“Life is never quite interesting enough, somehow. You people
who come to the movies know that.” Dolly Gallagher Levi - The Matchmaker
Come Back to the 5 & Dime Jimmy Dean, Jimmy Dean is a (melo)dramatization of what can happen to lives when the consoling balm of idol worship (movie or otherwise) becomes a crutch for self-delusion, avoidance, and the denial of truth.
As anyone knows who has spent more than five minutes at an
autograph convention; attended a pro sporting event; visited Comic-Con; stood
among the glassy-eyed throngs outside a movie premiere; or navigated the choppy
waters of an internet fansite chat room (a drama-queen war zone littered with trolling land mines): fame-culture idol worship and devout religious fanaticism
are merely different sides of the same coin.
Life presents us with challenges and can sometimes feel like
a cruel, dispiriting, achingly lonely place. In those moments when we feel its
sting most keenly, it’s natural to seek solace (and sometimes escape) in the
arts: that spiritual oasis of inspiration and beauty that has the power to restore
hope to the human soul the way rainfall can restore life to the scorched, arid
plains of a drought-plagued Texas
town.
But all too often the need to salve the pain of life and
fill the void of loneliness through external means (as opposed to, say,
self-reflection and action) leads to the quick-fix distraction of fame culture.
Fame culture being the existential bait-and-switch that says our personal lives
can somehow be enriched through the over-idealization of someone else’s. Particularly the lives of those perfect demigods and
goddesses of the silver screen.
“Believing is so funny, isn’t it? When what you believe in
doesn’t even know you exist.”
Entire television networks and charitably 85% of the internet are devoted to feeding us ‘round-the-clock updates on what celebrities are up to. Celebrities whose careers and personal lives are staunchly and vigilantly defended against slander and attack by legions of devoted fans. Fandom of the sort that leads to cyber-bullying, broken friendships, and in extreme cases, death threats.
All rather sad when faced with the reality that celebrities
by and large go about the business of living their lives grateful for, yet blithely unaware of, said fans’ existence (That is, outside of the hefty dollars fan
devotion brings to their bank accounts. Money that enables them—irony of ironies—to
build stronger fortresses, hire more bodyguards, and enforce stricter security…all
the better to keep fans at arm's length.)
“‘Cause growing up
is awfuller than all the awful things that ever were." - Peter Pan
The desire to lose oneself/find oneself in the idealized illusion of salvation presented by the arts and fame culture is something most keenly felt in adolescence. Adolescence being the time when, in the immortal words of The Facts of Life theme song: “The world never seems to be living up to your dreams.” Celebrity worship allows for the kind of escapism that can make the bullied and isolated feel less like outsiders and misfits, providing as it does an outlet for pent-up emotional release. At its best, the idolization of the famous can be a catalyst for change and growth; at its worst, fame idolatry can be such an effective pain reliever that it encourages avoidance, inhibits emotional growth, and promotes living in the past.
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| September 30, 1955 Members of the McCarthy, Texas James Dean Fan Club, The Disciples of James Dean, react to news of the actor's death |
“Think what you can
keep ignoring…” Stephen
Sondheim - Company
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| Sandy Dennis as Mona |
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| Cher as Sissy |
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| Karen Black as Joanne |
The year is 1975, and on the 20th anniversary of
the death of James Dean, the last remaining members of The Disciples of James
Dean (make that the last remaining interested members)—a fan club that
held its weekly meetings after hours in the local Woolworth’s 5 & Dime—return to the drought-ridden, near-deserted, West Texas town of McCarthy for a reunion.
Still residing in McCarthy in various states of arrested development
are: moralistic bible-thumper Juanita (Sudie Bond), who inherited the 5 &
Dime after her husband died; goodtime girl Sissy (Cher), “The best roller-skater
in all of West Texas” and over-proud owner of the biggest boobs in town; and Mona
(Dennis), James Dean fan club leader and lifetime Woolworth employee whose preeminent moment in life was being
chosen as an extra in the film Giant (although no one has ever been able to find her in the film), and who lays claim to being the mother of James Dean’s only son.
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| Kathy Bates as Stella Mae |
The only out-of-town attendees are boisterous
Stella Mae (Kathy Bates), now the wife of a Dallas oil millionaire, and mousy Edna
Louise (Marta Heflin), pregnant with her 7th child and still, as she
was in high school, ever on the receiving end of Stella Mae’s relentless verbal abuse.
Into this airless environment of stasis comes Joanne (a wonderfully reined-in Karen Black) playing a chaos device in a tailored suit; a woman-mysterious in a yellow Porsche (Dean died in a Porsche). In true Southern Gothic tradition, her presence incites the unearthing of secrets and the head-on confrontation of several dark and painful truths.
