Dietrich and Donat Find Love and Adventure During the Russian Revolution and I Discover A Fantastic Film

I love surprises. I got quite a surprise the other day when TCM offered its first ever showing of a film I'd not yet heard of, Knight Without Armor (1937). I saw that it starred Marlene Dietrich who has greatly enriched my fantasy life over the years (if only I could build a time machine I'd send myself back to the 1930's and...). That it co-starred Robert Donat, so wonderful in Hitchock's The 39 Steps, made it a must for the old DVR.

I didn't know what to expect. At this point in my life if I haven't heard of a film with such major stars in it I assume that it mustn't be very good. In this case I was very mistaken.

Donat plays a British journalist in pre Revolutionary Russia who, upon being booted out of the country for criticizing the Czarist regime, is recruited to stay and spy for his homeland. Meanwhile Dietrich is a very wealthy Countess who lives in luxury with a houseful of servants at her disposable.

Only a revolution could bring these two souls together and Mother Russia obliges. They fall madly in love. I'll dispense with further plot points, its best you discover it for yourself. If you missed it last week, fear not, you won’t have to wait three months or more to see it again. TCM will be re-airing next Monday at 1:00 am. Set your recording device now. (It’s not currently available in DVD.) Go on. Do it right away, you don't want to take a chance of forgetting. The rest of us will wait....

Knight without Armor is a Korda Brothers production and indeed TCM showed it as part of a tribute to the sibling film makers. The Hungarian born producers filmed this story of Russia in England with a German star and a French director born in Belgium, Jacques Feyder. The screenplay, based on James Hilton's novel, was adapted by American Frances Marion. How international can you get?

This melting pot of the movie had me wondering where it had been all my life. Unlike many other films set around the Russian Revolution it manages to be epic in scope without an epic length (just under an hour and three quarters).

One doesn't quite know what to rave about first. There is the lush cinematography of Harry Stradling Jr. who had a long and distinguished career; there is the wonderful score by Miklos Rosza for whom this was the first of nearly 100 films. And there is the brutal honesty of the story itself. White Russians executing Red Russians and Red Russians executing White Russians. By rifle and machine gun. It’s as violent a story you’ll see from the latter half of the Thirties. There is an alarming sense of arbitrariness coupled with an inevitable doom, that makes that violence all the more chilling.

I was struck by how realistic King Without Armor was. Yes you've got a fantastic love story with all manner of near miss high wire escapes and incredible fortune, but you've also got a vivid re-telling of the human toll and the unimaginable tragedy the Russian Revolution caused so many.

The train scenes alone have a documentary feel. The anxious waits at the trains stations, the crowding aboard trains. The desperation to get out, to anywhere. Then there are the on-the-spot trials many resulting in on-the-spot executions that are oh so chilling.

But the film’s most powerful scene is of the countess waking up in her mansion to find the servants gone. Every last one. Not a soul to wait on her hand and foot. There is the overwhelming sense that the world had been turned upside down (it had been) as she races around the empty rooms and out to the gardens finding no one. (The unexplained emptiness is eerie.) Finally she's confronted by an angry mob of revolutionaries seeking revenge on the aristocracy. It's an amazing scene and again the photography and score enhance it, but so does Feyer's composition of it.

And of course there is Dietrich's face. Feyer does not have the camera caress her in lingering close ups as von Sternberg so famously did, but he does have her framed perfectly in many shots. Using that lovely and evocative face to tell the story.

Dietrich is wonderful as the poor little rich girl, her very life capsized only to find an inner strength never before called upon. She also finds love in the arms of a stranger that helps her tap further reservoirs of bravery.

Donat here proves what a terrific star he could have been had not the terrible asthma that ultimately killed him much too soon limited the number of roles he could play. (Production of this film was slowed when he suffered a serious attack that sidelined him for a month). He is dashing and intelligent but shows enough fear to make his character seem all the more human and the story thus more real.

Together Dietrich and Donat are heroic because they betray vulnerabilities and doubt. They are not superheroes but two people facing an imaginable crisis using all the wits at their disposable.

What could have been, and indeed I feared, would be, a corny romance/adventure was a wonderful slice of history and touching love story.

What a great find this film was for me. I already cannot wait to watch it again to find more within it. And to think there is doubtless so much more out there to discover!

It's Great To See You! A Celebration of Towering Figures in Small Roles

They're like an old friend who pops into town now and again. Or like a beloved Uncle who pays an occasional visit. They never hang around for long but their brief appearances are memorable. You can't wait to see them again. They're idiosyncratic, they're delightful. They are supporting players from films of the Thirties and Forties. Always a best man, never the groom.

The mere fact of their name in the opening credits can create anticipation. In addition to say Robert Montgomery and Carole Lombard you're getting a wonderful bonus that may help turn a good movie into a classic. It's no coincidence that they show up in most of the great films of their era. I suppose that calling them supporting players is a misnomer, after all, there are no small parts only small actors and these men are truly giants.

