The Poseidon Adventure (1972)

This review is sponsored by DVD Netflix.

It's New Year's Eve, and the S.S. Poseidon is on its scheduled final journey. The cruise liner is a few days behind schedule and the captain (Leslie Nielsen) is feeling pressure to speed things up from new owner Linarcos (Fred Sadoff). He wants to make up ground but the captain is worried that the old vessel won't be able to handle going full speed ahead and it will put their passengers in danger. On board are a motley crew of vacationers heading to different ports of call. Reverend Scott (Gene Hackman) tends to the religious needs of the passengers. His approach to faith is radically different from the more traditional view of the ship's chaplain (Arthur O'Connell). Then there is Robin (Eric Shea), a young curious boy who wants to learn everything there is to know about the S.S. Poseidon. He's traveling with his sister Susan (Pamela Sue Martin) on the way to see their parents. Rogo (Ernest Borgnine) his devoted to his wife Linda (Stella Stevens), whom he rescued from a life of prostitution. Then there are the Rosens, Belle (Shelley Winters) and Manny (Jack Albertson), a loving couple on their way to see their new grandchild in Israel. They befriend bachelor Martin (Red Buttons), whose focus on health and fitness keeps him busy to avoid feelings of loneliness. Then there is the staff like Acres (Roddy McDowall) a waiter in the main dining room and Nonnie (Carol Lynley), a singer whose band hitches a ride on the Poseidon and pay their way with performances.

Little do the passengers and crew know that a disaster is impending. A nearby earthquake creates a tidal wave and because the captain had to speed up the vessel, they are headed straight for it.  While everyone celebrates the ringing in of a New Year, the wave hits the S.S. Poseidon turning it over. Led by Reverend Scott, Robin, Susan, the Rogos, the Rosens, Martin, Acres and Nonnie make their way to the bottom of the ship which is now the top. They face doubts from other passengers and internal doubts as they struggle their way to freedom. With so many deaths and more to come, who will survive? How will they work together to save their own lives? Will this team make it out of the vessel to be rescued?

The principal players of The Poseidon Adventure (1972)

Based on the novel by Paul Gallico and directed by Ronald Neame, The Poseidon Adventure (1972) was a box office hit. It was a gamble for 20th Century Fox which had been backtracking from investing in big budget movies. This movie paid off. They invested $4.7 million and made $40 million+ in rentals. Some significant changes to the novel's plot and the portrayal of the main characters helped develop the film adaptation into something cinema goers would enjoy. It was nominated for 8 Academy Awards and won 2. The film spawned a sequel and a remake.

Disaster movies always give me anxiety. I emotionally invest myself in the characters and I want to see them survive. Watching The Poseidon Adventure, I was the most anxious I have ever been since watching Titanic (1997) when it came out in theaters. I was at the edge of my seat. This film had some really great moments of tension. Each stage to climb the different levels in order to get off the ship was like an insane obstacle course that challenged each group member physically and emotionally. I expected this movie to be cheesy but was pleased how for the most part it wasn't. The drama felt real not forced.

Faith plays an important role in the movie. It starts with Gene Hackman's character Reverend Scott. He's a man of the cloth going through a crisis of faith but has to lead others in their own beliefs. When the disaster strikes, he comes up with a plan to escape but it takes the faith of a small group of people who believe in him to follow Rev. Scott on this treacherous journey. Some of the characters struggle with faith whether its with themselves or with their leader. There is also little Robin who has learned some very useful information about the ship but because of his young age characters like Rogo doubt him. It takes the faith Rev. Scott has in him to use that information for them to move forward.

The Poseidon Adventure (1972) is a captivating disaster movie that will keep you enthralled to the very last minute. I highly recommend it.

I rented The Poseidon Adventure (1972) on DVD Netflix. Click on this link to add it to your queue. Thank you to DVD Netflix for sponsoring this post.

Cinema Shame: Rocky

Before this year I had never seen a single movie in the Rocky franchise. Not one.

My friend Jay hosts a Cinema Shame podcast in which he invites a cinephile to watch a big film they've never seen before and come on to the show to discuss. On Twitter Jay challenged me to watch Rocky.

Did you just book your spot on the @CinemaShame podcast with that tweet? pic.twitter.com/uHODFoZizj

— Touch of #Bond_age_ (@007hertzrumble) March 18, 2017

And I took the bait.

The term cinema shame refers to the regret a cinephile experiences because they haven't seen a particular film. For years I suffered my cinema shame in relative obscurity, keeping the embarrassment to myself. Now I celebrate and embrace my cinema shame. It gives me an opportunity to tackle exciting new projects and to experience some great movies for the first time.

When Jay and I discussed our plans for the episode, Jay came up with the idea of a two-parter and challenged me to watch all 6 of the Rocky movies and the spin-off Creed if I felt like it. Challenge accepted! I love the satisfaction I get from tackling big projects and this challenge spoke to the completeist in me.

