Film #138: Disneyland Dream (RIP: Robbins Barstow 1919-2010)

In 2008, among the 25 movies that the National Film Registry included in its yearly list of American movies to be preserved was one title I didn't recognize (not something new for me with the Registry; they're astonishing authorities on indespensible film obscurities). The movie's was called Disneyland Dream, and it was made in 1956 by a Connecticut family man named Robbins Barstow. I saw the title on the list, and simply shrugged back in 2008. But recently, I was looking at a compendium of the 525 movies the Registry has dedicated themselves to, and I saw Disneyland Dream down there again and, curious, I tracked it down on the astounding Internet Moving Image Archive.

I was immediately charmed and won over by Barstow's epic 16mm home movie. As you can surmise, the film tells the story of the Barstow family--Robbins, wife Meg, kids Mary, David and Dan--and their journey to California's Magic Kingdom. But, to me, the equally fascinating aspect of the film takes place in and around the Barstows' New England home, where they prepare to enter a contest given by the Minnesota Mining and Manufacturing Company. Each family member concocts a little project to illustrate, to parent company 3M, why they love Scotch Tape; the winners will be treated to that tony California vacation. These are the parts I really love--the making of the projects, the wait for results, the talks to the family parrot Binky, and the hilarious slo-mo/fainting/fireworked reactions of each family member as they hear the good news. Whole bunches of sweetness are blooming all around in this movie.

Barstow goes all out with Disneyland Dream. He narrates the film, of course (the soundtrack was added in 1995; I suppose he voiced it live previously). But there are credits, an opening theme via Sergei Rachmaninoff, special effects, and even a movie star (though Robbins could have not know this back then). Apparently, in the shot where the Robbins' family first arrives at Disneyland, they pass under a train's bridge, and you can glimpse a little boy in a top hat down in the right hand corner of the screen. This was confirmed, by the star himself (in a letter to Barstow) to be none other than Steve Martin, caught on film for the first time as he works as a pamphlet hawker for the theme park (Steve Martin appears at about 5:22 in Part 3, seen below). This is a particularly nifty revelation about a film which is already a gem.

Naturally, Disneyland Dream taps into that idyllic 1950s innocence to which many people futilely wish this country could return. I personally feel a rush of warmth when seeing the reaction of the Barstows' neighbors to the family's good fortune; this is a close, friendly world long gone, it seems. But the film's remarkable in other sociological ways. It points to a time where home movie-making was a hobby only a few took as seriously as did Barstow. This film--one of many by the director--clearly required a mini-scaled version of the planning and follow-through that goes into any professional documentary. The shot choices are intelligent and well-schemed, the editing detailed, and occasional effects (simple things like slow motion, rudimentary animation, and backwards-running shots) are unusual for a vacation film. Still, and irresistibly, with its occasionally clunky cuts and camerawork, the movie never feels anything less than a labor of unschooled film love.

And, then, of course, as a travelogue of 1950s California, the film is an invaluable historical document. The Disneyland footage is the main event here, and it doesn't disappoint, of course. But we also get glimpses of 50s-era airplanes and automobiles, luxury hotels, Davy Crockett jackets and hats, St. Louis, Hollywood and Vine, and an aerial view of New York City (the Barstows had to connect to another flight at NYC's NY International Airport, which later changed its name to JFK). Movie fans will also dig the family's trip to Grauman's Chinese Theater (I think the theater is showing The Robe, and we can see the handprints of Bill Hart, John Barrymore, Jane Russell and Marilyn Monroe). Plus we get a superb tour of Will Rogers' home, Knotts' Berry Farm and--best of all--the Walt Disney and Universal Studios, where we can peep quickly at old small-town and European-themed backlots and facades. The whole thing--with Barstow's wry, cozy commentary as an essential addendum--is just a spectacular tornado of fun.

Since aqe 10, Barstow had been a lifelong booster of amateur filmmaking, having shown his movies in local outlets and on Connecticut public access for years before Disneyland Dream made the National Film Registry. Once this event occurred, though, the film entered a new era of appreciation, going viral online at 76,000 downloads (an earlier movie of his, 1936's fanfilm Tarzan and the Rocky Gorge, has fared even better at more than 150,000 downloads; 16 more of his movies can be seen at the Moving Image Archive and Disneyland Dream can be purchased on a Barstow-produced DVD--complete with a making-of documentary--through Amazon).

