Chumlumis a 1963 Americanexperimentalshort film directed byRon Rice.
| Chumlum | |
|---|---|
| Directed by | Ron Rice |
| Music by | Angus MacLise |
Release date |
|
Running time | 26 minutes |
| Country | United States |
Description
edit
Chumlumis largely non-narrative, with no dialogue or clear succession of events. It begins with the exterior of a building before moving to a loft inside, whereJack Smithis swinging. Many more people, dressed in elaborate costumes with ambiguous gender presentation, join. They lie in hammocks, smoke opium, caress each other, and dance. Smith appears as a wizard who has cast a spell to entrance and pacify them. The setting shifts to a forest and finally a beach.[1]
The film uses multiplesuperimpositionsto create abstract patterns. Visual elements such as sheets, hammocks, dancers, limbs, pearls, waves, and birds are layered over each other.[2]It containsexoticistvisual references to ancient Rome, tropical Latin America, andOrientalism.[3]
Production
editDuring the production of Smith'sNormal Love,Rice often accompanied the director to film shoots. After the day's shooting was complete, Smith and the cast members, still in their costumes from the film, sometimes congregated at Rice's loft onCanal Street.Chumlumwas made during these visits. Actors in the film include Smith,Beverly Grant,Mario Montez,Gerard Malanga,andBarbara Rubin.One of its outdoor locations was a field of goldenrods that also serves as the setting for Smith'sYellow Sequence.[4]
Release
editTheGramercy Arts TheaterscreenedChumlumin December 1963 with two other films by Rice—The Queen of Sheba Meets the Atom ManandSenseless.The city's license department charged the venue with presenting an improperly licensed program.[5]John Flesarranged the film's West Coast premiere, a double feature with theFlash GordonserialRocket Ship.[6]
Anthology Film ArchivespreservedChumlumwith a35 mmrestoration which premiered in 2018.[2]The film is part of their Essential Cinema Repertory collection.[7]It was digitized for home media as part of the 2009 DVD box setTreasures IV: American Avant-Garde Film, 1947–1986.[8]
References
edit- ^Taberham, Paul (2018).Lessons in Perception: The Avant-Garde Filmmaker as Practical Psychologist.Berghahn Books.pp. 80–81.
- ^abEbiri, Bilge (August 23, 2018)."The Shooting-Star Cinema of Ron Rice".The Village Voice.RetrievedJune 5,2022.
- ^Suárez, Juan A. (2008). "The Puerto Rican Lower East Side and the Queer Underground".Grey Room.32:9.doi:10.1162/grey.2008.1.32.6.
- ^Hoberman, J.(2001).On Jack Smith'sFlaming Creatures.Granary Books.pp. 97–98.ISBN978-1-887123-52-5.
- ^Harrington, Stephanie Gervis (March 12, 1964). "Mekas Jailed: City Sleuths Douse Flaming Creatures".The Village Voice.p. 13.
- ^Hyman, Adam; James, David E. (2015).Alternative Projections: Experimental Film in Los Angeles, 1945–1980.Indiana University Press.p. 145.
- ^"Essential Cinema".Anthology Film Archives.RetrievedJune 5,2022.
- ^Dixon, Wheeler Winston (July 2009)."Treasures IV: American Avant-Garde Film, 1947-1986(Image Entertainment) ".Senses of Cinema.RetrievedJune 5,2022.