By Steven Suskin
30 Jan 2011

All right. What musical comedy star came to Broadway directly from a film during which, in the harrowing opening sequence, she appears as a prostitute violently — but I mean violently — beating her pimp to a pulp with a telephone receiver, in the course of which her wig flies off revealing her to be altogether bald? Constance Towers, of course, and if you didn't know this — well, I didn't, either. The Naked Kiss [Criterion] is the film, from controversial director Samuel Fuller.

A low-budget, noirish nightmare of a film from 1964 — the ads promised the "shock and shame story of a night girl!" — Fuller follows his heroine to small-town U.S.A., where she ditches her demons and takes up residence at a hospital for underprivileged handicapped children until yet another scandal intrudes. Dear Connie — who the following year starred in the Wright & Forrest operetta Anya, returned to Broadway in 1971 as the heroine of the even more ill-fated musicalization of "Exodus," Ari, and finally hit it big opposite Yul Brynner in the successful 1977 revival of The King and I — has not one but three violent scenes where she beats her tormentors to pulp. Sweet!

Also on hand is Patsy Kelly, of all people. If "The Naked Kiss" was seen as a throwaway exploitation film at the time, Mr. Fuller has achieved the reputation of a visionary who can be said to have set the path for the likes of Scorsese and Tarantino. So much so that Criterion has seen fit to give Blu-ray treatment to not only "The Naked Kiss" but Fuller's 1963 "Shock Corridor," which takes place in a mental asylum and also features Ms. Towers — who sits for interviews on both DVDs. And yes, she mentions Anya and her co-star in the tuner, Lillian Gish.

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James L. Brooks' 1987 film Broadcast News [Criterion] is marked by fine writing and direction (by Brooks, who also produced) and strong performances by the three stars. William Hurt is appealing as a very personable but not-very-bright TV journalist; Albert Brooks is even better as a brilliant but not very personable reporter who gets shoved aside by the pretty face of Hurt; and Holly Hunter is riveting as an expert news producer on the verge of a nervous breakdown. The combination of Hurt, Brooks, Hunter and James Brooks makes "Broadcast News" a delight to watch. The film bemoans the depths to which television journalism has sunk. Circa 1987, that is; broadcast news has since descended into another world altogether.

Brooks knows of what he writes; he started his career scripting television news at CBS in New York in the final days of Edward R. Murrow. Then on to sitcom land, where he was one of the creators of two newsroom sitcoms, "The Mary Tyler Moore Show" and "Lou Grant." As well as a few little items like "Taxi" and "The Simpsons." (He also created the wickedly funny "The Critic," which was too good for the average TV viewer.) His films include "Terms of Endearment," "As Good As It Gets," and "The Simpsons Movie." Which is to say, the fellow has a knack for incisive comedy with ideas contained within.

The Criterion release was "supervised and approved" by Brooks, and looks fine on Blu-ray. Special features include commentary by Brooks and editor Richard Marks; a documentary on Brooks' career featuring Marilu Henner and Julie Kavner; an interview with Susan Zirinsky, a CBS news producer who was a model for the Hunter character — and an associate producer of the film; and a featurette containing on-set interviews with the three stars. Oh, and there are deleted scenes plus an improvised and not exactly finished alternate ending in which girl finally gets boy as they ride off into the sunset, or rather in a DC cab.

There is also a little bonus within the film itself. Midway through, two scraggly young songwriters break into the newsroom to audition a newscast theme. Should the short, bearded fellow with wild hair, green shirt and flowered tie look familiar, there's a reason; it's Marc Shaiman, 15 years before Hairspray.

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Little need be said about our final film this month, which is the most important of the group: Steven Spielberg's The Color Purple [Warner]. Spielberg went out on something of a limb at the time, which was 1985; after "Jaws," "Close Encounters of the Third Kind," "E.T," and two Indiana Jones epics, his enthusiastic fan base was not expecting this searing and serious epic. Spielberg demonstrated that he was more than just a brilliant director of adventure films, paving the way for what was to come.

"The Color Purple," adapted from the Pulitzer Prize-winning novel by Alice Walker, embraced, enthused and enthralled viewers. It also introduced them to two of the more astounding and influential performers who — at the time — seemed unlikely candidates for overnight superstardom and instant celebrity. In a two-and-a-half hour film filled with fine performances, Whoopi Goldberg and Oprah Winfrey are equally riveting.

Warner has encased the Blu-ray in a photo-filled digibook. Bonus features include "Conversations with the Ancestors: The Color Purple from Book to Screen"; "A Collaboration of Spirits: Casting and Acting The Color Purple"; "Cultivating a Classic: The Making of The Color Purple"; and "The Color Purple: The Musical." The latter of which was, alas, ineffective in comparison with "The Color Purple" the Film.

(Steven Suskin is author of the recently released Updated and Expanded Fourth Edition of "Show Tunes" as well as "The Sound of Broadway Music: A Book of Orchestrators and Orchestrations," "Second Act Trouble" and the "Opening Night on Broadway" books. He can be reached at ssuskin@aol.com.)

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