Lee Savin Movies
Film producer and entertainment lawyer Lee Savin backed several important independent features during the 1970s. His filmography includes Ossie Davis' excellent depiction of a black family, Black Girl (1971), starring Leslie Uggams and Brock Peters and The Blue Bird (1976), a children's fantasy starring Elizabeth Taylor and Jane Fonda -- and the first Soviet-U.S. co-production. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi- 1977
- R
Based loosely on the real-life relationship between political activist Angela Davis and convict-turned-author George Jackson, Brothers stars Bernie Casey as David Thomas, who begins corresponding with college professor and outspoken black activist Paula Jones (Vonetta McGee) after he's convicted of a crime he didn't commit. David's relationship with Paula gives him strength and insight as he tries to survive in the brutally violent and racist environment of prison. A great deal more serious and politically minded than most of the other "blaxploitation" films of its era, Brothers was directed by Arthur Barron, in a severe departure from his previous film, the sweet teenage love story Jeremy. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi
- Starring:
- Bernie Casey, Vonetta McGee, (more)
- 1976
The first official co-production between the United States and the Soviet Union, The Blue Bird was the third screen adaptation of the children's story by Maurice Maeterlinck about a pair of children, Tyltyl (Todd Lookinland) and Mytyl (Patsy Kensit), who leave home to search for the Blue Bird of Happiness. After spending some time wandering through a fantasy world and encountering The Night (Jane Fonda), The Cat (Cicely Tyson), Luxury (Ava Gardner), Father Time (Robert Morley), and The Oak (Harry Andrews), they meet The Queen of Light (Elizabeth Taylor) and discover that true happiness can be found right at home, with your family. As the box-office failure of the first two versions of this story proves, putting this sort of children's fantasy on film is tricky business, and despite a top-notch cast of American and Soviet talent and the directorial expertise of veteran filmmaker George Cukor, The Blue Bird had a notoriously difficult production, with the American and Russian crews not always understanding each other's working methods, the Soviet camera crew not knowing how to light African-American actress Cicely Tyson, and Jane Fonda often trying to engage the Russian crew members in political discussions. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi
- Starring:
- Elizabeth Taylor, Jane Fonda, (more)
- 1972
In this melodrama a mother tries to compensate for her feelings of inadequacy and failure as a parent to her own children by taking in a troubled foster child. As she struggles to make up for her past mistakes, her jealous daughters mistreat the girl. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi
- 1965
Hurriedly assembled to capitalize on the Paramount feature of the same name, Magna Pictures' Harlow was shot in less than two weeks, utilizing a glorified TV-kinescope process called Electronovision. Carol Lynley is physically an excellent choice to play 1930s Hollywood "platinum blonde" Jean Harlow, though she has little of Harlow's casual charisma. Pushed into a movie career by Mama Jean (Ginger Rogers) in order to support her dysfunctional family, Jean rises from 2-reel comedies to big-budget features in the space of a year. Though one of the highest-priced stars at MGM, Jean's fortune is rapidly depleted by her high-living (and, it is hinted, incestuous) stepfather Marino Bello (Barry Sullivan). Seeking happiness and security, Jean marries producer Paul Bern (Hurd Hatfield), only to have him commit suicide due to his impotence. Just when her misery is about to be ended by her marriage to movie star William Mansfield (Efrem Zimbalist Jr.)--a thinly disguised William Powell, who refused to allow his name or likeness to be used--Jean dies of uremia at the age of 26. If you can get past those miserable Laurel & Hardy imitators at the beginning of Harlow, you might be able to survive the rest of the picture, which gives a whole new meaning to the word "cheap." Watch for boxing champ Sonny Liston in a one-scene bit. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Starring:
- Carol Lynley, Efrem Zimbalist, Jr., (more)
In 1964, producer and entrepreneur Bill Sargent and television director Steve Binder staged the Teen-Age Music International Show, a concert event which would showcase some of the biggest rock and pop acts of the day; Binder and his camera crew captured the proceedings on video tape (using a then-innovative high definition process called Electronovision), and the results were transferred to film and released to theaters as The T.A.M.I. Show. While The Beatles were occupied with making their own movie, the roster of performers otherwise reads like a "who's who" of early-60's rock -- original guitar hero Chuck Berry, three of Motown's biggest stars (Marvin Gaye, Smokey Robinson and the Miracles and The Supremes), two leading British Invasion acts (Gerry and the Pacemakers and Billy J. Kramer and the Dakotas), garage rock legends The Barbarians, teen angst goddess Leslie Gore, and surf music pioneers The Beach Boys and Jan & Dean (the latter of whom also served as hosts). Closing the show is a veritable "Battle of the Bands" between two of the most exciting stage acts in rock history, James Brown and his Famous Flames (Brown's dancing still inspires awe decades later) and The Rolling Stones (who look young and green, but are already blessed with a near-deadly charisma). Regarded by many aficionados as one of the very best rock and roll movies ever made, The T.A.M.I. Show was more talked about than seen within a few years of its original release; legal action by The Beach Boys caused their appearance to be cut from most archival prints, and music rights issues prevented the film from being released on home video until a fully restored DVD edition (including the Beach Boys performance) finally arrived in 2010.
~ Mark Deming, Rovi
~ Mark Deming, Rovi
