Haines Logo Text
Column Archive
August 27, 2012:

MADE FOR TELEVISION

Bruce Kimmel Photograph bk's notes

Well, dear readers, I must write these here notes in a hurry and get them posted early for I must be up at six in the morning to announce the new Kritzerland CD release. So, like a big spender, let me get right to the point: The 1970s produced some really wonderful made for TV movies. We’ve spoken about some in these very notes, and I’m always happy to see anything made for TV in that decade. A couple of years ago, Warner Archive released a few things, but none of the ones I consider classics. I want the greats – A Cold Night’s Death, Isn’t It Shocking? Tribes, Incident in San Francisco, and a handful of other titles. A couple of great ones have come out – Duel, The Girl Most Likely and Pursuit come to mind. So I ordered one that according to the wags on the imdb is an all-time classic 70s made for TV movie – Dying Room Only, with a script by Richard Matheson and direction by Philip Leacock, starring Cloris Leachman, Ross Martin, Ned Beatty, Louise Latham, and Dabney Coleman. I watched it last evening, and it was quite a disappointment, really standard issue stuff with a weak script by Matheson and over the top playing by Ross Martin and Ned Beatty. Leachman is okay as the frazzled wife of Coleman – they stop at some run-down seedy roadhouse diner and motel in Arizona on their way back to home in LA. Now, had they not said Arizona in the script, you would have thought they were in deep redneck southern territory because both Martin and Beatty speak in thick southern accents. It’s just an easy thing to do and had the director encouraged them both to have subtlety then the predicament of the wife would have been much more chilling. Basically, she goes into the rest room and when she comes out hubby has disappeared. But the two baboons are so over the top “menacing” that there’s no doubt they’ve done something bad. The best performance comes from the always-reliable Dana Elcar as the sheriff. It just rambles along for seventy-three minutes and then it’s over – nothing is satisfactorily explained and while I might understand a certain nostalgia factor for those who love these TV movies, calling it one of the best or a masterpiece is certainly giving short shrift to the true greats of that era.

Other than that, I got nine hours of necessary sleep, answered some e-mails then went and had some eggs and a bagel. I picked up one package that had been delivered on Saturday and then I came back home. I had an hour meeting with Miss Daisy Eagan about her show. I’d come up with a way to begin her show, based on her notes and I thought it was pretty effective and I also suggested a song for her opening number. She said she liked the idea for the opening and after she heard the song she said she loved it. We discussed the rest, I gave some suggestions, and now she’ll type all that up and we’ll have one or two more meetings next week before she goes off to New York. There she’ll work with a director, but hopefully the structure and song choices will be firm by that time.

Then Miss Adryan Russ came by and we moseyed on over to the Elephant Theater on Santa Monica Blvd. – one of those hole in the wall spaces that dot that street from Vine to almost Highland. We saw a play directed by Miss Barbara Bain. It was a drama in one act, ran about eighty minutes sans intermission. There was nothing really terrible about it, but nothing really great either. It was kind of in the middle – some nice writing, but nothing we haven’t seen in other plays where it’s been much more compelling than here. The three actors were very good, although one of them was, for me, mannered in that “actor” way of today – forced realism that really isn’t real at all and then coming out for your curtain call with a surly expression on your face. I will never understand why certain actor types do that – it’s actually offensive. It was nice to see Mr. Carl Reiner in attendance.

After that, I came home and prepped our new release announcement. I’d written the blurb already so all I had to do was prepare the eBlast. At some point the helper came by and picked up quite a number of invoices. Then I watched Dying Room Only, then did some work on the computer, and then listened to yet another upcoming Kritzerland project. Well, why don’t we all click on the Unseemly Button below because I must get these here notes posted so I can get some semblance of beauty sleep.

Today, I shall be up at six to announce the new Kritzerland CD, then I’m going right back to bed and hopefully I’ll get another two or three hours of sleep. Then I’ve got some liner notes to do, then I have a work session with our musical director, after which I’ll be going to some Sundance Film Festival cocktail party thing with Mr. David Wechter. It’s only ten minutes away.

Tomorrow, I have a lot of errands and whatnot to do, and the rest of the week is all meetings and meals and hopefully printing out a LOT of orders, seeing a couple of things, and taking at least one day off to just relax and clear my head.

Well, dear readers, I must take the day, I must do the things I do, I must, for example, announce the new Kritzerland title, go back to bed, write, eat, hopefully pick up a few packages, have a work session, and attend a cocktail party. Today’s topic of discussion: What are your favorite 1970s made for TV movies? Let’s have loads of lovely postings, shall we, whilst I hit the road to dreamland, after which I shall be up very early to announce a new Kritzerland CD.

Search BK's Notes Archive:
 
© 2001 - 2024 by Bruce Kimmel. All Rights Reserved