Senseless. 1961. USA. Directed by Ron Rice. 16mm print courtesy of the Film-Maker's Cooperative. 28 min.
The Flower Thief. 1960. USA. Written and directed by Ron Rice. 16mm print courtesy of the Film-Maker's Cooperative. 58 min.
The Charles Theater, on Avenue B near 12th Street, opened in 1961, originally as a conventional repertory theater known for its focus on neglected American Hollywood directors and a more traditional selection of international films. Taking advantage of its East Village location, and encouraged by film critic/filmmaker Jonas Mekas, the theater switched to a focus on avant-garde cinema, and until its abrupt closure at the end of 1962 the theater had a glorious run as the city’s only true commercial showcase for experimental cinema, precisely at a moment when the underground film world was flourishing. Filmed in San Francisco and starring Taylor Mead, Ron Rice’s The Flower Thief was a lyrical, spontaneous film made in the spirit of the Beat movement. It had a three-week run at the Charles, unheard of for an avant-garde film, and was even reviewed in the New York Times, where Eugene Archer wrote, “Rice, by deliberately flouting established movie making traditions, reveals himself primarily as a professional rebel rather than the leader of a new movement. But in the highly specialized area of experimental films, he has produced a major work.” The poetic travelogue Senseless, one of just four films made by Rice during his short lifetime (like Jean Vigo, he died at 29), won a filmmaker’s award at one of the Charles Theater’s monthly showcases for local avant-garde artists.