And as for the two Jimmy Deans of the title, they are less a titular redundancy than a reference to the two unseen Jimmy Deans of the tale. One is the Hollywood actor whose untimely death at age 24 assured him a place of cultish immortality; the other is Mona's twenty-year-old son Jimmy Dean Jr, a rebel with considerable cause. Both are the unseen male presence—"ghosts" if you will—which figure so prominently in Mona's delusions. Both make her feel special and give her life importance.
And as for the two Jimmy Deans of the title, they are less a titular redundancy than a reference to the two unseen Jimmy Deans of the tale. One is the Hollywood actor whose untimely death at age 24 assured him a place of cultish immortality; the other is Mona's twenty-year-old son Jimmy Dean Jr, a rebel with considerable cause. Both are the unseen male presence—"ghosts" if you will—which figure so prominently in Mona's delusions. Both make her feel special and give her life importance.
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| Marta Heflin as Edna Louise |
As titles go, I was
never too crazy about Come Back to the 5 & Dime Jimmy Dean, Jimmy Dean
which always reminded me too much of the unpleasant, similarly phrase-titled
1976 film When You Comin’ Back, Red Ryder? …which as it so happens,
also had a diner setting. But I suppose it might also be a nod to Inge's Come Back Little Sheba and that play's similar theme of longing for an idealized past. But who cares about a title when you have Altman alumnae
Sandy Dennis (That Cold Day in the Park) and Karen Black (Nashville)
joined by pop star, tabloid queen, Cher returning to the big screen for the first time since her somnambulistic title-role performance in 1969s Chastity?
I saw Jimmy Dean
when it was released in Los Angeles in the fall of 1982. The buzz at the time was
that, on the heels of the flop trifecta of Quintet, A Perfect Couple, and HealtH (the latter I don’t recall even opening in LA), plus the off-beat
oddity that was Popeye; Jimmy Dean was to be a return to 3 Women form for Altman. Filmed on a shoestring budget, shot on Super16mm and
blown up to 35mm, in a year of bloated megafilms (ET, Annie, Tron)
Jimmy Dean was small, personal, and idiosyncratically appealing (and oh so '70s) in its
determination to be an anti-blockbuster.
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| Featuring the same cast as the film, Robert Altman mounted a much-ballyhooed Broadway production of Ed Graczyk's play early in 1982. The critics were not kind. The show closed after 52 performances. A week later the film version was underway and completed in 19 days. |
Long before Carol
Burnett’s hilarious “Eunice” character came along and forever altered my
ability to take the genre completely seriously, I had been in love with Southern
Gothic films. Adapted from the works of authors like Tennessee Williams, Eugene
O’Neill, and William Inge, these extravagantly melodramatic films had their
heyday in the sexually repressed climate of the '50s. Their crisis-filled storylines—– all sex, secrets, lies, and hypocrisy—–stylistically dramatizing the submerged
conflicts and contradictions of an era obsessed with sex, yet rooted in oppressive Christian dogma and the sustained illusion of conformity at all
costs.
Though initially
drawn to the genre for its female-driven narratives and the camp potential of
the traditionally overheated performances; I eventually came to appreciate
the subtle queer coding concealed in so many of the stories related to isolated
individuals struggling to find love and self-acceptance in environments unsympathetic
to anyone not fitting in with the mainstream.
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| Making his film debut as Joseph Qualley, a teen bullied for dressing up in women's clothes, openly gay actor Mark Patton (A Nightmare on Elm Street 2) was a real-life victim of bullying growing up in his hometown of Riverside, Mo. |
Come Back to the 5 & Dime Jimmy Dean, Jimmy Dean may not be true Southern Gothic per se, but it has all the trappings. It’s got ponderous themes (Is the entire world just a deserted dustbowl full of pitiful souls trying to give our lives meaning by worshiping gods that don’t even know we exist?); weighty symbolism (Reata, the palatial mansion in Giant, is, like so many of the characters at the 5 & Dime, only a false façade); religious allegory (Mona's assertion that she was "chosen" to bring Dean's only son into the world); and a steady stream of tearful disclosures and shocking revelations done to a fare-thee-well by a cast to die for.
