10-25-2021, 09:32 AM
[seen on Criterion]
Who is Hampton Fancher? Well, if you ever watched Gunsmoke, Mannix, Perry Mason, 77 Sunset Strip, or any of a dozen other old TV series, you likely saw him. Not that he was ever very prominent, but he made a living at it (most of the time), playing bit parts and just getting by.
This is a documentary about him, showing lots of footage of him in bit parts while Hampton talks of his experiences.
And they are considerable -- lots of shaggy dog stories, or so they seem, but most do have a pay off--in the end or just along the way. He's a good talker, a good storyteller, and he's had lots of interesting experiences.
Just for starters, he flunked third grade. Twice. At age 11 he told his parents he was done with school. Eventually he traveled to Spain to become a flamenco dancer. He returned and performed in NYC for a time, then moved to Hollywood to become an actor. He worked shit jobs (even ditch digger) while having dalliances or longer-term relationships with various notable actresses early in their careers. He talks of the ups and downs of his career, and how he never really wanted to be an actor, never put in the effort to be good at it, never viewed himself as being one. What he really wanted to do was write, or produce, or so he says. Yet he spent so many years playing bit parts...
He was never very successful in Hollywood; yet I find it rather astounding how he made a lasting name for himself there, and who the people were who influenced him in accomplishing what he did. I'll only say that Flipper and Kung Fu play into the story in odd ways.
What I'm alluding to is possibly a spoiler. Just so you know. SPOILER ALERT<check the script credit for Blade Runner, or it's sequel>END SPOILER ALERT
I found this well worth watching.
Who is Hampton Fancher? Well, if you ever watched Gunsmoke, Mannix, Perry Mason, 77 Sunset Strip, or any of a dozen other old TV series, you likely saw him. Not that he was ever very prominent, but he made a living at it (most of the time), playing bit parts and just getting by.
This is a documentary about him, showing lots of footage of him in bit parts while Hampton talks of his experiences.
And they are considerable -- lots of shaggy dog stories, or so they seem, but most do have a pay off--in the end or just along the way. He's a good talker, a good storyteller, and he's had lots of interesting experiences.
Just for starters, he flunked third grade. Twice. At age 11 he told his parents he was done with school. Eventually he traveled to Spain to become a flamenco dancer. He returned and performed in NYC for a time, then moved to Hollywood to become an actor. He worked shit jobs (even ditch digger) while having dalliances or longer-term relationships with various notable actresses early in their careers. He talks of the ups and downs of his career, and how he never really wanted to be an actor, never put in the effort to be good at it, never viewed himself as being one. What he really wanted to do was write, or produce, or so he says. Yet he spent so many years playing bit parts...
He was never very successful in Hollywood; yet I find it rather astounding how he made a lasting name for himself there, and who the people were who influenced him in accomplishing what he did. I'll only say that Flipper and Kung Fu play into the story in odd ways.
What I'm alluding to is possibly a spoiler. Just so you know. SPOILER ALERT<check the script credit for Blade Runner, or it's sequel>END SPOILER ALERT
I found this well worth watching.