Crawford's Hoover...10-4!

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The fact that you can't rent or buy Larry Cohen's The Private Files of J. Edgar Hoover on DVD, and that it hasn't been shown in a Los Angeles theatre since '83 or thereabouts makes the three-day booking at the New Beverly Cinema (4.13 to 4.15 at 9:25 pm) something of an event.

Of particular interest to me is something I'd totally forgotten, which is that the 1976 drama named senior FBI guy Mark Felt as "Deep Throat" over 25 years before the press broke the story. (Or so the press release claims.) Cohen will discuss this and other Hoover matters at a q & a following each screening.

Broderick Crawford plays Hoover, but isn't shown engaging in curious intimacies with FBI agent Dan Dailey's Clyde Tolson. (Revelations about Hoover's personal life hadn't surfaced when the film was made.) The film costars Jose Ferrer, Dan Dailey, Michael Parks, Celeste Holm, Lloyd Nolan and Rip Torn. It features a classic musical score by Miklos Rozsa.

The film was shot at FBI headquarters, at the FBI Training Camp at Quantico and at Hoover's own home -- but without Bureau censorship.

The New Beverly Cinema (323.938.4038) is located at 7165 Beverly Blvd., LA 90036.

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Posted by Jeffrey Wells on April 8, 2008 at 4:51 PM

comment #1

Mgmax, le Corbeau says ...

I'm curious if this is any good. Cohen's history is a string of great-sounding ideas turned into so-so movies, and I wonder if it will rise above movie of the week quality. Or have a killer quetzalcoatl in it.

Hey, has anyone ever commented on the fact that when they go to meet the mysterious writer Arthur Digby Sellers, and wind up doing nothing but sitting on his couch with his teenage son Larry... Sellers is described as the guy who created "Branded" or something. Well, you know who created Branded? Larry Cohen. I have to think the Coens knew that, and it's some weird joke of theirs, either on another Coen/Cohen, or based on some experience they had with Cohen once, or something.

Posted by Mgmax, le Corbeau at April 8, 2008 5:44 PM

comment #2

Mgmax, le Corbeau says ...

Oops, accidentally deleted key words in the first sentence, second graf-- "in THE BIG LEBOWSKI"

Posted by Mgmax, le Corbeau at April 8, 2008 5:45 PM

comment #3

Doug Pratt says ...

As I recall, while it doesn't show them in bed, it does depict them like two old maids at the breakfast table together, enough to imply how they had led their private lives.
And no, the movie isn't all that good--it has a Q The Winged Serpent-type budget--but it does coalesce a few interesting historical points, and Crawford clearly enjoys himself in the role.

Posted by Doug Pratt at April 8, 2008 6:44 PM

comment #4

NDH says ...

Looks like Billy Crudup is in for a lengthy makeup process for Michael Mann's PUBLIC ENEMIES.

Posted by NDH at April 8, 2008 7:45 PM

comment #5

scooterzz says ...

while not on dvd it is available to rent on vhs @ eddie brandt's in noho......i kinda remember that breakfast table scene also,,,,,

Posted by scooterzz at April 8, 2008 8:23 PM

comment #6

btwnproductions says ...

Amazon was selling it and other MGM titles exclusively on VHS. It's fun to watch, with all those old school cameos, but limited. I'm not seeing Billy Crudup in the role.

Posted by btwnproductions at April 8, 2008 8:46 PM

comment #7

btwnproductions says ...

Amazon was selling it and other MGM titles exclusively on VHS. It's fun to watch, with all those old school cameos, but limited. I'm not seeing Billy Crudup in the role.

Posted by btwnproductions at April 8, 2008 8:46 PM

comment #8

Geoff157 says ...

I think this is one of Cohen's best films-- a movie that outwardly parodies and subverts the propaganda syntax of THE FBI STORY. It was made while Cohen was at the height of his guerilla-style filmmaking in the mid-'70s (as Jeffrey points out, it was made without Bureau censorship, because the way Cohen shot in those days, he was always on the move with his crew, and permits were the last thing on his mind-- for this film, they shot around the Justice Department building during Labor Day weekend, "when there was nobody around"). According to Cohen, he even used stock footage from THE FBI STORY, and in one scene, it is actually James Stewart's shadow the viewer sees on a wall. The film moves at a pulpy comic book pace, and the only monster is the enigma of Hoover himself. And yes, there is the implication of an intimate relationship with Tolson. I really wish I lived in LA so I could see it in style with Cohen present. I have a VHS copy from the late '80s-- this needs to be on DVD very soon!

Posted by Geoff157 at April 8, 2008 9:04 PM

comment #9

christian says ...

I'll be there for you Geoff157. I love Cohen and his raw spirit. He's a better writer than director, but he's just so unique and radical.

Posted by christian at April 8, 2008 9:16 PM

comment #10

Spacesheik says ...

I saw this on BBC tv a while back and it was a solid film, I particularly remember Dan Daily's performance although nothing was in the picture to indicate Hoover and mate were old queens - although I do remember a scene in the film where Hoover turns down an offer of sex from a lady

Posted by Spacesheik at April 9, 2008 1:43 AM

comment #11

Spacesheik says ...

Speaking of Hoover, here is Bob Hoskins from NIXON:

http://youtube.com/watch?v=rQG5QLNGxpk

http://youtube.com/watch?v=mxKPPxAm72I

Posted by Spacesheik at April 9, 2008 1:48 AM

comment #12

Rich S. says ...

I've never seen the film, but I gotta say, that is one hell of a cast.

Posted by Rich S. at April 9, 2008 6:36 AM

comment #13

Glenn Kenny says ...

I'm with GeoffÃ¢â‚¬â€Cohen's "Hoover" is terrific, no-budget production values and all. Call it pulp non-fiction, as it were. WIsh I was in L.A. to see it w/ Cohen in attendance.

Posted by Glenn Kenny at April 9, 2008 7:06 AM

comment #14