Author: thehorsesheadblog

#108) The Corbett-Fitzsimmons Fight (1897)

OR “Aging Bull”

Directed by Enoch J. Rector

Class of 2012

The Plot: Footage of the championship boxing match of James Corbett defending his heavyweight title from Bob Fitzsimmons on March 17^th, 1897 in Carson City, Nevada. Although the entire match was filmed, all that survives today is the final 20 minutes.

Why It Matters: The NFR gives a detailed rundown of the film’s historical context. Also included is a photograph of the fight that showcases the camera set-ups.

But Does It Really?: Historically yes. It’s kind of amazing that we owe the ability to film feature-length productions to some guy wanting to record a boxing match.

Everybody Gets One: Enoch J. Rector was an early film technician and boxing promoter who may or may not have invented the Latham Loop used to film this fight. As for the boxers themselves, “Gentleman Jim” Corbett was the World Heavyweight Champion at the time and was among the first to incorporate a scientific approach to his boxing technique. Bob Fitzsimmons, aka “The Freckled Wonder”, was known primarily for his fights in Australia, and is still one of the lightest heavyweights ever to compete professionally.

Wow, That’s Dated: Back then boxing had just become legal in the state of Nevada, so the idea of actually being able to watch a boxing match in broad daylight was pretty exciting. Also bowler hats, we need to bring those back.

Other notes

• Among the film’s historical achievements; it was the longest film produced at the time, and was possibly the first widescreen film (albeit in roughly 1.65:1, not too different from today’s HDTVs). And while not the first boxing film to be exhibited, the length of the fight led to its success, as most prior filmed boxing matches ended in KOs during early rounds, leading to paying customers feeling cheated.
• When did we move boxing indoors?
• I wrote this post in the midst of a heat wave, so being toweled off by an attentive pit crew sounds great right about now.
• There’s something delightfully 1890s about the rounds being called by a man lifting his hat in the air.
• In true sports fashion, the final knockout is presented again in instant replay.

Legacy

• Both Corbett and Fitzsimmons continued fighting, though a string of losses led to Corbett’s early retirement. Corbett pivoted towards performing, and his autobiography was eventually turned into the 1942 film “Gentlemen Jim” starring Errol Flynn.

• Part of this film’s success was the ability to watch a boxing match in real-time. Some things never change.

#107) Stand and Deliver (1988)

OR “Olmos Famous”

Directed by Ramón Menéndez

Written by Menéndez and Tom Musca

Class of 2011

The Plot: “Stand and Deliver” is the inspirational true story of teacher Jaime Escalante (Edward James Olmos). Arriving as a math teacher at East L.A.’s Garfield High School in the early ‘80s, Escalante is saddened to see that the school has given up on improving its low test scores. Escalante decides to turn this around by teaching Algebra, with the goal of his students taking AP Calculus by their senior year. Despite initial pushback from his students, they learn to respect their teacher and apply themselves. But interference by the Educational Testing Service may stand between the students and their future.

Why It Matters: The NFR cites Olmos’ performance and the film’s inspirational qualities, in addition to its stature as “one of the most popular” of the wave of ‘80s films by Latinx filmmakers.

But Does It Really?: Every “inspirational teacher” film tries to be this one, but there’s only one “Stand and Deliver”. It’s not easy to make AP Calculus dramatically enticing, but this film does it, thanks to an easy-going but well-paced screenplay and an incredible performance by Olmos at its core. “Stand and Deliver” has a place on the Registry for its lasting impact, its refreshingly stereotype-free look at a Latinx community, and for still maintaining its inspirational spirit almost 30 years later.

Everybody Gets One: Almost everyone involved in this film, most notably director Ramón Menéndez and actors Andy Garcia and Lou Diamond Phillips**. Plus a reminder that Estelle Harris, aka Mrs. Costanza, has a film on the National Film Registry.

Wow, That’s Dated: That score is pure ‘80s. Also be on the lookout for a reference to “The People’s Court” and inspirational posters featuring Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Magic Johnson.

Title Track: No one says “stand and deliver” during the film, but stick around for an end credits title song!

