A look at the filming of the 1953 political drama “Salt of the Earth,” made by artists blacklisted by Hollywood during the McCarthy era. That film’s producer, Paul Jarrico, speaks about his late colleagues, Herbert Biberman and Michael Wilson, and about the Communist scare that gripped the film community in the 1950s.
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Bullfighter Luis Bello is a star, but fear and doubt strike quickly after he is injured in the ring. Manager Raul Fuentes refuses to let him give up, though, pushing Luis to overcome his doubt and remain a matador. Luis agrees, but complications ensue when he falls for Raul’s girlfriend, Linda. Things get even worse after a tragic accident and a public embarrassment. Now, to salvage his dignity, Luis needs one last shot in the ring.
Dr. Bill Remsen, a fashionable New York singing physician, poses as a policeman to save to save his best friend’s job Officer Lawrence O’Roon. He quickly finds out that a policeman’s lot is not a happy one when he finds his assignment is to serve as the personal bodyguard of the quirky socialite Mrs. Lorelei Dodge-Blodgett. But duty blends pleasantly with love when Mrs. Dodge-Blodgett orders him to guard Judy Marlowe, her pretty niece who wants to runaway with a gangster. But music has charm, even for a spoiled rich girl, and after a few inoculations of Dr. Remsen’s crooning, Judy decides to engage her bodyguard on a lifetime contract.
After five years working with Roger Corman, Jonathan Demme moved to Paramount to make Citizens Band, a charming ensemble comedy following a disparate group of characters who communicate across the airwaves. A huge influence on Paul Thomas Anderson, the film’s empathy for the outsiders and eccentrics who would characterise Demme’s later work is clearly evident here. And the cast, including Le Mat as a CB vigilante and Napier as a bigamist trucker, is terrific. A prescient study of human behaviour that resonates in our social media era, Citizens Band’s box-office failure left Demme fearing his career was over, but it can now be seen as the moment he found his distinctive voice.
Piano Solo tells the story of Luca Flores, a brilliant Italian musician. In Florence, Luca graduates with top honors in piano, but his destiny is not to become a classical pianist. He is curious to explore other worlds and meets young jazz enthusiasts who transmit their passion to him. Luca’s great talent, combined with constant practice, leads him to play with the greatest jazz musicians of the time, including Chet Baker. The film not only portrays his professional journey but also explores his loves, struggles, and inner turmoil as a young man who cannot come to terms with the ghosts of his past, ultimately leading to a tragic explosion of madness.
Presaging details and intent of the Charles Manson’s cult and actions was not meant to be one of this film’s greater attributes. It was, however, filmed uncannily months before the facts were known. The resemblance is oblique. The film: the mysticism of a “calling,” a journey to be made, a vision in mid-desert to behold and oneness with it all. Filmed in Death Valley.
Tired of being mistreated by their husbands, Ema, Clotilde, and Chayo leave their families and begin an adventure that takes them to a cavernous cabaret in Guadalajara, a love affair with a hot-blooded young drug dealer, and a popular, well-decorated Mexican restaurant in downtown L.A. Along the way, the three women find their respective self-esteem and their true reasons for living.