This section of the site features original and previously published
articles by George Pelecanos.
The Big Summer Roundup of 2007
True Confessions, directed by Ulu Grosbard.
My admiration for the novel True Confessions, written by John Gregory Dunne, is documented in the introduction I penned for the Thunder's Mouth Press republication in 2006. This was the first novel based on The Black Dahlia murder case and is now seen as a modern milestone in crime fiction literature. The film, starring Robert Duvall and Robert DeNiro, was written by Dunne and Joan Didion, and has recently been released on DVD. It's a good one. Grosbard, an actor's director, elicits subtle and restrained performances from the leads, playing the Spellacy brothers, one a homicide cop (Duvall), one a priest (DeNiro), with strong supporting turns by Charles Durning, Ed Flanders, Burgess Meredith, and standouts Kenneth McMillan and Rose Gregorio. The cinematography is by Owen Roizman, the music by Georges Delarue. I mention the technical credits because of the artful look of this film. Released in 1981, it represents a kind of studio-picture craftsmanship that is sadly absent in most movies made today. Read the book, then wait for a rainy Saturday afternoon and see the film. This is one that has stood the test of time.
Warlock, by Oakley Hall.
First published in 1958, and nominated for the Pulitzer, Oakley Hall's western is now available under the imprint of The New York Review of Books. Introduced in this edition by Robert Stone, and revered by Thomas Pynchon, this is a must for anyone's fiction collection, including readers who are not western fans, as it explores universal issues of morality and human politics like few novels you are likely to come across today. The writing is lyrical, the characters are multi-dimensional, and the author keeps the tension level on high throughout. Warlock is a thinly-veiled take on the Wyatt Earp/O.K. Corral legend, and is perhaps the original blueprint for the Good, the Bad and the Ugly triumvirate that would be etched into the public consciousness years later. If you think HBO's Deadwood was a fresh concept, or that series creator David Milch took the situation from the Pete Dexter novel of the same name, read this book and discover Mr. Milch's real source material. Certainly one of the best novels I have read this year.
Warlock, directed by Edward Dmytryk. (1959)
Based on the novel, this is a fine psychological western with terrific performances by Henry Fonda, Anthony Quinn, Richard Widmark, Frank Gorshin, Dorothy Malone, and, most memorably, DeForest Kelly as Curley Burne (an ace character actor in many westerns years before his turn as Doc "Bones" McCoy.) Some complain that the film is not as complex as the novel (the mining/union aspect of the book is not fully explored, for example), but taken on its own merits Warlock (the movie) is very worthwhile way to spend a couple of hours if you are a fan of the genre. Sergio Leone was a big admirer of this film (see above), and would cast Fonda, as "the bad" gunman, Frank, in Once Upon a Time in the West, eight years later. IMDB users like to speculate on the homosexual aspects of the Quinn/Fonda relationship, but that's baloney (sometimes a long-barreled Colt is just a long-barreled Colt). Inspired direction from veteran Dmytryk.
Red Beach, directed by Cornel Wilde.
This low budget WWII film from 1967, which has garnered a deserved cult reputation through the years, follows a platoon of Marines on an unnamed Pacific island and their efforts to find and destroy a Japanese stronghold. Viewers who have become accustomed to the realistic battle scenes of Saving Private Ryan and Clint Eastwood's excellent Flags of Our Father and Letters from Iwo Jima might not appreciate what the fuss is about, but this was one of the first American films to show the graphic effects of warfare and also present the Japanese as human beings with families, lovers, and the same fears and courage as their opposition. Yes, the opening stock footage is distracting, the dialogue can be cornball at times, and the editing is on the amateurish side, but if you can overlook these minor faults you will be rewarded with an unusual film experience. Wilde uses still photography, erotic images, voiceover, and shots of nature's beauty amidst the carnage of battle to create an art film that is hard to forget. Terrence Malick surely has screened this picture many times, as the similarities to the technique and overall look of The Thin Red Line are striking. With Wilde, Rip Torn, Jaime Sanchez (two years away form his turn as Angel in The Wild Bunch) and many other young actors you never heard of and never saw again. A film that sticks with you.
Hour of the Gun, directed by John Sturges. (1967)
Men of a certain age revere director Sturges for his films The Magnificent Seven and The Great Escape, as they should. Hour of the Gun is the sequel of sorts to Sturges's own Gunfight at the O.K. Corral, detailing the aftermath of the shooting and the hunting down of Ike Clanton and his gang by Wyatt Earp and Doc Holiday. They are two very different films. O.K. Corral is the clean, Technicolor version of the legend, while Gun is tougher, meaner, on the noir side, and much more psychologically complex. It is an underrated film from the Struges canon, and one of my very favorite Westerns. James Garner is a terrific Wyatt Earp, and for my money Jason Robards delivers the definitive Doc Holiday. Their last scene together hits like a punch in the heart. As for Sturges, he had obviously been watching some of the Westerns coming out of Italy, which influenced everything form the costuming to the framing in this film. Finally, the score by Jerry Goldsmith is classic. Built on a minor key, it is one of the best, most memorable soundtracks of its kind (and available on Varese Sarabande, for those, like me, who are collectors). The cue called "New Marshall," where Doc deputizes Texas Jack Vermillion (William Windom), is as stirring a marriage of music to image that you will find. With Robert Ryan as Ike Clanton, Albert Salmi, Steve Inhat, Monte Markham, Frank Converse, and Jon Voight as Curly Bill Brocius.
