After a TCM film fest screening of “Fall Guy,” a rare film noir from 1947 starring Leo Penn (Sean’s dad), producer Walter Mirisch (right) talked with author Foster Hirsch. Mirisch went on to produce “The Magnificent Seven,” “West Side Story,” “The Great Escape,” “The Pink Panther” and “In the Heat of the Night,” among many others. The screening and talk were Saturday, April 14, at the TCM Classic Film Festival in Hollywood.
Producer Walter Mirisch talks with author Foster Hirsch after ‘Fall Guy,’ a rare film noir, at TCM fest
April 18, 2012 By 1 Comment
Weimar Noir. Not sure how many film noirs have been set in the Weimar republic era, but the seedy seduction of Berlin cabarets, the explosion of sexual taboos(85000 lesbians lived in Berlin at the peak-around 1935)contrasted with the bleak prospects of work for the underclass, the returning soldiers of WWI, the hand-to-mouth(so to speak)day to day survival of prostitutes seems to me a pretty ripe setting.Cabaret acts themselves were a decadent blend of showbiz and unlawfullness. One dancer and performer(performance artist really)would berate the audience, writhe and croon bizarre, harshly satirical songs, then urinate on the stage. Life was cheap. Bodies piled up in nearby parks while socialites in flapper dresses strolled the streets, clueless as to what was coming soon: Hitler and the crushing end of the party.