Hollywood Man (1976) review

 
HOLLYWOOD MAN 1976

William Smith (Rafe Stoker), Mary Woronov (Julie Martin), Ray Giardin (Harvey), Jennifer Billingsley (Buttons), Don Stroud (Barney), Jude Farese (Rhodes), Tom Simcox (the Sheriff), Carmine Caridi (Anthony), Angelo Farese (Angelo Russo), Michael Delano (J.J.), John Alderman (Jesus), Wade Preston (Tex), Clay Tanner (Dave)

Directed by Jack Starrett

"Make a good movie, Mr. Hollywood."

The Short Version: One of the most unusual 70s Drive-in pictures is this occasionally rowdy, rough around the edges exploitation movie about making exploitation movies. It comes to you from celluloid specialist Jack Starrett. Tough Guy William Smith is an actor and film director--but still a Tough Guy--who runs into A LOT of trouble after taking mob money to finish his movie. If you enjoyed Starrett thrillers like RACE WITH THE DEVIL and A SMALL TOWN IN TEXAS, you'll wanna meet up with the HOLLYWOOD MAN.

Rafe Stoker is a struggling actor turned filmmaker who needs $375,000 to make his magnum opus, but his boss won't pony up. Desperate, and ignoring his producer's warnings, Rafe cuts a deal with local mobsters for the dough. They agree, but only under the stipulation he complete the picture in four weeks; otherwise he loses his house, his assets, and everything else he owns. Literally signing his life away, Rafe takes them at their word, only these wiseguys have no plans on keeping it. They send a psychotic biker and his motley crew of crazies to shake things up to keep Rafe from finishing on time even if it means raping and killing a few people along the way.

HOLLYWOOD MAN is one of the great unsung exploitation pictures of the 1970s. If you love Drive-in movies, HOLLYWOOD MAN has a little something for every lover of low budget genre fare. You got stunts, you got drama, you got deranged motorcyclists, you got the shadiest sheriff this side of the MACON COUNTY LINE (1974), you got gratuitous violence, and then there's the Toughest Tough Guy of them all, Big Bill Smith. To sweeten the deal, Smith not only wrote, but produced the damn thing.  Incidentally, all that's missing is a 'Based On A True Story' title card since the financiers of HOLLYWOOD MAN were mobsters. Thankfully, the meat and potatoes of the movie wasn't recreated afterward. There is, however, a foreshadowing title card that states 'You always find out what something is worth when you pay for it.'

 
The Mob connection with movies was nothing new, but it made for a great idea to build a movie around. Considering the dangerous situations Hong Kong personalities found themselves in once the Triads infiltrated the film industry there--particularly in the 1990s, the plotline of HOLLYWOOD MAN isn't as sensationalized as you might expect.

"Why'd you waste your money showing me this crap? Bike movies are out."

If you're familiar with Smith and director Starrett, HOLLYWOOD MAN feels like you're watching a movie about making a Jack Starrett movie. Starrett had a signature style all his own that, if you'd missed seeing his 'Directed by' credit, you'd still be able to recognize his style. It's also something of a tribute to the biker genre that both Starrett and Smith had a major hand in popularizing. This was the third and last time the two worked together; the previous pictures being biker cult favorites RUN, ANGEL, RUN (1969) and THE LOSERS (1970).

Chock full of great ideas and self-referential humor, about the only negative to be levied at this unconventional actioner is its lack of a sufficient budget to do it complete and total justice. It's still quite a great deal of fun, and frequently engaging. Starrett was gifted in that he could take 90 minutes and give it equal helpings of exposition and exploitation. Similar to HOLLYWOOD BOULEVARD (1976), Starrett's 'making of a movie movie' is far more serious, and punctuated with some shocking violence. The script has a few surprises up its sleeve that you may, or may not see coming. The picture starts off with a fairly light tone, then quickly nosedives into LAST HOUSE ON THE LEFT territory with motorcycles and movie sets.

