Gene Hackman

                                                                 Part 4

Yep, there are still lots of good films from the late great Gene Hackman. So here goes- hang on!

Gene is Secretary of Defense David Brice in the edge-of-your-seat thriller No Way Out (1987). Impressed by his ability, he hires Tom Farrell (Kevin Costner) as his in-house operative. Farrell begins an affair with Susan Atwell (Sean Young) unaware that she is Brice’s mistress. When he discovers her wandering, Brice kills her. He attempts to pin the murder on Farrell and there’s all sorts of chicanery leading to a very surprising ending.

Hackman stars as Lt. Col. Gene Hambleton in Bat 21 (1988), another suspenseful thriller. He is an electronics weapons expert with critical knowledge. He is shot down over Vietnam but radios his position as he parachutes down. The North Vietnamese know exactly who he is and want badly to capture him. The rest of the film is about his eluding capture and attempting to escape with the help of Captain Birddog Clark (Danny Glover). Their adventures make for really good movie action. 

Mississippi Burning (1988) is the highly fictionalized story of the murder of three civil activists (Chaney, Goodman and Schwerner) in 1964. FBI agents Rupert Anderson (Gene Hackman) and Alan Ward (Willem Dafoe) are sent to find the missing civil rights workers and charge those responsible. They receive only hindrance from the locals, under the thumb of the Klan and the local sheriff. But they eventually find the bodies in an earthen dam after a tip, and charge some of the responsible men with civil rights violations. Hackman was nominated for Oscar but lost to Dustin Hoffman for Rain Man. The film itself and its director were also nominated but lost to Rain Man.

Postcards From The Edge (1990) is mostly about a young actress, Suzanne Vale portrayed by Meryl Streep and her movie star mother, Doris Mann (Shirley Maclaine). Both are trying to kick debilitating drug and alcohol addictions and are somehow supposed to help each other. Gene Hackman has a nice turn as film director Lowell Kolchek, who tries to rehabilitate Suzanne with work in his movie. Carrie Fisher wrote the screenplay, based on her book. Mike Nichols directed. 

Unforgiven (1992) won Oscar as Best Movie and was nominated for seven other statues, losing them all. Director and lead actor Clint Eastwood was one of the casualties as was Gene Hackman. Eastwood plays Will Munny, reformed outlaw and owner of a failing farm in Kansas. He is talked into trying for the reward offered for the capture of some bandits in Big Whiskey, Wyoming. The sheriff there is the notorious Little Bill Daggett (Gene Hackman), whose skills as a lawman tends toward beating up or killing suspects. 

All of the movies in this article are available somewhere. All are for adults.

                                                       Gene Hackman

                                                            Part 3

    Coming now to the middle part of Gene Hackman’s storied career. Plenty of good ones in this chapter. 

A Bridge Too Far (1977) is, at nearly three hours, really long. One critic said it should have been title “A Film Too Long”. Anyway, it’s based on the true story of the Allies offensive, Operation Market Garden,  in World War II. Allied forces are dropped far into the occupied Netherlands. Their mission is to capture the Arnheim Bridge, the only route for the Germans to get out of Holland. Things go badly from the start and the attack totally fails Gene Hackman portrays the Polish General Sosabowski whose attempt to bail out the surrounded Allies is too late. 

Gene Hackman received lots of boos and hisses for his performance as Lex Luthor, sworn enemy of Superman (1978). This is the one with Christopher Reeve, and probably the best. Luthor plans to drop a missile on the San Andreas fault, blowing the West apart and making his desert property beach front. Really! Anyway his plans are thwarted by Superman, who reverses time by spinning the world the other way and stopping the missiles. Superman II (1980) is even crazier, and more fun. Hackman again is Lex Luthor and this time is out to destroy Superman and America. Superman uses his special powers (!) to stop the bad guys and correct the memories of those who know his secret, Great stuff!  Gene is back in Number 4 but it is a barking dog!

Reds (1981) won a boatload of awards as the almost true story of the Russian Revolution and its aftermath. Warren Beatty directs and plays journalist John Reed, at first a big fan of the Bolsheviks and later not so much. Gene Hackman has a couple of scenes as Pete Van Wherry, Reed’s editor and not much in favor of the Russkis. But he puts up with Reed for a while and nails his two scenes. 

It’s hard to tell the bad guys without a program in Under Fire (1983) as journalists from the West attempt to cover the civil war in Nicaragua. Gene Hackman is on board as Alex Grazier, a famous war correspondent. He gets perhaps too close to the action but, hey, it’s a job. Ed Harris, Nick Nolte and Joanna Cassidy are on hand as his fellow journalists, trying their best to make the best of a cluster&%#@.

