Surely among the least-known of La Liz's cinematic repertoire,
The Driver's Seat (1974) was an adaptation of a 1970 Muriel Spark novella. It concerned a rather nondescript (!) woman flying to Rome in order to find a man -- not for the reason you might immediately think! How anyone figured that Elizabeth Taylor would be in any way right for such a person is anyone's guess, but it's all right because a) she decides on this trip to dress and make herself up as garishly as humanly possible and b) she's quite erratic and unhinged and, on that score, Taylor could well deliver! Told in a non-linear fashion, we find Taylor drifting in and out of various locations and situations as she proceeds on her date with destiny. Long available only in a hideously blurry, badly-transferred print, it has since seen a high-def release which helps to make it more watchable than before. Along for the ride are folks like Ian Bannen, Mona Washbourne and even Andy Warhol. If you're inclined, you can wend your way through it here.
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Today we're only concerned with one third leg of her journey. A young man (Guido Mannari) is being interrogated over his association with Taylor.
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He is compelled to recount how Taylor came to be in his automobile.
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She is in need of transportation to her hotel, but he seems pretty sure that she'd like far more than that!
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He attempts to put on the charm, but she's resistant. There is clearly some disconnect between what she's after and what he thinks she's after...!
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Stopping the car at - literally! - the end of the road, he begins a more pointed approach.
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Now bordering on livid, she wants him to knock it off and take her to the Hilton.
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Instead he just intends to "take her!"
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Attention uniform fetishists! If you've got a thing for mechanics in one-piece work suits (and nothing under it) this is you moment.
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He goes digging...
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...and eventually finds what he's looking for. Though nothing is shown, it's quite an arresting sequence.
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Stunned Taylor is shocked and appalled.
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And he tries hard to get her to see the light...! Now, kittens, I am in no way endorsing date rape or suggesting that no doesn't mean no. I'm all on board with that. I'm merely focusing on the performer in this scene. And... as we later discover, he wasn't coming as far out of left field as we are first given to believe. This was more like a misunderstanding to a certain degree.
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But I digress. Mannari is not going to get his way in any case.
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Taylor manages to fight him off (something she reportedly did not do in real life where the actor was concerned!)
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She exits the vehicle in a panic and begins running down the road.
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A confounded Mannari jumps out of the driver's seat and proceeds to chase after her, without bother to zip up.
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I saw this movie for the first time probably 20+ years ago (in the aforementioned blurry, cropped, monstrous version) and this section was the only one that really stuck in my memory. It was neat to see it again in a clearer representation.
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Apparently Taylor, in high heels, was able to outrun the virile stud, so he ultimately retreats to the car in order to try to catch up with her!
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If you're still feeling some kind of way about his lascivious behavior, you can take comfort in knowing that he is roughed-up by the Italian police for his actions...!
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Mannari had gotten his start in films with a tiny part in 1967's Arabella, followed by 1969's He and She by the same director, which starred Laurence Harvey and Sylva Koscina. He played one of two mechanics who molest Koscina (or did they? The movie is deliberately abstract.) Thus, he seemed destined to play men with a strong carnal aspect to them.
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He wasn't seen on screen again until 1971 when he popped up in five Italian films, including The Decameron. He had a blink-and-you'll-miss-it role as one of Pier Paolo Passolini's rain-soaked associates given some old cloaks to cover themselves by a nearly toothless farmer. In a movie where many gents got naked, he kept his clothes on.
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More and better parts followed including playing one of the title criminals in Brothers Blue (1973) or in Number One (1973) as seen here.
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By the time of Red Coat (1975), he was costarring in Italian movies, this time opposite Fabio Testi.
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Surely his most (in)famous movie would be 1979's Caligula, with Malcolm McDowell as the deranged and violent title figure. He had a featured role throughout and a memorably hideous exit.