If Krug and his goons rode hogs, they'd look like Harvey and his gang of misfit thugs. Ray Giardin is off the charts as the increasingly demented mob enforcer, Harvey ("I was in Spartacus with Kirk Douglas"); a mad biker who, if his irrational emotional state is anything to go by, is a huge fan of Jack Nicholson. Giardin's scenes with Smith are some of the best in the movie. From their first uncomfortable meeting where Harvey, before getting knocked on his ass, says, "2 1/2 weeks I worked with ya' on RUN, ANGEL, RUN, for chrissakes", to the unsettling moment where Harvey again threatens both Rafe and his girlfriend in a restaurant, Giardin wrote a fantastic bad guy for himself (co-wrote with William Smith). Working mostly in television, it's unfortunate that Giardin never did more film work than he did since he made such a fantastic sadist in this.

Harvey's main muscle is this guy named Rhodes. A big and dumb brute with the mind of a child and the will of a killer, Rhodes is the live-action version of one of those clumsy Warner Bros. cartoon characters who dote after their much smaller in stature, but much smarter second half. Played by Jude Farese, he plays the role just like a cartoon with a bit of the retarded giant from Steinbeck's 'Of Mice and Men' thrown in; on a few occasions, Rhodes strength gets the best of his easily influenced mind resulting in dialog like, "I didn't mean to kill him/her, Harvey."

"Look, you came on my set, you shot a couple a holes in the generator, and I punched ya' in the mouth... let's call that even. But I wanna tell ya', if I see ya' again... or ya' get back on my set, and I don't give a shit about that gorilla there... I'm a' hurt you. Now I wanna be clear."

William Smith is the Hollywood Man of the title. Smith bypasses his usual evildoer to play the hero of the piece. As much as fans love to hate him when he's a villain, he's just as likable orating Tough Guy dialog with the utmost sincerity as a protagonist. Smith probably smiles more in this movie than much of his career put together. When he smiles in HOLLYWOOD MAN, it's genuine as opposed to a prelude to violence as is often the case in all your finer Smith as malefactor roles. A shame this movie isn't more well known. It's one of Smith's more interesting roles not just because he's playing a gentle giant of sorts, but because of the storyline.

Jennifer Billingsley is one of the more magnetic characters found in the script. Playing Harvey's pathetic, if unstable woman, Buttons, she's desperate for affection from her man, but he couldn't be less interested. Even though she's only slightly less despicable than the rest of the pack, she is able to occasionally derive a modicum of audience sympathy before wiping it away a few minutes later. The major set piece with her in the wedding dress in the ocean is a highlight. Billingsley appeared with Smith in his more lightly toned biker movie, C.C. AND COMPANY (1970). Possessing a fantastic body, exploitation fans will know her from BRUTE CORPS (1971), WELCOME HOME, SOLDIER BOYS (1971), WHITE LIGHTNING (1973), and THE THIRSTY DEAD (1974).

There's so many familiar faces in this, most of which were friends of Smith including Giardin, Woronov, and Don Stroud. Woronov, of course, is known for her work in films like DEATH RACE 2000 (1975), ROCK AND ROLL HIGH SCHOOL (1979), and EATING RAOUL (1982). Her role as Smith's girlfriend is mostly window dressing and, surprisingly, considering her cult status, she's probably the least interesting character in the entire film.

Don Stroud, another Tough Guy who was friends with stunt master Robert Conrad and his co-star William Smith, was a black belt, a surfer, and a bouncer before getting into movies. You've seen him in Eastwood flicks like COOGAN'S BLUFF (1968) and JOE KIDD (1972). He played the lead hero in the AIP biker flick ANGEL UNCHAINED (1970), and the sadist menacing Brenda Vaccaro in THE HOUSE BY THE LAKE (1976). With his friend, Robert Conrad, he co-starred in LIVE A LITTLE, STEAL A LOT (1975) and the Filipino exploitationer, SUDDEN DEATH (1975).

