I finally got around to seeing it.

 Last week I finally got around to seeing a movie that I have known about since its release in 1976. This film is somewhat ironic as it is the story of an aging gunfighter who is dying of cancer -- played by an actor who himself would die of cancer three years after the film's release. Although John Wayne had cancer surgery a few years before this film was made and would later  die of the disease, he was considered cancer-free when this film was made.

I will start off with the negative -- the ages of the actors playing the main characters.

James Stewart (Dr. Hostetler) turned 68 the month after filming wrapped up. Not that there is any problem with someone almost 68 being in a movie, it's just that his character says he has been practising medicine for 29 years. He looks like he is 80. Did he have a mid-life change of career?

James Stewart (Dr. Hostetler) Photo: Paramount/edgecenterarts.com

 

Lauren Bacall (Bond Rogers) was 51 during the filming. I have no objection at all with actresses getting older. She still looks good. However, her character lived in a house with electricity, a telephone, and indoor plumbing. She was not Mrs. Ingalls living in a little house on the prairie. Mrs. Rogers had been widowed for about a year. Her husband died at age 41 of a stroke. Either Mrs. Rogers had robbed the cradle when she got married or Bacall looked too old for the part.

Lauren Bacall (Bond Rogers) Photo: Paramount/theaceblackblog.com

 

Ron Howard (Gillom Rogers) turned 22 during filming. His character was 20, so no real problem.

Ron Howard (Gillom Rogers) Photo: Paramount/YouTube.com

 

John Wayne (J.B. Books) turned 69 the month after filming ended. The film ended on the character's 58th birthday. However, Wayne looked like he could have been someone who lived a hard 58 years, so again, no problem.

 

John Wayne (J.B. Books) Photo: Paramount/Gritty.com

 

While it may be a bit unusual to start out a discussion of a film pointing out problems, I did it for a particular reason: I would not have cast anyone else in those parts. They were excellent.

Not only were they excellent, but I don't think I have ever seen Wayne or Stewart any better. Wayne was sick before filming started and that seemed mellow him for the part. He did not have his booming "Lemme tellya Pilgrims" presence that he usually brought to a role. After Books gives Gillom some shooting lessons, Wayne gives a little heart to heart advice to the youngster in a soft, fatherly voice. Normally John Wayne played John Wayne. In this film he played J.B. Books

Gillom and Books Photo:Paramount/YouTube.com

James Stewart was also very believable. He did not have his usual "Wahl, gosh" persona that he normally brought to a role. His "suggestion" to Books was a very powerful scene -- one that could have easily been ruined by overblown acting. The story is that Stewart, being hard of hearing, missed some of his cues. That threw off Wayne. That may have brought some vulnerability to the two seasoned actors -- and that made their performances absolutely  amazing.

The Shootist was directed by Don Siegel who, among other things, directed Dirty Harry and the montage scenes in Casablanca. The film starts out with a number of scenes in black and white showing the history of Books. The reason these scene were in black and white (with yellow text giving the dates of when the events were to have taken place) was because Siegel used clips from old John Wayne movies to show the younger Books. Those scene were in black and white. It is not often that a director is able to provide a backstory to a film's main character by showing clips from old films of the actor who plays that character.

The film takes place in 1901. Books had seen a doctor in Colorado who gave some unwanted news. Rather than take that doctor's word for it, Books travels to Carson City, Nevada to see Dr. Hostetler who had saved Books' life fifteen years before. Hostetler is the only doctor that Books trusts. The news is the same.

The doctor tells Books that he can get a room in the house of Widow Rogers. Books tries to keep his identity a secret but it is soon revealed. While a romantic love affair does not develop between Books and the widow, a love affair of respect does.

The film does have a John Wayne ending as Books takes Dr. Hostetler's suggestion and also tries to do a little housekeeping for the town at the same time.

The Shootist is not a traditional western film. It marks the end of the western era as it leaves kicking and screaming. The film is a character study of people who are an anachronism in the new age.

Easter Renewal

Inspirational music for a blessed Easter weekend.


I watched the movie about this man's life, also titled "I Can Only Imagine", yesterday. It was very, very good and moved me to tears (in a good way!). It's free on Amazon Prime Video if you are so inclined.

Watching Notre Dame in flames has left me shaken. I'm not a Catholic, and more a cultural protestant Christian than a true believer (I guess it depends what day you ask). Some days I'm a Buddhist. Or follow the Old Way. But yet, the builders of that magnificent cathedral are my ancestors. They picked up stones in their hands and strove the reach the heavens. All I have in life are gifts from the Western Christian legacy gifted to me by distant grandfathers, their names lost to me and to time, but not, I'm sure, to God.

 I'm wishing you all a Blessed Easter, and a joyful Pesach.

