to expose Connors as the local Huey Long-type power
broker in Bogan County. Indeed, the seemingly affable, understated
Connors runs the entire county like a personal fiefdom, using extortion,
shakedowns and outright murder to ensure his stature. He also gets a
piece of the action from the very moonshiners he's supposed to
prosecute. Gator feels uncomfortable working as a snitch but it's the
only way to find out why his brother was killed and to bring Connors to
justice. Using his considerable charm and his background as a guy from a
small rural community, he finds himself quickly working for a moonshine
ring headed by Big Bear (R.G. Armstrong), who is brutal in retribution
against anyone who crosses him. Gator is assigned to deliver moonshine
with a partner, Roy Boone (Bo Hopkins). They spend a lot of time
together and become fast friends, even though Roy's hot-to-trot
girlfriend Lou (Jennifer Billingsley) succeeds in seducing Gator, thus
endangering his mission when Roy gets wind of the deception. When Gator
learns the reason why his brother and his friend were murdered, he
becomes even more vengeful, leading to a spectacular car chase involving
Connors and his corrupt deputies.
"White Lightning" was directed by Joseph Sargent, who was primarily
known for his work in television. He fulfills the requirements of the
film quite well, though the spectacular car chases and jaw-dropping
action scenes were largely the work of legendary stutman/coordinator Hal
Needham, who would go on to work on many films with Reynolds. The film
is consistently lively but it also has moments of poignancy and drama.
The supporting cast is terrific with Ned Beatty of "Deliverance"
reuniting with Reynolds with good results. Beatty underplays the sense
of menace attributable to his character. He also plays up his status as a
pillar of the community, tossing off barbs about how hippies and big
city liberals threaten "our values" and-worst of all- encourage "our
coloreds to vote!". Meanwhile, he is heading up a vast criminal
enterprise. Jennifer Billingsley is wonderful as the lovable air-headed
seductress who will jump into bed with a man if there's a prospect of
getting a new dress out of the bargain. There are also fine turns by Bo
Hopkins, R.G. Armstrong and Diane Ladd (whose name in the opening and
closing credits is misspelled as "Lad". Ouch!) The movie turned out to
be a big hit for United Artists, aided in part by striking ad campaigns
with the same weapon-as-phallic symbol design employed for Richard
Roundtree's "Shaft's Big Score" the previous year coupled with another
poster showing Reynolds behind the wheel of a speeding car. Sex and
speed became hallmarks for promoting a Reynolds action movie.
Kino Lorber has reissued their 2019 Blu-ray edition, which is
first-rate in all aspects, with a fine transfer and a 2014 interview
with Burt Reynolds, who looks back fondly on the importance the movie
had on proving he could be top-billed in a hit movie. The film initiated
his association with rural-based comedies and action films and three
years later, a successful sequel ("Gator") would be released. Reynolds
also drops the interesting fact that this was to be Steven Spielberg's
first feature film. However, Reynolds says the young TV director got
cold feet about his ability to film on so many difficult locations,
given that his background was largely working in studios. Reynolds
praises his co-star Ned Beatty and reminds everyone that "White
Lightning" was only his second film, having made his screen debut in
"Deliverance". He is also very complimentary towards Jennifer
Billingsley and regrets that she never became a big star. Reynolds also
discusses Hal Needham's zealousness for performing dangerous stunts and
relates how one key scene in which a car shoots out over water to land
on a moving barge almost went disastrously wrong. He says the film has a
realistic atmosphere because of the screenplay by William W. Norton,
who adapted many aspects of his own hard scrabble life. The only
negative note Reynolds sounds is about Diane Ladd, who he cryptically
says he did not like working with, although he doesn't go into detail as
to why.The set includes a new feature not available on the previous
Blu-ray release: a commentary track by film historian collaborators
Steve Mitchell and Nathaniel Thompson. As far as commentary tracks are
concerned, the duo are always terrific and this outing is no exception.
Their easy-going, laid-back and humorous style is appropriate for the
tone of the film. They go into great detail about aspects of the and
cast. I hadn't realized until listening to the track how on-the-mark
they are in assessing Ned Beatty as an actor whose physical appearance
varied dramatically depending upon the type of story he was cast in.
Indeed, they are correct. The evil good ol' boy corrupt sheriff of
"White Lightning" is light years away from the fish-out-water rape
victim of "Deliverance" or the demagogic TV executive of "Network". The
track is good enough to merit upgrading to this version of the Blu-ray
even if you have the previous release.
The Blu-ray also includes the original trailer, which was very
effective in playing up Reynolds' emerging star power and reversible sleeve art showing an alternative ad campaign. Highly
recommended.
"Young Billy Young" is the kind of film of which it can be said, "They don't make 'em like that anymore". Not because the movie is so exceptional. In fact, it isn't exceptional on any level whatsoever. Rather, it's the sheer ordinariness of the entire production that makes one pine away for an era in which top talent could be attracted to enjoyable, if unremarkable, fare such as this. Such films, especially Westerns, were churned out with workmanlike professionalism to play to undemanding audiences that didn't require mega-budget blockbusters to feel they got their money's worth at the boxoffice. Sadly, such movies have largely gone the way of the dodo bird. In today's film industry, bigger must always be better and mid-range flicks such as are no longer made. However, through streaming services such as ScreenPix, it's possible to still enjoy the simple pleasures that such movies provide. (The Kino Lorber Blu-ray is now out of print.)
The story opens with botched robbery in Mexico committed by Billy Young (Robert Walker) and some cohorts including Jesse (David Carradine). The plan to steal horses from the Mexican military goes awry and Billy is forced to split from his fellow robbers with the army in hot pursuit. Making his way back across the border to New Mexico, he is penniless and desperate. He has a chance encounter with Ben Kane (Robert Mitchum), a tough, sarcastic older man who he encounters again in a nearby town. Here, Billy is being cheated at cards by the local sheriff, who goads him into a gunfight. Billy ends up killing him but stands to be framed for the sheriff's death. He's saved by Ben, who rides along with him to another town where Ben has agreed to take on the job of lawman. Ostensibly he is there to keep order and collect back taxes from deadbeats but in reality, he is on a mission of revenge. Some years before, Ben's son had been gunned down by a criminal named Boone (John Anderson) and Kane has learned that Boone is a presence in the new town and that he is being protected by a local corrupt businessman, John Behan (Jack Kelly). Ben makes his presence known immediately by enforcing the law in a strict manner. He's confronted by Behan, who tries to intimidate him. This results in Behan being slapped around by Kane. Behan also grows to resent the new lawman because he is flirting with his mistress, saloon entertainer Lily Beloit (Angie Dickinson). When Behan abuses her as punishment, he gets another beating from Kane. Meanwhile, Billy runs into Jesse and accuses him of having deserted him in Mexico. The two men fight it out and Jesse is later involved with the accidental shooting of the town's beloved doctor while in the employ of Behan. Kane learns that Jesse is Boone's son and holds him in jail as bait for Boone to come out of hiding. The plan works all too well. Boone turns up with a small army and lays siege to the jailhouse where Kane and Billy are holed up.
"Young Billy Young" was compared to a TV show by New York Times critic Howard Thompson on the basis that it contains so many standard elements of westerns from this time period. There is the bad girl with the heart of gold, the evil business tycoon, the brash young gun and his wiser, older mentor, the heroes outnumbered by superior forces and a lovable old coot (played against type by Paul Fix in full Walter Brennan/Gabby Hayes mode.) Yet somehow it all works very well, thanks mostly to Robert Mitchum's stalwart presence. With his trademark ramrod stiff walk and cool persona, Mitchum tosses off bon mots like a frontier version of 007. Even the Times acknowledged that "Mitchum can do laconic wonders with a good wise-crack". He has considerable chemistry with Dickinson, though the action between the sheets is more implied than shown. Robert Walker Jr. acquits himself well in the title role and David Carradine makes an impression even with limited screen time. The film was directed by Burt Kennedy, an old hand at directing fine westerns in reliable, if not remarkable, style and it all culminates in a rip-snorting shoot-out that is genuinely exciting. The fine supporting cast includes Willis Bouchey, Parley Baer and Deanna Martin (Dino's daughter) in her acting debut. One oddball element to the film: Mitchum croons the title song over the opening credits. If this sounds strange, keep in mind that Mitchum improbably once had a hit album of calypso music.
The film is currently streaming on ScreenPix, which is available to Amazon Prime customers for $2.99 a month.
From a 1974 issue of Boxoffice magazine, though the photos are from at least a couple of years previous to this issue with the exception of the depiction of the Colorado 4 Cinemas in Denver, which was an artist's concept drawing. The Alameda Theatre in San Francisco is showing "Pete 'n Tille" with Carol Burnett and Walter Matthau, while the Americana 5 multiplex in Panorama City, California is showing "The Graduate", "Doctor Zhivago", "The Dunwich Horror", "The Brain" and "Take the Money and Run". The photos were from an advertisement promoting theater chains.
"Some Kind of a Nut" is yet another obscure movie from the late 1960s (1969, to be precise) that is available through Screenpix, which is an ancillary subscription channel through Amazon Prime. The film is not currently available on home video in the U.S. and I don't know if it ever was. I was aware that the movie didn't make any impact upon its initial release but, given the amount of talent involved in it, I thought it was time to invest 90 minutes of my life to see a collaboration between star Dick Van Dyke and legendary writer/director Garson Kanin. Van Dyke was a hot property at the time, having left his classic TV sitcom "The Dick Van Dyke Show" to concentrate on a career in feature films, where he initially found considerable success. Van Dyke was busy with so many projects at the time that "Some Kind of a Nut" had a bizarre shooting schedule to accommodate him. According to the TCM web site, some of the film was shot in May of 1968 with the rest filmed in January 1969. The logistics of arranging this with a full cast and crew must have been challenging but Van Dyke's presence in the film led United Artists to agree to the terms. The company had recently released "Chitty Chitty Bang Bang" with Van Dyke in the starring role. The studio was also seeking a long-term relationship with Garson Kanin and signed him to a four-picture deal arranged by producer Walter Mirisch, but none of the other projects came to fruition and Kanin retired from making feature films after "Some Kind of a Nut".
Van Dyke is cast as Fred Amidon, a mousey bank teller who works in a busy branch in the heart of mid-town Manhattan. He and the other employees suffer in an Orwellian atmosphere under the thumb of a priggish, humorless boss who demands complete conformity with conservative banking policies. Fred is also carrying the weight of his pending divorce from his wife Rachel (Angie Dickinson) which will be finalized in a few weeks time. His one pleasant diversion is his romantic relationship with fellow bank clerk Pamela Anderson (no, not that Pamela Anderson) played by Rosemary Forsyth. While enjoying a precious lunch hour together in Central Park, Fred is stung on the chin by a bee. The painful sting proves to be stubborn and won't go away even when the couple leave on a cross-country vacation. Frustrated by the unsightly wound on his chin, Fred decides to grow a beard. (For a bank with prison-like working conditions, the institution must have a very liberal vacation policy, as Fred and Pamela have enough time to drive to San Francisco and back and for Fred's beard to come into full glory.) Upon returning to the bank, his new appearance causes a scandal. His boss insists that he shave it off, as beards are against bank policy. When Fred refuses, he is summarily fired. His stance earns him the respect of his fellow employees and when the media learns of his situation, he becomes a cause celebre. Before long, Fred becomes a reluctant hero to everyday people who are fed up with having to conform to outdated policies in society. He is particularly embraced by the counter-culture movement, making him an unlikely figurehead for local hippies. He has more problems: his soon to be ex-wife Rachel reconnects with him because she is impressed by his new-found courage. This complicates things with Pamela, who detests the beard and the symbolism it represents. She's under the influence of her two meddlesome brothers who seek to compromise Fred's status as a cult figure. Meanwhile, Fred starts to dabble in Eastern mysticism and begins consulting an Asian guru in one of the film's funniest scenes. Beyond this, however, Kanin's script is anything but unpredictable and you can pretty much guess the outcome of the movie long before it arrives.
"Some Kind of a Nut" was filmed under the working title "The One with the Fuzz". It was a dud with critics and audiences, as was often the case when older filmmakers tried to be relevant to the anti-Establishment crowd of the era. (All the hippies are safe, joyous and satisfied carrying protest signs that are about as controversial as "No Trespassing". There isn't a hint of the Vietnam War and civil rights protests that defined the era, let alone any expletives. The film paints a Brady Bunch-like depiction of a time that never was. Nevertheless, the script does have something to say about the price of conformity, expressed in comical fashion through the inimitable talents of Dick Van Dyke, who makes otherwise unfunny scenes amusing. Angie Dickinson has a rather bland role and her screen time is limited, though director Kanin ensures there is a scene set at a swimming pool for no other reason than to present the welcome sight of Dickinson in a bikini.The film also has the virtue of presenting some nostalgic scenes shot on location in Manhattan. For Dick Van Dyke, the movie would be the first of two feature films released in 1969 that were ambitious in content but failures at the boxoffice and with critics, although the second film, Carl Reiner's comedy/drama "The Comic" has earned respect over the years in certain quarters. Van Dyke would only star in one more comedy on the big screen, "Cold Turkey", released in 1971. That film proved to be quite popular. Thereafter, he would not star in a feature film for another eight years, when he appeared in the leading role in Stanley Kramer's admirable but under-appreciated final movie "The Runner Stumbles", in which Van Dyke gave a fine dramatic performance. He returned to the medium where he had originally found success: television and his late career series "Diagnosis: Murder" would prove to be a major hit that ran for many seasons.
("Some Kind of a Nut" is currently streaming on Screenpix, available to Amazon Prime subscribers for an additional $2.99 a month.)
Don Knotts
came to fame with his trademark comedy style of portraying a meek, excessively
nervous character. He was Woody Allen before Woody Allen was Woody Allen.
Knotts honed his skills on Steve Allen's show in the 1950s, with his "man
on the street" Nervous Nellie routine sending audiences into fits of
laughter. He co-starred with fellow up-and-comer Andy Griffith in the hit
Broadway production of "No Time for Sergeants" and the subsequent
film version. When Griffith landed his own TV series in 1960 in which he played
the sheriff of fictional small town Mayberry, Knotts imposed upon him to write
a small, occasional part he could play as Barney Fife, Griffith's inept but
loyal sheriff. Griffith complied and the role made Knotts an icon of American
comedy, allowing him to win an astonishing five Emmys for playing the same
character. Five years into the series, Knotts was offered a multi-feature deal
by Lew Wasserman, the reigning mogul of Universal Pictures. Knotts took the
bait and enjoyed creative control over the films to a certain degree. He could
pretty much do what he wanted as long has he played the same nervous schlep audiences wanted to
see. The films had to be low-budget, shot quickly and enjoy modest profits from
rural audiences where Knotts' popularity skewed the highest. His first feature
film was The Ghost and Mr.
Chicken, released in 1966 and written by the same writing team from
the "The Andy Griffith Show". (Griffith actually co-wrote the script
but declined taking a writing credit.) The film astonished the industry,
rolling up big grosses in small markets where it proved to have remarkable
staying power. Similarly, his next film, The
Reluctant Astronaut also proved to be a big hit, as was his
1969 western spoof The
Shakiest Gun in the West. Within a few years, however,
changing audience tastes had rendered Knotts' brand of innocent, gentle humor
somewhat moot. By the late 1960s audiences were getting their laughs from the
new film freedoms. It was hard to find the antics of a middle-aged virgin much
fun when you could see Bob and Carol and Ted and Alice cavorting in the same
bed. Still, Knotts soldiered on, providing fare for the drive-in markets that
still wanted his films. In 1969 he made The
Love God?, a very funny and underrated film that tried to be more
contemporary by casting Knotts as an innocent ninny who is manipulated into
fronting what he thinks is a magazine for bird watchers but, in reality, is a
cover for a pornography empire. Knotts' traditional audience balked at the
relatively tame sex jokes and for his final film for Universal, How to Frame a Figg, he
reverted back to his old formula.
Released in
1971, Figg casts
Don Knotts as the titular character, Hollis Figg, a nondescript wimp who toils
as an overlooked accountant in a basement of city hall. The film is set in a
Mayberry-like small town environment but any other similarity ends there. In
Mayberry, only the visiting city slickers were ever corrupt. The citizenry may
have been comprised of goofballs and eccentrics, but they were all scrupulously
honest. In Figg's world, however, the top government officials are all con-men
and crooks. They are ruled by the town's beloved paternal father figure, Old
Charley Spaulding (Parker Fennelly), a decrepit character who hands out pennies
to everyone he encounters, with the heart-warming greeting "A shiny penny
for your future!" In fact, Old Charley has plenty of those pennies
stashed away. He and his hand-picked fellow crooks, including the mayor and
police chief, have been systemically ripping off the state by grossly inflating
the costs of local building projects and secretly pocketing the overages.
Concerned that the accountants might get wind of their activities, they
summarily fire them all except for Figg, who is deemed to be too naive to ever
catch on. They justify the firings by saying it's fiscally prudent and replace
the accountants with a gigantic computer that is supposed to be even more
efficient. Through a quirk of fate, Figg and his equally naive friend, Prentiss
(Frank Welker), the janitor for city hall, discover exactly what is going on.
Figg dutifully reports his findings to the mayor (Edward Andrews), who
convinces him to keep it secret while he launches his own investigation. Old
Charley, the mayor and their cohorts decide to make Figg the fall guy for the
corrupt practices. They give him a big promotion, a new red convertible and
even hire a private secretary for him. She's Glorianna (Yvonne Craig), a leggy
femme fatale who wears mini skirts and oozes sex. When her attempts to seduce
Figg leave him paralyzed with fear because of his allegiance to his new
girlfriend, the equally virginal waitress Ema Letha (Elaine Joyce), Glorianna
gets Figg drunk, takes some embarrassing photos of him and then proceeds to have
him sign a stream of incriminating documents that he has not bothered to read.
Before long, Figg is blamed for all the missing funds and faces a jail
sentence- unless he and the dim-witted Prentiss can figure out how to use the
computer to thwart the real crooks.
When Lillian Helllman's "Toys in the Attic" debuted on Broadway in 1960, it was not unanimously acclaimed but it did win enough acclaim to secure major Tony nominations and enjoy a healthy run that lasted over one year. The show was an important career boost for up-and-coming Jason Robards, who played the male lead. In 1963, United Artists brought the play to the screen, directed by future Oscar winner George Roy Hill. It was Hill's second major film following "Period of Adjustment" the year before. In the 1950s and early 1960s, studios were enamored of moss-dripping family dramas set in the deep South. That's because this sub-genre often derived from the works of acclaimed authors such as Hellman, Tennessee Williams and William Inge. Some memorable films resulted: A Streetcar Named Desire, Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, Baby Doll and The Long Hot Summer among them. Although these stories diverge in terms of plot, there is a commonality: they generally deal with an emotionally-wrought woman or women who are devoted to a manipulative and generally charismatic cad."Toys in the Attic" is firmly entrenched in this scenario. Dean Martin plays Julian Berniers, a ne're-do-well hunky young man who returns to his family home in New Orleans with his new bride, Lily (Yvette Mimieaux). The house is occupied by Julian's two spinster sisters, Carrie (Geraldine Page) and Anna (Wendy Hiller), both of whom live in self-imposed isolation, largely removed from the outside world. Julian's reputation as a man with big dreams and small results precedes him. He has lost a valuable factory and is presumed in bankruptcy. However, he appears in a jubilant mood bearing expensive gifts for his bewildered sisters. Carrie is especially overjoyed to see him, having harbored incestuous feelings for Julian for many years. She takes an instant dislike to the affable but naive Lily, largely due to personal jealousy. Julian is loaded with cash after concluding a mysterious $150,000 business deal that he won't reveal the details of. He assures his sisters that their days of financial challenges are over and even books them on a European cruise. However, there are consequential aspects to the secrets that Julian keeps and as they are eventually unwoven, a web of lies, deceit and betrayal are unveiled with devastating consequences for all.
"Toys in the Attic" probably works better as a stage production. Director George Roy Hill, confined by a modest budget, doesn't try to "open up" the tale, as there are very few exterior shots in the film. In some cases, this proves to be a wise choice when transferring a stage production to the screen, as evidenced by "A Streetcar Named Desire" and "Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?". However, "Toys in the Attic" simply looks like a cheapo production despite the impressive cast. Dean Martin registers well in the role of Julian, a serial exaggerator and braggart who is finally trying to elevate himself from being known as a loser. Martin had already established himself as a serious actor in the wake of his breakup with Jerry Lewis, giving powerful performances in "The Young Lions" and "Some Came Running". Nevertheless, critics were rather cruel to him in regard to his casting in this film, but no one emerged unscathed except for Wendy Hiller, who is the only cast member whose performance is somewhat understated. Mimieux radiates wide-eyed innocence as Julian's child-like bride, but her whining and dependency grow weary to view. Coming off worst is Geraldine Page, who director Hill encourages to play her character in an over-the-top manner that comes close to Piper Laurie's lunatic mother in "Carrie". Gene Tierney makes a brief appearance as Lily's rich-but-shallow mother who Lily suspects of having paid Julien to marry her. There's also an interracial romance hinted at between Tierney's character and her Black servant, played by Frank Silvera. Apparently, this relationship was watered down from the stage production version. James Poe's screenplay is a muddled affair filled with some many eccentric characters concerned about so many scandals that the story becomes difficult to follow. New York Times critic Bosley Crowther wrote "With an eye for more melodramatics than for contours of character that might make plausible its story of two spinster sisters' odd devotion to their brother, Mr. Hill has allowed this turgid drama and his avid actors to get completely out of hand and run wild in a baffling confusion of theatrical bursts and attitudes." Other critics followed suit and the movie was a financial failure that seemed to diffuse Hollywood's belief that films about Southern scandal-scarred families meant good results at the boxoffice. Fortunately, all involved would move on to more impressive work.
