Month: September 2023

You can watch the entire film for free on Kino Lorber’s YouTube channel.

The Plot: In the early 1980s, when Reagan-era politics reignited the nuclear arms race, we revisited the first era of Cold War paranoia with “The Atomic Cafe”. Clips from dozens of government propaganda films, newsreels, and TV interviews are spliced together in a “compilation vérité”: no narrator, no modern-day interviews for context, just archival footage illustrating how the invention of the nuclear bomb in 1945 quickly escalated into a full-on arms race, and how the US government used the surrounding fear to keep its citizens in line. The footage is edited to highlight the absurdities of the era, as well as the darkness of a government trying to normalize this new weapon of mass destruction.

Why It Matters: The NFR calls the film “a unique document of the 1940s-1960s era” and praises the “vast, yet entertaining, collage of clips”. An essay by the University of Kent’s John Wills contextualizes the film’s production.

But Does It Really?: Oh sure. I enjoyed this movie a lot, or at least as much as I can enjoy a movie about such a dark subject matter. “The Atomic Cafe” is on the list for its succinct representation of Cold War politics, and its unique presentation makes it more accessible than a lot of its contemporaries. Part documentary, part collage, part cautionary tale, “The Atomic Cafe” isn’t an essential American film, but is an alternatingly humorous and terrifying account of essential American history. On a list with its share of government propaganda, I’m glad the Registry found room for a post-modernist takedown like “The Atomic Cafe”.

Shout Outs: It wouldn’t be a film about atomic age propaganda without an appearance from our friend Burt the Turtle in “Duck and Cover“. The NFR write-up also mentions the use of “The House in the Middle“, though I wasn’t able to confirm its appearance here. And among the needle drops from old film scores is the theme from “The Killers” by Miklós Rózsa.

Everybody Gets One: While in San Francisco, Pierce Rafferty found a catalog of US Government films and was intrigued by their unique titles such as “You Can’t Get Away With It“. He convinced his brother Kevin – then a CalArts film student – to work on a film highlighting their fascination with government propaganda. Journalist Jayne Loader was brought on board, and helped narrow the focus of the movie on government films pertaining to the Cold War and atomic bomb. The trio sifted through an estimated 10,000 hours of footage and outtakes for their 86 minute movie. While most of these films were in the public domain, a majority of the movie’s $300,000 budget went to acquiring the rights to the remaining footage, as well as the soundtrack.

Title Track: The Atomic Cafe is the name of an actual cafe seen about 72 minutes into the movie, in the midst of a montage of all the random things that got nuclear names at the time.

Seriously, Oscars?: No Oscar nomination for “The Atomic Cafe”, though it was nominated at the BAFTA’s, and the Boston Society of Film Critics gave it their Best Documentary prize. The Oscar’s Best Documentary winner that year was “Just Another Missing Kid”, John Zaritsky’s film about the disappearance of a Canadian teenager in Nebraska in 1978.

• The filmmakers do an excellent job of showing the ripple effect of how the first atomic bomb led to the end of one war and beginning of another. And it all escalates so quickly, much like how I imagine it must have felt in real life. It’s saying something when your movie can only touch on the McCarthy hearings and the Rosenberg executions for only a few brief moments. But then again, if you’re looking for a streamlined documentary about the McCarthy hearings, the NFR has got you covered.
• It was very interesting watching this film so shortly after seeing “Oppenheimer” (a movie that I owe a second viewing that isn’t immediately followed by “Barbie”). In fact, “Oppenheimer” serves as an excellent primer to “Atomic Cafe”, which picks up more or less where the Nolan film left off. If nothing else, it made me appreciate the appearance in this film of Lewis Strauss, the Chair of the U.S. Atomic Energy Commission and future Robert Downey Jr. awards-bait. Strauss is on hand to downplay the nuclear fallout at Rongerik and Utirik, two islands downwind of the nuclear testing on Bikini Atoll in 1954. Strauss speech is intercut with footage of the Marshallese and their obvious signs of acute radiation syndrome.
• In addition to Strauss, this movie has a lot of notable politicians sprinkled throughout, including future presidents Lyndon Johnson, Richard Nixon, and Ronald Reagan (’80s filmmakers loved their ironic Reagan footage). Also on hand is Senator Owen Brewster, remembered today as Alan Alda’s character in “The Aviator”, and Representative Lloyd Bentsen, who would go on to famously tell Dan Quayle “Senator, you’re no Jack Kennedy.”
• For a movie hailed as being so funny, I actually found this an unsettling watch. Perhaps it’s because I don’t have the nostalgic lens of Boomers who grew up with this atomic culture, who can afford to look back on their childhoods as adults and laugh. Sure I learned about the Cold War in high school (kinda), but seeing actual footage of the frenzy that Americans whipped themselves up into is a distressing viewing experience. In some ways the film is even more relevant now than in 1982. I recognize so many of the same scare tactics in today’s cable news and clickbait headlines, applicable to any hot button issue a politician wants to scare their followers with. To paraphrase from this movie, it can happen here today, and it can be a lot worse.
• Wow, I did not realize how many songs there were about nuclear bombs. This movie’s soundtrack has such ’50s classics as “Atom Bomb Baby”, “Atomic Love”, and “Jesus Hits Like an Atom Bomb”. There’s so many of these that the movie had a soundtrack album! One song that has actually come up on this blog before is Bill Haley And His Comets’ “Thirteen Women (And Only One Man In Town)”, sung from the perspective of the lone male survivor of an atomic bomb. Unfortunate subject matter aside, you’re probably more familiar with that record’s B-side: “(We’re Gonna) Rock Around The Clock”.
• The final sequence in the film is an approximation of what a nuclear attack would have been like in the ’50s, with the nuclear family (another atomic namesake) heading into their fallout shelters and waiting out the bombing. The film ends with Father telling his kids to sweep up the glass and debris while they just relax and wait for the authorities to tell them what to do. I know it’s supposed to be funny, but I just found it all disturbing.

• The end credits play over more nuclear fallout footage with Floyd Tillman’s “This Cold War With You” on the soundtrack. Very much a lighter riff on the “Dr. Strangelove” ending (incidentally, “Atomic Cafe” was compared favorably to “Strangelove” in reviews). Check out the “Thanks” section of the credits for such varied names as Barbara Kopple, John Avildsen, E. L. Doctorow, and Abbie Hoffman.

The Plot: Pauline Marvin (Pearl White) is a young woman who dreams of living a life of adventure before she settles down with her beau Harry (Crane Wilbur). Around the time she makes this vow, her adoptive father Sanford (Edward José) dies, leaving his fortune to Pauline, which she will inherit as soon as she marries Harry. Sanford’s secretary Koerner (Paul Panzer) knows he will get the money if Pauline dies before getting married, so he attempts a series of plots (perils, if you will) to murder Pauline. In this nine-part serial, a typical episode is Pauline setting off on an adventure, Koerner hiring a shady character to kill her during said adventure, and Pauline getting out of harm’s way just in time. Lather, rinse, repeat.

Why It Matters: While the NFR admits that “Pauline” is “now regarded as a satirical cliché of the movie industry”, they give the series its due as “among the first American movie serials” and gives a pre-feminist shoutout to Pearl White.

But Does It Really?: I suppose. We don’t have a lot of serials on this list, and it makes sense to include the first successful one. I tried to space out my viewing of these episodes to one every few days, but even then these were a slog to get through. Once you get the hang of what each episode is like, there isn’t a lot of variety to spice things up. Still, you can trace a lot of influence back to “Pauline”: from melodramas and their tropes all the way to modern binge-watching. “The Perils of Pauline” earns its spot on the list as the film serial that started it all, but this is another viewing reserved for people like me forcing themselves to go through this list.

