![]() ![]() On a stage bare but for a bench, oversized chair and occasional back projections, we first meet Joe Bonham (McKenzie) leaving small-town America for WWI service, waving goodbye to loved ones from the train. Joseph embarked on this first feature upon discovering the sole archival video copy of that performance had been partially, accidentally erased. Smith’s solo stage version preemed Off Broadway in 1981, winning an Obie for thesp Jeff Daniels. While it has its defenders, that feature –Trumbo’s first and last directorial effort - is in many respects a good illustration of the “unfilmable book equals unwatchable movie” principal, dramatizing the source material’s stream-of-consciousness with heavy-handed literalness. The Oscar-winning, blacklisted author’s 1939 novel has been a classroom perennial, but attempts to film it (at one point, Luis Bunuel was slated to direct) were stymied until Trumbo took it upon himself to bankroll and direct a 1971 bigscreen version. ![]()
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