Semiquincentennial Movie Project #12: Hero's Island

 

 

 

The Semiquincentennial  Movie Project is an ongoing celebration of the 250th anniversary of the founding of the United States. During the course of this project your humble blogger is choosing a movie a week to represent each of the 50 states in the Union, as well as a movie scheduled for 4th of July weekend that will represent the nation's capitol, Washington D.C. The order of the weekly entries will coincide with the order of each state's entry into the fold (although, not necessarily coinciding with the date of their entry into said fold).

 

 

Week #12: North Carolina -

 

The state of North Carolina was established on November 12. 1789. 

Details about North Carolina:

State bird: cardinal

State flower: dogwood

State tree: pine 

Additional historical trivia:

The first fact is personal. Although your humble blogger has spent 99% of his life in Texas, he was born in the state of North Carolina (Durham, to be exact).

In January of 1942, the Rose Bowl, typically played in California, was relocated to Durham due to fears of Japanese attacks on the West Coast, basically making Duke the "home team" against Oregon State.

North Carolina was the first state to declare it's independence from England, thus beginning the road to the Revolutionary War.

As a minor league player, Babe Ruth hit his first ever home run as a professional in a spring training game in Fayetteville. It was also here that George Herman Ruth first got the nickname "Babe".

The headache relief product known as BC Powder was invented in Durham.

Morehead Planetarium and Science Center. located in Chapel Hill, was where many early astronauts trained.

Krispy Kreme Donuts was founded in North Carolina., as was Pepsi. (I'll wait while you make a donut and cola run, now...)

And everyone knows that the Wright brothers made their first flight at Kitty Hawk. (It's noted on the state license plate, people...)

The state is also the site of the famous Lost Colony of Roanoke. 

 

 

Hero's Island (1962): 

The movie is significant, if only in terms of the star power brought to the film. James Mason, he of such films as The Desert Fox, the Marlon Brando version of Julius Caesar, Journey to the Center of the Earth, 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, Heaven Can Wait, North by Northwest and The Boys from Brazil was the star (and financial backer) of the film. But among the dozen or so actors who helped bring the film to the big screen were several familiar names who were just getting started in film. Rip Torn (totally unrecognizable to me, since most of the stuff I have seen him in came later in his career: Canadian Bacon, Freddy Got Fingered, Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story and the Men in Black films), Harry Dean Stanton (who I would recognize almost anywhere... he of Alien, Escape from New York, Christine, Repo Man, Red Dawn and The Straight Story), Warren Oates (also easily recognizable: he was in Stripes, Dillinger, Race with the Devil,  Bring Me the Head of Alfredo Garcia, and 1941), as well as the first ever appearance of Darby Hinton, who played Daniel Boone's son on the Disney TV series. Neville Brand, a perennial bad guy in numerous films also put in an appearance.

Which may lead one to wonder "Why have I never heard of this film?" well, the God's honest truth is it is ostensibly an action film, but there is very damn little action going on in the film. That's not to say it's not interesting. As a drama piece, it's not all that bad. But it's a very "talky" movie, meaning there is more conversation going on than actual action. If you come to the film expecting a lot of sword play (it takes place in the mid-1700's), you are going to be mostly disappointed.

The main thrust of the movie revolves around the rights that two separate forces claim to have on an island off the coast of the Carolina territory.  Thomas Mainwaring (Brendan Dillon), a freed former indentured servant has come to claim the island, along with his wife, Devon (Kate Manx), their children, Cullen (Morgan Mason; James Mason's real son) and Jafar (Darby Hinton) and a friend/helper, Wayte (Warren Oates). It should be noted there are some interesting developments in the exposition of the situation with this family that may be unfamiliar to anyone not well-versed with the history of the time period.

 

For one thing, Devon was actually acquired as a wife for Thomas because he purchased her freedom from indentured servitude. It is unclear whether they actually are married by law, as such was not required when a man purchased a wife in this way. also, only one of the boys is actually a son of Devon. (She had apparently been married prior to this. Neither of the boys are the offspring of Thomas, and in fact, one of the boys was also acquired in the same manner as Devon. However, given that both Devon and Thomas are apparently very devout Christians, marriage was probably a foregone conclusion...)

When the five arrive and begin setting up with establishing a foothold on the island, they are almost immediately confronted by a disputing band of outlaws who claim right to ownership, this despite the fact that Thomas has a deed signed by the original landholder. The disputers in question are three brothers, Dixey Gates (Harry Dean Stanton), Nicholas Gates (Rip Torn) and Enoch Gates (Robert Sampson). The brothers try various ways to threaten the interlopers to convince them to leave, which include (accidentally) killing Thomas. 

 

The brothers think that this is going to go in their favor, because although they are not law-abiding in their own right, they do not have any objection to using the law to their own advantage. The right of ownership to the land includes a codicil that to occupy the land there must be a complete family to farm the land. Without the husband, Devon and her boys are basically up the creek without a paddle. But Devon is the essence of a determined woman, and refuses to give up.

