It was one of those spontaneous moments I have from time to time. I went down the block to Nordstrom's for their semi-annual men's sale. I came out with three pairs of socks. But I walked right into the lobby of the new Landmark Theater, which I chronicled in an earlier post. Remember? The gay fight over reserved seats. Well, anyway, one of the features of this theater is that three of the smaller venues inside are called "living rooms." Yep, about fifty seats in there. They're either loveseats, couches, or single leather chairs. It's probably akin to something Spielberg has in his house. Well, anywho, I'm noticing that one of these so-called living rooms has a picture starting momentarily. "Crazy Love." A documentary. I had basically skimmed the reviews of this, but, nevertheless, I went in. I had hankering to sit on leather for a bit.
Where the hell have I been? I had no clue what this story was all about. And I'm even more surprised since, apparently, it is one of New York City legend. It's essentially narrated by the principals, but, not knowing the story, I had no clue how this turns out. You see the two people in current day interviews, but, other than a bad wig and dark glasses on the lady in question, this was all a mystery to me. Still, it was a riveting 90 minutes
Back in 1957, lawyer Burt Pugach is driving around the Bronx with a friend as they troll for pretty women. Burt comes across 20 year-old Linda Riss and is instantly smitten. She is, too, but much less so. He basically wages a D-Day-like assault trying to win her over. He wines and dines her in the best places that 1950s New York has to offer. And he does ultimately get her to his side. But, she discovers one small problem. He's already married. She tells him to hit the bricks.
Burt comes back and shows her some divorce papers that demonstrate he and the missus ain't a-happening no more. Linda takes him back. But, wait. Her mom does some homework and discovers that the smart attorney Burt forged the divorce decree. She kicks him to the curb again. Who knew the Morrisania section of the Bronx was this juicy?
Because I don't regularly peruse the archives of the New York Post, I had not one clue where this was all going. Linda next gets engaged to your basic nice guy next door. This, of course, is certain doom in my mind. When Burt discovers this, he starts to stalk Linda and promises to hurt her if she goes through with the marriage. And he does. Sometime in 1959, he hires two thugs to go up to her front door and throw lye at her face. She is blinded. This explains to me the dark glasses. And, then, after I keep seeing a succession of lousy wigs, I have another realization. Her hair was burned off as well!
From the screen shots of sensational headlines, I discovered that this was big old news in New York back then. Burt is caught and spends about ten years in Attica. Linda never marries. Except when he is released, he immediately sends her a dozen roses. And she takes him back again! But, this time, there's an added bonus. They marry! And they become media stars showing up on Mike Douglas, Geraldo Rivera, and, I kid you not, Joe Franklin.
Happily ever after? Movie over? Wait, there's more...
Sometime in the late 90s, a young woman comes out and alleges that Burt has been stalking her. And a lot of the lines he throws to her are very similar to the prattle Linda got from Burt back in 1957. And this all gets dragged out in the New York Post once again. I was astonished. How did I miss this? Cheez, you would think I would remember a decade-long nap. Nevertheless, Linda stands by her man and he gets off the hook again. The movie ends with the two of them in a Bronx diner. They are fighting all the way out to the parking lot. But they remain together.
I know there's a little bit of nuts in each of us when it comes to romance. Those hormonal emotions can play all sorts of trick on our sanity. I can remember my own experiences in that venue with some carefully executed drive-by surveillance. But, is the line that blurred for folks like Burt and Linda? He's obviously deranged, but she clearly has a serious blind spot (no pun intended). Who's more crazy in these cases? A friend's sister actually stalked her ex-boyfriend and his new girlfriend. She eventually tried to stab them with something sharp. But, ultimately, she got off and wound up continuing her law practice! Because it turned out the guy was an asshole. Does being a creep trump being even temporarily insane?
There's a woman who has lived next door to me in New York. She's had a succession of three boyfriends living there with her. Each time, I am treated to a longrunning series of loud verbal battles. Is she too stupid that she keeps making the same bad choices in men over and over? Or is this something engrained in her that she actually enjoys being a personal victim?
There are no answers to the many questions posed in "Crazy Love." But, go see it...and formulate your own conclusions.
Dinner last night: chicken salad sandwich at the Cheesecake Factory.
And tomorrow, reporting from NYC...
2 comments:
In the old days a little lye or acid in the face was not uncommon. There's another famous case involving a guy named Victor Riesel who got blinded by the mob in the fifties. He'd pop up on local news from time to time wearing shades. Gabe Pressman knew him.
This documentary was directed by Dan Klores,a PR biggie, who made one or two other docs. He grew up in Queens. How much of the old Bronx is shown in this one? Alexanders? Krums? Mount St. Ursula?
Ask me no questions and I'll throw you no lye.
Post a Comment