T.R. Baskin

Summary

“I hope you like Chicago… and that’s fifty cents for the bags.”

Fun City Editions has just released the 1971 drama T.R. Baskin on Blu-ray. Directed by Herbert Ross, the film is notable for being the first film written and produced by filmmaker Peter Hyams. I am a fan of Hyams’s films TimeCop, Sudden Death, Running Scared, and Outland, so I was definitely curious to see what his writing style was like prior to finding his niche in science fiction and action films. T.R. Baskin stars a young Candace Bergen alongside Peter Boyle and James Caan. It is essentially a slice-of-life drama that takes place in Chicago and follows the exploits of the female main character. As a slice-of-life film in a major city in the Seventies, it fits right in with other films that Fun City Editions has released. I sat down the other night and watched the film.

Spoiler Alert: This film’s storyline is told in an interesting way, and is likely better experienced knowing less rather than more. That said, I have still provided a plot synopsis for those who want to read ahead.

In Chicago, middle aged out-of-towner Jack Mitchell (Peter Boyle) chases down Larry Moore (James Caan) after seeing him from a bus. They were fraternity brothers, but have not stayed in touch. The implication is made that Larry does not even remember Jack. Jack now lives in Iowa and he married his college flame. Jack asks Larry if while he is in town for a couple days if he knows any girls. Larry smiles and gives Jack a number for a girl named T.R. Baskin (Candice Bergen.) Jack calls upon T.R. and he asks her if she can come to his hotel room. She agrees to meet up (although her expression on her face seems to show dismay that she is suppressing.) She arrives at his hotel room and they begin to make small talk. T.R. is from Finley, Ohio. Jack enquires about what brought her to Chicago. She replies, “an airplane” and then the film flashes back to her arrival in Chicago. The movie shows T.R.’s initial awkwardness navigating the big city in a series of comedic scenes of her encounters while intercutting back to her interactions with Jack in his hotel room. T.R. becomes a typist for a huge soulless company joining the ranks of many other typists. She becomes friends with another representative from the company named Dayle Wigoda (Marcia Rodd) who she goes on some double dates with (leading to one of the best scenes in the film.) One night she sees Larry reading a book in a window after leaving a noisy bar. Drawn to him she walks inside and introduces herself. Larry is a book editor and was in the army. He is divorced and his wife has the two children. T.R. and Larry share a romantic evening, and the rest of the story is better experienced by viewing the film.

I enjoyed my first viewing of T.R. Baskin the other night. It’s the type of bittersweet small scale drama that seems to be made less and less these days. Written and produced by Peter Hyams, the film was directed by Herbert Ross. Herbert Ross made a career out of small scale comedies and dramas alongside some large musicals with films such as My Blue Heaven, Steel Magnolias, The Secret of My Success, Footloose, and Funny Lady. At the time when he made T.R. Baskin, he was best known for the musical Goodbye, Mr. Chips. As Peter Hyams notes in the excellent new interview featured on this disc, the film is directed differently than it would have been if Hyams had been behind the camera. I always find it interesting when future filmmaker’s screenplays are interpreted by other directors (think True Romance or Natural Born Killers by Tarantino, or Scarface by Oliver Stone, or The Getaway by Walter Hill.) I find it enjoyable to think of what the end result could have been if they had been behind the camera. In the case of T.R. Baskin, I imagine the film would have been different if Peter Hyams had directed, but not necessarily better. I think there is a certain amount of whimsy to Herbert Ross’s directorial style that may have made the film a less bitter pill to swallow. The film also benefits from excellent cinematography by Gerald Hirschfield who would go on to work on Young Frankenstein, Coma, and many other successful films. The picture has a look that is not too far removed from the stylings of tent pole films that era such as Love Story. The film was shot in Technicolor, which lends it a really nice look. There is a haziness and softness to the picture that was common of that era, and the primary colors are in the beige, brown, or heavy red tones that were prevalent at that time. In summary, T.R. Baskin looks how you would want a film from the early Seventies to look. The score by Jack Elliott is not present consistently, but whenever it shows up it is enjoyable.

Going back to the script by Peter Hyams, I found it to be well written with a nice sense of humor and a solid feminist mentality that made the characters come across very natural. There are some pretty clever digs on classism in the city, knods to the ongoing war in Vietnam and the civil unrest at home, and other political musings that fit the time of the film and the feeling in the air of that era well. Films like this always act as a time capsule lending a better understanding of how people processed the times they lived in. Watching these films always serves as a way of experiencing history from the perspectives of how people actually felt at that time. The film is not overly indulgent in melodrama or overly comedic, instead shooting for the regular pace and action of everyday life.

Candice Bergen is really enjoyable in the lead role, showing off her dry comedic abilities decades before she would star on the extremely popular television series Murphy Brown. At the time, she was a star for her times due to her countercultural roles in Getting Straight and Carnal Knowledge. She was dubbed “the ice princess,” but she is pleasantly warm in the role. Peter Boyle was an absolute chameleon of an actor, and is a lot of fun to watch in the role of  the consistently fumbling and unsure of himself Jack. James Caan was six years older than Candice Bergen when they filmed. This age gap plays well in the relationship dynamic in the film. Caan had solid screen charisma and always improved whatever role he was given. He passed away in 2022 after a long and productive career.

Overall – T.R. Baskin is an enjoyable low-key slice-of-life drama. Fans of other films in Fun City Editions’ lineup should find it up their alley.

Video

Fun City Editions have brought T.R. Baskin to Blu-ray with a good looking 1080p MPEG-4 AVC encoded image in 1.85:1 from a new 4K scan from the original 35mm camera negative created specifically for this release. Overall, the film looks great, as long as it is understood that the cinematography by Gerald Hirschfield is often shot with soft focus and in most cases with more neutral colors. The film looks in many ways how I would want a bittersweet Seventies film to look. The transfer is solid and fans should be pleased.

Audio

The LPCM 2.0 track for T.R. Baskin sounded good to my ears. The dialogue is clearly rendered. Songs can be somewhat boisterous at times such as a scene where T.R. visits a bar, but mostly the soundtrack is pretty reserved. When Jack Elliot’s light piano music does show up it sounds nice. No complaints here.

Supplements:

• Commentary – podcasters Ben Reiser and Scott Lucas
• “Get in the Tent” – in this excellent new interview with writer Peter Hyams, the filmmaker discusses how he went from working as a television news anchor to writing and producing T.R. Baskin. In the wide ranging interview he discusses the start of his career, his friendship with Candace Bergen, and other thoughts on the making of the film. This is a really great piece for fans of Hyams.
• Booklet – features an essay by film critic Kat Sachs.

Overall Scores:

Video – 4.25/5

Audio – 4.5/5

Supplements – 3.5/5

Overall – 4/5

T.R. Baskin is an enjoyable low-key slice-of-life drama. Candice Bergen is perfectly cast in the lead role and is supported by the perpetually great actors Peter Boyle and James Caan. Written and produced by filmmaker Peter Hyams, the film was directed by Herbert Ross. The film is well written and never pushes itself past the point of believability. The film acts as a solid time capsule for the political and romantic climate of that time in the Windy City. Fun City Editions have performed an attractive 4K scan and restoration of the film. The new interview with Peter Hyams featured on the disc is excellent. I would love to see more of his films released by Fun City. T.R. Baskin fits in well in Fun City Editions’ lineup. Recommended.