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As it turned out Mannari had an early exit from this earth. Having done only a smattering of movies post-Caligula, he found religion as a Jehovah's witness. With a strong dedication to that faith, he no longer any interest in seductive acting gigs. Then in August of 1988, he was felled by a fatal heart attack at only age 43.
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The End!
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Sounds bizarre and a bit pretentious, akin to “Roman Spring of Mrs Stone”. (Have you seen the Gay Girls Riding Club version?)
ReplyDeleteDo love a guy in coveralls, especially a bit dirty and shopworn and unzipped to right about...there. Like unwrapping a birthday present. (Mommy, daddy, it’s just what I wanted! And the size is right!)
How sad to have died so young. And how odd to have joined Jehovah Witness. I wonder what he found with them?
Must confess, have never seen “Caligula” although it played in a theater here for years. Not sure, at this stage of my life, if I really want to.
Hey Poseidon!
ReplyDeleteThis is on my to-review list now that it's out on Blu Ray.
I had no idea Mannari died so young. He was certainly hot and this is one of Taylor's raciest vehicles... pun intended!
Like Reflections in a Golden Eye, many fans and certain critics thought this was another sensationalistic latter day Elizabeth Taylor vehicle. But both versions, from Carson McCullers and Muriel Spark, were quite faithful to the source. Including Liz' psychedelic dress! Gotta give ET credit for being willing to go there, playing this crazed woman.
Cheers, Rick
I saw THE DRIVER'S SEAT in one of those earlier crappy VHS copies, so I really don't remember much about it other than it was somewhat disappointing. (Watching it again in a better print might help.) I know it's gotten some fairly bad reviews-- including an amusing one in the book BAD MOVIES WE *LOVE* (by two guys that used to write for MOVIELINE magazine) that set me up for a different experience than I got out of it.
ReplyDeleteStill, Guido Mannari was about the only positive thing I remember about the film, even though I would've preferred that he totally lost the coveralls. The only other thing I recall seeing him in (I saw THE DECAMERON but never noticed him) had a similar problem.
In CALIGULA (I actually saw it in first-run in the theater), Mannari remains frustratingly covered up in the midst of a *LOT* of male nudity-- guys not only displayed full-frontal, but with erections and ejaculations in the uncut version-- and even worse, it's hard to find online a photograph of him that shows the *one* asset that got a little display-- his muscular hairy thighs, which a friend of mine was really impressed with.
Most of the photos online are like the one in your post, which crops off everything below the "mini-skirt". But even though this group shot doesn't identify the man sitting left of Malcom McDowell, Peter O'Toole and Sir John Gielgud, it appears to be Guido Mannari giving us a nice "upskirt view" of those thighs:
https://i0.wp.com/penthouse.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/9/2020/02/caligula_05.jpg?ssl=1
When they were promoting their expensive production, PENTHOUSE put out a special issue covering the film, which I unfortunately no longer have. There were a couple of decent leg-exposing shots of Guido Mannari in that one, as well as one shot of an anonymous male performer from the explicit footage, who's positioned so that you only see him from the waist to knees as he's stroked to climax by his female partner.
My friend was convinced that the man in that footage was Mannari, since the thighs appeared the same; however, as titillating as that sounds, I highly doubt that it's true-- especially after hearing how the actor's life wound up in the years following the film.
Incidentally, a large amount of unused footage shot for CALIGULA was discovered in a storage vault a few years ago, and there have been a couple of competing "re-imaginings" of the film announced as in the works-- but with no results so far. The last I heard, the film and other assets of the magazine are in the hands of the corporation that operates the "XVideos.com" website.
Anyway, yet another fantastic post, Poseidon! Thanks for all you do! Love to all, and be safe and well, everyone!