So I offer to you a dozen male "supporting" players who are as much apart of Hollywood's Golden Age as Cary Grant, Humphrey Bogart, James Cagney or Clark Gable. For each I've included seven of the films in which they appeared. To show just how much territory they covered I've been careful not to mention any movie more than once. Is this the definitive list? Absolutely not. There are others, but these 12 will do for now. Could a similar list comprised of women by made? Indeed it could. This is a gentleman's only list, though female readers are, as always most welcome. This Not At All Dirty Dozen is offered in the order I thought of them.

Guy Kibbee. Chubby, bald and bumbling and fumbling. In other words, adorable. He usually had a fair amount of dough and was always a sucker for any nice looking dame who'd coo in his ear. Kibbee featured in some films but shined as a supporting player. Great as an inept politician. Seven Movies He Enhanced: Babes in Arms (1939), Gold Diggers of 1933 (1933), Footlight Parade (1933), 42nd Street (1933), Blonde Crazy (1931), Taxi! (1932), Rain (1932).

William Demarest. Gruff but lovable. Plenty of bluster but as harmless as a kitten. One of Preston Sturges' regular company of players. Demarest will be best remembered by me as Constable Kockenlocker, the father of an unwed young mother-to-be in The Miracle of Morgan's Creek. Demarest proved here that he was a master of the pratfall. Often a very protective right hand man as in The Lady Eve were he has the great closing line: "positively the same dame." Seven Movies He Enhanced: Miracle of Morgan's Creek (1944); Stage Door Canteen (1943); Sullivan's Travels (1941); The Devil and Miss Jones (1941); Palm Beach Story (1942); Along Came Jones (1945); The Great Man Votes (1939).

Eric Blore. The wonderful blogger and artist Kate Gabrielle of Silents and Talkies opined to me, that the world would be a far better place if everyone liked Eric Blore. Amen sister. He was the British sidekick to countless stars. Often a butler, often simmering with anger, often up to something. Always a delightful character. Seven Movies He Enhanced: Swing Time (1936); Joy of Living (1938); The Lady Eve (1941); The Shanghai Gesture (1941); Love Happy (1949); The Ex Mrs. Bradford (1936).

Franklin Pangborn. No one would have dared point this out back in Pangborn's heyday but he was gay and he played gay characters. It wasn't an issue one way or another as long his sexuality wasn't spoken of and it wasn't. Another regular in Sturges' films. The classic Pangborn performance was as the frustrated reception comittee organizer in Hail the Conquering hero. Usually played an officious sort trying to keep things going while all around him went kablooey. Seven Movies He Enhanced: My Man Godfrey (1936); Flying Down to Rio (1933); The Bank Dick (1940); George Washington Slept Here (1942); Hail the Conquering Hero (1944); Now Voyager (1942); Stage Door (1937).

Charles Lane. Is there anything he wasn't in? My God the guy shows up everywhere. Counting TV he had 347 acting credits to this name. That's no typo, 347. Never a big role, often a desk clark or bureacrat. There's something about his ubiquity (look it's Charles Lane!) that gives any movie he's in a seal of approval. Never a cuddly character but always a pleasure to see. Lived to be a 102 years old. Seven Movies He Enhanced: Employee's Entrance (1933); Broadway Bill (1934); Twentieth Century (1934); Mr. Deeds Goes to Town (1936); You Can't Take it With You (1938); Union Depot (1932), Ball of Fire (1941).

Sig Ruman. Thrice a foil for the Marx Brothers most notably in A Night at the Opera as the Opera Manager Herman Gottlieb. Having been born in raised in Germany (served in their army during World War I) its no surprise that he played Germans. But was wonderful as a Russian in Ninotchka. Given his girth (ample) and his voice (booming) he could feel the screen visually and an aurally, always to wonderful effect. Seven Movies He Enhanced: Ninotchka (1939); A Night at the Opera (1935); A Day at the Races (1937); Only Angles Have Wings (1939); Berlin Correspondent (1942); It Happened Tomorrow (1944); A Night in Casablanca (1946).

Thomas Mitchell. Of this 12 he was probably the finest actor and won an Oscar (Best Supporting Actor in Stagecoach) to show for it. Memorable as a drunk or doing drunk scenes and an absolute revelation as Uncle Billy in It's A Wonderful Life. He could be smart, cynical, cowardly, dim witted or brave, but he was always lovable. Seven Movies He Enhanced: Stagecoach (1939); It's A Wonderful Life (1946); Mr. Smith Goes to Washington (1939); Theodora Goes Wild (1936); The Black Swan (1942); Bataan (1943); The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1939).

C. Aubrey Smith. If the call went in to central casting for a tall, austere, older British gent, Smith most have topped the list. The white handle bar mustache, regal bearing and posh accent made him seem the epitome of the upper crust Englishman. Often a Colonel, sometimes a vixen's plaything, always a money in the bank performance. Seven Movies He Enhanced: Trouble in Paradise (1932); Queen Christina (1933); Cleopatra (1934); The Scarlett Empress (1934); Rebecca (1940); The Prisoner of Zenda (1937); China Seas (1935).