 

The brothers use all sorts of tricks and bad ploys to get her to give up. But fortunately for them onto the scene comes a marooned sailor, Jacob Weber (James Mason). But it appears that his appearance may not be the salvation that could help the family win the fight. 

 

Jacob refuses to take up arms to defend the family, although he does do his part by trying to negotiate and be diplomatic about the conflict. Unfortunately, the brothers are immune to diplomacy. They call on outside sources, in the form of Kingstree (Neville Brand), who is either a mercenary or an official, I can't decide which.

 

Kingstree, however, knows who Jacob really is; he is a former pirate under the sail of the notorious Blackbeard, and is thus wanted by the authorities. But this revelation only inspires Jacob (whose real name is Stede Bonner) to pitch in and help. Also coming on board (because he went against his brothers as was abandoned by them) is Nicholas. He pitches in because he was betrayed by his brothers.

As sometimes happens when I review these older and more obscure movies, there is not much information regarding the background. I don't even know how much the movie was budgeted for, much less how well it did at the box office. Still, it stands to reason it did reasonably well, as it doesn't look like it cost all that much to produce.

IMDb gives it a 5.5 out of 10 rating, and I think that's fair. Despite the fact that only about the last 10 minutes has any real action going on, it is still interesting enough. It does tend to be a little on the preachy side when it comes to the religious aspect of it. The fact that Devon flat refuses to resort to violence and cautions her helpers to basically give it over to God because God will judge everything aright becomes a bit annoying. 

But just for the star power involved this movie is well worth a watch. The only female part in the film, and pretty much the second star in the headline, Kate Manx, was a flash in the pan as far as her career went. She only managed 8 film roles before she took her life from an overdose of sleeping pills. Whether that was directly related to a recent divorce from the director of this  picture is something I could not discover.

Until next time, folks, drive safely.

Quiggy

 

Semiquincentennial Movie Project #11: Serpico

 

 

 

The Semiquincentennial  Movie Project is an ongoing celebration of the 250th anniversary of the founding of the United States. During the course of this project your humble blogger is choosing a movie a week to represent each of the 50 states in the Union, as well as a movie scheduled for 4th of July weekend that will represent the nation's capitol, Washington D.C. The order of the weekly entries will coincide with the order of each state's entry into the fold (although, not necessarily coinciding with the date of their entry into said fold).

 

 

 

Week #10: New York -

 

The state of New York was established on July 26, 1788. 

Details about New York:

 

State bird: bluebird

State flower: rose

State tree: sugar maple

Additional historical trivia:

New York City, in the state of New York, was the nation's first capital; as such it was where the first President was sworn into office.

The state plays host to the "World's Largest Pancake Breakfast", due to the fact that the world's largest pancake griddle is in the state (28 feet in diameter... I'm hungry, but not THAT hungry...)

The 85 mile Delaware aqueduct is the longest tunnel in the world.  

New York City, of course, has many numerous landmarks and sites for pilgrimages. I won't inundate you with a lot of them, but Grand Central Station, Central Park, the United Nations and the Dakota (site of the killing of John Lennon) are among the "must-see" places in NYC.

Seven of the US Presidents can claim the state of New York as their birthplace, including the current one (as of this writing...)

As well as the many politicians you have heard of, the state was also the birthplace of numerous other celebrities: Carl Sagan, Mark Zuckerberg, Mike Tyson, Martin Scorcese, Robert DeNiro, as well as numerous bands that got their start in New York.... (for example: ever hear of KISS...?) 

Serpico (1973): 

 There are some interesting little tidbits of information revolving around the film production of "Serpico", based on the life of Frank Serpico as related in the book by Peter Maas, who was writing about a real police officer who fought against corruption in the NYPD back in the 60's. One of the most intriguing casting possibilities had Robert Redford and Paul Newman, fresh off of Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, with Redford as Serpico and Newman as his cohort in the endeavor to eliminate the corruption. I think it's a good thing that Frank Serpico made an effort to dissuade the producers, otherwise we might not have the pair in their second iconic pairing, The Sting.

Also, originally there was an effort to try to get Sam Peckinpah to direct the picture. We might have had an entirely different picture if that had happened. Sidney Lumet was brought on board, a decidedly better director to portray the intrigue of the investigation, without the Peckinpah tendency towards violence. Also, Pacino as Serpico might not have happened because he was also considering taking on the role of Lenny Bruce in Lenny. 

Several fairly familiar faces made their roles in the film. Jack Kehoe, familiar to many as The Erie Kid in the aforementioned The Sting, played Tom Keough, one of Serpico's partners on the force, and his first introduction into the corruption in the department. Also John Randolph and Biff McGuire played Serpico's superiors. And don't miss James Tolkan, Principal Strickland in the Back to the Future films, (with a full head of hair, no less), made one of his early meatier appearances in film.  

The story, of course, follows Frank Serpico (Al Pacino) from a new recruit to his later career as an undercover cop. Early on he is under some pressure to get a haircut and a shave to make him look more like the standard cop, but he insists that his look makes him more readily fit in with the criminal faction if he keeps it.

 

His first introduction into some of the less than reputable side of the department involves him being with his first partner as a patrolman, and at a diner he finds that some of the public has been giving out free perks, in this case food, but instead of going with the flow and taking what the proprietor is willing to serve the pair for free, he insists on getting what he really wants to eat, and (ye Gods!) actually paying for it.

His first job as an undercover cop involves being given a bribe to basically look the other way at some crime. Serpico is a morally straight character and refuses to go along, and reports the bribe to his superiors. His insistence on following the legal path serves to make him a less than desirable member of his fellow police officers community, however.

He begins to fear for his life from said fellow officers, especially when he keeps trying to report the corruption. He transfers to another department and finds that the corruption is still prevalent in his new position. He makes several attempts to try to get the problem solved through the normal channels, but continually finds himself rebuffed and ignored, even by the commissioner. He pairs up  with a fellow straight-laced cohort, Bob Blair (Tony Roberts), who tries to help using his own connections. But blockades to his efforts keep cropping up, especially since even some of the higher-ups are in on the corruption.

 

The idealistic Serpico gradually becomes more jaded as the efforts to clean up the police force meet with resistance. Plus, he gradually becomes a persona non gratis among his fellow officers as he continually refuses to play along with the standard norm of operations. Eventually his efforts do garner some success, but at the cost of his having to appear as a witness on a grand jury investigation, which he initially doesn't want to have anything to do with.

The ultimate outcome is Serpico is shot while trying to perform a drug bust, and there is some evidence that the cops he was partnered with had some involvement in it.  Serpico does survive and the movie ends with a note that he subsequently resigned from the police force and moved to Switzerland.

 

As usual, I relate some of the details about the reception of the film. Rotten Tomatoes currently ranks the film as being 93% Fresh. It made a decent profit, having a $3.3 million budget, but bring in about $50 million at the box office in US and worldwide ticket sales. Pacino garnered an Oscar nomination for his performance, but as I have said in other reviews, Jack Lemmon's role in Save the Tiger took home the statuette. I don't think the Academy got it right on this one, although as I have also stated, I would have given Robert Redford in The Sting the award. Pacino was a loser along with Jack Nicholson in The Last Detail and Marlon Brando in Last Tango in Paris to Lemmon, either of which was better.

Serpico also got a nod for Best Screenplay from Another Medium (Maas' book). Here too it lost, this time for The Exorcist (book by William Peter Blatty, and there's a film I have never worked up the courage to watch..). Also in competition for the Award were The Last Detail (book by Darryl Ponicsan; a great story, check it out!), The Paper Chase (book by James Bridges) and Paper Moon (book by Alvin Sargent). 

The film is a dramatic portrayal of a real person, and thus an intriguing look at the persistence of one man to buck the system. I doubt I would have had the courage to go through the lengths that Frank Serpico did to get the system exposed, although I have to say I would be just as reluctant to dirty myself and my personal commitment to not delve into the seamier side of the office politics.

So, I say Serpico is well worth a look. Especially if you are as big a fan of Pacino the actor as I am.

Well, folks, this review came in a bit late, but I still made it under the wire of the week. Almost didn't. Had some health issues earlier. Also, a note, next week's review won't be up Sunday, either. But I hope to get back on track by the following week.

Drive safely, folks.

Quiggy

 

The Boy Who Cried "Wolfe"

 

 

This is my entry in the 12th Annual Favourite TV Show Blogathon hosted by A Shroud of Thoughts. 

 

 

I love Sherlock Holmes, but second only to him is my love of Nero Wolfe. 

Nero Wolfe was the creation of one Rex Stout, whose first published Nero Wolfe story was Fer-de-Lance, published way back in 1934. It wasn't his first novel ever, however. He had about 9 novels under his belt before the introduction of his legacy character. But it is a sure bet that when you mention the name Rex Stout, the first thing that will come to mind of the average bibliophile will be "Oh, yeah! He wrote those Nero Wolfe stories!" 

Over the years after Wolfe appeared on the scene, there were numerous attempts to bring him into the audio and visual world. The first two attempts were in the realm of Hollywood films. Meet Nero Wolfe and The League of Frightened Men were films released in the late 30's. Then came several attempts to bring him into the home via radio programs (in the days when was radio did what TV does today).