And this year I was ready for Rocky in a way that I hadn't been before. I started a new exercise regiment that would not only challenge my physical strength but my mental and emotional strength too. I was prepared to appreciate Rocky's struggle.

I shared my Rocky movie watching experience with my husband Carlos who insisted he be there for my inaugural viewings.

The two episodes of the Rocky Series Shame are now live. In the first episode looks at Rocky I, II and III and the second at Rocky IV, V and Rocky Balboa along with a bit about Creed. I'm very proud of these episodes and I hope you'll give them a listen.

Now having conquered the Rocky series I feel like I can accomplish anything.

If you want more podcast goodness, check out my guest appearances in the podcast tab of this blog. Also subscribe to Cinema Shame for future episodes and dive into the archive of goodness.

Many thanks to Jay for having me on the show!

Stay Hungry (1976)

In the 1970s, Arnold Schwarzenegger was at the height of his bodybuilding career. By 1976, he had already won the IFBB Mr. Olympia competition 6 consecutive times (1970-1975). Shortly after his 6th win he announced his retirement from bodybuilding. He would briefly come out of his retirement to compete and win again in 1980. In fact, in 1974 he had planned to retire but was persuaded by filmmakers George Butler and Robert Fiore to compete one more time so they could include him in their documentary Pumping Iron (1977). He had lost weight for his part in director Bob Rafaelson's Stay Hungry and had to train to Mr. Olympia standards in only a few short months. Pumping Iron made Schwarzenegger a household name but Stay Hungry also put him on the map. He won a Golden Globe for Best Acting Debut in a Motion Picture and was destined for a career as a major movie star in the decades to come.

Jeff Bridges and Arnold Schwarzenegger

Stay Hungry (1976) stars Jeff Bridges as Craig Blake, a young businessman in Birmingham, Alabama whose been given the task to buy out the last remaining stronghold in a planned development project: a gym. Craig lives in a relatively abandoned mansion, one he inherited from his recently deceased parents, along with his butler William (Scatman Crothers). He's a wealthy Southern boy with too much time on his hands. He starts hanging around at Thor Erickson's (R.G. Armstrong) gym and gets to know the characters who inhabit the place. There's Joe Santo (Arnold Schwarzenegger), Thor's prized athlete who is competing for a Mr. Universe title. Then there's Franklin (Robert Englund) the grease man and a member of the gym's entourage along with meat-head Newton (Roger E. Mosley). Then there are the two lady trainers, Anita (Helena Kallianotes) the bad-ass karate instructor and Mary Tate Farnsworth (Sally Field) the free-spirited aerobics instructor. Mary Tate is dating Joe who doesn't mind that she moves on from him to Craig. Or maybe not? It's difficult to tell who is with who as the romantic dynamics shift a lot. Craig attempts to bring his new friends into his world of country club cronies which includes his other girlfriend Dorothy (Kathleen Miller) and rival Lester (Ed Begley Jr.). He doesn't quite realize that his two worlds will inevitably clash. He's stuck between two very different existences and must learn to leave the gentile Southern life behind and embrace his true self.

Sally Field and Jeff Bridges

Stay Hungry is a strange and problematic film. Many scenes were unconventional for the sake of being unconventional. This is something characteristic of many films from the era. With fewer restrictions and the Hays Code long dead and buried, filmmakers were game for experimentation.

Things you'll see in this film: Arnold Schwarzengger playing a fiddle, Schwarznegger working out in a Batman costume, Sally Field in her only on-screen appearance in the buff, an attempted rape, a bunch of scantily clad bodybuilders running through the city streets, 5 bodybuilders on top of a bus (see below), a drug-fueled fight including gym equipment, and more.

Vincent Canby of The New York Times said in his 1976 review, "[Stay Hungry] pretends to be more eccentric than it is and to have more on its mind than it actually does." This is pretty much spot on. So much of this film felt forced. Stay Hungry gets in its own way. At its heart this is a movie about being true to yourself and pursuing your passion. I loved the juxtaposition of Joe and Craig's characters. Craig is held back by the Blake name and the country club culture he grew up in. Joe attaches himself to nothing but what he wants to do. He feels no connection to a name nor does he want to be tied down in a relationship. I particularly liked this quote from the film as spoken by Joe Santo:

"I don't want to be too comfortable. Once you get used to it it's hard to give up. I'd rather stay hungry."

A whole movie can be made from this one quote. Stay Hungry tried to do that but didn't quite get there.

I came to this movie because of my absolute love for the bodybuilding documentary Pumping Iron starring Arnold Schwarzenegger and Lou Ferrigno. Charles Gaines who wrote the novel Stay Hungry and adapted the story to film also worked on Pumping Iron. What saved Stay Hungry for me was that one glorious quote and all the bodybuilding scenes. I could cut out the rest of the movie and watch a much shorter version and be perfectly happy.