"Toys in the Attic" is available on DVD through MGM.There are no bonus extras. Click here to order DVD from Amazon.
Warner Bros. provides this half-hour documentary about the making of director Ridley Scott's science fiction classic, which was considered to be a boxoffice disappointment when it opened in 1982.
"BLAST FROM THE PAST: FROM THE CINEMA RETRO ARCHIVES"
By Lee Pfeiffer
"Saturday Night Live" spawned many a memorable comic character, some of whom were exploited in feature films. While "The Coneheads" proved to be popular on the big screen, other TV-to-cinema transfers of iconic "SNL" pop culture figures proved to be duds. Al Franken's memorable incarnation of Stuart Smalley was the subject of "Stuart Saves His Family", a 1995 production directed by Harold Ramis that received some surprisingly favorable reviews but ended up with a North American boxoffice gross of less than $1 million. That ranks as a major success compared to "It's Pat: The Movie", released the prior year and starring Julia Sweeney as the androgynous character that proved to be a popular staple of "SNL" during this period. Pat was a visually unattractive figure with an obnoxious manner of speaking that repulsed his/her coworkers, who were constantly striving to discover whether Pat was a male or female. Inevitably, Pat would provide unintentionally ambiguous answers to leading questions that would only heighten the mystery and thwart those who were seeking to unveil Pat's genetic makeup. As the subject of five-minute comedy sketches the concept worked great and Sweeney's Pat became a popular staple of the show. Then Hollywood came knocking. Fox approached Sweeney to turn the concept into a feature film. Sweeney admitted she couldn't envision how Pat could remain interesting to viewers in any format other than TV skits. After putting some development money into the film, Fox agreed and backed off only to have Disney's Touchstone Pictures ride to the rescue and give the production the green light. The result was a disaster. The film was given some sporadic openings only to be pulled within a week due to complete rejection by audiences. The movie's boxoffice gross in North America stands at $61,000. Although modestly-budgeted, the movie still had cost more than $10 million to make. Time has not been kind to dear Pat, as it boasts a Rotten Tomatoes score of 0%. Now those brave souls at Kino Lorber have released a Blu-ray of "Pat: The Movie" and, consequently, it's time to revisit the film.
The plot (such as it is) opens with Pat alienating everyone in his/her orbit with obnoxious behavior. A local store owner gives Pat items for free just to expedite his/her departure. Pat tries various career moves but inevitably loses every job due to ineptness. Just when things seem hopeless, Pat finds love with Chris (Dave Foley in a role originated by Dana Carvey on "SNL"), another androgynous individual. The two set up house together and live as a normal couple, though both seem blissfully unaware that their sexuality is a mystery to those around them. Are they a straight couple? A gay couple? Two men? Two women? A subplot is introduced in which a hunky new neighbor, Kyle (Charles Rocket) and his wife Stacy (Julie Hayden) find their lives disrupted by Kyle's increasing obsession with Pat. He is sexually attracted to him/her, much to the alarm of Stacy, and that attraction turns into a psychological mania that finds Kyle dressing like Pat and even stroking a doll that resembles him/her. Meanwhile, the hapless Pat blunders into some successful career steps by making an appearance with a rock band that leads to him/ her becoming a media sensation. When he/she drops by a radio station to visit a friend, Kathy (Kathy Griffin), who hosts a popular romantic advice show, Pat unintentionally upstages her and gets the hosting gig. Pat's success has alienated Chris, who breaks up the relationship and decides to move abroad. The finale finds Pat coming to grips with his/her faults and making a mad dash to a cruise ship line to prevent Chris from leaving the country.
The animosity extended to "Pat: The Movie", which was directed by
Adam Bernstein, is a bit difficult to understand. It isn't very good, to
be sure, but it's amusing at times and never veers into the overtly
offensive gross-out humor that characterizes many of today's comedies.
One of the main problems with the film is that there are no sympathetic
characters. I don't recall Pat being an overt narcissist on the "SNL"
sketches but here the character is mean-spirited, self-centered and
devoid of any likable behavior. Kyle is even more repulsive and barely
looks up when his wife leaves him. Now this is an absurdist comedy, to
be sure, but the best comedies allow the audience to relate to the
protagonists on some level. Jerry Lewis and Jim Carrey played klutzes
but they were klutzes you could cheer for. Not so with Sweeney's Pat.
Additionally, Sweeney's fears that the one-note concept could not be
sustained over the course of a feature film proved correct. Even with
the running time of 77 minutes, the movie plods. Still, there are some
genuine laughs, most of them centered on the traditional gag of those
around Pat becoming increasingly frustrated by their failure to
determine his/her sex. When Pat and Chris are presented with a gift of a
sexy corset, they both smile wryly and say "We'll enjoy this!"
There is also some genuine amusement in Pat's physical appearance, a
kind of grotesque version of Jerry Lewis's Prof. Kelp from "The Nutty
Professor". But the laughs are too few even for the abbreviated running
time. There also some annoyances that are due to simple sloppiness: when
Pat tries to escape a pursuer, she randomly enters a building only to
find the place is a night club hosting a packed, on-going, ear-splitting
rock concert taking place apparently in the middle of the afternoon. Such absurdities leave one to think that the film was slapped together quickly in order to make a fast buck.
Julia Sweeney tragically faced more challenges than the complete
failure of "It's Pat" with critics and the public. Around the time of
the film's release, her brother was diagnosed with a terminal illness.
After caring for him, she was diagnosed with cancer. Sweeney beat the
disease and made lemonade from the lemons life had handed her when she
wrote and starred in her acclaimed one-woman play, "God Said Hah!" which
chronicled her personal trials and tribulations through a comedic lens.
(The play would later be the basis for a documentary.) Her co-star
Charles Rocket fared worse, committing suicide in 2005. However, most of
those associated with the debacle of "It's Pat" found their careers
survived. Director Adam Bernstein went on to a highly successful career
in television. Dave Foley continues to work steadily in TV and films and
Kathy Griffin emerged as a popular standup comedienne and pundit on CNN
until her increasingly foul-mouthed rants backfired, topped by sending
around an image on social media depicting her holding the bloody,
severed head of President Trump. That stunt achieved the distinction of
being denounced by even the president's most ardent critics and Griffin
lost her CNN gig.
"It's Pat" opened and closed before the age of E mail and social
media had taken the world by storm. It's failure today would have been
the stuff of snarky jokes and cynical criticisms of all those involved.
However, because the film wasn't highly anticipated, it's failure
occurred without much notice or damage to anyone's personal reputation.
There's plenty of laughs left in dear Pat but they can mostly be found
in the original "SNL" skits. Ironically, with transgender issues now the topic of current debates, the film might have found a more receptive audience today.
The Kino Lorber Blu-ray has an impressive transfer, a teaser trailer
for the film and a gallery of other comedies available through the
company.
Cinema Retro has received the following press release from Fabulous Films regarding the Region 2 Blu-ray and DVD releases of "Manhattan" and "Hannah and Her Sisters", which are being released on 28 August.
One of Woody Allen’s best-loved films, Hannah and Her Sisters, won
three richly deserved Oscars and is considered a joy from start to
perfectly-judged finish.
The films ensemble
cast includes Max von Sydow, Carrie Fisher, Sir Michael Caine, Diane Wiest, Lloyd
Nolan (who died 4 months before the film's release), Mia Farrow and Daniel
Stern. Caine won the Oscar for Best Actor in a Supporting Role while Wiest won
Best Actress in a Supporting Role. Allen won Best Screenplay (beating Crocodile
Dundee, My Beautiful Laundrette, Platoon and Salvador). Max von
Sydow and Barbara Hershey received a standing ovation from the crew after they
finished filming their characters' break-up scene.
The film has some
great one-liners, with a philosophical discussion about the nature of good and
evil getting shot down with “How should I know why there were Nazi’s, I don’t
even know how the can opener works”
Synopsis: Hannah (Mia Farrow) is a devoted wife, loving mother and successful
actress. She’s also the emotional backbone of the family, and her sisters Lee
(Barbara Hershey) and Holly (Dianne Wiest) depend on this stability while also
resenting it because they can’t help but compare Hannah’s seemingly perfect
life with theirs. But with her husband Elliott (Michael Caine) becoming
increasingly interested in Lee, it’s clear that Hannah might have problems of
her own.
Cast: Woody Allen, Michael
Caine, Mia Farrow, Carrie Fisher, Barbara Hershey, Lloyd Nolan, Maureen
O’Sullivan, Daniel Stern, Max von Sydow, Julie Kavner, Richard Jenkins, Fred
Melamed, Lewis Black, Joanna Gleason, John Turturro, Julia Louis-Dreyfus and
Dianne Wiest.
“One of (Woody)
Allen’s most enduring accomplishments” - BoxOffice
Nominated for two
Academy-Awards® Manhattan is a wry, touching and finely rendered portrait of
modern relationships set against the backdrop of urban alienation. Sumptuously
photographed in black and white (Allen’s first film in that format) and
accompanied by a magnificent Gershwin score which includes Rhapsody in Blue.
Released in 1979. Manhattan
won Best Film and Best Screenplay at the BAFTAs. Mariel Hemingway aged 16
years old earned a nomination for Best Supporting Actress at the Academy Awards
for her performance. Woody Allen and Marshall Brinkman were nominated for the
Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay. In 2001, the United States Library
of Congress selected it for preservation in the National Film Registry.
Synopsis: Forty-two-year-old
Manhattan native Isaac Davis (Allen) has a job he hates, a seventeen-year-old
girlfriend, Tracy (Mariel Hemingway), whom he doesn’t love, and a lesbian
ex-wife, Jill (Meryl Streep), who’s writing a tell-all book about their
marriage...and whom he’d like to strangle. But when he meets his best friend’s
sexy intellectual mistress, Mary (Diane Keaton), Isaac falls head over heels in
lust! Leaving Tracy, bedding Mary and quitting his job are just the beginnings
of Isaac’s quest for romance and fulfilment . In a city where sex is as
intimate as a handshake - and the gateway to true love...is a revolving door.
Cast: Woody Allen, Diane
Keaton, Michael Murphy, Mariel Hemingway, Meryl Streep, Anne Byrne.
Friedkin with Gene Hackman on location in New York City for "The French Connection", 1971.
(Photo: Cinema Retro Archive.)
By Lee Pfeiffer
William Friedkin, who reinvented the crime and horror film genres with "The French Connection" and "The Exorcist", has died in Los Angeles at age 87. Friedkin's first film was based on a personal obsession- to get a man incarcerated on Death Row exonerated. The 1962 documentary "The People vs. Paul Crump" was deemed a deciding factor in getting the innocent man released. The Chicago native first worked in the television industry before landing his first Hollywood feature film, directing the comedy "Good Times" starring Sonny and Cher in 1967. The film wasn't a hit but Friedkin was learning his craft. His diverse output included a screen adaptation of Harold Pinter's acclaimed, offbeat play "The Birthday Party" starring Robert Shaw and Donald Pleasence, the exuberant Prohibition era comedy "The Night They Raided Minsky's" and "The Boys in the Band", a daring screen version of the controversial play about the lives and relationships of gay men.
Friedkin's biggest break came when he was hired to direct "The French Connection" in 1971, an adaptation of the bestselling book that documented the biggest drug bust in U.S. history. Friedkin's passion for eschewing the trappings of conventional crime films paid off when he won the Oscar for directing. The film also won Best Picture and Best Actor for Gene Hackman in a star-making role. Friedkin's next film was also an adaptation of a bestseller- in this case William Peter Blatty's horror novel "The Exorcist". Friedkin resisted hiring popular leading actors of the day in place of casting reliable character actors and leads with little name recognition. His transformation of 12 year-old Linda Blair into a terrifying demon immediately became the stuff of horror film legend. However, the film won over critics and was nominated for numerous Oscars because Friedkin made the production a thinking person's horror film with interesting characters and believable reactions to the surrealistic events. Following the worldwide success of this second Friedkin blockbuster, Friedkin did not bring another film to the screen for four years. When he did, it was "Sorcerer", a lavish and grueling reinterpretation of French director Henri-Georges Clouzot's acclaimed 1953 adventure film "The Wages of Fear". The film seemed to be cursed. On location in the Dominican Republic, Friedkin had to face soaring budget costs due to natural disasters and other seemingly insurmountable problems. When the film opened, it flopped. Friedkin, in an interview about the film with this writer in Cinema Retro issue #29, said that studio executives threw him under the bus by implying the film had gone over-budget because Friedkin lacked self-control in terms of spending. Friedkin tried to set the record straight but the damage was done. His reputation had taken a hit and his next film, the comedy "The Brink's Job" was also a critical and financial disappointment. his 1980 crime thriller "Cruising" cast Al Pacino as a New York detective who goes under cover in Gotham's gay leather bar scene to find a serial killer. The film caused great controversy, with gay activists denouncing it even before filming had been completed. Critics assailed the film as vulgar and unsatisfying, but like "Sorcerer" it has been favorably re-evaluated in the ensuing years. Friedkin continued to work steadily but only the 1985 crime thriller "To Live and Die in L.A." gained any kind of attention and that was largely due to an extravagant car chase.
Over the following years, Friedkin would divide his time directing films and TV productions as well as live operas. He would never score another boxoffice hit but he appreciated the attention and accolades he received later in life that commemorated his body of work. He took satisfaction from the fact that his 2011 film "Killer Joe" starring Matthew McConaughey became a cult favorite for younger audiences. Friedkin is survived by his wife, producer and former studio head Sherry Lansing. His final film, a remake of "The Caine Mutiny", will premiere at this year's Venice Film Festival.
Friedkin with Cinema Retro's Todd Garbarini.
(Photo: Todd Garbarini)
Cinema Retro mourns the passing of this great filmmaker and we appreciate his contributions to our magazine. His last interview (with Todd Garbarini) appeared in issue #50 in which he discussed the 50th anniversary of "The French Connection".
This review from the Independent Film Journal captured the general consensus that was felt by James Bond fans upon the much-anticipated December, 1971 release of "Diamonds are Forever", which brought Sean Connery back to the screen as 007 after George Lazenby quit the role following "On Her Majesty's Secret Service". Despite the mixed reception, the film lived up to boxoffice expectations and was a major international hit.
With Russia currently dominating world news in an unfavorable way and authoritarian political figures making headlines even in democracies, it's relevant to look back on the 1983 crime thriller "Gorky Park", which has been released on Blu-ray by Kino Lorber. The film was based on Martin Cruz Smith's international bestseller and was unique in its day because it centered on subterfuge within the Soviet law enforcement system and was set primarily in Moscow. Director Michael Apted had hoped to be the first major Hollywood studio production to shoot within the Soviet Union but unsurprisingly he was turned down due to the fact that the story dealt with systemic corruption throughout every layer of the government. Apted settled for the next best thing, shooting in Finland and Sweden, both of which make convincing substitutes for the USSR. Transforming the lengthy, complex novel to a screenplay could have been no easy task, even for acclaimed screenwriter Dennis Potter ("Pennies from Heaven"). Although the film has a leisurely running time of 128 minutes, there are still some portions of the story that are not fleshed out enough to be easily understood.
The movie gets off to a gripping start when three young people drift away from the crowd at a winter festival in Moscow's Gorky Park. They are shot dead shortly thereafter, although we don't know why or by who. Police detective Arkady Renko (William Hurt) is first on the scene and he discovers that the snow-covered bodies have been horribly mutilated with their fingers removed and their faces skinned so that their can be no recognition of the victims. This leads to some particularly gory scenes in which a pathologist skillfully manages to recreate their facial features using synthetic skin. In a country and political system in which everyone is justifiably paranoid, Renko begins to suspect that the KGB might have been behind the killings and are looking to set him up as a fall guy. An interesting cast of characters is gradually introduced. Irina Asanova (Joanna Pacula in her screen debut) is a glamorous actress who was a friend of the victims. Renko cannot persuade her that they are dead, as she has been assured that they escaped into exile by Jack Osborne (Lee Marvin). He's a well-connected, rich American businessman who deals in the lucrative trade of sable furs. Renko is immediately suspicious that Osborne, with his bought-and-paid for allies in Soviet law enforcement, is somehow tied to the murders. This results in a few of those scenes moviegoers love in which the hero and villain banter words, using euphemisms to represent their actual thoughts as they engage in a duel of wits. The more dedicated Renko becomes in solving the crime, the more he realizes his is putting his own life in danger. He later gets assistance from an American visitor, William Kirwill (Brian Dennehy), a detective who is in Moscow to try to solve the murder of his brother, who was one of the three victims. Together, he and Renko begin to unravel a tangled web of corruption, deceit, betrayal and more murders.
"Gorky Park" enjoyed good reviews at the time of its release but it was a boxoffice disappointment. Viewing the new Blu-ray, I found it more intriguing and enjoyable than I had previously- even though the plot gets very complicated and so many characters are introduced that by the end of the movie, I can't say for sure why the original three murder victims were killed. The movie was an important early starring role for William Hurt and he's adequate in the role but rather bland at times, although he and Pacula engage in the kind of steamy sex scene that was de rigueur at a time before movies became largely devoid of eroticism. Pacula gives a very fine performance that earned her a Golden Globe nomination and Dennehy steals every scene he's in, although the premise of an American detective thinking he will have free reign to operate in one of the most oppressive societies in the world is a bit of a stretch. Ian Bannen is a welcome presence as Renko's superior officer, who may be in the pocket of Osborne. As the American fur trader, Lee Marvin is terrific in a marvelous late-career role. It must be said that the largely British cast of supporting actors retain their natural accents, which proves to be a distraction since they are supposed to be playing Russians. Hurt supposedly complained about this because, for the sake of consistency, it forced him to adapt his own version of a British accent, which seems like a hybrid with American English. It doesn't work at all and it's surprising that a skilled director like Apted didn't simply encourage his cast to adopt Russian accents. The production design is rich and expensive-looking but James Horner's score, which was acclaimed in some quarters, sounds dated and very much from an era in which synthesizers were employed ad nauseum.
For those of who came of age during the Cold War period, the film is a reminder of how every aspect of Soviet life was put under scrutiny, with paranoia instilled in citizens to keep everyone off-balance and reluctant to trust anyone else. Despite the Putin regime's quashing of many societal freedoms, today's Russia still enjoys far more freedoms and prosperity than it did when "Gorky Park" was made. Michael Apted's direction is first-rate. Dennis Potter's screenplay excels at showing what life is like in an authoritarian state, where the trappings of democracy are undermined by the fact that everyone knows that there are people who follow the people who follow them. What I found surprising and refreshing is that Renko, who is aware of and frustrated by the Orwellian aspects of his country, remains a dedicated law enforcement official who proudly serves the Soviet state. "Gorky Park" is not a classic but it is a compelling and offbeat thriller that holds up today.
The Kino Lorber Blu-ray looks very good, indeed. Cinematographer Rolf D. Bode's cinematography really impresses, as he shot the film in a rather washed out, colorless manner to reflect the blandness of the Soviet state. The release is one of the few from KL that doesn't include a commentary track, but there is an excellent 16-minute recent interview with Michael Apted, who says he rarely revisits his own films but did so in this case. He says he was surprised at how well the film has held up but expresses his frustration that, despite good reviews, the movie was not successful at the American boxoffice, though it did well internationally. Apted recalls the challenges of trying to replicate Moscow in Helsinki and speaks well of his cast and crew. He says that Lee Marvin, though appearing healthy on screen, was in intensive care in a hospital just prior to filming, as he suffered from emphysema. He relates that Marvin was especially enthused about the film because it gave him a rare opportunity to play a character who was sophisticated and highly cultured. The Blu-ray also includes the original trailer, a teaser trailer and TV spots for "Gorky Park" and an extensive number of trailers for other action films available from KL.
A personal observation: it should be noted that the interview segment with Michael Apted was produced by Walter Olsen, co-founder with his brother Bill of the Scorpion Releasing video label. Scorpion had partnered with KL in recent years to release many under-radar-films on Blu-ray. Walter passed away in May just months after his brother died. Those of us who value their contributions to the home video industry mourn their passing.
By the year 1972, the esteemed Billy Wilder was licking his wounds
over the boxoffice debacle that was "The Private Life of Sherlock
Holmes". Wilder's revisionist depiction of the legendary sleuth is
precisely what Holmes fan clamor for today, but to a generation that
defined the depiction of Holmes and Watson by the low-budget film series
starring Basil Rathbone and Nigel Bruce, there was little enthusiasm to
see an all-too human Holmes with all-too-human failings. Wilder blamed
the poor reception for the film on the fact that the studio had
overridden his objections and made major cuts to the movie. Years ago,
some of the missing footage was discovered and the altered film was
accepted favorably by reviewers and retro movie lovers. Still, at the
time, Wilder was not used to suffering the humiliation of public
rejection of one of his movies. After all, he had given us classics such
as "Some Like It Hot", "The Apartment", "Sabrina", "Double Indemnity"
and "Stalag 17". Wilder was eager to return to his comedic roots and for
his next film, "Avanti!" and he enlisted long-time collaborator Jack
Lemmon to star and his esteemed writing partner I.A.L. Diamond to
co-author the script with him. The stars seemed be aligned for another
Wilder comedy hit, but it didn't work out that way, to put it mildly.