In 1977, a pilot was created for TV, featuring Thayer David as the portly detective, but it was abandoned before it could get off the ground because David passed away shortly after it was filmed. However, a couple of years later, another attempt was made to create a TV show, this time with William Conrad as Wolfe, along with Lee Horsley as his legman, Archie Goodwin. Unfortunately that only aired for one season.

The detective was essentially on hiatus until 2000, when a producer managed to secure the rights to film another series. This series would end up lasting for two seasons and featured Maury Chaykin as Wolfe and Timothy Hutton as Archie. In my opinion this series was the best in it's portrayal of Wolfe, taking great pains to stick to the original source material. (Each episode was based on an actual story or novel written by Stout).

Both the Conrad and the Chaykin efforts got their start in their respective series with an adaptation of the Stout novel The Golden Spiders. This entry in the canon featured Wolfe out of his normal milieu, in that his "client" wasn't a rich person who could pay his exorbitant fees, but a young neighborhood boy for whom Wolfe gradually got involved because of his own sense of obligation. 

It is not a spoiler, since it is primary to the story, but in the novel the young boy is killed, and since Wolfe had served the boy some cookies and a coke at his dinner table it was an affront to his personal dedication to decorum to find the killer and bring him (or her) to justice.

 

 

 

 

 

 

First I want to tell the basic story as it appeared in print in The Golden Spiders novel by Rex Stout. I will later describe the similarities and any differences in each production. The Golden Spiders  was first published in 1953.

The story begins with Nero Wolfe and Archie Goodwin sitting down to dinner.  Fritz brings in the dish and Wolfe stops, distracted by the smell. He queries Fritz on the alteration of the recipe he was expecting, because Fritz had decided, on his own, to try to do it different from the normal way he had made it before. Wolfe decides to admonish Fritz and have it taken away, instead opting for some eggs and toast. But Archie throws a little gas on Wolfe's ire by saying he will sample the fare.

During this minor kerfuffle, there is a ringing of the doorbell. This further irks Wolfe, not only because he has not scheduled a meeting with anyone, but he has never conducted business during meals. When Archie goes to the door he finds, not the expected adult who would normally be the cause of intrusion, but a neighborhood kid, Pete Drossos.

Pete has a case for Wolfe. During his duties as a street window wiper he encountered a woman in a fancy car, wearing spider earrings. The woman mouthed a message to Pete; "Help! Get a cop!" but the male passenger made her drive off. Pete thinks there might be some kind of trouble and maybe a reward in it, since the car was a high end Cadillac and thus  meant she was probably rich, and wants to split it 50/50 with Wolfe if he will help.

Wolfe has Archie check out the car description, along with the license plate that Pete had jotted down. It turns out that the same car was described as having killed Matthew Birch, an agent with INS (the Immigration and. Naturalization Service). Initially Wolfe comes to the conclusion that Birch may have been the male passenger. 

The next day, the car is identified in the death of Pete on the street who had been going about his window wiping job. This in itself is an affront to Wolfe because the boy had been basically a guest in Wolfe's house.  The police, in the person of a police sergeant, comes to inquire about Wolfe's ad searching for the driver of the car that Pete saw the woman in, and informs Wolfe of the boy's death.  

Not long after they receive the news of Pete's death, his mother shows up and gives Wolfe his life savings, $4.30, and tells Wolfe that Pete's last request was that mom give the money to Wolfe and ask him to get the guy who ran him over. But Wolfe does not want to get involved, that is until a very obstinate Archie berates him and demands that he at least try to find the woman in the golden spider earrings.

Laura Fromm, a wealthy widow, shows up claiming to be said woman, but Wolfe determines she is lying. She eventually admits she was not the driver, but she thinks she knows who was. But she asks for a day to verify her suspicions. She leaves Wolfe a retainer, mostly to help her avoid being implicated in the crime. However, Laura also turns up dead, having been pushed out the window of her apartment. . There were several people at a party who were the last to see Laura alive, at a dinner party, prior to her death. Now Wolfe is strong in his conviction to get to the bottom of the crimes. And his main suspects are those people she was last seen with.

Among the people at the party were Jean Estey, Laura's secretary, Dennis Horan, an attorney who was there with his wife, and Angela Wright. All were involved in a charity that helped displaced persons (immigrants). Wolfe puts his regular associate detectives, Saul Panzer, Fred Durkin and Orrie Cather, on various angles to investigate, and Archie poses as himself, but as a less than scrupulous associate of his employer, in that he proposes to each of the suspects that he has information about the private meeting between Fromm and Wolfe that each would be interested in, but will only sell it at a price.

There are some subtle goings on in the meantime. Saul poses as an immigrant who needs help but is approached by a suspicious man who tries to blackmail him. Fred follows two hoodlums and ends up being exposed as an associate of Wolfe and is tortured. Archie and Orrie rescue Fred and take the two hoodlums back to Wolfe's place. Saul recognizes one of the hoodlums as the guy who tried to blackmail him and exposes him as a small time gambler "Lips" Egan. It turns out that Egan's lawyer is Horan, one of the friends last seen with Laura Fromm, but he is not so willing to own up to knowing who Egan is.