In case you need a smile

I like watching some unusual videos. Among them are old training films as I have written about in the past. Sometimes I find them on YouTube. Another thing I do is look ahead at the schedule for TCM. Of course TCM shows many feature films. They also fill out their schedule with interesting shorts.

Recently I saw a film called School for Postmen on their schedule. It was a short film but there was no description nor was there an indication of when it was made. Often with shorts, TCM will show the year they first showed it as the year the movie was made. Thinking it might be a film for the US Postal Office I set it up to record. When I watched it I found that it was actually a French comedy short from 1947 with Jacques Tati.

Jacques Tati was a famous French comedian/film maker known for his character Monsieur Hulot. In the mid 1980's I had a friend who showed me one of the films with Hulot. I don't recall being terribly impressed, but it has been a long time. Later I knew someone who said he was a great fan of Tati. When he told me that my thoughts were along the lines of, "Whatever floats your boat."

But I had this film, known in French as L’Ecole des Factuers, on my PVR and, since it was a short, I decided to give it a try. At first I was put off by the nasally voice of the chief postman. However, I stayed with it. I found it to be a joyful film. It is full of physical humor, but much of it is subtle. In fact it may take a few viewings to catch all of it.

As such, I am not a big fan of physical humor. I have never understood the humor of Moe poking Larry and Curly in the eyes. Pie fights leave me cold. But there is none of that in Postmen There are two scenes where people are hit in the head but they are completely accidental. The first time introduces you to one of the mannerisms of the Tati character. The second time, that character is himself the victim. Except for the opening scene, this film may as well be a silent film as there is little dialog. You are not overloaded with over-the-top humor, it is just given to you in a way that you cannot help but enjoy it. The dance scene just makes me happy.

Oh, and the music is an ear-worm.

Tati won an Oscar in 1955 for best foreign film. Because he won, the Academy told him he could have whatever he wanted. He wanted to meet Stan Laurel, Mac Sennett, and Buster Keaton. Tati was considered a master of his craft and he appreciated the masters who came before him.

I don't know how long it will be available, but for now you can find the film here. The version here uses the word "mailmen" instead of "postmen." It also has different subtitles than what they showed on TCM (which showed the release from the Criterion Collection). The subtitles here make more sense than they do in the Criterion release.

I hope you enjoy this as much as I did.

Gee, why doesn't that surprise me?

I discovered an interesting web site called History vs. Hollywood. This site looks at recent Hollywood movies and compares them with actual events.

Their research is educational. Sometimes for the sake of a movie producers will stray from the facts in order to make a concise film, such as including an event that took place a year after the trip portrayed in The Green Book, or concocting a fictional event such as the infamous underground (subway) scene in Darkest Hour (which did not really happen, but Churchill was known to "disappear" from time to time as he went out to get the common person's take on events). Generally, people have no real problem with that.

One film, which I have absolutely no interest in seeing, is Vice, the biopic about former Vice President in Dick Cheney. Part of the format of History vs. Hollywood is to ask the question, "Did (this) really happen?" With The Green Book, Darkest Hour, and 15:17 to Paris. the answer is mostly "Yes," with an explanation of whatever difference there may be. With Vice the answer is mostly "No."

The last paragraph of that post says it all:

So why rewrite history? Is (director/writer Adam)McKay hoping that people simply believe his film instead of the truth? It's hard to say, but it's likely that many on the left will embrace it, while most on the right will dismiss it. Fiction is much easier to believe when it fits your own narrative. This is certainly true of Hollywood, who nominated Vice for nine Critics' Choice Awards, six Golden Globes (Bale won for Best Actor) and eight Oscars (including Best Picture, Best Actor - Christian Bale, Best Supporting Actor - Sam Rockwell, Best Supporting Actress - Amy Adams, Best Director - Adam McKay, Best Original Screenplay - Adam McKay, etc.). This is the very same Hollywood that has refused to nominate a number of biopics in recent years over far less fiction than is found in Vice.

Another political hit piece, and Hollywood wonders why movie attendance continues to go down.

6 Film Versions of A Christmas Carol

Every year, my mother would read an old, well-worn copy of Dickens’s A Christmas Carol.  While maybe not too many people read it today, a number of film versions of have been made. I thought it would be fun to look at some of them.

!SWAJ :cisuM ehT

Oops sorry, this isn't Hebrew. The Music: JAWS!

A Blast From the Past

Where were you in ’72? That summer a film was being made in the Petaluma area and a call went out for anyone with an old car that could be used in the movie which was set in 1962. Northern California, early ‘70’s, a film set in 1962. That film must be American Graffiti. Even now I recognize some of the cars in the film that I saw driving around town with old license plates that summer many years ago.



I think American Graffiti was the second DVD I bought and, while I watched the feature about the making of the film, I don’t think I had watched the DVD – until yesterday. There were several reasons I wanted to watch it. Perhaps I wanted to take a nostalgic tour of the town in which I lived as it existed the summer I first got my drivers license. I had also been telling a friend at school about the movie and maybe I wanted Fay to see the stomping grounds of my youth.

