MUSEUM OF TELEVISION & RADIO SCREENING SERIES, THE: CASSAVETES, PACKAGE 6: THE FIRST STAR, WHO KILLED HAMLET? & FREE OF CHARGE
Summary
John Cassavetes (1929-89) was a pioneer, not simply in technique or the crazy risks he took for his art, but in his distinctly humanistic approach to cinema. Fifteen years after his death, he is revered as the spiritual godfather of the American independent film, but an appreciation of his considerable legacy is incomplete without a survey of his contributions to television, for it was his background as an actor in that medium that honed his aesthetic as a director. The hallmarks of a Cassavetes film -- the roving camera, the combustible atmosphere, the improvisatory (but fiercely rehearsed) performances -- are all exponents of the live television dramas in which Cassavetes got his start in the fifties. As a familiar face on the leading anthology programs of the era, he was at the vortex of a dynamic and intensely creative dramatic form that prized character exploration over plot, emotional veracity over narrative gimmickry. This emphasis on personal relationships, on the small, messy, raw truths of the human condition, left an indelible impression on Cassavetes, just as the experience of working in episodic television, with its hurried shooting schedules, meddling studio bureaucracies, and resolved storylines, provided both the grounding and impetus he needed to set out on his own. Television not only shaped the do-it-yourself paradigm Cassavetes brought to fruition with such intensely personal films as "Shadows," "Faces," and "A Woman Under the Influence," but enabled him to explore -- as both an actor and a director -- themes and ideas that would preoccupy him throughout his life. The Museum's nine-part screening series, which includes several programs unseen since their original broadcast, offers the first comprehensive overview of Cassavetes's parallel career on television.
Package 6 "The Award Theater: The First Star" With his uncanny ability to contain righteousness and self-doubt in the same glance, Cassavetes excelled at playing characters at a moral crossroads -- such as the up-and-coming agent forced him into an ethical conundrum by his boss (Paul Stewart) and star client (Janet Blair) in this showbiz fable. (1958; 30 minutes)
"Burke's Law: Who Killed Hamlet?" Despite the Sturm and Drang of his films, Cassavetes had a keen sense of satire, as evidenced in his wickedly funny characterization of a Bard-spouting beatnik in this popular detective show. (1965; 5 minutes; excerpt)
"Universal Star Time: Free of Charge" No one could play a wide-eyed half-mad seer quite like Cassavetes, and in this free-wheeling picaresque tale he carries the alienation and insanity of the modern world in his strange, desolate face. As Harrybell, a disillusioned jazz pianist, he stands in the middle of Sunset Boulevard and rails against a society given over to free love and rock 'n' roll. Carted off to a psych ward, he escapes, police in tow, and seeks to find a way to liberate his beloved Los Angeles -- the City of La, as he calls it -- from its smog of malaise. Ben Gazzara costars as an out-of-work lyricist whose words push Harrybell to the edge. This marked the first time the actors, who shared an agent, worked together; they would later collaborate on "Husbands" and "The Killing of a Chinese Bookie." (1967; 50 minutes)
Details
- NETWORK: N/A
- DATE: November 30, 2004
- RUNNING TIME: 1:18:04
- COLOR/B&W: Color
- CATALOG ID: T:85471
- GENRE: Drama
- SUBJECT HEADING: Drama
- SERIES RUN: N/A
- COMMERCIALS: N/A
CREDITS
- Janet Blair
- John Cassavetes
- Ben Gazzara
- John Stewart