It’s amazing how some films manage to sail under the radar. You see a movie that you like and admire, and it doesn’t catch on. You assume somewhere along the line, the film will get the attention that it deserves, maybe even get a cult following. Often, the movie may turn up on DVD or be shown at three in the morning on cable, which may make you want to call your future ex-friends to tell them to check it out.
There are so many great neglected movies around that I decided to examine them decade by decade. So, here’s the next entry in the series, where we’ll consider the ‘60s. We’d love to hear what films of the era you dug that need some extra attention.
The Loved One (1965): A pitch-black satire on the funeral business and Hollywood that was obviously on the radar when Six Feet Under was created. A British poet (Robert Morse) learns how to succeed in the death business after journeying to visit his uncle (John Gielgud) in Los Angeles. When his relative commits suicide, Morse finds himself as a bereavement expert in human and pet funeral parks, where he encounters a series of bizarre La-La-Land eccentrics, played by Jonathan Winters, Liberace, Milton Berle, Lionel Stander and a young Paul Williams. Directed by Tony Richardson (Tom Jones), this truly oddball effort—with a script by Terry Southern and Christopher Isherwood, editing by Hal Ashby, and striking black-and-white cinematography by Haskell Wexler—is truly a one-of-a-kind affair.
The Critic Says: “Its candid and glittering expositions of the fantastic funeral rituals that are practiced in some of the gaudy graveyards in the vicinity of Hollywood are naturally shocking and disturbing when so vividly and vulgarly revealed and when shown with such wry appreciation of their commercial sham as Mr. Richardson shows them here”…Bosley Crowther, The New York Times
David Holzman’s Diary (1967): This is Spinal Tap! is often considered THE first mockumentary. But Jim McBride’s cinema verite-style fictional doc of a struggling New York filmmaker was really the groundbreaker that started the whole trend. McBride, who later helmed Great Balls of Fire and The Big Easy, focuses his story on David Holzman (portrayed by future frequent collaborator L.M. Kit Carson), a young filmmaker who decides to chronicle his life as it goes into freefall. Whether he’s out on his Manhattan stoop, voyeuristically zooming in on neighbors, or capturing his girlfriend at an inopportune moment, Holzman lives for the moment and making cinema—which isn’t always such a good thing.
The Critic Says: “The movie feels like the ur-text of so much: mockumentaries, Twitter, reality TV and the cult of the YouTube auteur. Perhaps more lastingly, though, ‘David Holzman’s Diary’ has become the very object it was parodying: a lovely piece of verite, one that captures the late-’60s Upper West Side in all its grimy glory. Cops, neighbors, car horns, sass—all of it survives in a record of one filmmaker’s creative breakthrough and the urban metropolis that inspired it. Essential”…Joshua Rothkopf, Time Out New York
The Naked Kiss (1964): Samuel Fuller took his no-holds-barred cinematic attitude even further with back-to-back low budget offerings that started with Shock Corridor (1963), in which a journalist goes undercover in a mental hospital. But his follow-up, The Naked Kiss, is something to behold: A soap opera played out in a high pitch that is so entertainingly overwrought at times, it makes you laugh out loud. It’s also an indictment of small-town America, as a bald prostitute (Constance Towers) tries to start life anew in a hamlet where everything seems “normal.” She takes a job helping handicapped kids, and falls for a wealthy local guy, but finds that her sordid past keeps getting in the way. There is no doubt that one of David Lynch’s inspirations for Blue Velvet was this unpredictable look at the seamy underbelly of life in the USA.
