Nigel Davenport (85)

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Great British character actor Nigel Davenport has died. What a shame. 85 years young. He was a stalwart of British cinema (and TV) for 60 years. An uncredited role in Peeping Tom (1960), Sands of the Kalahari (1965), A Man For all Seasons (1966), The Avengers (1966-68), Play Dirty (1969), The Virgin Soldiers (1969), Villain (1971), South Riding (TV – 1974), Zulu Dawn (1979), Chariots of Fire (1981), Greystoke (1984), Prospects (Tv 1986), Howards Way (TV 1987 – 1990). That’s just a few of his many credits.

In Greystoke

Play Dirty

Play Dirty

http://www.filmposterart.co.uk/play-dirty-180-p.asp

Trailer for Play Dirty

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EaPBf7dk8hA

Zulu Dawn.

Jaws (1975)

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Happy Birthday to Richard Dreyfuss. A spritely 66 years old. He starred in todays pick – Jaws – one of the all time great movies and a personal favourite.

Has there ever been a more quoted film? What’s your favourite?  “Have you ever been strung up by your Buster Browns?”  How many times have you watched this film? It’s not often a film comes along that changes the industry but this film did.

My first memory was watching it in a cinema in Ealing with a girl. I casually snuck my arm around her shoulder (proper smooth). She was snuggled in in case she got scared. I was cool and casual. Richard Dreyfuss swims up to the damaged boat to search for the shark. He pulls a large tooth out of the damaged boat. A head pops out of the bottom of the boat and I inadvertently pull my arm up to my chest…..unfortunately, the girl’s neck was between my arm and my chest, she screamed, she shrieked, I let her go. It was our only date.

Bloody shark.

 

Tonite Let’s All Make Love In London

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This stunning Peter Strausfeld poster, made for the Academy Cinema on Oxford Street in 1967 for this Peter Whitehaed anomaly which features an astounding array of talent including lee Marvin, Mick Jagger, Syd Barrett, Eric Burden, Michael Caine, Julie Christie, Allen Ginsberg, David Hockney, Kenney Jones, Ronnie Lane, Steve Marriott, Edna O’Brien, Andrew Long Oldham, Vanessa Redgrave, Pink Floyd, Ian McGlagen, Chris Farlowe and Alan Aldridge.

A weird and wonderful look at the swinging 60’s. Flowers in their hair and drugs in their system, and I was only 11 years old. Blimey.

 

“An interesting and amusing documentary.”……Kim Newman – Empire Magazine

“Fascinating interviews”…Time Out

Face (1997)

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It’s always sad when a talented director dies, it’s much worse when they are young. It’s a sobering thought when they are younger than you. Antonia Bird, a rare breed, a British woman director, made intense, personal films with style. This one, Face, had a stellar cast, Robert Carlyle, Ray Winstone, Phil Davis, Damon Albarn, Peter Vaughn, Sue Johnston to name but a few.

 

 

Check out Priest (19940, Ravenous (1999) and Cracker (2006). Antonia Bird R.I.P.

Hannibal Brooks (1969)

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I have a real soft spot for Hannibal Brooks. Nasty Nazis, an elephant, Tyrol vistas, Olly Reed and mad, bad Michael J Pollard, what’s not to love? Michael Winner directed this much under rated comedy / adventure/ war movie. It’s a suspense story. It’s a comedy story. It’s a war story. It’s a warm story. It’s a wild story. It’s a love story. It’s a moving story. It’s an elephant story. It’s a super story. Oliver Reed stars and Michael J Pollard puts in a nutty performance as an American Guerilla working to hassle the German war effort at every turn. This was one year after Bonnie and Clyde and a couple of years before Little Fauss and Big Halsy so MJP was on a roll.
Olly was always watchable

The Birds (1963)

 

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One of my all time most watched films. Yes I know you can see the strings: yes Tippi is behind glass when the dead seagull is smashed against phone box but it’s such a great story and still has it’s genius chilling Hitchcock moments. For me when Tippi is sitting on the bench listening to the kids in school singing and the climbing frame behind her fills up with birds is just brilliant.

Things I love about this film 1) Tippi Hedren always looks so cool and stylish. 2) Little Cathy Brenner grew up to be Gus Grissom’s missus (The Right Stuff), the bitch from hell in The Witches of Eastwick and a sexual appetizer for a Xenomorph in Alien. 3) Hitch’s “cameo” walking the dogs as Rod Taylor goes into the bird shop. 4) There is no “The End” at the final scene.

It’s so worth a watch.

 

Switchblade Sisters (1975)

So back in the day I was co-owner of a company called Downtown Pictures, a funky little film distribution operation that released great films that I got to choose. A most fulfilling period (until the money ran out). One of my favourite memories was doing a deal with Miramax to release Switchblade Sisters in the UK. Quentin Tarantino’s company Rolling Thunder had released this old film in the US. A rare genre – girl gang movies- directed by the legendary Jack Hill who directed classic Blaxploitation movies Foxy Brown and Coffy, Big Doll House and Big Bird Cage as well as the insane Spider Baby. Jack came over to the UK a couple of times and I got to know him a little, a very spiritual man (surprising when you see his film output) but full of great stories about Pam Grier how much fun he had making Switchblade Sisters.

Movies like Switchblade Sisters just couldn’t get made today. Unless self funded and under the radar. Such a shame. Directors like Jack Hill cut their teeth on exploitation movies. This poster would look great on any teenagers wall hell. On any wall.

