Jim the World's Greatest | |
---|---|
Directed by |
|
Written by |
|
Produced by | Don Coscarelli |
Starring | |
Cinematography |
|
Edited by | J. Terry Williams |
Music by | Fred Myrow |
Distributed by | Universal Pictures |
Release date |
|
Running time | 94 minutes |
Country | United States |
Language | English |
Budget | $250,000 |
Jim the World's Greatest is a 1976 drama film written and directed by Don Coscarelli and Craig Mitchell. The movie began production when Coscarelli and Mitchell were 18-year-olds, [1] while being financed by their parents at a stated cost of $250,000. [2] [3]
Jim Nolan (Gregory Harrison) is a high school teenager. Jim and his family, consisting of himself, his Father (Rory Guy, who would later become more famously known under his adopted stage name, Angus Scrimm), and his younger brother Kelly (Robbie Wolcott), live in a dingy apartment in a bad part of town. During the day, Jim is a popular high school kid, attending classes and playing on the school football team. At night, he works at a fast-food restaurant, earning money to help keep the family solvent.
The father is an alcoholic salesman who often disappears for long stretches. Whenever the father is home, he has a tendency to physically abuse Jim's younger brother. It is during a pivotal moment in the story where Jim, having grown indignant and impatient with his father's abusive treatment of his younger brother, angrily confronts his father about his violent behavior, wondering aloud how any father could possibly treat his own son so badly, when the father reveals that the reason Kelly is so frequently the target of the father's abuse is because he accuses Kelly of having been the product of an illicit extramarital affair (Quote: "He's not my son. He's your mother's son"). Even when presented with this new insight regarding his relation to his younger brother, Jim, whether out of denial, naivete, just plain indifference, or perhaps not entirely grasping what had been told to him or its deeper significance, Jim (for whichever of the speculative reasons) does not share this bombshell information with his younger brother, not even when Kelly asks Jim directly why the father "hates" him yet treats Jim so warmly.
Tensions between Jim and his father come to a head when after another incident of Kelly's victimization at the hands of the father, despite the father's promise to Jim that he would henceforth cease such activity, Jim insists that his father pack a bag and depart from the premises, thus requiring Jim to assume the role of Primary Caregiver for Kelly and the sustainer of the household.
Some unspecified amount of time has passed when we once again catch-up with the father, drinking inside a tavern, muttering to himself that he plans on paying his son, Jim, a visit the following morning to talk things out and hopefully regain acceptance back into the household. It just so happened however that the time when the father arrived at the apartment in order to meet with Jim, he found that Kelly was its only occupant, as Jim was out working at his job at the time.
Concerned that Kelly had not shown-up at the restaurant to receive his dinner at the agreed upon time, and that he still had not done so over an hour later, Jim becomes noticeably concerned and rushes to their apartment, searching the unit for his little brother and calling out to him, only to eventually find Kelly lying dead in the bath tub. Jim then proceeds to carry the lifeless body of his younger brother out into the street in an emotionally distraught state.
Convinced that his father was responsible for his brother's death, Jim decides to wait outside of the pub his father frequented until the last few patrons filed out at closing time. Large knife in hand, Jim displays a premeditated intent to end the life of his father; so determined is he in fact that at one point he comes terrifyingly close to accidentally stabbing from behind an innocent man who was stumbling & fumbling his way into his car: unbeknownst to Jim at the time, his father had been outside observing his son's actions and intentions from a darkened area along a wall.
Later, Jim's father calls, begging to meet at an abandoned location so that he might plead his case and ask his son's forgiveness regarding the "accidental" death he admits having been responsible for bringing about. Jim arrives at the meet-up spot at the specified time, once again with a murderous determination, until out of frustration and/or lack of determination he drops the knife and sinks slowly to the ground, at which point his father calls out to him and appears standing a short distance away from him, presenting himself before his son in his own emotionally broken state, as well as at the final mercy of his son, unsure of whatever response he might receive from Jim.
Rebel Without a Cause is a 1955 American coming-of-age romantic drama film, directed by Nicholas Ray. The film stars James Dean, Natalie Wood, Sal Mineo, Jim Backus, Ann Doran, Corey Allen and William Hopper. It is also the film debut of Dennis Hopper, albeit in a minor role. It was filmed in the then recently introduced CinemaScope format. Focusing on emotionally confused suburban, middle-class teenagers, the film offers both social commentary and an alternative to previous films depicting delinquents in urban slum environments.
The Journey of Allen Strange is an American television series that aired on Nickelodeon's SNICK block of programming for three seasons from November 1997 to April 2000.
Ned Parker is a fictional character from the Australian soap opera Neighbours, played by Daniel O'Connor. He made his first appearance on screen on 9 August 2005, arriving to see his brother, Stuart. He departed on 31 July 2008.
Rumble Fish is a 1975 novel for young adults by S. E. Hinton, author of The Outsiders. It was adapted to film and directed by Francis Ford Coppola in 1983.
Amanda Woodward is a fictional character on the primetime serial drama Melrose Place, portrayed by Heather Locklear. The character was brought onto the show in order to boost its ratings, a ploy that was successful. Amanda was brought back for The CW's 2009 reboot, but her appearance was not enough to prevent the show's cancellation.
"A Tragedy of Two Ambitions" is a short story by Thomas Hardy and was published in his collection Life's Little Ironies in 1894.
Exeter is a 2015 American supernatural horror film directed by Marcus Nispel. The screenplay by Kirsten McCallion is from a story by Nispel. It stars Stephen Lang, Kelly Blatz, Brittany Curran, Brett Dier and Gage Golightly. Jason Blum serves as an executive producer through his Blumhouse Productions banner. The film premiered at the Glasgow Horror Film Festival on February 27, 2015. The film was released on July 2, 2015, on DirecTV Cinema.
The Martial Arts Kid is a 2015 martial arts film directed by Michael Baumgarten and starring Don "The Dragon" Wilson and Cynthia Rothrock as a couple who take in their nephew Jansen Panettiere, and teach him martial arts when he is bullied. Most of the supporting cast of the film are actual martial artists, some of whom appear as themselves in the film.
Other People is a 2016 American comedy-drama film written and directed by Chris Kelly in his feature directorial debut. The film stars Jesse Plemons, Molly Shannon, Bradley Whitford, Maude Apatow, Madisen Beaty, John Early, Zach Woods, Josie Totah, and June Squibb. It is a semi-autobiographical look at Kelly's family.
Devil's Squadron is a 1936 American drama film directed by Erle C. Kenton and starring Richard Dix, Karen Morley and Lloyd Nolan. The following written prologue appears after the opening credits: "This picture is dedicated to the test pilots....those men who knowingly face death every time they leave the ground in an untried airplane. We never hear of these men, yet on their courage depends the future of aviation."
Being Frank is a 2018 American comedy film directed by Miranda Bailey and written by Glen Lakin. The film stars Jim Gaffigan, Logan Miller, Samantha Mathis, Alex Karpovsky and Anna Gunn. The film was released on June 14, 2019, by The Film Arcade. The film received mixed reviews after its release.