"Avanti!" was another critical and commercial failure and this time it really hurt.
Henceforth, the few films Wilder would direct would all be bombs,
marking an inglorious end to an otherwise glorious career. Yet,
"Avanti!" deserved a better fate. It's certainly Wilder in an inspired
mode even if the inspiration came from a flop Broadway comedy production
that he and Diamond kept the basic plot premise of but otherwise
rewrote.
Wilder and Lemmon had enjoyed such audience-pleasing hits as "Some
Like It Hot", "The Apartment", "Irma La Douce" and "The Fortune Cookie".
Lemmon is well-cast as Wendell Armbruster, Jr., the son of a titan of
American industry who has just died in an automobile accident in Italy
where he went every year for a month-long personal sabbatical to cleanse
his body and soul. Wendell is already in a state of nervous panic when
we first see him on board the flight to Italy. He has just a few days to
arrange to bring his father's body back to Washington, D.C. where a
high profile televised funeral will take place with the President and
other world dignitaries in attendance. (It's never explained why the
Armbruster family self-imposed such a tight deadline for retrieving the
body and staging the funeral.) Wendell idolized his father as the symbol
of American family values and conservative political doctrine; a robust
Republican who socialized with Henry Kissinger and who was devoted to
Wendell's mother. Upon arrival in the quaint coastal town where his
father died at his favorite small hotel, Wendell is greeted by the
manager, Carlo Carlucci (Clive Revill), an unflappable local "Mr.
Fix-It" with a penchant for reassuring words and an ability to move
mountains to carry out impossible tasks. However, Wendell is in for a
shock when he meets Pamela Piggott (Juliet Mills), a working class girl
from East London whose mother also died in the same car crash as Wendell Sr.
Turns out the two were lovers who met for the past ten years at the
hotel, where they were adored local legends. Thus begins a madcap farce
in which Wendell has to deal with the emotional revelation that his
father was an adulterer while at the same time keeping family members
and the public in the dark about the scandal. Pamela has a different
attitude. Unlike Wendell, she knew of the affair long ago and assures
Wendell that the two were madly in love and could fulfill their
fantasies through their annual reunion. Wendell also learns that his
ultra conservative father would join his lover for daily nude swim.
If the conventional wisdom in Hollywood is that comedies must run
under two hours, Wilder was happy to ignore it. "Avanti!" clocks in at
144 minutes. It's as though he was celebrating the leisurely Italian
lifestyle depicted in the film, a lifestyle that can be both
simultaneously maddening and idyllic. Do we have to tell you that
Wendell and Pamela lock horns only to become lovers themselves, even
going so far as to replicate the dear departed's daily nude swim in the
best-remembered scene from the movie? Despite the lengthy running time,
the film is never boring and the performances are all top-notch with
both Lemmon and Mills in fine form. However, the scene-stealer is Clive
Revill in a remarkably funny performance. You'll swear you're watching
an Italian actor instead of a native New Zealander who made his mark in
British film and stage productions. The movie is peppered with some
genuine Italian character actors, as Wendell becomes embroiled with a
local group of poverty-row mobsters. Wilder and Diamond also mix in an
amusing murder and blackmail plot. There is a late appearance by the
marvelous Edward Andrews as a U.S. State Department official who arrives
to resolve Wendell's problem of getting his father's body back home in
time for the funeral. For all the laughs, however, there is a poignancy
to the story, as Wendell learns to love and admire Pamela, who has
initially disparages because of her "weight problem." This is an
uncomfortable aspect of the movie not only because Juliet Mills most
decidedly did not have a "weight problem", but she endures (as women did
during this era) constant barbs and insults and even makes
self-deprecating jokes about her non-existent girth.
"Avanti!"
may not be classic Wilder, but it's very good Wilder and that's enough
to merit a "highly recommended" designation.The film is currently streaming on Screenpix, which is available to Amazon Prime subscribers for an additional fee of $2.99 a month.
CLICK HERE TO ORDER KINO LORBER BLU-RAY FROM AMAZON
In reviewing "Fuzz" when it opened in 1972, Vincent Canby of the New York Times noted that the film looks more like a dress rehearsal than a finished movie and was obviously intended to appeal to viewers who had a limited attention span. In contrast, Roger Ebert said he was put off by the exploitive elements of the movie poster, but in the end called it a funny, quietly cheerful movie. I guess I land in the same ballpark as Ebert, although I'm not without criticism of the film, which was based on author Ed McBain's popular "87th Precinct" novels that explored the excitement and absurdities found in a modern, big city police department. The film has an impressive ensemble cast: Burt Reynolds and Raquel Welch (reunited after co-starring in "100 Rifles"), Tom Skeritt, Jack Weston and Raquel Welch, who appears rather fleetingly despite her prominent billing. Oh, and the bad guy is played by Yuel Brynner, who appears rather late in the film in a limited number of scenes.
The film is primarily played for laughs and it's scattershot plot jumps around at a dizzying pace. The action takes place in the aforementioned 87th Precinct in Boston, a run-down venue located in a troubled part of the city. The plot focuses on a harried group of cynical detectives who report to their equally cynical, burned-out boss, Lt. Byrnes (Dan Frazer). The precinct is depicted as decrepit and as worn-out as its inhabitants. There's a lot of chaotic action going on throughout the day with various local miscreants and eccentrics clogging up the works, much to the frustration of the burned-out cops. The plot sees seasoned veteran cops Steve Carella (Burt Reynolds), Bert Kling (Tom Skerritt) and Meyer Meyer (you read that right) (Jack Weston) trying to cope with the chaos- as well as the arrival of a strikingly beautiful policewoman who has been assigned to the precinct, Eileen McHenry (Raquel Welch). Among the cases being investigated simultaneously are the identities of the creeps who have been setting local hobos on fire, a serial rapist, various petty crimes and a late-breaking, high-profile threat posed by an unknown man who phones in death threats aimed at local public officials.When the ransom he demands isn't paid, said officials are bumped off in a high profile manner despite intense efforts by the police to thwart the plots. The villain is known as The Deaf Man (Yul Brynner), a sophisticated brute with the persona of a Bond villain, who employs a small team of loyal and very competent crooks to help him carry out the various assassinations.
Director Richard A. Colla employs the Altmanesque gimmick of having characters talk over each other in a Tower of Babel-like scenario, but in the context of a chaotic police department, the tactic works. The air of realism is accurate. During this era, my father was a cop in Jersey City, a stone's throw across the Hudson River from Manhattan. Like most urban areas during this era, it was a city beset by plenty of problems. Whenever I would see him at the precinct, I witnessed the kind of mutual ball-busting humor cops would engage in. I realized it was their way of coping with the pressures of the job and "Fuzz" captures this environment perfectly. The screenplay by Evan Hunter, who wrote the source novel under the nom de plume Ed McBain, is rather episodic and some plot lines are left to dwindle as the cops try to solve any number of on-going threats to the city. Raquel Welch's character is subjected to the predictable sexist comments, but, refreshingly she is spared any exploitation scenes (except for one fleeting moment) and acquits herself well as this valiant public servant. The whole messy scenario comes together in a very clever ending in which all of the unrelated characters end up converging on a local liquor store where the cops are holding a stakeout. The mayhem that ensues is both funny and exciting and ties some of the loose ends together. A comic highlight finds Reynolds and Weston dressed as nuns in a stakeout to capture the rapist.
The cast is first-rate. Reynolds is in top form and he gets fine support from Tom Skerritt, Jack Weston (particularly impressive), Dan Frazer and James McEachin. Don Gordon is among the bad guys, and as with any of his screen appearances, he's a welcome presence. Reynolds breaks the wise-cracking mode in a touching scene that shows him with his wife, a deaf mute played by Neile Adams. Yul Brynner adds his customary classy presence in his limited screen time.
Reynolds and Welch could not have been pleased with the marketing campaign for the movie: a Mad magazine-style ad that capitalized on Reynold's recent centerfold in Cosmopolitan and had Welch depicted in a bikini, although she appears in no such attire and is demurely dressed in the film. (Her character disappears mid-way through the movie and inexplicably doesn't show up again.) Nevertheless, Reynolds would finally rise to major boxoffice status later in the year with his superb performance in "Deliverance" and Welch would graduate to intelligently-written roles that proved she was more than a pretty face.
"Fuzz" is an imperfect movie but it's a lot of fun. Recommended.
(The film is currently showing on Screenpix, which is available by subscription through Amazon Prime, Roku and Apple TV.)
“Try Not to Hold It Against Me: A Producer’s Life” by Julian
Schlossberg (Beaufort Books; $27) 168 Pages, Illustrated (B&W); Hardback.
ISBN: 9780825310256
Review by Lee Pfeiffer
Julian Schlossberg's achievements in the film industry make for an amusing and informative
experience in devouring his often whimsical memories of the business in decades
past. He grew up in New York City, far removed from any connection to show
business, but fell in love with movies after seeing his first flick on the big
screen: Elia Kazan's "On the Waterfront". It set in motion a desire
to get involved in the entertainment industry despite the fact that his
background provided neither the money, connections or influence to do so. An
indication of his reputation in the film industry is hinted at by the
celebrities who provide enthusiastic blurbs for the book. They are certainly
eclectic: Twiggy, Tony Roberts, Steve Guttenberg, Renee Taylor, Susan Strohman
among them. The foreword is provided by the legendary Elaine May. Schlossberg
has kept good company throughout his long career.
His memoir
details how enthusiasm, confidence and the willingness to take chances resulted
in his edging his way slowly up ladder at a time when Gotham was a crucial
centerpiece in the film business. After a stint in the U.S. Army, Schlossberg
painstakingly sold himself to higher-ups he didn't even know through sheer
determination, first starting in entry level positions and then becoming a
salesman for packages of theatrical films that would be sold to small markets
throughout America. He had quite a chore. In those days, "small
markets" were just that: some places had only one or two TV stations and
were selective about what they chose. Schlossberg had to convince them to buy
packages of acclaimed films that were generally art-house, big city fare. In
several of the markets, he was amicably informed by contacts that he was the
first Jew they had met. Oy vey, indeed! He later worked as the booking agent
for the prestigious Walter Reade theater chain, a high-pressure job that
mandated that he had to pick winners to play to sophisticated New York
audiences. At Warren Beatty's personal request, Schlossberg took a gamble and
opened Robert Altman's "McCabe and Mrs. Miller" in one of the
theaters- despite the fact that it had opened and bombed at another theater
recently. With an inspired new ad campaign, the film proved to be a hit. In
those days, new movies often opened in a few select big city theaters before
going into wide release. He opened Woody Allen's offbeat "Everything You
Wanted to Know About Sex (But Were Afraid to Ask") at two art houses in
Manhattan to great results, an anecdote that had personal resonance to this
reviewer because, at age 15, a friend of mine and I saw the film when it opened
at one of these theaters and we became
the only people in history who were threatened with expulsion for laughing too
hard at a comedy.
Schlossberg
would later gravitate to producing plays and serving among the top brass at movie
studios. Along the way there were plenty of triumphs and missteps, which he
candidly recalls with humour. In doing so, he provides some rare glimpses into
the trials and tribulations of producing live theater. In one chapter, he painstakingly
details the attempts to stage a revival of “Sly Fox” on Broadway. Everyone is
enthused about the project but every actor who is considered for the leading role
proves to be unreliable, including “nice guy” Burt Reynolds, who leaves
Schlossberg and his partners hanging out to dry by backing out at the last
minute. Ultimately, the show went on with Richard Dreyfuss in the lead role, but
the reviews and boxoffice were disappointments. The logistics of putting on
this one production boggle the mind. No wonder Noel Coward once quipped “Why
must the show go on???” There are also plenty of names to drop along the way
from Harrison Ford to Barbra Streisand, some as long-time friends, others
through one-off encounters. This book isn't filled with vengeful rhetoric. Schlossberg writes mostly about people he likes and goes soft on criticizing the people he doesn't. One curiosity concerns how he eventually represented Elia Kazan, his boyhood idol. Perhaps for that reason, Schlossberg doesn't address the controversies about Kazan's "naming names" during the Blacklist period, which made him a figure of great controversy. Yet, it's admirable that his affection for the man on a personal level allowed him to show some deference in the cause of sentiment, which is an emotion not always found in show business relationships. If Schlossberg engages in some occasional bragging,
he’s earned the right. The book is a delight throughout and a “must” for anyone
interested in the behind-the-scenes aspects of films and live theatre.
(This book will be available on Amazon on April 15. Click on this link to pre-order from Amazon: https://amzn.to/3KjmJVd)
Robert Blake, the mercurially-tempered Emmy-winning actor, has died at age 89 from heart-related issues. Blake's given name was Michael Gubitosi and he was born in Nutley, New Jersey, a short distance across the Hudson River from midtown Manhattan. Blake had one of the longest Hollywood careers imaginable, starting out as a child actor who appeared in the famed "Our Gang" comedies. This led to him having roles in feature films such as a recurring role in the low-budget Red Ryder Western series. He also had a small role in John Huston's 1948 classic "The Treasure of the Sierra Madre" opposite Humphrey Bogart. He was the product of a troubled household. He claimed his father, who committed suicide in 1955, physically beat him. Stardom would elude him until he was cast as one of the notorious murderers in director Richard Brooks' acclaimed 1967 screen adaptation of Truman Capote's bestseller "In Cold Blood". Blake and Scott Wilson played the infamous murderers of an innocent family whose house they broke into. The killings shocked the world, especially since the victims posed no threat to the duo. Blake and Wilson brought nuance to their roles and won critical praise. Blake specialized in playing moody men of action. To some he was the epitome of a Method Actor, while others saw him as a pretentious Marlon Brando wannabe.
Blake's star rose to new heights on television when he starred as the eccentric, streetwise detective in "Baretta" on ABC-TV. The show ran from 1975-1978 and earned Blake an Emmy award. Henceforth, he would fall victim to his personal demons. Blake could be jovial and witty when making frequent appearances as a guest on Johnny's Carson's "The Tonight Show", but he alternately had developed a reputation for being difficult and temperamental. His starring roles in feature films such as "Electra Glide in Blue", "Busting" and "Coast to Coast" were boxoffice disappointments. In 1986, he returned to series television in the series "Hell Town", playing a tough, streetwise priest. However, Blake's personal issues proved too much for him to overcome and he would later admit he was potentially suicidal. He pulled the plug on "Hell Town" after only a few episodes. In 1993, he had a comeback, starring in the TV movie "Judgment Day: The John List Story" in which he played the real life New Jersey murderer who, despite his nondescript nature, systematically murdered every member of his family who resided in the household. Blake received an Emmy nomination for his performance.
In 2001, Blake emerged in the news in an unfavorable manner when his wife, Bonny Lee Bakely was murdered in a bizarre incident that occurred when she and Blake were out to dinner. Bakely was known as a master manipulator who had been married nine times previously. During their dinner date, Bakely was killed by an assassin who shot her twice at close range as she sat in their car. During the sensational trial that followed, Blake said she was shot by a random murderer after he left their car to retrieve a pistol he had accidentally left in a restaurant. He was tried for murder and acquitted, though, as in the O.J. Simpson case, public sentiment didn't agree with the verdict. He would later lose a civil suit in the case that he said wiped out his personal fortune.
Blake had all but retired from acting by the late 1990s. His last screen credit was for director David Lynch's "Lost Highway" in 1997.
Upon arriving for the matinee performance of the new production of "Disney's Hercules: The Mythical Musical Adventure" presented in conjunction with Disney Theatrical Productions at the esteemed Paper Mill Playhouse in Millburn, New Jersey, it occurred to me that I had not been immersed in the adventures of the mythological hero since I was in grade school in the early 1960s when theaters were showing those Italian "sword and sandal" films that were imported into the U.S. I came to the obvious conclusion that I didn't represent the intended demographic for the show, which does not include people who are old enough to remember when Steve Reeves was a boxoffice sensation. The intended demographic-young people-were on hand despite this being a school day. There was an abundance of local high school students there on field trips. It may seem that Disney's musical productions might be skewed to pre-teens but the producers are generally shrewd enough to include plenty of pop culture references and jokes that would appeal to everyone. It's a delicate balance. Overload the sophisticated jokes and kids will be bewildered. Overdo the tween elements and mom and dad are looking at their watches by the time the intermission arrives. The new musical is based upon Disney's animated big screen release from 1997, importing some of the more prominent songs by Alan Menken while providing some new ones for this production. Lyrics are by David Zippel. The book for this presentation is by Robert Horn & Kwame Kewei-Armah. A version of the show had been presented in 2019 at the Delacorte Theatre in Central Park, which this reviewer did not see. However, it appears that the current version at the Paper Mill is substantially different.
The reed-thin plot finds Hercules the offspring of the god Zeus (Dennis Stowe) and goddess Hera (Kristen-Faith Oei), who send the infant to earth where is adopted and raised by Despina (Kathryn Allison), who comes to realize that the boy possesses superhuman strength. (Shades of Kal-El!). As a young man (Bradley Gibson), Hercules is the model of the all-around good citizen. He's kind and helpful to all, keeping evidence of his great strength subdued. By the time he goes into the world on his own, he's innocent and naive. Meanwhile, evil forces are at work through the plotting of Hades (Shuler Hensley), who intends to find a way to harness Hercules' powers to further his schemes. This comes about by manipulating the beautiful Meg (Isabelle McCalla), who foolishly had entered an agreement with Hades that resulted in her being under his complete control for eternity. He ensures that Hercules meets Meg, knowing he will not be able to resist falling in love with her. Hades then persuades her to have Hercules cede his powers for 24 hours in return for Meg being released from her binding agreement that has kept her enslaved. Of course, all sorts of unintended consequences befall the major characters, with Hades intending to use Hercules as a vehicle for widespread chaos and destruction. Guess who ends up winning?
The show features plenty of impressive talent, including singing muses who appear periodically and perform in the manner of a Motown act. They are played by Anastacia McCleskey, Destinee Rea, Charity Angel Dawson, Tiffany Mann and Rashidra Scott and their appearances were met by great enthusiasm by the audience. The performances of the leading actors are engaging and energetic, with Isabelle McCalla spot-on as the leading lady. The most interesting roles, however, are the supporting characters. James Monroe Iglehart, a Tony Award winner for his role as Genie in the Disney Broadway production of "Aladdin", steals the show as Phil, a trainer for would-be heroes who takes the innocent Hercules under his wing and teaches him to harness his powers. Iglehart opens the second act with a solo number topped by an unexpected acrobatic feat that brought down the house. As in any "Star Wars" or James Bond movie, the juiciest role usually belongs to the villain, and that's true here, too, with Shuler Hensley's thundering voice commanding attention in his every appearance. Since this is a Disney production, cute, eccentric sidekicks are a must. In this case they are named Pain and Panic (played by Reggie De Leon and Jeff Blumenkrantz) and they have some of the best gags in the show. Alas, Bradley Gibson's Hercules is undone by some factors not within his control. Gibson makes for an appealing hero, but the role is underwritten. We hear a lot about his great strength, but it's rarely demonstrated in an impressive manner. Gibson has a physique that any male would envy but there is nothing larger-than-life about his appearance. He looks like a well-toned guy you might run into at your local L.A. Fitness center. Perhaps it's almost impossible to find someone who is both a Herculean muscleman and a talented and trained singer and dancer. Gibson's performance is admirable but he's held hostage to the limitations of how a stage production can present Hercules versus a filmed version.
Director Lear deBessonet keeps the action and laughs flowing smoothly and the pace never slackens. The choreography by Chase Brock and Tanisha Scott is especially impressive, as is the work of musical director and conductor Ted Arthur. As one might expect, the production values are first-rate and display
evidence of the substantial budget that generally accompanies a
production done in coordination with Disney. Kudos to Dane Laffrey, who oversaw the scenic design. As you might imagine, this Disney production features some dazzling set pieces. There are also giant puppets that feature prominently and amusingly, courtesy of James Ortiz and some terrific lighting effects by Jeff Croiter and special effects by Jeremy Chernick. Kudos also to Emilio Sosa for providing some suitably ornate costumes.
The show undoubtedly follows the formula of previous Disney stage productions.This includes not-so-subtle references to female empowerment, racial harmony (Hercules' parents are caucasian and Asian and he is Black) and the belief in the ability to overcome almost any obstacle and achieve success. Disney, like most aspects of American society, has become a lightning rod for political debate in recent years and there are plenty of people who find such material as preachy and "woke". If you're among them, this show will only reaffirm your criticisms. Conversely, if you view these aspects as positive and life-affirming, you'll find plenty to embrace here.
Rumor has it that Disney is road-testing "Hercules" at the Paper Mill in anticipation of a Broadway run, as was the case with the wonderful production of "Newsies" some years ago. Based upon the rousing audience response to the show, it appears the strongman might exert a mighty pull at the boxoffice across the river on the Great White Way. If that wasn't enough, director Guy Ritchie is working with Disney to prepare a live-action return to the big screen for Hercules. If only Steve Reeves were still around to see the revival of interest in the character he popularized way back when.
RETRO-ACTIVE: THE BEST FROM THE CINEMA RETRO ARCHIVES.
