tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34286473538534449222024-03-17T10:59:19.056-04:00The Incredible InmanWriteups About Show Biz Stuff, Old-Timey and OtherwiseDavidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05128111077794801640noreply@blogger.comBlogger378125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3428647353853444922.post-50813224570369855332024-03-16T12:16:00.001-04:002024-03-17T10:58:45.546-04:00Public Domain Theatre: "Jazz Heaven" (1929)<iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/bjRvkzwZ5Sk?si=ZPMQjDTaZoqn1i9x" title="YouTube video player" width="560"></iframe><div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOVeXZnmen7x_bU1P3Z122lPYMXDOkALaG1S_5XIvKP_w59nto-znM3gCxwvydQh-VQlnt8poNvpWHbuchyphenhyphenq7SwtdYeyUBjSDw8soOrcTv-K7T32bDLimsa6fYUcSxonH-CsGDC1lU-w/s1600/jazzheavenlc.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="251" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOVeXZnmen7x_bU1P3Z122lPYMXDOkALaG1S_5XIvKP_w59nto-znM3gCxwvydQh-VQlnt8poNvpWHbuchyphenhyphenq7SwtdYeyUBjSDw8soOrcTv-K7T32bDLimsa6fYUcSxonH-CsGDC1lU-w/s320/jazzheavenlc.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;">The 1929 film <b>"Jazz Heaven"</b> is the same old story -- boy meets girl, boy loses girl, boy and girl break into a piano factory where he can play his song and they end up on the radio without knowing it.<br /><br />In the 1920s and '30s, song publishers were like recording studios. They were where the hits were born, with the goal being to publish a song and make thousands from sales of sheet music.<br /><br />The excitement of the music publishing business could be captured onscreen and used as a metaphor for the drama and bustle of a large city, and it's done very effectively in "The Broadway Melody," released the same year as "Jazz Heaven":<br /></span><br /><iframe allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen" frameborder="0" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/wmLCoM_qsQc" width="420"></iframe><br /><br /><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;">Here, by contrast, is the jazzy introduction to the song publishing business in "Jazz Heaven":</span><br /><br /><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/UWNf7dxyt9c" width="420"></iframe><br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><span style="font-size: medium;">Meh.</span><br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBEmIBTxit0XpEDbtaTUYA8WX26R0PZrDrNg-MPwD2mudPebrAJ_2kStaN8ynSZjywzQvbtslLCJaexMEvjxrsZ9c3nF6mq9iBlLsb9AAHTUIXPi40t6U22_9gQ0KMYX_Oh8XwdNeK0g/s1600/someone.JPG" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBEmIBTxit0XpEDbtaTUYA8WX26R0PZrDrNg-MPwD2mudPebrAJ_2kStaN8ynSZjywzQvbtslLCJaexMEvjxrsZ9c3nF6mq9iBlLsb9AAHTUIXPi40t6U22_9gQ0KMYX_Oh8XwdNeK0g/s1600/someone.JPG" /></a></div><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;">All of "Jazz Heaven," in fact, is kind of meh -- not terrible, but not memorable. One exception is the featured song, "Someone." Oh <i>boy</i>, is it featured. It's hard to get it out of your memory, maybe because they play it 67 times. And it isn't bad -- Oscar Levant wrote the music.<br /><br />Johnny Mack Brown, wearing trousers that come up to his nipples, is our songwriter hero, Barry, who has come to New York City from Mobile, Alabama, and has brought along his sing-song Southern accent.<br /><br />Barry has been working for days on one special song, keeping the other residents in his apartment building up all night. This gets him in Dutch with the landlady, but her softhearted husband Max (Clyde Cook) helps Barry escape her wrath.<br /><br />Then, hark! There is a female voice in the next room whose vocal improvising lends the ending to Barry's song! He uses it, they meet, and sparks fly. She is Ruth (Sally O'Neil) and she works for Kemple and Klucke, music publishers. She takes Barry, who she calls "Big Boy," to meet her bosses.<br /><br />If Barry immediately sold his song to Kemple and Klucke, "Jazz Heaven" would be a 10-minute movie. But there are complications. One is that Barry's song needs lyrics, and after meeting Ruth he is inspired to write some, all about love and stuff. Then Barry's beloved piano is destroyed when Max tries to move it and it rolls down a flight of stairs. That's why Barry and Ruth perform the song in the piano factory (Max is the night watchman and he lets them in) and it goes over the air:</span><br /><br /><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/bqDzjk11M7M" width="420"></iframe><br /><br /><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;">Farmers love it!<br /><br />Bootleggers love it!<br /><br />Rich people love it!<br /><br />BUT! There is still conflict in the air. Ruth is being chased by her bosses, Kemple (Joseph Cawthorn) and Klucke (Albert Conti). Klucke tells Ruth he will orchestrate Barry's song and have it performed at a swell nightclub, but only if Ruth accompanies him.<br /><br />So she does, leading to a misunderstanding on Barry's part, exacerbated by Cawthorn in full-bore cranky mode:</span><br /><br /><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/jQWQmSc7J84" width="420"></iframe><br /><br /><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;">Cawthorn practically had this kind of role trademarked -- see <a href="http://moviedavid.blogspot.com/2013/01/the-joseph-cawthorn-film-festival-white.html" target="_blank">here</a> for more Cawthornian goodness. He does have one of the movie's better lines -- at the nightclub he tells Ruth, "Look at my spats! I got socks on under 'em and everything."<br /><br /></span><p><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;">One of the reasons "Jazz Heaven" is so flaccid is the wan performance of Brown, a former football star who ended up making a lot of westerns, including serials. On the other end of the energy scale is O'Neil, who brings a Betty Boop-ish charm to her role. But a Boop alone does not a movie make, and "Jazz Heaven" is just blah. </span></p></div>Davidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05128111077794801640noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3428647353853444922.post-53227715780173991172024-03-10T14:02:00.006-04:002024-03-10T14:03:01.586-04:00Public Domain Theatre: "Seven Keys to Baldpate" (1929)<div style="text-align: center;"><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/P2K6PRVvSy4?si=-PLuHCmEno2_8Nqh" title="YouTube video player" width="560"></iframe></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPDgOa3qP0gpYvpZvNVGT7630eRxYoMwrRqMF8T_42hJN_vcaXaT_uTQl1YXerb14wjS1GpVhqGL1qUHNI1ZuD6YULaWsp0gLGHvg8YvfUXeYDetFjrmazfsTSRFp_U_k0meDEtr9Qug/s1600/seven1.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><br /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPDgOa3qP0gpYvpZvNVGT7630eRxYoMwrRqMF8T_42hJN_vcaXaT_uTQl1YXerb14wjS1GpVhqGL1qUHNI1ZuD6YULaWsp0gLGHvg8YvfUXeYDetFjrmazfsTSRFp_U_k0meDEtr9Qug/s1600/seven1.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><br /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPDgOa3qP0gpYvpZvNVGT7630eRxYoMwrRqMF8T_42hJN_vcaXaT_uTQl1YXerb14wjS1GpVhqGL1qUHNI1ZuD6YULaWsp0gLGHvg8YvfUXeYDetFjrmazfsTSRFp_U_k0meDEtr9Qug/s1600/seven1.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="246" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPDgOa3qP0gpYvpZvNVGT7630eRxYoMwrRqMF8T_42hJN_vcaXaT_uTQl1YXerb14wjS1GpVhqGL1qUHNI1ZuD6YULaWsp0gLGHvg8YvfUXeYDetFjrmazfsTSRFp_U_k0meDEtr9Qug/s320/seven1.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;"><div><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;">(Here's the entire film.) </span></div><div><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: inherit;">Based on George M. Cohan's 1913 play, which itself was based on a novel by Earl Derr Biggers, the man who also gave us Charlie Chan, the 1929 film version of </span><b style="font-family: inherit;">"Seven Keys to Baldpate"</b><span style="font-family: inherit;"> takes place in what one character calls "the loneliest spot on earth -- a summer resort in the winter."</span></div><br />To this spot comes William Halliwell Magee (<a href="http://www.tcm.com/tcmdb/person/50947%7C129802/Richard-Dix/" target="_blank">Richard Dix</a>), a best-selling novelist out to win a bet that only gets betted (?) in movies like this -- a rich friend, the owner of Baldpate, will pay McGee $5,000 if he can write a 10,000-word story in 24 hours. (Kind-of-interesting sidelight -- when Cohan played the role on Broadway and in the 1917 film, his character was named George Washington Magee.)</span><br /><span style="font-size: medium;"><br />Magee accepts the bet, and his friend says he hopes the book won't be about the usual stuff Magee writes about -- ghosts, stolen money, shots in the night, falling in love at first sight. At this point, of course, Magee meets Mary (Miriam Seeger):</span><br /><br /><iframe allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen" frameborder="0" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/vKHyCdcn10s" width="420"></iframe><br /><br /><div><span style="font-size: medium;">Like most early talkies, there are awkward moments (See what I did there?) in "Seven Keys to Baldpate." Because most of the film takes place on one set -- the two-level lobby of the resort -- it lends itself to staginess, and most of the cast members perform with exaggerated gestures and hammy line readings (this is the kind of movie where Mary is called "meh-dee") that actors utilized before modern, economic sound film acting was introduced by people like James Cagney and Paul Muni.<br /><br />And the first third of the film, in particular, is glacially paced -- although considering global warming, maybe that's too much of a compliment. When Magee gets to Baldpate, he has to endure what seems like a half hour of expository dialogue with the caretaker and his wife:</span><br /><br /><iframe allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen" frameborder="0" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/ZdLD_xm-1C8" width="420"></iframe><br /><br /><span style="font-size: medium;">Once Magee starts writing his story, the loneliest place in the world suddenly seems like Grand Central Station. Visitors include the mayor, the president of the local railroad, the president's wife, a couple of guys bribing the mayor for the railroad president, and a hermit named Pete, and Mary.<br /><br />Dix, a husky fellow who usually played humorless heroic types, does at least get to do some comedy:</span><br /><br /><iframe allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen" frameborder="0" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/90RY-prO8fs" width="420"></iframe><br /><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><a href="http://www.tcm.com/tcmdb/title/14438/Seven-Keys-to-Baldpate/" target="_blank">Here</a> are the complete credits for "Seven Keys to Baldpate."</span><br /><p> </p></div>Davidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05128111077794801640noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3428647353853444922.post-19339853563386574302024-02-25T10:05:00.001-05:002024-02-25T10:05:54.422-05:00Public Domain Theatre: "Half Marriage" (1929)<p></p>
<p><iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/CfNybPboIno?si=vjTI5cWhU9oBvdJE" title="YouTube video player" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" allowfullscreen></iframe></p>Davidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05128111077794801640noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3428647353853444922.post-44117122502509412422024-02-10T13:42:00.003-05:002024-02-10T13:42:56.755-05:00Awkward Early Talkie Theatre: "The Broadway Melody"<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSBZvVx_vafh_Lvxl6mJEeNZ4R-uKqk93trrTlFcgiFOFf3TvM2uMgsqMEBdd9iDTq8IEe4bD4LdEckf7KUW7-8zNwGGxbYrohq8L_D5IwkfM8dwWvQGwzBllplZe8mD4IYyKyyOHKZA/s1600/bway1.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSBZvVx_vafh_Lvxl6mJEeNZ4R-uKqk93trrTlFcgiFOFf3TvM2uMgsqMEBdd9iDTq8IEe4bD4LdEckf7KUW7-8zNwGGxbYrohq8L_D5IwkfM8dwWvQGwzBllplZe8mD4IYyKyyOHKZA/s320/bway1.jpg" width="214" /></a></div><span style="font-size: medium;">Star-struck sisters coming to New York, struggling songwriter, backstage drama, misguided love -- it's all there, and more, in the 1929 film <b>"The Broadway Melody."</b> It's like a cliche incubator. It also has those awkward little touches we love in early talkies -- hammy acting, stilted silences and a musical soundtrack that makes it sound like the orchestra's in the bathroom.<br /><br />To the concrete canyons of Broadway, where there's a broken light for every heart, or something like that, come the something-something sisters, Queenie (<a href="http://www.tcm.com/tcmdb/person/146392%7C13118/Anita-Page/" target="_blank">Anita Page</a>) and Hank (<a href="http://www.tcm.com/tcmdb/person/116687%7C20143/Bessie-Love/" target="_blank">Bessie Love</a>). Queenie is blonde and stauesque, if you know what I mean and I think you do, and Hank is a little pepperpot of personality. ("I'm gonna lay that dame like a roll of linoleum," she says of a rival at one point.)<br /><br />Hank's boyfriend Eddie (<a href="http://www.tcm.com/tcmdb/person/102228%7C29575/Charles-King/" target="_blank">Charles King</a>) has just joined the Zanfield Follies, and he's promised Hank that she and Queenie can join the show. We first meet Eddie at the Ye Olde Gleason Music Publishing Company, overseen by character actor James Gleason, who also co-wrote the dialogue. Eddie has just put the finishing touches on the movie's title song: <br /></span><br /><iframe allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen" frameborder="0" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/wmLCoM_qsQc" width="420"></iframe><br /><br /><span style="font-size: medium;">Eddie and the girls are reunited, and since he hasn't seen Queenie since she was a little princess, he's surprised, to put it mildly, that she's grown so tall -- and stuff.<br /><br />Meanwhile, there is backstage drama aplenty. Queenie and Hank get jobs in the chorus, and Queenie ends up as the main visual attraction, if you know what I mean and I think you do, in a big production number. There she attracts the attention of oily rich guy Jacques (Kenneth Thomson), who, in a bid at regular-guy status, signs his calling card "Jock." Queenie is attracted to Eddie, but out of loyalty to her sister she starts hanging with Jock.<br /><br />Time out for some backstage banter:<br /><br /><i>Gay designer on his outlandish costumes:</i> I design the costumes for the show, not the doors to the theatre.<br /><br /><i>Chorus girl:</i> I know that -- if you had, they'd be painted in lavender.<br /><br />Then it's time for the big-time production of "Broadway Melody":</span><br /><br /><iframe allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen" frameborder="0" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/l4sxwHCNnSk" width="420"></iframe><br /><br /><span style="font-size: medium;">Hank is mystified by Queenie's behavior. Eddie, mixing his metaphors, says, "I guess the bright lights just got under her skin." Then Queenie and Eddie have an awkward scene all their own:</span><br /><br /><iframe allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen" frameborder="0" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/N06soSLmpW4" width="420"></iframe><div><br /><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7Ib2ptXnzfvHlktTsWYTHrsPeRA_CwkfUlup8UjS3Xv4ISVxJy0MrZ2q64rIj1oTmN9_8ZvALd7tehlCfrhJ15JUIFoUyVGiJWPQfUwwqzjXFivh1uoi6j1m9p1goGuAYzu69zS57KQ/s1600/bway2.jpg" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="244" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7Ib2ptXnzfvHlktTsWYTHrsPeRA_CwkfUlup8UjS3Xv4ISVxJy0MrZ2q64rIj1oTmN9_8ZvALd7tehlCfrhJ15JUIFoUyVGiJWPQfUwwqzjXFivh1uoi6j1m9p1goGuAYzu69zS57KQ/s320/bway2.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"></td></tr></tbody></table><div><span style="font-size: medium;">There's a lot to like in "Broadway Melody," and if you don't like you can pass the time by counting how many times Queenie and Hank undress and slip into skimpy costumes and/or underwear. We also see them performing their vaudeville act, "Two Harmony Babies From Melody Lane," which includes the line "We can do more with a vo-de-oh-doh/Than Mr. Rockefeller can do with his dough."<br /><br />When it's all said and done, Hank realizes that Queenie loves Eddie, and she steps out of the picture. At the movie's end, she's ready to go on a vaudeville tour with a new partner, and with the advice of her stuttering agent (Jed Prouty): </span> <br /><br /><iframe allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen" frameborder="0" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/FkG4_YTaRbw" width="420"></iframe><br /><br /></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><a href="http://www.tcm.com/tcmdb/title/12482/The-Broadway-Melody/full-credits.html" target="_blank">Here</a> are the complete credits, if you know what I mean, and I think you do.<br /></span><br /></div></div><p> </p>Davidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05128111077794801640noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3428647353853444922.post-41151245160532602912024-02-03T10:21:00.005-05:002024-02-03T10:27:45.257-05:00Public Domain Theatre: "My Bag O'Tricks" (1929) with Trixie Friganza (1870-1955)<p></p>
<p><iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/34C9x926xQc?si=-EfVsD0RRnMWjGG5" title="YouTube video player" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" allowfullscreen></iframe></p>
Davidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05128111077794801640noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3428647353853444922.post-21303718132688260972024-01-27T11:43:00.002-05:002024-01-27T11:43:40.745-05:00Public Domain Theatre: "The Singing Fool"<p><span style="font-size: medium;">Beginning in 2024, films released in 1928 are now in the public domain, so I've started posting early talkies on my YouTube channel. Here's the top-grossing film of 1928, "The Singing Fool," with Al Jolson, Betty Bronson and Davey Lee. Songs by the team of DeSylva, Brown and Henderson include "Sonny Boy," "I'm Sittin' on Top of the World" and "It All Depends on You."</span></p>
<iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/BrfaPpOvETc?si=Wl7rLVI79nxbWGWU" title="YouTube video player" width="560"></iframe>Davidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05128111077794801640noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3428647353853444922.post-88988735069510028602024-01-20T11:34:00.002-05:002024-01-20T11:34:26.889-05:00Awkward Early Talkie Theatre: "Hollywood Revue of 1929"<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;"><b>"The Hollywood Revue of 1929," </b>MGM's entry in the look-at-us-we're-talking sweepstakes, is a lot like Warner Bros.' <a href="http://moviedavid.blogspot.com/2013/04/awkward-early-talkie-theatre-show-of.html" target="_blank">"The Show of Shows,"</a> released later that year. It's a big-budget hodgepodge of skits and songs featuring almost every performer on the lot (a select few were exempt -- Al Jolson isn't in "The Show of Shows" and Greta Garbo isn't in "Hollywood Revue").</span><br /><br /><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjInlB0DCK_7O0A1FJliGkKHjzD80DKUClRyGdMRLKh87dd90_UmpeP323Tm625HKUZs5qZyN04Xc7PZrXmH-kOXRIy4twzYUeMCGxqlaoYwLls9bPehjD1LHaaoU6HgJYWDMrZPub_1Q/s1600/revuegif1.gif" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjInlB0DCK_7O0A1FJliGkKHjzD80DKUClRyGdMRLKh87dd90_UmpeP323Tm625HKUZs5qZyN04Xc7PZrXmH-kOXRIy4twzYUeMCGxqlaoYwLls9bPehjD1LHaaoU6HgJYWDMrZPub_1Q/s1600/revuegif1.gif" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The budget is so big, the chorus ends up passing the hat.<br /><br /><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;">Both films were designed to introduce audiences to the brave new world of talkie films -- the ironic thing is that early talkies, because of cumbersome cameras and sound recording equipment, were much less "free" than silent films. The setting that both studios use to showcase sound is very static -- a clearly defined stage, proscenium arch and all. ("Broadway Revue" even has a pit orchestra.)<br /><br /></span><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4x7CG8z1GtQQUgWkQzfikIIiI1JQoPPrp8CNG7smgNiqVmKXtCMgURcUnXDSqyZsgOmiU9Rm52UUbN-9a37uab0Dfr3hwlrhvvWurzWQahyFOj34NwaDkDvaoseQhDu05_AohI4jIag/s1600/revuegif6.gif" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;"><img border="0" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4x7CG8z1GtQQUgWkQzfikIIiI1JQoPPrp8CNG7smgNiqVmKXtCMgURcUnXDSqyZsgOmiU9Rm52UUbN-9a37uab0Dfr3hwlrhvvWurzWQahyFOj34NwaDkDvaoseQhDu05_AohI4jIag/s1600/revuegif6.gif" width="320" /></span></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Joan Crawford warms up for her big dance number. </span></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;"><br /></span><div><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;">Still, this was a chance to see your favorite actors and actresses talk, dance and sing. MGM used to brag about having "more stars than there are in heaven," and at least a galaxy or two is accounted for here -- Joan Crawford, Norma Shearer, John Gilbert, Marie Dressler, Bessie Love, Anita Page, Laurel and Hardy, Buster Keaton and many others.<br /><br />Like <a href="http://moviedavid.blogspot.com/2013/04/awkward-early-talkie-theatre-show-of.html" target="_blank">"The Show of Shows,"</a> "Hollywood Revue" prides itself on being very up to date, with sketches that poke fun at quaint Victorian songs and melodramas. The opening number of "Hollywood Revue" and at least part of the proceedings take place in the context of a much more modern setting -- a, um, minstrel show.