A fun blast from the past: Elijah Drenner's smart bio-doc appreciation, THAT GUY DICK MILLER

You know him -- even if you don't know you know him. I'm referring to actor Dick Miller, who will turn 87 come Christmas Day and who has made, according to his wife Lainie, more than 200 movies throughout his 60-year career (the IMBD gives him credit for a mere 175), begin-ning with Apache Woman -- in which the actor played bit roles as both a cowboy and an indian. Beat that for a dandy debut.

Writer/director Elijah Drenner (shown at right) clearly has a soft spot for American B movies from the eras in which Miller worked (and continues to work: this guy's redoubtable), and he has come up with a documentary that should prove loads of fun for anyone (like me) who already knows and loves Miller's work, as well as for neophytes ready to discover it. The guy has (and always did have) a great face. Good looking and with a great little body when he was younger, Miller was also such a solid, professional and talented actor that he could (and did) play every kind of role well -- from comics to heavies, bit parts to big parts to even playing the occasional leading man.

Watching the terrific assortment of clips from many of Miller's movies should make you want to see (and even re-see) them, so funny and juicy and miniscule-budget are so many of them. One of my favorites is Not of This Earth, which has perhaps the silliest space-alien monster in the history of films (I know, I know: the competition is fierce).

Drenner's movie alternates interviews (lots of 'em) with animation, archival footage and film clips to demonstrate his appreciation of and love for the Miller oeuvre. One of the most talked-about of these is Roger Corman's Bucket of Blood, but there are so many more that resonate, too. We hear all about the filming of various of these, especially The Terror, starring early Jack Nicholson along with late-period Boris Karloff -- the latter of whom, after completing one of Corman's low-budget, finish-'em-fast films, still owed the director three more days of work, so Corman built an entire nonsensical horror film around the actor. Hearing and seeing some of it here, complete with tell-all reminiscences is one crazy delight.

As many clips as we see from the 1950s through the 90s (the prime of Mr. Miller), we also spend a lot of time with him and his wife in present day (or nearly -- shown below) and hear what he feels and thinks about various topics. ("Today's actors are nice guys -- but they're not giants," he notes.)

We learn about Miller's love of portraiture (or maybe caricature). When he was a boy, Disney's people came to call, and he thought they wanted to hire him as an artist. When they told him, no, but as a child actor instead, he simply said, No thanks. A guy who evidently always went his own way, Miller is a man who might have been a much bigger star, had he played the game a little more typically. But then he wouldn't be Dick Miller.

We learn a lot about a later Corman-helmed venture, New World Pictures, that helped start directorial careers of quite a few semi-famous names, from Allan Arkush (above) to Joe Dante (front and center, below) to Paul Bartel, as well as hear from some of the New World acting stable like Mary Woronov.

We also learn the importance of the name and character, Walter Paisley and a certain pink jacket, and see our guy in classics like Little Shop of Horrors (originally titled The Passionate People Eater), The Howling and -- ah, yes -- Gremlins, with stops at movies that ought to have been better seen, such as Matinee (below, with Miller shown between John Sayles and John Goodman) and Explorers.

All told, this is one fine trip down memory lane, featuring a look at and appreciation of an actor who is clearly one-of-a-kind and memorably so. Thanks to Anthology Film Archives, That Guy Dick Miller -- distributed by IndieCan Entertainment, Canada, and running 91 minutes -- will be getting more than a week's run here in New York City, with Mr Miller in attendance with wife, Lainie, who will be here in person for opening weekend, Friday & Saturday, April 3 & 4. The opening night screening on Friday, April 3 will be hosted and moderated by Michael Gingold of Fangoria magazine, while director Elijah Drenner will present the screenings on Sunday & Monday, April 5 & 6. Click here for tickets/directions.

You will also be able to see some of these "classic" films, as AFA has scheduled quite the mini-festival of Miller's oeuvre. Here's the entire schedule, complete with AFA's comments regarding the films:

Roger Corman (shown above)
A BUCKET OF BLOOD
1959, 66 min, 35mm, b&w
In his most famous (and regrettably one of his very few) starring roles, Miller shines as Walter Paisley, an aspiring beatnik who stumbles on art-world success when he accidentally kills his landlady’s cat and, on a whim, covers it in clay. After passing the result off as a genuine sculpture he’s proclaimed an artistic genius. But soon he finds himself pursuing increasingly desperate and horrific means to produce new sculptures and maintain his artistic glory. A BUCKET OF BLOOD is an ingenious satire of counter-cultural pretension, and among the highpoints of Corman and Miller’s careers. Plus: Agnieszka Kurant THE CUTAWAYS 2013, 24 min, digital CUTAWAYS focuses on characters who ended up on the cutting-room floor. Produced in collaboration with the renowned film editor, Walter Murch, and starring Dick Miller, Charlotte Rampling, and Abe Vigoda in their original roles from PULP FICTION, VANISHING POINT and THE CONVERSATION, respectively, it stages a meeting of these phantom characters. –Fri, April 3 at 9:15 and Wed, April 8 at 9:00. DICK & LAINIE MILLER IN PERSON ON FRI, APRIL 3!

Roger Corman
SORORITY GIRL
1957, 61 min, 16mm, b&w
One of the earliest films in both Corman’s and Dick Miller’s filmographies, SORORITY GIRL is a scathingly brutal cheapie that traces the downward spiral of spoiled, sociopathic rich girl Sabra (Susan Cabot). Schooled in emotional stuntedness and inhumanity by her haughty, hateful mother, she wreaks havoc on her fellow sorority members at the University of Southern California, shamelessly exploiting and persecuting them. Typically for Corman, what would have been a cynical exploitation film in almost anyone else’s hands is, despite the conditions of its production, a blunt but remarkably perceptive portrait of a sociopath – though there’s bitchy fun to be had too! –Sat, April 4 at 5:00 and Sat, April 11 at 7:30. DICK & LAINIE MILLER IN PERSON ON SAT, APRIL 4!

GREMLINS CAST REUNION ON SAT, APRIL 4!
Joe Dante
GREMLINS
1984, 106 min, 35mm. With Zach Galligan, Phoebe Cates, Corey Feldman, and Dick Miller.
Joe Dante’s GREMLINS was produced by Spielberg and became a huge hit, but it’s no E.T. True, its ‘hero,’ Gizmo the mogwai, is an adorable, wide-eyed, furry little creature of unknown origins (by way of Chinatown). But, given as a gift to our human protagonist Billy (Zach Galligan), Gizmo comes along with three rules: never expose it to bright light, never get it wet, and never, EVER feed it after midnight. Needless to say, rules (especially in horror movies) are made to be broken, and soon the placid town of Kingston Falls is overrun with murderous, anarchic, and not at all furry Gremlins, who lay a path of destruction which Dante delights in portraying. A bona fide 1980s popcorn-movie classic whose mischievous spirit and Looney Tunes-inspired havoc remain fresh thirty years later, GREMLINS is also graced with one of the best latter-day performances by Dick Miller, as Billy’s Gremlins-menaced neighbor Mr. Futterman. –Sat, April 4 at 9:15 and Fri, April 10 at 7:00. Join us on Sat, April 4 at 9:15 for an historic occasion: GREMLINS cast members Dick Miller, Zach Galligan, and Phoebe Cates will be here in person to present the screening! 

Roger Corman
WAR OF THE SATELLITES
1958, 66 min, 16mm, b&w
WAR OF THE SATELLITES attempts Kubrickian themes on a Bowery Boys budget. As humans prepare to leave their planet, an advanced alien race sends down an agent to replace the mild-mannered scientist in charge of the space project. Once again, rebellious youth saves the day, as the professor’s assistant (the irrepressible Dick Miller) sees through the deception and takes matters into his own hands. What differentiates Mr. Corman from more dedicated schlockmeisters like William Castle and Jess Franco is his almost unshakable sobriety. He seldom falls back on making fun of his material, preferring instead to play by the rules and with a straight face.” –Dave Kehr, NEW YORK TIMES –Sun, April 5 at 5:15 and Sat, April 11 at 9:00.

Joe Dante
GREMLINS 2: THE NEW BATCH
1990, 106 min, 35mm.
With Zach Galligan, Phoebe Cates, Corey Feldman, and Dick Miller.
Rare is a sequel that bests the original, but GREMLINS 2 manages to outsmart and undermine its blockbuster predecessor a hundred times over. A parable for our times (circa 1990), this improbable tale takes place in the towering Manhattan super-building of Clamp Enterprises, where poor furry Gizmo is being used as a guinea pig by gonzo billionaire Daniel Clamp (played with a Donald Trump-like zeal by the rubbery John Glover). Next thing you know Gizmo gets wet and, well, hell breaks loose. Luckily his pals Billy (Zach Galligan), Katie (Phoebe Cates) and Murray (Dick Miller, natch) are there to help save him and New York from the whacked-out antics of the deplorable, deadly Gremlins. Simultaneously a tribute to the great sight gags of Frank Tashlin and a riotous parody of disaster movies in the Irwin Allen mold, this great meta-film is 100% Joe Dante. –Sun, April 5 at 9:15 and Fri, April 10 at 9:15.

