Jerry Lewis: It's About Time!

Tonight at the 81st Academy Awards, filmmaker extraordinaire Jerry Lewis gets some recognition--The Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award:

"The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has recognized Jerry Lewis with one of its greatest honors, the Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award.

The award, named after renowned actor, past Academy president and motion picture industry supporter Jean Hersholt, is bestowed by the Academy on an individual in the motion picture industry whose humanitarian efforts have brought credit to the industry."

Jerry Lewis should have received the Academy's Lifetime Achievement Award years ago. Heck, he should have at least gotten a certificate for coming up with the Video Assist in 1960, when making his directorial debut (in Miami!) in The Bellboy.

But let's face it: comedy never gets the recognition that drama does. Comedy is infinitely more difficult to do, if it weren't, they wouldn't need laugh tracks on most every situation comedy ever produced. Dramas don't require a "sobbing track" or a "suspense track" of a faux audience reacting to dramatic action onscreen, do they? Lewis was Paramount's big moneymaker in the 1950s and 1960s and was given full control over his work. Such was the confidence that studio founder Adolph Zukor essentially gave the star anything he wanted because the producer knew that a Lewis film would make a tidy profit at the box office. Lewis was/is a perfectionist and demanding. He had zero tolerance for incompetents, as he states in the DVD featurette for his 1963 masterwork, The Nutty Professor.

However...

...the Hersholt award is an award honoring humanitarians, and it's one Lewis should have received decades ago, because no one in Hollywood is more associated with charitable work than Lewis. His Labor Day Telethons (held annually since 1960) are the stuff of legend, and I can remember watching them in the 1970s, when Lewis had infinitely more screen time than he has in recent years. I even recall Lewis' Sinatra-planned reunion with Dean Martin in 1976; that was my first time watching the Muscular Dystrophy Telethon! I was only vaguely aware of who Dean Martin was, but before I knew of Lewis the auteur, I recognized him as the "Jerry's Kids" sponsor. I'll bet a couple of generations do the same. I mentioned in a previous post that I wouldn't be watching the Oscars this year, however, I'll be tuning in at my usual booth at The Purple Pit--but only for Jerry's long overdue recognition.

A Jerk Supreme: Jerry Lewis as professor Julius Kelp's alter ego, Buddy Love, in 1963's 'The Nutty Professor.'

Who Was Florine McKinney?

Who is this woman? She's Florine McKinney, that's who. Who? Florine McKinney. I found this MGM picture of her a couple of years ago and never followed up on what this actress ever did. In fact, when I went to retrieve the photo from the Hollywood Dreamland "archives", I failed to even remember her name, typing it as Florence McKinney. She seemed destined for obscurity. She still is, but not entirely. It turns out that McKinney (1909-1975) was a glorified extra in a handful of movies in the 1930s and 1940s, including my beloved The Philadelphia Story. And as many times as I've seen that movie, I cannot recall Miss McKinney's appearance as the "Main Line Society Woman." She also had an uncredited bit in the Marx Brothers' Horse Feathers (1932). Her final film appearance (at age 33) was in a Johnny Mack Brown entry, 1942's Little Joe, the Wrangler, where she even got to play a character with a name, Mary Brewster. And that was the end of Florine McKinney's movie career.

Florine McKinney lived to be 65 and it got me thinking as to what stories she may have had to tell about her small taste of Hollywood. What this girl from the town of Mart, Texas did to leave her hometown to head for the promise of fame in Tinsel Town. I guess I'll never know, but the fact that this photo exists enabled me to become aware of her contribution to one of my favorite movies, however small it may be. I just would have liked to hear her story and know of her experiences in those heady days of Hollywood.

Websites Dedicated to One Film

I like movie buffs who are so dedicated to a specific film that they put the effort into making a web site for that particular movie. Today I’d like to spotlight a few of the excellent web sites that have constructed a page in honor of their favorite movie. I’m sticking to Golden and Silver age movies, as films from the last twenty years have significantly more space on the web. If anyone knows of any more sites dedicated to pre-1975 movies and earlier, please let me know. I realize that there is plenty of space on the web for film series (James Bond, Tarzan, Dirty Harry etc.), but the focus here is on specific movies.

