Dede Allen's first major assignment as a film editor was ODDS AGAINST TOMORROW. It was directed by Robert Wise, who, as the chief cut man on CITIZEN KANE, knew from editing. As you can see from this masterfully-assembled club scene, in which a debt-hobbled Harry Belafonte takes his frustrations out on the vibraphones, Wise made a good hire.
Most filmmakers would probably follow the tense office scene by showing Belafonte ordering a double at the bar, and then "Another" or "Leave the bottle." Wise and Allen go the unexpected route, opting to reveal his inebriation by having him unsteadily intrude on Mae Barnes's shot. I also love the fade to black as Belafonte petulantly whacks away at the vibes. This is confident, unobtrusive editing that gives the viewer a palpable sense of the protagonist's psychological torment.
Allen, who passed away last Saturday at the age of eighty-six, was unmatched in her skill at getting the audience on a character's emotional wavelength - and she wasn't always subtle about it. When it came to the depiction of violence, no one heightened anxiety or delivered the awful moment in a more ruthless, matter-of-fact manner than Allen. Take for instance the two, oft-discussed explosions of fatal gunplay in BONNIE AND CLYDE: the bank employee catching a bullet in the face, and the film-concluding execution of the titular outlaws. One is quick and brutal, the other is balletic. People left the theater talking about these sequences; they broke them down and considered the way they were constructed. For the first time ever, the nuts-and-bolts process of film editing was a topic of discussion amongst average moviegoers.
In other words, Dede Allen was not only present at the start of the late '60s/early '70s revolution in American film, she helped foment it.
Allen's work was, of course, about much, much more than violence (although she continued to do it well, and even comedically in SLAP SHOT); she would later go on to edit NIGHT MOVES, REDS, THE BREAKFAST CLUB, THE ADDAMS FAMILY and WONDER BOYS. But it's hard not to focus on her facility for wrecking our nerves in classics like BONNIE AND CLYDE, DOG DAY AFTERNOON and SERPICO. For a more thorough appreciation of Allen's craft, you should absolutely read Matt Zoller Seitz's essay at Salon. No one's going to sum up her career more eloquently.
For now, I'll leave you with some of my favorite Dede Allen moments...