As a fan of NCIS with its recurring character of FBI agent Tobias Fornell, and having just received the first two seasons of Hill Street Blues with Detective Jeff Goldblume, I wanted to see actor Joe Spano in his much younger days. He is the guy trying to pick up Debbie when she is at Mel’s Drive In with Terry in the ’58 Chevy. You can tell it is Spano -- if you know it is he, but you would probably miss him if you didn’t.


(Photo from http://kipsamericangraffiti.blogspot.com/2011_12_01_archive.html)

Maybe the biggest reason I wanted to see the film was to wax nostalgic about an almost 40 year old film that was waxing nostalgic about a time that was only ten years in the past at the time. But, as the saying goes, you can’t go home again.

First of all, with the exception of Charles Martin Smith (Terry) and Candy Clark (Debbie), none of the lead actors could act their way out of a paper bag. This often is not noticeable on a big screen, but it jumps out and bites you on the small screen. The odd thing is that many of the smaller parts are well done. One of my favorite roles in the film is Wendy, played by Deby Celiz. According to the Internet Movie Database this was the only film she was ever in, but she acted circles around Richard Dreyfuss. I thought she was very believable and brought real pathos to the part.

The second weakness of the film is that, for the most part, you really don’t give a rip about the characters. I thought Steve (Ron Howard) was a dork when I saw the film in 1973 and I thought he was a dork when I saw the film in 2012. Again, with the exception of Terry and Debbie, there was no “there” there in any of the lead characters. Add to that the lack of plot, and you have a pretty boring film.

For those reasons, Fay bailed out less than half way through. Since Fay is English, the entire concept of cruising was foreign. In Petaluma, cruising the Boulevard (there were many shots of Petaluma Boulevard in the movie) did not really survive the first gas crunch in 1973. There were still a few hangers-on, but it pretty much was gone by 1975 (most of the cruisers in south Sonoma County consolidated their efforts on Fourth Street in Santa Rosa).

The big thing that bothers me about the film is the “down with authority” message. I remember that it bothered me when I first saw the film, but it is even more disturbing now. Consider the scene where the principal tells Steve and Laurie not to dance so close. Steve gives him some lip. When the principal tell him he is suspended, Steve taunts him by saying “I graduated,” and the defeated principal walks away. In reality, Steve would have been thrown out of the dance.

And watch how the film portrays Mr. Wolfe (Terry McGovern) as something of a hero for not being traditional. When the girl comes up and needs to talk to Mr. Wolfe, I knew what she needed to talk about when I first saw the film – something about a rabbit not surviving a test. That guy was not a hero; to the girls Mr. Wolfe was a sexual predator and the boys liked Mr. Wolfe because they thought he was cool -- but in reality he taught them nothing. Why was he portrayed so well while real authority figures were ridiculed?

It was fun to see some things I remembered from my teen years. The scene where Terry is caught off guard by the left-turn arrow is probably one of my favorites. Terry was facing eastbound on Washington Street at Petaluma Boulevard. I could not wait to get my driver’s license, and I had been studying driver’s handbooks for years. That was the first left-turn arrow that I, or anyone I knew, had ever seen. Everyone who knew that intersection really appreciated that scene – it confused everybody just as Terry was confused. The other thing I liked about the scene was the shot looking at the cars from across the intersection. On the right side of that shot on the building above the big storefront window, you can make out the letters “KTOB,” Petaluma’s radio station – and the station where I had my first paid job (in that very building).

I enjoyed the scene with Wolfman Jack. That was filmed at KRE in Berkeley. In the early ‘80s, I knew the chief engineer there -- so I have been in that building. They used that building because it was an old RCA building. In earlier times, companies such as RCA would supply everything to put a station to go on the air, from the microphone to the building, tower, and transmitter. However, very few stations, especially a small town station as portrayed in the film, would have had tape cartridges in 1962.


(Photo from http://afrtsarchive.blogspot.com/2010/11/wolfman-jack-1982.html)


The scene where the cherry bomb goes off in the boys’ room? That’s the A-wing boys’ bathroom at Petaluma high. I have no idea where the shot “outside” the bathroom is, though.

Curt (Richard Dreyfuss) is shown trying to open his old locker. That is C wing at Petaluma High. My locker when I was a senior is two to the left of the one Curt tried to open.


(photo from http://www.incredibletvandmovies.com/graffiti.html)

I knew one of the kids at the dance. When the kids are doing the Stroll, a boy with a white shirt and a black sweater is one of the “Strollers.” He was an upper-classman and rode my school bus. He hasn’t aged a bit.

The Climax of the movie was the race on “Paradise Drive.” In reality that was Frates Road and was only about a mile from where I lived. My brother remembers the tire marks on the pavements.

