Review: The Moonshine War (1970)

USA/C-100m./Dir: Richard Quine/Wr: Elmore Leonard/Cast: Patrick McGoohan (Frank Long), Alan Alda (John W. “Son” Martin), Richard Widmark (Dr. Emmett Taulbee), Lee Hazlewood (Dual Metters), Melodie Johnson (Lizann Simpson), Will Geer (Sheriff Baylor), Joe Williams (Aaron)

It seems that there is an unwritten rule that moonshine movies are nearly always disappointing. Although the setting promises plenty of pie-eyed folksy fun, the characters tend to spend more time talking about whiskey than actually drinking it. The Moonshine War is, alas, no exception. Despite the promise of an Elmore Leonard script, from one of the author's own novels, the picture is a pretty flat brew.

Patrick “The Prisoner” McGoohan stars as Frank Long, a crooked Prohibition agent who goes sniffing after a large stash of moonshine that his hillbilly army buddy, Son Martin (Alan Alda), put away to sell after Repeal. Long isn’t interested in arresting Son Martin and his firewater-brewing neighbors. He wants to trick Martin out of the stuff in order to sell it himself. When Martin fails to fall for Long’s tricks, the Prohibition agent elicits the help of a deranged dentist (Richard Widmark) and his psychotic sidekick (Lee Hazlewood) to provide a little muscle. Unfortunately, Long’s recruits have their own plans for the whiskey--plans that threaten to leave Long high and dry.

Elmore Leonard’s script contains some intriguingly lurid touches and some unusual, multifaceted characters. In more competent hands, The Moonshine War could have been a bizarre little psychodrama, dripping with filth, alcohol, and dark comedy. Unfortunately, Richard Quine’s direction is casual to the point of being drowsy. He showed more visual flair in the Columbo episodes that he produced around the same time.

The story is also undone through careless casting. Both McGoohan and Alda are talented, likable actors; but neither is capable of producing a credible Southern accident. McGoohan compensates by croaking most of his dialogue, while Alda’s drawl fluctuates from nonexistent to cartoonish. Most of the rest of the actors sleepwalk through their performances; but thankfully, Richard Widmark and Lee Hazlewood bring some welcome zest to the film with their spirited portrayals of a couple of laid-back psychotics.

All in all, The Moonshine War is a missed opportunity. With the elements available, it could have been the Touch of Evil of moonshine movies. Unfortunately, the finished film is simply mediocre drive-in fair--the kind of flick with just enough explosions and lewd content with which to cobble together a good trailer.

Drinks Consumed--Moonshine

Intoxicating Effects--Slurred speech and staggering

Potent Quotables--LONG: I want you to tell Son Martin somethin’ for me. Tell him I’ve commenced bustin’ stills an’ I’m gonna go on bustin’ them until he hands over his whiskey. You just spread the word, mister, you an’ your moonshinin’ neighbors. You go and have a talk to Son Martin.

Video Availability--The Moonshine War has never been released on video, but Yammering Magpie Cinema has a collector's copy available on DVD. The DVD is letterboxed and the video quality is quite nice. Yammering Magpie’s site ranks the video quality a “C," but that refers to their initial pan & scan release of the title. They have since upgraded the video, and I'd rate the new release an A-. The picture is a little softer than standard DVDs. It's closer to laserdisc quality. However, it's framed properly, free of speckles, and it may be the only way you’ll ever see this rarely screened flick.

Similarly Sauced Cinema--Burt Reynolds runs moonshine in the okay actioner White Lightning (1973).

Moonshine War - Movie Poster - 11 x 17

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Booze News: PAPA'S DELICATE CONDITION Available on DVD!

Jackie Gleason's performance as Jack "Call Me Irresponsible" Griffith, the lovable, turn-of-the-century dipsomaniac/family man in Papa's Delicate Condition (1963) is finally available on DVD! The previously neglected picture is part of a package of titles that Paramount is licensing to distributor Legend Films, presumably because the studio didn't think that it could make any money by releasing the flicks directly. Unlike many small distributor releases, the Paramount titles licensed to Legend have all be mastered from the best available dup negatives, released in their original aspect ratios, and anamorphically enhanced.

Papa's Delicate Condition and the other Paramount titles are now available for order directly from Legend Films' Website, and they will be available in June and July for purchase through other outlets. They are priced at $14.95 plus $4.95 shipping/$2 shipping for each additional title. Payment is through PayPal.

A full list of titles (at least the initial wave) is provided below. Papa's Delicate Condition is the only alky-related movie on the list, but several of the titles will be of interest to film fanatics, including the excellent foreign romantic comedy Girl on the Bridge (1999).

