Blustering and wearying 'Informer'

THE INFORMER (1935)

Reviewed by Jerry Saravia

Victor McLaglen plays one of the great boisterous drunks of all time in John Ford's "The Informer." Not only does Victor play a drunk, he is also an Irish drunk. And he is inebriated throughout this movie, and so much so that it grows tedious. Yep, too tedious to the point of not caring. As I said, he plays a great drunk but he also plays it too well, and the movie's final scenes will make you tear your hair out, albeit for all the wrong reasons.

Set in Dublin in the 1920's, an Irish rebel named Frankie McPhillip (Wallace Ford) is on the run. The Irish drunk and ex-IRA member, Gypo Nolan (Victor McLaglen), informs on his friend, Frankie, to the British Army. Frankie is located, gunned down, and now Gypo collects a reward, feels a smidgeon of guilt, gives himself away at Frankie's wake to some suspicious IRA members, and spends the rest of the movie drinking, spending most of his reward money and cavorting with other drunks and some prostitutes.

"The Informer" never quite addresses the insights into Gypo's guilt. As directed by John Ford (who has made some clunkers and some terrific pictures), the movie settles for the drunken stupor of Gypo to give us a grand, wicked caricature of a giant Irish drunk who can still punch with great velocity (in one scene, he knocks out a policeman). Gypo is guilty of being an informant and he knows it, yet he points to an innocent tailor (Donald Meek, in the most restrained performance in the movie) as the informant. Once the tailor is cleared, the ensnaring of Gypo becomes tighter but the movie never establishes enough tension to make it palatable. Frankly, I was hoping Gypo was going to be found guilty sooner than the story allows. Since we never get caught up in his misfortune and sense of guilt, it is hard to feel any remorse.

Victor plays it to the hilt, one-hundred percent (he won the Oscar for Best Actor), but there is not enough to draw empathy from his occasionally one-note performance. It is a shame and the ending, involving Una O'Connor (one of the great character actresses of her time) as Frankie's mother, feels tacked-on and inconsistent. "The Informer" lacks drive and passion yet it boasts some spectacular black-and-white photography by Joseph August, who purposely echoes German Expressionism in its foggy look (Max Steiner's haunting music score is also a plus and evokes dread). A minor failure by John Ford is more worthwile than most other films that do less, but I do not think Ford's heart was in the world of film noir or this half-hearted tale of snitching.

Grossest and Nastiest Film of all time!

PINK FLAMINGOS (1972)

Reviewed by Jerry Saravia 

Baltimore native John Waters has helmed some of the most outrageous and disgusting films of the 20th century. He began in the 1970's spewing some underground cult films such as "Multiple Maniacs," "Mondo Trasho," "Female Trouble," and the notably perverse "Pink Flamingos." "Hairspray," a film from the late 80's and the last to star Divine, is comparably his most restrained film. 1997 marked the 25th anniversary of "Pink Flamingos" (and 2012 will mark the fortieth anniversary), a film of such execrable taste that I defy anyone to find a more repugnant film bearing the title "Grossest Film of All Time." This film is disgusting, shocking, nauseating, uneven, among many other things, but it is also funny in a demented sort of way. In other words, you must see it because you'll never see anything like it again.

The flamboyant, hilarious Divine plays herself (sort of), a 300-pound trailer park woman, alias Babs Johnson, who lives with her son Cracker (Danny Mills) who is obsessed with killing chickens while having sex. The other members of this household include Divine's equally obese mother (Edith Massey) who's obsessed with eggs, and an apparently normal blonde roommate named Ms. Cotton (Mary Vivian Pierce). Divine is ecstatic when she hears that she's the filthiest person alive as claimed by a tabloid paper called "Midnight." Divine is also a murderer, cannibal and a lesbian, and proud of it. 

A wacky couple, Connie and Raymond Marbles (Mink Stole and David Lochary with blue hair), are envious of Divine's filthy status and vow for revenge; they claim to be the filthiest people alive. Actually, they are not so much filthy as they are evil. For example, Connie runs an illegitimate adoption agency where her servant kidnaps women to have sex with so they can have babies to sell for adoption to lesbian couples!

