Scarecrow (1973)

 As you are likely aware, we recently lost the great Gene Hackman. Here in Ottawa, the Mayfair Theatre (Ottawa's oldest movie theatre and my favourite place on earth) has been putting on a Gene Hackman retrospective to honour the late actor. Class act, Mayfair. Last night I went with a good friend to watch "Scarecrow," staring Hackman and a very young Al Pacino. I took film very seriously at a young age and there was a time when I sought to watch all the films of actors like Gene Hackman - if they weren't available for rent at my local video store, didn't play at the Mayfair, or weren't shown on TV, there was no other way to find them. "Scarecrow" was one of those films I missed. What a delight this movie is. From the opening shot, watching Hackman come down that sun-soaked hill to the credits, I thought, "They just don't make them like this anymore." Hackman plays an ex-con looking to open a car wash business and runs into Pacino, an ex-sailor. Their adventure begins. Part "Midnight Cowboy," part "Cool Hand Luke," part "The Last Detail," it's a whole lot of nostalgia - for both the actors, a time before cellphones, and an are when you could smoke a cigar inside a department store. I don't think it has the emotional punch of "Midnight Cowboy" but "Scarecrow" certainly features two wonderful performances by two great actors in their prime. Definitely a film to seek out. Go rent it from Movies 'N Stuff here in Ottawa.