The Last Picture Show

Small town life is a bittersweet symphony. It usually involves a tight-knit community, quiet calm roads, and a main street with all of the attractions, or at least that's how it was in my case. While all that sounds nice, the yin to that yang is the lack of things to do. Our subject today deals with that very same thing...the small-town life in a Texas community. Following three teens over the course of a year we experience their pains, their joys, their boredom, and their decisions as they navigate what er all must navigate at some point. What life will be like after high school as they venture into adulthood. A movie with hard-hitting drama with tremendous acting and cinematography, it's one of the best products of an important American movement in cinema.

So if you’re like me and you enjoy film and the emotions they convey, then grab a glass of your preferred beverage and join me for the next little while. For me that’s a can of Pumpkin Ale from our friends at Cape May Brewery. So sit back, relax, and let’s talk about the love of film. Welcome to Glazed Cinema.

There’s a reason why the phrase small-town charm exists. However, I feel like that phrase exists for those not from the town, but for tourists passing through. While some love small-town life, it’s not for everyone, myself included. I only know this because I lived most of my life (at least to this point) in a small town in upstate New York. I enjoyed my childhood and wouldn't trade any of it for the world, but as I grew into young adulthood

after high school, so did my appetite for something more. I yearned to be somewhere that had culture, attractions, and art. When I did eventually move I was fortunate to find a home in Philadelphia where I love to live.

Today’s subject tackles a group of teens in a similar position, during a transitional period in their lives. They too live in a small-town, even smaller than mine and are about to graduate high school. It's a film that's a slow and brooding drama with phenomenal acting and a roller coaster of emotions.

Our story takes place in a small town in the heart of the Lone Star State named Anarene, Texas. There’s not much to do and there would be even less without the contributions of a man named Sam. Sam, otherwise known as Sam the Lion is a widower who lives with his mute son, Billy. Sam, played by western veteran Ben Johnson, is treasured among the town, but especially so by two boys, who see him as a mentor. The two boys are on the local high school football team and are co-captains. Both of them, Sonny and Duane, are best friends and live together in a boarding house in town. Sonny, played by Timothy Bottoms, is a sensitive and shy boy in public, but in his element when with Duane, his best friend. Duane, played by Jeff Bridges, on the other hand is more outgoing and confident. He's a fun-loving guy who is a star athlete, especially on the high school football team.

Usually hanging around with the two boys is Jacy, Duane’s girlfriend, played by Cybill Shepard. Jacy is the town beauty who lives with her mother of which she is very similar to. Jacy craves attention, in whatever variety she can ascertain it. She especially like attention from the opposite sex, which becomes increasingly more important as the movie goes on.

Two of the other places we usually find them is in their vehicles either driving around or hanging out inside them. Those include Duane's mercury and Sonny's truck. Of course other than that it would seem that most everyone we follow also has one other thing on their mind…I’m sure you can guess what that is. Speaking of which there is some partial nudity in this film, so be warned if watching with younger audiences.

We join the three friends during a transitional moment in their lives in the early '50s. Each is a high school senior, wrestling with their aspirations of the future, while preparing for the unknown that lies ahead of them. While in school and without much to do in the town, they busy themselves with what fun they can find. This includes fishing in the turtle pond...where there are no fish, the local pool hall, and the movie theater. The three latter businesses are all owned by Sam and the boys frequent all three throughout the film, but they love the Royal Theater.

With graduation creeping ever closer the question if what they do next becomes frightening. As more and more people leave for bigger cities, the town they know and love gets smaller every day. Standing on the edge of the precipice, each must decide what their future will entail.

There are two other important characters in this movie though, so I'll introduce them briefly. One of them is Jacy's mother, Lois, played by Ellen Burstyn. Lois is an attractive woman who is married to a rich man in town. Lois enjoys the lavish side of life and likes to have fun, but her surroundings make both of those hard. Her parenting style is a bit blasé, usually speaking to Jacy as a friend as opposed to a mother. She also very much enjoys bourbon and the sleep that having too much of it provides. The other character is Ruth Popper, the football coach's wife, played by Cloris Leachman. Ruth is a lonely woman, who feels neglected by her husband who puts a lot of time into coaching football. A housewife she is bored and a bit depressed. She does have one thing that draws her attention, but I'll leave that for you to find out.

Both womens' performances in The Last Picture Show are standouts of the film. They both do magnificent jobs depicting the characters. Burstyn is phenomenal as Lois, especially thanks to the ease in which she displays emotion. She doesn't have a while lot of screen time, but the tome she does have is felt. She has a presence and it permeates the screen. Leachman does equally well as Ruth and it may be the performance of her career.

Apart from these performances, those of Jeff Bridges, Timothy Bottoms, and Cybill Shepard are also fantastic, though in my opinion not quite on par with the aforementioned women. All three are early on in their careers and this effort marks either the first or one of the first motion picture roles they had. For me, all three knock their assignments out of the park as each character feels alive and well fleshed out. Also, funnily enough there's also a tie to our last episode, Clue here also as Eileen Brennan appears in both pictures. She was Miss Peacock in Clue and she is the Genevieve, the diner waitress in today's subject.

The Last Picture Show is based on a novel of the same name, written by Larry McMurty. McMurty wrote the book as a semi-autobiographical account of his childhood. He renamed his hometown in the book to Thalia, which is interesting as the movie too renamed it to Anarene. McMurty's actual hometown is Archer City, Texas and pretty much every scene in our subject today was filmed there. If you're asking where Anarene originated from, it happens to be, fittingly enough, the name of a ghost town just south of Archer City.

