This was Andy Griffith's film debut, and if you've only ever seen him on Matlock and The Andy Griffith Show, as I have, oh my God are you in for a surprise. First off, just look at the DVD cover:
And this doesn't even begin to show you the level of crazy that Andy brings to the role of "Lonesome" Rhodes. He's like a cross between a psychotic Will Rogers and Lex Luthor. You have an idea right from the start that he's not going to really be a good guy (although he is sure good at playing one), since Patricia Neal finds him in a scuzzy country jail, but just wait and see what happens when he gets a little power. One of his trademarks is this big hearty belly laugh that at first just seems a bit overdone. By the end of the movie he might as well be going "mwa ha ha" like the rest of the super villains; this laugh is now one of the creepiest things you've ever heard.Patricia Neal is wonderful as a woman radio reporter who discovers Lonesome, and is slowly crushed as she comes to realize just what kind of person she has introduced to the world. Walter Matthau plays Mel Miller, a writer for the original "Lonesome Rhodes" show, who is the first to see how truly frightening Lonesome really is, and makes his escape, to eventually pen a tell-all book. The best part is, he doesn't even have to publish it, because Lonesome is exposed in a much more satisfying way, which I won't spoil for you.
The movie makes a statement about the power of celebrity, and just what kind of people we are putting up on these pedestals. I highly recommend it.
 |
| How this face ended up becoming the beloved Sherriff Taylor, I have no idea. |
No comments:
Post a Comment