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Memorable, crazy movie

Am i the only one who thinks........Average?

By the time the dramatic fireworks start popping off, each one feels earned.

A terrific literary drama and character piece that shows how the process of creating art can be seen differently by those doing it and those looking at it from the outside.

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.

This is an offbeat sad, melancholy comedy for which the viewer has to be in the right disposition to enjoy it. Somehow a last stance against total despair. But if the disposition of the viewer IS right, The Black Marble can bring many joyous and thoughtful moments.The main theme is, as often in a script by Joseph Wambaugh, that being a cop in L. A. is just unbearable in the long run. Soft hearted romantic Sgt. A.M. Valnikov, member of the Russian orthodox church, certainly has chosen the wrong job and shows first signs of vodka induced paranoia. He is teamed up with outwardly tough Sgt. Natalie Zimmerman who says „this isn't a goddamn Chekhov play" - but does she mean it? The case the two officers are involved in is the kidnapping of a Schnauzer by a punk who happens to be a dog breeder and trainer. Valnikov flies to the rescue of the distraught female owner without being able to bring the case to a happy conclusion. The only thing he is capable of is offering solace, which he does in a way that makes his colleague, frankly, jealous. But the movie trundles to a generally consoling if not very convincing ending with everybody more or less happy.The team around director Harold Becker made the best out of a tight budget. For me this is one of the most memorable L. A. movies with really beautiful locations (the great musical score by Jarre helps wonderfully). There are many hilarious scenes, especially all the dog world related ones, the violent final (and totally accidental) clash between lawman and perpetrator and an enthusiastic Mexican doctor who has to „clean up" lower body parts of the punk after he got his pecker between canine fangs („it's still there, but you may not want to use it for a few weeks"). Not everything is perfect, sometimes I would really have liked romantic scenes to linger on some more, the last scene falls entirely flat (did the budget run out?), but on the whole The Black Marble is a fine piece of movie making.The ensemble cast is just great. The most intriguing character for me is police officer Clarence Cromwell, played by John Hancock. What else can he be but an angel? He has no other function but to be there when his colleagues argue or are downbeat, not least his boss who doesn't decide anything without consulting him. It all gives that character a strangely supernatural aura.

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.

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.