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| "Miracle Whip is poetry, mayonnaise isn't." Robert Altman defending one of the improvised changes he imposed upon Graczyk's screenplay. Sudie Bond as Juanita |
WHAT I LOVE ABOUT THIS FILM
In his book, Hollywood
from Vietnam to Reagan, late film critic Robin Wood makes an interesting point
about how often the best of Robert Altman’s films are those expressing the female
(if not necessarily feminist) perspective. I’d have to agree. Come Back to
the 5 & Dime Jimmy Dean, Jimmy Dean makes a superb companion piece to 3 Women: the former being a study, in reality, imposing itself upon the guarded illusions of women with nothing to
cling to but the dreams of the past; the latter a kind of magic-realist exercise
in which fantasy and wish-fulfillment come to erode the personalities of three dissimilar women.
While I've always had a little problem with the actual screenplay for Come Back to the 5 & Dime Jimmy Dean, Jimmy Dean (five major epiphanies in one afternoon seems a tad crowded even for a 20-year reunion), I have nothing but praise for the stellar performances, the film's themes, and Altman's sensitive and thoughtful direction. This movie is a MAJOR favorite.
PERFORMANCES
Curious that it took the formulaic, “high-concept” Hollywood of the 1980s
to unite my favorite iconoclast director with two of the most famously idiosyncratic
actresses of the '70s. Much has been written about the mannered acting styles of
Sandy Dennis and Karen Black. Still, in Jimmy
Dean, the stark originality of these actresses rescues the film from the
kind of Steel Magnolias down-home, southern-fried
clichés Graczyk’s screenplay flirts so recklessly with.
As with so many Altman films, the performances here represent the
best example of ensemble work; each character fleshed out in ways that make
even the most theatrical contrivances of the plot feel genuine and emanate from a place of authenticity.
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| Deservedly so, Cher was singled out for a great deal of critical acclaim for her performance. After having become something of a tabloid punchline for the public soap opera that was her personal life, she amazed audiences by more than holding her own with several formidable seasoned professionals. Her relaxed, natural performance nicely offsets the more eccentric contributions of her costars (although Sudie Bond comes across as perhaps the most real of Graczyk's characters) and she is a delight to watch. Mike Nichols, after seeing her in the Broadway production, cast her opposite Meryl Streep in 1983s Silkwood. |
THE STUFF OF FANTASY
One of my favorite quotes is Bergen Evans’ “We may be through with the past, but the
past is not through with us.”
In Jimmy Dean, the
past of 1955 and the present of 1975 play out simultaneously on opposite sides
of mirrors situated behind the Woolworth’s soda fountain counter. Each side
serving to illuminate and provide insight and counterpoint to the actions and motivations
of the characters.
I’ve never seen a theatrical production of this film, but on
the DVD commentary, the playwright says it was Altman’s idea (one he didn’t
agree with) to have the same actors play their adult and 16-year-old selves. Maybe
the decision isn’t true to Graczyk’s vision, but Altman’s idea makes for a
marvelous visual commentary if you want to make a case for these characters never changing. Watching the youthful 1955 sequences played by the same mature actresses in the 1975 scenes reinforced for me the feeling
that the seeds of what these characters would become have
already taken root. It’s a creative choice that I think imbues Graczyk's sometimes overstressed plot points with real poignancy and poetry.
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| Maybe people don't change. Perhaps we just never saw who they really were. |
THE STUFF OF DREAMS
Robert Altman has often expressed a dislike of idol worship
and fame culture, feeling it distracts people from looking at their own
problems, and, like religion, encourages them not to think for themselves. It's certainly a theme he’s addressed before in his films (Nashville, Buffalo Bill &
the Indians, HealtH, and The Player).
In a 1982 interview for New
York Magazine, Robert Atman stated that one of the main reasons he was
drawn to making Come Back to the 5 & Dime Jimmy Dean, Jimmy Dean was
to counterbalance his 1957 documentary The
James Dean Story: a sparse, nonsensationalistic look at the brief life of
the actor that Altman felt was ultimately misunderstood and subverted into a work of hagiography by
James Dean cultists.
Altman’s adaptation of Graczyk’s play, which depicts the most devout of Dean’s worshippers as an intensely unbalanced woman coping with the emptiness of her existence by shrouding herself in an elaborate delusion, does indeed stand in stark contrast to the harmless, romanticized view of fandom promoted by the media and so-called entertainment news.
Thanks to the internet, I finally saw that for-years-rumored-about nude photo of James Dean that figures in play as an item Stella Mae pays over $50 dollars for (Edna Louise: "Is that a tree branch in his hand, or what?"). I personally don't think the model in question looks much like James Dean at all, but I do love a good myth.
Altman’s adaptation of Graczyk’s play, which depicts the most devout of Dean’s worshippers as an intensely unbalanced woman coping with the emptiness of her existence by shrouding herself in an elaborate delusion, does indeed stand in stark contrast to the harmless, romanticized view of fandom promoted by the media and so-called entertainment news.
