#Noirvember2018 kicks off with the 1972 film from director Sam Peckinpah, The Getaway. Based on the novel by
Jim Thompson and adapted by Walter Hill, the film stars Steve McQueen as Doc McCoy and Ali MacGraw as Carol McCoy, two young lovers with nothing better to do than rob a bank with the duplicitous Rudy Butler (Al Lettieri) and the barely-a-character Jack Dodson (Bo Hopkins). Let’s just say that things don’t go as well as they should.
Special Guests: Rudy Wurlitzer, David Wolf, Paul Seydor Guest Co-Hosts: David Lambert, Mike Faloon
Released in 1973 in a truncated form, Sam Peckinpah’s Pat Garrett & Billy the Kid has had a long, contentious history. We’ll be talking about that as well as the film itself in which Kris Kristofferson plays the titular Billy the Kid. He’s the friend and eventual enemy of James Coburn as Pat Garrett. The film stars a host of familiar faces and character actors with this speaking to the passing of the torch from one generation of Westerns to the next... Or perhaps snuffing that flame.
Author Mike Faloon and artist David Lambert join Mike discuss Peckinpah's film. Interviews include screenwriter Rudy Wurlitzer (Two Lane Blacktop), Bob Dylan scholar David Wolf, and author/editor Paul Seydor (The Authentic Death and Contentious Afterlife of Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid: The Untold Story of Peckinpah's Last Western Film).
Special Guest: Toby Roan Guest Co-Hosts: Paul Zimmerman, Jamey Duvall
Based on Charles Neider's book The Authentic Death of Hendry Jones, One-Eyed Jacks (1961) tells the tale of Rio AKA The Kid, played by Marlon Brando, and Dad Longsworth, played by Karl Malden. The two are outlaws who take very different paths, the Kid being a "noble" criminal while Dad eventually becomes a servant of the law. We watch them spar in the coastal Californian city of Monterrey where the tumultuous water serves as a metaphor for the raging emotions inside each man.
The film was originally supposed to have been a powerhouse production with Sam Peckinpah writing the adaptation, Stanley Kubrick directing, and Brando as the star. But things don't always work out the way they're supposed to. Instead, this became the first and only film that Brando directed.
Special Guest: Gordon Williams, David Weddle Guest Co-Host: Maitland McDonagh, Eric J. Peterson
No stranger to controversy, Sam Peckinpah's Straw Dogs (1971) examines the nature of man, marriage, and more. The film stars Dustin Hoffman as David Sumner, a mathematician who moves to the south of England with his native wife, Amy (Susan George) where he upsets the status quo. The situation erupts in violence and terror.
Maitland McDonagh and Eric J. Peterson join Mike to discuss Peckinpah's film as well as Rod Lurie's 2011 remake. A few Turkish remakes are also compared to the original and U.S. remake.
The author of the book Straw Dogs was based on, The Siege at Trencher's Farm, Gordon Williams, and the author of If They Move... Kill 'Em!, David Weddle, discuss the background of the film.
As part of our coverage of Trancers, Mike spoke to actor, comedian, surfer Tim Thomerson about his career. Hear him talk about working with Stella Adler, David Letterman, Clint Eastwood, Sam Peckinpah, Mel Gibson, Lance Henriksen, Brion James, Terry Gilliam, and more.
Warren Oates gives a powerhouse performance in Bring Me the Head of Alfredo Garcia (1974), a tale of murder and intrigue south of the border. We talked to screenwriter Gordon Dawson and cultography author Ian Cooper about this underrated an Sam Peckinpah gem.