Here are four of the best web pages that focus on one film:

Raintree County- I love the film’s music score more than the film itself, but this site makes this average epic much more interesting. The film’s back story is infinitely more arresting than the finished product, with Montgomery Clift’s disfiguring car accident the most memorable incident. There's also plenty of information about the novel and its author's tragic life.

The Sand Pebbles- This was one of my favorite movies when I was a kid. The Sand Pebbles site is chock full of vintage stills, articles, programs, and deleted scenes.

The Swimmer- This 1968 movie has a profound effect on many who see it, and the "Frank Perry’s The Swimmer" site is a modest one, but that’s just perfect.

Where Eagles Dare- The 1969 Richard Burton-Clint Eastwood adventure epic, where 1940s women sport 1960s bouffants and fashions has a dedicated following and message board for fans to discuss their favorite WWII action movie.

I've always wanted to have a website with an emphasis on just one film, though it'd be on something like 1967's Tony Rome , far from being a classic, but still among my favorite movies of all time! Plus, I couldn't include it here, because it's technically a series, as it has a sequel, 1968's Lady in Cement!

Burt Lancaster: Against Type

That’s right, another miserable sod! I’ve been re-reading Against Type: a Biography of Burt Lancaster by Gary Fishgall (1995). It’s the first comprehensive Lancaster biography I’ve seen and the only one I’ve read, though I’ve been meaning to snag a copy of Kate Buford’s Burt Lancaster: an American Life. Against Type's narrative largely consists of behind-the-scenes anecdotes about his movie work, as well as the state of the world and the film industry as it was during Lancaster’s career, which spanned nearly fifty years. I’m glad the coverage of Burt the performer is emphasized over Burt the human being, because the latter was a difficult man to like: cold, ruthless, insensitive, and at times, downright nasty. As a result, Against Type plays like a broken record: Lancaster neglected his wife and children, carried on numerous affairs, bullied his co-stars and directed his directors, which led to a tense set, but when the project wrapped, there was nothing but kind words about Burt’s professionalism and drive for perfection, but never Burt the human being. There was no mistaking him for a nice guy, even if he gave his time and money to the civil rights struggle and championed liberal causes.

What I found to be the most fascinating thing about Burt Lancaster was that just like another Hollywood Dreamland hero, Cary Grant, he had his share of fears and insecurities. Lancaster covered his with an air of superiority and arrogance. Lancaster was not formally trained but had the charisma, natural ability, and keen intelligence to learn his craft and use his natural talents to blast most other performers off the screen. Still, when faced with formally-trained actors like Montgomery Clift, Lancaster’s knees literally shook with fear. He never got over that insecurity, even after establishing himself as one of the best actors of the 1960s. When making 1977’s The Island of Dr. Moreau*, Lancaster had the same fear of classically-trained Michael York, who was also twenty-eight years younger than the aging Lancaster, a former acrobat used to doing many of his own stunts, and who felt the onset of age acutely. When Lancaster was cast as Ned Merrill in the film adaptation of John Cheever’s short story, The Swimmer, Burt was throwing up off camera before filming when it struck him how tough it would be to play the film's affluent WASP protaganist, a background so different from his own. Director Frank Perry, who fought with Burt throughout the filming of The Swimmer, got a sense of satisfaction at seeing the big star afraid to screw up a most challenging role, as Burt was throwing up on the set before shooting began. Lancaster also was deeply depressed about growing older. A professional acrobat who did many of his own stunts, Lancaster nonetheless saw the proverbial writing on the wall and made the move to playing character parts in the late 1960s, rather than the traditional leading man roles which were appropriate for actors half his age.

It is the anecdotes about Lancaster overcoming his personal insecurities on a professional level that make for a fascinating look into Lancaster the man, because it was his fiery determination and ability to get the best possible performance out of himself from a part that may not have been ideally suited to his range that makes Lancaster an interesting actor to watch. Against Type is aptly titled. Just read it with an interest in Burt Lancaster, the artist; the man himself will only disappoint you.



*Yours truly saw The Island of Dr. Moreau in a drive-in theater (still extant!) at age five and was duly traumatized by the mutated humans and had nightmares about it for days afterwards---okay, years afterwards--in fact, I recently watched the film's trailer and couldn't believe how some of that imagery still disturbed me, particularly when the real animals are attacking the Hum-animals. I think the concept itself is what creeps me out, not the obviously-latex masks worn by the actors. Just don't tell anyone that I was disturbed by a Samuel Z. Arkoff production, okay?