23 Comments

We watched two Paul Newman films this weekend in our regular 'educate my son' campaign: The Hustler, and The Verdict. Both good of their time, and Newman is a fantastic actor. But both were spoiled for us by a completely unnecessary and out of character moment of violence, when Newman punched his female lead hard in the face, respectively Piper Laurie and Charlotte Rampling, knocking them down. Extraordinary how our attitudes have changed. Really shocking to see.

Expand full comment
author

Exactly the same thing in the early Bonds…

Expand full comment
Sep 11Liked by Luke Honey

Love the immersive description of their world, which I now want to step into (*buys filing cabinet to add whisky*). I haven’t seen Hustle and probably wouldn’t have jumped in from the poster or synopsis, but interested now

Expand full comment
author

Excellent. That’s what WEEKEND FLICKS. is all about. Thank you.

Expand full comment

"Cluedobeathan" is a spot on description that I shall absolutely be stealing.

Expand full comment
author

.... thinking about it, it should more probably be 'Cluedobethan'.

Expand full comment
author

Please do!

Expand full comment
Sep 8Liked by Luke Honey

Amazing film, absolutely delighted you covered it as it’s so little-known nowadays. It paved the way (in my view) for another of my favourite films, To Live and Die in L.A.

On a pedantic note, it’s not Bourbon in the desk drawer, it’s a bottle of Bushmills - yet another exemplar of Gaines’ exquisite taste 🥃

Expand full comment
author

Thanks for the correction! Kicking myself for not spotting that one. Important to get these things right...

Expand full comment

Steve Shagan is credited for script. Do you have at your fingertips any underlying source. Elmore Leonard was "Stick"; I wondered if his spirit hovered near this one. Great call on this one. An entire lost highway to follow, Hooper, Longest Yard...

Expand full comment

It always amazes me that Hollywood didn't call on Catherine more... I guess they didn't know what to do with her.

Expand full comment
author

Or she was pretty choosy…

Expand full comment

Considering who she worked with, that is certainly true.

Expand full comment

"Guatemala with color TV". Love that!

So glad we lived in LA this century!

Expand full comment
author

Yes. It’s a direct quote from the film.

Expand full comment

A rare bit of truth from Hollywood!

Expand full comment

Got to check this out if only to see how close Reynolds/Deneuve get to Trintignant/Aimee's impossibly cool couple.

Expand full comment
author

It's worth 'checking out', though, for numerous other reasons...

Expand full comment

Added to my growing list. Having lived in the nonstop sun and optimism of Los Angeles for a few years, I will appreciate a gritty, seedy view of the city. Granted it’s changed in the, oh, twenty or so years since I lived there. Bit more criminal and violent these days.

Expand full comment
author

Terrific film- a personal favourite. It's dystopian. And it's contrasted beautifully with the characters' View-Master take on Rome and Paris. Remember View-Master? Those plastic viewfinders with slides in stereo 3D? The other side of the grass is greener. But LA's pretty grim in this. Does it rain as much?

Expand full comment

View-Master, yes! Can we bring those back?

It rarely rained in LA when I was there. You got June gloom which was just the clouds moving in from the ocean and staying trapped by the hills, but very little rain. The temperatures rarely budged beyond a few degrees. When I moved away I had forgotten how to check the weather before stepping outside.

I can’t say some of us have lost that romanticized view of far away places!

Expand full comment
author

There’s one scene with Burt in his film-noirish office and it’s raining like an Indian monsoon.

Expand full comment
author

I’m on the verge of becoming a full-paid View-Master nerd. There are collectors.

Expand full comment