Soundies: The Ultimate Collection and interview with curator Susan Delson

 

For anyone who loves the 1940s music, dance and overall style, discovering Soundies is an absolute treat. What is a Soundie you may be asking? The Soundie was a precursor to the music video. These bite-sized musical short films were the length of a song and featured performers singing, dancing and even acting out skits. Soundies were produced specifically to be played in a Panoram, a coin-operated jukebox with a small screen. These short musicals made on low budgets with up-and-coming talent and highlighted contemporary trends in pop culture. They gained momentum especially during WWII and eventually petered out after the war was over. To me each Soundie is a little window into a bygone era. 

Kino Studio Classics has blessed the public with the release of Soundies: The Ultimate Collection, a four disc Blu-ray set includes 200 Soundies as well as numerous introductions by curator Susan Delson, Media Conservationist Ina Archer as well as interviews with Soundies experts Matt Barton and Mark Cantor. A booklet inside includes essays as well as an extensive list of themes and individual Soundies in order of appearance. This list proved especially helpful to keep track.

Each disc features 6 themed with 8 Soundies each. The themes vary and an introduction helps put them into context. Themes include: trending song and dance forms, the WWII homefront, sexuality and subversiveness, urban and rural culture, Latin, Asian and African-American styles as well as a four-part Straight from the Panoram series which plays 8 different Soundies as they would be shown on a real Panoram.

My personal favorites from the set include: Swing for Sale, Hot Chocolate, Got a Penny for Benny, G.I Jive, Frim Fram Sauce, Four or Five Times, Paper Doll, He's a Latin from Manhattan, Time Takes Care of Everything and Ta Ha WaHhu Wa.

There is so much energy and vivacity in these Soundies that it seems a shame to watch them sitting down. I highly recommend getting up and dancing to the beat. A much more enjoyable way to experience these Soundies.

This set is an absolute winner. I love the packaging and design, the number of diverse selection, and the introductions that helped provided historical and cultural context. The Soundies themselves are of mixed quality depending on their source material but overall they look really fantastic on Blu-ray. I do wish the intros and interviews were a bit more higher quality in presentation. Otherwise I think this is an outstanding Blu-ray set and would make the perfect gift for a classic movie fan.

I'm thrilled to have interviewed the series curator Susan Delson. Check out the interview below:

Historian Susan Delson. Photo courtesy of Susan Delson

Interview with Curator Susan Delson

Raquel Stecher: As a cultural historian, how did you first become interested in Soundies?

Susan Delson: I came across Soundies while writing a previous book, Dudley Murphy, Hollywood Wild Card. It’s a film study and biography of a little-known director whose career crossed over from silent film to sound. Murphy had an adventurous career—from Ballet mécanique to The Emperor Jones—and closed out his Hollywood years by making ten Soundies in 1941.

I started by screening Murphy’s Soundies at the Library of Congress—there weren’t many on YouTube at that point. Then I discovered the breadth of the LC’s Soundies holdings, which are vast. And I was hooked.

Raquel Stecher: It's clear that a lot of thought was put into curating the collection of soundies into different categories for this blu-ray collection. Can you tell me a bit about how each program was curated and what you hope viewers will pay special attention to?

Susan Delson: I spent years screening and researching Soundies before I began writing my book, Soundies and the Changing Image of Black Americans on Screen: One Dime at a Time. I’d been a film programmer in the past, and right from the start, potential program themes were part of my Soundies thinking. I figured I’d present these films eventually, one way or another.

As I started programming the Kino Lorber set, I knew that I wanted to explore the full scope of the history embedded in the films—American history, African American history, entertainment history, and especially the change-making undercurrents in the culture back then. Soundies are a terrific way of getting into all of that—and at the same time, a lot of fun.

Each of the four [Blu-rays] in the set has its own theme, and those took shape pretty quickly: Introducing Soundies, Life in the Soundies Era, Musical Evolutions, and Women, Sexuality, and Gender.

There are six eight-film programs on each [Blu-ray], and all of them explore a different aspect of that disc’s theme. Except for the last program on each disc, called “Straight from the Panoram.” With those, I re-created an eight-film reel exactly as the Soundies Corporation released it back then—a program from a different year on each disc.

In response to your question, what I hope viewers will pay attention to is probably all of the above—the history, the cultural undercurrents, and above all, the fun. I also hope they discover lots of terrific performers they hadn’t known about. For me, that was one of the most exciting things about the whole project.

Raquel Stecher: I was particularly interested in the Soundies programs that reflected different aspects of American life during WWII. How do these Soundies give viewers a window into the culture of that era?

Susan Delson: There’s an immediacy to Soundies’ depiction of home-front life that you don’t generally get in Hollywood movies of that era. There’s nothing quite like Louis Jordan making sly double-entendres in Ration Blues to give you a sense of what living with wartime rationing might have been like. Or the Pretty Priorities (what a name!) doing a joking, patriotic strip tease to support scrap drives for the war effort in Take It Off.

In many films, there’s a creative, playful attention to personal style—this was the zoot suit era, after all. There’s a focus on dance, too, which makes sense when you realize that in the 1940s everyone danced, whether it was the foxtrot, the samba, or the jitterbug. There are some Soundies, like Hot Chocolate (“Cottontail”) or Swing for Sale, that people might have watched over and over just to pick up some new dance moves. 

