This is not a piece about films that are so bad people might call them absurd. This is a piece about films that have come from the works of Absurdist authors and playwrights. These authors, in their work, illustrate Absurdist philosophy, which is “the efforts of humanity to find inherent meaning in the universe ultimately fail and are hence absurd, because there is no such meaning to be found, at least in regards to the individual.” Many believe that Absurdism started, in much the same way as did Existentialism and Nihilism, with the work of Søren Kierkegaard. This may be true to some extent. However, at the same time as Kierkegaard was laying the foundations for these philosophies in Denmark, in Russia Nikolai Gogol was writing stories that would also become some of the corner stones of Absurdist Literature. Absurdism would be later defined by the work of Camus and Kafka. Camus taking the stance that we can find our own meaning through things such as our actions and interpersonal relationships. Playwrights of The Theatre of The Absurd genre, such as Eugène Ionesco would also put their stamp on the developing philosophy of Absurdism. More recent Absurdist Literature by Josef Heller has become labeled as mere satire. However, the classification of satire does not do justice to Heller’s work. Sadly many Absurdist pieces are often mistaken for satire, while others viewed as just a depressing story. Absurdism is much more complex than satire or depressing stories and the films I am spotlighting here are some very good examples of Absurdist Literature that has been turned into film.

La Peste (The Plague)

This rather depressing 1992 film was based on the 1947 novel by Albert Camus. Directed by Luis Puenzo, and starring William Hurt, as Doctor Bernard Rieux, the film tells the tale of a South American city during the outbreak of a plague. Rieux and his associates remain to care for the sick and dying as others flee the city. As the story progresses they get overwhelmed by the hopelessness of the situation and begin to question their beliefs. The film stays very true to Camus original work with the major exception of the location. The location in the novel was in the Algerian town of Oran. Both the novel and the film illustrate the Absurdist belief that life is irrational. Even though Camus wrote this piece with that belief in mind he also believed, as I stated earlier, that despite the lack of actual meaning in life we can create our own meaning through our actions and interactions with others. If you watch this film, or read the novel it was based on, keep this later clarification of Camus’ personal philosophy at the forefront. If you do that both works can actually be inspirational.

La Peste Trailer

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MGZIUhbzlxo

Cover of The Plague

Das Schloß (The Castle)

This 1968 film was West Germany’s entry into the Best Foreign Film category for the 44th Academy Awards. The film was directed by Rodolf Noelte, and starred Maximilian Schell as the lead character K. The film was based on Franz Kafka’s 1922 work and last novel. In both the film and the novel, K futilely tries to get in contact with the authorities that govern a village where he wants to acquire the position of land surveyor. These authorities are hidden away behind the walls of an imposing castle and despite all of his attempts K is repeatedly unable to gain admittance. Kafka died before finishing the novel and the film does not attempt to make an ending of its own. The film simply leaves off where Kafka’s pen fall silent, which perhaps makes both the novel and the film one of the greatest pieces of Absurdism in their respective mediums.

Cover via Amazon

Rhinoceros

This 1974 film was based on the 1959 play by Eugène Ionesco. The film’s main character Stanley, played by Gene Wilder, watches as the residents of his town turn into rhinoceroses. At first Stanley distances himself from these transformations, until they begin to affect his personal life. After his best friend John, played by Zero Mostel, and his girlfriend Daisy, played by Karen Black, start their transformation Stanley begins to worry. The American Film Theater, who produced this film, took many liberties with the original Ionesco play in this production. In this version the location was changed from France to The United States and the characters’ names were Americanized. This film was not well received upon its release. Time Magazine’s Jay Cocks said, it was “an upbeat, frantic vulgarization of the Ionesco text”, and that director Tom O’Horgan “removed not only the politics, but the resonance as well. What remains is a squeaky sermon on the virtues of non-conformity.”. Although, this film may not be accurate to Ionesco’s original vision it is worth viewing, if only for the comic facial expressions that Zero Mostel gives throughout the film.

Rhinoceros Trailer

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tYgR1Pb-lk4

Cover of Catch-22

Catch 22

This 1970 film was based on the 1961 book by Josef Heller. Screenwriter Buck Henry changed much of the plot and took out many of its elements, yet Heller is said to have approved of the film and was impressed by Henry’s dialog. Heller even went so far as to say that he wished he could have included some of Henry’s dialog in the novel. The story is about a World War II US Army Air Force bombardier’s attempts to get out of flying dangerous missions. Captain Yossarian, played by Alan Arkin, attempts to get out of his situation are made impossible by a rule called “Catch 22”, which is explained as “An airman would be crazy to fly more missions and sane if he didn’t, but if he was sane he would have to fly them, If he flew them he was crazy and didn’t have to, but if he didn’t, he was sane and had to.”. Because of this contradiction the term “Catch 22” has become a part of popular culture to describe things that have a similar flawed logic.

Scene from Catch 22

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CTx1QOpETvo

The Nose

I have not seen this short film, however as Nikolai Gogol’s 1836 short story The Nose is one of my personal favorite works of Absurdist Literature I am including it. The film was made using pinscreen animation. Pinscreen animation is a process where a screen is filled with movable pins which can be manipulated by pressing objects into them and lighting these pins to create shadows. This technique was created by Alexandre Alexeïeff, and his wife Claire Parker, who, in 1963, made this short film of The Nose. The Nose is another tale in which the protagonist is faced with a seemingly absurd and futile dilemma. In The Nose the protagonist’s dilemma is finding that his nose has detached from his face and is parading about town as a human. To make matters worse The Nose has a higher rank than he does in his job as a civil servant. He attempts to capture the nose for reattachment. I will not go any further with the plot here so that you can read and enjoy the original short story or view the short film, if you are lucky enough to find it.

Cover of The Nose

If you watch these films and take on an Absurdist world view remember that we can create meaning in our own lives by our actions and interactions with others. The people who wrote the original works these films were based on did that by writing these pieces. The people who made these films did that by making these films for us to enjoy and ponder. We can all find meaning in our own lives by just living, loving, creating, sharing, laughing, and enjoying the experiences we have while they are happening. Once you take the step towards realizing there is no meaning beyond just existing you can become free to do what ever it is you want to do. Maybe you will want to watch one of these films as an experience or maybe you will make a film like them as an experience. What ever it is I hope you enjoy the experience.

The photos in this piece are of the books these films were based on, with the exception of the movie poster for Catch 22.

Related Links

Sad Tales of Funny Men

Ya Gotta Thank Sam Phillips For These

Four Visions of Andy Warhol

Four Accidently Strange Films: Yes They Were Serious

If you would like to earn money by sharing your views, click here!

Movies catering to black audiences were nothing new by the early 1970s. In the days of racial segregation, a black or “separate cinema” flourished in the United States from the Teens to the 1950s, producing a plethora of movies with all-black casts.

In the early 1970s, amidst the slogans of black pride and black power, the “blaxploitation” movie emerged from mainstream Hollywood. The name is derived from two words: “black” and “exploitation,” with black characters and predominantly black themes carrying the production.

