MR. DEEDS & OTHER REMAKES YOU CAN LIVE WITHOUT
Most classic movie fans will probably admit that Frank Capra's Mr. Deeds Goes to Town (1936) isn't exactly a comic masterpiece but nobody expected Sony Pictures to retool it as an Adam Sandler vehicle entitled simply, Mr. Deeds. The basic premise is essentially the same as the original - a naive, good-natured country boy by the name of Longfellow Deeds inherits a fortune from a relative and moves to the big city where various sharpies try to take advantage of him. But whereas the Capra version was corny but sweet-natured, the remake by Steven Brill (he also helmed Sandler's Little Nicky (2000) has been revived up with a non-stop stream of violent sight gags and body crunching physical slapstick. Just watching the trailer will make your head hurt. There is also an official web site for Mr. Deeds at http://www.sonypictures.com/movies/mrdeeds/ which features a "whack the foot" game which should give you some idea of the film's target audience. If you loved Dudley Do-Right (2000) with Brendan Fraser, you'll probably love this too. By the way, Mr. Deeds isn't the first time that Sandler has ripped off somebody else's movie without acknowledging it. Did anyone notice that his 1998 comedy The Waterboy was practically a scene for scene remake of Harold Lloyd's The Freshman (1925)?.
The fact that Hollywood continues to cannibalize its past for original ideas is nothing new and seeing Mr. Deeds Goes to Town recycled for Mr. Sandler isn't as bad as some of the other projects rumored to be in the works. For example, Steven Soderberg's much-delayed remake of Andrei Tarkovsky's Solaris (1972), a moody, dreamlike tale about a disastrous space mission that is set in an unspecified future. It's hard to imagine a more wrong-headed project. Despite the fact that the film has been attached to Soderberg's name (as director) with George Clooney heading the cast, it's hard to get excited about an English language remark of Tarkovsky's poetic meditation on the human race. Another "why bother?" idea is director Neil LaBute's rumored remake of The Wicker Man (1973), a suspense thriller about a pagan cult which was written by Anthony Schaffer and directed by Robin Hardy. Of course, a lot of people never got to see the original Wicker Man (1973) during its initial American release (in a drastically edited version) so LuBute's version might seem like a fantastic new idea to many.
More blasphemous is the possible remake of The Manchurian Candidate (1962), John Frankenheimer's witty, super-paranoid thriller about political assassins that prefigured John F. Kennedy's murder. Tina Sinatra, daughter of Frank (who starred in the film), now controls the rights (which her father passed on to her) and is rumored to have greenlighted a remake. Equally cringe-inducing is a possible remake of The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (1974) from filmmaker Michael Bay. That's right, the guy who directed Armageddon (1998) and Pearl Harbor (2001). Variety reported that Chainsaw's original director, Tobe Hooper, and screenwriter Kim Henkel are working on a first draft rewrite.
By Jeff Stafford
MURDEROUS MAIDS - The Mad Sisters of Le Mans
In 1933, the French public was shocked and fascinated by a brutal double murder committed by two sisters in the provincial town of Le Mans. Christine and Lea Papin, who were working as servants, attacked and killed their employer, Madame Lancelin, and her daughter, during a power outage in the house. Even the police were shocked by the extreme violence of the crime; the victims' bodies had been horribly mutilated and their eyes clawed out. When Christine and Lea were brought to trial, their case was highly publicized and created further controversy when it was discovered that the two sisters were lovers. This infamous incident is now the subject of a new film, Murderous Maids (2001), directed by Jean-Pierre Denis.
For years, the Lancelin murders have held a strange fascination for the French, particularly those in the arts. Jean Genet wrote The Maids in 1947 and based his play on the Le Mans case (It was later made into a film in 1974 starring Glenda Jackson and Susannah York). More significant are the number of films inspired by Christine and Lea Papin. First, there was Les Abysses (1963), directed by Nico Papatakis; then, A Judgment in Stone (aka The Housekeeper) appeared in 1986 starring Rita Tushingham and Jackie Burroughs (It was a Canadian film directed by Ousama Rawi). More recent versions include Sister, My Sister (1993), Nancy Meckler's version of the Wendy Kesselman play that emphasized the sexual politics (Joely Richardson and Jodi May played Christine and Lea, respectively) and Claude Chabrol's Le Ceremonie (1995) starring Sandrine Bonnaire and Isabelle Huppert; it presents the tragedy as a class struggle between the upper class bourgeoisie and the working class.
