Musings on Easy Rider (1969)

The other night my husband Carlos and I made a deal. If he'd watch one of my movies, I'd watch one of his. He had his pick and he chose Easy Rider (1969). I recently showed interest in this movie and he immediately perked up. Really? You want to watch it? he asked enthusiastically. Sure, I guess. What was I about to get myself into?

I had avoided this film for mainly one reason: the drugs. I'm not a fan. For me it's not an interesting as a plot device in pretty much any medium: books, TV, movies, etc. However, there seemed to be more to Easy Rider than just two guys getting high. And it's hard to argue the cultural impact of the film and its continued legacy. The image of Dennis Hopper and Peter Fonda on their motorcycles cruising through the American countryside is well... a very American image.

Easy Rider (1969) is a story about outsiders. Two lone wolves who don't fit in society and exist in a counterculture, one that the mainstream culture finds threatening. Captain America/Wyatt (Peter Fonda) and Billy (Dennis Hopper) are "born to be wild". They deal drugs and travel across state lines spending time in small towns, jails, hippie communes and brothels. Because of their long hair and the way they dress and comport themselves, they are continually harassed and stared at. Motels refuse to board them. Sleeping by the side of the road is the only way they can get some rest but even that proves to be dangerous.

This film resonated with me in ways I didn't expect. I have always been an outsider. Never in my life have I ever fit in. Ever. Even in communities I helped create, I've always been a member on the fringe with one foot out the door. I don't belong anywhere. I work best on my own rather than as part of a team or duo. It's always been the way. I need and want people in my life but it's hard for me to find anyone who truly understands. I've always felt alone in any sphere of my life: family, school, work, online community, etc.

Captain America and Billy are misfits of the truest kind. They stick together because they have that in common. But in reality they're polar opposites. Captain America is mellow and easygoing and Billy is wound tight like a spring. They need the companionship of someone who understands what it is to be misunderstood. And this film is so much about being misunderstood.

**Spoiler starts**

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In the days since I finished the movie, the ending has haunted me. I kept trying to negotiate my way out of it. Captain America and Billy didn't really die. Someone will find them, take them to the hospital. Everything will be okay. Their story will continue.

It can't be that easy to destroy them. All it took was two mean-spirited locals with a rifle. How can they get away with this? Why did this happen? I was taken aback when Jack Nicholson's character George, the drunk lawyer, was killed. But clung on when I saw Captain America and Billy were safe. What am I to do with this ending? Is this the fate of all misfits and outsiders? We'll be destroyed by those who don't understand us?

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**Spoiler ends**

I'm still processing this movie and what it means to be alone in a world that doesn't understand. My husband and I are two individuals who are very much the same but also very different. We can't conceive of our partnership being a union of two people to become one. We are two different people. We need time to be together and time to be apart. I often use the phrases "separate but together" and "divide and conquer" when I discuss our relationship. We're kind of like Captain America and Billy. He's the mellow to my tightly-wound spring. We get what the other needs and we understand each other. It works.

If you have that moment in your life where you truly feel misunderstood, watch Easy Rider (1969). That'll be when you are most receptive to its message. Some will say it's just a drug-fueled movie with two iconic stars and a great soundtrack. But there is something deeper there if you're willing to discover it.
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My Cinema Shame Statement for 2018

In 2018 I will embrace my Cinema Shame! What exactly is Cinema Shame you ask? It's the regret you feel for not having watched that big movie everyone has seen, or the one that's won all the awards or that film you meant to get to but haven't... for years. There are numerous shades of cinema shame. I used to hide behind it but now I relish it for the new experiences it opens up.

The official Cinema Shame website and podcast called out for cinephiles to list their shame statements for 2018. These are the films we plan to take on this year. Having watched all the Rocky movies last year for the very first time, I’m ready to tackle some more. (I discussed the Rocky films on the Cinema Shame podcast. Listen to part one and part two and let me know what you think!)