 
Another friend of Smith is Hollywood stuntman and motorcycle enthusiast Gary Littlejohn. He isn't in a featured role, but he is onscreen pulling off some of the bike stunts.

The soundtrack is kind of chaotic, a bit all over the place. There's this epic main theme by the Neil Diamond styled singer, stage actor Tony Chance. It's a good tune, but it creeps up at awkward times; one of which is a tender moment between Smith and Woronov. We can't hear what they're saying because the song is playing over the dialog. The song again interrupts the flow of the finale, if briefly. It's moments like this where the low budget shines through.

 
Till a restored, widescreen version of HOLLYWOOD MAN surfaces, its virtues will remain unrealized. As it is (in its longer 90 minute cut), it's one of Smith's stand out titles in his lengthy filmography, and one of Jack Starrett's least discussed, most creative works. Recommended for fans of both, as well as those with a fondness for 70s Drive-in fare and exploitation cinema from a time period where it was at its most creative.

This review is based on the longer 90 minute version of HOLLYWOOD MAN (1976).

Raid On Entebbe (1977) review

RAID ON ENTEBBE 1977

Peter Finch (Yitzhak Rabin), Charles Bronson (General Dan Shomron), Yaphet Kotto (Idi Amin), Martin Balsam (Daniel Cooper), Horst Buchholz (Wilfred Boese), John Saxon (General Benny Peled), Jack Warden (General Mordecai Gur), Sylvia Sidney (Dora Bloch), Robert Loggia (Yigal Allon), Tige Andrews (Shimon Peres), Eddie Constantine (Captain Becaud), David Opatoshu (Menachem Begin), Allan Arbus (Eli Melnick), Stephen Macht (Lieutenant Colonel Yonni Netanyahu), James Woods (Captain Sammy Berg)

Directed by Irvin Kershner

The Short Version: The true story of the ballsy Israeli commando rescue of hostages held by terrorists at Uganda's Entebbe Airport is brought to the screen by Irvin Kershner in this gripping 1977 Television production. Superb acting pulls you into the action, and a pseudo documentary approach gives the impression you're there watching it unfold. The tension is high leading up to the spectacularly mounted action climax, the Raid On Entebbe.

Air France flight 139 is hijacked by Palestinian terrorists, landing the airbus at Entebbe Airport in Uganda. With the cooperation of dictator Idi Amin, the Jewish passengers are grouped together and threatened with death if demands for the release of 53 revolutionaries aren't met. Of course, the demands change to make the already reluctant negotiations more difficult. Against all odds and with little time to spare, the Israeli military, in complete secrecy, launches Operation Thunderbolt, a covert rescue operation to free the passengers.

Simply one of the best Made For Television films ever produced about one of history's greatest examples of heroism. The famous raid occurred on July 4th, 1976; it didn't take Hollywood long to mount not one, but two films based on the event. First out of the gate was VICTORY AT ENTEBBE, released to TV in December of 1976. Like RAID, it too had a big cast, only Kershner's picture (released to TV less than a month later) was the stronger of the two in its cast, its storytelling, and in its longevity. In 1977, Menahem Golan directed the Israeli production of OPERATION THUNDERBOLT (that featured Klaus Kinski and Sybil Danning in its cast), a picture that, aside from its original multilingual format, had an English language version produced for the international market. Menahem retold the story once more for his Cannon company in 1986 by weaving the true account around American Action Hero escapism with macho classic, THE DELTA FORCE.

The class act that was RAID ON ENTEBBE (1977) didn't go unnoticed; it won a Golden Globe for Best Motion Picture For Television, and won two Emmy Awards for Best Cinematography and Sound Editing. The film was nominated for eight more awards.

At 140 minutes, the film moves at an unusually speedy pace. The action doesn't come till the last 20 minutes. Thanks to the tight editing, the picture maintains a tension that builds from one deliberation to the next--between the military planning the rescue with little time on their hands, while diplomats and leaders contemplate whether they should negotiate with terrorists. At times the photography from Emmy winner Bill Butler fluctuates between a 'you are there', documentary feel and modestly epic grandeur.

