Looking Out My Back Door

Old Favorites and a Wee Bit of Synchronicity

A couple of months ago, while surfing Amazon.com to find some new DVDs, I found that both "Foul Play" and "Silver Streak" were going to be released before Christmas. I immediately pre-ordered them and watched them over the weekend. (They arrived a few days before Christmas, making it much merrier.)

Both are ensemble comedies from 1976. "Foul Play" stars Goldie Hawn and Chevy Chase (in his first major movie role -- I think he may have appeared before in "Kentucky Fried Movie") and also has Burgess (tv Batman's "Penguin") Meredith, Eugene Roche, Rachel Roberts, Billy Barty, perennial mobster Marc Lawrence (among his many credits are two Bond films, "Diamonds Are Forever" and "The Man With The Golden Gun"), and a young Brian Dennehy. And Dudley Moore made a huge impression in "Foul Play," prior to his breakout roles in "10" and "Arthur." He's hilarious. "Silver Streak" players include Gene Wilder, Jill Clayburgh, Richard Pryor, Ned Beatty, Scatman Crothers, Richard Kiel (another Bond vet -- "Jaws!"), Fred Willard, Ray Walston, and Patrick McGoohan.

Here's where synchronicity kicks in: both were written by Colin Higgins (and he also directed "Foul Play")! In retrospect, I should have remembered that. Higgins' first hit was the dark comedy classic "Harold and Maude;" one of his last was "Nine to Five." He wrote the screenplays for both and also directed the latter. Unfortunately, he was stricken with AIDS and died in 1988. (Thanks to imdb.com for the info.) Snappy dialogue and wacky ensemble comedy was his trademark -- he paid homage to the screwball classics of early film, as well as film noir elements -- and both "Foul Play" and "Silver Streak" are loaded with some of his best work. Check them out (along with "Harold and Maude" and "Nine to Five"). You won't be sorry.

posted by Hopster @ 1:12 PM