Pauline Kael (69 page)
Authors: Brian Kellow
85
“There are very few American film critics”:
Library Journal
, undated review.
“There are very few American film critics”:
Library Journal
, undated review.
85
“the artistry, literacy, fine style and clearheaded reasoning”:
Publishers Weekly
, undated review.
“the artistry, literacy, fine style and clearheaded reasoning”:
Publishers Weekly
, undated review.
85
“Never dull, blazingly personal, provokingly penetrating”:
Kirkus Reviews
, undated review.
“Never dull, blazingly personal, provokingly penetrating”:
Kirkus Reviews
, undated review.
85
“I am not certain just what Miss Kael thinks she lost at the movies”:
The New York Times Book Review,
March 14, 1965.
“I am not certain just what Miss Kael thinks she lost at the movies”:
The New York Times Book Review,
March 14, 1965.
86
“the surest instinct”:
Ibid.
“the surest instinct”:
Ibid.
86
“That she is able to analyze”:
Ibid.
“That she is able to analyze”:
Ibid.
86
“always gratifying when a friend”:
Letter from James Broughton to Pauline Kael, April 2, 1965.
“always gratifying when a friend”:
Letter from James Broughton to Pauline Kael, April 2, 1965.
86
“My good wishes to you and Gina”:
Ibid.
“My good wishes to you and Gina”:
Ibid.
86
“Billy dear”:
Various correspondence from Pauline Kael to William Abrahams.
“Billy dear”:
Various correspondence from Pauline Kael to William Abrahams.
86
“I don’t really want to do it”:
Letter from Pauline Kael to Robert Mills, February 9, 1965.
“I don’t really want to do it”:
Letter from Pauline Kael to Robert Mills, February 9, 1965.
87
“I think there was a moment”:
Author interview with David Young Allen, September 2, 2009.
“I think there was a moment”:
Author interview with David Young Allen, September 2, 2009.
87
“I know you love California”:
Author interview with Dan Talbot, October 7, 2008.
“I know you love California”:
Author interview with Dan Talbot, October 7, 2008.
87
“the cover seems to illustrate the title”:
Letter from Robert Mills to Marcia Nasatir, November 8, 1965.
“the cover seems to illustrate the title”:
Letter from Robert Mills to Marcia Nasatir, November 8, 1965.
87
“In the evenings, especially, Bob and Pauline drank and talked”:
Author interview with Tresa Hughes, September 20, 2009.
“In the evenings, especially, Bob and Pauline drank and talked”:
Author interview with Tresa Hughes, September 20, 2009.
88
“People shouldn’t marry you”:
Play by Pauline Kael,
Wearing the Quick Away
, housed at the Lilly Library, Indiana University.
“People shouldn’t marry you”:
Play by Pauline Kael,
Wearing the Quick Away
, housed at the Lilly Library, Indiana University.
88
“how my thumbnails got worn down”:
“It’s Only a Movie”: speech by Pauline Kael given at Dartmouth College, October 1965.
“how my thumbnails got worn down”:
“It’s Only a Movie”: speech by Pauline Kael given at Dartmouth College, October 1965.
89
“goes against the grain”:
Ibid.
“goes against the grain”:
Ibid.
89
“a world more exciting”:
Ibid.
“a world more exciting”:
Ibid.
89
“something we wanted”:
Ibid.
“something we wanted”:
Ibid.
89
“Surely only social deviates”:
Ibid.
“Surely only social deviates”:
Ibid.
89
“large-scale campaigns designed to cut him down”:
Pauline Kael,
Kiss Kiss Bang Bang
(Boston: Atlantic–Little, Brown, 1968), 191.
“large-scale campaigns designed to cut him down”:
Pauline Kael,
Kiss Kiss Bang Bang
(Boston: Atlantic–Little, Brown, 1968), 191.
89
“His greatness is in a range that is too disturbing”:
Ibid., 195.