But what I found most provocative and what gave me the most
food for thought in Jimmy Dean is how ingeniously it dramatized the two-way mirror effect of idol worship.
One side of the mirror is idealized fantasy, the other is
reality. The idealized side is the side we project ourselves into when we escape
into movies or obsess over the lives of celebrities. There, time is frozen. We
don’t have to grow up, and the only risk is that it can become a time-stealing distraction.
The reality side of the mirror offers nothing but the naked
lightbulb of having to look clearly at ourselves and our lives. Tragedy is when
the world of dreams becomes so compelling to us, reality starts to pale in comparison.
Salvation comes through the realization that it is only on the reality side of
the mirror where genuine happiness and fulfillment is possible.
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| Altman may have disliked celebrity culture, but idol worship (in the form of the standing-room-only throngs crammed into the Martin Beck Theater to see Cher's legit stage debut) played a huge role in the theatrical production even making it to 52 performances |
Like a great many gay men of my generation who grew up feeling isolated and misunderstood, movies were my solace, escape, salvation, and inspiration. I grew up loving movies and movie stars, and, as the title of this blog asserts, they were the stuff to inspire dreams. I was one of the lucky ones in that I didn’t lose myself in my love of movies (well, not completely) and that my own pop cultural obsession (Xanadu…yes, THAT Xanadu) altered the course of my life and led me to a profession which has been more fulfilling to me than I ever could have imagined.
Come Back to the 5 & Dime Jimmy Dean, Jimmy Dean is a reminder that the arts are here to help us better cope with life, not retreat from it.
BONUS MATERIAL
Sandy Dennis' character in this film claims that her child is the son of James Dean. In the 2007 documentary Confessions of a Superhero, Christopher Dennis, a wannabe actor who dresses as Superman for tips in front of Grauman's Chinese Theater in Hollywood, claims to be the secret son of Sandy Dennis.
Robert Altman's documentary: The James Dean Story (1957) on YouTube.
Cher actually made her feature film debut playing herself opposite Sonny Bono in the musical comedy spoof, Good Times - 1967 (it's also director William Friedkin's first film, and is in its own way, every bit as terrifying as The Exorcist). In 1969 with a script by Bono, Cher made her dramatic acting debut in Chastity, A film in which she plays a hippie drifter with one facial expression. Both are available on YouTube and are prime examples of late-60s cinema.
The DVD of Come Back to the 5 & Dime Jimmy Dean, Jimmy Dean has as its only extra feature, a great, many-axes-to-grind interview with playwright Ed Graczyk, who. while respectful, clearly did not relish working with Robert Altman. Like listening to an embittered Paul Morrissey griping about how Andy Warhol got all the credit for the films he directed, Graczyk seems loath to extend any gratitude to Altman for his part in making Jimmy Dean the playwright's most well-known play. Instead, he devotes considerable time detailing (in admittedly enjoyable behind-the-scenes anecdotes) the many ways in which Altman deviated from his original concept.
BONUS MATERIAL
Sandy Dennis' character in this film claims that her child is the son of James Dean. In the 2007 documentary Confessions of a Superhero, Christopher Dennis, a wannabe actor who dresses as Superman for tips in front of Grauman's Chinese Theater in Hollywood, claims to be the secret son of Sandy Dennis.
Robert Altman's documentary: The James Dean Story (1957) on YouTube.
Cher actually made her feature film debut playing herself opposite Sonny Bono in the musical comedy spoof, Good Times - 1967 (it's also director William Friedkin's first film, and is in its own way, every bit as terrifying as The Exorcist). In 1969 with a script by Bono, Cher made her dramatic acting debut in Chastity, A film in which she plays a hippie drifter with one facial expression. Both are available on YouTube and are prime examples of late-60s cinema.
The DVD of Come Back to the 5 & Dime Jimmy Dean, Jimmy Dean has as its only extra feature, a great, many-axes-to-grind interview with playwright Ed Graczyk, who. while respectful, clearly did not relish working with Robert Altman. Like listening to an embittered Paul Morrissey griping about how Andy Warhol got all the credit for the films he directed, Graczyk seems loath to extend any gratitude to Altman for his part in making Jimmy Dean the playwright's most well-known play. Instead, he devotes considerable time detailing (in admittedly enjoyable behind-the-scenes anecdotes) the many ways in which Altman deviated from his original concept.
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| The Disciples of James Dean - 1955 James Dean is the perfect pop culture icon. A figure of idolatry who didn't live long enough to disappoint, disillusion, or age (in other words, seem human). Like all gods, he remains forever unchanged in a state of youthful perfection, |
Copyright © Ken Anderson 2009 - 2015
Ken, What a great post, not just about "Jimmy Dean," but the public and pop culture.
