That's Politics

As a moviegoer for more than 70 years, I’ve seen some great movies, some not so great, some really bad ones, some trying but failing to be deep and meaningful, some reveling in their shallowness. I was born the year The Wizard of Oz and Gone with the Wind were released. My mother started taking me to the movies shortly after that. I saw some movies that were definitely not PG rated. I can still remember being afraid of The Thing.

Many times I disagree with the critics. I don’t call them and tell him what I think of their reviews, so now that there is an internet for anyone to babble on, I add my voice. I’m sure there are many of you who will disagree with my assessments. Some of you will agree.  I hope to hear from all of you.

Now that the elections are over it’s time to decide which movie reflects the election process the best. Hollywood loves politics. It especially loves scandal, corruption and skullduggery. Who wouldn’t? It also loves heroism, pluck and straight shooting.

Having worked for a campaign consultant and run some small campaigns myself, I watch these movies with particular interest.

The following films range from being inspiring to being cynical. But, that’s politics.

The Candidate (1972): Politically naïve Robert Redford is picked as a candidate for U.S. Senate. Could it possibly be because his father (Melvyn Douglas) was governor of California? The opponent seems a shoo-in. With nothing to lose, Redford pursues his own agenda. Then slowly, as Redford gains in the polls, he sells out and becomes a puppet for the campaign consultants. The best line in the movie comes after he wins: “What’ll we do now?”

Bullworth (1998): Warren Beatty is a U.S. Senator who, after years of chicanery, decides to end it all. Implausibly, he hires a hit man to do the job for him. Now that the end is near, he suddenly becomes honest and gains respect. What? Of course he now wants to call off the hit. But can he do so? This is a silly movie.

Mr. Smith Goes to Washington (1939): Starry-eyed James Stewart arrives in Washington as a junior senator. Jean Arthur is his savvy secretary. When presented with an issue he cares about, he engages in a filibuster to end all filibusters. Will he be successful? Is this a Hollywood movie? Frank Capra won an Oscar for Best Screenplay.

Last Hurrah (1958): An aging mayor, Spencer Tracy, wants one more term. The city council is opposed to his strong-arm tactics and use of racial hatred. He loses the election and then something even worse. Supposedly based on James Michael Conley of Boston.  John Ford directed.

Advise and Consent (1962): A cast of all stars headed by Henry Fonda work to appoint a Secretary of State—or fight against him. This is a big, sprawling, soap opera of a film. Delicious.

All the King’s Men (1949): Based on the life of Huey Long, this film stars Broderick Crawford, Mercedes McCambridge, and John Ireland. The well-meaning Crawford has risen from country boy to lawyer to governor by championing the under-represented. He enters politics and succumbs to the corruption so rampant in his state. So what’s new? However, the film garnered three Oscars: Best Film, Best supporting Actress, Best Actor.

Primary Colors (1998): John Travolta, Emma Thompson, Billy Bob Thornton, and Kathy Bates in a romp based on Bill Clinton’s 1992 campaign to be nominated for the presidency. Travolta is great.

Bob Roberts (1992): Written, directed and in the title role, Tim Robbins is brilliant as a folk-singing, right-winging wannabe U.S. Senator. This mocumentary also stars Alan Rickman, Gore Vidal, Jack Black, Helen Hunt, and Susan Sarandon.

All the President’s Men (1976): Humpty-Dumpty Nixon’s downfall was the Watergate Scandal. Two reporters and a deep-throated informer bring this about. This is a great movie beautifully acted by Robert Redford, Dustin Hoffman, Jason Robards, and Jane Alexander.

Parallax View (1974): Conspiracy theories are often used in political movies. This is one of them. A U.S. Senator is killed, and then the reporters who witnessed the killing are being killed. Enter Warren Beatty who investigates.

Best Man (1964): This is a political satire about campaign tactics that could have been filmed this year. Henry Fonda is pitted against Cliff Robertson. May the best man win.

Charlie Wilson’s War (2007): This film is based on a true story using real names. Tom Hanks plays Charlie Wilson, a womanizing, lightweight congressman from East Texas. That is until he learns of the plight of the people of Soviet-occupied Afghanistan. Using his power and help from a renegade CIA agent (Phillip Seymour Hoffman), he supplies weapons and support.