“His greatness is in a range that is too disturbing”:
Ibid., 195.
89
“still the most exciting American actor on the screen”:
Ibid.
“still the most exciting American actor on the screen”:
Ibid.
90
“The only thing she was really lacking”:
Author interview with Sidney Lumet, February 13, 2009.
“The only thing she was really lacking”:
Author interview with Sidney Lumet, February 13, 2009.
90
“rather brusque and strict”:
Author interview with Shirley Knight, February 21, 2009.
“rather brusque and strict”:
Author interview with Shirley Knight, February 21, 2009.
90
“I remember doing so many takes”:
Author interview with Jessica Walter, March 30. 2009.
“I remember doing so many takes”:
Author interview with Jessica Walter, March 30. 2009.
90
“He’ll do a bunch of takes”:
Author interview with Shirley Knight, February 21, 2009.
“He’ll do a bunch of takes”:
Author interview with Shirley Knight, February 21, 2009.
91
“We had a good dinner and a lot to drink”:
Author interview with Sidney Lumet, February 13, 2009.
“We had a good dinner and a lot to drink”:
Author interview with Sidney Lumet, February 13, 2009.
91
“My job”:
Ibid.
“My job”:
Ibid.
91
“I thought, this is a very dangerous person”:
Ibid.
“I thought, this is a very dangerous person”:
Ibid.
91
“changed the way their readers viewed the world”:
Marc Weingarten,
The Gang That Wouldn’t Write Straight
(New York: Crown, 2005), 7.
“changed the way their readers viewed the world”:
Marc Weingarten,
The Gang That Wouldn’t Write Straight
(New York: Crown, 2005), 7.
92
“What really offended me”:
Author interview with Sidney Lumet, February 13, 2009.
“What really offended me”:
Author interview with Sidney Lumet, February 13, 2009.
92
“he would not try to reshape the scenario”:
Kael,
Kiss Kiss Bang Bang
, 71.
“he would not try to reshape the scenario”:
Kael,
Kiss Kiss Bang Bang
, 71.
92
“I had heard it was going to be butchery”:
Author interview with Sidney Lumet, February 13, 2009.
CHAPTER NINE“I had heard it was going to be butchery”:
Author interview with Sidney Lumet, February 13, 2009.
93
“Appreciation courses have paralyzed reactions”:
Pauline Kael,
McCall’s
(February 1966).
“Appreciation courses have paralyzed reactions”:
Pauline Kael,
McCall’s
(February 1966).
93
“rather like watching an old movie”:
Pauline Kael,
McCall’s
(March 1966), 24.
“rather like watching an old movie”:
Pauline Kael,
McCall’s
(March 1966), 24.
94
“stately, respectable and dead”:
Pauline Kael,
McCall’s
(April 1966), 36.
“stately, respectable and dead”:
Pauline Kael,
McCall’s
(April 1966), 36.
94
“watching a giant task of stone masonry”:
Ibid.
“watching a giant task of stone masonry”:
Ibid.
94
“that will probably have to bankrupt several studios before a halt is called”:
Ibid.
“that will probably have to bankrupt several studios before a halt is called”:
Ibid.
95
“the single most repressive”:
Pauline Kael,
McCall’s
(May 1966).
“the single most repressive”:
Pauline Kael,
McCall’s
(May 1966).
95
“You begin to feel”:
Ibid.
“You begin to feel”:
Ibid.
95
“The reviews became less and less appropriate”:
Newsweek
(May 30, 1966).
“The reviews became less and less appropriate”:
Newsweek
(May 30, 1966).
95
“What would you like us to do with all this money?”:
Letter from Robert Mills to Pauline Kael, June 7, 1966.
“What would you like us to do with all this money?”:
Letter from Robert Mills to Pauline Kael, June 7, 1966.
96
“ploddingly intelligent and controlled”:
Pauline Kael,
Kiss Kiss Bang Bang
(Boston: Atlantic–Little, Brown, 1968), 132.