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-size: medium;">The emcees here are Conrad Nagel and Jack Benny. Benny was a headliner in vaudeville by this point, but this is early in his career and he's just beginning to perfect the mannerisms and low-key style that he would utilize so successfully in radio and television. The emcee of "The Show of Shows" is Frank Fay, whose stage persona Benny freely admitted to appropriating, and in comparing the two, Fay comes off as more effective (at least to me). Here's Benny in a sketch with <a href="http://moviedavid.blogspot.com/2012/08/the-girl-said-no-and-so-did-william.html" target="_blank">William Haines</a>:</span><br /><br /><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/_aLaTFMndUI" width="420"></iframe><br /><br /><span style="font-size: medium;">Here, by comparison, is Frank Fay in "The Show of Shows":</span><br /><br /><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/tYv4cn2hAn0" width="420"></iframe><br /><br /><span style="font-size: medium;">The other emcee, Conrad Nagel, is pleasing and polished -- like almost everybody else he sings a number, a song that sends lyrics of love right up into Anita Page's nostrils.<br /><br /></span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhieAEkZVUd8SoIVZkj73U8iibwCkcP_EcyKis2EyQfb70TeXNXCVWte0Jd3EKsbHBEmddvFKjp7dJJHZE_G9dYjRR57LSGOK8nCU4X4qDNGNmCeSjDDcz2YUf0WXruZ4-1PUoeRhu1Wg/s1600/revue1.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhieAEkZVUd8SoIVZkj73U8iibwCkcP_EcyKis2EyQfb70TeXNXCVWte0Jd3EKsbHBEmddvFKjp7dJJHZE_G9dYjRR57LSGOK8nCU4X4qDNGNmCeSjDDcz2YUf0WXruZ4-1PUoeRhu1Wg/s1600/revue1.jpg" width="320" /></span></a></div><span style="font-size: medium;">The two performers who are featured most prominently in "Hollywood Revue," however, are singers -- Charles King and Cliff "Ukulele Ike" Edwards. King was the male lead in MGM's other big film of 1929, <a href="http://moviedavid.blogspot.com/2012/10/awkward-early-talkie-theatre-broadway.html" target="_blank">"The Broadway Melody,"</a> and gets far more attention here that he merits. (He sings the song "Your Mother and Mine," which is parodied in "The Show of Shows.")</span><br /><span style="font-size: medium;"><br />Edwards, on the other hand, was never a big star, but he was a reliable second banana in several MGM films of the early 1930s. (And he was the voice of Jiminy Cricket in "Pinocchio.") His singing style is simple and appealing, and here he accompanies himself on the uke:</span><br /><br /><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/j9B-bhkiiEk" width="420"></iframe></div><div><br /><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgeXLA6FjfCF682soqPqRVhsJKSMSnF6p15O1ubMs9d-2W8wkjcOLKuOfdYkfWQjsYnkGFyBU2NDQsprAXYeYvP3hhvU6hQ81LLyyBzJhNAz0-ihoIxxXPlTByHmNu3HN3Ue13EZTLHQQ/s1600/revue3.jpg" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgeXLA6FjfCF682soqPqRVhsJKSMSnF6p15O1ubMs9d-2W8wkjcOLKuOfdYkfWQjsYnkGFyBU2NDQsprAXYeYvP3hhvU6hQ81LLyyBzJhNAz0-ihoIxxXPlTByHmNu3HN3Ue13EZTLHQQ/s1600/revue3.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">That is some art right there.</td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-size: medium;">Comedy bits are offered by Laurel and Hardy, Buster Keaton and Marie Dressler, but they are minor stuff. There are also quite a few ensemble numbers with elaborate sets and costumes.<br /><br />And then, toward the end, there is for me the most wince-able portion of "Hollywood Revue" -- a bit, shot in two-strip Technicolor, with Norma Shearer, <a href="http://moviedavid.blogspot.com/2013/09/west-of-broadway-or-haunted-honeymoon.html" target="_blank">John Gilbert</a> and Lionel Barrymore.<br /><br />You've probably heard of it if you haven't seen it -- Gilbert and Shearer perform the balcony scene from "Romeo and Juliet," and then director Barrymore tells them that, under studio orders, the dialogue must be updated.</span><br /><br /><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihoNNTCNdi6ACn9vg-BcKMAKpFhdugaY2rYzU_2h2VXn80-6jAq6BFqDF3bl8eztnq6JF-uEa1epZTdbbwQeIivXvn5WKtbQyMCLwnRVSYh8jaR4XmnOFODM16CwS8CVFL0eKrJTvK7Q/s1600/revuegif4.gif" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihoNNTCNdi6ACn9vg-BcKMAKpFhdugaY2rYzU_2h2VXn80-6jAq6BFqDF3bl8eztnq6JF-uEa1epZTdbbwQeIivXvn5WKtbQyMCLwnRVSYh8jaR4XmnOFODM16CwS8CVFL0eKrJTvK7Q/s1600/revuegif4.gif" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Norma Shearer tries and fails to act like a regular person.</td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-size: medium;">It's one of those ideas that has "cute" written all over it, and not in a good way. It also features what is supposed to be good-natured, natural bantering between the three, and it's truly squirm-worthy.<br /><br />Soon enough comes the ending, also shot in two-strip Technicolor -- it's the movie's big hit song, "Singin' in the Rain," sung by the entire cast, in rain slickers, as they prepare to -- board Noah's Ark?<br /></span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/2T4597DdOPE" width="420"></iframe><br /><br /><span style="font-size: medium;">SEE Cliff Edwards in a rain hat! SEE Joan Crawford looking around for her camera! SEE Buster Keaton look like he wishes he was somewhere else!<br /><br /><a href="http://www.tcm.com/tcmdb/title/211/The-Hollywood-Revue-of-1929/" target="_blank">SEE</a> the complete credits for "The Hollywood Revue of 1929"!<br /></span><br /><p> </p></div>Davidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05128111077794801640noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3428647353853444922.post-80929006365274388402024-01-03T15:35:00.005-05:002024-01-03T15:35:56.115-05:00Awkward Early Talkie Theatre: "Lights of New York" <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHo1LpkoX_XOJXkRFaij54U8GkiEEFZDRjrtXDy6Kg6mb5pfnUBatm2zKXGOLJ7PHqBeeNG-VXqAjovZ_BGGQcqFlphFF0iTs75hICO8ExyZrQelBhzZMMezfjPosKHVEyAxxpvB8QDA/s1600/lightsofny.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHo1LpkoX_XOJXkRFaij54U8GkiEEFZDRjrtXDy6Kg6mb5pfnUBatm2zKXGOLJ7PHqBeeNG-VXqAjovZ_BGGQcqFlphFF0iTs75hICO8ExyZrQelBhzZMMezfjPosKHVEyAxxpvB8QDA/s1600/lightsofny.jpg" /></a></div><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;"><i>(I'm reposting this entry because, as of January 1, movies produced in 1928 are now in the public domain. That includes this film, and I'm celebrating by <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xiiyjc2YYxs&t=30s" target="_blank">posting it on youtube</a> so you can follow along.)</i></span><div><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;">The opening exchange of the 1928 film <b>"Lights of New York,"</b> a conversation between two gangsters in a hotel room, goes something like this:<br />
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Gangster 1: <i>The bootleg rap against us has been dropped -- and we can go back to the big town tomorrow.</i><br />
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(Long pause, during which Lindbergh flies the Atlantic)<br />
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Gangster 2: <i>Great! And what are we gonna use for money when we get there? Our bootleg joint is empty and we need dough!</i><br />
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(Long pause, during which Alexander Fleming invents penicillin)<br />
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Gangster 1:<i> I've been taking care of that! You know that barber downstairs? He looks like a cinch to me. And after the talks we've been having, he thinks that joint of ours is a regular barber shop and not a speakeasy!</i><br />
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Billed as the first 100% all-talking film, "Lights of New York" should also get credit as a 100% all-pausing film. There are large cushions of air between every line of dialogue, and sometimes between words. And to include exclamation points in the dialogue is kind of misleading -- it implies that the actors deliver lines with some sort of emotion, and for the most part they don't.<br />
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But it didn't really matter. The film's novelty assured its financial success -- it was the second-highest grossing movie of 1928, beaten only by Al Jolson's "The Singing Fool." Still, even contemporary reviewers were less than impressed. Wrote<i> Variety</i>:</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;"><i>"It's that kind of a sappy mixture, the kind that recalls the mellers [melodramas] of ... ages ago. ... In a year from now everyone concerned in 'Lights of New York' will run for the river before looking at it again. ... [S]till, this talker will have pulling power, and the Warners' should get credit for nerve even if they didn't do it with a polish."</i><br />
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"Lights of New York" is the story of two small-town barbers -- Eddie (Cullen Landis) and Gene (Eugene Pallette). They are plying their trade in a hotel run by Eddie's mother. But they have dreams -- dreams of being big-time barbers in the Big Apple! Shearing scalps in the city that never sleeps! Scraping their straight razors across the mugs of Babe Ruth! Herbert Hoover! Fanny Brice! Here they discuss it, at length:</span><br />
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As illustrated above, people don't just say their lines in this movie -- they recite them. There's a lot of standing and proclaiming, and a lot of hooking of thumbs into vests. And there's music -- always music. In movies like this, a soundtrack is something to fill up, and music incessantly plays on the soundtrack whether or not it has any relation to the action.<br />
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Anyway, Eddie and Gene get a loan from Eddie's kindly mother and they set out for the concrete canyons. Six months pass, and Gene and Eddie realize they've been had. "About the only thing I shave around here are labels off bottles," sez Gene. (In fact, these guys never have any customers in the small town <u>or</u> in the big city. Maybe they're just lousy barbers!)<br />
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Eddie has rekindled a relationship with Kitty (Helene Costello), a girl from his hometown who works at a nightclub run by the evil bootlegger Hawk Miller (Wheeler Oakman). In a scene set in what we're told is "Central Park," Eddie and Kitty bemoan their fates. This clip has a little bit of everything -- cheesy sets, a line flub, bad acting and deadly pauses:</span><br />
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Then we hie to the nightclub, where we meet owner Hawk Miller and his mistress, Molly . They've been together a long time, and Hawk is starting to ogle the chorus girls, particularly Kitty.<br />
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Molly (to Hawk):<i> You're a hound for chickens, ain't ya? You might get indigestion from too much chicken.</i><br />
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(Long pause during which wood turns to coal)</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoMRENzfLC7DJMFfYU3ZtaUQ-EDBioFt-DOW_Ills4Kn9vg9HrDX-iqwxO8VeLjAttNhJZrXE-STn11G0keJboBOSYDWNHhdi-F_0ml2jmlYzTdhL7vAgtzYpU0s31H9k7zLkx1Reu4g/s1600/lightsgif1.gif" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoMRENzfLC7DJMFfYU3ZtaUQ-EDBioFt-DOW_Ills4Kn9vg9HrDX-iqwxO8VeLjAttNhJZrXE-STn11G0keJboBOSYDWNHhdi-F_0ml2jmlYzTdhL7vAgtzYpU0s31H9k7zLkx1Reu4g/s320/lightsgif1.gif" width="320" /></a><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;">Hawk: <i>Well, if I will, it won't be from an old hen. </i><br /><br /></span><div>
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;">Hawk has killed a cop in the process of transporting illegal hooch, and he plans to frame Eddie for the murder. But when he confronts Eddie at the barber shop, a shot is fired! And the Hawk is grounded in one of the clumsiest death scenes you'll ever see.<br />
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And just when you think things can't any worse, enter Det. Crosby (Robert Elliott), whose slow cadences make everyone else seem like they're on cocaine. Molly the mistress confesses to the killing of Hawk, and Crosby stretches ten words into what seems like ten minutes:</span><br />
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The film careers of the romantic leads, Cullen Landis and Helene Costello, were kaput by 1930. Gladys Brockwell, who actually acts a little as Molly, was killed in a 1929 car crash. The only folks whose careers survived "Lights of New York" were Pallette; the cop, Robert Elliott (who went on to play dozens of cops); and Tom Dugan, who played comic bits in dozens of movies and, during World War II, found himself playing Hitler or Hitler surrogates in movies such as "Star Spangled Rhythm" and "To Be or Not to Be." </span></div></div>Davidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05128111077794801640noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3428647353853444922.post-33852949871794996542023-12-28T14:11:00.005-05:002023-12-28T15:22:10.286-05:00Podcast: The Stormy Success of "The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour"<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpvQVYu3d_w2ZOXqW-PhOFBdM4kaSIVr6iJ5RqbW1SBXJBjIIsfVbvKVqW70dXUsMUHYZNjbLKrTTtLn67e2z9PCSydc79ErZwkTDUwqdXI4rI9-m0nl_KttkyjvLmSEJM8vnihcPBlDB7R1RUKToILtrm863XUeTEWezUDUCdfRMDJDRV8Qw0BT59/s2048/smothers.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1536" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpvQVYu3d_w2ZOXqW-PhOFBdM4kaSIVr6iJ5RqbW1SBXJBjIIsfVbvKVqW70dXUsMUHYZNjbLKrTTtLn67e2z9PCSydc79ErZwkTDUwqdXI4rI9-m0nl_KttkyjvLmSEJM8vnihcPBlDB7R1RUKToILtrm863XUeTEWezUDUCdfRMDJDRV8Qw0BT59/s320/smothers.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><div><br /></div>
<iframe title="The Stormy Success of "The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour"" allowtransparency="true" height="150" width="100%" style="border: none; min-width: min(100%, 430px);height:150px;" scrolling="no" data-name="pb-iframe-player" src="https://www.podbean.com/player-v2/?i=k4xmn-9228ca-pb&from=pb6admin&share=1&download=1&rtl=0&fonts=Arial&skin=1&font-color=auto&logo_link=episode_page&btn-skin=7" loading="lazy"></iframe>
<div><br /></div><div><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: inherit;">In early 1967, folksinging comedians Tom and Dick Smothers kicked off their own variety show on CBS. Their competition was stiff -- NBC's "Bonanza," the one show that CBS could never seem to dislodge from its top-10 spot in the ratings. But the brothers beat "Bonanza" with a combination of topical comedy and musical guests like the Turtles, Buffalo Springfield and the Who. The only problem was that the show's anti-war humor and social satire often ran afoul of CBS censors -- and even prompted protests from the White House, leading to a series of conflicts between the Smothers Brothers and Big Brother.<br /><br />Sources:<br /><br /><em><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Dangerously-Funny-Uncensored-Smothers-Brothers/dp/1439101175">Dangerously Funny: The Uncensored Story of "The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour,"</a></em> by David Bianculli<br /><br /><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xnnmcP6FkWk">"Smothered: The Censorship Struggles of 'The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour' "</a><br /><br /><a href="https://www.nytimes.com/1988/01/31/arts/television-the-smothers-brothers-redux-a-bittersweet-reunion-at-cbs.html?pagewanted=all">"The Smothers Brothers Redux: A Bittersweet Reunion at CBS,"</a> Andy Meisler, The New York Times, January 31, 1988<br /></span><p><span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span></p></div>Davidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05128111077794801640noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3428647353853444922.post-91414510257545181212023-12-08T12:57:00.003-05:002023-12-08T12:57:40.596-05:00Podcast: The Miracle of "A Charlie Brown Chirstmas"<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBS0qmkqSiJc-R_13uFvHu2Fumt2BMm-6rHImz1yCc3XWxv14Mw-ZX8uSWq8lyFj45P-rpd5DR4DQQz4kVOF0ezT1A1ICqMqcs_ZlAkSG5JVvnwH1X52uaFbeFgWwG5zbeBFhT8uxvdyLNVjXtG44UiYeam33D901J_WGwszxnAtAS1zFzPV2A1A/s370/Charlie_Brown_Christmas.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="270" data-original-width="370" height="234" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBS0qmkqSiJc-R_13uFvHu2Fumt2BMm-6rHImz1yCc3XWxv14Mw-ZX8uSWq8lyFj45P-rpd5DR4DQQz4kVOF0ezT1A1ICqMqcs_ZlAkSG5JVvnwH1X52uaFbeFgWwG5zbeBFhT8uxvdyLNVjXtG44UiYeam33D901J_WGwszxnAtAS1zFzPV2A1A/s320/Charlie_Brown_Christmas.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><iframe data-link="https://www.podbean.com/media/player/vfgrm-a1de8a?from=yiiadmin&download=1&version=1" data-name="pb-iframe-player" frameborder="0" height="122" scrolling="no" src="https://www.podbean.com/media/player/vfgrm-a1de8a?from=yiiadmin&download=1&version=1" width="100%"></iframe><br /><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><br /><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;">"A Charlie Brown Christmas" wasn't intentionally created to be timeless, but because of its simplicity and sincerity, timeless it is. Miraculously, it avoids every cliche associated with children's animation and is a perfect blending of music, words and images that clearly conveys one man's vision and philosophy -- Charles Schulz, who drew "Peanuts" from 1950 until his death in 2000.</span></span><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;"><br /><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><br /></span><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">Sources:</span><br /><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><br /></span><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Schulz-Peanuts-Biography-David-Michaelis/dp/0060937998"><em>Schulz and Peanuts: A Biography,</em></a> by David Michaelis</span><br /><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><br /></span><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><a href="https://www.amazon.com/gp/search?index=books&linkCode=qs&keywords=9781496804693"><em>A Charlie Brown Religion: Exploring the Spiritual Life and Work of Charles Schulz,</em></a> by Stephen J. Lind</span><br /><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><br /></span><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><a href="http://nymag.com/vindicated/2016/11/how-a-charlie-brown-christmas-almost-wasnt.html">"How 'A Charlie Brown Christmas' Almost Wasn't,"</a> Jennings Brown, <em>ny.com,</em> November 16, 2016</span><br /><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><br /></span></span><p><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;"><a href="https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/charlie-brown-christmas-special-history-television-classic-cbs-180957490/">"The 'Charlie Brown Christmas' Special Was the Flop That Wasn't,"</a> Carrie Hagen, <em>smithsonian.com,</em> December 9, 2015 </span></p>Davidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05128111077794801640noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3428647353853444922.post-84244926774328125212023-11-22T10:31:00.002-05:002023-11-22T10:31:32.995-05:00Podcast: The Rise and Fall of "Moonlighting"<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuKWVnVk235U9x7_wwqvJQjqc_Giir6MAJQo_vYbYzVkboFDCrfcJIjqMzuJfui3v1gGqesk7tvxCR47u56ddHYdCm9DtEzXUhwTfDENXQjZTOQpo44-goYbqreyoCjgMG0t4tfR4xu4AT7ndpV30AZRTI8RCKYJcpPXJENk2-R6LMa3RTCuzDshzb/s249/moonlighting.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="203" data-original-width="249" height="203" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuKWVnVk235U9x7_wwqvJQjqc_Giir6MAJQo_vYbYzVkboFDCrfcJIjqMzuJfui3v1gGqesk7tvxCR47u56ddHYdCm9DtEzXUhwTfDENXQjZTOQpo44-goYbqreyoCjgMG0t4tfR4xu4AT7ndpV30AZRTI8RCKYJcpPXJENk2-R6LMa3RTCuzDshzb/s1600/moonlighting.jpg" width="249" /></a></div><br /><div><br /></div><iframe data-link="https://www.podbean.com/media/player/yanfw-8e496c?from=yiiadmin" data-name="pb-iframe-player" frameborder="0" height="100" scrolling="no" src="https://www.podbean.com/media/player/yanfw-8e496c?from=yiiadmin" width="100%"></iframe><br /><br /><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;"><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">When the Directors Guild of America announced its award nominations in 1986, history was made. For the very first time, one TV show was nominated for best direction in a comedy and best direction in a drama -- "Moonlighting." The combination detective series-screwball comedy thrived on romantic tension for three seasons in the mid-1980s -- until the lead characters finally got together and the show's creators weren't quite sure what to do next.