Here are ten classic blaxploitation movies that no fan of this genre should ever miss. Right on, brother, and keep on truckin’…

Shaft (MGM, 1971)

Shaft hit movie theaters like a ghetto blaster on July 2, 1971. Richard Roundtree plays the title character – that’s Shaft, John Shaft – a self-described “spade detective” who is hired by Harlem gangster Bumpy Jonas (Moses Gunn) to retrieve his kidnapped daughter from the clutches of the Italian Mafia. Roundtree is in top form as one of Hollywood’s hippest private eyes ever, with Mr. Isaac Hayes delivering the soulful, butt-kicking “Theme from Shaft.” Sing it, Isaac: “They say this cat Shaft is a bad mother…/Shut Your Mouth!/I’m talkin’ ’bout Shaft/Then we can dig it!”

• Academy Award nominations: Best Original Music Score (Hayes), Best Original Song (Hayes, won)
• Great Richard Roundtree line (in reply to Lawrence Pressman, who asks where the hell he’s going): “To get laid, where the hell are you going?”
• Director: Gordon Parks
• Sequels: Shaft’s Big Score! (1972), Shaft in Africa (1973)
• On DVD: Shaft (Warner, 2000)

Blacula (American International Pictures, 1972)

William Marshall plays Prince Mamuwalde, “Dracula’s Soul Brother” who awakens in modern-day Los Angeles where he samples both the nightlife and the local human cuisine. Marshall is a riot as the charming, debonair 18th century vampire-about-town who sees in young Tina (Vonetta McGee) the reincarnation of his long-dead wife. Charles Macaulay plays a racist Count Dracula, with Denise Nicholas, Thalmus Rasulala and Gordon Pinsent in amusing support.

• Great William Marshall line: “Please forgive me. I must depart now. I have indeed had a rare pleasure.”
• Director: William Crain
• Sequel: Scream Blacula Scream (1973)
• On DVD: Blacula (MGM, 2004)

Super Fly (Warner Bros., 1972)

Ron O’Neal cops the starring role as Youngblood Priest, a black cocaine dealer and martial arts practitioner who plans one more big score before he quits the rackets. His “business plan” centers on making a quick one million dollars while sticking it to The Man. But Priest’s friends, fellow drug dealers and a corrupt deputy police commissioner have a different agenda, with Priest fighting for his life on the mean streets of Harlem and the Big Apple. Carl Lee, Sheila Frazer, Julius Harris and Charles McGregor are along for the pimp ride – in Priest’s 1971 customized Cadillac Eldorado, no less. The incomparable Curtis Mayfield delivers the film’s classic music score, including the songs “Super Fly” and “Freddy’s Dead.”

• Great Ron O’Neal line: “With my record I can’t even work civil service or join the damn army. If I quit now, then I took all this chance for nothing and I go back to being nothing. Working some jive job for chump change day after day. Well if that’s all I’m supposed to do then they gonna have to kill me ’cause that ain’t enough.”
• Director: Gordon Parks Jr.
• Sequels: Super Fly T.N.T. (1973), The Return of Super Fly (1990)
• On DVD: Super Fly (Warner, 2004)

Black Caesar (American International Pictures, 1973)

Former pro football player Fred “The Hammer” Williamson plays Tommy Gibbs, a poor ghetto kid who aspires to one day head the rackets in Harlem. In order to prove himself, Gibbs becomes a paid hitman for the white Mob, earning his stripes and eventually his own turf. The Godfather of Soul – Mr. James “I Feel Good” Brown – performs the songs “Down and Out in New York City,” “Mama’s Dead” and “The Boss.” Williamson, who no doubt made Hollywood’s best-dressed list for 1973, is pure dynamite as the ruthless Harlem gangster, with Gloria Hendry, Art Lund and D’Urville Martin in support.

• Great Fred Williamson line (spoken at his mother’s funeral): “I gave her everything she wanted, Rufus, but she still wasn’t ever happy.”
• Director: Larry Cohen
• Sequel: Hell Up in Harlem (1973)
• On DVD: Black Caesar (Warner, 2001)

Cleopatra Jones (Warner Bros., 1973)

Tamara Dobson stars as Cleopatra Jones, a fashion conscious, tough-as-nails special government agent out to put the big hurt on international drug traffickers. When Jones destroys a Turkish poppy field, she incurs the wrath of drug maven Mommy (Shelley Winters), who eventually authorizes a hit on the super G-woman. Tamara Dobson is one kick-ass you-go-girl in this black actioner, standing over six-feet tall, sporting a huge afro and tooling around town in her sleek, midnight black Corvette with blaring tape deck. Bernie Casey, Brenda Sykes, Antonio Fargas and Dan Frazer are in solid support. Have you met this Miss Jones?

• Great Antonio Fargas line as Doodlebug Simkins: “Hair’s like a woman. You treat it good and it treats you good. Ain’t that right, honey? You hear what I’m saying? Yeah, you got to hold it, caress it and love it. And if your hair gets out of line you take a scissor and say, ‘Hair I’m going to cut you.’”
• Director: Jack Starrett
• Sequel: Cleopatra Jones and the Casino of Gold (1975)
• On DVD: Cleopatra Jones (Warner, 1999)

Cotton Comes to Harlem (United Artists, 1970)

Chester Himes’ 1965 novel comes to life in this crime drama starring Godfrey Cambridge as Gravedigger Jones and Raymond St. Jacques as Coffin Ed Johnson, two NYPD detectives tasked with investigating the shady Reverend Deke O’Malley (Calvin Lockhart) and his Back to Africa movement. Harlem sizzles in this picture, replete with sex, wild car chases, shootouts and the hunt for an elusive bale of cotton containing the hidden cash. Redd Foxx plays a junk dealer and Judy Pace appears as the Reverend O’Malley’s seductive main squeeze who makes a fool out of a white cop, talking him out of his clothes and cajoling him into putting a paper bag over his head while she makes her escape.

• Great Raymond St. Jacques line: ”What the hell do the attorney general, the State Department, or even the President of the United States know about one goddamn thing that’s going on up here in Harlem?” 
• Director: Ossie Davis
• Sequel: Come Back, Charleston Blue (1972)
• On DVD: Cotton Comes to Harlem (Warner, 2001)

Slaughter (American International Pictures, 1972)

Ex-NFL great Jim Brown has the title role, playing a former Green Beret captain who seeks revenge for the car bombing murder of his parents by the Mob. Coerced into helping the federal government, Slaughter (no first name given) takes his vendetta to South America where he hopes to take out the two remaining crime bosses. There’s plenty of action in this one, with Stella Stevens, Rip Torn, Cameron Mitchell and Don Gordon along for the bloody descent into mayhem.