“ploddingly intelligent and controlled”:
Pauline Kael,
Kiss Kiss Bang Bang
(Boston: Atlantic–Little, Brown, 1968), 132.
96
“I could hardly get a word in edgewise”:
Author interview with Joseph Morgenstern, May 8, 2009.
“I could hardly get a word in edgewise”:
Author interview with Joseph Morgenstern, May 8, 2009.
97
“a modernized version of an earlier, romantic primitivist notion”:
Kael,
Kiss Kiss Bang Bang
, 20.
“a modernized version of an earlier, romantic primitivist notion”:
Kael,
Kiss Kiss Bang Bang
, 20.
97
“so appealing to college students”:
Ibid., 22.
“so appealing to college students”:
Ibid., 22.
97
“And if it be said that this is sociology”:
Ibid.
“And if it be said that this is sociology”:
Ibid.
97
“could find good use for another one or two hundred dollars a check”:
Letter from Robert Mills to Robert Evett, December 12, 1966.
“could find good use for another one or two hundred dollars a check”:
Letter from Robert Mills to Robert Evett, December 12, 1966.
97
“Judy Crist!”:
Author interview with Judith Crist, June 10, 2008.
“Judy Crist!”:
Author interview with Judith Crist, June 10, 2008.
98
“Your agent was right”:
Ibid.
“Your agent was right”:
Ibid.
98
“She wanted to explain to me”:
Ibid.
“She wanted to explain to me”:
Ibid.
98
“the fervor and astonishing speed”:
Kael
, Kiss Kiss Bang Bang
, 32.
“the fervor and astonishing speed”:
Kael
, Kiss Kiss Bang Bang
, 32.
99
“the casting superb and the performance beautiful”:
Ibid., 200.
“the casting superb and the performance beautiful”:
Ibid., 200.
99
“the best of Griffith, John Ford”:
Ibid.
“the best of Griffith, John Ford”:
Ibid.
99
“And Welles—the one great creative force in American films in our time”:
Ibid.
“And Welles—the one great creative force in American films in our time”:
Ibid.
99
“movies made by a generation bred on movies”:
Kael,
Kiss Kiss Bang Bang
, 115.
“movies made by a generation bred on movies”:
Kael,
Kiss Kiss Bang Bang
, 115.
101
“a cheap piece of bald-faced slapstick”:
The New York Times
, August 7, 1967.
“a cheap piece of bald-faced slapstick”:
The New York Times
, August 7, 1967.
101
“How do you make a good movie in this country without being jumped on?”:
Pauline Kael, “The Current Cinema,”
The New Yorker
(October 21, 1967).
“How do you make a good movie in this country without being jumped on?”:
Pauline Kael, “The Current Cinema,”
The New Yorker
(October 21, 1967).
102
“they were able to use the knowledge”:
Ibid.
“they were able to use the knowledge”:
Ibid.
102
“
Bonnie and Clyde
keeps the audience in a kind of eager, nervous imbalance”:
Ibid.
“
Bonnie and Clyde
keeps the audience in a kind of eager, nervous imbalance”:
Ibid.
102
“Audiences at
Bonnie and Clyde
are not given a simple, secure basis for identification”:
Ibid.
“Audiences at
Bonnie and Clyde
are not given a simple, secure basis for identification”:
Ibid.
102
“The trouble with the violence in most films”:
The New York Times
, September 17, 1967.
“The trouble with the violence in most films”:
The New York Times
, September 17, 1967.
102
“the whole point of
Bonnie and Clyde
is to rub our noses in it”:
Kael,
The New Yorker
(October 21, 1967).
“the whole point of
Bonnie and Clyde
is to rub our noses in it”:
Kael,
The New Yorker
(October 21, 1967).
103
“
Bonnie and Clyde
as a danger to public morality”:
Ibid.
