"THE BLACK MARBLE" (1980, Becker) is a mess that falls flat on its face without the novel on which it is based. This is an example of why an author shouldn't write a screenplay for an adaptation of their own book. Its elements, beautiful in the book, have no significance in this boring film.
Paula Prentiss is awful. She appears, at times, to be reading her lines from cue cards and at others is stumbling over them, barely getting them out whilst losing a grip on her character. Robert Foxworth is good as Valnikov but the character is not as deep as he should have been. Harry Dean Stanton is perfect for Philo but was not given much to work with and becomes confusing and forgettable. Madeleine Whitfield, whilst somewhat overweight, hairy and tragic in the book, is a beautiful woman here which just doesn't hit the mark. And whoever that was playing Bullets Bambarella is so out of place. In fact why have Bullets without Montezuma Montez? Clarence Cromwell doesn't shine in this like he should have either.
And the story is sped up and hacked to the bare minimum.
Bad film.
Paula Prentiss is awful. She appears, at times, to be reading her lines from cue cards and at others is stumbling over them, barely getting them out whilst losing a grip on her character. Robert Foxworth is good as Valnikov but the character is not as deep as he should have been. Harry Dean Stanton is perfect for Philo but was not given much to work with and becomes confusing and forgettable. Madeleine Whitfield, whilst somewhat overweight, hairy and tragic in the book, is a beautiful woman here which just doesn't hit the mark. And whoever that was playing Bullets Bambarella is so out of place. In fact why have Bullets without Montezuma Montez? Clarence Cromwell doesn't shine in this like he should have either.
And the story is sped up and hacked to the bare minimum.
Bad film.