</span><br /><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><br /></span><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">Sources:</span><br /><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><br /></span><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">"Cybill Shepherd's Comeback: Dueling for Dollars," Bill Davidson, <em>TV Guide,</em> December 7, 1985</span><br /><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><br /></span><br /><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">"Behind the Turmoil on 'Moonlighting': Cybill Won't Be Tamed," Michael Leahy, <i>TV Guide,</i> May 30, 1987</span><br /><br /><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><br /></span><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><a href="https://www.nytimes.com/1986/03/30/magazine/the-madcap-behind-moonlighting.html">"The Madcap Behind 'Moonlighting,' "</a> Joy Horowitz, <em>The New York Times Magazine,</em> March 30, 1986</span><br /><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><br /></span><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><a href="http://articles.latimes.com/1986-09-24/news/mn-9052_1_tv-show">" 'Moonlighting' Makes Light of 15 Emmy Losses: Mom Goes to Her Reward But TV Show Didn't,"</a> <em>Los Angeles Times,</em> September 24, 1986</span><br /></span><div style="padding: 0px 0px 15px;"><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif" style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="padding: 0px 0px 15px;"><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif" style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;"><a href="http://articles.chicagotribune.com/1986-03-11/features/8601180555_1_moonlighting-blue-moon-detective-agency-glenn-gordon-caron">"Writer of 'Moonlighting' Cast in a Different Glow,"</a> Steve Daley, <em>The Chicago Tribune,</em> March 11, 1986</span></div><div style="padding: 0px 0px 15px;"></div><div style="padding: 0px 0px 15px;"><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif" style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;"><a href="https://tv.avclub.com/10-episodes-that-highlight-moonlighting-s-eclectic-bou-1798284465">"10 Episodes That Highlight 'Moonlighting's' Eclectic, Boundary-Busting Brilliance",</a> Greg Cwik, tvavclub.com, September 16, 2015</span></div><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;"><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><br /></span><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cW4qZ228c6k">"Glenn Gordon Caron Discusses Working with Cybill Shepherd on 'Moonlighting,' "</a> emmytvlegends.org</span><br /><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><br /></span></span><p><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;"><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VA2-V7eixcQ">"Glenn Gordon Caron Discusses the Tone of 'Moonlighting,' "</a> emmytvlegends.org </span></p>Davidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05128111077794801640noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3428647353853444922.post-68048377565251584082023-11-15T11:30:00.000-05:002023-11-15T11:30:05.777-05:00Screen Capture Theatre: "Torch Song," or the Lone Arranger <span style="font-size: medium;">OK, I think we can all agree it's been a tough couple of months. But buck up and ditch those silly thoughts of impending fascism! If there's one thing we understand here at Screen Capture Theatre, it's that nothing puts a positive spin on the world like a ... Joan Crawford musical?</span><br /><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjb0yJcetZ9w-3koQt5_tSXHQXlN2ryhPCygSkCKAgIO8k13lpGtw8hsft1UCJMIsSfL2NlvwcUv6Zqee1JjRT6v_8kVI2Ci7hhfF1yVkQsfaP2KgG9eG9dIdV8-tOLUR26r1qSk2gTA/s1600/New+Movie+%252811%2529.Movie_Snapshot.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjb0yJcetZ9w-3koQt5_tSXHQXlN2ryhPCygSkCKAgIO8k13lpGtw8hsft1UCJMIsSfL2NlvwcUv6Zqee1JjRT6v_8kVI2Ci7hhfF1yVkQsfaP2KgG9eG9dIdV8-tOLUR26r1qSk2gTA/s320/New+Movie+%252811%2529.Movie_Snapshot.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption"><span style="font-size: medium;">In this 1953 film, Joan Crawford plays Jenny Stewart ... </span></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><br /><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxbjV8P50BFSk1ybOW_tsSPcPdiBpUaITr_uEmWSZ_EjH6OIVWcNSTsxYovYFrpYfxt0AudwoSWsP_0ZDonc62V43pb1DW5aHpmYkQb7MG3Ug27atByRgXBdObNVKnU77rTjvR4Ox6pA/s1600/New+Movie+%252812%2529.Movie_Snapshot.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxbjV8P50BFSk1ybOW_tsSPcPdiBpUaITr_uEmWSZ_EjH6OIVWcNSTsxYovYFrpYfxt0AudwoSWsP_0ZDonc62V43pb1DW5aHpmYkQb7MG3Ug27atByRgXBdObNVKnU77rTjvR4Ox6pA/s320/New+Movie+%252812%2529.Movie_Snapshot.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption"><span style="font-size: medium;">... a Broadway star of such hit musicals as "Evening with<br />Jenny," "Another Evening with Jenny," "Yet Another Evening<br />with Jenny," "Oh My God It's Jenny Again" and<br />"Go Home, Jenny, You're Drunk." </span></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><br /><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIHxrq8OU1vgr9KJXs0QLZhE8qQDgAzBRYdoB6kv5gAEZbR2_WBD9Hn96J5IWmiFGL7lTH7pVPJhb76xsaoQObxe7H1vJkZHMl7Xc9MHOGKRUw0nwDRdI-T5VhbIw1QVcOYEBixxwRtQ/s1600/torchgif4.Movie_Snapshot.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIHxrq8OU1vgr9KJXs0QLZhE8qQDgAzBRYdoB6kv5gAEZbR2_WBD9Hn96J5IWmiFGL7lTH7pVPJhb76xsaoQObxe7H1vJkZHMl7Xc9MHOGKRUw0nwDRdI-T5VhbIw1QVcOYEBixxwRtQ/s320/torchgif4.Movie_Snapshot.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption"><span style="font-size: medium;">She is loved by all and is a big star -- so big that<br />her eyebrows have their own dressing room.</span></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><br /><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg22zBxg7d-Gg8D8dtob082kBDwAXtUBFWcGd2YCQ3HmkpB1ak0RKDBz9yLxId-PzZo_O8shOg1jv_WiB4HNYJpixXjy82hVz2DPBTXt-K9CaiNwmEL8tn1j6dWvKZBWzfMn2JeXClZsg/s1600/New+Movie+%252813%2529.Movie_Snapshot.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg22zBxg7d-Gg8D8dtob082kBDwAXtUBFWcGd2YCQ3HmkpB1ak0RKDBz9yLxId-PzZo_O8shOg1jv_WiB4HNYJpixXjy82hVz2DPBTXt-K9CaiNwmEL8tn1j6dWvKZBWzfMn2JeXClZsg/s320/New+Movie+%252813%2529.Movie_Snapshot.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span>Jenny is a hard-driving pro onstage and off -- she even makes<br />sure her robe matches the pencils on her nightstand. </span><span> </span></span></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><br /><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKUZaulDO9QJRlFoQA_bkbLZpLHAWTAV70XvP2k_evTNfJtXWYtVeXoJvMVrZCZgpCzCgwfrQd7PHtABjWOA9ag3gb7IrQqhWJAT3DTrATrThzVnwKkXWm-1CuMcxsnhHw1cpghcjT9Q/s1600/torchgif4+%25282%2529.Movie_Snapshot.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKUZaulDO9QJRlFoQA_bkbLZpLHAWTAV70XvP2k_evTNfJtXWYtVeXoJvMVrZCZgpCzCgwfrQd7PHtABjWOA9ag3gb7IrQqhWJAT3DTrATrThzVnwKkXWm-1CuMcxsnhHw1cpghcjT9Q/s320/torchgif4+%25282%2529.Movie_Snapshot.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption"><div><span style="font-size: medium;">But her hard <span>exterior covers a yearning soul of<br />molten lava, cotton candy </span><span>and unfinished Lisa Frank<br />coloring books.</span><span> </span></span></div></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-size: medium;"></span><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZ80mQT8xXqc0mfviZmuOxMigKHWv7wQPLez0zfYb2_hmcP_3hJuUoUqVsjg9eUwpU_1KD8WHA6vNpZz-sugPpXdjW9G6Fim0Ro3jG3ZtRL5HZVLXThr4H-laKz85sWmWbN_jo88VRrw/s1600/New+Movie+%252818%2529.Movie_Snapshot.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZ80mQT8xXqc0mfviZmuOxMigKHWv7wQPLez0zfYb2_hmcP_3hJuUoUqVsjg9eUwpU_1KD8WHA6vNpZz-sugPpXdjW9G6Fim0Ro3jG3ZtRL5HZVLXThr4H-laKz85sWmWbN_jo88VRrw/s320/New+Movie+%252818%2529.Movie_Snapshot.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption"><span style="font-size: medium;">The only person who can, you should excuse the expression,<br />penetrate Jenny is Ty, her blind arranger. </span></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><br /><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2aOcbg5CnHpA9FA7om_aLSCEcCUpme4nJYQ36t5fObfuBfuRjJ-y6n7wf3B0o3VPJm5QDusqZHfFhlnJId5qXjTXUaWhhHFG2qui6Q97rWnKPiAe9FdiSp2HBy2vIVlNzulW_BWUD-A/s1600/torchgif1.gif" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2aOcbg5CnHpA9FA7om_aLSCEcCUpme4nJYQ36t5fObfuBfuRjJ-y6n7wf3B0o3VPJm5QDusqZHfFhlnJId5qXjTXUaWhhHFG2qui6Q97rWnKPiAe9FdiSp2HBy2vIVlNzulW_BWUD-A/s320/torchgif1.gif" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption"><span style="font-size: medium;">They get along splendidly.</span></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><br /><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMWHNhTFhkRpIXmj3-kg7h4dT-Hj0KcjmW4m_SDW2pIufGT9nyMKMDoDFbPhy1OwcXBVUURVJ5DWW1rMR8IHejUICZCMu8Svb_g89pOZWlom98DW7lMgccxUjPMNDZPp7df_ixcrWJoQ/s1600/New+Movie+%252820%2529.Movie_Snapshot.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="" border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMWHNhTFhkRpIXmj3-kg7h4dT-Hj0KcjmW4m_SDW2pIufGT9nyMKMDoDFbPhy1OwcXBVUURVJ5DWW1rMR8IHejUICZCMu8Svb_g89pOZWlom98DW7lMgccxUjPMNDZPp7df_ixcrWJoQ/s320/New+Movie+%252820%2529.Movie_Snapshot.jpg" title="" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption"><span style="font-size: medium;">Jenny even starts trying to learn braille until she realizes<br />she's just turning the radio on and off.</span></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><br /><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgC6Ck3MRxonelGADZ8v76gCQ9O2mwUCGlqMk_LtRcrbpJvC0qLJYW8gpLw7L8I3VhYZBUy4jJzUEzUAvP5Bkm2GbGa5L5o2FGTDPw8tGO3kFvB5V93Hkw0V4D050Xr77vqh19NA7oXdg/s1600/torchgif2.gif" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgC6Ck3MRxonelGADZ8v76gCQ9O2mwUCGlqMk_LtRcrbpJvC0qLJYW8gpLw7L8I3VhYZBUy4jJzUEzUAvP5Bkm2GbGa5L5o2FGTDPw8tGO3kFvB5V93Hkw0V4D050Xr77vqh19NA7oXdg/s320/torchgif2.gif" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption"><span style="font-size: medium;">But Ty turns his back on Jenny. He walks out during her<br />big blackface number, a toe-tapper called<br />"Staggering Multicultural Insensitivity." </span></td></tr></tbody></table></div><div><br /><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyX6HUuqsliQjbYECLQGubfowXgMPk7ITepQByDDyrPf1IangsK0VcEa6etR_DOaDGrHWpshJdQ8QSvYbtrx5jD9-GT6DHnu2e8m1lTQmvL4AgUxKW9C2dwHIw_k4nEGzsiZ8JSnwplA/s1600/torchgif3.gif" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyX6HUuqsliQjbYECLQGubfowXgMPk7ITepQByDDyrPf1IangsK0VcEa6etR_DOaDGrHWpshJdQ8QSvYbtrx5jD9-GT6DHnu2e8m1lTQmvL4AgUxKW9C2dwHIw_k4nEGzsiZ8JSnwplA/s320/torchgif3.gif" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption"><span style="font-size: medium;">Still, Jenny can't stay away. She presents herself to Ty with<br />an outfit that's a stunning salute to autumn, which she<br />describes to him because he can't see. </span></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><br /><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpIEw34JWs8NmMlGHhfuZni0ttko7zYXAY69iDdH_BmZSjCh-B03m5fWe32621YFZRCXNEsJJnHd2PziBhoxWtIIDRtDdcILa_nftslz519pw7hehd5zAOGG6rf-3_IbrdmVTMnnyWeA/s1600/New+Movie+%252822%2529.Movie_Snapshot.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpIEw34JWs8NmMlGHhfuZni0ttko7zYXAY69iDdH_BmZSjCh-B03m5fWe32621YFZRCXNEsJJnHd2PziBhoxWtIIDRtDdcILa_nftslz519pw7hehd5zAOGG6rf-3_IbrdmVTMnnyWeA/s320/New+Movie+%252822%2529.Movie_Snapshot.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption"><span style="font-size: medium;">Even an eye massage doesn't help.</span></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg37dD4-nLwqLWkpxX2kHjcfTFG0ne8YOGKy2Ixrtbw3T5lK_7EY8A3a5BxKPfMYhcZgih7NrMZzDmLgTrVddYH7joVNRwl6cHEGOFyjx6wcBXEhzSZMOSBQdPmxbOCCidJpYr8wh8u-Q/s1600/New+Movie+%252817%2529.Movie_Snapshot.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="" border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg37dD4-nLwqLWkpxX2kHjcfTFG0ne8YOGKy2Ixrtbw3T5lK_7EY8A3a5BxKPfMYhcZgih7NrMZzDmLgTrVddYH7joVNRwl6cHEGOFyjx6wcBXEhzSZMOSBQdPmxbOCCidJpYr8wh8u-Q/s320/New+Movie+%252817%2529.Movie_Snapshot.jpg" title="" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption"><span style="font-size: medium;">Neither does Jenny's attempt to clone herself as a<br />larger, easier-to-see person.