Hoodoo Man Blues, by Junior Wells.
Credited by many as the first LP by a Chicago blues band (most blues songs were issued as 45s in that era, or, on album, as collections of singles), this is an essential set from 1965 with a crystal clear re-issue sound played by a four-piece that rolls and boils. Standout tracks include "Snatch It Back and Hold It," "Good Morning Schoolgirl," "Early in the Morning," and "In the Wee Hours." The Delta met the city and this was born. The band: Junior Wells, harmonica, vocals; Buddy Guy, guitar; Jack Meyers, bass; Billy Warren, drums.
Hard Rain Falling, by Don Carpenter.
First published in 1966, now out of print, this is a story of juvenile delinquency, prison, and the men who come out to a world they can never fit into or understand. Like Edward Bunker's Little Boy Blue, it is a devastating, brutally honest, and often shocking indictment of class warfare and our incarceration system. My friend Sam likened it, favorably, to Dreiser's An American Tragedy. Find a used copy on the internet, as I did, and discover one of the best crime fiction/social realism novels ever written.
Al Green Gets Next to You
Okay, I know you own Al Green's Greatest Hits. Everybody does. I like the ballads as much as the next person, but there's more to Al then the top 40 smashes we all know and love. Call Me has always been my favorite Al Green lp, going back to when I wore my 8-track copy out in my '70 Camaro. Gets Next to You, though, is a different animal. While it does contain the formula-establishing hit, "Tired of Being Alone," the rest of this record is raw and sexual, with a dash of spiritual (Johnny Taylor's "God is Standing By") to let you know that Al's heart is in the right place, even if his head is dizzy with the prospect of the physical act of love. Just listen to the one-two punch of "I'm a Ram" followed by "Driving Wheel," or the hot backing female vocals on "Are You Lonely For Me Baby." This record is a whole lot of fun, a deep soul rave-up from top to bottom. Plus, Al looks real good and high on the cover photo. The band, including the famed Hi Records rhythm section, is as follows: Teenie Hodges, guitar; Leroy Hodges, bass; Charles Hodges, organ; Al Jackson and Howard Grimes, drums. Produced by Willie Mitchell.
Glenn Ford
Recently my dad and I spent a nice quiet afternoon watching The Courtship of Eddie's Father on TMC. It is not a landmark film, nor it is a bad one, but it is a solid piece of studio work from director Vincente Minelli and features a lovely cast of young beauties, including Stella Stevens, Dina Merrill, and Shirley Jones. But the reason we both sat through the film, which was not our original intent, was to watch its male star, Glenn Ford. We are both Glenn Ford fans. My dad is of the same generation, and watching Ford is like watching an old friend, who no doubt reminds him of his own youth. For me, watching Ford is like looking at my dad. As my friend Steve Rados said, Ford, more than any other screen actor, is the paternal stand-in for a generation of boys whose fathers served in World War II. Ford was handsome, with a quiet, confident masculinity that could only have come from someone who had nothing to prove (Ford abandoned his acting career to serve in the war, returning triumphantly in the infamous film noir, Gilda, co-starring with Rita Hayworth). He was also a damned fine actor whose natural, laconic style pre-figured the method actors of the 50's. He never appeared to be working, but he did good work. Here is just a partial list of my favorites: Budd Boetticher's The Man from the Alamo, Rudolph Mate's The Violent Men, Fritz Lang's The Big Heat, Richard Brooks's The Blackboard Jungle, Delmer Daves's Jubal, and, in an offbeat role as a honorable villain, the Elmore Leonard/Delmer Daves classic, 3:10 to Yuma. Ford was a man. R.I.P Glenn Ford.
Easy Tiger, by Ryan Adams.
The new Adams is a relaxed countrified set that recalls his own Cold Roses, with influences ranging from American beauty-era Dead to Neil Young to Todd Rundgren. The Cardinals, once again, are the backup band, and their playing has never been so assured. On second listen, the melodies become apparent and insinuate themselves into your head, but it's the impassioned, unusual vocal touches from Adams, and the romantic lyrics, that make this one a keeper. Don't try to cherry pick this off of downloads. It's a nice record to own, and listen to, from top to bottom.
Johnny Guitar Watson
Last year, I snuck a Johnny Guitar Watson reference ("two hot dogs and a strawberry soda") into the dialogue of an episode I scripted for The Wire, unbeknownst to series creator David Simon, who discovered it when a fan wrote about it on the internet. Simon knows his music, so it's nice to sneak one by him on those rare occasions when I can. The line was from the title cut off of A Real Mother For Ya, Johnny's most popular l.p. I own the vinyl, its cover face showing Watson sitting in a soapbox derby luxury auto, his mother beaming and standing behind him (the back photo has our hero hanging with some women who are most definitely not his mom). Johnny Guitar Watson, who recently passed, had a long career as a jazz, blues and soul artist, and played all the instruments on his recordings with the exception of horns and drums. This one is a landmark of southern fried 70's funk. If you can't find the record, download the following: "Lover Jones," "Nothing Left to be Desired," "I Wanna Thank You," and the title track. If you like those, check out "Superman Lover," off Ain't That a Bitch. Motown fans need not apply.
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