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DVD The Late Show
Writer-director Robert Benton, who examined a similar story in 1998's "Twilight," first explored the territory of the geriatric private eye in this sadly underrated 1977 delight. Art Carney stars as a nearly retired detective who suddenly finds himself caught up in two seemingly separate cases. One involves the murder of his former partner (Howard Duff); the other entangles him with a flaky post-hippie (Lily Tomlin), who wants him to find her missing cat. The two cases eventually dovetail, but the plot--which leads them to a Hollywood crime bigwig played by the affable Eugene Roche--is of less interest than the almost magical chemistry between the crotchety Carney and the wonderfully off-the-wall Tomlin. The perfect film for anyone who likes their mysteries in the Dashiell Hammett/Raymond Chandler mode. --Marshall Fine
"The Late Show" (1977), Robert Benton's valentine to the 1940's detective film genre has it all: the structure, the language, the grit and noir, plus something more--humor and heart. Long overlooked and drastically under rated by 1970's reviewers, the film and especially its title seemed to dredge up images of some old B&W flick that belonged on late night TV and perhaps didn't fit the mold of being "with it" or of being retro-slick in a then-generation of the Think Young, Drink Pepsi (not Alka Seltzer) society it reflected. Yet what most critics seem to have missed about the title alone is its play on words which embraced not only the old, late night TV movie idea but also the spirit of the tribute writer/director Robert Benton presents here: the vernacular of 1940's detective speak, where "show" meant a client or a job, and, "late" meant late, as in beyond the time someone or something is expected to arrive. Thus, the slang title refers to both Ira Wells (Art Carney) and Margo Sperling (Lily Tomlin), who are thrown together, quite unexpectedly, at a crucial time--before it's really too "late" (as in "dead"). Carney brilliantly (yet so unassumingly) plays 'Ira Wells,' a set in his ways broken down old heat packing (private) detective with "a bum leg, perforated ulcer, and hearing aid," who's been living out what's left of an empty and lonely life in a rented bedroom in an older widow's home. Resigned to this seeming fate, Ira believes his best days, times, and friends are all behind him (especially at the rate people he's known are "kicking off"). Ira can see his own end, which is brought home even more forcefully when his former PI partner, Harry Regan (Howard Duff), who seemingly arrives for a long over-due visit after a bender, dies in Ira's rented bedroom bed from a gunshot to the gut (yet spilling nothing save for blood). Enter Charles Hatter (Bill Macy), a chiseler and con artist, along with a wonderfully zany and off-beat wannabe actress, Margo Sperling (Lily Tomlin). They show up with a stolen cat "case" for Ira Wells at Regan's funeral entombment--and the game of cat and mouse, or, rather, rat, is almost ready to begin--again--for Ira, who says only he's "out of the business" and never uses the word "retired." But this will not be "just another case," it will be THE case, coming in the nick--and Nora--of time to make a difference and a change possible in the lives of two people. Of course, hindrances loom immediately: old-school/generation collides with new, language usage throws up an initial barrier as does Ira's 1940's mind set about women ("dolls") and how they're supposed to act. Yet all this goes by the boards when Ira and Margo start to work the related cases of the missing cat and Regan's murder together. These two people turn out to be an unlikely team that has needed the likes of one another all along. Their differences are far outweighed by what they have in common--such things as character, dignity, regard for others, loyalty, caring, and inner strength. They complement each other which tends to bring out the best in both of them. Ira has not ever had a pal, partner, buddy, or romantic interest who wasn't simply out for himself or herself until Margo; and Margo hasn't ever met anyone quite like Ira, who inspires her, looks out for her, and not only encourages but trusts her to sleuth with him, the pro, even before he discovers she could really excel at it and is more savvy about life and things than even he expected. He becomes enough at ease with Margo. though, that when pressed, he emotionally reveals his inner most fear with her--the scene between the two at the diner, after Ira collapes and Margo wants to take him to the hospital, should have earned Art Carney an Oscar nomination alone. But will they solve the murder? Will they ever team up? "The Late Show" is as much a story of the human condition as it is a noir murder mystery to be solved. Even the bad guys like Ronnie Birdwell (Eugene Roche) and Charles Hatter (Bill Macy) have real dimension and differences--and are portrayed as likeable louses with their own problems in life. The plot is skillfully and painstakingly developed with twists and turns which cover, much as the detective films of the 1940s did, mystery, which can turn to comedy, then switch to tragic drama, and even twist to include a hint of romance. Robert Benton deserved the Oscar for this original screenplay, not simply the nomination. The only remaining question is: when will the director's cut become available on video or DVD so that audiences can discover the rather obvious chunks of missing footage from the film including (but not limited to) John Davey as 'Sgt. Dayton'?--Lenore Hutton Normal, Illinois
Another Great Detective movie!
