Fleischer x 2

Just watched two Richard Fleischer films this week, The Narrow Margin and The Don is Dead. The former is a model of efficiency, a taut, tough noir. The latter is an interesting, if somewhat by the numbers, mafia film made to capitalize on the success of The Godfather.

I love this promo artwork for The Last Run and would like to track the film down. It's never been released on home video, but has apparently appeared letterboxed on TCM. The script is by Alan Sharp who wrote 3 of the era's best scripts: The Hired Hand, Ulzana's Raid, and Night Moves before trying his hand at directing once with 1985's Little Treasure, remembered mostly for the ugly episode in which Burt Lancaster and co-star Margot Kidder got into a dust-up on set.

The Last Run has its own messy production history in that original director John Huston left the project in a huff after repeated fights with star Scott. Gun-for-hire Fleischer was quickly called upon to finish the deed. In the meantime, French star Tina Aumont also left the film after a row with Scott and was replaced with the actress who would become his third wife, Trish Van Devere. Also, in the film was Scott's second wife Colleen Dewhurst. Making lots of friends, this Scott...

Mandingo is finally easy to track down on home video after Legend Films licensed it from Paramount and released it on DVD a couple years back. I still haven't caught up with this one-time cause celebre, but where the film was mostly critically reviled upon release, the DVD release brought out some staunch defenders including Dave Kehr who called it "Fleischer's last great crime film."

Taking the reins...

I hadn't heard of The Savage is Loose before coming across this still, but I was always intrigued by Hide in Plain Sight when I saw it on video store shelves years ago. Never did get around to it and it has not appeared on DVD yet. One of my long-gestating ideas for a film series was "Actors in the Director's Chair" or something like that, from the most well-known examples such as Laughton's The Night of the Hunter to less celebrated ones like the above two films. The "one and dones, " as I like to call them, meaning those who directed only 1 film, are of particular interest.

"...about cops--by a cop!"

"Who Is That Guy!?": Will Walker

As Fingers in The Driver

How can you not give love to a guy who played a character nicknamed "Jism Jim"?! Seriously. This skinny, blonde, pasty-looking dude showed up in several fairly high-profile late '70s productions, but since 1979's Hardcore in which he essayed the aforementioned role, Walker's film career has been silent.  Did Walker follow the path of his Hardcore character into the world of hardcore pornography?  Who knows?  

In Hardcore, he is one of two actors to have their way with the underage daughter of strict Calvinist Jake Van Dorn (George C. Scott) in a porno short. When Van Dorn sees a reel of the offending film, he has a memorable tirade in which he moans, nearly foams at the mouth, and yells at private eye-cum-projectionist Peter Boyle, "Turn it OFF, turn it OFF!!!!"  Surely writer-director Paul Schrader did not intend this bit to be funny, but despite the seriousness of the onscreen action, some snickers are inevitable.  From this point on, Van Dorn is intent on revenge and he finally gets Walker's "Jism Jim" when he masquerades as a porn producer casting for a new film and Jim comes to audition (there's also an audition with a large black man with the ridiculous moniker, "Big Dick Blaque"). Needless to say old Jake still has some fighting moves and Jim is no match...

In addition to getting his ass kicked by a disguised George C. in Hardcore, Walker was one of a gang of hapless crooks in Walter Hill's The Driver, appeared in Deathsport and The White Buffalo, and episodes of Baretta, Starsky and Hutch, Emergency!. Anyone know what Walker is up to today?