The company behind Soundies—the Soundies Distributing Corporation of America— released a new eight-film reel every week. That’s over 400 films a year. They had to keep pace with popular culture, if only to keep the product flowing. The films had to be made quickly and cheaply. And with little or no time for rehearsal, let alone directorial vision, performers often had a lot of say in how they presented themselves on screen—much more than they might have had in Hollywood. With Soundies, you get a street-level, pop-culture perspective that you don’t get in mainstream media of the day.

Raquel Stecher: The blu-ray set features a diverse mix of Soundies with Black, Asian and Latino performers. I was particularly delighted to see Soundies featuring Dorothy Dandridge, the Mills Brothers, Ricardo Montalban, Nat King Cole and more. Can you talk a bit about why this was important and what you believe are some of the highlights of the collection?

Susan Delson: The diversity you’re talking about is really important. It’s what distinguishes Soundies from most of 1940s popular culture, and I’d say it’s the main concept behind the whole Kino Lorber set.

As you can see in the [Blu-rays], the Soundies Corporation was committed to presenting a diverse array of talent. Not out of idealism or altruism—they were a business and they absolutely wanted to make money. But the Soundies Corporation recognized an underserved audience when they saw one, and they knew there was a market for films that showed, on screen, a more complete view of who we were back then—Black, Latinx, Hawaiian, Asian, Eastern European, and more. There’s so much talent here that doesn’t appear on screen anywhere else during these years.

Among the highlights, I’d have to start with the first film on disc 1, Duke Ellington’s Jam Session. It’s by far the most popular Soundie online, closing in on 3 million YouTube views (mostly under the title “C Jam Blues,” which is the number the band is playing). Dorothy Dandridge’s Soundies are another highlight—she was 19 when she made them, and she’s absolutely incandescent.

Then there are the discoveries. The vocal harmony trio Day, Dawn, and Dusk has such a smart, sophisticated take on high culture, on American history, and gender play. We have three of their Soundies in the set, and every one is a gem.

My colleague Ina Archer, who does some of the on-camera intros in the set, calls another vocal harmony group, the Delta Rhythm Boys, the house band for Soundies. I agree. They really set the style for Soundies produced in New York, and they’re wonderful to watch.

Raquel Stecher: I have so many favorites from this collection, especially Hot Chocolate, Paper Doll, Frim Fram Sauce, Johnny Zero, etc. What are some of your personal favorites?

Susan Delson: All of the ones you mention are terrific. I also love Along the Navajo Trail, with John Shadrack Horace and Johnny Moore’s 3 Blazers. It’s the only country-western Soundie I came across that stars Black performers, and they’re great. Sticking with country-western, I also love Why Did I Fall for Abner, with Carolina Cotton and Merle Haggard. Everyone looks like they had a terrific time shooting that one—including the all-woman backup band, the Glee Gates Trio with two additional musicians. They’re terrific.

I also have a soft spot for Soundies that make me laugh, like A Little Jive Is Good for You and Operatin’ Rhythm. And just about all the films on disc 4 that explore women’s sexuality and gender play.

Raquel Stecher: What do you hope viewers will get out of watching Soundies: The Ultimate Collection?

Susan Delson: I hope the films will add some nuance and complexity to our thinking about the World War II years, beyond the “Greatest Generation” gloss. The culture back then was a lot more complicated and contradictory than people might think—emphasis on contradictory—and we see that in the films.

In my introductory essay in the [Blu-ray] booklet, I write that Soundies speak in multiple voices, and they don’t all say the same thing. For me, that’s a real plus. If there’s one thing I hope viewers take away from Soundies: The Ultimate Collection, it’s that our country is, and long has been, a place of multiple voices, cultures, and peoples. 

With these films, you really get the sense that as a nation, our diversity is our strength. And they make that point in a way that’s fun to watch and listen to. I hope everyone has as much fun with these films as I had in putting the programs together.

Amazon — Barnes and Noble — Deep Discount —Kino Lorber

Soundies: The Ultimate Collection Blu-ray is available from Kino Classics. 

Thank you to Kino Lorber for sending me a copy for review and to Susan Delson for granting me an interview!

TIFF: Last Night in Soho (2021)

Eloise, or Ellie, (Thomasin McKenzie) is obsessed with the 1960s. Growing up with her granny (Rita Tushingham) meant she was exposed to the era in all sorts of ways, particularly music and fashion. Ellie is particularly good at the latter, crafting all sorts of vintage style pieces. When she gets accepted to a fashion program in London, she's thrilled. Heading off to London, the home of the swinging '60s, is the dream. But there is something unusual about Ellie. She sees ghosts. Particularly her deceased mother who appears in mirrors when something good is about to happen to Ellie. 

Ellie's transition to life as a fashion student is brutal. She encounters sexual harassment and peer bullying. She eventually moves out of the dorm and rents a room in an old London flat run by one Miss Collins (Diana Rigg). And when she sleeps at night in her new space she sees visions of Sandy (Anya Taylor-Joy), a gorgeous blonde entertainer trying to make it in the London nightclub scene. Sandy meets with Jack (Matt Smith) who promises her a career but ends up being her pimp instead. By night, Ellie is transported back to the 1960s and into Sandy's tumultuous life. By day she's struggling to make it as a student in an expensive city. Ellie becomes more invested in Sandy and even changes her own hairstyle and adopts Sandy's fashions to embody her even more. Her makeover catches the eye of the mysterious regular (Terence Stamp) at the pub Ellie works at. Could he be Jack? What ensues is a living nightmare journey for Ellie and Sandy's trauma envelops her into a world where the visions bleed into her reality.