ReplyDeleteI too, was a gay teen who discovered old movies on TV. During the '70s, I watched Cher every week on TV, and read about Liz Taylor's travails in the tabloids like a research scientist. But as I headed into my 20s, I realized that pop culture had its place, but I needed to live a real life. And that meant coming out. But obviously, I still love movies and movie stars, or I wouldn't be visiting here for my fix ; )
Your post on "The Last of Sheila" inspired me to renew my Netflix account after 6 years and guess what's the next movie on my list: "Jimmy Dean"! Great minds think alike!
Did you know Altman originally offered Cher the Karen Black role? But she asked to play Sissy? A smart move on Cher's part, because it is a more down-to-earth role, without the stunt-like surprise of Joanne's character.
It took Cher nearly a decade to get into movies, because her image was so strong, and apparently negative to studios. I always thought that attitude was crazy, because her skills on TV went from a stone faced mannequin to an ingratiating, funny, glamorous but down-to-earth broad in the manner of old stars like Ann Sheridan, Linda Darnell or Carole Lombard.
What's ironic is that after the play ended, Altman approached Cher about doing the film viersion of "Jimmy Dean." Cher didn't really want to as she was signed for "Silkwood" and on her way to a movie career. But when Altman told her he couldn't get the financing without her name, she immediately said yes. So celebrity has its uses and Cher finally was proved as a viable name in movies. I always wished she would have continued in this direction, but the lucrative business of being "Cher" trumped her movie career.
I look forward to hearing the playwright's commentary, but he really should thank his lucky stars that Altman chose to bring his work to the stage and film.
Oh, and don't you love the scene where Cher's Sissy mocks Sandy Dennis' facial tics? Dennis used to drive my Mom crazy with her mannerisms and she laughed out loud when she saw Cher skewer them!
I look forward to seeing "Jimmy Dean," finally out on DVD...what took so long?
Hi Rick
DeleteWhy thank you very much! I'm glad you liked the post. My partner and I were talking at length about the many things "Jimmie Dean" is about, but what always resonated most strongly for me was what it had to say about the necessity of choosing real life over fantasy.
I suppose it has a lot to do with my being gay and having been raised Catholic. I grew up around false idols!
While researching this post I read that Cher had been read for the for the Joanne role (and I learned Sally Kellerman was an early Joanne choice, as well as Shelley Duvall for Edna Louise), but I had no idea of her reluctance to do the movie.
Athough I was a big fan of Cher too, I remember being rather astonished at how good she was. I liked her, but she was practically a Charo figure to me. she had been impersonated and parodied so long i was never sure I'd be able to take her seriously in a role. She knocked my socks off in this.
Around the time she made "Suspect" I felt the promise of her screen career was fading, but she was totally enchanting in "Moonstruck."
And thanks for mentioning the Sandy Dennis impersonation scene! It got the biggest laugh when i saw it in the theater. I have to believe it was one of those improvisations that drove the playwright so crazy, but for anyone who thought Sandy Dennis had it coming, Cher totally nailed it. I can see it in my minds eye now. Such a hoot!
Congrats on re-upping with Netflix, and I'm pleased the films we've discussed here are also the ones you're most interested in revisiting!
Good to hear from you, Rico! Thanks for coming back for your "fix"!
Hi Ken,
ReplyDeleteWonderful as usual, like Rico I enjoyed your look at celebrity culture and its pervasiveness.
It has been many,many years since I've watched this. I saw it upon initial release in theatres, a little arthouse theatre in the city with a friend and about 30 others in the place so my memory of it isn't terribly strong. I remember the three leads, the major inducement for my buddy and I to go-he being a big Karen Black fan and me because I had seen a shot of the three of them in a row publicizing the play and thought what a trippy line up. But I have no memory of Kathy Bates even being in it, it would be worth watching again just to see her then.
We both liked it but I also recall telling various friends and family that I had seen it and getting a blank stare. Once I mentioned the cast there were flickers of recognition but it seemed very few even knew about the film. My recollection is hazy but I do recall thinking that the quirky cast fit the material and that Altman was the right director for the material.
I thought Cher came across best but then my liking of both Sandy Dennis and Karen Black is on the cooler side. They can be fine if they keep their individual flutterings and stutterings in check, a little of that goes a long way. For instance Sandy won the Oscar for Virginia Woolf and I can't bear her in it, but in Up the Down Staircase where she's under control for me she's much better. Black at times was even more nerve wracking, she could bounce back and forth between restraint and excess in the same film but when she modulated her work she could be very good.
