The American Way (1962) Online

The American Way (1962)

*** (out of 4)

This short film isn't all that well-known but if you have heard of it or seen the thing it's probably because you heard it features John Cazale (THE GODFATHER, DOG DAY AFTERNOON) in his first part. This 10-minute B&W short basically is a bunch of scenes thrown together without too much rhyme or reason and it appears that director Marvin Starkman was just going for a surreal nature and that he does get. Those tuning into see Cazale will be happy to see him with a fairly good role as he runs around New York City attaching battery cables to certain "American things" like Yankee Stadium, apple pie and a water hydrant. Since this is a silent there's not any dialogue so don't go in expecting the actor to speak. As a fan of Cazale it was interesting seeing him here as he sported a full beard and even more shocking was seeing how many pounds he was. Those familiar with the actor know that thin and pale person but that certainly wasn't the case here. As for the film, I can't say it's a masterpiece and I can't say I made any sense out of it but I did have fun watching it.

This is a curious, surreal 10 minutes black and white short. The only reason it arouses interest is because it features a young John Cazale credited as a beatnik.

The beatnik runs around New York with battery cables and tries to blow things up like Yankee stadium, apple pie, a water hydrant.

The rest of the short is just a collection of silent surreal scenes or sketches accompanied by some classical music. I had no idea what it was all about or what it all meant. I only watched it for Cazale.

Perhaps most notable for an an early appearance by a very young and bearded John Cazale (who even sports a full head of hair!), this delightfully sprightly and nutty comedy short pokes merry anarchistic fun at such quintessential American institutions as mom, baseball, and apple pie. The best, most inspired, and uproarious gags feature Cazale as some sort of bumbling beatnik terrorist who makes faltering attempts at blowing up Yankee Stadium, a bakeshop, a display of Mother's day cards, and a fire hydrant (however, this jolly wacko does eventually succeed at making all of New York City explode!). Another gut-busting set piece has an old guy trying to read a newspaper while surrounded by a gaggle of amorous kissing young people. Director Marvin Starkman maintains a constant brisk pace and an infectiously loopy tone throughout. Starkly shot in grainy black and white, greatly enlivened by rousing classical music cues from such famous compositions as "A Night on Bald Mountain" and "The Nutcracker," and brimming with a certain engagingly kooky and mischievous energy, this sidesplitting little riot makes for extremely enjoyable viewing. Fortunately, it's available as an extra on the DVD release for the excellent documentary "I Knew It Was You: Rediscovering John Cazale."

"The American Way" is a black-and-white comedy short film that runs for 10 minutes only and was made almost 55 years ago by a writer and director who have never made it big. So the only reason this one is not entirely unknown today is cast member John Cazale. He became a big star in his own right and even if his career was tragically short-lived, then it was nice to see him in here during his early days. Sadly, this film here is also an example of how not even his career/body of work is perfect. So yeah, the comedy in here relies on spoofing mostly and this is always a challenging approach that the filmmakers were not up to this time. The music is great of course, especially towards the end, but everybody can put famous pieces inside his movie, so I cannot give them credits for this one either. Oh yeah, the brunette chick on the park bench was really hot, too bad her name doesn't show up in the credits, probably not a real actor, just an amateur. All in all, skip this one. You're not missing anything really.