LEGENDS OF THE SILVER SCREEN: PETER FONDA
Peter Fonda has been one of my favorite actors for about as long as I can remember. From his work for Roger Corman in the ‘60s, to his stellar drive-in films of the ‘70s, to the quirky character work he did in independent films in the ‘90s, Fonda is always a joy to watch. Today, we’ll look at three films from the man’s long and varied career.
First up is…
SPIRITS OF THE DEAD (1968) *** ½
Roger Vadim, Louis Malle, and Frederico Fellini; three of Europe’s most renowned directors try their hand at an Edgar Allan Poe anthology. The results play like an art house version of a Roger Corman movie. That is to say, it’s pretty cool.
METZENGERSTEIN *** ½
Roger Vadim directs his wife, Jane Fonda, the same year as Barbarella. Jane plays a debauched countess who holds orgies and plays sadistic games with her servants. The only man in the village she can’t corrupt is her goody two shoes cousin (Peter Fonda). To get revenge, she sets fire to his stables and he dies in the blaze. Jane soon becomes fixated on a mysterious horse that begins to hang around the mansion and she starts to realize it might be the reincarnation of her cousin.
The fact that Jane wants to get it on with her cousin who is being played by her brother (while being directed by her husband no less) adds a weird undercurrent to this segment. Not to mention the not-so subtle hints of bestiality. Jane gives a good performance and she wears an array of sexy outfits, which is just as important if you ask me. Peter’s role is small but memorable, and he makes a lasting impression in his limited screen time. The flick is also notable since it’s the only film both Peter and Jane ever appeared in together. Most reviews of the film I’ve read single this segment out as being the weakest, but I disagree. It’s pretty captivating and if anything, Vadim captures the flavor of Poe much better than either Malle or Fellini.
WILLIAM WILSON ***
Alain Delon frantically runs into a church and confesses to killing a man. He also tells the priest about how he’s been a total bastard all his life. He also mentions the appearance of his squeaky clean doppelganger who haunts him during his particularly evil bouts of depravity. Naturally, the bad Alain can’t stand the good Alain, so he kills him.
This segment has a great set-up, but the follow through leaves something to be desired. Director Louis Malle’s handling of the material is much more subdued and somber when compared to his two co-directors, but at least this segment actually has some nudity. Although the card game between Delon and Brigitte Bardot slows the whole thing down, the two Delons’ final confrontation is pretty good and the scene where Bardot gets whipped is a highlight.
TOBY DAMMIT *** ½
Terence Stamp is a movie star who goes to Italy to make a movie in exchange for a Ferrari. He shows up for a TV interview hopelessly drunk and makes an ass of himself at an awards show. Stamp also has visions of a young girl whom he believes to be the devil. After a bout of drinking, he hops in his Ferrari and goes racing around town trying to find her.
Frederico Fellini’s sequence has an odd dreamlike quality. For the most part, this segment is pretty empty and episodic, but the highs easily outshine the lows. Stamp’s eccentric performance and Fellini’s cool visuals carry the film and make it stand out from the rest of the pack.
AKA: Tales of Mystery. AKA: Tales of Mystery and Imagination.
Our next Fonda flick is…
SOUTH BEACH (1993) ** ½
South Beach opens with scenes of Fred Williamson and Gary Busey smoking cigars, riding around in a golf cart, and horsing around on a golf course. These moments are great. In fact, I could’ve watched a whole movie devoted to this premise. Remember those Dorf on Golf movies? I would kill for a Fred and Gary on Golf series.
Anyway, Fred and Gary play two ex-football players turned private investigators. They try to stop a psycho (Sam J. Jones) from killing a phone sex operator (Vanity) who also happens to be Fred’s ex-wife. Since that plotline won’t fill up the entire 90 minute running time, they also tangle with a protection racket ran by Henry Silva.
South Beach starts out great, but the plot quickly gets jumbled up and the movie starts to chase its own tail for much of the second half. Not to mention the fact that all the plot threads are tied together rather sloppily in the end. The terrific cast (which includes Robert Forster, Isabel Sanford, and Stella Stevens) elevates the film as much as can be expected. Gary Busey and Peter Fonda especially don’t seem to be taking things too seriously and their energy helps lighten the movie up. (I particularly dug the scene where Fonda fakes getting religion in order to create a diversion so Fred can escape.)
Sadly, Fred doesn’t get as much mileage out of the cast as you’d expect. For example, Peter and Gary share no scenes together, which is a bit disappointing. I don’t know if Fred was unable to juggle everyone’s schedules or what, but it’s kinda odd that Gary’s character helps Fred with the case sometimes, but inexplicably disappears for huge chunks of the film. (He says he’s busy visiting his “slut-puppy”.) That leaves Fonda, who’s just Fred’s bartending buddy to help with the investigation in some stretches. It’s weird because it feels like their characters were originally written to be one character, but Fred split them up once he realized both Fonda and Busey could be in the film.
Overall, South Beach is a minor, but entertaining Fred Williamson flick. If only the plot wasn’t so jumbled and the cast was utilized better, it might’ve been a classic. As it is, it’s a decent, if disposable time waster.
AKA: Dangerous Action. AKA: Night Caller.
Here’s our pals Ty and Brett’s review of the film from Comeuppance Reviews: http://www.comeuppancereviews.com/2013/02/south-beach-1993.html
And our final Fonda film is…
AMERICAN BANDITS: FRANK AND JESSE JAMES (2010) *
At the end of the Civil War, Jesse James (George Stults) and his brother Frank (Tim Abell) decide to rob Yankees as a form of payback. Jesse gets shot during a hold-up and is nursed back to health by a hot frontier honey (Lauren Eckstrom). Meanwhile, a grizzled marshal (Peter Fonda) pursues the duo and tries to bring them to justice.
Director Fred Olen Ray’s last western (if you don’t count Bikini Round-Up that is) was the Michael Dudikoff oater, The Shooter. That flick at least LOOKED like a western, but American Bandits: Frank and Jesse James just looks like a bunch of community theater actors playing dress up in an old barn. It also doesn’t help that the flick is really tame.
The film suffers from two awful performances by the leads. Neither Stults nor Abell look very convincing as cowboys and are unable to carry the movie. I did enjoy seeing Jeffrey Combs in a Fred Olen Ray movie again. (It’s been 22 years since he starred in Ray’s The Phantom Empire.) Fonda lends the flick some gravitas and also happens to be the only actor who looks like an actual cowboy. Unfortunately, he’s only in about three scenes.
American Bandits: Frank and Jesse James is a rather plodding western that’s more than a little boring. It doesn’t help that Jesse spends much of the movie in bed. You’ll wish you were in bed too because the flick will put you to sleep long before the final shootout.
Next week’s Legend: Klaus Kinski.