By Lee Pfeiffer
MGM has made available a region-free DVD of the Oakmont-produced British WWII films from the late 1960s-early 1970s. These modestly-budgeted films were not designed as Oscar-bait. In fact, they seem to be specifically created to fill out the bottom of double bills as the era of that great cinema staple was rapidly coming to a close. Hell Boats was shot in 1970 and bares all the ingredients of an Oakmont production: it's intelligently written, well-acted and directed (by Paul Wendkos) and features some exotic locations, in this case Malta. As with some other Oakmont titles (The Last Escape, Attack on the Iron Coast, The Thousand Plane Raid), this rather unconvincingly shoehorns an American leading man into what is clearly an all-British story line, presumably to give the film some broader boxoffice appeal. In this case, James Franciscus (in full, Chuck Heston clone mode) is Jeffords, the new commander of a British torpedo boat unit. There is a brief explanation as to how an American got a job as Commander in the Royal Navy- something to do with having been born in the UK. With that sore point quickly dispensed of, we get to the main plot line. Jeffords is assigned to blow up a seemingly impregnable German gun bastion carved into a mountainside in Malta. The mission appears suicidal but Jeffords concocts a daring plan that involves scuba divers, commandos and the torpedo boats. He does have other distractions: he and his superior officer, Ashurst (Ronald Allen) despise each other. Ashurst wants to prove himself in combat, but is stuck behind a desk. He envies Jefford's courage and is further emasculated by his knowledge that Jeffords is bedding his frustrated wife Alison (Elizabeth Shepherd), who fortunately has an aversion to clothing. The soap opera elements are actually intelligently woven into the story line, creating genuine tension between the two men. Franciscus is all grit-teethed masculinity, but he makes a rather bland hero. He is humorless and all business, all the time. (He even makes his sexual dalliances look about as desirable as changing a tire.) Allen's character is far more interesting and the dissolution of his marriage before his eyes adds an interesting subplot to the military sequences.
Like most Oakmont productions, Hell Boats does a lot with very little in terms of budget. The photography is excellent and so are the production values, save for the sea battle sequences that betray the very obvious use of miniatures. Nevertheless, this is a highly entertaining adventure movie throughout- and it refreshingly sidesteps what I thought was going to be a predictable plot device leading to a somewhat unexpected conclusion.
If MGM is listening, the only Oakmont title not available on DVD is The Last Escape starring Stuart Whitman. C'mon guys, keep up the good work and get this one out there.
Click here to order from Amazon (The film is currently streaming on Screenpix and Paramount +)
Cinema Retro readers tell us they love issues that feature rare movie trade advertisements, so here's one extolling the boxoffice pull of the 1967 blockbuster "The Dirty Dozen" in its New York City engagements. In those days, major films often played exclusively in select theaters in big cities before opening wide in neighborhood theaters.
The only commonal element among the films of director Nicolas Roeg is that there are no
common elements. Roeg graduated from being one of the industry's most
respected and innovative cinematographers to becoming an esteemed
filmmaker in his own right. Among his disparate productions: the London
crime film "Performance", the bizarre David Bowie starrer "The Man Who
Fell to Earth", the cult favorite "Bad Timing" and his most accomplished
film, the adaptation of Daphne Du Maurier's supernatural novel "Don't
Look Now", which ranks as one of the most atmospheric and terrifying
movies ever made. By the early 1990s, however, Roeg's penchant for
making avant garde films with limited boxoffice appeal- combined with
his insistence on not compromising his artistic visions in the name of
commerce- put him at odds with studio executives. His movies were
largely appreciated by the art house cinema crowd but that didn't endear
him to the studio bosses in the corner offices. One of Roeg's most
bizarre, ambitious and expensive films was the little-seen and even
less-remembered "Eureka", a 1983 production that was bedeviled by bad
luck. First the basics: Roeg initially approached screenwriter Paul
Mayersberg to adapt a book titled "Who Killed Sir Harry Oakes?" by
Marshall Houts. Sir Harry Oakes may have faded into historical obscurity
but in 1943 he was certainly one of the most famous men in the world-
and had been for two decades. It all began when Oakes, an American by
birth, went north into the wilds of Canada in his quest to prospect for
gold. He doggedly pursued this ambition for fifteen years before
stumbling upon what became the greatest discovery and claim for gold in
North American history. Overnight Oakes became one of the richest men on
earth. He later moved to the Bahamas where he lived comfortably on a
large estate with his wife and daughter. Enamored by the British gentry
he interacted with, Oakes changed his citizenship and became a subject
of England. Big money buys impressive friends and Oakes was quite chummy
with the Duke of Windsor, who had made a wee bit of a splash himself a
few years earlier when he was known as King Edward VIII- yes, that King
Edward VIII, who abdicated the throne in order to marry the love of his
life. Edward was by then relegated to being the Governor-General of the
Bahamas, some theorized to get him off the front pages. Between his
scandalous marriage and the fact that he was deemed an appeaser to
Hitler in the lead up to the war with Germany, which was now raging, the
Duke was not "Flavor of the Month" in his native England. Still, he and
Harry Oakes hit it off rather well and before long Harry was knighted,
ostensibly because of his sizable contributions to charity, but some
theorized the Duke had pulled some strings on his behalf. Sir Harry's
bliss was short-lived. In 1943, he was brutally murdered in his own bed.
How brutal was the crime? Well, he was bludgeoned, tarred and
feathered, burned alive and beheaded. As you might imagine, the cause
of death was not listed as suicide. Clearly, at least one person in his
orbit was not very enamored of him and it was decided that the person
who liked him least was his son-in-law, who Harry had virtually
disowned. A sensational trial took place that resulted in breathless
international coverage but the suspect was found to be not guilty on the
basis of flimsy evidence. The sensational case remains technically
unsolved to this day, though amateur sleuths still debate who the real
culprit was and what his motive might have been.
Nicolas Roeg was understandably intrigued by this story and was
delighted when screenwriter Paul Mayersberg had also read the book that
Roeg wanted him adapt for the screen. He, too, had longed to make a film
of it. With the two men in synch, they set out to make a linear
retelling of the remarkable characters and events pertaining to Sir
Harry's life. However, they realized that since several of the major
players in his life were still alive, the production could be plagued by
lawsuits. Thus, they decided to give fictitious names to the
characters. This also liberated them in terms of using artistic license
when desirable, as they were no longer attempting to present a purely
factual study of Sir Harry's life and death. It also liberated Roeg by
allowing him to bring more esoteric elements into the production. The
central character was now named Jack McCann (Gene Hackman) and our first
view of him is indeed striking: he in embroiled in a violent struggle
with another man in the midst of a raging blizzard in the Canadian
wilderness. An unidentified woman, presumably the other man's wife,
pleads for the men to stop fighting and we learn that Jack, who has been
enraged by something that is never explained, is splitting up his
prospecting partnership with the other man. He eventually storms off
into the intimidating landscape to continue to pursue his goal of
finding a major strike. Ultimately he does just that by literally
falling into a fortune when he slips through a crevice and finds himself
in an underground cave that is literally raining gold dust. He rejoices
in his triumph but his happiness is short-lived. He returns to the
bordello where the love of his life, a local hooker and oracle (Helena
Kallianiotes) is literally on her death bed and she dies in his arms.
It's the first in a string of unfortunate incidents that will plague
Jack's life. The scene then abruptly switches to twenty years later
when we find Jack comfortably residing in his Bahamian estate named,
appropriately enough, Eureka. He's a hot-tempered man prone to violent
outbursts. The only calming influence in his life is his twenty year-old
beautiful daughter Tracy (Theresa Russell), who he clearly adores but
who also brings him consternation because of her strong, independent
ways. Tracy has married Claude Malliot Van Horn (Rutger Hauer), a
handsome, charismatic European gigolo. Jack can immediately see through
Claude's motives and calls him out for being an opportunist who is using
Tracy to get access to the McCann fortune. The rift results in Tracy
becoming estranged from Jack and her mother, Helen (Jane Lapotaire), a
weak-willed woman who Jack treats as he would the hired help. A parallel
subplot finds Jack being pressured by his friend and business associate
Charles Perkins (Ed Lauter) to sell his beloved estate to a group of
American gangsters headed by a man named Mayaofsky (Joe Pesci) and his
second-in-command Aurello D'Amato (Mickey Rourke). Seems they want to
expand their operations to the island Jack resides on and consider his
land crucial to their plans. Typically, Jack not only rejects their
offer but insults them in the process, leading to the gangsters deciding
to take strong-arm tactics against him. In the film's most disturbing
scene (and there are several), Jack is murdered in his bed by being
bludgeoned, tortured with a blowtorch and (we learn later) beheaded.
It's an incredibly gruesome sight to behold, as Roeg holds nothing back
from the viewer except the decapitation. (We should be thankful for
small favors). The balance of the film concerns the resulting murder
trial, which mirrors the real life case in that Jack's son-in-law was
arrested and charged with the crime. He had motive and opportunity- but
so did many of his enemies including the gangsters.
"Eureka" may have been an ambitious undertaking but it's also a
highly unsatisfying one. The script provides us with a dearth of
sympathetic characters. With the exception of Tracy (who is superbly
played by Roeg's then-wife Theresa Russell, who made numerous other
films with him), there isn't a single other character with any admirable
traits. Hackman delivers a powerful performance as McCann but the
character is sketchy. We all know money doesn't always buy happiness but
we never get to the root cause of his dissatisfaction with life and
everyone around him. The supporting cast is equally excellent with
Rutger Hauer giving one of the best performances of his career as the
vain, almost effeminate pretty boy whose charm makes Tracy blind to his
vulgarities. These are demonstrated in a very haunting sequence in which
Claude and two female companions secretly attend a voodoo ritual that
becomes a pagan-like orgy which leaves everyone involved disgraced and
emotionally scarred. Joe Pesci and Mickey Rourke are impressive as the
gangsters, with Pesci uncharacteristically underplaying his role, while
Ed Lauter does the same as Jack's wimpy friend Charlie. The main problem
with "Eureka" is that Roeg values style over substance. The entire
first section of the film involving Jack's quest for gold is compromised
by Roeg dropping in metaphysical and supernatural aspects, implying
that his seer girlfriend is somehow sending him psychic signals to find
the gold even though this will inexplicably cost her her own life. Even
when the story gets on more traditional footing in Jack's later years,
Roeg still toys with the viewer by inserting artistic touches that are
visually striking but which distract the audience and make things quite
confusing to follow. At times it's hard to figure out who is who and what everyone's relationships and motivations are.Roeg
also can't resist making numerous analogies between the characters of
Jack McCann and Charles Foster Kane, though the comparisons seem a bit
obvious and heavy handed. Having said that, the movie looks beautiful
and Alex Thomson's cinematography is top-notch, as is the lush musical
score by Stanley Myers.
If Jack McCann's fate seemed cursed, so did "Eureka" as a major film
production. The movie was financed and was to be distributed by United
Artists. However, during production the management team of the
long-troubled studio changed and "Eureka" was treated as an orphan
project that had been green lit by the previous regime. Not helping
matters was the fact that a test screening proved to be very
discouraging, with the audience overwhelmingly giving the quirky film a
"thumbs down" verdict. UA sat on the movie for two years before giving
it a very minor and abbreviated release, after which it fell into
obscurity. Twilight Time has released the film as a special edition
Blu-ray, limited to only 3,000 units- and kudos for them for doing so.
Although the film is a misguided and unsatisfying enterprise, it still
has enough impressive aspects to merit a look by any serious movie
scholar.
"Eureka" is an artistic failure in this writer's opinion but at least
it's a fascinating one and certainly worth a look in order to draw your
own conclusions.
The film is currently streaming on Screenpix, which is available through Amazon Prime, Roku, YouTube and Apple TV for $2.99 per month.
Gina Lollobrigida, the reluctant Italian superstar, has died in Rome at age 94. Like her arch-rival Sophia Loren, Lollobrigida was born into humble circumstances in Italy and survived the carnage that was wreaked on the country by Mussolini's ill-fated alliance with Nazi German and Japan. She intended to follow a nondescript life but when she entered a beauty contest, her stunning looks and voluptuous figure attracted the attention of Hollywood. She was sent to Hollywood where none other than Howard Hughes signed her to a film contract. Lollobrigida's career took off like a rocket and she was soon steaming up theater screens opposite the top male boxoffice attractions including Burt Lancaster, Tony Curtis, Frank Sinatra and Sean Connery. Like Loren, she proved to more than a flash-in-the-pan bombshell because she was a fine actress. She was enamored of Rock Hudson, who she co-starred with in two comedies, but griped that she didn't like Sinatra because of his alleged habits of being late on the set. Ironically, Sean Connery complained that she exhibited diva-like behavior on the set of their film "Woman of Straw". She had a tumultuous love life and retired from feature films in the 1970s when the best roles were being offered to younger actresses. She concentrated on her interests in photography and politics.
Click here for more details about her remarkable life and career.
Michael Winner emerged as a promising young director/screenwriter/film editor in the early 1960s and his career gained momentum when the mod movement of the mid-Sixties made London the go-to place for everything and everyone who was hip. Winner fit into that category very neatly. He was wealthy, charismatic, talented and very much a key member of the city's thriving social scene. He made offbeat comedies that appealed to young audiences such as "The Jokers" and "I'll Never Forget What'sis Name". Soon he was making big studio films and was accorded substantial budgets to do so. He was quite diverse in his subject matter. "Hannibal Brooks" was a WWII comedy, "The Games" a drama set at the Olympic, "The Nightcomers", an ambitious prequel to Henry James's classic ghost story "The Turn of the Screw". He made good Westerns such as "Lawman" and "Chato's Land" and his numerous collaborations with Charles Bronson were crucial in finally elevating Bronson to major star status after being regarded as a reliable character actor for many years. Winner's biggest hit starred Bronson: the 1974 urban thriller "Death Wish" that perfectly reflected the real-life paranoia of America's soaring crime rate. The film was provocative and controversial, much to Winner's delight, and it made a ton of money. But soon after, Winner's fortunes in cinema began to decline. He seemed to have backward momentum and most of his films were poorly received by critics and audiences, even though occasionally a few proved to be underrated including his 1978 remake of "The Big Sleep" that was fittingly as confusing as the classic original.
One of Winner's least-remembered films from this era is "Firepower", released in 1979, which starred James Coburn and Sophia Loren. Like most of Winner's recent movies, it didn't light any fires at the boxoffice, but it has an impressive cast and production values that elevate the film above the embarrassing "Death Wish" sequels Winner would later preside over that gave him a resurgence of relevance. The film literally opens with a bang when a scientist opens a letter bomb and is blown to smithereens. He's the husband of Adele Tasca (Sophia Loren), who suspects the assassination was orchestrated by her husband's employer, the mysterious billionaire Karl Stegner, because he had discovered that Stegner was distributing a drug that could result in patients contracting cancer. Stegner is also wanted by the U.S. government for high-end criminal activities. There's one major problem: Stegner maintains a Howard Hughes-like lifestyle and no one even knows what he looks like. FBI agent Frank Mancuso (Vincent Gardenia) leans on crime figure Sal Hyman (Eli Wallach) to use his connections to locate Stegner in return for having pending criminal charges against him dropped. Hyman, in turn, reaches out to another man of mystery, Jerry Fannon (James Coburn), to get the job done in return for an eye-popping fee. Fannon is the ultimate Mr. Fix-It, having pulled off seemingly impossible tasks for other shady characters. Fannon enlists his trusted right-hand man, Catlett (O.J. Simpson) for the assignment and the two set off to the island of Curacao in the Caribbean, where he has learned Stegner is residing in a seaside mansion protected by an army of bodyguards who report to his top assistant, Leo Gelhorn (George Grizzard, successfully cast against type in an action role.)
Things get complicated when Adele arrives on the scene, ostensibly to find a way to expose and kill Stegner herself. But Fannon soon sees she might actually be in league with her husband's murderer. As with scenarios of this type, Fannon is welcomed into Stegner's hacienda by his prey. In this case, Stegner remains unseen but Fannon is afforded some courtesies by Gelhorn and Stegner's personal physician, Dr. Felix (Tony Franciosa). The Bond-like scenario finds heroes and villains exchanging witticisms and veiled threats very politely over drinks in a luxurious environment. Of course, the detente doesn't last long and the action becomes frequent and explosive. There's a goofy and thankfully brief subplot that finds Coburn face-to-face with his exact double, who he employs as part of his strategy but the screenplay by frequent Michael Winner collaborator Gerald Wilson affords some unexpected plot twists and genuine surprises and Winner handles the action scenes very well indeed, even if they not very original. For example, Coburn employs a bulldozer to demolish a house, which is fun to watch, but Robert Mitchum had already performed the same feat on screen a couple of years before in more spectacular fashion in "The Amsterdam Kill". The gorgeous Caribbean locations add a degree of luster to the production. The cast comes through, with Coburn especially fun to watch. Loren, who was paid $1 million to appear in the film, looks sensational but the role is somewhat underwritten and the inevitable romantic moments between Coburn and Loren's characters are rather dull and perfunctory. Eli Wallach and Vincent Gardenia are relegated to extended cameo roles and the film ends with a strange but welcome brief appearance by Victor Mature that is played for laughs.I should also mention the impressive stunt work performed by Terry Leonard and his crew.
(Warning: the video below contains spoilers!)
"Firepower" was produced by Sir Lew Grade, who originally had Charles Bronson agree to star in the film. At the last minute, Bronson pulled out and Grade considered canceling the production. However, he had already sunk a good deal of money into the project and signed James Coburn as the lead. Coburn would later recall, "I did it for the money, the locations (the Caribbean islands) and
to work with Sophia Loren. The director was Michael Winner. He’s
probably one of the weirdest guys I’ve ever met. Yet, I thought he was a
good guy when I first met him. But when he got on the set, he was
almost like a total dictator. I found it hard to
work for that way. The most fun I had was when I got to drive a
bulldozer through a
house in the islands." For all the effort, the film was greeted with negative reviews and a weak boxoffice take. The movie is available on Blu-ray as a collaboration between Kino Lorber and Scorpion Releasing. The transfer looks great and the disc includes the original trailer.
The 1969 action flick "The File of the Golden Goose" stars Yul Brynner in a crime thriller that plays more like an
espionage movie. Brynner portrays American Treasury agent Peter Novak,
who is sent to London to infiltrate and bust a major ring that
specializes in spreading counterfeit U.S. currency. Novak is assigned a
young Scotland Yard detective, Arthur Thompson (a very effective Edward
Woodward) and the two men enact a scenario where they are ultimately
taken in as part of the gang by mobster front man George Leeds
(always-reliable character actor Walter Gotell). The film is
unremarkable on most levels, but the script is intelligently written and
there is some genuine suspense when Novak begins to suspect that
Thompson is adapting to the mobster lifestyle for real. Brynner makes
for one of the most inimitable leading men of his era, constantly
bringing a sense of dignity and gravitas to what otherwise might be
considered to be a B movie.
There is also a very wry performance by
Charles Gray, playing an out-of-the-closet queen who dabbles in
counterfeit bills in between hosting orgies. The film was helmed by
actor/director Sam Wanamaker, who makes the most of the extensive London
locations. However, the movie's climactic shootout sequence involving a
helicopter is a bit of a dud and suffers from poor editing.
Nevertheless, any Brynner film deserves attention and The File of the Golden Goose is a more than satisfying thriller, though it must be said my opinion is in the minority. The movie was a critical and boxoffice failure but if you share my sometimes irrational love of even low-grade spy movies of this era, you'll find it enjoyable.
The film is available on Blu-ray through Kino Lorber in a welcome upgrade to MGM's previous DVD release. The only bonus extra is a trailer.
A decade before the release of the teenage vampire sensation
"Twilight" in 2008, there was another film with the same title that
couldn't be more different in tone and style. While the horror flick
helped launch the careers of up-and-coming actors, the 1998 film was
gently acknowledging that its already legendary stars were coming to the
end of theirs. This is evidenced by the title, which has a dual
meaning: the time of day as well as the stage of life its central
characters find themselves in. "Twilight" was written and directed by
Robert Benton and stars Paul Newman, Susan Sarandon, Gene Hackman and
James Garner. Benton and Newman had found considerable acclaim and
success with their previous collaboration, "Nobody's Fool", but
"Twilight" received mixed reviews and performed poorly at the boxoffice.
Therefore, there's probably a good chance you never saw it. The failure
of movie is puzzling, given the public's affection for the film noir
genre. Purists may argue that true film noir requires that a movie be
made on a modest budget and shot in black and white. "Twilight" doesn't
apply to either of these rules. It has a high-priced cast and gorgeous
color cinematography by Piotr Sobocinski, but in many ways it evokes the
very best of the noir genre, in a way that director Dick Richards' 1975
detective flick "Farewell My Lovely" also succeeded in doing. It has
all the central elements: the protagonist is a down-and-out private eye
(are there any other kind in noir films?), a deceptive man who sends
him out on a mission to make some fast money, a sultry femme fatale and
an abundance of supporting characters who are as eccentric as they are
threatening. Oh, and most of the action takes place in the dead of
night.
The film is set in contemporary L.A. Newman plays Harry Ross, a
one-time cop who was fired for alcoholism, an affliction that saw his
career as a private dick also fail. In the process, he lost his wife and
kids and remains alienated from them. Harry survives due to the
generosity of his benefactors, old friend Jack Ames (Gene Hackman) and
his wife Catherine (Susan Sarandon), both of whom were once prominent
and popular actors whose careers and finances are on a downward trend.
