Classic 70s Movie: “The Parallax View”

September is Classic 70s Movie month. Today’s guest post comes from Mark Twain.

Movie Title: The Parallax View

Year: 1974

Writers: Lorenzo Semple Jr. with David Giler and an uncredited Robert Towne adapted Loren Singer’s 1970 novel of the same name.

Lead Actors: Warren Beatty Paula Prentiss Hume Cronyn

Director: Alan J. Pakula

IMDB Plot Summary: The Parallax View, a political thriller concerning an ambitious reporter who gets in way-over-his-head trouble while investigating a senator’s assassination.

Why I Think This Is A Classic 70s Movie: Due to the enduring questions surrounding the assassination of Pres. Kennedy and other public leaders by the release of The Parallax View, June 1974, the zeitgeist of that era was a palpable public distrust of anything governmental. Amplifying this was an investigation into the involvement of President Richard M. Nixon’s White House in a burglary which had occurred during June 1972 at the Watergate Hotel complex in Washington D.C. Public interest in these events was fueled by an investigation by two reporters for the Washington Post, Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein. Other films released at this time, notably Three Days of The Condor and All The Presidents Men reflected this distrust, known as 70’s paranoia, but none cut to the heart of the very real basis of this fear as clearly as The Parallax View.

In this atmosphere director Alan J. Pakula used the collaborative art of film making to explore personal, social and timeless human issues particularly subversion and alienation through the story of a not very successful reporter, Joe Fraidy, played by Warren Beatty, who becomes driven to investigate the deaths of witnesses to the assassination of a handsome, popular, young US Senator.

After steadily undoing his not-too-successful career Joe is approached by a former girlfriend, Hildy, Paula Prentiss in a heart-rending performance. She is also a reporter and she asks Joe for help because witnesses like her to the Senator’s assassination have been dying mysteriously. Joe declines and sends her on her way. The next shot is Hildy on a slab in the morgue. Joe is now convinced and persuades his editor, Bill, played by Hume Cronin, to pay him an advance to pursue his investigation. Joe’s pursuit leads him ultimately to apply for a position, very likely as a paid killer, with a shadowy organization, The Parallax Corporation. After enduring a grueling and terrifying psychological evaluation Joe is hired. But, Joe skips out on his first assignment, eludes a tail and ends up at a rehearsal in a cavernous public hall for a rally for another US Senator, George Hammond, played by Jim Davis. Joe is convinced Hammond is Parallax’s next target. As Joe searches the darkened arena catwalks for a possible assassin Hammond is shot. Glimpsing Joe overhead, witnesses point and shout, “There he is! Get him!” Joe scrambles toward an exit. As he approaches the exit the door opens and a silhouetted figure shoots Joe dead. The film’s final scene is an announcement of the conclusions of an investigation which states that Joe Fraidy was the lone assassin of Senator Hammond and “ There will be no questions.”

Screenwriters will find the genesis of the final script interesting. Semple and Siler’s screenplay retained the basic element of the novel including Joe as a police investigator with Bill his Chief. But, as often happens in film production, forces outside of the film-makers control intervened causing significant changes. (Semple said later that they had used one or two things he had written, that was all.)

First, Warren Beatty’s availability limited the number of shooting days Pakula could use him. This meant Pakula had to work rapidly to complete Beatty’s scenes. Second, The Writer’s Guild went on strike just as the film was about to begin principal photography leaving any re-writing to Pakula. The first major change Pakula made was, responding to the status newspaper reporters had recently gained, changing Joe Fraidy to a reporter with Bill, Hume Cronyn, as his editor. Because there were no credited writers available for re-writes or additional dialogue, it is reported that the director, himself, wrote scenes and revisions daily during shooting. The results in the final version are extended sequences with very little dialogue, a condition which contributes to the overall eerie tone of The Parallax View.

My Favorite Moment In The Movie: A list would read as long as the original shooting script. But for me the stand out is Hildy’s reaction when asked if she knows Joe Fraidy. Her spoken reply is, “ No.”, but her expression says, ‘ Yes” and we know they do have a history and yet, “ No”, she does not know him at all. This moment moves the story along, supplies background for Joe Fraidy’s character and sets up the heart rendering scene where Hildy tells Joe she is sure she will be killed next and the heart breaking scene of Hildy on a slab in the morgue.

My Favorite Line Of Dialogue In The Movie: Fraidy has gone to Salmontail, a town where fishing is the main enterprise, to investigate the disappearance of another witness. While there Fraidy gets into a fight in a bar with Deputy Red, the nephew of the Sherriff, played with folksy warmth by Kelly Thordsen. During a conversation following the fight The Sherriff tells Joe, “ You know, Red’s so dumb if they moved his dinner plate three inches that poor boy would starve to death.”

Key Things You Should Look For When Watching The Parallax View: The films dual themes of subversion and alienation are deftly woven through every scene. Subversion prevails through the continuous use of common American symbols, Fourth of July style parades, flags, patriotic celebrations and even apple pie which are steadily presented. In this film their use is entirely the opposite of what is usually intended. Also look for the juxtaposition of comfortable cultural stereotypes. The friendly folksy Sherriff is a killer. A delicatessen deliveryman brings a poisoned sandwich and eliminates Bill, Fraidy’s editor.

Additionally, as the story plays out, Michael Small’s self-described ‘asymmetrical’ score combines traditional patriotic anthems and marches and creepy menacing underscoring which further amplifies the subversive tone of The Parallax View.

Joe Fraidy’s alienation becomes clearly evident through Cinematographer Gordon Parks peculiar angles, simultaneously suggesting intimacy and distance and his shadowy lighting which keeps Fraidy’s true status in the dark, even to Fraidy. Scenes set where Fraidy is alone and dwarfed by large public buildings, particularly the dam at Salmontail, emphasize the insignificance of one man in an overpowering, albeit man-made, world.

These elements, combine to amplify Frady’s distance from the social norm, his alienation. But, finally, in The Parallax View there is no social norm. A corporation is in charge of eliminating human beings. An everyman, striving for justice, ends up another victim and a patsy.

While the downbeat ending prevents The Parallax View from becoming as celebrated as other 70’s paranoia movies I believe it is a classic 70’s movie.

Thanks, Mark! To show our gratitude for your guest post, here’s a dash of creative juju for you. Whoosh!

We already have a set of 80s Movies and 90s Movies. This month, we’re working on 70s Movies.

Thanks to all of you for your participation in this project, creating a resource for writers, movies we should all watch to help learn the craft of screenwriting!

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