RALPH MEEKER Double-Bill Sat Nov 15

[Dewey1960]

Tomorrow evening, November 15th, a particularly profound duet of 1955 noir sledgehammer blows featuring the great Ralph Meeker blast their way into your living rooms compliments of our friends at TCM.

First up is BIG HOUSE USA, a relatively obscure B film that is almost universally despised for its offhanded and disturbing physical and emotional violence. Meeker stars as a two-bit thug who hatches a plot to kidnap the young son of a millionaire. When the plan goes horribly awry the only solution appears to be cold-blooded murder. This is one gritty, unwholesome piece of work that doesn’t for one minute hold back when and where it matters. A four-star misunderstood masterpiece for those with the stomach to take it. Along for the ride are Broderick Crawford, Lon Chaney, Jr. and Charles Bronson.

Next up is Robert Aldrich’s demented and thoroughly subversive classic KISS ME DEADLY, a film that is almost universally adored and revered for its offhanded and disturbing physical and emotional violence. Meeker is stone cold perfection as Mickey Spillane’s bullet breath anti-hero Mike Hammer, a smug, condescending and self-absorbed “bedroom dick” style private eye who finds himself up to his elbows in starlets as he races madly toward the end of the world in his futile quest for the “great whatsit.” Noir doesn’t generally get much darker or chillier than this Cold War opus, and those with only a fleeting familiarity with its charms are urged to tune in.

This is a double-bill for the ages; be there.

[ChiO]

I had bookmarked BIG HOUSE USA, even though I was unfamiliar with it, because (a) it has a tough sounding title, (b) Broderick Crawford and Ralph Meeker made me think it really would be tough, and (c) Howard Koch impressed me with the sleazy little THE GIRL IN THE BLACK STOCKINGS so I hoped it would be tough and sleazy.

Looks like a winner.

[moira finnie]

Actually, guys, it is not just a double shot of Ralph Meeker, but an entire night of Mr. Meeker sightings are possible on TCM on Saturday, November 15th. Here's the entire rundown, lads, which includes some side trips I'd never heard of to a musical New Orleans and the burning Sahara, as well as the usual dank prison cells and mean streets that are your boy Ralph's natural habitat. You can even visit with your pal Timothy Carey, ChiO. Btw, sleaze, violence and inhumanity are on tap big time in Big House, U.S.A. Enjoy! :

All times listed are EST
8:00 PM
Paths Of Glory (1957)
A military lawyer comes to question the status quo when he defends three men accused of cowardice. Cast: Kirk Douglas, Adolphe Menjou, George Macready. Dir: Stanley Kubrick. BW-88 mins, TV-PG, CC

10:00 PM
Big House, U.S.A. (1955)
Convicts escape prison to uncover hidden loot. Cast: Broderick Crawford, Ralph Meeker, Lon Chaney. Dir: Howard W. Koch. BW-83 mins, TV-PG

11:30 PM
Kiss Me Deadly (1955)
Detective Mike Hammer fights to solve the murder of a beautiful hitchhiker with a mysterious connection to the Mob. Cast: Ralph Meeker, Cloris Leachman, Albert Dekker. Dir: Robert Aldrich. BW-106 mins, TV-PG, Letterbox Format

1:30 AM
Glory Alley (1952)
A boxer's drinking problem threatens his career and his love life. Cast: Leslie Caron, Ralph Meeker, Kurt Kasznar. Dir: Raoul Walsh. BW-79 mins, TV-G, CC

3:00 AM
Desert Sands (1955)
A member of the French Foreign Legion falls for an Arab woman whose family has sworn to kill all foreigners. Cast: Ralph Meeker, Marla English, J. Carrol Naish. Dir: Lesley Selander. C-88 mins, TV-G

[ChiO]

You can even visit with your pal Timothy Carey, ChiO.

Yeah? I'm scared! I'm scared....Please save me. Please save me, Father.

Do you ever get the feeling that if Kirk could have saved two men, Timothy still would have been shot?

P.S. I would have been nice if TCM could have squeezed in RUN OF THE ARROW and SOMETHING WILD, both of which score high on my Meeker-o-Meter.

[moira finnie]

Do you ever get the feeling that if Kirk could have saved two men, Timothy still would have been shot?

Yes! And if Carey had kept on bawling, Kirk might have been the man to perform the execution as a volunteer.

P.S. I would have been nice if TCM could have squeezed in RUN OF THE ARROW and SOMETHING WILD, both of which score high on my Meeker-o-Meter.

Where ya been?