You want a great basketball movie, or how about one where the little guy triumphs against impossible odds? Okay, we’ve got Hoosiers (1986). In Indiana, when the high school basketball playoffs start, there are no size divisions- just teams. Gene Hackman is the coach of little Hickory, which most of the time can’t scrimmage because it doesn’t have enough players. But Coach Norman knows what he’s doing and after some flack from the town people, the team begins to rise though the playoffs, against schools 10 times their size. Dennis Hopper is on board as the alcoholic pal of Norman, who really knows basketball. With the score tied in the finals, Norman devises a play with superstar Jimmy as a decoy. But Jimmy just says “I’ll maker it”. And he does!

All of the movies in this article are available somewhere. All are for grown-ups. 

                                                           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. 

 

                                                               Gene Hackman

Gene Hackman died mysteriously in his New Mexico home. He was 95. His young wife lay dead in another room for two weeks before Hackman passed. He apparently had dementia so badly he didn’t realize she was gone. I knew writing about his movie career would be a challenge- because there’s an overload of riches. I have a list of over 30 movies that were good enough to include. Alas, some serious culling is in order.

I’ll start with his first Oscar nomination, as Buck Barrow in Bonnie and Clyde (1967). Warren Beatty is Clyde Barrow, Faye Dunaway is Bonnie Parker, and Gene Hackman is Clyde’s older brother, Buck. They form a criminal gang, robbing places and escalating to banks. Then Clyde murders a bank manager and the hunt for the now-famous gang is on. Buck wasn’t much of a moral influence for his younger brother, throwing in with the gang and including his wife Blanche. The realistic shoot-out that ends the movie was not prettied up and shocked many. BTW, Gene lost to George Kennedy for Cool Hand Luke.

In Downhill Racer (1969) Robert Redford is David Chappellet, the hot dogging show-off ski racer whose antics drive his coach, Eugene Claire (Gene Hackman) nuts. David will not listen to Claire and refuses to be a team player. The trouble is, he’s really good and skiing isn’t exactly a team sport. So the egotistical David wins the Olympic Gold Medal and leaves the nay-sayers in the dust (snow?)

Gene Hackman snagged another Oscar nomination as Gene Garrison in I Never Sang For My Father (1970). This time he lost to John Mills for Ryan’s Daughter. Gene has long running troubles with his father (Melvyn Douglas) but as the father’s health declines, they seem to be coming together. No happy ending here as Gene decides to follow his fiancé to California and leave his Dad on his own. It’s a difficult part but Hackman nails it.

The father of all car chase movies is still thrilling. Gene Hackman played narcotics cop Popeye Doyle in The French Connection (1971). Popeye pursues drug runner Pierre Nicoli and keeps going when the thug jumps a train and comandeers the whole thing. He also kills the conductor. Popeye keeps coming and catches up with Nicoli and kills him. He also kills a Federal colleague by mistake. Alan Charnier (Fernando Rey), the French master criminal in charge of all the drug dealing, manages to escape. The rest or his gang in America is caught and imprisoned. Popeye is distraught that Charnier got away. The third time was the charm for Gene Hackman. This time he won the Oscar for his portrayal of Doyle. 

Never inclined to leave well enough alone, Hollywood made French Connection 2 (1975). Popeye is somehow sent to France to get Charnier. He does poorly as a foreign cop and winds up being captured and shot up with heroin by Charnier’s men. He recovers from the forced addiction and stays after Charnier. And this time he gets him.

All of the movies in this article are available somewhere. All are for adults. Think I’m through with Hackman? Shoot, I’m just getting started!

 

                                                           Tony Roberts column

    Woody Allen was the consummate bumbler, a neurotic nerd stumbling his way through his movies. Tony Roberts was his polar opposite- handsome, suave, self-assured. Woody’s friend who exemplified the old saw that opposites attract. Woody’s films provided Roberts with great parts, but he had quite a good movie CV otherwise.

I’ll start with Tony’s films outside of the Woody Allen sphere. Star Spangled Girl (1971) is a Neil Simon story which was first a play. It has three main characters: Andy Hobart (Tony Roberts) editor and publisher of a struggling radical newspaper, Norman Cornell (Todd Susman) Andy’s friend and roommate and Amy Cooper (Sandy Duncan), a world-class swimmer training for the Olympics. Norman falls for her, she falls for Andy, and there are lots of Neil Simon laughs. 

Al Pacino is Serpico (1973) a straight New York City cop who just can’t abide the corruption swimming around him.  Unable to get any help from elsewhere, he enlists his friend Blair (Tony Roberts) who is a reporter with connections. They get the story run in the NY Times and a real investigation follows. Set up by his crooked colleagues, Serpico gets shot in the face and nearly dies. But the Times story won’t go away and neither will he, so he gets his chance to testify before a grand jury. This is a true story.