“
Bonnie and Clyde
as a danger to public morality”:
Ibid.
103
“it has put the sting back into death”:
Ibid.
CHAPTER TEN“it has put the sting back into death”:
Ibid.
105
“You cannot keep
The New Yorker
out of the hands”:
Ben Yagoda,
About Town: The New Yorker and the World it Made
(New York: Scribner, 2000), 59.
“You cannot keep
The New Yorker
out of the hands”:
Ben Yagoda,
About Town: The New Yorker and the World it Made
(New York: Scribner, 2000), 59.
106
“William Shawn respected, admired, and enjoyed the movie reviews of John McCarten and Brendan Gill”:
Author interview with Lillian Ross, August 1, 2009.
“William Shawn respected, admired, and enjoyed the movie reviews of John McCarten and Brendan Gill”:
Author interview with Lillian Ross, August 1, 2009.
107
“It was totally fictitious”:
Author interview with John Simon, March 6, 2008.
“It was totally fictitious”:
Author interview with John Simon, March 6, 2008.
107
“The only thing she wanted me to do”:
Ibid.
“The only thing she wanted me to do”:
Ibid.
107
“I think a certain Anglophilia crept into it very early on”:
Marc Smirnoff,
The Oxford American
(Spring 1992), reprinted in
Conversations with Pauline Kael,
Will Brantley, ed. (Jackson: University Press of Mississippi, 1996), 157.
“I think a certain Anglophilia crept into it very early on”:
Marc Smirnoff,
The Oxford American
(Spring 1992), reprinted in
Conversations with Pauline Kael,
Will Brantley, ed. (Jackson: University Press of Mississippi, 1996), 157.
108
“Mr. Shawn was always polite and courteous”:
Author interview with Jane Beirn, February 20, 2009.
“Mr. Shawn was always polite and courteous”:
Author interview with Jane Beirn, February 20, 2009.
109
“seemed to seek combat”:
Author interview with Lillian Ross, August 1, 2009.
“seemed to seek combat”:
Author interview with Lillian Ross, August 1, 2009.
109
“
The New Yorker
has a long-standing tradition of squalor”:
Ved Mehta,
Remembering Mr. Shawn’s
New Yorker
: The Invisible Art of Editing
(Woodstock, N.Y.: Overlook, 1998), 111.
“
The New Yorker
has a long-standing tradition of squalor”:
Ved Mehta,
Remembering Mr. Shawn’s
New Yorker
: The Invisible Art of Editing
(Woodstock, N.Y.: Overlook, 1998), 111.
109
“The emotional shorthand of television”:
Pauline Kael, “The Current Cinema,”
The New Yorker
(March 16, 1968)
.
“The emotional shorthand of television”:
Pauline Kael, “The Current Cinema,”
The New Yorker
(March 16, 1968)
.
110
“presence is so strong ”:
Kael,
The New Yorker
(March 30, 1968)
.
“presence is so strong ”:
Kael,
The New Yorker
(March 30, 1968)
.
110
“this fag phantom of the opera”:
Ibid.
“this fag phantom of the opera”:
Ibid.
111
“Does playing a homosexual paralyze him as an actor?”:
Kael,
The New Yorker
(January 18, 1969).
“Does playing a homosexual paralyze him as an actor?”:
Kael,
The New Yorker
(January 18, 1969).
111
“There is something ludicrous and at the same time poignant”:
Ibid.
“There is something ludicrous and at the same time poignant”:
Ibid.
112
“a volatile mixture of fictional narrative”:
Kael,
The New Yorker
(April 6, 1968).
“a volatile mixture of fictional narrative”:
Kael,
The New Yorker
(April 6, 1968).
112
“less a document of Maoist thought”:
Richard Brody,
Everything Is Cinema: The Working Life of Jean-Luc Godard
, (New York: Henry Holt, 2008), 306.
“less a document of Maoist thought”:
Richard Brody,
Everything Is Cinema: The Working Life of Jean-Luc Godard
, (New York: Henry Holt, 2008), 306.
112
“We all know that an artist can’t discover anything for himself ”:
Kael,
The New Yorker
(April 6, 1968).
“We all know that an artist can’t discover anything for himself ”:
Kael,
The New Yorker
(April 6, 1968).
112
“funny, and they’re funny in a new way”:
Ibid.
“funny, and they’re funny in a new way”:
Ibid.
112
“probably never have a popular, international success”:
Kael,
The New Yorker
(October 5, 1968).
“probably never have a popular, international success”:
Kael,
The New Yorker
(October 5, 1968).
113
“a great original work”:
Ibid.
“a great original work”:
Ibid.
113
“perhaps the briefest statement”:
Pauline Kael,
Kiss Kiss Bang Bang
(Boston: Atlantic–Little Brown, 1968), introduction.
“perhaps the briefest statement”:
Pauline Kael,
Kiss Kiss Bang Bang
(Boston: Atlantic–Little Brown, 1968), introduction.
113
“Katharine Hepburn is probably the greatest actress of the sound era”:
Ibid., 353.
“Katharine Hepburn is probably the greatest actress of the sound era”:
Ibid., 353.
114
“she-Shaw of the movies”:
Newsweek
(May 20, 1968).
“she-Shaw of the movies”:
Newsweek
(May 20, 1968).
114
“blessedly brilliant”:
Ibid.
“blessedly brilliant”:
Ibid.
114
“If Miss Kael has a particular bent as a film critic”:
The New York Times Book Review,
May 5, 1968.
“If Miss Kael has a particular bent as a film critic”:
The New York Times Book Review,
May 5, 1968.
114
“going great guns at the moment”:
Letter from William Abrahams to Robert Mills, June 6, 1968.
“going great guns at the moment”:
Letter from William Abrahams to Robert Mills, June 6, 1968.
115
“the best film critic since Agee”:
Letter from Louise Brooks to Pauline Kael, May 26, 1962.
“the best film critic since Agee”:
Letter from Louise Brooks to Pauline Kael, May 26, 1962.
115
“You could have knocked me over with Audrey Hepburn”:
Letter to Pauline Kael from Louise Brooks, September 13, 1968.
“You could have knocked me over with Audrey Hepburn”:
Letter to Pauline Kael from Louise Brooks, September 13, 1968.
115
“Going through the index ”:
Ibid.
“Going through the index ”:
Ibid.
115
“Your picture on the dust cover ”:
Ibid.
“Your picture on the dust cover ”:
Ibid.
115
“In life . . . fantastically gifted people”:
Kael,
The New Yorker
(September 28, 1968).
“In life . . . fantastically gifted people”:
Kael,
The New Yorker
(September 28, 1968).
115
“It has been commonly said . . . that the musical
Funny Girl
”:
Ibid.
“It has been commonly said . . . that the musical
Funny Girl
”:
Ibid.
115
“Most Broadway musicals are dead”:
Ibid.
“Most Broadway musicals are dead”:
Ibid.
116
“She is not quite up to the task”:
The New York Morning Telegraph
, September 20, 1968.
“She is not quite up to the task”:
The New York Morning Telegraph
, September 20, 1968.
116
“The one thing you cannot fault her with is that she is unique”:
Ibid.
“The one thing you cannot fault her with is that she is unique”:
Ibid.
116
“She simply drips as unself-consciously”:
Kael,
The New Yorker
(September 28, 1968).
“She simply drips as unself-consciously”:
Kael,
The New Yorker
(September 28, 1968).
117
“Glamour is what Julie Andrews doesn’t have”:
Kael,
The New Yorker
(October 26, 1968).
“Glamour is what Julie Andrews doesn’t have”:
Kael,
The New Yorker
(October 26, 1968).
117
“merely coarsen[ed] her shining nice-girl image”:
Ibid.
