Here is another blog post I wrote in the past that I proudly represent here.
The 1970's played host to one of the most terrible incidents that Hollywood
ever saw: MGM, one of the most well-known and most beloved studios in Hollywood,
was destroyed. (By 1974, they were only doing about 4 films a year.) Although
the company still exists today, it is only a shadow of what it once was. It was
primarily ruined by bad leadership and unpopular and, in many cases,
artistically lacking films. This two-part blog series will document MGM's films
of the time as well as the turmoil inside the studio itself. This first part
will deal with the films of that period. As one final note about MGM in the 70s,
it should be known that the leader at MGM in the early 70s, James T. Aubrey, cut
many films into incoherence and made various other changes. So if some of these
films seem incoherent, that is why. The 1970's at MGM started with the racial
drama ...tick...tick...tick.... It featured good performances by Fredric March,
Jim Brown, and George Kennedy, and was overall a decent enough film, but it
paled in comparison to United Artists' landmark 1967 film In the Heat of the
Night. It was followed in the release pipeline by Zabriskie Point, a film that
has polarized audiences ever since its release. Personally I found it too
bizarre for my taste, but to each his own. Next up was an obscure action film
called The Five-Man Army. Brotherly Love which followed was disgusting in the
extreme; a love triangle tale laced with incest and violence. Despite good
performances from Peter O'Toole and Susannah York, it simply did not fly. The
incest trend continued in My Lover, My Son, a movie whose title alone would
probably have had Louis B. Mayer rolling in his grave. After two cases of sex,
the drug scene was next to get it's MGM closeup in The Magic Garden of Stanley
Sweetheart, yet another film that flopped in all respects for MGM. (Of these
films so far, only Zabriskie Point is given a second chance today.) The Walking
Stick came next. It had merit to it in the form of a very good performance by
Samantha Egger, and it was technically up to par, but the public was
indifferent. The Strawberry Statement follwed but its theme of student protests
was darkened by the incidents at Kent State that happened shortly before the
film's release. MGM's next release was a smash hit and overall a great
entertainment as well. It was Kelly's Heroes, an offbeat World War II story
whose reputation keeps improving with every passing year. MGM slipped back into
mediocracy with The Moonshine War, a film that would have been better-made at
Warner Bros. thirtysome years earlier.Zigzag was a great thriller, but for many
it was too clever by half. House of Dark Shadows was able to cultivate the giant
fanbase of the show it was based upon, and was a solid success. The Travelling
Executioner was a truly bad film which both critics and audiences ignored. The
family film Captain Nemo and the Underwater City followed. Many children like it
at the time, but it is rarely referenced today. No Blade of Grass predicted an
apocalyptic crisis. Its business and reviews were the things that were really
apocalyptic. MGM's only animated film, the Phantom Tollbooth followed. Many
people are fond of it today, but the box office was lethargic in 1970. Ryan's
Daughter was one of MGM's final classy films. People are still polarized about
it today, but personally I loved it with its fine performances, grand direction,
and its supurb cinematogrophy. Elvis: That's the Way it Is followed, and was a
solid success because of Elvis' large fanbase. Another singing legend, Frank
Sinatra, appeared in MGM's next film Dirty Dingus Magee. But Sinatra did not
sing, and the film was too bawdy for some peoples tastes. Sinatra would not
appear in a film for another 10 years.The Bushbaby was the next arrival. It was
a decent-enough family film, but virtually nobody remembers it today. Brewster
McCloud is in my opinion one of the strangest films ever made. MGM executives
were thinking it would be a big hit since it was directed by Robert Altman,
Hollywood's newest golden boy. It wasn't. A similar fate befell Alex in
Wonderland, directed by Paul Mazursky (who had had a big hit with Columbia's Bob
and Carol and Ted and Alice) but audiences did not come. It was better than
Brewster McCloud in my opinion. Alex in Wonderland also rounded out MGM's
offerings for 1970.A very little-known British film called Freelance started
MGM's year off in 1971. It was not a good beginning. A film called Pigeons
followed. A very strange title masked one of the most obscure of MGM's 1970s
films. A documentary about the different stages of the human body called The
Body was popular in its home country of England but was ignored everywhere else.