Comedy/Romance
Baby It's You
Almost An Angel
French Postcards
The One And Only
Jekyll & Hyde Together Again
Some Kind Of Hero
The Whoopee Boys
Girl On The Bridge
Papa's Delicate Condition
Partners
Serial

Drama/Action
Framed (coming soon)
Houdini
Blue City
Hurricane
Villa Rides
Desperate Characters
King Of The Gypsies
Daniel
Hitler - The Last Ten Days
Man, Woman And Child
Mandingo

Sci-Fi/Horror
The Sender (coming soon)
The Skull
The Deadly Bees (coming soon)
Student Bodies
Phase IV (coming soon)
The Man Who Could Cheat Death (coming soon)
The Possession Of Joel Delaney
ZPG

Family/Misc
The Optimists
Money From Home
The Pied Piper
Those Daring Young Men In Their Jaunty Jalopies
Won Ton Ton The Dog Who Saved Hollywood
The Busy Body
Rhubarb

Papa's Delicate Condition (DVD)

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Review: City Lights (1931)

USA/Silent/B&W-87m./Dir: Charles Chaplin/Wr: Charles Chaplin/Cast: Charles Chaplin (A Tramp), Virginia Cherrill (A Blind Girl), Harry Myers (An Eccentric Millionaire), Florence Lee (The Blind Girl’s Grandmother), Al Ernest Garcia (Millionaire’s Butler), Hank Mann (A Prizefighter)

Seventeen years after Charlie Chaplin’s entrance into motion pictures (based upon the strength of his legendary drunk act), he produced his masterpiece, City Lights. The movie premiered in 1931, four years after the advent of talking pictures. Still, Chaplin decided to film City Lights as a silent, subtitling it “A Comedy Romance in Pantomime.” It is primarily the romance aspect of the film (including the deservedly famous “Yes, I can see now” finale) on which critics tend to focus. However, first and foremost, City Lights is a comedy, and the lion’s share of the laughs are generated by the dual drunk act of Charlie Chaplin and Harry Myers.

The story is simple--Chaplin’s tramp encounters a blind flower girl (Virginia Cherrill), who mistakes him for a rich man through a circumstance that is ingenious in its simplicity (I’ll let you discover that for yourself). The tramp is smitten with the girl and wants to help her overcome her poverty and blindness, but he doesn’t have the means to help her. Fate steps in when the tramp prevents a drunken millionaire (Harry Myers) from committing suicide. The pair form a fast friendship during a liquor-soaked night on the town. Unfortunately, the tramp has difficulty putting the touch on the millionaire, because the alky blacks out whenever he’s sober. He only recognizes the tramp when he’s hammered.

City Lights is simply Chaplin’s best film and one of the two greatest silent comedies ever made (the other being Keaton’s The General). Like most of Chaplin’s movies, much of the plot and slapstick were improvised on the set; and production would occasionally shut down as the director worked out story details. Although the production took nearly three years to complete, the final product appears effortless. Chaplin’s writing, directing, acting, and original score are all superb; and the contributions of non-actress Virginia Cherrill and comic Harry Myers approach perfection. In terms of comic set pieces and true emotion, City Lights is unmatched; and it deserves all of the superlatives that have been heaped upon it. Whether you are a fan of silent film or can’t stand old black and white movies, you’ll find it hard not to love City Lights.

Drinks Consumed--Unnamed liquor and champagne

Intoxicating Effects--Staggering, stumbling, hiccups, bickering, memory blackouts, and soused sentimentality

Potent Quotables--THE TRAMP: Careful how you’re driving.
THE MILLIONAIRE: Am I driving?

Video Availability--While the Warner DVD release of City Lights boasts better contrast and sharpness than the earlier City Lights (Image Entertainment) release, the Warner DVD trims the top and bottom off the frame in order to fit standard television dimensions. The out-of-print Image release is worth seeking out, because it preserves the film’s original aspect ratio.

Similarly Sauced Cinema--Chaplin performed variations of his drunk act in numerous shorts and features, but One A.M. (1916) contains his greatest inebriated tour de force.

Original Image Entertainment Charlie Chaplin Boxed Set (City Lights / The Great Dictator / Modern Times / The Gold Rush)

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Review: Love Begins at Twenty (1936)

USA/B&W-58m./Dir: Frank McDonald/Wr: Dalton Trumbo and Tom Reed/Cast: Hugh Herbert (Horatio Gillingwater), Patricia Ellis (Lois Gillingwater), Warren Hull (Jerry Wayne), Hobart Cavanaugh (Jake Buckley), Dorothy Vaughan (Evalina Gillingwater), Clarence Wilson (Jonathan Ramp), Robert Glecker (Mugsy O’Bannion)

Love Begins at Twenty is basically a W.C. Fields film without W.C. Fields. It contains all of the elements of the Great Man’s classic henpecked husband comedies You’re Telling Me (1934), It’s a Gift (1934), and The Man on the Flying Trapeze (1935)--a battleaxe of a spouse, turmoil at work, a devoted daughter, and a plot that gives the downtrodden “worm” the opportunity to “turn” through the aid of alcohol. In fact, one would expect that the writers had pilfered the storyline from the Great Man if it weren’t for the fact that the movie was based on Martin Flavin’s play “Broken Dishes,” which ran on Broadway in 1929.

