Barbara Flood Movies
A legendary theatrical family gather for one final show at their East Hamptons estate in this verbose comedy-drama. Swedish actress Viveca Lindfors takes center stage as Helena, the family matriarch, who has made the difficult decision to sell the estate due to financial problems. A mixed group has come for what will be the last of the family's annual summer performances, a gathering that naturally brings conflicts and rivalries to the surface. Much of the trouble centers on Oona (Victoria Foyt), a financially successful Hollywood actress seeking artistic approval from such theatrical colleagues as avant-garde director Ivan (André Gregory) and gay playwright Jake (real-life dramatist Jon Robin Baitz), who each has difficulties of his own. As in all of writer/director Henry Jaglom's films, the focus is on conversation over action, as the various characters share personal torments and debate their individual philosophies. The talky, intellectual dialogue will be seen by some viewers as witty and perceptive and by others as pretentious and slow-moving. Regardless of one's opinion of Jaglom's idiosyncratic style, Last Summer in the Hamptons is distinguished by the presence of Lindfors in her final film, giving a career-capping performance that addresses the problems of older actresses and looks back fondly on the star's own history. ~ Judd Blaise, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Victoria Foyt, Viveca Lindfors, (more)
Orson Welles made his final screen appearance as, appropriately enough, Orson Welles (or "Danny's Friend") in Henry Jaglom's "emotional vérité" comedy Someone to Love. The film begins as filmmaker Danny (Henry Jaglom) prepares to spend the night at his girlfriend Helen (Andrea Marcovicci)'s apartment. Helen has just adjusted to sleeping alone after the breakup of her previous relationship and tells Danny that if he stays with her, she won't be able to go to sleep. Fascinated by the explanation, Danny sends out telegrams to a bunch of his Hollywood friends to meet on Valentine's Day at a Santa Monica theater, the Mayfair, that is about to be torn down to make way for a shopping mall. Danny figures that he will throw a party for his lonely celebrity friends. He also reasons that he could introduce his brother, real estate developer Mickey (Michael Emil, Jaglom's real-life brother), to some romantic companions. The party would also be a handy way to get some film footage. The day of the party, Danny's friends arrive --a famous movie star (Sally Kellerman); a pop singer named Blue (Stephen Bishop); a jazz pianist (David Frishberg); a sophisticated continental woman named Yelena (Oja Kodar); and, bringing up the rear and ensconced in the back of the theater, Danny's Friend (Orson Welles). With his camera crew in tow, Danny takes to filming his guests as they answer questions about love and loneliness. ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Orson Welles, Henry Jaglom, (more)
- 1971
A Safe Place, writer/director Henry Jaglom's feature film debut, is a time-fractured, hallucinatory fantasy, featuring Tuesday Weld as a lonely and confused woman named, at times, Susan and at other times Noah, who comments that "Tomorrow is where the past is." Too delicately ethereal to cope with either the hussle and bustle of a 1970 New York City or her un-hip boyfriend, Fred (Philip Proctor), Susan/Noah escapes into another reality, presided over by The Magician (Orson Welles with a cheap Yiddish accent). As she flits back and forth between past and present, fantasy and reality, Susan encounters Mitch (Jack Nicholson), an old lover who might also be her brother, and Bari (Gwen Welles) who delivers a soliloquy concerning New York City mashers. Opinion about this film was so divided when it was shown at the 1971 New York Film Festival, that the audience broke out into shouting matches which nearly led to a brawl. One highlight of the film is the wide assortment of popular music in its soundtrack. ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Tuesday Weld, Orson Welles, (more)
