April 7 James Garner

I always like James Garner in Rockford Files. I watched that show every week. The show a great theme song, creative
story lines and talented supporting actors.

TCM showed a day full of films of James Garner for his birthday. I watched Mister Buddwing. I was captured within the first few moments of the film. The film is in black and white. The film opens up with strange music and the blurry tree branches. The music stops. The camera pulls back and you are looking up at the buildings, sideways. The scene straightens up, and it looks like Central Park in New York. The camera goes sideways to take in the surroundings and then levels off. Hands come into view, cover the camera, like you are rubbing your eyes and the camera goes down to his lap following his hands. He rubs his wrist, whether it is sore or looking for his watch I can’t tell. He pats his pants pocket then coat. He pulls out a Harlem Division time table, looking at it front and back. He continues to search his pockets. He pulls out a piece of paper with two capsule pills and a phone number listed. He pulls off his ring “from G.V.’ is engraved. The camera lifts up and starts to go towards a pathway (you hear the sound of his footsteps) and up some steps. There are very few people around. The scene morphs to being in front of a large building, walking up steps and through a revolving door. He into a lobby of hotel. At a mirrored door he sees his reflection it is James Garner. He looks dirty, rumpled, unshaven and confused. The opening credits start and the angle changes into a normal view as James walks away from the mirrored door. I have to admit that I watched this several times and watched in pause play so I could get everything. It was terrific.

He calls the number that is on the paper. It is Angela Landsbury. “Sam is that you?” she says “Sam” he repeats. “Why do you only call me when you are drunk?” As he goes to leave the hotel to go to her apartment he sees a Budweiser truck go by and a plane flying above. He thinks his name is Sam Buddwing. Angela does not recognize him. Angela feeling sorry for him offers him coffee. He looks around trying to find something that looks familiar. He doesn’t remember who he is or what happened. When Angela asks him, how old he was, what his name is, where he lives he answers each question as “I don’t know” getting more aggravated each time. When Angela asks him how he wants his coffee he starts to cry because he doesn’t know how he takes his coffee. As he leaves a mellow sax plays. He is confused and doesn’t know where to go. The camera switches to him looking down the street to scenes of the street. The camera then switches to an overhead angle from a balcony following him down the street. He sees a women “Grace” he calls. She gets in a taxi and he follows in another taxi. As the taxi driver talks a constant stream of nonsense James is very intently watching the other taxi, with a few slanted eye looks at him. He looses her at NYU. He goes to a café and reads a newspaper which headline “Dangerous mental patient escapes” he reads the story and states the name aloud Edward Volner (I think that is the last name). Jack Gilford comes up to him and joins him at his table. The patient stole a grey suit and walked out. James may be wearing a gray suit. He sees Grace, who is Kathryn Ross, but she is not Grace she is Janet. He says he is 25, “and how many?” she says. The camera freezes on him and he flashes back to being 25 sitting with Grace (Kathryn) on a park bench. There are several more scenes in the flashback, dates mainly and a great scene where he is talking with Grace’s uncle who has a large German Sheppard. It is a very interesting way for the character to remember his birthday, his life plans and his career (musical composition). They go into a church to get out of the rain and listen to the organ. The camera shows the two of them looking at each other and holding hands to their view of the interior of the church.

He says something and is back to modern day stating he is the mental patient. Kathryn is gone. A crowd gathers as a police officer questions James. Several men come to James aid and James escapes in the crowd with a man following. The man catches up with James and he says he says he is God. The man states he needs a disciple and James is the chosen one. James not believing him goes away. He wonders around the city. The camera angle changes from him to what he sees, including blurry vision. He stops at a café to take one of the capsules. The soda clerk states he has a migraine which is a psychosomatic condition. He sees Suzanne Pleshette, who he calls Grace. She is an actress who speaks very 60’s lingo. She does not know him either. She says he is lucky he doesn’t remember. She questions him to try to find out what he does for a living. She goes through the timetable Mount Kisco rings a bell, but he doesn’t know why. They go back to her place so he can shave, wash and get his closed cleaned. After a night together, Suzanne leaves the apartment and James follows (with great jazz music playing). Suzanne goes over the railing of the Queens borough bridge, he gets her before she falls over. It is a flashback scene. He states someone is waiting for him. There is a montage of flashbacks as he walks around the city at night. You are not sure what is real and what is not. He calls Angela because he is afraid and alone. She states her husband is there and hangs up.

A taxi pulls up and Jean Simmons states she is on a treasure hunt and needs a tall man in a grey suit. She takes a dislike to the driver and gets out of the taxi. Jean talks like a rough house dame. They drink alcohol on a stoop and go over the treasure hunt list $100,000 cash, black Cadillac sedan, your name in the newspaper, 3 good men and true to testify to your character. In a taxi to get the made up newspaper Jean tells him the story of her life and he closes his eyes and cringes in pain. In another taxi to a crap game to get the $100,000 he has another flash back with Jean as Grace. They argue in front of a mirror that looks like it is covered with streaks of gray like it is marbleized. While playing craps, the scene flashes between the game and his apartment where each roll of the dice brings back a memory, he finds a note from Grace. There is a light on under the door. The door is locked. He breaks down the door. Blood is all over the tub and a cut wrist is shown. He realizes the phone number is to a hospital. He still does not have his full memory back. When he gets there he sees Grace’s uncle. Grace is alive, barely. He sees Grace (but her face is not shown) and the camera goes to the window and down the park and follows the reverse of the opening of the film.

This is a great film. The actors switch back and forth between themselves and Grace. James shows so much emotion, frustration and confusion that you really believe he is loss and you want to help him by understanding the clues. It isn’t until the game that everything comes together. With one viewing you know what is going to happen but if you watch the film over and over, there will still probably be things that come up. Ellsworth Fredricks is the director of photography. I am going to have to look up more of his work. Delbert Mann directed the film. Fredric Steinkamp edited the film and the screenplay by Dale Wassermann based on Evan Hunter’s book Buddwing.