Based on a short story by Paul Gallico, this drama stars Sissy Spacek as Verna Vane, a small-town girl who dreams of hitting it big in show business. Verna isn’t much of a singer or a dancer, but she is able to land a job with a U.S.O. troupe entertaining American soldiers in Europe during World War II. Verna imagines this is a major stepping stone in her career as an entertainer, but even though Maureen and Eddie, two veteran vaudevillians touring with Verna, know better, they don’t have the heart to tell her. While in Belgium, Verna meets Walter, a Lieutenant in the U.S. Army who becomes smitten with her. Verna: USO Girl was first aired in 1978 as part of the PBS series Great Performances.
Tag: 1970s
An unsuccessful middle-aged college professor commits suicide, leaving his wife to cope with guilt, shame, and an angry teenage son who blames her for his father’s death.
In the mad morning rush, five-year-old Junior is constantly underfoot, then for a little nothing his father flies into a temper and as punishment Junior is sent to the bathroom for a few minutes. During this period of solitary confinement the boy’s imagination is let loose and a whole story begins to take shape in his mind in which finally he forgives the adults who are angry at him for no reason whatsoever. György Palásthy’s classical family movie looks as though it was made directly for the retro-wave of the future: from the bagged milk to the bubbling coffee-maker, everything is included that was part of everyday life from decades earlier while it takes us on a colourful trip back in time through the streets of seventies Budapest.
Two yakuza, one of whom frequently reflects on an uncomfortable past taking advantage of Korean women, meet a stowaway on Japanese soil from across the Genkai Sea.
Ace daredevil driver Paul Tunney’s fortunes change after he is blamed for the death of another stunt driver. Forced to earn a living by delivering narcotics between States, he is set up by the dead driver’s sister seeking revenge and a small time sheriff wanting to repay a debt from many years ago. Action, excitement, spectacular stunts and death defying driving.. it’s all in The Daredevil.
Associations sets language against itself by using the ambiguities inherent in the English language. Images from magazines and color supplements accompany a voice-over reading from the book ‘Word Associations and Linguistic Theory’ by academic linguistic Herbert H. Clark. Combining a wry sense of humor with word/visual games and puns, Smith explores the boundaries of cinematic montage by combining elements together and against each other in order to destroy and create multiple meanings at the same time.
Mani Kaul’s film was funded by the Film Finance Corporation and an independent multi-arts co-operation led by noted painter Akbar Padamsee. Derived from a Rajasthani folk tale, it tells of a merchant’s son who returns home with his new wife only to be sent away on family business. A ghost witnesses the brides’ arrival and falls in love with her. He takes on the absent husband’s form an lives with her. She has his child, which becomes a problem when the real husband returns home. The film focusses on the wife’s life and dispenses with almost any dialogue developing the characters through parallel, historically uneven or even contradictory narratives.