I present yet another installment of Hidden Treasures, with three films that deserve much more recognition that they’ve received.
Grand Hotel (1932)
There was something magical about the movies of the early 1930’s, when films told big stories, and required even bigger stars to tell them. Classics like The Champ, Captain Blood, My Man Godfrey, It Happened One Night, The Thin Man, and many others did their part to put Hollywood on the map during these early years, yet no film was quite as elaborate, quite as magnificent as 1932’s Grand Hotel. The setting is Berlin’s finest lodgings; an establishment aptly named Grand Hotel. Baron von Geigern (John Barrymore) has both the title and bearing of an aristocrat, yet is, in reality, a notorious jewel thief. He’s checked into the hotel in order to steal a pearl necklace that belongs to the world-famous ballerina, Grusinskaya (Greta Garbo), who’s staying in an adjoining room. Mr. Preysing (Wallace Beery), an important executive who has a nasty disposition, hires Ms. Flaemmchen (Joan Crawford), a secretary, to accompany him to the hotel so that he may catch up on his correspondences. While there, Preysing runs into Mr. Kringelein (Lionel Barrymore), a sickly employee who works in the accounting department of Preysing’s firm. Kringelein is terminally ill, and has spent his entire life savings on a room at the hotel, all in the hopes of experiencing the glamorous life just once before reaching the end of the line. Grand Hotel was the first bone-fide ‘star-studded extravaganza’ ever produced in Hollywood, and its stars certainly did their part to make it a memorable one. Wallace Beery bellows and huffs as the egotistical Mr. Preysing, a man who’s used to getting his own way, and whose arrogant demeanor ultimately leads to a tragic turn of events. Joan Crawford is sexy in the role of Ms. Flaemmchen, perhaps a bit sexier than I would have thought possible for a film made in 1932. Her Ms. Flaemmchen is alluring enough to capture any man’s heart, and she damn near captures all of them. John Barrymore and Greta Garbo generate a great deal of passion as star-crossed lovers who throw caution to the wind, undertaking an intense love affair despite the fact they barely know one another. Then there’s Lionel Barrymore as Mr. Kringelein, the everyman who longs to live like a king. Like us, Kringelein is an outsider to this world of opulence, which essentially makes him our guide throughout the film. In a lively barroom scene, Kringelein lives out the dream of every employee when he stands up to his boss, Mr. Preysing, and tells the villainous executive exactly what he thinks of him. Lionel Barrymore, who became well-known years later for his role as the infamous Mr. Potter in Frank Capra’s It’s a Wonderful Life, is Grand Hotel’s lone heroic figure, a man who maintains his moral bearing to the very end.
The Wild Angels (1966)
Directed by Roger Corman, The Wild Angels was a surprising success. Budgeted at only $360,000, the movie would take in millions at the box office, and was even selected to be an official entry to the 1966 Venice Film Festival. Heavenly Blues (Peter Fonda), the leader of a Hells Angels biker gang, leads his men into the desert so that they can retrieve a stolen chopper that belongs to his best friend, Loser (Bruce Dern). When a run-in with the local authorities results in a shoot-out, Loser is critically injured, and taken by the police to a hospital for treatment. Refusing to abandon their friend in his time of need, Heavenly and his gang break Loser out of the hospital with the intention of mending his wounds themselves, an action that brings about a tragedy none of them are prepared to face. The Wild Angels is presented entirely from the point of view of the Hells Angels, which just about guaranteed that the movie would be both shocking and controversial. Yet the film struck a nerve with young audiences, who in 1966 were looking for some sort of relief from the war in Vietnam. The Wild Angels gave them an outlet for their pent-up frustrations, and the success of the film would lead to the launching of a completely new genre; the biker movie. Aside from such follow-ups as Devil’s Angels, Angel on Wheels and Hells Angels Unchained, The Wild Angels would also manage to influence its star, Peter Fonda, who, two years later released his own biker movie; a little film he made with Dennis Hopper called Easy Rider. Quite innocently, director Roger Corman, who once called himself the “squarest guy in a hip crowd”, had, with The Wild Angels, sparked the creation of a whole new breed of film.
Bully (2001)
Director Larry Clark’s Bully is based on an actual killing that occurred in Florida in 1993. Marty (Brad Renfro) and Bobby (Nick Stahl) are best friends, yet their relationship is far from friendly. For starters, Bobby likes to bully Marty, lashing out at him, both verbally and physically, every chance he gets. Things go from bad to worse when Marty falls in love with Lisa (Rachel Miner) and Bobby extends his abusive treatment to her as well, even going so far as to rape Lisa on a number of occasions. With cruelty stalking them day in and day out, it isn’t long before Marty and Lisa decide they’ve had enough. With the help of their friend Ali (Bijou Phillips), the two concoct a plan to murder Bobby. But can they live with the consequences once the deed is done? Larry Clark was attacked on several fronts following the release of Bully due to its frank depiction of teen sexuality (“It feels like a peek into the closet of a pedophile”, wrote critic Sean Axmaker of the Seattle Post-Intelligencer). However, far from being merely exploitive, the depths to which Clark sinks in relating this woeful tale works to the advantage of his young actors, who are here given just enough leeway to drive their performances home. I give the stars of this film a hell of a lot of credit; they took chances, and never once shied away when things got raw. Nick Stahl is awesome as the abusive Bobby, a kid with a mean streak that may be masking a homosexual attraction to Marty. Renfro, Miner, and Phillips are also excellent, the perfect embodiment of burned-out teens from good homes whose lives are going nowhere. If you’re a parent, then I should warn you that Bully will not be an easy film to watch. It explores a side of teenage angst and confusion that will send shivers up your spine. As I watched Bully, I found myself hoping that some sort of “moral to the story” would make itself known, something that might shed a little light on what these kids could have possibly been thinking to act as they did. Unfortunately, what I found was the realization that they just weren’t thinking at all.
It took Hollywood 15 years to give Jennifer Chambers Lynch a second run at directing. Lynch’s first film, 1993′s disturbing and generally hated Boxing Helena, was a disaster and some would say tasteless. I didn’t love the film, and saw it with no knowledge of who had made it, but I’ve always had a bit of a soft spot for being the first movie I saw that really messed with my head.
