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Posted: |
Sep 7, 2019 - 12:21 PM
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By: |
dogplant
(Member)
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Stumbled on this obscure AIP fantasy picture, "Night Tide," on Amazon Prime. Written and directed by Curtis Harrington, it stars a 24-year-old Dennis Hopper as a U.S.N. sailor on shore leave in Venice, California, 1960, who falls in love with a mysterious young woman (Linda Lawson) who plays a mermaid in a sideshow on Santa Monica Pier.
It's a cheaply-made movie, but I was fascinated by the Ray Bradbury ambience, and the shabby post-war scenery of coastal Los Angeles, which Ray wrote about so well in "Death is a Lonely Business." Hopper was very good as an earnest, fresh-faced seaman and Lawson was gorgeous and fascinating as Mora the Mermaid. But the most remarkable thing for me was the score by David Raksin. Anyone know how he ended up scoring this picture for Harrington and Corman? It's a small chamber piece, but quite effective and elevates the whole production, despite the silly rubber octopus.
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Posted: |
Sep 7, 2019 - 1:50 PM
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By: |
John Black
(Member)
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Yeah, it was filmed at the Santa Monica Pier, Pacific Ocean Park, and a couple of other aquatic amusement parks. I love the ambience as well, as it suggests a dilapidated community balanced precariously upon a tide of Neptunian nostalgia.
Aside from the Santa Monica Pier, other communities I enjoy seeing in vintage films include Angels Flight and Bunker Hill in LA, Coney Island in New York, and the Saltair Pavilion in CARNIVAL OF SOULS. A number of horror and film noir movies have been shot in those locations.
Back to Raskin, I like the title of the main instrumental, "The Tell-Tale Harp."
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