Written by / 5/24/2019 / No comments / , , , , , , , , ,

GEORGE SEGAL SLUMS IN 'BORN TO WIN' WITH ROBERT DENIRO

George Segal and Marcia Jean Kurtz YEAR: 1971
With a title full of irony about a current junkie/former hairdresser doing all he can to score smack on the streets of New York City, there's far too much downtime...

And it happens right when things are at a nice rudimentary pace, beginning with a groovy soundtrack during an attempted small-time heist by George Segal and his cool black sidekick...

Who soon separate... and while it's clever that Segal's "J" meets his lady while attempting to steal her car, a contrived bedroom scene with Karen Black happens far too soon. Ironically, given her super-cool track record at that point, she doesn't seem like the renaissance era starlet from the likes of FIVE EASY PIECES or the gem that started it all, EASY RIDER. Her part here is a mainstream role in a would-be full-blown avant garde exploitation flick....

George Segal and Jay Fletcher in BORN TO WIN Score: **1/2
One that has its moments. Like whenever our man, who seems more a disheveled accountant than street savvy heroin addict, finds creative ways for money, sometimes robbing crooked Peter to pay off more crooked Paul while the heat is on, including a young Robert DeNiro as the Narc-looking smack-talker of two tailing cops...

When the characters are running wild as the guitar-funky music follows suit, BORN TO WIN delivers...

But like the casting of the otherwise nice guy actor Segal, it never completely... to paraphrase Bob Dylan out of context... sticks its head far enough into Desolation Row. After all, that's where (so to speak) the movie's downtrodden soul is supposed to be. And with the exception of a genuinely devious and formidable pimp/dealer in Hector Elizondo, this street-scene drama has way too much heart... in all the wrong places.
Robert DeNiro in a small role as Donny the narc-cop in Born to Win
Karen Black in BORN TO WIN
Junky moll Karen Black with George Segal in BORN TO WIN
Robert DeNiro in BORN TO WIN
Hector Elizondo in BORN TO WIN
George Segal and Marcia Jean Kurtz in BORN TO WIN
Paula Prentiss in BORN TO WIN
Share This Post :
Tags : , , , , , , , , ,

No comments:

Post a Comment

Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.

All Time Popular

Featured Post

ROBERT BEATTY WITH TERRY MOORE IN 'POSTMARK FOR DANGER'

Title: POSTMARK FOR DANGER Year: 1955 Rating: ** Twenty years before Stanley Kubrick's 2001: A SPACE ODYSSEY, involving a first-act wher...

WWW.CULTFILMFREAKS.COM

WWW.CULTFILMFREAKS.COM
Movie Reviews, Interviews, Articles and Pop Culture from White Heat to Blue City

RIP ACTOR KEN HUTCHISON

TOTAL HITS

Popular Trending

FOUNDED BY JAMES M. TATE

FOUNDED BY JAMES M. TATE
RANDOM QUOTE: "The Love Generation... Vicious little creeps!" Peter Strauss, Rich Man Poor Man

FILM NOIR & NEO NOIR CRIME

FAVORITES SHORTLIST

1)OTLEY 2)HELL IS A CITY 3)ROBBERY 4)THE FEARMAKERS 5)CANYON PASSAGE 6)VIOLENT SATURDAY 7)HOT CARS 8)JUNGLE STREET 9)THE CROWDED SKY 10)THE ROARING TWENTIES 11) ANATOMY OF A MURDER 12)SHARKS' TREASURE 13)SWEENEY TWO 14)RAIDERS FROM BENEATH THE SEA 15)HARDCORE 16)THE BREAK 17)WHITE HEAT 18)AL CAPONE 19)HIDDEN FEAR 20)FALLEN ANGEL 21)NIGHT CREATURES 22)THE ASPHALT JUNGLE 23)ASH WEDNESDAY 24)THE SYSTEM 25)AIR PATROL 26)THE STONE KILLER 27)EASY LIVING 28)WILLIAM CONRAD'S BRAINSTORM 29)FRENZY 30)THE MAN FROM LARAMIE 1)DANA ANDREWS 2)JAMES CAGNEY 3)STANLEY BAKER 4)MARLON BRANDO 5)CHARLES BRONSON1)VIRGINIA MAYO 2)SUE LYON 3)GENE TIERNEY 4)MERRY ANDERS 5)FAYE DUNAWAY DIRECTORS 1)JACQUES TOURNEUR 2)RICHARD FLEISCHER 3)VAL GUEST 4)STANLEY KUBRICK 5)OTTO PREMINGER 6)ORSON WELLES 7)JOHN GUILLERMAN 8)JOHN LANDIS 9)JOHN CARPENTER 10)MICHAEL WINNER

BRITISH NEW WAVE CINEMA

RARITIES AND EXPLOITATION

HAMMER HORROR & THRILLER

Popular This Month

CHARLES BRONSON CINEMA

CINEMA OF DANA ANDREWS

WESTERN GENRE REVIEWS

PEAKING INTO THE SIXTIES

KICKING IN THE EIGHTIES

TALES AND REFLECTIONS

REVVING THE SEVENTIES

FOR HORROR MOVIE REVIEWS

Most Popular Last Year

RETURN TO THE HOMEPAGE