Everybody Gets One: Pearl White lived a life as exciting as her cinematic counterpart, performing on stage at age six and eventually working as a bareback rider in the circus. As a young adult she traveled South America as a singer until she developed voice problems, which naturally led her to a career in silent films. White was already a regular at Pathé Frères when “Pauline” came her way, and the serial made her a star.

Episode 4: The Deadly Turning (Original Cut: Episode 15)

• Pauline enters an international cross country race (a bit redundant, no?). Koerner sets up a series of traps on the course for Pauline, but once again she avoids all of them and nothing exciting actually happens. You can get a more dramatic old-timey car race by watching the opening credits of “Chitty Chitty Bang Bang”. Still, it was fun to see people wearing the driving coats, caps, and goggles synonymous with early automobiles.

• Pearl White would go on to star in the aforementioned “Exploits of Elaine”, which was even more successful than “Pauline”. She spent most of the 1910s as “Queen of the Serials” before retiring from film in the early 1920s.
• “The Perils of Pauline” was remade as a serial in 1933, and as a film in 1947 and 1967. It should be noted, however, that the only connection any of these have to the original serial is the title. Heck, the ’47 movie is a fictionalized biopic of Pearl White with Betty Hutton.

• If you’re willing to spend a few extra bucks, the good people at Serial Squadron have released a restored version of “Pauline” on DVD.

Further Viewing: One item that pops up in a lot of write-ups about “Perils of Pauline” is the melodrama trope of the woman tied to the railroad tracks. While this never happens in “Pauline”, it does occur in other films of the time such as “The Hazards of Helen” and “Teddy at the Throttle”, with these films being conflated with “Pauline” over time. I know it’s a stretch, but shouldn’t one of these be on the NFR?

The Plot: In the Russian Empire village of Anatevka Boyberik circa 1905, the dairyman Tevya (Maurice Schwartz) balances his devout Judaism with the increasing anti-Semitism of the Russian government. His daughter Chava (Miriam Riselle) has started seeing Fedya (Leon Liebold), an intelligent Christian, which infuriates Tevya and his equally devout wife Golde (Rebecca Weintraub). Despite the pleading of her parents, Chava marries Fedya, and Tevya declares her dead to him, never to spoken of or remembered again. When the town council announces the immediate expulsion of all Jews from the village, Tevya grapples with his place in the world. Sholem Aleichem’s most famous character comes to the screen in this Yiddish production that’s all about traditiooooon. Tradition. Bump-ba-da-dum-dum-bump-ba-da-dum-dum-bump tradition.

Why It Matters: For starters, the NFR’s official listing names the film “Tevye”, with “Tevya” being listed as an alternate title (the print I watched is titled “Tevya”, so that’s what I’m going with). Other than that, the NFR writeup is just a plot summary and its connections to “Fiddler on the Roof”. An essay by film critic J. Hoberman is a detailed history of the film’s production and reception.

But Does It Really?:  This in another one of those movies where I get why it’s on the Registry, but I was more interested in the story behind the film than entertained by the film itself. “Tevya” is the first foreign-language movie to be inducted into the Registry, and represents a culture that was in serious danger of being wiped out in the upcoming war. It also helps that there is a significantly more iconic adaptation of the same material keeping this film’s memory afloat, but more on that later. “Tevya” is an historically important piece of American film, and its unique presentation helps it stand out among other NFR movies. It’s worth a watch for film/Yiddish theater buffs, but everyone else can just watch the musical instead.

Everybody Gets One: Avrom Moishe Schwartz emigrated to New York City in 1901, changing his name to Maurice shortly thereafter. As a teenager, Schwartz became fascinated by the Yiddish theater, and spent years working odd jobs until he could afford to become a full-time actor. In 1918, Schwartz founded the Yiddish Art Theatre, with a goal of presenting both classics and new works to a Yiddish audience. In 1919, Schwartz first played the role of Tevye on stage in a production directed by himself and based on an adaptation Sholem Aleichem penned shortly before his death. Almost twenty years later, Schwartz returned to the role of Tevye for the film adaptation, which he felt compelled to make in response to the wave of anti-Semitism sweeping Europe throughout the 1930s.

