The Art of the Movie Poster: The Man With the Golden Arm (1955)

The Jack Lemmon Collection Coming in June

I am very happy to see that one of America's greatest actors is finally starting to get some love on Region 1 DVD. This set, coming in late June, is one of the first of hopefully several highlighting some of the long unavailable films from the late great Jack Lemmon. While the titles are perhaps minor, I am thrilled to see that the very funny Pffft (in which a young Kim Novak can be seen), and the underrated Under The Yum Yum Tree and The Notorious Landlady (also featuring Novak) are appearing. I'm also pleased that the six disc set will also include extras, like a documentary on the much missed Lemmon and an episode of the Ford All Star Theater. When asked to name my favorite all time actor, Lemmon's name is one of the first ones that come to mind and I can't wait for this set...now if someone would just release The April Fools on disc.

Kim Novak: 12 Essential Films

So much has been written about Kim Novak that it seems a little pointless to do a biography type piece on her. Instead, I thought I would just pay a short tribute to twelve of her most essential films. Kim has been one of my favorite actresses since I first discovered her in my early teens, and I don't think she has ever been granted the credit she deserves. As one of the last true studio stars of the fifties, Kim Novak might not have been among the great actors of her day, but she had a quality and a screen presence few have ever matched. At her best, she was able to project a touchingly awkward and unsure quality that few actors could ever even hope to touch. Here are twelve of her films, in chronological order, that I find particularly memorable, with several genuine classics in the bunch.

1. PICNIC (1955): Kim had appeared in a handful of films before this timeless Joshua Logan classic, but none had even hinted that she would have been capable of delivering the performance she does here. As the beautiful and insecure Madge, Kim gives one of the most memorable performances of the fifties, and few screen couples have generated more of an erotic charge than her and William Holden here. From its unforgettable George Duning score, to the beautiful photography of James Wonge Howe, PICNIC is one of the essential American films of the fifties, and Kim Novak is one of its biggest assets.

2. THE MAN WITH THE GOLDEN ARM (1955): Otto Preminger's harrowing tale of heroin addiction stills packs a wallop over fifty years after its release. Frank Sinatra delivers one of his great screen performances, and Kim is effective in a small but strong role as his girlfriend Molly. Kim would work again with Frank a few years later in PAL JOEY, but THE MAN WITH THE GOLDEN ARM remains their most memorable pairing.

3. VERTIGO (1958): What can possibly be said about this miraculous Alfred Hitchcock film that hasn't been said already? With all due respect to both Grace Kelly and Tippie Hedren, Kim Novak was the ultimate Hitchcockian heroine, and she delivers a powerfully strange and haunting performance in this, possibly the master's greatest film.

4. BELL, BOOK AND CANDLE (1958): My favorite Kim Novak film, and one I will be writing on in detail later this week.

5. MIDDLE OF THE NIGHT (1959): Oh, how I would like to see this film again. I caught it on television many years ago, and I remember it being a really effective version of Paddy Chayefsky's play. Kim was at her absolute peak, physically and artistically, in this period.

6. STRANGERS WHEN WE MEET (1960): Underrated Richard Quine film that would give Kim one of her best roles, and later inspire David Bowie to write one of his great songs. I wish I liked Kirk Douglas more, because his performance is probably the only thing keeping this from being one of my favorite American films from the early sixties.

7. BOY'S NIGHT OUT (1962): Silly but fun romp from director Michael Gordon that gave Kim a chance to show her comedic chops, and work with both James Garner and Tony Randall. Not currently available on DVD but it pops up on Turner Classic Movies quite a bit.

8. OF HUMAN BONDAGE (1964): Kim's most controversial film continues to divide people to this day, but count me in with the camp that greatly admires it. I find her work here to be incredibly strong, resonate, and it is probably her greatest performance. I love everything about the film, from the stark black and white photography Of Oswald Morris to the beautiful score of Ron Goodwin. This caused quite a stir back in 1964, with my favorite moment being Time Magazine's fiery and angry defense of her performance.

9. KISS ME STUPID (1964): Billy Wilder's unhinged, profane and fall down hilarious sex satire is among the great man's most underrated works. Working with a fantastic I.A.L. Diamond script, Kim stars in one her sexiest performances as Polly The Pistol opposite Dean Martin irrepressible Dino. Fast, funny, perverse and totally off the wall, KISS ME STUPID is one of the great American comedies of the mid sixties.

10. THE AMOROUS ADVENTURES OF MOLL FLANDERS (1965): Terence Young's bawdy answer to Tony Richardson's TOM JONES failed upon its initial release but it holds up quite well I think. Young's direction is adventurous, and Kim (as a redhead) is delightful in the title role. Becoming harder and harder to see, this film is really deserving of a quality DVD release.

11. THE LEGEND OF LYLAH CLARE (1968): Kim bids farewell to Hollywood with this crazed over the top Robert Aldrich film that really has to be seen to be believed. The film's current unavailability is extremely frustrating, and needs to be rectified soon.

12. TALES THAT WITNESS MADNESS (1973): While she has had a handful of notable roles after the sixties, THE LEGEND OF LYLAH CLARE pretty much works as Kim's last definitive performance. Still, I quite like her here in this Freddie Francis shot horror anthology. Kim reportedly replaced an ailing Rita Hayworth and, like all of her work, she is most memorable in the part.

There are several Kim Novak films that I haven't seen that I would really like to, most notably JEANNE EAGELS (1957), and THE NOTORIOUS LANDLADY (1962). However I think the above are her most essential works, although some might argue effectively for THE EDDY DUCHIN STORY (1956), PAL JOEY, and JUST A GIGOLO (1979). For me, her great period came between 1958 and 1964 with her work in VERTIGO, BELL BOOK AND CANDLE, OF HUMAN BONDAGE, and KISS ME STUPID being particularly great reminders at how good this undervalued icon could be. I have provided links above to the ones that are currently available on DVD, hopefully the rest will become available eventually.

Bell, Book and Candle at The Amplifier

My heavily revised look at Bell, Book and Candle is now over at The Amplifier for those interested.

Behind the Scenes With My Favorite Actors: Frank Sinatra in The Man With the Golden Arm (1955)

***Stills Captured from the Special Edition DVD***

The Legend of Lylah Clare Now Available From Warner Archives

Robert Aldrich's extremely strange and totally unforgettable The Legend of Lylah Clare starring Kim Novak has finally been granted a home-video release via a remastered DVD-R from Warner Archives. More information on this important release can be found here.

Overlooked Classics: Bell Book And Candle (1958)

The names Jimmy Stewart and Kim Novak, and the year 1958, will always go together due to Alfred Hitchcock's legendary VERTIGO. VERTIGO has indeed cast such an imposing shadow, that it is often forgotten that it wasn't the only film the iconic pair made together that year. While not the cinematic milestone that VERTIGO is, Richard Quine's delightful BELL BOOK AND CANDLE has for too long been unrecognized as one of the fifties most essential, and enduring, films.
BELL BOOK AND CANDLE started out life as a stage play by John Van Druten. Written in the early part of the fifties, and probably inspired a bit by the Veronica Lake film I MARRIED A WITCH, Drutten's play ran for over a year on Broadway with Rex Harrison and Lili Palmer as its leads.
Optioned by Columbia in the mid fifties, Drutten's play was transformed into a gem of a screenplay by Daniel Taradash, who was on a bit of a roll with both FROM HERE TO ETERNITY (1953) and PICNIC (1955) recently under his belt. Columbia, excited about Taradash's script, gave the project to a prolific, if still young, director and the wheels began turning on the film in the mid part of 1957.
27 year old director Richard Quine had been making films since the late part of the forties, but he had yet to make a big name for himself in the industry by 1957. A one time child actor, the talented Quine was probably best known at this point for the noir PUSHOVER (1954) and the Judy Holliday vehicle THE SOLID GOLD CADILLAC (1956). Quine was the perfect choice for BELL BOOK AND CANDLE though as he was incredible skilled in comedy, romance and mystery, so Drutten's genre-bending play was tailor made for him to bring to the screen.
Casting began shortly after Quine was brought on, and the film was granted a relatively generous budget as Columbia felt they might have a hit. Rex Harrison was either unavailable, or not considered, and the great Jimmy Stewart was brought in to replace him as the literally beguiled male lead, Shep Henderson. With the much loved Stewart secured, the rest of the cast began falling into place with some of the best players of the day. Comedic hurricanes Ernie Kovacs and Hermione Gingold were hired, as was the always reliable Elsa Lanchester. A young television actress named Janice Rule was secured as Stewart's hapless fiancee Merle, and the soon to be legendary Jack Lemmon was brought in for one of the strangest roles of his career. All that was left for the studio and Quine was to find someone to play the lonely and trouble witch Gillian Holroyd, and the production could begin.

