Martha Pennigar (msmartha@earthlink.net)
Thu, 16 Sep 1999 08:57:44 -0400
I remember the Marlowe series on HBO and thought it was a bit
clean but caught the mood and intent well. Unfortunately, the
Washington Post TV critic, Tom Shales, said something in his
review that forever colored my enjoyment of Powers Boothe in
the role. Shales said he looked like a grapefruit in a hat.
Thanks, Tom. That's why they pay you the big bucks. But you
know--he did. How can you make a hardboiled period piece and
not have the guy's fedora fit?
The discussion on Devil In A Blue Dress has caused me to
remember my experience of seeing it in a theater. The movie
came out in the fall of 1995, I think. At any rate, it was
when every day was an OJ day. The theater was packed with a
heavy majority of African American viewers. Everyone was
rolling along with the film but, as the mood of the story
changed, so did the audience's mood. When the police
confronted Easy, took him to headquarters and roughed him up
in the interrogation room, the theater grew ominously silent.
Suddenly a man stood up and yelled,
"That's where they learned it!" There was a loud murmer of
agreement. Fortunately, the scene ended and the story
continued, but it seemed to me that a big portion of the
audience was no longer with either the story or Easy. Very
sad and very unfortunate that this wonderful movie caught
such a heavy dose of bad topical karma in my neck of the
woods. I've often wondered if there were similar reactions
elsewhere in the country and if they had something to do with
the film's failure.
Teri, I also liked The Mighty Quinn. It'll never be in
anyone's Top 10, I fear, but it has a very real charm of its
own. Mawbie!
Martha
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