...this viewer might well be beating a dead horse, with what may be keen and poignant observation, which many an auteur of rare and eclectic cinema obscura, have since come to the conclusion of, but hey...all the more to revere and 'butter up' such relishable revived and re-discovered films...from such a progressively reputable film distribution company. We're talking about the fine folks, over at Vinegar Syndrome, people...and who out there, have fallen victim to deja-vu, whilst visually engaging the films released by this still relatively new organization...fondly reflecting back to a day when such films were the under-the radar standard...unswervingly daring, controversial, exploitative, cutting-edge, erotic, forbidden, taboo, way-too-odd-for-mainstream, gritty...even at times, slimy...as scatteringly issued by distributor Mike Vraney, in his heyday, and released under the appropriately monikered 'Something Weird Video' banner (...and to an extent, still does, in fact). 'Something Weird' might have once seen it's day, and to this day, remains very much appreciated and respected for such; however, it has become apparent that Vinegar Syndrome has since picked up this embraceably eclectic & respectable mantle, and is carrying on in the tradition...quickly becoming the source for undiscovered/rediscovered films of the more unconventional and controversial nature, which are...well, let's face it folks...deliciously misfit and odd...all the more deliciously apparent, with their latest 'two-fer' offering...the pairing of the 1964 political satire, "The Candidate", and the budget noirish 1957 drama, "Johnny Gunman"...
...the first of these two archival obscurities, thrown up on the view docker for our scrutinization, might be called "The Candidate", but the film's emphasis leans more toward the power behind the power, in this acidically satirical look at political corruption and self-indulgence...denoting where the strings are actually manipulated...and by who...setting the stage for a most amusing and poignant puppet show. Buddy Barker (Eric Mason) is the power player in this lucrative game, manipulatively frontlining a campaign for the 'flavor of the moment' Senate hopeful, Frank Carlton (Ted Knight). Unfortunately, as covert and underlining reputation dictates, whoever Buddy pulls into the campaign fold, gets invariably and inescapably caught up in the rampant whirlwind of his self-serving orchestration of these proceedings. And Buddy's latest purposeful, albeit 'disposable' construct...a beautiful, ambitious, naive-though-not-as-naive-looking-as-she-might-seem waif, Samantha (Mamie Van Doran), who is hired to act as social secretary...amongst other...uh, other functions...
...in fact, the crust of the events herein, unfold in a pressured Senate inquiry, where Samantha is left to defend herself, 'holding the bag', so to speak...forced to account for unveiled, suspected ethics violations, for which she has been unwittingly placed in the forefront, to explain and defend against. In the midst of this staunch and accusing expose, Samantha paints a portrait of underlining corruption, shedding the light on unscrupulous and secretive goings-on, seen through her eyes, as she witnesses the orchestrated gear-grinding of this ever-evident, manipulatively driven campaign 'machine', which she has associated herself with, and in the interim, revealing a hapless cast of characters who, like herself, has been used, and either cast aside, or placed in most embarrassing and accusational positions...with the irony herein suspectedly being that everyone knows that such events take place all the time; it's all a matter of...high or low...who conveniently takes the blame, when things go awry...so that everyone else from on high, can save face...no matter how innocent or guilty, they might be...
...despite the satirical theatricals, dramatics and lucrative subject matter..pretty much tame and widely assuming, today, but back then, whoa...the overall look of the film...crisp, sharp, though confined...surprisingly enough, seems to reflect and come across something more akin to a well produced television production, with a certain measure of strangely amusing irony here, being the fact that known exploitation stars and soon-to-be TV-stars are cast in a satirical drama, which chucklingy gives politics a poke in the eye. Actor Eric Mason plays a most deletable part, as the political puppet master, Buddy, who leaves the dirty laundry for someone else of his choosing, to take care of, while he gets off, scott free...brushing his hands of the 'dirt', he himself, has rustled up. For those well privy to actor Ted Knight's character performances, well into the 60's, 70's and 80's, his caricature here, as the knowing, though still promiscuously conquest-prone and manipulable Senate hopeful, Frank, really shouldn't surprise anyone, as it seems like he is honing the type of character, which he would assume, to varying degree, in performances yet to come, movie-wise, and of course, TV-wise. Strangely, as beautiful, sexy and lusciously alluring as actress Mamie Van Doren looks, in the midst of these proceedings...that is, as opposed to the unbridled flaunt of the sexpot roles, which she had been known for, at this time...she seems somewhat more reserved here, in that respect...in an attempt to effectively display her dramatic ability, and not just her...well, her assets...
...as compared to "The Candidate", 1957's "Johnny Gunman", at first, seem like an odd follow-up, in this obscure double feature...though, in the end, no less compelling. At a loss of other productive venues at their disposal, the Greenwich Village police department covertly call upon an investigative reporter, to covertly weed out some dirt on an up & coming, inner city gangster moll, named Johnny G. (Martin Brooks); his name has reportedly and repeatedly come up on the police's dogged pursuit docker...but it seems that, despite his growing reputation and growth in the local mob's ranks, Johnny's past always seems to come up clean. Wary of his being pursued, and in the midst of attempting to lie low, Johnny happenstance meets up with an alluring, though mysterious woman (Ann Donaldson), who he falls for, and whom he relates his ambitious plan to take over the reins of the city's ruling mob ring. In the end, given his equally ambitious competition...as well as his spontaneous and overly trusting relationship with someone whom he had just met, at the spur of the moment...what exactly does the future hold for Johnny G.??...
...a quite compelling and moody piece of crime-themed film noir...enjoyably realistic and believable, by virtue of great performances, as well as exceptionally engaging locales, which shift between great shots of the seedy and gritty Manhattan, as reflective of this film's time period, and stop-overs of atmospherically depicted establishments of the area, along the way. In a way, as exceptionally well-paced as these proceedings unveil themselves, the overall feel of the film seems measurably and economically improvisational, at times...especially in taking advantage of the darkened city streets and back alleys, which almost come across as cleverly staged, for lack of a better description. Martin Brooks...who gave this perceptive viewer, an elating 'hey, that's the guy who...' moment, in remembering his more prominent and fondly remembered role as Rudy Wells, in the '70's 'bionic' TV series...gives a most believable, albeit a bit tortured performance as aspiring gangster moll, Johnny G. He volleyingly plays off his mysterious leading lady, Ann Donaldson, quite well, who herself is quite visually engaging, in both looks and performance...
...culled from exceptional 35mm prints, these two obscurities look almost too sharp and crisp, for their own good, giving wonder why either of these two production haven't ever seen release, in previous years. The sound quality is equally pristine, though a forgivable rhythm of film strip pop and clicks is evident, which in the long run, proves archivally charming, considering when these films originally flickered on the screen. Despite the lack of extra features...heck, not even some insightful archival commentary...these two forgotten oddities definitely bear checking out. Bravo, Vinegar Syndrome, for knocking another great pairing out of the park...
No comments:
Post a Comment