For Murderous Maids (2001), director Denis has chosen to focus closely on the true facts in the case, making it the most faithful film recreation yet of the Papin sisters' relationship and subsequent crime. In a New York Times article by Leslie Camhi, Denis was quoted as saying, "It's a story that touches upon our deepest, darkest impulses. These two women were presented as monsters in the press of the day. Well, I wanted to follow the path from monsters back to human beings." He also added, "During the trial, there were massive demonstrations of people from all social classes, calling for the death of the Papin sisters. Well, recently they were listed in a poll as among the best-known celebrities in the region. Le Mans is known for its 24-hour car race, its rillettes [a kind of meat spread] and the Papin sisters. History had digested their crime and made it a part of the patrimony."
Although the film is currently in limited release in the U.S., it is receiving excellent critical notices. J. Hoberman of The Village Voice wrote: "Revolution for the hell of it? The Papin sisters, who provided no motive for their homicidal mania, let alone its gruesome details of eye-gouging, corpse-mutilating brutality, did seem to embody a particularly extreme vision of class warfare, albeit in a realm beyond articulation. (Afterward, the women dutifully cleaned their
implements and took to their bed.) Director Jean-Pierre Denis, returning to filmmaking after 12 years as a customs inspector, reconstructs what he can of the sisters' background, locating them in an oppressive context of household drudgery and authoritarian abuse, while suggesting that their liberation fantasy was a dream of impossible symbiosis....Murderous Maids dramatizes, but it doesn't explain. The inference in this genuinely unnerving movie is that nothing can."
For more information about Murderous Maids and to see if it is playing at a theatre in your area, visit RIALTO PICTURES.
By Jeff Stafford
Mr. Deeds
Brief Synopsis
Read More
When Deeds inherits controlling interest in a media corporation from his deceased uncle, he's quickly besieged by opportunists gunning for their piece of the pie. When Babe, a television tabloid reporter posing as an innocent smalltown girl, is sent to do an expose on Deeds, she instead feels herse...
Cast & Crew
Read More
Steven Brill
Director
Adam Sandler
Winona Ryder
John Turturro
Allen Covert
Peter Gallagher
Film Details
Also Known As
Deeds, Untitled (Mr. Deeds project), aventures de Mister Deeds
MPAA Rating
Genre
Comedy
Romance
Release Date
2002
Distribution Company
NEW LINE CINEMA (NEW LINE)/SONY PICTURES RELEASING
Location
New York City, New York, USA; Los Angeles, California, USA
Technical Specs
Duration
1h 36m
Synopsis
When Deeds inherits controlling interest in a media corporation from his deceased uncle, he's quickly besieged by opportunists gunning for their piece of the pie. When Babe, a television tabloid reporter posing as an innocent smalltown girl, is sent to do an expose on Deeds, she instead feels herself falling in love.
Director
Steven Brill
Director
Cast
Adam Sandler
Winona Ryder
John Turturro
Allen Covert
Peter Gallagher
Steve Buscemi
Tyler Roche
Dion Anderson
Peter Dante
Alex Buck
Margie Loomis
Tom Mcnulty
Scott Thompson Baker
Carter Edwards
Steele Hunter
John Mcenroe
Himself
Randolph Leroi
Chloe Hult
Gabriel Williams
John Oates
Lead Person
Earl Schuman
Sylvia Kauders
Dianne Crawford
Elizabeth Owens
Gina Gallego
Gideon Jacobs
Toshi Toda
Walter Williamson
James Donaruma
Blake Clark
Jeremy Chu
Steven Golebiowski
J.b. Smoove
Billy St. John
Alfred Dennis
Jennifer Kelly Tisdale
Marijan Zoric
Jared Harris
John Kirk
Roark Critchlow
Harve Presnell
Frank Weller
Andy Kreiss
George Wallace
Buddy Bolton
Aloma Wright
Ken Forsgren
Sid Ganis
Reverend Al Sharpton
Himself
Robert Frank Telfer
Derek Hughes
Maurice G Smith
Susan Bjurman
