The Black Marble

source: The Black Marble

Trailer—The Black Marble

The Black Marble

I saw the trailer for this movie in 1980 & it looked interesting. I had never seen it though until recently when I bought a copy for $2.99. I like Paula Prentiss, so I thought I'd like this movie. I didn't. I was very bored. Nothing interesting or exciting takes place. The romantic aspect of the story is tedious & mundane. I didn't find it amusing either. Paula looked great & the endearing, goofy qualities she conveyed in other films is toned down here. I was happy when this movie ended & I doubt I'd ever sit through it again.

The Black Marble was adapted from Wambaugh's novel, which was clever, fresh, funny and compelling. The movie contained none of the above. Harry Dean Stanton's acting was the only saving grace to this movie that went absolutely nowhere from start to finish. Poor acting and painfully slow dialog made this "B movie" appear to last six hours. A true yawn-fest from start to finish. No need to add spoilers to this review as everything that took place was both corny and predictable. Considering Wambaugh was responsible for classics such as the Onion Field and The New Centurions, The Black Marble will be remembered as Wambaugh's Black Plague.

It's hard to figure out what went wrong with this adaptation of Joseph Wambaugh's fine romantic comedy/cop drama. Wambaugh himself wrote the script from his novel. Harold Becker, who previously directed another Wambaugh book, "The Onion Field," is back at the helm. The cast, including leads Robert Foxworth and Paula Prentiss (not to mention the outstanding Harry Dean Stanton)are all very good. But for some reason, the movie seems muted and unexciting, missing much of the book's humor and attention to detail. Not a terrible film, but definitely a case where the book was better.

This movie has all the signs of a film that sat on the shelf for a while. When The Onion Field came out, this made Wambaugh (and James Woods) hot again, and they decided to release it -- that's my guess. Look at Woods, in the pre-stardom, almost extra role of the Fiddler. The reason is simple. Robert Foxworth stinks it out. He delivers such a soft center in the role, the proceedings are even difficult to understand. The other problem is that the dialogue is long long, pointless and drawn out. The action crawls along a foot a minute while the characters make small talk. Paula Prentiss is fine, as is Harry Dean Stanton. But sometimes movies don't always jell, and this one sure doesn't either.

I have this movie on VHS and haven't watched it in quite awhile, but I wanted to leave a quick comment. I found this movie to be quite funny and to be appreciated for the great performances by Robert Foxworth, Paula Prentiss and Harry Dean Stanton. It's a quirky movie to be sure but full of small moments of laughter and sadness. It has just the right pace although some might find it a little slow at moments. If you enjoy a movie that relies on good acting and not special effects, this could be just the movie for scrunching up on the sofa with a bowl of popcorn and relaxing. Also the surprise appearance by a young James Woods supplies just the right amount of comic relief....Enjoy!

I read the book (©1978) about two weeks ago, rated it 8/10, discovered there was a movie version (©1980), watched the movie last night while "Irene" was storming our neighborhood. The book was slow to start and a bit difficult to get into. But, once the author "set the hook", I couldn't stop reading. What a superb composition. But then comes the movie... Hollywood did an outstanding job moving the book to film. The last time I enjoyed a book/film combination as much as this was for "Get Shorty". Well done Wambaugh! Thanks much. The character development within the film is excellent with plenty of concentration on the major & minor players... one reason the movie is as long as it is. Some may complain, but one can't really appreciate how well this development supports the overall thrust of the movie without reading the book or watching the movie a second time.

In 1980 Paula Prentiss returned to good form after a five-year absence from the screen, with this affectionate version of Joseph Wambaugh's novel. Less concerned with physical action, this is a romantic comedy that deals with the inner world of police detectives. In a way, The Black Marble is the second installment of a trilogy about people in uniform, started with The Onion Field and finished with Taps, all three films directed by Harold Becker, photographed by Owen Roizman and edited by Maury Winetrobe. Roizman used splendidly the Panavision format, while Maurice Jarre contributed a beautiful score. Robert Foxworth, Harry Dean Stanton, Barbara Babcock and John Hancock all gave very good performances. A nice cameo by James Woods.