The Projectionist (1975)

Awesome flick, starring Chuck McCann. In some ways, a very haphazard and unfocused mess, but also, obviously, an intense labor of love for the director, and maybe also for Chuck McCann, the kiddie-show star of our youth. Chuck is a projectionist at an old movie house (run by Rodney Dangerfield), who fantasizes that he is a superhero. The superhero segments, filmed in Fort Tryon park, it seems, are very amateurish and cheap, remind me of a super-8 superhero film my friends and I made when we were in 10th grade, in which I starred as some sort of superhero. But the director, a guy named Hurwitz, also interspersed hundreds of clips from old Hollywood movies--at one point, the screen was divided into five parts, with different segments of Hollywood films showing in each of the parts. (I guess no one was enforcing film copyrights in 1971.) The Projectionist opens with a segment from a Gerald McBoing Boing cartoon, which then goes off the reel, and contains a lot of news footage showing the awful events in the world, police beating demonstrators, KKK hanging blacks, etc. It also contains fake coming attractions: one for a film about our awful future in which men become the slaves of robots, and another for a film about our glorious future, in which we ascend to heaven on earth. And then there are the scenes of Chuck McCann walking through the streets of New York of 1971, including a stunning walk down seedy old 42nd Street (one of the marquees says "Save Free TV"--remember the campaign against pay TV becoming the norm?) and a visit to a magazine shop with racks full of girlie mags (racks full of racks?) and a photo from one of those mags, a naked girl on a rug, turns into a fantasy segment for Chuck McCann. The movie is nuts, total anarchy, gloriously unfocused and idiosyncratic, and wonderful, and ends with the film we're watching pulling out of the aperture, and the screen going white, then black. Then the lights in the theater go on.

The film, the Projectionist, is geared towards those who like weird, cult-type films. I watched this because I usually like to see Rodney Dangerfield. This is Rodney's film debut. This film only gives a glimpse of Rodney Dangerfield's acting/comedic ability. He is not starring as a typical Rodney Dangerfield character. This is a strange film and was difficult to follow. With the exception of seeing Rodney's first flick, watching this film was a total waste of time for me. However, others might like this type of flick to watch. This is not a prime time film. I could see a young college type crowd watching this movie while partying. Definitely, not my cup of tea.

. . . THE PROJECTIONIST is the sort of hit-and-miss, brilliant-one-minute\mediocre-the-next, "all over the map" mash-up that every Tom, Dick, and Harry is doing on the internet nowadays. Chunky Chuck McCann as the title character has an (on-screen) imagination filled with Nazis, war, Ku Kluxers, riots, science fiction horror, lynchings, assassinations, machine-gun fire, Busby Berkeley female kaleidoscopic formations, gang fights, dinosaurs, explosions, cavalry charges, burning dirigibles, concentration camp carnage, super heroes, arch villains, crackpot evangelists, and nude chicks on bearskin rugs. Adolph Hitler features most prominently. References to actual movies are everywhere--on projectionist Fred C. Dobbs' big screen at the Palace Theater, on his film poster-papered apartment walls, and on the marquees of the sidewalks he haunts while off-duty. His brain is filled with snippets from dozens of movies sampled here (director Harry Hurwitz sometimes needs to split the screen five ways to cram everything in). McCann as Dobbs "does" Humphrey Bogart, John Wayne, and James Stewart, among others. Did this obscure flick "inspire" Monty Python, Benny Hill, Laugh-In, That was the Week That Was, Mystery Science Theater 3000, and BE KIND, REWIND? Who is to know?

In this lovingly wonderful tribute to old movies and the unsung hero of the movie theaters:"The Projectionst!".Chuck McCann creates a unique character and fantasy world all his own.Here.McCann plays a dilligent,hard working movie theater projectionist.Who has to put up with his obnoxious and crazed go by the book boss:Theater Manager:"Rinaldi"(Played by Rodney Dangerfield in his movie debut)."Rinaldi"forces his staff to try and turn a dilapidated little movie house.(Which has probably seen better days in the l930's)into a glowing movie palace and he expects everyone to shape up.Chuck Tolerates Dangerfield's abuse and manages to do his job.The rest of the film has McCann having a relationship with a beautiful girl(Ina Ballin)and dealing with his dislike for his Boss and the changes in late l960's NYC Via his fantasies of being a old movie serial Superhero"Captain Flash".Who defeats a power mad supervillian"The Bat"(also played by Dangerfield) and his henchmen.as "The Bat"and his gang try to steal an Old Scientist/iventor's(Jara Krohout .Who also plays a candy butcher in Dangerfield's movie theater)"Death Ray Machine"and kidnaps his daughter(Also played by Ms.Ballin).The battle between McCann's"Capt.Flash"and Dangerfield's"Bat"is done in pantomime and is a brilliant piece of comic acting,psyhicial comedy and farce.Truly worthy of Keaton,Semon and Chuck's two idols and mine:Laurel & Hardy(McCann does a brief L&H impression in the film)Harry Hurwitz(The film's guiding genius plays a small cameo in this film as a put upon theater usher).Filled with great film clips of classic old movies,brilliant pantomime , comic acting and insightful wit.This film is more funny and heartwarming than Mr.Allen's"Purple Rose Of Cario"and more faithful to old movies.Forget Woody Allen.Stick To Harry Hurwitz's "The Projectionist".This is a real tribute to old movies.