A HARD DAY'S NIGHT (1964)

Director: Richard Lester

Writer: Alun Owen

Producer: Walter Shenson

Cast: The Beatles as themselves (John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison, Ringo Starr), Wilfrid Brambell, Norman Rossington, John Junkin, Victor Spinetti, Richard Vernon, Anna Quayle, Deryck Guyler, David Janson (as David Jaxon), Edward Malin, Robin Ray, Lionel Blair, Alison Seebohm, (and uncredited cast) Margaret Nolan, Pattie Boyd, Prudence Bury, Kenneth Haigh, Julian Holloway, Michael Trubshawe, John Bluthal, Jeremy Lloyd, Charlotte Rampling, Marianne Stone, Phil Collins, Derek Nimmo, Douglas Millings, David Langton, Terry Hooper

John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison, and Ringo Starr are the four rock ’n’ roll musicians from Liverpool, England who form the wildly popular band called the Beatles. The irreverent young men are accompanied by Paul’s sly and unruly grandfather (Wilfrid Brambell). The Beatles’ manager, Norm (Norman Rossington), has his hands full ensuring that the rambunctious lads arrive at the television studio on time to prepare for their live broadcast performance.

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The Beatles were the most fab example of catching lightning in a bottle. Inspired by the American rock ’n’ roll acts of the late 1950s, those Liverpool lads from humble backgrounds honed their talents playing for small music venues in Liverpool, England; Hamburg, Germany; and Scotland. In 1961, Liverpool record-store owner and music columnist Brian Epstein noticed the Beatles’ talent, charisma, and growing popularity. Epstein took an interest in managing the Beatles and made some savvy decisions honing the band’s image into something appealing and distinctive — hence the mop top haircuts, tailored suits, and pointy-toed Cuban boots. Once record producer George Martin began to hone their sound in their earliest recording sessions, the stage was set for the four-of-a-kind talents of John, Paul, George, and Ringo to enrapture the world with Beatlemania.

Timing was also a factor in the smash success of the Beatles. During the height of the Cold War and England’s post-World War II malaise, the Beatles were a blast of fresh air with a great new sound. They were true originals whose music invigorated their young generation with independence and hope.

The cultural phenomenon of Beatlemania is perfectly distilled down to 87 minutes of celluloid called A Hard Day’s Night. Even those who are too young to have witnessed the Fab Four’s worldwide explosion of popularity can immediately catch that thrill watching this wonderful film. This is not a documentary or a trite dramatic narrative framing a rock ’n’ roll act. The filmmakers made the bold decision to have the Beatles be the main characters in a surreal musical comedy that critics noted was reminiscent of the Marx Brothers. That was a very perceptive reaction as this film is truly the ’60s youth equivalent of a Marx Brothers movie; we see the witty and talented Beatles’ cool exuberance and youthful independence disrupt the establishment. Between their comedic bouts of teasing the older generation and ducking their manager-dictated responsibilities, the Beatles get it together for performances of their now-classic songs. All of this is tossed off with such breezy cinematic verve that anyone not grooving to this must not have a pulse. You simply can’t be in a bad mood for long watching A Hard Day’s Night.

Initially, the Beatles were reluctant to make a film. Other rock ’n’ roll stars appearing in films were either just trotted out during a story to provide musical interludes or were made to play other musically talented characters (à la Elvis Presley). The filmmakers were smart enough to realize that the audience for a film with the Beatles wanted the film to be just about the Beatles. This also meant that the Fab Four could just be themselves, Liverpool accents and all. To make the non-actor stars of the film comfortable, screenwriter Alun Owen spent plenty of time with the band to write dialogue that suited them. Some of the lines were actual quotes of witticisms the Beatles had made in interviews or in banter among themselves.

Perhaps the most famous Beatles remark would be Ringo Starr’s malapropism referring to a long Beatles concert performance as “a hard day’s night.” That was John Lennon’s inspiration for the film’s fantastic opening credits music he crafted with Paul McCartney overnight when the film’s producer decided a new and original Beatles tune was needed as a title song. That mighty, first guitar chord by George Harrison blasts off the coolest rock ’n’ roll romp of all time.

