A Star Is Born Again…and Again

Because Hollywood loves stories about itself and the pitfalls of show business, it’s not surprising that one of the most remade movies in film history is A Star Is Born. It’s the tale of a rising young talent who is discovered by a troubled superstar, and the new star skyrockets to success as the has-been fades away.

First filmed in 1932 as What Price Hollywood, starring Constance Bennett and Max Carey, it was remade in 1937 under the title A Star Is Born with Janet Gaynor and Fredric March in the leads. Judy Garland and James Mason starred in the 1954 version (produced by Garland and her then-husband Sid Luft), which added the musical element to the story and gave Judy some of her most memorable songs, including the haunting “The Man That Got Away.”

More than 20 years later, superstar Barbra Streisand brought A Star Is Born to the screen yet again, producing and starring in an updated musical version that moved the story from the movie business to the music industry, casting herself as the up-and-coming rock and roll hopeful who falls in love with an alcoholic singer on the skids, played by Kris Kristofferson.

The 1937, 2018 and 1954 versions are all well worth watching.

In 2018, Lady Gaga and Bradley Cooper teamed up for yet another remake—practically a beat-by-beat retelling of the 1976 Streisand/Kristofferson version…which may be why Streisand gave it her stamp of approval. Directed by Cooper and featuring songs by Gaga collaborating with Cooper, Diane Warren and others, it was a solid hit with audiences and critics alike.

The 1976 A Star Is Born was a massive box office success, and the soundtrack album hit #1 on the Billboard charts, remaining there for six weeks. But the movie was savaged by the critics, who deemed it a failure and a poorly conceived vanity project.

It was Streisand’s first foray into an official role behind the camera, and for A Star Is Born she teamed up with an equally inexperienced collaborator, her live-in lover, former hairdresser to the stars Jon Peters. Indeed, Streisand and Peters knew next to nothing about producing a big-budget film (although Barbra had always been passionately curious about every aspect of filmmaking), and this first effort for both of them really shows that lack of experience. 

Actress/Singer/Producer/Director Barbra Streisand

Producing partners and paramours Jon Peters and Barbra Streisand 

But of course, both would go on to greater success. As director of Yentl, The Prince of Tides and The Mirror Has Two Faces, Streisand added another hyphenate to her job description and expanded her sphere of influence in the industry. Peters would go on to partner with Peter Guber as the presenter of megahit blockbusters including The Color Purple, Rain Man and the 1989 Batman. On his own, Peters acquired the rights to the Superman franchise and produced Superman Returns (2006) and is credited as executive producer on Man of Steel (2013).

A Star Is Born was their training ground…

Originally, Streisand and Peters wanted Elvis Presley for the role of the burnt-out rock singer, and Presley, who had been absent from the big screen for almost a decade, seriously considered the offer.

Whether the role hit a little too close to home, or domineering manager Colonel Parker refused to allow him to do it, the pairing of the two icons never materialized—but it could have been an exciting combination had Elvis been able to rise to the challenge. Indeed, it may have changed the trajectory of his own life and career.

Presley’s deep, lush baritone would have been perfect for Streisand’s new composition for the love theme, “Evergreen,” a dream duet that might have been and now we can only imagine.

 

It would have been a different movie with Elvis in the Kristofferson role

Perhaps Elvis was in no condition to act before the cameras anyway. Bloated and tired, he continued a grueling touring schedule and would soon pass away in the summer of 1977, looking far older than his 42 years.

Instead, they cast the handsome and charismatic rock and folk singer turned actor Kris Kristofferson, which looked like a stroke of genius. And the screen couple showed real chemistry and photographed together well—it might be said that it was the very sexy shot of the stars embracing bare-shouldered on the movie poster and album cover that sold all those tickets. 

But the movie definitely does not work. Though there are several iconic moments that shine and make the film worth watching, the results are lukewarm at best.

They certainly looked good together and had screen chemistry

The soundtrack was one of the top selling albums of the decade, and in the film Streisand performs some of her most beloved songs, but the story is incoherent and hard to follow. The supporting characters are poorly drawn, wasting the talents of skilled actors like Gary Busey and director Paul Mazursky. The film lacks a coherent center, veering too far away from the human drama inherent in the original story.

The script is a mess; one suspects it was a classic case of too many cooks spoiling the broth. I wish I could read the original adaptation of the story by the brilliant team of Joan Didion and John Gregory Dunne, who are credited for the screenplay along with director Frank Pierson. Streisand and Peters tinkered with story and dialogue, added and cut scenes, and micromanaged every aspect of the production despite their lack of knowledge.