Seriously, Oscars?:  No Oscar attention for “Tevya”, but its successor “Fiddler on the Roof” fared much better: Eight nominations and three wins.

• The moment when Tevya yells at Tzeitel “I have no other daughters!” got an unintentional laugh out of me. Poor Hodel, to say nothing of Shprintze, Beilke, Taybele, and the unnamed seventh one that’s only mentioned in the first story.
• [Spoilers] For those of us (including myself) more familiar with the musical than the original stories, it’s surprising that this movie is even more of a downer. For starters, Golde dies! Like the stories, this movie ends with Tevya and his family being evicted from the town, although the film (and the musical) remove the ambiguous ending and let Tevya reconcile with Chava. In the end, “Tevya” is essentially an extended melodrama. A good melodrama, I grant you that, but still.

Legacy 

• “Tevya” premiered in New York City on December 21^st, 1939. The Yiddish papers that reviewed the film were in near agreement that while the film as a whole was quite powerful (especially Schwartz’s performance), it departed too drastically from the source material to be considered a success. Although the film had been deemed lost for decades, a print was rediscovered in 1978.
• After “Tevya”, Maurice Schwartz returned to the theater, though Yiddish theater was slowly dying due to the ongoing assimilation of its audience. Schwartz performed on Broadway and in a few Hollywood movies before his death in 1960 at age 69.
• There have been multiple adaptations of the “Tevye” short stories before and after the 1939 film, but of course the best known is the musical “Fiddler on the Roof”. With a score by Jerry Bock and Sheldon Harnick and a book by Joseph Stein, “Fiddler” adapted the material for a post-Holocaust generation, and subsequently became the longest running Broadway musical of its time. There have been revivals all over the world, including five on Broadway, and a successful film adaptation in 1971 by Norman Jewison. It’s worth noting that as of this writing, the 1971 film has not made the NFR. That’s gotta be an oversight, right?

Listen to This: The original Broadway cast recording of “Fiddler on the Roof” made the National Recording Registry in 2019. “Fiddler” expert Alisa Solomon is on hand with an essay that delves into the score and the album’s recording session.

It’s that time of year again; when the National Film Board Preservation meets to determine this year’s NFR inductees and I post my ballot as a not-so-subtle attempt to sway their votes. Here are my 50 picks for films that deserve to be on the Registry. Movies with an * are movies I’m nominating this year for the first time.

The Five Timers Club (Movies that I have nominated at least five times but have yet to make it): 9 to 5 (1980), Big (1988), It’s a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World (1963), The Miracle Worker (1962), Mystery Science Theater 3000: The Movie (1996), The Sixth Sense (1999)

Personal Favorites: Rope (1948), Witness for the Prosecution (1957), Exploratorium (1974), Hardware Wars (1978), Clue (1985), Home Alone (1990), The Birdcage (1996), Best in Show (2000), Hedwig and the Angry Inch (2001)

A Favorite that Should at Least Be on the List of Eligible Titles on the NFR’s Website: Original Cast Album: Company (1970)

Animation!: Humorous Phases of Funny Faces (1906), Feline Follies (1919)*, Der Fuehrer’s Face (1942), Cat Concerto (1947)*, Alice in Wonderland (1951), Winnie the Pooh and the Honey Tree (1966)*, The Nightmare Before Christmas (1993), Space Jam (1996)*, Finding Nemo (2003)

A Whole Buncha ’80s: Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan (1982), Gremlins (1984)*, The Karate Kid (1984), The Color Purple (1985), Blue Velvet (1986), Labyrinth (1986), Dirty Dancing (1987), Fatal Attraction (1987), Beetlejuice (1988), Say Anything… (1989)*

