4 Shots From 4 Films is just what it says it is, 4 shots from 4 of our favorite films. As opposed to the reviews and recaps that we usually post, 4 Shots From 4 Films lets the visuals do the talking!
Today, we take a look at a classic cinematic year. It’s time for….
4 Shots From 4 1967 Films
Something Weird (1967, dir by Herschell Gordon Lewis, DP: Andy Romanoff)
Bonnie and Clyde (1967, dir by Arthur Penn, DP: Burnett Guffey)
Who’s That Knocking On My Door (1967, dir by Martin Scorsese, DP: Michael Wadley and Richard Coll)
Point Blank (1967, dir by John Boorman, DP: Philip H. Lathrop)
Welcome to Retro Television Reviews, a feature where we review some of our favorite and least favorite shows of the past! On Fridays, I will be reviewing St. Elsewhere, a medical show which ran on NBC from 1982 to 1988. The show can be found on Hulu and, for purchase, on Prime!
It’s another day at the hospital.
Episode 1.14 “Remission”
(Dir by Mark Tinker, originally aired on February 22nd, 1983)
A young Michael Madsen pops up in this episode, playing a hoodlum named Mike O’Connor who brings his severely beaten friend to the hospital. This was Madsen’s first role on television and, in his very first scene and while delivering his very first televised monologue, he drops the N-word as he accuses a group of black men of beating up his friend. Dr. Morrison is worried about whether or not Madsen’s friend is going to lose a kidney. Meanwhile, race relations in Boston are not doing well. What else is new?
(I remember, after the shooting of Michael Brown in Ferguson, there was a commentator who thought he was being clever when he said, “I don’t understand why blacks stay in the South when they could just move to Boston.” The response to his comments served as a reminder that Boston’s history of racism makes some Southern cities seem almost progressive by comparison.)
It’s interesting that Michael Madsen is the second well-known actor to appear on St. Elsewhere as a gang member. Just a few episodes ago, Howie Mandel was chasing Ray Liotta out of the hospital. This particular episode ended with a fight breaking out in the ER between a white gang and a black gang. I assume this will be continued next week so I guess we still have time to see Howie Mandel pull a gun on Michael Madsen. Seriously, it better happen. I’m plotting the upcoming week around it.
Speaking of Dr. Fiscus, he got evicted from his apartment. He was shocked, even though he hadn’t paid his rent in forever. No one wants Fiscus to stay with them but, after Fiscus saved Dr. Ehrlich from getting beaten up in the ER (and no, this was not a part of the gang fight, instead it was a different fight — goldang, Boston’s dangerous! And yes, I gave up cursing for Lent), Ehrlich agrees to let Fiscus stay with him until he gets a new place. I imagine Ehrlich will come to regret that, especially after Fiscus showed up with Dr. Kochar and a homeless guy who had earlier helped them steer a truck out of a traffic jam. What? Don’t ask, it didn’t make much sense on the show either.
Dr. Cavenero has been nominated for a prestigious fellowship by Dr. Auschlander but she’s not sure if she should accept it because the fellowship would be for research and she’s not sure that’s what she wants to focus on. Auschlander has bigger issues to deal with, as he ends up collapsing in the hospital hallway, a result of his liver cancer. The irony that Auschlander, a liver specialist, is dying of liver cancer is not lost on Auschlander and Norman Lloyd did a wonderful job in this episode, portraying not only Auschlander’s frustration but also his gentle humor.
Also, a woman was walking around the hospital and flashing people. She said it was because she wanted to show off that, even in middle age, she still had a good body. That makes sense to me. Played by Janis Page, she was somehow who was fine for a one episode storyline but I’m going to scream if this becomes a multi-episode thing, like it did with Ralph the Birdman.
This was a good episode, even if I get the feeling the whole gang thing is going to be cringey in the way that most 80s television shows tended to be whenever they tried to take on race relations. Norman Lloyd’s heartfelt performance carried the hour. I’m hoping the best for Dr. Auschlander. He’s a character that I would hate to lose.
