Man of Mystery

The German film poster for THE ENIGMA OF KASPAR HAUSER aka Every Man for Himself and God Against All (1974).

In May 1828 a young man appeared in a town square in Nuremberg, Germany carrying a prayer book and two letters written by his former caretaker. He spoke very little and was unable to answer any questions about his identity, where he came from or why he was there. One of the letters stated that he had come to the city to meet the captain of the 6th cavalry regiment with the hope of becoming a cavalryman. The other letter claimed he had been born in 1812 and had been raised in complete isolation from other people although he had been taught rudimentary reading and writing skills. His name was Kaspar Hauser but his mysterious nature and childlike presence baffled the townspeople and he was housed as a vagabond at the local prison until he was made a ward of the city and put under the protective care of Lord Stanhope, a wealthy aristocrat. Stanhope devoted himself to Hauser’s further education and re-entry into society and the young man’s bizarre demeanor aroused the curiosity of the public as well as doctors, professors and members of the clergy. Unfortunately, Hauser’s life came to an abrupt end in April 1833 when the mysterious man who first brought him to Nuremberg returned and stabbed him to death, escaping without a trace. The case has been a source of fascination for years in Germany and numerous films, television series and made-for-TV movies have been made about him but The Enigma of Kaspar Hauser aka The Mystery of Kaspar Hauser aka Every Man for Himself and God Against All (German title: Jeder fur Sich und Gott Gegen Alle, 1974), directed by Werner Herzog, is probably the most famous and critically acclaimed of all the versions made to date.

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Fotoromanzi Fantasy

“With Paisan, I knew that I wanted to be a film director. I thought maybe this was where my future was, not as a journalist. It was with The White Sheik that I knew I was a film director.” – Federico Fellini (from I, Fellini by Charlotte Chandler)

In The White Sheik (Italian title: Lo Sceicco Bianco, 1952), Fellini’s first solo directorial effort (he co-directed Variety Lights with Alberto Lattuada the previous year) he drew upon his experiences as a journalist and script writer to tell a bittersweet story about a provincial newlywed couple vacationing in Rome for their honeymoon. Wanda (Brunella Bovo), the young bride, is a naive romantic, prone to impulsive behavior and passionate fantasies. She is also an avid fan of fotoromanzi (a comic book with photo captions instead of cartoon drawings) and is secretly infatuated with “The White Sheik,” the hero of her favorite series.

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The Pairans Are Among Us

A promotional still from the Japanese science fiction film Uchujin Tokyo ni Arawaru (1956), which was released in the U.S. in 1963 as WARNING FROM SPACE.

The early 1950s is generally regarded as the time when science fiction truly became a popular and profitable film genre thanks to a number of pioneering efforts from Hollywood such as The Day the Earth Stood Still (1951), The Thing from Another World (1951), The Man from Planet X (1951), It Came from Outer Space (1953) and Invaders from Mars (1954). Other countries quickly followed suit producing their own sci-fi entries but Japan was a latecomer in this regard. It wasn’t until 1956 when Daiei Studios released the first Japanese movie to address the subject of UFOs and extraterrestrials – Uchujin Tokyo ni Arawaru aka Spacemen Appear in Tokyo, directed by Koji Shima. The film was a commercial failure and quickly vanished from cinemas before turning up seven years later on American television screens in an English-dubbed version known as Warning from Space. Unfortunately, this altered version for TV syndication with its pan-and-scan format deviating from the original presentation was intended for juvenile audiences. The original 1956 Japanese version, however, is a fascinating and important genre entry in the development of the science fiction film and deserves to be better known today. (When I refer to Warning from Space throughout the following article, I am talking about the Japanese version).

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Basketball Jocks and Pom Pom Girls

Jane Fonda (in her film debut) and Anthony Perkins appear in a publicity still for the 1960 romantic comedy TALL STORY, directed by Joshua Logan.

The film debut of a soon-to-be-major movie star is not always an event of any significance when it first occurs. Nor is it often a movie with any artistic merit that can stand the test of time and become an important topic for analysis among film scholars. Jane Fonda’s movie debut, Tall Story, will surely never make the AFI’s top 100 films list and it wasn’t a commercial or critical success upon its release in 1960. Yet the film is important in the career arc of Ms. Fonda. It’s also an enjoyable, often witty romantic comedy that plays much better today than when it first premiered.

