I'm back at Pearl's.
Tonight's movie was called "Violent Saturday"(1955), a rather blunt, unimaginative title for what turned out to be a mix of melodrama and crime. It sets out to be a heist movie, but then as soon as the job is plotted by the bank robbers (which happens right off the bat), the story switches gears and we get several vignettes of "ordinary people in trouble". This is one of those movies that they used to make, where a bunch of people's lives collide during one big event. Remember "Smashup on Interstate 5"? It's like that, without the freeway. And in fact, wasn't "Crash" one of those movies? And it won Best Picture. So go figure.
Don't get me wrong, "V.S." is not a bad movie, in fact it's exceedingly watchable, with a fluid storyline, good characters, a good cast, solid direction from old pro Richard Fleischer, and those colliding plot threads. On top of all that, the whole thing looks fantastic. It was shot in Cinemascope in the mining town of Bisbee, Arizona. The town center looks straight out of the 1920s, and it's authentic, not a set. The desert landscape provides an arid, isolated backdrop. A key character is an Amish farmer who lives in the outskirts. He is played by Ernest Borgnine of all people, and quite well too. Lastly, concerning the look of the film, one phrase is all that's necessary : Color by Deluxe. The early 50s to the mid-60s was their absolute peak. What they did was to take the full saturation of Technicolor down a notch, refine the warm tones and give everything a touch of pastel. This is one good looking movie, thanks in part to the boys at the lab, and the print I saw on Youtube was Blu-ray all the way, baby.
But it's not quite the heist movie you may be expecting when you hit "play". Instead, much time is spent on the Mine Owner's unhappy marriage. His wife is cheating on him. He's an alcoholic. He spies a young Gold Digger at the local bar. She is Virginia Leith, from "The Brain That Wouldn't Die". He should know better than to mess with her, but he does anyway. Lucky for him she doesn't have that Potato Head Monster locked in his closet, but the results are almost as bad.
The bank's loan manager (Tommy Noonan, a dead ringer for MSNBC's Chris Hayes) is a Peeping Tom, spying on Virginia Leith. 1930s veteran Silvia Sidney is a librarian who owes the bank some dough. Mr. Peepers is putting the screws to her to pay it back, but she knows what he does at night, and is blackmailing him. And finally, the star of the movie is Victor Mature (though his screen time is equal to all others). Mature plays a mining company foreman whose eight year old son gets into fistfights because Dad was not a war hero like his best friend's Pa. There will be a a playout of this thread, and you can see it coming, but beyond all of these troubles, the bank robbers don't give a flip.
They continue to plan their caper, detail by meticulous detail, and Lee Marvin is one of their number. If you've ever seen Lee Marvin in any movie - and I have to reiterate : any movie - then you know that no one ever gets the better of him. It must be in his contract, due to that face and that voice.
So there you sort of have it. What do you think? To me it sounds like a good one, and it was. The ending culminates in the violent release indicated by the title, but don't worry, it isn't excessive, not by today's standards. You'll actually finish up by saying, "hmmm, that was a pretty original picture when you put it all together". Or if not exactly original then at least imaginative, and very good looking.
I give it Two Thumbs Up and a solid recommendation. Don't miss the Blu-ray print on Youtube. ///////
And finally........for Elizabeth, what else can I say but congratulations? :) And it's from the heart. I see now what the situation is, and why the Facebook thing happened this Summer (though you needn't have worried about me). I'll refrain from posting any more comments or messages on Instagram, but I hope you won't mind if I am still a follower, just cause I've been with you in the artistic sense since 2012, and I'd like to remain so in that regard. You know that I think You Rule (I've long said so), and I've always kept my commentary strictly right here at the blog, where the choice is yours to click it or not.
Whatever you do, keep doing what You Do. And again, I hope you will seriously consider making an album of singer/songwriter material, along the lines of the songs and snippets you have posted in the past year.
I have to say yet again that the Red Dress series is one of the most ambitious and amazing photographic presentations I've seen. Even more importantly, it's original. So never forget that. And keep in mind that you've had a film that played on the screen at Staples Center. Don't give up on your dream, which really means don't give up on your plans and what you've already accomplished.
In any event, congrats once again, I wish you the absolute best, and I'll be right here if you ever wanna say hi. :)
Tons of love. xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo :)
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