Now, this may or may not be one of your favorite tunes but I've got a story to go along with it, so click play on the video below and read on. I want the post to have the proper atmosphere.
When "Midnight Cowboy" came out, I was a hippie in L.A. I wasn't living anywhere at the time. I just let the day take me where it took me. I must have been about 19 or 20. Naturally, since I was a hippie with no prospects and all, two movie stars' daughters took me to see "Midnight Cowboy" one night. L.A. was a fun place back then.
The movie had a huge impact on me. Voight and Hoffman were homeless on the screen, just as I was. And in the movie, things got desperate for them. This was painful to sit through because I was only just beginning to admit that my life in L.A. was less than ideal. I wasn't using the word "desperate" yet, but I soon would. So it wasn't hard to identify with the movie's characters, especially since we got really, really stoned before going into the theater.
The movie's theme song, created by John Barry, is an odd combination of things. It's got that wildly compelling melody but is also not far from being Muzak. Weird. It walks the line between the two, successfully for the most part (though let's face it, it was Muzaked to death in later years). There is so much longing in this song. I hear the pain and pleas, all wrapped up in that gorgeous harmonica. The song becomes a character in the movie. It plays a role, coming back again and again, each time with emotional impact. I think it should have gotten the Best Supporting Actor award that year.
By the way, the two young women who took me to the move were Schuyler Van Johnson, Van Johnson's daughter (when I peed in the bathroom at Schuyler's house, I saw they had a framed photograph of Van over the toilet) and Paula Burke, the daughter of then TV star Paul Burke, whose series, "12 O'Clock High" was a popular prime-time show. Paula let me sleep in the car in her garage that night. She wanted to do more but her parents wouldn't understand. In the morning her maid brought me coffee, for which I was very grateful. And then I returned to the streets with this song running through my mind. -- Thanks, Paula!
When "Midnight Cowboy" came out, I was a hippie in L.A. I wasn't living anywhere at the time. I just let the day take me where it took me. I must have been about 19 or 20. Naturally, since I was a hippie with no prospects and all, two movie stars' daughters took me to see "Midnight Cowboy" one night. L.A. was a fun place back then.
The movie had a huge impact on me. Voight and Hoffman were homeless on the screen, just as I was. And in the movie, things got desperate for them. This was painful to sit through because I was only just beginning to admit that my life in L.A. was less than ideal. I wasn't using the word "desperate" yet, but I soon would. So it wasn't hard to identify with the movie's characters, especially since we got really, really stoned before going into the theater.
The movie's theme song, created by John Barry, is an odd combination of things. It's got that wildly compelling melody but is also not far from being Muzak. Weird. It walks the line between the two, successfully for the most part (though let's face it, it was Muzaked to death in later years). There is so much longing in this song. I hear the pain and pleas, all wrapped up in that gorgeous harmonica. The song becomes a character in the movie. It plays a role, coming back again and again, each time with emotional impact. I think it should have gotten the Best Supporting Actor award that year.
By the way, the two young women who took me to the move were Schuyler Van Johnson, Van Johnson's daughter (when I peed in the bathroom at Schuyler's house, I saw they had a framed photograph of Van over the toilet) and Paula Burke, the daughter of then TV star Paul Burke, whose series, "12 O'Clock High" was a popular prime-time show. Paula let me sleep in the car in her garage that night. She wanted to do more but her parents wouldn't understand. In the morning her maid brought me coffee, for which I was very grateful. And then I returned to the streets with this song running through my mind. -- Thanks, Paula!
4 comments:
Thanks for reminding me that this is a movie worth seeing again....dialing Netflix as I type...
I watched it again recently and it was better than ever.
Another great movie was My Own Private Idaho, River Phoenix performance in it just broke my heart. Sadly his own demons caught up with him - such a loss.
I've never seen "Idaho". I consciously avoided it though I'm not sure why. As for your tacky movie, I'm jealous. I love those. It's so strange how some are just bad, while others are enjoyably bad and make you laugh.
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