Big Business Back When: Rod Serling and Fielder Cook's PATTERNS comes to Blu-ray

While screen- and television-writer Rod Serling, below, was best-known for creating and writing the TV series The Twilight Zone and Night Gallery, his best work may very well have been the script he wrote for the 1955 "live" television special aired on the Kraft Television Theater and the following year was made into a motion picture (yes, they used to do that sort of thing), both of which were titled PATTERNS. The movie version -- which makes its Blu-ray debut this week -- is now 60 years old. It holds up astonishingly well.

Featuring not a trace of Serling's now hallmark creepy/other-worldly plots and tone, Patterns is a tale of big business and Capitalism in the middle of the last century, as it appears to move from something benign and reasonable into the beginnings of the kind of dog-eat-dog free-for-all exemplified by today's Big Pharma, Monsanto, and Donald Trump.

This is a myth, of course. Big business and Capitalism have always been dog-eat-dog. It just depended on who was running the particular show. In this tale, the man who owns and runs the company, Mr. Ramsey (played by Everett Sloane, shown standing at left, below, and at left again, three photos down), is nothing like the kindlier, gentler man who was his father, a fellow who knew and cared about his employees.

Ramsey fils is cut-throat and he expects his underlings to be so, too -- including his newest hire, Staples (no relation to the current office behemoth), played by Van Heflin., below, left.

The pivotal character here, however, is an older man, Briggs (the superb Ed Begley, above, right: Watch him in the scene in which he crushes the eggshell), a man left over from the father's regime, who tries to keep the company on its former course. Ramsey is determined to rid the firm of Briggs, while Staples attempts to prevent this.

The supporting distaff side is performed very well by Beatrice Straight (as Mrs.Staples, above, right) and Elizabeth Wilson, below, left, as Briggs' and then Staples' kindly secretary. Other familiar faces (Andrew Duggan, for one, shown left, two photos below) fill out the rest of the able cast. Serling's writing is first-rate -- smart, real and avoiding the melodramatic, even when voices are at their highest decibel level. When one character tells another by way of a compliment -- "You admit mistakes. You don't pass the buck" -- one can only marvel at how far down we've come that so many Americans now believe in a man like Mr. Trump who is unable to ever admit a mistake and always passes the buck. (Note his recent handling of his Obama "birther" nonsense: Refusing to admit he was wrong, he now blames it all on Hillary's 2012 campaign.)

Serling's writing, the direction by Fielder Cook and all the performances are simply terrific -- moment to moment gold from everyone on screen. The Blu-ray transfer here is also very good, the best I've seen so far from The Film Detective. The movie also reminds us -- unconsciously, of course -- of the place of women in our society back in the mid-20th Century. Even so, it also takes us back to a time when people -- employees -- still mattered. And when decent employment was available for so many. (Except, of course, people of color. We don't see a whole lot of them here.)

The movie's final scene is simply dynamite, as Ramsey and Staples face off. The outcome must have seemed amazing in its own era. In fact, it still is. If you've never seen Patterns, now's the time. And if you have, back in its day, you'll probably want to take a look again. From The Film Detective and running just 83 minutes, the Blu-ray arrives this coming Tuesday, September 27, for purchase, and I hope (somewhere, somehow), rental.

DOC NYC 2013, arriving November 14, boasts an amazing line-up, with MISFIRE--about the life and death of The Shooting Gallery--a don't miss!

Each year it gets bigger and better. That's DOC NYC 2013, the annual array of documentaries short and full-length, that -- in its way -- hands you the world in eight days. This year's line-up, which you can access by clicking here, is a full-out amazement. I spent an hour just clicking on each individual event/film, then hoping that they call get a chance to be seen, either in theaters eventually or via cable/TV. For folk who love the documentary form -- though that form continues to evolve immensely from year to year -- this is probably the highlight of the movie-going year.

Because TrustMovies has been away of late, and in any case is trying to shift his blog over to covering mainly what's good (or not) on Netflix streaming, he had to miss many of the press screenings for these films. One movie he did manage to see -- and revel in -- is the documentary titled MISFIRE: The Rise and Fall of The Shooting Gallery from director Whitney Ransick, shown below, a fellow who was actually a part of The Shooting Gallery when that much-loved, much-lauded and early New York-based "independent film studio" came into being-- mostly by chance and due to the work of a group filmmakers who had met while studying at the State University of New York, Purchase -- back in the early 1990s.

The Shooting Gallery (TSG, as it would eventually be known) lasted only one decade but seemed to almost single-handedly set the standard and tone for independent film, particularly that subsection set here on the east coast. What Ransick's movie does, and extraordinarily well, is show us how TSG came into being, what it accomplished -- often, it seemed by chance and sheer luck -- and how the differing goals of the men in charge (making movies or making money) probably doomed TSG from the outset.

Ransick uses a plethora of talking heads here, but fortunately they all talk well, smartly and honestly, about what TSG meant to them, what happened from their perspective, and why. We hear from everyone from actors like Robin Tunney (we also see the early Edie Falco, below, left, with Adam Trese) to directors (one of the founders, Bob Gosse), the casting director, the guy in charge of music, accountants, marketing mavens and so many more.

Their words and memories help create the picture of young movie-makers hoping to create art but settling for the best they could do on generally minuscule budgets. Given all the talent involved, the firm had but a single hit movie (but what a hit!): Sling Blade. (TSG also released You Can Count on Me, but I'm not sure how overall profitable that one actually was.) Film buffs will have heard of other of TSG's output --- Laws of Gravity and Niagara Niagara for two -- but even someone like TrustMovies, who closely followed independent film, managed to miss other TSG movies such as Hand Gun (below) and New Jersey Drive.

Along about the time of TSG's big hit, the group gets some excellent advice from Chris Blackwell of Island Records & Films: "Stay true to yourself and stay true to each other because, collectively, you'll be much stronger than you can be as individuals." Smart words, but hard to do when, from the outset, founder Gosse and co-founder Larry Meistrich had diametrically opposed views of what was important. (Meistrich and his friend Steve Carlis, TSG's CFO refused to be interviewed for the film, and while it is difficult not to see them as the villains here, Ransick and the others don't demonize the pair. They're viewed more in sorrow than in anger.)

The movie offers a lot of humor, too. One of the funniest segments recounts the filming of a short called My Birthday Cake (above), the day after the lead actor had been dumped by his longtime girlfriend.

What finally brought TSG down? Remember the dawn of the Internet bubble and all those come-to-nothing IPOs? Sure enough, Meistrich and Carlis went whole hog down that road. When bankruptcy arrived, the little company owed something like 72 million dollars. Talk about cautionary tales! And yet Misfire seems anything but a downer. Instead it's full of life and expectations, the thrill of creativity and exploration. It'll make you proud of and excited for these young filmmakers (shown above), now firmly into middle age or beyond (shown below), even as it leaves you with some pain and sadness for what might have been.

One of the crew is now in Brooklyn, making pies (which are said to be quite tasty). "It was great," he tells us of the TSG days, "but it wasn't as real as what I'm doing now." The movie, running 78 information-, surprise- and emotion-packed minutes, plays at DOC NYC one week from today, Sunday, November 17, at 7pm at the IFC Center. Click here for tickets.

I would wager that Misfire is sure to gain a theatrical release, as it's a must-see, not only for those in the industry but for anyone even remotely interested in independent film-making and its history -- from both the creative and business perspectives.

DVDebut: Léa Fazer's philosophical rom-com of the business world, WHAT IF...?

TrustMovies had never heard of this smart little French film till now. Turns out WHAT IF...? (Notre Univers Impitoyable) was made in 2007 and released in 2008 (only in France and Belgium, then in Mexico in 2010), in addition to being shown at a few festivals world-wide. Canada got its DVD of the film in 2009, no doubt due to its large French-speaking population, and now we here in the USA get our own chance, thanks to First Run Features, the noted distributor which, in addition to its fine roster of documentaries, releases an interesting narrative movie every now and again.

What If...? is written and directed by Léa Fazer (shown at right), a Swiss filmmaker of whom most of us will not have heard, which is a shame, as her film is well made, features a nifty and attractive cast, and deals with themes that have only grown more timely and important in the succeeding years following its original release.

The tale here is of a young, bright, good-looking couple, Margo and Victor, unmarried as yet but who are both successful lawyers at a large and important law firm. Within the first few minutes of the movie, Fazer sees to it that one of her themes -- the unhealthy stress involved in big business -- comes to the fore, as suddenly and comically one of the higher-ups has a heart attack.

A new partner is immediately needed, and the position will go to either Victor (the late Jocelyn Quivrin) above and below, left) or Margo (the ubiquitous Alice Taglioni, above and below, right). The two seem genuinely supportive of each other and feel that they can't lose, since either one or the other will gain the promotion and thus their life together will be better and easier. Oh, really?

What Ms Fazer has up her sleeve has been compared to the gimmick of a film like Sliding Doors. I don't think the comparison is quite apt because the idea behind one film contradicts that of the other. Both use the device that if anything is changed in the scenario, the end result might be quite different. But while, as I recall, Sliding Doors relied on this difference to make all the difference, Ms Fazer places the onus more on character than on chance. Things happen -- he wins the slot, or she does -- and then other things change (success breeds the usual: power and its misuse, contempt, assumptions) but this change happens no matter which of our pair is on top.

The filmmaker's style is to remain quite matter-of-fact; the change from his rise to hers and back and forth is done briskly and immediately. No frou-frou here. This forces us to consider what is happening and why. Powerful jobs require lots of extra hours, and retaining that power usually means a certain amount of duplicity -- on all fronts.

Feminism raises its head, too (the scene in which Margo must serve coffee, along with the consequences, is hair-raisingly funny), but the filmmaker does not let this in any way control her movie. She's fair-handed to a fault.

You could, if you were inclined, take What If...? as an attack on capitalism (look away, Kyle Smith!) but Fazer doesn't insist on this, either. It's the people here who matter most, and Taglinoni makes a lovely heroine, even as her versatility (Grande école,  The Valet, Paris-Manhattan and The Prey) continues to grow. Quivrin, who was clearly on the road to stardom before his untimely death, is equally good -- as are Pascalle Arbillot, (above, right, with kids) as Margo's sister; Scali Delpeyrat, very funny as sis' possible new beau; and Thierry Lhermitte (below, left) as the law firm's boss.

No claims here for the film's greatness, but it makes a very nice addition to your "Movies Look at the World of Business" collection. The new DVD of What If...? (in French with English subtitles, running time 84 minutes) hits U.S. streets today, Tuesday, September 3, for sale and/or rental, and eventual VOD and streaming, one hopes....

SCN: Xavi Puebla's THE COLD CALL offers a sad, sick slice of Spain's current sales world

A kind of early obituary for Capitalism, as practiced Spanish-style today, THE COLD CALL (A puerta fría) is a must-see movie on a number of levels. The FSLC's Spanish Cinema Now series often includes an near-overtly political movie (remember The Method?) concerning the times we inhabit, and I doubt that this year's roster will offer anything better than this quietly profound wake-up call about salesmen that makes the oft-lauded Arthur Miller sledge-hammer ("Attention must be paid," indeed) seem hugely obvious and annoying by comparison.

According to the IMDB, after winning several festival prizes (for actor, screenplay and a Critics' Award), the film has yet to be commercially released in its home territory, Spain itself. Given the current political and economic situation there, I guess this should come as no surprise, for the movie simply nails its target to the wall gracefully and completely. No contest. As directed and co-written (with Jesús Gil Vilda) by Xavi Puebla, shown at left, the film is as strong in characterization as it is on plot, pace, place and dialog. If the finale feels suddenly truncated and the last line unnecessary, that's little concern -- considering all that has come before. The NY Post's Kyle Smith would shit a brick having to sit through this particular indictment of everything Smith loves about big business.

The movie opens with our well-into-middle-age "hero" Salva (above, right) -- and he is one, of sorts, if you consider trying to hold onto a job these days anything like heroic -- arising, somewhat befogged (from drink perhaps?) and getting on with his day. That day will be devoted to attending a trade show for electronics (TVs, DVD players, cameras, and all the rest), and in the course of the day, as his sales are clearly down, it becomes clear that our guy may be replaced by younger blood.

