I had an entirely different post in mind for today when I opened up my collection of studio portraits, production stills and behind-the-scenes photographs this morning.  Many years ago, before I had children and a mortgage, I lived a carefree bachelor life in New York City, where I could count on attending 3 to 4 horror-themed conventions annually.  Once I’d paid the exorbitant entrance fee, I further threw fistfuls of money at dealers (aka devils in XXL black tee shirts) whose only purpose in life was to collect things I coveted with my immortal soul… bootleg video tapes of long-unseen fright flicks (before most of these wormed their way onto DVD) and soundtracks, magazines from overseas, vintage paperbacks and board games, monster coffee mugs, monster keychains, monster dolls action figures… and of course movie posters, lobby cards and 8 x 10 glossies.  Now I’m not a huge paper chaser – for the foreseeable future I’m not going to be one of those guys who lays down thousands of dollars for an original WEREWOLF OF LONDON one sheet but I did in my day pick up the occasional (affordable) glossy or cinema insert.  Take this one on the left, of Bela Lugosi at his makeup table.  Mind you, it might not be his actual makeup table – this is a studio PR shot, manufactured to give moviegoers the illusion that they are getting a glimpse behind the magic curtain.  But who cares if it’s real or not… it’s a picture of Bela fricking Lugosi not playing anybody (or anything), just being his own bad self, all chill in his robe, making the scene with a little Max Factor eyebrow pencil.  What’s not to love? READ MORE

In the second of four weeks devoted to character actors in classic films, my blog this week looks at an actor who had the authenticity of a pair of old shoes, but whose versatility indicated a man with a strong commitment to his art:

I had to laugh a bit when I saw Of Mice and Men (1939) on TCM recently. My amusement was not because of the still tender spot that this very American story touched on in the course of the film. Themes of loneliness, the longing for new beginnings and a home of one’s own are evergreen, but few would have predicted that this seventy year old tale is still controversial. The film, based on the novella and play by John Steinbeck, was critically hailed when it first came to theaters, receiving four Academy Award nominations, including that of Best Picture in that celebrated movie year of 1939.

At the same time, in its day, the novel, play and film were all dismissed by one unnamed critic in the conservative publication, The Catholic World, who wrote that “The first few pages nauseated me [so much] that I couldn’t bear to keep it in my room over night.” In June, 1939, the Providence, Rhode Island’s police bureau refused to license the film for exhibition in that city, describing the story as “lowdown”. A Christmas Eve showing of the movie at Ft. McClellan in December, 1939 prompted an Army chaplain to condemn this story as “morbid and degenerate”.  February, 1940 saw Of Mice and Men banned from the entire continent of Australia. Even in the 21st century, Steinbeck’s story Of Mice and Men is still being banned periodically by some library system or school board. A high school in St. Louis recently discussed the removal of the book from their reading lists because the language in the book included words that we would describe as “politically incorrect” today.  I couldn’t help wondering how amused one of the actors in this film, Roman Bohnen, (seen at left) a veteran of one of the more politically controversial acting troupes in American history up to that time, might have been to see this fresh controversy. Swimming against the prevailing tide was all in a day’s work for Bohnen.

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The Library of America has released a wriggling mass of Manny Farber’s prose, and now the world is a (slightly) better place. Farber On Film: The Complete Film Writings of  Manny Farber (edited by Robert Polito) is a maddening, insightful and frankly thrilling collection of his writing on movies (and a little on TV) from 1942 – 1977. It includes the work that made up his previous compilation, Negative Space, plus a massive trove of reviews from the The New Republic, The Nation, and lad mags like Cavalier (he requested that his capsules for Time be left out, feeling that the editors rendered them unrecognizable).

In his valuable introduction, Polito says “his writing can appear to be composed exclusively of digressions from an absent center.” To borrow his own term, Farber approaches his subjects termite-like, gnawing at the edges of the films, ignoring plot summary and character psychology to focus on movement and composition, informed by his long career as a painter. He does not treat a film as a monolith, a hunk to be labeled as good or bad and then forgotten. He engages with every aspect of a film, emphasizing its collaborative nature. He breaks down performances, compositions, and dialogue with equal vigor with his jagged, jumpy and allusive prose. It’s often impossible to tell whether he likes a film or not, as he builds up and tears down a production from every angle.

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On October 2, 1959, the first episode of The Twilight Zone, “Where Is Everybody,” premiered on CBS-TV. Though that was 50 years ago Friday, The Twilight Zone remains a fixture in syndication on cable television. The series’ blend of sci-fi and social commentary makes for timeless entertainment, while its title and unforgettable theme are used in everyday conversation as short-hand for any bizarre or strange occurrence that happens to us. When I was in college, my roommate and I “entered” The Twilight Zone daily, eagerly lapping up each episode as they aired in syndication. In honor of the series’ 50th anniversary, I thought I would revisit The Twilight Zone by investigating the story behind the show and recalling some of my favorite episodes.

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Turner Classic Movies’ October programming event “Hard Times: Life During the Depression” is offering up several relative obscurities (THE CRASH [1932], LOOKING FORWARD [1933), PROSPERITY [1932]) as well as a few new-to-TCM premieres such as O BROTHER, WHERE ART THOU? [2000] and HALLELUJAH, I’M A BUM [1933] which Morlock Moira covered so succinctly in her July post “Creative Loafing on Film” http://moviemorlocks.com/2009/07/29/creative-loafing-on-film

My favorite discovery though is the scrappy little Columbia programmer, GIRLS OF THE ROAD [1940], which follows William Wellman’s WILD BOYS OF THE ROAD [1933] on Thursday, October 8^th at 2:15 a.m. ET (technically, this is early Friday morning) and is the ideal companion feature.      READ MORE

I know, I know… I get a bit juvenile at this time of year but I can’t help myself.  It’s October and Halloween is coming! READ MORE