Author: thehorsesheadblog

“Cruisin’ J-Town” is currently available to stream on the VC Archives website on a pay-what-you-can sliding scale. So send a few bucks their way and check out their collection!

The Plot: UCLA’s Duane Kubo heads over to L.A.’s Little Tokyo (aka J-Town) to document the performances of Japanese fusion jazz band Hiroshima. While “Cruisin’ J-Town” is primarily footage of Hiroshima’s performances, we also get insight from the musicians, many of whom comment on their own identity struggles amidst the rising Asian-American movement of the early ‘70s. The result is an entertaining blend of Japanese tradition and the funkiness of ‘70s jazz.

Why It Matters: The NFR write-up is mostly a rundown of the film, though they call the interviewees “articulate and interesting”, so that’s something.

But Does It Really?: Oh yeah. “Cruisin’ J-Town” covers two favorites of the NFR: diverse culture and UCLA alumni. The film is an engaging and uplifting chronicle of third-generation Japanese Americans as they take the traditions of their ancestors and create something uniquely their own. And as always, I love anything on this list that’s short and/or has a great soundtrack. Welcome to the NFR, “Cruisin’ J-Town”!

Everybody Gets One: While at UCLA, Duane Kubo co-founded Visual Communications, an organization creating and promoting the art of Asian-American and Pacific Islander filmmakers.  I’m not sure exactly when or how Kubo met up with Hiroshima, which had started performing in Little Tokyo around 1974, but like Kubo, Hiroshima founder Dan Kuramoto was heavily influenced by the political movement of the late ‘60s and the growing Asian-American movement, so I’m not surprised these two found each other.

Wow, That’s Dated: The end credits list support from the U.S. Office of Education, a government department that split into the U.S. Department of Education and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services just a few years after this film was released. I wrote this post back in December and initially had a joke about neither of those departments existing by the time this finally got published. I hate it when I’m right.

Title Track: Either the movie takes its title from one of Hiroshima’s songs, or the song gets its name from the movie, I’m not quite sure. Hiroshima released the song in 1980, though it could have been part of their set in 1975. Either way, it’s a banger.

Seriously, Oscars?: No nominations for “Cruisin’ J-Town” from the Oscars or any other awards organization. The 1975 winner for Best Documentary Short Subject was Robin Lehman’s “The End of the Game”, a film about conserving the Afric- wait a minute, didn’t I do this one already?

• Visual Communications is still around as well. Check them out!
• In the last half-century, Hiroshima has released 20 albums (two of which went gold) and have received two Grammy nominations. As of this writing, Hiroshima is still performing with several of the original members seen in this film!

In the early morning of February 26^th, 1972, one of three coal slurry dams overlooking the Buffalo Creek tributary in Logan County, West Virginia burst following heavy rainfall. The burst overwhelmed the structure of the other two dams, and the resulting flood unleashed 132 million gallons of contaminated water onto 16 different coal towns in Logan County. In the end, the flood caused 50 million dollars in property damage (over 375 million dollars today) and claimed the lives of 125 citizens. The Pittston Coal Company, owners of the dams, had found the dam to be “satisfactory” in a safety inspection four days before the flood, and claimed no responsibility for the flood’s destruction, calling the event “an act of God”. While a government sanctioned investigation yielded no definitive action, a citizen committee found Pittston to be responsible for the flood, and subsequent lawsuits were settled by Pittston out of court. “The Buffalo Creek Flood” chronicles the surviving citizens in their quest for any sort of resolution, featuring candid interviews with many locals and political non-answers from government officials. Lundale resident Shirley Marcum echoes the sentiment of many survivors when she declares “I don’t believe [the flood] was an act of God. It was an act of man.”

Admittedly I knew nothing about the Buffalo Creek flood before this viewing, and “The Buffalo Creek Flood: An Act of Man” does what many a great film on the NFR does; it shines a light on a subculture in this country that is often overlooked and undervalued. While it’s easy to portray Appalachians as their worst stereotypes (looking at you, “Deliverance”), “Buffalo Creek Flood” shows us this culture’s humanity during one of the region’s most harrowing tragedies. As I watched “Buffalo Creek Flood”, I felt the devastation that these citizens carried with them in the immediate aftermath of the flood, and found myself frustrated with the government’s lack of response and cooperation. “Buffalo Creek Flood” is a touching report of time and place, and you’ll get no argument from me about its inclusion in the NFR.