As typical in a Wolfe mystery, Wolfe invites all of the suspects to his office and with the presence of Inspector Cramer, exposes the culprit. It turns out that Fromm's secretary, Jean, was running a scam operation that blackmailed potential immigrants into paying money for a quick transition to citizenship. Fromm had discovered the scam, as had Birch, so that's why they were killed. Pete was just a kid in the wrong place at the wrong time, but he could have easily identified Jean as the woman driving the car, and maybe Birch as the passenger.    

Nero Wolfe  The Golden Spiders (air date Jan. 16, 1981):

Cast members:

Nero Wolfe: William Conrad

Archie Goodwin: Lee Horsley

Fritz Brenner (cook): George Voskovec

Inspector Cramer: Allan Miller

Saul Panzer: George Wyner

Pete Drossos: David Hollander

Mrs. Drossos (Pete's mom): Rhoda Gemignani

Laura Fromm: Penelope Windust 

Jean Etsey: Carlene Watkins

Angela Bell (subbing for Angela Wright from the novel): Katherine Justice

 

 

The 1981 version of the story diverges quite often from the original source novel. In the first place, Archie is not dining with Wolfe as he has a date, but after he plays his prank with Wolfe and Wolfe decides to call his bluff, he is forced to forgo the date and take notes.

The second thing is the boy is not killed. Chalk this one up to late 70's / early 80's sensibilities. You couldn't exactly have a kid die, even if it was after the family hour block of night time TV programming.

What stays the same is the appearance of Pete's mother who gives Wolfe the money Pete had (which, this being 1980 instead of 1953, is actually a bit more than the $4.30 from the novel),  and gives him the message that Pete asked Wolfe to find out who ran him over. And Laura Fromm does show up. And she is indeed exposed as a fraud.

Of course, it goes without saying, that any of the subplot involving attempts to remove Pete from the land of the living after the accident are not a part of the original novel, including a scene where a hit man from New York who had been hired by someone as yet unknown in the timeline of the story. The same hitman tried to take Archie out of the picture by wiring his car to explode. Needless to say, there was not hitman in the original novel.

Being that this novel had to be condensed to accommodate the 50 minute running time, there were several subplots that had to be left by the wayside. For one, most of the scenes involving the small time hoodlums were left by the curb. And those that were included had to leave out the characters of Fred Durkin and Orrie Cather. Saul Panzer filled in most of those other two roles in his own story line with the undercover operation he was conducting.

At least they didn't change the ultimate reveal of the criminal murderer. But one other point, one that might disturb people who insist on their favorite characters being consistent with the ones in print, is the fact that Nero Wolfe, who almost NEVER left the house, and when he did it was almost always in the company of his legman Archie, leaves to visit the boy in the hospital. Although we don't actually see him in the hospital, it is implied that he WAS there.

This particular episode, being ostensibly a translation to film of a bona fide story in the Nero Wolfe canon, is a little frustrating for someone, like me, who objects to changes in the story. The TV version only bears some resemblance to the original novel, and there are enough alterations that, while entertaining in it's own right, come off more like one of those older radio shows: i.e. based on the characters of Rex Stout's creation, but not entirely consistent. 

The series only lasted one season, and of the 14 episodes in the run, 6 of them were original stories (that is, not based on any specific story in the canon. Of the remaing 12 stories, all of them ostensibly based on Stout

Nero Wolfe The Golden Spiders (air date Mar. 5, 2000):

Cast members: 

Nero Wolfe: Maury Chaykin

Archie Goodwin: Timothy Hutton

Fritz Brenner (cook): Colin Fox

Inspector Cramer: Bill Smitrovich

Saul Panzer: Saul Rubinek

Pete Drossos: Robert Clark

Mrs. Drossos (Pete's mom): Nancy Beatty

Laura Fromm: Mimi Kuzyk

Jean Etsey: Larissa Laskin

Angela Wright: Nicky Guadagni

Orrie Cather: Trent McMullen

Fred Durkin: Fulvio Cecere

 

Being that there was a lot more time to develop the story (the running time of a typical episode of the series ran anywhere from an hour and a half to two hours), the episode based on The Golden Spiders could spend a lot more time fleshing out characters. Not only that,  but the producers were more faithful to the original source. Typically if any changes were made, they usually consisted of condensing the scenes to make them more manageable (as would be the case if they were filming a major story for theater release.)

The best part of this and some of the other episodes in the series was that they had decided at the outset to keep the episodes firmly entrenched in the 1940's. You won't see a cell phone or a computer, or for that matter, a car on the road that is not a 40's or earlier model. 

The stories that Rex Stout wrote ran from the 30's into the 70's, and although the other kept them more or less current with the times, they never aged. So in 1934, Archie was about 30 and Nero was about 50, and in 1975, Archie was about 30 and Nero was about 50. Same with the TV series. 

The interesting facts to pint out are: Since this was basically just a one-off  film with as yet no plans to develop a series, you may notice a few things. For one, the character of Saul Panzer was played by Saul Rubinek, but when the series moved forward, Rubinek was cast as Archie's newspaper contact, Lon Cohen, and the Panzer role was taken over by Conrad Dunn.

Most of the TV series actors, other than the ones playing main characters are not here. Did you know the TV series was basically run as a touring company type of show? Meaning many actors were recycled into various roles throughout the series, much like a traveling Shakespeare touring company, also referred to elsewhere as an "ensemble cast".

As stated earlier in this post, one of the things I admire about this episode is that the producers didn't shy away from pointing out that the young boy Pete Drossos was killed. Apparently 20 years since the 1981 TV show, they thought the audience could handle such a drastic event. To be honest, I really couldn't find ANY drastic changes to the script. Those few that did occur are so minimal that only a nit-picker could grouse about them.

As I stated in a previous blog entry on the overall series, The Big Bad Wolfe, this series is well worth checking out. 

Until next time, drive safely folks.

Quiggy

 

Semiquincentennial Movie Project #10: Greased Lightning

 

 

The Semiquincentennial  Movie Project is an ongoing celebration of the 250th anniversary of the founding of the United States. During the course of this project your humble blogger is choosing a movie a week to represent each of the 50 states in the Union, as well as a movie scheduled for 4th of July weekend that will represent the nation's capitol, Washington D.C. The order of the weekly entries will coincide with the order of each state's entry into the fold (although, not necessarily coinciding with the date of their entry into said fold).

 

Week #10:  Virginia

 

The state of Virginia was established on June 25, 1788. 

Details about Virginia:

State bird: cardinal

State flower: American dogwood

State tree: dogwood

Additional historical trivia:

Jamestown was the first English colony in the United States. 

Both the American Revolution and the Civil War were ended in Virginia. Yorktown was the site of the British surrender in the former conflict, and Appomattox Courthouse was the site where the surrender was made official for the latter. 

Speaking of the Civil War, almost half of the battles fought during that conflict occurred in Virginia.  

Also, speaking of the Civil War, not all of the state of Virginia was behind the secessionist movement. A total of 50 counties separated from Virginia to create their own state, West Virginia. 

The state of Kentucky was once a part of Virginia until it received it's own status as a state in 1792.

Mountain Dew, the popular soda pop, originated in Virginia.

Famous people who hail from Virginia: 

Eight Presidents; George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, James Madison, James Monroe, William Henry Harrison, John Tyler, Zachary Taylor and Woodrow Wilson were from Virginia. 

Virginia was also the birthplace of such famous people as Booker T. Washington, George C. Scott, Michael Vick, Ella Fitzgerald, and (just because he is a Texas hero) Sam Houston.  

 

Greased Lightning (1977): 

Greased  Lightning is, ostensibly, the story of the first African American NASCAR driver and his trials and tribulations in what was, at the time, an all-white sport. Circa 1945 and beyond, Wendell Scott (Richard Pryor) had to deal with racism from people who still resisted these "uppity n*****s" who were trying to rise above their perceived station (from a racist white point of view).

 

But the racism theme is fairly subdued for the first half of the movie. To be sure, the epithet "n*****" is frequently used, but despite the negative connotation given the word today, much of the time it is not used with animosity towards the main characters. In fact, in an early scene, which involves a young Scott in a bicycle race with a bunch of white kids, it almost comes off as a praise: ("Man, you are one crazy n*****")

 

Given the background of Pryor and the director Michael Schultz (director of such classics as Cooley High, Car Wash, Krush Groove and The Last Dragon), this one is pretty tame by comparison when addressing the racial discrimination issue. It is a primary theme of course, but it's pretty toned down by comparison. 

 

The film opens with the aforementioned bicycle race, which introduces us to just how much of a risk taker Scott is and his determination to win at all costs. From there we segue into a scene in which Scott is returning home from armed forces service during World War II. His bus pulls into the station where there are only a couple of people waiting to welcome him. He expresses disappointment that his friends didn't meet him, but that only lasts until he arrives at home where a surprise party is waiting for him. And he meets the woman, Mary (Pam Grier), who would eventually become his devoted wife.

 

Immediately there is some inner family conflict. it is expected that Wendell is going to work at the factory like everybody else in the family, but he wants to open his own garage. In the meantime he is going to run a taxi. And try to save money for that goal.  But it's slow going. He eventually runs into an old school buddy, Slack (Frederick Dennis Greene), who is helping out a moonshine operation, running the product and outracing the cops and revenuers who want to stop the operation. But the money he gets outweighs any worries about the cops and revenuers...