Born Yesterday (1950): There’s this corrupt tycoon (Broderick Crawford) who has a “dumb” blonde for a girlfriend (Judy Holliday). He’s worried that she will embarrass him while he’s trying to buy a Congressman in Washington. So, he hires a cultured gentleman (hunk William Holden) to teach her to be proper. As you might guess, Crawford gets more than he bargained for when Miss Dumb Blonde turns out to be a lot smarter than he thought. Holliday won the Oscar for Best Actress.

Nixon (1995): Sir Anthony Hopkins (Why do the Brits make the best presidents?), Joan Allen, Ed Harris. Bob Hoskins and Oliver Stone star in this film about the days after Watergate.

Great McGinty (1940): Brian Donlevy makes his living casting votes under fake names. He becomes a puppet mayor, but then his new wife makes him see the error of his ways. He grows a conscience. Could this happen today?

Power (1986): This is a story about a jaded, amoral media consultant played by Richard Gere. His job is to package politicians to make them palatable to the public. Then J.T. Walsh hires him. Julie Christie, Gene Hackman, and Denzel Washington co-star. Not a great movie, but watchable.

Fail-Safe (1964): A computer glitch sends a bomber crew on a suicide mission to Moscow. U.S. President Henry Fonda must stop it. But how? Shades of Dr. Strangelove.

Honorable Mention: Dave, Wag the Dog, The Manchurian Candidate, Dr. Strangelove, Frost/Nixon, Seven Days in May, The Contender

Revenge

As a moviegoer for more than 70 years, I’ve seen some great movies, some not so great, some really bad ones, some trying but failing to be deep and meaningful, some reveling in their shallowness. I was born the year The Wizard of Oz and Gone with the Wind were released. My mother started taking me to the movies shortly after that. I saw some movies that were definitely not PG rated. I can still remember being afraid of The Thing and delighting in An American in Paris.

Many times I disagree with the critics. I don’t call them and tell him what I think of their reviews, so now that there is an internet for anyone to babble on, I add my voice. I’m sure there are many of you who will disagree with my assessments. Some of you will agree.  I hope to hear from all of you.

It’s back to real movies. This month I turn to the revenge movie. You know the quotes, cold dishes, etc. Some are right on; some are just trite. But, revenge as the theme can produce great drama. I don’t think any one of us condones injustice, so while we watch a strong, or a suddenly strong, character wreak revenge, we tend to allow some latitude. What do you think? Do these films satisfy your vicarious need for justice, or do they go so far over the top that they disgust you?

The Count of Monte Cristo (2002): This classic story by Alexandre Dumas is beautifully told in this television movie. The cast is strong: Jim Caviezel, Guy Pearce, Richard Harris, and Dagmara Diminczyk  (ever hear of her?). This is definitely the “long con.” Pearce is the proper villain, in spades. Caviezel is the long-suffering hero who carries out his revenge inch by agonizing inch. Yum.

Gladiator (2000): Hunk Russell Crowe is deprived not only of his promised throne, but of his liberty. Forced to become a gladiator, he kills his way to fame and eventually fortune. Joaquin Phoenix plays his nemesis. This film won the Oscar for best picture.

Memento (2000): Guy Pearce again, this time playing a man with short-term memory loss. He knows his wife was murdered and wants to find her killer, but he can’t remember and must resort to notes written all over his body. Very clever.

The Limey (1999): Great cast includes Terence Stamp, Lesley Ann Warren, Luis Guzmán, Barry Newman (enjoyed sitting at same table with him for dinner), and Peter Fonda. Professional thief Stamp gets out of prison, discovers his daughter has been murdered, flies to Los Angeles, meets ex-con Luis Guzmán, and eventually Fonda who was having an affair with daughter. Busy man. But who will receive revenge?

Death Wish (1974, 1982, 1985, 1987, 1994): You’d think that if Charles Bronson really had a death wish, it wouldn’t take five movies to do accomplish. But then he had the formula going and there are so many bad guys in need of being stopped.

Taken (2008, 2012): Ex-spy Liam Neeson must find his daughter who has been kidnapped in Paris by human traffickers. Obviously, they didn’t reckon with the rage of a father who knows tradecraft.

Rob Roy (1995): Neeson again, this time in another century, plays a put-upon hero in a classic story. (The hero came before the drink, ya know.) Villain Tim Roth betrays Rob Roy, who must then flee for his life. Stoic Jessica Lange stands by her man.

