Why Didn't Anyone Ever "Tell Me?"

I've seen a lot of movies in my time. A TON. Never- theless, many have escaped me for one reason or another, mostly thanks to the sheer volume of motion pictures that have been created over the last 100+ years. Some I just avoided for one reason or another. Others just never came my way. Today I want to share an aspect of one that fell into my lap recently and really gave me an eyeful, Tell Me That You Love Me, Junie Moon from 1970. I had no clue what it was going to be like or that it would feature some fascinating visuals because... no one ever told me! Ha ha!

Meet the Junie Moon of the title, played by Miss Liza Minnelli. She's a young lady who has suffered a horribly disfiguring incident that has left one arm and half of her face badly scarred.

She is forced to confront the results for the first time when the bandages come off and she is placed before a mirror. This leads to a flashback. (And, no, these aren't the "visuals" I am referring to in my opening paragraph.)

Prior to the injury, she was quite the hotsy-totsy, gussying herself up to head out on plenty of fast dates in figure-revealing outfits.

One such date (with creeptastic Ben Piazza) winds up at a cemetery where she is coerced into getting naked while her salivating beau mutters inaudible (to us) commands! Sadly for her, she later finds this whole kinky scenario amusing and lets him know it...

This prompts the deplorable Piazza to hurl her to the ground and, after a real struggle, open up and overturn a car battery onto her, searing her with acid!

In the same hospital is shy, somewhat awkward epileptic patient Ken Howard.

Then there is wheelchair bound gay man Robert Moore, who spins around the place barking orders and making demands of the staff.

These three "damaged" souls are drawn to one another and have become very close over the course of their convalescence.

As a result, they wind up moving in together! Minnelli rents a small house where she can retreat from prying eyes, often obscuring her features with a large hat. Meanwhile, Howard looks for a job. The interpersonal relationships (and trials) of this trio form the bulk of the movie's content.

Junie Moon was directed by Otto Preminger and so, like in many of his later movies, the cast is dotted with a sizeable array of familiar faces in supporting parts. Here we find Miss Nancy Marchand as a nurse.

And here we find Miss Anne Revere, off movie screens since 1951's A Place in the Sun, as a result of the infamous Hollywood blacklist! The Oscar-winning (and twice further nominated) actress had only been permitted a handful of TV appearances in the interim, but thankfully found success on the stage.

Leonard Frey pops up in some flashback sequences of Moore's character.

James Coco plays a local fishmonger who employs Howard and befriends the trio.

An eye-popping treat is seeing Kay Thompson (Minnelli's real-life godmother) zipping in as an eccentric millionairess who owns the cottage rented by the threesome.

Not only is she a sight to behold, but her home is something else, too! But even she isn't the aspect of this moving that really made me sit up and take notice.

At about an hour and twenty minutes into the film, the trio speeds off in Coco's fish truck and they bluff their way into a luxury beach-side resort hotel. Here they are greeted by the security guard with derision until Moore can convince the place that he's a wealthy patron.

And here is where things get interesting...! On site is muscle-bound beach boy and the hotel's Man Friday, Fred Williamson. The freshly-retired pro football player had been working on TV and had just made his movie debut in MASH earlier in 1970.

That strangely old-fashioned, yet garish, look of the resort.

Long before "accessible" entrances and amenities, it's up to Williamson to transport Moore upstairs to his suite. He picks up the wheelchair and Moore in one fell swoop and tromps up the steps with him!

The hotel manager is portrayed by Ned Wertimer, who later gained a measure of fame as the greedy doorman at the high-rise home of The Jeffersons.

Probably sensing a monetary gold mine in Moore, hustler Williamson begins catering to him and taking him and the others around in his groovy dune buggy.

Once Howard and Minnelli are off on their own (the pair exploring a burgeoning, tentative romance), Williamson darts off with the otherwise immobile Moore.

Willaimson (who truly got a workout in this film!) tosses Moore over one shoulder like a duffel bag of laundry and takes him to the dock for lunch. Note the positioning of the ketchup bottle in the inset. Intentional or not, I tend to spy things like this.

Moore looks like he might be getting some ideas as he observes Williamson chowing down on, of all things, a hot dog! A sign behind Moore refers to sport fishing... and he may be about to reel in a big one!

Yep...!

