STREAMLINING MY COLLECTION: THE JOURNEY CONTINUES

 

This is my most recent take-to-Goodwill pile. The effort to streamline my collection is an ongoing process. This is a combination of films I picked up as blind buys, some from dollar stores, as well as quite a few films I enjoyed once or twice, but probably would never watch again. I'm giving away the Gunsmoke and Rifleman DVDs because I recently bought both shows in complete collections. My bootleg DVD of Looking For Mr. Goodbar was recently replaced with a Blu-ray edition. So, the collection keeps growing even as I try to streamline. The Pink Panther is a movie I saw when it first came to theaters, and I thought it was hilarious at the age of twelve. Now, I don't find it the least bit funny. I still haven't packed these up yet, so I may change my mind about one or two of them. Or ten or fifteen. Or... Oh, what we fanatics go through!!

(RE)READING JAMES LEO HERLIHY'S MIDNIGHT COWBOY (1965): A PERSONAL REFLECTION

 

I was seventeen when I read this novel for the first time, either late in 1968 or early in 1969. The film adaptation was in progress, so my paperback copy was one of those Soon-to-be-a-Major-Motion-Picture editions. This dark, downbeat story had a profound effect on me, and I was eager to see the film version, which was released in May 1969. When I saw it, I was disappointed. The movie, impressive as it was, didn't bring the novel to life for me. Most importantly, Jon Voight's portrayal of the title character did not ring true for me. He was not Joe Buck. Not for me.

Over the years, I saw the film a few times, eventually owning it on home video. As my memory of, and attachment to the novel gradually faded away, I was able to appreciate and enjoy the film on its own merits, including the performance of Jon Voight. And I thoroughly enjoyed Glenn Frankel's book: Shooting Midnight Cowboy: Art, Sex, Loneliness, Liberation and the Making of a Dark Classic, published in 2020 and reviewed on this blog. 

Recently, I've started revisiting favorite books that I read years ago, not only to refresh my memories, but to see how my perceptions may have changed with time. My old copy of Midnight Cowboy disappeared decades ago, so I sent away for another one and read it in two days. There were many details I had forgotten, but I quickly got caught up in the story and started to remember. Now, I don't know if I cried at the end of the book when I was seventeen. At seventy-five, I did. Walking alongside Joe Buck once again, from Texas to New York City, and riding with him on that bus going to Florida, I shared his alienation and loneliness, and it broke my heart all over again.

After finishing the book, I rewatched the film. While I still like the film for so many reasons, my gut feeling is that James Leo Herlihy's novel has yet to be adapted to the screen, as there is so much that has been left out. The novel begins where the film begins, with Joe getting himself ready to say goodbye to his life in Texas and get on that bus to New York City. But then it looks backwards into Joe's past, telling us about his childhood and young adulthood. We learn quite a bit about his life in Albuquerque with his grandmother, Sally Buck, and what kind of woman she was, how she gave him a home and provided for his basic needs. We also learn that she was never really there for Joe emotionally and wasn't terribly interested in his education or his development as a young man. When Joe drifted away from going to school at a very young age, she didn't think it was important enough for her to be bothered with. She gave him no proper guidance, allowing him to spend his days alone just watching television. She would periodically go off with some new boyfriend, leaving young Joe alone to fend for himself. We learn something about his sexual awakening, mainly with a troubled girl named Annie, and how that relationship led to tragedy. In the film, these crucial chapters of Joe's life are only alluded to in brief flashbacks. 

We also learn about Joe being drafted into the Army, his profound reaction to the death of his grandmother, and his decision to start a new life in Houston. This is where Joe meets and befriends a young male hustler named Perry. While Joe is happy to have a friend to talk to, Perry wants something more. When Joe doesn't return Perry's interest, it leads to a dark, violent encounter that changes Joe's life. It is also during this encounter that we find out where Joe got the idea of going to New York to hustle rich, frustrated women, a fact that isn't mentioned in the film. This is where the first half of the book comes to a close.

Joe is described in the novel as a well-built, blonde, boyish young guy with a toothy smile, almost bucktoothed. This vision fits Jon Voight fairly well, I have to admit. Voight is certainly a talented actor with a considerable emotional range, an actor whose feelings show on his face, especially in his eyes. My frustration with the film is not so much about Voight's casting, but rather with how the character of Joe Buck is written and presented on the screen. 

