Film Forno

What a cool movie! I just saw it on YouTube. A great story that unfolds like a mystery, simple, compelling, intriguing. Geraldine Chaplin is wonderful as a crazy, obsessed waif who can kill you. Nobody messes with this tiny beauty and gets away with it. Ans as you watch the film you realize she is sort of a female Charlie Chaplin, she looks a lot like him, she is such a wonderful actress, in this film and the Carlos Saura films she did, I am a true fan of her talent.

Anthony Perkins is excellent too, so is Moses Gunn and a super skinny nerdy Jeff Goldblum. The way Geraldine plays all these people is amazing, it’s like she’s a ghost that can just walk into their lives, they don’t see her unless she wants them to. She actually is a kind of ghost from Tony Perkin’s past, and the way she causes Moses Gunn to fall for her is wonderful, a tough manager of an L.A. flophouse, he’s heard it all and seen it all. Nobody can break through his hard exterior except her, Emily. She has the guy loaning her money and doing chores for her in no time flat. And she is beautiful with her hair tied up in a classic style, transformed by buying a nice dress at a classy shop. this movie is kind of a paen to dedication, single minded attacking a problem, not letting anything stop you, and what a person can accomplish.

Another interesting highlight is the score, which consists of songs by the great Alberta Hunter, she was recently (when this film was made) re-discovered and made some amazing music in her later days. Another factor you’d never see in a movie today.And the movie was produced by the late great Robert Altman, a real American maverick. I had the distinct pleasure of meeting him once at an early screening of The Player. I had an idea for a cut so I told Altman’s publicist, and lo and behold he liked it and implemented it. It’s fitting that he produced this film,  Alan Rudolph worked with Altman on some of his films as Assistant Director, Nahville, California Split, and The Long Goodbye.

Alan Rudolph- Super Genius
This film falls into one of Quentin Tarantino’s favorite genres, female revenge movies. It is one of the most powerful types of film story out there, so compelling by it’s essence.  To me this film is the true extension of Film Noir, like Altman’s Long Goodbye, PostModern Film Noir. Future filmmakers, be inspired by this film! It shows you what a great story, excellent acting, and great storytelling technique can do, make an entertaining, thought provoking film, without special effects or zombies. Check this out.

What a cool movie! Dripping with atmosphere and featuring some powerful performances especially from Steve Cochran and Peter Lorre.

Lorre is one of my favorite all time film actors, check out Friz Lang’s M if you haven’t seen it. Cochran has one of the most distinct physical presences in films, his nastiness  just shoots off the screen in a way like no other actor. He’s just a bad dude.

Bob Cummings is the perfect American everyman, sort of innocent, shocked by what he saw in WWII, messed up but a good egg. He brings to mind a comment Quentin Tarantino made to me about Joseph Cotten, “I love Joseph Cotten, he’s so weak.” Cummings is kind of in that category, but Cotten always had that down at his heels ex-Southern gentleman thing going on, Cummings is just from small town nowheresville.

This film is a kind of confluence of many strange and wonderful things. Based on a book by noir maestro Cornell Woolrich called The Black Path Of Fear, (I ordered a copy) it’s film noir pedigree could not be higher, I believe Woolrich had more novels made into film noirs than anyone else,( I include Val Lewtons The Leopard Man, and Truffaut’s Bride wore Black and Mississippi Mermaid).

The Producer Seymour Nebenzal produced Lang’s M, which Lorre starred in, the director , Arthur Ripley,was an old hand that got started in the silent days and would go on to direct Robert Mitchum’s Thunder Road and found the UCLA film school. Michele Morgan, the blond femme fatale, is still alive and living in France. A friend of mine (Duke Haney)reminded me that she was having her home built while this movie was being made,  A kind of French Chalet that would go down in infamy some years later, 10050 Cielo Drive, scene of the grisly Manson murders of Sharon Tate, Abigail Folger, Voychek Frykowski, Jay Sebring and Steven Parent.

Michele Morgan at her Cielo Drive home

The camerman was the amazing Franz Planer, a Vienese transplant who emigrated to escape the Nazis. Planer also shot the beautiful, atmospheric noir Criss Cross for Robert Siodmak. His photography is nothing short of amazing. There is a wonderful sequence of a black limousine racing a locomotive at night , it’s a tour de force of miniatures, rear projection, great low angle shots of Lorre driving, shot through the steering wheel.

The film is in the public domain now, you can watch it on Youtube, but I just learned it was restored by UCLA and screened recently, unfortunately I missed it. Hopefully they will screen it again soon or at a noir festival.

No, not the movie about ballet dancers, this one is from 1952 and is all about crime, corruption and the law. It’s funny how things intersect on the Great Plains of Life, I have been thinking a lot about George Tomasini, the film editor. This guy was one of the all time greats, look at his IMDB page almost every film he did is a classic!