Leon: The Professional (1994): Hitman Jean Reno, witnesses a DEA team wipe out an entire family, except for a 12-year-old girl played by Natalie Portman. Reno ends up caring for her and she decides to follow him in his career to avenge her family. Watch for Gary Oldman as the dastardly villain.

Get Carter (1971): Michael Caine stars as Carter, whose brother has died in mysterious circumstances. He leaves London to go home to Newcastle to find out what happened. There he tangles with the local talent in his desire for vengeance. Caine is at his snarling best. Forget the newer version.

Carrie (1976): Sissy Spacek, Piper Laurie, John Travolta, and Amy Irving star in this adaption of a Stephen King novel. With King you know that revenge will take a different turn. Spacek is a mousy, unpopular high school student who uses her “special” gift to wreak havoc on her classmates after they play a particularly cruel joke on her. Everyone say, Yeah!

Cape Fear (1991, 1962): I like the version with Robert Mitchum; he can be very scary. Gregory Peck is the prosecutor who has dared to put Mitchum in jail for rape and assault. Mitchum starts a reign of terror against Peck and his family. Revenge and terror.

The Page Turner (2007): In this perfect little French film, revenge takes a while but is so very sweet. A young piano player who dreams of being admitted to a prestigious music school is distracted by the chairwoman of the admitting committee and fails her audition. Years later, she finds herself in the employ of that very same woman. Revenge plays itself out with quiet beauty.

Munich (2005): This should have been a great movie. This true story has all the elements needed for justifiable revenge. However, Spielberg messes it up. For one thing, it is mostly shot in the dark, so I had a hard time figuring out what was going on. Skip this one.

Honorable Mention: The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo series (Swedish versions)

I would guess that nearly 90% of westerns are revenge themed. The old west where killings seldom get punished is awash in revenge. Here are just a few of those I consider the best:

Once Upon a Time in the West (1968): Cold-eyed killer Henry Fonda is hired by the railroad to kill anyone who tries to stop its progress. He kills the wrong man. The widow, Claudia Cardinale, hires Charles Bronson and Jason Robards to hunt down Fonda and kill him. This Sergio Leone classic has all the elements of a great film. It could have been shot anywhere, but the bleak landscape is perfect.

True Grit (1969, 2010): I think both these versions are good in their own way. As for casting, John Wayne was the better. Jeff Bridges was just an imitation. As for Kim Darby, Hailee Steinfeld was much the better. Darby was so irritating I would not have been sorry to have her stay in the snake pit. Matt Damon and Glen Campbell were about even, although I much prefer Damon as an actor. All the bad guys were good.

Unforgiven (1992): This Oscar-winning movie starred Clint Eastwood, Gene Hackman, Morgan Freeman and Richard Harris. Eastwood is hired by a group of whores to get rid of Sheriff Hackman, who has been brutalizing them.

Outlaw Josey Wales (1976): Eastwood again, this time with Sondra Locke and Chief Dan George and others, takes on the Jayhawkers who killed his wife and son. Who can stand a chance with Eastwood on the rampage.

Honorable mentions: Magnificent Seven, Nevada Smith, Man From Laramie, and Rio Lobo

Harry Martin Luther's Mineshaft Whiskey

This month, I’m writing a totally different blog. It will be a family story that I’ve often thought would make a nice, little movie. The story begins during Prohibition. In 1919, Harry Martin Luther and his family arrived by train in Jerome, Arizona. 

Today, Jerome is a tourist ghost town protected by the state. But, in 1919, Jerome was a wide-open boom town of about 10,000 people. The major business was the United Verde Copper Company. The open-pit mines were flourishing. The largest steam shovel in the world was in operation. The mine owners provided a dining room for employees, and the mine supervisor, E.E.Vanderhoff, made sure the food was good and plentiful. Lunch fixings were also available. A family could get better food here than at most of the local restaurants. There was a baseball park and ballplayers were given token jobs at the mine. They spent most of their time practicing for games with the neighboring towns of Clarkdale, Prescott and Miami.

Harry got a job as a steam shovel foreman. His son Chet, my father, was working on the Verde Tunnel and Smelter Railroad. The family, consisting of Harry, his wife Arathusa, daughters Laura, Doris and Nellie, and Chet, found a small frame house about two miles out of town near the old A& A Mine. 