In the novel, Joe moves through the world with a cocky strut and the outward attitude that goes with it, reflections of both his natural self and the image he tries to present. Voight brings this aspect of the character to the screen perfectly. But even though the script allows us to see Joe's sensitive, vulnerable side, there is little attempt to reveal the desperate loneliness and disconnection he has felt throughout his life:

He had gone about always, even in the most familiar places of his life, with a slight frown of uneasiness, his head cocked for some clue to the mystery of the language he heard spoken, but which was clearly not his own, walking softly as if unsure of the very ground of this peculiar planet. And now, thinking it all over carefully but inexpertly, there seemed to him to have been from the very beginning a campaign afoot to make him aware always and always and always of his own alien status. And the awful conclusion he reached was that nearly everyone he knew or had ever know was part of this conspiracy. Even the many persons with whom he had enjoyed a certain sexual popularity--especially these persons--had refused any contact with his other aspects. They took their pleasure and they ran like the wind, no doubt laughing about the earnestness with which he had gone about gratifying them.

...there was an awareness entering him too momentous to acknowledge: he was a nothing person, a person of no time and no place and no worth to anyone at all.

Maybe it would be impossible to express this kind of sadness and alienation in any film. I'm not even sure if screenwriter Waldo Salt and director John Schlesinger wanted to dig this deep into Joe Buck's interior life. Their expansion of the story, which is marvelously creative, made New York City another important character in the film, and it was from this character, this chaotic, overwhelming environment, that Joe felt profound alienation. 

With the introduction of Dustin Hoffman as Rico "Ratso" Rizzo, the streetwise con man who insinuates himself into Joe's life, the film gives us the most colorful character, and, arguably, the dominant character, in the screen adaptation. While Hoffman is older than the Rico in the novel, who is in his early twenties, his portrayal is so incredible, so singular, that I find no fault in it whatsoever. The novel gives us some background of Rico's life, but I'm not sure such exposition would have added anything important to the film. Rico's energetic presence helps to move the film along from one situation to the next while the relationship between these two unlikely co-conspirators grows into friendship. Both novel and film end the same way, with Rico's death, leaving Joe alone on that bus.

I guess my vision for a film version of this novel would be much more fatalistic. Black & White. Very little music. It would have to use as much of the first half of the book as possible, making it a longer film. But, as I said earlier, maybe it couldn't be done. Maybe it shouldn't be done. It's possible that James Leo Herlihy's vision of the tragic Joe Buck would be too much to bear if faithfully adapted for the screen, for the author wasn't just describing the desperate loneliness of one character in a novel. He was trying to make us see the loneliness felt by most men. Perhaps all men:

At first glance these young men may appear to loiter in packs, for often they occupy one table or group around a single parking meter, but chances are they are as unconnected to one another as they are to the prairies and cities and rivers of their homeland. You will find in the eyes and demeanor of these persons a kind of restless sadness that is probably incurable; they seem to be suffering some nameless common loss, as if something of worth had been snatched from them with such shocking irrevocability that they have forgotten even what it was.

HOKUM (2026)

 

Feel like being scared out of your wits? In the mood to go running out of the theater screaming at the top of your lungs? Have a hankering to be so psychologically damaged by a motion picture that you never leave your house again?

Well, keep looking for another movie, because Damian McCarthy's HOKUM isn't going to deliver any of those desired outcomes for you. Still, I have a feeling most horror fans are going to like this one. I saw it yesterday at my local monsterplex after reading a very favorable review, and I'm happy to give it an enthusiastic recommendation. HOKUM is an extremely clever, very original combination of ghost story, folklore horror and also a nice series of jump scares, all packaged in relentless darkness. The creepy factor hits the top of the scale. It was filmed on location in County Cork, Ireland by cinematographer Colm Hogan. There are scenes where the design and use of lighting remind me of David Lynch.

Adam Scott plays Ohm Bauman, an American writer of fiction, who comes to a remote hotel in the middle of the Irish woods for two reasons. First, he wants to distribute the ashes of his parents who had stayed at the hotel on their honeymoon. Second, he wants to finish a book and needs peace and quiet. The ashes aren't a problem. Peace and quiet? Forget it. He finds himself in an oppressive atmosphere, surrounded by weird people, and, oh yeah, there may be an ancient witch trapped in the bridal suite.

What could possibly go wrong?

Plenty. Mystery ensues. As does terror.

We soon learn that Adam is a rather acerbic, unlikeable gentleman who has a terrible secret in his past that eventually connects with the weirdness happening in the hotel. There are so many cool surprises and plot twists in the film and I'm not going to spoil any of them for you. This is one you need to check out for yourself. The movie lasts 107 minutes, not one of them wasted. There is also very little violence other than what's necessary for the story. It's not a slasher and there is no exploitation going on.

The director also made two other horror films: CAVEAT (2020) and ODDITY (2024), neither of which I've seen. But after seeing HOKUM, I want to check out this man's earlier work. I definitely plan to pick up this current film if it comes to home video.

KEY WITNESS (1960)

KEY WITNESS is an uneasy combination of competent thriller, Neo-Noir, social commentary and some unbelievably bad decisions regarding dialogue and musical score. The most important thing it has going for it is a good cast of actors, including a reuniting of Dennis Hopper and Corey Allen who worked together in REBEL WITHOUT A CAUSE (1955). Interestingly, KEY WITNESS shares one of the plot points from REBEL, that of a group of hoodlums attempting to prevent someone from "squealing" to the police.