What follows is a “day in the life” of the Beatles on the go being chased by adoring fans, frustrating their stressed manager, stepping out to party, and eventually preparing to perform for their television broadcast. This could all come across as a self-indulgent ego trip by the Beatles, yet they approach everything and each other with irreverent wit. This movie really clicks because the Beatles are having a lark with this film between their great songs.

There is just enough character conflict between the Beatles, and the various establishment figures they encounter, to create comic moments. Yet, this never becomes mean-spirited, since the Beatles refuse to take anything seriously. Their first moment of youth vs. elder impudence occurs when they sense a stuffy fellow train passenger’s (Richard Vernon) immediate disapproval of them. This amusing scene establishes the Beatles as champions of the younger generation’s independence.

The most direct generational conflict is caused by Paul’s grandfather John. As played by the hilarious Wilfrid Brambell, he is an unrepentant troublemaker always conniving to misbehave and avoid Paul’s supervision. It is an interesting dichotomy having one of the young, rebellious Beatles still trying to be responsible for an even more immature elder. Whether Paul’s grandfather is trying to sneak off to gamble in the company of a buxom blonde (Margaret Nolan), encourage rebellion in the hapless Ringo, or exploit the fame of his grandson’s band for a quick buck, this funny display of crotchety sociopathy demonstrates that irresponsibility is not only indulged in by the young.

Much has been made of director Richard Lester’s cinéma vérité technique in A Hard Day’s Night. This seemingly improvisational approach, often using handheld cameras and unusual perspectives for the crisp black-and-white photography, trades gloss and glamor for grit and spontaneity that mirrors the energy and honesty of the Beatles. It also suits the occasional surreal touches of humor and musical set pieces. When Lester’s work in this film had been described as the father of MTV, he quipped that he wanted a paternity test. However, you can see this is a perfectly valid assessment when you watch the surreal scenes of the Beatles suddenly breaking into a performance of “I Should Have Known Better” in the baggage car of a train they are traveling on or clowning around on an athletic field while “Can’t Buy Me Love” is rocking the soundtrack. Lester truly kicked off the music video medium with this film.

The Beatles were the perfect combo of talent appearing at just the right time for a world that didn’t know they needed them until they heard them. We may never know their like again, but we can still cherish their many recordings and feel the excitement of Beatlemania watching A Hard Day’s Night. It brings us some of the joy and solace we need just as much today as they did back in 1964.

A DRAGONFLY FOR EACH CORPSE (1973/released 1975)

Director: León Klimovsky

Writer: Jacinto Molina (Paul Naschy), Ricardo Muñoz Suay

Producers: Jose A. Perez Giner, Ricardo Sanz

Cast: Paul Naschy, Erika Blanc, Maria Kosti, Ãngel Aranda, Susana Mayo, Ricardo Merino, Eduardo Calvo, Ramón Centenero, Mariano Vidal Molina, Anne Marie, José Canalejas, Beni Deus, Cesar De Barona, Maria Vidal, Ingrid Rabel, Frances O’Flynn, Javier de Rivera, Juan Madrigal, Rafael Albaicin, Luis Alonso, Antonio Mayans, Ernesto Vañes, Juan Cazalilla

In Milan, Italy, a serial killer is murdering people that the killer considers unclean and sinful. A plastic dragonfly is left on each of the killer’s victims. Police Inspector Paolo Scaporella (Paul Naschy) is on the case, which becomes personal as the killer taunts Scaporella with notes and as some of the detective’s friends also become victims.

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Spain’s genre film Renaissance man and horror film champion, Paul Naschy, wrote and starred in this film with the perfect giallo-styled title of A Dragonfly for Each Corpse. He teamed with his frequent horror film director León Klimovsky to make a movie almost as offbeat as Naschy’s earlier giallo-inspired effort, The Blue Eyes of the Broken Doll (1974). I suppose the fact that this movie is a Spanish-Italian co-production and that it is set in Italy ought to qualify it as a giallo. However, the purists would argue that to be a true giallo the movie must be a purely Italian production. I think the real reason that A Dragonfly for Each Corpse is hard to classify as a true giallo is that it doesn’t show even a single bottle of J&B Scotch.

Besides a great animal-themed title (à la Italian director Dario Argento’s first three gialli), this film has many giallo trademarks. These include the mystery being set in Italy, a black-gloved killer, flashy fashions, successful and decadent professionals with secrets, infidelity, sexual perversity, and a high body count.

