BLAZE
“Dirt’s a funny thing,” the Boss said. “Come to think of it, there ain’t a thing but dirt on this green God’s globe except what’s under water, and that’s dirt too. It’s dirt makes the grass grow. A diamond ain’t a thing in the world but a piece of dirt that got awful hot. And God-a-mighty picked up a handful of dirt and blew on it and made you and me and George Washington and mankind blessed in faculty and apprehension. It all depends on what you do with the dirt. That right?”
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The “Boss” so busy seeing infinity in a bit of dirt is a thinly fictionalized version of the legendary Louisiana politician Huey P. Long, who was viewed by many Americans as a populist savior and by many others as a potential dictator. The lead male character in writer-director Ron Shelton’s latest film is Huey’s younger brother Earl K. Long, who carried on Huey’s legacy after he was assassinated in 1935. Three times governor of Louisiana, Earl Long was a colorful rompin’, stompin’, raspy-throated politician who tended, like Huey, to revel in rather than bemoan the tug-of-war within him between compassion and ambition, principles and political survival. This personal struggle erupted in startling ways in his public addresses; he would, for instance, use old ugly terms to promote progressive policies, as when he berated state legislators, saying that sooner or later “you got to recognize niggers is human beings.” Governor Earl also carried on Huey’s populist programs, although he was never shy about claiming the kudos. “The three best friends the poor people have ever had,” he bellowed at campaign stops, “are Jesus Christ, Sears Roebuck, and Earl K. Long.” Little wonder Shelton was captivated: Earl Long is a political figure as much worth exploring as a Richard III or a Richard Nixon.
Cut to New Orleans nine years later. Governor Earl Long (a spry Paul Newman) happily prowls the French Quarter, where he beholds the well-honed routine of star stripper Blaze. He is smitten, or something similar, acclaiming her act a “powerful expression of basic human needs.” Anyway, he says, he always craved “a high-minded, independent woman with big hooters,” and commences the ribald chase of the formidable (but interested) Blaze. He pauses that first evening only long enough to chew a chunk of ear off an ornery congressman. The streets are much safer when the Louisiana legislature is in session.