Hugh Herbert fills the Fields role as Horatio Gillingwater, a mild-mannered family man who is bossed at home by his domineering wife (Dorothy Vaughan) and at work by his crabby, skinflint boss (Clarence Wilson). The only person that appreciates the tenderhearted Gillingwater is his daughter Lois (Patricia Ellis), who hopes to marry and leave the nest. Lois’ mother refuses to consent to the marriage; but both Horatio and Lois’ fortunes take a turn for the better thanks to a bottle of hooch, which gives Horatio the courage to stand up to his wife, his boss, and a couple of gangsters (It wouldn’t be a 1930’s Warner Brothers film without gangsters).

In the hands of comic genius W.C. Fields, Love Begins at Twenty could have been a comedy classic, but with Hugh “hoo-hoo” Herbert in the lead, the movie is merely a pleasant diversion. There are no big laughs in the picture, but the film is likeable, and at a brisk 58 minutes, it doesn’t wear out its welcome. All in all, Love Begins at Twenty is an interesting curiosity that proves that it’s near-impossible to fill the shoes of the great W.C. Fields.

Drinks Consumed--Unknown liquor (referred to as “tonic”) and beer

Intoxicating Effects--Slurred speech, staggering, stumbling, bickering, physical violence, harmonizing, destruction of property, and jail time

Potent Quotables--EVALINA: Horatio Gillingwater, you’ve been drinking!
HORATIO: Oh, you’re crazy. I haven’t had a drink in months. What are you talking about?
EVALINA: This is all your fault, you rumhound. Oh, I can see that alcohol has simply warped your mind. My father always said that you’d end in the gutter. Just think of the disgrace that you’ve brought on our children…

Video Availability--Never released on video.

Similarly Sauced Cinema--“Broken Dishes” was adapted as a film two other times--before in 1931 as Too Young to Marry and later in 1940 as Calling All Husbands. However, instead of either version, I’d recommend you watch the similar W.C. Fields film, The Man on the Flying Trapeze (1935).

W.C. Fields Comedy Collection, Vol. 2 (The Man on the Flying Trapeze / Never Give A Sucker An Even Break / You're Telling Me! / The Old Fashioned Way / Poppy)

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Review: Trees Lounge (1996)

USA/C-94m./Dir: Steve Buscemi/Wr: Steve Buscemi/Cast: Steve Buscemi (Tommy), Mark Boone Junior (Mike), Chloë Sevigny (Debbie), Carol Kane (Connie), Daniel Baldwin (Jerry), Anthony LaPaglia (Rob), Elizabeth Bracco (Theresa), Seymore Cassel (Uncle Al)

Steve Buscemi is the modern-day equivalent of Peter Lorre. Like Lorre, Buscemi is the most recognizable character actor of his generation, and he is a talent capable of raising a movie’s class and entertainment value with the briefest of appearances. After building an impressive acting resume working for some of today’s top filmmakers, Buscemi decided to try his hand behind the camera. His feature writing and directorial debut, Trees Lounge, went on to prove that Buscemi is as adept behind the camera as he is in front of it.

Buscemi portrays Tommy, an alky lowlife, who makes a habit of screwing up his relationships with females, friends, family, and employers. When we meet Tommy, he has plenty of reason to drink (not that he needs a reason), having recently been fired from his job by his former friend/boss, Rob (Anthony LaPaglia), for “borrowing” money from the till. Rob has also taken Tommy’s long-time girlfriend (Elizabeth Bracco), who is several months pregnant (likely with Tommy’s child). Rather than trying to reassemble the shreds of his life, Tommy spends the best part of his days and nights drinking in Trees Lounge, a dimly lit dive, populated by whiskey-sodden losers like himself. Although it appears that Tommy has hit rock bottom as the movie begins, the perpetual screw-up manages to find new ways to plumb even lower depths.

As a slice-of-life drama focusing on a fringe personality, Trees Lounge should be dreadfully depressing. Thankfully, it is anything but, due in large part to Buscemi’s colorful script which includes just enough quirky humor to keep the story from descending into dismal-land. Buscemi also knows how much a good character actor can add to a scene, so he has packed his film with the best in the business. Even the smallest, single-scene roles are assayed by the likes of Samuel L. Jackson, Debi Mazar, Michael Imperioli, and Seymour Cassel. Buscemi draws vibrant performances from his top-notch cast, and his direction is sure-handed, simple, and effective. One would never know that a first-timer was calling the shots.