The Taking of Pelham One Two Three (1974) is a nail-biter so good they made it again in 2009. Tony Roberts has a minor part as Deputy Mayor Warren LaSalle. Four robbers board the subway at different stops and commandeer the train. They demand a ransom or they will kill a passenger every minute. The city agrees to pay but the ransom is caught in a wreck. With minutes to spare, the ransom arrives. The crooks set the “dead man’s switch” which keeps the train running without a conductor. The crooks depart and the train barrels on. That’s all I’m telling.

Tony Roberts’ inauguration into the Woody Allen arena began with Play It Again, Sam (1972). Woody is the usually awkward nerd Allan. Roberts is Dick Christie, Allan’s best friend. Diane Keaton, another regular in the Woody stable, is Dick’s wife and Allan has a crush on her. The movie is jazzed up by the ghost of Humphrey Bogart, as this film has many echoes from Casablanca. 

In Annie Hall (1977) Diane Keaton is the title character  and Woody is Alvy, neurotic as always and trying to make a go of it with Annie. Roberts is Rob, who is Alvy’s always faithful best friend and who has a TV show. The movie is mostly about Alvy and Annie’s up and down relationship. Her clothing became more famous than the movie!

In Stardust Memories (1980) Tony Roberts is , well, Tony. He is once again Woody Allen’s best friend. Allen is Sandy Bates, a successful film maker. A Midsummer Night’s Sex Comedy (1982) is definitely lesser Woody. Roberts appears as Dr. Maxwell, one of many sex besotted cast members. In Hannah and Her Sisters (1986) Roberts as a very minor part as Norman (he wasn’t even credited). 

Roberts’ final foray into Woody land is in Radio Days,  the nostalgic look back at 40's radio shows, many of which are played out in snippets of plot. Tony Roberts’ voice is his main entree here as he portrays the “Silver Dollar Emcee”. 

All of the movies in this article are available somewhere. All are for grown-ups.

                                                  ROSEMARY HARRIS

A faithful reader asked me recently: “Have you ever considered doing a column on Rosemary Harris”. He met her at an event in Winston-Salem. My answer: “Well, I have now”.

    She was born in England and began her storied career there, both on the stage and on film. But 97-year-old Rosemary Harris has been a Tar Heel for a while. She lives in Winston-Salem. She married NC author John Ehle in 1967 and they were together until his death in 2018.  Their daughter Jennifer is also an actress. She and her Mom acted together several times. Rosemary was nominated for a Tony seven times and won three. She had one Oscar nomination - in 1994 for Tom And Viv, but she lost to Diane Wiest for Bullets Over Broadway. Digging out her best movies from over 70 is not easy, but Mr. Movie is up for it. 

Let’s start at the place you are most likely to have encountered her. Although there are seemingly unlimited Spider-Man movies, Rosemary Harris is in the three Sam Raimi-directed versions which were the most popular. These appeared in 2002, 2004 and 2007.   In all three she portrays May Parker, wife and widow of Peter’s Uncle Ben. When Ben dies, May is left to raise Peter as best she can. Since he becomes an ace crime-fighter, she seems to have done a very good job of it. At one point in the trilogy, she admits she was something of a rebel as a young person. Her advice to Peter:” With great power comes great responsibility." Okay, not really original but unarguable anyway. 

The one Oscar nomination Rosemary scored sort ot underlines her acting ability. That’s because Tom and Viv (1994) just isn’t very good. Willem Dafore portrays the young T.S. Eliot and Miranda Richardson  plays his first wife,.Vivien.  They married in 1915 and although they separated in 1933 they never divorced. Most of the film is taken up with the early life of the famous poet.   Rosemary plays Viv’s mother, Rose, and does a good enough job to be nominated for Oscar. 

Rosemary Harris’ first film appearance of note was in 1963 as Yelena in Uncle Vanya. Critic Harold Hobson called this filmed version of the stage play “probably the Best Vanya we will ever see”. No argument here. This version was directed and acted by Sir Lawrence Olivier. Sir Michael Redgrave, Joan Plowright and Sybil Thorndike also appear in key roles. 

The Ploughman’s Lunch (1983) is one of those grim British multi-character films without anyone to root for. Rosemary Harris has the part of Ann Barrington, mother of Susan and poacher of her boyfriend James. James is a reporter who drifts from event to event without really connecting with anything, including Susan. But he and Susan and their friend Jeremy go off together and Susan chooses, badly, to be with Jeremy. Rosemary is convincing as the seductive high-end woman who gets dumped along with the story. 