The Great Cutter! George Tomasini!
He worked in many genres and they all came out great, his fantasy work with George Pal, The Time Machine, The Seven Faces Of Dr. Lao, Houdini. All great. I was watching Cape Fear with Robert Mitchum and Gregory Peck, end credits roll, edited by George Tomasini. Plus he edited a major share of Hitchcock’s Hollywood output. Everything from Rear Window to The Birds, including Psycho with it’s famous shower scene. Anyway I will one day soon write a piece just about George. So when I checked out Mr. Tomasini’s IMDB page I saw a film listed I had not seen, The Turning Point. I thought, ” I’ll have to check that out one of these days.” Then I was cruising around the internet and ran into a blog about Bunker Hill, On Bunker Hill, this site features great images of the old neighborhood that stood just north of downtown before it was demolished. A real dreamscape used as backgrounds by many film noir masters. I then found a link to Angel’s Flight Goes To The Movies, and there was A Turning Point! Then to top it off it’s on Netflix streaming! So I checked it out. Directed by super talented William Dieterle, the man behind such classics as The Devil and Daniel Webster, and Portrait of Jennie, this is a really well written story, excellently paced by Tomasini, it has some incredible scenes, including one of the best assassinations ever filmed. A crooked cop trying to do right is set up for a hit, and the shooter is then shot by two truck driving killers(one of whom is the Professor from Gilligan’s Island). There’s a lot of great location photography all over Bunker Hill.

And a climactic scene at what I think is the old Olympic auditorium, a boxing match featuring an appearance by the second most decorated veteran of WWII, Neville Brand.

This was two years after D.O.A. where Brand tortured Edmond O’Brien, Edmond is sort of the star of The Turning Point but really it’s William Holden. Check this gem out, great writing, directing and editing and all on Netflix streaming!

Maestro Of Psychic Cinema! William Dieterle

This is a film I’ve heard about for many years and now finally it can be seen, thanks to Netflix streaming. Written by the great Terrence Malick a couple years before he directed his masterpiece Badlands, Deadhead Miles is a paean to the open road, a picaresque tale of two and eventually one traveler. That one traveler is played by Alan Arkin, a terrific performance and one of the weirdest Southern accents ever. Arkin is the driver of the big rig of destiny. Beautiful cinematography, 35mm, rich color,awe inspiring landscapes, 1971 locations make this movie a kind of low ball visual feast. And a cool country music score, by Tom T. Hall. A great supporting cast, including some real gems.

But the reason I knew about this movie is that a friend of mine worked on it. Bud Smith, great editor of such films as The Exorcist, Putney Swope, Cat People, Zoot Suit, Sorcerer, Personal Best and many other films, told me about his time on Deadhead Miles. Bud was hired to edit the film, he stayed in Los Angeles while the crew shot on location and sent the film back. Bud cut the film as it came in. At the end of the shoot the director took a few weeks off to recuperate from the rigors of a road movie. When he came into the editing room Bud was ready with his first cut of the movie. They screened it. The director said,” Can you take that all apart and put it back in dailies?” Bud said, ” You mean there’s nothing in there that you like?” ” Yes, that’s exactly what I mean.” “Well, I guess you got the wrong guy to work on your film.” And with that Bud left. Tony Bill , the producer, wisely duped Bud’s cut before having it disassembled and after a little while Mr. Bill fired the director. The new editor used Bud’s original cut for a lot of the film which then languished in obscurity until now. So check it out, a unique film.

Here’s a crazy film I happened upon last night. Joseph Losey’s The Big Night. A Coming Of Age Noir Urban Fairy Tale. John Drew Barrymore , son of the great Barrymore and father of Drew, stars and gives a great performance. He is pretty mesmerizing to watch, a fact not only due to his great talent but also to his mental instability. When a crazy person has talent they are fascinating to watch, Brando is another crazy genius that comes to mind.

Atmospheric Imagery thanks to veteran cinematographer Hal Mohr

This is a strange noir story of a boy’s 17th birthday and the night that he becomes a man.

Barrymore witnesses his father getting a savage beating from a crippled newspaper man, it sends him out into the night, the big city, thirsting for revenge.

John Drew Barrymore aka Barrymore Jr.

He goes to all the noir city hotspots, first a prizefight, his prey is a sports writer, thus serving up another staple of the noir canon, the figure of the newspaperman and the paper itself, their role in the Big City. While at the fight Barrymoore makes the acquaintance of a drunken PHD, a Doctor of Philosophy that aids him in his quest for “Al Judge” the evil columnist that caned his prostrate father. A spectator at the fight hands a bottle of liqour to the drunken doctor and I recognized this large individual as Robert Aldritch, who had worked as an assistant director with Joseph Losey on M and The Prowler. The pair of new friends follow Al St. Judge to a bar, lose him and wind up at another noir touchstone, The Nightclub! Complete with Jazz band and black vocalist. Here Losey masterfully limns a disfunctional relationship between the doctor and his mistress in a few deft strokes that tell you so much about them.