• Great Don Gordon line as Harry: “You’re really far out, you know that? I mean we go out to that house and let them know we are lookin’ to get killed, and all of a sudden your sittin’ on top of the world like your King Shit! Man, you’re weird Slaughter, I mean goddammit, you’re just weird!”
• Director: Jack Starrett
• Sequel: Slaughter’s Big Rip-Off (1973)
• On DVD: Slaughter (MGM, 2001)

Black Belt Jones (Warner Bros., 1974)

Super cool Jim Kelly plays the title character, a martial arts expert who defends old Pop Byrd (Scatman Crothers) when the Mob moves in on his karate emporium in the ‘hood. After Pop is accidentally killed by the gangsters, Black Belt Jones springs into action, delivering monster chops and high kicks as he fends off the invading goombahs and their lackeys. Gloria Hendry, Eric Laneuville, Alan Weeks and Malik Carter appear in support. “He clobbers the mob,” the movie’s tagline declares of Mr. Jones. And that he does…

• Great Malik Carter line as the black hood Pinky: “Choose money over honey? Shiiiiit. Man, you can pull out my groin, just gimme that coin! Man, I’d rather be dead than not have any bread! Pinky’s mama didn’t raise no fool!”
• Director: Robert Clouse
• Sequel: Black Belt Jones 2 (1978)
• On DVD: Urban Action Collection: 4 Film Favorites – Three the Hard Way (1974), Black Belt Jones (1974), Hot Potato (1976), Black Samson (1974) (Warner, 2010)

Coffy (American International Pictures, 1973)

Sexy mama Pam Grier plays the title character, an L.A. nurse who becomes a one-woman vigilante force after her younger sister becomes hospitalized after injecting contaminated heroin. Grier kicks some serious butt in this picture, employing both charm and brute force as she takes it to the pimping drug dealers and mafioso. Booker Bradshaw, Robert DoQui, William Elliott, Alan Arbus and Sid Haig join in the festivities, along with a 1972 Corvette and a ghetto-cruising 1961 Cadillac Fleetwood, the latter driven by DoQui as the rancid pimp King George. “They call her Coffy and she’ll cream you!” the promo material promises. Believe it, baby…

• Great Pam Grier line: “So, you wanna play with knives, huh? Well you picked the wrong player!”
• Director: Jack Hill
• On DVD: Coffy (Warner, 2001)

Bucktown (American International Pictures, 1975)

Fred Williamson plays Duke Johnson, who has journeyed south to swinging Bucktown to bury his brother and settle his estate. Duke reopens his late brother’s nightclub The Alabama, where he is soon pressured by the local law enforcement crackers to pay protection money. When Duke refuses to pony up, things get rough, with Duke bringing in his own boys to help him in his battle against the corrupt rednecks. Pam Grier plays Williamson’s gal pal Aretha (she goes nude in one scene), with Thalmus Rasulala, Tony King and Bernie Hamilton also in the mix.

• Great Fred Williamson line: “Damn, brother, you have become one violent dude.”
• Director: Arthur Marks
• On DVD: Bucktown (Tofhe/MGM, 2003)

Ten More Blaxploitation Movie Favorites

• Foxy Brown (1974)
• Trouble Man (1972)
• Cooley High (1975)
• The Legend of Nigger Charley (1972)
• Three the Hard Way (1974)
• Willie Dynamite (1974)
• Friday Foster (1975)
• That Man Bolt (1973)
• Truck Turner (1974)
• Dr. Black, Mr. Hyde (1976)

And no, we haven’t forgotten Blackenstein (1973), Black Mama, White Mama (1972) or The Black Gestapo (1975), either – dude.

Image Source

• Heritage Auction Galleries

SERIAL KILLER. In the late 1990’s, Renner played the role of Wisconsin’s latest serial killer Jeffrey Dahmer. This was a role he was praised for, but it was not without controversy. This role got him a Best Actor nomination with the Independent Spirit Awards. This seems to have been the perfect early role for Renner. As a college student he couldn’t quite make up his mind on a major, ending up with a double major in theatre and psychology.

GETTING LAMPOONED: Renner’s debut came back in 1995 in the National Lampoon film Senior Trip.

BITE ME: Jeremy was ahead of his time on our culture’s current fascination with vampires. He got a guest-starring role as a vampire on the WB’s popular series Angel. More recently he was in the zombie sequel movie 28 Weeks Later.

S.W.A.T. Did you see the Colin Farrell blockbuster S.W.A.T.? If so than you’re sure to have seen Renner in this 2003 film.

REALITY TV: What? An Oscar nominee was once a reality star? Well, kind of. In 2003 Renner was in the Bravo TV reality show called “The It Factor”. The show followed different actors trying to find success.

HITTING THE BIG TIME:  Jeremy scored big recently by nabbing a big role in North Country and by starring in a TV cop show called The Unusuals. Unfortunately this ABC series only lasted one season.

So what’s next for this “new” star? Keep an eye out for him in a new Ben Afleck movie called The Town. Jeremy is also expected to be in The Raven, a film about the fictional account of Edgar Allen Poe’s last days.

Surrounding a couple who have more than a few secrets from each other, we see them exit the city for a long weekend break that will hopefully revitalise there ailing marriage. Despite being together it’s blatantly apparent from the offset that they know very little about each other. The wonder of Long Weekend however is that it’s a story within a story, for while the initial and prolonged focus of the movie is the disintegrating marriage, the secondary story comes slowly sneaking for you jugular.

As the movie unwinds we see the movies couple played flawlessly by Jim Caziezal and Claudia Karvan committing a variety of atrocities on the Australian countryside, from the dozy destruction of a curious kangaroo, to a bush fire caused by the disposal of a cigarette butt. The clever storytelling never lets the characters see the results of there throw away actions however, well not till the end at least.

The best and most compelling issue of the movie is that its very much a two handed piece, for 99% of the movies story you are stuck with the characters of Peter and Carla, this creates and instant feeling of claustrophobia, but set in a wide open space near the sea. The longer the couple spent together in this isolation the less they like each other and the most claustrophobic the movie feels to the viewer.  Its uncomfortable viewing to watch this couple so clearly once in love rubbing each other the wrong way to see the reactions of the other, and with each feud the more awful the level of hate becomes.  For Peter the approaching doom is smothered by the fact that he is too blinkered by the feuds with Carla. While she is capable of seeing what’s coming, and dealing the blows against Peter equally.

The aforementioned doom comes in a variety of ways, firstly in the location they set up camp, which seems situated on a road that leads nowhere and comes from nowhere. A dark shadowy looking creature stalks Peter each time he enters the sea. From beneath the surface Even the location of fellow campers who park up at the other end of the beach provide a certain tenseness, the reveal of their situation is expected but no less disturbing. Finally the fact that each mechanical device has an assured guarantee of failing on them.

Long Weekend is a very topical piece focussing on the final realisation that the human race is destroying this beautiful planet we inhabit, and multiplying it by 100. For the darkest part of the story is that human nature treats Peter and Carla the same way they treat it. And this beautiful idyll they have retreated too seems almost certain to become their final resting place.  From the moment they detour from the main road down a private road, there lives start to turn upside down.  And sadly for the movies characters there seems no escape.

