The Horse's Head

#41) All That Jazz (1979)

OR “5-6-7-8 1/2!”

Directed by Bob Fosse

Written by Fosse & Robert Alan Aurthur

Class of 2001

All That Trailer

This is my original post on “All That Jazz”. You can read the revised and expanded version here.

The Plot: Joe Gideon (Roy Scheider) is a legendary Broadway director/choreographer and successful film director (not unlike Fosse). Additionally, Joe juggles an ex-wife/collaborator (Leland Palmer), a girlfriend who wants him to commit (Ann Reinking), a daughter who wants more stability (Erzsebet Foldi), a smoking habit, a pill addiction and a relentless desire to entertain. While rehearsing his latest musical and editing his latest film, Joe’s health starts to falter and he is hospitalized. Throughout his struggles he has an ongoing flirtation with an angel of death (Jessica Lange). Oh, and there’s a whole bunch of songs and dances.

Why It Matters: The NFR praises Fosse’s unflinching look at the toll showbiz takes on entertainers while “mercilessly reversing the feel-good mood of the classical movie musicals”.

But Does It Really?: As a self-reflection on Fosse and a glimpse of a Broadway that no longer exists, “All That Jazz” is fascinating. Scheider is great in a role no one but Fosse would cast him in. The film as a whole is bit pretentious, but that’s to be expected. I found it all so enjoyable that I wished it had dug deeper into what really makes Joe/Fosse tick (and not just literally, more on that later). Ultimately, the film is like one of Joe/Fosse’s dance numbers: entertaining, imaginative, seductive, but in the end just smoke-and-mirrors hiding the real truth. The film’s legacy isn’t so much the film itself, but rather the insight into one of last century’s greatest artists.

Shout Outs: Brief references made to “A Streetcar Named Desire” and Fosse’s own “Cabaret”.

Everybody Gets One: ‘70s Broadway staples Ann Reinking, Leland Palmer and Ben Vereen, character actor C.C.H. Pounder, and John Lithgow, back when he was just a New York stage actor and had not yet mastered alien invasions and serial killing.

Wow, That’s Dated: Well, Joe’s massive cassette player is your first clue. But with this film I get to play one of my favorite games; “What’s Playing on Broadway Back Now?” Quick shots of Broadway and Times Square show us marquees for “I Love My Wife”, “Beatlemania” and “A Broadway Musical”, the latter dates filming of these scenes to December 1978. The late ’70s were also that magical time when Cliff Gorman could be credited as making a “special guest appearance” in your film.

Title Track: Ben Vereen says “all that jazz” once right before the final number.

Seriously, Oscars?: “All That Jazz” went into the 1979 Oscars with nine nominations, including Best Picture. Though the big winner was “Kramer vs. Kramer”, “Jazz” still managed four wins; Adapted Score, Art Direction, Costume Design, and Editing. Fosse was aware of his slim chances and told the New York Daily News, “I’m such a long shot that I think anyone who bet on me should get a toaster, like they give out at the bank for having made an investment.”

Other notes

• Speaking of the film’s Oscar night, producer/co-writer Robert Alan Aurthur died before the film’s release and received two posthumous Oscar nominations. His daughter Kate wrote a touching tribute to him a few years ago and recounted her experience with her mother as his Oscar proxy.
• Stay with me folks; Joe is Fosse (natch), Audrey is Gwen Verdon, Kate is Ann Reinking (yep, she’s playing herself), “The Stand-Up” is Fosse’s own underrated “Lenny” and “Take Off With Us” has elements of “Magic to Do” from “Pippin”.
• This film has one of my favorite expository reveals of a character’s name. We first see the name Joe Gideon on the label of his bottle of pills.
• The best line in the film; “That’s how you get a job.”
• Yes, that’s Jessica Lange, back during that brief period when she was best known as “You’re no Fay Wray”.
• Leland Palmer is 20 years younger than her real-life counterpart Gwen Verdon. Nice try, Fosse.
• Kudos to the composers of the Stephen Schwartz/Kander & Ebb pastiches throughout the score. Just the right amount of flavor.
• For his brief turn as Joshua, Max Wright (aka the Dad from “ALF”) was nominated for a Golden Stinkers Award (a precursor to the Razzies) for Worst Supporting Actor. I mean, the character’s annoying, but he’s not that bad. He lost to little Ricky Schroeder for “The Champ”.
• Joe’s doctor is adamant he knows more about angina than “show people”. This, coming from an actor who’s playing a doctor.
• That is actual footage from an actual open-heart surgery. See? This film’s educational too!
• Ladies and Gentlemen, half of Roy Scheider’s ass!
• If there’s an afterlife, I hope Ben Vereen’s there when I die. On second thought, I’d rather it be Jessica Lange.

