Poe ushers directo

Robert Aiken
Contributing Writer

MY remarkably renascent old friend, motion picture
director, Curtis Harrington, whom TIME magazine
has referred to as, “Edgar Allan Poc with a mega-
phone,” bas come full circle.

He has happily completed, at age 73, Usher, a short film in
which he plays both the leading male and female roles. His cam-
eraman, Gary Graver (Orson Welles’ right-hand-man during the
Jast ten years of his life), I introduced to him (early °60s) when I
was new to Hollywood as
young actor, Ford Dunhill’

Curtis’ first movie, The Fall
of the House of User (1942),
was shot in 8mm black and
white. “I convinced my par-
ents that they should give me
an Sms camera by the aime |
was cleven. When fourteen, |
made a very short version of
The Fall of The House of Usher,

‘which is still amusing to sce. 1
had a 16mm print made, so I
do show it from time to time.
It’s a simple little four or five
minute film which suggests
certain preoccupations and
even techniques used much
later in my films.”

Regarding Usher, Curtis
tells me that he had been fallow for too long. Circumstances
were felicitous. He had been impressed by Graver's excellent cin-
ematography for Orson on the yet to be released, The Other Side
Of The Wind. Gary was available. The money was there. He is
pleased with the result.

He is alse working on his autobiography, Nice People Don’t
Work In Hollywood. Indeed, he has accumulated a fiery reservoir
of “attitude” toward “this ruthless business.”

Years ago, he announced to me that he would one day
ensconce himself in Ojai and write, Mysterious Ways. The Ojai
vailey, north of L.A., is where I introduced Curtis to J.
prapnamurth “The spiritual light of my life,” he claims, grateful-

. Svon, there is going to be another retrospective of his films
(there was an event in 1987 at USC, in associatien with The
American Cinémathéque, called, “Madness and Mystery” — A
Tribute to Curtis Harrington). ;

He is elated that MGM has new prints of, What's The Matter
Wath Helen (1971) and Whoever Slew Auntie Roo, and that
Universal has perfect prints of, Games (1967). The Academy has
a new print of Night Tede (1963) and they are collecting all of his

I couldn’t be happier for him. He has struggled for so many
years: He deserves to be fully acknowledged for the exquisitely
and excruciatingly sensitive, authentic, intellectual poet/artist
(visual esthete) of the cinema that he is. developed al

lL ly, would never have grown or dev: lon,
corte dllecead and artistic lines had it not been for our 0:
ciation. The pictures we would see together; most of those of the
great Robert Bresson, the works of Jean Cocteau, René Clair, his
friend Josef von Sternberg, who said to me, “We must pierce
through the ‘piffle’,” che Welles pictures that hardly anyone has

> Photo Jean Luc Godard

“ROBERT Alken (left) and Curtis Harrington pose for
this snapshot taken by Jean Luc Godard at USC in
the 1960s. Godard called L.A. “a huge garage”.

seen, Luis Bunuel, René Clément, Clouzot, Godard, Maya
Deren, Dreyer, D.W. Griffith, Fassbinder, Georges Franju,
Rouben Mamoulian, Joseph Losey, Kurasawa, Kubrick (whom
Curtis knew quite well), Pier Paolo Pasolini, Truffaut, Agnes
Varda, etc.

’- Curtis has been a serious fan of Marlene Dietrich, practically
worships The Scarlet Empress and The Devil Is A Woman (Jo von
Sternberg). To this day, he sees everything “of interest,” and he’s
interested in almost everything; vitally aware of cultural continu-
ity. He knows more about movies, and who did what, where,
when, who with, and under what circumstances, than anyone I
have ever known or heard of.

Not that we always agree. We recently had a lively discussion
about Magnolia: I liked it, he hated ic. “That P-T. Anderson
thinks he’s a tin god, running around town with his
entourage...” “Well, Curtis, did you like Boggie Night?” {preg-
nant pause) “Much better picture! Not so goddamned overindui
" gent!” And on he goes...passionately. :

Curtis has been a movie theatre usher, a messenger at
Paramount, a stagehand; has studied film at USC and UCLA and

: . Photo
CURTIS Harrington (right), Dennis Hopper (seated} and Cameron on the set of Night Tide (1969).

at all those early 50s screenings at the Cinémathéque in Paris.
He wrote criticism for Sight and Sound and Cahiers du Cinéma.
He was, with Maya Deren and Kenneth Anger, 3 foremost avant-
garde picture maker (late 1940's). His early short films between
1946 and 1955 are considered to be seminal in experimental cin-
ema: Fragment Of Seeking (1946), Picnic (1948), On The Edge
(1949), The Wormwood Star (‘55), a portrait of painter, Cameron
Parsons, The Asignation (1953), set in Venice, Italy (inspired by
Poe). He stopped making shorts in 1956; his work not well
exhibited, and his scope limited by the need to finance himself.