Rosemeary Harris can also be seen to good advantage in Sunshine (1999) and as a minor player in Crossing Delancey (1988) and Being Julia (2004). 

All of the movies in this article are available somewhere. All except the Spider-Man trilogy are for adults. 

                        BASEBALL HAS BEEN VERY, VERY GOOD TO MOVIES

    Pitchers and catchers report! This clarion call from out of the depths of winter brings joy to the nation’s baseball fans. Last season the Dodgers won the World Series in a replay of memorable Series when I was a kid. Hated the Yankees. Loved Dem Bums. All in all, a memorable season with some new faces and some old familiar ones. 

There has never  been a movie that captures the speed and grace of baseball. Football, basketball and track all photograph better. Even soccer.  But Hollywood (and I) love baseball and there are lots of films that have a good feel for baseball's spirit.

These are my favorite baseball movies:

1. Field of Dreams  (1989). I absolutely love this wonderful film. It's the best thing Kevin Costner has ever done. James Earl Jones is splendid as the kidnaped writer and Ray Liotta's debut as Shoeless Joe is top notch. The magic of baseball and something of what it has meant to Americans is here, as well as the ridicule true believers in any magic must endure. When the players materialize out of the cornfield I always get goose bumps.

2. The Natural (1984). Larger than life and meant to be, this is the fable of the Great American Hero. Robert Redford has it down pat. OK, guys, maybe he is a little too pretty, but live with it. Glenn Close is the hero's dream of The Lady. The argument that Roy Hobbs' home runs are impossible is completely beside the point. 

3. Bull Durham (1988). The movie that made Durham Bulls memorabilia famous. As good as it gets in portraying the gritty, quirky world of minor league baseball. Susan Sarandon is just right (isn't she always?) as the ultimate fan, Kevin Costner is fine as Crash Davis, and a pleasantly awkward Tim Robbins is good as The Kid. Funny, touching, and lots of fun.

4. Pride of the Yankees (1942). Gary Cooper is more like Lou Gehrig than Gehrig was. The complete team player with the terminal disease that was named for him won't leave a dry eye in the house when the credits roll. “The luckiest man on the face of the earth”. Okay, he’s dying- but he got to play for the Yankees!

5. Bang the Drum Slowly (1973). Another doomed player; here a none-too-bright but engaging Robert DeNiro. He gets the puzzlement of "why me?" across really well.  The camaraderie of the players, and even their occasional meanness, seem right on the money. 

Close runners-up: Major League (1989) [inept but hilarious Cleveland wins pennant], The Stratton Story (1949) [one-armed Major League pitcher], and A League of Their Own (1992 ) girls playing professional baseball]. The last one gave us this memorable phrase from manager Tom Hanks: “There’s no crying in baseball”.

And a special Honorable Mention to Ken Burns' TV series Baseball, a nine-hour love story done as well as it could be.

All of the films in this column are available somewhere. Only Bull Durham is not suitable for all ages.

                                                                         Bridge Movies

                                                                        Part 2

     I couldn’t get all the good bridge movies into one column. So herewith another handful of movies about bridges. Are there any more? Probably, but these are all I could actually write about.     

    One of the best bridge movies connected to warfare is not about World War II. The Bridges at Toko-Ri (1954) is set in the Korean war. A rare screen appearance by Princess (okay, later on) Grace Kelly helps a lot. William Holden, Mickey Rooney and Frederick March are also on board. American pilots are asked to undertake a perilous mission to knock out the bridges at Toko-Ri. They are stiffly defended by the communist forces as they connect North Korea and China. Their initial attack is a success but then they try a second target and disaster follows. 

Ice Bridge: The Impossible Journey (2018) is about an entirely different kind of bridge. In this made for TV documentary two archeologists set about to prove that Ice Age people crossed the frozen Atlantic from Europe to North America in a time before the Vikings or Columbus. Their discovery of an artifact on the Maryland Eastern Shore buttesses their somewhat novel claim. You can watch this and decide for yourself- I was sold!

The Bridges of Madison County (2015) provide the backdrop of a romantic encounter between Robert Kincaid (Clint Eastwood)  and Francesca Johnson (Meryl Streep) He is a photographer on assignment to photograph the covered bridges in Madison County, Iowa. His chance encounter with Francesca provide the sparks in a romantic film that was exremely popular. It also became a Broadway Musical. She is an Iowa housewife just okay in a marriage become almost platonic. Their brief affair almost bursts into flame and they nearly run away together, but she cannot abandon her teen-age children and faithful husband. Her kids discover her romantic story after her death. 