Grab Bag: The Wolf Man (1941)*, Creature from the Black Lagoon (1954), The Great Escape (1963), Fantastic Voyage (1966)*, The Heartbreak Kid (1972)* Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore (1974), Sleepless in Seattle (1993), Cast Away (2000)*, O Brother, Where Art Thou? (2000)*, Moulin Rouge! (2001)*, Borat (2006)*, 300 (2007)*, Bridesmaids (2011)

And finally, the Newly Eligible from 2013: 12 Years a Slave (2013)*, Frozen (2013)*

On average, three of the movies on my nominations ballot make the cut. Which ones will it be? Can I beat my personal best of getting five films on the list in one year? And is anyone on the National Film Preservation Board actually reading this? We’ll find out the answers to all of these questions in December.

Wow, no trailer to be found for this version of “Zenda”, so here’s an introduction to the film by one of those new TCM hosts.

The Plot: Englishman Rudolf Rassendyll (Ronald Colman) takes a vacation in the fictional European country Ruritania in the summer of 1897. He soon discovers that he looks nearly identical to Ruritania’s King Rudolf the V (also Ronald Colman), soon to be coronated and wed to Princess Flavia (Madeleine Carroll). Amused by their resemblance, King Rudolf invites Rudolf to dine with him on the eve of his coronation, where the king drinks a bottle of wine from his half-brother Michael (Raymond Massey) and is drugged. Worried that Michael will try to overtake the throne while Rudolph V is incapacitated, Colonel Zapt and Captain von Tarlenheim (C. Aubrey Smith and David Niven) convince Rudolf to fill in for the king for the coronation. Shortly afterwards, the real king is kidnapped by Michael’s henchman Rupert of Hentzau (Douglas Fairbanks Jr.) and held prisoner in the nearby village of Zenda. There’s action, romance, and some impressive optical effects in the kind of historical adventure that could only come from 1930s Hollywood.

Why It Matters: The NFR write-up is mostly a rundown of the film’s plot and production, with the only superlative going to the movie’s “escapist charm”.

But Does It Really?: This is another one of those movies that I think made the NFR a little sooner than it should have. I enjoyed “Zenda” quite a bit as an entertaining example of a Classic Hollywood studio adventure, but this should not be part of the same NFR class as “2001” and “Lawrence of Arabia“. While “Zenda” succeeds at being a charming historical romp, there are just so many other movies of the era that do it better (the Errol Flynn “Robin Hood” came out the next year). Also not helping things is the fact that no one reads or remembers the original novel of “Prisoner of Zenda”, so its cultural footprint isn’t what it was when this film was made. “Zelda” is fun if you’re willing to track it down, but I’d hardly call it a film essential, and I give its NFR designation a hearty “I guess?”

Everybody Gets One: John Cromwell started off as a stage actor, pivoting to directing before heading out to Hollywood as a dialogue director for this new thing called talking pictures. Cromwell pivoted to film director quickly, earning a reputation as an actor’s director. Fun Fact: John Cromwell is the father of the actor James Cromwell. This is also the only NFR appearance for leading lady Madeleine Carroll, whose most iconic film appearance is ineligible for this list: Hitchcock’s original 1935 version of “The 39 Steps”. Carroll retired from acting shortly after the war to focus on humanitarian efforts, and considered “Zenda” her favorite of her own film work.

Seriously, Oscars?: A hit upon release, “The Prisoner of Zenda” received two Oscar nominations. The film lost Art Direction to fellow NFR entry/Ronald Colman vehicle “Lost Horizon“, and Original Score to something called “One Hundred Men and a Girl”.

• Oh, and apparently the crew outfits in “Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan” were inspired by the uniforms in this film. I…got nothing, I’m not a Trekkie. But this is the best excuse I’ve had to play that clip of Shatner shouting “Khaaaaan!”