Kirk and Michael Douglas Documentary Includes Warts

“A Father... a Son... Once Upon A Time in Hollywood” premiered over the week-end on HBO, a documentary about the lives, careers and relationships of Kirk Douglas and his son Michael. Most projects where actors discuss their lives are self-serving pieces that publicists suggest when they run out of ideas. Indeed, the only thing more tedious than listening to some actors talk about themselves is listening to writers do the same. This one is a bit different, though, because it includes the ugly bits as well.

Kirk Douglas, of course, doesn’t need a documentary to kick his career into gear. He’s now an old man, laid low by a stroke, who has a body of work behind him that would make three careers. As for Michael Douglas, he may have had a foot in the door thanks to his lineage, but he has remained a movie star because he has the talent to persist.

But this was not the happy Douglas and Son firm of actors. Kirk was a demanding and hard man while Michael was in the awkward position of being “more interior” (as the film’s director Lee Grant put it). As well, Michael was the oldest and much was expected of him that his siblings didn’t face. Yet, the film takes this situation head on. Indeed, there is a truly sad bit with Joel Douglas (second son) who talks about sitting in the bath tub crying his eyes out because his half brother Peter was born and he feared his father wouldn’t want him anymore. It is not a unique feeling, but one rarely seen on film, let alone in this kind of project.

There is some light hearted kidding in it, and one gets the feeling that the father has mellowed with time and illness. More importantly, the son has matured enough to forgive his father for being human. The film they recently made together, “It Runs in the Family” (not to be confused with a Charles Grodin film relying on the works of the late and great Jean Shepherd), was to have shown the world their lives in a fictional mirror, but the box office was miserable. This is a better swansong.

And there is one bit of history included that merits mention. At the 1958 Academy Awards, Kirk and Burt Lancaster had not been nominated for anything. The two of them did a song and dance about that which ended with Mr. Douglas standing on Mr. Lancaster’s shoulders leaping into a forward roll dismount. For that alone, “A Father … A Son” was worth watching


© Copyright 2005 by The Kensington Review, J. Myhre, Editor. No part of this publication may be reproduced without written consent.
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