{"id":26013,"date":"2012-05-22T14:11:24","date_gmt":"2012-05-22T21:11:24","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=26013"},"modified":"2021-01-05T16:30:42","modified_gmt":"2021-01-05T23:30:42","slug":"beat-generation-the-1959","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=26013","title":{"rendered":"Beat Generation, The (1959)"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong>&#8220;The world is full of moldy figs: they&#8217;re the squares who eat, sleep, go to work, vegetate, and while they vegetate &#8212; I swing.&#8221;<\/strong><\/p>\n<table>\n<tr>\n<td>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/05\/Beat-Generation-Poster.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/05\/Beat-Generation-Poster-197x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"197\" height=\"300\" class=\"alignleft size-medium wp-image-26016\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/05\/Beat-Generation-Poster-197x300.jpg 197w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/05\/Beat-Generation-Poster-84x128.jpg 84w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/05\/Beat-Generation-Poster.jpg 500w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 197px) 100vw, 197px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong>Synopsis:<\/strong><br \/>\nA surly detective (Steve Cochran) and his partner (Jackie Coogan) search for a psychopathic rapist (Ray Danton) known as the &#8220;Aspirin Kid&#8221;, who finagles his way into Cochran&#8217;s house and rapes his wife (Fay Spain). When Spain discovers she&#8217;s pregnant, she and Cochran face the difficult decision of whether or not to abort; meanwhile, Danton blackmails his buddy (Jim Mitchum) into instigating a copycat rape against a woman (Mamie van Doren) in order to throw the police off his trail.\n<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>\n<p>\n<strong>Genres, Themes, Actors, and Directors:<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Detectives and Private Eyes<\/li>\n<li>Mamie van Doren Films<\/li>\n<li>Rape<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Review: <\/strong><br \/>\nIt&#8217;s difficult to know where to begin in assessing this painfully insensitive detective flick, conveniently situated within a Beatnik milieu simply for its novelty and exploitation value. Danton and Cochran are posited as two sides of the same flawed coin &#8212; one a psychopathic killer, the other a determined cop, yet both with an inbred distrust of (and\/or hatred for) women:<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/05\/Beat-Generation-Cochran.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/05\/Beat-Generation-Cochran-1024x451.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"640\" height=\"282\" class=\"alignnone size-large wp-image-61816\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/05\/Beat-Generation-Cochran-1024x451.png 1024w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/05\/Beat-Generation-Cochran-300x132.png 300w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/05\/Beat-Generation-Cochran-128x56.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/05\/Beat-Generation-Cochran-768x338.png 768w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/05\/Beat-Generation-Cochran-1536x676.png 1536w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/05\/Beat-Generation-Cochran-604x266.png 604w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/05\/Beat-Generation-Cochran.png 1661w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" \/><\/a><br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/05\/Beat-Generation-Danton.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/05\/Beat-Generation-Danton-1024x443.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"640\" height=\"277\" class=\"alignnone size-large wp-image-61817\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/05\/Beat-Generation-Danton-1024x443.png 1024w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/05\/Beat-Generation-Danton-300x130.png 300w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/05\/Beat-Generation-Danton-128x55.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/05\/Beat-Generation-Danton-768x333.png 768w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/05\/Beat-Generation-Danton-1536x665.png 1536w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/05\/Beat-Generation-Danton-604x262.png 604w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/05\/Beat-Generation-Danton.png 1665w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>The intersection of their two characters seems designed to provide psychological complexity to the script, but instead just leaves us cringing.  The rape scenes are disturbing, as expected &#8212; but what&#8217;s genuinely shocking is how Cochran treats the victims he interrogates, essentially accusing them of complicity in the crimes. (We&#8217;re reminded that his former wife was a tramp, which excuses his behavior, I guess.) Meanwhile, when Cochran&#8217;s current wife learns she&#8217;s pregnant but isn&#8217;t sure whether the father is Cochran or Danton, the storyline veers into a truly bizarre pro-Choice subplot that must be seen and heard to be believed. There&#8217;s some curiosity value to be had in the sight of a short-haired Vampira in Beatnik get-up, spouting a moronic poem about parenthood while stroking a white rat perched on her shoulder, but this ultimately just feels wildly incongruous to the plot. And while Mamie van Doren brings a bit of life to the second half of the film as a would-be victim, her presence once again feels superfluous, and is clearly designed simply to bring sexual star-power to the film. <\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/05\/Beat-Generation-Van-Doren.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/05\/Beat-Generation-Van-Doren-1024x439.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"640\" height=\"274\" class=\"alignnone size-large wp-image-61818\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/05\/Beat-Generation-Van-Doren-1024x439.png 1024w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/05\/Beat-Generation-Van-Doren-300x128.png 300w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/05\/Beat-Generation-Van-Doren-128x55.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/05\/Beat-Generation-Van-Doren-768x329.png 768w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/05\/Beat-Generation-Van-Doren-1536x658.png 1536w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/05\/Beat-Generation-Van-Doren-604x259.png 604w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/05\/Beat-Generation-Van-Doren.png 1679w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>What&#8217;s most astonishing is that the screenplay for this clunker was co-written by the estimable Richard Matheson (who clearly must not have had any final say in what appeared on screen). <\/p>\n<p><strong>Redeeming Qualities and Moments: <\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Good use of L.A. locales<\/li>\n<li>An occasionally campy Beatnik sensibility: &#8220;There&#8217;s no tomorrow &#8212; not while the sky drools radiation gumdrops.&#8221;<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Must See? <\/strong><br \/>\nNo; definitely feel free to skip this one. <\/p>\n<p><strong>Links: <\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.imdb.com\/title\/tt0052610\/\">IMDb entry<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/1959\/10\/22\/archives\/beat-generation.html\">NY Times Original Review<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/wheredangerlives.blogspot.com\/2009\/05\/ray-danton-double-feature.html\">Where Danger Lives Review<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/movies.tvguide.com\/the-beat-generation\/review\/102550\">TV Guide Review (spoiler alert)<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/table>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>&#8220;The world is full of moldy figs: they&#8217;re the squares who eat, sleep, go to work, vegetate, and while they vegetate &#8212; I swing.&#8221; Synopsis: A surly detective (Steve Cochran) and his partner (Jackie Coogan) search for a psychopathic rapist (Ray Danton) known as the &#8220;Aspirin Kid&#8221;, who finagles his way into Cochran&#8217;s house and rapes his wife (Fay Spain). When Spain discovers she&#8217;s pregnant, she and Cochran face the difficult decision of whether or not to abort; meanwhile, Danton&#8230;<\/p>\n<p class=\"read-more\"><a class=\"btn btn-default\" href=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=26013\"> Read More<span class=\"screen-reader-text\">  Read More<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-26013","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-reviews"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26013","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=26013"}],"version-history":[{"count":16,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26013\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":61819,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26013\/revisions\/61819"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=26013"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=26013"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=26013"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}