Ooops, Still editing.

Papillon (1973)

Steve McQueen....Henri 'Papillon' Charriere

Dustin Hoffman....Louis Dega

Victor Jory....Indian chief

Don Gordon....Julot

Warning: spoilers ahead

I'm not a pyschic, nor a goddess, but I bet I can guess what you're thinking here. You're thinking that I made a mistake when I posted because Harrison Ford has no place in an entry about Papillon, since he wasn't in the film. For those wondering if maybe he had some sort of cameo, check your IMDB, those first people were right. Harrison Ford has absolutely nothing to do with Papillon. He is, however, the star of Clear and Present Danger. I'll get to that later.

I sat down at the keyboard Saturday night buoyed by Stanley Pollock's inspirational words on the recent episode of the AMC series "The Essentials". I was preparing to write about Dustin Hoffman's enjoyable turn as Louis Dega, a famous french counterfeiter whose success, given his apparent near blindness, is astonishing. Hoffman pears nerdily from behind his coke-bottle glasses and gives a Ratso Rizzo-like performance, echoing his his turn in Midnight Cowboy four years earlier. Like any true method actor, Hoffman suffered for the role, wearing corrective contact lenses underneath the glasses so he could see straight. As it turns out he spends a great deal of energy trying unsucessfully to be less interesting than Steve McQueen, the star of this ersatz 'essential'. Overacting understatement one might say.

McQueen, is the lead character Henri Charriere, aka Papillon, so nicknamed, I suppose, because of the butterfly tattoo on his arm, though there may be a more meaningful explanation that I missed. Papillon is french for "butterfly", thereby completing the educational part of the film. Papillon is a petty criminal falsely accused of murder and sentenced to a life term on Devil's Island in French Guyana, South America.

I was going to comment on the wonderfully crafted script by the much exalted member of the Hollywood ten, Dalton Trumbo, in what would be his last screen work before his death in 1976.

I was going to add trivia about Don Gordon, a featured actor and familiar face. I knew I'd seen him with McQueen before, so I looked him up. Turns out he's a personal friend of McQueen's and also appeared in Bullitt (1968) and The Towering Inferno (1974).

I was going to do these things, but I fell asleep. I fell so soundly asleep that I awoke at the end of the move thinking it was the next day. So thank you Papillon for providing me with the best sleep I've had in days, even in the face of the a bladder full of the seven cups of full strentgh tea I had consumed. That's some impressive somambulent power you possess.

Supposedly Papillon is based on Charriere's true story, though it is widely acknowledged that he played fast and loose with the facts. That's usually expected in Hollywood films and forgiven if the film is entertaining. This film is just frustrating. I suspect that had I made it to Papillon's actual escape off the island after countless tries, I would have been happier and prouder of myself for simply having sat through this endurance test. This film is not the worst ever made, by any means, but I think it's status as a "classic" needs to be re-eevaluated.

That Steve McQueen sure was hot though.

In fact his photos are certainly more entertaining than his actual films.

Which brings me to Clear and Present Danger. Good thing I'd seen CAPD before as I missed most of it while I typed this. I just got to occassionally glimpse Ford looking bemused, Anne Archer looking concerned and wifely and Joaquim de Almeida looking crazy hot. Then there's Henry Czerny who seems to specialize in just being crazy, uptight and scary, and Greg Germann who specailizes in playing the rich WASPy 2% or something. I always remember him from Ned and Stacey, the pre-Will and Grace without the gay twist and before Debra Messing stopped consuming food with calories. Oh yeah he was also Fish on Ally McBeal. Everyone's gotta eat somehow. Except, of course Debra Messing.

Wow, what useless information I posess. Darn that Papillon for being a bore.

The guy playing POTUS (President of the U.S.) tries his best to be the flinty American, but he comes off as something of a buffoon. Everytime he occupied the screen I found myself wondering if James Cromwell was busy.

Also a note to wise, black elder statesmen in the vicinity of Jack Ryan. Put your affairs in order, Your death warrant has been sealed. I think the older black advisor always dies in Tom Clancy stories.

So my point? Is CAPD mindless fluff? Yes. Is it in the same league as Papillon? Well, probably not. Still, the two hours I spent barely rewatching it were infinitely more enjoyable than the time I spent with Papillon. To further cement my lowbrow tastes, I think Harrison Ford is better looking that Steve Mcqueen. He's a better actor too. Sydney Pollack and his Cinema History gurus missed the boat on this one.

Legends: Cicely Tyson

Her IMDB listing

"All you've got to do in this country today is just be on television and you're more known and respected than anyone who paints a great painting or creates great music or writes a great book or is a great dancer. People were already calling me 'Mr. Tyson,' or saying, 'I know who you are. You're that guy who's married to Cicely Tyson!' And they would be sincere when they said that. It taught me that a bad, untalented person who is on television or in the movies can be more recognized and respected than than a genius who doesn't appear on the screen." --Miles Davis

Her ex-husband Miles Davis may not have respected her noteriety, but I for one would argue that Cicely Tyson is not nearly famous enough. She was a successful model before she started acting. She studied at NYU and the Actor's Studio. She's been a staple of TV, even starting out on the soap opera Guiding Light as well as movies. She's been nominated for many, Emmy's Ocsars, Baftas, Golden Globes and everything else under the sun. From 1981-88, she was married to fellow legend Miles Davis, a relationship that from all accounts was tumultuous and abusive. (Several Sources also list her as a co-founder of the Dance Theatre of Harlem with Arthur Mitchell and Karel Shook, but as their site only lists her as a part of the National Advisory Board, the story does not seem completely accurate.)