Stay Hungry is available on Blu-Ray from Olive Films.

Thanks to Olive Films for sending me the movie for review!

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The Beguiled (1971)

Union soldier John "McB" (Clint Eastwood) finds himself injured in Confederate territory. A young girl named Amy (Pamelyn Ferdin), is out in the forest picking mushrooms and stumbles upon him. He's near death and Amy takes pity on him and brings him back to her all girls school. The women are reluctant to help an enemy soldier but take him in anyways. At first their intent is restore his injured leg, bring him back to full health and turn him into the Confederate Army. But it's been a long war and they've been lonely. And it's nice having a handsome man around especially one as vulnerable as John. He takes advantage of their situation and starts seducing three of the women. The headmistress Martha (Geraldine Page) carries a dark secret with her and sees a dalliance with John as a way to reignite old passions. Then there is the modest Edwina (Elizabeth Hartman) who tends to John's leg and dreams of a romantic life outside the school. And then there is the more sexually aware Carol (Jo Ann Harris) who is not conflicted by her desires for an affair with the mysterious soldier and by the need to turn him into the local Confederates. Once the women discover John's true nature they turn on him. What follows is a downward spiral into what seems more like a fever dream than reality.

The Beguiled (1971) was directed by Don Siegel, produced by Clint Eastwood's production company Malpaso and distributed by Universal. It's based on Thomas Cullinan's novel published in 1966. After the movie was released Cullinan followed with two additional novels The Besieged and The Bedeviled, both Confederate Civil War era stories. The film was poorly marketed as another Eastwood action film when it was really a psychological drama. As a result it did poorly at the box office.

This film came to my attention when I heard of Sofia Coppola's new adaptation The Beguiled (2017) which releases next month. Intrigued by the film's concept, I went back to the original. And I've always been curious about Elizabeth Hartman who stars in one of my all-time favorite movies A Patch of Blue (1965) and this was a good excuse to watch more of her work.

The Beguiled is a mesmerizing movie. It's dark and unrelenting. It's fascinating to see how the dynamics of relationships change during war time. The film has some great performances by Geraldine Page and Clint Eastwood in particular. There is a feverish quality to the movie that heightens the psychological drama.

Geraldine Page and Clint Eastwood in The Beguiled (1971)

The film tests the waters of propriety in the way that many films did in the 1970s. Eastwood kisses the young Ferdin in a scene that is uncomfortable to watch. Some will see it as a kiss to keep her quiet as the Confederate soldiers march by. Others will see it as an unnecessary moment of inappropriate sexuality. There is also the them of inc-st in the movie. Martha, played by Geraldine Page, has a passionate and sexual affair with her brother who at the time of the story is missing in action and presumed dead. John discovers her secret and the audience is clued in to this with several flashback scenes. I'm curious to see if the new adaptation incorporates these scenes from the original. I also wonder if they'll do away with the slave character Hallie played by Mae Mercer. She's a strong female character who fights back but depiction of slaves on film is always problematic territory.

If you're at all interested in seeing Sofia Coppola's version of The Beguiled, I highly encourage you to try the original too. I rented the film from DVD Netflix and it's currently available on DVD and Blu-Ray. Below are the trailers for the 1971 and 2017 versions.

Listen to me discuss The Beguiled (1971) on the Our Friends Said They'd Listen podcast.

What's Up, Doc? (1972) with Peter Bogdanovich #TCMFF

Peter Bogdanovich and Dave Karger at the 2017 TCM Classic Film Festival - Photo source: Getty/TCM

Director Peter Bogdanovich's follow-up to his Academy Award-winning drama The Last Picture Show (1971) was something wildly different. What's Up, Doc? (1972) is an homage to the screwball comedies of the 1930s and 1940s. Heavily influenced by Cary Grant and Bringing Up Baby (1938), it brought back a comedy style that was fun for the whole family. Bogdanovich insisted that it be a G-Rated picture making it a movie for adults but one they could take their kids to see.

What's Up, Doc? stars Barbra Streisand and Ryan O'Neal as a mismatched pair. O'Neal plays Howard Bannister, a musicologist attending a convention in San Francisco with his uptight fiancee Eunice Burns (Madeline Kahn in her film debut). His plaid overnight bag contains igneous rocks for his research project. Unfortunately for him, three delinquents who are up to no good also have identical plaid bags. Howard meets Judy (Barbra Streisand), a highly educated, free spirit who is hanging out at the hotel looking for amusement. She zones in on Howard and doesn't let go, much to the bewilderment of Howard's fiancee Eunice. Howard is desperate to get Judy off his back, to make things right with Eunice and to get the highly sought after musicology grant to fund his research. But as it is in screwball comedies everything goes hilariously wrong and builds up to one rip-roaring side-splitting climax. 

