Episode 209: The Tender Side of Samuel Fuller

==Show Notes==
: We discuss the two-fisted cinema of Writer/Director Samuel Fuller and focus on PARK ROW and SHOCK CORRIDOR.
==Films Discussed==
* Directed by Samuel Fuller
** The Steel Helmet (1951)
** Fix Bayonets (1951)
** Park Row (1952)
** Pick Up on South Street (1953)
** Forty Guns (1957)
** The Crimson Kimono (1959)
** Shock Corridor (1963)
** The Naked Kiss (1964)
** Shark! (1969)
** The Big Red One (1980)
** White Dog (1982)
** Thieves After Dark (1984)
** Street of No Return (1989)
* It Happened in Hollywood (1937) Dir. Harry Lachman
* The Magnificent Ambersons (1942) Dir. Orson Welles
* Pierrot le Fou (1965) Dir. Jean-Luc Godard
== Discussion Notes ==
* Samuel Fuller - a director of films that grab you by the balls
** His style is recognized as déclassé, 'in your face', or angry, but it also can convey complex and progressive subjects
*** Used B-movie recognition to tackle dangerous subject matter
*** One of Justin's favorite directors
** Traveled the US as a reporter, meeting the poor and marginalized and covering Klan rallies, riots, and Depression-ravaged communities
** Went from journalism in New York to screenwriting in Hollywood, then enlisted in World War II, and eventually returned to Hollywood
** Thrived in the studio system since his pictures made money, but New Hollywood pushed him out the door
** Eventually moved to Paris where he was recognized for the exceptional talent he was
* The Steel Helmet
** Korean war film made while the war was going on
** Fuller's experience in WWII moved him to focus his war films on the camaraderie of soldiers rather than their fighting and needless death
* Pickup on South Street
** A Hollywood anti-communist noir thriller that cares more about the poor dejected lives of it's subjects more than it cares about its anti-communism
** Sets up idea that global politics don't matter when to people who are already miserable in their everyday life
*** 'Death is a way to not be tired anymore'
* Park Row
** A 'big set' movie about a newspaper circulation war in the 1880s
** Displays Fuller's passion for the working-class physicality of journalism
*** Fuller put $200,000 of his own money into the film!
** Has an excellent and lengthy single-take scene
* Forty Guns
** A big Cinemascope black-and-white western
*** Possibly the most widescreen movie ever, say our hosts
* Shock Corridor
** The story of a journalist who goes undercover in a mental institution to solve an unsolved murder
** A Poverty Row film tackled with the highest emotional complexity and visual punchiness Fuller could muster
** Has a stripped down dream-state feel, which explores the thin line between sanity and insanity with disturbing results
* The Naked Kiss
** The story of a prostitute who moves to small town to change her life
** One of Will's favorite opening scenes, where the actress literally attacks the camera
* The Big Red One
** Auto-biographical dream project that was a big hit
*** Was originally 200+ minutes in length, but was cut down against Fuller's wishes
** Came after a long period of Fuller being ousted from Hollywood
* White Dog
** A young woman unknowingly gets a dog that violently attacks black people
*** Originally supposed to be directed by Roman Polanski
** An anti-racist film that attracted negative publicity early on from people who thought it was actually pro-racist
*** Paramount pulled the film, until a programmer tricked them into screening it for a full week instead of a single evening
==Listener Letters==
* No letters this week!
== Post-Outro Discussion ==
* Our hosts took part in a screening of the films of Motern Media 
** A double-bill of Local Legends and Freaky Farley in a sold-out digital theater, with creators Matt Farley and Charles Roxburgh
** The magic of Motern - an unwavering tone and the magic question of 'are they serious?'
** Our hosts discuss the evolution and possible future of Motern Media
Category:Episodes
Category:Samuel Fuller