Harris Yulin

    Who? Who the heck is Harris Yulin? Well, that was my reaction when I read that he had died recently. But if you do what I did- Google him- you will have a mild shock of recognition because we have seen him in dozens of movies and TV shows. And he has a very rich acting resume’. Mr. Movie enjoys paying tribute to the “foot soldiers” of Hollywood. Character actors who show up, do their job, and move on to the next thing.

To say that End Of The Road (1970) is not for all tastes is putting it rather mildly. Harris Yulin portrays Joe Morgan, a really nutty guy who encourages his wife to have sex with a stranger who was just released from a funny farm. And that place is run by Dr D (James Earl Jones) who turns out to be a failed abortionist. My advice on this one is- give it a miss! 

Yulin’s role in the gritty Night Moves (1975) is Marty Heller, having an affair with the wife of the main charcter, played by Gene Hackman.

Scarface (1983) stars Al Pacino as drug lord Tony Montana. Harris Yulin is Mel Bernstein, a corrupt Miami police detective who tries to extort Tony. This turns out to be a really bad idea. Both Pacino and Yulin are quite good as total undesirables. 

In Clear And Present Danger (1984) Harris Yulin, as National Security Advisor James Cutter, jumps the line by about 40 years by receiving a presidential pardon before he has done anything. Well, what he does is organize his own group of nasties to deal with cartels and profit from the connection. Enter Jack Ryan (Harrison Ford) who you know is going to save the day- eventually. 

Training Day (2001) garnered Denzel Washington an Oscar for his portrayal of very crooked cop Alonzo Harris. He is supposed to be training rookie Jake Hoyt (Ethan Hawke) and I guess you could say that he does. Well, he trains him in the ways of the mean LA streets, smoking dope and letting snitches go. He also earns lots more money than his salary from drug dealers- either hitting them up for a cut or just stealing their stash. Harris Yulin is Doug Rosselli, one of the few straight cops in this thing. The Academy apparently was so stunned to see Denzel playing a bad guy so well they decided to give him a statue.

Harris Yulin can be seen- briefly- as Al Cross in The Place Beyond The Pines (2012) and he also shows up as Leon Friedman in the boxing biopic The Hurricane (1999). There are many more movies containing brief appearances of Yulin. Also tons of TV shows. While he may not be a household name to you and me, he sure was to casting directors, who frequently said “plug in Harris Yulin there” and they would. And they would get their money’s worth every time.

All of the movies in this article are for adults. 

                                                     Marcel Ophuls, Director

Marcel Ophuls was a true citizen of he world. He was born in Germany, the son of famed director Max Ophuls. He actually lived in America during his formative years and made several of his films here. He also had a dual citizenship with France, and he lived there most of his mature years. He made lots of films in France. He died recently at the good old age of 97.

    He is for the most part known to American audiences for The Sorrow and the Pity (1969). A master at documentaries, this is his best. He was nominated for an Oscar but somehow lost to The Helstrom Chronicles. Yeah, he was robbed! Ophuls’ scathing story of French collaboration with the Nazis during World War II unleashed a firestorm of fury in France and Germany. The French had been saying that the Vichy government and its apologists resisted the Germans. Ophuls ripped the cover off of that, revealing how some French cozied up to their invaders. 

In November Days (1971) Ophuls covers the reunification of Germany, mostly by interviews with former East Germans. I guess most of us Yanks thought everyone in Germany cheered for the country being together again. But actually, not everyone. 

In A Sense Of Loss (1972) Ophuls turns his sights on the troubles in Northern Ireland. Catholics and Protestants unleash hatred and terror on each other. You won’t find a more even-handed treatment of this subject. Ophuls lets you make up your own mind. Most of the people interviewed in this stellar documentary are dead now, but the smoldering conflict is still just under the surface. 

The Memory of Justice (1975) is quite a handful, with a running time of over four hours. The subject is wartime atrocities and nobody gets off scot free. There’s lots about Nuremberg but also about Viet Nam. The question of individual versus collective responsibility is aired. It also raises the question about who gets to point fingers without looking in the mirror. Some of the footage is hard to take; no one under 12 should be anywhere close to this film. If you do decide to watch it, it can be neatly cut into two hour segments without losing momentum. 

