“It all seems so absurd… So fantastic!”
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Response to Peary’s Review: Redeeming Qualities and Moments:
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(Listed in 1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die) Links: |
“Gentlemen, it has the stench of swindle.”
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… which somehow doesn’t feel entirely out of place. James Wong Howe’s cinematography adds to the atmosphere of this hard-to-classify low-budget western crime-caper love-story. Redeeming Qualities and Moments:
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“I would like — if I may — to take you on a strange journey…”
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Response to Peary’s Review: By watching the movie on DVD (Blu-Ray is recommended), it’s much easier to get a sense of the film itself and what is has to offer — or not. Peary writes that, in his opinion, “the picture — minus the sing-along — isn’t particularly well made or amusing”, but he likes it “when the stodgy criminologist (Charles Grey)… demonstrates dance steps”, and finds “the big production of ‘The Time Warp'” and “Meatloaf’s wild rock number, ‘Whatever Happened to Saturday Night?'” “a lot of fun”. He also points out that “Curry is dynamic as the cinema’s one” (?) “masculine-acting (sweet) transvestite”. Indeed, Curry’s performance is both iconic and mesmerizing; it’s difficult to keep your eyes off of him whenever he’s on-screen. When he’s not, it’s hit or miss. There is, of course, much, much more to read and learn about this cult classic (see Peary’s Cult Movies essay or the fan website) — and there’s nothing quite like finding a “live” screening near you. Note: The film’s sequel — Shock Treatment (1981) — is included in the back of GFTFF but dismissed by Peary as “disastrous”. Redeeming Qualities and Moments:
Must See? Categories
(Listed in 1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die) Links: |
“If the killer is incubating pneumonic plague, he can start spreading it within 48 hours!”
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Review: Update (February 3, 2021): And… of course… COVID-19. Redeeming Qualities and Moments:
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Hello, CMBA members! I’m happy to be participating in the Classic Movie Blog Association’s Hollywood on Hollywood blogathon. If you’re new to my site, please click here to read more. Welcome!
“Luck’s just hard work, they say — and I’m willing to work as hard as anyone!”
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… a Yale art school graduate whose entrance into Hollywood is considerably greased by his Ivy League connections. But the character we follow most closely is Black’s Faye Greener:
… an oddly sympathetic peroxide-blonde who strings numerous men along, but with full transparency about her priorities. Her concern for — and exasperation with — her ailing father (Meredith is perfectly cast as a former-clown-turned-salesman)
… help to balance her childish affect and single-minded determination to shift her status from “extra” to “star”. (In the still below, she’s reaching out to herself on-screen during her overly brief appearance in a costume drama.)
Inevitably, as with any cinematic adaptation of a literary work, nuance is lost in translation — but Schlesinger’s vision (assisted by DP Conrad Hall) shines forth, offering a vividly recreated landscape of Hollywood as seen from numerous vantages, including on bustling sets:
… in studio offices:
… in courtyard apartments:
… along the dusty hills of Southern California:
… up by the “Hollywoodland” sign:
… at exclusive stag-film screenings:
… and at Graumann’s Chinese Theater on an even-more-chaotic-than-usual opening night.
Day of the Locust is less concerned with telling the arc of Etherton’s new career than showing us how all-consuming this universe was (and still is) for those who covet — or are even curious about — its offerings. Meanwhile, Sutherland’s hulking giant offers a deliberate counterpart to Hollywood’s headiness: his deeply neurotic, socially awkward accountant lives in Southern California for his health, and simply wants to help those-in-need; his character’s decline — intentionally evocative of Frankenstein‘s monster — is especially tragic given his status as a sacrificial innocent.
Watch for many memorable supporting characters, including androgynous Jackie Haley as the fatally obnoxious “Adore”:
… Billy Barty as Abe Kusich:
… Geraldine Page as “Big Sister”:
… Natalie Schafer (of “Gilligan’s Island” fame) as a cultured madam:
… and William Castle in cameo as a director.
Note: Click here for a Project Gutenberg copy of West’s book, which is well worth a read. Redeeming Qualities and Moments:
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“I wonder if it makes… everything grow?”
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Review: Redeeming Qualities and Moments:
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“Dad, I didn’t say he was a monster — he was a giant! You know, a caveman!”
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Okay, I don’t know where to go with that — especially when Peary follows up by stating, “But, dammit, she’s rescued by her boyfriend”.
He argues that the “picture is a lot of fun”, and “probably would have run into censorship problems if anybody’d paid more attention to where Kiel was placing his hands”, and he asserts that he thinks “everyone was too scared of Kiel to ask him to cool it”. With all that said (and ignored), is the film worth watching? Sure, but not for the reasons Peary outlines. Manning is actually an appropriately feisty heroine rather than simply an objectified pawn, but the main “fun” to be had here is in mocking the truly terrible production values, script, and acting. Discussed as one of the Fifty Worst Films of All Time by Harry Medved and Randy Dreyfuss in their 1978 book. Redeeming Qualities and Moments:
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“Poor little moth — she fluttered too near my flame.”
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Response to Peary’s Review: With all that said, I’ll admit to not being a fan of this beloved cult favorite — primarily due to my distaste over how objectified, sexualized, and/or demonized every single female character is. Could Jessel’s pasty make-up:
— or that of her mother (Beatrix Lehmann) — be any more garishly witch-like? Could beautiful women’s bodies be any more fondled, used as dining tables, or assumed to be merely objects for male pleasure (or reproduction)? However, things become more enjoyable (for me) once Greene (giving “a funny performance”) arrives on the scene; his narcissistic rhetoric is consistently laugh-out-loud humorous:
Buster Keaton, in his final role before dying of cancer, seems literally lost during most of the film (for good reason), but has a nice moment at the end when his character suddenly becomes a pivotal part of the storyline. All film fanatics should check this film out at least once, and more often if it tickles your particular fancy. Redeeming Qualities and Moments:
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“Those nerds are a threat to our way of life!”
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and complains that “the bullying tactics of the football players are too cruel to be funny”. I disagree. Sure, the jocks are cruel and brutish (cartoonishly so):
but they get theirs BIG TIME, and the protagonists — a resilient, quirky bunch — eventually have the upper hand. What’s not to love about THAT? Edwards’ romance with a bespectacled female nerd (Michelle Meyrink) is an especially heartwarming subplot.
This may be the ultimate underdogs-get-their-day flick. Watch for a slimmish John Goodman as the jocks’ coach, and Bernie Casey as the head of Lambda Lambda Lambda, the historically black fraternity the nerds attempt to join.
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“Ain’t that a lot to ask of us — being better than them when we get killed proving we’re just as good?”
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Review: No Way Out remains an invaluable entry in cinematic history simply for showing middle-class African-Americans attempting to live “normal” lives in the midst of nearly constant bigotry, and for exposing the abhorrent underbelly of racism (notably, the camera focuses on a couple of white women during the “race riot” scene, indicating their complicity as well). No Way Out is tough but essential viewing, and deserves wider recognition, especially as its sordid truths continue to play out today. In his engaging DVD commentary for the movie, film historian Eddie Muller provides numerous insights into the making of the film, as well as its reception — which, not surprisingly, didn’t do well in small American towns (though it was apparently well-received by critics in big cities). Modern audiences should be forewarned that racist diatribes and slurs run throughout the screenplay — a fact which has made it difficult for this film to be shown on television, and it’s not available to rent through Netflix (I had to locate a copy through my local library). Redeeming Qualities and Moments:
Must See? Categories
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