L.B. Jefferies Live Blogs Mad Men


Last Thursday was the great Mad Men fake out, when AMC, without warning, ran a repeat. But we will not be deterred in our journey to see “where the hell this series is going.”

Last week I was interested in how MM was channeling some of the great film directors, from Stahl to Sirk to Lynch. I omitted the master himself, Hitchcock, who was certainly invoked in the first scene, with the birds. I am more than making up for that slight as I pay homage to Rear Window myself, sitting here in light blue men’s pajamas, my leg in a “boot” and crutches at my side. My accident was not as glamorous as photographing a crash at a race track, but was very New York: falling while running for the subway.

I do not have binoculars, and am lucky to have open views from my windows. But watching television is voyeurism of a sort, and as the hours pass, I am bonding more and more with Jimmy Stewart’s L.B. Jefferies. Come back at 10:00 for the live action, and here is the essay that caused offense to the film directing gods, not that I’m superstitious.

Two weeks ago Mad Men our episode began with a sunny shot of Betty in striking sunglasses, and ended with the crazed Bonnie Parker in pink Fredericks of Hollywood out for the 1:00 p.m. kill-the-neighbor’s pigeons session. It felt to many that we had taken a turn into David Lynch territory, because these two scenes had an unreal/hyperreal feel to them with Lynch’s underlying disturbing creepiness.

For me those sunglasses were a visual quote back to the all-time creepiest use of sunglasses in film history, in Leave Her to Heaven (1945). As described in the allmovie guide, “Gene Tierney portrays a beautiful but unstable woman who marries successful novelist Cornel Wilde. “ Swap out novelist to ad man, and we have a match. Tierney becomes so obsessed with her husband that she cannot bear him spending time with anyone but her, including his crippled brother. She lures the boy into the lake to encourage him to swim to get stronger as she spots him from her rowboat. One day she takes him out further and further, then puts on sunglasses and rows away from him as he calls out that he’s getting tired and needs to get back in the boat. The camera focuses on Tierney, expressionless, sitting there in those sunglasses as the boy struggles, and struggles, and drowns.

“It’s deepest noir in the brightest Technicolor”—a description some would apply to suburbia. And it was directed by John M. Stahl, who directed the original Imitation of Life in 1934 with Claudette Colbert and the original Magnificent Obsession in 1935 with Irene Dunne. Thus Stahl begat Sirk who begat Haynes—-with all those permutations of Heaven titles between them.

Matthew Weiner certainly draws upon that body of film work, where the director with his cinematographer is responsible for the creative essence. But in the producer’s medium of television, it’s Matt, as creator/producer, who has all the power to get his creative vision on screen. Episodes are parceled out to numerous directors, who work within the established sensibility of the show (and channel David Lynch when necessary).

Mad Men has an enviable “A” list of directors: Alan Taylor (who just won for The Sopranos “Heidi and Kennedy” episode); Ed Bianchi and Tim Hunter (Homicide, Deadwood); Lesli Glatter (The Closer, West Wing) and the multitalented Paul Feig, who directed “Shoot.” It’s the reason the show is so compelling to watch—-you can virtually feel that talent in the direction.

Should we call 1960 the year of the plaid?

May-po!

“You people are not watching enough television”–I agree. More television for everyone.

Red is dressing very 1965–how does she do it?

Trashing Psycho–these guys are on the losing side of everything

Okay, another plot detour. But I like Blonde Friend. Her being fired is a genuine moment, maybe it will connect to something

Should they be having this conversation IN THE MIDDLE OF THE OFFICE?

Is this the DoubleMint gum campaign

Turning off the air and raising the temperature–I haven’t thought about that since college

Oh, the lucky ones get to leave

Must we hit all the male fantasy zones in one freakin’ show?

Wow–Draper knows how to take control of a situation

The multiple plot lines on this show feel so forced–it’s all so choppy. So now we return to the Stepmother plotline, but all the seams are showing.

How realistic is it that a television was in a hospital lounge in 1960–that doesn’t feel right

Well. We learned the mystery of the whore child. I am genuinely baffled as to how so many people, many of whom’s opinion I respect, can find this series compelling. It remains bits and pieces of some good moments, beautifully filmed and often masterfully directed, but with such weak storytelling that, as Tom says, it’s often boring.

I think there are three more episodes to go. I will be sitting and mending through them all. Good night everyone.

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September 28th, 2007
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