THE DANMAN CAN

1962 was the year that gifted cinema lovers with not one but two  relentless, psychosexual, ahead-of-their-time, neo-noirs. One was the well-known and highly regarded  Cape Fear . The other is the underseen and underappreciated gem  Experiment In Terror , which turned 60 yesterday . Both are masterpieces. Most audiences primarily know  Blake Edwards  from his comedies—1961's Breakfast At Tiffany's , the Pink Panther  series, and  S.O.B.  from 1981 (in which  Julie Andrews  famously appeared nude). With EIT  Edwards proved that he could effectively make an entirely serious, dramatic, and tense thriller. Frankly, I wished he'd made more films in this style. EIT 's influence on David Lynch —whether intentional or not—is impossible not to mention. There's the atmosphere of the film of course, there's Lee Remick 's character, Kelly, who lives in “Twin Peaks,” and, coincidentally, there's Ross Martin 's character's name: G...

The Party (1968) is a difficult picture to rate. On one hand, it's a really funny, experimental film (though it certainly borrows a lot from Jacques Tati ) that showcases Peter Sellers ' comedic genius. On the other hand—while perhaps not as egregious as Mickey Rooney in Blake Edwards ' other, more well-known, classic Breakfast At Tiffany's (1961)—there is the elephant in the room of Sellers in brownface  (and also a literal elephant in the room in the film, the poor thing).  Though I don't think the racial stereotyping in The Party comes from a place of hate, it is such a central part of the film (now considered incredibly outdated and potentially offensive) that it's hard to ignore. But if you can look past that, there is a lot of Chaplin /Tati-esque fun to be had with the various sight gags, a typically groovy score by Henry Mancini  (including the dreamy song " Nothing To Lose ", sung beautifully by Claudine Longet ), and lots of super sexy, s...

Focus On Film   Episode 55  is up! Download the MP3  HERE ​This month we're introducing a slightly changed up format. Rygar and Danman talk (a lot about) ’cock , the loss of Romero , THING s that were frustrating to pre-order + more! In this episode: October 2017  Criterion Collection  Titles Announcement *NEW!*  Arrow Video & Other Announcements Criterion Most Wanted Best & Worst Of The Month  –  ROUGH NIGHT (2017), DOWNHILL (1927), ​ THE BIG SICK (2017), A SHOT IN THE DARK (1964) *NEW!* Revolving Topic "Focus On Film Theme"  & commercial music:  Daniel Sardella

Thoughts from first viewing. Thoughts from second viewing. Thoughts from third viewing: see above. Incredible film.

See my thoughts from my first viewing here . I was no less impressed a second time. This film drags just the tiniest bit at times, but otherwise it's a damn good one. Man, the 60s rocked for B&W thrillers. There are some ultra creepy moments on display here and EIT was ahead of its time. Gialli  owe a debt to this one and the final scene of DIRTY HARRY   is lifted straight from it.

WOW. Apparently there was another relentless, psychosexual, ahead-of-its-time, noir-tinged thriller released in 1962 besides CAPE FEAR and it's another masterpiece. I primarily know Blake Edwards from his comedies/romance films - BREAKFAST AT TIFFANY'S , the PINK PANTHER films, the PETER GUNN series and film , S.O.B. (in which Julie Andrews famously appeared nude). Here he proves that he can make a serious, dramatic and tense thriller (borderline horror film) with ease.   EIT features another great, creepy score from the master Henry Mancini , who scored almost all of Edwards' work (and who doesn't get mentioned enough IMO). Thoroughly impressed.