Why It Matters: The NFR states that the film “represents the finest in regional filmmaking”. An essay by the film’s director, Mimi Pickering, is a recount of her experience making the movie and a plea for safer coal mining practices to avoid another incident like the Buffalo Creek flood.

Everybody Gets One: A graduate of Antioch College, Mimi Pickering joined the Appalachian Film Workshop (now known as Appalshop) in 1971 as a filmmaker. Shortly after the Buffalo Creek flood, Pickering was approached by the Citizen’s Commission To Investigate The Buffalo Creek Disaster to film their hearings. Pickering and her team spent weeks filming these events (as well as the ongoing damage of the flood) using whatever film or video they had at their disposal, and with no budget or funding, only receiving a grant from the Abelard Foundation after filming had wrapped.

Seriously, Oscars?: No nominations for “Buffalo Creek Flood” from the Oscars or any other awards organizations. The 1975 winner for Best Documentary Short Subject was Robin Lehman’s “The End of the Game”, a film about conserving the African savanna and its wildlife.

• Mimi Pickering revisited Buffalo Creek in 1985’s “Buffalo Creek Revisited”, which shows the growth and healing of the towns effected by the flood and the rebuilding of their communities 10 years later.

• Appalshop continues to produce films, theater, radio, and other media that paint a positive picture of Appalachian culture. Check them out.
• After decades of decline, the Pittston Coal Company sold its coal mines and changed its name to match its more successful subsidiary: Brink’s. To this day, they have not taken any responsibility for the Buffalo Creek flood.
• Buffalo Creek still exists in Logan County, and within the last few years has seen fish and other aquatic life start to inhabit the water for the first time since 1972. The Buffalo Creek flood still looms large in the towns effected by it, with several holding special gatherings to commemorate the 50^th anniversary in 2022.

The Plot: Joey Norton (Richie Andrusco) is a seven-year-old boy living in a Brooklyn apartment with his older brother Lennie (Richard Brewster) and their mother (Winifred Cushing). When their mother leaves for a few days to take care of their grandmother, Lennie must cancel his plans to visit Coney Island and look after Joey instead. While playing with their friend Harry (Charlie Moss) and his dad’s rifle, Lennie and Harry prank Joey into thinking that Joey has fatally shot Lennie. Afraid that the police will get him, Joey takes the six dollars left for him by his mother and runs away to Coney Island. What follows is Joey’s adventures playing the games and riding the rides at the island’s Steeplechase Park, which in the hands of our trio of filmmakers becomes an endearing look at the world from a child’s perspective.

Why It Matters: The NFR praises the film’s “deft, mostly hand-held camera work” and the “unaffected acting” of Richie Andrusco. Unfortunately, the NFR write-up gets the brothers’ names mixed up, referring to Andrusco’s character as “Lennie” throughout the write-up. Whoops.

But Does It Really?: Despite being one of the Registry’s more obscure titles, “Little Fugitive” stands on the unique piece of ground I’m looking for in an NFR entry. While Hollywood was still producing lavish spectacle, three New Yorkers created an authentic, documentary-like story with a distinctiveness that holds up over 70 years later. Admittedly, I found the film’s opening scenes a bit grating, but once Joey took off for Coney Island, I could see what the filmmakers were going for and found the experience to be quite pleasant. A yes for “Little Fugitive” on the NFR, a quick, enjoyable movie and a harbinger of the independent film movement.

Everybody Gets One: Morris Engel was a photographer by trade, though in 1939 he got into filmmaking when he served as cinematographer on “Native Land” by his friend and fellow NFR director Paul Strand. During WWII, Engel was a photographer in the Navy, where he would have used the Cunningham Combat Camera, a small, chest-mounted movie camera that could be used in combat areas. After the war, Engel modified the Cunningham to make it less cumbersome for general use, and after unsuccessfully pitching a series of shorts utilizing this technology to different distributors, decided to go all in on a feature. “Little Fugitive” was created by Engel, his wife Ruth Orkin (an established photographer in her own right), and Raymond Abrashkin (credited here as Ray Ashley), a writer and colleague of Engel’s when they worked at the liberal newspaper PM in the early 1940s.

Wow, That’s Dated: Steeplechase Park (the amusement park on Coney Island that Joey visits), was already in decline by 1953, and the park closed after its 1964 season. The former site of Steeplechase Park has been developed and re-developed over the years and is currently home to the minor league stadium Maimonides Park. While a handful of rides from the neighboring Coney Island parks continue to operate, the Parachute Jump tower is the only remnant of Steeplechase Park still standing.