The second Mrs. Charles Foster Kane, Opera Singer Susan Alexander

The women is non other than Dorothy Comingore, Susan Alexander of Citizen Kane. She dances with Barrymore, a harbinger of her sister’s kissing him later in the film, his sexual initiation is with two women old enough to be his mother. An artifact of Losey’s relationship with his own mother, described in a biography as a “sexual predator”. Outside the restaurant Barrymore bumps into the Jazz singer telling her “she’s the best singer in the world” and ” really beautiful even if she is a…” (nigger).

Beautiful Jazz Singer! Mauri Lynn

The look on her face triggers instant regret in Barrymore, he didn’t mean to insult her, he just revealed his own upbringing and cultural limitations. A great shot follows of his anguished face in the rear window of a taxi that pulls away and disappears into the Stygian Night Of the City. A wonderful scene between Barymore and the sister of Comingore occurs at the apartment, again a motherly /sexual love thing happens. After a nighttime visit to the graveyard shift of the newspaper, Barymore finally tracks St. Judge down and has it out with the evil cripple. St. Judge reveals some startling information about the foibles of Barrymore’s father viv a vis his recently deceased sister, so unsettling the teenager that he puts down the gun and tries to leave but the rotten reporter reveals the depth of his depravity and turns the gun on our young hero, a struggle ensues , a shot is fired, the handicapped columnist hits the deck. John Drew returns to the apartment of lonely older women where the sister comforts him but his new “friend” the doctor throws him out threatening to kill him if he gets him involved in the case. Losey’s bleak view of humanity on display. Young John winds up back at home the cops show up and he pulls agun, threatening to kill himself, OK, nowadays the cops would open fire on the poor sap but back then they waited for him to work it out with his old man, the father reveals the boy’s real mother isn’t dead, she just met a new guy and split. “Don’t you hate her?” the teen asks. “No, I love her. ” The dad replies. The end! And it’s available for streaming on Netflix!

This is an outrage! The star of the great Franklin Pangborn, a pioneer in gay cinema has been destroyed. There should be a protest to get it restored to it’s original lustre. It’s at the NE corner of Sunset and Vine.

Photos by Zach Fine

Here’s a fascinating comparison of two takes from Keaton’s Opus Steamboat Bill Jr,. You can see how well rehearsed the actors were. All those years learning elaborate physical routines on Vaudeville circuits paid off. Check out the salesman that pops in from time to time. Kino is releasing Blurays from new HD transfers of Keaton’s films, I ordered the shorts collection and as soon as I get it I will post about it.

Here is another Netflix find,The Libertine. An Italian sex film from 1968, directed by Pasquale Festa Campanile (writer of such classics as Rocco and His Brothers and The Leopard) starring the lovely Cathrine Spaak and Jean-Louis Trintignant, it features a wonderful jazzy score by Armando Trovaioli. The sets are super groovy 60’s Italian style modernity. Frank Wolf appears as a dentist and Phillippe LeRoy as a tennis instructor, both of these actors were in a lot of Italian films from that period. Wolf’s most noteworthy role is in Once Upon A Time in the West as the doomed patriarch. LeRoy is featured in Fernando DiLeo’s Milano Calibro 9 as a killer out for revenge. Check it out for some super cool 60’s fun.

Well I went to Badlands, I was able to get out of work on time and rushed over to LACMA, they’re screening all of Malick’s work, sort of a build up to the release of Tree Of Life. It was pretty amazing to watch the film on 35mm with a large audience, it made me feel like I was at the 11th New York Film Festival where Badlands premiered. It was a beautiful print and the use of natural light was stunning, I can understand when Sissy said the shoot went on longer than planned, if you want to get those magic hour shots, it takes time, you barely have an hour each day.

Sissy spoke after the screening and was really gracious and beautiful. Such a natural performance, she was the first person cast and spent a lot of time with Malick before they began shooting, when he found out she was a baton twirler he put that in the script, Sissy described walking down to Hollywood Blvd. from Malick’s house to buy a baton after their first meeting. I asked her about the voice over in the film, was it scripted before they shot? She said Malick had two versions of the script, one for investors and one for shooting and a lot of the VO was present in the shooting script. She also told of recording the VO in Malick’s bedroom after he nailed up a lot of blankets on the walls.  I still think it is one of the best uses of voice over ever done. As I said everytime you watch this film you pick up on different ideas, themes, etc. This time I was struck by the idea of Heaven and Earth, the characters are always trying to get to Heaven, sending their dreams up in a balloon, standing in a field with a full moon prominent in the frame, like you can reach out and touch it, living in nature away from civilization.