Cary Grant is essentially the third star of the film even though he doesn't make an appearance in the movie. There are numerous references to his scenes in Bringing Up Baby. Ryan O'Neal's character is a Cary Grant screwball type and Bogdanovich had O'Neal meet up with Grant to get some pointers. O'Neal was also heavily influenced by Bogdanovich. Buck Henry noted that in the film Ryan O'Neal was playing Peter Bogdanovich playing Cary Grant. Barbra Streisand's character is named Judy, an  reference to Grant who was often associated with saying "Judy, Judy, Judy." Needless to say, if you are a Cary Grant enthusiast you'll have fun picking up on all the references. What's Up, Doc? is influenced by other films too. There is a wonderful scene in which Streisand does a Humphrey Bogart impersonation then sings As Time Goes By to Ryan O'Neal as he plays the piano. Casablanca (1942) fans will appreciate the homage. The epic chase scene shot on location in San Francisco is a spoof of the iconic car chase in Bullitt (1968).

What's Up, Doc? is a flat out funny film. But not everyone will agree with me. Streisand didn't think it was funny and I've heard from others who have tried to see the humor in this film but just couldn't. I love to laugh and have always had an appreciation for comedy in all its forms. I love the zaniness of What's Up, Doc? and this film is a new-to-me favorite. I saw it for the first time at the 2017 TCM Classic Film Festival, just one day before my very first visit to San Francisco.

At the festival entertainment host Dave Karger interviewed director Peter Bogdanovich before the start of the film. One of the things I admire about Bogdanovich is how much he loves and appreciates classic movies. In the interview he said that his favorite genre of film is the screwball comedy, in particular The Awful Truth (1937), The Lady Eve (1941), Twentieth Century (1934) and Bringing Up Baby (1938). Screenwriter David Newman came up with the title What's, Up Doc?, a reference to Bugs Bunny which is also called out in the film when Judy greets Howard saying the famous phrase while munching on a carrot. Bogdanovich said, "I loved the title because it's a catchphrase we all grew up with."

What's Up, Doc? came about because of Barbra Streisand. She had seen Bogdanovich's The Last Picture Show and wanted to work with him. Streisand had just done a comedy and was looking for a drama. Bogdanovich had just done a drama and wanted to work on a comedy. With the support of John Calley, head of Warner Bros, Bogdanovich proceeded with his idea for a contemporary screwball comedy. Writers Buck Henry, David Newman and Robert Benton worked on a original screenplay based on Bogdanovich's concept and it was full steam ahead for What's Up, Doc?.

As you can see in the trailer Bogdanovich was a very hands on director. Streisand had fun making the movie but got annoyed when Bogdanovich's tried to give her direction on everything including how to sing the As Time Goes By number. She was also overshadowed by newcomer Madeline Kahn who's god-given talent for comedy was a surprise to Kahn herself.

As for the trailer, director of photography Laszlo Kovacs shot some behind-the-scenes footage without Bogdanovich's knowledge. They were working on a complicated camera move when Streisand was laying on a piano, slides off and then moves to sit next to Ryan O'Neal. Bogdanovich acts out the scene with O'Neal as you can see in the trailer.

And that epic car chase scene? It took up a good chunk of the budget and production time. Filmed on location on the streets of San Francisco, it used multiple vehicles and lots of gags. My favorite scene is when the vehicles careen by two workers holding up a pane of glass and a man on an impossibly tall ladder hanging up a sign. It's so much fun to watch. Karger asked if it was true that the car chase scene was 25% of the film's budget. Bogdanovich replied, "Yes it was. The picture cost more than $6 million which is nothing compared to today's pictures. John Calley [head of Warner Bros.] called me on the first day of shooting we were in San Francisco in the airport. And John says, the chase scene is going to cost a million bucks. I said, well that's fine. He said, can you cut it down a little bit? I said no, I think it's going to be the high point of the picture. He said, if we make a deal with McDonald's can you bring McDonald's into it? I said, I can have them wreck a McDonald's. The deal never went through."

No Peter Bogdanovich interview would be complete without some impersonations. He treated us to a Cary Grant one which is always a treat. Bogdanovich told Grant that his movie was going to play at Radio City Music Hall. Grant replied "that's nothing! I had 28 picture play at the Hall. I tell you what you must do. Just go there and stand in the back. And you listen and you watch while 6,500 people laugh at something you did. It will do you a lot of good."

I love discovering new favorite movies at the TCM Classic Film Festival. It's the perfect venue for discovery especially when there is a special guest on hand to discuss the film. If you haven't seen What's Up, Doc? yet, it's available for streaming on Warner Archive Instant.