Harry is allowed to live rent-free at their lavish home, where he earns a
few bucks here and there by acting as a Man Friday for Jack, running
errands for him that often involve people of dubious backgrounds. Jack
has just learned that his cancer has been determined to be terminal and
he's given about six months to live. He takes it in stride but resents
having to spend much of his time in bed. Catherine seems to be devoted
to him but even Jack knows that she and Harry have long had eyes for
each other. Also sharing the residence is Jack and Catherine's
precocious teenage daughter Mel (Reese Witherspoon), who Harry had to to
fly to Mexico to retrieve from the arms of an older paramour, Jeff
Willis (Liev Schrieiber), who accidentally shot Harry in the leg during
an altercation. Now Jack has another mission for Harry; a seemingly easy
one: deliver an envelope stuffed with money to a man named Lester Ivar
(M. Emmett Walsh) with no questions asked. Needless to say, things go
awry from the start and Harry finds himself being shot at, beaten up and
framed for murder, all due to a blackmail plot against Jack and
Catherine, who were long suspected of murdering her first husband so
they could be together. As with any noir or noir-like film, it doesn't
pay to go into much detail about the plot, as it would compromise all
the twists and turns in Robert Benton's screenplay, which, in true genre
form, is complex but thoroughly compelling.
"Twilight" is the kind of film that celebrates the kinds of
characters that existed in crime movies of the 1940s and 1950s. Everyone
speaks the same lingo, dishing out insults and wisecracks with abandon.
It's also the kind of film where a cuckolded husband learns his best friend
has been sleeping with his wife and deals with it by simply telling him
to knock it off. In today's increasingly sanitized world of filmmaking, it's refreshing to revisit an era in which hard-bitten characters are unapologetic about drinking and smoking without restraint. The performances are uniformly excellent, with Newman
at age 73 displaying the same cynical wit that made "Harper" such a
pleasure to watch. He's also still drop-dead handsome, even though his
character acknowledges his advanced years. (A running gag in the film is
that Harry is unaware that the rumor mill has it that his "pecker had
been shot off" in the incident in Mexico.) Sarandon burns up the screen
as the diva-like object of both Harry and Jack's affections and Reese
Witherspoon displays the talents that would see her rise to stardom.
Hackman is very good, but his screen time is limited, though the
dialogue he shares with Newman is terrific. There's also a standout turn
in a supporting role by James Garner, as a friend of both men who is a
retired cop who serves as a "Mr. Fix-It" on the L.A. crime scene. There
is also an excellent performance by Stockard Channing as a
tough-as-nails LAPD lieutenant and former flame of Harry's. Liev
Schrieber and Margo Martindale fill out the ranks as a team of murderous
blackmailers who are as eccentric as any characters to be found in an
old John Huston movie and there is an amusing turn by Giancarlo Esposito
as an aspiring private eye who idolizes Harry. The film is also
complimented by an impressive score by the legendary Elmer Bernstein. The critical and boxoffice failure of "Twilight" shouldn't distract
from the fact that this is a first-rate detective film well worth
checking out.
After being out-of-print on home video in the U.S. for a number of years, Kino Lorber has released an impressive new Blu-ray edition with a marvelous transfer. Best of all is the commentary track by film noir experts Alain Silver and James Ursini. If you were ignorant about the genre before listening to them, you won't be by the time the track is over. According to them, "Twilight" technically qualifies as a "neo-noir" film because it is set in the modern era. However, Silver argues that the movie possesses so many traditional elements of the genre that it should probably be regarded as an example of classic noir. Indeed, director Benton seems to realize that shooting anything in L.A. at night gives a film a noirish element and Benton doesn't need obvious gimmicks to remind the viewer of this fact. In all, the KL edition is a "must-have" if you appreciate films of this type. As an additional bonus, there are original trailers and TV spots for this movie along with other titles available through KL. Highly recommended.
Charles Bronson, the epitome of the screen hero of few words and emotions, is the subject of the French documentary "Charles Bronson: Hollywood's Lone Wolf" from writer/director Jean Lauritano. While the movie's 52-minute running time is hopelessly inadequate for providing much insight into the film legend's life and career, it does benefit from plenty of HD film clips instead of the usual VHS-quality footage culled from public domain movies and well-worn trailers, which is usually the norm in documentaries of this sort. Because the French are generally known as the ultimate cinephiles, the film concentrates primarily on aspects of Bronson's professional career, with only some fleeting insights into his personal life and background. We learn he grew up in a hardscrabble lifestyle in the coal country of western Pennsylvania and seemed destined for a dead end job in the mines. However, after being drafted for service in WWII, he joined a generation of other recently-discharged young men who gravitated toward the acting profession after the war. Like most of his peers, Bronson never dreamed of being an actor and tried out for a play at the suggestion of a friend. He found he had a knack for the profession and soon moved to Hollywood, where he traded his real name- Charles Buchinsky- for Charles Bronson because Senator Joseph McCarthy's "Red Scare" witch hunts were in play and Bronson suspected that a Slavic name would not be beneficial. He found work immediately and was generally cast as ominous tough guys and henchmen largely because he lacked the handsome features of traditional leading men of the era.
In the late 1950s, Bronson landed the lead role in the modestly-successful TV series "Man with a Camera" before director John Sturges cast him as one of "The Magnificent Seven" and in "The Great Escape", both of which afforded Bronson high profile roles. It was during the filming of the latter production that Bronson began wooing actress Jill Ireland, despite the fact that she was married to his co-star and good friend David McCallum. Ultimately, she would divorce McCallum and marry Bronson, but such dramatic developments are dismissed with in a nanosecond in the documentary. Instead, director/writer Lauritano dissects Bronson's achievements on screen, pointing out that he reached leading man status in Europe long before Hollywood recognized his potential as a boxoffice super star. The film presents Bronson as resentful that, while he was starring in films by the likes of Rene Clement and Sergio Leone in Europe, he was still relegated to playing rather nondescript villains in American cinema, despite a high profile role as one of "The Dirty Dozen" and playing a non-violent role opposite Richard Burton and Elizabeth Taylor in "The Sandpiper".
Brosnson's prospects for American stardom rose with the release of two European films that were well received in the States: the Western "Red Sun" and the real-life crime drama "The Valachi Papers", both directed by Terence Young. Soon after, his collaborations with British director Michael Winner on films such as "Chato's Land" and "The Mechanic" finally afforded Bronson name-above-the-title respect in his native country. The highlight of this period was starring in Winner's "Death Wish", the controversial crime thriller that perfectly tapped into the American public's concerns about urban crime waves of the era. It would prove to be one of the most influential films of all time, for better or worse. The documentary is frustrating because it affords us an interesting overview of a cinematic icon who is rarely examined in any meaningful way, yet it needs to have a much longer running time to do him justice. What exists is impressive, however.
The version of the film currently presented on Amazon for streaming rental or purchase and on Freevee for free, but with ads. (Yuck!)
The summer of 1978 was one of the best summers that I can recall
from childhood. My grandmother took my sister and I to see Heaven Can Wait,
Warren Beatty's remake of 1941’s Here Comes Mr. Jordan. I immediately
took to Mr. Beatty’s interpretation of Joe Pendleton, despite not being an avid
fan of football. Two years later I was introduced to Jack Nicholson's work
when, in July 1980, I saw a broadcast of Mike Nichols’ 1975 film The Fortune
on ABC-TV in which he co-starred with Mr. Beatty, along with Stockard Channing.
It was not a particularly memorable film, but I enjoyed both of them in their
respective roles.
In the winter of 1981, Paramount Pictures released Reds, a
three-and-one-quarter hour long drama that Mr. Beatty wrote, produced, and
directed. I had seen the ads for the film and while traveling to and from New
York City with my Boy Scout troop to broaden our horizons of the world of art by
visiting the Museum of Modern Art. We spent a significant amount of time in New
York's Pennsylvania train station awaiting our journey home, which was an
education in and of itself. Aside from the cross-dressers and drug addicts,
there was a video playback system positioned near the rear of the terminal.
This advertising mechanism the name of which completely escapes me, was sponsored
by Paramount Pictures. It ran movie trailers on ¾” U-matic videotape for
several films released by the studio. One of them was Raiders of the Lost
Ark, my favorite film of that year, and another one was Reds. I
never had the opportunity to see Reds theatrically, and my parents correctly
figured that the film would have gone way over my head. The prospect of sitting
in a theater for nearly three-and-a-half hours did not sit well with them,
understandably so. Movie theater seats in those days were simply not
comfortable. I did not catch up with Reds until many years later, but
the film has finally found its way restored on Blu-ray for its 40th
anniversary. I’m finally getting around to review it.
If there is anything that can be said about this film, Reds
is about many things. It is a love story, it is an ambitious work, it is the
brainchild of a man who managed to pull off an extraordinary feat of
filmmaking, and it is arguably the last of the big-budgeted sprawling epics of
the time, following Michael Cimino’s failed Heaven’s Gate from the
previous year. While I am not completely understanding of the ideologies in the
politics involved, I can safely say that Reds is probably not the sort
of film that would be green-lit today, as the climate of filmmaking now is
completely different than it was four decades ago.
Reds opened on Friday, December 4, 1981 nationwide, however the story it
depicts begins sixty-six years earlier in 1915 when Louise Bryant, expertly
portrayed by Diane Keaton who had already appeared in TheGodfather
(1972) and The Godfather Part II (1974) and played opposite Woody Allen
in six films, meets fellow journalist John Reed (Warren Beatty) at a Portland,
Oregon lecture. She interviews him in an hours-long session that compels her to
leave her stuffy husband (Nicolas Coster) and move with Reed to Greenwich
Village in New York City where she is introduced to anarchist and author Emma
Goldman (Maureen Stapleton, who won an Oscar for her performance) and Eugene O’Neill
(Jack Nicholson), the playwright.
Following a move to Provincetown, Massachusetts, Bryant and Reed
find themselves involved in the local theater scene. Bryant has realized that
her writing is what makes her truly happy, and her ideologies begin to align
with Reed’s, who is now involved in labor strikes with the Communist Labor
Party of America. These people are called “Reds,” hence the film’s title. While
Reed is off covering the 1916 Democratic National Convention in Missouri, Bryant
becomes romantically involved with O’Neill, the truth of which comes to Reed’s
attention when he returns to Massachusetts and finds a letter O’Neill wrote
Bryant inside the pages of a book. Despite this, he still loves Bryant and
after marrying, they move to upstate New York. However, a fight ensues when
evidence of his own affairs comes to light, which causes Bryant to take a
position of war correspondent in Europe, a role that Reed also follows despite
his doctor’s admonitions to slow down. The Russian Revolution commences, and
Bryant and Reed are reunited.
Following an intermission (possibly the last major American film
to feature one, not counting Serio Leone’s Once Upon a Time in America in
1984), Reed publishes his famous Ten Days That Shook the World and
becomes inebriated on the ideals perpetuated by the Revolution and does his
best to introduce the United States to the political theory of Communism, the
antithesis of the beliefs espoused by Grigory Zinoviev (Jerzy Kosinski) and the
Bolsheviks. Unfortunately, the effects of typhus catch up with him following a
prison stint in Finland. The film’s most celebrated sequence is Reed’s return
to Moscow and his reunion with Bryant at a train station. His demise occurs
shortly thereafter, while Bryant can only look on, helplessly.
The supporting cast is excellent and the transfer on this Blu-ray is
beautiful. Cinematographer Vittorio Storaro added this film to his Oscar
collection following his win for his work on Francis Ford Coppola’s Apocalypse
Now (1979). He would later win again for Bernardo Bertolucci’s The Last
Emperor (1987), although not having even been nominated for his stunning
work on Signor Bertolucci’s The Conformist (1970), Last Tango in
Paris (1972) or Luna (1979) makes one scratch their head in
disbelief.
Reds was a
boxoffice bomb despite the fact that the film was nominated for Best Picture
and Beatty was named Best Director. Beatty’s sentimental look at a man who
espoused Communism was ill-timed for the beginning of the Reagan era.
There is a second Blu-ray added which consists of the same extras
that accompanied the 25th anniversary DVD edition:
Witness To Reds:
The Rising (SD, 6:29)
Comrades (SD, 13:30)
Testimonials (SD, 11:58)
The March (SD, 9:07)
Revolution, Part 1 (SD,
10:18)
Revolution, Part 2 (SD,
6:55)
Propaganda (SD, 9:11)
The
story of the making of this film and Paramount Pictures’ (which was owned by Gulf
and Western at the time) willingness to make it is a fascinating one. While the
film looks beautiful, I would have loved a running commentary from the major
performers giving their insights and memories of the making of the film. A
missed opportunity to be sure, but the film alone is enough to warrant the
purchase.
Film critic Ann Thompson worked on early John Carpenter movies as a press agent, including the original 1978 horror classic "Halloween", which is being reissued to theaters. Thompson recently reunited with the director and actress to reminisce about the making of "Halloween", which was made for a relatively small budget and became a boxoffice blockbuster. Carpenter also discusses how his superb remake of "The Thing" made him cynical about working with major studios after it under-performed at the boxoffice- a fate that was blamed on his ambiguous ending to the movie. Click here to read.
Clint Eastwood proved that the skills he displayed as a first-time director with "Play Misty for Me" in 1971 were not a fluke. In 1973, he directed and starred in the revisionist Western "High Plains Drifter", playing upon his star-making image as a mysterious drifter with a murky past. In this case, the film had an added unique element: supernatural overtones. John Wayne hated the film but audiences flocked to it and even some critics grudgingly conceded that Eastwood was showing some promising skill as a director. Little would anyone know that in 1993, he would receive the Best Director Oscar for another Western, "Unforgiven".
This is a rare trade ad for "High Plains Drifter" that ran in Boxoffice magazine in July, 1973.
Brendan Fraser started as most actors do, trying to land supporting roles in high profile films. He landed the leading role in low-brow 1992 comedy "Encino Man" in which he played a caveman in the modern era. Over the next few years, he worked steadily- if unevenly- in a range of films that failed to score at the boxoffice. That changed in 1997 when he played the role of George of the Jungle, a big screen adaptation of a 1960s cartoon series. With his hunky good looks, athletic physique and ability to perform difficult stunts, Fraser was in demand when the film proved to be a hit. More successes followed with "The Mummy" and its sequel. Fraser excelled in playing genial, if fallible action heroes and romantic leads, but he also proved he had the talent to portray dramatic characters as well, as evidenced by his acclaimed performances in "Gods and Monsters" and "The Quiet American". He also won plaudits for his performance as Brick in a 2001 stage production of Tennessee Williams' classic "Cat on a Hot Tin Roof". Then things slowed down. A few modest hits aside, Fraser appeared mostly in forgettable films and in supporting roles in TV productions. A volatile divorce, medical consequences from the many stunts her performed earlier in his career and other personal challenges led to him virtually dropping out of sight a few years ago. Fans who had grown up on his work in the 1990s speculated that he might soon fit into the "Whatever happened to?" category. His much-anticipated role as a villain in the "Batgirl" feature film was a casualty of Warner Brothers' decision to cancel the unfinished film. But Fraser has had plenty to be happy about recently. He landed a major role in Martin Scorsese's currently-filming "Killers of the Flower Moon" and has recently generated Oscar buzz for his leading role in director Darren Aronofsky's dramatic film "The Whale", which premiered last month at the Venice Film Festival to a six-minute standing ovation.
I joined my fellow ink-stained wretches of the press for a screening of the film last Sunday at The Montclair Film Festival in New Jersey. Fraser was on hand to be interviewed by Stephen Colbert, who resides in Montclair and who, along with his wife Evelyn, have been major players in the creation of the film festival, which holds screenings in two local historic theaters, the one-time Cinerama showcase The Claridge and the Wellmont, a grand old venue where this event took place. The cavernous Wellmont had a packed house and the crowd was made up of true cinephiles, as evidenced by their rapt attention to the film and the interview that followed. Nobody was texting, talking or otherwise distracting from the proceedings, despite the fact that there were three bars on site dispensing plenty of adult beverages. This was my first time attending the festival and I was impressed by the atmosphere and choice of venues.
As for "The Whale", like many critics, I found myself with mixed feelings. The primary reason to see the film is because of Fraser's justifiably acclaimed performance. It has been noted that the actor is now more beefy than beefcake but don't confuse Fraser with Charlie, the character he plays in the film, who is a 600-pound man confined to his apartment. Fraser required a rather amazing prosthetic "fat suit" as well as some convincing CGI effects to convincingly play a person this morbidly obese. The film opens on a jarring note. Charlie is slouched in his couch masturbating to a gay porn video, and his aroused state almost causes his death. In fact, virtually every movement is a challenge for Charlie, a kindhearted man whose only regular connection to society is his job teaching an online college course in literature via Zoom. Because he is ashamed of his appearance, he tells his students that his camera is broken. He can see them, but they can't see him, which unintentionally allows him to create an air of mystery about his persona. Charlie is obsessed with Herman Melville's "Moby Dick", and the analogy between the great white whale and his own physical state is obvious. Charlie receives a visit from a young evangelist, Thomas (Ty Simpkins) who ostensibly is there to spread the word from the Good Book but who ends up assisting and befriending Charlie, while keeping a secret about his own background. Next in line to visit is Ellie (Sadie Sink), Charlie's estranged teenage daughter who lugs a pretty good number of plot devices in the door with her. Seems Charlie was once married but left Sadie and her mother when she was very young when he came out of the closet and lived with his lover, who is now deceased and whose memory leaves Charlie in a constant state of despair. This first plot contrivance doesn't hold up for the simple reason that Charlie and his wife and daughter all still live in the same town, so it seems unlikely they would have had no social interaction until now. Next up among the visitors is Liz (Hong Chau), a saucy, no-nonsense nurse who happens to be a personal friend of Charlie. In between looking after his endless medical needs, she lectures him about his health to little avail. Rounding out the parade of eccentric troubadours dropping in on this mini Grand Central Station is Charlie's ex-wife Mary (Samantha Morton), who discusses their mutual concerns about Ellie's rebellious nature and self-destructive tendencies, all of which are squarely blamed on Charlie's negligence toward her.
"The Whale" is based on Samuel D. Hunter's stage play and film looks very much like a filmed stage production. There are precious few exterior shots and the murky interior cinematography by Matthew Libatique, combined with Ron Simonsen's eerie score, results in the mood of a horror film being prevalent. Hunter's screenplay and Aronofsky's direction tip off all but the most gullible viewer that their emotions are being exploited in a naked and shameless manner. Nothing wrong with that. Chaplin did the same with the final scene of "City Lights", as the Little Tramp unveils his identity to his once-blind paramour in a scene that may be the most touching in screen history. But "The Whale" is loaded up with a lot of contrived crises. Charlie is a sympathetic figure throughout but Ellie is painted as the Cruella DeVil of the high school set, a one-note character that you try in vain to find redeeming qualities in. She even charges her own father money in order to spend time with her. Director Aronofsky has Sadie Sink go for the rafters in terms of her cruelty but we know from minute one that at some point she'll fall for young Thomas in another improbable plot twist. The actors can't be faulted. They're just following orders. The only believable character aside from Charlie is Liz the nurse and Hong Chau registers strongly in the role. The most affecting scenes are those centering on Charlie as an individual, as we watch seemingly mundane actions such as attempting to stand up evolve into "Mission: Impossible"-like scenarios. It's painful to watch Fraser, but that's the point. Regardless of the film's flaws, his performance is flawless. "The Whale" isn't the first film to portray morbidly obese people in a sympathetic fashion. Director Anne Bancroft's 1979 film "Fatso" did so through a serio-comedic lens. "The Whale", however, provides precious few reasons to smile.
Following the screening, Brendan Fraser and Stephen Colbert took to the stage to Fraser's latest standing ovation. He appeared genuinely moved and in discussion with Colbert, it became clear how grateful he is to have been cast as Charlie. The chat reinforced Fraser's image as a Mister Nice Guy and to Colbert's credit, he suppressed his comedic side and did nothing to overshadow Fraser in any way. The interview was enjoyable and insightful.
"The Whale" is a flawed film but no so flawed that it can't be recommended for those who seek a moving, if manipulative drama, as well as the performance of a lifetime by Brendan Fraser.
The first African-American to direct a major film for a majorHollywood
studio was Gordon Parks, whose feature film debut "The Learning Tree"
was released in 1969. Parks may have shattered the glass ceiling but
there wasn't a tidal wave of opportunities that immediately opened for
other minority filmmakers, in part because there were so few with any
formal training in the art. One beneficiary of Parks' achievement was
Ossie Davis, who was internationally respected as a well-rounded artist.
He was a triple threat: actor, director and writer but his directing
skills had been relegated to the stage. In 1970 Davis co-wrote the
screenplay for and directed "Cotton Comes to Harlem", a major production
for United Artists. The film was based on a novel by African-American
writer Chester Himes and proved to be pivotal in ushering in what became
known as the Blaxploitation genre. In reality, it's debatable whether
"Cotton" really is a Blaxploitation film. While most of the major roles
are played by black actors, the term "Blaxploitation" has largely come
to symbolize the kinds of goofy, low-budget films that are fondly
remembered as guilty pleasures. However, "Cotton"- like Gordon Parks's
"Shaft" films that would follow- boasts first class production values
and top talent both in front of and behind the cameras. Regardless, the
movie had sufficient impact at the boxoffice to inspire a seemingly
endless barrage of Black-oriented American films that were all the rage
from the early to mid-1970s. The Blaxploitation fever burned briefly but
shone brightly and opened many doors for minority actors.
