It’s such a simple question, really: “What’s the first movie you remember seeing more than once?”
Host Elvis Mitchell asks it of Sydney Pollack at the start of one of the last interviews the Oscar-winning director did and the first in the inaugural episode of “TCM Presents Elvis Mitchell: Under the Influence.”
Where Pollack goes with the question is a signature pleasure of the interview show.
Pollack (who died in May) answers with “An American in Paris” and goes on to sing the praises of Leslie Caron but also Gene Kelly’s athleticism. The maker of one of the enduring 1970s conspiracy thrillers, “Three Days of the Condor,” saw Vincente Minnelli’s 1951 musical no fewer than six times.
Admitting to the serial dating that follows a captivating few hours in the dark is a sure sign of movie lust. And “Under the Influence” (Mondays in July) is a welcome celebration of that hankering. The half-hour show isn’t one of those chat- circuit familiars that comes with a strong whiff of quid pro quo.
“There aren’t many places left for this kind of conversation,” says Mitchell on the phone recently. It’s a lament, not self-promotion.
“You want to get people past talking about what they’re selling. It must come as a kind of relief that they’re not going into autopilot. It’s kind of fascinating to see a thought play in someone’s face.”
The show provides a hiatus from hype, not just for the stars but also for viewers.
The guests’ own work appears in passing asides and anecdotes. For instance, Pollack recounts Dustin Hoffman’s “Love, Dorothy” campaign to get him to appear in “Toostie” as the agent.
Guests commit because they have something to say about the big-screen moments that shaped them as film professionals — but also as moviegoers.
Pollack was a natural choice for the premiere episode, says Mitchell. (See Pollack’s interview repeated Saturday at 10 a.m.) After all, Pollack was one of the early hosts of TCM’s “Essentials” program.
“Under the Influence” continues this month with Bill Murray (Monday), Laurence Fishburne (July 21) and Quentin Tarantino (July 28). In early fall, Mitchell talks with Joan Allen, Richard Gere, John Leguizamo and Edward Norton.
In addition to sharing his favorite movie — Billy Wilder’s “Stalag 17” — famously interview-resistant Murray waxes endearingly about Margaret Sullavan and other “funny girls” who have wowed him. On that list: Gilda Radner, natch, but also, in one degree of separation with Pollack, Elaine May, one of the uncredited polishers of the “Tootsie” screenplay.
Mitchell’s agility allows his guests to go where they please, with him right there in tandem.
Which doesn’t mean he’s immune to surprise. When Murray mentions “Hoosiers” as a fave, the dapper host with the pulled-back dreadlocks looks mildly taken aback.
“Joan Allen starts going on about Diana Ross in ‘Lady Sings the Blues,’ about how loose but focused Ross was,” says Mitchell, recounting another instance of the unexpected. After all the research he did, “it was nice to be caught off guard.”
He was similarly thrown by the answer Gere provides when asked his favorite musical. He thought the nominated star of “Chicago” might mention an American musical classic. Instead, Gere named the gritty 1972 reggae drama “The Harder They Come.”
“For me this is the fun of it, when it becomes more like a conversation, less like a Q&A,” says Mitchell.
So about the show’s opening salvo: Which movie does Mitchell remember seeking out more than once?
“Nobody has just one,” he says, speaking a truth of movie-love, but also stalling.
“Probably the movie I really wanted to see again was ‘Bonnie and Clyde.’ We went to see it at the drive-in. It felt new and historical at the same time. That was revelatory to me. ”
Film critic Lisa Kennedy: 303-954-1567 or lkennedy@denverpost.com. Also on blogs.denverpostcom/madmoviegoer