Seriously, Oscars?: “Stand and Deliver” received one Oscar nomination; Best Actor for Edward James Olmos. Despite a physical transformation and a chance to show Hollywood he was more than just that guy from “Miami Vice”, Olmos lost to Dustin Hoffman’s performance as an autistic savant in “Rain Man”. Despite this loss, “Stand and Deliver” swept that year’s Independent Spirit Awards.

Other notes

• Overall, the film’s depiction of historical events is what I call “Sergeant York Accurate”; they get the main events correct, they just fudge a few details.
• That opening shot is kind of brilliant.
• Nice rare dramatic turn by Herbie the Love Bug as Jaime’s car.
• Olmos is great in this film. His Jaime does not fuck around from the very start.
• That’s Edward James Olmos’ real-life son Bodie Olmos as Jaime’s son Fernando. Bodie is also the grandson of Howard Keel (his mother is Keel’s daughter Kaija).
• For all its positive attributes, this film falls victim to classroom scenes that end with a bell ringing during a dramatic moment.
• This is all well and good, but just remember that Jaime didn’t have to compete against teens with smart phones.
• I would love to have seen Jaime Escalante do a stand-up routine.
• The role of Jaime’s wife Fabiola is essentially just Mrs. Exposition. I’m amazed Rosanna DeSoto won Best Supporting Actress at the Independent Spirit Awards with this little for her character to do.
• Boy it’s great that this film is such a relic of its time and that public schools are no longer as test-obsessed nowadays, right?….Right?
• What I wouldn’t give for the last shot to be a mailman’s body stuffed in Angel’s locker.
• Andy Garcia gives us a brief moment of Pacino-esque outburst towards the end.
• According to the end credits, this film was partially funded by PBS, which no doubt means contributions from Viewers Like You. Thank you.
• Actual Credit: Mr. Olmos’ Hair Design – Ziggy. Of course it’s not that Ziggy, but a man can dream.

Legacy

• This film is responsible for the ‘90s “inspirational teacher” subgenre in which teachers go to inner city high schools, sit in a chair backwards and teach kids that poetry is just another form of rapping. See “Dangerous Minds” or “High School High” for examples.

• A “South Park” episode that dares to ask the question; “How do I reach these kids?”

• Lou Diamond Phillips went on to play “The King and I” on Broadway. That’s not directly related to this film, I just like reminding people that that happened.

• The real Jaime Escalante approved of the film, calling it “90 percent truth, 10 percent drama”. After the national attention he received, Escalante’s calculus program grew well beyond what he or the school could handle. Escalante left Garfield High in 1991, but continued to teach at other schools for many years. Edward James Olmos and other “Stand and Deliver” cast members helped pay for Escalante’s cancer treatment prior to his death in 2010.

 

**2017 Update: They just added Lou Diamond Phillips’ other ’80s breakthrough role: “La Bamba“.

#106) McCabe & Mrs. Miller (1971)

OR “North by Northwestern”

Directed by Robert Altman

Written by Altman and Brian McKay. Based on the novel “McCabe” by Edmund Naughton.

Class of 2010

The Plot: The small Pacific Northwest town of Presbyterian Church is turned upside down when John McCabe (Warren Beatty) arrives and builds a saloon and makeshift brothel. Arriving later is Mrs. Miller (Julie Christie) who sees through McCabe’s hustle and goes into business with him, turning the brothel into a respectable business. All goes well until a mining company tries to buy out the brothel. When McCabe refuses, three bounty hunters arrive and McCabe’s story of being an infamous gunslinger is called into question. Also there are Leonard Cohen songs throughout for some reason.

Why It Matters: The NFR praises Altman’s direction, Vilmos Zsigmond’s cinematography and Leonard Cohen’s music score, and cites the film as one of many westerns that comments on contemporary American culture. There’s also a pretty thorough essay by assistant professor and Western expert Chelsea Wessels.