Edward Evertt Horton. Had a notable TV career but I 'll always think of him as Professor Nick Potter, mentor and friend to Cary Grant in Holiday. Was a constant companion to Fred Astaire in the Astaire/Rogers musicals. Best as a wealthy sophisticate but one possessed less with intellectual capacity than witless charm. Seven Movies He Enhanced: Holiday (1938); Arsenic And Old Lace (1944); The Gay Divorcee (1934), Top Hat (1935), Here Comes Mr. Jordan (1941); The Devil is a Woman (1935); Lost Horizon (1937).

Frank Morgan. To most he was the man behind the curtain in the Wizard of Oz but I'll always think of him as Hugo Matuschek the shop owner in Shop Around the Corner. It was a most moving performance as the kind-hearted boss who wrongly suspects that his most trusted employee is having an affair with his wife. Morgan was great as the dad, the boss or the absent minded professor. Seven Movies He Enhanced: The Shop Around the Corner (1940); The Wizard of Oz (1939); The Human Comedy (1943); The Mortal Storm (1940); Boom Town (1940); Honky Tonk (1941); Bombshell (1933).

Jerome Cowan. Best known for his brief appearance as the lecherous and doomed Miles Archer in The Maltese Falcon. Cowan had a long run in TV. He was perfect as the suave and wise second banana. Often the star's best friends, more often beaten out of the girl, a worthy rival but always second fiddle. Seven Movies He Enhanced: The Maltese Falcon (1941), The Hurricane (1937), You Only Live Once (1937); Miracle on 34th Street (1947), Mr. Skeffington (1944); Shall We Dance (1937); Torrid Zone (1940), City for Conquest (1940).

Asta. This plucky canine was, lamentably, typecast as a dog. But I'd be barking up the wrong tree if I made too much of that. The very fact of his being a dog cut short his career as his species don't tend to live as long as us homo sapiens. Played opposite William Powell and Myrna Loy several times and was always a scene stealer. Also noteworthy was a supporting role with Cary Grant and Irene Dunne in The Awful Truth. His private life is little known as he did not grant interviews. Doggone good actor. Five Movies He Enhanced: The Thin Man (1934); After The Thin Man (1936); The Awful Truth (1937); Topper Takes a Trip (1938); The Thin Man Goes Home (1944).

It Takes All Kinds (Or So I've Been Told)

Growing up I always heard that "it takes all kinds." It was never clear to me just exactly why "all kinds" were in fact required. As I grew older I wondered just exactly why we couldn't get away without certain kinds, such as homicidal maniacs, serial rapists, child molesters and Ann Coulter.

I thus long ago concluded that, taken literally, the concept of having all kinds is undesirable.

I was reminded of this yesterday while riding the bus, a form of conveyance that indeed attracts all kinds. I was minding my own beeswax (which is my wont on buses) reading a book titled "Berlin Games: How the Nazis Stole the Olympic Dream" by Guy Walters about the 1936 Olympic Games in Nazi Germany. I've always been at once intrigued and repelled by the Third Reich. It is equal parts fascinating and horrid. Ultimately nothing good came from it save valuable lessons on the nature of evil.

The gentleman occupying the seat next to me asked what I was reading. I gave him as brief a summary as possible and returned to my reading hoping that what would do.

No such luck.

"Do you know who this is?" he asked showing me photo of man that had been printed from the Internet.

I answered honestly that he looked familiar but I couldn't quite place him.

Heidegger, he informed me adding that the German philosopher was an inspiration to Nazi thinkers.

"Doesn't look Aryan, does he?" my bus mate asked.

"No he doesn't" I allowed still unaware that he was building towards something.

Next he showed me a full page of mug shots showing various leaders of Nazi Germany, Hitler himself among them.

"Do any of them look Aryan?" he asked.

What a coincidence, I thought. Here I am reading about the Nazis and I randomly sit next to someone who has pictures of their leaders. Moreover these pics reveal that the hypocritical b*stards didn't even resemble the Aryan ideal they so extolled.

Then my new friend outed himself as a true loony. "They were all Zionists," he revealed.

Yes, I thought, that would explain their systematic annihilation of 6 million Jews, wouldn't it. (I even think like a smart ass.)

My actual verbal reply was something along the lines of "uhmpfhg."

Before I could form an actual coherent sentence like, "say buddy, ever consider making cyanide a daily part of your diet?" the whackjob showed me a picture of the White House with a Jewish menorah superimposed over it. "You know what this is?" he asked indicating the menorah. Before I could reply he said, with great satisfaction, "a menorah; everyone in the White House now is a Zionist. See, its what they do, they take over governments."

Ya know, the fact that you can photo shop an iconic Jewish image over a picture of the White House is not terribly convincing of anything other than computer skills.