"Pink Flamingos" benefits greatly from Divine's performance, and she is a real riot to watch. She's gracious, garish, flamboyant, and sheerly outrageous. She wears elongated black eyelashes and tight, multicolored skirts, and prances and preens to the camera with excessive mugging - it's a great, trashy performance that gives the cast of "Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert" a run for their money. Except for Mink Stole, the rest of the cast is amateurish and uninteresting at best. Divine is clearly the star of the show. Her lines are delivered with a no-nonsense mentality. Here are some dialogue examples:

"Kill everyone. Filth is my life. Eat sh--"

"I find you guilty on all counts of first-degree stupidity."

What else can be said about this film? It is repulsive and idiotic but always entertaining to a degree. There's cannibalism, torture, numerous deaths, sexual innuendos bordering on pornography, butt-synching to "Surfin' Bird," and Divine performing all kinds of distasteful acts, including the famous shot of Divine eating dog excrement. Most of the film is cartoonish and unbelievable but the excrement sequence is definitely real making her, as the narrator puts it, the filthiest actress alive.

I'll simply say that the ads are true - this film is simply an exercise in bad taste. I did say back in 1997 that "Pink Flamingos" is not filmmaking and it is not art. Well, it is not art as in an Ingmar Bergman film or any of the other cinema gods we hold in high esteem, but it does qualify as gutter, trash art. John Waters wrote, directed and filmed this trash - thankfully, he acquired cinematographers later on because he has no clue how to hold a camera or compose a shot. There are jump cuts galore and much bad dubbing. None of this matters, though, because Waters had one thing in mind: to make a film as filthy and distasteful as possible. He has succeeded. Since 1972, no other director has come close, including Waters.

State of Hysteria in Montana

STATE OF MIND (1992)

Reviewed by Jerry Saravia

From the late night school of preternatural David Lynch weirdness, "State of Mind" is an abhorrent mess. It has little to recommend it, aside from featuring actors like Lisa Gaye (in a top-billing role for once), Fred Williamson, Jill Schoelen, among others. It's so jumbled, incoherent and maddeningly confused from one scene to the next that I am not sure there is much to make of it. The filmmakers themselves don't even like the film and find it just as confusing. What does that tell you?

A strange, forlorn woman named Barbara (Manouk van der Meulen), a former nurse, is living in Montana in a house that looks more like a castle that Boris Karloff might have lived in. She takes in two survivors of a horrific car crash (Lisa Gaye and Don Hannah), keeps them drugged and practically comatose, lies to the inquiring police detectives with matching white turtlenecks (Fred Williamson and Jill Schoelen), and the whole situation triggers traumatic memories for Barbara, even some incestual ones. Why Barbara keeps them prisoner is not explained, though she may be just lonely and looking for company.

"State of Mind" has a story that I typically find intriguing (isolation and cabin fever hysteria) but it never develops its ideas into feature-length interest. Manouk carries a singular expression of sterile blankness; Lisa Gaye seems stoned throughout until the climactic twist; Don Hannah also seems stoned beyond recognition; the late Paul Naschy (the Spanish equivalent of Lon Chaney) appears in the opening sequence only to be killed off; and Jill Schoelen looks like a pallid robot with none of the charisma of her earlier roles. Fred Williamson seems to be in his element as he smokes his trademark cigar (he apparently never wears makeup when he is in front of the camera, according to the filmmakers) but he is needed on planet earth when the film dovetails back into that stoned house of horrors.

This Belgian-French-Dutch production almost took eight years before it saw any sort of distribution, courtesy of Troma productions. I don't know why anyone bothered because "State of Mind" is a curious misfire that is haphazardly directed, acted and edited by a crew who seem to have no idea how to make a suspense film. Belgium stands in for a very European-looking Montana, poor Don Hannah (Daryl's brother) is mostly wiggling while standing or writhing in pain and screaming when digging through holes or sealed-up crates (not one line of dialogue seems to have been written for him), and Lisa Gaye seems ready to break out of the doldrums to give it a lift yet, when she does, it is too damn late. I get a certain chill from seeing Lisa Gaye trying to strangle Jill Schoelen (and to be fair, there are one or two scenes that chill the bone), but that is not enough to visit this mangled dreck of mindless waste from David Lynch wannabes.