Okay there's much more to that story but if I were to tell you I'd be giving up some delicious spoilers and I don't want to do that to you. Let's just say real life 1960s icons, Terence Stamp and Diana Rigg, have some of the most important roles in the film.

Directed by Edgar Wright, Last Night in Soho is a complex psychological horror film that tries to do a bit too much and often at the expense of its characters. I was particularly horrified by the depiction of John (Michael Ajao), the sole black character and Ellie's love interest. His sole purpose is to assist Ellie and it's a shame because they put him in pretty terrifying circumstances and do not give his character any nuance or agency. (Read Robert Daniels review of the film to find out why this character is problematic.) And overall, the second half is a big mess with Ellie just running around London in a panic.

With that said, I think there is a lot of appeal here for classic movie fans, particularly ones who also enjoy horror and zombie movies. There isn't a lot of gore but there are some spooks. The swinging '60s London scenes are fantastic. It really transports you to another time. And for anyone who loves vintage fashion, especially of this era, you'll love to see what Sandy is wearing, Ellie's shopping trip to a vintage store and Ellie's makeover and fashion show. The film also pays tribute to the music of the 1960s. Taylor-Joy performs "Downtown", Ellie is constantly listening to '60s music and Cilla Black is a character in the story.

In one of the early scenes, Ellie/Sandy walk by a marquis promoting Thunderball (1965). 1960s actresses Margaret Nolan and Rita Tushingham appear in the film. However the biggest throwbacks to that era, besides the setting and the fashion, are two of the film's most important characters played by Terence Stamp and Diana Rigg. Production took place in 2019 and Diana Rigg passed away in 2020. In fact the movie premiered at TIFF on the one year anniversary of Rigg's passing on September 10th, 2021. And what a role for Rigg. It's one of the best swan songs I've ever had the privilege of watching. These kinds of roles are just not available to older actors, with a few exceptions. And while Rigg had been working into her later years but this role just really stands out to me. I found myself tearing up because what a fantastic role for this icon! That's not to diminish Terence Stamp who does a fantastic job as the mysterious pub regular who knows a bit too much about what happened to Sandy. He's terrifying and menacing. I know this movie is really an opportunity for McKenzie and Taylor-Joy to shine, but for me Stamp and Rigg steal the show.

I encourage you to check out the trailer and let me know what you think! As a classic movie fan, would you watch this one?

Last Night in Soho premiered at the 2021 Toronto International Film Festival. It hits theaters October 29th.

The Lives of Robert Ryan by J.R. Jones

The Lives of Robert Ryan
by J.R. Jones
Wesleyan University Press
May 2015
Hardcover ISBN: 9780819573728
376 pages

Amazon — Barnes and Noble — Powells


Robert Ryan was endlessly likable, despite the many villainous characters he portrayed on screen. There was just something about him. He brought a sense of authenticity to every role and you could tell he loved his work. Behind that wrinkled brow and severe scowl was a man who was an average Joe who just happened to be an extraordinary actor. Chances are, if you're a classic film fan, you count Robert Ryan as one of your personal favorites.

Born and raised in Chicago and educated at Dartmouth College, Robert Ryan tried out many jobs before finding his true calling: acting. As a child he appeared as an extra in Essanay Film Manufacturing Company films. After college he was invited by a friend to participate in a theater production and he was hooked. Ryan made his way to Hollywood where he studied at Max Reinhardt School of Theater. It was there he met fellow actor and soon to be wife Jessica Cadwalader. After playing some bit parts in Paramount films, Ryan was drafted into the Marines during WWII. When he came back he concentrated on his movie career at RKO. He took a huge gamble starring in Crossfire (1947) as violent Anti-Semite. The liberal minded and gentle Ryan was the complete opposite character. However, he excelled at playing bad guys and Crossfire would jumpstart his career and earn him his first (and only) Academy Award nomination.

“One thing Ryan had understood… a controversial role can help an actor’s career.” — J.R. Jones

Many films followed including Berlin Express (1948), The Boy with the Green Hair (1948), The Set-Up (1949), Clash By Night (1952), The Naked Spur (1953), Bad Day at Black Rock (1955), Odds Against Tomorrow (1959), Billy Budd (1962), The Longest Day (1962), The Professionals (1966), The Dirty Dozen (1967), The Wild Bunch (1969), and his final film Executive Action (1973). Ryan would often play loners, outcasts and those figures on the perimeter of society. Off screen, Ryan was a fiercely private man. He opted out of the Hollywood scene and preferred to spend his off time with his wife and three children. Ryan became an outspoken critic of war, was a member of the National Committee for a Sane Nuclear Policy and partook in Civil Rights efforts alongside his friend and Odds Against Tomorrow co-star Harry Belafonte. He had a penchant for booze and was troubled by bouts of depression. But he never let any of that get in the way of his work. Ryan built a reputation for coming to work on time and prepared and for befriending crew members as well as his fellow actors. Ryan passed away in 1973 at the age 63 which is a damn shame because he at least had a good decade or more left in him to continue his excellent body of work.