Seriously, Oscars?: At a time when independent films getting Oscar nods was unheard of, “Little Fugitive” managed to break in with one nomination for its Original Story. Abrashkin, Engel, and Orkin lost to Ian McLellan Hunter Dalton Trumbo for “Roman Holiday”.

• The photographer that takes Joey’s picture in the cowboy cutout is played by Will Lee, the only professional actor in the cast. Lee was still about 20 years away from playing his most iconic character: Mr. Hooper on “Sesame Street”.
• Why does every hot dog in this movie look disgusting? I mean, hot dogs are disgusting, but these specific ones even more so. It must be how they’re cooked.
• The Coney Island scenes have a very similar vibe to the short “Johnny at the Fair”. “’Jiminy,’ thinks Johnny, ‘if only I could get a ride in one of those.’”
• My favorite part of the movie is the runner of Joey trying to knock down the milk bottles, practicing in-between games and improving over time. They don’t hit you over the head with it, just a child trying to reach a goal all by himself, conveyed solely through great visual storytelling.
• When Joey realizes he has run out of money and can’t do the pony rides, he heads to the most crowded beach I’ve ever seen (apparently this was a recurring issue at Coney Island). I laughed pretty hard once Joey realizes he can make money by depositing empty soda bottles he finds on the beach. Turns out business is booming for Joey that day; good thing we don’t litter this much anymore, right? [Nervous laughter]
• Jay Williams plays Jay, the pony ride attendant who assists Joey, and the only adult in this entire movie who questions why a seven-year-old is wandering around Coney Island alone. While Williams was primarily a writer, he did briefly perform stand-up at the Borsch Belt in the 1930s. He has a very genuine, sweet rapport with Joey.

• Look closely during the summer storm and you’ll see “The Greatest Show on Earth” advertised on the marquee of a nearby movie theater. If Joey went to the movies instead of Steeplechase Park, he too might have become one of the most influential movie directors of all time.
• As “Little Fugitive” was coming to its natural conclusion, I had the feeling that the film was going to have a cute ending where everything gets wrapped up neatly. It did, but I admit they stuck the landing and cut to the credits quickly enough that it didn’t overstay its welcome.

• And finally, “Little Fugitive” received a remake in 2006 by filmmaker Joanna Lipper. Other than the modern setting, the only major change is that now Joey and Lennie’s dad is not only still alive, but he’s in prison and he’s Peter Dinklage. The remake was well-received by critics and seems to have neither enhanced nor hurt the legacy of the original.

Further Clicking: Be sure to check out the “Little Fugitive” page on Morris Engel’s official website, which includes some rare behind-the-scenes photos of the film’s production, in color no less!

The Plot: Det. Axel Foley (Eddie Murphy) is often at odds with the rest of the Detroit Police Department for his reckless behavior and unauthorized investigations. When Axel’s friend Mikey Tandino (James Russo) is murdered, Axel is barred from taking on the case himself. Remembering a conversation with Mikey about his recent work in Beverly Hills with their childhood friend Jenny Summers (Lisa Eilbacher), Axel loads up the car and he drives to Beverly (Hills, that is). Axel’s investigation leads to an art gallery where Jenny works for the instantly suspicious Victor Maitland (Steven Berkoff), but Maitland’s clout in the Beverly Hills art scene thwarts Axel’s plans, as does the interference of local police led by Sgt. John Taggart and Det. Billy Rosewood (John Ashton and Judge Reinhold). That’s enough plot for now; please enjoy Eddie Murphy’s natural star power and that kick-ass synth score.

Why It Matters: Not a lot of superlatives from the NFR, other than calling it “a film that keeps viewers laughing” and praising the “legendary” theme music by Harold Faltermeyer.

But Does It Really?: As an NFR entry, “Beverly Hills Cop” works as representation for both Eddie Murphy and Martin Brest (otherwise represented by, respectively, “Shrek” and “Hot Dogs for Gauguin”). As a film, “Beverly Hills Cop” is still laugh-out-loud funny all these years later, thanks to its evergreen underdog stance and Eddie’s winning performance. And, come on, that score? Forget about it; that alone should have gotten the movie on this list years ago. “Beverly Hills Cop” is still a winner and highlights the best qualities of the ‘80s blockbuster, so no argument for its NFR inclusion from me.

Shout Out: Billy compares the showdown with the bad guys to the final shootout in “Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid” (Taggart’s response: “Billy, I’m gonna make you pay for this.”)