Although this movie has a very high body count, the kills are often pretty perfunctory. They are occasionally bloody, but usually not teased out to more suspenseful lengths like a lot of giallo movie murders. The plot is not too convoluted and plays fair with the audience, but there are a couple of illogical instances of characters not communicating what they know in the most direct fashion. Of course, that only serves to prolong the mystery.

One great asset this movie has is the main couple of Naschy, as Inspector Paolo Scaporella, and the radiant redhead Erika Blanc, as his wife Silvana. They are seemingly mismatched but compliment each other perfectly. Paolo is blunt and intense, while Silvana is a bright beauty that can soften some of his hard edges. It is refreshing to see a happily married couple as the protagonists in a giallo or near-giallo.

The other greatest asset that this or any other film could hope for is the magnificent presence of Anne Marie. She gives new meaning to the term showstopper as a stripper that gets pimped out to perform private perversions after hours. No other coffin ever had it so good (except Erika Blanc’s in 1971’s The Night Evelyn Came out of the Grave, but that is another kink from another film for another review by this obsessive reprobate).

A major difference here from most giallo films is that the police are neither incompetent nor inconsequential to the story and its outcome. The hero here is a police inspector. This story may also be influenced by poliziotteschi, the Italian police thriller film genre that was also very popular at this time. Yet, like many gialli, it is a creative or artistic person who intuits the killer’s identity.

As in many giallo films, there are sexual norms crossed by several characters, which attracts the puritanical wrath of the killer. Here we also have the mucho macho Inspector Scaporella accompanied on some inquiries by his gay, fashion designer friend, Vittorio (Ramón Centenaro). There is never a single remark, snide or otherwise, concerning Vittorio’s homosexuality. This seems like a very progressive bit of nonchalance for a film of this time.

A Dragonfly for Each Corpse is a pleasant surprise for longtime Paul Naschy film fans. There are many differences for Naschy’s character in this film from what he usually wrote for himself. He often treats himself to couplings with more than one woman in his films, yet here he is faithful to his devoted wife. Considering that the enchanting Erika Blanc portrays this wife, it is a wise choice, though the blonde prostitute Ornella (played by a dazzling and unknown actress) who offers her services to him would probably be indulged in by Naschy’s character in any other film. It is just one more reason we still respect this violence-prone, cigar-chewing cop who wears very loud ties. Naschy’s Inspector Scaporella is so honest and genuine that he does not even wear a toupee.

A Dragonfly for Each Corpse is a Paul Naschy film with a change-of-pace characterization for him, great theme music, a mystery killer that tallies up a high body count, and three of the most magnificent Euro-film beauties ever. That’s all that this sleazy sleuth craves in his Euro-horror film investigations. I just wish I could solve the mystery of who played Ornella.

SILENT NIGHT, DEADLY NIGHT (1984)

Director: Charles E. Sellier, Jr.

Writers: Michael Hickey from a story by Paul Caimi

Producer: Ira Richard Barmak

Cast: Robert Brian Wilson, Lilyan Chauvin, Tara Buckman, Britt Leach, Danny Wagner, Jonathan Best, Will Hare, Charles Dierkop, Gilmer McCormick, Nancy Borgenicht, Jeff Hansen, Toni Nero, Randy Stumpf, Linnea Quigley, Leo Geter, Max Robinson, Amy Stuyvesant, A. Madeline Smith, H.E.D. Redford, Eric Hart, Vince Massa, Michael Alvarez, John Bishop, Richard Terry, Spenser Alston, Alex Burton, Max Broadhead, Oscar Rowland, Melissa Best, Spenser Ashby, Angela Montoya, Don Shanks (uncredited)

After witnessing the Christmas Eve murder of his parents (Tara Buckman and Jeff Hansen) by a killer (Charles Dierkop) dressed as Santa Claus, five-year-old Billy Chapman (Jonathan Best) is sent to an orphanage. As he grows, Billy (Danny Wagner) continues to be tormented by the memories of his yuletide tragedy and is subjected to strict punishments from Mother Superior (Lilyan Chauvin), the head nun at the orphanage. Many years later, the teenage Billy (Robert Brian Wilson) gets a job at a toy store. On Christmas Eve, the store’s owner (Britt Leach) coerces Billy into being the substitute Santa Claus for the store’s young customers. Donning the costume of his childhood horror deranges Billy, who becomes a murderous St. Nick punishing those he deems naughty.

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Despite what Andy Williams’ seasonal crooning would have us believe, the most wonderful time of the year is always complicated with Christmas controversies:

• Get a real or artificial tree? 
• Buy gifts or give money? 
• Open presents on Christmas Eve or Christmas Day?
• Turkey, goose, or ham for Christmas dinner? 
• Who the hell does the dishes?

So, in the yuletide spirit of peace on Earth and goodwill to men, allow me to settle some Christmas controversies: 

• If you do the trimming, buy any damn tree you want. 
• Giving money is always the right size. 
• Opening gifts Christmas Eve must not interfere with my drinking time and opening them on Christmas Day must be done after I sleep off my drunk. 
• Anything that makes a good base for booze can end up on my Christmas dinner plate. 
• Serve the dinner on paper plates and I’ll do the dishes. 

However, back in 1984, even my yuletide pragmatism could not quell the controversy caused by the holiday horror of Silent Night, Deadly Night. This film was released as the slasher film craze had begun to wane and so had the self-righteous indignation of self-appointed moral guardians. But the television ads for this movie about a killer dressed as Santa Claus were traumatizing tots all over the United States. That resulted not only in renewed lambasting by the slasher film-hating movie critics, but also protests from parents that prompted the immediately profitable film to be pulled from theaters. The violation of children’s joyful image of Santa Claus for an R-rated horror film was treated as child abuse. I find it rather ironic that, prior to this film’s ads, probably half of the panicked parents’ kids would already scream bloody murder or be petrified with fear when they were made to sit on a department store Santa’s lap, anyway.

Despite all the outrage directed at Silent Night, Deadly Night, it was certainly not the first time the movies made maniacal, murderous merriment with a sinister St. Nick. Both 1972’s Tales from the Crypt and 1980’s Christmas Evil featured dangerous Santa Claus imposters. Apparently, the 1984 film’s ad campaign was all too effective in an era when the horror sub-genre of the slasher film had become yet another scapegoat for misbehaving youth and poor parenting. The fact that these R-rated films were unable to be seen at the theaters by lone youngsters under 17 years of age did not matter. Yeah, yeah, I understand it was the TV ads creeping into families’ homes during prime time that was causing the shit storm. However, I also understand that the outrage was not directed at the marketing, but at the very existence of the film itself. My response to such censorship sentiment is a hearty “Bah! Humbug!”

According to director Charles E. Sellier, Jr., the aim of the film was for the financing distributor, Tri-Star Pictures, to hit the low-budget/low-risk tier of film production with just the sort of product that had been profitable in recent years. Horror film aficionados will notice that the filmmakers behind Silent Night, Deadly Night were making a list of slasher flick tropes and checking it twice:

holiday-themed mayhem ✔✔

prologue of past trauma ✔✔

traumatized maniac menace ✔✔

distinctive outfit for the killer ✔✔

gory kills via a variety of techniques ✔✔

sex and nudity ✔✔

There are also a few variations from the slasher film norm that make Silent Night, Deadly Night distinctive. The identity of the traumatized maniac is not a mystery; we know who he is and see how he becomes a menace. While there is nothing very deep and profound being expressed in this film, we spend a lot of time seeing how an ongoing series of tragedies and abuse contribute to the maladjustment of the boy who will grow up to become the film’s murderous main protagonist. There is an odd mix of decency and brutality. While not only the nasty people get offed in the traditional slasher film, there seems to be a few instances here where not only are nice people killed, but their deaths seem even more undignified than usual. I think the impact this film has is an ongoing sense of injustice. Both people and fate can be indiscriminate doling out punishment.

Billy Chapman is the kid whose Christmas karma is consistently crapped on. Five-year-old Billy and his family are visiting his catatonic grandpa (Will Hare) at a mental facility on Christmas Eve. As soon as Billy’s parents leave him alone for a moment with his unresponsive grandpa, the old codger gets a wicked gleam in his eye and tells Billy that Christmas Eve is the scariest night of the year. Grandpa gets Billy to admit he wasn’t always a good boy that year, so Grandpa says that Santa will arrive that night to punish him. As soon as the parents return, the sadistic, old geezer plays catatonic again. No reason is ever given for Grandpa’s behavior, and this is the last we see of him, but the movie is already establishing an unsavory vibe for the yuletide season. This is my favorite scene in the film, as it just seems so strange and inappropriate. Will Hare should have nabbed an Oscar that year.

From this point on, Billy’s Christmas and all his Christmases to come are cursed. On the Chapman family’s drive home from the mental facility, they are flagged down by an armed robber in a Santa suit, who kills the parents. Billy and his baby brother are raised in an orphanage that is run by the strict nun Mother Superior, who preaches that no one ever gets away with being naughty and punishment is good. Unfortunately, as poor Billy ages, his past Christmas trauma makes him act out during the yuletide season and he keeps getting punished.

Once Billy is old enough to hold a job, the kindly Sister Margaret (Gilmer McCormick) finds him a position stocking shelves at Ira’s Toys. The young man seems to be an exemplary employee until the store’s Santa Claus for the kids can’t perform and Billy is pushed into the role. Despite his horrific Santa memories, Billy somehow manages to endure playing Santa until things get out of hand at the store’s after-hours Christmas Eve party. Then Billy snaps, becomes the Santa of his grandpa’s malicious taunts, and sets out to punish the naughty and just about anyone else who gets in his way.

In his very first role as the full-grown Billy Chapman, Robert Brian Wilson has a likable and naïve demeanor. When suited up as Santa, his smiles seem both childlike and demented. His best scene is during his Christmas Eve killing spree when he offers a young child (Amy Stuyvesant) a gift. This is suspenseful, peculiar, and funny.

The stunning Tara Buckman appeared in a lot of television roles, but the only other thing I recall seeing her in is the action-comedy The Cannonball Run (1981), where she played the blonde bombshell race driver partnered with brunette bombshell Adrienne Barbeau. As little Billy Chapman’s mother, Buckman’s murder is Silent Night, Deadly Night’s nastiest moment and sets the tone for the rest of the film.

The 1980s scream queen and B-movie favorite, Linnea Quigley, is featured in a small role. Her character’s reluctant involvement with deer antlers is probably the film’s most famous scene.

Silent Night, Deadly Night defied its critics and protesters by spawning four sequels. Paradoxically, the veteran Hollywood actor who had objected to the original film, Mickey Rooney, starred in Silent Night, Deadly Night 5: The Toy Maker (1991). The original film was remade as Silent Night in 2012. A brand-new version of Silent Night, Deadly Night (2025) is currently playing in theaters this holiday season.

So, if you want to wallow in nostalgia for an era when a cinematic Christmas cash grab could cause a commotion and gain cult status, see Silent Night, Deadly Night. It always puts me in the holiday spirit. Seeing a serial-killing St. Nick brutally punish others who are naughty helps me appreciate those lumps of coal I keep getting in my stocking every year.

ROLLERBALL (1975)

Director: Norman Jewison

Writer: William Harrison adapting his 1973 short story “Roller Ball Murder”

Producer: Norman Jewison

Cast: James Caan, John Houseman, John Beck, Moses Gunn, Maud Adams, Barbara Trentham, Pamela Hensley, Shane Rimmer, Ralph Richardson, Robert Ito, Richard LeParmentier, Burt Kwouk, Nancy Blieier, John Normington, (and uncredited cast members) Craig R. Baxley, Steve Boyum, Jimmy Berg, Tony Brubaker, Walter Scott, Bob Minor, Robert Dancel, Alan Hamane, Danny Wong, Eddie Kubo, Bob Leon, Burnell Tucker, Angus MacInnes, Dick Enberg, Bob Miller, Byron Morrow, Anthony Chinn, Sarah Douglas, Valli Kemp, Yasuko Nagazumi, Robert Lee, Mac MacDonald

In the future, the world is controlled by six major corporations. Each corporation has its own rollerball sports team. Rollerball is a brutal variation on roller derby that includes aspects of football, hockey, and motocross. The greatest champion in the sport is the captain of the Houston team, Jonathan E (James Caan). After ten years in the sport, the famous and celebrated Jonathan E. is being pressured to retire by Mr. Bartholomew (John Houseman), the CEO of the Energy Corporation that owns the Houston team. As Jonathan continues to resist retirement, the rules of rollerball are changed to increase the danger of the game.

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Rollerball is a dystopian science fiction film that speculates more about the trajectory of society than the advance of technology. It has concerns that are even more relevant today half a century after it was made. We not only are shown how the public mania for sports can devolve into mindless enthusiasm for barbarity, but also how that diversion can distract the masses from the corporate puppet masters pulling all of civilization’s strings.

Canadian director and producer Norman Jewison was struck by how the sport of hockey was being promoted on television in the United States. Jewison felt that “highlights” of the body checking and fights were being shown to promote the game as a blood sport. He found that emphasis repulsive and set out to make Rollerball a film condemning violence in sports. Jewison was just as offended when he was approached to get the rights to the game of rollerball for the development of an actual professional rollerball league.

The film’s thrilling rollerball action was performed by the actors and stuntmen on an actual track built in a Munich, Germany sports arena. The sport of rollerball was devised in its entirety with rules that make the scenes shot during the game seem to have a practical justification. Regardless of its brutality, this is a credible athletic competition being depicted. Since this bloodsport seems all too believable, we are not distanced by fantasy elements that give us a comfort zone to avoid grappling with the morality of such a nasty spectacle and its effect on society.

Director Jewison also had an even more valid concern: the ever more pervasive control of society by corporations. Fifty years later, we are seeing how a handful of CEOs are becoming ever more influential in every aspect of our lives. They provide our modern conveniences and infrastructure while exerting more control with their market pressures and monied political pull. Those concerns may be nothing new, but we seem to be accelerating into a business-as-usual mindset about such machinations.

In the world of Rollerball, corporate control has replaced politics and nationalism, which seems to have eliminated poverty and disease. Yet that corporate control must be maintained by dumbing down the masses and diminishing individuality. All human knowledge has been catalogued in a central computer. By either intent or incompetence, portions of that knowledge can be restricted or deleted. If only one corporate-directed entity is allowed to be the caretaker of humanity’s culture and history, how can people be sure that knowledge will be preserved? After all, keeping the masses ignorant makes them less independent and more easily manipulated.

As the captain of the Houston Energy team, Jonathan E. is this future world’s most revered rollerball athlete. He has distinguished himself as the greatest player of the game and is well provided for. He lives on his spacious ranch amidst beautiful scenery and is treated to a succession of lovely women assigned to him as live-in companions. Despite his fame and luxury, he is frustrated. Eventually, we learn that the only thing that ever meant anything to Jonathan, besides rollerball, was his wife, Ella (Maud Adams). She was taken away from him by a corporate executive who wanted her. Now, the only thing that Jonathan can feel any passion for is playing the game of rollerball.

Jonathan E. may have been resigned to his life of being a rollerball champion, but that personal distinction is being jeopardized by Mr. Bartholomew, the CEO of the Energy Corporation that owns his team. Mr. Bartholomew suggests it is time for Jonathan to retire. Jonathan resists this, to the growing aggravation of Mr. Bartholomew. Perhaps for the first time in his life, Jonathan is curious about how things are run by corporations. He wants to know why he is being pressured to give up the last thing in his life he is passionate about. Jonathan only finds secrecy and grows more wary about his own safety.

Aside from the camaraderie he has with his fellow rollerballers, Jonathan has no real relationships. He seems detached and frustrated when not on the rollerball track. As Jonathan, James Caan gives a performance that could be taken as disinterested, but I think that is the point of the film. Caan’s character, like all the other citizens in this future world, has been kept complacent with comfort and security. Like everyone else, he has been conditioned to accept the status quo of corporate control. It takes both the loss of his wife and the threat of being forced out of his sport to stir enough unrest in him to begin to question and resist corporate authority. I think Caan’s underplaying shows the damage that he and the rest of humanity have suffered far more effectively than a lot of snark and threats. Caan’s Jonathan E. does have a few outbursts, but these seem to take a while to build up. Jonathan is just one more victim of the mental and emotional neutering of people in this dystopia.

While there are some moments of humor and anger displayed in this film, there is a pervasive coldness to it all. The people are intellectually numb and incapable of truly engaging at an honest emotional level. This may make us have a more difficult time bonding with the characters, but I think it is a realistic indication of that loss of individuality that is the threat posed by corporate-directed conformity.