Evening at the Landmark Loew's Jersey Theatre with Piper Laurie

Last Saturday night, I was fortunate enough to attend "An Evening with Piper Laurie" at the Landmark Loew's Jersey Theatre. My husband David and I have been going to this venue since September of 2010. It is truly a joy to share the viewing of a classic film on the big screen with fellow classic movie fans. It is even more exciting when there are special guests at these events. These guests provide additional insight into the film being shown or share their life experiences.

This special event began at 5:15 pm with a "Meet and Greet." Ms. Laurie was seated at  a table and there was an organized line formed with volunteers supervising. It was very nice to see that fans could just go up to this actress and say hello or shake her hand. In addition, she was gracious enough to sign any memorabilia that fans had brought with them. AND SHE DID NOT CHARGE FOR HER AUTOGRAPH! Ms. Laurie recently published an autobiography entitled Learning to Live Out Loud. She had copies available to purchase and she signed them for no additional charge. David and I treated ourselves to her autobiography. Ms. Laurie signed it to the two us, so we now have a wonderful keepsake from this memorable evening.

I must tell you how personable Piper Laurie is. She did not rush anyone nor was she aloof. Ms. Laurie had a genuine sparkle and kindness. I told that I greatly enjoyed her portrayal of the evil Mrs. Boynton in the 1988 film Appointment with Death. She seemed surprised as it is a rarely seen film. However, she seemed pleasantly surprised. I asked if she would allow David to take a photo with her. She agreed and her assistant invited my husband to be seated next to Ms. Laurie. Her graciousness and modesty were very refreshing in an age of egotists and media created "celebrities."

At approximately 6:10 pm, Colin Egan who is the head of the volunteer group Friends of the Loew's (FOL) introduced another member of FOL who would be conducting the interview with Piper Laurie after The Hustler. This gentleman did an excellent job introducing the film as well as reminding us to stay after the conclusion of The Hustler for his interview with Ms. Laurie. He compared the film's characters to the balls on a pool table. Each ball's movement creating an encounter with another. The balls often reacting violently with each other and leading to interactions with other balls on the table. And some balls must disappear from the table altogether.

It has been a very long time since I have seen The Hustler. Therefore, it was like seeing a new movie. In addition, Loew's has a 50 foot screen so I could fully appreciate the fact that it was filmed in CinemaScope. I firmly believe each time I view a film, I come away with a new insight and viewpoint. This is especially true when I have not seen a movie for many years. When I first saw The Hustler, I think I focused too much on Eddie's(Paul Newman) quest to beat Minnesota Fats(Jackie Gleason). Perhaps, it was because I was younger and that part of the story grabbed me at the time. Now, I can honestly say I love story itself.

To me, The Hustler explores how most people are con-artists on some level. The film is brilliant as it shows that most of time a con-artist is usually conning himself/herself more than anyone else. "Fast Eddie" Felson is a pool hustler who boasts that he's best and has a cocky attitude. However, if we listen carefully, we discover Eddie has a true love of the game of pool and those who are skillful players. Eddie wants to play "Minnesota Fats" because "Fats" is a truly great pool player. Beating such an opponent will give Eddie the personal validation he needs. Does Eddie want to win a lot of money? Sure. However, he is not as crass as he would like everyone to believe he is. "Minnesota Fats" is also fooling himself. On the surface, he is a calm, cool customer who knows he can't lose at pool. Yet, we see in single shots of "Fats" that he is worried while playing against Eddie and his snappy wardrobe becomes rumpled.Newman and Gleason are at their best in this film. It's not just their delivery of the dialogue. It is their mannerisms and facial gestures which tell the depth of their characters' inner turmoils.

Piper Laurie is outstanding as Eddie's girlfriend Sarah Packard. Sarah too is playing a public part. She appears to be a worldly, kept-woman. In reality, she is supported by her father and struggling with alcoholism. Sarah had polio as a child so she is self conscientious about her physical image. We can tell that she has tried to keep others at arms' length. However, Sarah can't pretend with Eddie because she genuinely loves him. Piper Laurie's performance is so effective because she is very deliberate in delivery of Sarah's dialogue. When Sarah is sober, Laurie takes her time delivering the dialogue. This reflects that when not under the influence of alcohol, Sarah thinks before she speaks.  Conversely, Laurie accurately shows Sarah's lack of filter while drunk. In these scenes, her dialogue appropriately rambles without much pause. It is not surprising that her portrayal earned her an Academy Award nomination for Best Actress.