Hmmm. I don't know, I think not for me so I'm grateful it's covered, or uncovered here. I love Liz and hated her wonky career stumbles. Like Lady Cassadine on General Hospital. She looks messy, Divine got that aspect correct in his" Liz tribute" period. Guy is hot though. I thought Caligula was PBS, maybe they showed the movie on tv? Fascinating stuff here
ReplyDeleteGingerguy, you might be thinking of I, CLAUDIUS (1976), a BBC 12-part series covering the same historical period and historical figures, in which John Hurt played Caligula. It ran on PBS as part of MASTERPIECE THEATRE and was well-received, including Emmy nominations and a win for art direction.
ReplyDeleteI, CLAUDIUS might've inspired PENTHOUSE to do their own film on Caligula, but I can't imagine PBS even *thinking* about running that film-- even in a heavily cut version.
Hsc you are absolutely right! Thx
ReplyDeleteHi Poseidon,
ReplyDeleteFor me this was the absolute bottom of Liz's barrel cinematically. She looked like hell, her makeup appallingly overdone, clothes hideous and hair a rat's nest which could happen to the best of us if we were living as high as she was at this point, if that was all that was wrong with the film I'd just put it down to it being her frowzy, cash grab period and forget it. But the picture itself made zero sense, if it hadn't been during the time when I was trying to finish up Elizabeth's filmography, this was one of the last, I truly think I would have bailed on it before the end credits but I stuck it out and was deeply sorry I wasted the time.
However it was nice to see you were able to find at least one highlight in the figure of Mannari. I more or less blocked the entirety of that pile of celluloid as soon as it was over, glad you pointed out the one worthwhile thing about it since you'd have to tie me to a chair to get me to look at that awful thing ever again!
Return Engagement.
DeleteI'm certainly in the minority when it comes to my fondness for "Caligula"; or as I like to call it Caligola. I think is stems from my general love of ancient history. Combine that with the big budget tawdriness of it all and it makes for unique viewing. Is it a good film? I think that depends on what substances one has consumed before viewing it. I recall a story Peter O'Toole tells of talking to John Gielgud during the making and Gielgud brushing off any hesitance regarding the film with "Oh Peter, it's just old Father Christmas!". Helen Mirren called the film "an irresistible mix of art and genitals" (which I whole heartedly agree with) To say that Mannari stands out is an understatement. That face! That hair! He remains this stony stern-faced piece of gorgeousness throughout. I suspect the reason he doesn't have (alas) any nude scenes is the fact that he was on the "respectable" side of the production. I've seen several versions and the before Guccione getting his hands on it and after are obvious. I'm surprised Mannari didn't go further with his career. His dialogue was dubbed and it shows, but by the time you've taken it all in bad dubbing occupies the least of your attention. There will certainly never be another film like it, that's for sure.
ReplyDeletePtolemy1, I also really enjoy CALIGULA, despite the trashiness of it and the poor reputation it has. I saw it in first-run not once, but a couple of times!
ReplyDelete(OTOH, I also admire Pasolini's SALO and saw that in a theater in a rare early-80s NYC showing, so what can I say... and after that showing, I actually got *yelled at* by a woman in the lobby as we both came out of the auditorium, because I was smiling.)
I think part of the fascination for me-- other than the bizarreness of the lush production values and cast coupled with XXX footage-- is that the production was so troubled, and so many involved were unhappy with what the film eventually became. Things got so complicated that there's almost a film to be made about the making of the film.
Guido Mannari was always a standout for me as well, and this post was informative as to what else he did besides THE DRIVER'S SEAT. However, I don't think he was spared from nudity because of being part of the "respectable" cast, since Helen Mirren and Malcolm McDowell strip down and get active, and Adriana Asti-- an Italian actress who'd worked for some of the biggest Italian directors over the previous 20 years-- even has guys ejaculating on her!
Most likely, Mannari just got cast in a role that they couldn't think of a reasonable way to get him naked and in action, even though Asti is playing his wife who he attempts to marry to Caligula. And Mannari's voice being dubbed was immaterial in Italian films, since it was (at least at one point) standard practice for all films made there to be shot without sound and post-dubbed, often by other actors. (That's how they were able to use international casts, and how American supermodel Carol Alt was briefly the biggest female star in Italy!)
