Steve McQueen Week: The Getaway

"Punch it, baby."
- Doc McCoy

My journey through the filmography of Steve McQueen continues with The Getaway, a heist flick from 1972, co-starring Ali MacGraw (best known for her sappy Love Story role.)
I have yet to be disappointed by any of the McQueen films I've seen so far, and The Getaway was no different. A great action movie, I think the thing I really liked about this movie is that it never dumbed itself down for the audience. So much of the plot goes unspoken, that the twists are genuinely surprising, and the movie takes more than one watch to really capture the nuances of exactly what is happening. If the films maintain the caliber, I may have to take back my negative comments about movies from the 70s.

McQueen plays Doc McCoy, a down on his luck convict who just can't catch a break. When he is refused parole, he sends his devoted wife Carol (MacGraw) in to negotiate his release with a high level official. Doc's plan was that Carol would offer his services as a talented bank robber, however Carol also sleeps with the official, which leads to a great deal of friction later in the film. Doc is released, and sets up a bank robbery that will net the prison boss a cool $500,000. But when things go awry, he and Carol end up on the run from the law, from one of their partners in crime, and a slew of other problems they can't seem to shake, including their own crumbling relationship.

McQueen, as usual, is spot on as Doc, even in the moments where he's unexpectedly raw in is inability to fully readjust to life outside of prison. He is subtle enough to pull it off with real gusto, to the point that when Doc smacks Carol around on the side of the highway, you aren't shocked but rather accepting of it as what he feels she deserves at the time. MacGraw, on the other hand, did nothing to win me over. She had none of the charm of some of McQueen's other leading ladies (especially Natalie Wood). She was inclined to overdo it a bit too much, but she was pretty. Boney as hell, but pretty. McQueen must have agreed, because this was the film that caused both he and MacGraw to leave their spouses and marry each other. A young and exceeding thin Sally Struthers is also featured as the irritatingly slutty Fran, and when she gets her comeuppance from McQueen in a stairwell, it's incredibly satisfying.

Overall, The Getaway works as one hell of an action flick. It's bloody and intense, and the action sequences are a marvel. It also has a sense of humour to keep from getting too overwhelming. There's a great scene where Carol is trying to get the car in gear, and nearly backs over Doc before they can make a getaway.

The movie was remade in 1994 featuring Alec Baldwin and Kim Basinger. I dimly recall seeing it years ago, but it lacked any of the punch of this one. Highly recommended, but only if you can handle a fair amount of violence, some of it directed towards women.

***.5 out of *****
3.5 out of 5

Steve McQueen Week: Love with the Proper Stranger

I don't know what it is. First time in my life I come to see a girl, I feel like I'm 14 years old. Even when I was 14, I didn't feel like that.
- Rocky

There is a very definite difference between romantic comedies today, and those of the 60s and earlier. There was a sense of immediacy to the early rom-coms that is missing now. In modern romantic comedy, it is acceptable to allow the passing of weeks, months, even years, before there is any real finale or resolution. Whereas their early counterparts tended to show the classic whirlwind romances, that spanned mere days. I think, ultimately, the difference was that in the 60s, the belief in the real possibility of love was very genuine. It did not seem like a stretch for people to meet cute, and then fall in love through a series of ridiculous circumstances (see: Bringing Up Baby for the perfect definition of this). In a way I vastly prefer this form of romance because it is more whimsical, and more. . . romantic.

I was watching my new favorite channel (Turner Classic Movies) this weekend, while suffering through a bout of pink eye, and the announcer informed me they would be airing Love with the Proper Stranger, a movie I had never in my life heard of. And honestly, what made me want to watch it was the alusions made to Knocked Up one of my favorite films of 2007.

The plot is pretty basic. A scoundral jazz musician, Rocky, played by Steve McQueen (the role I will always now attribute to teaching me that I loved McQueen), had a one night stand with the lovely Angie, played by Natalie Wood, which resulted in her becoming pregnant. Rocky has no immediate recollection of their time together, when Angie comes to inform him of the outcome. All she asks him for is a doctor. (Bear in mind that in 1963, abortion was still a big scandal, and didn't happen out in the open). Angie's family is strict Italian-Catholic, so the entire event is clouded in shame for her (pre-marital sex, pregnancy, abortion). Rocky, for his part, is equally conflicted by the situation. He foolishly asks his live in girlfriend Barbie if she theoretically knows of any doctors, but she of course sees through it and kicks him to the curb.

Thus begins the series of events that bring the two together romantically rather than physically. Angie and Rocky get together the money for the abortionist, and while waiting to meet the doctor, are spotted by her protective brothers, and led on a chase through Manhatten by foot. They end up in an old factory, and spend time actually learning about each other as people, and find that the connection between them remains, in spite of their sordid past, and Rocky's questionable present. When they eventually reach the abortionist, the situation becomes quite frightening, as Rocky realizes the dangers that face Angie in the unsterile and unprofessional environment.

Rocky decides to make an honest woman of Angie, after the situation becomes apparent to her brothers. But Angie, to her credit, wants nothing to do with it. She refuses to marry Rocky simply out of a sense of duty. It is touching to watch McQueen especially in these scenes, where he is exposed as a genuinely emotional man. Of course, it's a romance, and you know they are meant to be together, but the bulk of the movie is their attempt to push each other away.

Wood is luminous. She is understated when necessary, and melodramatic when it is called for. She is beautiful beyond words in a refined Hepburn-esque manner, but it is her strength that is so refreshing. She faces everything alone, but with her head held high, and I believe Angie's character represents a truly engaging independent woman for her era, in spite of the connections she insists upon keeping.

McQueen, in my biased opinion, is perfect. He embraces the cheese necessary to make the film and character function. Every second he is on screen makes you aware of why they called him the King of Cool. He is. Self-aware and certain, even when he plays it unsure. He pulls off the roll of romantic lead just as easily as he plays a big action hero. He and Wood are both a joy to behold on screen.

The film isn't terribly unique by today's standards, but was likely well ahead of it's time in 1963. It is a genuine and warming love story, that happens in a hurry, but makes you believe that perhaps love is not so impossible after all.

(as a fair warning, Love with the Proper Stranger is NOT currently available on DVD, but if you have one of those old fashioned VCR-things, you can still get it on VHS)

***.5 of *****
3.5 out of 5

Steve McQueen Week: The Towering Inferno

Chief O'Hallorhan: No no, too dangerous, stay out of those elevators.

Flaker: Well then, sir, we'll just trot right up the stairs.

Chief O'Hallorhan: Yeah, you'll just trot right up to 79, huh?

Flaker: [chastened] Standing by in the lobby, sir.

I'm typically one of those people who believes that there is something generally kitschy about movies from the 70s. The bad hair, the ugly clothes, and the oddly washed out colour of the film. It lacks the romance of the still black and white movies of the 60s, and doesn't have the full flair of "technicolor" the way current movies do. I am aware how closed minded this makes me, and there are obviously going to be exceptions to the rule, such as this.

To kick off my newly minted "Steve McQueen Week", I need to discuss how awesome The Towering Inferno was. From my understanding, the 70s was a pretty big decade for disaster movies. Inferno was in the company of The Poseidon Adventure, Earthquake, Andromeda Strain, and a slew of sci-fi disaster dramas. I can't really make a direct comparison, as I have yet to see any of the other above listed films, but MAN did I love Towering Inferno.

The premise is pretty basic, and not unlike something that could be easily see in a mediocre disaster flick today. In San Fransisco, the world's tallest high rise is ready to celebrate it's dedication, which of course calls for a party. A few hours before the gala, Doug Roberts (Paul Newman) the well meaning architect, discovers that the contractor (Richard Chamberlain, of The Thorn Birds fame) has taken certain liberties with the quality of his building materials. Electrical shorts are causing concern, and then right before the party, a fire starts on the 81st floor. Doug insists that the party be cancelled, but James Duncan (William Holden), the wallet behind the "Glass Tower" will hear none of it, insisting that a fire on the 81st floor won't impact the party on the 135th floor.

What follows, of course, is pandemonium. The cast is an impressive who's who, including Faye Dunaway as Doug's girlfriend; Fred Astaire as a charming elderly con-man; O.J. Simpson as a righteous security guard; and Robert Wagner as a business executive.

Steve McQueen is fire chief O'Halloran, the smart, no-nonsense leader of the fire squads who appears about 1/3 of the way into the film. McQueen is simply mesmerizing to watch. His performace, as I'm beginning to see it the norm for him, lacks any of the overindulgent melodrama favoured by many actors of his generation. He is subtle and genuine. His role calls for him to play the tough guy hero, but he manages with only looks and gestures to provide O'Halloran with imense humanity, sympathy and dare I say emotion. You can see it when he looks over the bodies of his fallen men, he doesn't cry, he doesn't make a grand speach, rather he pauses and takes it in, his eyes speaking volumes, and then he carries on with his life, as he must do.

McQueen was originally offered the Newman role in the film, but fought for the O'Halloran part instead. He also insisted that he and Newman have the same number of lines, because he believed his performance would be good enough that the critics would appreciate it for it's quality, rather than because he had more screen time. And in the end, he was right. Newman, who is undisputedly one of the great actors of his generation, is dwarfed by McQueen at every turn. Where Newman is acting, McQueen IS O'Halloran. Watching the film it is easy to see how the two could have such a fierce Hollywood rivalry. Two rugged, handsome, blonde-haired, blue eyed men. But McQueen, far and away, embodies his roles more than any other actor of his time. And yes, he is sinfully cool. He, and you'll pardon the pun, smolders on the screen for every second he's there.

But the film does not necessarily need McQueen to be a quality piece of entertainment. He merely takes a good movie and turns it into an excellent one. Inferno is involving and well paced. It is long, without feeling so. Characters that you develop affection for do die, and often gruesomely. The special effects, for their time, are excellent, and the constant roar of the fire is intimidating and genuinely frightening.

Towards the end of the film, when it becomes apparent that there is only one resolution that will put out the fire, and it puts both Newman and McQueen in very genuine peril, I found myself short on breath and wrapping my hoodie around my head for some protection from what was going to happen. The Towering Inferno is just plain excellent, involving entertainment, for any decade.

Now let's just hope Hollywood doesn't feel the need to remake this one.

**** of *****
4 out of 5