Robert Ryan and Jessica Cadwalader. Photo Source

The Lives of Robert Ryan by J.R. Jones offers a compelling look at the life and career of one of the finest actors to ever grace the silver screen. The author has clearly done his research as he pieces together the story of a man who was far from being an open book. The book benefits from extensive interviews with Ryan's children, especially his daughter Lisa Ryan, as well as access to the 20 page memoir Ryan wrote for his family shortly before his death. There are lots of great anecdotes, insightful observations and eye-opening revelations. The book leans towards the positive but the author isn't shy to share some of the darker elements of Ryan's life.

Classic film enthusiasts will love the behind-the-scenes information and following the trajectory of Ryan's acting career. The book does gloss over Ryan's later films and extrapolates more on his early work, especially some of the notable performances in films like Crossfire and The Set-Up. Some hardcore classic film enthusiasts won't mind this but I wanted the author to linger more on some of his later films.

The true star of the book for me was Robert Ryan's wife Jessica Cadwalader. I gobbled up any information offered to me about her extraordinary but ultimately sad life. There is extensive information about how she transitioned from being an actress to being a writer, how she and Ryan were fundamental in starting the Oakwood School, a private progressive elementary school in Los Angeles that is still going to this day, and how she suffered from the limitations posed on women, wives and mothers in the '50s and '60s. She had a mental breakdown in 1958 and reading about the circumstances that lead to it made me want to throw the book across the room in anger.

The Lives of Robert Ryan by J.R. Jones is an excellent biography that delves deep on the life and career of a beloved classic film star.

Thank you to Wesleyan University Press for sending me a copy for review!

This is my second review for my Summer Reading Challenge.

This happens to be my 100th book review! Check my book review page for the full list!

Cinema Shame: Tom Horn (1980)

This post is sponsored by DVD Netflix. 

The completist in me has spoken and I must finish Steve McQueen's filmography. Even if that means watching a terrible movie like Tom Horn (1980). And yes it is indeed terrible. 

This film is part of my Cinema Shame Challenge for 2019 in which I watch 10 movies from my birth year 1980. If you want to participate in your own Cinema Shame challenge whether it by theme, month, year, whatever, visit the official website for more details.

Tom Horn (1980) was directed by Don Siegel. Then Elliot Silverstein. Then James William Geurcio. Then eventually Steve McQueen took over but because the Directors Guild of America (DGA) didn't allow actors to take director's credit after the film had already started, William Wiard was brought on to finish things up and give the film a final director's credit. The end result of that complicated production was a total mishmash of scenes. This aimless Western didn't capture my attention or my interest.

This was Steve McQueen's second to last film and he was already ill from the cancer that would eventually kill him in 1980. In fact McQueen died the same month I was born so I feel this weird connection with him. In Tom Horn, McQueen stars as the title character, a frontier scout with a legendary reputation. He worked for the Teddy Roosevelt administration, for the Pinkerton agency, was known for catching Geronimo, etc. He waltzes into town and gets off on a bad foot when boxer Jim Corbett beats him up. He's eventually hired by cattle farmer John C. Coble (Richard Farnsworth) to help catch (well, kill really) the cattle thieves that are a plague on other farmers. While he's cleaning up the joint, he meets Glendolene (Linda Evans), a local schoolteacher who is instantly smitten with him and the two have a sweet romance. Unfortunately Tom Horn is causing too much destruction and in an effort to get rid of him someone frames Tom for the murder of a young boy. The film follows Tom as he goes to trial for a crime he most likely did not commit. The real life Tom Horn was convicted yet later exonerated for the murder in 1993, 90 years after his death.

The film has a great cast: Steve McQueen, Richard Farnsworth, Linda Evans, Elisha Cook Jr. plays a stable hand at a horse ranch and Slim Pickens plays the town Sheriff who has a soft spot for Tom . The story suffers from woefully underdeveloped characters. The Evans-McQueen romance feels forced and false. There were some moments in the film where it tries to establish some personality traits for Tom Horn including a scene where he eats lobster for the first time or the different charms he carries with him that he ends up using to escape jail. In the end, Tom Horn is a flat and uninteresting character and McQueen was not in the position with both his career and his health to really invest himself in the role. If you're a Steve McQueen fan like I am, give this one a watch to check it off your list and move on.

Have you seen Tom Horn (1980)? What did you think? 

Disclaimer: As a DVD Nation director, I earn rewards from DVD Netflix. Tom Horn (1980) is available to rent on DVD.com

Cinema Shame: Xanadu (1980)

This post is sponsored by DVD Netflix.

When I was crafting my Cinema Shame list for 2019 Xanadu (1980) was the first film that came to mind. A roller skating disco fantasy? Yes, please! If you're unfamiliar with Cinema Shame make sure you visit the official website for details. Cinema Shame is a way to challenge yourself to watch those movies you've been meaning to but haven't gotten around to yet. My challenge for this year is to watch 10 films from my birth year 1980.