The China Syndrome (1979) and Michael Douglas at #TCMFF

Michael Douglas and Ben Mankiewicz at the 2017 TCMFF. Publicity Photo courtesy of Getty & TCM

Timing is everything. Michael Douglas's nuclear thriller The China Syndrome (1979) debuted on March 16th, 1979 and twelve days later a nuclear meltdown occurred on 3 Mile Island. The fictional event and the real life one would forever be connected.

In the film Jane Fonda stars as Kimberly Wells, a TV news reporter relegated to covering fluff with dreams of breaking a big story. When her and her news crew, including cameraman Richard Adams (Michael Douglas), are working on a report at a local nuclear power plant, a tremor signals an emergency with the plant's reactor. Shift supervisor Jack Godell (Jack Lemmon) is the only who understands the severity of the situation. Jack faces a major fight against the head honchos and staff at the plant who don't believe him and will do anything to prevent a public scandal. With the help of Wells and her crew, Jack makes a valiant attempt to reveal the truth and save the plant and the community before it's too late.

I had the honor of being in attendance of a special screening of The China Syndrome (1979) at the 2017 TCM Classic Film Festival. The movie had me on the edge of my seat. It's a fantastic thriller with a timely message.  Following the movie, we were treated to Ben Mankiewicz interview of actor/producer Michael Douglas.

It all started with a packet in the mail. Douglas remembered, "this script came to me unsolicited by a guy name Mike Grey who was a documentary filmmaker out of Chicago who had done a movie called The Murder of Fred Hampton. That was a Black Panther leader who was murdered by Chicago Police. Mike's background was an engineer and he sent this script which really read as a brilliant horror movie. And I looked at it as a scary horror movie with this power plant being the monster. It was only then after we committed to the picture and got involved with the verisimilitude of nuclear power that I became more of an advocate of this was the really issue that's defined the rest of my life in terms of the elimination of nuclear weapons."

Mankiewicz joked with Douglas that opening unsolicited material might be something people got away with in the 1970s but not today. As Douglas then noted unsolicited scripts can't be accepted because of legalities involved. So if you're thinking you can take Mike Grey's lead and send Michael Douglas your movie script, think again!

Jack Lemmon, Michael Douglas and Jane Fonda in The China Syndrome (1979)

It took a while to get The China Syndrome going. Jack Lemmon was on board pretty early but he had to wait for almost a year to start working. During that time he set aside other projects. Douglas shared a funny memory of Lemmon. On the set, Lemmon couldn't get started with out his morning cup of coffee. Once he had his cuppa joe he'd perk right up and exclaim "it's magic time!" A cup of coffee is also key to the plot of the film.

Richard Dreyfuss was also on board to play the lead role of a TV news reporter. Douglas joked that, "Richard Dreyfuss had a couple of hits come out and all of a sudden Richard was gone." Director James Bridges and producer Douglas were scrambling to figure out how to replace Dreyfuss. Douglas shared the following story: "A studio executive [told us] 'Jane Fonda is developing the Karen Silkwood story here and maybe you guys should talk.' [They were] competing projects. Jane and I, with our familial histories sort of sized each other up. She was initially going to try to persuade me in some way to kill The China Syndrome ... And I was going to tell her that we were further ahead on The China Syndrome that you should put a dagger in Karen. Eventually it worked that we were ready to go and we changed Richard Dreyfuss' role and had it re-written." Karen Silkwood, a nuclear power plant employee who was preparing to leak information to the press, died in a car accident under mysterious circumstances. Her story was incorporated into The China Syndrome.

Mankiewicz pointed out that Douglas took his role as camera man Richard Adams very seriously. Douglas had studied with NBC camera man Bob Brown, who was shot down by members of the Peoples Temple shortly before Jonestown's infamous mass suicide.

When you watch the film you'll notice the eerie silence of the end credits. Director James Bridges and producer Michael Douglas had hired a composer for the film. But when the ran the reels without the music they discovered it was better without any music.

Once the film was in the can, Douglas and Bridges were ready to release it to the world. Douglas said,  "It did very well actually for the kind of picture it was. However we did hold in there for the first week. [It was] heavily criticized. People said, 'how irresponsible of Hollywood to be doing a film on nuclear power!" Mankiewicz followed up by pointing out, "the campaign against this movie, Michael's underselling it I think a little bit, was very well organized. It was a corporate energy based organized protest to beat back this film."

Twelve days after the release, the 3 Mile Island nuclear power plant has a meltdown. Douglas said, 
I tried to explain it that it was a complete epiphany to me. I'm not a religious person but I thought somebody's telling me something." Douglas and Bridges hired former General Electric quality assurance experts to help with the movie. According to Douglas "they had lost faith and went to the other side." The China Syndrome depicts a process of 150 logical computer steps and when Harry Latham, a writer for Esquire magazine, analyzed the process it was discovered that over 90% of the steps depicted in the movie were accurate. Did the publicity of the real life nuclear disaster help the movie? Not so much. Most people saw enough clips of the movie on the news or were too frightened by the real event to endure a movie about it.

