Episode 203: The Radical Stanley Kramer

## Show Notes

We discuss one of the most famous 'message' directors and focus on his films JUDGEMENT AT NUREMBERG, IT'S A MAD, MAD, MAD, MAD WORLD and GUESS WHO'S COMING TO DINNER?
## Films Discussed

* Directed by Stanley Kramer
	+ *The Defiant Ones* (1958)
	+ *On the Beach* (1959)
	+ *Inherit the Wind* (1960)
	+ *Judgement at Nuremberg* (1961)
	+ *It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World* (1963)
	+ *Guess Who's Coming to Dinner* (1967)
	+ *R.P.M.* (1970)
	+ *Bless the Beasts and Children* (1971)
	+ *The Runner Stumbles* (1979)
* Produced by Stanley Kramer
	+ *Champion* (1949) Dir. Mark Robson
	+ *Home of the Brave* (1949) Dir. Mark Robson
	+ *Death of a Salesmen* (1951) Dir. László Benedek
	+ *High Noon* (1952) Dir. Fred Zinnemann
	+ *The 5,000 Fingers of Dr. T.* (1953) Dir. Roy Rowland
	+ *The Wild One* (1953) Dir. László Benedek
* *King Kong* (1933) Dir. Merian C. Cooper & Ernest B. Schoedsack
* *Zombies on Broadway* (1945) Dir. Gordon Douglas
* *Playtime* (1967) Dir. Jacques Tati
* *1941* (1979) Dir. Steven Spielberg
* *The Blues Brothers* (1980) Dir. John Landis
* *Fled* (1996) Dir. Kevin Hooks
* *Rat Race* (2001) Dir. Jerry Zucker
* *Guess Who* (2005) Dir. Kevin Rodney Sullivan
* *I Am Not Your Negro* (2006) Dir. Raoul Peck
* *Green Book* (2018) Dir. Peter Farrelly

## Discussion Notes

* Stanley Kramer: nobody's favorite message director
	+ Earned 85 Academy Awards nominations without studio assistance
	+ Started producing movies after returning from WWII
		- Rented sound-stages and shot quickly, to avoid studio involvement
		- Shifted to directing when competition caught on to his methods
	+ Tackled issues he wanted to tackle, and made big money for it
* Justin: His work is "middlebrow, platitudinous, self-righteous, and liberal"
	+ He made movies for movie lists, and high-school classrooms
* *Judgement at Nuremberg*
	+ A dramatization of the Nuremberg trials - and a good-looking film!
	+ Serves as a compendium of the moral and philosophical dilemmas behind prosecuting the Nazis
* *It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World*
	+ Kramer's attempt at a comedy smorgasbord - great to look at, but no real jokes in it
		- Shot on 70mm Panavision, and birthed the Cinerama Dome for its screening
	+ A comedy cast that was obsolete soon after release
	+ Suffers from its immense length
		- Even Kramer prefers the cut down version
* *Guess Who's Coming to Dinner*
	+ You know exactly where its going when it starts
		- Will: "The *Green Book* of its day"
	+ Big hit when it came out, nominated for Academy Award
		- Also attacked when it came out, Kramer called "un-American"
		- Essentially ended Kramers career
* *The Defiant Ones*
	+ A lean 95-minute prison escape thriller
		- Atmospheric and exciting, with "gargoyle-faced characters"
	+ Ends on a more ambiguous note than most Kramer films

## Listener Letters

* Andy
* What happened to *Teen Wolf*?
	+ Our hosts have never seen it!
	+ Sometimes, it's OK for things to away...

## Post-Outro Discussion

* Our hosts discuss the recent (and possibly last) screening of *Star Kid* on 35mm
	+ It has all the things kid Justin would love!
		- A kid hero, comic books, monsters, and building destruction
	+ Not a great story, but excellent practical effects - and very scary!
		- Will wants to touch that robo-suits ass
* The trend of 90s kids movies having very heavy drama in the middle