Directed by Robert Greenwald, Xanadu follows the story of Sonny Malone (Michael Beck), a painter/designer who has a chance encounter with the beautiful and elusive Kira (Olivia Newton-John). What he doesn't know is that she's not a real girl. She's one of the nine muses and has appeared in his life to inspire him. Sonny works an unfulfilling job at an artist's studio. One day when his overbearing boss becomes too much for him Sonny heads out to the beach where he meets clarinet player Danny McGuire (Gene Kelly). Danny was a member of the Glenn Miller Orchestra and has a passion for big band music. Danny and Sonny become fast friends and we learn that Danny had his own Kira/muse back in his day. As Sonny begins to fall for Kira, she holds back but stays with him long enough to inspire him to collaborate with Danny. Together they combine their love for big band music and rock n roll and transform an abandoned auditorium into a roller skating disco palace.

Xanadu is loose adaptation of Down to Earth (1947). The story takes place in Hollywood and was filmed there as well as in Beverly Hills, Malibu and Venice Beach. The run down auditorium in the movie was the Pan-Pacific Auditorium in Fairfax. The intention was to drum up interest in the building to fund its restoration and give it a new life. Much like what happens in the film. Unfortunately Xanadu tanked at the box office and the Pan-Pacific eventually fell into more disrepair. After a series of small fires, a large one destroyed it for good in 1989. Xanadu is essentially the last hurrah for this gorgeous Art Deco building.

Xanadu is total confection. The film explores themes of old versus new and the timelessness of imagination and creativity. It's 100% ridiculous. Very little of it makes sense and the only reasons you should be watching it are for Gene Kelly, Olivia Newton-John, music by the Electric Light Orchestra, a couple of the musical numbers and to take a time travel trip back to 1980's SoCal.

I hate to single out a particular person for the downfall of a movie but Xanadu would have been 10 times better without Michael Beck. Singer Andy Gibb was slated to play Sonny Malone but had to drop out. Gibb's known drug abuse problems might have been a factor. So they found an Andy Gibb look-a-like instead. Gibb could sing, dance and had charisma, all of which Beck lacked. Olivia Newton-John is left to her own devices in several song and dance numbers. Gene Kelly comes to the rescue for a couple of them but Beck is pretty much useless. It's not his fault really. He wasn't the right fit for this role. They really should have nixed the idea of finding a Gibb look-a-like and went with a song-and-dance man instead.

"Just pretend it's 1945." - Kira

"I don't have to pretend. It is 1945 all over again." - Danny

As someone who loves 1940s culture, I was surprised to see how much that decade played in this otherwise very 1980s movie. Kelly and Newton-John have a love tap dance/big band number with Newton-John dressed in a WWII service uniform. Danny lives in a silent film star's old mansion and his passion for big band is juxtaposed with modern day rock n roll. Also I'm one of those weirdos who lives for the 1980s interpretation of the 1940s. That decade's style made a comeback in the '80s and in the big band/rock n roll song and dance number the '40s costumes are vintage with a modern twist. So fun!

Have you seen Xanadu? What did you think about it?

Disclaimer: As a DVD Nation director, I earn rewards from DVD Netflix. Xanadu (1980) is available to rent on DVD Netflix.

Cinema Shame: Urban Cowboy (1980)

I'm chipping away at my 2019 Cinema Shame challenge. This year I gave myself the goal to watch 10 movies from my birth year 1980 for the very first time. I'm hoping I can tackle a few reviews this summer so I can keep up!

Oh boy. I'm not even sure how Urban Cowboy (1980) made it onto my Cinema Shame list. I'm just going to chalk it up to the fact that it met all of my criteria (film released in 1980 - check. film I haven't seen yet - check). But perhaps I should have skipped this one. It has NOT aged well and while I'm glad I watched it I'm not going to visit it again any time soon.

Urban Cowboy stars John Travolta as Bud, a small town cowboy who leaves for Houston to find a job in the oil business. He stays with his Uncle Bob (Barry Corbin) and Aunt Corene (Brooke Alderson) who take him out to the hottest club in town, Gilley's a hopping honky tonk bar where all the action happens. There he meets Sissy (Debra Winger), a bar regular with a spirited personality. They quickly fall in love and get married. Bud has his eye on mastering the mechanical bull at Gilley's and when former convict Wes (Scott Glenn) shows up at Gilley's Bud finds some competition for both the bull and Sissy. Bud and Sissy have a falling out driving Bud into the arms of the cowboy obsessed Pam (Madolyn Smith Osborne) and Sissy into the arms of Wes who teaches her how to ride a mechanical bull. As Bud trains for a mechanical bull riding competition, behind the scenes Wes is up to no good.

When Urban Cowboy hit theaters in the summer of 1980, critics called it the country western answer to Saturday Night Fever and they were not wrong. It definitely had that vibe even if the dancing wasn't as prominent. The film was directed by James Bridges and based on the real life story of Dew Westbrook and Betty Helmer, two Gilley regulars whose romance was profiled in an Esquire article. This movie just doesn't sit well in the 21st century and I found it off-putting. The domestic violence in particular is hard to swallow. Sissy, played by Debra Winger, has to endure a lot of emotional and physical abuse. Both Bud and Wes treat her like shit. Bud starts off as a total jerk and then comes around by the end. Wes seems okay but his criminal past and his flirtatious nature makes it apparent early on that he's not one to settle down with. Even so, both Bud and Wes' characters do a sudden about face that I didn't quite see coming and felt like a plot fix. In the end, I was only really invested in Sissy and everyone else (except for Bob and Corene!) could go to hell in a handbasket. I can see some of what people enjoy about this movie. It has a great cast, a great sense of place and time and plenty of dramatic tension throughout. The mechanical bull riding scenes were so much fun to watch. But for me the events in the story were either too predictable or came out of the blue. Overall the film left me with a bad taste in my mouth.