I looked up and saw that we were approaching my stop. I thanked the heavens that this had been a particularly short ride.

"You see what I'm saying," he asked.

"Yes, I do." I replied, meaning, of course, that as far as I was concerned what he was saying was that he himself is a certifiable kook trapped inside a normal looking body.

I knew better than to engage my Zionist-hating friend. People in his frame of mind have switched off the reasonable, rational portion of their brains. Any new information they receive is filtered through their rigid ideology (psychosis). Offering contradictions or alternative views to them are just like lobbing a softball. They'll swing from the heels and try to smash it back at ya.

My stop came and I veritably flew off the bus.

Our culture allows all kinds to speak out. Thankfully it allows us to tune them out if we so choose.

A Story As Timely as If Ripped From Today's Headlines!

Rape.
Manslaughter.
Hunger.
Amputation.
Mass unemployment.
Mobs of juveniles attacking police.


Not exactly the fare one associates with films of the 1930's. But it's all part of director William Wellman's, Wild Boys of the Road (1933). As is a teenager complaining to a judge about how banks, soldiers, farmers and breweries are getting help, but "What about us? We're kids!" This is not the "let's put on a show!" hokum most are accustomed to from 1930's cinema. Wild Boys is part of the truly Golden Age of American film known as the pre code era. Censorship was not rigidly enforced and films tackled mature and controversial subject matter in a way they would not be able to again for several decades. (See my recent posts on the pre code era. The first is linked to this sentence. And the second to this one.)

I hope you all saw Wild Boys on TCM the other night or that you taped, Tivo'd or VCR'd it. If not thank your lucky stars that it's finally come out on DVD.

This is a movie that pulls no punches; I submit as evidence the beginning of this post.

Two teens in Depression Era America take to the road to relieve their hungry families the burden of feeding them. The central character, Eddie, is so selfless he's already sold his beloved jalopy and given the cash to dear old dad. Along the way our friends meet a fellow traveler, a lovely young girl badly disguised as a boy. Not surprisingly their numbers soon multiply as other adolescent vagabonds join them. They ride the rails seeking an elusive job, along the way providing each other with company and solidarity.

Meanwhile they constantly run afoul of authorities, who after all have to enforce the laws of the land. These desperate times call for desperate measures and the waifs take on first railroad bulls and later the police. The results of this latter battle are inevitable.

Wild Boys is a great companion piece to John Ford's Grapes of Wrath (1940). Both show a bent but not broken country in which the American dream has given way to nightmare. The rich and powerful have survived the Depression relatively unscathed while the masses have taken a direct hit. (This would be an appropriate point to pause and read the great Langston Hughes poem "Let America Be America Again" which this sentence is linked to.) Both Wellman and Ford were depicting an American in which the indomitable will of the people could take on and perhaps even overcome any hardship. Their films show the ugly truth of America during the depression. Good people resorting to any measure, even slipping into lawlessness, in a desperate attempt to maintain their dignity.

What is dignity if not a roof over your head and a full belly for you and yours? Is it not also self sufficiency? The myth perpetrated over the years by conservatives is of legions of American with their hands out begging for government relief or welfare checks. That's not most Americans. Most Americans will accept a temporary handout but truly desire a long term solution. As far as these people are concerned a government that has done so much for businesses is more than welcome to help. That law abiding Americans were forced to resort to crime speaks of America's great peril. This also, not incidentally, serves as a primer to what poverty does to those who suffer it in, even the best of times.

Wellman and Ford have captured the struggle that ripped not just at the social fabric of the country, but within the souls of Americans. Whether it is Henry Fonda as Tom Joad or Frankie Daro as Eddie or anyone of dozens of other characters, the bewilderment mixed with moxie combined with faith are etched in their faces. And thankfully Wild Boys shows that not all such faces are white. These films are prescient today as America teeters precariously on the brink of another Depression and its citizens rage at corporate heads handed huge bonuses as rewards despite public records of incompetence.

Wild Boys ends with a note of hope. Our arrested heroes face a kindly judge who gives a personal pledge to help. Eddie's somersault down the sidewalk bespeaks the renewed optimism Americans were starting to feel at the time of the movie's release. After all they had just elected a new president who offered hope after the failed policies of a Republican. Wait, that really sounds familiar.....

What a Pal!

It's rare for an old curmudgeon like me to find anything positive to say about recent trends in American cinema but I've found one: male buddies, pals, friends, chums, bros, BFFs, partners, amigos, comrades, compatriots. By whatever name they're right up there on the big screen high fivin, goofin', laughin' and supporting one another. That is so totally awesome, man.

The prime example is a recent film (just out this weekend) that has its main theme that very notion of male friends. I Love You, Man is not just the latest but the best of the guy friend flicks.

The story centers around a charming young man, Peter Klaven, who has just gotten engaged. Problem is, he has no male friends. None. Nada. Zip. Zilch. Not even someone who could be the best man at his forthcoming nuptials.

