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Month: December 2021

Bed Sitting Room, The (1969)

Bed Sitting Room, The (1969)

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“Do I look like a bed sitting room?!”

Synopsis:
In post-apocalyptic England, survivors of a nuclear blast — including a pregnant young woman (Rita Tushingham) and her boyfriend (Richard Warwick), Tushingham’s parents (Mona Washbourne and Arthur Lowe), a police sergeant (Dudley Moore) and inspector (Peter Cook), a captain (Michael Hordern), a dress-wearing male nurse (Marty Feldman), an eccentric man living in a shelter (Roy Kinnear), a wandering fireguard (Spike Milligan), and a lord (Ralph Richardson) slowly turning into a bed-sitting room — interact and wander the desolate landscape.

Genres, Themes, Actors, and Directors:

  • Black Comedy
  • Dudley Moore Films
  • Nuclear Holocaust
  • Play Adaptation
  • Ralph Richardson Films
  • Richard Lester Films
  • Rita Tushingham Films

Review:
Described by TCM as director Richard “Lester’s most challenging film,” this bizarrely fantastical black comedy — based on a play by Spike Milligan, who also has a participating role — imagines what life might look and feel like for survivors of a nuclear blast. Given that the characters here are Britons, we see a rigid adherence to ritual and routine, with many seemingly unfazed by the drastic change around them and simply willing to adapt. When Washbourne is handed a death certificate, for instance, she’s sad but accepts it.

Richardson’s stuffy Lord Fortnum tries to protest the changes he feels happening to him:

… but is ultimately powerless, and turns into a lower-class “bedsit” room (he’s shown below in his new form, being given a “wellness check” by Hordern):

Other absurdities abound, including Tushingham being pregnant for 18 months with a monstrous creature, and being coerced into marrying lecherous Hordern in a cobbled ceremony:

… (though she simply continues her relationship with Warwick anyway). There are many more peripheral characters floating around the set (filmed “on location at a refuse dump in West Drayton, England”), but since none of them do anything particularly sensical, it’s challenging to provide a meaningful analysis of the storyline they exist in. Yes, a nuclear holocaust will surely wreak unimaginable havoc on our psyches, and many individuals may try to simply “carry on” as a way of coping — but I’m hard-pressed to see what other point there is to this rambling tale of post-apocalyptic absurdity.

Notable Performances, Qualities, and Moments:

  • David Watkin’s innovative cinematography
  • Some truly surreal imagery

Must See?
No; you can skip this one unless you’re curious. Listed as a Cult Movie in the back of Peary’s book.

Links:

Goodbye Girl, The (1977)

Goodbye Girl, The (1977)

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“I wouldn’t like him if I liked him!”

Synopsis:
When her boyfriend suddenly leaves one night and sublets their apartment, a woman (Marsha Mason) and her ten-year-old daughter (Quinn Cummings) find themselves living with an aspiring actor (Richard Dreyfuss) who grates on Mason’s nerves — but can the trio eventually learn to get along?

Genres, Themes, Actors, and Directors:

  • Actors and Actresses
  • Herbert Ross Films
  • Marsha Mason Films
  • Neil Simon Films
  • Richard Dreyfuss Films
  • Romantic Comedy
  • Single Mothers

Review:
Richard Dreyfuss became the youngest actor (at age 30) to win a Leading Role Oscar for his performance in this adaptation (directed by Herbert Ross) of an original screenplay by Neil Simon. The central idea originated between Simon and his then-wife Mason as a funny love story between smart people, hearkening back to the days of Spencer Tracy and Katharine Hepburn. It was originally entitled Bogart Slept Here, and set to be directed by Mike Nichols, star Robert De Niro, and take place in Los Angeles — but due to a variety of circumstances, it shifted gears entirely to become a NYC-based romantic comedy with a different director and lead actor. Overall, the storyline works: giving ongoing (neverending?) housing crunches in New York, the exorbitant cost of living in that city, and the narcissism of actors (yes, it’s entirely believable that Mason’s self-absorbed boyfriend would just up-and-leave the way he did), we can imagine people stuck in a situation exactly like this one.

