Fallon Angel

The Lady in Red (Lewis Teague, 1979)

Preface: This isn't a film about the Chris de Burgh song.

Arthur Penn's 1967 crime drama Bonnie and Clyde might be considered one of the earliest examples of New Hollywood breakthrough into the mainstream. It also kicked off a spate of outlaw themed hicksploitation films via legendary producer Roger Corman; Bloody Mama (1970) and Big Bad Mama (1974) being the obvious titles. It turns out Corman's daughter was a chip off the old block as she  produced a gem of a gangster story, The Lady in Red (1979).

Based on the life Edythe "Polly" Hamilton, the girlfriend of The Great Depression outlaw John Dillinger, The Lady in Red (1979) chronicles various events in her life which lead up to her becoming an outlaw herself. From a simple farm girl, to prostitute to a gangster moll, this loosely based biopic doesn't pull its punches with the our heroine's, renamed as Polly Frankin in the film, rough life.

Each chapter of Polly Franklin's life is compelling viewing. The film features a generous amount of female nudity and nasty violence - something current Hollywood might too afraid to repeat now. Also, despite its producers and the studio its born from, The Lady in Red is less of an exploitation and more of a tough drama. The film impressed me with how it managed to go in a direction that I didn't expect, and wound up being a positive surprise.

Actress, Pamela Sue Martin, better known for playing the OG Fallon Carrington from the eighties soap opera Dynasty, plays the destitute Polly Franklin in the film. She delivers a great, no holds barred performance; going from simple farm girl, to prostitute, to an actual gangster by the end. Her character development is remarkably compelling. The rest of the cast include Robert Conrad as John Dillinger, Louise Fletcher as the bordello madam Anna Sage and an uncredited Robert Forster as Turk, a suave hitman. The biggest surprise is seeing Christopher Lloyd in his scene-stealing role, the dangerously psychotic gangster Frognose.

Not sure if The Lady in Red is the kind of film that would be made today; at least on the same impactful level. A modern adaptation would likely be absurd and exaggerated, with Margot Robbie to famous to get her kit off, and a bunch of modern songs thrown in à la Peaky Blinders. Also, if we're talking about Hollywood, it would obviously cower away from the numerous violent scenes inflicted upon women. This film does not shy away from violence at all.

Director Lewis Teague and writer John Sayles worked together on another film after The Lady in Red, the cult classic Jaws-rip-off Alligator (1980). Browsing online for any other films they might have worked together on was how I discovered this gangster gem. Too bad there weren't any other projects, as they were a strong combination.

Juvenile Hell: Part 5

The Sadist (James Landis, 1963)

If there was a film equivalent to the Infinite Monkey Theorem, then James Landis' brutal crime thriller, The Sadist is a valid candidate. A diamond in the rough from producer Arch Hall Sr; a man synoymous with giving the world the prehistoric, trashfest Eegah (1962) and a multitude of other time wasters.

At the risk of it sounding like a cliché, what makes The Sadist such a remarkable film, is how ahead of its time it is. Its bleak tone and subversive nature come across as anachronistic in comparison to other crime thrillers from the early sixties. If anything, The Sadist displays the nihilsim and savagery from notorious seventies pictures, à la Wes Craven's The Last House on the Left (1972) or Tobe Hooper's The Texas Chaisaw Massacre (1973). 

The film introduces a trio of school teachers whose car has broken down at a remote desert garage en route to a Dodgers baseball game. We learn about each teacher's background and motivations, while simultaneously discovering something is amiss at the garage / junkyard. This setting is the only location for much of the film's run time until the climactic finale.

Loaded in the favour of its volatile psychopath, Arch Hall Jr plays the titular, denim-clad Charlie Tibbs. He has plenty of bullets to spare, is able to second-guess his wholesome hostages, and toys with them with such a level of sadistic cruelty, he would make Krug Stillo proud. In one particular scene he reveals how he'll grant one of his potential victims fifteen minutes of extra life if they can repair a vehicle. They're going to die by his hand, it's just a case of when. Despite mainly whispering in his ear, Tibbs' girlfriend, Judy, is also something of a dangerousn wild child. They really compliment one another and make for a convincing psychotic couple.

For what is essentially an exploitation movie, the biggest surprise is just how well it's made. The Sadist makes excellent use of its limited location, along with it being blessed with some stylish camera work by Vilmos Zsigmond, whose credits include Deliverance (1972), Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977) and The Deer Hunter (1978). This keeps the film looking and feeling fresh. Of course, fancy camera work is meaningless without a compelling story and competent performances, which the film has in abundance. Since Hall Jr's dad produced this picture, it reeks of nepotism like his other films, but given that this is a thriller made on a relative shoe-string budget, it's fairly forgivable. In any case, Hall Jr's performance is exceptionally good in the film, and he doesn't chew scenes like Sofia Coppola did when she was miscast in The Godfather Part III (1990).

The Sadist would be the first feature film to be based on real life spree killer Charles Starkweather and his accomplice girlfriend, Caril Ann Fugate. Eventually, Terrence Malick's Badlands (1993) and Oliver Stone's Natural Born Killers (1994) would also follow suit in in adaptating the notorious young couple to film. Sadly that's left the The Sadist to fall by the wayside, which is a shame since this film doesn't deserve to be forgotten for laying down such an archetypal psychos in love template.

One of those films that I've heard about for many years, but never really got around to watching until this month. Fortunately, The Sadist lived up to my expectations. Not only is it a great film in its own right, but given its historical legacy, it's perhaps an important one, too.

Fritz Like a Glove

The Golden Glove (Fatih Akin, 2019)

Late pass here! Heard a lot about this film the last couple of years, but it wasn't until now that I got to see it. Kicking myself for taking too long, because it's a superb film. Based on the true story of German serial killer, Fritz Honka; a repulsive-looking, alcoholic, night watchman who lured vulnerable women to his festering lair for booze and a good time. Unfortunately, for some of them, his attic apartment would be the last place they would ever visit alive. These victims would eventually be dismembered and then hidden within the walls and beneath the floorboards of his rancid, porn-decorated flat.

What's blatantly apparent about Akin's film is how insanely well it depicts the seemy and pathetic lives of the local denizens of the notorious Hamburg pub, The Golden Glove. Set in the seventies, the viewer is thrown into Fritz Honka's repulsively, grimy, alcohol-fuelled world. Life is incredibly bleak and depressing for the patrons of this seedy drinking establishement. It makes it all the more plausible how the disfigured Honka, could take advantage of a number of alcoholic women for his own malevolent satisfaction - which includes beating them and inserting large frankfurters in their orifices. It's on the same atmospheric wave length as the real crime scuzziness of Fhiona Louise's Cold Light of Day (1989) - a film based on another real life serial killer, Dennis Nilsen. Genuinely felt rotten seeing not only Honka's cruel depravity unfold on-screen, but also the entire social environment he was a part of. At times I was reminded of Jim Hosking's The Greasy Strangler (2016); minus all the hipster comedy.

Amazed how Jonas Dassler, who was in his early twenties during the filming of The Golden Glove, managed to play Honka and was transformed into playing a man almost twice his age at the time with such a high degree of conviction. The film weights heavily on his performance and the gamble of casting someone so young actually pays off here. In other films with a similar subject matter, there tends to be a narrow, redemptive opportunity presented at some point to the protagonist, and here this is also the case. Thanks to Dassler's performance and Akin's direction, it doesn't feel like a shoehorned cliche, however.

Both the make-up and production design are the biggest highlights of the film. The characters and sets instantly transport the viewer to this grim and seedy world from the past. The acidic oranges and browns remind me of vintage Open University lectures from back in the day. Love all the little details found in the film, like the Magic Little Tree air freshners adorned everywhere in Honka's apartment, to mask the rotting smell of the cadavers. Also, Honka blaming the awful smell on the cooking coming from the Greek family living below him was hilarious.

The problem with serial killer films including those based on real-life monsters, is that they either tend to psychoanylise them and attempt to humanise them into almost sympathetic characters, or just glorify them as anti-heroes. Thankfully, The Golden Glove is a film that goes against these portrayals. You're meant to be repulsed by these horrific people and that's what makes this film so damn immersive and compelling to watch. Definitely would have made my film highlights of 2019 if I had bothered to check it out earlier. Better late than never.

The Golden Glove (Trailer)

Fatih Akin, 2019