All in all, Trees Lounge is a tasty and satisfying cocktail. Rather than being a good first film, it is an excellent movie by any standard. Soused cinema enthusiasts should consider it required viewing. In short, it is the best bar movie since Barfly (1987).

Drinks Consumed--Whiskey, beer, and unnamed cocktails

Intoxicating Effects--Staggering, stumbling, swearing, drunk driving, bickering, and brawling

Potent Quotables--VIC: (pouring a drink): You’re a weak man.
TOMMY: Yeah, I know. That’s why I drink it straight. The ice cubes are too heavy.

Video Availability--Trees Lounge DVD (Lion's Gate)

Similarly Sauced Cinema--Trees Lounge and Barfly (1987) are a perfect pairing for a lowlife dive double-feature.

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Booze News: The Cocktail Film Fest is Fast Approaching

If you're a regular reader of Booze Movies, you already know about the 1st Annual Cocktail Film Fest that will be taking place at the W Hotel in New Orleans on March 21-22. If not, you can find the full information in this previous post.

The host of the event, Miss Charming herself, Cheryl Charming, has sent out a reminder regarding the Fest in her monthly newsletter. It contains a little more information than has previously been reported here, especially pertaining to the food and drinks that will be served with each movie. If you are planning on attending, just curious, or looking for an excuse to avoid your family on Easter weekend, you can access the newsletter through the following link:

Miss Charming's March 2008 Newsletter

Lets make this event a booze-tacular success, so we can look forward to many more Cocktail Film Fests in years to come!

Cheers,
garv

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Review: Scram! (1932)

USA/B&W-20m./Dir: Ray McCarey/Wr: H.M. Walker/Cast: Stan Laurel (Stanley), Oliver Hardy (Ollie), Arthur Housman (Drunk), Vivien Oakland (Mrs. Beaumont), Richard Cramer (Judge Beaumont)

Many Laurel and Hardy films featured liquored laughs, but Stan and Ollie weren’t always the ones doing the drinking. Often the boys were bedeviled by an inebriate played by the dean of drunk character actors, Arthur Housman. The lanky, mustachioed Housman made his living portraying comic drunks, and although he was rarely given more than a few lines of slurred dialogue or some staggering background action, he became the most recognizable movie souse in the 1930’s. Throughout the decade, Housman’s “drunk” character showed up in dozens of films, but he is best remembered for a handful of pictures in which he shared screen time with Laurel and Hardy. Scram! was his first teaming with the duo; and it also turned out to be the best showcase for his legendary “drunk” act.

The comedy commences in a courtroom, where Mr. Laurel and Mr. Hardy find themselves facing the ill-tempered Judge Beaumont (Richard Cramer) on a vagrancy charge. Rather than placing the boys in a nice warm cell, the judge gives them one hour to get out of town. Stan and Ollie take to the road, slogging through the pouring rain, when they stop to help a drunk (Houseman) who has dropped his car key down a sewer grating. After multiple slapstick attempts to retrieve the key, involving all three participants falling into the hole beneath the grating, the dapper inebriate offers to put the boys up for the night in his stately home. Unfortunately, in his bleary-eyed state, the souse takes the boys to the wrong house. The drunk takes it on the lam when he realizes his mistake, but he leaves behind Stan, Ollie, and a pitcher of booze. Of course, when the mistress of the house faints at the sight of the intruders, the boys give her what they think is a glass of water. She immediately gets giggly gassed on the drunk’s liquor, and Stan and Ollie find themselves with another inebriate to deal with.

I wouldn’t rank Scram! as one of the best Laurel and Hardy comedies. However, the physical slapstick between the boys and Arthur Housman is absolutely hilarious. It’s a shame that Housman was so often relegated to the background in other movies of the time, because Scram! proves that he was capable of stealing scenes from the best comedy talents in the business.

Drinks Consumed--Unnamed clear liquor (likely gin)

Intoxicating Effects--Slurred speech, staggering, stumbling, hiccups, harmonizing, drunk driving, passing out, and the giggles

Potent Quotables--MRS. BEAUMONT: What on earth was that, Hawkins?
HAWKINS, THE BUTLER: Just a drunken man, Madame, that thought this was his house.
MRS. BEAUMONT: Oh! It’s a good thing my husband wasn’t home. He’d have killed him. You know how he detests drunken people.

Video Availability--You can find the short on DVD in the United Kingdom, Germany, and Holland, but it has not been officially released in the U.S. However, Hollywood's Attic provides a collector's copy in Laurel and Hardy Classic Shorts (Volume 8).

Similarly Sauced Cinema--Arthur Housman also provided comic support to Laurel and Hardy in The Live Ghost (1934), The Fixer Uppers (1935), Our Relations (1936), and briefly in The Flying Deuces (1939).

Laurel and Hardy: The Magic Behind the Movies

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