As some of our regular readers undoubtedly know, I am involved in a few weekly live tweets on Twitter and Mastodon. I host #FridayNightFlix every Friday, I co-host #ScarySocial on Saturday, and I am one of the five hosts of #MondayActionMovie! Every week, we get together. We watch a movie. We tweet our way through it.
Tonight, at 10 pm et, #FridayNightFlix presents the original 1976 Assault on Precinct 13, from director John Carpenter!
If you want to join us this Friday, just hop onto twitter, start the movie at 10 pm et, and use the #FridayNightFlix hashtag! It’s a friendly group and welcoming of newcomers so don’t be shy.
Assault on Precinct 13 is available on Prime and Tubi! See you there!
Welcome to Late Night Retro Television Reviews, a feature where we review some of our favorite and least favorite shows of the past! On Thursdays, I will be reviewing Highway to Heaven, which aired on NBC from 1984 to 1989. The entire show is currently streaming on Tubi and several other services!
This week, Dick Van Dyke has a puppet show.
Episode 3.15 “Wally”
(Dir by Michael Landon, originally aired on January 14th, 1987)
Jonathan and Mark’s latest assignment is Wally (Dick Van Dyke), a lovable old man who lives in a box in an alley, puts on a streetside puppet show, and goes out of his way to show kindness to everyone, from a dying boy to a woman who, like Wally, is an alcoholic trying to stay sober to the blind men who line the street and ask for help from people walking by. Wally is destined to die, at which point he’ll become an angel. The show suggests that Wally already is angel, having devoted his life to helping other.
Let’s see …. Dick Van Dyke as a saintly, homeless, recovering alcoholic who puts on a puppet show where the puppets discuss the difficulty of being poor in America. Look, you all know how I usually feel about this stuff. I usually take real issue with any film or television show that I find to be overly manipulative or heavy-handed. I’ve also mentioned more than a few times that I think a lot of films and television shows tend to idealize homelessness, an instinct born from good intentions but one that often ignores the very real reality and which is often counter-productive. Too often, being homeless is treated in such a sentimental manner that it actually becomes a bit insulting. Maybe, someday, someone should ask the people who live at the bus stop across the street from the Frank Cowley Courthouse how they feel about things. Speaking as someone who once got called all sorts of names — and yes, one of them started with a C — because she refused an offer of a drink from a bottle in a brown paper bag while she waited for the bus to take her back to the DART train station after a day of jury duty, I could tell you a few things. (Another person who could tell you a few things is a friend of mine in Florida who got evicted from his apartment and who spent a month alternating between living on the street and in a shelter. He told me recently that the main thing he learned from the experience is that no one helps anyone.) When you add that Wally was being played by Dick Van Dyke, a good actor but one who can go a little overboard when cast in a serious role, you can maybe understand what I was expecting from this episode.
And, to a certain extent, I was right. This is Highway to Heaven. It’s not subtle show and this was not a subtle episode. This was an episode where everyone was so charmed by Dick Van Dyke and his puppets that they would happily let him into their homes to perform for sick children but no one was willing to help him get off the streets. This was also an episode where Wally revealed that the money he did make all went to providing a home for someone else. This is an episode where Wally’s kindness literally heals a dying child. This episode was sentimental, heavy-handed, and a little preachy but it worked. The show is just so earnest and Dick Van Dyke’s performance was just so heartfelt that it cast a spell that pretty much negated all cynicism for an hour. (Despite my fears, Van Dyke did not go overboard as Wally, giving a performance that felt genuine and heartfelt.) This was an episode that perhaps should not have worked but it did. It worked wonderfully.
Hey, it’s Hal Needham’s birthday. What other song could we go with?