On November 7, Robbins Barstow passed away at 91, having spent his life as a well-loved educational administrator (his day job), filmmaker, world traveler, husband, father, and grandfather. His legacy is one of time well-spent, and well-documented, here in this terra realm. He's obviously an inspiration to many filmmakers and viewers still today. And here, for that fabled viewing pleasure of yours, is a big reason why: Disneyland Dream, in four parts, via that great repository of amateur film, You Tube. Enjoy it, and thank you, Robbins Barstow!

Film #137: Marcel The Shell With Shoes On

When I hear about something like Marcel The Shell With Shoes On (what a fantastic title), as I just have today, I feel both behind and in front of the times. Behind because this has become an "internet sensation" with nearly 1.5 million hits on You Tube. In front of, because I think it deserves many more hits, and it doesn't even have an entry on IMDB. It's directed and co-written by Dean Fleischer-Camp, and co-written and voiced by whom I suspect is an autuer of equal import, the recently ousted (and unbelievably cute) new/old Saturday Night Live appointee Jenny Slate (she quite understandably let a "fuckin'" slip out in a "frickin'" routine, but that didn't stop her from cruelly being cut from the cast--get a grip, NBC and FCC).

This uncommonly simple, utterly unique little (VERY little) movie is, I'm sure, the beginning of something larger. It charmed so many at the recent American Film Institute Festival that it won the Audience Award for Best Animated Short, instantly putting in qualification for the Best Animated Short Film award at the upcoming Oscars. I'd love to see it nominated. Sometimes, animation is not about the pyrotechnics involved in the movie's making, but about the feeling the results evoke (the editing and sound are magnificent, if you pay attention). This film conjures a powerful adoration for its feisty, diminutive subject, voiced without enhancement by Jenny Slate (who I imagine, at least, has this character in her mind for some time; either that, or it was thought of instantaneously, I imagine, in a very happy moment for Slate). The direction is superb (I really like Marcel's relationship with the interviewer), and the laughs are absolutely well earned; in fact, no feature this year has more joyful moments than you'll experience in Marcel The Shell With Shoes On. I want to see much more of Marcel, and so many others out there obviously want to as well. Wallace and Grommit won three Oscars for just the same reason. Mark my words: this isn't the last of this brave, lovely bit-player. By the way: I defy you to watch this film only once.

Charles Schulz At The Movies

Anybody who knows me knows I'm only a rabid fan of three things: Stanley Kubrick, The Beatles, and Charlie Brown. Charles M. Schulz's daily comic strip Peanuts began its life on October 2, 1950, and ended just over 50 years later, with the final strip appearing only days after Schulz's 2/12/2000 death (it continues to be printed to this day, the only strip ever to have outlived its author by more than a decade, to my knowledge; it seems that comic strip readers can't conceive of a funnies page without Peanuts). To me, Schulz's body of work is paralleled only by the other two artists I mentioned--Kubrick and The Beatles; they are similar to each other mostly in that all three had ultimate control over and mastery of their respective crafts, and that the general public, as fickle as they sometimes can be, all wisely agreed this was obviously so.

I've been collecting Fantagraphic's magnificent volumes of The Complete Peanuts now for the past decade. Brilliantly edited and designed (by comic artist and fellow fan Seth), and indexed with great, amusing detail, these books--two a year--have been given to me each Christmas by my mother as a sort of "of course, you have to have these" gift, and I look forward to them with sublime anticipation. I spend the first six months of every annum pouring over every detail of Schulz's work, and I still marvel at how so many panels (especially in the 1970s, his peak) really make me guffaw with surprise.

In looking at them recently, I noticed I'd perk up whenever the strips referenced the movies or moviegoing, so I decided to do a little research and collect these strips here, mainly for my own amusement, as each are redolent with personal nostalgia. For instance, I remember looking at the kiddie-show Sunday panels as a child and wishing I had interest in such events (I largely went to the movies with my parents or on my own, and don't think I ever experienced a theater full of kids until, maybe, Star Wars showed up in 1977). And the couple of strips showing Linus looking at the movie ads were something I could relate to vehemently (I collected movie ads amassed in little stapled-taped-and-glued-together books of notebook paper when I was young). And, naturally, I wondered what this Citizen Kane was all about.

