Written and directed by Leonard Kastle, The Honeymoon Killers is the story of a lonely and overweight woman who meets and falls for a man who could be a serial killer. The film is based on the real-life stories of Ray Fernandez and Martha Beck as they’re played respectively by Tony Lo Bianco and Shirley Stoler in a film that mixes drama with elements of the documentary. Also starring Marilyn Chris and Doris Roberts. The Honeymoon Killers is a riveting yet unsettling film from Leonard Kastle.
The film follows a lonely nurse whose friend submits her to a lonely hearts club where she meets a man who is revealed to be a con-artist as the two on a scheme to steal money from other lonely women. It’s a film that play into two people who take part in something where they go on a trip around America in conning women all over the country into taking their life savings and more. Leonard Kastle’s screenplay follow the life that Martha Beck was having before she met Ray Fernandez as she was a lonely nursing administrator that was no-nonsense until she gets a response from Fernandez through corresponding letters. Yet, she would deal with what Fernandez does following a time where he doesn’t respond to her letters as she is intrigued by what she does. Especially when she decides to put her mother in a nursing home and send money to her every month while she goes on the road.
Kastle’s direction is definitely engaging for the fact that it’s shot in a somewhat documentary style with its hand-held cameras and lots of close-ups. While the film does feature some work from Martin Scorsese and Donald Volkman during the early stages of the production, it is Kastle who would infuse something that does feel real even though the story is set in the late 1960s rather than the 1940s where the real-life story actually took place. Notably in the way he captures the relationship between Beck and Fernandez as well as using many of the film’s low-budget aesthetics in some of the crude lighting and grainy film stock. Still, Kastle uses these limitations to his advantage as it would play into elements of black humor with the close-ups and medium shots he conveys into the drama. The film’s third act is intense due to the violence where it’s more about the act and presentation rather its emphasis on focusing on the gory details. It all play into the descent of their romance with Beck becoming clingy towards Fernandez as it lead to them taking out their frustrations on those they’re targeting. Overall, Kastle crafts a gripping and ominous film about a couple who go on the road to scheme lonely women out of their money.
Cinematographer Oliver Wood does excellent work with the film’s black-and-white cinematography with its low-grade film stock and crude lighting to play into the grittiness of the film as it has this somewhat-documentary look for the scenes in the day and at night. Editors Stan Warnow and Richard Brophy do terrific work with the editing in creating some straightforward cuts to play into the drama and some of the suspense. The sound work of Fred Kamiel is superb for its naturalistic approach to the sound as it play into some of the dark and violent moments in the film’s third act. The film’s music consists of pieces by Gustav Mahler as it help add to the drama as well as some of the film’s most terrifying moments.
The film’s incredible cast feature some notable small roles from Dortha Duckworth as Martha’s mother, Mary Jane Higby as one of the victims of Beck/Fernandez’s scheme in Janet Fay, Marilyn Chris as one of the first victims of the scheme in Myrtle Young, Kip McArdle as the single mother Deliphine Price Downing, Mary Breen as Downing’s daughter Rachel, and Doris Roberts in a wonderful performance as Martha’s friend Bunny who would sign her up to the Lonely Hearts club. Finally, there’s the duo of Shirley Stoler and Tony Lo Bianco in phenomenal performances in their respective roles as Martha Beck and Ray Fernandez. Stoler provides that sense of loneliness and pent-up anger that emerges as a woman that needed companionship as well as feeling threatened by other women taking Ray from her. Lo Bianco’s performance is more low-key while displaying this air of charm but also frustration when he doesn’t get what he wants while he and Stoler have this chemistry that is just electrifying to watch.
The Honeymoon Killers is a sensational film from Leonard Kastle that features great performances from Shirley Stoler and Tony Lo Bianco. It’s a film that captures a real-life event of killings told in a gritty and grimy style that doesn’t play nice while displaying acts of violence that is about its impact rather than its look. In the end, The Honeymoon Killers is an incredible film from Leonard Kastle.