East bound and down, loaded up and truckin’ A-we gonna do what they say can’t be done We’ve got a long way to go, and a short time to get there I’m east bound, just watch ol’ “Bandit” run
Keep your foot hard on the pedal Son, never mind them brakes Let it all hang out ’cause we got a run to make The boys are thirsty in Atlanta And there’s beer in Texarkana And we’ll bring it back no matter what it takes
East bound and down, loaded up and truckin’ A-we gonna do what they say can’t be done We’ve got a long way to go, and a short time to get there I’m east bound, just watch ol’ “Bandit” run
East bound and down, loaded up and truckin’ A-we gonna do what they say can’t be done We’ve got a long way to go, and a short time to get there I’m east bound, just watch ol’ “Bandit” run
Ol’ Smokey’s got them ears on He’s hot on your trail And he aint gonna rest ’til you’re in jail So you got to dodge ‘im and you got to duck ‘im You got to keep that diesel truckin’ Just put that hammer down and give it hell
East bound and down, loaded up and truckin’ A-we gonna do what they say can’t be done We’ve got a long way to go, and a short time to get there I’m east bound, just watch ol’ “Bandit” run
4 Shots From 4 Films is just what it says it is, 4 shots from 4 of our favorite films. As opposed to the reviews and recaps that we usually post, 4 Shots From 4 Films lets the visuals do the talking!
Today, we take a moment to remember the great director and stuntman, Hal Needham. It’s time for….
4 Shots From 4 Hal Needham Films
Smokey and the Bandit (1977, dir by Hal Needham, DP: Bobby Byrne)
Hooper (1978, dir by Hal Needham, DP: Bobby Byrne)
The Cannonball Run (1981, dir by Hal Needham, DP: Michael Butler)
Rad (1986, dir by Hal Needham, DP: Richard Leiterman)
Welcome to Retro Television Reviews, a feature where we review some of our favorite and least favorite shows of the past! On Thursdays, I will be reviewing Malibu CA, which aired in Syndication in 1998 and 1999. The entire show is currently streaming on YouTube!
Yes, this is from the first season. I don’t care. I refuse to waste my time looking for a second season advertisement.
Bye bye, Stads!
Episode 2.4 “Chasing Stads”
(dir by Gary Shimokawa, originally aired on October 30th, 1999)
After getting fired from her lifeguarding job after she follows Jason’s advice and complains about not getting promotion, Stads proceeds to accidentally burn down her apartment building when she used a faulty hair dryer. We hear a news report that says it’s the worst “apartment building” fire in Malibu history so I’m going to guess that people died.
Stads should be going to jail on a manslaughter charge. Instead, she hops on a plane and goes to Europe for a year. This is the same Stads who, earlier in the show, was saying that she was flat broke. Stads is gone and Jason is sad so he hops on a plane and joins here in Switzerland, where he gets a job working with her in a hotel. I guess Jason’s gone now. Yay!
Oh wait. It turns out that Jason is dreaming of pursuing his musical career and to do that, he needs to return to Malibu because God knows it’s not like there are record companies in Europe. Jason promises he’ll wait for Stads. “I’m going to miss you.” Stads says. Awww!
I, on the other hand, am not going to miss Stads because the show transformed her from being a fairly interesting character — a socially awkward lifeguard who was unlucky in love but totally capable of saving lives — into a fairly annoying killjoy whose main purpose was to roll her eyes and get mad at every single line of dialogue. In the end, Stads represented the fact that the writers of this show had no idea how to write female characters. In the world of Malibu CA, you could be a ditz or a …. well, I gave up cursing for Lent but you know what I’m saying.
Myself, I’m just trying to figure out the logistics of Jason suddenly showing up in Switzerland. How did he pay for the trip? How did he get over there so quickly? Did he give his two-weeks at the restaurant? Did he tell his dad or his brother? Were they cool with him just moving to another country? This episode certainly establishes that no one’s in high school any more so is their father okay with his two sons skipping college despite not really having any of the skills necessary to survive in the real world? Seriously, this episode raised too many questions.
Meanwhile Lisa Jones tried to break Murray of his soap opera addiction. It was pretty dumb. Marquita Terry may have improved an actress since Malibu CA, I don’t know. And let’s be honest …. it’s not like the show was really giving her great material work with. That said, we are four episodes into the second season and her performance on the show is making Trevor Merszei and Jason Hayes look like Oscar winners.
Through the Shattered Lens 