Jeffrey Hunter stars as Fred Morrow, a businessman and family man living in Los Angeles. When he stops at a cafe in East L.A. to use the telephone, he witnesses a gang murder. A young thug called William "Cowboy" Tompkins (Dennis Hopper) and his cohorts, Muggles (Joby Baker), Apple (Johnny Nash) and Magician (Corey Allen), surround another young guy, Emelio Sanchez (Eugene Iglesias), who was dancing with Cowboy's girlfriend, Ruby (Susan Harrison). Cowboy pulls out a switchblade and stabs Emelio, and the gang flees the scene. A crowd forms around the injured man, but Fred is the only one who steps forward to try to help him. Emelio names Cowboy as the one who stabbed him and then dies in Fred's arms. When police arrive, Fred is the only eyewitness among many who offers to help identify the killer. Ruby, who didn't flee with Cowboy and the gang, watches Fred giving his statement to the officer, who is on his regular beat and is known to the gang. When the gang learns that Emelio has died, they come up with a plan to assault the officer and steal his logbook to get Fred's name and address. They then proceed to confront Fred, his wife (Pat Morrow) and their two young children, attempting to intimidate Fred into retracting his statement about the murder. 

What follows for the duration of this 82-minute film are the various encounters between the Morrow family and the gang of thugs until (spoiler alert) good wins over evil, justice is served and the appropriate personages have been locked up. The first encounter happens when the Morrows are leaving the grocery store, of all places. The gang follows them out of the parking lot, locks on to the car from the rear, and attempts to push the Morrows into oncoming traffic. When that fails, they harass the family's home, throwing rocks through the windows and slashing their car's tires. As the gang gets more and more unhinged, they attempt to kidnap the Morrow children and accost Mrs. Morrow inside the courthouse. 

A gang in crisis: Johnny Nash, Corey Allen, Dennis Hopper, Joby Baker and Susan Harrison

 The Morrow family is assisted in their plight by Detective Rafael Torno (Frank Silvera), who is assigned to the case, and his superior, Lieutenant Arthur Robbins (Bruce Gordon). Both policemen are grateful that Fred Morrow came forward as a witness when so many others didn't want to take the chance. Cowboy is finally brought into custody after an exciting car chase on a California freeway. For those who are into car chases, this one will not disappoint. After Torno runs Cowboy's car off the highway, the two men are seen running into traffic. A very well-filmed sequence.

There are so many good aspects to this film that it's easy to dismiss the fact that the concept is not all that original. A few other well-made films had already addressed the subject of young thugs committing home invasions or harassing good citizens who cooperate with police: THE NIGHT HOLDS TERROR ((1955), THE SHADOW ON THE WINDOW, which also featured Corey Allen, (1957) and JOY RIDE (1958). KEY WITNESS has the advantage of four intense young actors, Allen, Hunter, Nash and Hopper all bringing their unique personas to the project. The pleasure of watching these talented gentlemen makes up for the glaring embarrassment of Joby Baker. As gangman Muggles, Baker is called upon to overact almost to the point of parody as a possibly braindead hipster who communicates only through ridiculous beatnik-inspired poetry and jingles, accompanied by finger snapping and exaggerated gestures. It's difficult to know if the filmmakers intended Muggles to be dangerously unhinged and scary, but he comes off as simply irritating. Baker was quite active in television and films in the 1960s, usually playing likeable guys in lighthearted settings. If his performance here was intended to display serious acting range, it failed miserably.

Jeffrey Hunter, Corey Allen and Dennis Hopper

Susan Harrison, introduced to the cinema in SWEET SMELL OF SUCCESS (1957), also proves somewhat detrimental to the film. As Ruby, it is her supposed sexual allure which causes the murder of Emelio and makes her irresistible to Cowboy. Unfortunately, Harrison seems to have taken acting lessons from Joby Baker, as her character often speaks in the same kind of beatnik jargon. She is not an untalented actress, and she has some believable moments, but her performance is uneven. When it comes to these various gang members, one gets the impression that Baker and Harrison are acting in a different movie than Allen, Hopper and Nash, all of whom are assigned straightforward dialogue, delivered in a believable, straightforward manner. To be fair, the writers and the director had to have been responsible for these problems with the film, much more than the actors.

Young love: Susan Harrison and Dennis Hopper

Johnny Nash's character, Apple, is the only Black member of the gang, allowing racial prejudice to figure into the plot. Apple seems to be under the benevolence and protection of Cowboy, while the other three members regard him with either amused tolerance or, in the case of Magician, hostility. When Apple tries to convince Cowboy to stop harassing the Morrow family, Cowboy pushes him away. At the film's climax, Apple is confronted with the racist attitudes of both Fred and Cowboy, who, in a shocking moment, calls him the N-Word.

Johnny Nash and Dennis Hopper

Another glaring flaw in the film is the use of music. At the beginning of the film, as Fred is about to park his car to go into the cafe, he catches sight of hip-swinging Ruby crossing the street. The camera zooms in on Ruby, allowing the viewer to ogle at her seductive movements along with Fred. While this is going on, the soundtrack plays an innocuous, lighthearted instrumental tune that manages to remove any sense of drama or tension. The tune continues to play as Ruby begins dancing with the doomed Emelio, which leads quickly into the murder scene. The tune, composed by Charles Wolcott, is actually called Ruby Duby Du, and is used as a leitmotif later in the film when Ruby enters another scene. Along with the comical pseudo-beatnik jargon, this music creates a jarring break with the otherwise serious nature of the story. The rest of Wolcott's score is comprised of music much more appropriate for a thriller involving murder and revenge. Again, it's difficult to understand why the filmmakers would make such a choice. This song, by the way, became something of a radio hit. reaching #41 on the US Hot 100, even inspiring a few cover versions.

Stylish gang members, uneasy riders: Johnny Nash, Joby Baker, Dennis Hopper and Corey Allen.

Dennis Hopper and Susan Harrison on the set of KEY WITNESS.

I'm a huge fan of Dennis Hopper, and his appearance in KEY WITNESS is, for me, what makes this mixed bag of a movie worth seeing. After an auspicious beginning in films like REBEL WITHOUT A CAUSE (1955) and GIANT (1956), Hopper fell from Hollywood's grace after a contentious relationship with director Henry Hathaway on the film FROM HELL TO TEXAS (1958). He found himself relegated to doing some excellent work in television and low budget movies, one of which, NIGHT TIDE (1961), is a cult classic. His film career finally got back on track in 1965 with the John Wayne western THE SONS OF KATIE ELDER. In KEY WITNESS, he and his fellow gang members are a little too well-dressed and clean-cut to be considered dangerous rebels. But we do get to see Hopper on a motorcycle, a preview of his iconic character in EASY RIDER at the end of the decade. Jeffrey Hunter had been working in films since 1950 and would make a memorable appearance as the Lord Jesus Christ in Nicholas Ray's KING OF KINGS in 1961. He would also achieve cult status by starring as Captain Pike in the original pilot for the Star Trek television series. Hunter would die tragically in 1969 at the age of 42 after an accident while making another film. The always intense Corey Allen would star in another interesting film in 1960 entitled PRIVATE PROPERTY. Later in the decade, he turned to directing, working mostly in television. Johnny Nash only acted in one other film, TAKE A GIANT STEP in 1959. He was a very successful singer and songwriter, remembered for his 1972 hit song I Can See Clearly Now. Director Phil Karlson was a prolific craftsman whose filmography includes 99 RIVER STREET (1953), THE PHENIX CITY STORY (1955), BEN (1972) and WALKING TALL (1973).

Young Dennis Hopper, gifted and rebellious.

Key Witness - Film Trailer - 1960

Ruby Duby Du in Key Witness film (1960)

Jeffrey Hunter having a really bad day.

RECENT VIEWINGS Spring 2026

 

I must have been experiencing an unusual burst of energy because I actually ventured out into the world and saw two movies in the theater in the same week. Could this be a trend? Probably not. After sitting through all of the previews of coming attractions which took around thirty minutes before the actual films, I remain largely uninspired by the state of contemporary cinema. One film that I am looking forward to, however, is BACKROOMS, an A24 production that looks absolutely fascinating. I'm mildly interested in seeing PROJECT HAIL MARY, all 156 minutes of it. We'll see how that works out. In the meantime, here are some comments about the two films I saw on the big screen.

UNDERTONE (2025)  This is a Canadian film, the directorial debut of Ian Tuason. It's a psychological horror film that involves paranormal activity, paranoia and large helpings of Catholic angst. A young woman, Evy (Nina Kiri), lives in a two-story house with her mother, who is comatose and near death. Evy gives her full time care. Evy also operates an online podcast called The Undertone with her friend Justin (Adam DiMarco). They discuss alleged paranormal activity, with Justin taking the position that the activities are real, while Evy acts as skeptic. When they begin listening to audio files sent to Justin by one of their listeners, files which appear to indicate demonic possession, Evy begins to experience strange things happening in the house. Objects are being moved, water is mysteriously left running, lights are on when they shouldn't be, and her mother is sometimes where she shouldn't be. The happenings in the audio files seem to be connected to events and memories from Evy's past, and her paranoia and fear steadily increase. The film is very well made and well-acted by Nina Kiri. She is in every scene of the picture and is the only character actually seen, apart from her mother who has no dialogue. Justin only appears as a voice on the computer, the same as the audio files. The believability of the story depends on Kiri, and she underplays perfectly. There isn't very much action in the movie, but an atmosphere of darkness and tension grows with each scene. UNDERTONE belongs to a class of films I like to call Lapsed Catholic Fever Dreams, where filmmakers appear to be dealing with their experiences and guilt brought on by their Catholic upbringing and the abandonment of same. In this story, the mother is a devout Catholic and the daughter has fallen away, so the film is filled with typical religious imagery: crucifixes, icons. and a statue of the Blessed Virgin which keeps moving around, all of which are repeatedly shown in close-up as the atmosphere in the house gets weirder. This has all been done before and is no longer terribly interesting or surprising. Still, the film is worth seeing. And there is no violence, always a plus in my book.

