The Beat Generation Blu-ray Review
Contrary to what one might understandably assume, The Beat Generation is not really about beatniks. It is actually a film noir about two alienated men, one a police detective and the other a serial rapist who puts on an act of being a beatnik. The real beatniks in the film are mere window dressing in the screenplay by Richard Matheson and Lewis Meltzer. Stan Belmont (Ray Danton) is the son of a wealthy man who comes to the beat club where Stan is hanging out to announce that he is getting married to a much younger woman. Stan is not impressed. "I can't flip every time you get married," he says. "Especially since this is the fifth time. Or is it the sixth?" Stan also bitterly remarks that his mother ran off with an Italian Count and a private eye, and it is clear that he does not think much of the institution of marriage. Before he walks away he ominously quotes Nietzsche to his father: "Thou goest to women. Do not forget thy whip."
Joyce Greenfield (Maggie Hayes), a married woman who is home alone, is twirling a hula hoop around her waist (and doing it quite well) while listening to jazz when the doorbell rings. It is Stan, neatly dressed in a sport coat and tie. He identifies himself as Arthur Garrett, a friend of her husband, and claims that he is there to repay a loan of $10 which her husband made to him. He persuades her to let him into the apartment and he then feigns having a bad headache. While she goes into the kitchen to get Stan a glass of water so he can take some aspirin, he puts on a pair of gloves and attacks her when she returns to the living room. He drags her into the bedroom, where he beats and rapes her.
After fleeing the apartment Stan is nearly hit by a car, which is driven by LAPD detective David Culloran (Steve Cochran). Culloran mentions that he is married and Stan notices that there is a letter on the seat of the car which shows Culloran's address. Culloran gives Stan a lift and then goes home to his wife, Francee (Fay Spain). All seems well at home until Culloran starts to grill Francee about why she wasn't home when he called during the day. She is annoyed at his questioning. "I didn't realize that I need an alibi," she protests. Their quarrel is interrupted by a phone call. It is Culloran's partner, Jake Baron (Jackie Coogan), calling to say that they have to investigate the rape of Mrs. Greenfield.
During the investigation the detectives notice that a tin of aspirin has been left on the coffee table, a sign that the attack was perpetrated by a serial rapist who has been dubbed "The Aspirin Kid." When Culloran begins to question the victim, he pointedly suggests that she wasn't assaulted at all. His distrust of women is obvious when he clearly suspects that she was voluntarily carrying on with the man and pretended to be raped in order to explain away her bruises. Later Culloran's partner reproaches him for the way he treated Mrs. Greenfield. "The more I work with you," says Baron, "the more convinced I am that you hate women." Culloran responds, "Just because my first marriage went on the rocks is no reason to accuse me of hating all women." Thus we have two alienated men on opposite sides of the law, both of whom have serious issues with women.
When Culloran and Baron get word that a young man vaguely fitting the description of "Arthur Garrett" has been sighted on the beach in Santa Monica, they rush over to question the suspect, Arthur Jester (Jim Mitchum). They haul him off to the police station for a lineup, but Mrs. Greenfield is unable to positively identify him. The lineup is interrupted when Culloran receives a phone call from the real "Arthur Garrett." He tells Culloran that he is ready to turn himself in, but he wants to meet the detective at the "Golden Scallion," a favorite hangout for beatniks. There we get to hear The Poetess (Vampira) read a tirade against parents while a white mouse clings to her shoulder. Of course, Culloran has been lured to the club to give Stan an opportunity to rape his wife. When Culloran discovers that he has been duped, his antipathy towards women comes to the fore as he all but blames Francee for what happened to her. Infuriated by the notion that his wife is now damaged goods, Culloran essentially ignores her while devoting his days and nights to pursuing the rapist.
Although Jester was falsely arrested, it turns out that he and Stan are associates. Stan becomes concerned that a police sketch of him has been printed in the newspapers, so he decides to throw them off the track by persuading – threatening, actually - Jester to assault a woman while pretending the be The Aspirin Kid. Jester is taller and has lighter hair than Stan, so the idea is to confuse the police. The target selected by Stan is another married woman, Georgia Altera (Mamie Van Doren), who is separated from her husband Harry (Ray Anthony). When Jester shows up at her door he starts to pull the aspirin routine, but he is thrown off his game because Georgia shows signs of wanting to seduce him. The wheels completely fall off the plan when Harry unexpectedly shows up at the apartment. Culloran, meanwhile, is trying to figure out a way to lure "Arthur Garrett" out into the open.
