By
Ed Garea
MOVIES
ON THE BIG SCREEN
Mr. Smith Goes
to Washington, Frank Capra’s 1939 classic about a naive
young idealist (James Stewart) whose eyes are opened after being
appointed to serve a vacant U.S. Senate seat when he sees how
the nation’s political system works. It can be seen in selected
theaters on October 14 and 17.
GAY
JAPAN
October
12: In
America and Britain the pejorative for a male homosexual is “pansy.”
But in Japan the term is “rose.” Director Toshio Matsumoto gives
us a glimpse into a subculture we rarely think about when it comes to
Japan in his 1970 Funeral
Parade of Roses, airing at 2:15 am. It’s an outrageous gender-bending version
of sorts of Sophocles' Oedipus
Rex updated
to the swinging ‘60s. Barely known outside of Japan since its
release, this avant garde cult classic has gained a life of its own
thanks to the digital age. Using the thinnest of plots, Matsumoto
shows the counterculture lifestyle of Eddie (Peter) and other Tokyo
"gay boys" who range from hippies to drag queens. Eddie is
a frequenter of Gonda’s (Yoshio Tsuchiya) Shinjiku establishment,
the Genet Bar (an obvious reference to French writer Jean Genet), a
hotbed of competition and jealousy as Eddie battles Leda (Osamu
Ogasawara), the established matriarch of the club, for Gonda's
attentions. Eddie, who is also repeatedly haunted by visions of his
dead mother and his absent father, confronts Gonda in the finale.
That’s all I’m going to say, except to keep Sophocles in mind.
It’s a fascinating look as a subculture few outside Japan are
familiar with as Matsumoto, obviously showing the influence of
Godard, follows the adventures of Eddie and his friends. Look for the
scene where the transvestites run across a gang of girls who are not
too happy with what they see as being mocked. Bu the way, Yoshio
Tsuchiya is best known to Japanese film fanatics as Farmer Rikichi
in Seven
Samurai and
for his appearances in such Kaiju genres as Godzilla
Raids Again, The Mysterians, The H-Man, Matango, Destroy All Monsters
and Frankenstein Conquers the World.
ROHMER
October
7: At 2 am it’s the delightful Pauline
at the Beach from director Eric Rohmer. The third
in Rohmer’s 1980s series “Comedies and Proverbs,” the film
follows the adventures of 15-year old Pauline (Amanda Langlet) as she
accompanies her her older cousin Marion (Arielle Dombasle) to their
family's vacation home on the north-western coast of France. As they
settle into their trip, Marion quizzes Pauline on her love life, with
Pauline confessing that she has not had any serious affairs of the
heart. On the beach, Marion spies ex-lover Pierre (Pascal Greggory),
there with his friend Henri (Feodor Atkine). The quartet agree to
have dinner together and afterwards they discuss their ideas of love
in Henri's living room. Marion falls for Henri while Pauline begins
an affair with a young man named Sylvain (Simon de la Brosse) who she
met on the beach. It’s an enchanting look at young love and coming
of age as both ladies end up disappointed with their amours.
THE
MUMMY
This
October, The Mummy is TCM’s “Monster of the Month,” and TCM has
a nice supply of one of our favorite monsters on hand.
October
7: Start with The Mummy’s
Hand at 8 pm, then
move on to The Mummy’s Ghost at
9:30 and The Mummy’s
Curse at 10:45. The latter two starred
Universal’s Man of all Monsters, Lon Chaney. Jr.
October
14: The night takes a comedic turn with Abbott
and Costello Meet the Mummy at 8 pm and Wheeler
and Woosley in Mummy’s Boys at
9:30 pm. At 10:45 pm comes the unintentionally funny The
Robot vs. the Aztec Mummy, a film best enjoyed on its
MST 3000 incarnation.
CHRISTOPHER
LEE
October
10: A
night of Christopher Lee kicks off at 8 pm with The
Devil’s Bride,
followed at 10 pm by Horror
of Dracula,
with Peter Cushing as Van Helsing and Christopher Lee in his
star-making turn as Dracula. At 11:30 pm the sequel, Dracula,
Prince of Darkness,
follows. And at 1:15 Lee stars with Betta St. John in Horror
Hotel.
OTHER
NOTABLE PSYCHOTRONIA
October
3: A night of Lon Chaney begins with the classic The
Unknown, with Joan Crawford, at 8 pm.
October
8: The 1920 silent classic, The
Cabinet of Dr. Caligari airs at 12:15 am.
October
13: At 8 pm bumbling professor Jack MacGowran tracks
vampires in the wilds of Eastern Europe in Roman Polanski’s The
Fearless Vampire Killers.
NOIR
ALLEY
October
6: A group of desperate losers plan a bank robbery, with
unexpected results, in Odds Against
Tomorrow, at Midnight.
October
13: Joan Crawford in one of her better ‘50s films, The
Damned Don’t Cry, at 12:30 am.
NOTABLE
PRE-CODE
October
2: Myrna Loy dazzles in Penthouse at
8 am. followed by Harlow in Red-Headed
Woman at 9:30 and back to Loy, along with William
Powell in the venerable The Thin
Man at 11;30.
October
4: Mae West, along with Cary Grant, ion the classic I’m
No Angel, airing at 8 pm.
October
5: Maurice Evans, Roland Young and John Loder in the rarely
seen Wedding Rehearsal,
from director Alexander Korda and London Film in 1932.
October
12: William Haines and Madge Evans star in the 1932
comedy Fast Life at
6 am.
October
14: Bette Davis, Ann Dvorak and Joan Blondell in Three
on a Match (1932) at 8:45 am. Also with an early
appearance by Humphrey Bogart.
Charlie
Chaplin in one of his best, City
Lights (1931) at Noon.
October
15: An eccentric millionaire kidnaps eloping couples to make
sure they're meant for each other in RKO’s Where
Sinners Meet, with Diana Wynyard and Clive Brook.
MOVIES,
BAD MOVIES
October
3: Catch Virginia Weidler, Ray McDonald and Leo Gorcey as
“Snap” Collins in Born to
Sing at 1 pm. All we need say is that Gorcey
actually warbles in this - enough to make it both awful and a Must
See.
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