The Projectionist (1971)

Director:

Harry Hurwitz

Writer:

Harry Hurwitz (writer)

Genre:

Comedy | Drama | Fantasy

Plot:

A projectionist bored with his everyday life begins fantasizing about his being one of the superheroes he sees in the movies he shows. |

Plot Keywords:

Projectionist | Film Buff | Single Guy | Loner | Montage

Cast

Chuck McCann	...	Projectionist / Captain Flash
Ina Balin	...	The Girl
Rodney Dangerfield	...	Renaldi / The Bat
Jára Kohout	...	Candy Man / Scientist
Harry Hurwitz	...	Friendly Usher
Mike Gentry	...	Usher / Henchman (as Michael Gentry)
Lucky Kargo	...	Usher / Henchman
David Holliday	...	Fat Man / Bat's Henchman
Sam Stewart	...	Usher / Henchman
Alex Stevens	...	Usher / Henchman
Robert Lee	...	Usher / Henchman
Stephen Philips	...	Minister
Morocco	...	Belly Dancer
Clara Rosenthal	...	Crazy Lady
Jacqueline Glenn	...	Nude on Bearskin

Runtime:

88 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Certification:

USA:GP (original rating) | USA:PG | UK:A

Filming Locations:

New York City, New York, USA

Company:

Maglan

Trivia:

First film for Rodney Dangerfield.

Movie Connections:

References The Pink Jungle (1968)

In the mainstream of movies that tear down the screen

There have been movies before and after The Projectionist that tear down film's equivalent of Theatre's fourth wall by lifting the barrier between the movie and the real world. Buster Keaton did it most brilliantly in Sherlock Jr. (1924, 44 mins., also featuring a projectionist), and Woody Allen pulled off a reversal (character steps out of the screen) in The Purple Rose of Cairo (1985). Steve Martin duked it out with Cagney and others in Dead Men Don't Wear Plaid (1982). The Projectionist is an amusing and annoying combination of a sweet schlub played by Chuck McCann, very reminiscent of John Candy, Rodney Dangerfield's film debut as a dictatorial movie theatre manager given to delivering incredible dressing-down speeches at his hapless ushers (shades of Full Metal Jacket), a nostalgic look at Times Square before it became "Times Square", and a melding of our hero with his screen idols, including his eye-popping drop-in at Rick's Cafe Americain. So what's to be annoyed at? A running super-hero theme is weak, and once you realize it will return again and again it's stomach tightening time while you anticipate the enjoyable sequences being interrupted by this underwritten motif. But without question The Projectionist is not to be missed in a time when imagination has been sucked out of Hollywood. And so I appreciated this film last night even more than when I saw it in a theatre 31 years ago, not excluding a hilarious trailer for a faux end-of-the-world flick that's a little too predictive of 9/11 for comfort.