Thursday, March 27, 2008

ambi-dexter-valentino

As the speechtrack to a cable series about a serial killer serial killer — or should that be serial serial killer killer? — creeps down the staircase from the living room, I’m reminded of the “morality” prevalent, thanks to the Hays code, in the Hollywood movies I grew up on, in which “evil” could never be portrayed in a “good” light & nobody could ever benefit from a crime. I have no memory of the name, or who was in it, but I do remember seeing a movie — fifties? sixties? maybe even the seventies — that, possibly for the first time, shifted away from this premise. Not too far, mind you. Sure the main characters got away with a million dollars, but they would have got, had they stayed around, a million dollars through legitimate means.

2 comments:

richard lopez said...

i've not seen the show 'dexter' yet the idea is intriguing and it has gotten good press. morality? guess yr right that that concept went the way of the twin beds from '50s tv.

Alex Gildzen said...

I have yet to see "Dexter." as an elderly cinemaddict I presumd the title reflectd the casting of Anthony Dexter as Rudolph Valentino so many decades ago.