house guest Archives - Jeremy C. Processing

Director – John Huston – 1961 – UK – Cert. – 125m

****

As the Old West fades, a woman tries to navigate the men who appear to be dying with it in the final film of both Marilyn Monroe and Clark Gable – back out in UK cinemas on Friday, June 5th; the season Marilyn Monroe: Self Made Star plays BFI Southbank throughout June and July

Reno, Nevada. Local resident Isabelle (Thelma Ritter from Rear Window, Alfred Hitchcock, 1954; Pickup on South Street, Sam Fuller, 1953; All About Eve, Joseph L. Mankiewicz, 1950) meets garage tow truck driver Guido (Eli Wallach from The Good, The Bad and the Ugly, Sergio Leone, 1966; The Magnificent Seven, John Sturges, 1961; Baby Doll, Elia Kazan, 1956) as he inspects the damage to the car of Roslyn (Marilyn Monroe) who claims, from an upstairs window, that it was caused by men bumping into her vehicle to get her attention.

The worldly Isabelle attempts to coach the hapless Roslyn as to what to say in the divorce court, a service Isabelle would appear to have performed for previous house guests. Following the hearing, and a brief encounter with Roslyn’s ex Raymond (Kevin McCarthy from Invasion of the Body Snatchers, Don Siegel, 1956), the two women head out to a cocktail lounge to celebrate.… Read the rest

Catching Fire:
The Story of
Anita Pallenberg

Directors – Alexis Bloom, Svetlana Zill – 2023 – US – Cert. 15 – 113m

***1/2

The chaotic life of the archetypal rock chick, told through her own words and those of her children – out in UK cinemas on Friday, May 17th

After her death in 2017, Anita Pallenberg’s two surviving children Marlon and Angela discovered a manuscript; she had written an autobiography. Marlon worked his way through it as part of his bereavement process and was so taken with the articulate text that he sought out producers to turn it into a film. (He is one of the film’s executive producers himself, while both directors are credited as among the producers.) Numerous clips from an interview with him are used in this resultant documentary, along with excerpts from Anita’s manuscript voiced by an actress, along with interview footage with Angela and verbal audio from Rolling Stones band member Keith Richards, Anita’s partner for a decade and the father of her children.

Like many of the young generation who rose meteorically to cultural prominence in the swinging sixties, Anita Pallenberg was a war baby. Her first years were accompanied by the sound of falling bombs; as she puts it, she didn’t learn to walk, but to run.… Read the rest