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Adolf, Eva and Guests in Bavaria

Still shrouded in mystery and speculation by historical experts, the final days of Adolf Hitler remain a subject of endless fascination for many. It’s certainly been the focus of several films such as the 2004 German production Downfall (Oscar nominated for Best Foreign Language Film) and Hitler: The Last Ten Days (1973) starring Alec Guinness, but Moloch (1999), from Russian director Aleksandr Sokurov, is not a typical biopic or dramatic reenactment but an unconventional and startling chamber piece, closer in style to an off-Broadway ‘Theatre of the Absurd’ production.

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The Godfather of New York Street Art

When did grafitti drawings and spray paint signage graduate from being considered vandalism to a recognized art movement? Pop culture historians pinpoint the late 1960s as the time that subway art and other movements began appearing in major cities with Philadelphia and then New York City paving the way. Some believe that grafitti taggers Cornbread aka Darryl McCray and Top Cat 126 from Philadelphia were among the first to elevate spray paint signage out of its defacement stigma. And by the late seventies/early eighties grafitti art had become much more elaborate and pervasive, thanks to the pioneering efforts of cult figures like Jean-Michel Basquiat and Keith Haring, who eventually made their brand of street art wildly popular and collectible. What most people don’t know is that a Canadian artist named Richard Hambleton created a public art series between 1976 to 1978 in major cities across America and Canada that were inspired by real life crime scenes. These homicide victim street portraits actually prefigured the spray paint artists movement in New York City and Shadowman (2017), a documentary by Oren Jacoby, delves into the elusive figure of Hambleton, who was famous before contemporaries Basquiat and Harring, but is the least known of the three today.

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Violenza al Sole aka Blow Hot, Blow Cold

An Italian film poster for the 1969 film BLOW HOT, BLOW COLD.

During the peak years of the Italian film industry in the 1960s and 70s, there were numerous films released which never received a theatrical release in the U.S. and are completely unknown to American audiences. Of course, some of these are forgettable but there are several that deserve a second chance at being re-discovered and Violenza al Sole (English title: Violence in the Sun aka Blow Hot, Blow Cold aka Hot Blood in the Veins, 1969), directed by Florestano Vancini, is a prime example. It is also a fascinating anomaly in the careers of the four main actors, Giuliano Gemma, Rosemary Dexter, and two stars who are most often associated with director Ingmar Bergman, Bibi Andersson and Gunnar Bjornstrand.

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An Immigrant’s Journey

In recent years the immigrant problem in Germany has become more severe than previous times with Ukraine refugees joining the constant stream of immigrants from Turkey, Romania and other countries. This mirrors another migration that occurred in the seventies in Germany but that one helped fuel the country’s economy because the work force was supplemented by much needed laborers coming from Greece, Italy and other European locales. Palermo oder Wolfsburg aka Palermo or Wolfsburg (1980), directed by Werner Schroeder, is set during this latter period and tracks one man’s journey from Sicily to Germany where he hopes to find work to help support his impoverished family back home. Schroeder’s film not only shows the difficulties of outsiders trying to adapt to German life but also suggests that there is an incompatibility factor between Germany and other European cultures that can never be overcome. And this particular immigration tale unfolds like an epic tragedy.

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The Tree Stump Baby

“Be careful what you wish for” is one of those popular expressions that offers cautionary advice for those who want something too desperately. And it has been illustrated repeatedly in literature and movies from timeless folk tales like Faust and The Golem to more recent efforts like Little Otik (2000), Czech filmmaker Jan Svankmajer’s take on Otesanek, a 19th century fairy tale by Karel Jaromir Erben. Svankmajer updates the tale about a childless couple and their substitute baby to contemporary times but also manages to weave in some of his favorite obsessions and thematic concerns (food, cannibalism, human fears) into a darkly funny but nightmarish portrait of parenthood and child rearing. Despite its stature as a fable, Little Otik is certainly not for children and probably not the best viewing option for expectant mothers either.

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Anthony Mann’s Overlooked Western

1950 marked an important turning point in the evolution of the Hollywood Western and Broken Arrow, directed by Delmer Daves, was largely responsible for that. A sympathetic treatment of the plight of the Apache people and their way of life, the film was the first major studio western to depict Native Americans as something other than bloodthirsty savages or naive primitives. The real hero of Broken Arrow was Cochise (Jeff Chandler), the Apache leader, and not the cavalry scout (James Stewart) who marries an Apache woman (Debra Paget). The film’s liberal views on race and the white man’s treatment of the Native-American were considered daring at the time and garnered much critical acclaim. It also earned three Oscar nominations including one for Best Screenplay (by Michael Blankfort). The downside of all this is that Broken Arrow‘s success completely overshadowed Devil’s Doorway, which was released the same year and also addressed the terrible treatment of this nation’s original settlers.

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