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| George Folsey Jr. |
Today I have the happy pleasure of welcoming a very special guest, film editor George Folsey Jr., to CINEMATIC REVELATIONS for an interview. George has edited a great many movies over the years, some of these including HAMMER, BLACK CAESAR, GLASS HOUSES [my review of the film can be found here] and J.D.’s REVENGE, considered one of the best Blaxploitation genre films, the high grossing NATIONAL LAMPOON’S ANIMAL HOUSE, international box office success COMING TO AMERICA, and CHEAPER BY THE DOZEN, one of Steve Martin’s biggest hits.
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| George Folsey Jr., John Landis in Rick Baker's monster makeup, and George J. Folsey on location shooting John Landis' first movie SCHLOCK |
George is the son of famed cinematographer George J. Folsey, who photographed such classics as ANIMAL CRACKERS, THE GREAT ZIEGFELD with William Powell and Myrna Loy, MEET ME IN ST. LOUIS and THE HARVEY GIRLS, both Judy Garland hits, Spencer Tracy and Katharine Hepburn vehicle ADAM’S RIB, SEVEN BRIDES FOR SEVEN BROTHERS, for which George Sr. received one of his Academy Award nominations, and setting the record for Radio City box office for decades, STATE OF THE UNION, and TILL THE CLOUDS ROLL BY, a popular all-star musical, again with Judy Garland.
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| George Folsey Jr. with son Ryan Folsey |
George Jr.’s son Ryan is also an editor, with successful horror comedy CABIN FEVER, hit Kristen Bell comedy WHEN IN ROME, the animated ALVIN AND THE CHIPMUNKS: THE ROAD CHIP, and SCOOB some of his editing credits.
George also had a notable collaboration with John Landis, editing solo, or co-editing several of his movies including horror film SCHLOCK, THE BLUES BROTHERS, another enormous hit, and COMING TO AMERICA. He also produced nine of Mr Landis’ films such as comedies THREE AMIGOS, TRADING PLACES, both financial successes, and black comedy INTO THE NIGHT. One of their most famous teamings was for the spectacularly successful Michael Jackson ‘Thriller’ music video directed by John Landis, which George co-edited with Malcolm Campbell. In this post, George will be discussing his multiple roles in the making of GLASS HOUSES, which marked his debut in films, and providing other information about this fascinating, but little-seen motion picture. Welcome to CINEMATIC REVELATIONS George!
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| George Folsey Jr. |
Athan: How did the concept of GLASS HOUSES eventuate, and how did you become involved in this project?
George: My dad was teaching at AFI and I think he met Alex Singer
there. They had never worked together. Alex discussed a script that he and
his wife, Judy had written and they came to me. Alex thought we could make the
movie cheaply so we used our contacts to put together a crew of young upcoming
guys and girls and got the IATSE to let us all work non Union. My dad put up
some money and I raised the rest of the $100K budget from friends at our
Golf Club.
Athan: In GLASS HOUSES you not only were responsible for the editing but also,
was the film’s producer, and camera operator, shooting one-quarter of the movie
handheld with the Éclair camera. How did it feel at the time taking on so many
duties for this production?
George: I went to Pomona College and graduated with a degree in English
Lit. There was no Film School at Pomona so GLASS HOUSES was my Film School
project. I had worked at KABC-TV cutting the news and documentaries but never a
feature. I did spend 6 months at MGM working as an assistant editor to Henry
Berman, a famous editor who had worked with my dad. Together we worked on GRAND
PRIX and Henry won an Academy Award for his work on it. He taught me his
editing system which I've used throughout my career. We decided to shoot with
an Eclair 35mm camera in a blimp for the dialogue scenes. My dad got a Worrell
gear head from MGM and I would practice by having my wife, Belinda walk
around our living room and I would try to follow her. I got better with
practice. I did shoot about 25% of the movie hand held. The Eclair, without the
blimp, was great for this. I definitely felt the pressure watching the money
and it was a long shoot, 10 weeks. We ran the dailies silent at MGM as it was
too hard to sync them each day. I learned a lot about my operating as there was
no sound to distract from my camera work.
