Tag Archives: history

Who is Alan Smithee?

Several “talented” artists may contend for the title of the worst-ever filmmaker. There is Uwe Boll, an expert in failed adaptations of video game franchises, Ed Wood, a 1960s classic, and a self-taught amateur Tommy Wiseau, to name just a few. However, in terms of completed works, there is no match for a Hollywood legend – Alan Smithee. He made more than 60 very bad movies in his career. Who is this genius of bad taste?

Enormously powerful forces clash while making a movie. Theoretically, the director has the dominant power on the set, however in practice, s/he is subjected to the studio and producers. Film studios frequently try to influence directors to force a completely adverse vision of the movie. The director tries to make a gloomy work, whereas the studio wants the movie to receive a rating making it suitable for all ages. The director seeks flamboyance, but the producer wants to economize. Needless to say, some capricious actors may ruin the movie production. The director does his (or her) best to reconcile their vision with the requirements of others, however, sometimes even the best efforts are futile and the completed work has nothing to do with the planned movie. This is when Alan Smithee comes into play.

Death of a Gunfighter

Before 1968 the regulations of the Directors Guild of America did not make it possible to use pseudonyms. The aim was to protect directors against producers, who could blackmail this way the subordinates they find problematic. “If you don’t make the movie the way we want it, you’re out of the credits.” The situation changed in 1969, when the movie Death of a Gunfighter, directed by Robert Totten, was made. While the movie was being shot, the actor Richard Widmark forced an engagement of a new director – Don Siegel. Siegel spent 10 days on the set, whereas Totten as many as 25. Siegel concluded, then, that Totten should be credited as the director, however, the latter declined. The two men lodged a complaint with the Directors Guild, and the members of the board dealing with the dispute decided the movie does not represent the vision of either of the directors. For this reason, the solution of the Guild was to credit the movie to a fictional director, Alan Smith. However, when it turned out several directors bear this name, it was changed to Smithee. This is how a scapegoat was created, who was to take the responsibility for the movies whose authors did not want to recognize as theirs.

 

Ironically, the movie received critical acclaim. Even Roger Ebert, a famous film critic, was enthusiastic. Death of a Gunfighter proved to be one of the best-rated movies of 1969. Following the precedent, several directors requested the Guild to remove their names from the credits. Alan Smithee became an industry standard soon. Directors of dozens of movies used the name.

Marketing specialists try to conceal the name of an inconvenient director since it is a harbinger of a lame movie

Although Smithee was supposed to be an industry secret, it soon became an elephant in the room. “An Alan Smithee Film: Burn Hollywood Burn” was made in 1997. The movie is about the director named Alan Smithee, who is so dissatisfied with the work that he decides to renounce it, however, the only solution the Guild offers him is his own name. The movie was directed by Arthur Hiller. What is really ironic is the fact that as a result of the studio’s pressure Hiller denounced the movie and the film about Alan Smithee was credited with the name of a fictional director. The confusion surrounding the film caused the name Smithee to become mainstream. For this reason, the Guild gave up its use. Since then the directors have been choosing a pseudonym to be used in the movie. The Supernova director, Walter Hill, chose to be Thomas Lee, and Accidental Love director, David O. Russell, left the product credited to Stephen Greene.

 

Sources:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:Films_credited_to_Alan_Smithee

https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2000-jan-15-ca-54271-story.html

https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/death-of-a-gunfighter-1969

https://entertainment.howstuffworks.com/alan-smithee.htm

George Stinney – the youngest person sentenced to the electric chair

George Junius Stinney, Jr. was a 14-year-old African American boy living in Alcolu, Clarendon County, South Carolina. Alcolu was a tiny town divided by the railroad tracks that ran through it. The tracks were an informal border – whites lived on one side and blacks on the other.

On March 22, 1944, two white girls – 11-year-old Betty June Binnicker and 8-year-old Mary Emma Thames – left on bicycles to look for flowers. On the way, they met George Stinney and his sister Aime. The girls asked their siblings if they knew where to pick flowers. That was the last time they were seen. When the girls did not return home for the night, a search operation was organized and their bodies were found. Both victims had their heads smashed. Shortly after the bodies were found, George and his 17-year-old brother Johnny were arrested as suspects in their murders. After some time, Johnny was released, but George was detained for further questioning. During the interrogation, George confessed to the murder. The crime was alleged to have been committed on a sexual basis.

