Fear Strikes Out

There are always those actors who get typecast. John Wayne and Clint Eastwood will always be the hero gunslinger, Sylvester Stallone and Arnold Schwarzenegger are the quintessential action movie stars, and Cary Grant and Gary Cooper were the epitome of the leading man. Of course there are other examples beyond these.

Take for instance Anthony Perkins. In the years since his 1992 death, audiences tend to acknowledge him as Norman Bates from Psycho. While there's no denying the greatness of his performance in it, that doesn't mean the rest of his filmography is to be ignored for the sake of that one. (He was an Oscar nominee, people!)

Interestingly, three years before Alfred Hitchcock's film, Perkins had a role where his character was under the thumb of a domineering parent. The role in question was baseball player Jim Piersall (who passed away last week) in Robert Mulligan's Fear Strikes Out, and there are similarities in how Perkins plays the two parts. (Pay attention to Jim's body language when he feels threatened.)

Though Fear Strikes Out is marketed as a biopic on Piersall's career, it's much more of a depiction of his stormy relationship with his father (Karl Malden). He's pushed beyond his means mentally to be the best at the sport, and you can see in some scenes him starting to crack under pressure. (Can you at all blame him for what happens?)

Fear Strikes Out is one of several prominent roles of Perkins' that's forever lost in the shadow of his most prolific one. It may not have the same punch it might have had when it was first released but what stands out after all this time is how the long-term effects of emotional abuse can affect more than the person who bore the brunt of it. (It's definitely cause for immense concern if it continues.)

My Rating: ****

The Rat Race

What Robert Mulligan's The Rat Race shows us is that even if you know what you're going to do, things won't pan out as you want them to.

Such is the case with Pete Hammond, Jr., played by Tony Curtis. A musician from Milwaukee, he aspires to make it big upon his arrival to New York City. But within the same day as his arrival, Pete realizes that some things are easier said than done. Fortunately, he's an optimist.

If Pete is the optimist in The Rat Race, then Peggy Brown (Debbie Reynolds) is surely the pessimist. Her behavior says she has been there and done it twice. She probably had the same attitude on life as Pete upon her arrival to New York City but thanks to people like her boss Nelson Miller (a disturbingly effective Don Rickles), her attitude went sour.

Like Mulligan's most famous work To Kill a Mockingbird, The Rat Race examines society and the people within it. Peggy constantly tries to bring Pete back down to reality while at the same time he tries to lift her out of her dreary frame of mind. It's a losing battle on Peggy's part, though Pete isn't victorious either.

I think what I liked best with The Rat Race is that in a way, Curtis and Reynolds were displaying their own personalities within their performances. He is content with his past but is very uncertain with his future while she is completely disillusioned from her recent past. (Bear in mind this was made when Curtis was still trying to make a name for himself as a serious actor, and Reynolds was in the aftermath of her highly publicized divorce with Eddie Fisher.) Don't believe me? Watch it for yourself.

My Rating: ****

BOOK VS MOVIE: To Kill a Mockingbird

With the releases of Harper Lee's sole novel To Kill a Mockingbird and Robert Mulligan's film, they raised questions about one's beliefs towards race. Also bear in mind both were released at the beginning of the civil rights movement.

The fact that it's told from a child's point of view gives the audience a sense of naivete. Scout, the narrator, is as unclear of the many events in Maycomb as much as the audience. Apart from the folklore surrounding him, no one knows much about Boo Radley. Scout, as well as us, barely knows of the case her father Atticus is defending in until the actual trial.

That's what makes Lee's writing so effective. We learn of major points in the story when Scout learns of them. And if you're wondering about the significance of the title, Atticus mentions that "it's a sin to kill a mockingbird." (Mockingbirds are mentioned as symbolism for innocence.)

Mulligan's film is just as great as Lee's novel. There are only a few minor changes, but Horton Foote's script stays true to what Lee originally wrote. You just can't imagine anyone else but Gregory Peck as Atticus Finch. Seriously, you just can't.

Now comes the challenge of choosing which is better. It's really hard to say, even with a metaphorical gun to my head. In all honesty, I just can't. Both the novel and the film have their own certain qualities, hence the challenge.

What's worth checking out?: I'd go with both.