Legacy

• The film version of “Chicago” definitely takes a thing or two from “All That Jazz”, and I don’t just mean the title.

• Bob Odenkirk gave the film a wink and a nod during an episode of “Better Call Saul”.

• While Ann Reinking’s film career never took off, it doesn’t matter because she’s got Annie! Oh, and “Chicago” revival money.

• “Take Off With Us” eventually made it to Broadway as part of the musical revue “Fosse” (Sinatra never recorded it, though).

• Stephen Colbert recently told Jessica Lange that this film and her performance in it are partly why he went into show business.

• And in a sad case of life imitating art, Bob Fosse made one more film, “Star 80”, before dying of a sudden heart attack in 1987.

Further Viewing: Federico Fellini’s “8 ½” is the benchmark for films that are thinly veiled autobiographies of their directors. The comparisons between this film and “All That Jazz” are too numerous to mention, especially when “8 ½” rounded up and became the musical “Nine”.

#40) Peter Pan (1924)

OR “Filming Neverland”

Directed by Herbert Brenon

Written by Willis Goldbeck. Based on the play and novel by J.M. Barrie.

Class of 2000

View the whole film below!

The Plot: Three innocent children (Mary Brian, Jack Murphy & Phillipe De Lacy) are persuaded to run away from home by an 18-year-old woman pretending to be a boy (Betty Bronson). They venture to a place where grown adults are tormented by children and where the natives are routinely disrespected. There’s attempted murder and Freudian quagmires galore in this beloved children’s classic.

Why It Matters: The NFR mentions J.M. Barrie’s initial reluctance and eventual support of adapting his play into a film, then goes on to praise the film’s special effects and Bronson’s “exquisitely stylized performance”.

But Does It Really?: This one gets a pass more for its historical merits than anything else. It’s the earliest film version of “Peter Pan”, and though eclipsed by later versions, was quite the success in its day. The film was also presumed lost for many decades, so it gets “Belloq film” status. While it never quite achieves what subsequent adaptations have done, this “Peter Pan” is as enjoyable as a silent version can be. Besides, if I say, “I didn’t like ‘Peter Pan’” out loud, another copy of a silent film somewhere drops dead.

Everybody Gets One: Betty Bronson was handpicked by J.M. Barrie to play Peter Pan. While her career never really took off, she did manage to transition from silent picture to talkies. Plus she’s in “Blackbeard’s Ghost”! While most of Herbert Brenon’s directing career was already behind him by 1924, he did manage to be among the very first Best Director nominees at the 1929 Oscars for “Sorrel and Son”. And at this point in his life, 64-year-old J.M. Barrie was still writing (though nothing as popular as “Peter Pan”) and was collecting lifetime achievement awards, including an Order of Merit in 1922.

Wow, That’s Dated: Oh how I wish this could just be about quaint phrases like “drowsing” or “perambulators”, but no, I have to give the REDFACE WARNING. As is often the case with “Peter Pan”, we get Tiger Lily and the other native Indians. While most of them are uncredited, it’s a safe bet that none of them are being played by actual Native Americans*. Oh, and I couldn’t find any additional information on Hook’s only black pirate; but please let him actually be black, oh please oh please oh please…

Other notes

• This may be the only version of “Peter Pan” where Nana gets top billing.
• Speaking of that dog, why are her pupils so large? Did she just come from the optometrist?
• Esther Ralston (Mrs. Darling) was 22 when she filmed this. Her on-screen husband Cyril Chadwick was 45. [Shudder]
• Wow, John and Michael can sleep through anything.
• When Peter gives the example of saying, “I don’t believe in fairies”, does that actually kill a fairy? Is he endangering the species just by mentioning this?
• This is one of the rare versions of “Peter Pan” where Captain Hook and Mr. Darling are played by two different actors. I guess it doesn’t actually matter, I’m just so used to the double casting.
• That’s legendary Chinese American actress Anna May Wong as Tiger Lily. It’s still not an actual Native American playing the part, but it could have been worse, it could have been Rooney Mara.
• Call it “exquisitely stylized” if you must, but Betty Bronson’s playing to a back of the house that ain’t there. Even by silent film standards it’s a bit much.
• Wait, they’re American in this version? What a bizarre choice, especially when John wants the Lost Boys to behave like “American gentlemen”. That’s not a thing.
• Lay off all the tongue acting, Hook! Yeesh.
• Whenever the audience has to clap to bring Tinker Bell back to life I always think of this.