Wow, That’s Dated: Much like “Die Hard”, this movie uses bearer bonds as a plot device. While bearer bonds still exist, they have been essentially banned in the U.S. since 1988 due to their frequent use in illegal activities, such as drug trafficking as seen in this film.

Seriously, Oscars?: The 1984 Oscars were dominated by more serious fare like “Amadeus”, but “Beverly Hills Cop” managed a nomination for its screenplay, losing to Best Picture nominee/more conventional Oscar bait “Places in the Heart”.

• Axel’s no-nonsense boss, Inspector Todd, is played by Gilbert Hill, a real-life Inspector for the Detroit Police Department during production. Despite having never acted before, Hill more than holds his own against Murphy, though it doesn’t help that he’s saddled with every cop movie cliché in the book (he actually says, “Your ass is skating on thin ice as it is!”). Oh, and Paul Reiser is in these scenes too for some reason.
• As one of Maitland’s henchmen, it’s nice to see Jonathan Banks make a second NFR appearance (he has one of my favorite lines in “Airplane!”). It’s also nice seeing Jonathan Banks with hair!
• The contrast between Detroit and Beverly Hills in conveyed immediately in a quick montage highlighting Axel as a stranger in a strange land. This is followed by a meta-reference to “Eddie Murphy Delirious” that somehow keeps the film’s fourth wall securely intact.

• The $235 per night rate at the Beverly Palms Hotel is about $713 in today’s money. Fortunately, the Biltmore Los Angeles (filling in for the fictional Beverly Palms Hotel) currently has room rates much closer to the film’s unadjusted number.
• Today on “No such thing as a small part”: Bronson Pinchot as Serge. An overly-effeminate, vaguely European art gallery curator should not mesh with the rest of this movie, but Pinchot makes a meal out of the role, not to mention an eight-season series.

• Another ‘80s action staple: the European bad guy. Steven Berkoff was born in England, is of Russian and Romanian descent, and has one of those faces that automatically reads as villainous, leading to a career where he has played everything from a Bond villain to Hitler! Side Note: Berkoff allegedly hates this movie.
• What surprised me most about “Beverly Hills Cop” is how leisurely it is compared to other action comedies. The action set pieces are few and far between, and the comedy is much more character driven, with the laughs coming from the interactions and contrasts between the characters rather than a bunch of one-liners.
• The dynamic between Axel, Taggart, and Rosewood is a lot of fun, with Reinhold and Ashton playing their part of the scenes perfectly; knowing when to play straight man to Eddie Murphy and when to be funny. In fact, I really appreciated that Axel isn’t the only character allowed to be funny in this movie. Taggart and Rosewood have some great interactions, and even Jenny gets in a few good lines, despite being underutilized for most of the movie.
• I only knew Ronny Cox as one of the dueling banjos in “Deliverance”, so I enjoyed seeing him here as Taggart and Rosewood’s boss Lt. Bogomil. “Beverly Hills Cop” kicked off a second phase in Cox’s acting career as various authority figures in such action movies as “RoboCop” and “Total Recall”.
• If this film has one iconic moment, it’s Axel thwarting Taggart and Rosewood on their stakeout by putting a banana in their tailpipe. This is the sequence for which Harold Faltermeyer composed “Axel F”, which has become the iconic theme music for the “Beverly Hills Cop” franchise. And that’s Damon Wayans making his film debut as the hotel employee who offers Axel the banana, doing what I believe is the “Mr. Monopoly” voice that will one day get him fired from “SNL”.

• My biggest LOL in this movie comes when Axel is having the country club valet park his beat-up 1970 Chevrolet Nova: “Can you put this in a good spot? All that shit happened the last time I parked here.”
• As we start wrapping up the plot and heading towards the finale, the film loses some of its momentum and becomes a more typical action movie. It’s all a little too “ba-dow ba-dow” for my taste, but there’s still a few funny moments (especially from Judge Reinhold), and Ronny Cox gets an entertaining reprise of Axel’s “Supercop” monologue from earlier. And because it’s a Simpson/Bruckheimer production, we end on a freeze frame. Ah, the ‘80s.

• Do we know if opera singer Beverly Sills ever saw this movie? The “Beverly Sills Cop” parody writes itself: “I’m your worst fucking nightmare; I’m a soprano with a badge.” (Yes, I know that’s from “48 Hrs.” not “Beverly Hills Cop”, but whatever, I thought it was funny.)