THE DRAMA (2026) Directed by Kristoffer Borgli, this film stars Zendaya and Robert Pattinson as Emma and Charlie, a young couple about to be married. While having drinks with another couple, a challenge comes up where each person must reveal the worst thing they ever did. Emma is the last to confess, and her confession is so awful that Charlie and the two friends are stunned and begin to wonder if they ever knew this woman at all. (The confession is too crucial to the story, so I don't want to spoil it for anyone who hasn't seen the movie. Let's just say that violence is involved.) As the wedding is only a week away, Charlie goes into panic mode, wondering if he can actually go through with it. The "drama" of the title builds steadily as other associates of the now tenuously linked couple are drawn into their situation. Everything comes to a head at their wedding, which definitely reaches black comedic status. The irony of the film is that Charlie's obsession with Emma suddenly exhibiting psychotic behavior causes him to behave like a psychotic. Not a bad film. It held my attention right up to the inconclusive ending.

The following three films were viewed at home in the movie room.

THE SURFER (2024) I picked this up as sort of blind buy, having read some intriguing things about it in a couple of reviews. Nicholas Cage excels in the title roll, a man with no identity other than The Surfer. Other characters are similarly known only as The Kid, The Cop, The Bum, etc. A few have actual names. The Surfer has returned to a remote beach in Australia where he spent his youth before relocation to America. His dream is to buy the house once owned by his father and bring his wife and son to live there. He also dreams of taking his son surfing on the beach. However, he encounters opposition and threats from a group of male surfers, led by a charismatic toxic male named Scally (Julian McMahon), who tell him he isn't allowed to surf on their beach. As The Surfer fights desperately to close the deal on the house and overcome the threats and rejection coming from Scally and his cult-like gang, his life and mental state begin to unravel. The film turns into a journey into isolation, paranoia and alienation as The Surfer becomes completely disconnected from the life he once lived. Director Lorcan Finnegan has created a masterful, unforgettable psychological thriller filled with twists and turns I didn't see coming. This might be Nicholas Cage's best work. He is perfectly matched by Julian McMahon, an actor who was completely new to me. Unfortunately, this very talented man died at the age of 56 in 2025, not long after this film was released. I would like to search out more of his work.

KNOX GOES AWAY (2023) Another semi-blind buy on Blu-ray, this very complicated crime story was directed by Michael Keaton, who also stars as the titular character, and was written by Gregory Poirier. John Knox is a contract killer who is alienated from his wife and family. He finds out that he is suffering from a fast-developing form of dementia which is affecting his work and interactions with people. While making plans to get his life in some kind of order, his estranged son, Miles (James Marsden) comes to him for help. Miles has killed a man who raped and impregnated his teenage daughter. John agrees to help him cover up the murder, turning to his friend, Xavier Crane (Al Pacino), a former thief, for help in constructing and carrying out a very detailed plan to make sure Miles isn't found guilty of the murder. I wasn't sure what to expect from this movie, but it turned out to be a fascinating combination of intricate crime thriller and human drama. Keaton does an amazing job as both actor and director. Excellent support from Marsden and Pacino. Also featured are Marcia Gay Harden as Knox's wife, Suzy Nakamura and John Hoogenakker as the police detectives who are hot on Knox's trail, but not quite able to catch up, and Ray McKinnon and Joanna Kulig as Knox's partner and girlfriend, respectively. Definitely worth checking out. This is a film I'll have to rewatch so I can catch all of the details.

