The American Way

The American Way (1962)

*** (out of 4)

This short film isn't all that well-known but if you have heard of it or seen the thing it's probably because you heard it features John Cazale (THE GODFATHER, DOG DAY AFTERNOON) in his first part. This 10-minute B&W short basically is a bunch of scenes thrown together without too much rhyme or reason and it appears that director Marvin Starkman was just going for a surreal nature and that he does get. Those tuning into see Cazale will be happy to see him with a fairly good role as he runs around New York City attaching battery cables to certain "American things" like Yankee Stadium, apple pie and a water hydrant. Since this is a silent there's not any dialogue so don't go in expecting the actor to speak. As a fan of Cazale it was interesting seeing him here as he sported a full beard and even more shocking was seeing how many pounds he was. Those familiar with the actor know that thin and pale person but that certainly wasn't the case here. As for the film, I can't say it's a masterpiece and I can't say I made any sense out of it but I did have fun watching it.

This is a curious, surreal 10 minutes black and white short. The only reason it arouses interest is because it features a young John Cazale credited as a beatnik.

The beatnik runs around New York with battery cables and tries to blow things up like Yankee stadium, apple pie, a water hydrant.

The rest of the short is just a collection of silent surreal scenes or sketches accompanied by some classical music. I had no idea what it was all about or what it all meant. I only watched it for Cazale.