March 8th 2014. Pick of the Day.

Today's absolutely tropical 50 degree temps inspire me to shed several layers of winter shielding built up over the cruel, tyrannical reign of the Polar Vortex. I blame the booze and apologize to any onlookers who were traumatized by said shedding. Thankfully it's only a second offense.

Today's continuing series include Film Forum's trib to the exceedingly well winter-proofed auteur The Complete Hitchcock, MoMA's elegant Vienna Unveiled, the Silent Clowns' Chaplin at Essanay, and Anthology Film Archives' Overdue: Richard Fleischer. The rep circit monkeyshines in full;

Nitehawk Cinema

SPLASH (1984) Dir; Ron Howard

XANADU (1980) Dir; Robert Greenwald

Film Forum

DIAL "M" FOR MURDER (1954) Dir; Alfred Hitchcock

UNDER CAPRICORN (1949) Dir; Alfred Hitchcock

MoMA

DAYBREAK (1931) Dir; Jacques Feyder

LA RONDE (1950) Dir; Max Ophuls

Library for the Performing Arts at Lincoln Center

CHAPLIN AT ESSANAY (1915) Dir; Charlie Chaplin

Anthology Film Archives

20,000 LEAGUES UNDER THE SEA (1956) Dir; Richard Fleischer

THE GIRL IN THE RED VELVET SWING (1955) Dir; Richard Fleischer

VIOLENT SATURDAY (1955) Dir; Richard Fleischer

Museum of the Moving Image

THE SILENCE (1963) Dir; Ingmar Bergman

Today's Pick? Normally I wouldn't take sides against the Silent Clowns and their consistent excellence, routinely offering free public access to fine celluloid prints of some of the best-known (and most obscure) gems from the medium's earliest days, but today a lesser-championed filmmaker, perhaps not a genius but certainly a notable craftsman, is getting some belated cinegeek love. Richard Fleischer grew up in his dad's shadow, the legendary Max Fleischer, who along with brother Dave gave Walt Disney a run for his money for the title of Animation King during the 20's and 30's. The expense of their increasingly ambitious productions, coupled with the fact that, unlike Disney, they licensed their characters and therefore could not profit from merchandising, led to the shuttering of the Fleischer Brothers studio in the early 40's. Richard Fleischer had already been infected by the film bug, however, and after a few years directing shorts subjects and documentaries, he seized upon the opportunity to move into features with 1947's CHILD OF DIVORCE. A steady career shouting "action!" followed, mostly overseeing taut, economic crime thrillers and noirs, until the strangest damn suitor rang his doorbell one day. Metaphorically speaking.

Walt Disney had survived multiple gambles over the course of his career; the first sound cartoon (STEAMBOAT WILLIE) , the first 3-strip Technicolor cartoon (FLOWERS & TREES), the first feature-length cartoon (SNOW WHITE), FANTASIA's Fantasound. He continuously risked the fiscal solvency of the company on his next great ambition, to the eternal consternation of his partners, and in the early 50's he decided Disney studios should get into the live action feature game. Byron Haskin's TREASURE ISLAND was the first toe dipped in the pool, a success mostly notable for Robert Newton's ace perf as Arrrh-meister Long John Silver. Still, popular as it proved at the box office it was considerd no better than A-list kiddie fare, and Walt was nothing if not ambitious.

Disney chose Jules Verne's visionary fantasy classic about a maverick seafaring captain/genius engineer, and the advanced tech marvel "sea monster" he employs to mete out his own idea of justice on the high seas, as the perfect material to compete with the big studios in the Cinemascope spectacle era. A true dropping of the gauntlet to prove his peerage with the likes of Fox and MGM and Warner Brothers. In some ways it was the Pinocchio moment for the studio, and his vision for its future. Who better, then, to helm this bold experiment than the son of the guy he helped put out of business a decade earlier? The irony was lost on neither studio head nor director, though there seems little resistance on either part to accept the monumental, and potentially catastrophic, undertaking. Indeed, the cost overruns again threatened great financial damage to the otherwise seemingly bulletproof studio, but Walt wisely went along with every extra expenditure for the betterment of the production, most famously and importantly in the complete reshooting of the show-stopping squid battle set piece. In a way it was Disney versus cephalopod, him going up against the might beastie terrorizing his kingdom once more. Interestingly enough Disney is both jeopardized Nemo and lance-hurling Ned Land in that scene, simultaneously caught in the clutches of certain doom and capably sending the nightmarish predator back to the briny deep. Egomaniacal, you say? Are you accusing the creator of Disneyland and Disneyworld of egomania?

Overseeing this chaos and dealing with the whims of the wildy inventive Disney was Richard Fleischer, who might well be best described as a journeyman director. Among this journeyman's credits, however, count such memorable to indelible fare as NARROW MARGIN, COMPULSION, THE VIKINGS, FANTASTIC VOYAGE, THE BOSTON STRANGLER, TORA! TORA! TORA!, 10 RILLINGTON PLACE, SOYLENT GREEN, MR. MAJESTYK, and well, MANDINGO. I said indelible, you wanna argue with that? I've long felt that his CV was due a second look, and I'm glad that Casa de Mekas has scheduled one. Bring your own mattress, or ask the guy who brings his own mattress to lend it. He's ok.

Richard Fleischer's 20,000 LEAGUES UNDER THE SEA unspools at Anthology Film Archives as part of their Overdue: Richard Fleischer series. AHOY SEXY!!!

For more info on these and all NYC's classic film screenings in March '14 click on the interactive calendar on the upper right hand side of the page. And be sure to follow me on both Facebook, where I provide further info and esoterica on the rep film circuit and star birthdays, and Twitter, where I provide a daily feed for the day's screenings and other blathery. Back tomorrow with a brand new Pick, til then batten down them hatches again!!! We'll teach them hatches!!!

-Joe Walsh

JoeW@NitrateStock.net