</span></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><br /><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzBhqT5a-UBH85GtFUMkvX7b0_LW3H6HGo10gllPApccJZpYY6DT5pDjd1cz__QfAnyWWxNpY7t1OPnCFV2i5MhclVHPrFiEJWe-BKytG1-DbiSnorqZlXwUxkXRNb_tIE70TIxBwc1Q/s1600/torchgif4+%25283%2529.Movie_Snapshot.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzBhqT5a-UBH85GtFUMkvX7b0_LW3H6HGo10gllPApccJZpYY6DT5pDjd1cz__QfAnyWWxNpY7t1OPnCFV2i5MhclVHPrFiEJWe-BKytG1-DbiSnorqZlXwUxkXRNb_tIE70TIxBwc1Q/s320/torchgif4+%25283%2529.Movie_Snapshot.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption"><span style="font-size: medium;">But in the end it doesn't matter, because as well all know,<br />love is differently abled. I mean blind.<br /><br /></span></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBBzp-EriLwN-oXMuy90wI__nyYQb0EqYtRcXPfb-AeVb6bzl1XtlPC_Oe30nmV3funKSSSEjJplTE9Ehz8l38-LsOPz_9RU4o60GYDUxakDd2urGmWuFk-fr_bWMD-n1Ta5bkKZrl4A/s1600/New+Movie+%252821%2529.Movie_Snapshot.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBBzp-EriLwN-oXMuy90wI__nyYQb0EqYtRcXPfb-AeVb6bzl1XtlPC_Oe30nmV3funKSSSEjJplTE9Ehz8l38-LsOPz_9RU4o60GYDUxakDd2urGmWuFk-fr_bWMD-n1Ta5bkKZrl4A/s320/New+Movie+%252821%2529.Movie_Snapshot.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><br /><br /><br /><p> </p></div>Davidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05128111077794801640noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3428647353853444922.post-31597855796000040172023-11-06T12:19:00.002-05:002023-11-06T12:19:59.573-05:00Podcast: 1952 -- The 60-Second Election<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjweQlZzufke7VXt6EpDrzmAwhNX0cWe4aJml_lAZbYkDdFrOV4uEca1_DoakTZOrLWBK-Kw20e52ELIeZBo0E5qTUPhjjHW-f3oGs8pB7hX2BWPiMriZZNlMllvLQ7R5asXdF3Io1RDJpCklflmaOezhHq6BlkjckyEhBfIMvq3uJzmLOgwnsb1WPq/s259/eisenhower.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="194" data-original-width="259" height="194" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjweQlZzufke7VXt6EpDrzmAwhNX0cWe4aJml_lAZbYkDdFrOV4uEca1_DoakTZOrLWBK-Kw20e52ELIeZBo0E5qTUPhjjHW-f3oGs8pB7hX2BWPiMriZZNlMllvLQ7R5asXdF3Io1RDJpCklflmaOezhHq6BlkjckyEhBfIMvq3uJzmLOgwnsb1WPq/s1600/eisenhower.jpg" width="259" /></a></div><br /><div><iframe data-link="https://www.podbean.com/media/player/czi99-87c1ac?from=yiiadmin" data-name="pb-iframe-player" frameborder="0" height="100" scrolling="no" src="https://www.podbean.com/media/player/czi99-87c1ac?from=yiiadmin" width="100%"></iframe></div><br /><div style="padding: 0px 0px 15px;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;">In 1952, Republican Dwight Eisenhower squared off against Democrat Adlai Stevenson in the presidential election. Eisenhower, who had been commander of allied forces in Europe during World War II, was enormously popular but not much of a public speaker. So a combination of talents from America’s largest advertising agencies, including the man upon whom the “Mad Men” character Don Draper was roughly based, convinced Eisenhower and his advisers that the best way to reach American voters was the same way they received selling propositions about what soap to use, what car to drive, what cigarette to smoke — by a TV commercial. Eisenhower reluctantly agreed — and political campaigns were changed forever.</span></div><div style="padding: 0px 0px 15px;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;">Sources:</span></div><div style="padding: 0px 0px 15px;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;"><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Spot-Third-Political-Advertising-Television/dp/0262540657/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1517941561&sr=1-1&keywords=the+spot%3A+The+rise+of+political+advertising" style="color: #2255aa; text-decoration-line: none;"><em>The Spot: The Rise of Political Advertising on Television,</em></a> by Edwin Diamond and Stephen Bates</span></div><div style="padding: 0px 0px 15px;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;"><a href="http://time.com/4471657/political-tv-ads-history/" style="color: #2255aa; text-decoration-line: none;">“This Is How Presidential Campaign Ads First Got on TV,”</a> <em>time.com,</em> August 30, 2016</span></div><div style="padding: 0px 0px 15px;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;"><a href="http://adage.com/article/adage-encyclopedia/political-advertising/98827/" style="color: #2255aa; text-decoration-line: none;">“Political Advertising,”</a> <em>adage.com,</em> September 15, 2003</span></div><div style="padding: 0px 0px 15px;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;"><a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2015/11/01/upshot/eisenhower-an-unlikely-pioneer-of-tv-ads.html?_r=0" style="color: #2255aa; text-decoration-line: none;">“Eisenhower, an Unlikely Pioneer of TV Ads,”</a> Michael Beschloss, <em>The New York Times,</em> October 30, 2015</span></div><div style="padding: 0px 0px 15px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><a href="http://mentalfloss.com/article/30038/8-adlai-stevensons-awful-1952-tv-campaign-ads" style="color: #2255aa; text-decoration-line: none;">“8 of Adlai Stevenson’s Awful 1952 TV Campaign Ads,”</a> Chris Higgins, mentalfloss.com, February 20, 2012<br /></span><br /><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Tube-Plenty-Evolution-American-Television/dp/0195064844" style="color: #2255aa; font-family: inherit; text-decoration-line: none;"><em>Tube of Plenty: The Evolution of American Television</em></a><span style="font-family: inherit;">, by Erik Barnouw</span><span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span></span></div>Davidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05128111077794801640noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3428647353853444922.post-82285197590601648692023-10-28T13:56:00.001-04:002023-10-28T13:56:00.143-04:00"Below the Sea," or Love and Depth<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivsesxKFwh1gF7TKDzJQ8nc_QVjZWwVSaMQaoidvcEiYgoG5KNGFfuha0LA9cZrXaKjtVPHciZ-NdWYJydPcLXLAg8kpOcEd0bHL7HwqI3zJBNdiXm8JR8sv44BS_pRtywsyZvYNIHuA/s1600/below1.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivsesxKFwh1gF7TKDzJQ8nc_QVjZWwVSaMQaoidvcEiYgoG5KNGFfuha0LA9cZrXaKjtVPHciZ-NdWYJydPcLXLAg8kpOcEd0bHL7HwqI3zJBNdiXm8JR8sv44BS_pRtywsyZvYNIHuA/s320/below1.jpg" width="203" /></a></div><span style="font-size: medium;">
Ronald Reagan is credited with a great line about his days of making B-movies: "They didn't want them good, they wanted them Thursday."<br />
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And that's the standard rap -- they were projector fodder destined to belong at the bottom of double features with forgettable actors, mediocre scripts, blah blah blah blah.<br />
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But the thing is, despite low budgets and tight shooting schedules, the Hollywood assembly system in the 1930s was still capable of cranking out movies that were better than they had any right to be. <b>"Below the Sea"</b> is a good example. This 1933 film boasts a script by Frank Capra collaborator Jo Swerling, creative direction by Al Rogell and vivid performances by <a href="http://www.tcm.com/tcmdb/person/13190%7C126927/Ralph-Bellamy/" target="_blank">Ralph Bellamy</a>, <a href="http://www.tcm.com/tcmdb/person/209593%7C50836/Fay-Wray/" target="_blank">Fay Wray</a> and <a href="http://www.tcm.com/tcmdb/person/1520414%7C56103/Frederick-Vogeding/" target="_blank">Frederick Vogeding</a>.<br />
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Frederick Vogeding?</span><br />
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Vogeding appeared in several dozen movies between 1933-42, usually in small parts as doctors or military men. Beginning with 1939's "Confessions of a Nazi Spy" he made frequent appearances as Gestapo officers. "Below the Sea" features one of his rare leading roles.<br />
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We open during the final days of World War I, in a German sub commanded by Vogeding's character. The men converse in their native tongue, with no subtitles. And right around the time one of them says something that sounds like "I want a Zima," there's an explosion.<br />
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Then, in battle footage thrillingly borrowed from the RKO movie "Suicide Fleet" (and who knows where else), the sub, she is sunk. There are only two survivors -- the captain and some other guy. Both of them are aware that the sub was carrying a load of gold bricks, and while they dry off on a desert island the other guy draws up a map of the location, which gives the captain nasty ideas:</span><br />
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<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/heBKIeympWQ" width="420"></iframe>
<br /><br /><span style="font-size: medium;">(By the way, in a post-code movie the guy just would have fallen off the cliff; only in a pre-code movie would you see the body go all the way down, bouncing off outcroppings along the way.)<br />
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</span><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4ZHzIYSN7e0MxJhh4l61auJA_GLhEMJcWD-Nogic7Gdfd61flt74DAqxDHd3LHlEvqCxeJlIvOSGKTkSTQ3oOPKNCLH23ea8tYcJpxD1uwkI3eim92BljHe_1HQPCHg5q5y8w6t0abw/s1600/below3.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4ZHzIYSN7e0MxJhh4l61auJA_GLhEMJcWD-Nogic7Gdfd61flt74DAqxDHd3LHlEvqCxeJlIvOSGKTkSTQ3oOPKNCLH23ea8tYcJpxD1uwkI3eim92BljHe_1HQPCHg5q5y8w6t0abw/s200/below3.jpg" width="200" /></span></a><span style="font-size: medium;">Fast forward twelve years, and the captain has changed his name to Schlemmer. He's been waiting all this time to retrieve the precious stash, and he's talked a waterfront bar owner/floozy (Esther Howard) into financing the trip in exchange for a cut. He's also hired a deep sea diver, Mac, played by snarling Ralph Bellamy.<br />
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Their first trip out to get the treasure is doomed because there's a big storm, and because Schlemmer keeps the destination a secret, so the crew doesn't know where to go. This doesn't quite make sense to me, but it gives Bellamy a chance to wear a rain slicker and hat like the Gorton fisherman on those old TV commercials.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRoEk7lu-iMw5TVc0iCW0j_69sm59HC1MI1PBC12cpBqKGwqy1jEaLK00hyphenhyphenDtDjkUC0HDhDaTtKWbs-vwg1SD7o9J89DeS9D9MjhXvMGerqp1exhm8QaTfJ7KdEwhVmvwRyWgWegXWgQ/s1600/belowgif.gif" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRoEk7lu-iMw5TVc0iCW0j_69sm59HC1MI1PBC12cpBqKGwqy1jEaLK00hyphenhyphenDtDjkUC0HDhDaTtKWbs-vwg1SD7o9J89DeS9D9MjhXvMGerqp1exhm8QaTfJ7KdEwhVmvwRyWgWegXWgQ/s320/belowgif.gif" width="320" /></a></div>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiC8S50joC-1CnQWONy3UVbs4HusnSXtTWMYl1sMWFJc17NJyLjTtLkRjxtDA-g9ZJpKJUZx1uGvbYpZEghcTc22bOyQ4LgHaPQgzHUh_QjGarJzvuHXohtHvDANk0O_z6VpPDcYM4Cvw/s1600/below1.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiC8S50joC-1CnQWONy3UVbs4HusnSXtTWMYl1sMWFJc17NJyLjTtLkRjxtDA-g9ZJpKJUZx1uGvbYpZEghcTc22bOyQ4LgHaPQgzHUh_QjGarJzvuHXohtHvDANk0O_z6VpPDcYM4Cvw/s200/below1.jpg" width="121" /></a><span style="font-size: medium;">Another three years pass, and Schlemmer has signed on as the captain of a scientific expedition, and he's bringing Mac with him. They're aboard the good ship <i>Adventure</i>, funded by socialite Diana Templeton (Fay Wray in full-blown hottie mode). Templeton is sincere about science, but she also knows the power of public relations, so she does things like pose for photos in Mac's diving suit.<br />
