‘Chinatown’ 50th anniversary: Remembering the neo-noir mystery starring Jack Nicholson, Faye Dunaway

“Forget it, Jake. It’s Chinatown.” Just one of the unforgettable lines from a nearly perfect script delivered by a stellar cast of actors. “Chinatown” premiered on June 20, 1974 to great acclaim, and unsurprisingly snared its fair share of award nominations. However, it had formidable competition from another classic, and although it failed to capture many awards, it has gone on to be cited as one of the greatest films ever made. Let’s go back five decades to see how this great film came to be. Read on for more about the “Chinatown” 50th anniversary.

Loosely based around the California water wars during the early 1900s, “Chinatown” is a neo-noir mystery with a multi-layered plot that exposes some of the most repulsive human behaviors. The water wars centered around politicians in Los Angeles deceitfully diverting water from the Owens River, and away from the farmers in the Owens Valley, to supply the growing city. Robert Towne‘s script moves the plot to later in the century, setting it in 1937, in the era just before film noir became a popular genre, and when Los Angeles was growing into a thriving mix of cultures. Murder, greed, corruption and incest are just a few layers of the puzzle Jack Nicholson‘s hardboiled detective Jake Gittes tries to unravel when he becomes embroiled with the Cross family.

In the 1960s, Towne had gained a reputation as one of the most sought-after writers in the industry, and contributed to many scripts (some credited, some uncredited), for both TV and film. His first Academy Award nomination came in 1974, for his adaptation of “The Last Detail,” which earned Nicholson his third career nomination as well. Towne had also consulted on the script for “Bonnie and Clyde,” which had earned Faye Dunaway her first Best Actress nomination in 1968. The two performers and the writer were an integral part of the New Hollywood wave of filmmaking, with “Chinatown” helping to cement their places in cinema history.

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Several noir films from the 1940s were based on hardboiled detective novels by Raymond Chandler; “Chinatown” director Roman Polanski adapted Chandler’s style of having all the events of the story unfold through the main character’s eyes, and Nicholson carries the film with a cocky aplomb for which he would become famous. Nicholson had previously achieved critical successes with award-nominated roles in “Easy Rider” (1969), “Five Easy Pieces” (1970) and “The Last Detail” (1974), but it was in “Chinatown” that he fully developed his devil-may-care persona, laconically responding to questions like “Are you alone?” with a droll “Isn’t everybody?” He spends a chunk of the movie with a large white bandage adhered to his nose, from a cringe-worthy scene with Polanski as the thug, and casually dismissing the incident as a shaving mishap. Nicholson, with his fedora and tweed suit, calls to mind Humphrey Bogart, who perhaps is the king of classic noir, as he perfected the loner who secretly has a soft spot for a “dame” who is in distress, and falls prey to the femme fatale.

As his leading lady, Dunaway reflects those femme fatales of an era gone by, with her painted eyebrows, red lips and sharp cheekbones. Dunaway had been the “It Girl” of Hollywood following her success with “Bonnie and Clyde,” as well as films like “The Thomas Crown Affair” (1968), but her star had begun to fade a bit, and she had gained a reputation for temperamental behavior. But Polanski knew she was the right actress to delve into the complexities of Evelyn Mulwray, a woman whose mysteries could be the undoing of Gittes. She and Polanski famously clashed on the set, with actress and director approaching the film with completely different styles. Each is a perfectionist, with Dunaway displaying her commitment to realism by insisting Nicholson actually slap her in one of the most famous scenes of the film — which he did. In the end, the viewer realizes that her coolness hides the horrors her character has endured, and at the will of her father, one of the most wily and despicable villains ever put on screen.

John Huston had forged a four-decade film career as a writer, director, producer and sometimes actor; his first directorial effort (which he also wrote) was one of the first and most influential film noirs, “The Maltese Falcon” (1941), starring his good friend Humphrey Bogart. He made one of his few acting appearances as the villain of “Chinatown,” Noah Cross, a powerful and wealthy businessman plotting to tamper with the water supply so that he can secretly control that supply and make a fortune. But Gittes discovers his most heinous crime through his daughter Evelyn, a plot point that is not quite as shocking to audiences today, but made at a time when American film was just starting to explore such dark themes.

Huston is perfectly cast as the immoral Cross, playing him with a controlled confidence that all of his choices are excusable, because “at the right time and the right place, (people) are capable of ANYTHING.” Ironically, Nicholson had recently begun his 17-year on-again, off-again relationship with Huston’s daughter Anjelica, which makes Cross asking Gittes (which he stubbornly pronounces “Gets”) if he’s sleeping with his daughter a bit ironic.

Longtime friends Nicholson and Polanski had looked for a joint project, and Polanski returned to Los Angeles to direct “Chinatown,” although he was a bit hesitant as it had only been a few years since the murder of his wife Sharon Tate in that city. The director clashed with Towne over the ending; Polanski’s stark and abrupt end in which the bad guy prevails, in a sickening way, over Towne’s slightly less bleak vision, won out. However, Polanski’s way fits the time and the themes, and leaves a lasting impression that continues to resonate.

It’s hard to fathom that such a well-crafted film would only take home one of its 11 Oscar nominations (Towne won for Best Original Screenplay), but it tied for most nominations with “The Godfather Part II,” which claimed six awards, including Best Picture. Nicholson lost Best Actor to Art Carney for “Harry and Tonto,” but would go on to win the next year for “One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest,” as well as becoming the most-nominated actor of all time (12 total) and winning two more acting trophies. Dunaway lost Best Actress to Ellen Burstyn for “Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore,” but won two years later for “Network.” Polanski lost his Best Director bid to Francis Ford Coppola for “The Godfather Part II,” but would win for “The Pianist” in 2003. “Chinatown” fared better at the Golden Globes, winning Best Drama, Director, Actor and Screenplay. Both “Chinatown” and “The Godfather Part II” have been inducted into the National Film Registry, the former in 1991, and the latter in 1993.

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