Gloria LeRoy | Scott's Film Reviews-1,505 Reviews posted!!! RECENTLY LAUNCHED-MY TOP 250 FAVORITE FILMS AND TOP 40 HORROR FILMS!!!

The Day of the Locust-1975

Director John Schlesinger

Starring William Atherton, Karen Black, Donald Sutherland

Top 250 Films #189

Scott’s Review #1,460

Reviewed January 16, 2025

Grade: A

I love films set in Los Angeles, especially those dealing with Hollywood and/or the dark underbelly of the City of Angels. With its lights and allure, there is a murky side laden with drama, jealousy, and loneliness.

John Schlesinger’s dark period piece The Day of the Locust (1975) examines the bleak lives of several aspiring people in 1930s Hollywood, just before World War II.

The prominent themes are alienation and desperation, whose aspirations of success do not come true, emphasizing the sad saying, ‘The road to Hollywood is paved with broken dreams.’

It’s a brilliant adaptation by screenwriter Waldo Salt, based on Nathanael West’s 1939 novel of the same title. The film horrifically depicts the Hollywood film industry in all its artificial glitz and glamour.

In 1930s Los Angeles, sunny Hollywood shined like a beacon to helpless people across the city who were looking for fame, fortune, or a quick buck.

In one apartment block, blond bombshell Faye Greener (Black) aspires to be an actress, artist Tod Hackett (Atherton) seeks legitimacy, and a frightening child actor named Adore (Jackie Earle Haley) performs a grotesque homage to Mae West.

Introverted accountant Homer Simpson (Donald Sutherland) watches as society collapses under greed and ambition.

From a romantic standpoint, Homer and Tod vie for Faye’s affection in a tragic triangle fraught with jealousy and competition.

Schlesinger knows his way around dark, influential, intelligent films. He created stalwarts such as Midnight Cowboy (1969) and Sunday Bloody Sunday (1975), both unconventional and controversial, the former being the only film ever to win Best Picture and garnering an X rating.

The Day of the Locust is no different.

There is scarcely a likable character in the cast, but I ascertain that Tod is the most stable and trustworthy in the rogues gallery.

He appears grounded and the voice of reason, though he mocks Homer later on at a party, so he’s not exactly Prince Charming. He arrives to work as an art department production illustrator at a major film studio and rents an apartment in the same community as the other characters.

Gently, he places a lovely flower in a crack in the wall.

Tod is smitten with Faye, a callous vixen who beds not one, not two, not three, but four men and makes no bones about it. Not exactly a feminist, she is more concerned with rising to move star status at any cost.

We meet Faye as she works as an extra in a lavish production. She smacks gum and then snaps into character as a royal sophisticate, revealing a tacky and tawdry presence to the audience.

Later, during the grand finale, she tries to glimpse the big stars arriving in limos at a premiere event at Grauman’s Chinese Theatre, one in a crowd of thousands.

She’s a lost soul, filled with self-deluded importance, desperately wanting the spotlight in whatever form she can.

Her father is played by Burgess Meredith, who nearly steals the show as an elderly, washed-up ex-vaudevillian.

Despite the outstanding performances, the production design and cinematography are flawless and seamlessly portray what life was like in Hollywood in the early days.

My favorite sequences are in the movie sets filled with pizazz, glamour, and intricacies.

The most significant scene, though, occurs at the star-studded event, a premiere of The Buccaneer, when all hell breaks loose, and a tragic death occurs, leading to subsequent bloodshed and further death and destruction.

It’s a spectacle, supposed to be the movie event of the year, with champagne and the ultimate celebration of film, but the stark nature of one’s rage overtakes the beautiful moment.

During this pivotal scene, we see the darkness of humanity counterbalanced against the glitz and glamour of movie stars.

Schlesinger masterfully takes us through this journey of human depravity with flawless ease.

The Day of the Locust (1975) is a brilliant film.

Oscar Nominations: Best Supporting Actor-Burgess Meredith, Best Cinematography

Pennies from Heaven-1981

Director Herbert Ross

Starring Steve Martin, Bernadette Peters, Christopher Walken

Scott’s Review #1,480

Reviewed May 10, 2025

Grade: A

Pennies from Heaven (1981) may be Steve Martin’s best film role and Bernadette Peters’s most excellent cinematic performance. Audiences did not receive the film well upon release, but many of the best movies are not.

Critics, however, applauded the film, which earned writer Dennis Potter an Academy Award nomination for Best Adapted Screenplay.

Watching (for the first time) in 2025, the film doesn’t feel dated, as many 1980s films do. Furthermore, Pennies from Heaven doesn’t feel like a 1930s set film in the 1980s either.

The opening sequence features credits amid clouds, later dances on the tops of bars, and kids in a schoolhouse playing white pianos, which is fresh and authentic.

These aspects enhance the dazzling musical production numbers. The songs are lip-synced, which strangely works after a brief period of adjustment, given that they are popular songs of the 1920s–30s, such as ‘Let’s Misbehave,’ ‘Life Is Just a Bowl of Cherries,’ ‘Let’s Face the Music and Dance,’ and the terrific ‘Pennies from Heaven’.

Unconventional in film, sometimes the action in a scene suddenly stops, and a musical number begins. The songs reflect the times with an overpowering sadness.

The story follows Arthur Parker (Steve Martin), a Depression-era sheet-music salesman with dreams of becoming a big success. When Arthur faces relationship problems with his wife, Joan (Jessica Harper), he begins an affair with a shy and beautiful teacher, Eileen (Bernadette Peters).

Though Arthur and Eileen connect, societal and financial obstacles threaten their happiness.

The film is highly stylized and looks stunning. The darker lighting, especially during musical numbers, looks muted to reflect the bleak nature of the Depression period.

I was continually surprised by this film. Situations arose that threw me for a loop, especially Eileen’s pregnancy and subsequent journey into the world of prostitution. At first meek and virginal, she becomes a savvy and more demanding character as the film progresses.

Eileen is my favorite character.

Peters was robbed of an Oscar nomination, which is surprising because she is emotionally invested in the character. Although she expects to hate sleeping with men for money, she doesn’t find it so bad, and it’s an easy way to make money during a time when most had no resources.

I adore Peter’s facial expressions as she embarrassingly looks away or her eyes well with tears.

A shocking death devastated me towards the film’s end, even though the character was minor.

I wasn’t as enamored with Arthur’s character as with Martin’s performance. Arthur, horny and a bit of a cad, disappoints me when he is mean to troubled and struggling accordion player (played wonderfully by Vernal Bagneris). He also doesn’t treat his wife very well.

Nonetheless, his dramatic turn is refreshing compared with his typical slapstick roles, and he and Peters have great chemistry.

Christopher Walken, in a small role as Tom a stylish pimp, brings down the house with a wacky dance.

The rich and complex writing showcases an anti-hero with layers of complexities and supporting characters looking to survive. The 1930s setting is crucial as characters scramble like mice to find a bit of cheese and navigate a complex maze.

Pennies from Heaven (1981) is not a film for mainstream moviegoers. Instead, the film will be a surprising treat for those eager to peel back an onion and immerse themselves in good cinema.

Oscar Nominations: Best Adapted Screenplay