Jazz Calendar

Ah, so that’s why this is included in the Jarman box set. (It’s not directed by Jarman.)

Well, that is very scenery.

The newly-compiled jazz soundtrack is pretty odd.

Even for a single camera/no edits shooting of a ballet, it’s not done very well. I mean, the third bottom half here, for instance, is below the stage… and while they move the camera slightly, it seems pretty random. This seems to be Edmee Wood’s only credit on imdb.

So I guess this is more of a documentation of a ballet than a short film?

OK, now the soundtrack is more straightforward.

I’m not really into ballet — I mean, I don’t dislike it or anything, I’ve just not seen much ballet.

But I’m not sure whether these people are really that good dancers? Their movements seem kinda tentative and sometimes awkward?

Oh my god! Wood zoomed in a bit!

Right:

Jazz Calendar is a ballet created in 1968 by Frederick Ashton to the music of Richard Rodney Bennett. The ballet was first performed on 9 January 1968 by The Royal Ballet at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, with designs by Derek Jarman. The work was performed over 50 times up to 1979 by the Royal Ballet at Covent Garden but is not part of the current repertoire.

See? It’s just kinda not very … physical. But perhaps it’s meant to look tentative and awkward? You never know with these arteestes.

It does seem in-credible that the London Opera House would have downright bad dancers in their ballet, but…

And perhaps it would have been better with the original music?

OK, Wikipedia said that this section is supposed to be a parody of a men’s dancing class… but they aren’t dancing any worse here than in the previous sections.

So how to throw the die on this one? It’s not meant to be a “real movie” or anything, so I’m gonna score it on the ballet itself (with the music on this bluray):

Jazz Calendar. Edmee Wood. 1968. ⚁

Drive a Crooked Road

The films on this Columbia Noir bluray box set have been mostly… not that good? But nicely restored, at least. And this looks, I guess, like another one of those.

Eating angrily!

Oh, they’re ribbing Rooney for being a natural blond(e)!

It’s lust at first sight!

I haven’t seen many movies by the director, Richard Quine, I think, but the one I have seen — Paris When It Sizzles — was a hoot. And… this seems pretty cool so far. It’s an original way to set up a movie, and I’m not quite sure where it’s going? But I guess Rooney and that dame (Dianne Foster) are gonna hook up somehow.

Hey! I had some car problems the other day, but no mechanic made house calls for me! That’s so sexist!

I’m really enjoying this! It’s weird! She has some nefarious plan, but what! I mean beyond getting into Rooney’s pants, but that’s normal!

I guess the most likely plot is that she needs a fall guy of some kind… or a driver for doing a heist? Both?

Now that’s a horny car mechanic!

I think the moral here is… never trust a man that can cook!

This movie has so many little great touches — like that awfully drunk woman butting into The Scheme.

Kevin McCarthy is so evil!

OK, this scene could have been really exciting if they’d had a bigger budget… I mean, it’s a B movie, and they’ve kept to a couple of smaller locations, but the movie looks great — it hasn’t been really obvious how small the budget must have been until we get to scenes like this.

It’s a simple, small movie — but it’s done so well. I totally enjoyed this, and I had no idea that Rooney could act this well.

Drive a Crooked Road . Richard Quine. 1954. ⚄