 Joe Dante & Allan Arkush
HOLLYWOOD BOULEVARD
1976, 83 min, 35mm.
Print courtesy of the Joe Dante and Jon Davison Collection at the Academy Film Archive.
The directorial debut of both Joe Dante (THE HOWLING, GREMLINS) and Allan Arkush (ROCK ‘N’ ROLL HIGH SCHOOL), this deliriously entertaining pastiche of exploitation film tropes was the result of a bet between producer Jon Davison and Roger Corman that Davison could make the cheapest film yet created for Corman’s New World Pictures. Dante and Arkush pulled off this impressive feat by shooting on leftover short ends of raw stock and by freely incorporating footage from previous New World films, including NIGHT CALL NURSES, BIG BAD MAMA, and DEATH RACE 2000. Amongst its many references and homages to drive-in cinema classics, it includes a cameo by Dick Miller reprising his role as BUCKET OF BLOOD’s Walter Paisley! –Mon, April 6 at 9:00, Thurs, April 9 at 9:00, and Sun, April 12 at 7:00.

Joe Dante
THE HOWLING
1981, 91 min, 35mm. With Dee Wallace, Patrick Macnee, Dennis Dugan, Kevin McCarthy, John Carradine, and Slim Pickens.
A popular Los Angeles TV reporter is given doctor’s orders to visit a remote consciousness-raising retreat called ‘The Colony’ after a traumatic incident with a serial killer. The bizarre behavior of the residents begins to make sense once the reporter discovers that she is staying amidst a community of werewolves! THE HOWLING is not only a great werewolf movie, but also a witty and knowing commentary on the genre itself. "The film is as full of impressive werewolf transformation scenes as of social satire, which is no surprise given that the special effects were done by Rob Bottin (THE THING) and the screenplay was written by John Sayles.” –THE WEXNER CENTER –Tues, April 7 at 9:00 and Sun, April 12 at 9:00. 

Streaming: Ian Roumain/Michael Schwartz's THAT GUY... WHO WAS IN THAT THING

For anyone interested in the profession of on-screen acting -- movies, TV, cable -- or in the industry in general, this recent documentary (from 2012) ought to be shoo-in viewing. THAT GUY... WHO WAS IN THAT THING (clever title!) documents the lives, professional and otherwise, of some 18 "character" actors ranging from the quite well-known (Oscar-nominated Bruce Davison, shown below, and Emmy-winning Zelko Ivanek) to oft-seen but not-so-oft remembered by name (Timothy Omundson and Wade Williams).

Among these, there is but one black actor (Rick Worthy, shown below) and -- hello -- no women whatsoever. Well, the filmmakers do interview briefly a female talent agent and casting director, along with a couple of male counterparts. Perhaps, even as I write this, they're working on the sequel, That Gal...Who was in That Thing. But don't bet on it. For whatever reason, the percentage of white males in this movie generally mirrors the views of powerful Hollywood suits a propos the place of blacks and women in the industry.

All this is not to say that this smart and entertaining little documentary, put together by first-time filmmakers Ian Roumain and Michael Schwartz, isn't quite interesting and often a lot of fun. It's both -- and more -- as it probes these guys for the skinny on their careers, hopes, dreams and disappointments -- and how they juggle all this to manage a decent income and maybe a family life.

Some are more forth-coming than others (Mr. Williams and Mr. Worthy seem the most talkative), but there is little we hear that isn't worth listening to as, one by one, these guys ring bell after bell about acting, friendship, jealousy and, yes, depression. Some of this might even give certain younger viewers second thoughts about entering the acting profession. Almost all the guys hate auditions (some things never change), but few of them seem willing to stop what they're doing and are happy to have -- or have had -- their career. (One of them, Stanley Kamel, shown above, has died since the film was completed.)

The devil, as they say, is in the details, and there are plenty of those here. We learn that Ivanek, above, is color blind, and that he also has an action figure made for one of his roles. And yes, most of these guys have appeared in one or another (or several) permutations of the Star Trek franchise -- which, for whatever you may think of it, has at least provided many actors with a lot of work

Craig Fairbrass (above), Xander Berkeley, Zach Grenier, Paul Guilfoyle, Robert Joy (below) -- they're all present and accounted for, and each has his own special post to fill and story to tell. One of these stories, repeated by several, is all about how pay for acting jobs is going way down, while what you are expected to do and the hours you must put in continue to rise.

One of the most interesting sections of the film is told us by that woman, talent agent Donna Massetti, who leads us through the maze of auditioning for a TV pilot, along with what happens (or doesn't) afterwards.

A real "learning experience" and a must-see if you want to discover what's behind some of the many male faces you've grown to know and love over the years, That Guy...Who Was in That Thing, running just 78 minutes, is available now via Netflix Streaming and perhaps elsewhere, too.

Discover America's pre-eminent character actor in Sophie Huber's fine documentary HARRY DEAN STANTON: PARTLY FICTION

 

Seems like we've seen him a million times (though, according to the IMDB, the guy's made only 215 film and TV appear-ances). Yet Harry Dean Stanton -- who worked the first 16 years of his career as Dean Stanton, switched in 1971 to H.D. Stanton for a couple of films, and from 1972 onward graduated to the name we all know -- has become (with no particular ambition, I would suspect, to achieve this goal) the pre-eminent character actor in all of Hollywood. He's someone who is now known worldwide and whose appearance in a movie, while it cannot force that film to be good (The Mini-Skirt Mob, anyone?) almost guarantees it'll be worth seeing -- if only to discover what Mr. Stanton will do with his role in it.

In her new film (one that's almost indispensable, I think, for anyone who wants to know how to make an interes-ting documentary about an actor), HARRY DEAN STANTON: PARTLY FICTION, the actress/filmmaker Sophie Huber (shown at right) spends quite a bit of time with Mr. Stanton (below). The actor starts out the film by telling her that "I don't give anything away" and then soon asks, "How about silence?" But slowly, quietly, perhaps by beginning to trust, he starts to talk as she films. Before we know it we're neck-deep in Stanton-land, which turns out to be a pretty fascinating place, full of both buried sadness and overt strength, the reason for which we derive only hints -- from childhood, mostly failed female relationships, close male friends and an integrity regarding his profession that has consistently seen him through.

As expected, Huber has larded her film with some archival footage, mostly from various of his films, plus interviews with important directors -- Wim Wenders, David Lynch (below, left) -- who have worked with and clearly admire him immensely.

One of the things the movie makes clear, and that I either did not know or had totally forgotten, is how much music means to the actor, who turns out to be a fine singer, even now (he's in his 80s). Song has dotted his career throughout; remember Cisco Pike?

We get a clip of that film (above) -- one of those in which our guy was billed as H.D. Stanton and in which he co-starred with Kris Kristofferson -- as well as a nice duet between these two in more current times. It was Stanton, notes Kristoffwerson (below), "who got me my first part."

The leap an actor takes when he moves from character work to leading man can be frightening, and so it was with Paris, Texas, which catapulted Stanton -- not to "stardom" (that was never in the cards) but to greater prominence. One of the more interesting segments concerns all this. We see clips from this odd, rich movie and hear from Wenders, who directed it; Sam Shepard, who wrote it; and Stanton, who acted it. (That's Nastassja Kinski, below, who also starred in the film.)

The only other major and starring role I remember with Stanton is that in Repo Man (which arrived in the same year as Paris,Texas), which we also see here. His co-star in it was Emilio Estevez, who was riding high at the time and continued so for maybe a decade. I have nothing against Mr Estevez, but which man's work is now (and probably will be in perpetuity) remembered most?

We also see and hear from Deborah Harry, who looks fabulous and charms us as she probably did Stanton (and clearly, he her) and later from a young man named Logan Sparks, the actor's assistant who helps him practice lines for memory. Toward the end Stanton talks a bit about people like Nicholson and Brando, and we learn some more interesting stuff.

Style-wise, Ms Huber moves from present to past and from color to black-and-white (for some of the more current interviews) and back again, and she finds some impressionistic visuals to accompany Stanton's words and thoughts. Mostly though it's that face, craggy and deep, together with what the actor has to say, that holds us. Was H.D. ever a young man? Younger, of course, but even in the clips we see here, he always seems middle aged.

By its finale, the film has becomes something akin to spending quality time with a new friend who, in 77 minutes, you have gotten to know well enough to want to know better. Who, as Ethel Merman used to wonder, could ask for anything more?

Harry Dean Stanton: Partly Fiction-- from Adopt Films -- opens this Wednesday, September 11, in New York City at City Cinemas Village East and in Los Angeles at Landmark's NuArt on Friday September 13. To view all currently scheduled playdates, cities and theaters, click here (and then click on the film itself).