Klaven is played by Paul Rudd. I'll say this about Rudd, I want to hang out with him. He often plays a best friend  simply because he's perfect for it. He's as likable a guy as you'll ever see and he plays one in the movies. As for I Love You, Man, long story short, and this is not a spoiler, he finds a best friend in the person of Sydney Fife (great last name) who is played by the also likable Jason Segal.

Their friendship is based on mutual interests, openness, support and the ability to have a great time together. Like the hokey pokey, that's what it's all about.

This is a great friendship because it comes at no one else's expense. They don't exploit women. They don't belittle other types of people, they stay within the law and they stay true to themselves. Klaven and Fife (did I emotion that' a great last name) are just as goofy, silly, childish and immature as any other male of any age (we're like that ladies). But here's the twist, they're nice to women and the only people they mess with are the rare assh*le who deserves a poke in the nose. What a great cinematic concept. Where has this been all these years?

One thing that has been proven is that just because the subject of a film is stupid doesn't mean the film has to be. You can take as a basic premise a couple of total goofballs hanging out trying to get laid and make an intelligent, even touching movie. Moreover you can get lots and lots of laughs without hurting anyone.

Of course the inevitable question about male friends who are close these days is: are they...you know? You mean GAY?? In the cases of these films they are not. However it is refreshing indeed to see that the gay characters, like Klaven's brother in I Love You, Man played by Andy Samberg, are NOT cardboard cut out stereotypes. I cannot presume to speak for my gay brothers and sisters, but it seems there is nothing offensive in either the portrayals of gay men in these films or the treatment of those characters by straights. Progress.

For that matter its not too much of a stretch to say that Milk (2008) focused to a degree on some platonic male friends. While the title character was indeed involved with several characters sexually, there were a lot of men working together and being close friends without jumping into the sack.

I may have just come up with an idea for a screenwriter looking for a story. How about a male buddy picture between two gay men? Or a gay man and a straight man?

I should add that films like I Love You, Man do not just appeal to men. Indeed I believe they have a broad appeal (that pun was NOT intentded and if it was it would have violated the spirit of the post). If there was a targeted demographic for the movie I doubt I was part of it. A few years ago the premise of the film would have sounded dumb. But that's only because these types of film were so bloody stupid. Now, they can and often are good films and good films appeal to all types of film goers. You combine laughs and an intelligent story and you're on to something.

You've totally got to see this movie, man. It's awesome. See it with your best bud.

They Made Me Who I am Today: Six Films Present at My Creation

At the end of my last writing here I said: "In my next post I’ll examine the aftermath of 1968 Oscars in film as it related to yours truly." I've got every right to change my mind and I am so doing. This post will be about six films that influenced me as a young man and a movie goer beginning with two that received nominations for best picture in 1968. These two, Bonnie & Clyde and The Graduate, were at the core of Mark Harris' book Five Movies and the Birth of the New Hollywood ,which was the subject of my last post. That being said, here are the six pics in the order I saw them.

Bonnie & Clyde (1967). I'd never seen anything like it on the big screen. There was graphic violence. It was neither revolting nor glorified, it was just there. When Clyde shoots his pursuer in the face I had this instant, wow, gulp reaction. It was startling. It was not pretty. It was the way to tell a story -- realistically. Buck Barrow's death and his wife's blinding similarly made powerful impressions on me. This was the real face of violence. It seemed important to see it that way. The movie also featured sex, sort of. Clearly Clyde had, shall we say, issues. As someone just entering his teens this was amazing. Obviously sex was far more complicated than I had imagined why it even included malfunctions. I felt for the guy and had something to think about other than the action. Most significantly the clear heroes of the film were the criminals. This did not make me aspire to robbery. Like a lot of young folks I was deeply immersed in the rebellious attitudes and actions sweeping our country. There was real Robin Hood and anti establishment elements to Bonnie & Clyde. I felt that through this film there was a cool cinematic face to what was going on.

The Graduate (1967). Talk about anti establishment! There was no wanton criminality. There were no protests. There was no illicit drug use. But Ben Braddock seemed to me the ultimate rebel and never mind whether he had a cause. What a totally cool guy. He'd just finished college with honors but wasn't going to take what was then called the "straight" route. No "plastics" for him. Never mind that he didn't really doanything, save sleep with a much older woman. Ben did what hewanted to do and if that was nothing, well cool. Of course he ultimately goes to any and all lengths to get the girl he wanted. What could be cooler than that? Especially the way they haul off together, her having just married another dude and still in her wedding dress. Screw social conventions! That Simon & Garfunkel's sounds accompanied much of the story made seem even cooler yet.

