January 14, 2007
9:52 PM Subscribe
A. I Bezzerides has died. He was the screenwriter for Kiss Me Deadly. The quote is from They Drive by Night, which he adapted from one of his novels.
This post was deleted for the following reason: enough with the dead people and the slow news cycle
Not to be too snarky, but this guy seems to have written a book and a few screen plays, 50-60 years ago. Not much else since then. And I hadn't even heard of him before. But then again, there is much I do not know. Assuming he deserved a fpp, maybe putting a little meat on it wouldn't hurt?
The MeFites are growing restless.
posted by CitrusFreak12 at 10:59 PM on January 14, 2007
The MeFites are growing restless.
posted by CitrusFreak12 at 10:59 PM on January 14, 2007
brujita, is there a reason you think his life was important? Linking to a couple of paragraphs doesn't really convey anything about why the man's death was noteworthy.
Anyway, this Variety review of last year's documentary about him, Buzz, offers more to go on:
In his body language, approach to writing and no-nonsense attitudes, Buzz, interviewed at his spartan Woodland Hills home, irresistibly recalls the late Sam Fuller. Philosophical in his (clearly not wealthy) old age, he narrates how he dealt with the town on its own terms, privately charging stars like George Raft and Edward G. Robinson $5,000 each to rewrite their dialogue.
It was Humphrey Bogart, for whom Buzz had also quietly polished dialogue, who helped propel his career, with tough-guy dramas during the late '40s and 1950s. Buzz excelled at the pungent, dime-novel dialogue in vogue at the time--though, curiously, he thought Mickey Spillane's novel "Kiss Me Deadly" "stank."
Buzz also became a lifelong pal of Robert Mitchum. But despite his heavyweight friendships, Buzz' scarcely concealed left-wing sympathies meant he never got any really major jobs during what should have been his heyday, the '50s. Though he was never called before HUAC, like Robinson and others he existed on the so-called "gray list."
The other reviews at Rotten Tomatoes have a few other tidbits.
posted by mediareport at 11:23 PM on January 14, 2007
Anyway, this Variety review of last year's documentary about him, Buzz, offers more to go on:
In his body language, approach to writing and no-nonsense attitudes, Buzz, interviewed at his spartan Woodland Hills home, irresistibly recalls the late Sam Fuller. Philosophical in his (clearly not wealthy) old age, he narrates how he dealt with the town on its own terms, privately charging stars like George Raft and Edward G. Robinson $5,000 each to rewrite their dialogue.
It was Humphrey Bogart, for whom Buzz had also quietly polished dialogue, who helped propel his career, with tough-guy dramas during the late '40s and 1950s. Buzz excelled at the pungent, dime-novel dialogue in vogue at the time--though, curiously, he thought Mickey Spillane's novel "Kiss Me Deadly" "stank."
Buzz also became a lifelong pal of Robert Mitchum. But despite his heavyweight friendships, Buzz' scarcely concealed left-wing sympathies meant he never got any really major jobs during what should have been his heyday, the '50s. Though he was never called before HUAC, like Robinson and others he existed on the so-called "gray list."
The other reviews at Rotten Tomatoes have a few other tidbits.
posted by mediareport at 11:23 PM on January 14, 2007
The MeFites are growing restless.
Hey, I left a comma.
posted by dhammond at 12:07 AM on January 15, 2007
Hey, I left a comma.
posted by dhammond at 12:07 AM on January 15, 2007
deathfilter grows ever more tedious
one link deathfilter of a relatively unknown soul is far too tedious
is this guy a relative or something? why is this significant enough for the front page?
posted by caddis at 5:03 AM on January 15, 2007
one link deathfilter of a relatively unknown soul is far too tedious
is this guy a relative or something? why is this significant enough for the front page?
posted by caddis at 5:03 AM on January 15, 2007
Upon waking/reading the thread, mediareport puts what I wanted to say in better, more non-assholeish terms.
And really, read the MeTa thread. It might give you tips on what to do or what not to do next time you want to post one of these. Or perhaps it's already been pancaked. I don't know. But check it out.
posted by CitrusFreak12 at 6:38 AM on January 15, 2007
And really, read the MeTa thread. It might give you tips on what to do or what not to do next time you want to post one of these. Or perhaps it's already been pancaked. I don't know. But check it out.
posted by CitrusFreak12 at 6:38 AM on January 15, 2007
They Drive By Night is one of the great films of all time. Fuck the haters-- this guy was chill.
.
posted by koeselitz at 6:40 AM on January 15, 2007
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posted by koeselitz at 6:40 AM on January 15, 2007
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posted by dhammond at 10:57 PM on January 14, 2007