But Does It Really?: I guess I’m missing the boat here because I couldn’t get into “McCabe & Mrs. Miller”. I even watched it again for fear that I didn’t “get it” the first time. It’s fine, but there are other Altman and Beatty movies that I think are better. I know Altman was more concerned about character and atmosphere over plot in his films, but ultimately I didn’t care about either of the leads. The film gets enough shout-outs from time to time to warrant eventual inclusion on the NFR, so I’ll just label it a “minor classic”, sit here on my metaphorical fence and await cries of heresy from my fellow film snobs.

Everybody Gets One: Most of the cast and crew will appear elsewhere on the Registry (Primarily for Altman’s other entries, “MASH” and “Nashville”) but we’ll single out William Devane’s cameo as McCabe’s potential lawyer. Also be on the lookout for Jack Riley (aka Elliot Carlin/Stu Pickles) as one of the townspeople.

Wow, That’s Dated: “Songs by Leonard Cohen”. Also there’s nothing that says ‘70s cinema more than Altman’s trademark extended zooms.

Take a Shot: Lots of references to McCabe and Mrs. Miller individually, but no one actually says “McCabe & Mrs. Miller”. Had the film gone by its original title of simply “McCabe” we’d be off to the races.

Seriously, Oscars?: “McCabe & Mrs. Miller” received just one Oscar nomination: Best Actress for Julie Christie (even though it’s really a supporting role). Having already had her moment in the Oscar sun six years earlier for “Darling”, the Academy went for Jane Fonda’s turn in “Klute”. Most egregious amongst the unnominated is Vilmos Zsigmond’s cinematography.

Other notes

• I gotta say this film is beautiful to look at. Not only exquisitely filmed in Panavision, but there are some simply breathtaking shots of the Pacific Northwest. They could have reused this footage as a travelogue for British Columbia.
• ADR is a pretty easy thing to notice, but it’s especially noticeable in an Altman film.
• Want to talk signs of the times? Most of the extras in this film were American Draft Dodgers.
• Jesus Christ Warren Beatty, stop mumbling! Even by lax Altman standards this is a bit much.
• “Butternut muff diver” is my new favorite insult. It’s downright Shakespearean!
• Jeez, I could walk and get to where I’m going faster than the steam engine Mrs. Miller arrives on.
• Is there anything sexier than Julie Christie’s lion mane of hair?
• A reminder to you kids that Julie Christie is so much more than just Madame Rosmerta in the third Harry Potter film. Watch this film, “Doctor Zhivago”, “Away from Her”, the list goes on and on. She’s one of our greatest.
• This film gets progressive points for including two black characters in 1971. Now if only either of them actually got to do anything…
• I’m beginning to think that men who film westerns may have issues with women.
• Well, Merry Christmas I guess.
• That’s Keith Carradine in his film debut as the cowboy who becomes quite familiar with each of the ladies in the brothel. And you can insert your own “I’m Easy” joke here.
• If nothing else, Robert Altman is responsible for bringing Shelley Duvall into the cultural zeitgeist. She gets more to do in his later films, but you can see the beginning of a solid director-actor collaboration with Duvall’s performance here.
• McCabe’s jacket, man. Look at that thing. Did he skin Trekkie Monster? Is he playing the saxophone at a ‘20s college party?
• I forgot that in his youth William Devane looked remarkably like Jack Nicholson. And in a film with a lot of great facial hair, Devane wins in a walk.
• It happened by accident, but there’s something quite brilliant about having the final shootout in a western set during snowfall.

Legacy

• This was the first collaboration between Warren Beatty and Julie Christie. After their high-profile relationship ended, they worked together on “Shampoo” and “Heaven Can Wait”.

Listen to This: Ladies and Gentlemen, the Leonard Cohen song you’ve been waiting for; “Hallelujah”.

#105) Quasi at the Quackadero (1975)

OR “Totally Ducked Up”

Directed by Sally Cruikshank

Class of 2009

The Plot: Two ducks, the immature Quasi (Voiced by Kim Deith) and the seductive Anita (Voiced by Sally Cruikshank) go to the sideshow attraction The Quackadero with their robot friend Rollo. They see such bizarre attractions as the Hall of Time Mirrors, the Think-o-Blink Machine, and the Time Holes. And things just get weirder from there.

Why It Matters: The NFR calls it “wildly imaginative” and “a favorite of the Midnight Movie circuit in the 1970s.” The description also mentions a bit of Sally Cruikshank’s influences and later career.

But Does It Really?: Wow. That…is a mind fuck of a film. There’s a lot going on and the animation is a real trip, but I dig it. I give “Quasi” a pass for its inventiveness, its surprisingly perceptive commentary on our obsession with time, and for introducing me to the work of Sally Cruikshank.

Everybody Gets One: While studying art at Smith College, Sally Cruikshank was encouraged by her teachers and classmates to apply her art towards animation. While taking a special studies class she worked on a short film about a duck that would eventually become Quasi. Cruikshank spent two years animating “Quackadero” in-between working on commercials for Snazelle Films. Her then-partner Kim Deitch provided the voice of Quasi and is credited as a “Special Art Assistant”.

Wow, That’s Dated: Yeah, this kind of experimental animation can only be 1975.

Seriously, Oscars?: Oh, what a great Oscar nominee this would have been if the Academy had been a little more uninhibited*. Instead they gave Best Animated Short Subject to a British cartoon called “Great”, which is just too obvious a title for your Oscar contender if you ask me.

Other notes

• Cruikshank has cited the Fleischer Brothers as an influence, and it shows. This is very much a Fleischer cartoon on acid (it definitely gives “Snow-White” a run for its money in the bizarre category).
• Quasi kinda looks like the deranged cousin of Scooter from the Muppets. Speaking of, whatever happened to Skeeter?
• A lot of these sideshow attractions are super trippy, but also not too implausible. I’m sure we’re only one app away from “Your Shining Moment”.
• My favorite single shot in the film is the woman looking through the Time Mirror and seeing the living animals that her various clothing articles are made of. Commentary!
• This animation is very reminiscent of the animated film “The Point”. I’m sure it’s coincidental. I just really wanted to mention “The Point” on this blog.
• One of the minor characters would later evolve into the character of Snozzy. Here he bares a passing resemblance to Count Floyd from “SCTV”.
• What I would not give for there to have been Quasi Happy Meal Toys at some point.

Legacy

• Quasi and Anita returned 3 years later in the similarly bizarre “Make Me Psychic”.

• An attempt at a Quasi movie never got off the ground, but “Quasi’s Cabaret” did get a trailer. Consider the ancillary merchandise, won’t you?

• Sally Cruikshank spent most of the ‘80s doing animated sequences for live-action films. Picture if you will, her take on Cartoon Hell in… “Twilight Zone: The Movie”.

• With her trademark surreal animation, it was only a matter of time before Sally found a home at the Children’s Television Workshop.

• Look quickly for “Quasi at the Quackadero” in the opening of “Futurama: Bender’s Game”.

Further Viewing: A lot of Sally Cruikshank’s animation is available for viewing on her YouTube page. Check it out and prepare to have your mind blown.

* UPDATE: Cartoon historian Jerry Beck recently discovered documentation that “Quasi at the Quackadero” was on the shortlist for Academy Award consideration.

#104) Sergeant York (1941)

OR “The Original American Sniper”

Directed by Howard Hawks

Written by Abem Finkel and Harry Chandlee & Howard Koch and John Huston. Based on “Sergeant York: His Own Life Story and War Diary” by Alvin York. Edited by Tom Sheyhill.

Class of 2008

The Plot: Gary Cooper is Alvin York, the most decorated American soldier during World War I. The film chronicles his humble beginnings in Pall Mall, Tennessee, helping his mother (Margaret Wycherly) tend to the farm and wooing the wholesome Gracie Williams (Joan Leslie). When America enters the Great War, York declares himself a conscientious objector, since the Bible teaches him not to kill. His request is denied, and York learns to fight for his country while fighting his own morality.

Why It Matters: The NFR calls it “a stirring bit of Americana” that inspired this country as it entered World War II. There is also an essay by Donna Ross, who manages the NFR’s website. I guess everyone else called out sick that day.