They even waged war against the director himself, according to Pierson in a scathing article he wrote for New West magazine before the film’s 1976 release, which added to the myth and image of Streisand as a domineering diva who must always get her own way, no matter the cost. Pierson disclosed an on-set screaming match between Kristofferson, Peters and Streisand on how a scene should be played. He painted a picture of Streisand as a control freak who wrested creative control away from him and ruined the film on final cut…perhaps just sour grapes, but the film suffered nevertheless, and the ever-ambitious Barbra Streisand is still viewed in that negative light to this day.

(Barbra herself addressed the controversy in her 2023 memoir, but seemed to place the blame for the film’s critical failure on everyone else but herself, the film’s producer.)

Sadly, Kris Kristofferson’s underwhelming performance in the final product is a particularly weak link to the 1976 A Star Is Born—likely through no fault of his own. 

Barbra designed her own wardrobe—and is credited in the film

Generously baring his tanned, well-muscled chest in practically every scene (remember when the macho men used to unbutton their shirts all the way down to the navel?), Kris certainly brings the sex appeal. But the taciturn, man-of-few-words persona that charmed Ellen Burstyn in Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore doesn’t come off as well in Kristofferson’s one-note portrayal of the crucial role of fading superstar Jon Norman Howard.

Jon Norman is a primitive character sketch of a reckless cowboy; Kristofferson reveals no vulnerability or even a clue as to what made him a great entertainer. Why is he an alcoholic? We never find out. In the dearth of a good script or subtext, the film literally forces the actor to rely on his good looks and sex appeal.

Despite having three songs on the soundtrack album, in the movie there’s a mystifying lack of singing from Kristofferson, a best-selling recording artist and songwriter himself, who gave Janis Joplin her final iconic hit, "Me and Bobby McGee." Why didn’t he sing more in this musical film?

Director Pierson claimed Streisand and Peters had re-edited the film to favor her performance, allegedly cutting scenes that added depth to Kristofferson's character to keep the focus on her. Only snippets of songs sung by Kristofferson made the final cut; even in the wonderful “Watch Closely Now” we are not allowed to see him perform the entire song. Yet later, Streisand sings a long, drawn-out arrangement of the song at the memorial after his character’s death.

Hampered by a threadbare script and surprisingly few musical moments in which to highlight his undeniable talent and charisma, Kristofferson’s performance seems wooden and hollow.

(By contrast, Bradley Cooper’s portrayal of the character in the 2018 film which he also directed, was better by far…though never celebrated as a singer, Cooper’s vocals are remarkable here, the duet with Gaga on “Shallow” being a particularly memorable moment.)

I don't remember this scene in the film—did they cut it?

For a movie billed as a rock film, there is a stultifying lack of real rock music here…Marilyn and Alan Bergman, Rupert Holmes, Kenny Loggins and Paul Williams are more well known as composers of light pop, standards and folk…great music, but it’s not rock and roll to me.

Predictably, the focus of the 1976 film is squarely on Barbra Streisand, the film’s titular character. An admirer of Judy Garland ever since the two worked together on television in 1963, Streisand saw the opportunity to update the story and display her versatility as an actress, musician and producer—the world’s greatest entertainer, now as a rock singer who skyrockets to fame when discovered by a fading superstar.

Suspension of disbelief is necessary to picture the already legendary Barbra Streisand as a total unknown, naive to the workings of big time show business. (Similarly, you have to do the same in the 1954 version to believe the 32-year-old Judy Garland as a starving young singer.) 

As usual, Streisand, ever the pro, is strong in her role of the singing sensation Esther Hoffman and comes off best in the film, though she has little to play against, chiefly because all she basically does in the film is sing song after hit song, albeit winningly. 

In the film, Barbra memorably sports a startlingly tight afro-perm that certainly changes her look, as if to exorcise the ghosts of musical dinosaurs Dolly Levi and Fanny Brice (whom she had just played a second time in Funny Lady) for good and all. Some of her fans were horrified; others applauded her contemporary new look, created by her hairstylist lover and Star Is Born coproducer Jon Peters. Streisand would keep the tight curls for a couple more years longer than she kept Peters, through her 1978 Superman album and 1979’s The Main Event. For A Star Is Born, the star also designed all her own clothes (and gave herself screen credit for it).

Did Streisand and Kristofferson have an on-set screaming match?

Barbra had previously dipped her toe into the rock genre, scoring hits with cover versions of songs like Laura Nyro’s “Stoney End” and Carole King’s “Where You Lead,” but here she is more balladeer than rock diva. “I Believe in Love,” “Everything” and “Woman in the Moon” are highlights, beautifully and excitingly performed by Streisand in the live concert sequences, but the songs are basically contemporary pop standards. Streisand composed the music for the love theme “Evergreen”; Paul Williams provided the lyrics. Both took home Oscars as it won the Best Original Song award that year.

If only the creative team had spent as much time on the dramatic possibilities as the music. Despite the physical chemistry of the two stars, you don’t understand why Esther cares so much about Jon Norman. And Esther doesn’t seem nearly as ambitious as she should be either; it’s as if she merely gets a lucky break…there is no hunger for fame or even artistic achievement. Esther hits the stage, wins over Jon Norman’s disgruntled audience, and suddenly becomes an icon.

In one of the film’s brighter moments, the Esther and Jon Norman  “Evergreen” recording studio scene captures a spark of iconic movie magic (though, again, we barely get more than a phrase or two of the love theme vocalized by Kristofferson).  But the story of their artistic collaboration, deepening love and tragic loss is never fully realized. 

"Evergreen" won Barbra her second Oscar, this time for Best Original Song

Though it’s an essential in the Barbra Streisand filmography, and one that launched her to even greater success, this film doesn’t hold a candle to the 1937, 1954 and 2018 iterations. Of course, as a big Barbra fan, I own the DVD and have viewed it many times but always find myself fast forwarding through to the musical numbers.

For those who want to see this oft-told story really come to life, I heartily recommend the 1954 Judy Garland version.

This is an entry in the Film. Release. Repeat Blogathon hosted by the Midnite Drive-In and Hamlette's Soliloquy. Looking forward to reading all the essays over the weekend.

An O’Neal Family Valentine

Their real-life father-daughter love story may have been bittersweet, but Ryan O’Neal and his daughter Tatum created movie magic together in Paper Moon (1973), a cinematic achievement about which both O’Neals were justifiably proud. It’s also one of director Peter Bogdanovich’s finest films, lovingly crafted in close collaboration with his longtime creative and life partner Polly Platt, a brilliant artist in her own right.

For Paper Moon, Platt’s production design perfectly evokes the Depression-era 1930s in a black-and-white palette perfected by the creative pair on their breakthrough film The Last Picture Show in 1971, which had sent the young director’s career into the stratosphere and made him a permanent A-List celebrity and auteur. 

Not surprisingly, director Bogdanovich received all the credit and the kudos, while Platt struggled to keep working in Hollywood after the pair split (he left her for Last Picture Show leading lady Cybill Shepherd). Their breakup is dramatized in Nancy Meyers’ and Charles Shyer’s underrated comedy Irreconcilable Differences (with Ryan O’Neal ironically playing the egotistical director character based on Bogdanovich).

Ryan O'Neal as Rodney Harrington in Peyton Place

Good-looking and well-built, with a captivating smile and loads of Irish charm, O’Neal had been an amateur boxer before setting out to become an actor. His first big success was as a nighttime soap heartthrob, playing Rodney Harrington on ABC’s Peyton Place opposite Mia Farrow.

In 1970, O’Neal achieved worldwide stardom with his performance in the blockbuster tearjerker Love Story with Ali MacGraw. Following a deft comedic turn opposite Barbra Streisand in What’s Up Doc directed by Peter Bogdanovich, O’Neal and the director teamed up again for Paper Moon, an on-the-road buddy movie about a crooked traveling salesman with a 9-year-old child in tow, set in 1930s Kansas and Missouri. While preparing the script with O’Neal, Bogdanovich met Ryan’s precocious daughter Tatum—and the rest is film history.

A traveling Bible salesman and con artist, bilking wealthy widows out of just a few precious dollars to stay afloat during the darkest days of the Depression, the aptly named Moses Pray is a benign crook with a hidden sensitive side, beautifully played by O’Neal. When he attends the funeral of an old girlfriend and finds that she has left a daughter behind, he is talked into giving the girl a ride to her new home in St. Joe, Missouri.

Tatum O’Neal is winning in her career-defining role of the orphaned Addie, an unsentimental  and tough-as-nails kid who has seen it all, smokes cigarettes and is distrustful of all adults, except for President “Frank D” Roosevelt. 

Tatum and Ryan hit the road

Together, the O’Neals are magnificent in this film, displaying the brand of chemistry that only a father and daughter can share. Their constant sparring and rapid-fire repartee as the pair travel cross-country in a rickety convertible jalopy make this one of the most enjoyable ‘road pictures’ you’ll ever see. Ably supported by a bevy of wonderful 1970s character actors including Randy Quaid, John Hillerman and many other familiar faces, Ryan and Tatum take us on a memorable journey through Bogdanovich and Platt’s monochromatic 1930s midwest. 

Madeline Kahn is pure comedic brilliance as the trashy but charismatic Miss Trixie Delight (supported hilariously by actress P.J. Johnson playing her reluctant maid Imogene), an erstwhile prostitute who latches onto Moses Pray in the hopes of a steady meal ticket. (Kahn and O’Neal’s chemistry as the absent-minded Howard and domineering Eunice in What’s Up, Doc had previously yielded comedic gold.)

Madeline Kahn as Miss Trixie Delight (aka 'Mademoiselle')

P.J. Johnson as Imogene

For her performance in Paper Moon, 10-year-old Tatum O’Neal received an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actress, alongside her costar Madeline Kahn, newcomer Candy Clark (American Grafffiti), Old Hollywood alum Sylvia Sidney (Summer Wishes, Winter Dreams) and 12-year old Linda Blair.

Some say that Linda Blair was the odds-on favorite to win the Supporting Actress trophy for her startling and terrifying transformation from innocent Regan MacNeil to the monstrous demonic entity Pazuzu of The Exorcist —but it was revealed that all of Blair’s raspy, obscenity-filled vocal performance had actually been performed by veteran actress Mercedes McCambridge (Giant, Suddenly Last Summer), who received no credit at all in the film’s initial release. With Blair’s shocking performance proven to be largely makeup, special effects and dubbing, the revelation opened the door for Tatum O’Neal to become the youngest-ever Oscar winner, which she remained until 10-year-old Anna Paquin was named Best Supporting Actress for The Piano decades later.

The Best Supporting Actress of 1973

In the ’70s, tomboyish girls were all the rage—this was the era of Jodie Foster and of Kristy McNichol (with whom Tatum would share the screen in the 1980 film Little Darlings). In Paper Moon, Tatum played against her feminine and vulnerable side, and dressed and was mistaken for a boy (think Jackie Coogan as The Kid or Jackie Cooper in The Champ). She even wore a tux to the Academy Awards that year.

But her superstardom proved to be short-lived. She did have a hit playing a similarly tough cookie in The Bad News Bears with Walter Matthau. But International Velvet, a sequel to the 1944 classic National Velvet which made Elizabeth Taylor a star, was a flop, despite the talents of Tatum, Christopher Plummer and Nanette Newman (The Stepford Wives) in the Taylor role. As a teenager and young woman, Tatum O’Neal proved to be a bit less interesting on screen than she had been as a child.

Her adult career never got off the ground, sidetracked by a tumultuous marriage to John McEnroe and a substance abuse problem. Her memoir, A Paper Life, is more bitter than sweet as she recounts the Hollywood upbringing that left her psyche scarred; obviously, as a father and family man, the troubled Ryan O’Neal left something to be desired. 

A child star for the '70s—I don't think Shirley Temple smoked...

Something changed in their relationship after his daughter won that Oscar. Papa O’Neal was nominated for an Academy Award just once in his long career (for Love Story), though he was recognized and honored by the Golden Globes and other film societies and worked far more frequently than his Oscar-winning daughter. According to Tatum, he constantly denigrated and belittled her greatest accomplishment. An absent father, he also preferred romancing beautiful actresses to parenting—and the addition of Farrah Fawcett to the O’Neal family unit seemed to exacerbate the tensions. His relations with his other children, particularly son Griffin, were equally contentious; ex-boxer O’Neal had a violent temper that flared at the slightest provocation. It was, by all accounts, a very dysfunctional family.

Over the next 40+ years, their relationship was embattled, to say the least, as evidenced by a 2011 reality series that documented Ryan and Tatum’s attempts to reconcile. After battling leukemia and other health issues for decades, Ryan O’Neal passed away in 2023, still largely at odds with his family. 

Today, Tatum works only sporadically in films and television but will be forever remembered as one of the most exceptional child stars, alongside luminaries like Coogan, Cooper, Shirley Temple and Hayley Mills. 

At least Paper Moon has presumably given her some solace, a moment of father-daughter camaraderie and creative collaboration that is emblazoned on film in perpetuity. 

This is an entry in the Hit the Road blogathon hosted by The Midnite Drive-In. I look forward to taking the ride with my fellow classic movie bloggers this weekend. 

Rob & Johnny’s Excellent Naked Adventure

1980s summer fun awaits, so don your bikinis and speedos. Private Resort (1985) is tasty low-calorie seasonal fare for movie-lovers of a certain age, mindless entertainment that appeals to baser instincts and tickles the funny bone in the process. For me, it brings back the realities and fantasies of summers long past. What’s it about? Sex, sex and more sex, with a soupçon of slapstick folded in for good measure. 

Like other entries in this familiar 1980s genre dear to my Gen X heart (including Porky’s, Bachelor Party  and The Last American Virgin), this raunchy teen sex comedy is designed to stimulate hormones rather than brain cells. (The pair of bare breasts revealed even before the opening credits have finished rolling will tell the viewer what’s in store.) No deep analysis is required to enjoy this guilty pleasure—just follow the bouncing boobs and buttocks.

 

Private Resort stars Johnny Depp, fresh from his debut in the previous year’s summer slasher Nightmare on Elm Street (where he was famously gobbled up by a bed, exploding in a fountain of fake blood) and Rob Morrow, who would soon find fame in television as the star of the long-running Northern Exposure and films like Robert Redford’s Quiz Show.

Rob Morrow and Johnny Depp, back in the day

This is a Johnny Depp before Captain Jack Sparrow, before Edward Scissorhands, even before 21 Jump Street, whose soon-to-be-iconic film persona is yet unformed. Here, Depp is cute and photogenic, totally at ease before the camera, but does not yet have the opportunity to exude the charisma and quirky originality that his upcoming films will provide him. Indeed, in this one he definitely plays second fiddle to Rob Morrow, who displays a bit more acting polish and comic timing.

 

The movie (I can’t bring myself to call it a ‘film’) is a high ’80s time capsule. You’ll see beautiful babes with tortured, teased and coiffed big hair sprayed to the max, and perpetually horny, geeky dudes (gotta love Depp rocking those rainbow pride shorts and open shirt) trying to score.  The characters attend aerobics class,  drink kamikazes and dance to songs with titles like “Caribbean Heat,” “Club Cabana” and “Miami Calypso.” Sharp-eyed movie fans will even spot a fake Jeff Spicoli (made famous by Sean Penn in Fast Times at Ridgemont High).

An inappropriately humorous moment with Johnny Depp and Tony Azito

It's a movie of its time, and some elements are indeed dated. Contemporary viewers may cringe at a few of the jarring jokes that would not go over so well today—including a poolside fat girl sight gag and numerous gay references (Depp pretends to be an effeminate manicurist)—they are uncool and inappropriate, to be sure, but you may nevertheless find yourself giggling in spite of yourself.

 

There is virtually no plot to speak of, but Private Resort does contain elements of the classic bedroom farce, with doors slamming, mistaken identity, paramours hiding in closets and under beds, running down hallways to avoid detection. (You will not mistake it for Molière, however.)  There is an attempt at a half-baked subplot about a diamond heist, but the caper gets lost in the shuffle of boobs and butts.

 

A shirtless Hector Elizondo—not bad, but about that wig?

A skilled and talented supporting cast elevates the flimsy material with a few flashes of comic brilliance. Versatile Hector Elizondo (The Fan, Pretty Woman) is a skilled actor who plays comedy and drama with equal aplomb and has given many a sensitive, touching and memorable performance under the direction of his friend Garry Marshall. Here he amusingly brings a vain and self-centered macho pig gangster character to life, sporting a horribly mangy wig.  

Leslie Easterbrook models the latest swimwear fashion

Busty comedic bombshell Leslie Easterbrook (Laverne & Shirley, Police Academy) who bares almost all in a completely see-through blouse, also exhibits impeccable comic timing in her role of the gangster’s wife Bobbie Sue.

 

Tony Azito (who played the haughty funeral director in Moonstruck) is hilarious as the uptight and supercilious hotel manager who is always being mistaken for a pervert (I believe the more polite term used to be ‘masher’).

The wonderful Dody Goodman

Dody Goodman, beloved to 1970s audiences as the dotty mother of Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman and the vice principal who stole every scene in Grease (much to Eve Arden’s chagrin), is absolutely hilarious as the wealthy matron who wants to marry off her granddaughter and niece to Depp and Morrow, whom she thinks are young professionals.

 

By the mid-1980s, T&A movies had been around for a couple of decades, mostly centered around female nudity, but by now, these racy comedies had become more democratic, giving equal time to the male and female physiques. Private Resort is no exception,  focusing in particular upon the undraped charms of the two young male leads.

The birthday suits. Who wore it best, Depp or Morrow?

For the first and only time in his career, Johnny Depp strips completely naked for an extended farce sequence, baring his then-slender frame for the camera with nonchalant alacrity. (If you want to see Johnny Depp naked in a movie, this is the only one. An actor’s actor who is most proud of the work he did with Tim Burton, Brando, Polanski and Oliver Stone, he would never appear in the buff again.)

 

Rob Morrow is also coaxed out of all his clothes for a lengthy sequence. (It’s up to the viewer to decide which star looks better in his birthday suit.) You won’t be able to unsee a hyperventilating Dody Goodman, hitting a naked Rob Morrow with her purse, braying in a broad southern accent,“You pervert! You vile degenerate!”

 

All in all, this movie is as amusing as it is titillating. Unabashedly and relentlessly sexual, it’s a total spoof not to be taken seriously. The nakedness and sex (which of course, never actually happens onscreen, because that would be too naughty) are played strictly for laughs. Private Resort is outrageous, silly, trashy, raunchy fun. I rewatch it every summer to relive my impetuous youth.

This is an entry in the Back to 1985 Blogathon hosted by The Midnite Drive In and Hamlette's Soliloquy. Looking forward to traveling back in time with you all.

 

The Da Vinci Code - Fact, Fiction or Just Plain Fun?

With the passing of Pope Francis, the Catholic Church is in the news again as a new conclave will begin the process of choosing the next Pontiff.

As always with a changing of the guard, old conspiracy theories resurface—was Francis the last pope to serve before Judgment Day and Armageddon, as foretold by Saint Malachy in his Prophecy of the Popes, published in 1595? (I guess we’ll find out soon enough.)

The combustible combination of religion and politics can always be counted on to foment a heady brew of feverish storytelling; reminding us of the eternal struggle between good and evil, light and dark, disclosure and secrecy.

Upon its publication in 2003, a novel by Dan Brown titled The Da Vinci Code caused a furor and sent shockwaves around the religious world, purporting to disclose “the greatest cover-up in human history.” It became one of the best-selling books of all time—after the Bible, of course.  In 2006, Ron Howard’s film adaptation of Brown’s tale expanded the story to an even wider audience, and it grossed over $760 million worldwide.

The Da Vinci Code was banned by the Catholic Church—believers were warned not to read the book or see the movie.

Why would this entertaining page-turner, the perfect book to read while on a plane or lounging on the beach, or its faithful film adaptation, an epic adventure tale set in the present day but steeped in history, legend and lore, cause such controversy?

Whatever its deeper meanings, the movie is eminently watchable; have your popcorn ready. It’s a fast-moving and well-plotted if formulaic yarn, woven with history, symbology, cryptology, secret societies, symbology, puzzles and codes (it makes a great double feature with another of my favorite riddle-me-a-puzzle adventure movies, National Treasure.)

An epic adventure that opens and closes at the Pyramid of the Louvre Museum in Paris, Da Vinci Code engagingly dramatizes a legendary quest in contemporary terms—the search for the Holy Grail.

Dr Langdon at the Louvre

Hanks, Tautou and Da Vinci's iconic masterpiece, La Gioconda

When the Louvre’s curator is murdered in what appears to be ritualistic satanic fashion, Harvard professor and symbologist Robert Langdon is whisked away from his book tour to help investigate. There he meets an enigmatic cryptographer for the French police, Sophie Neveu, who warns him that he is walking into a trap and is about to be framed for the murder. Langdon and Sophie’s escape from the Louvre sets the quest for answers in motion.

Later, the Louvre Museum’s curator (Sophie’s grandfather) is revealed to be the Grand Master of the Priory of Sion, a secret society descended from the Knights Templar who protect the secret of the Holy Grail. A church-led posse for the two fugitives is under way.

For The Da Vinci Code, produced by Brian Grazer, Ron Howard’s longtime producing partner, with a screenplay by Akiva Goldsman (who won an Oscar for his screenplay of Howard’s A Beautiful Mind), the Imagine Films team assembled an accomplished and star-studded international cast and spared no expense to bring Dan Brown’s vision to cinematic life.

Tom Hanks (Apollo 13) dons his usual amiable and humorous everyman persona as the erudite Dr. Robert Langdon, the Harvard professor and author with claustrophobic tendencies. Audrey Tautou (Amelie) is Sophie Neveu, the soft-spoken police code breaker with a mysterious past, who does not believe in God or religion but in people.

Paul Bettany as Silas

Bettany torments Tautou

Paul Bettany (Legion), spouse of another Ron Howard favorite, Jennifer Connelly of A Beautiful Mind, plays Silas—an albino monk who has a penchant for self-flagellation with a cat-o-nine-tails. Silas moonlights as a hit man for Opus Dei, a hyper-conservative, fundamentalist sect of the church—definitely not cafeteria Catholics– who are determined to maintain the status quo and prevent the release of any historical information that might upset the institutions of traditional Christianity.

 

Scene-stealer Ian McKellen as Sir Leigh Teabing

As Sir Leigh Teabing, Langdon’s old professor from Harvard called upon to aid in the quest, Sir Ian McKellen (Gods and Monsters) just about steals the film away from the principals, playing every scene with a knowing twinkle in his eye.

Alfred Molina (Prick Up Your Ears, Boogie Nights) as Bishop Manuel Aringarosa, Silas’s puppet master, Jean Reno (The Professional) as a conservative Catholic police chief, and Jurgen Prochnow (The Seventh Sign, Das Boot) as the night manager of a very special bank repository are other standouts in the cast.

 

Alfred Molina as Bishop Manuel Aringarosa

Played against locations of historical and religious significance in London and Paris and environs, and packed with the requisite action and pursuit sequences (the exciting car chase with Sophie driving backward through the crowded Paris streets is particularly memorable), this crowd-pleasing film also delves deeply into Holy Grail history and lore, offering a few history lessons along with imaginative speculation. 

  

Jean Reno as Captain Bezu Fache

The quest is punctuated with cryptic clues as mysteries hidden in riddles and wrapped in enigmas are unraveled:  A blood trail leading to a key. A cryptex holding a papyrus with a map and a riddle inside, that can only be opened with a 5-letter password. Codes and anagrams galore—and, of course, the clues hidden within Leonardo Da Vinci’s Mona Lisa and The Last Supper.

 

Jürgen Prochnow as Andre Vernet

You’ll be treated to a history lesson on the birth of Christianity and the establishment of the Catholic Church by the Roman Empire. Emperor Constantin and the Council of Nicea, the so-called Apocryphal texts that were left out of the Holy Bible, plus a few choice bits of historical trivia along the way (the origin of Friday the 13th, for example). The ‘Rose Line’—the Paris Meridian, a line of longitude that once served as France's prime meridian and is marked on the streets of Paris—points to the way to the ultimate answer the burning question at the film’s climax.

I won’t reveal the big spoiler for those who have not yet read the book or seen the movie…I trust there are not many of you, though! I’ll leave you with one cryptic clue: Ian McKellen’s character calls the secret “the original old wives’ tale:” So dark the con of man.

The Last Supper detail—who is that on the right??

 Mostly regarded as wildly speculative (it is, of course, a work of fiction), Brown’s tale is rooted in a mix of scholarly research combined with conspiracy theories and legends, with just enough fact to make his theories plausible. And Ron Howard’s cinematic storytelling makes the story seem that much more real.

“Witness the greatest cover-up in human history.” To find out more, read the book and see the film.

Incidentally, those following the 2025 papal conclave may also enjoy Dan Brown’s Catholic-themed follow-up novel featuring Robert Langdon, Angels & Demons, also adapted into a Ron Howard film starring Tom Hanks.

This is an entry in the Adventurethon Blogathon hosted by Cinematic Catharsis and Reelweegie Midget Reviews. I look forward to reading everyone's posts!

The Users: Glossy '70s Trash TV

I grew up in the 1970s, a precocious child and an avid, advanced reader from the age of 8 or 9. I had a voracious need to devour anything and everything I could get my hands on. After blowing through all of The Wizard of Oz books, every Nancy Drew and Hardy Boys mystery, Roald Dahl’s Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and Wonka series and James & the Giant Peach, I set my sights on my parents’ vast bookshelf that lined the entire back wall of the living room. And, boy, did I ever get an education.

I was indiscriminate in my tastes, as were my well-educated parents. I read Ira Levin’s Rosemary’s Baby and William Peter Blatty’s The Exorcist long before I was ever old enough to see the films that were made from them. I read Updike, Mailer, Harold Robbins, Sidney Sheldon. (The Other Side of Midnight was my favorite.) I read Judith Krantz’s steamy Scruples and thumbed through Alex Comfort’s The Joy of Sex, scrutinizing every detailed illustration. I even read Erica Jong’s Fear of Flying, a tome still potent enough to make grown men blush.

One of the adult-themed books I best remember was The Users by Joyce Haber. It was a seamy, tawdry tale of how a clever young hooker infiltrated the Hollywood movie machine and became a major power player, using her wiles and skills in the art of love. The sex scenes were explicit and graphic, and it was said that all the characters depicted were based on real-life actors and moguls of contemporary 1970s filmdom.

Hollywood gossip columnist Joyce Haber

Along with Rona Barrett, Joyce Haber was a doyenne of 1970s movieland gossip, having inherited the mantle from Hedda Hopper and Louella Parsons, who had wielded a tremendous amount of power with their well-read columns in major newspapers during Hollywood’s classic golden era. So I assumed Ms. Haber knew from whereof she spoke as she weaved her page-turning story of Elena Brent née Schneider, closeted gay movie hunk Randall Brent, billionaire entrepreneur Reade Jamison and the making of a big Hollywood blockbuster called Rogue’s Gallery.