Surely, when a movie warranted a mention in Peanuts, the title had fully made its way into the zeitgeist. Schulz, to my knowledge, wasn't a huge cinema fan, but he knew what he liked (hence the many mentions of Kane in his strips), and he knew what the public at large would respond to. Other than the 30 strips I've collected here (which end right before 1975, the point where The Complete Peanuts collection is at now), there were many mentions of cowboys, spacemen, as well as a couple of Dracula references--all obviously movie-inspired. But I've not included them; here, I've only comprised very specific pieces. I've listed them in order of their appearance, and have commented slightly on each. If you're somehow a novice to Peanuts, go here and see if you like them. And you can go here to see my piece on the landmark 1965 TV special A Charlie Brown Christmas. Otherwise, enjoy this movie-centric collection, and click on the individual strips to see them much larger. (PS: Though I wish I could have made the strips sharper, this post was a lot more difficult to achieve than it might look.)

April 26, 1960 (Google Albert Schweitzer, if you must. By the way, Jerome Hill won an Academy Award for his 1957 documentary titled Albert Schweitzer.)

April 30, 1960 (These were the days...)

March 26, 1961 (I love Charlie Brown's face as he's watching the movie!)

June 13, 1961 (This is totally hilarious to me...)

March 8, 1962 (Not really a strip about the movies, but about criticism.)

February 1, 1963 (I guess some things don't really change.)

May 20, 1963 (A Hitchcock joke!)

October 5, 1963 (Into the mythic.)

November 19, 1967 (The first, and possibly most iconic, of Schulz's kiddie-show box office Sunday strips.) 

October 20, 1968 (Peanuts trivia question: what are the names of the twin girls at the head of the line?)

December 18, 1968 (The first of many mentions of Citizen Kane, reportedly Schulz's favorite movie.)

January 5, 1969 (The one time Snoopy gets a ticket.)

May 13, 1969 (It was only a matter of time before this reference dropped near Schroeder's piano.)

June 19, 1969 (Lucy agreed to take care of that stupid beagle for a week.)

June 28, 1970 (I like Snoopy's "smoothy" face.)

July 27, 1970 (Nominally a reference to Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, but mainly to the Oscar-winning Hal David/Burt Bacharach songwriting team.)

February 7, 1971 (Rejected again...)

March 7, 1971 (More unrequited love, and anger at the sometimes secondary nature of the movie's quality; somewhere, Pauline Kael is smiling.)

May 10, 1971 (The blockbuster of its era.)

September 21, 1971 (A movie with green rats and purple vampires is definitely one I have to see.)

May 21, 1972 (These treeside talks about love and life between Charlie Brown and Peppermint Patty were nearly always profound. By the way, I LOVE how Snoopy's ears pop up at the botched revelation. How could anyone mistake Susan Hayward for Anne Baxter???)

October 14, 1972 (A long series of strips chronicling Snoopy's investigation into the whereabouts of the Head Beagle's Beagle-in-the-Field Thompson--who was overrun by 10,000 rabbits--concludes with a reference to The Godfather, of course.)

October 29, 1972 (More Kane...)

December 9, 1973 (...And yet more Kane, with the ultimate in spoilers; perhaps the finest movie-related comic of all time.)

February 20, 1974 (An unanswered movie trivia question.)

February 22, 1974 (I wish this trivia thing had been a regular feature; these are great questions.)

March 24, 1974 (The first Gone With The Wind reference; Snoopy's Pawpet Theater goes on to feature a few more movie touchstones.)

April 29, 1974 (Schulz's funniest movie-related strip is clearly about The Exorcist, and about a lot more, too.)

June 30, 1974 (I believe I've read that William Wellman's 1939 production of Beau Geste is another of Charles Schulz's favorite movies)

July 16, 1974 (...and this is what it all boils down to.)

R.I.P. Jill Clayburgh (1944-2010)

God, I loved this woman. And I do mean WOMAN. Every time the camera mapped her face, perfect as it was, I was enthralled. Yesterday, Ms. Clayburgh died of leukemia, from which she had suffered for more than two decades. And I am so sad about it. It's difficult to scan all of the movie-related deaths out there, and I try not to focus on them. But this one is a bear, and I cannot let it pass without comment.