All was going well for the Luther family until the mine owners decided to shut down for equipment repair. Many workers were laid off, including Harry. Fortunately, he was not without resources.

Harry convinced the boilermaker at the roundhouse (a railroad building for train engines) to build him a copper still. He found some 50-gallon brandy barrels and old, used whiskey bottles. At the general store, he bought corn meal, potatoes, and brown sugar. He also bought a chemical testing kit.

Behind his house was a brush-covered hill. After scouting around the abandoned A & A mine, Harry found a mine shaft behind a conveniently placed bush. The hole went back about 100 yards and opened into a small room. 

Harry and Chet set up the still and started the “mash” working. When it was through working, they ran it through the copper coils and through buckets of charcoal and sand and then into the whiskey bottles. A little brown sugar was added for color. Harry used the testing kit to ensure quality. The bottles were sealed and the product was ready to market.

Chet remembered staggering out into the fresh air after smelling the fumes. He also recalled feeding the mash to the family pig, Mike. Mike tried it once and swore off the stuff forever.

After dark, Chet would saddle his favorite horse, Whitey, stuff the pockets of a greatcoat and his saddlebags, and set off for town. He would ride by way of a canyon until just outside of town and then make his way to the back of the Chinese restaurant where he had permission to store the bottles in the refrigerator. He would then make the rounds—pool rooms, dance halls, and the basement of the Post Office Cigar Store where there was always a crap game going on.

One block of Main Street had been paved and the town held Saturday night dances. Corn meal was scattered on the street, a piano was put on a platform at the T.F. Miller Mercantile and the dancing would begin. 

While the dance was going on, Chet sold Harry’s Mineshaft Whiskey. He employed some of his friends to help sell the stuff. They in turn passed it on. A young fellow tried to sell Chet his own whiskey—told him it was good stuff. The prices for this “good stuff” were $4 a pint, $7 a quart and $25 a gallon. A gallon?

A good customer of Harry’s was Doc Carlson, the mayor of Jerome. Doc liked to have a “little social party” from time to time.  He always bought from Harry.

The only competition Harry had was liquor made in 5-gallon tin cans. The police in Jerome stopped that enterprise, but left Harry alone.

It wasn’t long before the” prohighs” (called revenuers in other parts of thirsty America) figured out who the big bootlegger in Jerome was and decided they better shut him down. They would come to Prescott from Phoenix and check in with Sheriff George Ruffner. George would call the police chief in Jerome, who would send someone riding fast to warn Harry.

The prohighs would ride out to the Luther home, but they never found anything. Harry was lying low. Chet used to smile when he told about hiding in the mineshaft behind the conveniently placed bush. He could see the prohighs riding within 10 feet of him. He could hear them talking. They never saw him. After a few unproductive days, they would return to Phoenix.

This went on until finally the prohighs, frustrated in their attempts to arrest Harry, devised a plan. They waited until everyone in the household had gone to town, rode out to the house and planted a still under the house. Later, when Harry was home, they raided the place and arrested Harry.

The prohighs took Harry to Prescott and turned him over to Sheriff Ruffner. The prohighs, satisfied with a job well done, headed back to Phoenix.

Harry was given 30 days in jail. The sheriff, knowing a good thing when it came his way, put Harry’s talents to work for the good citizens of Prescott. He convinced Harry to run off some batches of his fine whiskey using a confiscated still in the basement of the jail.

After Harry ran off a batch, he was allowed to go into town. There he enjoyed eating in restaurants and playing cards. When it was dark, Harry returned to jail to spend the night.

When the 30 days were up, Harry went back to Jerome and got his old job back. Arathusa, who had not been pleased with her husband’s private enterprise, put a halt to any further ideas of the production of Harry Luther’s Mineshaft Whiskey. 

The Western world lost Harry Luther’s Mineshaft Whiskey, but the still was never found. It may be there in the mine shaft behind the conveniently placed bush waiting for some enterprising person to come along.

Villains and Villainesses

As a moviegoer for more than 70 years, I’ve seen some great movies, some not so great, some really bad ones, some trying but failing to be deep and meaningful, some reveling in their shallowness. I was born the year The Wizard of Oz and Gone with the Wind were released. My mother started taking me to the movies shortly after that. I saw some movies that were definitely not PG rated. I can still remember being afraid of The Thing and delighting in An American in Paris.