Nominated again for Hotel Terminus (1988), this time Ophuls scored the Oscar for best Documentary Feature. And he certainly deserved it. This is the story of Klaus Barbie, a Nazi bigwig who escaped to Colombia, where he lived until he was captured and sent to stand trial as a war criminal in France. The film is incredibly even-handed, containing wide ranging interviews with various people. Some insist Barbie was a torturer and all-in villain. Many others insist he only followed orders and did his best to diminish German atrocities. Anyway, he is usually referred to as The Butcher of Lyon. The film ends at the conclusion of his trial. He was convicted and sentenced to life in prison. He died in 1991.

All of the movies in this article are for adults. 

                                                                 Joe Don Baker

He was either blest or cursed to always be remembered for one signature role. Joe Don Baker was actually a good character actor who had good parts  in several good movies. But when his name was called, directors, producers, casting directors and audiences called up one name: Buford Pusser.

Walking Tall (1973) seemed tailor made for the burly, gruff Baker. Based on a real person, sheriff Buford Pusser of Tennessee, he became a hero for all those tired of whiny liberals and apologists for bad people. I’m betting the MAGA crowd would love him. At his wife’s behest, Pusser retires from professional wrestling and returns home to Tennessee to work in his father’s logging busness. When he catches the house cheating at craps, he is beaten and cut by local thugs. Seeing the rampant corruption in the county, he decides to run for sheriff. He wins and starts cleaning up the county sometimes within the law, sometimes not. But with his honesty and his eye on the prize he keeps going. 

Charley Varrick (1973) is a low level crook who lucks up when he robs a small bank, thinking it’s a piddling amount and escapes with three-quarters of a million dollars. Ah, but this money belongs to the mob and they want it back. They send a thug named Molly (Joe Don Baker) who has no boundaries. He roughs up several people, kills others, and even upends a poor man in a wheel chair. But the elusive Varrick sets up and gets rid of Molly and hatches a plan to keep the money. 

The Outfit (1973) is a criminal gang that kills the brother of Earl Macklin (Robert Duvall). Seeking revenge he joins up with his old friend, diner owner Cody (Joe Don Baker), The two escape various ambushes set by the Outfit and continue to come out on top, also enriching themselves by stealing some of the Outfit’s nefarious money. In a final gunfight Cody is wounded but escapes in an ambulance, aided by Macklin who disguises himself as a doctor.

The Natural (1984) is baseball fairy tale of a movie with Robert Redford as the legendary Roy Hobbs and Glenn Close as The Woman In White. Joe Don Baker has a good part, appearing  early in the movie as “The Whammer”, a character obviously based on Babe Ruth. Hobbs bets the crowd that he can strike out The Whammer in three pitches and proceeds to do exactly that. Then Hobbs is seriously injured and out of baseball for years. But he returns in middle age and hits the titanic home run that wins the game and the season for his team. 

Joe Don Baker can also be seen to good advantage (though almost always as either a criminal or a crooked lawman) in several other films. He is a somewhat bent Chief of Police in Fletch (1985), is one of the bad guys in the remake of Cape Fear (1991). 

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

                                                Robert Benton screenplays

                                                            Part 3

This will wind up the series on the late, great Robert Benton. This column features the screenplays he wrote for movies he did not direct. You will find that almost all are good. Okay, all but one.

I’m leading off with a film that has become a classic. Bonnie And Clyde (1967) is used in film classes. The laid back outlaw couple seem like just folks until they start killing people along with robbing banks. The public considered them in the Robin Hood class for quite a while. Warren Beatty and Faye Dunaway are spot on as the happy couple. This is about the first film to show what a shooting is really like as the Marshalls open up on the gang and there’s enough blood and gore for several movies. It’s done in slow motion and you probably haven’t forgotten it. 

There Was a Crooked Man (1970). In fact there are many in this, the only Western directed by Joseph Mankiewicz. Kirk Douglas is Paris Pittman, about as bad a guy as you’ll find in the old or new west. He robs people then kills his gang members so he won’t have to share the loot. Henry Fonda is Sheriff Lopeman, who spends most of the movie trying to catch Pittman. Pittman hides his take in a nest of rattlesnakes in the desert. Great idea, huh? Well, he gets bitten pulling the money out and when Lopeman finds him he’s already dead. Lopeman loads up Pittman and the money and heads back to town. But there’s another twist and you won’t find it here!