“merely coarsen[ed] her shining nice-girl image”:
Ibid.
117
“When an actress has been a star for a long time”:
Kael,
The New Yorker
(November 9, 1968).
“When an actress has been a star for a long time”:
Kael,
The New Yorker
(November 9, 1968).
118
“She hated that kind of thing”:
Author interview with Jane Kramer, February 24, 2009.
“She hated that kind of thing”:
Author interview with Jane Kramer, February 24, 2009.
118
“there was a always a fair amount of drama in getting the copy out of Penelope Gilliatt”:
Author interview with Jane Beirn, February 20, 2009.
“there was a always a fair amount of drama in getting the copy out of Penelope Gilliatt”:
Author interview with Jane Beirn, February 20, 2009.
119
“Gina was a lovely girl”:
Author interview with Tresa Hughes, September 20, 2009.
“Gina was a lovely girl”:
Author interview with Tresa Hughes, September 20, 2009.
119
“I think she had more of a sense of fellowship and community on the West Coast”:
Ibid.
“I think she had more of a sense of fellowship and community on the West Coast”:
Ibid.
119
“Brian would say, ‘I’ve got only three three minutes of film’”:
Author interview with Rutanya Alda, April 26, 2009.
“Brian would say, ‘I’ve got only three three minutes of film’”:
Author interview with Rutanya Alda, April 26, 2009.
120
“I did my own share of soul-wrestling”:
Interview
(April 1989).
“I did my own share of soul-wrestling”:
Interview
(April 1989).
120
“a direct and lucid movie”:
Kael,
The New Yorker
(December 28, 1968).
“a direct and lucid movie”:
Kael,
The New Yorker
(December 28, 1968).
120
“almost magical lack of surprise”:
Ibid.
“almost magical lack of surprise”:
Ibid.
120
“In film, concentrating on a few elements gives those elements such importance”:
Ibid.
“In film, concentrating on a few elements gives those elements such importance”:
Ibid.
121
“She was sore because she was only paid half a salary”:
Author interview with Jane Kramer, February 24, 2009.
“She was sore because she was only paid half a salary”:
Author interview with Jane Kramer, February 24, 2009.
122
“There is so much talk now about the art of the film”:
Harper’s
(February 1969).
“There is so much talk now about the art of the film”:
Harper’s
(February 1969).
122
“because it’s smart in a lot of ways that better-made pictures aren’t”:
Ibid.
“because it’s smart in a lot of ways that better-made pictures aren’t”:
Ibid.
122
“But they are almost the maximum of what we’re now getting from American movies”:
Ibid.
“But they are almost the maximum of what we’re now getting from American movies”:
Ibid.
122
“At the movies we want a different kind of truth”:
Ibid.
“At the movies we want a different kind of truth”:
Ibid.
122
“connects with their lives in an immediate”:
Ibid.
“connects with their lives in an immediate”:
Ibid.
123
“I don’t trust anyone who doesn’t admit”:
Ibid.
“I don’t trust anyone who doesn’t admit”:
Ibid.
123
“obscenely self-important”:
Ibid.
“obscenely self-important”:
Ibid.
123
“a celebration of cop-out”:
Ibid.
“a celebration of cop-out”:
Ibid.
123
“to think of himself as a myth-maker”:
Ibid.
“to think of himself as a myth-maker”:
Ibid.
123
“Trash has given us an appetite for art”:
Ibid.
“Trash has given us an appetite for art”:
Ibid.
123
“She’s such a sweet girl”:
Tagline for
Pretty Poison.
“She’s such a sweet girl”:
Tagline for
Pretty Poison.
124
“When I discovered that
Pretty Poison
had opened without advance publicity or screenings”:
Kael,
The New Yorker
(November 2, 1968).
“When I discovered that
Pretty Poison
had opened without advance publicity or screenings”:
Kael,
The New Yorker
(November 2, 1968).
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