Rollerball (1975)

So many years ago I had this girlfirend, a really gorgeous little thing, had her hair but in the Purdy style. Very pretty , great fun. Her Dad was a proper scary geezer. Ex boxer, looked fearsome. I was already into films and when we started to chat about movies, he warmed (a bit) and one night after he’d had a few sherbets he opened a cupboard under the stairs and beckoned me over. I was scared he was going to shove me inside and lock the door until I promised to never see his daughter again but he was quite mellow. He reached in and pulled out a carrier bag, he reached inside and produced one of the gloves used in Rollerball. My girlfriends Dad was one of the editing team, he was the assistant editor. I put the glove on my puny little hand and could barley hold it steady. James Caan looked so hard wearing those metal studded gloves.
Jonathan E. What a great character. Check out our Japanese framed and mounted Chirashi. Stunning.

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Quadrophenia (1979)

Mods and Rockers, the cream of the British acting fraternity of the future all squeezed into Brighton for a vibrant action packed film to make you leap out of your seat and dance.
A cast that has graded the TV screens of Britain includes Ray Winstone (Vincent), Phil Davis (Whitechapel) Lesley Ash (Men Behaving Badly), Phil Daniels (Eastenders), Mark Wingett (The Bill), Kate Williams (Love Thy Neighbour), Michael Elphick (Boon), Daniel Peacock (Starlings), Timothy Spall (Blandings), P.H. Moriarty (The Bill), Sting (Captain Planet and the Planeteers) and Toyah Wilcox (Barmy Aunt Boomerang).
Come on, no-one has ever been heard of Aunt Boomerang or The Planeteers but hey ho. Written by Franc Roddam who produced Masterchef, from mod and roll to pastry puffs, what a change.
A very cool soundtrack that features The Orions, The Who, The Merseybeats, James Brown, The Ronettes, The Crystals, The Cascades, The Kingsmen, The Chiffons, Booker T and the MG’s and The High Numbers.
How can you not love this film. Leslie Ash getting her rocks off in an alley, Ray Winstone and Phil Daniels naked, Sting in a silver suit and fighting on the beach.

http://www.filmposterart.co.uk/quadrophenia-395-p.asp

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The Taking Of Pelham123 (1974)

So, it’s 1992 at the London Film Festival, the hottest ticket in town is for a film by a strangely named video geek called Quentin Tarantino, the film was Reservoir Dogs. Yes, I know that’s not Pelham but I’ll get to that in a minute. I had managed to secure four tickets in row four, smack in the middle. I refuse £100 for my ticket on the way in and settle down. I am with my missus, my good friend from Artificial Eye (then) Elaine Day and her pre Oscar winning boyfriend Martin Childs. The film is introduced with a stage appearance by Mr Tarantino and one Harvey Keitel. The audience is proper excited, but nowhere near as excited as Quentin. He machine guns his thanks and states that they will be back afterwards. Harvey smiles and waves his hand.
The curtain goes back, Tim Roth bleeds for 90 minutes, Mr Pink refuses to tip and some poor cop has his ear lopped off. The audience is suitably impressed by a first time film makers efforts and nearly everyone sits patiently for the Q and A. Quentin bounces on stage like Tigger after a Tony Montana session on the Columbian marching powder. Harvey saunters after him, smiling benignly.
The audience is interested and hands shoot up everywhere when asked to put their questions.
“What was it like working with Harvey Keitel?” Answer (at 100 words per second) “oh my God, well, he’s just a genius, I loved him in Mean Streets and Taxi Driver, he is the main man, I wanted so much for him to ……etc…etc…for five minutes.”
“Harvey, what was it like working with Quentin?”. Harvey slowly walks over to the mike, leans forward. “Cool.” That’s it.
Four more interspersed questions with Quentin going nuts and Harvey offering one word answers (much to the audiences delight) and I find myself with my hand up and the spotlight is turned on me as they hand me a microphone. “Quentin. In the Taking of Pelham 123, the bad guys use colours to code themselves, Mr Grey, Mr Blue, Mr Brown and Mr Green, did you use this as an inspiration for the film?” (Subtext, did you nick the idea from someone else?). Quentin, who had been almost at boiling point in his enthusiasm prior to this now completely exploded telling the audience what a great film it was, how brilliant Robert Shaw, Martin Balsam, Hector Elizondo and Walter Matthau were, how the plot worked, what happened at the end, the whole nine yards. He must have gone on for five minutes and then stopped and just “but no, I didn’t use that as an inspiration, it’s just coincidence”).
Who cares. The Taking of Pelham 123 has so much to offer (before the stupid remake I might add, leave well enough alone you studio types with no new ideas) and seeing great actors bounce off each other is a joy to behold.

Matthau, in the middle of his “serious” phase is brilliant as Lt Zach Garber. Robert Shaw is coldly calculating as the head baddie, Mr Blue. Hector Elizondo is slimy and nuts as Mr Grey (great line between Mssrs Blue and Green – Shaw and Balsam – where Mr Blue says, “I trust Mr. Brown, I do not trust Mr. Grey. I think he’s an enormous, arrogant pain in the ass who could turn out to be trouble. I also think that he is mad. Why do you think they threw him out of the Mafia? “.
Martin Balsam with a chip on his shoulder and a runny nose is spot on. A cracking film.

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