The biggest thing with the movie is that it is eternally evil, the characters are virtually unlikeable, the things that happen to them are un-relentless, and the things they do to each other and their surroundings are unimaginable. You can literally smell the onscreen menace, its just so incredibly dark, and the same darkness leaves the screen after watching making Long Weekend one of those movies you will find hard to forget in a hurry, it’s the sort of haunting fear that only can be felt in real life. So long after the movie ends your haunted by the things that happened in it.

If there is one criticism of the movie it falls in the treatment of the couples dog Cricket, which on numerous occasions is seemingly forgotten about. He claims to love the dog but the throwaway way its treated almost confirms the dogs doom from the minute the movie starts.

James Stewart as Jefferson Smith in Mr. Smith Goes to Washington (1939)

James “Jimmy” Stewart (1908-1997) was Hollywood’s Everyman, appearing in over 80 feature films during his long, distinguished career. Stewart made his film debut in Art Trouble (1934) in the uncredited role of Burton. His final movie was An American Tail: Fievel Goes West (1991), in which he provided the voice of Wylie.

Although it’s extremely difficult, if not downright impossible, to pick James Stewart’s ten best movies, here they are nonetheless. Jimmy certainly made us proud, and these movies are among his greatest performances. Aw, shucks…

Mr. Smith Goes to Washington (Columbia, 1939)

James Stewart plays Jefferson Smith, the head of a boys organization who gets the call to fill a vacant seat in the United States Senate. Stewart gives the performance of a lifetime, playing the country bumpkin who comes to Washington and learns the hard way that all is not right in the nation’s capitol. Complementing Stewart is an all-star cast comprised of Jean Arthur, Claude Rains, Edward Arnold, Guy Kibbee, Thomas Mitchell, Beulah Bondi, H.B. Warner and Harey Carey.

• Academy Award nomination: Best Actor
• Great Stewart line: “Either I’m dead right, or I’m crazy!”
• Director: Frank Capra
• On DVD: Mr. Smith Goes to Washington Special Edition (Columbia/Tristar, 2000)

It’s a Wonderful Life (RKO, 1946)

James Stewart plays small-town do-gooder George Bailey, the harried owner of the Bailey Bros. Building and Loan in fictional Bedford Falls. On Christmas Eve, George discovers an $8,000 discrepancy, making him wish that he had never been born. An apprentice angel named Clarence Oddbody begs to differ, showing the suicidal George what life would be like in Bedford Falls if his wish were granted. It’s pure Jimmy Stewart in this slice of “Capri-corn” – romancing Donna Reed, confronting the evil Mr. Potter, engaging in a wild Charleston contest, etc. – with Lionel Barrymore, Thomas Mitchell, Henry Travers, Beulah Bondi, Frank Faylen, Ward Bond, Gloria Grahame and H.B. Warner along for the merry ride.

• Academy Award nomination: Best Actor
• Great Stewart line: “Merry Christmas, movie house! Merry Christmas, Emporium! Merry Christmas, you wonderful old Building and Loan!”
• Director: Frank Capra
• On DVD: It’s a Wonderful Life Two-Disc Collector’s Set (Paramount, 2007)

James Stewart as George Bailey in It’s A Wonderful Life (1946)

The Man Who Knew Too Much (Paramount, 1956)

James Stewart plays Dr. Benjamin McKenna, an American physician on vacation in Morocco with his wife and young son. When the boy is kidnapped, the McKennas are plunged into a nightmare world of shadow and subterfuge, following the trail to London where they uncover an assassination plot. Many feel this may be Alfred Hitchcock’s greatest film, thanks in no small measure to Stewart who portrays the wild-eyed doctor with zeal and cunning. Doris “Que Sera, Sera” Day, Brenda De Banzie, Bernard Miles, Ralph Truman and Alan Mowbray appear in handsome support.

• Great Stewart line: “If you ever get hungry, our garden back home is full of snails. We tried everything to get rid of them. We never thought of a Frenchman!”
• Director: Alfred Hitchcock
• On DVD: The Man Who Knew Too Much (Universal, 2006)

Anatomy of a Murder (Columbia, 1959)

James Stewart plays Paul Biegler, a former district attorney who signs on to defend an Army officer accused of murdering a bar owner. The victim had allegedly raped the officer’s wife, but no forensic evidence can be found corroborating the sexual assault. The wily Biegler, assisted by his has-been colleague Parnell McCarthy, adopts a temporary insanity plea for his client, hoping that will be enough for a jury to acquit. Stewart excels in the courtroom scenes, and provides a little side entertainment as well while tickling the ivories, putting to good use the piano lessons he had taken during childhood. Ben Gazzara, Lee Remick, Arthur O’Connell and George C. Scott enhance the legal proceedings.

• Academy Award nomination: Best Actor
• Great Stewart line: “Drop the stone, Counselor. You live in a glass house.”
• Director: Otto Preminger
• On DVD: Anatomy of a Murder (Columbia/Tristar, 2000)

James Stewart as Paul Biegler, with Lee Remick and Ben Gazzara, in Anatomy of a Murder (1959)

Vertigo (Paramount, 1958)

James Stewart plays John “Scottie” Ferguson, a San Francisco police detective who retires from the force after witnessing a colleague’s plunge to his death during a rooftop pursuit. Now suffering from vertigo, Ferguson is hired by old college chum Gavin Elster to investigate the activities of Mrs. Elster, who is behaving strangely. The film’s plot may be somewhat confusing, but James Stewart has never been better as the vulnerable, acrophobic ex-flatfoot. Kim Novak plays the mysterious femme fatale, with Barbara Bel Geddes and Tom Helmore in support.

• Great Stewart line: “You shouldn’t keep souvenirs of a killing. You shouldn’t have been that sentimental.”
• Director: Alfred Hitchcock
• On DVD: Vertigo Collector’s Edition (Universal, 1998)

The Philadelphia Story (MGM, 1940)

James Stewart plays Macaulay “Mike” Connor, a tabloid reporter for Spy magazine who is sent by his publisher to cover the wedding of wealthy Philadelphia socialite Tracy Lord. Complicating matters is the arrival of Lord’s ex-husband, who never quite measured up to her demanding standards. A screwball comedy endemic to the era, The Philadelphia Story also features Katharine Hepburn as Tracy Lord, Cary Grant as her ex-hubby C.K. Dexter Haven and John Howard as her betrothed George Kittredge.

• Academy Award nomination: Best Actor (won)
• Great Stewart line: “This is the Bridal Suite. Would you send up a couple of caviar sandwiches and a bottle of beer?”
• Director: George Cukor
• On DVD: The Philadelphia Story (Warner, 2000)

The Flight of the Phoenix (Twentieth Century-Fox, 1965)

James Stewart plays Frank Towns, a has-been pilot now working for Arabco in North Africa. After crash-landing in the Sahara Desert following a freakish sandstorm, the grizzled Towns along with his navigator and passengers attempt to build a new, smaller aircraft from the remaining parts. Stewart gives a dynamic performance as the old, seat-of-your pants aviator who duels with the arrogant German engineer in charge of the project. Hardy Kruger, Richard Attenborough, Peter Finch, Ernest Borgnine, Ian Bannen, Ronald Fraser, Christian Marquand, Dan Duryea and George Kennedy all add their considerable talents.