Their quest for happiness, love, that elevates them then disappears like smoke from between their fingers, Earthly existence in a nutshell. Malick said that a gun was like a magic wand to Kit Carruthers, it could make his troubles (in the form of other people) disappear. But isn’t this the legacy of the Western? Solve your problems by letting some daylight through an adversary, blasting them with a Colt 45 or a Winchester. Another thing I noticed at this screening was how the end of the film reminded me opf the begining of Reifenstahl’s Triumph Of The Will.  Hitler appears in the clouds like a god descending from Olympus, the airplane lands and he gets out the god who fell to Earth. The reverse is Badlands, the serial killer exalted to a Movie Star (contemporary god level) . “I’ll kiss your ass if he don’t look like James Dean.” Elevated in an airplane to the cloudscapes of Heaven, two sociopaths raised on high by mechanical means, contemporary Deii Ex Machinae.

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Yo Film Fiends, tonite LACMA starts it’s tribute to Terrence Malick by screening his first film the seminal masterpiece Badlands. If you haven’t seen it or even if you have go to LACMA and experience it in all it’s 35mm glory. This is Poetic Cinema at it’s finest! The best use of Voice over of all time! And the person that speaks that voice over will be there in person! The incredible Sissy Spacek! One of the finest, most unique film actors ever to grace the silver screen. She is a precious gem in the crown of Cinema, Queen of the Arts.

Go Go Go! to LACMA. I got a ticket but I have to work late so I don’t think I can make it, I am bummed out but everyone else who can go should. The last time I saw Badlands I felt it was about cruelty to animals and how that spoke as to what kind of a human being you were. It’s such a wonderful work of art that every time you watch it you can discover whole new themes. The end is beautiful too, clouds, sky, music. The innocent drawl of Sissy Spacek narrating her mysterious existence in everyday terms. Here’s the info.

The Beautiful Muse Of Jesus Franco, Lina Romay

Yowza! What a film! Jess Franco is a genius. So rich with styles, ideas, images, acting, nudity, music! All Franco’s obsessions boil beneath the seemingly calm surface of this mirror. Lina Romay strips nude and kills herself as her sister tries on her wedding gown. The wedding is off and with her father’s blessing (Howard Vernon) Anne ( Emma Cohen) sets off for the city to be a musician. Unfortunately her sister haunts her from any nearby mirror, calls to her to come to her, puts her in a trance where she kills whatever man she’s with, and acts strangely in general. It’s like a fairy tale for adults, full of plot elements from many different genres, all pulpy! It’s like Godard, sort of improvised but not trying to be arty, instead telling a lurid tale that nonetheless pulsates with creativity. There’s a scene in a theater that reminds me of Argento’s Four Flies On Grey Velvet. Everything is grist for Franco’s mill and his unerring eye can set a mood with one or two seemingly banal shots, a flower, a seascape at dusk, home movie material yet in Franco’s capable hands they become images loaded with foreboding. I watched the Italian version of this film which has hardcore inserts cut into it. Even they didn’t ruin it for me. Did Franco cut them in himself? I don’t know. I think this film is great, I’d love to see the other versions but I really liked this one and I love Lina Romay, I don’t want to see someone else playing the dead sister. Check it out if you can find it.

I’d like to take a moment to salute the great Jess Franco. A true Alchemist of Cinema, taking the dross of genre film and turning it into Gold. Making almost 200 films, how cool is that. A multi lingual jazz musician super prolific filmmaker. He may not be wealthy, living in a mansion in the south of France but he is one of the richest men on the planet in terms of his life and his accomplishments. Like the Magus and The Alchemist of old he ignored materialism and “success” and concentrated on what was important to him, creating Pure Cinema in every moment. He has done so more than any other man.

I just watched  A Bout De Souffle on TCM and I noticed something that struck me as one of the most interesting moments in the film. Jean Seberg is at the airport at a press conference for an author who has just published a book. The author is played by Jean Pierre Melville, the great director and hero to the New Wave. Seberg tries to ask him a question but is overpowered by the other reporters shouting their questions. Finally she breaks through and asks “What is your greatest ambition?” Melville looks at her  through his cool aviator shades and after a beat says “To become immortal, then die.” Godard plays some film noir music on the soundtrack and Seberg breaks the fourth wall, looks directly into the camera as we dissolve to another scene. What a brilliant moment, it is the essence of filmmaking, films will live on far beyond their makers, expressing their thoughts for generations after the artist is dead. That is what Melville/Godard is saying and in a poetic way. Beautiful.

Check it out at 3:18