NATALIE WOOD: WHAT REMAINS BEHIND (doc, 2020)

May 4, 2020

 Greetings again from the darkness. Natasha Gregson Wagner recalls hearing that the body of her mother, actress Natalie Wood, had been found near Santa Catalina Island. It was November 21, 1981 and Natasha was 11 years old. Now she’s a producer of this documentary, as well as providing her own perspectives, and conducting some of the interviews, in particular the one with her stepfather Robert Wagner. If you are looking for a definitive answer to one of Hollywood’s unsolved mysteries, you won’t find it here (or anywhere). Instead, it’s a dive into the life and career of one of our brightest stars through the words of her friends, family, and co-workers; plus some clips, personal home movies, previously unseen photographs, and Natalie’s own words.

Natalie Woods’ on screen luminescence lasted nearly forty years, which is remarkable considering she died at age 43. It’s noted that generations (plural) watched her grow up. She delivered memorable roles at all stages of her career: as a child actor playing the Santa Claus skeptic in MIRACLE ON 34th STREET (1947); as an angsty teenager opposite James Dean in REBEL WITHOUT A CAUSE (1955), as a blossoming young woman in SPLENDOR IN THE GRASS (1961); as a 1960’s swinger in BOB AND CAROL AND TED AND ALICE (1969); and in her final role (released posthumously) in BRAINSTORM (1983). She was nominated for 3 Oscars by the time she was 25, and is also remembered as Maria in Best Picture winner WEST SIDE STORY (1961), as famed stripper Gypsy Rose Lee in GYPSY (1962), co-starring with Steve McQueen in LOVE WITH THE PROPER STRANGER (1963), co-starring with Robert Redford in THIS PROPERTY IS CONDEMNED (1966), and opposite George Segal in the comedy THE LAST MARRIED COUPLE IN AMERICA (1980).

Clearly, given the films and roles listed above, Natalie Wood was the epitome of a movie star. She was beautiful, talented, and lived a life that kept her in the fan magazines (known today as tabloids). The film is structured in an unusual manner for a biographical documentary. A loose outline would start with the personal life (husbands, kids, love interests), then move into the career, and wrap up with her death, the aftermath of her death, and the impact she had on loved ones. Of course, there are many overlaps, but the key takeaway is that this is a very personal look by those who were connected to Natalie.

Laurent Bouzereau is a documentarian who has specialized in shorts and “making of” (behind-the-scenes) projects for 25 years. He’s also an author, movie buff, and known collector of movie memorabilia. Here he delivers a nice tribute to Natalie Wood, though one gets the feeling that Natasha had much to do with the final presentation. We see her interview Daddy Gregson and Daddy Wagner, the only names she ever remembers having for her biological father, British Producer-Agent Richard Gregson, and her stepfather Robert Wagner. Gregson, afflicted with Parkinson’s disease, died in August 2019, while Wagner is now 90 years old. Both interviews are personal to Natasha, though it’s the Wagner session that packs the most emotional punch.

Even when we hear about Natalie’s film career, it seems most want to talk about how likable and talented she was. This includes interviews with Robert Redford, Richard Benjamin, Mia Farrow, George Hamilton, and Mart Crowley. Mr. Crowley was a screenwriter and close friend who died recently (March 2020), and had met Natalie on the production of SPLENDOR IN THE GRASS. So while Ms. Woods’ career is important, even more time is spent on the personal side. Natasha and her sisters recall time with Willie Mae, their nanny who was like part of the family. We also learn of Natalie and Wagner’s (aka RJ) first date on her 18th birthday, as well as their two marriages to each other – with her marriage to Gregson, and relationship with Warren Beatty nestled between.