• Great Stewart line (to Hardy Kruger): “Your theory’s fine, but you get this, mister. That engine’s rated at two thousand horsepower and if I was ever fool enough to let it get started up it’d shake your patched-up pile of junk into a thousand pieces, and cut us up into mincemeat with the propeller.”
• Director: Robert Aldrich
• On DVD: The Flight of the Phoenix (Twentieth Century-Fox, 2003)

Rear Window (Paramount, 1954)

James Stewart plays L.B. “Jeff” Jeffries, a professional photographer who’s laid up in his apartment following a chance encounter with a loose wheel while shooting an auto race. While spying on his neighbors, Jeff believes he witnesses Lars Thorwald trying to dispose of his dead wife’s body. Stewart delivers as the creepy neighborhood voyeur, with Grace Kelly, Wendell Corey, Thelma Ritter and Raymond Burr in grand support. Stewart’s playful banter with Kelly and Ritter make the film.

• Great Stewart line (on Grace Kelly’s Lisa Fremont): “She’s too perfect, she’s too talented, she’s too beautiful, she’s too sophisticated, she’s too everything but what I want.”
• Director: Alfred Hitchcock
• On DVD: Rear Window Collector’s Edition (Universal, 2001)

James Stewart as L.B. “Jeff” Jeffries with Grace Kelly in Rear Window (1954)

The Glenn Miller Story (Universal, 1954)

James Stewart plays Alton Glenn Miller, the legendary bandleader who disappeared over the English Channel in 1944. Although hardly an accurate biography of the talented Miller, the film features plenty of big band music and Stewart in one of his most memorable roles. June Allyson plays Stewart’s wife, with Harry Morgan as Chummy MacGregor. Look for that great Miller sound in this one. Pennsylvania six-five oh-oh-oh!

• Great Stewart line (on reworking “Moonlight Serenade” with a clarinet lead): “Well, we’re not going to postpone anything. We’re going to open tomorrow if I have to stay up all night and rewrite the arrangement.”
• Director: Anthony Mann
• On DVD: The Glenn Miller Story (Universal, 2003)

The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance (Paramount, 1962)

James Stewart plays Ransom “Rance” Stoddard, a lawyer who heads West and sets up his practice in the wild town of Shinbone. Although Stoddard believes in the law, his principles are badly shaken when he is brutally beaten during a stagecoach robbery. Stewart is fascinating to watch as the idealistic attorney, with big John Wayne, Vera Miles, Lee Marvin and Edmond O’Brien along for the violent ride. Watch for Stewart as the reluctant – and lucky – Old West gunfighter.

• Great Stewart line (on Lee Marvin’s villainous Liberty Valance): “I don’t want to kill him, I just want to put him in jail!”
• Director: John Ford
• On DVD: The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance (Paramount, 2001)

James Stewart as Ransom Stoddard, with Lee Marvin and John Wayne, in The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance (1962)

Ten Other James Stewart Movie Favorites

• It’s a Wonderful World (1939)
• Call Northside 777 (1948)
• Rope (1948)
• The Stratton Story (1949)
• Winchester ‘73 (1950)
• Broken Arrow (1950)
• Harvey (1950)
• The Spirit of St. Louis (1957)
• Shenandoah (1965)
• The Shootist (1976)

Additional Reading

• Mr. Smith Goes to Washington (1939)
• Alfred Hitchcock’s Rear Window (1954)
• The Flight of the Phoenix (1965)
• Shenandoah (1965)

Leap Year follows an irritating and deeply shallow young woman from Boston as she travels through Ireland in the hope of proposing to her equally bland and shallow boyfriend after discovering an Irish tradition that allows women to propose to men in a leap year. Striding across rural Ireland in improbably high heels, she meets scores of cardboard cut-out locals who gabble about luck and say things like “top o’ the morning” and “to be sure”, and, naturally, she falls for the only one she meets who is under forty. It’s predictable and mediocre on all levels: the script is tedious, the acting unbelievable, the direction pedestrian and the music insipid, complete with jaunty fiddle sections to remind us that we are in Ireland. In fact the depiction of the Irish characters and their homes is woefully stereotypical but delivered without any hint of the irony that could lift such a scene. It’s tedious, turgid, clichéd and frankly awful from start to finish.

But what turns an unimpressive film into a truly terrible one is the sexist and derivative depiction of the central character, Anna. Anna is a deeply unlovely character when introduced; she’s shallow, dull and arrogant, with no obvious aspirations other than moving into a fancy apartment and getting married. Even her profession is drearily stereotypical: Anna dresses up houses that are about to be sold to make them more appealing for potential buyers, a depressingly shallow twist on the traditional role of the “happy homemaker”. When she thinks her boring boyfriend is about to propose but doesn’t, she decides to follow him to Ireland, moaning about the state her shoes and her designer suitcase all the way. Of course as the film goes on we are supposed to warm to her as she becomes a little less insufferable but she’s still dim enough to enter into a marriage for the sake of getting that “dream” apartment before she suddenly decides to go back to the “lovable” (read caricatured) Irish rogue she fell for on the way.

Must we women really be forced to relate to these dull, ambition-less girls whose only interests are men and appearances? Do comedies centring around female characters have to involve awkward, badly-realised romances? Do filmmakers really think that putting their female lead in a suit and a live-in relationship make her a “modern woman”? Because I for one do not. Come on, Hollywood, let’s see some women that we can actually relate to for a change. Let’s see some female leads who don’t feel the need to kiss the male lead whenever they’re feeling emotional. If nothing else, please stop marketing these terrible films at us!

Stodgy, sexist and stereotypical, Leap Year is far more depressing than it is amusing. Avoid at all costs.

There are some disturbing scenes of blood and gunshot wounds, but all in all the movie is pretty mild compared to most of today’s R rated movies. There is some strong language, which I suppose also leads to its R rating. It’s defnitely not a show you would want to take a child to….and maybe not Grandma either, if she is at all squeamish at the sight of blood.

Image via Wikipedia

It has been quite a while since we have seen Leonardo DiCaprio in such a strong leading role, and indeed, DiCaprio made a very strong comeback in this film. This movie will wreak havoc with your mind, in the same way that DiCaprio has his mind played with in the movie. There are a few moments that may be somewhat confusing due to dream segments and flashbacks, but overall the story line is great and will keep you riveted to the edge of your seat. I bet you will jump more than once too!

On a scale of 1-10, I give Shutter Island a strong 9.

We have all seen a film, at one time or another, where we thought, “They have to be joking”, “They can not be serious”, or “They are just trying to be weird”. This may be true of some films, however, some of the strangest films ever made, have been made by people who thought they had a great idea. It is just that their “great idea” seemed very strange to the rest of the movie going public.