© thevoid99 2018
Directed by Hal Ashby and written by Charles Eastman, Second-Hand Hearts is the story of a widow who marries a loner as they try to recover the former’s children for an unusual road trip to California. The film is a love story of sorts with a road movie where two very troubled individuals try to form a new family in an offbeat journey. Starring Barbara Harris, Robert Blake, and Bert Remsen. Second-Hand Hearts is a quirky but very messy film from Hal Ashby.
The film follows a couple who recently got married as they embark on a road trip from Texas and all the way to California where they stop to retrieve the woman’s three kids while her husband copes with the new role of being their stepfather. It’s a film with a simple story as this lonely drifter who has never had a lot of luck in his life marries this widow who is also down on her luck as her husband had died some time ago with her children living at her in-laws. Though the two got married during a drunken bender, they’re eager to make it work despite their own flaws and fears where they hope to go to California in a beaten-up station wagon and create a new life. Charles Eastman’s screenplay has a lot invested in the story but it has no center in what it wants to be. While it’s mainly a road movie, it tries to cram a lot where it’s a family film of sorts but also a romantic-comedy as it never has a center. Plus, the character of Loyal Muke (Robert Blake) is a total loser that is often afraid of things or reluctant to do something though his development is well-written. It’s just that he is played as a comedic figure rather than someone totally sympathetic.
Despite the beauty of the many locations in and around Texas and the American Southwest, Hal Ashby’s direction definitely suffers from the film’s screenplay due to its lack of a central identity. While Ashby’s wide shots for many of the scenes set on the road are very beautiful as it is expected in a road movie. Ashby is more concerned with the dynamic between Loyal and his new wife Dinette Dusty (Barbara Harris) where they had just gotten married and aren’t sure if this marriage will be successful. Ashby’s usage of close-ups and medium shots in and around some of the locations including the station wagon are unique but there are moments when the attempts at comedy feel very forced. Even in moments where it tries to be serious but ends up being very silly where Ashby’s attempt in offbeat humor also doesn’t work despite some of the earnest moments involving Loyal, Dinette, and Dinette’s children late in the film. Overall, Ashby creates a compelling but very uneven film about a newlywed couple taking their rag-tag family on a road trip to California for a new life.
Cinematographer Haskell Wexler does brilliant work with the film’s cinematography from the gorgeous scenery of the sprawling American Southwest locations to some of the shots at night including a scene where the car runs out of gas as well as the early scenes at a club where Dinette is singing at. Editor Amy Holden Jones does nice work with the editing as it is mostly straightforward with few jump cuts as it relies more on something simple and to the point. Production designer Peter Wooley, with set decorator Robert R. Benton and art director Rick Carter, does fantastic work with the look of the station wagon as well as the bar where Dinette sings at and the pool hall where her father-in-law manages.
Costume designer Ann Roth does terrific work with the costumes from the lavish and colorful clothing that Dinette wears to the more ragged look of Loyal. Sound mixer Art Rochester does superb work with the sound to play into the atmosphere of some of the locations as well as some of the funny sounds in the station wagon. The film’s music by Willis Alan Ramsey is alright as it mainly a country-based music soundtrack with some contributions from Willie Nelson, Freddy Fender, and other country artists.
The casting by Lyn Stalmaster is brilliant despite the substandard material the actors had to work with as it include some notable small roles from Joe Wilson as a one-armed snake rustler, James Steven Beverly as a young man who would help Dinette and her children when they’re stranded on the road, Woody Chambliss as a deaf gas attendant, Bert Remsen and Sondra Blake as Dinette’s in-laws, and Shirley Stoler in a wonderful small role as Maxy as a woman who would give Dinette and her children shelter while Loyal tries to find them. In the role of Dinette’s children, there’s the duo of Jessica and Erica Stansbury as the toddler Sandra Dee, Amber Rose Gold as the talkative middle child Iota, and Collin Boone as the eldest but mute kid Human.
