William Fraker Movies
- 2003
Heeding the familiar quote by 19th century newspaper editor Horace Greeley, Dutch filmmakers Peter Delpeut and Mart Dominicus go on a trip through the American West searching for the reasons behind the rise and fall in popularity of the American Western film genre in the duo's 2003 documentary Go West, Young Man! Longtime Western film enthusiasts, Delpeut and Dominicus visit a number of the locales that were featured in such films as Shane, Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid, and Monte Walsh, as well as the various settings in Monument Valley used by John Ford in his films. Along the way, the filmmakers talk to some of the residents of these sites in order to understand what it means to live in the West, as well as to discern if the world's love affair with the Western film can ever be rekindled. Go West, Young Man! was screened in conjunction with Monte Walsh at the 2003 Rotterdam International Film Festival. ~ Ryan Shriver, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- John Milius, William Fraker, (more)
- 1971
- R
Maverick director Floyd Mutrux made his feature debut with this offbeat semi-documentary look at the realities of the Los Angeles drug scene. Mutrux and his camera crew follow a handful of real-life heroin addicts as they go through their daily routines of scoring dope and whiling away the hours until their next fix. (The dealers are played by actors, among them William Fraker, a noted cinematographer who helped shoot the film, and Billy Gray, a former child star from Father Knows Best.) Dusty and Sweets are a thirty-something couple whose often strained relationship is held together by their shared dependence on heroin. Kit is a blasé male hustler who turns tricks to support his habit. Tip is a self-described "everyday card-carrying dope fiend" who demonstrates his technique for ripping off supermarkets and explains how to keep up a habit behind bars. And a cheerfully blank teenage couple seem to spend their days either shooting up, nodding off, or wondering where to get more dope. Though featuring enough on-screen skin popping to make nearly any audience wince, Dusty and Sweets McGee's beautiful photography and languid mood captures the blissfully narcotic allure of Los Angeles in a way that makes the film compelling, while allowing its subjects to seem both human and tragic. Dusty and Sweets McGee also includes a soundtrack of vintage rock and roll radio, and a brief appearance by the group Blues Image, playing their sole hit "Ride Captain Ride". ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- 1931
Sherlock Holmes' Fatal Hour marked the first of five appearances by Arthur Wontner in the role of Holmes. Based on two Conan Doyle stories, The Final Problem and The Empty House, the story begins with a robbery and murder at a London bank. Holmes is certain that the mastermind behind this and several related crimes is his old nemesis, Professor Moriarty (Norman McKinnel), at present posing as one Colonel Henslow. Racing against time, Holmes and his aide Dr. Watson (Ian Fleming) try to prevent young diplomat attache Roland Adair (Leslie Perrins) from becoming a reluctant accomplice to Moriarty's latest scheme. Boasting excellent production values (especially notable in the accurate rendition of Holmes' Baker Street lodgings), Sherlock Holmes' Fatal Hour got the Wontner Holmes series off to a rousing start. The film was originally released in the England as The Sleeping Cardinal, a title which makes sense only in context. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Arthur Wontner, Ian Fleming, (more)