The China Syndrome marked a turning point in Douglas' career. Douglas said, "it became part of my history of doing movies that had sort of a zeitgeist speaking about what's going on at the time. It has stuck with me as the most incredible in my career in terms of tying it with what was going on in real time.

During their conversation, Ben Mankiewicz and Michael Douglas spoke at length about Douglas' TV show The Streets of San Francisco. Douglas left in the fifth year of the show to produce One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest. Being let out of a TV contract like that was virtually unheard of. The show's star Karl Malden and producer Quinn Martin knew about much Cuckoo's Nest meant to Douglas. Being released from the show helped him launch his successful movie career.


Transitioning from being a TV actor to film was virtually unheard of at the time. According to Douglas, "the argument was that if you're there for free who's going to pay for you. So before me it was really only Steve McQueen and Clint Eastwood who had made the transition going from television to films."

Being on The Streets of San Francisco helped shape Douglas' methods and work ethic. In the interview he shared the following: "when you do a television series, we were in San Francisco and we were filming six days a week. In those days we did 26 hour shows in a season. Six days a week, 8 and a half months straight through. You're looking at these scripts that are coming in and you get pretty good about structure. You also get really good about working together as an ensemble and I take my hat off to Karl Malden. Who was such an extraordinary actor and such a team player that you learn that you are not the most important thing in the project. The material is the important. I'm an old-fashioned structuralist. I've learned from the prologue, three acts and epilogue. My first desire is to be moved if it's funny or sad. Secondly I analyze the material pretty carefully and see if it's structurally sound. Then my interests are all over the place depending where it may be."

Karl Malden took Douglas under his wing. According to Douglas, "in those days, the second banana was two feet back in soft focus" By season two, Karl Malden gave Douglas a more substantial role and let him lead some of the episodes. I love that Malden always called Douglas "buddy boy", a nickname that used to irk Douglas but now it's a name he fondly remembers.

My husband was especially excited to see Michael Douglas. Here he is watching his favorite actor in person.

 
I feel very privileged to have been able to attend this special screening and to hear the legendary Michael Douglas in conversation. It was fascinating and definitely a highlight of the festival for me. I couldn't help but hear Kirk Douglas in the voice of his son. This will be as close as I'll ever get to the other legend!

Related link: Carlos' review of the book Michael Douglas: A Biography by Marc Eliot.

The Carey Treatment (1972)

Dr. Peter Carey is too cool for school. This pathologist from northern California just landed a new job at a Boston hospital. He saunters into this new life dressed in hip clothes, with a swanky Beacon Hill apartment to live in and a gorgeous dietician to showcase on his arm. But he also means business and despite his chill look he’s got no tolerance for hypocrisy. His fellow doctors don’t know what’s coming to them.

The Carey Treatment (1972) is an MGM film directed by Blake Edwards and based on the novel A Case of Need by Michael Crichton. It stars James Coburn as Dr. Carey and a motley cast including Pat Hingle, Michael Blodgett, James Hong, Regis Toomey, John Hillerman, Mel Torme’s daughter Melissa Torme-March and the director’s daughter Jennifer Edwards. Opposite Coburn is actress Jennifer O'Neill who plays dietician Gloria Hightower and Carey’s love interest.

Dr. Carey’s first day at the fictional Boston Memorial Hospital gets off to a rocky start. The staff and other doctors don’t know what to make of him and he’s already causing trouble. He falls for Gloria, who is married to someone else but separated, and they quickly start a romance together. When Karen Randall (Melissa Torme-March), daughter of chief surgeon Dr. Randall (Dan O’Herlihy), dies in the hospital’s emergency room from a botched abortion Dr. Carey’s new best bud Dr. David Tao (James Hong) gets thrown in jail. Dr. Tao has been illegally performing abortions at the hospital to prevent desperate young women from risking their lives getting the abortions elsewhere. He didn’t perform Karen’s abortion and Dr. Carey sets out to solve the mystery of who really killed Karen.

James Hong and James Coburn in The Carey Treatment (1972)

"A doctor plays god in a lot of crappy ways. I thought this was a good way." James Hong as Dr. Tao

A mystery with a medical twist, James Coburn is both doctor and detective. I love stories of rogue detectives and this one fits the bill perfectly. If you don’t take the story too seriously, it’s a lot of fun. I love watching James Coburn in pretty much anything and he really shines in this movie. Unfortunately the female characters in the story are weak and they're overshadowed by much stronger male counterparts. Torme-March’s Karen is the object of mystery and outrage, O’Neill’s Gloria only functions to give the movie a love story and to add to Coburn’s sex appeal and the rest of the women just serve as obstacles who get in the way of solving the mystery. This is a lost opportunity to have a more balanced story. The film serves as a bit of a time capsule of the still pervasive sexism in the industry at the time. Even the press materials focused on Coburn’s macho character and O’Neill’s diet and exercise regimen.

