THE LAST PICTURE SHOW!

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In Memory of William Hebert, a dear friend of mine who was killed last Monday in Texas.

My thoughts and prayers are with his wife, Melissa and their children.

I learned of this tragedy late Thursday afternoon.

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"Friday Movie Suggestion Night" resumes from my temporary home base in the Mid-West. For newcomers, I have been on an intense business trip to 9 cities over 18-days and so posting from the road was not always ideal. After I returned home and rested up, I completely overhauled the remaining list of films for 2005 and I must say, I am very proud of what I have in store. This movie is a "Must-See" for anyone. THE LAST PICTURE SHOW was Directed by then 31-year old newcomer Peter Bogdanovich and was widely viewed as a racy movie for it's time, given the skinny-dipping swimming pool scene with Cybill Shepherd.

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The Plot: In tiny Anarene, Texas nothing changes. It is 1950 and the U.S. is between World War Two and the Korean Conflict. Sonny and Duane are best friends passing through that awkward period of life between boyhood and manhood. The two cope with this phase by focusing on the local movie house, basketball, and---Girls. Jacey (Shepherd) is Duane's steady, wanted by every boy in school, and she knows it. She comes from a rich Daddy and a loose Mom. While never spoken, it's rather obvious that whoever wins Jacey's heart will enjoy life on "Easy Street".

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But the town of Anarene is dying a quiet death. People are migrating to the big cities to make their livings and raise their kids. The boys in town are bewildered and torn between a future "somewhere out there" beyond the borders of town where uncertainty lies, or remaining in a run-down town with a sad pool hall and a deteriorating movie house -- the legacy of their friend and mentor, "Sam the Lion".

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As is often the case, high school graduation approaches and the next phase of their lives deal some hard lessons in love, loneliness, and jealousy. Patrons stop attending the second-run features at the movie house and the time comes for the "last picture show". With the closure of the movie house, the boys feel that a stage of their lives is closing too. They stand uneasy and frightened on the threshold of their futures.

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The movie was adapted from the novel by Larry McMurtry. The well-documented romance between Shepherd and Bogdanovich began during the filming and the movie was among one of the most talked about stories throughout 1971. Peter Bogdanovich was formerly a stage actor and film writer/critic who had previously directed only two other smaller feature films, the low-budget Targets (1967) with Boris Karloff cast as a horror-movie star, and the frankly terrible Voyage to the Planet of Prehistoric Women (1968) with Mamie Van Doren.

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This was Bogdanovich's first major film, and the first mainstream Hollywood feature film shot in Black & White since the early 60s, with Cinematography by Robert Surtees. The film was the director's tribute and homage to the classic films of legendary directors Howard Hawks (Red River (1948)), John Ford (The Grapes of Wrath (1940)), and Orson Welles himself (Citizen Kane (1941). Old-time western film star Ben Johnson, who had starred in many classic films of the genre, including Ford's She Wore a Yellow Ribbon (1949), Shane (1953), and The Wild Bunch (1969), played the role of an old-time cowboy in the film. Here's a cool fact: Orson Welles suggested to Bogdanovich that he should film the movie in Black & White (Bogdanovich later authored a book on his mentor, Welles' after his death in 1985). In fact, the film's theme is similar to Welles' The Magnificent Ambersons (1942) - about the passing of an earlier way of life due to the advent of the automobile at the turn of the century.

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This film was shot on location over an eleven-week period in Archer City, Texas (McMurtry's home town) with rich character study using a non-star cast depicting the mediocre lives of two generations of aimless townspeople with frustrated, and shallow lives (middle-aged adults and naive adolescent teenagers) who cling to the dying and barren town, and try to find solace and escape from boredom in lost dreams, drinking, temporary (and manipulative) sexual encounters where everyone knows everything about everyone else. Starring: Jeff Bridges (a likeable, high-school athlete and senior); Timothy Bottoms (a quiet, serious friend); Sam Bottoms ( a mute friend); Cybill Shepherd (as the teenaged "hottie"); Ben Johnson (as an ex-cowboy); Ellen Burstyn (as a once-beautiful, lonely, alcoholic, philandering rich wife---Whew!); and Cloris Leachman (as a ruthlessly neglected, middle-aged homosexual coach's wife).

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The R-rated film reflected social and sexual mores (with full frontal nudity and explicit sexual situations) and was nominated for 8 Academy Awards (c) (including 4 for its ensemble cast), and was awarded 2 Oscars (c) for: Ben Johnson ("Best Supporting Actor") and Cloris Leachman ("Best Supporting Actress"). The other six nominations included: Best Picture, Best Supporting Actor (Jeff Bridges), Best Supporting Actress (Ellen Burstyn), Best Director, (Peter Bogdanovich), Best Cinematography (Robert Surtees known for his work on The Bad and the Beautiful (1952)), and Best Adapted Screenplay (Larry McMurtry and Peter Bogdanovich).

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The film's sequel Texasville (1990), also by Bogdanovich, featured Jeff Bridges and Cybill Shepherd (and others in the principal cast) reprising their original roles. On a final note, one of my acting coaches, Gary Chasson, worked with Bogdanovich as an Assistant on this film.

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From this point forward, FMSN signals an emphasis on high grade quality films. We're going to "the next level". So, grab the popcorn and enjoy this unforgettable "coming of age" film.

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Listening to: David M. Bailey: "Coffee with the Angels"