When someone has an idea for a film, that idea is like their child. As such, creators of any film love their child. From the screenwriters to the directors and actors, and everyone in between, do their best to nurture this child. However, just as with the parents of real children, how that care and nurturing manifests in the material world, is dependent on the skills of those involved. Some people are just not cut out to be parents, and some parent in a style that others do not understand. Like children, films either grow into a work that others look on with admiration, disdain, or as being just plain strange. The films I am about to showcase to you, are four that turned out just plain strange. Two of them are films that I love. The other two are films that I, personally, feel are just plain strange. All of these films are ones, in which I feel, that creators took their work very seriously. Works that were what someone thought was a “good idea”, and did not intend to make a weird film for the sake of being weird.

Nude on The Moon

The set of this, 1961, film is the tourist attraction Coral Castle, near Miami, Florida. It is considered to be a “Sexploitation” film, however there is no actual sex that takes place in the film. What the viewer gets is a tale of two astronauts who go to the moon and find its telepathic residents, running about topless in gold lamé shorts. This no budget film was the brainchild, of Doris Wishman and Raymond Phelan. It was one of many what are called nudist or naturist films. Because of its small budget the costumes of the astronauts are even more ridiculous, than that of the moon people. These costumes include informs comprise of bright colored tights, and children’s space helmets, that were most likely bought at the local five and dime. I feel that Nude on The Moon is merely a promotional film for Naturist Sub-culture. Naturism is a belief in a clothing optional lifestyle. It may be argued this film is an exploitation of that sub-culture. It may also be argued that films, such as this one, paved the way for more acceptance of Naturism, in the late 1960s and early 1970s. The best thing about this film is, the song I’m Mooning Over You (My Little Moon Doll), as sung by Ralph Young, in all to tackiness and glory of a Las Vegas lounge lizard. This is a weird film, however, in my opinion, it is a film, in which those making it were completely serious.

Nude on The Moon excerpt

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kWgzbd14gNk

Santa Claus Conquers The Martians

This is the first of these films, that I actually really adore. This action filled film is also wonderfully sensitive. I wish that a director, such as Tim Burton, would remake this film. Someone like Burton could do justice to the premise of the film, and its heart-warming story line. This 1964 film, takes place on a Mars, that is inhabited by repressive society. The children of Mars lead of life of little freedom to play and enjoy themselves. The Martian children are immersed in studies, day after day. One Martian parent, feeling that this is affecting their culture negatively, comes up with a plan of action. That plan is to kidnap, that jolly old elf, Santa Claus, and bring him to Mars, to teach their children about toys and how to play. I will stop the synopsis here, because you really need to see this film. Although, I feel this story could be updated, and used as fodder for a new film that may do it more justice, the film making in the original is first rate, in spite of a low budget. The actors in the film are brilliant, although some may find them a bit campy. As a side note, this film also gave, actress Pia Zadora, her first role. Only those with a broken inner child would fail to see, that the creators of this film were serious, and created something beautiful. If you do not already own this film, consider buying a copy for next Christmas.

Santa Claus Conquers The Martians Condensed

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RmlE7ONKRcQ

Wild in The Streets

An American International Picture release, which came out in 1968, at a time when there was a great debate over giving the vote to 18 year olds in The United States. I was a small child at the time, yet I remember the divisions this proposal caused. My own father was called an anti-christ at our church, because he supported giving the vote 18 year olds. This film was in part responsible for some of the paranoia about this proposed change in the voting age. The film was, based on a short story by Robert Thom, entitled “The Day it All Happened, Baby!”, and nominated for an Academy Award.

The film’s main character is Max Frost, a revolutionary singer, who along with his band, and the help of a young senator, played by Hal Holbrook, affect a change in the voting age. They also affect a change in the age that one can become President of The United States. Max Frost just happens to fall in that age group and is elected President. He then decides to implement some changes in the country and sends every one over the age of 30 off to concentration camps and gets them strung out on LSD. He does this so “They can’t hurt anyone, and most of all so they can’t hurt themselves.”. This film has many noted actors and celebrities of the time period, which include, Richard Pryor, Shelly Winters, Ed Begley Sr., Barry Williams of Brady Bunch fame, Dick Clark, Attorney Melvin Belli, Bert Freed, Bobby Sherman, Walter Winchell, and Diary of Anne Frank star Millie Perkins. The Monkees Peter Tork even manages to have a cameo appearance in the film.

This film may seem strange now but at the time is was considered very serious by those who made it. It is the second of these films that I actually like, and that is mainly because of the music. The score was written by Les Baxter, who did many such scores for American International, and infused with tracks of the psychedelic garage music of the fictional band, Max Frost and The Troopers. However, on the radio and charts, they shortly became a not so fictional band,. You may remember the song “The Shape of Things To Come”, Barry Mann/Cynthia Weil, which made it all the way to #22 on the US Billboard Chart. This song has been covered by many artists, most notably The Ramones.

Wild In The Streets- Trailer

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rRLwV2xafpk

Gas-s-s-s (aka, Gas! It Became Necessary To Destroy The World In Order To Save It)

This film is not so good. If I were not such a polite person, I would refer to it as something one needs to scrap off their shoe from time to time. However, someone did think they had a “good idea” when they decided to create it. I would agree with that. The premise of the film is a good one. An idea that was done much better by someone else later, with a similar idea, in the creation of the comic and television series, Jeremiah. If you are familiar with Jeremiah, you might like this film. I like Jeremiah, but I do not like this film. Before I confuse you too much, this is film and Jeremiah are only similar. They do not have the same story. They share a similar premise. A premise that most adults do not like. That premise being that something causes the deaths of everyone over a certain age, leaving the children, teens, young adults to create a new world. This is why I brought up Jeremiah, which has all adults dying from a plague, I liked that television series, in spite of being above the age of those who live. My reason for disliking Gas-s-s has little to do with it being about a military gas leak that kills everyone over the age of twenty-five, it has to do with the fact that the film was not put together well.

The execution of this film does not sit right with me. The screenplay is haphazard at best. The acting was silly, when it should have been campy or serious. The film was suppose to be a comedy, however, I think, this was done because, the producers or writers were afraid to take this idea into the realm of serious science fiction. Everything about this film smacks of someone having a good idea and not following through with it. The cinematography for much of the film is horrendous. They try to put in many special camera effects, yet they all come off as out of place or irritating. Some may say that everyone was stoned on drugs during every step of the creation of this film, from initial concept to release in theaters. I might have to agree with that. The only reason I own this film is because it is on my copy of the DVD, MGM Presents Midnite Movies, Double Feature, Wild in The Streets/Gas-s-s-s. Fans of the 1960s band Country Joe and The Fish may find value in this movie because of their appearance in it. If you get the same DVD I did, you can give it a whirl, but just remember you were warned and they were being serious, when they made this piece of…….. oh well never mind.