What’s Up Doc? (1972) lets Benton use his comedy chops for a nice change. Ryan O’Neal plays Music Professor Howard Bannister, Madeline Kahn is his tightly wound lady friend Eunice Burns and Barbra Streisand is the quirky Judy Maxwell. There are all kinds of hijinks involving four identical bags on the same floor of the same hotel. Of course they are picked up by the wrong people and chases ensue. Judy’s father Judge Maxwell attempts to sort this out without much luck. When Howard apologizes to Judy for his earlier actions, she says “Love means you never have to say you’re sorry” and he responds “That’s the dumbest thing I’ve ever heard”.

Superman (1978) is the first of many films about the guy from Krypton. Christopher Reeve is in this one and the next three and most think of him when they think of Superman. This film even has Marlon Brando has the caped wonder’s father. Adopted by poor Kansas farmers, he becomes a reporter as Clark Kent, concealing his super abilities. He woos Lois Lane (Margot Kidder) who is rather slow to catch on to his dual identities. Remember that this film is way before computer special effects.

The Ice Harvest (2005) is maybe a film noir and maybe a dark comedy and maybe can’t seem to decide what it is. John Cusak stars as Charlie Angst, sometimes low grade criminal, and Billy Bob Thornton (always a hoot!) as thuggish Vic Cavanagh. The story is too complicated to summarize here; it is not Mr. Benton’s moment of glory.

All of the films in this article are available somewhere. All are for grown-ups except Superman, which is pretty much okay for all ages. I am well aware that Robert Benton had collaborators on most of these screenplays. They took up too much space. 

                                                           Robert Benton, director

                                                                 Part 2

    One column was not enough to cover the very good movies directed by Robert Benton. So, here are five more winners from his resume’.

Billy Bathgate (1991) successfully taken from E.L. Doctorow’s novel, seems to have the moral that crime pays- sometimes. The title character is played by Loren Dean. Perhaps you won’t remember him either. Anyway, he is a poor teenager with no prospects who casts his lot with the mob, headed by Dutch Schulz (Dustin Hoffman). Nicole Kidman is on board as Drew Preston, who follows the trends that develop in the various mobs, always landing on her feet. Though he witnesses a couple of murders committed by Schulz, Billy sticks around doing the odd job that needs doing. Schulz was a real person. Billy was not. 

Nobody’s Fool (1994) is successfully taken from Richard Russo’s novel and stars Paul Newman as the unforgettable Sully, a sometimes construction worker and full time character. This film is about him and really has little plot, nor does it need one. Sully’s adventures are low key, and they include stealing his part time boss Carl’s snow blower. This becomes a running joke, and Sully sues him early and often for unpaid wages and anything else he can think of. Bruce Willis is on board as contractor Carl. Sully’s pal Hub is part of a cast characters that hang out at the Iron Horse Saloon, play cards and drink. Benton also wrote the very clever screenplay which was nominated for Oscar but lost to the several writers of Forest Gump.

Twilight (1998) has a super cast: Paul Newman, Susan Sarandon, Gene Hackman, Reese Witherspoon, James Garner and Liev Schreiber. Benton also wrote this screenplay. Newman is retired detective Harry Ross. He accepts what seems to be a simple job. He is to deliver a package for his host Jack Ames (Hackman). This works out to be a thoroughly bad idea. Twists and turns then begin. 

The Human Stain (2003) is based on Phillip Roth’s novel of the same name. As it unfolds we are shown how most of the main characters have a human stain in various degrees of gravity. Anthony Hopkins is Coleman Silk, chased from his tenured college teaching job for making an unfortunate remark. He asks Nathan Zukerman (Gary Sinise) to help him write a book defending his past. Silk’s affair with Faunia Farley (Nicole Kidman) is becomes threatening because of her ex-husband Leseter (Ed Harris). Silk’s final secret is revealed at the film’s end. Nope, not telling!

Feast Of Love (2007) features four interlocking stories about love. Morgan Freeman is in charge as Harry Stevenson, a college professor who narrates the different stories about how love can affect your life. The cast includes Greg Kinnear, Rhada Mitchell, Billy Burke and Selma Blair. No big surprises, just a nice time at the movies. This was Robert Benton’s last directing effort before his death in 2005.  

All of the movies in this article are available somewhere, probably for a price. All are for adults. Next time, some of Robert Benton’s screen plays they he did not direct.