Frank Montella
Dru Homer
Bruce French
Irena Davidoff
Tim Herlihy
Tony Church
Kevin Grady
William Brady
Ked Mcfarlane Jimenez
Karen Nation
Ramesh Pandey
Angelito Bautista
Lauren Mieske
Erick Avari
Henry Hayward
Brandon Molale
Conchata Ferrell
Florence Anglin
Crew
Jordan Alport
Production Assistant
Perry Andelin
Production Designer
Pete Anthony
Original Music
Pete Anthony
Music Conductor
Marcy Arnold
Apprentice Editor
Marlene Arvan
Assistant Director
Kathleen Backel
Production Assistant
Eliazar Barraza
Rigging Grip
Eric J Bates
Property Master
Steve Berens
Animal Wrangler
Lark Bernini
Production Coordinator
Bryan Bonwell
Music Coordinator
Felipe Borrero
Sound Mixer
Felipe Borrero
Sound
Bob Bottin
Special Makeup Effects
Gary Bourgeois
Sound Re-Recording Mixer
Carla Bowen
Assistant Director
Ralph Brandofino
Assistant Camera
Steven Brill
Other
J. C. Brotherhood
Special Effects
John J Buckman
Transportation Co-Captain
Brian Bulinski
Craft Service
Joseph M Caracciolo
Executive Producer
Joseph M Caracciolo
Unit Production Manager
Stephen Carter
Art Director
Teddy Castellucci
Music
Maya Choldin
Dga Trainee
Jack Chouchanian
Key Grip
Peter Collister
Director Of Photography
Kevin M Conlin
Construction Coordinator
Tom Costain
Assistant Editor
Allen Covert
Associate Producer
Kevin Cross
Set Designer
Wende Crowley
Music Coordinator
Donald K Davidson
Chief Lighting Technician
Darrin Deloach
Assistant Camera
Victor Denicola
Hair Stylist
Michael Dilbeck
Music Supervisor
James Donaruma
Assistant
David Dreishpoon
Craft Service
Susan Dudeck
Adr Supervisor
Corina Duran
Makeup
Paul Eliopoulos
Stunts
Glen Engels
Grip
Deborah C Evans
Accounting Assistant
Paula Fairfield
Sound Effects Editor
Jon Farmer
Photography
John Feinblatt
Transportation Co-Captain
Mary Fleming
Costumer
Lauri Gaffin
Set Designer
Lauri Gaffin
Set Decorator
Sid Ganis
Producer
Karyn Gatt
Assistant
J.j. George
Music Editor
Jack Giarraputo
Producer
Michael Giarraputo
Production Assistant
Cindy Glass
Assistant
Jason Gourson
Assistant Editor
Jeff Gourson
Editor
Hans Graffunder
Production Coordinator
David J. Grant
Production Supervisor
David J. Grant
Unit Production Manager
Scott Gregoire
Chief Lighting Technician
Demetrius Griffin
Production Assistant
Robert Griffon
Property Master
Stuart Grusin
Music Editor
Richard Guinness
Key Grip
Vincent Guisetti
Foley Artist
Jeremy Hays
Special Effects
Mo Henry
Negative Cutter
Tim Herlihy
Screenplay
Al Hobbs
Set Designer
Anthony Hoffman
Post-Production Assistant
Peter A Hollocker
Production Assistant
Dru Homer
Art Department Coordinator
Laurie A Hoover
Accounting Assistant
Terry Hubbard-legorreta
Assistant Editor
Steele Hunter
Grip
Katherine James
Makeup
Drake Jenevein
Assistant Sound Editor
Orada Jusatayanond
Sound Effects Editor
Pamela Nedd Kahn
Foley Artist
Marissa Kamin
Assistant
Nancy Karlin
Script Supervisor
Clarence Budington Kelland
From Story
Jeannie H Kelly
Costumer
Shane D Kelly
Chief Lighting Technician
Steve Kornacki
Assistant Production Coordinator
Toussaint Kotright
Sound
Tom Landi
Chief Lighting Technician
Dawn Line
Costume Supervisor
Jonathan Loughran
Assistant
Carol Lupo
Costumer
Ellen Lutter
Costume Designer
Sean Madaras
Assistant
Jon Mallard
Assistant Director
Gary Marcus
Assistant Director
Judit Maull
Assistant
Stephen Mccabe
Art Director
John Mcdonnell
Property Master
Robert Mcgavin
Rigging Gaffer
Peter Mercurio
Camera Operator
Tom Mgrdichian
Original Music
Roseann Milano
Wardrobe Supervisor
Carla Murray
Sound Effects Editor
Roger Mussenden
Casting Director
John Naveira
Other
Scott James Nifong
Assistant Property Master
Jim Nugent
Transportation Captain
Bruce Nyznik
Dialogue Editor
Murphy Occhino
Assistant Director
John Orlebeck
Transportation Captain
Greg Orloff
Sound Re-Recording Mixer
Anthony Ortiz
Boom Operator
Ann Pala
Makeup
Jubal Palmer
Production Assistant
Ron Petagna
Construction Coordinator
Jeena M Phelps