The real-life individuals wouldn’t sound quite so polished and acerbic in their dialogue and come-backs, of course — but the overall tension feels real. (Who hasn’t been forced at some point to live with less-than-ideal roommates, and make some compromises?) Less convincing to me is that a single mom like Mason would allow herself to rely entirely on a (married) boyfriend for financial support in New York; we see humorous vignettes of her trying to get back in shape to perform as a dancer, but what has she been doing in the meantime?

Eventually, of course, Mason and Dreyfuss fall for one another — and whether you buy the authenticity of their trajectory (and care for them at all) will determine your appreciation for this film. Thankfully, the young actress playing Mason’s daughter (Cummings) Lucy is natural (i.e., not-annoying):

… and while both Dreyfuss and Mason are somewhat manic, we’re willing to excuse this given that they’re both performers in a high-stress city. I found myself rooting for them by the end, and pleased by how things turned out.

Notable Performances, Qualities, and Moments:

  • Richard Dreyfuss as Elliot
  • Marsha Mason as Paula
  • Quinn Cummings as Lucy
  • Good use of authentic NYC locales

Must See?
No, though it’s worth a one-time look.

Links:

Big Fix, The (1978)

Big Fix, The (1978)

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“You’ve gotten pretty cynical, haven’t you, Moses?”

Synopsis:
A one-time ’60s radical turned private eye (Richard Dreyfuss) teams up with a former lover (Susan Anspach) to investigate smear tactics being used against a gubernatorial candidate (John Cunningham).

Genres, Themes, Actors, and Directors:

  • Bonnie Bedelia Films
  • Counterculture
  • Detectives and Private Eyes
  • Richard Dreyfuss Films

Review:
Richard Dreyfuss co-produced and starred in this L.A.-based detective flick centering on a formal student radical named Moses Wine. Moses accepts jobs as they come, often taking his two young sons with him on his work adventures across the city:

… but otherwise sitting alone in his apartment gambling, smoking weed, listening to music, watching T.V., or playing “Clue” to keep his sleuthing wits sharp.

Roger L. Simon’s screenplay — based on his own novel — does an excellent job portraying the sense of nostalgia and confusion felt by many Baby Boomers once the headiest days of protest were over. We learn that Moses drifted into a marriage that has since devolved, with his ex-wife (Bonnie Bedelia) now dating an obnoxious New Age man (Ron Rifkin) involved in a group called BEST (sound like “EST”, anyone?).

Moses feels a sense of rejuvenation when he meets up with a former flame (Anspach) who convinces him to take a job:

… but things soon turn very dark, leading Moses on a labyrinthine journey across various portions of Los Angeles. (The film’s sense of place and time is spot-on; I quickly found myself counting how many locations I could recognize — and there were quite a few.)

In true form for such a tale, we’re not always entirely sure what’s going on and who various characters are, but we get the gist, and it all eventually coheres. The diverse supporting cast is nicely filled out, with John Lithgow as Cunningham’s mysterious campaign manager:

… and F. Murray Abraham playing a notorious former radical:

Watch also for Mandy Patinkin in a bit role (his big-screen debut) as a bumbling pool cleaner:

While it’s not must-see viewing, this well-made film moves along at an engaging pace and will certainly appeal to fans of private eye flicks.

Notable Performances, Qualities, and Moments:

  • Richard Dreyfuss as Moses Wine
  • Fine supporting performances

  • Excellent use of many authentic L.A. locales


Must See?
No, but it’s worth a look. Listed as a Cult Movie in the back of Peary’s book.

Links:

If … (1968)

If … (1968)

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“One man can change the world with a bullet in the right place.”

Synopsis:
At a British public school, a senior classman (Malcolm McDowell) and his friends (Richard Warwick and David Wood) rebel against a pair of snobbish bullies (Robert Swann and Hugh Thomas) who hold sadistic sway over the students.

Genres, Themes, Actors, and Directors:

  • Boarding School
  • Bullies
  • Lindsay Anderson Films
  • Malcolm McDowell Films
  • Rebellion

Response to Peary’s Review:
Peary opens his review of this countercultural classic by positing that “even considering a Goodbye, Mr. Chips, most of us Americans have long regarded the British public school as a clear-cut example of deeply entrenched institutional tyranny toward youth and repression of free thought” — and thus, “in the late sixties many American student protesters saw the boys’ school in Lindsay Anderson’s popular, controversial film as a symbol of any establishment and of all oppression,” and “identified with the three rebellious students… who fight for the survival of individualism against authority, tradition, and the old guard.”

