It’s easy to romanticize the filmmaking of the late sixties and early seventies. Looking back it seems that it was a time of change from the old who ruled Hollywood to the new who were taking it over. There was room for adventure, violence, creation. Against the backdrop of Vietnam, Nixon, and a constant struggle between the counterculture and authority it was a period of change in Hollywood and the country as a whole. Released in 1973 James William Guercio’s Electra Glide in Blue is a product of the cultural situation surrounding it. It’s a reflection on and criticism of America as it was. It’s a search for a moral position in a land filled with moral confusion. Misread as fascist and a glorification of police brutality at Cannes, Electra Glide is not that simple.
The plot is driven by a murder but the film is hardly about that. Diminutive traffic cop Johnny Wintergreen dreams of one day getting off of his motorcycle and into a suit. When he stumbles across the body of a local hermit, he questions why a man would commit suicide by shooting himself in the chest and not the head. He’s convinced it’s murder. What could be Johnny’s chance to make detective instead turns to be a test of Johnny’s convictions. Is his dream worth giving up the honor that he lives by?
Shot in the desert of Arizona, Electra Glide is a constant contrast between the wide-open beauty of the land and the claustrophobic moral corruption of the people. The inhabitants of the desert are broken, lost people. It’s a land of ruined dreams. Johnny, or Big John as his friends and lover call him, is the unique voice of hope. He still believes that he can reach his dream through honest hard work. He refuses bribes, he won’t plant evidence, and he prefers talk and reason to violence and power.
For Johnny there is no ambiguity, there is only right and wrong but there is still empathy and understanding. There is a sense of innocence about Johnny that is prepossessing; the audience cannot help but like him. He could easily be a best friend. Part of the character’s attraction can be attributed to the script but most of the credit belongs to actor Robert Blake. His performance is just phenomenal. He exudes charm with his winsome smile and he succeeds in drawing the audience in by making Johnny as sympathetic as he is.
At only 5 feet 4 inches Robert Blake spends most of the film looking up at the actors around him. It seems an appropriate metaphor, Johnny is not necessarily looking up to the people of his acquaintance but he does seem to be overlooked by them. Everyone is so lost in their own problems and self-pity that they take for granted (or take advantage of) the honest goodness of Johnny’s character. He spends a lot of time with his friend and fellow officer Zipper but their differences could not be more apparent. Zipper prefers to sit in the shade and is all too ready to slip a bag of weed into a hippie’s luggage. When Zipper starts shooting at bikers during a motorcycle chase through Phoenix, Johnny knocks Zipper off of his bike. Zipper may be Johnny’s best friend but Johnny’s commitment to rightness is what he stands by.
The film ends tragically but the tragedy is present from the beginning. There is no real place for Johnny in his world and one can only wonder how long it will be before his hope is too extinguished. The film ends in the only real place it could have. It’s an ending that is also easy to appreciate. Unlike most films with endings that might be considered a surprise, there was a lot that I just did not see coming. The events were however motivated and set up from the beginning. I love that Electra Glide seems to trust in the intelligence of the audience and doesn’t feel that it is necessary to spell everything out for us. Granted, the exposition can be a bit much at times but for the most part the characters are developed through actions and not dialogue. A subtlety that I appreciate.
The cinematography in Electra Glide is superb. From vast landscapes to seedy bars, every shot adds depth to an already deep film. Mirroring Johnny’s position in life, the camera frames him as either a tiny speck in the desert or as a person barely fitting in the frame. Frequently we are given shots of just his boot or his torso, framing that serves to emphasize the fact that he is an outsider in his community while it is at the same time fetishizing him, his uniform, and all that he represents. This film isn’t glorifying the corruption of the police force; it’s glorifying the potential for goodness. The camera loves Johnny and Johnny is the only character in the film worth loving.
Guercio was able to get the wonderfully talented Conrad Hall (Cool Hand Luke, In Cold Blood, American Beauty) as cinematographer, a wise move indeed. Reportedly, Guercio approached Hall only to obtain a recommendation for a cameraman. Guercio couldn’t afford to hire Hall on the budget for Electra Glide but when Hall expressed interest in taking the job himself, Guercio decided to give his own salary to Hall. Guercio accepted only a dollar to shoot Electra Glide.
Electra Glide has been called a masterpiece and I don’t think that evaluation is far off the mark. While there is the occasional speech that goes on for a little too long and it does have its moments of camp, Electra Glide takes itself very seriously. Like its hero Johnny, it’s an honest film. It’s not oblivious to the condition of the world around it but it does hope to stand above it.
Electra Glide in Blue was Guercio’s first and only film and for a first effort it’s incredible. He has a talent and an obvious knack for the craft of filmmaking. Great care went into the making of Electra Glide. The film’s ending isn’t its only tragedy. The fact that Guercio never again filled the big screen with his vision is an even greater one.
Electra Glide in Blue was broadcast as part of Turner Classic Movies’ program TCM Underground. Hosted by Rob Zombie (House of 1000 Corpses, The Devil's Rejects, renowned musician), TCM Underground shows a selection of cult films. It airs every Friday night at 2 am on the East Coast (earlier in different time zones, I recommend checking your local listings for the exact time in your area). They’ve shown a variety of films including a Russ Meyer’s double feature of Faster Pussycat! Kill! Kill! and Mudhoney, George Romero’s Night of the Living Dead, and Ed Wood’s Bride of the Monster. Upcoming films include the Tod Browning films Freaks and Mark of the Vampire and Brian DePalma’s Sisters. Check out the website for more information. TCM Underground
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment