There are two films that I stumbled onto during late night TV viewing whilst still living in my parents home - when late night scheduling wasn't dominated by infommercials for skin care products endorsed by hactors and hackstars like wanessa villiams and the like. An era not too long ago when late night TV aired some obscure master-works of modern and not so modern cinema. One of these gems was Pinter's BIRTHDAY PARTY as adapted for the screen by William Ego Friedkin in 1971. But I'll get to that in another post.
The other was an incredibly compelling and chilling film starring Maximilian Schell. THE MAN IN THE GLASS BOOTH was originally a play written by Robert Shaw (yes, of JAWS fame - he was also a novelist and playwrite). The film adaptation was produced as part of the American Film Theatre series in the mid 1970s. It was directed by Arthur Hiller.
Without giving too much away, TMITGB is a tour-de-force set piece for Schell. He scored an Oscar nomination for it - back in a time when an Oscar nomination actually had some value. Although he had no chance... other nominees that year were Pacino in DOG DAY ARVO and Jack in CUCKOO'S NEST. Not a hope...
I saw TMITGB as a teen. Late at night. In the TV room of my holocaust survivor parental abode. The film deals with a rich New York Jew haunted by his holocaust past OR is he the Nazi Carl Dorf posing as a rich old crazy Jew haunted by his past??? A brilliant script. Amazing performance. In some ways, an advanced precursor to Henry Bean's THE BELIEVER (2001) - another complex drama about a schizoid Jew/Nazi. Needless to say - I was disturbed for years after. Although admittedly I was already pretty screwed from an earlier age after discovering a couple of picture books on Eichmann and the gang.
I finally revisited this masterpiece on DVD. It held up well. My other half was impressed too. It's fun sharing disturbing pieces of art with loved ones.
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