• Oof, mermaids are not that impressive going back into the water.
• The Lost Boys come to the Darling house dressed in the pirate clothes, which means that somewhere in Never Never Land is a pile of dead naked pirates.
• Is the flying pirate ship just hanging out in front of the Darling house in full view of the whole neighborhood?
• Peter Pan is very concerned about growing up and becoming President (again, because they’re American). I’ll let you, the reader, come up with your own political joke here.

Legacy

• According to some very exhaustive research, it appears that “Peter Pan” has been adapted for film a few times throughout the years. Perhaps most notable is the 1953 Disney version, which animates the fantasy aspects wonderfully, but keeps all the political incorrectness and adds its own!

• The team behind this film got back together in 1925 to adapt another J.M. Barrie play; “A Kiss for Cinderella”. The film was an artistic success but a commercial failure.

• This is the first version of “Peter Pan” to depict Tinker Bell as a woman, rather than just a flashing light.
• “Peter Pan” was adapted as a Broadway musical in 1954 starring Mary Martin. We get a revival (or a god-awful TV remake) every so often, but you really can’t touch the original version.

• I’m citing this film (as well as the original stage concept of a woman playing Peter) as the cause of Mr. B Natural.

• Captain Hook was eventually brought to trial for his crimes by a very theatrical maritime lawyer. Cute story.

• And finally, a British “in-the-round” stage production toured America in the early 2010s and gave this writer a much-needed paycheck and introduced me to my girlfriend. Thanks J.M. Barrie!

 

*UPDATE: From the AFI Film Catalog: “The Aug 1924—Jan 1925 issue of Motion Picture Magazine reported that [director Herbert] Brenon recruited members of the Nakota, an indigenous people in Western Canada, to portray the Native inhabitants of “Neverland.” You win this round, “Peter Pan”.

#39) Lambchops (1929)

OR “Say Hello, Gracie”

Directed by Murray Roth

Written by George Burns and Al Boasberg

Class of 1999

The Plot: George Burns & Gracie Allen make their film debut in a Vitaphone Varieties short, recreating their successful vaudeville routine. They tell jokes -George is already the bemused straight man to Gracie’s “illogical logic” – and they even sing and dance together.

Why It Matters: The NFR acknowledges that while “Lambchops” was not a hit in its day, it was the start of Burns and Allen’s film career, which would help prepare them for their successful radio and TV programs. An essay by Vitaphone expert Ron Hutchinson is mostly an essay on Vitaphone Varieties, and a shout-out to a very outdated fansite.

But Does It Really?: I give this one a pass, mainly as a representation of Burns & Allen, and mainly because even that early in their careers, you cannot beat that timing.

Everybody Gets One: George Burns and Gracie Allen had been performing together for seven years (and had been married for three) by the time “Lambchops” came along. The film is a combination of their “Lambchops” and “Dizzy” routines. A few years of shorts led to a film career in the ‘30s, followed by 16 years on radio, and eight seasons of a successful TV program. Following Gracie’s death in 1964, George reinvented himself as a one-liner machine and returned to films, winning an Oscar for “The Sunshine Boys” playing, what else, a former vaudevillian.

Wow, That’s Dated: The word “aeroplane”, the phrase “I give it up” as opposed to “I give up”, and because it’s a vaudeville routine, mother-in-law jokes.

Title Track: Spoilers – “lambchops” is a punchline.

Other notes

• George never takes his hat off because his toupee was still in his luggage. That’s all well and good, but why is it titled towards the camera? You can’t see his face half the time.
• Both George and Gracie actually sing in this short, which is amazing because anyone who ever heard George “sing” in his later career knows that’s not always the case.
• During my research for this post, I learned that according to several sources, including George himself, Gracie never actually said “Goodnight, Gracie” in their act. Rowan & Martin did a similar routine in the ‘60s and most people just assumed they were stealing it from Burns & Allen. The foundation of my comedy education is crumbling around me!