The film was shot when New York City was in the midst of a
precipitous decline in terms of quality of life. Crime was soaring, the
infrastructure was aging and the city itself would be on the verge of
bankruptcy a few years later. Harlem was among the hardest hit areas in
terms of the economy. The once dazzling jewel of a neighborhood had
boasted popular nightclubs, theaters and restaurants that attracted
affluent white patrons. By the mid-to-late 1960s, however, that had
changed radically. Street crimes, organized gangs and the drug culture
spread rapidly, making Harlem a very dangerous place to be. It was
foreboding enough if you were black but it was considered a "Forbidden
Zone" for most white people, who spent their money elsewhere, thus
exacerbating the decline of the neighborhoods. "Cotton Comes to Harlem"
serves as an interesting time capsule of what life was like in the area,
having been shot during this period of decline. Director Davis was
considered royalty in Harlem. Despite his success in show business, he
and his equally acclaimed wife, actress Ruby Dee, never "went
Hollywood". They stayed in the community and worked hard to improve the
environment. Thus, Davis was perfectly suited to capture the action on
the streets in a manner that played authentically on screen. Similarly,
he had a real feel for the local population. As with any major urban
area, Harlem undoubtedly had its share of amusing eccentrics and Davis
populates the movie with plenty of such characters.
The film opens with a major rally held by Rev. Deke O'Malley (Calvin
Lockhart), a local guy who made good and who is idolized by the
population of Harlem. O'Malley is a smooth-talking, charismatic con man
in the mode of the notorious Reverend Ike who uses religion as a facade
to rip off gullible followers. This time, O'Malley has launched a "Back
to Africa" campaign for which he is soliciting funds. It's based on the
absurd premise that he will be able to finance disgruntled Harlem
residents back to the land of their ancestry. The hard-working,
semi-impoverished locals end up donating $87,000 in cash but the rally
is interrupted by a daring daytime robbery. An armored car filled with
masked men armed with heavy weaponry descend upon the goings-on, loot
the cash box and take off. They are pursued by two street-wise local
cops, "Grave Digger" Jones (Godfrey Cambridge) and his partner "Coffin"
Ed Johnson (Raymond St. Jacques). Davis provides an exciting and
colorful car chase through the streets of Harlem, as the cops fail to
snag the robbers. They also discover that O'Malley has gone missing,
leading them to believe that he orchestrated the heist himself so he
could keep the proceeds raised at the rally. The plot becomes rather
convoluted, as Jones and Johnson learn that a bale of cotton has arrived
in Harlem and its somehow connected to the crime. They assume that the
stolen money has been stashed in said cotton bale, which quickly changes
hands among the most unsavory characters in the community. Getting in
on the action is a white mob boss and his goons who are also trying to
recover the cotton bale. The cotton itself is resented in Harlem because
of its historical links to slavery and by the end of the film, the bale
ends up in a stage show at the famed Apollo Theater where it is used as
a prop in a bizarre production that involves historical observations
about the black experience intermingled with a striptease act! Through
it all, Jones and Johnson doggedly chase any number of people through
the streets, engage in shoot-outs and car chases and come in and out of
contact with Rev. O'Malley, who professes his innocence about being
involved in the robbery. The Rev isn't so innocent when it comes to
other unscrupulous activities such as chronically cheating on his
long-suffering girlfriend Iris (Judy Pace) and manipulating other women
in a variety of ways.
The most delightful aspect of the film is the showcasing of some very
diverse talents of the era. Godfrey Cambridge (who made it big as a
stand-up comic) and Raymond St. Jacques enjoy considerable on-screen
chemistry even if the script deprives them of the kind of witty dialogue
that would have enhanced their scenes together. They make wisecracks
all the time and harass some less-than-savory characters but the
screenplay never truly capitalizes on Cambridge's comedic potential. The
film's most impressive performance comes from Calvin Lockhart, who
perfectly captures the traits of phony, larger-than-life "preachers".
He's all flashy good looks, gaudy outfits and narcissistic
behavior. Lockhart seems
to be having a ball playing this character and the screen ignites every
time he appears. There are some nice turns by other good character
actors including pre-"Sanford and Son" Redd Foxx, who figures in the
film's amusing "sting-in-the-tail" ending, John Anderson as the
exasperated white captain of a Harlem police station that is constantly
on the verge of being besieged by local activists, Lou Jacobi as a junk
dealer, Cleavon Little as a local eccentric, J.D. Canon as a mob hit man
and Dick Sabol as a goofy white cop who suffers humiliation from
virtually everyone (which is sort of a payback for the decades in which
black characters were routinely used as comic foils). The film has a
surprisingly contemporary feel about it, save for a few garish fashions
from the 1970s. It's also rather nostalgic to hear genuine soul music
peppered through the soundtrack in this pre-rap era. Happily, life has
not imitated art in the years since the film was released. Harlem has
been undergoing the kind of Renaissance that would have seemed
unimaginable in 1970. The old glory has come back strong and the center
of the neighorhood, 125th Street, is vibrant and thriving once again.
These societal perspectives make watching "Cotton Comes to Harlem"
enjoyable on an entirely different level than simply an amusing crime
comedy.
(The film is currently streaming on Amazon Prime.)
By the late 1960s, Jacqueline Bisset was clearly one of the "It" girls among a bevy of starlets who crossed over from flash-in-the-pan status to becoming a genuine star in their own right. Her breakthrough role opposite Steve McQueen in the 1968 blockbuster "Bullitt" helped catapult the British beauty to the top ranks of actresses who were deemed to have international boxoffice appeal. Among her major Hollywood successes: "The Detective", "Airport" and "The Deep". In between, however, Bisset was open to appearing in off-beat films that were most suited for the art house circuit. One of the more unusual productions was "Secret World", a 1969 French film that was the antithesis of the commercial successes she was enjoying. The film was directed by Robert Freeman, a famed photographer who is credited with shooting many of the classic album covers for The Beatles. (Some sources credit Paul Feyder as co-director but the film does not give him this status in the main titles or on the poster.)The film is a moody, slow-moving tale about troubled people in troubled relationships. It's nevertheless oddly compelling and retains the viewer's interest because of the unveiling of key information about the characters and their motives on a drip...drip...drip basis.
The film opens with scenes of Francois (Jean-Francois Vlerick, billed here as Jean-Francois Maurin), an 11 year-old boy who is rather morose and somber. He is living in a French country manor house that, like the family that inhabits it, has seen better days. Francois is under the care of his Aunt Florence (Giselle Pascal) and Uncle Phillippe (Pierre Zimmer), a forty-something couple whose marriage is strained. They go through the motions of keeping their relationship civil, but it's clear the passion is long gone. We see Francois finding some degree of enjoyment in solitude when he retreats to his tree house where he peruses a small box of "treasures", which are various household oddities that he has secreted in his domain. Florence and Phillippe receive an unexpected visit from their son Olivier (Marc Porel), a handsome but irresponsible young man who lives off his parent's money. Like the relationship between his parents, Olivier's dealings with them are similarly strained. Francois observes all of this somberly, rarely speaking unless spoken to.
Phillippe announces that they are to have a visitor arriving soon from London: Wendy (Jacqueline Bisset, quite becoming as a blonde), the daughter of an old war buddy who once saved his life. When she shows up, her presence has an immediate impact on everyone in the house. Wendy is polite, out-going, generous and stunningly beautiful. Immediately, Olivier decides to postpone his departure in the hopes of wooing and seducing her. Phillippe seems similarly smitten and Florence is clearly threatened by the arrival of the attractive young woman. As the days pass, Wendy also builds a relationship with Francois, who becomes obsessed with her. He steals a bottle of her perfume so he can have a constant reminder of her presence. She, in turn, plays a combination role of big sister and mother, taking Francois under her wing and spending quality time with him. She later learns that he was been adopted by his aunt and uncle after his parents died in a terrible car crash. Worse, Francois suffered the trauma of being trapped under his mother's body for hours. With Wendy able to reach him in a way that no one else can, Francois's mood begins to lighten. Before long, he is bragging to his small circle of friends that she is his girlfriend, although it is never clear whether his fascination with her is based on his budding sexual instincts or simply because she has fulfilled a nurturing role that has been absent from his life since the death of his mother. As the story progresses, we also learn that Phillippe and Wendy are actually long-time lovers and that her visit from London has been arranged simply so they can spend time together. Before long, Phillippe finds himself in competition with Olivier for her attention. Florence clearly suspects that her husband's interest in Wendy is more than platonic. In a rather cringe-inducing scene, she is mocked by the male members of her household when she decides to have her hair dyed blonde in an obvious attempt to compete with the younger woman. The relationships between the principals continue to deteriorate even as Wendy and Francois become closer. An off-hand remark made by her in jest is taken seriously by the young boy who believes that they are to run away together and live in England, which leads to the inevitable heartbreaking conclusion.
There are no dramatic fireworks or show-stopping moments built into the script but the film is extremely well acted and at some points, you feel as though you are eavesdropping on a real family. Bisset ignites the screen in this early starring role as a woman who is the unintended catalyst for a lot of anxiety for the males in her life. Director Freeman handles the proceedings with sensitivity and he gets significant assistance from the fine cinematography of Peter Biziou. The U.S. marketing campaign for the film was somewhat misleading with its implication that it centered on an illicit sexual relationship between a young woman and an under-age boy. In fact, the sexual element is completely one-sided from standpoint of Francois and there aren't any erotic sequences in the film at all- just an abundance of good actors working with a believable and engrossing script. Recommended.
Director Franklin J. Schaffner was fresh off his Best Director Oscar triumph for Patton when he teamed with legendary producer Sam Spiegel for the historical epic Nicholas and Alexandra.
The film was an adaptation of a best-selling book by Robert K. Massie
that traced the tragic events leading to the assassination of Russia's
last czar, along with his entire family. With a screenplay by the
esteemed James Goldman (The Lion in Winter), the film had the
potential to be another Spiegel classic. After all, Spiegel had teamed
with director David Lean to produce two of the great cinematic
masterpieces: The Bridge on the River Kwai and Lawrence of Arabia. Despite
their mutual triumphs, Lean (like most people in the film industry)
came to loathe the gruff Spiegel, whose mercurial temper knew no bounds.
He would chastise gaffers and esteemed directors alike and Lean had had
enough. When he began production on his 1965 blockbuster Doctor Zhivago, Spiegel's
ego was bruised because Lean had teamed this time with producer Carlo
Ponti. If Lean had made a boxoffice smash out of the Russian Revolution,
Spiegel would prove he could do the same thing. Thus, Nicholas and Alexandra was
borne more out of revenge than inspiration. In addition to hiring
Schaffner for the project, Spiegel conspicuously brought two key members
of the Zhivago team with him: production designer John Box and
cinematographer Freddie Young. However, Spiegel's finances were not
adequate to afford the big name stars he had hoped to cast in the lead
roles. Thus, he was forced to cast relative unknowns from the British
stage: Michael Jayston and Janet Suzman. To give the film some boxoffice
allure, he cast a "Who's Who" of British acting royalty in supporting
roles, comprised of legendary established stars and up-and-comers. They
included Laurence Olivier, Michael Redgrave, Brian Cox, Ian Holm, Jack
Hawkins (whose part was dubbed due to the actor's recent throat
surgery), Harry Andrews, Tom Baker, John Wood, Roy Dotrice, Alexander
Knox, Eric Porter and Timothy West.
The story, steeped in historical accuracy, finds Nicholas
ill-prepared to serve as czar over a troubled Russia beset by
devastating economic conditions. With the majority of his people facing
starvation and a daily struggle to survive, Nicholas resides in palatial
splendor in Petersburg with his headstrong wife, Alexandra. Nicholas is
a good man in his own way. He cares about the peasants but lives in a
bubble that prevents him from relating to their day-to-lives. Born of
privilege, he knows no other life. The Romanovs have ruled Russia for
three hundred consecutive years and he sees no reason for the tradition
to stop with his dynasty. He is delighted when Alexandra presents him
with a male heir to the throne, but the boy is sickly and suffers from
life-threatening hemophilia. Still, it's a happy family with Nicholas
doting over his daughters and young son. He seems oblivious that there
is great resentment towards his wife, who manipulates his every move and
keeps him cut off from personal friends. He ignores warnings from his
ministers that he must tone down Alexandra's lavish spending habits,
especially during the poor economic climate. A protest by peasants in
1905 builds tension further when a mishap causes the army to fire on the
people, slaughtering hundreds of them. The seeds of revolution continue
to grow with the agitator Lenin leading the charge in hopes of
establishing a Bolshevik ruling party and deposing the czar. Nicholas'
ill-fated decision to enter WWI against Germany brings about
catastrophic results. Not only are his armies no match against the
Kaiser's but Alexandra is of German heritage, which further builds
public resentment against her. As Russian forces face devastating
defeats on the battlefields, revolution spreads quickly through the
country. Lenin's popularity grows, especially when he promises to make
immediate peace with Germany if he is given power. Before long, the czar
finds himself essentially powerless. He and his family are arrested but
he still believes they will live an idyllic and peaceful life in exile.
Instead, they are shunted between distant locations and housed in
barely-livable conditions as the new order debates their fate. As we all
know, it is a tragic one with Nicholas and his family abruptly shot to
death by an assassination squad.
These dramatic developments play out slowly but in an interesting
manner throughout the film's 183-minute running time. The performances
are all first rate, with Jayston especially good as the sympathetic (if
clueless) czar. Suzman is every bit his match as the egotistical
Alexandra and each member of the supporting cast provides a gem of a
performance, with Olivier and Harry Andrews especially impressive and
Tom Baker stealing the entire movie with his mesmerizing performance as
Rasputin, the crazed monk who had a Svengali-like influence over
Alexandra, much to her husband's disgust. Yet, despite those attributes
and a rich production design, the film never emotionally moves the
viewer as much as one would expect. The characters remain somewhat
opaque and the great historical events that affect them are only given
marginal background and explanation. Schaffner clearly wanted to
emphasize personal relationships over visual splendor and by and large
he succeeded. However, there is some emotional component missing here.
He crafted an impressive movie on many levels but one that perhaps did
not fulfill its ultimate potential. The movie was greeted with the
customary (some would say obligatory) Oscar nominations generally
accorded historical epics. It was nominated for 6 awards (including
nods for Best Picture and Actress) and won in two technical categories.
Nevertheless, overall critical response was mixed and the film was
considered a boxoffice disappointment. Schaffner would go on to make
three more impressive films (Papillon, Islands in the Stream and The Boys From Brazil)
and several flops before passing away in 1989 at age 69. Spiegel never
regained the mojo he once enjoyed in the industry. He would only make
two more relatively low-key films (The Last Tycoon, Betrayal) before he died in 1985 at age 84.
Nicholas and Alexandra may not be the classic Spiegel and
Schaffner had envisioned, but in this age of dumbed-down action movies,
it plays much better than it did upon its initial release in 1971. It's a
film that educates even as it entertains.
(The film is currently streaming on Amazon Prime.)
When director William Friedkin's expensive adventure film "Sorcerer" opened in 1977, it died a quick death at the boxoffice. Like other films that met the same fate, however, it has been re-evaluated and - much to Friedkin's satisfaction- it is regarded by many as one of the great movies of its era. In this clip, critics Roger Ebert and Gene Siskel review the film on their show "At the Movies". As usual, they disagree, with Siskel stating he was not impressed by the movie while Ebert argues the film is terrific. Ebert also gripes that the studio botched the marketing campaign, while Siskel points out that the film's title implied it was relating to the supernatural. Thus, audiences were expecting something akin to Friedkin's previous film, "The Exorcist". In any event, "Sorcerer" has withstood the test of time and plays even better today in the CGI era when we can appreciate the days when special effects and great action scenes were achieved the hard way.
(For an exclusive interview with William Friedkin about the film, see Cinema Retro issue #29).
Actor James Caan has passed away at age 82. No cause of death has been announced as of this writing. Caan's long career began on in stage productions and he eventually moved into making guest star appearances in prominent television programs in the 1960s before graduating into feature films. The Bronx native specialized in playing street-wise tough guys. In the 1964 thriller "Lady in Cage", he led a group of housebreaking young punks in terrorizing Olivia De Havilland as a woman who was trapped inside an elevator. Caan sometimes landed a leading role in films such as Robert Altman's "Countdown" and in Francis Ford Coppola's "The Rain People", both of which co-starred Robert Duvall. He scored good notices in director Howard Hawks' "El Dorado" playing a gunslinger with bad aim to comedic effect opposite John Wayne and Robert Mitchum. He earned an Emmy nomination for his leading role in the highly rated TV movie "Brian's Song" and his career moved into high gear when Coppola was casting "The Godfather" in 1971. Originally, Caan was slated to play the role of Michael Corleone and fellow up-and-comer Al Pacino was auditioned to play the hot-headed Sonny Corleone, but wiser heads prevailed and the roles were reversed. Both actors received Oscar nominations and major stardom would follow. Caan's character was killed in the first "Godfather" film but he made a pivotal cameo in the final scene of "The Godfather Part II" in a flashback sequence. During the 1970s, Caan was a bankable leading man, appearing in major diverse films such as "Cinderella Liberty", "The Gambler", "Freebie and the Bean", "Rollerball", "Funny Lady", "A Bridge Too Far" and "Chapter Two".
In the 1980s, the good roles and his boxoffice appeal diminished somewhat, despite a high profile leading role in director Michael Mann's "Thief". He starred in and directed "Hide in Plain Sight", a domestic drama that won good notices but did not score at the boxoffice. He also had a hit in the 1990 screen adaptation of Stephen King's thriller "Misery" but many of his roles were relegated to lower-budget productions and supporting roles and cameos. His talents were introduced to a new generation with his role as Will Ferrell's father in the 2003 comedy "Elf", which is now considered to be a Christmas classic. He returned to TV to star in the series "Vegas" and it was a success, running four seasons. Caan was back in the news quite a bit earlier this year to celebrate the 50th anniversary of "The Godfather". He is the father of actor Scott Caan and once made a guest appearance on his son's hit series "Hawaii Five-0". Caan occasionally expressed frustration that the good roles were often being denied him in his later years, but in fact, his legacy is intact as a highly respected actor who could excel at playing diverse characters in equally diverse films.
After the Golden Era of Universal monster movies in the 1930s and 40s, the cinematic fiends were largely relegated to "B" movie status. In the mid-1950s, Hammer Films, a production company founded in 1934, discovered there was gold in them 'thar monsters and moved away from the largely nondescript, low-budget films they were known for in favor of the horror and science fiction movies that would quickly define the Hammer legacy. The studio brought to the screen the first color movies featuring Dracula, Frankenstein and The Mummy, not to mention Sherlock Holmes ("The Hound of the Baskervilles"). The British company kept censors on their toes with an ample supply of busty beauties and a good sampling of bloody set pieces. Audiences that were starved for adult-oriented fare in these genres responded with enthusiasm and Hammer continued to supply a good number of hit films on relatively modest budgets. By the 1970s, new screen freedoms resulted in plenty of prurient cinematic films and the shocking aspects of the Hammer films seemed mundane. Consequently, the studio began to up the ante, substituting more sex and violence in place of the production qualities and fine scripts that had been the hallmark of earlier films. By the 1980s, the company was through and existed only as a legal entity. Over the decades, rumors of a comeback drifted through the film industry with no sign of a resurrection. Under a new management team in the 2000s, Hammer rose from the grave and began making films once again. They had a critically acclaimed boxoffice hit in 2012 with the refreshingly traditional ghost story "The Woman in Black" starring Daniel Radcliffe but the output since has proven to be sporadic and erratic.
One "modern" Hammer production that merits some attention is the largely-ignored "The Tenant", released in 2011. Two-time Oscar winner Hilary Swank stars as New York Emergency Room doctor Juliet Devereau. Like many Gotham residents, she's on the hunt for an affordable apartment in a city that practically requires a supply of gold bullion to pay the rent. She seems to strike pay dirt with her discovery of a large old building that has a cavernous apartment for rent at the "affordable" price of $3800 a month (and this was in 2011). The place was once an office building but it is being painstakingly and slowly restored by its owner, Max (Jeffrey Dean Morgan), a somewhat shy, polite and rather hunky young guy who lives in the building with his grandfather August (Hammer icon Christopher Lee). In fact, they appear to be the only residents, as Max only has one apartment available for rent. Juliet falls in love with the place. It's huge by Manhattan standards. Max points out the negative aspects: he is working long hours on the restoration which requires much of the building to appear unsightly. It's also a noisy process. Additionally, the elevated subway runs almost directly past her bedroom window. Undeterred, Juliet enthusiastically rents the place. It's close to work and affords an atmosphere of solitude and charm. But you know the way these things go in a Hammer film.
Max is rather shy but extremely polite and he's always on hand to carry out any household-related requests. Juliet finds him attractive and before long she is in bed with Max. But before any hanky panky takes place, she thinks the better of becoming romantically involved with her landlord and abruptly puts an end to their dalliance. She just wants to be friends, as she's also nursing the wounds from breaking up with her longtime boyfriend Jack (Lee Pace). Max remains polite but we see he is carrying a lot of psychological baggage. Juliet's rejection of him leads to a meltdown. Before long, he's going the full Norman Bates route, using assorted peepholes that allows him to see the object of his desire as she moves about her apartment. Then things get really dangerous for Juliet.
