"John Huston was a superb master. He knew how to make good films. I did three things with him. One is called Independence. It plays in Philadelphia, for free. It's been playing there for 25 years"
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Wallach delivers the compliment with a knife inside it: Huston is “a superb master” who “knew how to make good films,” and then Wallach immediately pivots to the one Huston credit he can’t even dignify as a real movie. “Independence” isn’t framed as a flop; it’s framed as civic infrastructure - a thing that “plays in Philadelphia, for free,” like a public-service loop in a museum lobby. The punchline lands on time: “It’s been playing there for 25 years.” That’s not longevity; it’s purgatory.
The intent is classic actor’s gallows humor: protect the director’s legend while reclaiming a bit of power over a project that likely felt beneath him. Wallach’s phrasing also does a subtle bit of class sorting. “I did three things with him” sets up a respectable portfolio, but he only names the one that doesn’t count. By refusing to list the other two, he lets their legitimacy stand unbothered, while “Independence” becomes the comic scapegoat.
The subtext is about the weird afterlife of filmed work. In the entertainment economy, “free” is a quiet indictment: no box office, no prestige, no rediscovery cycle. Yet “playing” for 25 years is also a backhanded kind of success - the film is useful, even if it’s not art. Wallach, a working actor with a long view of the business, turns career embarrassment into a clean, durable joke about reputation, control, and where “movies” go when they fall out of the canon.
The intent is classic actor’s gallows humor: protect the director’s legend while reclaiming a bit of power over a project that likely felt beneath him. Wallach’s phrasing also does a subtle bit of class sorting. “I did three things with him” sets up a respectable portfolio, but he only names the one that doesn’t count. By refusing to list the other two, he lets their legitimacy stand unbothered, while “Independence” becomes the comic scapegoat.
The subtext is about the weird afterlife of filmed work. In the entertainment economy, “free” is a quiet indictment: no box office, no prestige, no rediscovery cycle. Yet “playing” for 25 years is also a backhanded kind of success - the film is useful, even if it’s not art. Wallach, a working actor with a long view of the business, turns career embarrassment into a clean, durable joke about reputation, control, and where “movies” go when they fall out of the canon.
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| Topic | Movie |
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