Athan: What did you most enjoy about the experience of making GLASS HOUSES?
George: The best part of making the movie was getting to work with my dad
who was very helpful. We shot another movie, BONE, in the same fashion.
Athan: Which for you were the most demanding, but emotionally satisfying moments
of filming GLASS HOUSES?
George: We shot maybe 50% of the movie in the house my wife and I were
renting. We had a 2 month old daughter and Jennifer O'Neill was staying with us
as we had no money for hotels. She was a pleasure and very helpful. I
liked it when my dad said I'd done a good job after running the dailies.
George: As a Producer, you couldn't ask for a better cast member than Ann
Summers! She completely got the part and was such a pleasure. We became
close friends and I so saddened by her early death in 1974.
Athan: The casting of GLASS HOUSES was first-rate, especially with the afore-mentioned Ann Summers, Deirdre Lenihan, Clarke Gordon, and Mary Carver, for me, being the most striking choices. Was it a difficult process to cast for this movie, or did certain performers make their presence felt from the start?
George: Most of the casting was done in New York by Singer and Joel
Steinberger. Deirdre Lenihan and Clarke Gordon clearly stood out.
Athan: The editing in this film is of a superlative nature, with special mention being for the final few minutes of GLASS HOUSES featuring Deirdre Lenihan and Bernard Barrow. In this short space of time, a complicated montage of shots was assembled, whereby the viewer was thrown off balance by space and time, and exactly what was taking place, and which character’s point of view is being expressed. How did it feel editing these intricately detailed sequences?
George: I haven't seen the final sequence in many years but I made a pass
at it and Alex and I refined it. He was a pro and I had little trouble in
editing the movie as I was able to use the Henry Berman system to
great advantage.
Athan: GLASS HOUSES was shot in many real-life locations, such as the Beverly Hills home in which you and your family lived in at that time, and the Topanga Center for Human Awareness. What were some of the logistical challenges posed by shooting the film in this manner?
George: We couldn't afford to shoot anything on a sound stage so
everything was shot in practical locations. I remember shooting Bernie Barrow
and Jennifer [O'Neill] driving down Melrose Ave. I was strapped in and surprised to see a
Policeman in my finder at the end of the shot. Got cited...
Athan: Have you kept in contact with any cast members and crew from GLASS HOUSES?
George: Sidney Baldwin who shot stills on the production worked on a
couple of movies I produced with Landis. Jason Starkes who worked as a grip
wrote JD'S REVENGE which I edited. Eric Roth who wrote FORREST GUMP, was our
Lighting Gaffer. Esperanza Vasquez was our script girl. She and her husband
were producers on a movie I edited in the 70's. It was such a pleasure to work
with all these young people many of whom went on to successful careers in the Industry.
Athan: A cast member of the movie, T.J. Halligan, was credited as passing away the same year GLASS HOUSES was shot, being in 1970. Could you enlighten us on what effect this event had on the making of the movie?
George: We were all sad to hear of the passing of T.J. Halligan but it
didn't have an effect on the movie. Actually I think GLASS HOUSES was
filmed in 1969.
Athan: GLASS HOUSES has unfortunately largely faded into obscurity, and has never been released on either VHS or DVD. What do you think is the reason for this?
George: Considering we sold the movie to Columbia its hard to understand
why there are no 35mm prints, no VHS or DVDs and where is the cut negative?
I've spoken to a close friend at Columbia to try to find some element to make
something but to no avail. It isn't a great movie but it's well made. Not sexy
enough to qualify as an "Art" film and too sophisticated for popular
release. Also, there was no Star in the cast to help the Box Office.
Athan: Do you have any upcoming projects of which you would like to tell readers?
George: I'm producing a Faith/Based movie called GOD'S GONE FISHING which
I hope to shoot in the late summer of 2021.
Thank you so much today for your time George, and for the valuable insights you
have provided into film editing, GLASS HOUSES, film editing, and production. It
has been wonderful to have you on CINEMATIC REVELATIONS. You are welcome to
return whenever you wish.
Thank You Athan for letting me be a part of CINEMATIC REVELATIONS!!!
George Folsey Jr. links
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