Pull My Daisy

Various "Beat Generation" luminaries hang out in a New York apartment. I usually couldn't care less about the Beats, but this short film is fairly absorbing, thanks mostly to Jack Kerouac's vibrant narration. It makes me nostalgic for the '50s, and I wasn't even around back then.

A humorous almost innocent short film starring the Beat poets, alas not Kerouac but the narration which he wrote and speaks is beautiful and funny. In my innocence I was amazed to see the group passing around pot (*I know it was tobacco!) on camera. Thankfully this time capsule is available for viewing online (Open Culture) together with a clip of the poets visiting an East Side bar, filmed at the same time.

Although this "short" is very hard to find - you are most likely going to have to hunt for a bootleg copy somewhere - it is worth the hunt for anyone who understands the historical context of the picture. It was the only film the beats ever made, and the highlights can are to be found in the narration by Jack Kerouac and the musical score (classical / be-bop / jazzy) done by David Amram. The themes are typical of the beats and of Kerouac - railroad brakemen, beer, poetry, pot.. etc, but in all seriousness this is a rare gem and gives a brief look into the consciousness of the beat poets / writers. Kerouac sounds drunk and probably is drunk, but that just adds to the aura and humor of the film.

One of the more quintessential displays of the era of Beat poetry and Bop music. Set in a NYC apartment, the movie is narrated by Jack Keoruac and portrays the life of an artistic 'family'. From painter, poet, and musician, the movie moves quickly without any particular place to go. It strikes at the heart of the movement and should be avoided by anybody who cannot stand the sometimes 'zoned' out babble of this generation. Enjoyable and short, the film fits a small genre of the American experience.

Perhaps the definitive Beat flick "Pull My Daisy" stars some of the foremost figures of the fabled Beat Generation from the literary genre's prime. Based on a play by Jack Kerouac the film is narrated by Kerouac himself as fellow Beat compadres Allen Ginsberg, Gregory Corso and Peter Orlovsky chat, horse around and try to behave in a family setting. Friendship, familial interactions, music and intellectualism ("Is Baseball holy?") constitute the gathering. While not among the best shorts as this slow going and tedious affair will appeal to die hards alone the personages involved make it priceless and essential. Historical, charmingly pretentious and fascinating this is one every film buff and lit enthusiast should view.