Gas-s-s-s excerpt with Country Joe and The Fish Performance

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RWufdLk9k-s

Gas-s-s-s excerpt “Say Goodbye to Dallas”

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tdr_FRp3RWs

No matter if these films seem strange to some, they were all made by people who thought they had a “good idea” and were serious about it. None of these films should ever be slated as being made in an attempt to be weird. There are films that are made to just be weird, but it none of these were. The fact that these films were made by people who were serious might amuse or scare you. You may think these films are trash. One thing that must be remembered is that the people, who made these films, actually got out there and made their “good idea” into an actual film. That effort has to be respected, even if you think their creation was strange or a piece of (fill in the blank).

Related Links

Jim, Jimi, and Howard and Jimi

Two Films About Executives That Are Not Boring

Sad Tales of Funny Men

Ya Gotta Thank Sam Phillips For These

Four Visions of Andy Warhol

If you would like to earn money sharing your views on films, click here!

How do you make a great football film? First, chose a plot that involves an underdog and their battle to win. Secondly, fill it with well known players (Ally McCoist). Third, throw in some big name actors (Robert Duvall, Michael Keaton, Brian Cox). Mix it all up and you have a recipe for success surely! Or not, as the case may be. Even though A Shot At Glory is one of the best football films ever made it never really got the commercial or critical acclaim it deserved. It followed the story of a small club managed by Gordon McLeod (Robert Duvall) and their recently bought star striker Jackie McQuillan (Ally McCoist) who happened to be McLeod’s son-in-law. McQuillan is an ex-Celtic striker who is brought back to Scottish football and plays his part in getting his team to the final to face Rangers (who happen to be fierce rivals of Celtic). Most of the underlying theme of the film is the religious aspect behind both Rangers and Celtic. Ironically, in the film McCoist playes an ex-Celtic player whereas in real life he was a Rangers player – when showing, in the film, old footage of him as a player they merely swapped the blue of Rangers for the Green of Celtic, which was quite odd to watch. The music for the film was provided by Mark Knopfler of Dire Straits fame.

Click here for more information about A Shot At Glory.

Bend It Like Beckham (2002)

Arguably one of the best known films with football as a theme but that is mainly because it is aimed at females really (who pay no attention to the rest of the football films)! Bend It Like Beckham follows the story of Jess (Parminder Nagra) who is talented football player but her parents don’t agree with her infatuation with the game. Oh yeah, it also stars Keira Knightley. The title is based, of course, on David Beckham and his talent for being able to bend the ball!

Click here for more information about Bend It Like Beckham.

Fever Pitch (1997)

You may have to pay attention now. Fever Pitch was a novel by Nick Hornby that was first published in 1992. The first film was based on the book and was released in 1997. Another film was made in 2005, with the same title, but instead of being about football it was about baseball (it was based on the first film and not the book). Now that is clear – the football related film starred Colin Firth and revolves, not directly around football, but around the love interest of Firth and how football influences it indirectly. Not the first time a similar story has been told and won’t be the last either.

Click here for more information about Fever Pitch.

Gregory’s Girl (1981)

A female who is good at football shock! And in 1981! Gregory’s Girl is a film both written and directed by Bill Forsyth and revolves around Gregory, love interest Dorothy and football. The film also featured Clare Grogan, as Susan, who later found fame as singer of Altered Images. Less of a football film really and more of a standard love movie with football as a base. A decent film which has stood the test of time. Watch out for a cameo from legendary comic Chic Murray as the Headmaster.

Click here for more information about Gregory’s Girl

Mike Bassett: England Manager (2001)

Comedy film starring Ricky Tomlinson (the Royle Family, Brookside etc) as Mike Bassett: England Manager. Bassett finds himself employed as manager of the England national side and attempts to steer them to the 2002 World Cup. The film is done in a ‘mockumentary’ style and satirises many different people and things. Keep an eye out for cameos from such noted footballers as Pele and Ronaldo. The film was directed by Steve Barron, who also directed the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 11 years earlier. The story of Mike Bassett did not finish with this film; 4 years later he was back in a TV series.

Click here for more information about Mike Bassett: England Manager.

The Football Factory (2004)

Football is the beautiful game; or so someone once said. This film however, looks at the ‘ugly’ side of the game; the gangs behind the teams. It centres on Tommy Johnson (played by Danny Dyer) a football hooligan who seems to be maturing. The film was directed by Nick Love and was based on the novel of the same name by John King. It is the kind of film not for the light-hearted as it touches on a side of the game that is terrible.

Click here for more information about The Football Factory.

When Saturday Comes (1996)

Released in 1996, When Saturday Comes stars Sean Bean as Jimmy Muir. Muir is a 36 year old who finally realises his dream of being a professional footballer. He first gets picked up by non-league team Hallam FC but soon moves to Sheffield United who embark on a fantastic FA Cup run. The film is not based on a true story. As an aside, most of the music that featured in the film was writtern and produced by Def Leppard member Joe Elliott.

Click here for more information about When Saturday Comes.

Goal! (2005)

What started off as a one-off film it has now become somewhat of a franchise. Starting with Goal!, next came Goal!2: Living the Dream and lastly Goal!3: Taking on the World. The first was the only one to be made with the co-operation of FIFA (and thus features real players and real teams throughout). The second one was released in 2007, the third in 2009 which went straight to DVD. The story revolves around Santiago Munez and his ’struggle’ to become a footballer. In typical fashion, he is picked up by a club, becomes successful domestically, then internationally etc etc. Not the best films ever – not the worst either.

Click here for more information about the Goal! series.

The Damn United (2009)

This film was based on a book which was based on the true story of Brian Clough’s 44 day stint as manager of Leeds United. Although strongly based on real events, there is a lot in the film that is not true. Having said that, it is still a decent story being told. Michael Sheen stars as Brian Clough, Timothy Spall as Peter Taylor and Colm Meaney as Don Revie. As with a lot of football flims, the footage is an amalgamation of real footage and ‘cut in’ footage. A well worth watching film even if you don’t know the story behind it. In fact the whole story about Brian Clough is well worth reading into as it is a story that would lend itself to numerous movies.

Click here for more information about Brian Clough

Escape To Victory (1981)

Is it a war film? Is it a football film? Both are as important to the story as the other. The plot revolves around Allied prisoners of war who agree to play an exhibition match against a German team. Instead, they find themselves as part of a German propaganda stunt. By the end of the film, the football players have the option of escaping at half-time in a game of football they were losing; instead, they played the second half, avoided losing and ‘escaped’ in a much different way. What makes Escape To Victory such a noted film is not the plot but the ‘actors’ that appeared. Mixed in with real actors were some of the most noted footballers of the time. Brazil superstar Pele appears, World Cup winning captain Bobby Moore is there, Argentina’s Ossy Ardilles had recently won the World Cup. Other players included Soren Lindsted, Kazimierz Deyna, Mike Summerbee, Hallvar Thoresen and Russell Osman. On to the real actors now, the film starred Michael Caine, Max Von Sydow and, in a rather strange performance as goalkeeper, Sylvester Stallone. Not quite ‘The Great Escape’ but a decent effort nonetheless.

Click here for more information about Escape To Victory.