THE LAST TIME I SAW PARIS (1954) This glossy, colorful MGM production is loosely based on the short story Babylon Revisited, written in 1930 by F. Scott Fitzgerald. I haven't read the story, so I have no idea how loose the adaptation is. While the film is graced by MGM star power, headed by Elizabeth Taylor and Van Johnson, I found it to be somewhat of a misfire. Johnson is badly miscast as Charles Wills, an American journalist working in Paris after the end of World War II. He gets involved with an American family headed by James Ellswirth (Walter Pidgeon) who lives with his adult daughters Helen (Taylor) and Marion (Donna Reed). Charles marries Helen, they have a daughter (Sandy Descher) and live the high life of Paris while Charles attempts to become a writer of novels, experiencing a succession of rejections. Eventually, wealth comes to the family through oil wells James owned in America which he gave to Charles as a dowry. The infusion of money doesn't bring happiness or fulfillment to Charles and Helen, as their hedonistic lifestyles combined with Charles' continued failure as a writer lead to dissipation and estrangement. The story has possibilities but quickly becomes overwrought with emotional melodrama that becomes difficult to believe, especially when Van Johnson is involved. The biggest flaw in the film was casting Johnson as a romantic leading man opposite the impossibly beautiful Miss Taylor. You could easily say that her image in close-up is the most important aspect of the film, perhaps the main reason the film was made to begin with. When she is onscreen, the film works, in spite of the convoluted story or any other flawed factor. The other rewarding aspect of the film is the lovely title song, composed by Jerome Kern with lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II for the 1941 MGM film LADY BE GOOD, and winner of the Academy Award for Best Original Song. In this 1954 film, the song is heard incessantly, with full orchestra, on the piano and in vocal performances. It's one of those songs that is impossible to hear too many times, including in this 117-minute laborious movie. Also featured are the very decorative Eva Gabor, George Dolenz, Kurt Kasznar, and a very young, handsome Roger Moore in his American film debut, managing to stand out as a gigolo in hot pursuit of Helen. Directed by Richard Brooks. The film made money, so what the hell do I know?
 

GROOVE (2000)

 

This enjoyable independent film is all about a group of enterprising young music fans getting together to take over an abandoned warehouse in San Francisco to put on a "rave". Now, I don't pretend to know very much about rave culture. In fact, when I was preparing this review, I looked up the term on Wikipedia. To my surprise, the rave has a long, convoluted history going back a few decades. The basic idea is a pop-up, sometimes-illegal dance party oftentimes set up in an abandoned industrial space that features well-known disc jockeys and lots of drugs. I spent a lot of time in dance clubs back in the days of my lost youth, but I never heard the word rave until I started buying CDs featuring techno, trance and house music in the late 1990s. I still enjoy a lot of the music, but if I had the opportunity to attend a rave, I would politely decline. Men of a certain age with arthritic knees have no business hobbling around raves or dance clubs. This film played at a local theater, aptly named The Art Theater, which specialized in independent, foreign films and retrospectives of classics. GROOVE caught my eye because of its subject matter. I loved the film at first watch and then happily came to own the DVD and the CD soundtrack. This is one of those favorites that I revisit quite often.

The film begins with four young people opening the door to an abandoned warehouse, looking around, and deciding the space is indeed rave-worthy. When one member of the group points out that there is a police station not far away, the main organizer responds with: "Remember: No obstacles. Only challenges." And they get to work. Meanwhile, news about the impending dance party begins to spread to local ravers (Ravesters? Ravees??) via email. The rave faithful begin organizing travel plans, ride sharing, etc., many by leaving their phone numbers on online chat boards. GROOVE was made in that prehistoric era before the ubiquitous cell phone.

Leyla (Lola Glaudini) seeks a ride to the rave.

In spite of its techno-driven, hipster ambience, this movie is primarily an updated version of that venerable Hollywood genre known as Hey!! Let's Put On A Show!! We can go as far back as FORTY-SECOND STREET (1933), BABES IN ARMS (1939) or THE BAND WAGON (1953), and the concept is the same. A group of creative, energetic people work together to produce some sort of musical entertainment. The difference is that in GROOVE, the music is on records and the stars are Disc Jockeys such as Digweed, Snaz, Polywog, Forest Greene and WishFM. And the dancing is performed freestyle by the frenzied ravesters, not choreographed by Busby Berkley or Gene Kelly. Otherwise, the storyline progresses just like in the old movies. We see the backstage drama of the organizers working to get the show going and dealing with any conflicts and emergencies that come up, including bargaining with a policeman who threatens to shut them down if the music gets too loud or there are too many people crowding into the abandoned industrial building. We also witness the human drama taking place among some of the attendees.

Hamish Linklater and Lola Glaudini caught up in the throes of Ecstasy.

Mackenzie Firgens and Denny Kirkwood in love. At least, for now.