I'm pretty sure that Something Wild was aired twice since April. Run of the Arrow has aired on TCM within the last year. I'm sure of that 'cause I got fed up with Rod Steiger in the first scene and turned it.

Hey, how would you guys like it if we just ask TCM to start an alternative Film Noir Channel? I'm sure they'd take to the idea. It would only cost a kazillion dollars. Maybe the Treasury Dept. could print us some seed money while they are at it for everyone else.

[ChiO]

Where ya been?

I'm pretty sure that Something Wild was aired twice since April. Run of the Arrow has aired on TCM within the last year.

Your point being...? You turned off RUN OF THE ARROW? Noboby turns off Samuel Fuller! I know...Rod turns some off quickly, but it is a movie that gets better and better as it goes along. And SOMETHING WILD? When it has been shown as often as PATHS OF GLORY (sorry Timothy), then TCM should slow down with it.

[moira finnie]

You turned off RUN OF THE ARROW? Noboby turns off Samuel Fuller!

Sorry to break this to you, ChiO, but Sam Fuller is not a god.

I do enjoy certain films of his, especially when that red-headed fool, Gene Evans pops up to grumble and grouse, or Broderick Crawford, the cute human bull terrier, lurches into the frame.

My list of pretty good or at least watchable Sam Fuller movies:

Shockproof (1949) (writer only)
The Steel Helmet (1951)
Fixed Bayonets (1951)
Scandal Sheet (1951)
Park Row (1952)
Pickup on South Street (1953)
Verboten! (1959)
The Crimson Kimono (1959)
The Big Red One (1980)

I've tried to watch House of Bamboo numerous times because Robert Ryan is in it, and I'd like to wax poetic about Nat King Cole's acting in the Vietnam movie, China Gate, but haven't been able to get past the quirks in these movies just yet. Of course, since all Sam Fuller movies are a collection of quirks on film, that should be okay. It's just that sometimes the man's style, which seems to be the equivalent of WRITING EVERYTHING IN CAPITAL LETTERS is a bit too much for me. Of course, other times the man gets some great, realistic performances out of actors. Btw, I really can't stand his westerns. I've tried several times to watch Run of the Arrow (graduation day at The Actor's Studio) and Forty Guns (I've recently decided that I don't think Barbara Stanwyck is at her best in westerns & have taken a vow to avoid them. Of course, that was after watching The Furies twice in one day, so maybe that's why I feel this way.)

Sorry to interrupt this thread in Celebration of All Things Meeker! I now return you to your regular programming of non-stop Meeker...

[Dewey1960]

ChiO sez: Howard Koch impressed me with the sleazy little THE GIRL IN THE BLACK STOCKINGS so I hoped it would be tough and sleazy.

Koch was an excellent director of low budget sleaze noir before becoming a hotshot motion picture executive. BLACK STOCKINGS, BIG HOUSE USA and THE LAST MILE (1959 remake with Mickey Rooney) are all uncompromising examples of what could be done on a modest budget and a lot of raw nerve. BIG HOUSE USA is my favorite of his films. Knowing how much you enjoyed TCM's screening a couple weeks back of William Berke's COP HATER, I'm more certain than ever you'll find it to be your cup of meat.

Then Moira said: Sorry to break this to you, ChiO, but Sam Fuller is not a god.

YES HE IS!!!! %@#$%&%$@#, YES HE IS!!!

[ChiO]

Moira said:

Sorry to break this to you, ChiO, but Sam Fuller is not a god.

Dewey replied:

YES HE IS!!!! %@#$%&%$@#, YES HE IS!!!

I hate to disagree with Dewey, but the proper response is: YES, $&*#@%, HE IS!!!! YES, #*$%@*, HE IS!!!! (gunshot) #*@*^%@!!!!

You got sumpin' aginst Da Actors Studia? STEEL HELMET: Best war movie ever? Could be. And the rest ain't too shabby. Gene Evans is at his best in Fuller films. FORTY GUNS: Definitely a Top 5 Western with one of the greatest opening shots in film, maybe surpassed only by that of THE NAKED KISS. SHOCK CORRIDOR: Should I mention that my most recent acquisition, received just yesterday, is a one-sheet of this movie that has a camera and dialogue that, yes, is the equivalent of ALL CAPITAL LETTERS, with some !!!!s thrown in?

Not a god? There is Welles atop Mt. Olympus. And who is with him? Carl Dreyer, Jacques Tourneur, John Cassavetes, F.W. Murnau, Robert Bresson, Max Ophuls, Erich von Stroheim and....SAMUEL $#%^*@#* FULLER, the finest actor Godard ever used.