Once quoted in Film Culture: “Inspired by admiration for
those who have, even if only momentuily, crossed the commer-
cial chasm, I am attempting to tread gingerly that hovering,
swaying tightrope as well.”

In 1957, Curtis began working for Jerry Wald Productions at
2Cth Century Fox. He was the liaison between Wald and various
writers at work on his scripts. He learned a lot about construc-
tion/structure.  .

In 1960, he gathered the funds to make Night Tide, a hor-
ror/thriller/love story which captures the charms of Venice
(California). The theme of the picture is expressed by: “And so,
all the night tide, [ lie down by the side of my darling-my dar-
ling-my life and my bride...in her sepulchre there by the sca...in
her tomb by the sounding sea.”

Night Tide was shot for $75,000 at the Santa Monica Pier
and thereabouts. It is evocative, dreamlike. It features Dennis
Hopper, the canals and bridges of a Venice that is no more and a
siren who is (perhaps) an actual mermaid. This represented
Curtis’ shift to feature filmmaking. His later pictures continued
in that discombobulating vein...strangely poetic “chillers” as
much Jean Cocteau as Roger Corman.

Curtis’ best films have occult/esoteric references (tarot cards,
astrology, etc.) and uncommon performances by the likes of Ann
Sothern, Shelley Winters, Debbie Reynolds and Gloria Swanson.

’ We first met on the steps of the 20th century Fox commis-
sary. We had heard of one another. He was intrigued by my
astrological orientation. I informed him that he had begun
shooting Night Tide during a
phenomenon known Sh
“Mercury retrograde.” The
first day’s shooting had been
disastrous. The film was
fogged. They had to start over.
“Typical,” I exclaimed. “Never
again,” he resolved.

We became close friends
and regular movie-going com-
panions. At the time, I enter-
tained the notion of writing
and directing (although my
instincts were not very com-
mercial).

At one point, I needed
more footage on myself, and
so | wrote a script based upon
three scenes with Marlon
Brando and Mai Britt in The
Young Lions. | called it, War
Episode and Curtis and { rent-
ed a small studio, a 35 mm
camera, lights and a small crew
(the works), dressed the set
with his living room furniture
(most of which was art nou-
veau), and he directed me, and
our friend, Florence Marly (of
Tokyo Joe fame... she had

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starred with Bogart).

A twenty minute picture which demonstrated that I looked
good and coinfortable in military uniform and could fake smok-
ing with ease and emulate Brando with the best of them (a mis-
take). I was distracted by Florence’s acid peeled skin... expected
to make fove to a face as smeoth as a baby’s and the neck and
voice of a much older woman (eerie); also, Curtis’ direction
bore, according to the William Morris boys (my agents), “no
resemblance to the way movies are directed today!” The subject
matter, simply not Curtis’ cup of tea. For all that, the movie led
to a few parts. . .

I was considered good looking enough, but “Could he play a
character?” So, later, I wrote another shor? screenplay (at Curtis’
suggestion) based upon Flannery O’Connor’s darkly comedic
short story, Geed Country People about a young southern Bible
salesman who cons a vulnerable woman into having a picnic with
him, so that he can make off with her wooden leg,

Another one day shoot, 35 mm colour, with Gary Graver on
camera, I was excellent (thick accent, and all). So good, in fact, it
made me dangerously ill (for several days, while Curtis edited the
thing). I have a copy. On the can, a label, which says: Ford
Dunhill (Robert Aiken), Paulle Clark... O’Connor’s Good
Country People and a quote of Carl Jung, “Everyone carries a
shadow, and the less it is embodied in the individual’s conscious
life, the blacker and denser it is. At all counts, it forms an uncon-
scious snag, thwarting our most well-meant intentions.” My way
of justifying having played such a role.

Canadian actress, friend Pauile Clark, was superb. The under-
ground midnight movie crowd loved it (hooting, hoilcring,
rolling in the aisles). Curtis and I sort of co-directed. It eventual-
ly led to a Russ Meyer movie (another Hollywood tale).

Curtis tried to help me along any way he could. Always, a -
loyal friend. He introduced me to Delmer Daves on the Warner
Bros. set of his Young Blood Hawke, Next day, I was given a sig-
nificant part in the picture. I “blew it,” but that’s yer another
story. .

" To be continued next Friday.

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