Watching The Oldest Living Confederate Widow Tells All reminded why Cicely Tyson was for years treated by the black community with the same reverence that Meryl Streep is nearly universally accorded now. I had been wondering if she'd been working lately, because I hadn't heard much about her in years. It seems she's been in the land of women's TV, territory that for some reason doesn't seem to speak to any women I know. It's a sad thing really, since I'd much rather be inundated with projects by the like of Tyson than reality TV featuring any of the so call popular personalities these days.

The choices of roles I made had to do with educating and entertaining. And as a result I found myself working only every two or three years. --Cicely Tyson

I think that like Streep, Tyson has suffered a bit because of the preciousness of her reputation. She is well known for her commitment to only taking roles that show black people in a strong and positive light. In many ways, she has made her work part of the politics of her life, something that has made it impossible to treat either lightly. In fact the characters she portrays are as much a part of the fabric of black American history as the real people were. It is almost impossible to think of Harriet Tubman, Coretta Scott King, Rosa Parks and Jane Pittman anymore without her name being part of their legacy. I'm actually surprised that there are Zora Neale Hurston projects coming up that don't have her name attached. It seems an almost unthinkable oversight.

Despite a lengthy search, I could barely find any information online about about Tyson's recent works and endeavors. I know she's not exactly E! NEWS material but hey, I barely even found any information about her marriage to Miles Davis, arguably the most tabloid-attractive part of her career. Bill Cosby provided his house as the location for the wedding and served as best man; with all the star power they were surrounded by and Davis' explosive reputation, you'd think that would at least rate a scandalous website somewhere. Most information, however came from reviews of books about Davis, and the snippets featuring her focused on his abuse, the time she fought back and pulled the weave out of his head! and her semi-successful struggle to get him to quit drugs and smoking and live a healthier lifestyle.

She hasn't been hiding out on the stage either. It seems she hasn't been on at least the Broadway stage since 1983. Generally, it seems that between her acting roles she's been backing up the U-Haul to collect awards for her acting and her humanitarian work. She has a record number of NAACP Image awards and awards from possibly every black activist group in the country. She is a world ambassador for UNICEF since 1985 and a supporter of Meals on Wheels. She has her own school of Performing and Fine Arts and does charity work through her church.

This past January, she gave a talk about science, politics and Carribbean Culture and how war research can be used for more humanitarian purposes, like cancer research. I especially like the part where she acknowledges that while others who make their career in politics and science may be more qualified to discuss such issues, we all have a responsibility to educate ourselves.

Despite her obvious dedication to various causes, I haven't seen Tyson in any news conferences where she rachets up self-publicity while she supports her cause either. Unlike say, Sharon Stone or Jennifer Lopez who can't seem to leave a tip without calling the press. The ironic thing is I wouldn't mind if Tyson called up the press a little more. This is a woman whose life seems to hold as much quality as her art and I for one wouldn't mind knowing more about her. That is as long as they aren't appearances like this that will get her listed at Go Fug Yourself. A kerchief is not what becomes a legend most unless she's playing a slave.

decent bio    
other Tyson info

The Mating Season

IMDB entry

Starring:
Gene Tierney....Maggy Carleton
John Lund....Val McNulty
Miriam Hopkins....Fran Carleton
Thelma Ritter....Ellen McNulty/Ellen "the maid"

Synopsis:

When Val McNulty gets married to his new socialite bride, he neglects to mention his working-class mother, Ellen, who just lost the family greasy spoon. In order to spare her son any embarrasment, Ellen skips the wedding. But when she makes a surprise visit to meet the new bride, she is mistaken for a cook hired to help at an important cocktail party for Val's boss and of course, hijnks ensue...

I mainly watched ths movie because had heard so much about Gene Tierney's legendary beauty, and she truly did not disappoint. Tierney was radiant on the screen. She also wore nicer dresses to wash the dishes than I'd be likely to wear to church.

The true star of the movie though is Thelma Ritter. I knew I'd seen this woman before, and after checking out her IMDB page I realised she was one of those old standby character actors and that I specifically remembered her from Rear Window and All About Eve. The woman just has a sense of comic timing that so easy and comfortable. She makes you think that she's not acting at all, she just showed up on the set and let the camera follow her around.

The story itself is pleasant enough, though not surprising in the least, it is enjoyable. The real reason to watch though is for the warmth of Ritter's performance and the near flawless beauty of Tierney. Not a bad way to spend 90 minutes if you're in the mood for old-fashioned fun.

I knew I was the bomb

Lucky you! You are a BOMBSHELL AMONG BOMBSHELLS,
Marilyn Monroe. You are the ultimate woman.
You've got style, class, sex appeal and most of
all "the look". You are every man's
dream girl, no matter what era. You're the
essence of everything feminine and sexy, but
are a little ditzy at times. All you need is
some red lipstick and some Chanel #5 and you've
got it made. Watch Marilyn float across the
screen in "The Seven Year Itch" to
see how a little bit of body language goes a
long way!


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So I guess that also makes me vain and delusional. I'm sure they would have mentioned that, but it was a short quiz you can't include everything. But enough with the cynicism. This is where I celebrate the movies I love, and anything related.

Where was I? Oh yes, The Seven Year Itch is overrated and mannered. But I'll save that for another day.

You're Marilyn Monroe!


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