The Cassandra Crossing (1976) is a real nail biter with really big stars. Sophia Loren and Ava Gardner are the eye candy. Richard Harris, Martin Sheen and Burt Lancaster provide the testosterone level. Fearing the passengers on a train are infected with a deadly virus and should be quarantined, their train is changed to a perilous route that must cross the old and doubtful bridge to Poland. There are many conflicts among the scientists and soldiers and the ending is edge of your seat stuff. 

An Occurrence At Owl Creek Bridge (1962) is a French film of an American Civil War story. A southern Confederacy sympathizer and saboteur is captured by the Union forces and sentenced to be hanged from Owl Creek bridge. As he prepares himself for death, he has visions of his home, his wife and his children. When he is pushed off the bridge, the rope breaks, he falls into the river and swims to safety. I will not reveal the ending here. It astounded me!

All of the movies in this article are available for streaming somewhere. All are for grown-ups. 

                                                         Bridges

Bridges play a large part in lots of movies. Over 50 actually. Whew! That’s a lot. But Mr. Movie is here for fans of bridge movies (and movies in general). 

    Let’s start with the most famous and best bridge movie: 1957' Bridge on the River Kwai. This is as suspenseful as they get! And keep in mind that it was made before computers could make anything look real. The film won seven Oscars including Best Picture. It is considered a classic, one of the best movies ever made. Allied POWs are ordered by the Japanese to build a bridge across the River Kwai, linking Thailand and Burma. Colonel Nicholson (Alec Guiness), the ranking British officer, becomes obsessed with building the bridge, despite the fact that’s what the Japs want. Jack Warden, William Holden and James Donald are also in the cast and they very much don’t want the bridge to succeed. The movie’s last 15 minutes are slam-bang wonderful. And that’s all you’ll get from me!

In Bridge of Spies (2015) the bridge is important as the place where the Russians and Americans trade spies. Mark Rylance won his first Oscar as Rudolf Abel, the guy the Russians want back. Tom Hanks is on board as attorney James Donovan, taxed with the task of arranging the trade. American downed pilot Gary Powers is the other part of the swap. The film keeps you on pins and needles as it often seems the trade will never actually happen. 

    A Bridge Too Far (1977) was called by one reviewer A Movie Too Long. And it sure is long, weighting in at one minute short of three hours! But has an all-star cast and a story that is perhaps worth the time. It is the true story of Operation Market Garden, involving over 35,000 Allied troops being parachuted into the Netherlands. Their orders are to secure and hold various bridges. They are completely outnumbered but strive valiantly to fulfil their mission. 

The Bridge at Remagen (1969) is certainly shorter and another good story based on actual history.  Allied troops are assigned to secure the Remagen Bridge over the river Rhine to secure the march into Germany. Stiff resistance from the dug-in Germans make it an iffy situation. Geoge Segal, Robert Vaughn and Ben Gazzara are all quite good.

Brooklyn Bridge (1981) is a documentary by Ken Burns about the construction of the magnificent bridge across the East River, connecting Brooklyn and Manhattan  The construction began in 1890 and the bridge was opened in 1893. It was very controversial at the time .It was the first fixed bridge across the river and the longest suspension bridge in the world at the time. There were numerous deaths of workers on the project. As ever, Ken Burns knows how to make a documentary.

All of the movies in this article are available to stream somewhere. All are for adults. Next time even more bridge movies!

                                                        Joan Plowright

                                                         Part 2

Of course there are more good movies starring Dame Joan Plowright! And mosf of them are ensconced in this article.

I’m going to start with the last movie of hers of any note because a couple of readers have mentioned it. Mrs. Palfrey at the Claremont (2005) is just a wonderful film. Joan Plowright plays the title character, an elderly lady nearly forgotten by her own family and friends. She has an accidental fall outside the flat of Ludovic Meyer, a young writer. Their unlikely friendship ripens as the days go by and each discovers more things alike than not about the other. He leads her gently through her past and she inadvertently leads him to his future. 

The Dressmaker (1988) is one of those quiet little British dramas that seem to just get under your skin. Joan Plowright is Nellie and Billie Whitelaw is her sister Margo. The lead a somber existence in a small apartment, trying to guide their somewhat fragile niece who is having an affair with an American soldier. 

Avalon (1990) is one of Barry Levinson’s Baltimore films, and it is really good. The Kachinsky family are Polish Jewish immigrants who land in Baltimore and have various degrees of success. Joan Plowright is the matriarch, Eva, stuck with both feet in the past and refusing to acclimate herself to her new surroundings. When her daughter-in-law Ann (Elizabeth Perkins) learns to drive a car, Eva not only disdains the accomplishment but refuses to ride with her. She takes the streetcar instead. This is one of the best films about the immigrant experience in America. 