Edna Ferber’s Giant

Giant is based on the 1952 novel of the same name by American author Edna Ferber (1885-1968). Ferber’s other works include Dawn O’Hara (1911), Show Boat (1926), Cimarron (1929), Dinner at Eight (1932), Saratoga Trunk (1941) and Ice Palace (1958).

Edna Ferber won the Pulitzer Prize for her 1924 novel So Big. The book was subsequently made into three movie versions in 1924, 1932 and 1953.

George Stevens Directs Giant

Fred Guiol and Ivan Moffat wrote Giant for Warner Bros. Pictures. Co-producer George Stevens (Swing Time, A Place in the Sun, Shane) directed. Dimitri Tiomkin created the majestic music score and William C. Mellor served as cinematographer.

James Dean (Jett Rink), Elizabeth Taylor (Leslie Benedict) and Rock Hudson (Jordan “Bick” Benedict) head the cast. Other players are Carroll Baker (Luz Benedict II), Jane Withers (Vashti Snythe), Chill Wills (Uncle Bawley), Mercedes McCambridge (Luz Benedict), Dennis Hopper (Jordan Benedict III), Sal Mineo (Angel Obregon II), Rod Taylor (Sir David Karfrey), Judith Evelyn (Mrs. Nancy Lynnton), Earl Holliman (Bob Dace), Paul Fix (Dr. Horace Lynnton), Alexander Scourby (Old Polo), Elsa Cardenas (Juana Guerra Benedict), Monte Hale (Bale Clinch), Max Terhune (Dr. Walker) and Sheb Wooley (Gabe Target).

Giant Filmed in Texas, Virginia, California and Arizona

Made for $5.4 million, Giant was filmed in Texas (Marfa, Valentine, Presidio County, Jeff Davis County), Virginia (Albemarle County), California (Lake Arrowhead, Burbank, Los Angeles) and Arizona. Boris Leven designed the big Victorian mansion known as Reata in the movie, which rested near the small town of Marfa, Texas. Director George Stevens employed an open set during filming, with the Marfa townspeople venturing out to watch the production.

One of the movie’s most visible props was the huge painting that was prominently displayed on the wall of the Benedict home. That same picture, along with a plaque commemorating its importance in Hollywood history, now hangs at the Menger Hotel in San Antonio, Texas.

The untimely death of James Dean, killed in an automobile accident in Cholame, California, on September 30, 1955, forced producers to improvise. Although most of the picture had already been completed, an uncredited Nick Adams was brought in to voice some of Dean’s dialogue, most notably at the banquet scene near the end of the film.

Giant and Texas Oil Tycoons

Texas rancher Jordan “Bick” Benedict journeys to Maryland in order to buy a stud horse from Dr. Horace Lynnton. Here he meets the doctor’s fetching daughter, Leslie, who later becomes his wife. The couple settle in at the Benedict mansion, Reata, where Leslie eventually gives birth to three children. 

In her will matriarch Luz Benedict gifts a small patch of land to shiftless ranch hand Jett Rink. Through the years Bick attempts to buy the parcel in order to consolidate his land, but the stubborn Jett refuses to sell. Jett’s parcel later produces black gold, making him fabulously wealthy as a Texas oil driller. Bick, however, prefers to remain a rancher up until World War II, where he grudgingly begins to drill for oil on his property in order to support the war effort.

Bick and Jett engage in a bitter rivalry in the ensuing years, culminating in a confrontation at a banquet. Bick actually takes pity on his rival, now viewing Jett as a shadow of his former self.

.

Giant Release, Reviews

Giant premiered at New York City’s Roxy Theatre on October 10, 1956.

“In the light of the current death cult starring the late James Dean it’s probably safe to assume that he’ll be the strongest draw on the ‘Giant’ marquee. No one should be disappointed, and the film only proves what a promising talent has been lost,” reported Variety (10/10/56).

“Hewing pretty closely to the content of Miss Ferber’s agitating tale of contemporary Texas cattle barons and nouveau riche oil tycoons, Mr. Stevens and his able screen-play writers, Fred Guiol and Ivan Moffat, have contrived a tremendously vivid picture-drama that gushes a tawdry tragedy,” offered Bosley Crowther of The New York Times (10/11/56).

Film Analysis: Giant, Texas and the James Dean Cult

Giant is an appropriate title for this film, which originally ran three hours and seventeen minutes at theaters. The big, can-do spirit of the Lone Star State comes alive, set against the background of a mammoth Texas ranch and the subsequent discovery of black gold.

The main characters, as winningly played by Rock Hudson, Elizabeth Taylor and James Dean, age before our very eyes through the miracle of Warner Bros’. talented makeup department. Hudson has never been better as the tall, rugged Texas rancher Bick Benedict, with Elizabeth Taylor more than his equal as his high-spirited, feminist-leaning wife.

Giant of course marks the final screen appearance of James Dean, whose personality cult hasn’t appeared to dim even 55 years after his premature death at age 24 in an automobile accident. Dean plays the surly, reed-thin Jett Rink to near perfection, still thrilling movie fans today when he rushes into Reata one day, soaked from head to toe in Texas crude, announcing that he’s now a very wealthy man.

The sub-plot of racism, as applied to Mexican-Americans, is handled well for the era. One can’t help but root for Rock Hudson’s Bick Benedict as he engages in a titanic fistfight with a racist cafe owner who had denied service to Bick’s Hispanic daughter-in-law.

There’s plenty of other talent in this one, including good performances from Carroll Baker, Dennis Hopper, Chill Wills and Mercedes McCambridge. Giant is one of the best motion pictures to come out of the Fabulous Fifties, and one can only ponder what other cinematic gems awaited the immensely talented James Dean had he lived.

Giant Box Office, Academy Award Nominations, Notes, DVD

• Giant grossed $14 million at the American box office, earning the #3 position on the list of the top moneymaking films of 1956.
• Ten Oscar nominations: Best Picture, Best Actor (Dean, Hudson), Best Director (Stevens, won), Best Supporting Actress (McCambridge), Best Screenplay, Best Film Editing, Best Color Art Direction-Set Decoration, Best Music Scoring, Best Color Costume Design. 
• Giant made its October 10, 1956, premiere in New York City as a benefit showing for the Muscular Dystrophy Association. Giant went into general release on November 24, 1956.
• Best feminist scene: Elizabeth Taylor insists on sitting in during a meeting of Rock Hudson and his male cronies.
• The scene where an oil-soaked James Dean announces his big gusher is referenced in the 2005 Gulf War film Jarhead.
• Grace Kelly was initially offered the role of Leslie Lynnton Benedict.
• On DVD: Giant Two-Disc Special Edition (Warner, 2005).

“I’m rich, Bick. I’m a rich ‘un. I’m a rich boy. Me, I’m gonna have more money than you ever thought you could have – you and all the rest of you stinkin’ sons of…Benedicts!” James Dean declares after hitting black gold.

Fine, as long as it doesn’t go to his head…

Related Reading

• Collectible James Dean Movie Posters