If...(1968). If this list were in order, If...would have been first. You start off with Malcolm McDowell as Mick Travis. My first film idol was Steve McQueen, then came McDowell. He was really really cool and really really British (like the Beatles!). McDowell was perfect because he wasn't a perfect specimen. Not too handsome. Not too strong. Not too tough. Just totally self assured and totally of his own mold. Mick Travis listened to classical music, for chrissakes. Who does that? Travis does because he's totally comfortable with being who he is. If.... was set in old English private school (is there any other kind?). So you've got a mix of different lads. As young men we can all relate to being thrown in together with a mixed bag of other chaps. There's the bullies, the geeks, the jocks, and then there's guys like Mick. The whole allegorical business of the mass killing at the end was endlessly fascinating. Mick and his friends (followers?) including his girl, seemed to be taking their protest to the logical extreme. The movie was saying something profound. I wasn't so adept at interpreting it as I was at enjoying the fact of this improbable kind of story telling. McDowell was hero to me but I should have known to credit the film's director Lindsay Anderson for the way the story was told. I was utterly thrilled by If... as were my friends. We discussed it for hours and hours.

Midnight Cowboy (1969). I was absolutely bowled over. Dustin Hoffman's acting, the Harry Nilsson song, the realism....I felt somehow empowered that I could see serious stories being told on screen. No romance, comedy, action or adventure. A story about the way life really was. The kind of stories I'd just become acquainted with through novels. Midnight Cowboy made me want to tell stories of humans struggling with life. It made me want to be an actor and give a riveting performance that made people gasp. It made me want to make a movie using profound songs like "Everybody's Talkin'." It was so thrilling to see a story populated with so many strange characters and happenings. When Midnight Cowboy won the Best Picture I cheered. The Hollywood establishment had gotten it right. (Little did I know how seldom they'd do so in the future).

MASH (1970). Sticking it to the Vietnam war! Sticking it to the army! Sticking it to the government! And with sex, booze and football. Elliot Gould and Donald Sutherland were regularly featured stars during my teens. They were oft times irreverent and never more so than in this Robert Altman film. This was a buddy picture. A bunch of guys, led by Gould and Sutherland, hanging out, thumbing their noses at the army while having fun and sex. But get this, these guys were also highly competent doctors. They were saving lives in the bargain! How cool is that? You can be of service to humanity but not to the bureaucrats and you can swill martinis and fornicate in the bargain. Life could be fun!

A Clockwork Orange (1971). It's scary how totally into this movie, indeed this story I was into. Saw the film a half dozen times. Read the book. Bought the soundtrack. Had a poster from the film. And last but not least, I bought a derby from a San Francisco gentleman's store. Yes, a derby just like Alex wore. A Clockwork Orange the book was a great piece of literature from Anthony Burgess. Stanley Kubrick's cinematic version was bravura film making. But why my obsession? Well there's McDowell again. Watching a hero go through all manner of experience and come out okay in the end is fulfilling. Especially when he doesn't play by any rules but his own. I was NOT inspired to violence by the story. I WAS inspired to live. Really live. This is part of the impact of these films. They made me want to be true to my essence. I knew there were certain boundaries, social niceties. But if I was going to march the straight and narrow, I'd do it to the beat of my own drummer. A Clockwork Orange was an extension of what was started for me by If...Life as full of endless possibilities and subject to our interpretation. What did Alex's story mean? what were Kubrick or Burgess or McDowell saying? Imagine putting your own spin on a story. Seeing it through your own eyes. The point of A Clockwork Orange wasn't to engage in violence but to engage in your own life. Violence was a choice Alex made. It wasn't real. Living life as you saw it was real.

All these movies thrilled me. They also challenged me to learn more and be more and understand more. They fueled my own irreverence, my sense of humor and my questioning of authority. That movies questioned the establishment convinced me that art could be an integral part of social change. I wanted to be part of change. I wanted it in myself and I wanted it for the world.

Other influential films for me were Play it Again, Sam (1972), Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (1969), Little Big Man (1970), O Lucky Man! (1973), Getting Straight (1970), Serpico (1973) and Zabriske Point (1970). Yeah, no foreign films, those came to me later.

1967, The Year the Seventies Began in American Film

There were more great American films made in the 1970's than the combined output of the ensuing three decades.

The many factors involved have been discussed ad nauseam by film critics and historians and know nothing bloggers like myself. There were a slew of dynamite young directors converging on the scene in the 70's (Coppola, Scorsese, Spielberg to name but a few). The French Wave was belatedly exerting an influence. The censorship imposed by the production code had given way to the film rating system. The cultural upheaval of the Sixties was effecting the type of films people made and wanted to see. And, not incidentally, neither the special effects revolution nor the concept of the blockbuster were ruining the industry.

The Seventies were indeed a glorious time for film. A few examples, The Godfather (1972), Taxi Driver (1976), Network (1976), Jaws (1975), The Exorcist (1973), The Godfather Part II (1974), Chinatown (1974), Mean Streets (1973), Annie Hall (1977), Cabaret (1972), The Sting (1973), Animal House (1978)...trust me, I've just gotten started. The opening salvo came three years before the decade began with two landmark films that were very much in keeping with the spirit of the Seventies. I refer to Bonnie & Clyde and The Graduate.

