Background: This might be a bold statement for a director who’s not even
listed in my college history of film text book, but I would like to make the
case that Blake Edwards ruled the 60s or at least epitomized it.
This was very much a transitory decade as the studio system
was collapsing and the new wave of American auteurs who would re-invigorate
cinema would only arrive at the tail end of the decade and many of those
directors would take a while to develop their style and gain the capital for
their dream projects. There were a few masters at the top of their game like
Stanley Kubrick and David Lean and some of the live TV generation like Sidney
Lumet, Norman Jewison, and John Frankenheimer would hit the ground running.
When I look through my experiences with 60s films (that
doesn’t include the early efforts of the new wave or the last remnants of those
studio masters), I often think of this as the era of sophisticated comedy: If
Lubitsch had a travel budget that let him shoot in Europe, fewer code
restrictions and had the luxury of color, that’s the 60s. The color palate of
films in this era ranging from West Side Story to Sweet Charity are rich and
span the rainbow (in the case of Adam West’s “Batman” they were oversaturated
but that’s the general idea). An inordinate number of films (Topkapi, Gambit,
Charade, Marnie, The Thomas Crown Affair) I’ve seen involve art or jewel twists
which reads as more sexy and sophisticated to movie audiences than it does
gritty as far as crimes go. Even prostitution became sophisticated in the hands
of Billy Wilder’s Irma la Douce which is so innocent, it’s family-friendly.
This was the era where Europeans Gina Lollobrigida, Melina Mercouri, Claudia
Cardinale, Sophia Loren, and Lila Kedrova became stars without having to
subvert their identities to the Midwestern ideal. It was also the era of Bond
which certainly would not have been popular if they went for an Atomic
Blonde/Jason Bourne look.
All you need to know about how Edwards epitomized this
finesse was to look at the poster to Breakfast at Tiffany’s. Audrey Hepburn
(another exotic European) has a posh dress a mouth-wateringly opulent diamond
necklace and a cigarette that doesn’t look like it was bought at a local
pharmacy.
Blake Edwards’s films were visually polished and he was
equally adept at black-and-white as he was with color. I also feel that when it
comes to comedy auteurs, people point to Woody Allen and Mel Brooks but tend to
leave Blake Edwards out. Is it because Peter Sellers gets more credit? At the
same time, a film like Days of Wine and Roses showed a capacity for dramatic
material with a Serksian flair.
Blake Edwards was born in Tulsa, Oklahoma in 1922 and was a
child of divorce. Edwards made his way to Hollywood through good old-fashioned
nepotism. His stepfather was a mid-level producer at 20th Century Fox and his
stepfather only got that job because Edwards’ step-grandfather was J. Gordon
Edwards , a big-time silent director who was most famous for his work with Theda
Bara. Edwards’s step-family got him extra work which led to small roles and
eventually writing credits in the early days of TV. He married Julie Andrews
and had no natural children of his own, instead adopting two and inheriting a
stepchild, so way to go on population control. He was also the inaugural
visiting scholar at Arizona State’s film school.
What Most People Agree are the Essentials: Days of Wine and
Roses, Victor/Victoria, Pink Panther
Number I’ve seen: About 5 1/4: I’ve seen What did You do in the
War Daddy?, Pink Panther, A Shot in the Dark, Revenge of the Pink Panther, The
Great Race and some of Days of Wine and Roses (it was playing on TCM and I
didn’t have the DVD).
Favorite: I’m pretty much writing this entry because of The
Pink Panther which I think is one of the greatest comedic films ever made.
There’s no better way to punctuate the cozy obliviousness of the jet set than
to make them glaringly blind to the guilt of a debonair thief (David Niven) and
unaware of just how incapable the bumbling detective (Peter Sellers) is who’s
trailing him. The brilliance of Inspector Clouseau is that it’s not entirely
far-fetched that he could have held onto his job after all those years through
bureaucratic glitches, dumb luck, and persistence. I’ve watched this film at multiple ages and
it always holds up.
Underrated: The Great Race is like a cross between Around
the World in 80 Days and Wile E. Coyote vs the Road Runner. One of the most
glaring things about the film is a complete lack of character exposition. Two
professors (Jack Lemmon and Tony Curtis) have a rivalry that extends to
destructive pranks and the film opens on their prank war without telling the
audience the who and why of what we’re seeing. It’s a film that revels in
cartoonish immaturity but also has a playful sweetness: Natalie Wood adds quite
a bit to the film as an prim and proper reporter who plans to cover this
around-the-world car race (again, this isn’t a film that makes logical sense) a
la Nelly Bly and she serves as a love interest for Tony Curtis. Don’t feel bad
for Jack Lemmon’s character: He has Peter Falk as a companion.
Overrated: There are no films of Edwards to date that I
regret watching and that I wouldn’t recommend. Trail of the Pink Panther
attempted to cobble together a film from left-over footage of the Peter Sellers
post-mortem (reportedly in a manner that wasn’t cleared with Peter Sellers’
estate) and it’s rightfully panned so I can’t call it overrated. I will suggest
A Shot in the Dark isn’t as good as the original. The element of surprise is
hard to replicate in the original and the ironic ending that Clouseau is right
after all is the perfect ending to his character arc.
Blind Spots: I really should try to find a copy of Days of
Wine and Roses rather than waiting for it to come back on TCM to see the second
half. I remember turning it off at some
point because I didn’t want to watch a darker film about alcoholism and I
regret that. I can’t really speak about his expertise with drama if I haven’t
seen anything of his in that field. Victor/Victoria, in which he collaborated
with wife, Julie Andrews, could be another interesting take on gender politics
and perhaps cover what Tootsie (which I critiqued last week) was missing.
S.O.B. was nominated for a Golden Globe but its plot—a director decides to do a
topless scene with his lead actress—doesn’t seem like much to make a movie
about. There’s also an 80’s movie called Blind Date and in the same way that
seeing Billy Wilder try to tailor his style to later times in his final films,
it might be interesting to see Edwards navigate 80s mores (I imagine his film
would be significantly more showing than dancing around in a Lubitschesque
way).
Filmography as director (39 films):
Blake Edwards’ Son of the Pink Panther (1993)
Switch (1991)
Skin Deep (1989)
Peter Gunn (1989)
Justin Case (1988)
Sunset (1988)
Blind Date (1987)
That’s Life! (1986)
Fine Mess, A (1986)
Micki & Maude (1984)
Curse of the Pink Panther (1983)
Man Who Loved Women, The (1983)
Trail of the Pink Panther (1982)
Victor/Victoria (1982)
S.O.B. (1981)
10 (1979)
Revenge of The Pink Panther (1978)
The Pink Panther Strikes Again (1976)
Return Of The Pink Panther, The (1975)
Tamarind Seed, The (1974)
The Carey Treatment (1972)
Wild Rovers (1971)
Darling Lili (1970)
The Party (1968)
Gunn (1967)
What Did You Do in the War, Daddy? (1966)
The Great Race (1965)
A Shot in the Dark (1964)
The Pink Panther (1964)
Experiment in Terror (1962)
Days of Wine and Roses (1962)
Breakfast at Tiffany’s (1961)
High Time (1960)
Operation Petticoat (1959)
The Perfect Furlough (1959)
This Happy Feeling (1958)
Mister Cory (1957)
He Laughed Last (1956)
Bring Your Smile Along (1955)
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