NIGHT TIDE 1961
Curtis Harrington's delightfully haunting and fantastical film, NIGHT TIDE, stars a cherubic- faced young Dennis Hopper, as Johnny, a sensitive sailor who becomes entranced with Mora "the Mermaid," an ethereal woman working at a sideshow, played by Linda Lawson. The eerie sunshine filmed in black and white, occult moments complete with ritualistic dancing and a pretty accurate tarot spread, NIGHT TIDE, has all of MY favourite themes, mermaids and mysticism! The local town warns naive Johnny not to fall into Mora's curse of her Sirens heritage but of course, he refuses to believe the myth. Will he drown in her well of danger?
 |
Upstate New York, beautiful but boring family vacation becomes a coming-of-age tale with all the right moves for Baby Houseman, played by Jennifer Grey. Sure, it's right out of a every teenager's diary but who wouldn't want Johnny, the one and only beloved Patrick Swayze, to free you from your parents' thumb and become a great dancer in the process, showing them all that "Nobody puts Baby in the corner!" DIRTY DANCING is iconic and parodied, the best for me was seeing "My Big Gay Italian Wedding," the famous lift done with the two male grooms at their wedding. Besides the jokes and predictable happy ending DIRTY DANCING has hilarious character actors, and a surprisingly well-handled subplot with Penny's pregnancy, played by Cynthia Rhodes. I remember this part being highly edited on television when I was a kid. Also the wonderful Jerry Orbach, the golden age of the Catskills and a killer 60's soundtrack perfect for late-night dancing. The sharp contrast/attraction between Baby's innocence yet protected suburban upbringing to Johnny's working class dreams that got deferred realism, DIRTY DANCING delivers a classic summer romance. Thanks for reading and enjoy turning down the lights, cranking the AC and watching the summer tales unfold!