After the film, Piper Laurie was introduced to the theatergoers. She was welcomed on stage by loud applause and many of us gave her a standing ovation. The interview was excellent. The interviewer was very familiar with Ms. Laurie's career and background. Many interviewers ask insipid questions or do not allow the interviewee to respond fully before asking the next question. However, the gentleman interviewing Ms. Laurie made the interview all about her, not himself. As a result, we were treated to Ms. Laurie's intelligence and sense of humor.

Piper Laurie discussed that she was a very shy as a young woman. During the early 1950's, she was under contract to Universal Studios. Because she was attractive, Ms. Laurie found herself cast in "fluff" parts. She said she would write speeches like Bette Davis to advocate for better movies. Unfortunately, due to her shy nature, she would become tongue tied when she went to the front office to recite her speeches. By 1955, she finally had it with Universal Studios and their publicity stories.(One story claimed that she ate gardenia petals for lunch.) Ms. Laurie told her agent to break the contract even if it meant she had to go to jail. The contract was broken. Instead of going to jail, she went to New York to study acting. In NY, she earned an excellent reputation as an actress doing television and stage work.

In 1961, Piper Laurie was offered the role of Sarah in The Hustler by director Robert Rossen. She read the script and knew it was the type of film she wanted to do. Ms. Laurie was very funny when discussing her first two weeks of rehearsal with Paul Newman. She admitted he was so handsome that it was hard to concentrate. After a few weeks, she was able to relate to him as a person and fellow actor. It was then she was able to focus on their scenes together. Ms. Laurie also told us she never met Jackie Gleason on the set. They had no scenes together and the one meeting Rossen had tried to arrange to not materialize.

Since Carrie was the second film on the bill, the interviewer turned the conversation to that movie. Again, Piper Laurie was very interesting as she discussed the film. First of all, after The Hustler was completed, Piper Laurie and her husband moved to upstate New York. There she continued her stage work and even had a sculpting studio. She did return to film work until 1976 to make Carrie. Ms. Laurie admitted she felt the film was comedic when she first read the script. It wasn't until rehearsals with director Brian DePalma that she realized it was being played straight. Being the excellent actress she is, she took the ridiculous nature of Margaret White and made it sad and disturbing rather than comedic.

Ms. Laurie also briefly discussed Ronald Reagan. In 1950, the pair made a film entitled Louisa together. In the film, Reagan played Laurie's father. In real life, the two became more intimate. She did not go into detail on stage, so I'll need to read her book for the details. However, she did say she was shocked when he ran for Governor of California and later for President of the United States. In retrospect, Ms. Laurie said it should not have surprised her since he was a true showman when they did publicity and toured cities to promote their film Louisa. In fact, she does remember someone commenting that "this guy should run for President."

The last topic of the interview was her role of Catherine Martell in Twin Peaks. My brother was a huge fan of this show, but I must admit I did not watch it. Apparently, in the season one finale of Twin Peaks, Catherine dies in a fire. David Lynch then told Ms. Laurie that her character did not die. However, he wanted everyone, including the cast, to think Catherine was dead. He told her he wanted her to play the role of a businessman in disguise. It would later be revealed this man is in fact Catherine. It was her decision to make the character a Japanese businessman. She and Lynch then proceeded to create her new persona of Japanese actor Fumio Yamaguchi. She was billed as Yamaguchi and the cast only saw her in heavy makeup as the character Mr. Tojamura. She said that her cast members did not recognize her. In fact, Peggy Lipton suspected that Yamaguchi was really woman. However, Lipton thought it might be Isabella Rossellini. Ms. Laurie said it was very hard to keep up the deception, even her sister thought she had been written off the show. However, she enjoyed the challenge and ultimately had fun doing the role.

David and I did not stay for the viewing of Carrie. However, we had a very full and memorable evening. Piper Laurie's  appeal was diverse. The audience was one of varied ages and ethnicities. Apparently, the demand for her book exceeded her supply. She sold of all copies she brought to Loew's. However, she took orders from those who wanted copies. Ms. Laurie agreed to autograph these copies too. Colin Egan said that the orders would be sent to the theater and buyers would be contacted when the books were received. Truly, the Landmark Loew's Jersey Theatre is a haven for classic film lovers!

***UPDATE: Thanks to Rich who correctly identifed the interviewer as Dr. Foster Hirsch.He is a professor at Brooklyn College and an author of several books on the subject of film. This was confirmed by Patti Giordan of FOL.