The story of these two films along with the other three nominated for 1967's Best Picture Oscar is wonderfully told by Mark Harris in Five Movies and the Birth of the New Hollywood. It's one of the best books on film ever and I'm highly recommending it with no cash, gifts or thanks expected either from the author or publisher (though I have a strict policy of taking any payola I can get my grubby mitts on).

The Graduate and Bonnie & Clyde were joined as nominees by the well-intentioned In the Heat of the Night (which won) a post Civil Rights movement look at race relations in the South via a detective story. Sidney Poitier and Rod Steiger co-starred, the latter winning the Best Actor Oscar for his portrayal of a racist but ultimately reasonable cop. Norman Jewison directed. Poiter appeared in another nominated film, Guess Who's Coming to Dinner? which appeared dated about a month after its release. Poiter was too perfect as the fiance of a young white woman (forgettably played by the forgettable Kate Houghton who had the good sense to leave films soon thereafter). The woman's parents would have their liberal views on race relations put to the test by the engagement. The parents were played by Spencer Tracy and Kate Hepburn in their final film pairing, indeed it was Tracy's final screen appearance, he died shortly after production ended. The final nominee was Dr. Doolittle, a disaster in virtually respect save the producers’ successful campaign to garner Oscar nominations, best pic among them.

Harris does a masterful job of relating how the five films came to be. He neither discusses one movie at a time nor goes strictly chronologically. He’ll follow one fact of a movies story until just before its exhausted then move on to another. I found it all surprisingly compelling, in large part owing to Harris’ story telling capabilities. He manages to include plenty of juicy gossip and anecdotes but its never prurient or gratuitous. You want a primer on old Hollywood breathing its last, this is your book.

While reading Five Pictures I variously wondered how any movie ever gets made and how all films don’t end up being perfect. In both cases it is the human factor that makes for either brilliance or disaster.

There are personalities aplenty in the story who readers will come to love, hate, admire or want to debate. There’s the writing duo of Robert Benton and David Newman who conceived the idea for Bonnie And Clyde, wrote the screenplay then doggedly pursued a producer who could get the film made. There’s Rex Harrison, so charming and warm on screen such a noxious prima donna off. And Sidney Poiter. Heroic. Conflicted. Having to act as virtually the sole representative of all African Americans in Hollywood and often assailed by all sides in the process. You'll also meet the wunderkind of Hollywood, director Mike Nicholas who would snare the best director Oscar.

Of course the focus of the story and not incidentally the most intriguing part of it is the making and consequent successes of The Graduate and Bonnie & Clyde. That neither won the big prize is no surprise given Oscar’s history and the times in which they appeared. They were surprising smashes and foretold a new era of imaginative, risk-taking film making. Indeed, they helped topple the censorious production code. Their critical and box office acclaim foretold a time when American film finally caught up with Europeans in creating more personal movies that spoke to the Baby Boom generation and America’s social upheaval.

In my next post I’ll examine the aftermath of 1968 Oscars in film as it related to yours truly. Meanwhile go buy yourself a copy of Harris’ book. Thank me later.

It'll Be Wonderful!

I'm going to write a book. The title will be "A Turkey Sandwich Without the Feathers." As the title suggests this will be a light hearted look at life. Full of foibles. Metaphors. Similes."You go, gurrrrl friend," moments. Observations that everyone can relate to. Readers will nod and say "uh huh." And smile. I'll have a lot of suggestions like: pet a puppy today or smile at a stranger or contact an old friend. An emphasis on seeing the best in all of God's creatures. Common sense stuff. There'll also be some charming stories about my aunt Theresa, God rest her portly soul. I'll talk about faith but not in a way that will make anyone uncomfortable. The political comments in the book will be in the form of tut tutting racists and other extremists. Stuff like: Weren't those 9/11 terrorist awful? I'll include a recipe for meatloaf that'll make you a real hit with the family. It'll be a really really cute book (it really will!). I'll have rib tickling chapter titles like "Hams Without the Wry" about non funny actors who overact. You get it, right? I'll appear on a few talk shows -- not the ones with people yelling at each other or the kind hosted by acerbic comedians. I'll have nice pleasant inoffensive chats with the hosts, who'll talk about how they simply "LOVE" my book. So will Larry King who'll have a blurb on the back of the book jacket. I won't get on his show or Oprah, but that's cool. The book will be a huge hit. Walgreen's will carry it.
Once I'm through with the book tour I'll sign a big contract to write a sequel. Then I'll buy a shotgun and blow my brains out.
Can't wait.

Your Pre Code Films Primer Part II

A few days ago I listed ten wonderful films from the pre code era. A brief explanation and introduction of what I was going on about was provided and this sentence is linked to that intro. Suffice it to say that the list of ten wasn't near enough. So here is another ten (wouldn't be funny if I had a list of nine or eleven?). If someone wanted to make a case that this list is better than the first one they wouldn't get much of an argument from me. Anyhoo with the first ten I was looking for a representative selection and I'm trying to do the same again. All 20 films are guaranteed to be great examples of cinema from any era. 'Nuff said, here's another half score.