You're really on a tear bringing us one fantastic piece after another lately and I thank you. Look forward to whatever you turn your eyes to next but I'm always hopeful that someday you'll get around to the train wreck that is Where Love Has Gone or one of my personal favorites the lush corporate soaper Woman's World with Betty Bacall, Arlene Dahl and June Allyson.
Hi Joel
DeleteBefore my partner gifted me with a DVD of this film for Christmas, more than 25 years had passed since I saw it.
I love seeing films I enjoyed in my youth and discovering to what extent my advanced age and maturity (or lack of it) changes how I perceive it.
It holds up remarkably well, and I think you'll enjoy Karen Black in subdued mode. Although I think Dennis is fantastic here, based on what you wrote, I sense she'll drive you up a wall! (Your appraisal of these actresses is hilarious...I adore Karen black, But who couldn't help but smile at a description of some of her performances as being "nerve wracking?"
i really like seeing Cher's old face (I've always liked it more than the revamped version) and I think the plot feels less contrived to me now than it once did.
I think you're on the right track in noting that Altman was a a good choice for the material and the quirky cast is rather perfect for the quirky plot. With a more "normal" cast, I think it would come off like "Steel Magnolias,"
i still have yet to see "Women's World" but on your recommendation i caught "Where Love as Gone" as soon as I could.
I'm always flattered that you return to read these posts and always contribute to the always interesting dialog in the comments section.
Thanks so much, Joel! If you ever give this another look, let us know what you think.
Ken, thanks for highlighting one of my all-time-favorite "forgotten" films. I have always loved Robert Altman because he takes risks and chances, and this is just about his quirkiest movie. It's obviously quickie and low-budget, and I never saw it play any movie theater near me...I first saw it on HBO where it was scheduled at like 3 a.m. on a Tuesday. Thank God for Beta-Max!
ReplyDeleteBUT we are lucky to have this filmed record of the play, which unfortunately flopped...poor Ed Graczyk never did anything else of note; his play was already a little old-fashioned for its time. (Although Steel Magnolias did indeed bring the genre back to life, as you note, a few years later.)
All I can say is, what a cast! I am a huge fan of Karen Black and Sandy Dennis, and Cher is just marvelous. Also fun to see Kathy Bates pre-Misery...I would definitely put Jimmy Dean on each of these actors' "Best Films Of" list, despite its original failure.
Cher's next film, Silkwood, also has Sudie Bond (Juanita) as a fellow nuclear plant worker who gets "fried" by radiation...I guess Mike Nichols remembered her from this film as well...
Ken, I wonder what version of the DVD you have which has the Ed Graczyk interview? The DVD I have is a homemade VHS transfer I bought from a fellow film fanatic, but if there is a better print with that extra footage, I'd love to have it. Let me know.
Again, thanks for covering this little-known GEM of a film!! Thanks to you, I now own Night Watch and Dinah East and count them among my all-time favorite films. This blog is so stimulating for all us movie freaks!! You are awesome!
-Chris
Hey Chris
DeleteI'm not surprised that this is one of your favorites. It was released on Blu-Ray and DVD last November. The copy looks the best I've ever seen it (as good as a 16 mm blow up can, I guess).
i remember when it aired on cable tv, and I really think that is the last time I saw it. I never had it on VHS.
And yes, it does have quite a remarkable cast! I forgot about Sudie Bond in "Silkwood", I can see her now getting scrubbed down like a dray horse.
And you mentioned about Graczyk never doing another show of note- I took a look at a couple of YouTube clips of semi-professional /amateur productions of "Jimmy Dean," and I really wonder if I would have liked the story at all except under Altman's care and with this cast. What I saw really make the this show look like an unseen "Eunice" episode.
Lastly, I had no idea I had a small hand in your owning "Night Watch" and "Dinah East"! Some of your friends might consider me and my blog a bad influence. :-)
Thanks Chris, for always being so encouraging to me, and I hope you get your hands on a copy of the "Jimmy Dean" DVD!
Love, love, love this movie. I saw it in an NYC cinema when it was released and it didn't look good then. If you told me it was shot on Super 8 film, I could believe you. The short shooting schedule could only have exacerbated the limitations inherent in the 16mm format. That this quirky little film exists at all is a miracle and a testament to Cher. One must read Frank Rich's scathing NY Times review of the Broadway production to appreciate the miracle of Cher and her fund raising abilities. It's not just a bad review, it's a very bad bad review. Eek.