The Critic Says: “(The Naked Kiss)… has style to burn and shows that Fuller is one of the liveliest, most visual-minded and cinematically knowledgeable filmmakers now working in the low-budget Hollywood grist mill”…Eugene Archer, The New York Times
First Men in the Moon (1964): Animator Ray Harryhausen has a much-deserved niche in film history for his stop-motion work in such films as The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms, 20 Million Miles to Earth, Jason and the Argonauts and the Sinbad films. But this inventive period science-fiction outing based on the H.G. Welles story always seems to fly under the radar. It is set in 1899 England when a young couple (Edward Judd, Martha Hyer) team with a professor (Lionel Jeffries) to travel to the moon in a spherical ship. Once on the lunar surface, they discover a hidden civilization of insect-like beings that kidnap Hyer. The mix of Victorian-age science and Harryhausen’s unusual creations make for a perfect mix. All this plus sea cows!
The Critic Says: “I was already preparing for a vastly entertaining and completely relaxing sci-fi adventure. What I didn’t expect or even secretly hoped for, actually, was that ‘First Men in the Moon’ would be this much shameless fun! Literally from start to finish, this over-enthusiast(ic) British adaptation of Wells‘ novel is a fast-paced, comical, exhilarating and unpretentious camp fest”…Coventry, www.cultreviews.com
Lonely are the Brave (1962): Kirk Douglas’ favorite movie really is a classic that deserves more recognition. Directed by David Miller, from an adaptation of Edward Abbey’s novel by formerly blacklisted Dalton Trumbo (Spartacus), the film features Douglas as an iconoclastic modern-day cowboy who finds himself pursued doggedly by New Mexico sheriff Walter Matthau after he breaks out of prison. Douglas, who also produced, turns in one of his most subtle performances in an indelible character study that just happens to be chockfull of thought-provoking material about the passing of the old west, individualism, and border politics.
The Critic Says: “’Lonely are the Brave’ is something rare, and almost unique: a leftist American western… ‘Lonely are the Brave’ is a pessimistic tale of the triumph of ‘stuff’ over all that is best in the bond of humans, animals, and the land. It is both a classic western, and a great film”…Alex Cox, Film Comment.
Madigan (1968): Genre great Don Siegel (Dirty Harry, Escape from Alcatraz) turns out one of his best works, a tough, complex Big Apple crime drama with a superior cast. Richard Widmark and Harry Guardino are New York cops who have to track down a slippery hood (Steve Ihnat) after he steals their guns and escapes from under their nose. Henry Fonda plays the self-absorbed police commissioner, while Inger Stevens, James Whitmore, Susan Clark, Michael Dunn and Don Stroud also star.
The Critic Says: “This is a good solid big-city adventure yarn with Widmark at his best. Guardino tags along satisfactorily as his buddy. Henry Fonda plays the commissioner with the cool austerity and deceptive slowness that he made peculiarly his own and James Whitmore is a tower of strength as the chief inspector”…Variety
Good Neighbor Sam (1964): Jack Lemmon was one of the biggest box-office stars of the decade, and we love him in this screwball farce, playing a married advertising man thrust into portraying sexy neighbor Romy Schneider’s ex-husband so she can gain a family inheritance. The scheme proves tricky because Lemmon is supposed to be the quintessential family man that one of his clients can look up to. Dorothy Provine, Edward G. Robinson and Mike Connors also star in this whip-smart spoof of suburbia and its discontent that also features a bouncy score by Frank De Vol.
The Critic Says: “…Mr. Lemmon and company breathlessly toss gags from bedrooms to advertising offices with verve and vigor. It might not make much sense to a discerning viewer, but it is good for more than a fair portion of giggles and one or two guffaws”…A.H. Weiler, The New York Times
Finian’s Rainbow (1968): “How are things in Glocca Mora?,” the song title asks. Pretty rotten, if you go by the tepid box-office and critical response to this expensive musical adaptation of the 1947 Broadway show. Young, “hippie” director Francis Coppola was recruited to film this old-fashioned musical set in the fictitious state of Missitucky about a leprechaun, his pot of gold, and the old-timer trying to get his hands on it. Coppola desired to bring some realism to the fanciful proceedings and clashed with studio honcho Jack Warner, still smarting from the expensive tune-filled flop Camelot. But while Finian’s Rainbow—shown in roadshow engagements around the country—fared poorly with audiences and critics then, it looks a lot better today, with “Yip” Harburg and Fred Saidy’s story and score coming to life thanks to Coppola’s exciting direction and handling of elaborate dance and production numbers; a game, top-notch cast featuring Fred Astaire (in his last feature), Petula Clark and Tommy Steele; some compelling racial themes that hit home at the time it was released—and some pro-tobacco material that’s dated badly.
