What's a Nice Girl Like You Doing in a Place Like This?

The title of this short doesn't really tell what it's about. This is the earliest of the legendary Martin Scorsese's films that's available for viewing and it's quite a fascinating find as with this one, he experiments with various jump cuts, still images, and extreme close-ups with a (possibly) stock piano score playing throughout. The ending is especially interesting. Worth checking out.

This early effort by Scorsese demonstrates a real flair with cinematic technique, as well as a cheerfully dry sense of humour.

It seems to be about writer's block, quite possibly a mini-homage to Fellini's 8&1/2, but what I found most striking was its warped sense of humour, more British than American.

Shot in black & white, the short is about a would-be writer called Algernon (aka Harry), who becomes obsessed with a picture on his wall. He can't eat, sleep, or write, then throws a party, where he finds the cure for his troubles.

That doesn't really sum it up, as I think this film was more about Scorsese having some fun putting a film together, although there's no doubt a fair bit of personal reflection in there.

For some reason, short films aren't as enjoyable & well-made as this anymore, now that everyone does it.

Well worth a look.

This cute, inventive student film is Scorsese's first time behind the camera and he's already ahead of his time. His techniques pertaining to narration and, generally, his way of telling the story are as auspicious and new in a film from 1963 as are his stylish placement of the camera.

The story is odd, the cinematography is odd, even the actors are odd. It's a great debut. Like a lot of directors in his ranks, Scorsese does not begin his filmography with the most hard-hitting and serious of his work. He begins with the lighter side to his cinematic voice and manages to keep it above fluff.

Scorsese, you're a funny guy...

He got funnier later in his career, that's for sure, but for an early short film made when the legend was only 20, it's not bad. It follows a neurotic guy as he narrates his life that's uneventful, but he perceives it to be chaotic. It feels sort of like a prototype for the kind of thing that Woody Allen would essentially make a career out of (did Scorsese beat him to the punch? I don't know of many Woody Allen films that were written or directed before the late 1960s).

It's got some neat editing, and a certain amount of style that makes it better than the average short film made this long ago. There's nothing amazing to be found here, but it's decent enough and made me chuckle a couple of times, so that's something.

What's a Nice Girl Like You Doing in a Place Like This? (1963)

** (out of 4)

First film from Martin Scorsese about a writer who buys a painting and soon his obsession with it leads to writers block. There's not too much going on here but I guess that's to be expected with a student film. The camera-work and editing are nice.

It's Not Just You, Murray! (1964)

*** (out of 4)

Martin Scorsese's second short is a nice homage to the gangster pictures from Warner. A middle aged gangster looks back over his life from the start of his career to the present. If you're a fan of the Warner gangster pictures then you'll enjoy this short film with all the references to those earlier pictures.