Our two principal protagonists are brothers David and Colin Turner (Hamish Linklater and Denny Kirkwood). David is an introverted writer who has a hard time relaxing and having fun. His brother, a dedicated raver, wants David to go to the party to learn how to loosen up. He also wants David to be there when he presents an engagement ring to his girlfriend and fellow raver, Harmony Stitts (Mackenzie Firgens). After the three arrive at the party and get fortified with the drug Ecstasy, David meets a beautiful woman, Leyla Heydel (Lola Glaudini). Leyla has been raving for several years, including dancing and drugging her way through Europe. Now, in her late 20s, and having relocated to San Francisco from New York, she is beginning to question the long-term sustainability of the rave lifestyle and would like to find a different direction in life. As the Ecstasy flows through their veins and the incessant beat of the techno/hardcore techno/house/acid house/trance/ambient/new beat/drum and bass/dub step melodies pulsate through the crumbling commercial building, David and Leyla experience a mutual attraction and begin bonding. Colin and Harmony, however, soon find their engagement in jeopardy when she discovers her husband-to-be in a compromising position with another man, the sexually adventurous Anthony (Vincent Riverside). Tears, self-doubt and agonizing angst ensue. Has Colin discovered his true nature, or is he just temporarily confused via Ecstasy? Can Harmony salvage her troubled relationship or is she doomed to become an old maid, doomed to solitary raving? And what about Leyla and David? Will their nascent bonding fizzle out when the party is over? Will all four of them suffer hearing loss because of the insanely loud music?

Apart from all of this romantic melodrama, we meet several other party hounds, including a young guy who almost has an overdose. This brings a serious, truthful moment into a film where people are swallowing drugs like candy. Greg Harrison, the director, apparently was trying to send a serious message with the film. This statement from him is included on the brochure in the DVD package:

My intention with this film was to evoke the community found in the subculture of raves. I was also interested in exploring the ambiguous morality surrounding relationships and drug use, as well as the universal desire of people to belong and feel connected, however successful or unsuccessful each person's attempt is. GROOVE is a film that captures the details of an underground scene, immersing the audience in a place many have not experienced. The result is an authentic document of a time in youth culture history.

The ravers get direction.

The film had a $200,000 budget and made good use of San Francisco area locations. It was shown at the 2000 Sundance Film Festival and was picked up by Sony Pictures Classics for $1.5 million. Most of the spirited cast doesn't seem to be that well known outside of Hamish Linklater, who has a substantial list of credits in theater, film and television. There are also quite a few acting credits for Lola Glaudini, Mackenzie Firgens, and supporting players Ari Gold and Rachel True.

Whether you perceive this as an "authentic document of a time in youth culture history" or simply a cool popcorn flick with lots of music, I can promise you a good time in your movie room.

DESTINY (1944)

 

Movies have always been a big part of my life, whether going to theaters or curling up on the couch and watching them on television. But what actually turned me into a film fanatic was reading. It all started with Leonard Maltin's first TV Movies book, which was published in 1969, I believe. I read that book from cover to cover, A to Z. It opened my eyes to just how many films there were to see, and to the reality that I would need several lifetimes if I wanted to see them all, so I'd better get busy. During the 1970s, the decade when I was in my 20s, I saw as many movies as my crazy work/college class schedule would permit. As the decade was coming to a close, I began reading film books that suddenly were filling the shelves in bookstores. One of my early favorites was The Golden Age of B Movies by Doug McClelland, published in 1978. There were many films I had seen and a few others I'd heard of, but many titles were unfamiliar. One such title was DESTINY, a film made at Universal in 1944, starring an actress named Gloria Jean, whose name was only familiar because I'd seen it in Maltin's book.

Gloria Jean Schoonover was an operatic prodigy who began singing on the radio at age three. When she was twelve, she signed with Universal Pictures after auditioning for producer Joe Pasternak. Mr. Pasternak was responsible for making a major star out of another child opera singer, Deanna Durbin. Now that Miss Durbin was growing up, the studio was looking for another similar actress to, hopefully, repeat the success they'd had with Durbin. Gloria made her film debut in THE UNDER-PUP (1939), when she was thirteen. She followed this success with IF I HAD MY WAY (1940), co-starring Bing Crosby, A LITTLE BIT OF HEAVEN (1940), and possibly her most well-known film NEVER GIVE A SUCKER AN EVEN BREAK (1941), opposite the legendary W.C. Fields. She then showed off her singing talent in musicals such as GET HEP TO LOVE and WHAT'S COOKIN'?, both released in 1942. 

Gloria Jean during her years at Universal Pictures

In 1942, when she was sixteen, Gloria Jean was cast in the prestigious FLESH AND FANTASY, an anthology film directed by Julien Duvivier. The other stars were Edward G. Robinson, Barbara Stanwyck, Charles Boyer, Robert Cummings and Betty Field. Each story dealt with supernatural themes. The Gloria Jean segment, also featuring Alan Curtis, Frank Craven and Dorothy Vaughan, was the opening part of the film. Although this segment received positive responses during previews, Universal decided to cut it from the film, making FLESH AND FANTASY, released in 1943, a trilogy. Different reasons have been given for why the segment was cut, the film's overall length being the most likely explanation. Two years later, Universal decided to use the segment, with additional footage, as the feature film DESTINY, running a total of sixty-five minutes.