Directed by Peter Bogdanovich, The Last Picture Show captures the thoughts and emotions of teens in a small town. The stifling feeling when dreams, aspirations, and ambition are too big for the town. It’s a feeling I was all too familiar with when I first saw this movie while living in a small town in upstate New York. Granted my town was bigger than the one depicted in our subject today, but I yearned for more. As Rush once said, “the suburbs have no charms to soothe the restless dreams of youth.”

One of the great successes of our subject today is the cinematography. It's a film shot entirely in black and white using a 35 millimeter camera and shot by Robert Sortees. Originally the plan was to shoot in color, but Bogdanovich thought black and white would suit the plot more. He thought color would make everything too pretty and that black and white would feel grittier. Part of that feeling came from a legendary director who he had befriended, Orson Welles. Bogdanovich said to the veteran filmmaker, "I want to get the depth of field you had in Citizen Kane and The Young Ambersons". Welles said to him, "You'll never get it in color...shoot it in black and white. It's an actor's picture. You know what they say about black and white don't you? Black and white is an actor's best friend because every performance looks better in black and white.

The Last Picture Show is a product of the legendary BBS Productions. Founded by Bob Rafelson, Bert Schneider, and Steve Blauner, the company’s name derives from the initials of their first names. BBS produced some of the best films of what would be known as the New Hollywood movement.

The New Hollywood movement was an awakening in American cinema, which began to crawl with films like The Graduate and Bonnie and Clyde. Both films were much different than anything coming out of America at the time and ushered in an artful take of filmmaking. What followed was a creative awakening and emerging artists that are considered today to be among the best of their craft.

By the time New Hollywood laid its head down to rest cinema was left with some undeniable classics. All of the films had a few things in common, but maybe the most important was the emphasis on the craft of filmmaking and storytelling. Here we find emotion, drama, and subtext being pumped up to the max.

Some examples of this can be found in the movement's most notable pictures. Apocalypse Now, The Godfather, Raging Bull, Chinatown, The Exorcist, Manhattan, and The Deer Hunter to name a few. Within the New Hollywood movement, BBS produced a film I did a previous episode on, Five Easy Pieces and one of my all time favorite films and no doubt future episode, Easy Rider. By the time 1971 came around, BBS sought to give more directors an opportunity to make creative pictures and in came John Bogdanovich.

Bogdanovich was a writer for Esquire magazine and obsessed with movies. He on e said that in his youth he saw four-hundred films a year. He also curated movies for MOMA in New York. He landed his first directing gigs (as so many other directors of the time can say) thanks to Roger Corman. Corman produced low-budget movies and gave several notable directors their first seat in the director's chair. It was through these releases and the esteemed reputation he had built that BBS sought him out for today's subject and the rest they say is history.

There are several great scenes, shots, and sequences in this movie. One of my favorites though is when the Duane and Sonny go the movies. They're seeing the last film they'll see at the old Royal Theater, which happens to be Red River.

When I first watched this film, I was in the same moment of my life as Sonny, Duan, and Jacy. I was considering my future after high school, dreaming of going other places. All of my interests didn’t have homes in my town and I dreamed of finding somewhere they could be housed and nurtured so they could flourish.

When I watched The Last Picture Show a lot resonated with me. While I couldn’t relate to everything there was enough there to harpoon my interest and attention. It felt effortlessly honest and authentic, but more importantly, naturally so, which speaks volumes to the performances and the execution. I felt a real sense of place and For me, at that moment, it was the perfect film for the perfect time. It resonated with me and triggered my interest in independent American cinema. 

It did so upon its release too, sparking the creative outlets of many aspiring filmmakers. It also drew up some controversy for the lewd language found within its one-hundred eighteen minute duration. Apart from that however, The Last Picture Show was heralded by audiences and critics alike at the time as a modern classic. It was also nominated for eight Academy Awards including Best Picture, Best Picture, Best Cinematography, and Best Directing and came away with two wins, awarded to Cloris Leachman and Jeff Bridges for Best Actress and Actor in a Supporting Roles respectively.

Like the characters in The Last Picture Show, the cast and crew all went in separate directions. For some including Jeff Bridges, this meant more acting opportunities that flourished into a stellar career. Bridges has since been tied to beloved characters like Bad Blake, The Dude and Kevin Flynn and turned in terrific performances through the years.

For others, including Peter Bogdanovich this led to brief success and a lot of unfortunate tragedy. Bogdanovich directed What's Up Doc and Paper Moon soon afterward with great success. After those pursuits however he never reached the same heights. Sadly by the mid-nineties he was bankrupt and his reputation in tatters.

The Last Picture Show was lightning in a bottle that spoke to a generation and continues to resonate with people today. If you have never seen this film and enjoy the more nuanced side of cinema, I recommend pressing play on our subject today. There's a lot of meat in the bone and I don't think you'll be disappointed.

If you’d like to watch The Last Picture Show for yourself you can find it on a variety of streaming services. At the time of this recording you can find it on The Criterion Channel. The Criterion Channel is a service of tremendous value for seasoned and bourgeoning film fans alike. From our friends at The Criterion Collection, you can enjoy the Channel at either $10.99 per month or $99 per year, which is what I chose to do.

Apart from the Criterion Channel you can also find it on other services including Prime Video, Vudu, Apple TV, Google Play, and YouTube for $3.99 to rent.

If you like this podcast, tell your friends and follow us on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter. Each week there will be new content including hints about episodes before they air. If you’d like to learn more about the podcast visit our website at glazedcinema.com. There you’ll find more info about the show and a place to submit ideas for future episodes. For film fans who are hearing impaired, the blog page on our website features each episode in written form as well. As always, thanks for listening and I hope to see you next time with another beverage and another fine film on Glazed Cinema.