The filmmaker in his element
Fitzgerald Bailey discovered his love of film at a very young age. The longtime Upper West Sider was just 14 when he submitted his first film, Rosco the Talking Dog, to the West 96th Street Annual Talent Fair, to which he's been a regular contributor ever since. His films may not have broken into the mainstream, but they've certainly broken into the hearts of those that know him, including the tenants at the building he maintains on 98th street. This month Samsite readers get a very special treat indeed, as we sit down with a true West Side legend.
Thanks for sitting down with us, Fitz. Perhaps we could start by discussing what you’re working on these days.
Well, I recently got bronze at the Annual West 96th Street Talent Fair, and I have to tell you, competition was fiercer than usual. Those kids have really honed their crafts. But it was for a movie I recently cut called Love on Lease, so I’m going to spend a little time doing the fair circuit—the 69th Street Block Association Talent Fair, the Murray Hill Tweens, Teens, and Emotional In-Betweens Competition… all the big ones.
You have quite the history at the 96th Street Fair though, right?
Right, I’ve been premiering my films there since I was a boy.
So you grew up in the neighborhood.
Right around the corner, 98th and Columbus. Same building I’m in today—took it over from my pops when he retired to Piña Colada, FL in 1998.
It must be tough juggling landlord duties and filmmaking.
Thankfully I’m just the super.
Oh, I see. Do you feel your work in structural maintenance feeds into your filmmaking career at all?
Certainly. In fact, Love on Lease was inspired by these two female roommates who had a little bit of a lead problem. Carrie Bennington and Isadora Felloni, do you know them? Apartment 6G. Anyways, I was spending a lot of time up in their place applying coats of protective sealant, followed by inspection after inspection from the city. And I tell you, you could cut the tension in that apartment with a knife—Carrie was like a whippet in heat around Isadora. Maybe it was all that lead messing with their judgement or something, but it wasn’t until my very last visit that it was clear they had realized they were in love.
That’s beautiful, I can’t wait to see it. Your last true breakout was in 2007, right?
Depends on who you ask.
But commercially.
Yeah, we did quite well with that one. Played for a week straight at the JCC on 76th.
We’re talking, of course, about The Goy. Do you have a particular fondness for that project?
It was a thing that happened. I love all my films and to me there’s nothing particularly special about that one but, clearly, it struck a nerve. I had a friend down in Managua, Nicaragua just last month tell me it was playing down there as—here, I got it right here [he shuffles around]—Las leyendas del cristiano que encendió las luces. Incredible, out of all my films that one takes off.
I know you love all of your films, but are there any that you would say best capture some overall vision for what you believe a Fitzgerald Bailey film could and should be?
[He thinks]. The Sheen of Mantua (1986) is very under-seen, in my opinion. A historical piece shot totally on location—we rented out the wedding venue at The Cloisters for a full week to shoot there. And I think that’s the film where I most got to explore some of the threads that exist deep down in my psyche. In part because my producer on that film, Pierre’s French Cleaners of 107th Street (closed 2003), was truly supportive and let me execute my vision how I see fit.
The Goy (2007), one of Fitz's biggest earners, earned a box office total of $3,527.
Is there a genre of film you want to tackle that you haven’t yet gotten the opportunity to?
Well, I watch a lot of TCM, and the other day this movie from 1932, or something like that, comes on—The Resplendent Daughter of Dr. Wonton—and it’s all exotic, with big flaming dragons and men in pith helmets, and I say to myself “good lord, they don’t make ‘em like this anymore.” So I’d like to try and bring some of that Golden Age magic back—the adventure, the high seas and romance and whatnot. I’ve already mentioned it to Father Bill at His Lady of the Commandment Third Congregational up in the 100s, and they might let us use their basement for the studio shoots. Also makes it a tax write off, shooting in a church, so I could maybe just do it.
What do you want to be remembered for?
I put my heart and soul into my film work. I’ve been fighting against the system since day one, because for me there is no system, but I never let that stop me. That, and my lovely family. I have a beautiful daughter, Margaux, and a lovely wife of 25 years. In fact, I met her while shooting my third movie, Rite of Passage (1978), down in Pennsylvania.
And here’s to 25 more.
She’s Amish and we live in an elevator building so she’s not going nowhere.
Like your career, I hope.
Absolutely, I’m going to keep doing what I love. I’ll see you at next year’s talent fair.
Thanks for your time.
And thank you.