The cover art for Vinegar Syndrome's excellent release of FLESH AND FANTASY

The article about DESTINY made me very curious to see it. However, the film remained elusive. It never played on TV in my area, and it never seemed to be available as the home video era came into existence in the 1980s. But I recently was able to purchase a copy from an online seller. It turned out to be very watchable with decent sound quality, although not remastered in any way. It was most likely recorded from television or copied from a VHS tape. Still, the film appeared to be complete and proved to be a fascinating watch. The original footage, running about thirty minutes, is surrounded by scenes directed by Reginald Le Borg and using a different cinematographer. In the original segment, Cliff Banks (Alan Curtis), an escaped killer, takes refuge at a secluded farm where Clem Broderick (Frank Craven) lives with his blind daughter, Jane (Gloria Jean). Jane lives an almost enchanted life, totally attuned to nature, with animals and plants responding to her, and watching over her, as if she were an angelic creature. The evil Cliff has plans to take over the farm for himself and take advantage of Jane. When she flees from him and runs into the forest, he pursues her, only to be overtaken by the angry forces of nature and ending up drowning. This good vs. evil, light vs. darkness story plays out like a dark fairytale, with Jane even dressed to resemble Snow White. The B & W art direction and special effects are quite impressive, making me wish the film had the remastered treatment so as to better appreciate the imagery. By the way, one brief shot of the drowned body of Cliff at the beginning of FLESH AND FANTASY is all that's included from this excised episode.

The scenes added by Le Borg are more fast-paced and resemble a standard B crime thriller with a Noirish overtone. In these scenes, Cliff is a good guy who gets involved with the wrong crowd (femme fatale Vivian Austin and her criminal boyfriend Frank Fenton), ends up in prison, gets released, only to get caught up in crime once again and having to flee the police. All of these plot points are related in flashback sequences told to nice girl Grace McDonald who makes the mistake of giving Cliff a ride when he's running from the cops. When Cliff is double-crossed by another conniving female (Minna Gombell), he finds himself at the Broderick farm. Cliff's bad behavior with Jane and his ultimate demise are explained away as a bad dream. And then all the loose ends are quickly and neatly tied up, including Cliff being wanted by the police, and we are rewarded with a happy, sentimental ending. This all happens in sixty-five minutes. The big problem with DESTINY isn't that it plays like two different films awkwardly spliced together, but rather it seems like three different films. The first part setting up the complicated life of Cliff and his series of bad decisions moves at breakneck speed, as do many Noir programmers, but it nevertheless makes sense as a story, flashbacks and all. The emergence of Cliff into Jane's enchanted world is definitely a little hard to swallow, considering what has preceded it. But the Duvivier footage has its own foundation and integrity. What becomes quickly problematic is the obvious change in Cliff's demeanor. Up to now, he's been a hapless victim, a not terribly smart guy who lost his way, becoming somewhat cynical and mistrusting after his release from prison. In Jane's world, he turns into a shifty-eyed opportunist looking for a quick buck and some womanizing activity on the side. The "bad dream" explanation doesn't address this obvious dichotomy.

The third part of DESTINY is what ruins it. With Gloria Jean and Frank Craven brought back after nearly two years to shoot more footage, Cliff, having awakened from his horrifying dream in a cold sweat, has once again regained his nice guy persona. Gloria/Jane has obviously matured and is given the most stilted dialogue imaginable while the different parts of Cliff's confused life are quickly cobbled together and solved to, presumably, the viewing audience's satisfaction. Credibility is another matter. I'm not sure if DESTINY was intended as an A picture release, but it's obvious from the poster art that Universal was unsure of how to market the film. Some of the posters exploit a sexy image of actress Vivian Austin, the femme fatale in the expanded footage, even though Gloria Jean was the top-billed star.

The release of DESTINY didn't do much to promote Gloria Jean's career, and she was featured in B pictures from then on. Her final Universal film, RIVER GANG (1945) was released after she had already decided not to renew her contract. She made several films at different studios over the years and also worked on television, but by the early 1960s, her acting career was over. She became a receptionist for a cosmetics firm and died in 2018 at the age of 92.

Gloria Jean in 1947

Handsome Alan Curtis, with his dark, brooding gaze, had made a good showing of himself in HIGH SIERRA (1941) and in the excellent cult film PHANTOM LADY (1944). He worked in films until 1951, mostly supporting roles in minor films. He died in 1953 at the age of forty-three following kidney surgery.

Alan Curtis

I hope someday DESTINY is eventually given a proper release on Blu-ray. While Universal has generously provided fans with good quality releases of most of its horror film catalogue, B pictures included, it has a vault filled with other B pictures, including musicals, that it has chosen to ignore. Maybe this situation will change. DESTINY is an important film that deserves to be seen and given serious consideration.

Destiny • 1944 • Theatrical Trailer