I'm curious where you saw versions of CALIGULA that pre-dated Guccione's revisions, which mostly involved scrapping Tinto Brass' sex scenes involving unattractive women for more appealing ones with Penthouse "Pets" after he decided the Brass scenes were such a turn-off that audiences would stay away.
I know there were edits made in order to release the film in areas of the country where the XXX version couldn't be shown, and that some alternate versions of sequences were put in in addition to scenes cut from the final edit-- but AFAIK, that version was all done by Guccione after Brass was fired (or quit, depending on who you heard it from).
Poseidon, sorry to hijack your comments section for a discussion of CALIGULA, especially since Guido Mannari doesn't even provide as much eye candy in that one as in the other films you discuss in the thread!
Dan, I was so "un"-fond of "TDS" after seeing it all those years ago that I didn't even truly re-watch it for this post. I only perused it for the chosen caps. So I don't know if it holds up any better in HD-WS or if it's still wretched. LOL Back in my younger, more viable days, I owned a blue coverall that I used to wear to certain dim bars with work boots and a cap. It was popular as some people enjoyed trying out the zipper...! LOL
ReplyDeleteRick, I can at least attest to the fact that Liz's horrid dress was indeed right out of the initial novella and that whatever "TDS" is, it made attempts to steer close to the source (pun intended! ha!) And I do give Liz credit for not just doing some random piece of fluff where she could look pretty. I look forward to seeing your take on it. :-)
hsc, I've noted it before but "Bad Movies We Love" is my Bible and I have made attempts to see each and every movie in it - as well as some that were only in the authors' Movieline column and not in the book! I love, love, love their takes on those movies. Mannari's role in "The Decameron" is distressingly teeny. I enjoyed the pic you linked to. As you're probably aware, most of the REALLY explicit sex in the movie was filmed separately and at different times than the legit actors were working, so it's pretty doubtful that he took part in any of that. Some of the "real" actors were floored when they saw what Guccione had done "behind their backs." It would be neat to see a version of that movie that hews closer to the original intention and fleshes out - so to speak - the story a bit better. Film fans has talked about how scenes were swapped around in the final cut, creating continuity issues and changing the intention of some characters, etc...
Gingerguy, I swear that most of the footage shot of La Liz on "General Hospital" was fit for a blooper reel only! LOL She seemed like she was utterly lost and couldn't even recall (or properly pronounce) her own character's name half the time. How they cobbled together enough to air anything is beyond me. She seemed most interested in playing around with Tony Geary and drinking than working...! And daytime was no cakewalk for those unaccustomed to the grind of it.
hsc, it would be like the joke about a censored "Blazing Saddles" running on TV from 8:00 - 8:15... "Tonight on PBS, we present 'Caligula.' Tune in at 9:00. 'The Lawrence Welk Show' follows at 9:45."
joel65913, ha ha! Poor thing! As others have said, much of what was on screen followed the dictates of the book. So I'm not going to suggest that you take the book on your next weekend getaway! :-)
Ptolemy1, I have "Caligula" on DVD! I was fascinated by it when it ran on pay cable back in the day (though certain parts of it REALLY disturbed my teenage brain...!) There are many movies I watched when I was way too young to have seen them and so as an adult, I've picked them up again to a) see them from an older, more informed (desensitized??) perspective and b) provide something of an exorcism for my scarred mind. Often my memories are worse than the actual work once time had passed. But sometimes they're still justified! Malcolm, Helen (and, much later, Gielgud) weren't shy in the least about getting naked on film so they're just the right people for such a daring enterprise. I just think it would have probably been better as a revealing drama without the porn tossed in, which tended to cheapen what seemed to be a pricey production.) But, in any case, you won't be shamed here for liking it. :-) Thanks!