ReplyDeleteThe play is dreadful, but Altman is Altman and he conjures up things that only he can conjure. And here he gets to conjure with richly drawn characters and good actors portraying them. Sadly, the script makes about as much sense as The Sound of Music. But just as SOM is salvaged by the winning performance of Julie Andrews, the performances in Come Back to the Five and Dime are wonderful and save the day.
That's the only reason to watch this lovely little weirdo of a movie. The performances. Sudie Bond is unforgettable. Everyone is. I am so happy that it has been preserved on Blu-ray.
Hi George
DeleteOh, I did indeed read that NY Times review (way back when the show opened, but more recently in researching this post) and it is pretty scathing. I'm not a theater person, but I think the kind of celebrity stunt-casting so common on Broadway now wasn't so prevalent then, and Cher hitting the boards was enough to make the show a nightly sell out.
Even the playwright says that the film is better than the stage production, but that neither one is really "his". I think he should be grateful for that.
I don't have the same problem with the play as you, but I agree that the film is salvaged and made watchable exclusively on the strength, charisma and skill of the cast. They spin straw into gold.
I'm glad it finally came out on DVD as well.
Funny to have first seen this when I was so young, and again now that I'm older than the characters. Memory plays like this seem to improve with age.
Glad to know you're a a fan of this film too!
"Funny to have first seen this when I was so young, and again now that I'm older than the characters."
ReplyDeleteOh, my yes. Seeing CABARET as an adolescent, I thought Liza Minnelli really was a glamorous adult leading a glamorous life. Revisiting it decades (upon decades!) later, I was stunned by how young she was, practically a baby, and playing with fire. It was at a BC/EFA fund raising screening a few years ago and Liza was there... on crutches. Yes, things change with time. Indeed, they do.
Just watched "Jimmy Dean" the other day...I was not disappointed.
ReplyDeleteBut what a drag that the only extra on the DVD was the interview with the playwright, Ed Graczyk. The history of his play is fascinating and Ed is certainly entitled to his take on Altman's take on his play. But it felt like a very controlled rant about his play being ruined. And at the very end, he comments that the play is done dozens of times a year and someday he will see the version that he sees in his mind...I doubt he ever will!
If it wasn't for Altman and Cher going ahead with the film version of "Jimmy Dean," the play would probably be a dim memory...far less performed, and far less royalties for Graczyk.
At least he had nice things to say about Sandy Dennis!
Glad you checked it out!
DeleteYes, it's too bad there weren't more extras on the DVD. Especially too bad Altman wasn't around for the DVD commentary. His commentary tracks for his films are like taking a film course.
i agree with you that the interview with the playwright is like a controlled rant. One I think he has been resentfully holding onto in the shadow of all the attention accorded Altman, and all the brickbats hurled at his play.
I was amused by the "score to settle" tone of Graczyk's interview. I think I can understand his artistic frustration at having someone take over you work, but his ego seems to blind him to the failings of his play and how (whether he liked it or not) in many ways Altman was the best thing to happen to him.
Every artist fights for their vision, but I'm not too sure where Graczyks confidence in his vision comes from. Just as he did for the rather pulpish novel "That Cold Day in the Park", I think Altman found the art amidst Graczyk's artifice.
So appreciate your returning here with the update, Rick! Thanks!
Another great one, thanks Ken. I am watching Xanadu (yes, THAT Xanadu) now and thanking you for making me want to revisit it.
ReplyDeleteAlthough I love this movie, and wow - that solo still of Cher above is just stunning - I long for you to give your treatment to Altman's "Three Women." A favorite of mine (is it wrong that I watched it as a child?), and one you use for a nice compare/contrast above.
Hi Tanyadiva!
DeleteThank you very much for the compliment! I absolutely adore that you're watching "Xanadu" (of all things!) Every time someone watches "Xanadu" an angel gets its leg-warmers.
As much as I love "Jimmy Dean" any favorite list of Altman for me starts with "3 Women" as well. I'm impressed that you saw it as a child! Makes me wonder what a young mind did with those images.
I wrote about "3 Women" way back when I started my blog, but it's one of the few films I want to revisit on this site.
http://lecinemadreams.blogspot.com/2009/11/3-women-1977.html
Back then I was more concerned with keeping a film diary...these days I like to go into what a film means to me and perhaps look at what a film like this expresses (5 years later) compared to what "3 Women" had to say in the 70s.
Thanks for asking about it and jogging my memory!
Thanks, Ken. I hadn't seen it in the archives (I have read your site pretty extensively, as you know!) but I will recheck with the link.
ReplyDeleteLast night, an angel did indeed get their leg warmers...
Another great analysis. I'm impressed with both your thoughtfulness and research. This is another film I haven't seen in ages but you've perky my interest to see again.
