What's a Nice Girl Like You Doing in a Place Like This?

This early effort by Scorsese demonstrates a real flair with cinematic technique, as well as a cheerfully dry sense of humour.

It seems to be about writer's block, quite possibly a mini-homage to Fellini's 8&1/2, but what I found most striking was its warped sense of humour, more British than American.

Shot in black & white, the short is about a would-be writer called Algernon (aka Harry), who becomes obsessed with a picture on his wall. He can't eat, sleep, or write, then throws a party, where he finds the cure for his troubles.

That doesn't really sum it up, as I think this film was more about Scorsese having some fun putting a film together, although there's no doubt a fair bit of personal reflection in there.

For some reason, short films aren't as enjoyable & well-made as this anymore, now that everyone does it.

Well worth a look.

What's a Nice Girl Like You Doing in a Place Like This? (1963)

** (out of 4)

First film from Martin Scorsese about a writer who buys a painting and soon his obsession with it leads to writers block. There's not too much going on here but I guess that's to be expected with a student film. The camera-work and editing are nice.

It's Not Just You, Murray! (1964)

*** (out of 4)

Martin Scorsese's second short is a nice homage to the gangster pictures from Warner. A middle aged gangster looks back over his life from the start of his career to the present. If you're a fan of the Warner gangster pictures then you'll enjoy this short film with all the references to those earlier pictures.

Scorsese, you're a funny guy...

He got funnier later in his career, that's for sure, but for an early short film made when the legend was only 20, it's not bad. It follows a neurotic guy as he narrates his life that's uneventful, but he perceives it to be chaotic. It feels sort of like a prototype for the kind of thing that Woody Allen would essentially make a career out of (did Scorsese beat him to the punch? I don't know of many Woody Allen films that were written or directed before the late 1960s).

It's got some neat editing, and a certain amount of style that makes it better than the average short film made this long ago. There's nothing amazing to be found here, but it's decent enough and made me chuckle a couple of times, so that's something.

I wouldn't say that What's a Nice Girl Like You Doing in a Place Like This? is one of Scorsese's best short films, but it shows his earliest roots as a filmmaker as being inventive and very wacky ones indeed. His editing style here with Robert Hunsicker completely abandons any reason for convention and just bounces around somewhere in that sweet, strange realm between the avant garde and a cartoon. It deals with a man who basically has trouble sleeping, eating, and most of all writing, but then he meets a girl, but that too doesn't work out too well. There's no real 'plot' at all to describe, as Scorsese is not in the frame of mind here to go by one. It's got that style of improv-comedy that is almost like someone from the beats, only working with a more visual aesthetic here.

Sometimes its just a little too 'hip' for its own good, and the signs of first-time amateur hour almost comes into frame. But it's still a Scorsese picture all the way, with one shot that pans around the guy sitting down seeming to recall other shots in his oeuvre. Maybe the funniest part of the film though is, in the narration, how the guy keeps on referring to 'his friend(s)', to which Scorsese repeatedly cuts back to this older guy in sunglasses, who says his lines perfectly dead-pan. I was very glad to see it, even if- of course- it's not flawless, far from it. It's a quickie made on the fly, but it's got some good grit to it, and even a little musical number thrown in (the one time in the film where it actually doesn't cut TOO crazily from one spot to the next, one of the film's odd charms).

"What's A Nice Girl Like You Doing In A Place Like This?" is Martin Scorsese's first film, a non-sequitur short in which he flexes his visual and narrative muscles and announces his dynamic presence in the world of cinema.

The plot is insignificant... the cuts are fast and aggressive, the visuals big and bold. What amazes me is how comfortable Scorsese seems with the camera, the frame, and the rhythm so early in his career... the movie is alive with his genius; it's still striking today.

• The shots of Harry setting up his apartment are reminiscent of Edward Norton's catalog decorating in "Fight Club." Did director David Fincher get his idea from this movie? Probably not, but great minds think alike... and incidentally Scorsese achieved his effect without any computers.

• The interplay between the voice-over narration and the dialogue reminded me of Scorsese's "Goodfellas," especially the friend who simply repeats Harry's lines.

HENRY (VO): What could I do? If she wanted me to I had to go back for her hat!

KAREN: A hat?

• If you are a New Yorker you may notice a brief but interesting shot of the 1964 World's Fair grounds under construction in Queens. The Unisphere is of course still up and not far from Shea Stadium which was also being built at the time.

Can I rate this as a movie? Of course not... a student film like this is not intended to be a profound statement; it's an appetizer, a hint of what's to come, and Scorsese has delivered on his promise to say the least. The only people who will see this are Scorsese fans and film students, but it provides an education for anyone who considers themselves a film fan. Worth checking out.