Viewed today, it is impossible to think of anyone other than Kim Novak as Gillian in BELL BOOK AND CANDLE. She fits the part so perfectly that it is hard to believe there was ever any question about the casting. Still, some other actresses were considered for the plum part but at Quine and Stewart's urging, Columbia finally gave the part to the then 24 year old studio player who had made such a big splash in the Taradash scripted PICNIC just two years earlier.
Cast in place, the cameras began rolling on location in New York City in February of 1958. Shot in some of the most beautiful color ever seen on the big screen through to April, by legendary James Wong Howe, BELL BOOK AND CANDLE is one of the great New York films of the fifties (and possibly ever) and one of the most distinctive looking films ever made.
Howe was already in his mid fifties when he shot Quine's great romance, but his work on BELL BOOK AND CANDLE is that of an excited and experimental young man firing on all creative cylinders. The film is a wonder to look at, with its brilliant bold brushstrokes of blue, lavender, purple and red, BELL BOOK AND CANDLE makes one yearn for the days of technicolor. I am actually disappointed every Christmas when the world doesn't turn out looking this way. Howe's photography is masterful throughout, whether it is in Gillian's Manhattan apartment (featuring inventive set design by Louis Diage) or in the film's snow covered outdoor shooting. One shot in particular of a hat falling off the Flat Iron Building on a freezing and quite early Manhattan morning is one of the most beautiful shots of New York City ever committed to celluloid. Perhaps the world never really looked like this, but it should have.

BELL BOOK AND CANDLE works so wonderfully well as a lot of things. It is a romance but, with its many spells and incantations, it is also more than a bit spooky. It's also very funny, and one of the great undervalued Christmas movies ever. I can't imagine a December without it. It's also a wonderful snapshot of the beatnik period as Hollywood saw it, with the film's beautifully designed Zodiac Club filling in for every existential romantic fantasy one might have of the period nicely.
The cast all appear, with one exception, to be having the time of their lives. Novak and Stewart got on nicely during both this shoot and their time with Hitchcock, and they both deliver warm and touching performances. Quine and Novak were falling in love during this period, and that no doubt helped him shoot her in many of the film's longing and bewitching close ups of her face and eyes. Kovacs, Gingold and

Lanchester are all used to their maximum effect here as well, with special mention going to Kovacs very funny portrayal of a burned out writer who thinks he has the inside track to Manhattan's witch population. The great Lemmon, probably my all time favorite actor, is the one who doesn't seem totally engaged. It isn't surprising as later he would call his role as Gillian's brother one of the most disappointing of his career. He isn't bad here, but he just seems distant. His performance is the one dull spot on an otherwise remarkably shiny and near perfect work.

BELL BOOK AND CANDLE would open on Christmas day in 1958 to healthy business and fairly solid reviews. It would receive two Academy Award nominations for its set direction, and the wonderful Jean Louis outfits that Novak wore so well. Howe was somehow ignored for his brilliant work, as were the never nominated Quine and Novak. The film would also receive a Golden Globe nomination for Best Picture but it failed to take home any awards.
Seven years after its release, a television series called BEWITCHED started and became an immediate sensation. Its tale of a lovely blond witch named Samantha, who marries a mortal, was clearly inspired by BELL BOOK AND CANDLE, and it gives the film an interesting cultural counterpoint that still resonates to this day.

BELL BOOK AND CANDLE has never really gone away, but it often seems to sit just under the radar of many film fans. Much has been read into the subtext of the film, but I prefer to view it with the same eyes I had when I first discovered it on early morning television back when I was in the earliest parts of my teens.
Available on VHS since the earliest days of the format, BELL BOOK AND CANDLE is currently available on an OK DVD that features a decent widescreen transfer but no extras. A truly restored print showing Howe's invigorating color photography would be quite mind blowing, and any extras afforded to the film would be most appreciated.
Richard Quine would take his life in 1989 and, like I have written here before, I don't think he has ever gotten his due. Innovative with talent to burn, Quine's best films show him as one of the the best directors that came out of Hollywood's most underrated period. BELL BOOK AND CANDLE is his best film, a cool Christmas Valentine that has never been matched for style, grace, and heart.

Information on the DVD of BELL BOOK AND CANDLE can be found here.

The film's extraordinary soundtrack by George Duning can occasionally be ordered from Dusty Groove and it is essential.

The original play is out of print, but used copies are available here.