Joan got her only Oscar nomination for her acting in Enchanted April (1992). She lost to Marissa Tomei for My Cousin Vinny. Two English ladies, complete strangers to each other, decide to rent an Italian castle based on an ad they see in a travel magazine. They advertise for two more ladies to help share expenses and enjoy the castle and its surroundings. It would be hard to find four more mismatched women. Though some of their life stories intersect in interesting ways, most of them begin as total unknowns. As time goes by, their stories begin to meld in unforseen ways. By the end of the film, everyone has happily found her niche within the group and one senses they will be friends for life. 

There are many productions of Jane Eyre. The 1968 is as good as any, with William Hurt as Mr. Rochester, Anna Paquin as the young Jane, Charlotte Gainsbourg as the mature Jane, and Joan Plowright as Mrs. Fairfax. Jane is a poor orphan who escapes the dreadful orphanage to get a job as a governess. She is employed to take care of the unwanted daughter of Mr. Rochester. Mrs. Fairfax isn’t enchanted by Jane, but it turns out that Mr. Rochester has been paying attention. Jane sticks with him when he his luck turns really bad.

You can also see Joan to good advantage in the curious Tea With Mussolini (1999). All of the movies in this article are for grown-ups.  

                                                     Joan Plowright

    She was one of the Grand Dames of British entertainment, along with Judi Dench, Maggie Smith and Eileen Atkins. Joan Plowright lived to the grand old age of 96 and we only recently lost her. Ms. Plowright famously married Lawrence Olivier but was never overshadowed by him. She was made a Dame in 2004 (that’s the same as Knighthood for us colonists). She won a Tony  for A Taste of Honey. Her movie resume’ is outstanding.

    Her first appearance of note came in The Entertainer (1960). It stars Lawrence Olivier as Archie Rice, a fading music hall entertainer trying to hang on. Joan Plowright is quite good- not as his wife, but as his daughter!. During this filming is probably when romance bloomed between the two. They married the next year. Olivier owns the thing, and was nominated for Oscar. It’s one (of many) of his best performances.

Uncle Vanya (1963) is one of Chekov’s biggest hits and is still performed quite often around the world. In this version, Olivier not only stars but directs. It is the filmed version of the stage play and critic Harold Hobson said it is “the admitted master achievement in British 20th century theater”. Wow, I guess he liked it! Joan Plowright is on board as Sonya and capably holds up her end. Unfortunately, this version appears almost impossible to find. 

As Masha, one of the Three Sisters (1970) in another Chekov masterpiece, Ms. Plowright is as good as it gets. She proves she could be good in a bad production. However, Olivier’s direction is simply not up to snuff and the movie suffers. The critics hated it and the audiences weren’t far behind.

Equus (1977) has always been a difficult play - and movie. A disillusioned psychiatrist tries to treat an adolescent boy who has terrible problems. The boy has blinded horses that were in his care as a stableboy. His bizzare explanation of the act doesn’t solve much. Peter Firth appears as the boy, Alan Strang, and Joan Plowright is cast as his mother, Dora. Richard Burton portrays the doctor. Burton was nominated for an Oscar as was Peter Firth. Both lost. Peter Shaffer was nominated for his screenplay but also lost. Audiences have wrestled with Equus through the years. Theories abound about its meaning. 

Drowning By Numbers (1988) is a grim (!) fairy tale about three women, all of whom drown their husbands. All are named Cissy Colpitts..Joan Plowright is the matriarch of the group. Juliet Stevenson plays her daughter and Joely Richardson portrays her niece. Numbers are central to the plot, with various numbers appearing at random intervals in random places. If this sounds like I don’t understand it, that’s because I don’t. I did think it was pretty good, though! 

All of the movies in this article are available for streaming somewhere, probably for a price. All are for grown-ups. Next time, more movies featuring the iconic Dame Joan. 

                                                                Hockey Movies

North Carolina is a hockey state! There- I’ve said it and I stand by it. I know, I know, this is the Sunny South. Well, Greensboro just got another minor league team- the Gargoyles! (Anyone else remember the Generals?) And we have our own NHL team, the Hurricanes, who actually won the Stanley Cup in 2006 . So- movies about hockey? Many are made, few are chosen. I have three really good ones and three for the penalty box.    

Let’s start with the very best. Miracle On Ice (1981) is not only the best hockey movie ever made, it’s one of the very best sports movies. In the 1980 Winter Olympics the USA team faced off against the Soviet Union. The Americans were college kids, being coached by the University of Minnesota chief. The kids from America tie favored Sweden, then defeat Czechoslovakia, Norway, Romania and West Germany, to get into the medal round. Then come the heavily favored Russians, who haven’t lost a game in four Olympics. The Russians were consummate pros, able to best most NHL teams. Somehow these kids knock of the Russkis and then go on to beat Finland for the gold medal. This version features Karl Malden as American coach Herb Brooks. Then we have Miracle (2004) with Kurt Russell as Brooks. Which version is better? I really can’t choose. I loved both!

