The Black Marble

The Black Marble

DVD release cover
Directed by Harold Becker
Produced by Frank Capra, Jr.
Written by Joseph Wambaugh
Starring Robert Foxworth
Paula Prentiss
Harry Dean Stanton
Barbara Babcock
John Hancock
Raleigh Bond
Music by Richard Bowden
Maurice Jarre
Cinematography Owen Roizman
Edited by Maury Winetrobe
Production
company
The Black Marble Company
Distributed by AVCO Embassy Pictures
Release dates
 March 7, 1980
Running time
 113 minutes
Country United States
Language English

The Black Marble is a 1980 mystery/comedy film directed by Harold Becker, based on a novel by Joseph Wambaugh. It stars Robert Foxworth, Paula Prentiss and Harry Dean Stanton.

Plot

Pragmatic Sgt. Natalie Zimmerman of the LAPD is paired with Sgt. Valnikov, a romantic detective of Russian origin who is going through a midlife crisis and driven to drink by the pressures of his job. Together they investigate the kidnapping of a Beverly Hills socialite's valuable pet dog. It was carried out by sleazy gambler Philo Skinner, who runs a beauty parlor for pets and is desperately in need of cash to cancel his debts. The teaming of the officers not only helps Valnikov to put himself together, but the pair also falls in love. While containing more humorous elements than most of Joseph Waumbaugh's stories, it continues to explore Waumbaugh's common theme of the psychological burdens of police work.

A comedic highlight of the film is a slow-motion chase sequence through a very messy dog kennel.

The title of the film comes from a phrase used by Natalie. The term "black marble" is synonymous to choosing the short straw or having bad luck. She states that she is always picking the black marble and does not want to anymore. She initially considers Valnikov a 'black marble', but by the end of the film she no longer believes this to be true or does not think this is important.

Production, reception, and the Edgar award

After the success of The Onion Field in 1979, writer Wambaugh joined producer Frank Capra Jr., and made this dramatic comedy. Both films conform a diptych about the private lives of police officers, under the direction of Harold Becker. Actor James Woods, the protagonist of "The Onion Field" also appears in this one, in a cameo as a fiddler.

The producers wanted actress Paula Prentiss for the role of Natalie Zimmerman. After the release of The Stepford Wives in 1975, she had dedicated to raise her children and only made the television movie "The Couple Takes a Wife" in 1972. For her comeback to films, Prentiss was asked to gain extra weight.

Although "The Black Marble" was not a commercial hit, it received good reviews and won the Edgar Allan Poe award for film, given by the association Mystery Writers of America, and it has slowly acquire cult status.


Cast


Notes

Awards

1981 Edgar Allan Poe Awards

References

  1. ↑ "Awards for The Black Marble". Internet Movie Database. Retrieved March 31, 2009.

External links