I’m happy to announce that I’ve joined the terrific crew of writers over at The Auteurs’ Notebook—not that I’m abandoning my post here, mind you. My first piece for the site just went up—some notes on the putative surrealism of long time fave The Gang’s All Here, with the added bonus of some reminiscences about the shooting of the film from then-Benny-Goodman-Band-drummer (he was all of 19 at the time!) Louie Bellson. It’s a fun piece, if I may say so myself. The disembodied head of Eugene Pallette commands you to go to this link and read it!
Happy to have you on the team… your first offering is excellent. There needs to be more critical discussion of “Polka Dot Polka,” if you ask me.
I read that entry and think it is wonderful. This is indeed an odd, otherworldly movie that almost defies description.
I”ll never forget when I got to see this film, newly restored (In Communist China! What the hell did they think this was?) in the 80s, when I was in San Francisco, at the Castro Theater, a magnificent movie palace, which had an old organ that rose up from the basement. Truly a masterpiece of American surrealism. They really don’t make ’em like that anymore.