On one level, "The Resident" is just another "young woman in jeopardy" movie pitting our heroine against a creepy stalker. But director Antti Jokenen is a cut above the directors of similar, disposable films. Aided by fine performances by Swank (who executive produced) and Morgan, he is able to elevate the movie above many entries in this genre. As with numerous Hitchcock films, this one seems intent on demonstrating that there isn't necessarily safety in numbers. The teeming streets of Manhattan lay only yards away, but Juliet ultimately finds herself very much alone and isolated when her life is at stake. By the time the inevitable confrontation with her tormentor finally comes, Jokenen's slow-boil approach has resulted in a considerable degree of nail-biting suspense. It's too bad the film becomes a bit cliched in the final moments (whenever a power tool is shown in a flick such as this, you know someone is going to end up using it as a deadly weapon.) It's also a bit disappointing that Christopher Lee (in his final Hammer film) is not given more screen time. It's a joy to see him on screen, but he has little to do and is primarily only seen in the early part of the movie. Nevertheless, there are other merits including outstanding cinematography by Guillermo Navarro and creative editing by Oscar winner Bob Murawski. There's also an appropriately eerie score by John Ottman and a literate script by Jokinen and Robert Orr. Special kudos to Production Designer J. Dennis Washington, for his creative design of the apartment house and its underlying secret passages.The film was shot in only 30 days, with interiors filmed in a studio in Albuquerque, New Mexico.
Considering the talent involved, it's surprising that "The Resident" went straight to video in America and didn't make much of a splash in that realm. Since Cinema Retro likes to make readers aware of worthy and overlooked films, I can recommend "The Tenant". It is by no means a horror classic, but it deserved a far better fate.
The film is currently streaming on Amazon Prime. Click here to order on Blu-ray from Amazon.
Cinema Retro issue #53 has now shipped to subscribers worldwide. If you thought the issue was a bit late, you are correct. Since the magazine is printed in the UK, our subscribers there and in Europe received the issue last month. However, all other parts of the world are mailed from our U.S. office and there is always a lag time...but never this long. We're told it was caused by continuing lingering disruptions to the international shipping industry due to the pandemic. In any event, we thank you for your patience and we think you'll find this issue has been worth the wait. Here are some highlights:
We pay tribute to the eternal cinematic love story Somewhere in Time starring Christopher Reeve and Jane Seymour. Cai Ross provides an exclusive interview with the film's director, Jeannot Szwarc.
Simon Lewis provides a 12-page "Film in Focus" article detailing the trials and tribulations of making David Lean's ill-fated Irish romance, Ryan's Daughter.
John P. Harty examines the merits of another high profile boxoffice misfire, Richard Brooks' Lord Jim starring Peter O'Toole.
Mark Mawston entices actor John Leyton to give a rare interview in which he discusses his successful career as a rock 'n roll heartthrob and, as an actor, filming The Great Escape.
Dave Worrall shines the spotlight on Helen Mirren's breakthrough film, Age of Consent.
Thomas Hauerslev celebrates the recent restoration of MGM's Cinerama classic The Wonderful World of the Brothers Grimm
Lee Pfeiffer looks at the dark side of director Blake Edwards' films with Experiment in Terror starring Lee Remick, Glenn Ford and Stefanie Powers.
Subscribe or renew today for Season 18 and get this issue along with issue #52 and our Fall/Winter issue #54.
Sam Peckinpah was never a darling of the critics but occasionally there were some astute reviewers who saw beyond his tendency to present violence in his films and recognized his talents as an innovative director and screenwriter. "The Getaway", starring Steve McQueen and Ali McGraw, was one of Peckinpah's best-reviewed films and a major boxoffice hit in 1972. In days past, some film trade magazines didn't accord their reviewers the dignity of getting a byline. Thus, we don't know who wrote this enthusiastic review for "The Getaway" in Film Bulletin's December, 1972 issue- but it is spot on in terms of extolling the film's virtues.
UPDATE! Director Joe Dante has sent the following clarifying who wrote this review:
"My colleague Jack Ano.
Jack got most of the prestige assignments, but I was happy reviewing stuff like Werewolves on Wheels."
Bob Hope's status as having enjoyed the longest reign as America's most beloved comedy icon remains unchallenged . When he passed away in 2003 at age 100, Hope had mastered seemingly all entertainment mediums. By the 1930s he was already a popular star on stage and in feature films. He could sing, dance and joke often simultaneously. British by birth, Hope and his family emigrated to America when he was five years old and he would ultimately become one of the USA's most patriotic public figures. His long-term contract with NBC stretched from radio days to being the face of the network's television broadcasts. It was TV that made made Hope the ultimate media icon. His NBC TV specials were the stuff of ratings gold, especially those that found him entertaining American troops in far off locations during the Christmas season. Hope continued this tradition, which started in WWII, through the early 1990s. His genius was that he never veered from his core act: quick one-liners that were designed to amuse but never offend. Although a life-long conservative and Republican, Hope knew how to thread the needle when it came to politics. He hobnobbed with presidents of both parties and the jokes he cracked about them gently poked fun at their eccentricities without offending either them or their supporters. Hope's political barbs were made in an era in which such humor would bring people together instead of polarize them. Hope's humor became dated but he never lost his popularity with older fans who continued to tune in to his TV specials and delighted at his frequent appearances on chat shows. Not everyone was a fan, however. Marlon Brando once criticized Hope's hunger for the spotlight by saying he would turn up at the opening of a supermarket if there was a camera there. Still, Hope's ubiquitous presence extended into the realm of movies, though cinema was decidedly a secondary career for him. In the 1940s and 1950s he was a top box-office attraction, with his "Road" movies co-starring Bing Crosby particularly popular. By the 1960s changing social values threatened Hope's brand of squeaky clean comedies but he still had enough juice at the boxoffice to top-line movies throughout the entire decade.
"Boy, Did I Get a Wrong Number", released in 1966, is the epitome of a Hope comedy. He plays Tom Meade, a California real estate agent who has sunk a considerable amount of money into buying a house in a remote area of the mountains by a beautiful lake. He was certain he could turn a quick profit but it transpires that the house is located in an area that is a bit too remote and his investment has turned into a money-bleeding white elephant. At the same time, the story follows the exploits of Didi (Elke Sommer), an international screen sex siren who is known for including provocative bathing sequences in her racy films. Didi is shooting her latest movie when she has a fierce argument with her director/lover Pepe Pepponi (Cesare Danova) and storms off the set to go into hiding, thus initiating an intense manhunt that dominates the headlines. Through the type of quirk that can only happen in movies, Tom makes a business phone call and accidentally gets connected with Didi, who tells him she is hiding in a nearby hotel but lacks any food or sustenance. Tom realizes he possesses bombshell information and promises to visit her with food. He sneaks out late at night so his wife Martha (Marjorie Lord) doesn't suspect anything...but unbeknownst to him, his nosy and sarcastic live-in housekeeper Lily (Phyllis Diller) catches on. When Tom arrives at Didi's hotel room, she practically seduces him but Tom has something other than sex on his mind. He offers Didi the opportunity to stay at his dormant house at the lake until the manhunt dies down. He's motivated partly by compassion and partly by the opportunity to exploit the property as the house that Didi once hid in. Things naturally go awry when Martha insists on spending a romantic weekend at the house with Tom, away from their two pre-teen but precocious son and daughter. This sets in motion one of those traditional bedroom farce situations. Tom arrives separately in advance of Martha and discovers Didi is practically comatose after taking a sleeping pill. In the ensuing mayhem, he must drag her from room to room and hide her before Martha discovers her presence. This madcap sequence is the highlight of the film and it is deftly directed by old pro George Marshall. However, the film's final act crosses the line into over-the-top outright slapstick with Diller riding wild on a motorcycle and Hope being pursued in a car chase by FBI agents who think he murdered Didi.
The joy of any Bob Hope movie is that he never played the traditional hero. He specialized in portraying characters who weren't immoral but who were willing to gnaw around the edges of ethical behavior (i.e a coward who pretends he's a hero, a virginal buffoon who pretends he's a great lover, etc.) In this production, Hope continues that tradition and gets off some good one-liners. He's got the perfect foil in Phyllis Diller and their chemistry worked so well they made two more films together in short order, "Eight on the Lam" and "The Private Navy of Sgt. O'Farrell" before Hope retired from the silver screen with his 1972 dud "Cancel My Reservation". "Boy, Did I Get a Wrong Number!" plays out like an extended TV sitcom from the era and was shot on a relatively modest budget. There are a few timid attempts to make the script a bit contemporary by including a some overt references to sex but it's still tame family-friendly viewing. It should be said that Elke Sommer, who was always somewhat underwhelming in terms of dramatic acting skills, had a true knack for playing light comedy and she's delightful in this movie in a physically demanding role that requires her to be tossed around while unconscious as though she is a rag doll. One of the more amusing aspects of the film is unintentional: Marjorie Lord's hairstyle, which is as high as a beehive and equally distracting. One keeps awaiting Hope to make some quips about it but they never come.
Olive Films has released the movie as a Blu-ray with an excellent transfer but no bonus extras. As retro comedies go, this is typical of a Bob Hope comedy from the era. It offers no surprises but somehow today the sheer predictability and innocence of his movies make for pleasing viewing- and this is no exception.
I know I'm not only getting old, but I'm there already. That's apparent in the fact that I remember seeing the 1981 comedy "All Night Long" at an advanced critic's screening in New York. Back in those prehistoric days before the internet, you had to read trade industry publications to get the background story or buzz on forthcoming films. Sure, the general public was always aware that expensive epics were experiencing production problems, but everyday movie fans were generally unaware of the scuttlebutt on mid-range fare. Within industry circles, however, the word-of-mouth was negative about the film despite the fact that it starred Gene Hackman and Barbra Streisand, both then very much at the peak of their acting careers. The film had gone through some almost surrealistic production problems that involved high profile people and had come in massively over the original budget estimate. I recalled thinking the movie was kind of fun but had the staying power of cotton candy in that nothing about resonated even a few days after seeing it. For old time's sake, I decided to revisit it through Kino Lorber's Blu-ray release. My observations will follow, but first some preliminary facts. The movie was optioned by Fox originally but for reasons unknown (premonitions?), it was dropped. It was then shepherded to executives at Universal by Sue Mengers, the "Super Agent" talent representative who was as famous as the names on her legendary clients. Among them was Gene Hackman, who had taken a leave of absence from acting due due to making so many films back-to-back. Tired of playing in action films, Hackman was eager to star in this quirky romantic comedy that had been scripted by W.D. Richter, who had written the brilliant 1978 version of "Invasion of the Body Snatchers" as well as the Frank Langella version of "Dracula" and the popular crime drama "Brubaker" with Robert Redford. The film was to be a modestly-budgeted affair costing about $3 million. Up-and-coming actress Lisa Eichorn was cast as the female lead opposite Hackman. The director was Jean-Claude Tramont, a Belgian filmmaker who had reed-thin credits in the industry. This was to be Tramont's first Hollywood film and it was very much championed by Sue Mengers, who "coincidentally" happened to be his wife.
So far, so good. However, shortly after filming began, for reasons no one could ever interpret, Hackman began acting in a frosty manner opposite Eichorn, who by all accounts, was giving a fine performance. Because of Hackman's aversion to starring opposite her, their love scenes were less-than-convincing. Since Hackman was the big name, Eichorn was summarily fired, though she was paid her salary of $250,000 in full. Then Mengers stepped forward with what seemed like an outlandish idea: have Barbra Streisand assume Eichorn's role. The idea of Streisand taking over for another actress in a film that was already in production seemed surrealistic, but Streisand agreed- in return for a $4 million paycheck, which said to be the highest salary ever paid to an actor. (In return, she didn't object to Hackman getting top billing, which presumably he had been contractually guaranteed.) As the change-over was taking place, other members of the cast and crew were also replaced, including the director photography. The original composer was the esteemed Georges Delerue, but his score was deemed to be unsatisfactory and Richard Hazard and Ira Newborn were brought on board as the composers of record. (Bizarrely, Delerue is listed in the final credits as "conductor"with his name misspelled as "George", a final indignity.) By the time filming resumed, the budget had blown up to $14 million, a staggering sum for a low-key comedy and a figure that approached half the production cost of "Apocalypse Now".
So what's it all about? Hackman plays George Dupler, a middle-aged L.A. executive who is counting on a big promotion. When he is bypassed, he breaks down and throws a chair through the window. Because of his seniority, management won't fire him but instead demotes him and assigns him to a new job they are sure will result in his resignation. George is to manage an all-night pharmacy/convenient store that is staffed by misfits and patronized by wacky eccentrics. These scenes should be the funniest in the film, but director Tramont overplays his hand and presents over-the-top characters that would generally be found in sitcom episodes. None of the labored sight gags work at all and they seem out of place given the fact that Tramont had indicated his goal was to make a European-style sophisticated romantic comedy. The film improves considerably when it cuts to the main plot points, which involve George learning that his 18 year-old son Freddie (Dennis Quaid) is having a secret affair with cougar Cheryl Gibbons (Barbra Streisand), who is a distant relative. She's married to Bob (Kevin Dobson), a brusque fireman who is the fourth cousin of George's wife Helen (Diane Ladd). Still with me? A chance encounter with Cheryl leads George to have an affair with her. When Helen finds out, fireworks ensue and George spontaneously packs a few things and storms out of the house to find a new abode. He sets up a new home in a cavernous loft that adjoins a class for aspiring painters. He and Cheryl resume their affair, while she simultaneously carries on with Freddie. (A "Yuck! Factor" enters the scenario when George asks Cheryl if he is better in bed than his son.) Screenwriter Richter seems to have been inspired by the plight of Benjamin in "The Graduate", in that Cheryl is not only bedding her lover but his parent as well.
The biggest flaw in the script is that none of the principals are remotely sympathetic. Cheryl is an intentional home-breaker, Freddie puts his lust before any other priority and George is willing to break up his marriage spontaneously with no apparent regrets. Not much to admire there. Richter seems to have realized this and introduces a late plot device designed to excuse George's affair, but it comes across as a last minute contrivance that came to Richter in the middle of the night. Despite all of that, "All Night Long" worked better for me this time than when I originally saw it. The film is flaky in concept and execution but Hackman is always in fine form and it's great to see Streisand in a secondary role that she can play in a subdued manner. (There's a funny bit in which the ditzy Cheryl attempts to sing and can't hit a note, an irony for a Streisand character.) The supporting cast is very good, too, with Kevin Dobson terrific as the hot-tempered cuckolded husband who ignites when he discovers his wife is bedding both George and his son and William Daniels, very amusing as the staid family lawyer who isn't as staid as he seems.
When the film was released, it garnered a few enthusiastic reviews including from the usually grumpy Pauline Kael, but the general consensus was negative. Screenwriter William Goldman, a longtime critic of Hollywood studios (he famous said of the town, "Nobody knows anything") held up "All Night Long" as a prime example of a simple project that began bloated by ineptness, nepotism and egos. The film bombed at the boxoffice and Goldman estimated that when marketing costs were factored in, it would have lost $20 million- and that was in 1981 dollars. Streisand was said to be livid over the marketing campaign poster which implied this would be a zany, madcap comedy, when in fact, it is much more subdued. After the film's failure, Streisand dropped Sue Mengers as her agent. As for Jean-Claude Tramont, his career came to a screeching halt, never to recover before his death in 1996.
The Kino Lorber Blu-ray would seem to call out for a commentary track, but there is none. However, there is an excellent 20-minute recent video interview with W.D. Richter, who candidly describes the experience as an unhappy memory and details some of the factors that led to disaster. He does speak well of Streisand and said there was no evidence of the diva-like demands she is known for. She didn't even insist on any script revisions. Richter also said that Tramont seemed nervous and uncertain in dealing with Streisand and Hackman. He ponders why the film hasn't caught on as a legendary flop, as it certainly would today in the age of social media. My guess is that everyone was still talking about "Heaven's Gate".
The Blu-ray also contains the trailer and a gallery of other KL titles with Hackman starring and two radio spots, one of which is absurd and refers to the film as the "Barbra Streisand picture" without even mentioning Hackman. Recommended, if only for Richter's wonderful interview.
Duke Wayne was a king of the boxoffice but home video releases of his films are not among the select VHS titles that command huge amounts on the auction circuit. In fact, most VHS releases are still largely valueless- but there are those notable exceptions.
BY LEE PFEIFFER
Collectors of vintage, toys, records and comic books have a common refrain: "I had that and my mother threw it out!". You couldn't really blame mom for valuing an uncluttered closet over what appeared to be a bunch of useless junk. Of course, history has proven mom was wrong with all sorts of vintage collectibles now bringing eye-popping prices on the auction circuit. But VHS tapes???? Who'd a thunk it. In fact, some of them have been selling for tens of thousands of dollars, as reported by Cortney Moore in the New York Post. Even those who have been attuned to the value of collectibles might be shocked by this. VHS tapes were once the answer to movie fans' prayers. At last, we were freed from having to watch censored and butchered TV network broadcasts of our favorite films. The phenomenon took off in the early 1980s and serious collectors would lay out about $75 to buy their favorite film. Most people were content to rent titles from the mom-and-pop businesses that pioneered the rental market before being squashed by big-name video store chains. Soon came the next advancement: laser discs. They were pricey and appealed primarily to hardcore movie lovers, who relished the fact that you could see a superior picture in its original aspect ratio. Alas, laser discs were short-lived and begat DVDs which begat Blu-rays and now streaming. So, many movie lovers understandably dumped their worthless VHS libraries by donating them to thrift stores and just tossing them away. Guess what? There's now a booming market for certain VHS tapes in top-grade condition. We're not talking about old Pauly Shore comedies, but titles such as "Star Wars" and "Jaws". Millions were sold but millions ended up being destroyed over the years. A recent top grade VHS of "Star Wars" recently sold for more than $57,000. An original "Jaws" VHS sold for more than $10,000 and certain distinctive Disney titles also sell for thousands. As with pricey baseball cards and comic books, rare VHS editions can now be professionally graded for the auction market. To be clear, most VHS titles are worthless...but before you throw out any, you might want to check their value. This time you can't blame mom.
At one point in the 1983 zany comedy "The Survivors", Robin Williams says to co-star Walter Matthau: "I was overreacting." It would have been more accurate if he had said "I was overacting" because Williams, who was certainly a comedic genius, also had the ability to go over-the-top in his quest to get a laugh or, conversely, to ring sentiment from playing dramatic scenes in a mawkish manner. To paraphrase Longfellow's famous poem, "When he was good, he was very, very good, but when he was bad, he was horrid." In "The Survivors", Williams doesn't quite reach the level of being horrid and there's plenty of blame to go around for this misfire, but he certainly contributes to its quick demise thanks to his failure to get a definable grip on his character. The premise of the film must have seemed promising when it was first developed as a vehicle to reunite Peter Falk and Alan Arkin, who had found great success co-starring in "The In-Laws". For whatever reason, the reunion never materialized and Joseph Bologna was signed to co-star with Williams under the direction of Michael Ritchie. Ritchie had an interesting background, having directed an eclectic assortment of films. They ranged from his acclaimed drama "Downhill Racer", the sports comedies "Semi-Tough" and "The Bad News Bears", the political satire "The Candidate", the social satire "Smile" and the bizarre but hypnotic crime thriller "Prime Cut"- all good movies, indeed. But shortly after production started, Bologna walked off the film, citing the oft-used excuse of "creative differences", presumably with Ritchie. Walter Matthau was called in to replace him, having worked successfully with Ritchie on "The Bad News Bears". The script was by Michael Leeson, who had written most of the scripts for the landmark sitcom "The Cosby Show". So far, so good.
"The Survivors" opens in New York City during the grungy period of the early 1980s. Robin Williams plays Donald Quinelle, an affable but bumbling executive who thinks his career is set, only to report to work and experience being fired by his boss's talking parrot. He is put through the grueling process of applying for unemployment insurance, which is made to look like a old breadline from the Soviet era. Meanwhile, we're introduced to Walter Matthau as Sonny Paluso, a long-time franchisee of a gas station. He is equally unceremoniously dismissed when the oil company decides to revoke his franchise, leaving him high and dry and without unemployment insurance, due to a legal technicality. Prior to this, we had seen the wholesale destruction of his gas station when Donald,who was fueling up in a careless manner, accidentally ignites the place with a tossed cigarette. The two men later find themselves coincidentally dining at the same restaurant when it is held up by a masked man who demands that the captive patrons disrobe and hand over their money. Donald resists and bumbles his way into subduing the bandit, getting wounded in the process and becoming a fleeting hero in the media. The bandit is Jack Locke (Jerry Reed), a cool-as-a-cucumber one-time hit man who has been affected by the economic downturn, thus he's been reduced to being a small-time robber. He manages to get out of police custody and he has both men in his sites as revenge for turning him in. He breaks into Sonny's house, where the divorced dad lives with his precocious, porn-loving 16 year-old daughter Candice (Kristen Vigard) and prepares to kill Sonny. An unexpected drop-by visit by Donald results in a series of bizarre comedic set pieces. Cutting to the chase (literally), Donald inexplicably becomes an expert in self-defense and amasses an arsenal of assault weapons. He has fallen under the spell of a far right cult leader, Wes Huntley (James Wainwright), who runs a paramilitary camp in rural Vermont. Donald leaves his fiancee and heads for the hills to join the cult. Sonny learns that Jack Locke knows his whereabouts and he and Candice race to the camp to warn Donald. The whole mad, mad, mad, mad fiasco disintegrates further when Reed shows up and attempts to murder Donald and Sonny, but ends up allying himself with them when they are marked for death by Wes. If you think all of this is convoluted to read, wait until you see it unwind on screen.