 
Performances are many, and all are strong across the board. Naturally, Bronson fans will make up the bulk of RAID's audience. Bronson doesn't enter the frame till about 30 minutes in, but you will hear his characters name a few times to build his entrance. To be clear so the man's fans won't be disappointed, RAID ON ENTEBBE isn't technically a Bronson movie; it's an ensemble film that happens to have Bronson in it. The marketing of the movie often sold it as a Bronson movie both here and abroad, the latter of which it played theatrically. 

Yaphet Kotto isn't quite as outrageous as the late Joseph Olita's portrayal, that is, the ultimate portrayal of Idi Amin in AMIN: THE RISE AND FALL (1981), but he subtlely captures the psychotic tendencies of the dictatorial, egomaniacal madman who butchered hundreds of thousands of people. Amin's paranoia and penchant for propaganda shines through during his handful of scenes. None of Amin's sadism is touched on, but if you are familiar with him, it makes Kotto's performance all the more threatening. Whenever he visits the captured passengers, he has an entourage with him who look a slight bit uncomfortable about the scenario; rightfully so considering the paranoid Amin would kill you for next to nothing. Loving the spotlight, cameras constantly go off, capturing Uganda's then tyrannical ruler posing for photos with a forced grin on his face. His hatred of Jews adds a layer of unsettling horror to the scene where he spies a young Jewish boy among the hostages, laughing and putting his arm around the child.

The actual real life raid was a humiliation to Amin. Naturally, he politicized the incident immediately afterward in an effort to make himself appear the victim. Retaliation came with violence towards Kenya since they aided Israel by allowing them to refuel for the trip back home. Also, one of the hostages, Dora Bloch, became ill while she was held captive. This is covered in the film. The scene where Bloch has a brief conversation with Amin is eerie in hindsight knowing what lay ahead for her. Taken to a hospital, Amin had her murdered the day after the raid. An end title on the film states she was never seen again. After Amin was deposed, Bloch's remains were discovered in 1979. According to reports released years later, Dora Bloch was shot, and her face badly burned.

 
Stephen Macht and James Woods put in good supporting roles as members of the commando unit, the former being the man who leads the raid, Yonni Netanyahu. If the last name sounds familiar, Yonni was the older brother to current Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu. Yonni was the only member of the Israeli forces who died during the raid. Other casualties amounted to three hostages and the aforementioned Dora Bloch.

 
The motley clutch of terrorists, a radical leftist bunch, are made up of The Popular Front For the Liberation of Palestine and Che Guevera's Gaza Brigade. As Horst Buchholz informs us near the beginning, the reason for the hijacking is to barter release of a slew of imprisoned extremists and to punish the French for dealing with "fascist, bloodthirsty, imperialist Israeli's". While the other performers playing the all too willing to die terrorists, Buchholz seems to not be totally free of humanity; at least he's the only one given enough screen time to appear as something other than a trigger-happy killer. He and Balsam share some great scenes together. During the raid, Buchholz intends to end things quickly with a grenade. He looks over and sees his captive (played by Balsam), puts down the grenade and settles for a machine gun battle instead.

Kershner will always be widely known for helming THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK (1980), the best of the original STAR WARS trilogy. Other titles in his filmography include NEVER SAY NEVER AGAIN (1983) and ROBOCOP 2 (1990).

 
Movies made for TV often look just that--constrained by the parameters that the medium allows. With a substantial budget in the 3 million range, RAID ON ENTEBBE is one of those rare exceptions where the film looks and feels much bigger than its small screen destination often offers. Overseas, Kershner's picture got theatrical play--the format it has more in common with. Well worth tracking down if you're a Bronson fan, love action films, or if you wish to see a more serious minded alternate to the above-mentioned Chuck Norris classic, THE DELTA FORCE (1986).

This review is representative of the Second Sight R2 UK DVD. There are no extras.