Many times I disagree with the critics. I don’t call them and tell him what I think of their reviews, so now that there is an internet for anyone to babble on, I add my voice. I’m sure there are many of you who will disagree with my assessments. Some of you will agree.  I hope to hear from all of you.

It’s time for those hisses and boos. This month I present you with some of the great villains and villainesses (I know it’s not a word but I like the sound of it) in movies. The role of a good villain can make an ordinary film memorable. It can make or break a promising career for an actor. After Cuckoo’s Nest, did Louise Fletcher ever do anything important? Did Bruce Dern ever lack for work? Then there are stars that could play heroes or villains and still be loved. Angela Lansbury was the super villain in the Manchurian Candidate and the loveable Jessica Fletcher in television’s Murder, She Wrote.

Villainesses

Kathy Bates: A New York stage actress before coming to Hollywood, Bates hit it big as Annie Wilkes in Misery. She won an Oscar for Best Actress. As bad as it was for James Caan, it was really painful to watch this performance. My legs kept twingeing. What a truly terrifying film. In Delores Claiborne, Bates plays a suspected murderer. Mild stuff.

                                                                                                                                               

Angela Lansbury: At age 18, Lansbury played the maid in Gaslight. Her attitude toward Ingrid Bergman helped establish her as a villain. Her portrayal as Laurence Harvey’s mother in The Manchurian Candidate makes her one of the most despicable of movie villains.

Louise Fletcher: Who can ever forget Big Nurse in One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest? Here was a woman who really loved her job and the power it brought. Fletcher’s career went nowhere after this film.

Margaret Hamilton: As the wicked witch of the west, Hamilton cackled her way to stardom. Although a good villain in an enchanting film, her powers just evaporated.

Barbara Stanwyck: In Double Indemnity, she runs circles around Fred MacMurry and leaves him holding the bag. I rather liked this villain.

Glenn Close: She has two memorable villain roles: Fatal Attraction, in which she earned my dislike not by her treatment of Michael Douglas but her boiling of the family pet; 101 Dalmatians, in which she again has dastardly plans for small animals.

 

Bette Davis: In the horror film, Whatever Happened to Baby Jane, Davis looks the part. She is very, very, wicked.

Villains

Sir Lawrence Olivier: As the angel of death in The Marathon Man, he confirms my belief in the evil of dentists.

Gary Oldman: In The Professional, he plays a crazy villain. The combination is terrifying.

Orson Wells: In The Third Man, Wells gives new meaning to the black market. His stealing of needed penicillin is so wicked I couldn’t appreciate his acting. In Touch of Evil, his portrayal of a slimy sheriff was delicious. Unfortunately, hero Charlton Heston was cast as a Mexican.

Javier Bardem: His role in No Country for Old Men may have been the consummate villain’s role. Bardem’s dead-eyed, unemotional villainy was second to none.

Robert Mitchum: Sleepy-eyed Mitchum causes real terror in Cape Fear and Night of the Hunter. Both films still haunt me.

Bob Gunton: Didn’t you keep wishing for come-uppance for Gunton as the prison warden in The Shawshank Redemption? And didn’t it feel great when it happened?

Sir Anthony Hopkins: Talk about delicious, Hannibal Lecter was too convincing in The Silence of the Lambs.

Charles Coburn: It’s getting more difficult to determine the worst villain. Coburn certainly gets a vote for the “kindly” doctor in Kings Row. Yes, he’s the one who amputated the legs of Ronald Reagan. He did this out of spite, not necessity. Ouch.

Bruce Dern: A villain in any number of westerns, his role in High Noon stands out. Also, he was responsible for the death of Robert Redford in The Great Gatsby. Boo, hiss.

Anthony Perkins: Here’s another crazy villain. In Psycho, Perkins created a truly memorable character. This film is so familiar that almost everyone knows about the Bates Motel and why they wouldn’t want to stay there. This is one of the scariest films ever.

Gene Hackman: In Unforgiven, it’s the sheriff who’s the villain, not the gunslinger.

Henry Fonda: Cold-eyed Fonda is chilling in the classic Sergio Leone western, Once Upon a Time in the West.

Honorable Mentions: Sharon Stone in Basic Instinct, Burt Lancaster in Sweet Smell of Success, Paul Muni in Scarface, Raymond Burr in Rear Window, Joaquin Phoenix in Gladiator, Rutger Hauer in Bladerunner,  and Michael Madsen in Reservoir Dogs.