The other really good hockey movie is Slap Shot (1977). It’s about a scrappy down-at-the heels minor league hockey team- the Chiefs- led by Reggie Dunlop (Paul Newman). The team is not a local favorite in the Rust Belt city, which is even more down than the team. But Reggie hires some really questionable players whose chief talent is brutalizing the other team. The town loves it! And the team begins to succeed on the ice and at the gate. The team lands in the league championship game against a Syracuse team with even meaner goons than the Chiefs. But nobody out fights the Chiefs and they force Syracuse into an act requiring their disqualification. Jennifer Warren portrays Reggie’s estranged wife Francine. Lindsay Crouse is quite good as Reggie’s other love interest, Lily Braden. There are at least two sequels. No Paul Newman, Lindsay Crouse or Jennifer Warren, and they are pretty awful. 

Mystery, Alaska (1999) does have Burt Reynolds and Russell Crowe. And not much else. Somehow a local amateur hockey team convinces the New York Rangers to come to their town for a game. Local politics are the main plot thread, not hockey.

The Mighty Ducks (1992) is about a peewee hockey team being coached by a guy doing it as community service after a driving drunk conviction. And there are at least two sequels which are, okay, no worse. Incredibly, the Mighty Ducks name is adopted by a real NHL team based in Anaheim, California. You cannot make this stuff up!

The first two and the last film are fine for all ages. The rest are for grown-ups. All are probably available somewhere, and probably are not free. 

                                               Movies into Broadway Musicals

                                                               Part 2

Were a few movies later made into Broadway Musicals? Why, yes. It’s a very limited category and in this article we’ll exhaust the possibilities. Usually, of course, it’s the other way around- dozens of Broadway Musicals have been made into movies. The flip side not so much. This rounds up most of the rest of them.

Billie Elliott (2002) is a charming movie about an English lad who dreams of becoming a ballet dancer. He chances to see a ballet class and is smitten. His miner Dad and older brother are not exactly encouraging. But a teacher sees his talent and helps him to perform with the Royal Ballet. He appears as the swan in Swan Lake, wowing the audience and critics. By way of the West End Theater, Australia and finally Broadway musical in 2008, the play is a hit Asked what he feels like while dancing, Billy says it “feels like electricity:.

Waitress (2007) is about women who work hard at their trade and some of the customers they wait on.  Jenna (Kerri Russell) is a talented baker trapped in a loveless marriage. She is famous for her unique pies with unique names, like Bad Bay Pie. She longs to gather enough money to leave the dreadful Earl and hopes to win a pie contest to help that dream. Andy Griffith almost steals this movie as Joe, the curmudgeon owner of the diner where Jenna works. There’s an extremely unlikely but happy ending. While there’s no music in the movie, Waitress was made into a very successful Broadway Musical, running for over four years.

Legally Blonde (2001) stars Reese Witherspoon as Elle, Big Woman On Campus. When her boyfriend gets into Harvard Law School, she decides to follow. It turns out that this seemingly ditzy blonde is smart as hell, knocks the admissions people on ther butt, and is obriously headed for an outstanding legal career. A Broadway Musical followed as spring follows winter. Opening to mixed reviews in 2007 it nevertheless was nominated for seven Tonys, but didn’t win any. There are sequels to avoid.

Moulin Rouge (1952) and (2001) is about the famous Paris night spot and the denizens who go there. The main focus is on Henri Toulouse-Lautrec, a monmentally talented painter whose hobbles around on legs that just don’t work. He was injured in a fall as a child and never healed. He paints the characters in the night club, mainly the dancing girls. On his death bed his father informs him that his paintings will be exhibited in the Louvre. No music here. This film was nominated for six Oscars, but won only for technical categories. Another version follows in 2001, with a completely different story and with lots of music. This one received eiight Oscar nominations, again winning only on the technical side. There followed a Broadway musical based on the newer movie in 2019. This version won ten Tonys, including Best Musical.

One final double: The Band’s Visit (2007), about an Egyptian band touring and getting lost in Israel. It was made into a very successful musical in 2017. 

All of the movies in this article are available somewhere for a price. Only Billy is fine for kids. 

                                      Movies That Became Broadway Musicals

                                                            Part 1

There have been many of Broadway Musicals that were made into movies. While researching those I had this thought: what about flipping the coin? Have there been a lot of movies that were made into Broadway Musicals? Actually, yes. Comparatively speaking not that many, but here are those that made the trip.