 

But the fact of the matter is that Wendell has even greater dreams. See, "speed" (as in car speed, not the illegal drug) has always been like a drug...) has always been like a euphoria for Wendell, and he has even bigger dreams: to be a race car driver. Highly unlikely in the 40's, when the race car scene was dominated by a whites only country club style atmosphere. But sometimes fate fan stick it's finger in the pie...

Eventually Wendell gets arrested by the local sheriff, Sheriff Cotton (Vincent Gardenia), after a long series of attempts to get him under lock and key. 

 

Cotton is all for keeping him in prison until the cows come home, but a local bigwig, Billy Joe Byrnes (Noble Willingham) has other ideas. He wants to get this hot shot black driver on the local stock ca race track, not just because he is a damn good driver, but also because it will tweak the rest of the crowd of racists who think that stock car racing is the last bastion of white supremacy.

 

So Billy Joe convinces Cotton to drop the charges and release Wendell, with the proviso that Wendell will enter the race. Of course, Wendell is MORE than willing to help out.

The second half of the film centers on both Wendell's struggles to be accepted as a member of the fraternity club that is opposed to him only because of his heritage of birth, but also a fairly good rivalry between himself and the other hotshot driver on the stock car circuit, Beau Welles (played by Earl Hindman, who, even though he doesn't actually look familiar has a voice that will trigger your memory, since he played the neighbor, Wilson, in the TV series Home Improvement).

 

The film plays a little loose with the actual history of Wendell Scott as a race car driver. For one thing, the major first win on the circuit seems to be coming a lot sooner, time wise, than the actual win did. And whether or not the active racist attitudes towards a black man in the whites only club atmosphere of the stock car racing scene was quite so laid back is questionable. To be sure, there WERE many attempts to knock Wendell out of the race that were probably close to true life, but it seems to me that the racism in the picture is rather toned down, at least from the way I would have THOUGHT it turned out. Which seems a bit odd, given that Pryor was involved in the film.

This film doesn't have a rating on Tomato meter (I guess not enough people reviewed it back in the day), but IMDb has it at a 6.4 (out of 10). I couldn't find any information on the financial side to determine how it fared at the box office, but I imagine it did fairly well among people of color, as well as many Pryor fans. My opinion is that the film is entertaining in it's own right. I can't nitpick on the historical aspect of it too much, since my only background of history of Wendell Scott only comes from research during this movie project. Have to admit I never watched car racing in my younger days (any more than I do now). 

Until next time, folks, drive safely.

Quiggy

 

Semiquincentennial Movie Project #9: All That Money Can Buy

 

 

 

The Semiquincentennial  Movie Project is an ongoing celebration of the 250th anniversary of the founding of the United States. During the course of this project your humble blogger is choosing a movie a week to represent each of the 50 states in the Union, as well as a movie scheduled for 4th of July weekend that will represent the nation's capitol, Washington D.C. The order of the weekly entries will coincide with the order of each state's entry into the fold (although, not necessarily coinciding with the date of their entry into said fold).

 

Week #9: New Hampshire -

 

 

The state of New Hampshire was established on June 21, 1788.

Details about New Hampshire:

State bird: purple finch

State flower: purple lilac

State tree: white birch

Additional historical trivia:

The man who was the inspiration for the "Uncle Sam" character of history, Sam Wilson, grew up in Mason, NH.

Those famous Budweiser Clydesdale horses from the classic beer commercials were originally from New Hampshire.

Always hated those annoying seat belts you are required to use in your state? Move to NH. They are not required there.

Sarah Hale, the founding proponent for declaring Thanksgiving a holiday in the U.S. was from new Hampshire.

Famous people from New Hampshire;

Alan Shepard, the first American to go into space. Franklin Pierce, 14th President of the United States. Mary Baker Eddy, founder of Christian Science. Ronnie James Dio (my favorite vocalist who sang for Rainbow, Black Sabbath and his own solo band, Dio. Maurice and Richard McDonald, original founders of McDonald's fast food franchise. And of course, Daniel Webster, US Senator and the subject of today's film.

 

 

All That Money Can Buy (1941): 

All That Money Can Buy (now often referred to, alternately, as "The Devil and Daniel Webster") was based on a short story written by Stephen Vincent Benet in 1936. The original story seems to have had some background in trying to instill patriotism for the American cause. Remember, in 1936 there was a growing populist movement to keep America isolated, and what with a looming war in Europe raising it's ugly head again, only 25 ears after the last one, much of the populace was of a mind to let Europe fight her own wars. Even by October of 1941, when the film version came out, the basic premise of being a self-supporting entity was the popular viewpoint of the nation.

