Classic Films in Focus: BUGSY MALONE (1976)

Written and directed by Alan Parker, Bugsy Malone (1976) is certainly a cinematic oddity, with an all-kid ensemble spoofing the 1930s gangster movie while dancing and lip-syncing to tunes by Paul Williams. Its cast includes familiar stars Jodie Foster and Scott Baio as well as some talented youngsters who did not become particularly well-known but still deserve mention, especially John Cassisi, Florrie Dugger, and Martin Lev as the other main characters. While the use of adult voices for the dubbed song performances hasn't aged well, Bugsy Malone is still weirdly charming almost 50 years after its original release, and kids who enjoy Bedknobs and Broomsticks (1971) and Annie (1982) will probably get a kick out of it even if they don't recognize its send-up of classic gangster pictures like Little Caesar (1931), The Public Enemy (1931), and Scarface (1932).

Scott Baio plays the titular Bugsy, who is drawn into a turf war between the rival gangs of Fat Sam (John Cassisi) and Dandy Dan (Martin Lev) thanks to his friendship with Fat Sam and his need for cash to win the love of aspiring movie star Blousey Brown (Florrie Dugger). Fat Sam's star singer and girlfriend, Tallulah (Jodie Foster), complicates Bugsy's romance with Blousey, but the gang war is the bigger problem with a new gun that fires cream pie topping at targets much faster than the traditional crust pies. Fat Sam's guys are being hit with whipped cream left and right, and it's up to Bugsy to round up enough support to face off with Dandy Dan.

As the cream pie guns suggest, this is a very silly movie that rewrites the tropes of the classic gangster story for an entirely kid-sized world. The success of The Godfather (1972) and The Godfather Part II (1974) almost certainly contributed to the appeal of the project when Parker came up with it, with gangsters back in the public imagination and Young Frankenstein (1974) demonstrating an appetite for unusual spoofs of classic genres. In addition to the cream pies replacing bullets, Bugsy Malone has adorably detailed pedal cars decked out to look like 1930s automobiles, sarsaparilla instead of booze, and guards in baseball uniforms wielding bats. In keeping with the original hits of the gangster genre, we have a speakeasy with its chorus girls and piano players, phone booth shenanigans, Italian restaurants, and Dandy Dan living in full 1930s splendor, complete with an estate that would make Charles Foster Kane or Howard Hughes feel at home. The child actors never mug for the camera or overplay their lines the way they do on a lot of modern kids' TV fare; they play their characters like they're 1930s stars reincarnated in 12 year old bodies, with Jodie Foster and Martin Lev both especially adept at inhabiting their roles. Their seriousness keeps the gimmick of an all-child cast from becoming too annoying for adults to enjoy, even as the absurdity of the whole concept permeates every scene.

The musical element of the picture is a mixed bag, with brilliant dance numbers undercut by the way the songs are performed. I'm a great fan of Paul Williams' cinematic work, especially the cult masterpiece, Phantom of the Paradise (1974), but in Bugsy Malone it's distracting to hear the voices of Williams and other adult singers coming out of the mouths of the young stars. The songs themselves are often quite good, and the ensemble dance sequences are really well done, but you might or might not find the dubbing a deal breaker, depending on your response to the movie as a whole. Some of the more memorable songs include "Bugsy Malone," "Fat Sam's Grand Slam," and "My Name is Tallulah," while the chorus girls and Sam's gang ( particularly in the number "Bad Guys") do some of the most impressive dancing. Williams' work on the picture earned an Oscar nomination for Best Original Song Score, so the dubbing did not prevent his work as a songwriter from being appreciated at the time of the film's original release.

Jodie Foster, of course, also starred in Taxi Driver (1976) that same year and was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for her performance; she would go on to win Best Actress Oscars for The Accused (1989) and The Silence of the Lambs (1992). Scott Baio made his big screen debut as Bugsy but is probably best known for his roles on the TV series Happy Days and Charles in Charge. For more movie music from Paul Williams, you can't go wrong with The Muppet Movie (1979), and for more musicals from director Alan Parker, see Fame (1980), Pink Floyd - The Wall (1982), The Commitments (1991), and Evita (1996). If you enjoy gangster spoofs, check out the 1984 comedy Johnny Dangerously, starring Michael Keaton.

PHANTOM OF THE PARADISE on Shudder

I first saw Phantom of the Paradise (1974) a few years ago and immediately became obsessed with it; I downloaded the entire soundtrack and listened to it constantly for weeks. I was delighted to be able to revisit the film this week thanks to the Shudder streaming service, where the film is currently available. If you have a subscription to Shudder, put Phantom of the Paradise on your watchlist and make time for it while it's still in the current rotation of offerings.

My second viewing of the picture left me just as impressed with the wry dark humor and literate sense of horror that the picture conveys. Brian De Palma's cult classic holds up extremely well, especially because it deals so provocatively with the same timeless themes that inspired Faust, The Phantom of the Opera, and The Picture of Dorian Gray. This time I introduced my eighteen year old to the film, and she was just as entranced as I was; I'm hoping she will spread appreciation for it like a virus when she heads to college this fall.

You could easily build a whole mini film festival or graduate course around Phantom of the Paradise, starting with the 1925 Phantom of the Opera and F.W. Murnau's 1926 adaptation of Faust. (For a really short course on the Faust themes, you can also just watch the 1978 appearance of Alice Cooper on The Muppet Show - it covers all the basics.) Add in some later Phantom adaptations - the 1943 version with Claude Rains or even the 1989 version with Robert Englund - and then mix in some other great horror films depicting disfigured artists, like House of Wax (1953). One of the many great things about Phantom of the Paradise is the way it evokes and dovetails with so many other films.

While I appreciate the niche focus of Shudder, I'm often disappointed by its lack of classic horror; the appearance of Phantom of the Paradise has helped to make up for that limitation, and I hope this brilliantly bizarre cult favorite will remain in its catalog long enough for lots of new fans to find it.

Cult Classics: PHANTOM OF THE PARADISE (1974)

Phantom of the Paradise (1974) is Brian de Palma's musical cult tribute to a number of iconic horror tales, most notably The Phantom of the Opera and Faust, although it also functions as a scathing satire of the music industry and its obsession with sex, fame, and eternal youth. As both writer and director, de Palma gets to make this picture his own weirdly delightful creature, which succeeds at being bizarre while also being surprisingly good. Songs and a devilish performance by Paul Williams enhance the movie's appeal, but each actor here has his or her own charms, especially William Finley, Jessica Harper, and Gerrit Graham. Fans of the many iterations of either Phantom or Faust should not miss this sly, gloriously excessive rock & roll interpretation of themes near and dear to the heart of every classic horror fan.

Williams brings fame and ruin as the reclusive recording mogul Swan, who steals a Faust cantata from the gifted but naive Winslow Leach (William Finley). When Winslow pursues him, Swan has Winslow thrown in prison, where he is abused and driven mad until he finally escapes, and, in a fit of rage, attacks the facility where Swan's records are produced. Horribly disfigured as a result, Winslow haunts Swan's new venue, The Paradise, where he is drawn into an unholy deal to finish the Faust cantata if the beautiful young Phoenix (Jessica Harper) can sing it.

De Palma mixes the plot elements of both Phantom and Faust in his triangle of principal characters; Winslow is most obviously the damaged genius, with shades of Claude Rains' Phantom in the 1943 film, but he's also a Faustian character who makes a deal with Swan's devil, making Swan himself both Faust and Mephistopheles. Phoenix is Faust's Gretchen and the Phantom's Christine, although she, too, nurses a Faustian longing for fame that Swan can exploit. Much of this mingling is inherent in Gaston Leroux's original novel about the Phantom, where the opera being performed by the company is, of course, Faust. Not content, however, to continue the blending of these two texts, de Palma also adds elements of The Picture of Dorian Gray and Frankenstein and several Gothic flourishes straight out of Edgar Allan Poe. The Frankenstein homage gets particularly gruesome and delightful when Goth rockers build lead singer Beef (Gerrit Graham) out of fake audience body parts against a decidedly German Expressionist backdrop. The result, a sexually transgressive blond hunk covered in glittery gold, will look familiar to fans of The Rocky Horror Picture Show (1975), but Phantom watchers will also recognize him as the diva who must be removed from the opera so that the Phantom's chosen singer can take the stage.

The film's other main objective is skewering the music industry, which seems like an easy mark. Rock & roll in particular abounds in opportunities for Faustian bargains, where desperate people trade their bodies, their youth, and even their souls for fame. If Winslow is naive the first time he encounters Swan, he never learns enough to walk away until it's much too late. Even the most minor characters reveal a disturbing willingness to prostitute themselves, from the scantily clad honeys to the constantly changing Juicy Fruits. The band provides an amusing survey of the history of rock, starting out as 50s style greasers, then transforming into Beach Boys clones, and later reappearing to support Beef in Gothic rock garb. Many of the film's musical in-jokes involve Paul Williams, who wrote the songs for the film and then plays the character who steals those songs from the protagonist; he also provides the singing voice for the Phantom during the Phantom's theme halfway through the film. Ironically for a film about the dark side of the industry, Phantom of the Paradise ends up demonstrating the beauty that can result from it. Williams' best songs are haunting ruminations on the Faustian theme of losing yourself in pursuit of something greater, particularly the Phantom's theme, "The Hell of It," "Special to Me," "Old Souls," and "Faust."

Phantom of the Paradise bombed back in 1974, but it has a devoted following now, and it's easy to see why people love this film. Despite its box office failure, it earned an Oscar nomination for Best Music for Paul Williams and George Aliceson Tipton and a Golden Globe nomination for Williams for Best Score. For more early de Palma work featuring William Finley, try The Wedding Party (1969), Sisters (1972), or The Fury (1978). Look for Jessica Harper in de Palma's Suspiria (1977), Woody Allen's Stardust Memories (1980), or Pennies from Heaven (1981). Paul Williams turns up in all sorts of places, from Battle for the Planet of the Apes (1973) to Smokey and the Bandit (1977); he even provides the voice for The Penguin in Batman: The Animated Series. For many fans of a certain age, however, he's best known as the composer for The Muppet Movie (1979), and we have him to thank for "The Rainbow Connection."


*** You can rent Phantom of the Paradise on Google Play or Amazon Instant Video for about $4, depending on the format. If, like me, you fall for the film, you can download the original soundtrack for $10 on iTunes (which you should definitely do).