Along with Night Moves,(and obviously Chinatown) this one of my favorite detective films from the 70s. Art Carney and Lily Tomlin are a great pair and they help make a good movie even better. Robert Benton(Bad Company, Nobondy's Fool, Twilight) has made a great film here that is at once a tribute and a commentary on Raymond Chandler-type films. Carney is great as an aging PI who is hired to find a cat and ends up embroiled in a much larger story. The dialogue here is so well done-it's very stylish-throwback dialogue if you will. I love this movie and it seems that so few people have seen it. I own it and any fan of the Maltese Falcon or the Big Sleep should too.
A forgotten gem
I can't believe no one else has reviewed this fine movie. Art Carney has never been better, even in Harry and Tonto, and Bill Macy does a fine turn as a small-time con man. Lily has some classic lines, like her description of Macy's trash Cadillac; ``This car is a toilet and you're the attendant''.
Partly a send up of private detective movies and partly a charming buddy movie (Art and Lily), this belongs in anyone's collection. And if you've never seen it . . . well, you're in for a treat indeed.
Going In Style boasts three Hollywood legends, teaming up, for a very solid comedy/drama that proves you are only as young as you feel.
Joe (George Burns), Al (Art Carney), and Willie (Lee Strasberg) are three mild-mannered retirees who usually spend their days sitting on a park bench. Tired of feeling like life is passing them by, the trio decides to rob a bank, hoping things will improve. They are convinced that, even if they are caught, because of their age--a visit to jail is out of the question. Little do they know, their lives are about to change in ways they never expected.
Director Martin Brest, who also wrote the script, couldn't have asked for a better cast. Burns, Carney, and Strasberg, make quite a team. These men play very well off of each other and all three are up to,... More Info about this DVD Actor(s): George Burns - Art Carney - Lee Strasberg Director(s): Martin Brest DVD Release Date: Released the 30 March 2004 Usually ships within 24 hours
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The most famous and sublime treatment of the gunfight at the O.K. Corral, John Ford's My Darling Clementine is by any measure one of the most classically perfect Westerns ever made. Henry Fonda plays a hard, serious Wyatt Earp leading a cattle drive west with his brothers when a stopover in the wild town of Tombstone ends in the murder of his youngest brother. Wyatt takes up the badge he had turned down earlier and tames the wide-open town with his brothers (Ward Bond and Tim Holt), all the while waiting for the wild Clantons (led by Walter Brennan's ruthless Old Man Clanton) to make a mistake. Victor Mature delivers perhaps his finest performance as the tubercular gambler Doc Holliday, an alcoholic Eastern doctor escaping civilization in the Wild West. Ford takes great liberties... More Info about this DVD Actor(s): Henry Fonda - Linda Darnell Director(s): John Ford DVD Release Date: Released the 06 January 2004 Usually ships in 24 hours
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Ranking No. 21 on the American Film Institute's list of the 100 greatest American films, this 1940 classic is a bit dated in its noble sentimentality, but it remains a luminous example of Hollywood classicism from the peerless director of mythic Americana, John Ford. Adapted by Nunnally Johnson from John Steinbeck's classic novel, the film tells a simple story about Oklahoma farmers leaving the depression-era dustbowl for the promised land of California, but it's the story's emotional resonance and theme of human perseverance that makes the movie so richly and timelessly rewarding. It's all about the humble Joad family's cross-country trek to escape the economic devastation of their ruined farmland, beginning when Tom Joad (Henry Fonda) returns from a four-year prison term to discover... More Info about this DVD Director(s): John Ford DVD Release Date: Released the 06 April 2004 Usually ships in 24 hours
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This 1966 masterpiece by Michelangelo Antonioni (The Passenger) is set in the heady atmosphere of Swinging London, and stars David Hemmings as an unsmiling fashion photographer hooked on ephemeral meaning attached to anything: art, sex, work, relationships, drugs, events. When a real mystery falls into his lap, he probes the evidence for some reliable truth, but finds it hard to reckon with. Vanessa Redgrave plays an enigmatic woman whose desperation to cover something up only seems like one more phenomenon in Hemmings's disinterested purview. This is one of the key films of the decade, and still an unsettling and lasting experience. --Tom KeoghMore Info about this DVD Actor(s): Vanessa Redgrave - David Hemmings Director(s): Michelangelo Antonioni DVD Release Date: Released the 17 February 2004 Usually ships in 24 hours
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Samuel Fuller's "Pickup on South Street" is easily one of his better films and as cynical and tough as crime dramas got in the 50's. Richard Widmark is excellent as a cocky pickpocket who swipes the wallet of sexy Jean Peters that contains microfilm of government secrets to be delivered to a Communist agency. Peters is unaware of the Communist angle and is only doing a "job" for her slimy ex-boyfriend Richard Kiley (who's also excellent). Getting mixed up in the mess to get back the microfilm is street peddler/police informant Thelma Ritter who sells information to whoever wants to buy it. The film is gritty and unsentimental and none of the characters are saints. New York City is depicted as a tough place to survive especially on the dirty waterfront where Skip McCoy (Widmark) lives and... More Info about this DVD Actor(s): Richard Widmark - Jean Peters Director(s): Samuel Fuller DVD Release Date: Released the 17 February 2004 Usually ships in 24 hours
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