Salva is played by one of Spain's treasures, actor Antonio Dechent (above), who has graced SCN for a decade or two now in roles large and small. He's always first-rate, and here, in his Willy Loman mode (though he's brighter than Loman ever was), he is radiant: smart, scared, nimble, sad, and trying desperately to succeed in an environment in which any kind of honestly-attained success is just about impossible. (The screenplay is very smart about how and why this is the case.)

In the course of Salva's dealings, he connects with a young hostess at the convention named Inés, played with a lovely combination of innocence, need and youthful smarts by María Valverde (above, center left, of King of the Mountain). How these two bond and work together is beautifully handled. The third wheel -- an American big-wig with whom Salva needs to connect -- is played by Nick Nolte, below, who gives a just-right, barely-there performance that packs quite a subtle punch.

That's it on plot -- and everything else. This movie deserves to be seen and to surprise you. Fortunately, it plays one more time at Spanish Cinema Now, next Sunday, December 16, at 5:45 pm at the Walter Reade. (Click here for tickets.) A U.S. release? One would hope so, particularly with Nolte in one of the roles. And let's also hope even more that it can be seen soon on its home turf. Like the great, nearly unseen and highly political Italian film Valzer by Salvatore Maira, this one appears also to be a prophet without honor in its own country.

DVDebut: GOOD HAIR -- a smart doc from Chris Rock

Looking back at Black male comics, I'd say that there's never been anyone quite like Chris Rock. From Godfrey Cambridge through Richard Pryor, Flip Wilson, Redd Foxx and Bernie Mac there have been a lot of these talents over the years but no one quite compares to Rock. He's extremely youthful looking and acting (though he just turned 45 this month), generally adorable, witty, smart, often snarky -- and almost always funny.  And unendingly political, too, which often finds him at his best -- as here.

Although his directorial efforts have not yet hit pay dirt, his writing and performing generally do. GOOD HAIR is probably his most focused and funniest full-length film yet.  It is so good, in fact, that it suggests perhaps this fellow should concentrate on the documentary form rather than the narrative -- which has, given his three previous outings (Down to Earth, Head of State and I Think I love My Wife), seemed somewhat tired and second-hand, though with funny and/or moving moments scattered about.

Good Hair tackles the thorny (and curly, frizzy, nappy) question of Black hair and what to do with it.  This is -- especially among Blacks, as Mr. Rock makes clear -- an extremely troublesome subject.  Should the hair be straightened, added to with "weaves," or simply let go to its natural state?  In  addition to having aesthetic and/or cultural consequences, this has economic ones, as well. Black hair care is expensive!  So much so that, according to certain men interviewed here, one look at the black woman's hair and you'll know whether or not you can "afford" her.

We hear the pros and cons of straightening from some Hollywood actresses (Nia Long is for it; Tracie Thoms not) and other celebs (including writer Maya Angelou, the "Rev." Al Sharpton and rapper Ice-T, who closes the movie with one of its best lines). Mr. Rock takes us on a tour of the Black hair-care establishment, which, we eventually learn, is in most cases not controlled by Blacks.  We learn from some very funny, telling interviews how the "straightening" process can hurt and burn, and how it is given to children as young as three years of age.  A chemist, above, talks to Rock about the ingredients in hair straighteners -- which should be enough to scare the pants off most thinking parents. (My granddaughter, below, is half black with hair that's looks like a mixture of Latina and Black, so the movie certainly brought me up short.)

Because so much money is spent by black women on "weave" hair extensions, Rock wants to know where this additional hair comes from.  So off we go to India -- where we learn all sorts of interesting facts which add to the ironies on view -- and then back to the U.S., where Rock tries to sell "Black" hair but finds no buyers.  (They want Indian or Malaysian locks, thank you.)  We visit beauty salons and barber shops (see photos above) -- to get the real word from guys and gals, and these scenes provide the film with some of it funniest and most thought-provoking moments.

If I am making the movie sound like a total Chris Rock endeavor, that is not precisely true or fair, as it was co-written and directed -- quite well -- by Jeff Stilson (shown at left).  Additional co-writers include Lance Crouther, Paul Marchand and Chuck Sklar. On balance, Good Hair achieves what all the best documentaries manage: It educates, informs and entertains.  Plus, it makes you laugh. A lot.

The DVD is available now for sale or rental from your video source of choice.