If I ever get to feeling nostalgic again, I might put the DVD in – but I would make heavy use of the fast-forward button. The film is not worth more than that anymore.

Lt. Dan Band: For The Common Good

We used Gary and the band as a vehicle to introduce viewers to other people who support the military, like the first responders,” says Flora, a veteran himself.

It’s not enough that Sinise gives so much of his free time to the troops. He also travels to places other entertainers wouldn’t, hot spots where real danger lurks.

“Our military, they’re pretty perceptive. They know who’s there for a photo op and who’s got their back,” he says.

Bravo Gary Sinese.

H/T and full story via Big Hollywood.

A Tour of the Old Home Town

A high school classmate linked to this on Facebook this morning. Pleasant thing to see on a Sunday morning.



See that locker two to the left of the one Richard Dryfus is trying to open? That was mine when I was a senior. That is in the C wing of Petaluma High School.

Lot's of familiar sights.

A Film You Must See

What makes a compelling movie? That is a difficult question to answer. The only thing I can do is look at films I have seen and can see over and over again. Then the answer begins to come into focus. The words responsibility and respect start to ring.

A compelling movie has someone who, no matter what his position or responsibility, must stand up and face challenges greater than himself and, while doing it, earns respect and also learns to give respect.

The King's Speech is such a film. It is the story of Albert, Duke of York, the second son of King George V. The Duke spoke with a stammer since he was a young boy. Inasmuch as he was the second in line for the throne, the stammer was more of a family and personal embarrassment than a national problem. He is fortunate in having a loving, devoted wife who believes in him. After exhausting just about every mainstream therapist, she finds a controversial one. His name is Lionel Logue. When the Duchess interviews Logue, she at first does not let on the true identity of her husband. When Logue finds out, he agrees to take on the Duke as a patient, as long as there is trust and equality between them.

PSYCHO.....

Canadian cinemas are in their second month of twelve; airing one classic movie a month. The first, last month, was Casablanca. Although Matt and I have seen Casablanca several times each and own the Blu-ray DVD, neither of us had seen it on the big screen before. If you get the chance, we recommend the big screen experience of Casablanca.

Last night we saw the second film, Psycho. Like many, I'm sure, I had preconceived notions of this film having seen the shower scene numerous times. But I had never seen the whole movie, didn't know the story or the plot or the other characters.

To say I "enjoyed" this movie is an understatement. If you haven't seen it; do. It is sexy, suspenseful, scary, and enthralling. Janet Leigh is beautiful, Anthony Perkins is charming, and Hitchcock's direction is pure Hitchcock.

Highly recommended. On the big screen if possible.

Some Film Glimpses of World War II

World War II has been the subject of many films over the years. It would take months to write extensively on the subject, so I thought I would just jot down some thoughts on some films that you may have missed.

Hollywood got into the fray even before the United States did, starting with “Confessions of a Nazi Spy” in 1939.

The Actors' Art

In one film, a group of Samurai defends a poor farming village. The warriors are led by a strong man-among-men leader whose strength and intelligence make him stand out among others. For the most part he leads with quiet dignity, but can be loud and forceful when he needs to be.



In another film, a doctor works in a slum, dealing with the human innocence and human scum. He is not the man he dreamed of being; the bottle became too important in his life. That is how he deals with the social decay he sees every day. While he can be kind, he is generally loud, vulgar, and often abusive.



A third film is the story of a man who lets life defeat him. To look at him, you know he is a broken man. Despite his position as a manager in a government bureaucracy, he is afraid of his own shadow. He stoops and shuffles through his day. To add another indignity to his meaningless existence, he finds that he is dying of cancer. At first he takes to drinking – something he has never done before. That does not help. After further searching, he finds meaning in his life: cleaning up the land and building a playground on what used to be a polluted swamp. People who know him are at a loss to explain the changes they see. The man dies half-way through the film – found dead at the newly completed playground. The second half of the film is filled with flashbacks from people at his funeral. The final flashback is from a policeman who stops by and tells that earlier in the man’s last evening that the man was sitting happily on a swing in the playground and softly singing an old song.



Three completely different roles. Each one would take a great actor to bring the part to life. But these roles were all played by one actor: Takashi Shimura.

Taking Chance

This is a wonderful movie that I watched last night. If you haven't seen it yet, I cannot recommend it highly enough.

Be prepared to weep.

Oh, and Kevin Bacon is outstanding.

Should Have Won The Oscar

If you haven't seen Avatar, you're missing a fantastic movie.  It's a film for all ages and tastes, but if you enjoyed Dune, LOTR, or even ET, you'll flip over Cameron's latest creation.  It's really long (almost three hours) but we were on the edge of our seats.  We laughed, we sniffled, we cheered, and we clapped at the end.

It's good.  Really good.