Ray Danton is suitably smarmy and menacing as the psychotic Stan, and Steve Cochran is sturdy but humorless as the troubled detective, who thinks nothing of manipulating innocent people and callously exposing them to danger in order to achieve his ends. Fay Spain is believable as Culloran's mistreated wife and Jackie Coogan gives able support as his partner. Mamie Van Doren, who in real life was married to Ray Anthony, is as pneumatic as always, and her acting is pretty much what you would expect if you have seen any of her films. The fascinating supporting cast is an eclectic array of actors. In addition to Jim Mitchum, the cast includes Charles Chaplin Jr. and Cathy Crosby (Bing's niece). Cameo roles are filled by Dick Contino, Irish McCalla, Sid Melton, William Schallert, boxer-turned-actor Maxie Rosenbloom, the aforementioned Vampira, and Zugsmith regular Norman "Woo Woo" Grabowski. Louis Armstrong sings and plays trumpet on two numbers, including the title track.
As directed by Charles F. Haas, The Beat Generation tackles sensitive subjects such as rape and abortion, but the seriousness of the main story is undercut by some ludicrous scenes involving the beatniks, who mostly sit around expressionless. Even so, the plot is intriguingly sleazy and the film is enhanced by some striking location filming by cinematographer Walter Castle, who was better known for his television work. The Beat Generation is not a great film, and indeed it is not even a particularly good one, but it holds a certain fascination for people who enjoy fifties and sixties exploitation films and/or are aficionados of film noir.
Albert Zugsmith was one of the most unusual producers to ever work in Hollywood. He produced at least two classic films (Touch of Evil and The Incredible Shrinking Man), but he is probably best remembered for a series of youth-oriented exploitation films which he made in the late fifties and early sixties - High School Confidential, College Confidential, Sex Kittens Go to College, Platinum High School, Girls Town, etc. In 1959, during the height of the beatnik movement, Zugsmith produced The Beat Generation, which now is being released on Blu-ray by Olive Films. Happily it is one of Olive's better efforts.
Studio: MGM
Distributed By: Olive
Video Resolution and Encode: 1080P/AVC
Aspect Ratio: 2.35:1
Audio: English 2.0 DTS-HDMA
Subtitles: None
Rating: Not Rated
Run Time: 1 Hr. 35 Min.
Package Includes: Blu-ray
Standard Blu-ray Keep CaseDisc Type: BD25 (single layer)
Region: All
Release Date: 03/31/2015
MSRP: $29.95
The Production Rating: 3/5
Contrary to what one might understandably assume, The Beat Generation is not really about beatniks. It is actually a film noir about two alienated men, one a police detective and the other a serial rapist who puts on an act of being a beatnik. The real beatniks in the film are mere window dressing in the screenplay by Richard Matheson and Lewis Meltzer. Stan Belmont (Ray Danton) is the son of a wealthy man who comes to the beat club where Stan is hanging out to announce that he is getting married to a much younger woman. Stan is not impressed. "I can't flip every time you get married," he says. "Especially since this is the fifth time. Or is it the sixth?" Stan also bitterly remarks that his mother ran off with an Italian Count and a private eye, and it is clear that he does not think much of the institution of marriage. Before he walks away he ominously quotes Nietzsche to his father: "Thou goest to women. Do not forget thy whip."
Joyce Greenfield (Maggie Hayes), a married woman who is home alone, is twirling a hula hoop around her waist (and doing it quite well) while listening to jazz when the doorbell rings. It is Stan, neatly dressed in a sport coat and tie. He identifies himself as Arthur Garrett, a friend of her husband, and claims that he is there to repay a loan of $10 which her husband made to him. He persuades her to let him into the apartment and he then feigns having a bad headache. While she goes into the kitchen to get Stan a glass of water so he can take some aspirin, he puts on a pair of gloves and attacks her when she returns to the living room. He drags her into the bedroom, where he beats and rapes her.
After fleeing the apartment Stan is nearly hit by a car, which is driven by LAPD detective David Culloran (Steve Cochran). Culloran mentions that he is married and Stan notices that there is a letter on the seat of the car which shows Culloran's address. Culloran gives Stan a lift and then goes home to his wife, Francee (Fay Spain). All seems well at home until Culloran starts to grill Francee about why she wasn't home when he called during the day. She is annoyed at his questioning. "I didn't realize that I need an alibi," she protests. Their quarrel is interrupted by a phone call. It is Culloran's partner, Jake Baron (Jackie Coogan), calling to say that they have to investigate the rape of Mrs. Greenfield.