A few years ago I made a list of big movies I hadn’t seen and planned to see that year. I failed miserably and watched none of them. That’s even more shameful that not having seen those films in the first place. I plan to correct that this year. This is a Cinema Shame list I shall conquer!
Instead of picking a random smattering of titles I haven’t gotten to yet, I decided to be a bit more methodical with creating my list. I picked 8 movies from 8 different sources of Cinema Shame.

A movie featuring my favorite actor – The Grass is Greener (1960)

I’ve seen a lot of Robert Mitchum movies but he had such long and varied career that I feel like I’ve only hit the tip of the iceberg. The Grass is Greener is one of the few comedies he made and I still can’t believe I haven’t seen it. In addition to Mitchum it stars Cary Grant, Deborah Kerr and Jean Simmons, all actors I enjoy watching on screen. I need to get my hands on this movie STAT.

(Watched and reviewed)

A movie featuring my favorite actress – Assignment in Brittany (1943)

I’m almost done with the full list of Susan Peters’ feature films except for one glaring exception: Assignment in Brittany (1943)! What’s holding me back? I spoke to former child actor Darryl Hickman about this very film a couple of years ago and still haven’t seen it. Shame! It’s time to find a bootleg copy and get watching.

A movie on the AFI Top 100 list (and one my husband keeps bugging me to watch with him) – 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968)

I’m not quite ready to tackle Star Wars yet (probably my biggest Cinema Shame) but I thought I’d add another major science fiction movie to the mix. Stanley Kubrick’s masterpiece has escaped me for years possibly because I don’t tend to gravitate to Sci Fi. But this year I plan to keep an open mind and watch this one for the first time.

A rarity I own but have never watched – The Wild Party (1929)

I have a nice little collection of rareities and among them is a bootleg copy of The Wild Party. It’s Clara Bow’s talkie debut and one that I’ve had my eye on. I own it, why not watch it? I need to dust off my burned disc and pop it into the player like yesterday.

A movie on FilmStruck – Le Samourai (1967)

I’m not too familiar with Jean-Pierre Melville’s work and I haven’t seen many Alain Delon movies. I love French films and this one sounds right up my alley. So why haven’t I seen this yet? I need to get on it before I have to return my film buff card for a cone of shame

(Watched and reviewed)


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A movie I missed at the TCM Film Festival – Fiddler on the Roof (1971)

I was saving my very first viewing of this movie for the 2014 TCM Film Festival. Director Norman Jewison was in attendance for a Q&A. Unfortunately I got sick and couldn’t make it to that screening. This is an uber classic that I’ve been reluctant to admit I haven’t seen yet. There is no time like the present to fix this.

(Watched and reviewed)

A movie from the Warner Archive – Get Carter (1971)

The very first movie I added to my watchlist when I subscribed to Warner Archive Instant was Get Carter (1971) and then I proceeded to not watch it even though I really wanted to. Film watching is funny that way. Sometimes we’re overwhelmed with choices that even a good one staring us right in the face gets looked over.

A movie that’s been languishing on my DVD Netflix queue – The Wild Bunch (1969)

In fact this was on that original shame list from a few years back that I never got to. It’s been sitting in the middle of the 300+ (almost 400) DVD Netflix Queue for years. Time to bump it up to the top!

(Watched and reviewed)

What's on your Cinema Shame list for 2018? Tell me in the comment section below!

How I'll feel after tackling this list.

Many thanks to Jay Patrick of the Cinema Shame website and podcast for the prompt!

Blood and Sand (1941)

This post is sponsored by DVD Netflix.

How do you capture the look and feel of Spain without having ever been there? This was the challenge director Rouben Mamoulian had working on Twentieth Century Fox's new big budget movie about a Spanish bullfighter. He had to make Mexico City and stage 5 of Fox Studios in Los Angeles transform into Spain on screen. Mamoulian looked to the art of great Spanish painters of El Greco and Goya for inspiration. He worked with his cinematography team consisted of Ernest Palmer and Ray Rennahan to recreate Spain and translate into Technicolor splendor. The result was Blood and Sand (1941).

"One can't build on sand."