Legacy

• A selection from the works of Burns & Allen:
• Burns & Allen tap-dancing with Fred Astaire in 1937’s “A Damsel in Distress”

• Gracie Allen’s 1940 presidential campaign;

• An episode from their radio program;

• The one episode of their television series filmed in color!

• And James L. Brooks’ production company is named after Gracie.

Further Viewing: In a 1976 TV special, George Burns recreates a Burns & Allen routine with the one living woman who could do Gracie Allen justice; Madeline Kahn.

#38) The Ox-Bow Incident (1943)

OR “Not Quite Fonda This One”

Directed by William A. Wellman

Written by Lamar Trotti. Based on the novel by Walter Van Tilburg Clark.

Class of 1998

The Plot: In 1885 Nevada, drifters Gil & Art (Henry Fonda & Harry Morgan) ride in to town and learn of some recent cattle rustling. When word spreads that a local rancher has been murdered, the townsmen form a posse comitatus with the intent of hanging the killers. Gil & Art tag along and eventually find three men (Dana Andrews, Anthony Quinn & Francis Ford) with the rancher’s cattle and gun. The men claim innocence and the town’s hasty sense of justice is called into question.

Why It Matters: The NFR calls the film “a quiet yet intense study of the mentality and interpersonal dynamics of mobs.” Boy, that makes you want to go out and grab some popcorn, don’t it?

But Does It Really?: This is one of those films that I’ve always heard of but couldn’t tell you why it’s a classic. After watching it…I still can’t tell you. Not that it’s awful (there’s some impressive cinematography from Arthur C. Miller throughout), but it never goes to that next level you want from a classic film. Its scope is almost too small for film, it feels like a short story adapted for television. Fonda has given us films about society’s moral compass before and after this one (“The Grapes of Wrath”, “12 Angry Men” etc.). He’s even got better westerns on the list – “My Darling Clementine” and “Once Upon a Time in the West” come to mind. “The Ox-Bow Incident” is a story that needs to be told, but it has been, and by much more memorable movies.

Everybody Gets One: Due to everyone being a contract player during the Golden Age of Hollywood, pretty much everybody in this film has at least one more NFR entry on their resume. I’m sure I’ll even see some of the horses in another film. But I’ll give special mention to Frank Orth as Larry Kinkaid (aka “the vic”).

Wow, That’s Dated: For his performance as Poncho, Chrispin Martin gets to speak broken English in what I can only describe as a “Speedy Gonzales accent”.

Seriously, Oscars?: The film was nominated for Best Picture and…that’s it. In fact, it’s the most recent film to only receive a Best Picture nomination. It lost to “Casablanca”, because duh.

Other notes

• The novel is over 300 pages? How?
• San Francisco is the name of a saint. Don’t call it “Frisco”.
• Umm, Fonda just punched a guy and then stomped on his face.
• Nope, definitely not a fake backdrop behind the saloon set. Definitely didn’t start rustling when the actors walked past it. Nothing to see here.
• Surprise uncredited appearance by Margaret Hamilton as the judge’s housekeeper! I guess the “Wizard of Oz” residuals hadn’t started coming in yet.
• Jane Darwell is playing the role that today would go to Kathy Bates. Surprisingly, despite spending a lot of time in the film, Darwell does not directly interact with her former film son Henry Fonda.
• As a MSTie I feel it should be noted that Rose and her new husband (Mary Beth Hughes & George Meeker) would reunite a year later to film “I Accuse My Parents”.
• He’s played Greek, Italian, Arabian and even French, but this is one of the rare films where Mexican-born Anthony Quinn actually plays a Mexican!
• “This is only slightly any of your business” has got to be one of the least effective threats in film history.
• And of course, buy your War Bonds in this theatre!

Legacy

• Sure I didn’t go for it, but “The Ox-Bow Incident” is one of the favorite films of Clint Eastwood and even Henry Fonda himself. So what do I know?
• The film is referenced by Hawkeye on an episode of “M*A*S*H”. One wonders what Colonel Potter made of Art in this film.

Further Viewing: Now’s as good a time as any to showcase one of those Henry Fonda clip retrospectives. This one comes from TCM and features tributes from his children Jane and Peter.

#37) The Hustler (1961)

OR “Harold Hill was Right”

Directed by Robert Rossen

Written by Rossen and Sidney Carroll. Based on the novel by Walter S. Tevis.

Class of 1997

The Plot: “Fast” Eddie Felson (Paul Newman) is a small-town pool hustler looking for his big break. He challenges champion Minnesota Fats (Jackie Gleason) to a match. Eddie starts off strong, but his cockiness gets the better of him and he loses everything. While on the streets he starts a relationship with Sarah (Piper Laurie) an alcoholic with dashed dreams of her own. Eddie starts hustling again and attracts the eye of high-roller Bert Gordon (George C. Scott) who tries to craft the “born loser” into a true champ. Eddie’s hunger for winning fuels him, but at a personal cost.

Why It Matters: The NFR calls it a “moody, deliberately-paced morality play” and singles out the film’s direction, writing, cinematography and performers, specifically George C. Scott.

But Does It Really?: It could have been just a little shorter, but the film is definitely worth it as a character study of people’s competitive natures. The film’s strength is the emphasis on character rather than on the game of pool itself, which I feel a lesser director would have done. Performances by the four leads are solid (if maybe a little too “Actors Studio” for my taste) and the pool games are riveting. While the film’s impact may have worn off over the years, I’d still chalk this one up to a “minor classic”.

Everybody Gets One: Amazingly this is the only appearance for stars Jackie Gleason and Piper Laurie. Also noteworthy are appearances by Vincent “Old Italian Stereotype” Gardenia and Michael “Old Greek Stereotype” Constantine. Plus that’s boxer Jake LaMotta as the bartender when Eddie and Sarah meet up again. Hey, someone should make a movie about him!

Wow, That’s Dated: Mainly the fact that modern professional pool players are not as cool or classy as Paul Newman or Jackie Gleason.

Seriously, Oscars?: “The Hustler” received nine Oscar nominations, including Best Picture. Almost completely shut out by “West Side Story” and “Judgment at Nuremberg”, the film won two technical awards; Art Direction and Cinematography. Most noteworthy is George C. Scott’s Supporting Actor nomination. After losing for “Anatomy of a Murder” two years earlier, Scott decided he no longer believed in competition among actors and asked that the Academy remove his nomination. The Academy declined his request. Scott split the vote with Gleason and lost to George Chakiris for “West Side Story”.

Other notes

• Speaking of Oscars, I’m disappointed that Dede Allen didn’t get a nomination for her editing. It took a while for Hollywood’s Old Home Guard to accept that faster New York style of editing. And kudos to Fox’s Oscar campaign for putting Piper Laurie in the lead category. They could have easily put her in supporting and committed category fraud, but Fox made the right choice.
• I’m a sucker for films that are shot in Black & White with a 2.35:1 aspect ratio. They always look so artful. This is the brief era of film where this combination was more frequent.
• We’re still in the Hays Code era, so characters aren’t allowed to swear. Instead we get substitutes like “up the flagpole”, “crum”, and “kiss off”. The film, however, is edgy enough to let Sarah call Bert a “bastard”.
• Holy hell those trick shots are amazing! Gleason was a seasoned pool player and did all his own shots. Newman picked up the game quickly and only needed assistance on one shot by pool champ (and the film’s technical advisor) Willie Mosconi.
• This film has one of my favorite types of scenes; montages that have several images superimposed over each other.

• I’m convinced that Gleason actually misses one of his shots, but they cut away before you see where the ball ends up. You win this round, Rossen.
• Why is Piper Laurie dubbed so much? Like, almost every scene she’s in. It’s especially noticeable in her big scene towards the end where the sync is way off.
• That’s character actor Murray Hamilton as Kentucky pool champ Findley. For those of you keeping score, he’s in movies about pool sharks and actual sharks.
• George C. Scott is good, but he only gets to do his famous “Turn It Off!” line reading once, saved towards the end for, “You owe me MONEY!” This was only Scott’s third film, yet the transition from stage actor to film actor is already seamless.

Legacy

• 25 years later Paul Newman reprised Fast Eddie in the Scorsese-helmed semi-sequel “The Color of Money”. Reviews were mixed, but Newman’s performance finally won him his first and only Academy Award.

• “The Hustler” is credited with helping to revive interest in pool. So…that’s cool I guess.
• Shortly after the film came out, pool player Rudolf Wanderone started calling himself “Minnesota Fats” and claimed that Gleason’s character was based on him. The story didn’t stick, but the nickname did.

Further Viewing: The 1978 showdown between aforementioned pool champions Minnesota Fats and Willie Mosconi. Because it’s a ‘70s sports match, Howard Cosell provides commentary.