During the investigation the detectives notice that a tin of aspirin has been left on the coffee table, a sign that the attack was perpetrated by a serial rapist who has been dubbed "The Aspirin Kid." When Culloran begins to question the victim, he pointedly suggests that she wasn't assaulted at all. His distrust of women is obvious when he clearly suspects that she was voluntarily carrying on with the man and pretended to be raped in order to explain away her bruises. Later Culloran's partner reproaches him for the way he treated Mrs. Greenfield. "The more I work with you," says Baron, "the more convinced I am that you hate women." Culloran responds, "Just because my first marriage went on the rocks is no reason to accuse me of hating all women." Thus we have two alienated men on opposite sides of the law, both of whom have serious issues with women.
When Culloran and Baron get word that a young man vaguely fitting the description of "Arthur Garrett" has been sighted on the beach in Santa Monica, they rush over to question the suspect, Arthur Jester (Jim Mitchum). They haul him off to the police station for a lineup, but Mrs. Greenfield is unable to positively identify him. The lineup is interrupted when Culloran receives a phone call from the real "Arthur Garrett." He tells Culloran that he is ready to turn himself in, but he wants to meet the detective at the "Golden Scallion," a favorite hangout for beatniks. There we get to hear The Poetess (Vampira) read a tirade against parents while a white mouse clings to her shoulder. Of course, Culloran has been lured to the club to give Stan an opportunity to rape his wife. When Culloran discovers that he has been duped, his antipathy towards women comes to the fore as he all but blames Francee for what happened to her. Infuriated by the notion that his wife is now damaged goods, Culloran essentially ignores her while devoting his days and nights to pursuing the rapist.
Although Jester was falsely arrested, it turns out that he and Stan are associates. Stan becomes concerned that a police sketch of him has been printed in the newspapers, so he decides to throw them off the track by persuading – threatening, actually - Jester to assault a woman while pretending the be The Aspirin Kid. Jester is taller and has lighter hair than Stan, so the idea is to confuse the police. The target selected by Stan is another married woman, Georgia Altera (Mamie Van Doren), who is separated from her husband Harry (Ray Anthony). When Jester shows up at her door he starts to pull the aspirin routine, but he is thrown off his game because Georgia shows signs of wanting to seduce him. The wheels completely fall off the plan when Harry unexpectedly shows up at the apartment. Culloran, meanwhile, is trying to figure out a way to lure "Arthur Garrett" out into the open.
Ray Danton is suitably smarmy and menacing as the psychotic Stan, and Steve Cochran is sturdy but humorless as the troubled detective, who thinks nothing of manipulating innocent people and callously exposing them to danger in order to achieve his ends. Fay Spain is believable as Culloran's mistreated wife and Jackie Coogan gives able support as his partner. Mamie Van Doren, who in real life was married to Ray Anthony, is as pneumatic as always, and her acting is pretty much what you would expect if you have seen any of her films. The fascinating supporting cast is an eclectic array of actors. In addition to Jim Mitchum, the cast includes Charles Chaplin Jr. and Cathy Crosby (Bing's niece). Cameo roles are filled by Dick Contino, Irish McCalla, Sid Melton, William Schallert, boxer-turned-actor Maxie Rosenbloom, the aforementioned Vampira, and Zugsmith regular Norman "Woo Woo" Grabowski. Louis Armstrong sings and plays trumpet on two numbers, including the title track.
As directed by Charles F. Haas, The Beat Generation tackles sensitive subjects such as rape and abortion, but the seriousness of the main story is undercut by some ludicrous scenes involving the beatniks, who mostly sit around expressionless. Even so, the plot is intriguingly sleazy and the film is enhanced by some striking location filming by cinematographer Walter Castle, who was better known for his television work. The Beat Generation is not a great film, and indeed it is not even a particularly good one, but it holds a certain fascination for people who enjoy fifties and sixties exploitation films and/or are aficionados of film noir.
Video Rating: 3.5/5 3D Rating: NA
Audio Rating: 4/5
Special Features Rating: 0/5
Overall Rating: 3.5/5
Reviewed By: Richard Gallagher
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