Great looking street scenes from Montreal shot in 1970, in The Apprentice/Fleur Bleu featuring Susan Sarandon.
The film, by Larry Kent, tells the story of Jean Pierre who needs to earn a living. An actress befriends him and they spend time doing threesomes with a perverted older professor, meanwhile he's trying to please his steady girlfriend. He starts getting involved with a bank robber and the bank
Check out these scenes:
- A cool looking streestcape of what's likely Ste. Catherine with a movie theatre and restaurant in the background.
- A hilly street where his rooming house is located, which appears to be something like Wolfe below Sherbrooke,
- A good view of Peel just below Ste. Catherine which features a massive BBQ rooster sign,
- Various shots of Crescent and De Maisonneuve and bits of Mountain.
- They drive around an unrecognizable area that transforms into a familiar westbound on De Maisonneuve from about Fort, an area that has changed little.
- Cute scene shot on Peel again, near Dominion Square.
- Bad influence shows off his eight-track and the duo rob a store somewhere downtown.
- In a non-geography scene, actress Dorothy Davis steals a scene as an English teacher.
- A good looking scene shot in a downtown bar terrace.
The director Kent was born in South Africa, moved to Vancouver and then came to Montreal where he did most of his films, including High from 1967. He also worked as a techie as the Gazette and raised two daughters.
The movie High was countercultural flick that starred such local notables as Melinda McCracken and beatnik-club promoter Gary Eistenkraft. They both left town after being nabbed - among several others - in a marijuana raid at Atwater and Sherbrooke a couple of years after the film came out. McCracken, who was originally from Winnipeg, returned to her home town and became quiite famous for her literary contributions.
The “unrecognizable area”, at 20’48” is the quartier latin.
ReplyDeleteAt the start of the sequence, they are turning from St-Denis south to Maisonneuve (you can see the iconic St-John’s Ambulance building at 20’52” and the empty lot that where the UQAM will be built later, and in the background, the old Dupuis Frères building before it was remodelled), then they drive west to Sanguinet on which they turn north, then turn east on Émery, then south again on St-Denis.
At 22’21”, it then switches to what I believe is Maisonneuve near Amherst (you can see the Shell garage that’s still there at 22’27”), going west until a bit past St-Hubert, where the sequence ends.
Hope this helps.
Referring to the comments from “emdx said…”
ReplyDeleteI feel confident in vouching for the veracity and accuracy of the comments and information undersigned and published with that signature. I don't know the gender of " emdx said...", and I don't want to speculate either way, the comments are completely valid as far as I am concerned. In such a pleasant and earlier time, and over many years of regularly visiting my heavenly French grand parents, who lived on Visitation Street and Ste. Catherine, I know the area very well. . . and I love it still: and later in my life as I became involved in matters such as are described in this article, I agree that to produce and shoot an interesting film, with appropriate story line, this area is outstanding. (and having the opportunity of simply speaking with SS is an episode in my life that will remain forever as I am alive. She spoke French very well - not terribly well, but pretty good, and it was easy to she that she intended to master the language, and become completely fluentin it. I accepted every occasion to speak with her in her adopted Montreal French language while she lived and worked in our city, (which is unique, and which we all know - it is).
Of course Montreal is unique - as anyone who has visited will recognize.
Kristian ! you know this, because you continually extend this feeling with your views and your expressions here, on your Coolopolis web site - and count on me as one of your best lieutenants in supporting your exemplary intensions.
The late Gary Eistenkraft was a good friend of mine. We left Montreal in 1968 and hung out in Bay Area for the hippie resolution of the early seventies. His clubs the "Penelopes" (two of them) and "The Fifth Dimension" brought contemporary music to Montreal.
ReplyDeleteThe High trailer and music reminds me of a Monkees video.
ReplyDelete