Sometimes described as a director of 'B' movies or ''exploitation' pics, Larry Cohen, who died three days ago, often concentrated on the sort of films which would sometimes be regarded as trash or pulp, such as BONE / DIAL RAT FOR TERROR, BLACK CAESAR, Q, THE STUFF, and IT'S ALIVE, with the occasional more serious [but sensational] like THE PRIVATE FILES OF J EDGAR HOOVER.
Information differs on when Cohen was born, however, so will depend upon which source you read..
My favorite story about a Cohen film, which sums his oeuvre up perfectly, came from Roger Ebert. He saw Q, about a living quetzalcoatl plucking mostly sunbathing women off the tops of New York skyscrapers, and with Michael Moriarty as a sleazy cocktail pianist who witnessed what's responsible for the deaths, but is in no hurry to help the police. Then he ran into Samuel Z. Arkoff, who had produced it. Ebert said that he was amazed that in the middle of this horror dreck, there was a funny Method performance by Michael Moriarty. And Arkoff proudly responded, "The dreck was MY idea!"
Among other things, Cohen created the TV series Branded, which has the greatest opening sequence of any 60s dramatic show:
My favorite story about a Cohen film, which sums his oeuvre up perfectly, came from Roger Ebert. He saw Q, about a living quetzalcoatl plucking mostly sunbathing women off the tops of New York skyscrapers, and with Michael Moriarty as a sleazy cocktail pianist who witnessed what's responsible for the deaths, but is in no hurry to help the police. Then he ran into Samuel Z. Arkoff, who had produced it. Ebert said that he was amazed that in the middle of this horror dreck, there was a funny Method performance by Michael Moriarty. And Arkoff proudly responded, "The dreck was MY idea!"
Among other things, Cohen created the TV series Branded, which has the greatest opening sequence of any 60s dramatic show:
Never knew that about 'Branded', which I remember very vaguely as was rather young at the time...
Re: LARRY COHEN 1941[?]-2019
Posted: Sat Mar 30, 2019 6:54 pm
by Lamar
I remember "Branded" vividly from my childhood-no fan of westerns then or now but I liked "Branded" and still have my DVR set to record it when it shows up on cable. I can also sing all the lyrics to the theme song and I take a bit of pleasure in singing it to friends when whine about their self created problems and exhibit a complete lack of fortitude.
Re: LARRY COHEN 1941[?]-2019
Posted: Sat Mar 30, 2019 11:00 pm
by greta de groat
That was sure a blast from the past. I don't know if i ever actually watched the rest of the program but i would tune in every week for the opening sequence.
But unfortunately hearing it also brings back the toilet version as a earworm ...
greta
Re: LARRY COHEN 1941[?]-2019
Posted: Sun Mar 31, 2019 6:37 am
by Mike Gebert
But unfortunately hearing it also brings back the toilet version as a earworm ...
Stranded
Stranded on the toilet bowl
What can you do when you're stranded
And you have no roll
To prove you're a man you must wipe with your hand
When you're stranded...
But unfortunately hearing it also brings back the toilet version as a earworm ...
Stranded
Stranded on the toilet bowl
What can you do when you're stranded
And you have no roll
To prove you're a man you must wipe with your hand
When you're stranded...
Ah, second grade.
Love it!
Reminds me of the toilet version my brother came up with for the pop song "See You In September".
See you in the bathroom
Meet you on the toilet seat...
Being about 10 years old at the time, I made the faux pas of singing it for the benefit of my big sister's new boyfriend over the dinner table...