A major problem with the production is that Matthau is playing in a semi-realistic comedy whereas director Ritchie allows Williams to dabble in theatre of the absurd. One minute, he's in Robin Williams lovable loser mode, the next minute he's like a raving psychopath. Rarely have I seen him so consistently unfunny. Matthau steals the film by simply playing a typical Walter Matthau character: grumpy with his trademark hangdog facial expressions. Jerry Reed tries his best to invigorate the hit man character, but it's wildly inconsistent and unbelievable. Once the action shifts to Vermont, the pace is deadly and the jokes become weaker and more repetitive. It's as though Ritchie was just trying to run out the clock in order to meet the minimal running time. The film also suffers from some very sloppy aspects that are inexcusable. In the beginning of the film, a preoccupied Donald stops at Sonny's station to gas up- but he fails to insert the hose into the gas tank, thus allowing fuel to flow everywhere and later ignite when he tosses a cigarette nearby. The scene is absurd, but for all the wrong reasons. Even if Donald doesn't see the ocean of fuel gathering on the ground around him, why would he not smell the pungent odor? Later, when Donald becomes suddenly obsessed with owning weapons, he drops by a local gun fair where enthusiasts are passing around military-grade hardware that is being sold openly and seemingly with no questions asked. However, at the time, New York City had (and continues to have) some of the strongest gun control laws in the United States. I have never heard of such events taking place there, though they are common in other parts of the country. It rings hollow and makes it seem like screenwriter Michael Leeson had never been in Gotham in his life. Additionally, when Donald decides to move to Vermont, he gets there via a taxi cab. The scenario calls out for a joke, but, alas, none comes. Let's set the record straight: in an unemployed person decided to travel to Vermont via a local taxi in 1983, they would still be paying off the fare today.
When "The Survivors" opened, it met with deadly reviews and was considered a boxoffice failure. New York Times critic Vincent Canby bemoaned the film thusly, "Most astonishing is that a director of Mr. Ritchie's taste and talent could have allowed a project of such utter foolishness to get to the point that it was actually filmed." Indeed.
("The Survivors" is currently streaming on Amazon Prime. Click here to order the DVD from Amazon)
Love and Bullets is a 1979 Charles Bronson starrer that Roger
Ebert appropriately described at the time as "an assemblyline
potboiler". The film initially showed promise. Originally titled Love and Bullets, Charlie, the
movie had John Huston as its director. However, Huston left after
"creative differences" about the concept of the story and its execution
on screen. The absurdity of losing a director as esteemed as Huston
might have been understandable if the resulting flick wasn't such a
mess. However, one suspects that, whatever the conceptual vision Huston
had for the movie may have been, it must have been superior to what
ultimately emerged. Stuart Rosenberg, the competent director of Cool Hand Luke took
over but was unable to create anything more than a sub-par action
movie. The plot finds Bronson as a Phoenix cop who is reluctantly sent
to Switzerland on an undercover assignment. The local prosecutor has
been doggedly trying to convict a local mob kingpin (Rod Steiger) for
years. Now it appears that his moll girlfriend (Jill Ireland) might be a
viable witness in terms of spilling the beans about his operations.
Thus, Steiger has stashed her abroad and is keeping her under constant
watch. Bronson's job is to pretend he is also a mob guy and convince
Ireland to return with him to Phoenix to testify against her lover. The
movie seems to exist for one reason only: the main participants desired a
paid working vacation in Switzerland. This concept is nothing new. The
Rat Pack squeezed in filming Oceans Eleven almost as an
afterthought while they were performing nightly in Las Vegas at the
Sands casino. In the twilight of his years, John Ford famously got his
stock company together for a jaunt to Hawaii and released the result as a
big boxoffice hit called Donovan's Reef, which still must retain the status of being the most expensive home movie ever made.
Love and Bullets is such a lazy effort you have to believe it
must have taken a great deal of effort for the cast to meander to the
set every day. The film also illustrates the danger of love-struck
leading men force-feeding the lady in their lives into virtually every
movie they make. Clint Eastwood shoe-horned Sondra Locke into a string
of his films in the 1970s and 1980s and while some of them were artistic
and commercial successes, I always greeted their next teamING with a sense
of bored inevitability. (Locke was also a prime perpetrator in the
creation of the worst movie of Eastwood's career, The Gauntlet.) In
this case, Ireland had been Mrs. Bronson for over a decade following
her divorce from David McCallum. She was always a competent enough
actress but the couple obviously envisioned themselves as a new William
Powell/Myrna Loy teaming. Not quite. Bronson is on full automatic pilot,
registering almost no emotion. Ireland overplays the role of
bubble-headed moll to an embarrassing level, as though she is a
character in a sitcom sketch. She is saddled with intentionally
laughable fright wigs but the real joke comes when she decides to
discard them for her natural hair style, which proves to be even less
flattering. Absurdity piles upon absurdity as the film becomes one long,
extended chase sequence with Bronson and Ireland squabbling like Ralph
and Alice Kramden, if you can imagine The Honeymooners being
pursued by assassins. Steiger is in full scenery-chewing mode and an
impressive array of supporting actors (Val Avery, Michael V. Gazzo,
Henry Silva and Strother Martin) are pretty much wasted along the way.
I'm generally undemanding when it comes to the pleasures of watching an
unpretentious Charles Bronson action movie but Love and Bullets represents
the latter period of his career where he rarely even tried to elevate
his films beyond being vehicles for an easy pay check.
(The film is currently streaming on Shout! Factory TV and the app and subscription are also available through Amazon Prime Video.)
Kino Lorber has released
the 1975 Charles Bronson crime thriller "Breakout" as a Blu-ray special edition. Bronson
was riding high at the time, coming off the sensational success of
"Death Wish". The film was originally supposed to star Kris
Kristofferson under the direction of Michael Ritchie but those plans
soon fell apart. Bronson took over the lead role with veteran director
Tom Gries at the helm. The film finds Bronson well-cast as Nick Colton, a
shady businessman/con man/grifter who operates a variety of small time
business ventures on the Mexican border with his partner Hawk Hawkins
(pre-kooky Randy Quaid.) Nick is living hand-to-mouth when he is
approached by Ann Wagner (Jill Ireland) with a proposition to help her
husband, equally shady rich guy Jay (Robert Duvall), escape from a Mexican prison where he has
been sentenced after being framed for a murder. Time is of the essence
because Jay is in declining health and may well be too weak to help
effect his own escape. Colton and Hawk's first attempt to spring him
ends disastrously and they barely escape back to America. Colton
concocts an audacious plan for a second escape attempt that involves
split-second timing. He will arrange for a helicopter to land in the
courtyard of the prison and in the inevitable confusion, Jay is to make
his way on board and presumably fly away to freedom. In order to pull
off the caper, Nick enlists the help of a professional helicopter pilot
as well as Myrna (Sheree North), a married ex-call girl who will be used
to distract some of the guards when the copter lands inside the prison.
When the pilot gets cold feet, Nick is forced to fly the chopper
himself despite the fact that he only has minimum experience doing so.
Another complication ensues when Jay is confined to the prison hospital
and doubts he will be able to be in the courtyard at the precise moment
Colton lands.
"Breakout" was inspired by an incredible 1971 real life escape in
which an American was indeed rescued by helicopter from a Mexican
prison. The screenplay has some other sub-plots that are poorly
developed and quite confusing, but some of which are obviously related
to the actual escape including some rumored involvement by the CIA. In
the film, Jay Wagner's frame-up takes place at the behest of his evil
tycoon grandfather, Harris Wagner (John Huston) for reasons that never
become clear. Apparently, Harris is concerned that Jay may inherit some
control over the company Harris runs with an iron fist, though these
plot points remain murky as does the involvement of some CIA characters.
Another potential plot device, which finds Nick and Ann obviously
attracted to each other, also goes nowhere. The film has a rushed look
to it and there are some unsatisfying aspects caused by the movie's
rather abrupt ending. The movie studio, Columbia, apparently felt the
film was a rather weak production and thus gambled on a massive ad
campaign that probably cost more than the film's modest budget. Ads for
"Breakout" were everywhere: in newspapers, on TV and on radio.
Additionally, the film opened wide in 1,000 American theaters, which was
a big number in 1975. The movie was dismissed by critics with Variety
calling it a "cheap exploitation pic", and indeed the main poster
artwork (different from the Blu-ray sleeve artwork) and graphics looked surprisingly amateurish considering this was
a golden age for film poster designs. Nevertheless, Bronson's appeal
seemed to override these negative factors. "Breakout" proved to be a
major hit and helped cement his status as a top boxoffice attraction ,
though his clout would gradually diminish henceforth.
Scene stealer: Sheree North in posed cheesecake publicity photo for the film.
Like a lot of older movies, "Breakout" probably plays better today
than it did at the time of its initial release. Bronson is in top form
and gives an unusually energetic performance that allows him to stress
his rarely-used talent for light comedy. The only other standout member
of the cast is Sheree North, as the epitome of the sexy cougar. She's a
fast-talking, tough cookie who parades about in sexy lingerie in an
attempt to seduce Bronson. (Surprisingly, Bronson's character does not
engage in any sexual action throughout the movie.) Robert Duvall is
largely underutilized in a low-key role and performance that could have
been credibly played by almost any other competent actor. Huston's
presence in the movie is disappointing, also. His role is confined to a
few scattered cameo appearances that probably don't last more than two
minutes. Some other familiar faces include Paul Mantee, Alejandro Rey,
Roy Jenson and the Mexican cinema's favorite bad guy, Emilio Fernandez.
As for Bronson teaming for the umpteenth time with real life wife Jill
Ireland, the gimmick was wearing thin. Some screen couples could team
without wearing out their welcome. Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton
made many films together but they were always playing entirely different
characters in entirely different scenarios. Bronson and Ireland,
despite being competent actors, were no Liz and Dick. It became clear
that their films together were largely made possible by Bronson's clout
with the studios. Although Ireland always gave credible performances,
she never lit up the screen. After a while the sheer predictability of
their on-screen teamings probably undermined Bronson's popularity
because it constrained him from interacting with other actresses. It was
a trap Clint Eastwood also fell into for a period of time when he cast
Sondra Locke in the female lead in six of his movies over a period of
only seven years. Despite these gripes, it must be said that director
Tom Gries keeps the pace moving briskly and there isn't a dull moment.
He also knows how to milk some genuine suspense out of the helicopter
escape scene, which is exceptionally well photographed by the great
cinematographer Lucien Ballard. Jerry Goldsmith also contributes a
typically fine score. The movie was shot in a wide number of locations
including California, Mexico, Spain and France, where the impressive
edifice that serves as the prison is located.
The Kino Lorber Blu-ray looks great and features a very informative commentary track by Paul Talbot, author of the excellent "Bronson's Loose" books, which analyze his action movies. There is also a trailer, TV spot and radio spot. In all, an impressive package for a fun '70s adventure flick. Recommended.
Acclaimed actor and star of TV and feature films Fred Ward has passed away at age 79. As of this writing, no cause of death has been announced. Ward overcame a hardscrabble childhood and had eclectic careers that included a short-order cook, a lumberjack, a boxer and a stint in the U.S. Air Force before trying his hand at acting on stage. He gravitated to feature films by 1979 and appeared with Clint Eastwood in the hit crime thriller "Escape from Alcatraz". Before long, he was much sought after for more prominent roles. Ward sometimes scored starring roles, as in "Henry and June" (in which he played controversial novelist Henry Miller) and "Remo Williams: The Adventure Begins", which was designed to launch him as a screen action hero in a series of a films. However, the movie flopped and no sequels were made. "Remo Williams", as with Ward's 1990 boxoffice disappointment, "Tremors", would go on to become far more popular in later years and build loyal fan followings. Ward won acclaim for his performance as astronaut Gus Grissom in the 1983 NASA space epic "The Right Stuff". A favorite of Robert Altman, he appeared in the director's "Short Cuts" and "The Player". His television work included "ER" and "True Detective".
When it was announced that producer Elliott Kastner had succeeded in
signing both Marlon Brando and Jack Nicholson for the 1976 Western, "The
Missouri Breaks", the project was viewed as a "can't miss" at the
international box-office. This would be Brando's first film since his
back-to-back triumphs in "The Godfather" and "Last Tango in Paris" and
Nicholson had just won the Best Actor Oscar for "One Flew Over the
Cuckoo's Nest". The two Hollywood icons were actually neighbors who
lived next door to each other, but they had never previously teamed for a
film project. Kastner, whose prowess as a street-wise guy who used
unorthodox methods to get films off the ground, had used a clever tactic
to sign up both superstars: he told each man that the other had already
committed to the project, when, in fact, neither had. With Brando and
Nicholson aboard, Kastner hired a respected director, Arthur Penn, who
had worked with Brando ten years before on "The Chase". He then chose an
acclaimed novelist, Thomas McGuane, who had recently made his
directorial debut with "92 in the Shade", to write the screenplay. What
emerged from all these negotiations was seemingly a
boxoffice blockbuster in the making. Alas, it was not to be. Upon its
release, critics emphasized the "Miss" aspect "Can't Miss" of the "The Missouri
Breaks", with most reviewers citing the opinion that the film was a long,
slow slog interrupted up a hammy, over-the-top comic performance from
Brando, who Penn apparently exercised little control over when it came
to the actor's penchant for improvisation.
The film opens with cattle baron David Braxton (John McLiam)
"hosting" a lynching for a rapt audience of his ranch hands. Seems the
intended victim has rustled some of his cattle and McLiam is determined
to put an end to the thievery, which has reduced his overall business
income by 7% per year- a statistic he never tires of griping about.
McLiam's hardball tactics against the rustlers don't sit well with his
otherwise adoring daughter Jane (Kathleen Lloyd), an
independent-thinking young woman who has acted as her father's most
trusted companion since her mother left him for another man years ago.
The victim of the lynching was a member of a rustling gang headed by Tom
Logan (Jack Nicholson), who befriends Braxton on the pretense that he
wants to purchase a plot of land on his property to establish a small
farm. In reality, he wants to utilize the land to temporarily house
stolen horses which his gang has gone to Canada to obtain in a daring
operation against the Royal Canadian Mounted Police's stables.
Meanwhile, Jane- who lives a life of relative isolation on her father's
estate-is immediately smitten by the charismatic Tom Logan and when she
insists that he become her first lover, he finds it impossible to
resist. Thus, Logan is now in a romantic relationship with a girl who is
the daughter of a man he is deceiving and stealing from. David Braxton
goes all-out in his obsession with thwarting the rustlers. He hires Lee
Clayton, a renowned "regulator", which is a polite term for bounty
hunter. Clayton is an eccentric man with a bizarre personality who
speaks in a heavy Irish brogue, but also at times utilizes other
accents. He is at times charming and amusing and at other times
fiery-tempered and unpredictable. Upon being introduced to Tom Logan by
Braxton, Clayton immediately suspects he is not a farmer, but a rustler.
The two men play a cat-and-mouse game, each one employing
double-entendres in their conversations. When Logan's men return from
Canada empty-handed after being thwarted by the Mounties, Clayton
becomes an omnipresent figure, observing their every move from afar
through binoculars. One by one, he systematically murders the members of
the rustling gang, always preceding their horrendous deaths by chatting
with the doomed men in disarmingly friendly tones. Clayton becomes so
frightening a figure that even Braxton becomes intimidated by him and
attempts to fire him, but Clayton says the money is irrelevant and that
once he commits to a job, he sees it through. The stage is set for a
mano-a-mano confrontation between Logan and Clayton that both men
realize will see only one emerge alive.
Ad for London opening.
It's easy to see why "The Missouri Breaks" didn't catch on with
audiences. Much of the film moves at a glacial pace, but McGuane's
script is intelligent and the dialogue often witty. Brando's outrageous
antics easily overshadow anyone else in the film, even though his
appearances are fleeting and the lion's share of the screen time is
dominated by Nicholson. Brando seems to be having a field day and there
seems to be no limit to his improvisations. (At one point he is dressed
as a Chinese peasant and in another he is inexplicably attired as a
woman, complete with apron and bonnet.) He also has a penchant for
making some uncomfortably romantic overtures to his horse. Thus, the
character of Clayton proves to be a distraction from the otherwise
somber, realistic tone of the film. Nevertheless, there is no doubt that
Brando's appearances are both amusing and somewhat mesmerizing, even if
out of place. The movie boasts a first rate supporting cast that
includes Harry Dean Stanton, Frederic Forrest and a young and slim Randy
Quaid. Kathleen Lloyd holds her own against the considerable star power
of Brando and Nicholson, which could not have been an easy feat. Alas,
stardom was not to follow for her, though she still occasionally appears
as a guest star in popular TV series. Where the movie disappoints the
most is in its climax. The audience has been led to expect a memorable
confrontation between Logan and Clayton, but when one of them gets the
upper hand on the other, it's done very abruptly and rather
unimaginatively, leaving the viewer feeling cheated. The
movie boasts a low-key but appropriately atmospheric score by John
Williams and impressive cinematography by Michael Butler.
After "The Missouri Breaks", Brando seemed uninspired and went on
automatic pilot in terms of his film roles. He was paid a relative
fortune for what amounted to extended cameos in "Superman" and "Apocalypse
Now", and while he was a significant physical presence in both films, no
one made the case that he exerted himself dramatically. He would find
occasional enthusiasm in certain roles (an Oscar-nominated turn in the
little-seen "A Dry White Season" and a hilarious performance recreating
his Don Corleone role for "The Freshman"), but his enthusiasm seemed to
diminish in direct proportion to his increase in weight. Sadly, he would
never totally recapture the mojo he once enjoyed as a screen icon. Yet,
time has been kind to "The Missouri Breaks". The film's literate script
and direction are a reminder of an era in which such projects would be
green-lit by major studios who appealed to the intellect of movie
audiences. Today, the project would never have seen fruition no matter
who starred in it.
"The Missouri Breaks" is currently streaming on Amazon Prime and Kanopy.
CLICK HERE TO ORDER THE FILM ON BLU-RAY FROM AMAZON
The Warner Archive has released the 1972 MGM thriller The Carey Treatment on Blu-ray. James
Coburn has one of his best roles as Dr. Peter Carey, a rebellious but
esteemed pathologist who moves to Boston to take a prominent position at
one of the city's most highly regarded hospitals. The charismatic Carey loses
no time in gaining friends, alienating top brass and bedding the comely
chief dietician (Jennifer O'Neill). However, he soon finds himself
embroiled in a politically volatile investigation when a fellow surgeon
is arrested for performing an illegal abortion on the 15 year-old
daughter of the hospital's crusty administrator (Dan O'Herlihy). (The
movie was released a year before the landmark Roe V. Wade decision that
legalized abortion in America and now appears to be on the verge of being reversed.) Coburn believes his friend's
protestations of innocence and decides to launch his own investigation
into the matter. The case soon unveils a lot of skeletons that some
prominent people would prefer to be kept in their closets and Carey
finds himself subjected to blackmail and physically assaulted as he
comes closer to discovering the shocking truth behind the young girl's
death.
The film was a rather low-key affair for director Blake Edwards and
there is nothing particularly exceptional about the screenplay, which
resembles a rather well-done Columbo episode. However, Coburn has
a field day in the role of Carey. He's all teeth and smiles on the
exterior but internally he harbors a healthy suspicion of authority
figures. Carey can turn on the charm one minute and pummel a thug the
next. Refreshingly, he's no superman. He makes mistakes and misjudgments
that almost cost him his life. Edwards tries a bit to hard to sandwich
some action into what is essentially a methodical mystery story and his
instincts betray him in one silly sequence in which Carey virtually
kidnaps a teenage girl and subjects her to a death-defying high speed
car ride to induce her to reveal information. Nevertheless, the film
remains engrossing throughout and Coburn benefits from his chemistry
with some fine supporting actors including O'Herlihy, Pat Hingle and
Skye Aubrey. He also generates some genuine sparks with O'Neill, who is
largely inserted into the screenplay for pure sex appeal. There's also a
fine score by the great film composer Roy Budd.
The movie takes on a rather sobering social relevance when viewed
today. With abortion rights dominating the news once again, the film reflects a period when the nation was initially torn apart by the
debate- an occurrence that is happening again today. It's doubtful this film won't bring back some
disturbing memories of a particularly contentious period in America's
social consciousness that has been reawakened.
The film was not a critical or boxoffice success. Blake Edwards accused MGM of butchering his cut of the movie and leaving out vitally important scenes, a scenario that had occurred to director Brian G. Hutton a couple of years before when MGM devastated his vision of Kelly's Heroes. As with that film, the missing footage has never surfaced and is presumed lost forever.
The Carey Treatment is not high art, nor does it pretend to
be. However the film reconfirms why Coburn was one of the most
charismatic leading men of his day. The fact that he had such a long and
distinguished career is something all movie fans can be grateful for.
The new Blu-ray looks very good indeed and contains the original trailer.