Myths of New England

On Michael Roemer’s Vengeance Is Mine

LAWRENCE GARCIA

In 1969, following the critical success of Nothing But a Man (1964), still his best-known film to date, Michael Roemer made The Plot Against Harry. Centred on Harry Plotnick (Martin Priest), a smalltime racketeer who attempts to rehabilitate himself in the Jewish community after a stint behind bars, the film is a shimmering satire that balances a scrupulously researched portrayal of its milieu with a rollicking, carnivalesque atmosphere. The trouble with Harry, though, was that when it first screened for audiences, no one laughed. The project was then shelved indefinitely until, in 1989, a combination of accident and initiative led Roemer to strike a new 35mm print of the film and submit it to various festivals. It was subsequently selected for the New York Film Festival—giving the director his second…

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Cinema Scope (Digital) - 1 Issue, Issue 92- Fall 2022

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