Juan "Juanillo" Gallardo (Tyrone Power) is a born torero (bullfighter). The son of a slain matador, Juanillo begins his bullfighting career at a very young age despite the desperate pleas of his mother (Alla Nazimova). Without the ability to read or write, he has few options left to him. He defends the honor of his father to loudmouth journalist Natalio Curro (Laird Cregar). After the incident, young Juanillo gathers his cuadrillo (group of friends) and sets out to Madrid to become real matadors. Years later Juanillo comes home with his cuadrillo including El Nacional (John Carradine), the reluctant fighter who doubts the merits of the sport, and Manolo (Anthony Quinn), who thinks himself a better fighter than Juanillo. After their return Juanillo seeks his childhood sweetheart Carmen (Linda Darnell) for marriage. As he becomes recognized by many as the best matador in Spain, wealthy socialite Doña Sol (Rita Hayworth) attends one of his fights and the two begin an affair. And so begins Juanillo's downward spiral in his quest for glory.

Produced by Darryl F. Zanuck, Blood and Sand explores the various aspects of bullfighting as a sport and as a culture. Audiences get to see the many facets including fame, finery, rituals, pomp and circumstance, publicity, beautiful women, cuadrillos, familial despair and religion. The exotic and dangerous world of bullfighting lends itself to an exciting story. What's interesting about this movie is that it doesn't fully glorify this controversial sport. We see social inequality and injustice and brutality. Through John Carradine's character El Nacional we hear the voice of doubt.


In 1941, Tyrone Power was a Fox contract star at the top of his game and Blood and Sand was a great film to keep that momentum going. He was well-suited to the role of a matador as he could exhibit the screen charisma and physicality required for the story's complicated hero. Also it doesn't hurt that Power was one of the most handsome leading men in Hollywood. It seems realistic that he'd catch the eye of two women as beautiful as Linda Darnell and Rita Hayworth. And those two actresses play the perfect polar opposites: Darnell as the sweet, dutiful and religious wife and Hayworth as the bored, lusty socialite. I enjoyed Darnell's performance but thought Hayworth was a bit over-the-top as a temptress. There was too many instances of eyebrow arching and not enough subtlety for me. I usually enjoy Hayworth's performances so this is definitely a one off.

After the success of The Mark of Zorro (1940) starring Tyrone Power and Linda Darnell, the swashbuckling remake of the Douglas Fairbanks classic, Fox was raring for a good follow-up. So they dipped back into the silent film well and found another story. Based on the 1908 novel by Vicente Blasco Ibáñez, Blood and Sand has been adapted for film several times. It was originally a Spanish film released in 1917, then released as a silent movie starring Rudolph Valentino in 1922 before it was adapted again in 1941. Fox considered adapting it in 1957 with Sophia Loren in Rita Hayworth's part as Doña Sol but project fell through. Another adaptation came in 1989 starring Chris Rydell, Sharon Stone and Ana Torrent.

Years later when Mamoulian visited Spain for the first time he said "I was most pleased to discover it looked exactly the way the Spanish masters had painted it and that it was as I had imagined it would be. People in Spain who had seen and loved the film did not believe I had never visited the country before making the film." At the Oscars in 1942, Blood and Sand was nominated for Best Art Direction-Interior Direction and won for Best Cinematography, Color.

Tyrone Power, John Carradine, Anthony Quinn and others were taught the art of bullfighting by champion Mexican matador Armillita Chico. Armillita was also Power's double in some of the bullfighting scenes. Power was also taught by a young aspiring American matador Budd Boetticher who worked on Blood and Sand and went on to direct westerns. An extended version with additional bullfighting scenes was distributed in South America.

I wasn't quite sure what to expect from Blood and Sand. It's not the type of film I tend to gravitate towards. I was pleasantly surprised how much I enjoyed it and how multi-layered the film turned out to be. I appreciated that it wasn't a glorification of bullfighting rather it showed many elements of this both celebrated and hated sport.

Blood and Sand (1941) is available to rent on DVD Netflix.