The history of this film is a bit complicated. It was a difficult time for Blake Edwards who was losing creative control over his work with MGM. After he directed The Carey Treatment, MGM heavily edited it down to 1 hour and 41 minutes and Edwards asked to have his name removed from the credits. Unfortunately for him they kept the credits and an infuriated Edward fled Hollywood with wife Julie Andrews to Europe. Even the three script writers didn’t want to be connected with the film and were grouped together under the one pseudonym James P. Bonner. I would love to get my hands on the original script to see what they cut out! The Carey Treatment was an adaptation of Michael Crichton’s first novel published under the name Jeffrey Hudson. He wrote the book while attending Harvard Medical School and didn’t want to use his real name because characters were based on doctors he knew. The movie was originally called A Case of Need then changed to Emergency Ward and A Case of Murder before they finally settled on The Carey Treatment. Had the film been of better quality and more successful it could have easily been a series of Dr. Carey mysteries.

James Coburn, Jennifer O'Neill and the Boston skyline.

Boston natives, especially those who loves to see how the city looked back in the old days, will love catching glimpses of different neighborhoods. Dr. Carey lives in Beacon Hill, there are plenty of shots of the Orange line (one branch of our subway system), the USS Constitution, Comm Ave, the Charles River and the famous Boston skyline. If you look closely, you'll spot the John Hancock Tower still under construction. There is a fantastic shot of the Weston tolls on the Mass Pike. These toll booths are changing over and the original ones will disappear by the end of this month. This makes me nostalgic for the old days and it was nice to revisit this with the film. Coburn has a wild scene where he drives erratically down Atlantic Road in Gloucester which is known for it's seaside mansions. It was fun to see Atlantic Road, a drive my husband and I do quite frequently.

Despite its flaws The Carey Treatment (1972) is a fun movie. It oozes with 1970s cool and has some great dramatic sequences. There is a particularly creepy scene when Coburn confronts Michael Blodgett that still makes me squirm.

The Carey Treatment (1972) is a new favorite of mine and I can’t wait to watch it again. I'm already planning a filming location search for this one.

This film is available from the Warner Archive on DVD-MOD.

Warner Archive Wednesday - On (random) Wednesdays, I review one title from the Warner Archive Collection. I bought this movie straight from the WAC shop.

Poolside screening of American Graffiti (1973) at the TCM Classic Film Festival

On the opening night of the 2014 TCM Classic Film Festival, I headed to the pool area of the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel for some entertainment. To kick off the night they offered passholders a variety of free appetizers as well as some music courtesy of a “Wolfman Jack”. There were professional dancers, decked out in their best representation of 1960s style, strutting their stuff to the amusement of poolside loungers. It all tied in very nicely to the film that was about to be shown. I got to hang out with some lovely folks including Jessica of Comet Over Hollywood, K.C. of A Classic Movie Blog, Jill and Carley of The Black Maria and more.

Jessica of Comet Over Hollywood warming herself by a poolside fire pit

"Wolfman Jack" Press photo: TCM

The festivities started winding down and then it was time for a very special poolside screening. TCM festival director Genevieve McGillicuddy came out to thank the sponsors who were making poolside screenings like this one possible. TCM host Ben Mankiewicz followed and started with a joke about McGillicuddy’s name which he claims should be a name for a Preston Sturges’ character and not for a real person.

Ben Mankiewicz - Press Photo: TCM

While American Graffiti (1973)  is not a beach movie, Mankiewicz felt that it was a perfect film to watch outside, at night in Hollywood, poolside and underneath the stars. It’s an important movie too, one Mankiewicz called “seminal”. This film is very important to me because it was one of the several movies that introduced me to my love of film history. I first saw it as an undergrad when I took a film class. I even did a presentation on the film's opening scene. My love for classic film came from American Graffit and several other movies I studied for that class and was further developed by watching countless hours of TCM and filling up my Netflix queue with new treasures. Some people will argue that American Graffiti isn't a classic yet because it's from the 1970s but for me it’s a treasured classic.

Ben Mankiewicz gave the audience some background on the film. I could tell he did his research before the interview. American Graffiti was shot in 28 nights in 1972. Directed by George Lucas, it was made on a tight schedule and with a budget of around $750k (the final cost was $777,777.77 according to IMDb). No one could have predicted the cultural phenomenon it would become. It helped launch several careers. Ron Howard was the only big name in the film at the time because of his success as a child actor. But so many of the actors in the film went on to become big names:  Harrison Ford, Richard Dreyfuss, Suzanne Somers, Mackenzie Philips, Cindy Williams, Charles Martin Smith etc. American Graffiti was innovative for it’s time. It’s use of popular music, the constraint of the story taking place over one night and the ensemble cast make it a favorite among many.

