Daily Archives: December 8, 2019

Who’s That Knocking at My Door (AKA “I Call First”)
Directed by Martin Scorsese
Written by Martin Scorsese and Betsi Manoogian
1967/US
IMDb link
First viewing/Amazon Instant

[box] J.R.: Everybody should like westerns.[/box]

Martin Scorsese’s first feature is a fascinating look at the introduction of themes that would follow the director throughout his career.

J.R. (Harvey Keitel in his film debut) lives in Little Italy.  He hangs out with a bunch of slackers who think a good evening out consists of drinking, goofing around, fighting and hiring a couple of hookers to service all of them as “dessert”.  J.R. meets a never-named girl (Zina Bethune) on his way to Staten Island.  They strike up a conversation.  She is looking through a French magazine for the pictures.  He likes Westerns.  She likes art films. She likes jazz.  He likes soul music.  They fall in love.

But J.R. is saddled with a Madonna/Whore complex that makes it impossible for him to consummate their love outside of marriage.  Sex with prostitutes is perfectly OK.  Then she reveals to him that she had been date raped in the past.  Things work out about as well as might be expected.

I enjoyed this despite the frequent arty non sequiturs that actually detract from some great story-telling.  Scorsese’s nascent style is already evident.  The pop music soundtrack and movie references are there as are the themes of machismo, male-bonding, and Catholicism.  The clip below where the two leads talk about The Searchers is priceless. Recommended to the curious.

Clip – 100% Scorsese!

The St. Valentine’s Day Massacre
Directed by Roger Corman
Written by Howard Browne
1967/US
IMDb link
First viewing/Amazon Instant

[box] Reporter: Y’know some are sayin’ that it really was the cops who shot those men.

Bugs Moran: You must be new to this town, mister. Only Al Capone kills like that.[/box]

20th Century Fox gave cheapskate Roger Corman $2 million and some A list actors to make this film.  I think he could have made a better movie with less money.

The story of how Al Capone’s gang wiped out a good portion of Bugs Moran’s gang on February 14, 1929 has been told many times.  I don’t need to repeat it here.  With Jason Robards as Al Capone, George Segal as hitman Peter Gusenberg, and Ralph Meeker as “Bugs” Moran.

Naturally, Corman came in ahead of schedule and under budget once again.  He claimed he could have made the film for half as much if he had been allowed to shoot on location.

The final product was marred by incessant monotone voice-overs that sucked the life right out of it.  In addition, whose idea was it to cast Robards?  He doesn’t even attempt to appear or sound Italian and makes a pretty boring Capone, not withstanding his cigar chomping.  Corman made some very entertaining films when he actually sat in the director’s  chair.  This was not one of them.

Clip