Too Late Blues (1962)

TOO LATE BLUES  (1962)  ¢ ¢ ¢
    D: John Cassavetes
    Bobby Darin, Stella Stevens, Everett Chambers,
    Nick Dennis, Vincent Edwards, Rupert Crosse
John Cassavetes actually got some studio backing to make this movie, after the critical response to his first independent feature, "Shadows", in 1961. It's about the ups and downs of a young jazz musician (Bobby Darin) who wants to make it big without selling out. (He'd better not hold his breath waiting for that to happen.) Stella Stevens plays a floozy with a voice like a theremin, and in what's easily the film's craziest shot, you see Stevens' face in a restroom sink, in tight closeup, from the drain's point of view. It's like a B-side variation on "The Hustler" - a lot of it takes place in a pool hall - with memorable performances by Stevens and Everett Chambers as a hustling, lowlife agent. David Raksin wrote the musical score, and Shelly Manne, Benny Carter and Red Mitchell are some of the jazz artists who turn up on the soundtrack, if not on the screen.