Kind of Blue? Fade In (1968)

"Both pictures are either going to be great or be disaster areas. There will be no middle ground with either one."

Judd Bernard, Producer for Blue and Fade In

As previously mentioned, Fade In was filmed at the same time as Silvio Narizzano’s film Blue (1968) and it features the fictionalised story of two people involved in the making of that film. It’s a meta concept with Blue’s stars Joanna Pettet and Terence Stamp shown arriving and on their way to the Utah desert set with the latter even getting a speaking role as a garage attendant asks of the film will feature John Wayne. It’s an intriguing concept and whilst the ideal way to experience ethe two would have been to have them on the same bill, it took a number of years for Fade In to make it to the screen and this was as a TV movie in late 1973, after its star Burt Reynolds had made Deliverance and become one of the biggest names in Hollywood.

So, what happened and why was this charming if low energy film consigned to the darkness for so long? A clue can be found in the fact director Jud Taylor asked for his name to be taken off the picture as did the scriptwriter Mart Crowley… "I did write one film, Fade-In, with Barbara Loden and Burt Reynolds in starring roles. However, it was butchered by other writers. It was never released. I paid Paramount $1700 to take my name off the project."

The credited writer was Jerrold L Ludwig, one of Mr Crowley’s butchers, whilst director was “Allen Smithee” a made-up name devised to get around the requirement of the Directors Guild of America that each film was to have a named director. The studio didn’t like Taylor’s cut and he certainly didn’t like theirs and perhaps even they weren’t that keen…

 

Burt Reynolds and Barbara Loden make film...

The film starts in an intriguing enough way as massive trucks trundle through the desert as seen only in fictional form and a century earlier in Blue. Then its almost a shock to see Terry Stamp driving his e-type Jaguar – oh Tel, you were living the dream mate! – towards the location, reminding the viewer perhaps of David Hemmings in his open top Roller in Blow Up (1966). Stamp was so location-specific this makes his appearance in Blue even stranger.

Pretty soon though we’re seeing Burt Reynold’s as Rob, a local rancher looking to get some work as a driver on set, waiting as Joanna Pettet’s plane arrives – cue some appreciative comments form his pal Bud (the ever-reliable James Hampton) before Rob sets eyes on Jean (Barbara Loden), the film’s assistant editor, who he is to chauffer. The two hit it off and Rob proves to be a gentleman walking her home and protecting her from a couple of his drunken pals… he’s already BURT, handsome, pensive and a powerful presence.

Rob and Jean get to know each other and we also get some fascinating glimpses of Blue being made from the camera’s sweeping around the filming of the deadly meeting of Blue’s compadres and the Mexican soldiers to Jean demonstrating the art of editing and the Kuleshov effect, cutting the action to generate an emotional narrative for the audience. In his turn Rob show the city girl his world from acting the cowboy and skinny dipping – there’s a lot of Burt on show!

 

Their romantic journey continues even as Jean’s place-holder boyfriend Bill arrives from Los Angeles… she’s more interested in her new lover although she finds him struggling to accept this. It’s a tale of people from two completely different worlds, one perhaps more real than the other and you wonder what will happen when the play-acting ends and both have to return to reality?

Dusty Verdict:  Fade In has a terrible reputation but it’s likeable enough in its lightweight way. It certainly benefited from being seen directly after Blue and the two together make for an interesting time capsule of Hollywood ideology from this period. If Stamp was out of place in Blue Reynolds is perfectly cast in this world and there are more than enough hints of his star power and persona to come.

A rainy-day film for romantics… after being hard to find for decades both films are now on blu-ray along with a documentary on Silvio Narizzano, whose idea it all was! Details of the Australian version are here!