Heroes for Sale (1933). Finally coming to DVD next week as part of TCM's third set of pre codes. It works on numerous levels but most of all tis a great Depression era social drama. Its about war heroes, both the real ones and the phony baloney kind. It's about labor struggles its...Oh it's no good to try to capsulize it in so short a space; there's so much that Heroes (pictured above) has to say. Director William Wellman made a slew of great films during the pre code era alone. He had a knack for telling stories by creating worlds that were so real you couldn't help but react viscerally. Heroes is totally unsentimental and compelling in the way of many pre code dramas. Not to be missed.

Three On A Match (1932). How's this for starters: the three on the match are Bette Davis, Joan Blondell and Ann Dvorak. Did someone just say 'who's Ann Dvorak?' The lovely Ms. Dvorak is one of those all too forgotten gems of bygone days. She's not just a pretty face. Ms. Dvorak exudes vulnerability and strength of character. The kind of dame men fall for all these years later, even if there’s an even prettier one in the room. When you've got the incomparable Bette Davis and the utterly delightful Joan Blondell rounding out the cast...Pure quality. Mervin LeRoy, a pretty fair director himself, brought to screen this story of three young women who were girlhood friends catching up on old times. We get to follow their new times which are wildly divergent. There's redemption, tragedy and heroism. All of it packed into a very pre code running time of 63 minutes. Zowie!

The Divorcee (1930). Let this be a lesson to anyone interested in marrying Norma Shearer: she don't put up with no mess. Naughty Norma seeks revenge on her adulterous husband with a fling or two of her own. This is the kind of stuff Hollywood shied away from once the production code was enforced. Sure its about sex, but its more about a woman with her own mind and own body who'll do as she pleases, thank you very much. The pre code era gave actresses like Shearer great roles, this is the perfect example.

The Public Enemy (1931). They made some terrific gangster films during the pre code era, none better than this classic starring James Cagney. I could go on and on about Public Enemy but I already did. Read an earlier post that this sentence is linked to. Come on, read it....

Trouble in Paradise (1932). Herbert Marshall and Miriam Hopkins formed a great duo of roguish thieves in this Ernst Lubitsch film. Indeed to me this is Marshall's signature role. He's letter perfect as the high class jewel thief plying his trade in European capitals. Has he met his match in the lovely Ms. Hopkins? What fun they had! And what fun for audiences! And in pre code days there was none of this film noir crap about crime never paying.

Morocco (1930). Marlene Dietrich is obsessed with Gary Cooper. Can you imagine her not getting her man? Joseph von sternberg directed Morocco in one of his many parings with Marlene. What a team they made! He had "a thing for her" (keep it clean) and it resulted in camera shots that veritably caressed the star. You loved Marlene doing a cabaret act in a gorilla suit in Blonde Venus and you'll dig in her tux too. The on screen romance between Dietrich and French legionnaire Cooper is a sight.

Footlight Parade (1933). As great as Cagney was playing gangsters he was equally good doing some song and dance. Problem was he rarely got the chance. See him here with frequent co-star Joan Blondell (goodness she was in a lot of terrific films in those days). See also the delightful pairing of Dick Powell and Ruby Keeler along with beloved character actors Guy Kibbee and Frank McHugh. Sub plots aplenty but most off all some fine patter and toe tapping numbers. The incomparable Busby Berkeley staged the extravaganzas.

Employee's Entrance (1933). You can't have enough of the youthful Loretta Young on any list. Here she is a salesgirl seduced by a tyrannical boss (Warren William, who was made for the role). While she carries on with the head honcho she also falls for someone closer to own age and station in life played by Wallace Ford (what a fine and interesting career he had). Roy Del Ruth directed.

Waterloo Bridge (1931). For God's sakes make sure you're seeing this the original and not the poxy 1940 version with Vivian Leigh and Robert Taylor. James Whale directed and Mae Clarke stars. Ms. Clarke gives a heartbreaking performance as a chorus girl in London during World War I who's forced to turn to another "older profession". She falls for a solider and there's a sense of tragic inevitability to the ensuing romance. Whale's direction is top drawer. Such stories were not told so honestly in the intervening years as the sappy watered down remake proves.

Five Star Final (1931). This is an all time favorite of mine. Mervin LeRoy directed this powerful look at the sensationalistic press. Edward G. Robinson is the editor who comes to understand the direct human cost of sleazy journalism. Boris Karloff is creepy, but this time as a reporter who'll go to any lengths to get a story. The film is relevant today although an exploitative media is more in evidence through TV and the internet. More on this film in a forthcoming post on movies and the newspapers.

The more alert of you will notice that the two films on this list (Five Star Final and Employee's entrance) have not yet been released on DVD. Someone needs to get with the program.