A 22-year-old Los Angeles student, Michael Childers, received an unexpected invitation in 1967: a date with John Schlesinger, the British director then grappling with the disappointing American reception of his film, Far from the Madding Crowd. Childers, a devoted admirer of Schlesinger’s earlier work, Darling, which he had seen three times, approached the meeting with caution, aware of the director’s reputation for being “mercurial.” He brought a friend along to a bar at the Beverly Wilshire hotel, establishing a two-kick-under-the-table escape plan.
“I thought: This guy might be a total shit,” Childers, now 81 and residing in Palm Springs, recalled. The initial charm and wit of Schlesinger quickly disarmed him, and after his friend excused himself, a deeper connection began to form. A chance encounter with actors Lee Remick and Frank Sinatra further hinted at the world Schlesinger inhabited. “Pleased to meet you, Mr Sinatra….” Childers remembered thinking, “This could be a really great life.” The pair remained together until Schlesinger’s death in 2003.
To commemorate the centenary of Schlesinger’s birth, Childers is curating a film program, “My Husband Makes Movies,” in Palm Springs. Simultaneously, a touring season in the UK, titled “The Consummate Professional: John Schlesinger at 100,” aims to reignite interest in the director’s oeuvre. While Schlesinger is perhaps best known for Midnight Cowboy, the film that propelled him to international acclaim, his body of work is far more diverse.
Midnight Cowboy was the project Schlesinger was preparing when he met Childers. From their first month together, their personal and professional lives became intertwined. Childers accompanied Schlesinger to Latest York during the film’s production. Initially skeptical, questioning if it was “some John Wayne western,” Childers was captivated by Waldo Salt’s script, describing it as “the wildest thing I’d ever read. So ribald and X-rated.”
Childers actively contributed to the film’s distinctive atmosphere. He suggested staging a party sequence “like an Andy Warhol loft party,” enlisting figures from Warhol’s circle – Viva, Joe Dallesandro, and Paul Morrissey – for a three-day shoot that grew increasingly unrestrained. “Andy wanted to be in it, too,” Childers said, “but he’d just been shot.”
Schlesinger’s early films – A Kind of Loving (1962), Billy Liar, and Darling – were instrumental in shaping the direction of British cinema in the early 1960s. Midnight Cowboy, in turn, became a catalyst for change in Hollywood. A preview screening of the film reportedly prompted walkouts due to a scene depicting a sexual act. Dustin Hoffman, who played Ratso Rizzo, recalled that attendees feared the film “could finish everybody’s career.”
Despite the controversy, Midnight Cowboy earned Schlesinger an Academy Award for Best Director and became the first X-rated film to win the Best Picture Oscar. This success paved the way for Sunday Bloody Sunday (1971), a film that explored a complex love triangle involving a bisexual artist, a gay doctor, and a divorced woman. The film featured a boldly direct kiss between two men, presented without any mitigating musical cues or editing. “That kiss was going to be in closeup or not at all,” Schlesinger stated, “I wanted it as big and as natural as any kiss that’s been on the screen.”
Schlesinger continued to achieve commercial success with films like Marathon Man (1976), featuring a notorious torture scene with Laurence Olivier. He also directed An Englishman Abroad and A Question of Attribution, both written by Alan Bennett and focusing on British traitors. While Midnight Cowboy remains his most celebrated work, and has recently been adapted into a stage musical, Schlesinger’s overall contribution is often overlooked. “The films are familiar but the name doesn’t ring a bell for people,” noted Claire Nicolas, a producer of the UK season.
Several factors contribute to this relative obscurity. Schlesinger’s stylistic eclecticism – encompassing gritty realism, wartime romance, and even a comedy featuring a waterskiing elephant in Honky Tonk Freeway – makes him difficult to categorize. “I think he contained a few too many multitudes,” said Marc David Jacobs, co-curator of the UK season.
Identifying a consistent “Schlesinger film” is challenging. His work lacks the distinct visual or rhythmic signatures of contemporaries like Nicolas Roeg, who served as cinematographer on Far from the Madding Crowd. Schlesinger did, however, employ recurring symbolic motifs, such as contrasting wealth and poverty, and the image of characters confined within restrictive spaces.
Despite his successes, Schlesinger also faced periods of critical and commercial disappointment. His later career included a number of less well-received films, including The Believers and The Next Best Thing. Childers expressed regret over Schlesinger’s decision to make the latter, calling it “a load of shit” and criticizing Madonna’s performance.
Schlesinger’s willingness to take risks and challenge conventions extended to his personal life. He was open about his sexuality, and his films often featured nuanced portrayals of LGBTQ+ characters. Childers emphasized the importance of Sunday Bloody Sunday, stating, “It’s one of the five most important gay pieces in the world. I get furious when young gay people haven’t seen it. It’s part of their culture!” Schlesinger himself reportedly quipped, after receiving his CBE from Queen Elizabeth II, when she struggled to fasten the ribbon, “Now, Mr Schlesinger, we must attempt to get this straight,” a remark Bennett recounted he interpreted as “both a coded acknowledgment and a seal of royal approval.”
A surprising chapter in Schlesinger’s career was his 1991 film made for the Conservative party, informally known as “John Major: The Movie,” intended to bolster their chances in the upcoming general election. This decision, made shortly after the implementation of Section 28, which prohibited the “promotion” of homosexuality in schools, and following Margaret Thatcher’s controversial statements about homosexuality, drew criticism. Jacobs attributed this to Schlesinger’s contrarian streak and financial motivations, noting that he was “handsomely remunerated” for the work.
Schlesinger was known for his volatile temper. His later films, however, were often seen as a decline in quality. Sean Penn believed Schlesinger’s talents were waning during the production of The Falcon and the Snowman, describing the director as “getting safe.” Bennett observed that Schlesinger’s financial obligations and lifestyle contributed to his willingness to take on less desirable projects.
The current retrospective seasons aim to offer a more comprehensive understanding of Schlesinger’s career, encompassing both his triumphs and his failures. Nicolas argues that examining the entirety of his work is essential to appreciating his artistic vision and the complexities of his life. “Understanding any director is about comprehending the whole career…and what the failures say about them as much as the successes.”