Back at the room, Moore is all atwitter because Williamson is on his way to pick him up for a night on the town. Howard helps him out of the bathtub and assists him in getting ready. (My friend Jeremy always hilariously referred to the practice of becoming especially clean and perfectly groomed for a date as getting "pooshed and douched!")

The getup that Williamson arrives in is nothing short of jaw-dropping...!

Yeah, baby. Like far out!

No wonder Moore can't stop smiling (or looking at his escort!)

Once again, here comes Williamson with Moore flung across his shoulder!

To say that, at this point, Williamson was unseasoned as an actor is a vast understatement. But he's so damned amiable and charismatic that it scarcely matters!

I'm gonna go out on a limb and say that sunshine yellow must have been an "on trend" color in 1970? Even in today's anything goes clothing atmosphere, this look would pop peoples' eyes out of their heads if spotted at a semi-public, evening get-together.

Behold. That is all.

Later, Williamson packs up Moore and takes him to a bar more to his liking.

Here they add in two gals to the mix and zoom off to the beach for more antics. Moore might or might not have gotten what he was after, but it's still a remarkable time for him.

When the trio has to check out because of Howard's medical condition, Williamson takes a turn at carrying the nearly 6'7" basketball player down the stairs, too!!

After about 25 minutes of being in the storyline, we have to bid adieu to Mr. Williamson, but it's the epitome of being gone but not forgotten. I know I won't forget seeing this performance.

I really have to hand it to Williamson. Yes, he was probably hungry to pursue a feature film career and so he wasn't apt to turn many things down, especially for an established director and with a star like Minnelli on board. But to play a role with so much homoeroticism contained within it at a time when not only was such a thing highly unusual, but also totally counter to his uber-hetero lifestyle as a football hero, is rather stunning. And don't misunderstand. He never flounces, prances, minces, etc... He is just playing a very pleasant opportunist. One who demonstrates any number of kindnesses along the way as well.

Right near the time that Junie Moon was filming, Minnelli suddenly lost her staggeringly famous mother Judy Garland and it took a heavy emotional toll on her. She was not at all soothed by the ever-present hand of the fiery-tempered tyrant Preminger, for whom there usually could only be one way... his! She was fresh off an Oscar nomination for 1969's The Sterile Cuckcoo (losing to Maggie Smith for The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie), but would take the prize home for 1972's Cabaret. For someone as acclaimed as she was, Minnelli headlined relatively few movies in the final analysis (less than a dozen, really.) She is 75 today and hasn't acted on screen since about 2013.

This was the film debut of college basketball player turned Broadway actor Howard. He worked for Preminger again in Such Good Friends (1971) and had the role of Thomas Jefferson in 1776 (1972), having snagged a Tony in 1970 for the drama Child's Play. Ultimately, he became best known for his TV roles such as on The White Shadow for 3 seasons and as Diahann Carroll's lover on Dynasty and The Colbys. He picked up both a Daytime and a Primetime Emmy along the way for other things. While acting as president of the Screen Actors Guild, Howard died at 72 from pneumonia in 2016. He had been afflicted with both shingles and prostate cancer as well.

This is sole movie credit of theatre actor and director Moore, who was at the helm of the memorable play Boys in the Band and proceeded to direct many hit Broadway shows (including Promises, Promises, Deathtrap and Woman of the Year, among others.) He also acted in episodes of The Mary Tyler Moore Show and Rhoda, with a regular role on the short-lived sitcom Diana (as in Rigg!) Additionally, he directed for TV as well as feature films, with Neil Simon collaborations like Murder By Death (1976) and The Cheap Detective (1978.) A casualty of the AIDS crisis, he passed away in 1984 at only age 56, one of countless such creative people to be claimed by the disease.

Prior to this, Williamson had worked on shows from Ironside to Star Trek, then was selected to play Diahann Carroll's recurring boyfriend on Julia. After this, though, Williamson slipped into a prolific series of Blaxploitation movies, kicking ass all over the place. Now 83, he has (or had) a bunch of projects in the works that were cut short by the Covid19 situation. 

Last November, we posted about a memorable guest role he had on Police Story, which is worth revisiting if you find him intriguing here.

One can only imagine the razzing he took from some of his old football teammates, but I suspect he could handle it.

I'm just glad I suddenly stumbled upon this fairly obscure movie and was able to take in The Hammer in all his glory. Are ya gettin' these pants, especially in the middle shot?! And with that, we at last come to...

The End!