Toxie don't mean a thing if he ain't got that swing

THE TOXIC AVENGER PART II (1989)

Reviewed by Jerry Saravia

I remember years ago canvassing for a Princeton, NJ environmental agency. The idea was to promote the negative effects of air pollution around certain neighborhoods door-to-door. One neighbor told us, "There is nothing but toxic waste everywhere." When I think of New Jersey, having lived there for a good ten years, I think of toxic waste (I also lived in New Mexico, not terribly far from Los Alamos where certain nuclear bomb tests were conducted years earlier). When it comes to toxic waste in a comic-book style, nothing beats "The Toxic Avenger," a cult classic from Troma productions that became a big enough hit to feature their own mascot for their company, Toxie himself. "Toxic Avenger Part II" is not nearly as much gory, clever fun as the original but it has enough toxicity in its humor and horror to give it a pass.

For the uninitiated, Toxie (Toxic Avenger) was originally Melvin (Ron Fazio), a 98-pound weakling who got thrown into a vat of toxic waste and emerged as a muscular crime fighter with a deformed head. His job was to keep Tromaville safe from bad guys. Any time a villain was within a few yards of his path, Toxie started to have convulsions and knew it was time to kick butt. As this sequel opens, Tromaville's residents are happily dancing on the streets, manufacturing orange juice and watching presumably "Troma" films. The Center for the Blind is where Toxie works (huh?) and he is in charge of the croquet games (double huh?). Meanwhile, Toxie's blonde blind girlfriend (Phoebe Legere) has the occasional romp in the hay with Toxie. Now Toxie is consistently drinking Drano and emits toxic ooze from his body so what kind of fluids are being exchanged between the sheets? Villainy doesn't stay away for long in Tromaville when Apocalypse, Inc. wants to turn the Center for the Blind into a toxic dump. Toxie won't allow it but his presence in this town doesn't allow for the bad guys to complete their dastardly plans so they have Toxie's psychiatrist fool him into going to Japan to find his long-lost father named, are you ready kids, Big Mac. Ha!

"Toxic Avenger Part II" loses some steam in the Tokyo, Japan scenes, involving slapstick gags that incorporate smelly fish used as swords, nunchakus and everything else you can imagine. Sumo wrestlers also figure into the plot, including ninjas, but not really much inspiration. The Japanese folk react with horror to Toxie walking the streets with a broom as if he was Godzilla, but most of the shenanigans get a little tired (Toxie has a habit of literally cooking the bad guys into sushi specialties). Those who love watching full-frontal naked women, though, will not be disappointed.

But when the film returns to New Jersey in the climax, it feels revved up and actually comes closest to the manic inspiration of its opening thirty minutes. The villain who stands out is Lisa Gaye as Malfaire, who wears glittery costumes and hats that would be welcomed at Buckingham Palace! Her plans to destroy Tromaville and Toxie are delivered with ample malice and a hint of sexual tension (Gaye returned in "Toxic Avenger Part III," which was essentially left over footage from this sequel). Also worth noting is Rick Collins as the Apocalypse Inc. chairman who seethes with just enough comic timing to make one wish the film gave these actors more screen time.

"Toxic Avenger Part II" is average fare for Troma pictures and fittingly funny enough where it doesn't greatly disappoint (the David Mamet line is a howler). As they say in the film, if Tromaville had been destroyed, there would be no "Toxic Avenger Part 3." I say leave Toxie in New Jersey, our toxic waste capital where he belongs. It just doesn't have the same sting without that New Jersey swing.

