The Black Marble

I saw the trailer for this movie in 1980 & it looked interesting. I had never seen it though until recently when I bought a copy for $2.99. I like Paula Prentiss, so I thought I'd like this movie. I didn't. I was very bored. Nothing interesting or exciting takes place. The romantic aspect of the story is tedious & mundane. I didn't find it amusing either. Paula looked great & the endearing, goofy qualities she conveyed in other films is toned down here. I was happy when this movie ended & I doubt I'd ever sit through it again.

This movie has all the signs of a film that sat on the shelf for a while. When The Onion Field came out, this made Wambaugh (and James Woods) hot again, and they decided to release it -- that's my guess. Look at Woods, in the pre-stardom, almost extra role of the Fiddler.

The reason is simple. Robert Foxworth stinks it out. He delivers such a soft center in the role, the proceedings are even difficult to understand.

The other problem is that the dialogue is long long, pointless and drawn out. The action crawls along a foot a minute while the characters make small talk.

Paula Prentiss is fine, as is Harry Dean Stanton. But sometimes movies don't always jell, and this one sure doesn't either.

A very underrated film that can be called a cop movie, a buddy movie or an odd couple movie; mainly, one that's funny, human & absolutely beguiling. And it gets better each time I see it. The scene in which Robert Foxworth seduces Barbara Babcock (or vice versa) saying again & again, "I'll find your doggie"; the scene in which Paula Prentiss hilariously seduces him as a Russian gypsy song plays in the BG; Harry Dean Stanton as a dog lover who doesn't want to harm the dog he must harm to be credible as a blackmailer; James Woods' violinist who wants to stop playing & pee; the Russian restaurant; Foxworth's drunken opening scene in a Russian church--all are so wonderful & so well acted that the movie is an absolute delight. It's not to everyone's taste, but it sure is to mine. At first, it was a lovely surprise. Now, it's like an old friend.

It's hard to figure out what went wrong with this adaptation of Joseph Wambaugh's fine romantic comedy/cop drama. Wambaugh himself wrote the script from his novel. Harold Becker, who previously directed another Wambaugh book, "The Onion Field," is back at the helm. The cast, including leads Robert Foxworth and Paula Prentiss (not to mention the outstanding Harry Dean Stanton)are all very good. But for some reason, the movie seems muted and unexciting, missing much of the book's humor and attention to detail. Not a terrible film, but definitely a case where the book was better.

I read the book (©1978) about two weeks ago, rated it 8/10, discovered there was a movie version (©1980), watched the movie last night while "Irene" was storming our neighborhood. The book was slow to start and a bit difficult to get into. But, once the author "set the hook", I couldn't stop reading. What a superb composition. But then comes the movie... Hollywood did an outstanding job moving the book to film. The last time I enjoyed a book/film combination as much as this was for "Get Shorty". Well done Wambaugh! Thanks much.

The character development within the film is excellent with plenty of concentration on the major & minor players... one reason the movie is as long as it is. Some may complain, but one can't really appreciate how well this development supports the overall thrust of the movie without reading the book or watching the movie a second time.