Gene Hackman
Part 2
More Gene Hackman winners! I’m proceeding chronologically - the only way to keep it straight.
The Poseidon Adventure (1972) may not be a cinematic classic, but it was fun and it made a lot of money. Disaster movies were big back then and this is one of the best. A tsunami hits a cruse ship broadside and it capsizes, turning upside down. The only possible escape is now to somehow get up to the hull and out. Gene Hackman is Rev. Frank Scott, who leads a group on a perilous trip to get out. Some make it, some don’t. Scott is heroic and finds a way for what’s left of his group to escape.
Scarecrow (1973) is the most unlikely of buddy movies, pairing Gene Hackman (Max) with Al Pacino (Lion). Both are broke and nearly derelict but dream of traveling to Pittsburgh and owning a car wash. Their misadventure finally result in Lion committed to a mental hospital. Max promises to come back and help him. The interplay between these two giants of the movies is worth the price of admission.
The Conversation (1974) was nominated for Best Picture but lost to Godfather II. Ths film provides Hackman with a signature acing opportunity and he nails it. He plays Harry Caul, a surveillance expert who tries to separate his work from morality. When he overhears a possible murder plot, he tries to intervene. His employer turns the tables on Harry, who hears his own voice on a surreptitious recording. He literally trashes his apartment looking for the listening device.
Young Frankenstein (1974) is Mel Brooks at his zaniest and that’s good. Gene Wilder is Frederick Frankenstein, grandson of the famous monster creator. He inherits the family Transylvania castle and proceeds to copy his grandfather’s experiments. Peter Boyle almost steals the thing as the new monster. But he’s in August company: Cloris Leachmen, Madeline Kahn, Marty Feldman and Terri Garr are just a few of the participants. Gene Hackman has a good time as the blind man who is a companion to the innocent little girl. Can Hackman creditably act as a blind man? Of course.
In Night Moves (1975) Gene Hackman portrays Harry Moseby, a retired pro football player who is now a private investigator. He is hired by Arlene Iverson (Janet Ward) to find her missing daughter. Arlene lives off her daughter’s trust fund but can only use it when her daughter lives with her. From there it gets very complicated and involves a sunken seaplane, a Mexican artifact and a washed up actor.
Bite The Bullet (1975) stars Gene Hackman as Sam Ckayton a crusty participant in a 700-mile cross country horse race. Candace Bergman is on hand as Miss Jones, the pretty and unlikely female entry. A Mexican with a tooth ache supplies the movie’s title. The horse race is fun and based on a true event.
All of the movies in this article are for adults though mature kids would like Young Frankenstein. All are available somewhere for rental or purchase.