Have you seen Urban Cowboy? What did you think? Did you like it more than I did?

Cinema Shame: American Gigolo (1980)

My 2019 Cinema Shame challenge got off to an auspicious start. Seven days into the year not only had I posted my challenge but I had also already seen two of the movies on my list. Then months passed, I never reviewed those films and now I find myself mid-April having to start all over again. But no sweat. Let's begin from the beginning.

My challenge for this year is to watch 10 films from my birth year 1980. These are films I've never seen before (hence "Cinema Shame").  I kick off the challenge anew with American Gigolo (1980). 

Written and directed by Paul Schrader, American Gigolo stars Richard Gere as Julian Kaye, a handsome gigolo whose clientele mostly consists of the wealthy elite of Beverly Hills. With the help of his madame/boss Anne (Nina van Pallandt), he plays both escort and sex therapist to older rich ladies. Julian, or "Julie" as some call him, is very devoted to his job. He wears Armani suits, drives a Mercedes Benz (a 450 SL R107), speaks multiple languages and knows how to navigate the social scene. One day he meets Michelle (Lauren Hutton), the wife of Senator Stratton (Brian Davies). The two have a wild love affair. In the midst of it all, Julian gets a secret side gig from his shady pimp friend Leon (Bill Duke) who sets Julian up with a couple. Weeks later the wife from that gig has been found brutally murdered and detective Sunday (Hector Elizondo) is on the case. All fingers point to Julian who is clearly innocent. He's been set-up. But by who? And why?

"Legal is not always right. Men make laws. Sometimes they're wrong." - Julian Kaye

American Gigolo was filmed in early 1979 and released February 1980. Something I love about the 1970s and the early 1980s is Hollywood's newfound comfort with on-screen sexuality. We lose that later on and to this day people are more put off by sex in film than they are violence which, in my opinion, is an utter shame. I love how Julian Kaye enjoys his work and takes pride in offering quality service to the women who hire him. In one scene he discusses working for three hours with a client to achieve a particular goal that had previously seemed impossible. The portrayal of gender dynamics in the film was perhaps what drew me in the most. Julian's boss is a woman, his most trusted allies are women and any toxic relationships in his life all come from men. 

It's not a perfect film but I enjoyed American Gigolo  not only for the portrayal of sexuality (which at times was still a bit corny but hey its 1979/1980) and the exploration of gender roles but also for the crime drama aspect. Julian Kaye is solving a murder mystery while simultaneously trying to clear his name without revealing his own illegal activities. Richard Gere is charming as the debonair yet reserved gigolo and he's worth the price of admission alone. I had never seen Lauren Hutton in a film. I remember growing up in the 1990s, the age of the supermodel, and Hutton was still highly revered as one of the greats. 

Have you seen American Gigolo? If so, what did you think?

My Cinema Shame Statement for 2019

For my 2019 Cinema Shame challenge I'm shaking things up a bit by watching films from the year I was born. And there is no shame in telling you that 1980 happens to be my birth year. Although there is a bit of shame in admitting how few films released in 1980 I've actually seen. Not very many. So I plan to correct that in 2019 with this new challenge.

If you're not familiar with Cinema Shame, make  sure to visit the official website for details.

Which of these films from 1980 have you seen and which do you recommend? Here is what I'm planning on watching this year:

American Gigolo (1980)

dir. Paul Schrader

starring Richard Gere, Lauren Hutton and Hector Elizondo

The Blues Brothers (1980)

directed by John Landis

starring John Belushi and Dan Aykroyd

Caddyshack (1980)

directed by Harold Ramis

starring Chevy Chase, Rodney Dangerfield, Ted Knight, Henry Wilcoxon

Dressed to Kill (1980)

directed by Brian De Palma

starring Angie Dickinson, Michael Caine, Nancy Allen

Fatso (1980)

directed by Anne Bancroft

starring Dom DeLuise, Anne Bancroft, Ron Carey

Flash Gordon (1980)

directed by Mike Hodges

starring Sam J. Jones, Melody Anderson, Max von Sydow

Hopscotch (1980)

directed by Ronald Neame

starring Walter Matthau, Glenda Jackson, Sam Waterston

Tom Horn (1980)

directed by William Wiard

starring Steve McQueen, Linda Evans, Richard Farnsworth, Elisha Cook Jr.

Urban Cowboy (1980)

directed by James Bridges

starring John Travolta, Debra Winger, Scott Glenn, Madolyn Smith Osborne

Xanadu (1980)

directed by Robert Greenwald

starring Olivia Newton-John, Gene Kelly, Michael Beck, James Sloyan

What's on your Cinema Shame list for 2019? Tell me in the comment section below!

Also make sure you listen to the most recent Cinema Shame podcast episode. I'm the special guest!

Cinema Shame: Get Carter (1971)

I'm ending my 2018 Cinema Shame challenge with a bang! I continue my exploration of Michael Caine's filmography with a first time viewing of Get Carter (1971). While I was expecting a great thriller, what I wasn't expecting was one of the most brutal revenge stories of all time.