The Critic Says: “It gives you that same wonderful sense you got from ‘Swing Time’ or ‘Singin’ in the Rain’ or any of the great musicals: that it knows exactly where it’s going, and is getting there as quickly and with as much fun as possible. Remarkably, because it is only Francis Ford Coppola’s second film, it is the best-directed musical since ‘West Side Story.’ It is also enchanting, and that’s a word I don’t get to use much”…Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times.
The Day the Fish Came Out (1967): We can’t recommend this film on any level, other than to say if you want to see a real, one-of-a-kind 1960s relic—a black comedy about nuclear war—then try this on for size. Fresh from the international success of Zorba the Greek, Michael Cacoyannis went for broke with this saga set on a small Greek island gearing up for tourist season when its water supply is threatened by a nuke-bearing British military plane that ditches in the ocean. The surviving pilots (Tom Courtenay, Colin Blakely) tramp around in wet, clingy underwear while trying to get through to the local authorities, while archeologist assistant Candice Bergen, attired in outrageous mod outfits, and a group of intelligence agents posing as tourists take residence on the isle. This is more “Dr. Strange Film” than “Dr. Strangelove” with a bizarre dancing sequence, misfired satire, a distinguished cast, and lingering shots of those Men in White–skivvies. Capping it all is a trippy title sequence designed by Maurice Binder of James Bond fame, and a truly eccentric hypno-electronic score by Mikis Theodrakis (Zorba the Greek, Z) that almost out-Ennios Ennio Morricone.
The Critic Says: “It is hard to believe the same man who made a beautifully filmed ‘Electra’ and ‘Zorba the Greek’ could have made such a flabby, foolish picture as ‘The Day the Fish Came Out.’ Yet his name, Michael Cacoyannis, is plastered all over this film…He’s the writer, director and producer. So I guess we’ll have to believe he did it, and patiently allow that every once in a while a good filmmaker may come up with a fantastic dud”…Bosley Crowther, The New York Times.
Gorgo (1961): With Godzilla and other Japanese monsters’ popularity continuing into the 1960s, it’s no surprise others tried to get into the mega-creature act. The American-born, British-based King Brothers, known for giving blacklisted writers such as Dalton Trumbo work, delivered the goods with this horror outing that, on paper, sounds like the child of King Kong and Gojira. Salvagers Bill Travers and William Sylvester discover a 50-foot reptilian creature in Ireland and bring it to London, where their plan is to make it a major circus attraction. It’s soon discovered that the large lizard is actually the child of the species, and its parent may come looking for her offspring in the future. While the film’s limited budget is evident throughout, director Eugene Lourie (The Giant Behemoth, The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms) does a solid job making things work, especially in the “Crush London” sequence, and achieving a sense of poignancy with the parent-child angle. Perhaps Forrest J. Ackerman put it best in an issue of Famous Monsters of Fimland: “When Gorgo’s mommy comes to town, London Bridge is falling down.”
The Critic Says: “Like nothing you’ve ever seen before—it’s alive!” shout the ads for ‘Gorgo,’ showing a huge prehistoric beast rearing over London. Better still, ‘Gorgo’…is pretty darn good. For awesome technical wizardry and the boiling crescendo of its climax—the most hair-raising close-up of metropolitan panic we’ve ever seen on film, this is probably the best outright monster shocker since ‘King Kong’”…Howard Thompson, New York Times.