frankwiener

The collapse of Paterson Eastside High School during the 1960's and 1970's followed a common pattern among inner city high schools not only in New Jersey but in urban areas throughout the country. Having graduated from a high school just outside of Newark, New Jersey in 1967, the year in which the movie began, I was more familiar with the rapid decline of Weequahic High School in Newark, which, like Paterson Eastside, was once considered among the top academic achievers in the state, if not the country. I had friends at Weequahic, and by 1967 the school had already become a victim of rapid white flight. Many of the whites from the Weequahic area, among others in the city, had already abandoned Newark for my town and for our high school, so I was very familiar with the demographic upheaval of the times. In many ways, the death of Paterson Eastside mirrored that of Weequahic and inner city high schools all over the country.

So much for the historical background which, in a general sense, is more accurate than the specific events of the film. In the end, Joe Clark's non-nonsense approach to urgent school reform may not have produced long-term results for Paterson Eastside, but he should not be faulted for trying a new approach when all else had so obviously failed.

Morgan Freeman's portrayal of Clark was perhaps one of his greatest performances, and there have been many. This role was much more forceful and energetic than many of his most famous ones including "Shawshank Redemption", "Driving Miss Daisy", "Unforgiven", and "Million Dollar Baby". He was also supported by an excellent cast, including actual students and teachers from Eastside High. Lynn Thigpen was also very effective as the militant, outraged parent who may have been motivated more by her personal ambition than by Clark's removal. Alan North was also very convincing as the mayor who was first and foremost obsessed with his own, selfish political survival rather than the genuine needs of his city and its people. This is all too familiar to me from my own personal experience, and North played the part perfectly.

The "transition" scene featuring "Welcome to the Jungle" by Guns 'n Roses was very powerful as it very dramatically painted a tragic situation that was once very real to me. Although I may be among the privileged, my schools always had doors that could only be opened from the inside, but I'm not going to scrutinize that detail excessively. Beyond the sometimes theatrical details, this film compellingly re-enacted a very tragic chapter in American urban history, thanks mostly to the exceptional acting of Morgan Freeman and the skillful direction of John Avildsen.

While every father-son relationship is unique, they all have their similarities. That applies to father-daughter relationships as well, and this film is certainly about a father-daughter relationship even if sits on the sidelines. It's there all the same.

Although my own, very complicated relationship with my father was no bed of roses, it was very different from that of Tom and Gene Garrison, yet I could certainly connect it to Tom and Gene. This may be why I found this movie so difficult to watch, but, at the same time, it was essential for me to watch it.

With the tragic reality of Gene Hackman's own death at such an advanced age so recent before this viewing, I could not help from thinking about it and linking it to the film. Hackman was only 40 when this movie was made while I was still in college. For me, it seems like yesterday. Watching Hackman as a young man struggling with the enormous weight on his shoulders of an elderly father, who suddenly finds himself alone in the world, and comparing that situation to Hackman's own, personal circumstances 55 years later never escaped me for a single second. The comparison made the movie all the more powerful. For me, 1970 seems like yesterday and now, like Hackman in real life, I'm in an entirely different place. This personal position makes this movie all the more significant to me at this advanced stage of my life. Yes, it may even keep me up at night.

The exceptional writing of Robert Anderson, who also wrote outstanding classics such as the "Nun's Story", "The Sand Pebbles" and "Tea and Sympathy", certainly contributed to the strong emotional impact of this film, as did the exceptional performances of Melvyn Douglas and Gene Hackman, along with the rest of the entire cast including Dorothy Stickney and Estelle Parsons. If you remember "Bonnie and Clyde", Estelle wasn't Gene's sister. She was his wife.

How can a movie possibly sustain the momentum created by the first phenomenally tense fifteen minutes of "The Killers"? In my humble view, this one could not. Once the Prentice Hat Company heist occurred, I admit that I was lost, and I even replayed the movie a few times in order to understand what exactly happened to the loot and how Kitty (Ava Gardner) and Colfax (Albert Dekker) managed to double-cross everyone around them. I admit that in trying to figure this all out, I may not be the sharpest knife in the drawer, but I did make an effort all the same because it was worth it to me. By the way, was there a connection between the classic, much imitated opening theme song of "Dum Da Dum Dum" and Dum Dum, the character in the film? I'll think about that tomorrow.

Anyway, the prevailing mood and tension of the opening scene was, at least to me, cinematic perfection, but the problem was that the rest of the film could never maintain the intensity of its opening. Aside from the masters of unmatched evildoing, William Conrad and Charles McGraw, that was Bill Walker who played Sam, the cook. Do you remember him as the pastor in "To Kill a Mockingbird" who demanded that Scout stand for her father when he was passing? That made at least two magnificent cinematic scenes which featured Walker. How many Hollywood actors can make that claim? Harry Hayden played Al, the diner proprietor, who has a staggering 300 credits on this website spanning from the 1930's to the 1950's, so if you grew up watching television or films during this period, as I did, you've certainly seen Harry before.

Edmond O'Brien is one of the most likeable actors of all time. Don't ask me why, but he is, starting from his very first film in 1939 as Gringiore in "Hunchback of Notre Dame" but not to forget "White Heat" and "D. O. A", all personal favorites. He appeared with Gardner again in "The Barefoot Contessa", but the rest of that film is very vague in my mind. As always, Gardner is beautiful here in her film debut, but I much preferred her in "Night of the Iguana" and "On the Beach", films that captivated me to the very end and not just the first 15 minutes as in this case, which didn't even include Gardner. In spite of the strange role as Kitty, this launched her into Hollywood stardom. "I swear. Kitty is innocent!" What an awful scene, but I don't blame Gardner for that. In his film debut at age 33, Lancaster had a much better role as the Swede, and the rest is history. Another bit of trivia is that Virginia Christine, rejected here by Swede for the Gardner character, appeared with him in "Judgment at Nuremburg", although never in the same scene. She was the one who packed the strudel for Spencer Tracy on his way back to Maine.

After all of this commotion, remember that the basic rate of the Atlantic Insurance Company of Newark, New Jersey will probably drop one tenth of a cent. That says it all. And being that it's Friday, don't come in until Monday.