Directed by Mike Hodges, Get Carter stars Michael Caine as Jack Carter, a ruthless gangster working in London. When his brother dies in a car accident, he travels home to Newcastle to attend his funeral. But something is fishy about how his brother died. As Carter starts to uncover clues he finds out that not only was his brother's death a murder it was also a personal attack on Carter himself. Carter will stop at nothing to find out what happened and to destroy every one involved. 

Michael Caine's Jack Carter is one of the most cold-blooded and merciless characters I've ever encountered in a film. Several scenes sent chills up my spine. While Carter is sadistic in his actions he's not completely unsympathetic. He's clearly affected by the death of his brother and it's the motivation for everything he does in the film. And one element in his complicated revenge plot is the discovery that his niece, Doreen (Petra Markham), was involved in a pornographic film with the same people who sought out her father's death. If Carter wasn't already mad, this discovery set him on a course of no return. 

Caine's performance as Carter is brilliant. He's cool, calm and collected but there is a fury behind his eyes that lets you know every single move is a calculated one. And Carter is one sexy gangster. He's got a way with women it's no wonder why they all fall victim to his charm. He seduces several women including Britt Ekland as Anna, Geraldine Moffat as Glenda and Rosemary Dunham as Edna. The biggest victim of Carter's wrath is Dorothy White's Margaret, his brother's girlfriend and a key accomplice to the gangsters who were out to get Carter.

SPOILER STARTS HERE

 It's too bad about the ending. It makes sense for the story arc because its clear that Carter was on a path of destruction and there was no turning back. But had he survived this tale, Jack Carter films would have made a nice 1970s franchise. 

SPOILER ENDS HERE

Get Carter was remade in 2000 with Sylvester Stallone. Some of the actors from the original, including Michael Caine, appear in the remake. It would be interesting to see the 2000 version but I'm in no particular rush to do so.

While I didn't finish all of my 2018 Cinema Shame movies I tackled quite a few and will finish the rest on my own time. I'm excited to work on my challenge for 2019. Big thanks to Jay of Cinema Shame for hosting and encouraging us cinephiles to finally see those films that have been on our to-be-watchlist for way too long.

Tender Comrade (1943)

"Teacher, Tender Comrade, Wife. A fellow farer true through life. Heart-whole and soul-free. The August Father gave to me." – Robert Louis Stevenson

Tender Comrade (1943) is a sentimental WWII drama much in the style of Since You Went Away (1944). It follows the story of Jo Jones (Ginger Rogers) a fiesty and strong-willed woman married to mild-mannered soldier Chris (Robert Ryan). After Chris’ 24 hour leave, the two say their goodbyes at a train station as he travels overseas for battle. Doing her part for the war effort, Jo works at a local aircraft factory as a welder. She becomes friendly with a trio of women who've also been left behind. There’s Barbara (Ruth Hussey), an embittered woman who harbors bad feelings for her sailor husband. She openly dates other men and is the voice of discontent among the group. Then there is Doris (Kim Hunter), a sweet and starry-eyed newlywed. A proposal and quickie marriage left her in a suspended virginal state. Then there's Helen (Patricia Collinge), the matriarch and most level-headed of the bunch. Both her husband and son are away at war. All the women struggle to make ends meet and Jo comes up with an idea: they’ll all move in together and share the expenses equally. They add a fifth, Manya (Mady Christians), a German refugee whose husband is fighting the good fight against the Nazis. She takes on a job as a housekeeper. We follow their stories as they adjust to this new arrangement. The film is broken up with flashbacks of scenes from Jo and Chris’ courtship and marriage. It’s equal parts touching and tragic, just as you’d expect a WWII movie to be.

Written by Dalton Trumbo and directed by Edward Dmytryk, Tender Comrade was produced by RKO. Several endings were filmed in order to get just the right tone for the end product. According to Robert Ryan biographer Frank Jarlett, “the picture did well financially, earning $843,00 in profits for RKO, mainly because its tone of patriotic righteous indignation registered in the public’s mind at a peak emotional time.”

Ginger Rogers was on a high point in her career. She had won an Academy Award for her performance in Kitty Foyle (which was also written by Dalton Trumbo). That film did well for RKO and Tender Comrade was a psuedo follow-up to that success. For Tender Comrade, Rogers was billed as the “chin-up girl”, a role model for women embodying the ideal of strength and resilience during wartime. The film premiered in Los Angeles on December 29, 1943, just under the wire to have Rogers’ performance qualify for Academy Award submission. In the end, she didn’t receive a nomination and the film was released to the general public in June 1944. I’ve always been partial to Ginger Rogers and her performances but I felt her role as Jo was overbearing. Perhaps it was the long speeches and the constant bickering, but I found her character not as sympathetic as I wanted her to be.

On the other hand, Chris Jones was an exceptionally good part for Robert Ryan, who was still in the early days of his long acting career. Playing a leading romantic part with a major movie star helped put him on the map. Ryan is incredibly charming in this film. It’s a shame Hollywood relegated him to roles as heavies and villains because there was a “tender” side to him that really shone through.

A few years after its release, Tender Comrade developed a reputation for its perceived Communist agenda. During the HUAC investigations, the film singled out for subversive propaganda and for the term “Comrade” and its connection to Communist Russia. Although the phrase "tender comrade" is a reference to Robert Louis Stevenson’s poem The Wife and is quoted at the very start of the film, its reasonable to consider an intended dual meaning.