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Mac in turn is so nasty to her that there's really no doubt how he really feels, especially since Diana gives as good as she gets:</span><br />
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<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/v9baSs4LsBg" width="420"></iframe>
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The byplay between Wray and Bellamy is one of the highlights of "Under the Sea." He scowls and puffs his pipe as she runs around the boat wearing anchor-accented outfits. And she kisses other guys in front of him just to get him hot. But when she puts on Mac's diving outfit and goes down without his permission, that's a bridge too far. He purposely takes his time rescuing her and she passes out. He gets in trouble for it, but she shows her mettle by apologizing to him. And he finds himself torn between Diana and the loot in the sub:</span><br />
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<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/f8MCuxl_34w" width="420"></iframe>
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Meanwhile, Schlemmer and his floozy are
ready to bring the gold to the surface and cheat Mac out of his cut. They drug
him and take off to collect the booty. Mac awakens just in time to
discover that Diana is down in the diving bell again and it's being
attacked by an amorous octopus, so instead of heading off Schlemmer he changes into his suit and dives in to rescue her:</span><br />
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<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/MbrbNj32aNQ" width="420"></iframe>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhv_2Lpegh25syOWubanULTeMtrNbf9gmFOD17rIi-V4A_z7oFFFUW3xsdg0OfIh5dEFwWq6H5tUApG0CjuBp9frKvtJD_FSTEzKfif6ZihO0LJT4VcRApuB11Nccu6DZMCvn-2-BRlnQ/s1600/64000.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhv_2Lpegh25syOWubanULTeMtrNbf9gmFOD17rIi-V4A_z7oFFFUW3xsdg0OfIh5dEFwWq6H5tUApG0CjuBp9frKvtJD_FSTEzKfif6ZihO0LJT4VcRApuB11Nccu6DZMCvn-2-BRlnQ/s1600/64000.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_nGJLWZVU32wAp1Selx5V5UlGmJmrWYaPlbk9ScUuIWdW0RsepWYE5bIfmVSYwTyz-NX6_-EIvF0XZ0EZKx9zPlilUXA5PkCJzujuHFCbilwZSu0WWoj1lXdZ8HPGhLED_X-6Q-u7-Q/s1600/below2.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_nGJLWZVU32wAp1Selx5V5UlGmJmrWYaPlbk9ScUuIWdW0RsepWYE5bIfmVSYwTyz-NX6_-EIvF0XZ0EZKx9zPlilUXA5PkCJzujuHFCbilwZSu0WWoj1lXdZ8HPGhLED_X-6Q-u7-Q/s1600/below2.jpg" width="180" /></a><span style="font-size: medium;">This also seems like a good time to mention that the diving bell looks just like the isolation booth on the 1950s quiz show "The $64,000 Question," except that the diving bell doesn't have a giant lipstick on each side of the window (the show's sponsor was Revlon).<br />
<br />In the end, the captain's nefarious scheme comes to naught, and Diana and Mac end up together. As a couple they generate actual heat -- it's nice to see Bellamy playing something other than the milquetoast role he essayed in romantic comedies, and Wray's character is tough and likable. Their clinches seem unusually enthusiastic -- makes you wonder if something was going on in real life between them, as well.<br />
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<a href="http://www.tcm.com/tcmdb/title/68452/Below-the-Sea/" target="_blank">Here</a> are full credits for "Below the Sea."<br /></span>
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<br />Davidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05128111077794801640noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3428647353853444922.post-51512510901491497042023-10-21T13:50:00.001-04:002023-10-21T13:50:00.146-04:00Podcast: The Quiz Show Scandals -- "Twenty-One"<span style="color: #333333; font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTLXMkREXIHv5JHEkmOPSkeUbj51NmnoPJHZYvqhj1sSPQAO8ihap-WHCfh3rgEyGmVuZbAMURLVulyaeGmhC4op0ZVATzsoOMcX2DX-JEWVR0Dwl5RXhuNrhonQ2-Vh5NJImFUYNu6tBigUBR9VT1EyvJ-_wPxpwjyk8xkvhyphenhyphenXuRt6JXyx-N5jGHh/s527/van%20doren.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="527" data-original-width="400" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTLXMkREXIHv5JHEkmOPSkeUbj51NmnoPJHZYvqhj1sSPQAO8ihap-WHCfh3rgEyGmVuZbAMURLVulyaeGmhC4op0ZVATzsoOMcX2DX-JEWVR0Dwl5RXhuNrhonQ2-Vh5NJImFUYNu6tBigUBR9VT1EyvJ-_wPxpwjyk8xkvhyphenhyphenXuRt6JXyx-N5jGHh/s320/van%20doren.jpg" width="243" /></a></div><br />We end our two-part look at the quiz show scandals with the most infamous example of all -- the NBC program "Twenty-One." Contestants on the show were deliberately given answers to questions, directed to lose games and were even coached on how, for maximum dramatic effect, to hesitate when answering a question. The show's most popular contestant, Charles Van Doren, was celebrated for his intellect and humility and rewarded with a job on NBC-TV. But he ended up revealing his role in the hoax during a dramatic congressional hearing, and his reputation was forever tarnished.</span><br />
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , "bitstream charter" , "times" , serif; font-size: 13px;"><br /></span>
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Davidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05128111077794801640noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3428647353853444922.post-55191809257289670372023-10-14T13:21:00.000-04:002023-10-14T13:21:23.995-04:00Pre-Code vs Post-Code: "The Crowd Roars" and "Indianapolis Speedway"<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;">Pre-code versus post-code is the difference between a Duesenberg and a Hummer, between cafe au lait and chocolate milk, between a camisole and a union suit.<br />
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Take the differences, for instance, between the 1932 film <b>"The Crowd Roars"</b> and the 1939 film <b>"Indianapolis Speedway."</b> Same story (by Howard Hawks, who also directed the first film), same setting, same characters (with different names, in some cases), even much of the same racetrack footage. By the way, want to know how to switch up your stock footage of a crowd? Just flip the image, like this:</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6blRN6r0VTUwYoTjGmmROv2uTym7dVDIEUY6XHM90yv18S7BccokQhPhu2fte11SHVyRC3sDc1CJOz13HGih_owYSs4QTogjYGhWpnmOXITnlK3Wq9Pq1atvuk_aKMguy6p-CJLu8BA/s1600/crowd2.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6blRN6r0VTUwYoTjGmmROv2uTym7dVDIEUY6XHM90yv18S7BccokQhPhu2fte11SHVyRC3sDc1CJOz13HGih_owYSs4QTogjYGhWpnmOXITnlK3Wq9Pq1atvuk_aKMguy6p-CJLu8BA/s1600/crowd2.jpg" width="200" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdDmZEQCfrF7a05orMpxVHQ6ImZjTqm2OjogVX2HeGCEzl8eGIggI5gnWEyuaaaHU-w2slD26yEucFLwY-02EkEon8hcA2OzON9ylOI6L9FpkEaMV8-YnrZ33DH6KAlvOuay_AYl2KnA/s1600/crowd1.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdDmZEQCfrF7a05orMpxVHQ6ImZjTqm2OjogVX2HeGCEzl8eGIggI5gnWEyuaaaHU-w2slD26yEucFLwY-02EkEon8hcA2OzON9ylOI6L9FpkEaMV8-YnrZ33DH6KAlvOuay_AYl2KnA/s1600/crowd1.jpg" width="200" /></a><br />
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<br /><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;">And, since these are Warner Bros. films made in the 1930s, naturally both of them feature <a href="http://www.tcm.com/tcmdb/person/127662%7C53769/Frank-McHugh/" target="_blank">Frank McHugh</a> -- playing the same character, and even with the same name. Spud. (Frank McHugh was born to play guys named Spud.)<br />
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But there's a distinct difference in the way the film's romantic relationships are portrayed, and, by extension, in the relationship between the brothers at the center of the story.<br />
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The brothers are Joe and Eddie Greer, played by <a href="http://www.tcm.com/tcmdb/person/26868%7C77446/James-Cagney/" target="_blank">James Cagney</a> and <a href="http://moviedavid.blogspot.com/2012/08/the-eric-linden-film-festival-big-city.html" target="_blank">Eric Linden</a> in "The Crowd Roars" and <a href="http://www.tcm.com/tcmdb/person/142903%7C120817/Pat-O-Brien/" target="_blank">Pat O'Brien</a> and <a href="http://www.tcm.com/tcmdb/person/149119%7C87598/John-Payne/" target="_blank">John Payne</a> in "Indianapolis Speedway." Joe is a world-famous racing driver who drinks and carouses a little too much, tilting slightly but not totally into arrogance. Eddie is his hero-worshiping brother, who also wants to race.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDM-o6VtuZXxckr6MBMD2IgjDp8TaNtSedmqd9r9dRDGPkKIhWvs6Onr5kHHtvv28J-phKgBI2FIzKuZHxuAxFplrcO6Xd8Uk_GgvY_3hzDSaR0owXAccHsXfohN6O67kIq93sdOjmQw/s1600/indygif3.gif" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDM-o6VtuZXxckr6MBMD2IgjDp8TaNtSedmqd9r9dRDGPkKIhWvs6Onr5kHHtvv28J-phKgBI2FIzKuZHxuAxFplrcO6Xd8Uk_GgvY_3hzDSaR0owXAccHsXfohN6O67kIq93sdOjmQw/s1600/indygif3.gif" width="320" /></a></div><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;">
In the 1939 version, Joe's reluctance to work with Eddie has a noble basis -- he wants Eddie to finish college, at Joe's expense. But after Joe leaves his hometown and his visit with Eddie to return to Los Angeles, he finds an unexpected stowaway.<br />
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In the 1932 version, Joe's reluctant to work with Eddie for two reasons -- one is because of Eddie's inexperience, but the other is that Joe doesn't want Eddie to know that he's shacking up with longtime frail Lee (<a href="http://www.tcm.com/tcmdb/person/54985%7C13243/Ann-Dvorak/" target="_blank">Ann Dvorak</a>). Once Eddie enters Joe's life, Joe starts giving the cold shoulder to the bewildered Lee. In "Indianapolis Speedway," by contrast, Joe and Lee (<a href="http://www.tcm.com/tcmdb/person/146417%7C57055/Gale-Page/" target="_blank">Gale Page</a>) are already engaged, which makes their coupling a little more legitimate. When Joe gives Lee the brushoff in "Indianapolis," he makes it clear it's because he wants to tutor Eddie. In "The Crowd Roars," Lee grins and bears it, but in "Indianapolis Speedway" she gets rightfully honked off. Here are the two scenes:</span><br />