ReplyDeleteCher was terrific in the film. Sandy Dennis's character were like over wound coils. You could feel the tension beneath the surface. When seeing her in films, I always had the conflicting emotions wanting to hug her and tell her everything is going to babe all right and wanting to run away as far as I could go.
Not sure how I missed this post, but better late than never:
DeleteThanks for commenting and I hope by now you have seen the film again. Sort of amazing how it holds up.
By the way, that's the most perfect description of Sandy Dennis' conflicting appeal I've ever read!
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ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
DeleteGreat observations, Gregory.
DeleteI'm reading a book about Altman now, and I like your impression of how his films all seem to exist simultaneously in one creative universe.
Like you, I tend to find there to be something valuable in all Altman's films (alas, MASH is lost to me, it's his one movie I cant abide), and I think I need to revisit some of the ones I saw so long ago and had mixed feelings about (Cookie's Fortune).
The comparison of Altman's work to Noh theater is very thoughtful and well-considered. It seems with each successive film you "revisit" by way of this blog, you grant yourself the opportunity to explore your experience of a film through a past/present prism.
Your deep response to movies is a perfect fit for this blog and is right in step with so many of the readers who so graciously share their comments here. Thanks, Gregory. Always a pleasure!
Forgive me for sounding like a broken record (Do people still use that cliche?), but this is yet another excellent and thoughtful post. You never disappoint, Ken!
ReplyDeleteI still use that cliche! And when in the service of such a lovely compliment, there's nothing cliche about it, in my book. Thank you very much, Thom. Really.
Delete....this movie is more powerful and devastating than the first Alien or any of the Terminator films....great art and great power....just saying
DeleteHi Cinemarocks
DeleteHa! I love that you found this movie to be so powerful! I love action movies, but CGI and sci-fi could never come up with the basic gut-level devastating power of the human drama. Altman knew this.
Two questions for Ken:
ReplyDeleteAre you familiar with a book written by Guy Debord in 1967 called "The Society Of The Spectacle"? The passages about the relationship between celebrity and social control through mediated fantasy and insuring that economies function through displacing human misery through illusory glamour? His most distilled quote in that book being "all that is false is true; all that is true is false"? (in relation to people not living their lives for themselves instead for the "spectacle" of a false mediated consensus "reality")
Have you ever heard of a Williams S. Burrough's book (author of Naked Lunch) called BOY?
"and they all loved THE BOY and THE BOY was a movie star and THE BOY died violently and so they all went out and bought BOY jackets and BOY knives and BOY key chains and BOY masks and they all began to think they were THE BOY..."
Ok. Two more questions: 1) Have you ever seen Vincente Minnelli's "The Cobweb" from 1955? Dean was asked to play the John Kerr role of a suicidal painter. One unknown and spooky piece of ephemera: That character's opening line of dialogue is "All the greatest artists are dead."
2)Did you know that a man in the Midwest re-created Dean's actual bookshelf from his NYC apartment down to the last and most infinitesimal and period-correct 1950's detail? On that shelf was a copy of Orwell's "1984" (!) and Budd Schulberg's "A Face In The Crowd", which is utterly compelling.....Was Dean thinking of the Andy Griffith role of the country boy turned Elvis-like music star turned corrupt political media puppet-tyrant for himself? Was he already contemplating making a dark cinematic statement about the machinations of his own overnight fame? (And to think that Kazan directed it only a year after his death!)
The only "yes" I have for your interesting questions is that I have seen "The Cobweb." Dean is the perfect symbol of the projection quality of fame. When you die too soon for reality to intrude upon the image, fans are free to project all they need onto the fantasy that is left behind.
ReplyDeleteThanks for contributing more food for thought to this post!
Sandy Dennnis is just absolutely gorgeous and terrific as Mona in this great classic film directed by Robert Altman. Pamela Hensley who played Mona in Doc Savage with the own Sandy and also with Gena Rowlands who always was an extremely gorgeous and stunning american perfect and impecable mix of Ursula Andress with Carol Trentini always was all the most incredibly gorgeous and stunning lovely and legendary american female beauties of the 70s and 80s forever and ever until today aswell.
ReplyDeleteAgreed, Michael! And I too love Gena Rowlands.
DeleteHi Michael - Yes, Sandy Dennis truly shines in this role. She's so perfect in it...sensitive, neurotic, and vulnerable. Sandy Dennis appearing with Gena Rowlands in Woody Allen's "Another Woman" is a dynamic pairing of two great actresses. Their scene is so electric.
DeleteThank you very much for reading my post and commenting. This Robert Altman film endures as one of my all-time favorites.