Her run in films was short--only from the mid 70s to the early 80s--but starting with Darryl Duke's terrific 1976 TV movie Griffin and Phoenix: A Love Story, she was a gem. Appearing aside Peter Falk as a man dying of cancer, she blew the TV screen apart with her energy. She was obviously strong from the get go. She put forth a spirited intelligence that was beyond what I can express. If I can be less intellectual and more personal here, I have to say I could look at her face for a thousand years--her penetrating eyes, exquisite nose, pointed chin, marvelous smile, apple cheeks, auburn hair and athletic body: she was simply, utterly ravishing.



Nothing put forward Clayburgh's singular presence more than her signature role in Paul Mazursky's An Unmarried Woman, in which she played Erica Benton, a happily married Manhattan lady surprised by her husband (the forever after hateful Michael Murphy) when he admits he's fallen for another woman (HOOWWW??). Just look at her face as she hears the bad news; it, and the whole scene, is really remarkable:


Mazursky's movie (possibly his best, for which he was lionized by the Los Angeles Film Critics in '78) staunchly maps Erica's growth from victim to heroine and as such An Unmarried Woman stands powerfully as a prime document for the independence, sans man, of the American female. I'll never forget seeing her in the film, after her first romantic dalliance following her divorce, dancing lithely through her New York apartment. It's a moment that, even as a 13-year-old kid, made me wonder and marvel at what a woman could be:



Though earlier I'd seen her movies like Hustling, The Terminal Man, and 1976's Silver Streak (as the steadfast female counterpart to confident co-stars Gene Wilder and Richard Pryor), she hadn't made her mark for me. But then she appeared opposite Burt Reynolds and Kris Kristofferson in Michael Richie's excellent Semi-Tough, where she played an open-minded love interest for both leads. Following the Mazursky film (for which she earned Best Actress at Cannes; Jane Fonda stole the Oscar away from her that year, though), Clayburgh scored again in Alan J. Pakula's profound romantic comedy Starting Over.

Written and co-produced by James L. Brooks (it could be said that this was his debut film, as it seems more like a Brooks production than a politically-minded Pakula affair), Starting Over featured Clayburgh as a shaky single diving back into the dating scene, with Burt Reynolds an equally cautious, newly-divorced teacher as her rocky match. Clayburgh's performance here compliments her star-making turn in An Unmarried Woman, because it seamlessly interplays with both Reynolds (who was never better) and Candice Bergen (as Reynolds' showy ex-wife). Here, you could really feel how a man would want to spend his life with the lovely, troubled, funny, mouthy, bashful, brave Clayburgh. Boy, her patient and then explosively angry moments in that dunking booth scene are completely astonishing (she'd get her second Oscar nod for this one):



She was beautiful, still, in Claudia Weill's It's My Turn, opposite Michael Douglas. And her performance as a mother too into her heroin-addicted son in Bernardo Bertolucci's Luna was stunning. She was the lead in Costa Gavras' controversial Israli/Palestinian conflict drama Hanna K (which I've yet to see, but after checking this trailer out, I soon will):



Then she made yet another now forgotten mark of brilliance as a TV journalist hooked on Valium in I'm Dancing as Fast As I Can, and as the first female Supreme Court nominee, opposite Walter Matthau, in the excellent, intelligent Ronald Neame film First Monday in October. But after that, she seemed to disappear from theaters (maybe as a victim of the 40-year-old actress curse). As many movie actresses do, she kept working on television, ultimately landing a prime parts in Nip/Tuck and the recent Dirty Sexy Money. She still has a final movie swan song in the can with the upcoming Edward Zwick comedy Love and Other Drugs (reason enough to see that film). Her final film appearance seems to be in Paul Feig's Bridesmaids, where she joins a spectacular crew of actresses, playing lead Kristen Wiig's quirky mother.

I'll always wonder, though, what she seemed like (angelic, I'm sure) singing "Love Song" alongside John Rubenstein on Broadway in Bob Fosse's Pippin. "Love Song" is a gorgeous Broadway melody, and to have seen it sung partly by Clayburgh, well into her career on Broadway, would have been sublime. Here's the big scene, performed by John Rubenstein and Miss Clayburgh.



And two of her gentle yet forceful solo numbers from the same show:





I have rarely seen a lasy on screen I wanted to kiss, listen to, and converse with more than Jill Clayburgh. I will truly miss her, and will always adore her.

My Movie Poster Collection: C

As always, click on the poster for a larger image: 

THE CANDIDATE (Michael Richie, 72). Folded, F
Terrific image, with political newcomer Robert Redford having his face obscured by bubble gum. Still one of the most intelligent movies about politics around (perhaps even more relevant today), with an Oscar-winning script by Jeremy Larner. I love this poster, too, for its lack of a tagline, though its notation at the bottom is memorable enough: "This advertisement has been paid for by Warner Brothers, who would love for The Candidate to be a winner." Brilliant.

CANDY STRIPE NURSES (Alan Holleb, 74). Folded, G
A "sexy" movie I remember seeing at the drive-in as a kid. May have been my first glimpse of some tit. The crazy explosion between the woman's legs (with the guy on the motorcycle flying) makes me smile!

CAPE FEAR (Martin Scorsese, 91). Rolled, P
The artwork, by John Alvin, may be a tad overdone (something about those eyes, which are obviously not De Niro's), but still, I think this remake is one of the few that actually betters the original, because the conflict between Cady and the family he's terrorizing is made more primal and moralistic.

CAPRICORN ONE (Peter Hyams, 77). Folded, VG
A great poster for those moon landing deniers. Not a movie that holds up, though. My second poster with a boxed-in image of unusually self-satisfied co-star O.J. Simpson, who's now quite literally boxed in, thankfully.

CAREFUL, HE MIGHT HEAR YOU (Carl Schultz, 83). Folded, VG
A low-key little Australian movie that I have a little affection for. Great title, by the way.

CARNY (Robert Kaylor, 80). Folded, G
One of the most unfairly overlooked movies of the 1980s. Gary Busey's performance out of clown makeup is highly amusing, and IN the clown makeup, is radically frightening. Great supporting cast in this one--Elisha Cook, Meg Foster, Craig Wasson, Kenneth MacMillan, Tim Thomerson, Woodrow Parfrey, Burt Remsen, Teddy Wilson and George Emerson as the unforgettable Fat Man. Plus, this is probably the only time you'll get to see Jodie Foster in a corset, and Robbie Robertson in a lead role. The director has disappeared but, boy, does he have a handle on this grimy world.

CARRIE (Brian De Palma, 76). Rolled/folded, G
A classic poster, because it knew what the film's classic images would be. I like, too, that it mirrors the split screen in the equal-measures sweet and horrifying central prom sequence.

CASUALTIES OF WAR (Brian De Palma, 89). Rolled, VG
Not a classic, either as a poster or as a film. Sean Penn's face here is ridiculous.

THE CELEBRATION (Thomas Vinterberg, 98). Rolled, VG
I usually don't like these faces-only posters, but somehow this one works (maybe because of its jagged quality). Or maybe it's because I love this movie beyond words.

CHANDLER (Paul Magwood, 71). Folded, VG
Warren Oates looks like a donkey here, and that's why I bought it.

THE CHANGELING (Peter Medak, 79). Folded, G
A terrific horror film, with a memorable tagline. I only wish the art was a little sharper, but it'll do.

CHILLY SCENES OF WINTER (Joan Micklin Silver, 81). Folded, VG
You can really feel United Artists, nearing Heaven's Gate bankruptcy, scrambling to get this poster out there. The inset photo of Charles and Laura together looks sloppily pasted on. In reality, the poster doesn't look as bad as it does here. But, as this is one of my top 20 movies of all time (and the first one I chose to review on this blog), I have to love, love, love it.

CISCO PIKE (Bill L. Norton, 72). Folded, VG
This is a prime example of great 70s graphic design. The colors, the layout, the type, the writing, and the movie itself (nearly) are all perfect.

CITIZEN'S BAND (A.K.A. HANDLE WITH CARE) (Jonathan Demme, 77). Folded, VG
All-type posters are extremely rare and extremely strange, and attractive, to me. This is one of the strangest out there, particularly since the movie has an incredible cast (Paul Le Mat, Candy Clark, Charles Napier, Ann Wedgeworth, Roberts Blossom, Bruce Magill, Marcia Rodd, and Harry Northup) and an equally terrific Altman-esque sweep. Another forgotten movie I wish more people would see. How ANYONE went to see it, with this poster, is a mystery.

THE CITY OF LOST CHILDREN (Marc Caro & Jean-Pierre Jeunet, 95). Rolled, VG
Absolutely gorgeous one-sheet for an absolutely stunning film. No complaints here.