• Martin Brest’s follow-up to “Beverly Hills Cop” was 1988’s “Midnight Run”, which maintains a strong cult following to this day. As for the rest of Brest’s filmography…don’t worry about it.

• Harold Faltermeyer’s “Beverly Hills Cop” theme has become synonymous with the ‘80s and has endured in pop culture. I’ve had it stuck in my head during this entire writing process, specifically the “Family Guy” version with Peter singing along.

• Plans for a “Beverly Hills Cop” sequel began before the first film was even released. Directed by the more action-oriented Tony Scott, 1987’s “Beverly Hills Cop II” was also a hit, but not as well received as the original. 1994’s “Beverly Hills Cop III” was a major letdown (even Eddie Murphy admitted he did it just for the money), but 2024’s revival “Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F.” fared better as a serviceable if not remarkable return to form. Also, despite proposed sequels that would have taken Axel to other countries like England or France, every sequel has him coming back to Beverly Hills for some reason.

• A 2013 pilot for a potential “Beverly Hills Cop” TV series centered around Axel’s hereto unmentioned son, Aaron. Eddie Murphy returned as Axel for a cameo, which led CBS to think he would be a recurring character. When Murphy said that this would not be the case, the network did not pick up the pilot for series.
• And finally, because I have nowhere else to put this: while Eddie Murphy was promoting “Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F.” in 2024, he mentioned his plans to star in a remake of “It’s a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World” with Martin Lawrence. All the more reason to induct the original film into the NFR if you ask me.

The Plot: As the sun sets on an idyllic farmland, an assortment of birds and frogs and crickets begin to inhabit the night. When a summer storm suddenly arrives, the animals take shelter in a nearby abandoned mill. What this Disney short lacks in story and character it more than makes up for with its artistry and breakthrough technology.

Why It Matters: The NFR write-up is mostly a rehash of the film’s technical achievements: the multiplane camera, plus realistic lighting design and animal movement. The film’s visuals are hailed as “dazzling” and Leigh Harline’s score is declared “compelling”.

But Does It Really?: I’m putting this in the same category as “Flowers and Trees”, a decent Disney short whose NFR worthiness is solely technical. There’s nothing wrong with “The Old Mill”, but its technological advances have been so far surpassed that they are no longer part of the film’s entertainment value. And while the realistic animal depictions are commendable, it leaves us without any memorable characters (at least the realistic animals of “Bambi” could talk). Despite my issues, “The Old Mill” is a quick, visually engaging entry in the Disney canon; not so much a cartoon you can watch and enjoy, but more like a moving painting you can view and admire. I understand and support the film’s NFR induction, but I’m not over the moon about it either.

Everybody Gets One: Not his only NFR movie, but shoutout to this film’s director Wilfred Jackson. Freshly graduated from L.A.’s Otis Art Institute in 1928, Jackson got his start at Disney as a volunteer helping custodial wash animation cels. Jackson quickly rose up the ranks, directing early Mickey Mouse and Silly Symphony shorts by 1929. “The Old Mill” was Jackson’s 51^st Disney short as a director, which he worked on concurrently with his responsibilities as one of the five sequence directors on “Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs”.

Seriously, Oscars?: Since the inception of Best Short Subject – Cartoons at the Oscars in 1932, Disney had a lock on the category, winning every year for the first eight years; “The Old Mill” was the sixth short in this winning streak. Academy rules at the time gave the award to the producer, not the director, which meant Walt took home his seventh career Oscar with this win, while Wilfred Jackson received zero nominations, despite directing three consecutive Oscar-winning shorts (preceded by “The Tortoise and the Hare” and “The Country Cousin”). The NFR write-up mentions that the multiplane camera also received a technical Oscar, but I couldn’t find anything to back that up.

• The music that bookends the short is the song “One Day When We Were Young”, written by Johann Strauss for his 1885 operetta “The Gypsy Baron”. We are definitely hitting the “Symphony” part of this “Silly Symphony”.
• To the best of my knowledge, the frog croaking is provided by Clarence Nash, who at that point had been with the studio a few years supplying his trademark animal noises. Despite being a voiceover in seven different NFR titles, Nash has yet to have one movie on the list where he voices his most iconic character: Donald Duck.
• Yeah, not much else I have to say about “The Old Mill”. It’s beautiful to look at, and I love the score, especially the wind sounds as the storm intensifies, but this isn’t one of my favorites. I enjoyed seeing this film again after all these years, but it’ll be a while before I watch “The Old Mill” by choice rather than by my self-imposed film blog obligation.