Maybe all that is hard to see in the actual film by the average person. After all, it's basically just a reworking of the classic German legend of Johann Faust, most popularly remembered as the central character in Goethe's play, titled Faust. Here in the 1941 film, as in the original short story by Benet, the central character is a poor New Hampshire farmer who just can't seem to get an even break and frustratingly says he would "sell his soul to Devil" for just a fair shake.

The patriotism theme comes into play, however, as the protagonist, whose name is Jabez Stone, deals with his neighbors.  He is a self-sufficient soul who resists the unionizing, via the Grange, of the farmers, feeling that such dealings with the government in the form of a union might just smack a little of being underhanded. Also, when after the deal with the Devil produces some wealth, feels an obligation to share the wealth with those same neighbors.

Of course, if it all ended there this would be one short, and decidedly uninteresting story. The wealth eventually turns Jabez into the same kind of person he had previously despised, that of a greedy miser, taking advantage of those same people in their time of need.

 

To begin, we have Jabez (James Craig) who lives with his wife, Mary (Anne Shirley) and his mother (Jane Darwell). He is mostly happy with his lot in life, but one thing after another keep happening that prevents him from getting a step ahead of his creditors. 

 

He owes his banker, Mr. Stephens (John Qualen), a lot of money for his financial help, and every time he thinks things might be looking up, another bad event causes his hopes to be dashed.

 

After a particularly trying day, the frustrated Jabez says that for just two cents he'd sell his soul to the Devil. As luck would have it, the Devil (Walter Huston) overhears him, and presents Jabez with an opportunity, if he only signs a seven year contract for said soul. Immediately after signing the devil reveals a cache of hidden gold under Jabez's barn floor.

 

Ecstatic with his new found wealth, he immediately pays of his banker and starts improving his lot in life. The banker, in a bit of foreshadowing, says he's seen this gold somewhere before (and if you don't get it right away, you probably haven't been paying attention).

Jabez ends up helping his neighbors out too, although he does put a little bit of interest on the loan he gives them, just not the exorbitant rates that Stevens had been charging. Jabez also has money to hire a maid for his wife. His mother, a devout Christian, thinks that Jabez might be going down the wrong path, but he ignores her advice.

 

Eventually things start to look like Jabez really has some outside influence, although no one is quite able to put their finger on it. In order to keep Jabez moving further down his road of destruction, the Devil brings in a new maid that will replace the one that Jabez and Mary hired. The new maid is a very hot and liberated type, Belle (Simone Simon). (Another reviewer I read on this movie intimates she is a succubus, an evil spirit that uses sex to lead victims astray).

 

Jabez gradually becomes someone that the old Jabez would have disdained. When a freak weather storm destroys everyone but Jabez's farm crop, he hires on the farmers to till his own land, but only pays them a pittance for their work. Additionally he is alienating his own wife, who eventually packs up and leaves him.

By the time Jabez comes to his senses, the seven year contract is coming about due. Jabez, having had a change of heart,  wants out, but of course the Devil is going to have none of that. But Mary comes to the rescue. She convinces the great orator and senator Daniel Webster (Edward Arnold) to come to help. The end result is that Webster and the Devil agree to a court hearing. But the Devil stacks the jury and judge against Jabez by bringing some of the most disreputable figures in history to sit in on he trial. (And, of course, all those jurors were former clients of the Devil. Admittedly if you aren't well versed in history, you may not recognize many of them by name, but Benedict Arnold is one of the jurors, and the judge was instrumental in the Salem Witch trials...

 

Daniel Webster then has his work cut out for him. but eventually his oratorical skills win the day. The Devil tears up the contract and moves on. There is a fun scene at the end where he is going through his book of potential next conquests and then looks up at the theater audience finally pointing directly at "you' as the viewer...  So beware!

 

The movie did not garner a profit. Wikipedia actually states it made $50,000 less than it's cost at the theater. Reviews at the time a pretty few and far between at this late a date, but  on the other hand it did get notice at the Oscars. Walter Huston lost the Best Actor award to Gary Cooper for Sergeant York, but te film managed to get an Oscar for Best Music, beating out the likes of Citizen Kane and the aforementioned Sergeant York. (It should be noted there were 20 movies up for the award, so take that how you will).

As a morality tale, the film, as well as the story, may be a bit hard to digest for the fundamentalist Christian. It appears to imply that even at the point of death one still has the opportunity to redeem oneself in  his spiritual life, lending to the idea that one can live as one pleases until the final roll call and still make a last minute adjustment. I'm sure most of my fundamentalist friends would argue to the contrary.

Still, all in all, as just a general folk tale, it's not all that bad a movie. Huston does a good job as the ever deceptive Devil, and Simone Simon reminds me a lot of actresses who came along later who managed to exude sexuality without too much effort (Raquel Welch, Ann-Margaret and Brigit Bardot come to mind...) Should you try it out? I think you'd be OK with at least one viewing, although whether it is re-watchable I can't say.  That's up to you.

Until next time, drive safely folks.

Quiggy