There are a lot of things off about John Schlesinger‘s The Day of the Locust (many of them intentional) but one of them is how William Atherton is billed (or should I say not billed) alongside his co-stars. Besides being the female lead, Karen Black‘s Faye Greener is the central figure, but Donald Sutherland‘s Homer Simpson takes so long to appear that I started trying to convince myself Atherton was Sutherland when they don’t look the same. The radio ads for the film (which are included on Arrow’s release) erase Atherton’s existence altogether. Only Black and Sutherland are mentioned as part of the cast, so it’s no wonder that it’s a shock when Atherton’s Tod turns out to be the male lead.
Another preconception I had going into The Day of the Locust was that it would be like a backstage musical except about the film industry, and there is some truth to that. Faye’s dream is to become an actress and there are at least two prominent sequences about filmmaking: one involving showing what it was like to be an extra on set and the other showing what could go wrong when safety precautions weren’t taken.
Mostly, though, the film is about how ugly the world can be without leaving much room (if any) for hope. When the film begins Tod has just moved into the same place where Faye is living with her dad (Burgess Meredith), a former vaudevillian turned snake oil salesman. Before long Tod is infatuated with Faye but, like a much darker Design for Living, Faye doesn’t feel the same way and Tod doesn’t take the rejection well.
One thing I appreciate about The Day of Locust is that, unlike some films that were made in the ’30s, which would show a guy forcefully kissing a girl and the girl tries to resist, only to succumb to his “charms,” The Day of the Locust doesn’t let bygones be bygones and Tod’s behavior has a lasting effect on his relationship with Faye.
In not looking at the world through rose-colored glasses, though, The Day of the Locust can be a downbeat watch without the humanity that helps counterbalance a similarly dark film like Sydney Pollack’s They Shoot Horses, Don’t They?. The Day of the Locust won’t even let viewers get nostalgic about vaudeville – Burgess’ Harry is all charm when he’s dancing, but it doesn’t take look for his racist, anti-Semitic underbelly to show. The Day of the Locust is a film I’ll have to sit with for a while before knowing how I actually feel about it, but the film couldn’t ask for a better Blu-ray release than this one.
Bonus Features:
For his commentary track, film historian Lee Gambin has created something out of the box (and I believe similar to a commentary he recently produced for the musical, Annie, though I haven’t listened to that one yet). Basically, he’s created what Arrow is calling an oral history of the film out of interviews he conducted with various cast and crew members. The work he put in to finding everyone he could who was involved in the picture shows, with the result being that listeners get to hear stories from contributors whose accounts might not have been recorded otherwise. For those wondering why the film doesn’t show any of the stars at the premiere for The Buccaneer at the end, for example (except for Dick Powell, who’s played by his actual son, Dick Powell Jr.), it turns out footage was shot and that Ginger Rogers was played by tour guide Nancee Lafayette (she found out her scenes were cut at The Day of the Locust’s premiere).
The commentary is edited together extremely well, with time taken to ensure that the clips coincide with what’s happening onscreen, and I’m glad Gambin produced a separate visual essay as well, so you get to hear his thoughts on the film.
Costume and film historian Elissa Rose provides a featurette on the clothes that includes audio from an interview she conducted with costume designer Ann Roth. I wish Roth could’ve gone into more detail about her costumes for Adore (Jackie Earle Haley) and the choice to dress the child star more effeminately. It made me wonder if there were any stories of real stage moms doing that to emulate Shirley Temple that inspired the choice.
There’s also an appreciation of the film by critic Glenn Kenny, who talks about how Nathanael West’s novella (which Waldo Salt adapted for the screenplay) was perceived by Angelenos, the film’s perception as being anti-Hollywood overall, and Schlesinger’s actual intentions in making the movie. Lastly, critic Pamela Hutchinson’s booklet essay provides some behind-the-scenes insights on how the film came together.
The Day of the Locust is available on Blu-ray now from Arrow Films.
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