A real good actor named Rod Taylor passed away recently. On the 29th of this month, Turner Classic Movies will be saluting him by showing five of his best films: The Time Machine, The Birds, Sunday in New York, Young Cassidy and The Glass Bottom Boat.
To be honest, I wouldn't rank The Glass Bottom Boat as one of his best. It's a rather silly Doris Day comedy and, well, there's something wrong with a movie that has Paul Lynde in drag and still isn't funny. Animation students might be interested to watch how its director, Frank Tashlin, tries to do with human beings some of the kinds of gags he did in Warner Brothers cartoons when he directed them.
The film I wish they'd run — and I know people from T.C.M. read this site — is a really, really strange 1970 British comedy Mr. Taylor starred in called The Man Who Had Power Over Women. Taylor plays an assholy talent agent who doesn't let ethics or morality interfere with his lustings for money and women, not necessarily in that order.
I am not saying this is a great movie but it's rather fascinating as one of those films that studios were making then, trying to be hip and commercial and racy. 1968-1972 was a weird time for movies as the big studios struggled with how to grab the youth audience without getting too anti-establishment and it gave us weird pictures like Myra Breckenridge, Beyond the Valley of the Dolls, Three in the Attic, Pretty Maids All in a Row and, yes, even Skidoo.
The Man Who Had Power Over Women has never had an official DVD release. I doubt it would sell a lot of copies but I think a lot of people would be fascinated to see it…once. Maybe T.C.M. can make that happen.