One of the more fascinating segments comes from Natasha reading excerpts from an unpublished first-person article Natalie had written for “Ladies Home Journal” in 1966. It reads like a diary and provided Natasha and us with personal insights we couldn’t have known. Natalie’s parents were Ukrainian immigrants, although not much time is devoted to Natalie’s stage mother or the strained relationship the family now has with Natalie’s sister (and actress) Lana Wood. Instead, the focus is mostly upbeat. Plus we all came for the Wagner interview to hear him speak about the night of Natalie’s death. It’s surprisingly emotional.

Natalie’s oft-reported “fear of dark water” is hit head on, and there is even mention of her overdose and mental struggles. But this is mostly a positive recounting of her life, and owes a great deal to Manoah Bowman’s biography “Natalie Wood: Reflections on a Legendary Life.” Bowman is also a producer on the film. Natalie Wood is one whose mysterious and much too early death has overshadowed her work, and as daughter Natasha says, the person she was.

The documentary premieres on HBO Tuesday May 5, 2020

watch the trailer:

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Posted by David Ferguson

TAB HUNTER CONFIDENTIAL (2015, doc)

October 18, 2015

tab hunter Greetings again from the darkness. “Made it, Ma. Top of the world!” That line was famously bellowed by James Cagney in the 1949 film WHITE HEAT, and it reasonably could have been shouted behind closed doors, a few years later, by Tab Hunter. Of course, that wouldn’t have been the only thing Mr. Hunter was keeping behind those doors.  In his 2005 autobiography, he came out publically as a gay man. Director Jeffrey Schwarz takes that book, and puts a very forthcoming Mr. Hunter in front of the camera, to deliver a fascinating, entertaining and educational glimpse at what it was like to be a movie and musical superstar at a time when being a gay man was not just a social taboo, but actually considered a mental illness.

Normally, “talking head” documentaries quickly become tiresome, but now in his 80’s, Mr. Hunter remains an engaging and delightful man, and he is so sincere and upfront in telling his stories, that we couldn’t possibly turn away. In addition, director Schwarz drops in interviews from those who were there. These include: Debbie Reynolds, Connie Stevens, Robert Wagner (filling in his for his deceased wife Natalie Wood), John Waters, George Takei, and Robert Osborne. Each recall moments from real life, with the studio publicity romances (Reynolds, Stevens, Wood) providing the touch of melancholy that brings focus to the matter at hand.

Another entertaining touch added by Schwarz is his use of actual dialogue snippets from Hunter’s films to deliver punch to a point – sometimes comedic, sometimes more serious. Never succumbing to the career retrospective approach, the film does offer significant film clips, photographs and recollections of Hunter’s unique career that found him #1 at the Box Office, as well as #1 on the Pop Music Charts (his recording of “Young Love” knocked Elvis off the top of the charts).

The film could also serve as a historical documenting of the Hollywood Studio system, as Hunter’s success with Warner Brothers was never to be duplicated once he gained his contractual release (through buyout). We do go through the career re-birth brought about by Hunter’s work in the John Waters offbeat classic Polyster, where the former matinee idol finds himself making out on screen with Divine, the 300 pound transvestite who was a fixture in Waters’ films. Surprisingly, it’s Hunter’s fearless approach to the material that makes it click.

But beyond the Hollywood insight, the film is most effectively the story of a man who, because of his era, had to be one person in public and another behind the closed doors. Hunter describes this as “being rewarded for pretending to be someone you aren’t”. He speaks frankly about his relationship with Anthony Perkins, as well as a couple of other serious relationships. We also learn about his childhood, when he had an abusive father and was close to his older brother, who later died in Vietnam. Hunter speaks of being “lost as a kid”. Beyond the Hollywood years, it’s fascinating to hear Hunter speak of his time on the Dinner Theatre circuit, where he put up with the travel and drudgery so that he could pay the bills and care for his sick mother. We also learn that in addition to his staggering good looks, his on screen appeal, and his musical talent, Hunter was also a world class figure skater and competitive equestrian horse jumper. Yep, Tab Hunter is pretty much the guy we would all despise … if he just wasn’t so darned nice and likeable!

watch the trailer:

 

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Posted by David Ferguson