Ep #64 - Francis Ford Coppola in the 60s

Cinema60

In many ways, the story of Francis Ford Coppola in the 1960s is a true parallel to the story of the dissolution and subsequent restructuring of Hollywood throughout the decade. Coppola got into the film industry quickly after graduating college, he started in nudie flicks and worked his way up through various low budget Roger Corman pictures. After earning his MFA in film from UCLA in 1967, he graduated to working on blockbusters – only to find himself drawn to a style of independent film later known as New Hollywood.

In this episode, Bart and Jenna pinpoint what it is about Francis Ford Coppola that’s continually inspirational, and debate which of his many masterful films are their favorites - but then remember they’re supposed to be talking about all his ‘60s juvenilia instead. Listen as they brave a handful of lighthearted nudie flicks, mediocre genre cash-ins, a couple of fascinating failures and one genuinely great film.

The following films are discussed:

• Tonight for Sure (1962)
Directed by Francis Ford Coppola & Jerry Schafer
Starring Karl Schanzer, Don Kenney, Marli Renfro

• The Bellboy and the Playgirls (1962)
Directed by Francis Ford Coppola & Fritz Umgelter
Starring June Wilkinson, Don Kenney, Karin Dor

• Battle Beyond the Sun (1962)
Directed by Mikhail Karyukov and Aleksandr Kozyr & Francis Ford Coppola
Starring Ivan Pereverzev, Aleksandr Shvorin, Konstantin Bartashevich

• The Terror (1963)
Directed by Roger Corman & Monte Hellman & Francis Ford Coppola & Jack Hale & Dennis Jakob & Jack Nicholson & Jack Hill
Starring Boris Karloff, Jack Nicholson, Sandra Knight

• Dementia 13 (1963)
Directed by Francis Ford Coppola
Starring Luana Anders, Bart Patton, Patrick Magee

• You're a Big Boy Now (1966)
Directed by Francis Ford Coppola
Starring Peter Kastner, Elizabeth Hartman, Geraldine Page

• Finian's Rainbow (1968)
Directed by Francis Ford Coppola
Starring Fred Astaire, Petula Clark, Tommy Steele

• The Rain People (1969)
Directed by Francis Ford Coppola
Starring James Caan, Shirley Knight, Robert Duvall