Peary notes that because “in the final scenes Anderson injects heavy doses of surrealism,” we “cannot tell if what we’re seeing is truly happening exactly as presented or if our crusaders… are fantasizing or Anderson is showing images that represent their wish fulfillment.” He asserts that while “the surrealism is excitingly audacious” at times:

… the effect is weakened during the final sequence given that it “looks like it’s just the visualization of someone’s imagination” and “we don’t feel that the bad guys are getting their due.”

Peary compares this sequence with the “surrealistic final scene in Jean Vigo’s Zero de Conduite (1933), Anderson’s inspiration,” which he argues “works as both dream and reality.”

With that caveat in mind, this film holds such significance in cinematic history that it’s a bit challenging to determine how compelling the storyline itself really is. While it’s morbidly gratifying to see the horrors of boarding school bullying called out rather than glossed over or romanticized:

… I agree with Peary that the final scenes are opaque and less-than-satisfying (and viewers should be forewarned they are especially disturbing given the ongoing mass shootings in schools since this film’s release). Perhaps the most intriguing — if underexplored — thematic thread in the film is that of homoerotic desire (Anderson was a closeted gay man), as epitomized in the scene showing a young boy (Rupert Webster) pulling a sweater over his head while watching in awe as an older student (Warwick) shows off on the parallel bars.

It’s a well-edited sequence that hints at the film’s potential to explore even more challenging themes than simply brutal (albeit necessary) rebellion against oppression.

Notable Performances, Qualities, and Moments:

  • Malcolm McDowell as Mick
  • Fine cinematography and sets

Must See?
Yes, once, simply for its historical significance.

Categories

  • Historically Relevant

(Listed in 1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die)

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Outcast of the Islands (1951)

Outcast of the Islands (1951)

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“Does the white man know what is best for us?”

Synopsis:
A petty thief (Trevor Howard) seeks refuge with a charitable captain (Ralph Richardson) who takes him to an island outpost where Richardson’s son-in-law (Robert Morley) lives with his wife (Wendy Hiller) and child (Annabel Morley). Howard soon falls for the beautiful daughter (Kerima) of the village chief (A.V. Bramble), and schemes to offer them secret navigation tips — but can Howard find loyalty and safety with the natives?

Genres, Themes, Actors, and Directors:

  • Carol Reed Films
  • Femmes Fatales
  • Ralph Richardson Films
  • Native Peoples
  • Robert Morley Films
  • Trevor Howard Films
  • Wendy Hiller Films

Review:
Following his success with Odd Man Out (1947), The Fallen Idol (1948), and The Third Man (1949), Carol Reed directed this action-packed adaptation of Joseph Conrad’s 1896 novel. While it’s lauded by some (DVD Savant, for instance, refers to it as “exceptional”, and notes that it was “an intense experience that floored” him when he first saw it), I find its storyline of an unrepentent anti-hero to be less than satisfying.

We understand that Richardson — who first took Howard under his wing at the age of 12 — hopes Howard will redeem himself, but it’s not really clear how. Yes, Howard helps Richardson navigate his boat through undeniably tricky channels:

… but expecting Howard to simply “stay put” at the trading post seems disastrously naive.

There’s plenty of tension and atmosphere in Morley’s household, and the casting of Morley’s real-life look-alike daughter Annabel seems inspired:

But whenever Reed’s wandering camera pans across the locals looking with bemusement, wonder, or disdain at the whites around them (who can blame them?), we’re reminded this is primarily a tale of a self-created “outcast” who really can’t (won’t) fit in anywhere.

We also know right away that Howard’s obsession with sultry, wild-eyed Kerima (giving a one-note performance) will inevitably lead him down a path of ruin:

The problem is, we don’t really care what happens to him, and are equally unsure how to feel about the troubles obnoxious Morley gets himself into:

In the film’s favor are beautiful cinematography and fine location shooting in Sri Lanka (matched with studio footage done back in England); however, only fans of Reed’s work should consider this must-see.

Notable Performances, Qualities, and Moments:

  • Trevor Howard as Willems
  • Fine supporting performances


  • Atmospheric sets

  • Excellent location shooting and cinematography

Must See?
No, though Carol Reed fans will certainly want to check it out.

Links: