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RIP. I always chuckle at his ongoing Mason-Dixon line war with John Candy whenever I watch 1941.
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I remember him mainly as the Police Capt in 48 HRS* and the big friendly boxer guy in BATTERIES NOT INCLUDED.
Double Dose of classic/early James Horner right there!
RIP.
*a role he would go on to parody a few times
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Sharkey!!!!!
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Posted: |
Jul 29, 2021 - 2:26 PM
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By: |
Bob DiMucci
(Member)
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Following the success of 1971’s SHAFT, the blaxploitation film craze was at full throttle. Producers began searching for any story on which they could put a ‘black” twist, and so while low-budget producers like American International and others looked to BLACULA and BLACKENSTEIN for their releases, M-G-M, in addition to putting SHAFT’S BIG SCORE into production, looked to more established properties. One such property was W. R. Burnett's 1949 novel “The Asphalt Jungle.” Thus it was, that M-G-M’s 1972 release COOL BREEZE became the studio’s fourth film adaptation of Burnett's novel.
The plot of the film concerned a diamond heist pulled off by a gang of thieves headed by smooth, sophisticated criminal “Sidney Lord Jones” (Thalmus Rasulala) who is just out of San Quentin prison. The heist is financed by millionaire real estate mogul “Bill Mercer” (Raymond St. Jacques). Rudy Challenger plays “Roy Harris,” a reverend who cracks safes on the side, and Paula Kelly is his wife “Martha.” In his film debut, Frank McRae plays “Barry,” Mercer's servant.
The film also marked the debut of director-writer Barry Pollack, an American Film Institute graduate. Star Thalmus Rasulala had appeared in one previous film, THE OUT-OF-TOWNERS, under the name Jack Crowder. While the advertising campaign played heavily on the all-black cast, all of the major crew members were white men. In fact, most crew members were young AFI students. COOL BREEZE marked the first film as cinematographer for Andrew Davis, who had acted as assistant cameraman on the 1969 documentary MEDIUM COOL. Davis went on to direct such films as 1993's THE FUGITIVE.
The film was shot during December 1971, and by 22 March 1972 it was in theaters, premiering in Philadelphia. The film’s score was by legendary rhythm and blues artist Solomon Burke, with orchestrations by Gene Page (who himself would provide the score to BLACULA). A soundtrack, primarily consisting of Burke’s vocals, was released by M-G-M Records. The LP has not been re-issued on CD. COOL BREEZE was a box office success, grossing $3.2 million.
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Posted: |
Jul 31, 2021 - 12:17 AM
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By: |
Bob DiMucci
(Member)
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Twentieth Century-Fox was so pleased with the box-office success of 1972's THE HOT ROCK that they approached producers Hal Landers and Bobby Roberts to develop a sequel from The Bank Shot, an as yet unpublished Donald E. Westlake novel. Fox paid $100,000 for the rights to the novel, and George Segal and Robert Redford were set to resume starring roles, although the characters in The Bank Shot were not consistent with those in THE HOT ROCK.
However, Landers and Roberts ultimately negotiated to produce THE BANK SHOT in association with United Artists. Dancer-choreographer Gower Champion directed the 1974 film, marking Champion’s second and final feature film as a director before his death in 1980.
A voice-over narration by Clifton James in the role of prison director “‘Bulldog’ Streiger,” frames the narrative and is used intermittently throughout the film. Streiger introduces the character of “Walter Upjohn Ballantine” (George C. Scott) at the Streiger Institution prison during the presentation of the opening credits, and, at the end of the film, Streiger tells the audience of Ballantine's fate. Frank McRae plays a member of the robbery team, lock expert “Herman X.” Most of the character names were changed from the original novel; only Hermann X's name is unchanged.
Frank McRae and George C. Scott in THE BANK SHOT
John Morris' score was released by Kritzerland in 2009. The film had disappointing box office returns of $3 million.
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Posted: |
Aug 1, 2021 - 12:58 PM
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By: |
Bob DiMucci
(Member)
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Producer Gene Corman was inspired to make a movie about labor unions after reading some of Joe Eszterhas’ magazine articles. Corman and United Artists commissioned Eszterhas to write a screenplay on the topic. Although he had never written a screenplay before, Eszterhas interviewed workers in the Midwest about their union experiences and submitted a forty-page outline to UA in the fall of 1975.
Director Norman Jewison joined the project later that year. Eszterhas turned that forty-page essay into a 500-page screenplay titled F.I.S.T., which stood for the Federation of InterState Truckers. He and Jewison edited it down to 240 pages in 1976 and, when Sylvester Stallone was hired, the actor helped edit the script down to 150 pages. Jewison clarified that Stallone contributed to the writing of his character, “Johnny Kovak,” and to his dialogue with “Anna Zarinkas” (Melinda Dillon). The director denied that the main character was based on Jimmy Hoffa, the missing leader of the Teamsters union, though several publications drew that parallel, including the 24 June 1978 Saturday Review.
The film begins in 1937 Cleveland, Ohio, where Johnny Kovak leads a small rebellion among his fellow warehouse workers to protest their poor working conditions and the unfair dismissal of one of their co-workers. Later, Kovak is approached by “Mike Monahan” (Richard Herd), the president of the local trucker’s union, which regularly deals with companies run by unscrupulous men. Monahan believes Kovak has a way with men, so he asks Kovak to come work for the union as an organizer. Frank McRae played “Lincoln Dombrowsky” in the film.
F.I.S.T. cost $8.2 million to produce and grossed a decent $21.1 million at the box office. Bill Conti’s score was released on a UA LP and was re-issued on CD by Varese Sarabande in 2005.
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THE END is a slapstick black comedy about a man, "Wendell Sonny Lawson" (Burt Reynolds), who finds that he hasn't much longer to live and makes several bungled attempts at suicide. Others around him become involved in his plans, including his girlfriend, "Mary Ellen" (Sally Field); his best friend and attorney, "Marty Lieberman" (David Steinberg); his ex-wife, "Jessica" (Joanne Woodward); his parents, "Maureen and Ben Lawson" (Myrna Loy and Pat O'Brien), and "Marlon Borunki" (Dom DeLuise), a paranoid schizophrenic whom he meets at a psychiatric hospital.
The film was the first major teaming of comedy duo Burt Reynolds and Dom DeLuise. The two had both appeared in SILENT MOVIE (1976) but were not "teamed" as such. Frank McRae played a male nurse in the film.
THE END was also the second theatrical feature directed by Burt Reynolds. The reviews for the 1978 film were generally poor. The Paul Williams score for the film has not had a release. The $3 million production was the #11 film at the 1978 box office, grossing $44.9 million.
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Posted: |
Aug 2, 2021 - 11:48 AM
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By: |
Bob DiMucci
(Member)
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The setting for PARADISE ALLEY is Hell's Kitchen, New York, in the 1940s. “Cosmo” (Sylvester Stallone), “Lenny” (Armand Assante), and “Victor” (Lee Canalito) are a trio of sad-sack siblings just barely scraping by on their limited wits. Lenny works in a coroner's office, Victor hauls ice, and Cosmo is just an aimless galoot who makes his money however he can.
Cosmo takes Lenny to a private club called Paradise Alley where they learn that anyone who can go one round with a wrestler named “Big Glory” (Frank McRae) will win $100. Cosmo convinces Victor to wrestle Big Glory. After Cosmo introduces him as “Kid Salami,” Victor steps into the ring, beats Big Glory and wins the prize money. Suddenly, Lenny and Cosmo see a way to make some real green. But they will have to deal with bar owner and gangster “Stitch Mahon” (Kevin Conway) who represents a wrestler named “Franky the Thumper” (Terry Funk).
Frank McRae in PARADISE ALLEY
Sylvester Stallone directed the 1978 film. Among the cast, the most consistently positive mentions were for Frank McRae’s performance as Big Glory in publications such as Time, Daily Variety and the 10 Nov 1978 Los Angeles Times. Estimates of the film’s cost ranged from $3 million to $6 million. It grossed $7.2 million. Bill Conti’s score was released on an MCA LP, which was released on CD by Edel (Germany) in 1993.
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