NICKELODEON (1976: Dir. Peter Bogdanovich)
Burt Reynolds tempted fate and friendship once again by re-teaming with Peter Bogdanovich, director of the disastrous musical At Long Last Love, to make this daring love letter to the earliest days of silent cinema. As the clean-shaven yokel trying to break into pictures, Burt gets to show off both his natural comic timing and physical dexterity in a unique role that veers from slapstick buffoon to matinee idol hero. The transition is of course signaled when he grows a mustache, this time of the pencil thin Clark Gable variety. Inspired by the nostalgic anecdotes of silent film pioneers Raoul Walsh, Leo McCarey, and Alan Dwan, this episodic odyssey follows the adventures of fledgling director Leo Harrigan (Bogdanovich avatar Ryan O'Neal), and his star Buck Greenway (Burt) as they brave life and limb amid the picaresque business of silent film-making. Conceived and constructed by Bogdanovich with the verve and humour of this burgeoning industry, Nickelodeon nonetheless suffers from a nagging artificiality due to its colour cinematography, and the studio imposed casting of older stars as opposed to younger unknowns. This is no reflection on the talents of Burt or Ryan, who are give it their all in demanding roles. Three decades after its fittingly successful release, Bogdanovich was able to revise the film for the better, converting the images to his preferred black and white format, and adding some scenes that were unfortunately dropped in response to preview audience's reactions. The film can now be enjoyed in the spirit in which it was made, as a warm-hearted salute to the men and women who forged film into the most important art form of the last century. DVD REGION 1 & 2
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