Ben Mankiewicz, Bo Hopkins, Candy Clark and Paul Le Mat. Press Photo - TCM

It was then time to introduce the guests. Actors Paul Le Mat, Candy Clark and Bo Hopkins joined Mankiewicz for an interview about their experiences filming American Graffiti. The movie was Candy Clark’s second film and Paul Le Mat’s first. Bo Hopkins’ first screen appearances was in The Wild Bunch. Mankiewicz asked Hopkins what the differences are between directors George Lucas and Sam Peckinpah. Hopkin’s responded by saying: “night and day”. But Hopkins wasn’t the only actor in the film who had worked with a major film director. Candy Clark reminded Mankiewicz that before working with George Lucas she worked with legendary director John Huston.

Candy Clark had a lot of interesting memories to share about her experience with American Graffiti. She joked that the nights were so cold that the wig she wore in the film served as a hat to keep her head warm. And yes it was a wig! Clark joked that she couldn’t get her hair to be that fluffy naturally. There was also a lot of dish about actor Richard Dreyfuss who was attending the festival but was not present at this poolside screening. Mankiewicz brought up the fact that Paul Le Mat almost killed Richard Dreyfuss on the set of the film. Clark remembers Le Mat taking Dreyfuss by the arms and the legs, throwing him into the shallow end of a Holiday Inn pool head first. Dreyfuss could have broken his neck but luckily he only suffered a bump on the head when he hit the bottom. Paul Le Mat joked that Richard Dreyfuss wasn’t at the poolside screening because he was afraid Le Mat would recreate the event. Clark also revealed, possibly to Dreyfuss’ dismay if he finds out, that Dreyfuss had recently had a heartbreak during filming and spent much of his time at the Holiday Inn crying.  

Clark, along with many members of the ensemble cast, received a lot more work when the film became a huge hit. She was nominated for a Best Supporting Actress Oscar. During the show when they were announcing the nominees the camera focused on the wrong person when they called out Candy Clark. And to rub some more salt into the wound Clark lost the Oscar 9 year old Tatum O’Neal.

Ben Mankiewicz, Bo Hopkins, Candy Clark and Paul Le Mat. Press Photo - TCM

While the movie was filmed in 1972 the story takes place in 1962 and Ben Mankiewicz pointed out that although time-wise it’s only a 10 year difference but culturally the two years were as different as though they were 50 years apart. Bo Hopkins remembers how things changed so drastically after JFK’s assassination in 1963 and with the Vietnam War. He remembers becoming very disilussioned by politics. American Graffiti captures a time right before big change. Candy Clark pointed out that even the cars were vastly different between the early 1960s and early 1970s. Cars of the 1960s were of high quality and she reminisced about the chrome and steel used in those fine vehicles.

Ben Mankiewicz, Bo Hopkins, Candy Clark and Paul Le Mat. 

Speaking of cars, Paul Le Mat joked that the yellow Ford Coupe that he drives in his film and it’s license plate, THX-138 in reference to Lucas’ film THX-1138 (1971), became more famous than he did. Le Mat also shared with us a story about shooting the scene when a cop pulls him over. In the below video you can listen to Le Mat tell that story.

The actors shared some stories about George Lucas and Harrison Ford. Mankiewicz quotes George Lucas as saying that he was terrified during those 28 days of filming because they were on a tight schedule, had a limited budget and the filming was overall chaotic. The cast remembers that Lucas knew what he was doing at all times but was very quiet and didn’t talk much. After two weeks of auditions, including one by Tom Selleck, Harrison Ford was chosen for his part. Ford refused to have his hair cut in a 1960s because it could hurt his chances of getting another role. Ford convinced Lucas to let him wear a cowboy hat as part of his character in the movie. Bo Hopkins joked that he almost tried out for Ford’s part in Star Wars!

Mankiewicz observed that there are four different movies inside this one big movie. Certain cast members don’t even have scenes with each other.  Hopkins remembers going to a pre-screening of American Graffiti. He hadn’t seen it before and had no clue about the other cast member’s scenes that he wasn’t involved with. He claims the film was almost unrecognizable to him because it was that good.

 

Ben Mankiewicz, Bo Hopkins, Candy Clark and Paul Le Mat. 

 This was a great interview and I love how the three actors were very candid and open about their experiences. While the idea of a poolside screening is a great one, in reality it can be a bit tricky. There is limited seating in front of the screen and the lounge chairs and tables situated around the pool fill up quickly and are at an odd vantage point.  Luckily, TCM also screens the film inside Club TCM. They were having some technical issues with that indoor screen however. I had to leave early to attend the screening of Bachelor Mother (1939) but I was immensely happy that I got the opportunity to attend this special event for the time that I did!