Saturday, August 24, 2024

The Green Slime

Saturday is traditionally "Take Out the Trash" Day. We'll need an extra leak-proof liner for this one.

The Green Slime
(Kinji Fukasaku, 1968)  "The Green Slime ARE Coming?" Shouldn't that be "The Green Slime IS Coming?"
 
Well, believe me, the poster grammar is the least of this movie's problems. 
 
The Green Slime was an indirect follow-up to four low-budget Italian science fiction films* entailing a future Earth space station called Gamma One. The same models were used for the miniatures, but the station was re-christened Gamma Three, and the script and financing were provided by M-G-M in the U.S. The film was made in Japan, directed by Kinji Fukasaku with a Japanese crew and starring Western actors Robert Horton, Luciana Paluzzi and Richard Jaeckel, as well as control rooms full of ex-pat Western actors and U.S. military crew stationed in Japan. As the film was intended for international markets, they didn't bother doing sound recording while filming, so that everything—and I mean everything—was dubbed later on in a studio. It's just one of the things that gives the film a bizarre feeling of desperation.
Seems Earth has a problem: the asteroid Flora 80 is on a collision course with our planet and if it's allowed to hit it will create "an extinction-level" event. Ben Affleck not being born yet, and Robert Duvall unavailable trying to get James Caan on the Moon in Countdown, the Space Command sends Commander Jack Rankin (Horton) to Gamma Three to "blast the thing out of the sky" to which Rankin replies with a stalwart "thumbs up"—his go-to when he's trying to be positive.
When he gets to the station, he immediately shoves the station's in-command, Commander Vince Elliott (Jaeckel) out of rank, saying that until the asteroid's out of the way that he's in command of the station (dammit!) and anybody doesn't like it, well, there's the airlock outside over there. Vince sucks it up, this being an emergency and all...and because he's now involved with Rankin's old girlfriend, Dr. Lisa Benson (Paluzzi), who's in charge of "Medical" there on the station, so, hey Vince is "one-up" on Rankin.
Rankin, Elliott, and a team of technicians set off for the asteroid Flora, land and begin setting explosive charges to blast the thing out of the sky (as per orders), but inquisitive scientist Dr. Hans Halvorsen (
Ted Gunther) finds some green goo that he just finds fascinating and wants to take a sample to examine aboard the station ("New life" and all that...). But, Rankin, knowing full-well that they're sitting on a "ticking time-bomb" nixes any "shilly-shallying" from egg-head scientists and knocks the container out of Halvorsen's grasp. 
Yee-ahhh, about those command skills. Good instincts, but bad technique. The sample shatters and some of that glop falls on one of the crew's suits, allowing it to get onboard the station, where, because it feeds on energy (allowing it to survive on a rock in space, I suppose), the station's decontamination procedures only manages to feed it, and make it grow into big, bulbous, one eyed creatures with claw-arms (ELECTRICAL claw-arms!) that wouldn't have passed the laugh-test for the show-runner of the really early "Doctor Who" shows.
Of course, they need time to grow from their ooze-state, so much time is spent monitoring Flora blowing up, and having a celebratory soiree where the music ain't good and the dancing's even worse, but given enough of that 1960's movie staple, the gyrating posterior shot. And, it gives Rankin, Elliott and Benson a chance to spell out everything they already know about each other, and for Rankin to pull a dick-move and ask Benson for a slow-dance right in front of her current lover. Everybody's probably wondering how soon they can get this jerk off the station!
But, no such luck! Pretty soon, the lights start flickering, which can only mean one thing! The Power station! And something's wrong! They find the burned still-smoking corpse of one of the technicians and Benson displays her considerable medical knowledge by announcing "He's dead." But, no time for mourning yet, kids, because one of those bulbous Green-Slime things is just around a conduit and starts to whip those electric arms around, killing a bunch of anonymous guys with ray-guns and football helmets. The lasers can't kill it, and if the thing bleeds, it just makes more of them, so the best the station can do is try to isolate the things...except...they forget about the station's ventilating system. Pretty soon, the things are schlumpfing all over the station, even in the hospital.
Since the things eats energy, laser guns have little lasting effect, so the best alternative is right out of the Superman TV-Villain handbook: to throw something at it, like hospital beds (they use a lot of those, it seems to be the most effective weapon), or if your laser gun—which only makes them stronger, remember—jams or runs out of...laser, I suppose**...you can throw that at them, too. If it jams in their eye, it's quite effective, apparently.
I mock, of course, because there is no way one could confuse this with high art—this came out the same year, and from the same studio, as 2001: a Space Odyssey (which was intended to be "the proverbial good science-fiction movie")—and The Green Slime has all the hallmarks of the proverbial bad sci-fi flick—the antiseptic art design, the "best-we-can-do" special effects, the stentorian acting (to keep from laughing), and a sensibility that can best be described as—to use a highfalutin' word—"puerile."*** That means it would merely impress children...or the child-like. I'm way past that sell-date to be impressed.
There are some notable things about it however. It's one of the few screen credits of William Finger, who spent most of his life in obscurity writing for comic books. Obscure, except for one co-creation of great significance for which he was denied credit for decades (until recently, that is). Bill Finger, along with artist Bob Kane, co-created the character of "Batman." That Batman. He wrote a lot of the defining stories of the Batman character (as well as co-creating Robin, Alfred, and quite a few of the major villains) from its origins in 1939 through to the 1960's. At least, he got credit for The Green Slime.
The director, Kinji Fukasaku, had been directing for seven years and really wasn't a slouch and was quite highly regarded. In fact, the next year, he replaced Akira Kurosawa (!!) as the director of the Japanese sequences of Tora! Tora! Tora! (!!!) and in 2000, he would write and direct a genuine classic, Battle Royale, which, whether directly or indirectly, served as inspiration for "The Hunger Games" series.
Another amazing fact and landmark about it is this: The Green Slime was the first movie skewered on "Mystery Science Theater 3000", serving as the show's pilot episode. If, for nothing else (okay...for nothing else), it has some significance.

* The first of the series was Wild, Wild Planet...or as it's known in Italy, I Criminali Della Galassia ("Criminals of the Galaxy").

** Or..maybe...the animator who draws the laser beams runs out of ink. 
 
*** See what passes for women's fashion in these things—short skirts, tight, shimmery fabrics, nothing you'd want to wear.  
 
Yeah. No. No, really.
 

Sunday, August 18, 2024

Don't Make a Scene: It Happened One Night

The Story: Both Gable and Colbert hated the script and didn't want to do it. Colbert hadn't liked working with Frank Capra on their first picture together, and their relationship didn't improve much on this one. When she finished filming, she was complaining "I just finished the worst picture in the world!"

But, It Happened One Night earned her a Best Actress Oscar—and Gable, Best Actor—plus it was the first movie to win "The Big Five": Best Picture, Best Actor, Best Actress, Best Writing and Best Director—a feat that wasn't matched until One Flew Over the Cukoo's Nest did it in 1975.

Like William Goldman said "Nobody knows anything."

That line's certainly true of this scene between two men of different classes both arguing over the same woman. Gable's rapscallion reporter thinks millionaire Alexander Andrews is a rich nincompoop, who spoiled his daughter rotten and he's paying the price for it. Andrews thinks Peter Warne is an opportunist and fortune hunter who wants to bleed every cent for his encounters with his daughter. They know nothing. The thing is Warne's an honest man (or at least a deep-down-inside principled one) and Andrews has probably never dealt with a person like that in his line of business. It's no wonder he's impressed.
 
It's a funny scene in a very funny film.

It Happened One Night was voted into the National Film Registry in 1993, the same year as One Flew Over the Cukoo's Nest, in fact.
 
The Set-Up: From the Premiere Magazine introduction: "The at-odds relationship between Clark Gable's tough-guy reporter, Peter Warne, and Claudette Colbert's madcap heiress, Ellie Andrews, gives this screwball its spin. Andrews links up with god digger King Westley (Jameson Thomas), but after she argues with her father (Walter Connolly), she runs away, and the millionaire posts a reward. Warne stumbles upon her and tags along, smelling a great story. After numerous mishaps on the road, she returns home, and the two men meet later to settle accounts."
 
Action!
 
 
The scene DISSOLVES TO ANDREWS' STUDY, where a butler stands in front of Andrews who is seated at his desk. 
ANDREWS Show him in
The Butler leaving, a CLOSE VIEW shows ANDREWS reaching over and snapping on a dictograph concealed somewhere on his desk. 
The OFFICE coming into VIEW again, we SEE Andrews rising and awaiting Peter's entrance. 
After a moment Peter comes in, removes his soft felt hat, and tucks it under his arm. 
ANDREWS Mr. Warne? 
PETER Yeah. 
ANDREWS Come in. Sit down. 
Peter advances into the room, looking around curiously. His air is frigid, contemptuous as Andrews studies him, and he makes no move to sit. 
PETER Thanks.

Andrews waves to a chair and sits down himself. Peter flops into the nearest chair. 
ANDREWS (seen CLOSE with Peter; after a pause) I was surprised to get your note. 
ANDREWS
My daughter hadn't told me anything about you. About your helping her. 
PETER That's typical of your daughter. Takes those things for granted. 
(too restless to sit, he jumps up) 
PETER Why does she think I lugged her all the way from Miami— (vehemently) for the love of it? 
ANDREWS Please understand me. When I say she didn't tell me anything about it, I mean not until a little while ago. She thinks you're entitled to anything you can get. 
PETER (bitterly) Oh, she does, huh? Now isn't that sweet of her! You don't, I suppose. 
ANDREWS (shrugging) I don't know. I'd have to see on what you base your claim. I presume you feel you're justified in— 
PETER (seen CLOSE now) If I didn't I wouldn't be here! 
(he reaches into his pocket) 
PETER
I've got it all itemized. 
(And he throws the paper on Andrews' desk) 
ANDREWS picks up the paper and glances at it. 
After a moment, he looks at Peter, studying him interestedly; then he returns to the paper, and reads its contents: 
ANDREWS
"Cash outlay-$8.60. TOPCOAT-$15.00 Suitcase-$7.50. HAT-$4.00  3 shirts-$4.50"
ANDREWS "
TOTAL 39.60. All the above items had to be sold to buy gasoline."
Andrews looks up from the paper. This is a twist he hadn't anticipated, and he doesn't quite know how to handle it. 
PETER (now seen closer with Andrews) And  I sold some drawers shorts and socks, too; I'm throwing those...
PETER
...in. 
ANDREWS And this is what you want—thirty- nine dollars and sixty cents? 
PETER Why not? I'm not charging you for the time I wasted. 
ANDREWS Yes, I know—but— 
PETER What's the matter? Isn't it cheap enough? A trip like that would cost you a thousand dollars! Maybe more!
ANDREWS Let me get this straight. 
ANDREWS
You want this thirty-nine sixty in addition to the ten thousand dollars? 
PETER What ten thousand? 
ANDREWS The reward. 
PETER (sharply) Who said anything about a reward! 
ANDREWS (smiling) I'm afraid I'm a little confused.  
ANDREWS
You see, I assumed you (were coming here for)— 
PETER (impatiently) Look, look, look. All I want is thirty-nine sixty. If you'll give me a check I'll get out of this place joint. 
PETER
It gives me the jitters. 
ANDREWS You're a peculiar chap. 
PETER (irritably) Yeah, we'll go into that some other time. 
ANDREWS The average man would go after the reward. All you seem to— 
PETER Listen, did anybody ever make a sucker out of you? 
PETER
This is a matter of principle. Something you probably wouldn't understand. 
(he burns at the thought) 
PETER 
When somebody takes me for a buggy ride I don't like the idea of having to pay for the privilege. 
ANDREWS You were taken for a buggy ride? 
PETER Yeah—with all the trimmings. Now, how about the check. Do I get it? 
A CLOSE-UP indicates that ANDREWS has been studying Peter throughout the scene. He is now completely won over. 
ANDREWS (smiling) Certainly. 
(he opens a checkbook and writes it out)
PETER Thanks.
While Andrews writes, Peter wanders around the room in an attitude of bitter contempt. 
Andrews rises and goes to him. 
ANDREWS Here you are. (as Peter takes the check)
PETER Thank you.
ANDREWS Oh. uh..

ANDREWS
Do you mind if I ask you something a question frankly? 
(Peter just looks at him without responding) 
ANDREWS
Do you love my daughter? 
PETER (evasively, while folding the check) Any guy that'd fall in love with your daughter should have his head examined. 
ANDREWS That's an evasion. 
PETER (putting the check into a wallet) She grabbed herself a perfect running mate. King Westley! The pill of the century! (pocketing wallet) 
PETER
What she needs is a guy that'd take a sock at her every day—whether it's coming to her or not. 
A CLOSE VIEW of the TWO shows Andrews smiling: Here is a man! 
PETER If you had half the brains you're supposed to have, you'd have done it yourself—long ago. 
ANDREWS Do you love her? 
PETER (going for his hat as he replies) A normal human being couldn't live under the same roof with her, without going nuts. 
(going to the door) 
PETER 
She's my idea of nothing! 
ANDREWS I asked you a question. Do you love her? 
PETER (snapping it out) Yes! 
(as Andrews smiles) 
PETER
But don't hold that against me. I'm a little screwy myself. 
He snaps the door open and goes out, following which ANDREWS is seen watching the door, his eyes twinkling, and the scene...
CUTS TO the DOWNSTAIRS HALLWAY as Peter comes through, moving on to the front door.
 
 
Words by Robert Riskin
 
Pictures by Joseph Walker and Frank Capra
 
It Happened One Night is available on DVD from Sony Home Video.