But Does It Really?: Historically yes. Donna Ross correctly predicted that I would find it “hokey” without the correct context, but ultimately you have a reserve a space on the Registry for “Sergeant York”. Cooper’s affable performance helps smooth some rough patches, and the film’s release in summer 1941 helped boost the morale of a nation that was just about to be dragged into another Great War. If nothing else, the film is a memorial to a real-life American hero, and shows that some of our nation’s greatest are just regular people like you or me.

Wow, That’s Dated: Mainly just the assumption that an audience would have a passing knowledge of Alvin York to begin with.

Title Track: Turns out the title is a spoiler; Alvin York isn’t promoted to Sergeant until about two hours into the film!

Seriously, Oscars?: “Sergeant York” was the highest-grossing picture of 1941 and led the pack at the 1942 Oscars with 11 nominations. It lost Best Picture (and several other awards) to “How Green Was My Valley”, but did manage to snag Best Actor for Gary Cooper (his first) and Best Editing for William Holmes (on his first and only nomination). Most noteworthy among its other nominations; “Sergeant York” lost Original Screenplay to “Citizen Kane”, and despite a career helming some of the greatest films ever, Howard Hawks received his only Best Director nomination (and only nomination, period) for this film.

Other notes

• How did the king of screwball comedy end up directing “Sergeant York”? Hawks got the job not only because of a push from Gary Cooper (They had worked together in the 1933 drama “Today We Live”), but also because every other major director turned it down.
• The real-life Alvin York finally relented to release the film rights to his story in order to build a Bible school in Tennessee. He publicly approved of Cooper’s portrayal of him. In addition, his mother, Mary York, was still alive at the time of the film’s release.
• In response to some of the film’s inaccuracies, York would later comment, “Well, let’s put it this way – I supplied the tree and Hawks put the leaves on it.” That’s actually the best way to describe this film; it gets the major events correct, it just fabricates some of the smaller details.
• Gary Cooper was about 10 years older than Alvin York was when he fought in World War I, but who care when you got “Rural Jimmy Stewart” to play this part?
• All of this aside, it’s hard for me to take a film seriously when its lead character is named “Alvin”.
• Geez, Pastor Pile has more plant metaphors than Chance the Gardener.
• While watching this I couldn’t help but notice the parallels between this and “Yankee Doodle Dandy”. Both are stories about real men who serve their country during WWI in films made during WWII. Plus they’re both Warner Bros. films that feature Joan Leslie as the love interest and won their lead actors the Oscar.
• Gary Cooper was 39 during filming. Joan Leslie was 15. [Extended Shudder]
• Oh man I don’t know how much more of this thick Appalachian dialect I can take. I need a translator!
• Lord the first half of this film takes forever. Isn’t there a war at some point?
• Tompkins’ beard is best described as “Modern Hipster”.
• York’s spiritual awakening is good stuff, but I can’t stand it when people clap on 1 and 3 during a song instead of 2 and 4.
• The film’s comic relief “Pusher” is played by George Tobias, aka Abner Kravitz from “Bewitched”. As soon as he started talking about the subway I couldn’t wait for him to be a casualty.
• Speaking of “Bewitched”, this film shares a title with my screenplay about the bitter (and completely fabricated) rivalry between the two Darrins: “Sargent/York”. I’m pitching it to Ryan Murphy next week as a season of “Feud”. Wish me luck.
• So York gets over his pacifist views by pretending the Germans are turkeys?
• Rounding out the cast are recognizable faces like Howard “Mr. Franklin” Da Silva and June “Mother Robinson” Lockhart. Lockhart plays York’s younger sister Rosie and is the film’s last surviving cast member.

Legacy

• “Sergeant York” boosted morale during WWII (the film was still playing when Pearl Harbor was attacked), and the legend goes that men would often go to enlist as soon as they finished watching the film.
• Gary Cooper would play another WWI figure in “The Court-Martial of Billy Mitchell”.

• The real-life Alvin York continued to raise money for charitable causes for the rest of his life, particularly during his time with the Army Signal Corps in World War II. Despite eventually rising to the rank of Major (as well as Colonel in the Tennessee State Guard), this film’s popularity ensured he would always be referred to as Sergeant York.