Nuclear Leakage

CLASS OF NUKE 'EM HIGH PART II - SUBHUMANOID MELTDOWN

Reviewed by Jerry Saravia

Some horror comedies get confused with tone. John Landis' "An American Werewolf in London" and "Innocent Blood" focused more on blood and gore than humor, and took the gore seriously which is a death knell in horror-comedies. "Class of Nuke 'Em High Part II: Subhumanoid Meltdown" isn't confused at all - it is equal parts tongue-in-cheek gory horror mixed with subversive humor. A good film of its type (and not nearly as horrendous as other critics have found it) - it is what it is, and either you are with it or you'll hate yourself afterwards.

After a brief recap of the original "Class of Nuke 'Em High" and a flashforward to a squirrel monster that must be seven stories high, we flashback to the start of this sequel set in a college (formerly Tromaville High) that is adjacent to a nuclear power plant. This is no ordinary campus since women run around in lacy underwear or wearing nothing at all, there are gang members who harass each and every student, and every single scene contains said students running around or beating each other to a pulp (oh, and it is next to a nuclear power plant that screams for the TV crew from "The China Syndrome" to be on sight). Roger (Brick Bronsky) is a buff and nerdy student with bad B.O. who works for the college newspaper, the kind that wants to report rumors, not truth. Something odd is happening on campus when selective students and faculty start projectile vomiting green mucus and then turn into a green pile of mush (sometimes a severed head that looks like Sesame Streets' Oscar the Grouch is all that remains). Meanwhile, Roger participates in a sexual experiment that unknowingly involves a subhumanoid woman named Victoria (Leesa Rowland) who has a second mouth in place of her belly button! We also have Professor Holt (Lisa Gaye, who relishes this role with aplomb) who runs the sexual experiments in addition to helping build these malfunctioning subhumanoids. Most pressing question: are all the students, including the unruly gang members, subhumanoids or is Roger the sole human, aside from Professor Holt?

"Class of Nuke 'E High Part II" is manic, unruly, unquestionably incoherent fun. Watching Lisa Gaye's Marge Simpson hairdo adds to the picture's anything-goes mentality (the film often reminds us directly it is a sequel - talk about postmodernist). Tromie, the giant squirrel, appears in the climax and gives the finger to the guards who attempt to take it down. Toxie, Troma films' own mascot, also appears. It is a messy, overindulgent, outrageous oddity, and it has its tongue firmly placed in all of its orifices.

The 'Deathly Hallows Part 1' is Harry Potter's best yet

HARRY POTTER AND THE DEATHLY HALLOWS, PART 1

Reviewed by Jerry Saravia

 I have had the occasional lukewarm reaction to the Harry Potter film series. After the triumphant "Prisoner of Azkaban" and the swiftness of "Goblet of Fire," "Order of the Phoenix" did not engage me as much, though it had flair. I also felt that "Half-Blood Prince" was one of the weakest of the series, curiously cold and remote with the darkest blue hues to be seen, making it a bit of an eye strain (even "Chamber of Secrets" was a superior sequel in terms of look and attitude). But the first chapter of "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows" is an exuberant, imaginative and outstandingly entertaining film that combines a lot of what does work in a Harry Potter film and brings it to the surface, brimming with dark pleasures, superb performances, excellent, thrilling special-effects, and a story that would make J.R.R. Tolkien proud (yes, it is that good).

Based on the J.K.Rowling novels, Harry and his magical pals are at their homes at the start of the movie, ready not to return to Hogwarts school but to run from the Death Eaters. This is essentially a chase picture and it starts with a fantastic chase through the skies, as bespectacled Harry (Daniel Radcliffe), the smart and alert Hermione Granger (Emma Watson) and the easily bemused Ron Weasley (Rupert Grint) use their magical powers to fly their cars and motorcycles to escape from those swirling clouds of black smoke (Death Eaters, of course). The trio and their colleagues end up in the countryside, far away from civilization (some of their families are safely tucked away elsewhere, and some have their memories erased). This all leads to the discovery and secret of the Deathly Hallows, which is presented in an astounding animation style that recalls Tim Burton mixed with Guillermo Del Toro. It is such an amazing piece of footage that I'd be remiss in saying it deserves anything less than accolades.

In the meantime, the pale villain of this series, Voldemort (Ralph Fiennes) with his creepy snake-like slit nostrils, wishes to destroy Harry. He asks his minions to find him but it gets complicated when Harry has doubles who are his own willing colleagues, trying to help Harry escape. The whipper snapper, Bellatrix (Helena Bonham Carter), is also back, and meaner than ever. There is also talk of the Sword of Gryffindor, something that Dumbledore (Michael Gambon, appearing in flashes since he was killed by Severus Snape, once again played with slithering menace by Alan Rickman) had left to Harry as part of a will. Naturally, Harry can't receive it since Minister Rufus Scrimgeour (Bill Nighy) states that it is of historical importance. Added to this are the Death Eaters making their way through all of London seeking the youthful wizard trio who are slowly becoming adults; dark visions swirling inside Harry and Ron's heads; a giant deadly cobra; goblins, including the return of Dobby; and the quest to find the four Horcruxes (dark magic objects) that contain Voldemort's soul.

"Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part I" is only an indicator of what's to come, which I imagine will be an apocalyptic fight between Harry and Voldemort. The tension also mounts between Harry, Hermione and Ron (at one point, Ron departs for a length of time), adding some layers of complexity and an awakening sexual maturity to their mutual relationship. It may be too soon to say this since, as of this writing, Part 2 is yet to be released in theatres but "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part 1" (don't wave your wands in protest) is the best Harry Potter film of the series - scary, lightning-paced and frequently a demonic and clever ride through the emotional landscape of J.K. Rowling's world.

An Interview with Fred Sorenson: "Raiders" pilot still shows some backbone

AN INTERVIEW WITH FRED SORENSON:
 'RAIDERS' PILOT STILL SHOWS BACKBONE

By Jerry Saravia

 

When I first saw "Raiders of the Lost Ark" in 1981, I never did forget the pilot, Jock (sporting a New York Yankees cap), who helped rescue Indiana Jones from the perils of the Peruvian jungle in the famous opening sequence. Of course, most of you probably know this little exchange that Jock and Indy had in that plane:

Indiana Jones: "There is a big snake in the plane, Jock!"

Jock: "Oh that's just my pet snake, Reggie!"

Indiana Jones: "I hate snakes, Jock! I hate them!"

Jock: "Show a little backbone, will yah?"

As of June 12th, "Raiders" will mark its 30th anniversary and it is only fitting that I had the great pleasure of interviewing Fred Sorenson, a currently active pilot for Southwest Airlines, who played the pivotal role of Jock in the classic action-adventure film. Definitely a man with a passion for flying, Fred briefly discusses how he got the role of "Raiders" and what he has been up to since. I'd feel safer in a plane knowing he is the pilot.


1.) Naturally, I must ask: what was it like filming those scenes in "Raiders of the Lost Ark"? How many days were you filming, and did you pilot the plane during the takeoff and such? 


Fred Sorenson: "Our entire project was about 10 days on Island. We started by working with Hank 
Strauch, to lease his Waco UBF. This included flying the airplane from Oregon to LAX where the 
airplane was disassembled and loaded on, what was then Flying Tigers DC8 (Later became FEDEX.) 
The floats were trucked to LAX to meet up with the airplane for shipping. 
Once in Hawaii the airplane was reassembled, in Honolulu and then painted from it’s beautiful red and white paint job to the silver “Air Pirates” color. OB-CPO was the registration added. We all know where that came from ("Star Wars" reference to the rest of you who don't know. Look it up). 
We flew the airplane to Kauai and then prepared for the actual shooting. A camera was originally mounted on the left wing, which proved to be a problem on the first take, resulting in damage to the airplane. Over the next 4 days we worked to repair the airplane. 
During the filming I did actually do the flying of the airplane and the scenes were actually filmed with a camera on the plane, in the air over the south side of Kauai. The takeoff scenes were filmed on a small river next to the Menehune Fish Ponds near Lihue." 

1.5) How did you initially get the part of Jock the pilot in Raiders? 

