#signe hasso

[scholarofgloom]

[citizenscreen]

Mary Nash and Signe Hasso would have celebrated birthdays today #botd

[noirgasmweetheart]

"The Black Bird" (1975)

The stuff dreams are made of.

The kind of dreams you have when you pass out on the sofa after O.D.-ing on Cheetos, Mike's, and unrelated movies from wildly different eras.

If you're a fan of the film noir classic "the Maltese Falcon" from 1941, you may have heard about 1975's failed attempt at a comedy sequel, called "the Black Bird." Well, it's on YouTube for free, I watched it on Friday, and I actually enjoyed it.

Before you let this change your opinion, you should probably know that I also enjoyed "Meet the Feebles," "Leprechaun in Space," and "Lord of the G-Strings."

It's a '70s exploitation film (whether intentionally or not)

If you want a truly funny comedy worthy of Mel Brooks, you'll probably hate this movie. If you want a serious tribute to "the Maltese Falcon," you'll definitely hate it. But if you enjoy bad '70s exploitation flicks, you might actually find "the Black Bird" amusing.

If you're unfamiliar with the term, "exploitation films" were a genre from the '70s and '80s. Usually over the top (for the time) in violence and vulgarity, exploitation films pandered to things like shock value, or revenge fantasies for minorities (leading to the "Blaxploitation" genre).

"The Black Bird" is not a particularly violent movie. Instead of exploiting violence, sex or any minority group, "the Black Bird" exploits a famous classic. While there's no nudity and almost no blood, it has many other staples of a classic '70s exploitation flick: mismatched buddy-cop relationships, bad acting, awkward sound dubbing, face-palming racial humor, vaguely Disco-ish music (when there is any music), funky '70s fashion, and a Nazi dwarf (Felix Silla).

Lest you forget that this is a '70s movie.

If you're entertained by "Blackula," "Lisztomania," "They Saved Hitler's Brain," "Gums," or any of Ralph Bakshi's earlier films, "the Black Bird" might be up your alley.

The Plot:

34 years after the events of "The Maltese Falcon," Kasper Gutman is shot dead, after apparently living to be around 100 (and at his weight!). His dying words: "It's black, and long as your arm." Frankly, I can think of no better sentence to illustrate the transition from classic '40s noir to the new lowbrow grit of the 70s.

On the case is Sam Spade Jr. (George Segal), whose surname is the source of many a racial punchline. To be fair, Sam Jr. says in-universe that he's tired of hearing that joke every five minutes. Junior has herited his father's name, job and secretary. Lee Patrick revises her role as Effie, who Spade Jr. calls "Godzilla."

Her character is possibly the only thing that is unironically great about this movie. The sassy young Effie aging into a draconian old lady would be believable and wonderful even in a serious sequel.

Elisha Cook Jr. also returns as Wilmer, but only for one scene.

If you wanted Wilmer to live to a ripe old age....well he did. But if you wanted him to die in a cabin in the woods surrounded by birds, after having gone straight for the last 30 years of his life, this might disappoint you. But it's probably closer to how a gunslinger like Wilmer would've wanted to go.

The new femme fatale is Anna Kemindov (Stéphane Audran), daughter of the unseen general from the first movie. I can't say that her character's motivations made much sense, but she does sport some funky 70s fashion and one sweet-ass hideout.

The Good

Much of the dumb humor made me laugh, even when I saw it coming a mile away. The running gag about Spade Jr.'s old car entertained the Muppet fan in me, and the "stand up Spade" moment was worthy of "Blazing Saddles." The final ending gag was the most predictable and unoriginal joke in the entire film, but something about the shark's face and how it moved was just hilarious.

One thing I unironically really liked was how in the dark Spade Jr. was regarding the Maltese Falcon. He knows it was his dad's biggest case, but doesn't care. He isn't familiar with the names Wilmer Cook, Kasper Gutman or Admiral Kemindov, and can't keep them straight. And he doesn't recognize any of the Easter eggs Wilmer, Anna or Effie drop into their dialogue.

Missed Opportunites:

I would really have liked at least one reference to Joel Cairo, and can't believe a movie of this type passed up the opportunity to have someone do a bad Peter Lorre impression while recounting past events.

There's also no mention of Brigid O'Shaughnessy, nor who Spade Jr.'s mother is. Having Brigid give birth to Jr. in prison and then more or less discard him would have fit perfectly into Spade Jr.'s backstory, and the movie's style of black comedy.

With the movie's vulgar humor, I'm also stunned that the word "gunsel" never came up when Spade Jr. was dealing with Wilmer. On that subject, more than one cameos from Wilmer would've been appreciated. But maybe Elisha Cook Jr. was only available for one scene.

Cannon?

The literal events onscreen are too ridiculous to truly take place in the same universe as "the Maltese Falcon." But I could imagine that a caper similar to this occurred, and is being recounted by a very sardonic, bitter, and drunk Spade Jr., who is embellishing and maybe misremembering.

Like, maybe the villain was really just a very short man with a Nazi history, who Spade Jr. is sarcastically remimagning as a literal dwarf in an S.S. uniform. Maybe Anna Kemindov just seemed a bit off to Jr, and his drunk mind is exaggerating her antics. Maybe when the jailer said "Get up Spade," Spade's Black cell mates just gave the jailer a look until realizing in awkward silence that it was the white guy's name. "The Black Bird" certainly seems like the story a bitter drunkard would be spinning.

The one thing Spade Jr. is not embellishing or misremembering though is "Godzilla." Effie is every bit the firey old lady portrayed onscreen. That, in my head, is 100% canon.

[letterboxd-loggd]

Outside the Wall (1950) Crane Wilbur

November 9th 2024

[gatutor]

Sture Lagerwall-Signe Hasso "Career" (Karriär) 1938, de Schamyl Bauman.

[fitesorko]

Signe Hasso

[higherentity]

[erstwhile-punk-guerito]

[loveboatinsanity]

[of-fear-and-love]

Technology from The House on 92nd Street (1941)

[scholarofgloom]

[mydarkmaterials]

[noirgasmweetheart]

My headcanon is that events similar to "the Black Bird" really happened to Sam Spade's son, and what we see onscreen is his drunk embellishment of the caper.

[letterboxd-loggd]

Heaven Can Wait (1943) Ernst Lubitsch

August 9th 2024

[ruivieira1950]

[gatutor]

Signe Hasso-James Craig "Dangerous partners" 1945, de Edward L. Cahn.