    Perhaps the most famous movie that went to Broadway is Singin’ In The Rain (1952). And it is a wonderful film! Gene Kelly, Donald O’Connor and Debbie Reynolds singing and dancing up a storm in the musical story of movies leaving their silent beginning and becoming talkies. Jean Hagen is on board as Lina, a star in silents whose grating, high pitched voice dooms her career in talkies. Ms. Hagen won the only Oscar for this film.  Good for her, but everyone else deserved one, including the movie itself. The film was made into a Broadway musical, still performed across America. And directors have struggled with that scene with Gene Kelly singing and dancing through a rain storm. With mixed success.

The next two examples of the film to play genre are Disney vehicles. Beauty and the Beast (1994) and The Lion King (1997) were born as animated films. Never mind that, both became excellent musical plays. The first is very faithful to the film and the music is stellar. The fairy tale story of the prince cursed by a witch to live his life as an ugly beast is well suited for the stage.  The second would seem to be difficult to stage, but the artists at Disney made stage-worthy animals. These are manipulated by actors and are really the stars of the show. The stage animals are just jaw dropping!

Hairspray (1988) is a fun story about a chubby Baltimore girl (Tracy) who wants to be a star on a TV dance show. The teen-age dance show is sponsored by Ultra Clutch Hair Spray. Really!  The music is outstanding and the story is semi-serious, as the star is invested in integration and winds up in jail for her trouble. The film traveled to Broadway in 2002, then was remade as a movie in 2007. Several actors have had a grand time playing Tracy’s mother Edna. John Travolta, Divine, and Harvey Feirstein are some of the actors who played Edna. The part has always been cast as a man in drag since the original production. 

Sunset Boulevard (1950) is a splendid movie that seems to be perfectly positioned as a Broadway play. Directed by the famous Billy Wilder, the original film has Gloria Swanson chewing the scenery as washed up actress Norma Desmond and William Holden as her would-be biographer. And it has legendary director Erich Von Stroheim as Max, Norma’s servile husband. The music in the original film is orchestral and quite good. But Andrew Lloyd Weber’s soaring score for the play is outstanding. The cast album is a big winner.

All of the movies in this article are available somewhere, probably for a price. The first three are fine for all audiences. The last two are for grown-ups. 

                                                                   Teri Garr

                                                                        Part 2

Teri Garr had the unique experience of playing a major role in two similar movies less than a year apart. One featured a man dressing as a woman to land a part. And one that involved a man taking on the job of stay-at-home Dad while his wife becomes the breadwinner. In one she assists the man. In the other she is finally impressed by the job the man is doing.

In Tootisie (1982) she is Sandy Lester, who tries out for a part in the soap opera Southwest General. She doesn’t get the part. Michael Dorsey (Dustin Hoffman) is an actor who is so difficult nobody will hire him. He hears about the available role in the soap and decides to dress like a woman and try for it. He is so convincing as Dorothy Michaels they hire him. He also convinces everyone else, but Sandy catches him out when she finds him in her dressing room to try on some of her clothes. She doesn’t give him up, though. Various romances develop with Michael falling for actress Julie (Jessica Lange) who doesn’t realize he’s a man. And Les (Charles Durning) falls for Dorothy, thinking she is in fact a woman. This film was wildly successful, and was nominated for 10 Oscars. Teri Garr was nominated, but so was Jessica Lange, and Lange won the statue. The picture was nominated for Best, but lost to Gandhi. 

Then in 1983 came Mr. Mom. It featured Michael Keaton in his first starring role. He portrays Jack Butler, engineer and father of three. He is laid off from his job at Ford, and his wife Caroline (Teri Garr) uses her education and experience to land a good job at an advertising agency. She succeeds and impresses the clients of the agency, especially when she brings a needed feminine perspective to some of the ads. Meanwhile, Jack struggles as the new main caretaker and homemaker with little experience or  knowledge of what he’s doing. But he catches on quickly and becomes the darling of the neighborhood mothers, while Caroline climbs the corporate ladder. 

In After Hours (1985) Teri portrays Julie, a waitress with artistic talent who draws a Wanted poster of poor Paul Hackett (Griffin Dunne) that gets him into all kinds of trouble. This is a complicated black comedy, directed by none of than Martin Scorcese.

Teri Garr has a brief appearance as herself in the Hollywood satire The Player (1992). Tim Robbins has a ball playing a studio hack who will do anything to advance his career. Including murder. 

The boy and the horse are just about the whole show in The Black Stallion (1979). After a shipwreck, the two are washed up on a desert island where they become inseparable. Then they’re rescued and the horse becomes a racer. Teri Garr is there to carry the water as the boy’s mother and she carries it well. 

All of the movies in this article are available somewhere, probably for a price. Only the last one is really suitable for all ages.