"I was the only pilot that was flying seaplanes in Hawaii, at the time. We had a Lake Amphibian and the film crew initially asked if we could use it to do the scenes. Too modern, so we used the Waco. I had flown FRANK MARSHALL ("Raiders" producer) and HOWARD KAZANJIAN (executive producer of "Raiders") around the islands, in a Beech 18, looking for places to film. We went out to the Cattleman’s Steakhouse for dinner and they asked me if I could put together the airplane project and also asked if I wanted to play the pilot in the movie. “What was the name of the movie', I asked. 'Sure, sounds like fun'."

2.) I understand that you had helped fly the crew off the island of Kauai when a hurricane hit during the filming of Jurassic Park in 1993. How did you happen to be in the area to rescue them?


"I was a DC-8 Captain for Hawaiian Air Lines. I was also instructing in a Super DC-3 for a freight operation, just starting up in Hawaii. The morning after the hurricane, we offered our DC-3 and crew to fly to Kauai for the Salvation Army. We took in a load of blankets and water. We got hooked up with Kathleen Kennedy as she was trying to get the film crew off the island. 
I worked with Hawaiian Airlines and set up a charter flight, using the DC8. I flew the DC3 back to Honolulu and we loaded up the DC-8 with 30000 pounds of water, donated by Safeway. I flew the DC-8 back to Kauai, picked up the film crew, flew back to Honolulu, dropped part of the crew off there and took the rest of the crew to LAX. I went on vacation after that, retired from Hawaiian Airlines and went to work for Southwest in October of 1992." 

3.) I hear you are a pilot for Southwest Airlines now. How long have you been a pilot? Always a dream of yours? 


"I grew up around old airplanes. My father was a Navy pilot. His hobby was rebuilding old airplanes. While other kids in my school were working on cars, I was learning how to work on airplanes, in the garage and backyard. I soloed at 16, in San Jose, California. I became a flight instructor and went to Japan and ran a flying club for the Naval Air Station in Atsugi, Japan. I went to work for Hawaiian in 1973 and retired from Hawaiian in 1992. I have been with Southwest since then. 
While based in Hawaii, I flew tours, cargo, film work, photomapping and started a long range charter operation with 2 Lockheed Learstars. We did search missions, parts drops, research flights and a couple of notable rescue missions, throughout the South Pacific. 
In 1974, I started an aircraft delivery (ferry) company. We deliver all types of small and large aircraft, all over the world. This also led to many other variations of long range flight operations, in the Pacific. 
While working for Southwest Airlines, I also served as the Director of Operations and Chief Pilot for a VIP 737 operations out of Las Vegas. We specialized in domestic and worldwide charter-type operations. We flew many entertainment groups including the Jimmy Buffett tour for 3 years. We flew many different groups all over the world. One trip, I took Bruce and Patti Springsteen to the wrong island in Greece, because our faxed itinerary didn’t come through very clear and the name of the island ran so we thought we were going to another island 90 miles south of Cofu. They got a little extra tour of the Greek Isles." 


4.) Were you ever considered to do a reprise of the Jock role in the subsequent Indiana Jones sequels?


"Well I don’t know if I was considered, but they never did ask me." 


5.) Out of curiosity, what kind of planes do you like to fly?

"Right now, the Boeing 737 is my bank’s favorite, as it makes the most money, and flying for Southwest has been a DREAM JOB. The VIP 737 was my favorite, due to the places we went and the people we took and the things we did. 

My own collection of airplanes includes a 1942 Beechcraft Staggerwing, 1937 Ryan SCW, 1946 Piper Cub and a 1948 Luscombe Sedan 11A. 

My favorite airplane of all times, was the Lockheed Learstar. This was a 1942 Navy transport that was converted by the designs of Bill Lear to be a very long range, fast corporate business aircraft. It is the only airplane I know that could fly 1250 miles, land on a 2500 foot long dirt runway and have enough fuel to come home. We used it for several years in the Pacific.

I have had the opportunity to fly over 100 different types of airplanes, through the delivery business. There is still no comparison to the Learstar. Thank you for your interest."

 "A picture of the 1942 Lockheed Learstar N350A on Palmyra Island. We were there to rescue this shipwrecked family from Canada." - Courtesy of Fred Sorenson