Robert Blake is alright as Loyal Muke as a bum who is able to do a lot of things but doesn’t have a lot of confidence where Blake feels misdirected whenever he tries to be funny in his breakdowns or to try and con someone. Barbara Harris is amazing as Dinette Dusty as this woman that has endured a lot of bad luck but is eager to start a new life with Loyal despite his shortcomings as it’s a performance filled with charisma and humility where Harris does also bring in the best of Blake when he is restrained.
Second-Hand Hearts is an OK but very uneven film from Hal Ashby despite a winning performance from Barbara Harris and the great cinematography from Haskell Wexler. It’s a film that fans of Ashby would want to seek out although it doesn’t bear a lot of the elements that he is known for as it’s just a very lackluster film that is rarely shown on television and is considered to be very hard to find. In the end, Second-Hand Hearts is just a messy and disappointing film from Hal Ashby.
Hal Ashby Films: The Landlord - Harold and Maude - The Last Detail - Shampoo - Bound for Glory - Coming Home - Being There - (Lookin’ to Get Out) - (Let’s Spend the Night Together) - (Solo Trans) - (The Slugger’s Wife) - 8 Million Ways to Die
© thevoid99 2017
Written and directed by Lina Wertmuller, Pasqualino Settebellezze (Seven Beauties) is the story of an Italian soldier who escapes from the army during World War II only to be captured by the Germans as he reflects on his life while trying to survive imprisonment. The film is a study of a man dealing with his situation in a world where he deals with the many roles he has played in his life. Starring Giancarlo Giannini, Fernando Rey, and Shirley Stoler. Pasqualino Settebellezze is a gripping yet evocative film from Lina Wertmuller.
The film is told in a back-and-forth narrative about an Italian who has been captured by the Germans during an escape from the army as he tries to survive his time in a concentration camp. At the camp, he endures torment while he reflects on his past into the events that got him there when he killed one of his sister’s boyfriends who was a pimp and put her into prostitution. The journey that Pasqualino (Giancarlo Giannini) would take would be an arduous one as he started off as a charmer who demanded respect while working for a local don during Fascist-era Italy. Upon his troubles where he would be in trial, set to a mental institution, and later be forced to serve in the army in World War II. Pasqualino would endure moments that are inhuman as the film’s script plays into what he encounters but also the sense of horror inside the concentration camp as he tries to find a way to survive. While there’s moments in Pasqualino that aren’t honorable due to how he treats women including his sister as well as a patient at the hospital.
Lina Wertmuller’s direction is very entrancing not just for the compositions that she creates but also in how visceral the images and situations are throughout the film. The film opens with this chilling sequence filled with stock footage of the war that is filled with cities being destroyed and men being killed all to narration by a man who says these words accompanied to anachronistic music that just adds to its dark tone. The film then meshes with something that could feel like stock footage and then turn real as Wertmuller’s camera is always in the action for the scene where Pasqualino is running around the woods with only a fellow soldier to join him. The usage of hand-held cameras for those scenes early in the film along with close-ups and medium shots play into the sense of terror but also humorous moments in the first act where Pasqualino and Francesco (Piero Di Iorio) are trying to find shelter only to be captured by the Germans.
The scenes set in Naples are much looser with an air of comedy but also display a world that Pasqualino felt free in as he is oblivious to what is really happening under the role of Benito Mussollini and the Fascists at the time. Once the film’s second act partially takes place in the concentration camp, it takes on an entirely different look and tone. The usage of wide and medium shots along with some intricate tracking and crane shots adds to the vast look of the camp but also in how horrifying it is. Even in scenes of violence where Wertmuller pulls no punches as there’s a scene early in the film where Pasqualino and Francesco watch a line of people being executed by the Nazis while some of the moments in the camp are even more gruesome. There is also a very disturbing scene where Wertmuller creates this air of sexual dominance where Pasqualino tries to seduce the camp’s commandant (Shirley Stoler) who hates Italians and wants him to fuck her despite how ugly and obese she is. It’s a moment that would mark a major change in Pasqualino as it would display some of the inhumanity he encounters during a dark era of war as he would also take part in it. Overall, Wertmuller creates a harrowing yet majestic film about a man dealing with consequences and terror during World War II.