Dialogue Editor
David Presley
Video Assist/Playback
K B Pugliese
Production Secretary
Cheryl Quarantiello Schnitzler
Unit Production Manager
Thomas Real
Hair
Christopher Regan
Color Timer
Leslie Rider
Production Secretary
Kyle Rochlin
Foley Mixer
Tyler T. Romary
Production Assistant
Beth A Rubino
Set Decorator
Carl Rydlund
Original Music
Adam Sandler
Executive Producer
Adam Sandler
Other
Jackie Sandler
Production Assistant
Leon S Sanginiti
Assistant Camera
Andrew Saxe
Location Manager
Mandy Schwartz
Assistant
John Scott
Assistant Camera
Julie Shack
Production Assistant
Heidi Shulman
Costumer
Alan Shultz
Dolly Grip
Alex Siskin
Coproducer
Andrew Slyder
Costumer
Billy J Smith
Location Manager
Gregg Smrz
Stunt Coordinator
Stuart Spohn
Rigging Gaffer
Margot Therre
Scenic Artist
Nanxy Tong-heater
Hair Stylist
Elizabeth Torres
Casting Associate
Derek Vanderhorst
Sound Effects Editor
Gabe Veltri
Music Scoring Mixer
Elmo Weber
Sound Editor
Adam Weisinger
Production Assistant
Laura Weiss
Apprentice Editor
Michele Wernick
Music
Carla White
Makeup Artist
Nadine Wilson
Production Accountant
Film Details
Also Known As
Deeds, Untitled (Mr. Deeds project), aventures de Mister Deeds
MPAA Rating
Genre
Comedy
Romance
Release Date
2002
Distribution Company
NEW LINE CINEMA (NEW LINE)/SONY PICTURES RELEASING
Location
New York City, New York, USA; Los Angeles, California, USA
Technical Specs
Duration
1h 36m
Articles
Remake - Mr. Deeds
Remake - Mr. Deeds
MR. DEEDS & OTHER REMAKES YOU CAN LIVE WITHOUT
Most classic movie fans will probably admit that Frank Capra's Mr. Deeds Goes to Town (1936) isn't exactly a comic masterpiece but nobody expected Sony Pictures to retool it as an Adam Sandler vehicle entitled simply, Mr. Deeds. The basic premise is essentially the same as the original - a naive, good-natured country boy by the name of Longfellow Deeds inherits a fortune from a relative and moves to the big city where various sharpies try to take advantage of him. But whereas the Capra version was corny but sweet-natured, the remake by Steven Brill (he also helmed Sandler's Little Nicky (2000) has been revived up with a non-stop stream of violent sight gags and body crunching physical slapstick. Just watching the trailer will make your head hurt. There is also an official web site for Mr. Deeds at http://www.sonypictures.com/movies/mrdeeds/ which features a "whack the foot" game which should give you some idea of the film's target audience. If you loved Dudley Do-Right (2000) with Brendan Fraser, you'll probably love this too. By the way, Mr. Deeds isn't the first time that Sandler has ripped off somebody else's movie without acknowledging it. Did anyone notice that his 1998 comedy The Waterboy was practically a scene for scene remake of Harold Lloyd's The Freshman (1925)?.
The fact that Hollywood continues to cannibalize its past for original ideas is nothing new and seeing Mr. Deeds Goes to Town recycled for Mr. Sandler isn't as bad as some of the other projects rumored to be in the works. For example, Steven Soderberg's much-delayed remake of Andrei Tarkovsky's Solaris (1972), a moody, dreamlike tale about a disastrous space mission that is set in an unspecified future. It's hard to imagine a more wrong-headed project. Despite the fact that the film has been attached to Soderberg's name (as director) with George Clooney heading the cast, it's hard to get excited about an English language remark of Tarkovsky's poetic meditation on the human race. Another "why bother?" idea is director Neil LaBute's rumored remake of The Wicker Man (1973), a suspense thriller about a pagan cult which was written by Anthony Schaffer and directed by Robin Hardy. Of course, a lot of people never got to see the original Wicker Man (1973) during its initial American release (in a drastically edited version) so LuBute's version might seem like a fantastic new idea to many.
More blasphemous is the possible remake of The Manchurian Candidate (1962), John Frankenheimer's witty, super-paranoid thriller about political assassins that prefigured John F. Kennedy's murder. Tina Sinatra, daughter of Frank (who starred in the film), now controls the rights (which her father passed on to her) and is rumored to have greenlighted a remake. Equally cringe-inducing is a possible remake of The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (1974) from filmmaker Michael Bay. That's right, the guy who directed Armageddon (1998) and Pearl Harbor (2001). Variety reported that Chainsaw's original director, Tobe Hooper, and screenwriter Kim Henkel are working on a first draft rewrite.
By Jeff Stafford
MURDEROUS MAIDS - The Mad Sisters of Le Mans
In 1933, the French public was shocked and fascinated by a brutal double murder committed by two sisters in the provincial town of Le Mans. Christine and Lea Papin, who were working as servants, attacked and killed their employer, Madame Lancelin, and her daughter, during a power outage in the house. Even the police were shocked by the extreme violence of the crime; the victims' bodies had been horribly mutilated and their eyes clawed out. When Christine and Lea were brought to trial, their case was highly publicized and created further controversy when it was discovered that the two sisters were lovers. This infamous incident is now the subject of a new film, Murderous Maids (2001), directed by Jean-Pierre Denis.
For years, the Lancelin murders have held a strange fascination for the French, particularly those in the arts. Jean Genet wrote The Maids in 1947 and based his play on the Le Mans case (It was later made into a film in 1974 starring Glenda Jackson and Susannah York). More significant are the number of films inspired by Christine and Lea Papin. First, there was Les Abysses (1963), directed by Nico Papatakis; then, A Judgment in Stone (aka The Housekeeper) appeared in 1986 starring Rita Tushingham and Jackie Burroughs (It was a Canadian film directed by Ousama Rawi). More recent versions include Sister, My Sister (1993), Nancy Meckler's version of the Wendy Kesselman play that emphasized the sexual politics (Joely Richardson and Jodi May played Christine and Lea, respectively) and Claude Chabrol's Le Ceremonie (1995) starring Sandrine Bonnaire and Isabelle Huppert; it presents the tragedy as a class struggle between the upper class bourgeoisie and the working class.
For Murderous Maids (2001), director Denis has chosen to focus closely on the true facts in the case, making it the most faithful film recreation yet of the Papin sisters' relationship and subsequent crime. In a New York Times article by Leslie Camhi, Denis was quoted as saying, "It's a story that touches upon our deepest, darkest impulses. These two women were presented as monsters in the press of the day. Well, I wanted to follow the path from monsters back to human beings." He also added, "During the trial, there were massive demonstrations of people from all social classes, calling for the death of the Papin sisters. Well, recently they were listed in a poll as among the best-known celebrities in the region. Le Mans is known for its 24-hour car race, its rillettes [a kind of meat spread] and the Papin sisters. History had digested their crime and made it a part of the patrimony."
Although the film is currently in limited release in the U.S., it is receiving excellent critical notices. J. Hoberman of The Village Voice wrote: "Revolution for the hell of it? The Papin sisters, who provided no motive for their homicidal mania, let alone its gruesome details of eye-gouging, corpse-mutilating brutality, did seem to embody a particularly extreme vision of class warfare, albeit in a realm beyond articulation. (Afterward, the women dutifully cleaned their
implements and took to their bed.) Director Jean-Pierre Denis, returning to filmmaking after 12 years as a customs inspector, reconstructs what he can of the sisters' background, locating them in an oppressive context of household drudgery and authoritarian abuse, while suggesting that their liberation fantasy was a dream of impossible symbiosis....Murderous Maids dramatizes, but it doesn't explain. The inference in this genuinely unnerving movie is that nothing can."
For more information about Murderous Maids and to see if it is playing at a theatre in your area, visit RIALTO PICTURES.
By Jeff Stafford
Quotes
Trivia
Miscellaneous Notes
Released in United States Summer June 28, 2002
Released in United States on Video October 22, 2002
Remake of "Mr. Deeds Goes to Town" (USA/1936) directed by Frank Capra.
Released in United States Summer June 28, 2002
Released in United States on Video October 22, 2002