Percy, which followed, was also concerned with a body part, this time an
unspeakable one. It was a true embarassment. Get Carter, the following film, was
a gritty British film that was one of MGM's best offerings in the 1970's. People
still like it today. Mad Dogs and Englishmen was a British concert film. It was
most popular in its home country. The next film, The Enchanted Years was an
obscure documentary. Pretty Maids in a Row was vile. it had Rock Hudson as a sex
murderer. The Black Plague might have been more well liked by critics and
audiences than this film was. The Night Digger was a racier variation on the old
shocker of a film Night Must Fall. It was pretty good, but audiences did not
want to see a film like that one. Villian had a good performance by Richard
Burton, but that was the only thing going for it. It was a very nasty
production. The same atribute, nasty, applied to Fortune and Men's Eyes, a
prision film that focused on prision rapes. Wild Rovers, which followed, was a
sadly underrated western that is only reaching an appreciative audience now on
DVD. the Tales of Beatrix Potter, which used ballet to tell the tales of
Potter's beloved children's tales, was a rare kid's film which beguiled parents
as well. The next film in the release pipeline was a surprise smash hit. It was
Shaft, a violent caper movie that happened to very exciting and absorbing. Due
to its success, MGM bought heavily into the "soul cinema" trend in 1972 and
1973.The Last Run, a downbeat action film, had a very good performance from
george C. Scott, but the film would have been even better if John Huston had not
been fired from the project. Night of Dark Shadows was a success, but even fans
of the series bemoaned the often incoherent editing. Clay Pigeon, a forgettable
action film, followed. Catlow was a fun little western with a good leading
performance by Yul Brynner. Going Home was depressinging in the extreme, but
Robert Mitchum and Brenda Vaccaro gave very good performances. Chandler was yet
another action film with an unexpected female lead, Leslie Caron. Believe in Me
was another of those very dark early 70s films about drug addicts. The
performance by Jacqueline Bisset and Michael Sarrazin were very good in the film
(they became lovers in real life) but the film was often incoherent because of
the studio-inflicted chainsaw editing. The Boy Friend was a teriffic musical
comedy with an enchanting leading performance by Twiggy. The film plays better
than ever now because the film is now in its complete state. The Gang That
Couldn't Shoot Straight was a Mafia comedy. Despite that it gave people a look
at a very young Robert de Nero, it left a lot to be desired. The film also
rounded out MGM's 1971 slate. 1972 was kicked off by the Jerusalem File which
was an uneven suspence film. Cool Breeze was MGM's second helping of Soul Cinema
as well as its second remake of The Asphault Jungle. It was nowhere nearly as
good as the original was. The Carey Treatment was a suspence film that
delivered. It was hugely entertaining, but the public ignored it. Corky was a
movie about a racecar driver. Nothing was appealing about it. Beyond the Fog is
often regarded as being the first modern slasher film. Personal taste will
dictate whether that is good or bad. Skyjacked was MGM's hit of the year. It was
a very good disaster film that did not fail to entertain. Which was more than
could be said about MGM's next film, The Black Belly of the Tarantula, which was
pretty much off-putting. Every Little Crook and Nanny was a film about the
kidnapping of a Mafia child. It was playedc as a comedy; it only succeeded in
wasting a good cast. Shaft's Big Score did indeed score at the Box Office,
although the original was superior. Sitting Target was a cold-hearted action
film that wasted a decent cast. One is a Lonely Number (known today as Two is a
Happy Number) was a severly underrated film that featured great performances
from all of the major cast members. The Wrath of God was yet another action
film, this time with a good performance from Robert Mitchum. The film also
happened to be Rita Hayworth's last. Kansas City Bomber was a movie with Raquel
Welsh as a star roller derby player.A 10-year-old Jodie Foster also had a role
in the film. People were polarized on the film in general. Melinda dipped into
the Soul Cinema trend only to realize that the trend was going downhill in
profitability already.Weekend Murders was an Italian whodunnit that fained to be
interesting. Savage Messiah was a fine drama directed by Ken Russell. It
featured a performance from a very young Helen Mirren. Private Parts was, not to
mince words, by far the most disgusting and revolting production that MGM did in
the 70s. Night of the Lupus was a laughable horror film with Janet Leigh, a
former star at the studio, being menaced by giant bloodthirsty rabbits. Elvis on
Tour was a very successful concert film. The Great Waltz was an embarrassing
remake of the classic 1938 film. They Only Kill Their Masters was a bizarre
murder mystery. It was offputting to me at least to have June Allyson as the
killer and Peter Lawford being one of her victims. However, it is always a
pleasure to see James Garner as well as so many old-time veterans of MGM.The
film was supposed to be the final film shot on MGM's backlot but turned out to
be false. Travels with My Aunt was uneven. There were good performances from
Maggie Smith and Alec McCowen, but even they could not completely make up for
the oddities of the script. Yet they made the film tolerable over all. George
Cukor directed it, his first at MGM since Les Girls (1957). Hit Man another
moderately successful (quality wise and attendance wise) helping of soul cinema
finished off the 1972 slate. There was change in the air in 1973. In October of
that year, MGM annouced that they would continue to produce films, but they were
not going to distribute them. Distribution of MGM films then shifted to United
Artists. It remained that way until 1981 when ironically MGM bought United
Artists out following the Heaven's Gate fiasco. Certainally 1973 opened on a
sour note. It was a terrible horror film Nightmare Honeymoon that opened the
1973 slate. It was followed by the feauding families film with the provocative
title Lolly-Madonna XXX. Even good performers cound not make the film good.
Slither was an entertaining-enough film about people looking for hidden money.
The audiences stayed away from it. The audiences also stayed away from Ludwig,
an ill-advised film about Germany's Mad King Ludwig. Soylent Green has almost
become a joke as a film since everyone knows the deadly secret of the substance,
but what people forget about that film is how good Edward G. Robinson in his
final film was. He should be the reason people watch the film. Pat Garrett and
Billy the Kid was a movie that was victimized because of its editing, and has
had several different versions, but I think that it is a very good film overall.
Sweet Jesus, Preacherman was another dip into the Soul Cinema trend and was a
flop. Wicked, Wicked was a horror film completely done in split screen. It would
have been better with no screens at all. Shaft in Africa was the final
theatrical Shaft film. Revenue for the series had been falling. The Man Who
Loved Cat Dancing was one of Burt Reynolds' finest films but the audiences did
not show up. Trader Horn was an in-name-only remake of the 1930 film. It was
truly awful. Deaf Smith and Johnny Ears was an offbeat western that had a good
performance from Anthony Quinn, but otherwise the film only intermittedly came
to life. Deadly China Doll was a Hong Kong-made martial arts film in an attempt
to cash in on the popularity of Enter the Dragon. Business was languid. The
Slams was MGM's last helping of Soul Cinema.The title referred to a prision, not
to the audience reception and the reviews it received. The Outfit was a severly
underrated action film that had a good performance from Robert Ryan. Westworld
was MGM's hit of 1973. The Sci-Fi tale had its fair share of both pluses and
minuses. Westworld rounded out the 1973 slate. The Super Cops started the 1974
slate. It was good but overly violent. Kazablan was a Jewish musical of high
energy but low visibility. The final film of the 1974 slate (there were only 3)
was the biggest hit of the year and, in my own humble opinion, the best MGM film
of the Decade. It was That's Entertainment, a huge compillation of memorable MGM
musical numbers that never failed to entertain. It celebrated MGM's 50th
Anniversary triumphantly. 1975 began with the routine action film Mr. Ricco,
which was the last starring role for Dean Martin.The Passanger struck some
viewers as being profound; others thought it was sluggish. People are still
polarized on it today. The Wind and the Lion was an excellent adventure film
with teriffic performances from Sean Connery, Brian Keith, and Candice Bergen.
The Silent Stranger had been released in Italy in 1968 but waited to come to
America until 1975. It was not worth the wait. Hearts of the West was a
refreshingly offbeat look at the B-Movie Hollywood of the 1930s. While certain
parts of the film were better than others, the performances by Jeff Bridges,
Andy Griffith, and Blythe Danner were top notch. There were two good
performances in The Sunshine Boys, MGM's final film of 1975, which provided
juicy roles for Walter Matthau and Oscar-winner George Burns in a superior
comedy. That's Entertainment Part II, MGM's first film for 1976, was not as good
as the original but it was still overflowing with its lovely charm. Logan's Run
was a futuristic thriller that is still watched to this day, and had a few good
performances and did look great, but something was missing. Sweet Revenge was
foolishly entered into the Cannes Film Festival. It was a mess of a film that
not even Stockard Channing, its star, could save. Norman, Is That You? was
profitable but embarassing in its treatment of then-controversial themes. MGM
returned to form with Network, a dynamite drama with crackling performances and
a sizzling script. The only downside of the film was that most of what it
predicted for TV came true in the end. Network rounded out the 1976 slate. Demon
Seed started 1977. It was a terrifying thriller, excellently executed. The
Goodbye Girl was one of the best comedies of the 70s with it's hysterical yet
touching script and its sincere performances including an Oscar-winning one by
Richard Dreyfuss. Telefon, a routine thriller, finished the 1977 slate. A note
about Telefon: It was spoofed under the title The Naked Gun (1988). Coma, the
starter of the 1978 slate, was like Demon Seed in the fact that it was
terrifying and brilliantly executed. It also had a great cast to boot. Corvette
Summer was a run-of-the-mill film with one plus: a decent supporting performance
by Annie Potts. International Velvet was a belated sequel to National Velvet and
while it could not touch its predecessor, it was much better than its reputation
indicated. Brass Target was controversial in its day for suggesting that General
George Patton was murdered, but that did not drum up business for MGM's final
1978 release. Jamaican Gold, a hit-and-miss adventure film started the 1979
slate. Voices, a good little drama, followed complete with its great performance
by Amy Irving as a young deaf woman. The Champ was a remake of the 1931 classic
but did not recapture the winning nature of the earlier film. The Human Factor,
a mundane thriller that was the last film for director Otto Preminger was MGM's
last release of the 1970's. The Decade of Doom had come to a close, but the once
majestic studio's glory days were unquestionably over.
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