Cinematographer Tonino Delli Colli does amazing work with the film‘s cinematography from the lush beauty of the interior/exterior scenes set in Naples to the more haunting and low-key lights for the scenes in the woods and the more stark tone of the camp. Editor Franco Fraticelli does excellent work with the editing as it is mostly straightforward with some jump-cuts and other striking transitions to play with the film‘s back-and-forth narrative. Production/costume designer Enrico Job, with set decorator Roberto Granieri and art director Veljko Despotovic, does fantastic work with the look of the sets for the scenes in Naples and at the prison camp along with the lavish costumes the women wear in Naples.
The sound work of Mario Bramonti is brilliant for the atmosphere it creates for not just some of the scenes set in Naples but also in mental institution and at the prison camp that just adds this sense of terror and discomfort. The film’s music by Enzo Jannacci is incredible for its usage of organs and rock-based instruments for the film’s opening sequence as well as some orchestral pieces for some of the dramatic moments in the film.
The film’s superb cast include some notable small roles from Barbara Valmorin as the commandant’s secretary, Francesca Marciano as Pasqualino’s fiancee, Mario Conti as the pimp whom one of Pasqualino’s seven sisters wants to marry, Lucio Amelio as a lawyer representing Pasqualino for his trial, Ermelinda De Felice as Pasqualino’s mother, and Robert Herlitzka as a Socialist prisoner Pasqualino would meet on his way to the mental hospital. Enzo Vitale is terrific as Don Raffaele who mentors Pasqualino into respectability and would help his family when Pasqualino is being sent away. Elena Fiore is wonderful as Pasqualino’s sister Concettina who would put her brother into trouble by wanting to marry her pimp and become a prostitute much to her brother’s dismay. Piero Di Iorio is fantastic as Francesco as a fellow soldier who escapes with Pasqualino only to endure some horrific abuse at the prison camp as he tries to rebel.
Shirley Stoler is excellent as the prison camp commandant as this very large woman who is so grotesque in her appearance as well as the things she would make Pasqualino do to save himself. Fernando Rey is amazing as Pedro as an anarchist prisoner who spouts ideas that are against all forms of Nazism and Fascism as he tries to create chaos at the camp. Finally, there’s Giancarlo Giannini in a phenomenal as Pasqualino Frafuso as an every man who starts off as a charming man that can get things his way only to commit murder and then have his life fall apart as he endures torment, humility, and anguish as it’s a performance for the ages from Giannini.
Pasqualino Settebellezze is a tremendous film from Lina Wertmuller that features an incredible performance from Giancarlo Giannini. It’s a film that explores not just some of chaos of World War II and the terror of concentration camps but also a man encountering some of the worst aspects of humanity. In the end, Pasqualino Settebellezze is a spectacular film from Lina Wertmuller.
Lina Wertmuller Films: (The Lizards) - (Let’s Talk About Men) - (Rita the Mosquito) - (Don’t Sting the Mosquito) - (The Belle Starr Story) - The Seduction of Mimi - (All Screwed Up) - Love and Anarchy - Swept Away (1974 film) - (A Night Full of Rain) - (Blood Feud) - (A Joke of Destiny) - (Softly, Softly) - (Camorra (A Story of Streets, Women and Crime) - (Summer Night) - (As Long as It’s Love) - (The Tenth One in Hiding) - (Ciao, Professore!) - (The Nymph) - (The Blue Collar Worker and the Hairdresser in a Whirl of Sex and Politics) - (Ferdinando and Carolina) - (Too Much Romance…It’s Time for Stuffed Peppers)
© thevoid99 2016