[Mr. Arkadin]

Thanks for the heads up and playlist Dewey and Moira. I've seen most of these, but Glory Alley and Desert Sands are new to me, so I do have reason to prime the recorder for action tonight.

Fuller is very important and defintely a pivotal point in film. However, many of his films have flaws and even the best ones are not a smooth ride. I do agree with the CAPITAL LETTER SENTIMENT, but I think this was part of Fuller's "in your face" style. While many find that irritating, I personally think Fuller intentionally took chances (sometimes they worked--sometimes not), and tried to be disrupting in the sense that he wanted you to stop and think, not just about his film, but the ideals he was presenting. Another factor was that acting styles were changing during his most productive era and he chose to exploit this instead of minimize it, which adds to the jarring quality.

I didn't see Shock Corridor on your list of like like/dislike Moira. Have you seen this one? It contains most of the things I spoke of, but I think it's his best film.

[moira finnie]

SAMUEL $#%^*@#* FULLER, the finest actor Godard ever used.

Fritz Lang was seen crying in his beer stein in Valhalla after reading that line!

Then Moira said: Sorry to break this to you, ChiO, but Sam Fuller is not a god.

YES HE IS!!!! %@#$%&%$@#, YES HE IS!!!

Jeez, if I'd known that I could get a rise out of you guys this easily, I wouldn't have been so circumspect about adding my voice in the noir wilderness.

Sorry, guys, but, while I do like Babs in modern dress roles, my tolerance is really low for Barry Sullivan, (the guy looks like an underfed iguana), so Forty Guns ain't for me, though, *sigh*, I'll probably try it again someday.

Probably the less said about Naked Kiss and Shlock Corridor by me the better. I know, I know, I'm a philistine. Yes, both films have something to say about our alleged "normal" paranoid values, sexism, racism, and the need to bludgeon jaded audiences into a higher consciousness, but I could have lived without seeing Constance Towers bald or Hari Rhodes as the Grand Kleagle or whatever of the KKK in the looney bin. Having lived through the last 40+ years in America was punishment enough for my personal cultural sins.

Oh, well, I'll probably try to watch Naked Kiss & Shock Corridor again someday, but not this weekend. If Sam Fuller is on Olympus, do you think he's pals with Robert Bresson or Carl Dreyer?

[Mr. Arkadin]

If Sam Fuller is on Olympus, do you think he's pals with Robert Bresson or Carl Dreyer?

No, but he's probably tossing back shots with Welles in the back room.

[klondike]

If Sam Fuller is on Olympus, do you think he's pals with Robert Bresson or Carl Dreyer?

I have it on good authority that he is, but that he still ditches 'em every Thursday night, when he drives crosstown to the wrong side of the tracks, and plays poker til 2 a.m., under a bare bulb in a seedy walk-up, with Albert Dekker, Neville Brand & Sam Peckinpah.
The gin's unlabeled, the paint's peeling, and no, none of us are invited.

[ChiO]

moirafinnie (hereinafter referred to as "The Philistine") asked:

If Sam Fuller is on Olympus, do you think he's pals with Robert Bresson or Carl Dreyer?

I'm not as confident as Klondike that they're "pals" as much as kindred souls. I see the three of them in a room, Dreyer and Bresson reading Artaud's Theatre of Cruelty, and Fuller saying: OK, we all agree on what we're doing, now put down the *%#@$^*# book and let's just shot the %#@*^$# movie!! I have to make up for HELL AND HIGH WATER!!

What about the battle for the 10th throne? Our gods are jealous gods. Lang or Ray or Aldrich or Mann? Eisenstein or Chaplin or Kubrick or Ozu? Of course, Cassavetes, loyal pal that he is, is holding out for Timothy Carey (as Kirk Douglas, Seymour Cassell and Harvey Keitel shake their fists at him).

[ChiO]

The Philistine said:

I've recently decided that I don't think Barbara Stanwyck is at her best in westerns & have taken a vow to avoid them.

While scurrying around preparing for a Unity Celebration here at Chez ChiO tonight (a big diverse nonpartisan ecumenical tent - why even a McCain supporter and a "None of the Above" supporter by the name of Bryce will be in attendance), the significance of the statement finally sank in. Exhibit 1 for why, my friend Moira, you must not abandon Ms. Stanwyck in Westerns:

[youtube][/youtube]

Of course, that supporting actor makes everyone around him better.