Otto Preminger 1960-1979 (The Old Man is Still Alive, Part 7)

Long an antagonist to Hollywood’s norms (not to mention its actresses), Preminger began the 1960s by directing a massive blockbuster ( Exodus ) and earning his second Oscar nomination (for directing The Cardinal ). But towards the end of the decade, with 1967’s Hurry, Sundown , he began a run of six films which attempted to respond to changing times, all of which flopped. We’ll focus primarily on two of these: the much-maligned Skidoo , an indictment of both hippies and the true American establishment which Preminger prepared for by dropping acid with Timothy Leary; and the unfairly forgotten Such Good Friends , the rare sex comedy of the era to understand the extent to which the sexual revolution did little to liberate women from the expectations of men. (00:00) Otto Preminger: “Always kind of weird” (07:16) From Batman to Bunny Lake (19:13) Otto Goes Gonzo: Hurry, Sundown & Skidoo (34:18) Generational Clash: Nilsson vs. Preminger (45:19) Junie Moon and Such Good Friends (57:28) The Final Years and Films