Mary Emma Thames, left, Betty June Binnicker, right

As news of the teenage killer spread through the town, George’s father was fired from his job and the whole family was evicted. They couldn’t stay anyway because they were threatened with lynching. The trial took place on April 24 and lasted only two hours. The jury had no doubt about the defendant’s guilt and returned 10 minutes later with the verdict. George was found guilty, and the jury recommended the most severe penalty. Since South Carolina law at the time considered persons over the age of 14 to be adults, Stinney was sentenced to death. An appeal was not filed because the family did not have the money to pay for legal services.

George’s family tried to publicize the case. They also asked the governor to halt the execution. To no avail. On June 16, 1944, less than three months after the crime, George Stinney was executed in the electric chair. Because Stinney was only 150 centimeters tall and 40 kilos in weight, the chair was too big and the electrode would fall off his head. To seat him properly, a Bible was placed on the seat (other sources cite a telephone book).

Given the evidence gathered, the case seems to be nothing short of a lynching in the majesty of the law. No statement signed by Stinney exists. George was interviewed by several white officers in a locked room without his parents or an attorney present. There is also no witness to the alleged confession other than the police officers. There was not even a single piece of physical evidence to link Stinney to the murders. George’s siblings provided him with an alibi. The public defender’s attorney did not object, even when the police witnesses told conflicting versions of the boy’s alleged confession to the alleged act. No trial transcript was produced. The jury was composed exclusively of white citizens. Blacks were not allowed into court at all. Even the governor was prejudiced, as indicated by his response to the pardon request, in which he wrote back that George had raped an older girl and then tried to repeat the act, but the body was too cold. However, it is unclear where the governor got this information, as the autopsy report indicated that no rape occurred.

Even after all these years, the case still evokes emotions. In 2004, a local historian obtained documents proving the boy’s innocence. On their basis, a new trial was held in 2014, in which the previous one was overturned. Formally George Stinney is now innocent, which unfortunately is little consolation for his family. The family of the victims, on the other hand, is very unhappy with the reversal of the verdict and believes that George is guilty. Besides, they are not the only ones. A former elementary school teacher (African American) stated that George often got into fights and once even injured a schoolmate with a knife. A woman (white) who lived in the neighborhood recalled that George was a local bully and once threatened to kill her and her friend.

Three films have been made about the Stinney case: Carolina Skeletons (1991), 83 Days (2018) and The Current: The Story of George Stinney (2017). There was also an opera production titled simply Stinney in 2015. However, the most famous film based on the infamous killing is The Green Mile, in which a giant with the mind of a child is convicted for the murder of two girls.

Sources:

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/morning-mix/wp/2014/12/18/the-rush-job-conviction-of-14-year-old-george-stinney-exonerated-70-years-after-execution/

https://www.theguardian.com/theobserver/2014/mar/22/george-stinney-execution-verdict-innocent

https://files.deathpenaltyinfo.org/legacy/documents/State%20v.%20Stinney,%20Brief%20of%20Amicus%20Curiae%20CRRJ.pdf

Where did the term “crocodile tears” come from?

“Crocodile tears” is a term used to describe the behavior of people who feign remorse in order to arouse our empathy. Generally, such people do not regret their actions at all, but are afraid of the consequences, i.e. public scorn, loss of job, privileges, criminal consequences, etc. However, how did people connect these false behaviors with predatory reptiles?

 

Some scholars believe that the comparison of hypocrisy to crocodile tears appeared as early as the beginning of our era. The philosopher Plutarch is supposed to have so described the behavior of people who desire someone’s death, or even directly cause it, but later publicly despair over the victim’s fate.

The term crocodile tears was not to become popular until the 14th century. It was first used in the book “The Travels of Sir John Mandeville.” This book is a supposed diary of a trip around the world, in which the narrator describes his many travels and adventures. In one of them, the author writes about crocodiles crying while tearing people apart. These memoirs were very popular and translated into many languages. Shakespeare in the drama “Othello” also writes about crocodile tears, comparing them to the tears of an unfaithful wife. Today this expression is almost universally used in most languages. However, where did the comparison come from?

The Travels of Sir John Mandeville

Well, crocodiles cry, but their crying has nothing to do with emotions. Crocodile tears are secreted when the reptile arrives too long out of water and the body tries to rehydrate the conjunctiva. Another reason for crocodile tears is the consumption of a meal. When the crocodile’s jaws work, the tear ducts are stimulated and hence the impression that the crocodile is crying over its food.

It is worth mentioning that there is a disease called Bogorad syndrome (also called crocodile tear syndrome). Those suffering from it cry profusely while eating. As in the case of crocodiles, this is caused by abnormal stimulation of ducts. This disease is caused by damage to the facial nerve.