CLAIRE'S KNEE (Eric Rohmer, 70). Folded, VG
A treasure. Not only is this my second favorite Rohmer (after The Green Ray/Summer), the one-sheet perfectly illustrates its subject's premise better than any other poster I can think of, at least at this moment.

THE CLAN OF THE CAVE BEAR (Michael Chapman, 86). Folded, P
Perhaps the best poster ever for the worst movie ever. My copy has a tiny imperfection in it, but I love it just the same. When I look at it, no thoughts of the movie come into my head; it's just simply a fine work of art.

CLUELESS (Amy Heckerling, 95). Rolled, VG
I feel so wistful now, thinking of the relative innocence of this movie. Really, when it came out, I thought Alicia Silverstone was going to be a great movie star. Still, when I look at Heckerling's movie, I wonder why it never happened, cause Alicia is so vibrant in it. Seeing the plumper, cuter Brittany Murphy there makes me sad. I really liked her. RIP.

COAL MINER'S DAUGHTER (Michael Apted, 80). Rolled/folded, G
Perhaps the very best musical biopic ever produced, with Sissy Spacek transformed into Loretta Lynn right before our eyes. As much as I love Tommy Lee Jones in this film, I'm glad he's only slightly included here (even though it's almost as much his movie as it is hers).

THE COLLECTOR (William Wyler, 65). Folded, VG
Creepy poster, creepy film. I admire the simple tagline, and the inventive slicing of the main image.

THE COLOR PURPLE (Steven Spielberg, 85) Rolled, NM
Great poster art by John Alvin! Excellent condition. Wish I loved the movie more! 

COMA (Michael Crichton, 78). Folded, G
I bought this poster simply because I love that shot of Genvieve Bujold wandering amongst all those strung-up coma patients. I do have a deep affection for the film, too--it's Crichton's most suspenseful production. By the way, excellent logo!

CONRACK (Martin Ritt, 74). Folded, G
The young Jon Voight. I still can't understand his genetic connection to Angelina Jolie, beyond those lips. Superb movie, by the way, based on the teaching career of its Georgia-born author, Pat Conroy, as you can discover reading the type on the poster.

CONTACT (Robert Zemeckis, 97). Rolled, G
Not a poster I like--too plain--but I do cherish this brave film...at least, most of it (I dislike the visual treatment of the ending).

THE CONVERSATION (Francis Ford Coppola, 74). Folded, F
Excellent on all counts. I don't think I could ever give this poster up, even if it does have a small tear in it. 

COOKIE'S FORTUNE (Robert Altman, 99). Rolled, VG
Another late-career lamo one-sheet for Robert Altman. Still, it's Altman, and I have to have it. I do like that the late, lamented Patricia Neal is featured on here, though. That might be a first in her career.

COUNTDOWN (Robert Altman, 68). Folded, VG
Still one of the few Altman movies I haven't seen. The poster is extra two-tinted cool, though, and printed on non-glossy paper, which I always find to be a plus. And I love anything to do with astronauts...

CRASH (David Cronenberg, 96). Rolled, G
Again, red and black--always a winner. This very well may be the best Cronenberg poster out there (his one-sheets tend to be on the dull side). That bizarrely censored image of the nude Deborah Kara Unger is enough to take your mind off the less creative four-red-faces design at the top.

CRIES AND WHISPERS (Ingmar Bergman, 73). Folded, review sheet, VG
Unlike many poster collectors, I think review sheets are fun to have, because they can provide you with lots of reading as they're hanging on your wall. And who wouldn't want to read about a great movie like this?

CRY FREEDOM (Richard Attenbourough, 87). Folded, G
I don't care for this film, but somehow the poster's artwork keeps me hanging on.

CUJO (Lewis Teague, 83). Folded, G
Dull coloring for an intermittently effective horror semi-classic.

CURSE OF THE JADE SCORPION (Woody Allen, 2001). Rolled, VG
Ugh. I have this only because I'm a Scorpio.

CUTTER AND BONE (A.K.A. CUTTER'S WAY) (Ivan Passer, 81). Folded, VG
This might be one of the rarest pieces in my collection, since it's for a movie that has a cult following under the title of Cutter's Way. This is a BETTER poster than the Cutter's Way version, which should tell you how much the then-beleaguered United Artists screwed up in promoting this wonderful modern noir title. See this film immediately, if you haven't already.