Trumbo is one of my favorite writers and a huge influence in my life. Reading his novel Johnny Got His Gun completely altered my perspective on the world and I tend to gravitate towards his works. I enjoyed the social commentary and the political subtext of the film even though I thought it to be overly sentimental.

Trumbo was singled out by Lela Rogers, Ginger Rogers mother, during a HUAC hearing. During the filming of Tender Comrade, Rogers started to take issue with some of the dialogue and this was a very dialogue-driven film. In one scene, the German housekeeper receives her husband medal of honor in the mail. Its decided that the medal belongs to all of them and not just Manya. Rogers was supposed to deliver the line “share and share alike, that’s democracy” but instead it was given to Kim Hunter. The film has a bit of a socialist agenda: the give women split their profits evenly, Manya becomes upset at perceived excess and Doris confesses hoarding lipsticks. However I felt the movie as had some strong patriotic messaging. There is Ginger Rogers’ grand speech about the sacrifice needed to live in a better world. And there are various references to being patriotic through rationing and also anti-German and Japanese sentiment. But in the end Dmytryk and Trumbo were both blacklisted by the HUAC and Hollywood. Dmytryk went into exile only to return to the US and give testimony which eventually cleared him from the blacklist. Trumbo was more defiant. After being jailed, he continued to work in Hollywood under pseudonyms. It wasn’t until both Otto Preminger (Exodus) and Kirk Douglas (Spartacus) publicly listed Trumbo as screenwriter in their respective films that the blacklist officially ended.

Tender Comrade holds an important place in the history of WWII films and the Hollywood Blacklist. This film makes its DVD debut thanks to the good folks at the Warner Archive Collection.

Tender Comrade (1943) is available on DVD-MOD from the Warner Archive Collection.When you use my buy links you help support this site. Thanks!

The Warner Archive trio George, D.W. and Matt discuss the film (about 25 minutes in) on the A Colossal Collection episode of their podcast.

 Warner Archive Wednesday - On (random) Wednesdays, I review one title from the Warner Archive Collection. Thank you to Warner Archive for sending me Tender Comrade (1943) to review!

Cinema Shame: Le samouraï (1967)

When I was curating my Cinema Shame list for 2018, I looked to FilmStruck for some inspiration. Le samouraï (1967) is a staple on FilmStruck's Criterion Channel and one of the first films I noticed on the service when I signed up as a beta user. I wasn’t familiar with director Jean-Pierre Melville’s work and hadn’t seen many Alain Delon films. For me that’s good enough a reason to dive in because I love exploring unfamiliar territory. In addition to that, my love of French cinema and the influence of my friend Kate Gabrielle, who is a big Alain Delon fan, helped put Le samouraï on my FilmStruck watchlist.

Le samouraï stars Alain Delon as Jef Costello, a professional hitman hired to kill the owner of a jazz club. He goes through an elaborate ritual in preparation for the kill: he dresses up in his signature trench coat, with popped collar, hat and white gloves, he establishes an alibi with his girlfriend Jane (Nathalie Delon) and he steals a car. The hit goes according to plan until it doesn’t. The club’s pianiste (Cathy Rosier) becomes a witness to the murder. Jef is put in a police line up and is suspected of being the killer by Le Commissaire (Francois Perier). This puts his bosses, which include some of the club’s staff, in a precarious situation. They decide that they must get rid of Jef to protect themselves. Jef goes from killer for hire to target.

Jean-Pierre Melville was heavily influenced by American Film Noir and it shows in Le samouraï. This French neo-noir thriller is atmospheric and strikingly visual. I love how the film plays with light and shadow. Alain Delon is a perfect fit for Jef, the cold, detached and methodical protagonist. Delon brings a mystique to the character that makes Jef one cool mofo. Delon is a work of art in motion. I love how beautifully he’s positioned in the different scenes. With his amazing blue eyes are piercing through the screen, Delon is someone you just want to keep looking at. Yes there are other actors in this movie but they all seem to serve as pawns to tell Jef’s story.

And his story is brilliantly told. The first 10 minutes are without any dialogue. We watch Jef go through the motions of his pre-kill ritual. Just watching him we learn about what kind of man he is but also we’re held at a distance. In one of the early, it’s a rainy day, Jef has just stolen a car and a beautiful young woman looks over at him while they sit in traffic. He acknowledges her presence but makes it clearn he has no interest in pursuing any form of interaction with her. As the audience we have the same dynamic with him. In Jef’s apartment is a bullfinch in a cage. I like to think the bird represents Jef’s fear of being trapped. He’ll do anything to be free and stay free. At any cost.

I fell for Le samouraï hook, line and sinker. I’m here for more Melville, more Delon and more French neo-noir. It was by happenstance that I watched Robert Wise's film noir thriller Odds Against Tomorrow (1959) immediately after watching Le samouraï . I found out later that Melville adored that film, kept his own 35mm copy, and watched it over 80 times. A review of that film is coming soon!

Le samouraï is available to watch on FilmStruck's Criterion Channel. There is no expiration date so this one is not going anywhere anytime soon.

Le samouraï (1967) is the fourth of eight films that I am watching for the 2018 Cinema Shame challenge. Check out my original list and stay tuned for more reviews!
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