Two Cents is an original column akin to a book club for films. The Cinapse team will program films and contribute our best, most insightful, or most creative thoughts on each film using a maximum of 200 words each. Guest writers and fan comments are encouraged, as are suggestions for future entries to the column. Join us as we share our two cents on films we love, films we are curious about, and films we believe merit some discussion.
The Pick
With his diminutive stature, instantly-recognizable/could-only-be-from-New-York mug, and mile-a-minute cadence, Dick Miller was a beloved fixture for genre film fans and filmmakers from his earliest days as a utility player and occasional leading man for Roger Corman in low-budget exploitation pictures, and into his later period when Corman’s disciples (including Joe Dante and a little nobody named Martin Scorsese) began pushing into higher-market productions.
Even as the budgets increased into the millions and the shooting schedules extended from rushing through an entire movie in a couple days, Dick Miller was a constant.
But whether you knew him from leading man turn as pathetic, murderous artist wannabe Walter Paisley in Corman’s Bucket of Blood, or his turn as a upbeat, doomed gun salesman in The Terminator, or to any of his many turns in the work of Joe Dante (which could range from brief cameos as in The ‘Burbs or Matinee to major supporting characters like the unkillable Murray Futterman in the Gremlins films), Miller was a warm and welcoming presence into worlds of killer fish, killer robots, rock’n’roll high schools, pint-sized killing machines, demon knights, and the world of New York City after hours.
The entire film-loving community was joined in sadness upon Miller’s passing last week at the age of 90. So let’s commemorate this moment with a viewing of That Guy Dick Miller, a 2014 documentary from director Elijah Drenner that sat down with Miller and his closest friends, family, and collaborators to examine what made Dick Miller the ultimate character actor.
Next Week’s Pick:
After a brief hiatus, we are returning to our For Your Consideration series with Debra Winter’s Bone Granik’s latest film, Leave No Trace. Starring Ben Foster and newcomer Thomasin McKenzie, Leave No Trace follows a father-daughter as they are thrust out of their quiet lives of isolation.
The film is currently streaming on Amazon Prime.
Would you like to be a guest in next week’s Two Cents column? Simply watch and send your under-200-word review to twocents(at)cinapse.co anytime before midnight on Thursday!
Our Guests
The first movies I ever saw Dick Miller in were probably Gremlins and Gremlins 2 when I was a kid. It wasn’t long after that when I got into Roger Corman’s AIP productions, like The Little Shop of Horrors and, of course, A Bucket of Blood. I can’t say that right away I appreciated what Miller brought to these films, but I did start to notice just how often he would turn up in things. Over the years I came to realize he wasn’t just a familiar face, but an incredibly talented performer. Dick Miller was, as the documentary That Guy Dick Miller demonstrates, was a consummate character actor. Its interviews with family, friends, and collaborators reveal not only how talented and prolific he was, but also just how respected he was among his peers. Whether playing comedy or drama (or, frequently, some combination of the two), he was always the most interesting part of any scene in which he appeared. His performances were often memorably broad, and yet simultaneously grounded in reality. One thing is for sure — whenever he showed up, that old school Bronx accent of his would bring a smile to my face. It’s still hard to believe he’s gone. As long as we have his movies he will be remembered — and to me he’ll always be Walter Paisley.(@T_Lawson)
The Team
For me personally, Dick Miller will always be Murray Futterman. Something about his mile-a-minute delivery and beautiful hangdog expression made him the quintessential ‘next door neighbor’ to inhabit Joe Dante’s quintessential smalltown Americana in Gremlins. Miller’s presence was the perfect grounding to make the fantastical feel that much more real, and he and Jackie Joseph (as Mrs. Futterman) gave just a perfectly hilarious reaction shot to being run over by a snowplow. It didn’t take, of course, because the Futtermans were just too perfect as foils for the gremlins to stay dead, and so in Gremlins 2: The New Batch, both characters returned, this time with Miller laying waste to entire hordes of the slimy murderous assholes.
It was always a treat whenever someone brought Miller in for some bit of business, whether it was a quick burst of exposition they need to make palatable (The Howling, The Terror) or just for quick death (Chopping Mall) or a good intimidating presence (he all-but steals Rock’n’Roll High School with all of maybe three lines). I’ll have a special fondness for those directors who keened to the merry twinkle in Miller’s eye, a rascally romantic streak that could never be completely covered up.
That Guy Dick is a perfectly lovely tribute, and if it sandblasts past some of the juicier material (like the ebbs and flows in Miller’s relationship with Corman, or the artistic frustration that Miller might have felt as a wildly talented writer/painter/actor left to eke out a living in the margins of the industry) that feels in keeping with the merriest aspects of Miller’s persona.(@theTrueBrendanF)
Elijah Drenner’s documentary tribute is a loving celebration of the legendary actor. The “That Guy” moniker is appropriate for the normies I guess, but for cinema lovers, he’s no such stranger. Watching this documentary was a true joy, and an appropriate tribute to honor his passing.
Dick Miller is, quite simply, one of my favorites. A beloved character actor who’d frequently pop up in all kinds of stuff and immediately make it better, even if only in a small part, especially for those of us whose taste veers toward cult and genre fare. Famously a collaborator with Roger Corman and Joe Dante, he’s appeared in a number of my favorite films in some capacity — Truck Turner, The Terminator, Death Race 2000, Gremlins 1 & 2, Big Bad Mama, Rock n Roll High School, and even Batman: Mask of the Phantasm — and so many more. (He even wrote a film that I have a certain affinity for, the energetic and silly TNT Jackson).
Dick worked with some of the greatest and most famous actors of all time and then said that there aren’t any giants left in Hollywood. But he was wrong.
And now there’s one less. (@VforVashaw)
in loving memory of Richard Miller
December 25, 1928 — January 30, 2019
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hSKTIe-HRG8
Next week’s pick: