Revew: THE YELLOW HANDKERCHIEF / Udayan Prasad (2008)
March 16th, 2010 by Scott Marks
The Yellow Handkerchief (2008)
Directed by Udayan Prasad
Written by Erin Dignam from a story by Pete Hamill
Starring: William Hurt, Kristen Stewart, Eddie Redmayne and Maria Bello
Photographed by Chris Menges in 
Running Time: 96 min.
Rating: 
“Twilight” fans rejoice! You can catch Kristen Stewart and Robert Pattinson at your local multiplex providing that you are willing to pay two separate admissions.
After sitting on the shelf for over two years the producers of “The Yellow Handkerchief” probably decided to release it last weekend in order to piggyback on what little word of mouth the new Robert Pattinson film (”Remember Me”) would generate.
The story is a formulaic road picture saved by cinematographer Chris Menges lighting and a winning trio of emotionally depleted drifters played by a cast that’s up to the challenge. The three hook up at a diner. William Hurt has just been released from a six year stretch in the cooler. He watches as Kristen Stewart eagerly tries to impress a boy who has his eye set on the town skank. We’re not sure exactly why she is eager to leave home, but she is. Eddie Redmayne is the kid with the car and if you find yourself put off by his neurotic ramblings join the club. As an annoying misfit desperately trying to find his place, Redmayne is very effective at what he does.
There has been a DVD screener of “Handkerchief” sitting in my “To watch” stack for over a year but I refused to look at it in hopes of an eventual theatrical release. There aren’t too many contemporary cinematographers whose work I actively seek out, but any chance to watch a Chris Menges film projected on the big screen is an event. His capturing of color, particularly flesh tones, is unrivaled by just about any other working director of photography with the possible exception of Robby Mueller. (As much as I admire the embossed hues of Vittorio Storaro and Robert Yeoman, the oversaturated complexion of their frames fails to accurately register skin tones quite like Menges.)
Shot between “Notes on a Scandal” and “The Reader,” it’s better looking than both films combined. Perhaps it’s because Menges gets to return to familiar territory, the Louisiana bayou where he shot Andrei Konchalovsky’s graceful “Shy People.”
Udayan Prasad wants a happy ending in the worst way and that’s exactly how he directs it. After bringing this group of oddballs together and engaging the audience with their impromptu road trip the film climaxes in a manner that would make Tony Orlando wince. If ever a film needed to avoid a sappy, sentimental finale it’s this one. Watch the first 85 minutes and make an early exit. Whatever conclusion you come up with is bound to be better than the one on display.
Tags: Chris Menges, Eddie Redmayne, Film Review, Kristen Stewart, Movie Review, Robert Pattinson, The Yellow Handkerchief, The Yellow Handkerchief review, twilight, Udayan Prasad, William HurtShare: 
Filed Under Reviews, Theatrical
Dig A Hole: Peter Graves
March 15th, 2010 by Scott Marks
Peter Graves owed a great deal of his high Q Rating to actor/orthodox Jew Steven Hill. Before Graves’ Jim Phelps led the Impossible Missions Force, Hill was hired to play Dan Briggs. Hill made it clear to the folks at Desilu Productions that getting him to work between sundown Friday and sunset Saturday would indeed be an impossible mission. After one season heading the IMF, Hill’s stardom self-destructed due in part to his strict religious beliefs.
Hill didn’t work for 10 years and Peter Graves went on to become one of televisions most iconic leading men. Growing up, “Mission: Impossible” was a weekly ritual in the Marks household, at least until my driver’s license freed me from the tedious restraints of network television.
The white-haired, 6′ 2″ Minnesotan of German and Norwegian descent was born Peter Aurness on March 18, 1926. His older brother James, star of TV’s “Gunsmoke,” modified the family name to Arness while Peter’s sedate surname seemed perfectly suited to the actor.
He appeared in over 100 movies and television shows working for such distinguished directors as Billy Wilder (”Stalag 17″), John Ford (”The Long Gray Line”), Otto Preminger (”The Court-Martial of Billy Mitchell”), Jacques Tourneur (”Wichita”) and Hugo Fregonese (”The Raid”). His most memorable contribution to cinema was as Ben Harper, the convict with the money-stuffed Pearl in Charles Laughton’s “The Night of the Hunter.”
Jerry Zucker, Jim Abrahams and David Zucker gave the aging Graves career a new lease on life when they cast him as the boy-loving pilot in “Airplane!” Graves called the script “the worst piece of junk” he had ever read. (This coming from a man who freely appeared in “Fantasy island” and “Life with Lucy.”) Graves eventually came around after meeting with the ZAZ team.
He appeared in the “Airplane!” sequel in 1982 and could have conceivably spent the rest of his career parodying himself. Graves pretty much turned his back on movies concentrating instead on TV work including the hosting chores for A&E’s “Biography.” Graves was also the voice-for-hire on many documentaries and commercials. The last time I remember seeing Graves on screen was his cameo in Joe Dante’s “Looney Tunes: Back in Action.”
Graves married Joan Endress in 1950 and the two remained together until his death. Their marriage produced three daughters: Kelly Jean, Claudia King and Amanda Lee. Graves had six grandchildren.
Peter Graves collapsed in the driveway of his Los Angeles home on Sunday where he was found by his daughter. Her attempts to resuscitate him proved unsuccessful. He died just days short of his 84th birthday.
Tags: Airplane, james arness, Jim Phelps, Mission Impossible, night of the hunter, Obituary, Peter Graves, Peter Graves Airplane, peter graves biography, Peter Graves dead, Peter Graves dies, peter graves james arness, steven hillShare:
Filed Under Obituaries
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