Producers Douglas S. Cramer and Aaron Spelling with Lana Turner 

In 1978, the book was adapted into an ABC TV movie of the week, coproduced by Aaron Spelling and Douglas S. Cramer. Spelling, of course, was already a superstar producer, a former actor (I Love Lucy) who found his niche behind the camera, at that time already the creator of the megahit TV series Starsky and Hutch and Charlie’s Angels. Douglas Cramer was also a successful TV producer, with Dawn: Portrait of a Teenage Runaway, The New Adventures of Wonder Woman and the original TV movie version of The Love Boat already under his belt. Together, Spelling and Cramer would team up to produce some of the most memorable and iconic series of the 1970s and 1980s, including Love Boat, Dynasty and Vega$. 

(Joyce Haber happened to be married to Douglas S. Cramer at the time, which may have had something to do with her lucrative TV movie deal for The Users. Later, Cramer and Spelling would also produce the miniseries of Jackie Collins’s Hollywood Wives, which is a better adaptation and a more entertaining guilty pleasure than this version of his ex-wife’s book.)

Jaclyn Smith as Elena Brent—a little too pure!

Not currently available for streaming or on DVD (though lucky seekers may find a bootleg copy uploaded to YouTube), the TV version of The Users is basically a Spelling Productions family affair, headlined by Jaclyn Smith of Charlie’s Angels (the only Angel to appear in all five seasons of the series) as Elena Brent and John Forsythe (soon to be of Dynasty) as Reade Jamison. 

Curtis, Smith and Forsythe: Not the Carringtons or Colbys

The rest of the cast is reminiscent of an episode of The Love Boat, which was famous for giving past-their-prime classic stars a chance to keep working in the medium of television: Oscar winners Joan Fontaine (Suspicion, The Witches) and Red Buttons (Sayonara, The Poseidon Adventure) play the shrewd procuress Grace St. George and sleazy super agent Warren Ambrose. Tony Curtis (Some Like It Hot, Spartacus) is Randall Brent, the former A-list star who marries Elena. Darren McGavin (The Night Stalker) is Henry Waller, gruff and macho author of the book Rogue’s Gallery that’s being adapted into a big film.

Jaclyn Smith's Oscar winning costars: Buttons and Fontaine

Mamas & the Papas alum Michelle Phillips is superstar Marina Brent (whose popularity in the book is compared to the likes of Barbra Streisand and Liza Minnelli), daughter of Randy. Perpetually tanned and laid-back George Hamilton (Love At First Bite) plays director Adam Baker, apparently an amalgam of several hot young directors of the ’70s. Seasoned character actors like the comic Pat Ast (Heat), throaty-voiced Carrie Nye (The Group) and curly-haired Alan Feinstein (Looking for Mr. Goodbar) round out the cast, lending support to the ‘big names.’

Michelle Phillips: Move over Barbra, Liza and Bette

Hamilton: Too handsome to be behind the camera?

The production values are pure Spelling and foreshadow the look and feel of Dynasty a couple of years later: indeed, Jaclyn Smith and her castmates are dressed by none other than the legendary Nolan Miller, who was discovered by Aaron Spelling while he was working as a Beverly Hills florist. 

Designer Nolan Miller and one of his many beautiful leading ladies

I wish I could say that The Users is a great or even good film; it really isn’t, and the movie bears only the most superficial resemblance to the book, which was a bawdy, racy and incisive look behind the screen at Hollywood politicking and deal-making. The TV movie version obviously had to be sanitized to remove references to blue movies, omnisexual West Hollywood orgies and blow-by-blow descriptions of hot and heavy encounters at Hollywood parties. (If you want that, watch 1975’s Shampoo instead.) Unfortunately, without all of Haber’s trashy (and addictively readable) accoutrements, The Users is nothing more than a tepid soap opera, glossed over with those slick and deft touches of a Spelling and Cramer production.

But the story behind the story is kind of fun—and I recommend you read the book and try to guess who’s who in Joyce Haber’s roman à clef. 

(Bonus, thanks to Brian in the comments below – Joyce Haber and ex-husband Doug Cramer on an episode of the 70s game show Tattletales!)

This is an entry in the Spellingverse Blogathon, hosted by the beautiful and talented Gill of RealWeegieMidget Reviews. I look forward to reading all your posts about Aaron and Company.