The Spirit

I enjoyed this adaptation of The Spirit comics, and in many ways it caught the flavor and humor of the original stories. It had a nice cast of virtual unknowns, and hit all the marks for fun and adventure. Sam J. Jones did a creditable job, and Laura (McKinley) Robinson had P'Gell down cold, and was a gorgeous femme fatal. It had a low budget look, tho, for much of its length, and not enough of the wonderful camera angles The Spirit comic practically cried out for. That said, Will Eisner told me himself, at a ComicCon, that he would rather I never mentioned it again. He wanted a darker, more noir look to it, with a better cast. As for the re-make from 2008, which reeked, the less said the better - I'm sure Mr. Eisner would have plenty of negatives to talk about for that film; many, many more than for this one.

I saw this pilot when it was first shown, and I'm sure countless "Spirit" fans hate it, because, like Batman, the Green Hornet etc., it took the character in the direction of "camp". But I evidently never got enough of Batman, because I thought it was entertaining, in some of the same ways as that show. There are two parts that stay with me. First, when Denny's partner has been fatally wounded, and he makes a dramatic speech about how he always stood for the law, and obeying the exact letter of it. Then, he says something like, "Boy, was I stupid!" Which is his way of telling Denny to become a vigilante instead, which he does (though the TV Batman kind). Then, there's the scene where he tries to seduce the villainess into letting him go by kissing her, but she isn't fooled, because he's too honest to kiss her convincingly ! This was a great example of "camp", that was also "underplayed", by both the actor and actress.

The adaptation of Will Eisner's SPIRIT to the TV screen followed many other offerings developed from comic strip pages or comic books. (Remember, the two aren't exactly the same medium) It is indeed ironic that this is the one and only adaptation (as of the time of this writing)of Eisner's smart alec, wise cracking, tongue-in-cheek super hero.

Story has it that Republic Pictures was interested in doing a film version and was in negotiation with the copyright owner in the mid '40's, but they were never able to close the deal. The left over screen play became the serial, THE MASKED MARVEL, one of Republic's best. Perhaps that it was just as well, for that studio had a penchant for tinkering with material adapted from the comic strips, pulp mags, radio and the comic books.

As for this 1987 made for TV movie, it's pretty obvious that it was a failed pilot for a proposed television series. Whereas an old, long time comic reader,like myself, can be a little harsh in criticism of an adaptation, a viewer unfamiliar with the character may be able to give some fresh observations, clear of any preconceived notions of what this screen version should look like.

Well, while sitting and watching the story unfold, with the characters interacting amid some crime wave, the Little Lady (my wife, Mrs. Ryan) nailed it with one statement. "This can't make up its mind if it's serious or not!" That pretty well describes both THE SPIRIT and his creator, Mr. Will Eisner, the true creative genius in the comics.

The film is a sincere attempt to put Eisner's world on the screen. The casting of Denny Colt/The Spirit, Commissioner Dolan and Ellen was really quite well done. Though in a contemporary setting, it was still in the tradition of "the good old days" as far as the costuming goes, you know, when men and women still wore hats! That brings up this one final (and meandering) point, and that is that the director and the production made a conscious effort and succeeded in giving the characters a Will Eisner look as far as facial expressions and body language. We say,Kudos to them for their efforts.

It's just too bad that no series followed! Oh, well in today's motion picture world, comic adaptations seem to be a hot item. Maybe some big timer producer and director could do a really 1st class SPIRIT production for the Big Screen. We can only hope.

UPDATE: Dateline, Chicago, Illinois. 6/4/2008. By now, everyone who goes to the Movies at the Shopping Centre Multiplexes has seen the poster advertising the new film of THE SPIRIT, (subtitled, MY CITY SCREAMS); which is to be released Christmas Day, 2008. Well, we'll see then just what we've been talking about. Just keep your fingers crossed! TO BE CONTINUED.............

UPDATE II: We saw the new film, Writer-Director Frank Miller's rendition of THE SPIRIT a couple of days ago. Well, we got our wish; but is this a good thing or another case of "Be careful what you ask for; because you may get it?" Please read our write-up elsewhere in IMDb.com. THANX!

Based upon Will Eisner's comic book character, the movie manages to capture the essence of the hero while sacrificing the film noir elements of the original comic book. Here are all the trademarks of the original character: the torn shirt, the beautiful femme fatale, the cemetery, the rain storms. However, the film never looks "right" - the film appears low budget despite some very good actors and actresses. Part of the problem is the translation of the Spirit to the 1980's. Two scenes in the film stand out as classic Esiner: the scene in the foundry and the final fight in the museum. Not a great film but a fun way to spend an afternoon.

I just saw this unsold pilot for the first time since it aired in 1987, and I was pleasantly surprised to find out that it was much better than I remembered. Sam Jones looked great as the Spirit and he played the part in a tongue-in-cheek manner that was just right. Nana Visitor (STAR TREK: DEEP SPACE 9) was also very good as Ellen Dolan and showed some real chemistry with Jones, as well as a gift for physical comedy (she did start out as a dancer, after all). The fellow who played Commissioner Dolan suited his part very well. The woman who played P'Gell was okay, but she didn't have quite the spark the role needed. A sultry young Joan Collins type would've been better. Eubie (formerly Ebony) White didn't have much to contribute to the plot and consequently didn't make much of an impression. The movie's plot (about some art forgeries at a Central City museum) is more of a straightforward adventure story than anything Will Eisner ever did, which does take away from some of the Spirit's uniqueness. There are a couple of plot holes here and there (why do they have a gravestone for Denny Colt in a Central City cemetery when he was just visiting?), but nothing too heinous. And, if you have more than a passing familiarity with the Spirit, it's all too easy to figure out who the mystery villain is. The movie takes place in 1987 instead the 1940s (with plenty of contemporary references to remind you of that fact). It was too expensive to do it as period piece, I'd imagine. Sometimes the budget limitations are all too evident (Wildwood Cemetery looks like nothing so much as a studio set). And a few too many scenes are daytime ones. But there are a few shots here and there which positively REEK of the right sort of film noir atmosphere. You can definitely tell the creators of the movie had a genuine affection for the Spirit. It would've been very interesting to see where this show would've gone if it had become a series. If you come across a copy somewhere (I was told it originally ran 90 minutes long but it was edited down to 70 before air), check it out, it's worth a look. For another cool movie with a Spirit reference, see THE IRON GIANT.