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But the<i> real</i> woman trouble in both movies comes from Lee's friend. In "The Crowd Roars," her name is Ann (<a href="http://www.tcm.com/tcmdb/person/17721%7C83530/Joan-Blondell/" target="_blank">Joan Blondell</a>) and in "Indianapolis Speedway" her name is Frankie (<a href="http://www.tcm.com/tcmdb/person/176061%7C13440/Ann-Sheridan/" target="_blank">Ann Sheridan</a>). In both movies, she's first portrayed as bad news, and Joe doesn't want her "corrupting" his pure younger brother. In "The Crowd Roars," when Ann meets Eddie and starts showing some leg, Joe sneers, "Why don't you stand on your head while you're at it?" -- a line that's as likely to show up in "Indianapolis Speedway" as I am to grow a tail. In "Indianapolis Speedway," Frankie -- who's the roommate of Ann -- is known for feminine wiles that have driven at least one racer track wacky. (Sheridan, at the peak of her reign as Warner's "Oomph Girl," is top billed here -- and like Blondell, she is shown in the skimpiest post-code outfits possible.)<br />
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Here's how Cagney and O'Brien handle the problem of the other woman:</span><br />
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Even by Cagney standards, the character of Joe is wound unusually tight. His obsession with keeping Eddie from sinful entanglements and what he perceives as loose women -- playing around for me, but not for thee -- goes beyond brotherly concern and makes him seem like a hypocrite.<br />
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O'Brien portrays Joe as a little wearier -- the movie is telling us that what he needs is to settle down with a good woman, but it'll take him about 65 minutes to figure that out.<br />
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All around, in fact, the Joe in "Indianapolis Speedway" seems more human and more vulnerable. The relationship between the brothers is much warmer -- in the 1932 film, Joe dominates Eddie the way that Cagney naturally dominates the more diffident Linden. Payne, by contrast, has a stronger screen presence and makes more of an impression opposite O'Brien.<br />
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In both versions, Joe's downfall comes when, out of anger at Eddie's romance, he causes a fiery crash that kills Spud (Twice!). Joe is spooked and can't bring himself to race again, but he gravitates toward Indianapolis on the day of the 500. Eddie is racing, and when he is injured, Joe jumps back behind the wheel with Eddie as his co-driver. Guess who wins?<br /></span>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUcMth-Nnd9VYF29l_pdSlrDVE2lqcvzfbi6Cj1Kzjb61T21_qqq2NRaDXY0QGvu0Xw1AZhZkIonDVfTPyn1oSQktSal4sLykSSjWpmVc9_juAJmNB83stDWeXNP2mdePi4Yrg3KCwJg/s1600/indygif2.gif" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUcMth-Nnd9VYF29l_pdSlrDVE2lqcvzfbi6Cj1Kzjb61T21_qqq2NRaDXY0QGvu0Xw1AZhZkIonDVfTPyn1oSQktSal4sLykSSjWpmVc9_juAJmNB83stDWeXNP2mdePi4Yrg3KCwJg/s1600/indygif2.gif" width="320" /></a></div><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;">
In the 1932 film, the reunion between the brothers isn't even played out -- Joe just jumps in the car and takes off. But in the 1939 version, there's a spoken rapprochement between the brothers, capped off when Eddie gives Joe his trademark cigar to chomp on for good luck. Guess who wins?<br />
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Here are the full credits for <a href="http://www.tcm.com/tcmdb/title/13648/The-Crowd-Roars/" target="_blank">"The Crowd Roars"</a> (which also features several real-life drivers as themselves) and <a href="http://www.tcm.com/tcmdb/title/3474/Indianapolis-Speedway/" target="_blank">"Indianapolis Speedway."</a></span><br />
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<br />Davidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05128111077794801640noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3428647353853444922.post-90241787188713672182023-10-02T15:39:00.000-04:002023-10-02T15:39:08.622-04:00Screen Capture Theatre: "The Chapman Report," or I Kinsey What You Did There<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;">A funny thing happened to movies in the early 1960s -- they got more "daring" in the sense that they included sexual language and dealt with adult themes. The weird thing is, they did this in an awkward, shame-based way -- so much so that they seem downright childish compared to the sense of frankness and <i>real</i> adult behavior in your average pre-code movie.<br />
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But don't take my highly authoritative word for it -- join me as Screen Capture Theatre wanders into the 1962 film ...<br /></span>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgx5NevqKr_PxPLyb9lzN18gsL66SM0vO0tUlC_xmEg3swpyl_u7jqtYxQy3RAFTRxOBzZh-HnmC7BcFa75O201KoAGGxtxrPG-DqQPiloviuozC8kkYJV6E7ZMHWf3ZrE0HbDhyphenhyphenXFuDg/s1600/chapgif4+%25283%2529.Movie_Snapshot.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgx5NevqKr_PxPLyb9lzN18gsL66SM0vO0tUlC_xmEg3swpyl_u7jqtYxQy3RAFTRxOBzZh-HnmC7BcFa75O201KoAGGxtxrPG-DqQPiloviuozC8kkYJV6E7ZMHWf3ZrE0HbDhyphenhyphenXFuDg/s400/chapgif4+%25283%2529.Movie_Snapshot.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;">Any resemblance between the characters in this movie<br />
and actual women is purely coincidental.</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfGSU4NWQ10vc8djNxODJzn5b3pMrP-b0czeTVyCYmhMTNfHAf-4OQzbtGRZSujnn8tV5GuZSKRrtFYm7EW_Fo6DfII_3t6VYdogjjnVZtyH9Llr7k-am356cw7Saj2lKFJseSG0FSDQ/s1600/chapgif1+(2).Movie_Snapshot.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfGSU4NWQ10vc8djNxODJzn5b3pMrP-b0czeTVyCYmhMTNfHAf-4OQzbtGRZSujnn8tV5GuZSKRrtFYm7EW_Fo6DfII_3t6VYdogjjnVZtyH9Llr7k-am356cw7Saj2lKFJseSG0FSDQ/s1600/chapgif1+(2).Movie_Snapshot.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;">Greetings, ladies and gentlemen of science! My name is Professor Doctor Mr.<br />
Chapman, M.D., and I am a world-famous sexual researcher in the manner<br />
of such luminaries as Alfred Kinsey, Masters and Johnson and Lindsay Lohan.</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiANOHuHCeaXmWv127_lCZ6GMHTgA_kdlvIOsxFTo0QctesKXtHU9Rz2cetmYQ6Zo7ZWiEXRP1Rp7uy0VB8WHxyJLS9kGpWBGYpgWla7rHmE4KpGGqHLYElDUU9gwrRwuSo02EzZji7BA/s1600/chapgif1+(4).Movie_Snapshot.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiANOHuHCeaXmWv127_lCZ6GMHTgA_kdlvIOsxFTo0QctesKXtHU9Rz2cetmYQ6Zo7ZWiEXRP1Rp7uy0VB8WHxyJLS9kGpWBGYpgWla7rHmE4KpGGqHLYElDUU9gwrRwuSo02EzZji7BA/s1600/chapgif1+(4).Movie_Snapshot.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;">Heh heh, they said "probe."</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhURggDY4DZ6X8johl6IrXyA0CT0fZfdeKltAzJlI1tSOaHG2hgWsD9hoNvmD3XXy5iMs5tCZD-EEHXsv-tn8qic0MkYP-2G9yHpbD1VtRspP7KqF3WqUnPLdDbuB3nzPQf4e-flu1VAQ/s1600/chapgif1.Movie_Snapshot.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhURggDY4DZ6X8johl6IrXyA0CT0fZfdeKltAzJlI1tSOaHG2hgWsD9hoNvmD3XXy5iMs5tCZD-EEHXsv-tn8qic0MkYP-2G9yHpbD1VtRspP7KqF3WqUnPLdDbuB3nzPQf4e-flu1VAQ/s1600/chapgif1.Movie_Snapshot.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;">"Dear Professor Doctor Mr. Chapman. My name is Jane, and I am a healthy,<br />
perfectly normal young woman who is repelled by any physical contact<br />
whatsoever, especially with men of the opposite sex, yuck."</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjgq50x5G3YRF-0wPZYwnnsV3L9NHtP_2gwAYTbMv7OP4xJlICDZqnWbACYndQnAsxEyeJbtBmxv6MEBSlr-u3RBFXO6d6AwrdnRFrrSfPd3lHJQZNqf5fHRKqMRiyvdOUCTadluf9kQ/s1600/chapgif4+%25288%2529.Movie_Snapshot.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjgq50x5G3YRF-0wPZYwnnsV3L9NHtP_2gwAYTbMv7OP4xJlICDZqnWbACYndQnAsxEyeJbtBmxv6MEBSlr-u3RBFXO6d6AwrdnRFrrSfPd3lHJQZNqf5fHRKqMRiyvdOUCTadluf9kQ/s400/chapgif4+%25288%2529.Movie_Snapshot.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;">"Some have called me frigid, and when I opened my mouth to<br />
answer them a light came on. Can you help?"</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOgIE2UghuwIxo6OnScnIDYqrfQxlqi4l0pgYbBmGJ7HIcei-bDcS9zol0c7if7kWOsnbzjOttBi3tyurt3_P2VqPQp-EQVUfzH0Gt9dVW6dTI-szWlEkPug11NRoh8R13vxl8Iyj-3g/s1600/chapgif2.gif" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="298" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOgIE2UghuwIxo6OnScnIDYqrfQxlqi4l0pgYbBmGJ7HIcei-bDcS9zol0c7if7kWOsnbzjOttBi3tyurt3_P2VqPQp-EQVUfzH0Gt9dVW6dTI-szWlEkPug11NRoh8R13vxl8Iyj-3g/s400/chapgif2.gif" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;">Dear Jane: I have the perfect remedy. You need to indulge in some<br />
promiscuous smoking with one of my researchers, stat!</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4VkmvlMcD8n5A9wTgsp1Wup6jbYSKKYgLT7dLfbO9pKuERdf6wp6qUxJLRwriNo7-_bryAmzfVyQGVM4tSTJ8KC-CwGdIuNlo2XT1LCNPI5KQBCL8blB927d-Zf_2ebrQ7v-K_hvGZg/s1600/chapgif1+(5).Movie_Snapshot.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4VkmvlMcD8n5A9wTgsp1Wup6jbYSKKYgLT7dLfbO9pKuERdf6wp6qUxJLRwriNo7-_bryAmzfVyQGVM4tSTJ8KC-CwGdIuNlo2XT1LCNPI5KQBCL8blB927d-Zf_2ebrQ7v-K_hvGZg/s1600/chapgif1+(5).Movie_Snapshot.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;">"Dear Whatever Your Name Is: My name is Shelley and my husband<br />
is more interested in watching TV than in watching me. I want to get racy, he<br />
wants 'Ben Casey'! And the other night, when he was watching 'Leave It to Beaver' ..."</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZ1NZY3gGVQ8Nyg2uDx6MpnasPXlWc-l4tEjbzXYBuI2d_xjVB_q34aYsj8bsncoFx2TpF7xsBSD8fRED3JO-fZuOO5vlTnlzWRR5KIK9mZiHF2vZZDFoGH6kwPVrQU4dChRbUi4tFIg/s1600/chapgif3.gif" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="298" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZ1NZY3gGVQ8Nyg2uDx6MpnasPXlWc-l4tEjbzXYBuI2d_xjVB_q34aYsj8bsncoFx2TpF7xsBSD8fRED3JO-fZuOO5vlTnlzWRR5KIK9mZiHF2vZZDFoGH6kwPVrQU4dChRbUi4tFIg/s400/chapgif3.gif" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;">"... anyway, I am now having an affair. Any suggestions?"</span></td></tr>
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<span id="goog_2044956679" style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;"></span><span id="goog_2044956680"></span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsCU87WLE2_BaqMnYj7rJwHDo6aydHpI20vXJCE3KnM5_zaSbHdzeTTOhV303t3jVuGbcNtyCQ8skdlzKO-Z1EqAUSfaWl1FUvaSY-MJlzCo_yPacJGa5JaLSwDmUUWamJqNZp8tyYfg/s1600/chap2.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="303" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsCU87WLE2_BaqMnYj7rJwHDo6aydHpI20vXJCE3KnM5_zaSbHdzeTTOhV303t3jVuGbcNtyCQ8skdlzKO-Z1EqAUSfaWl1FUvaSY-MJlzCo_yPacJGa5JaLSwDmUUWamJqNZp8tyYfg/s400/chap2.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;">Dear Shelley: Perhaps a long trip might bring you and your husband<br />
closer together. I suggest a cruise on the ocean liner Poseidon. Bon voyage!</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0H8j9cDoexETBh8EFbXK9KLwmrmzq38eZ4v_wbxhJxZeg3ZizR8h4tgh4SbiUz3l6v6kpNU4Uf_-ewKyFO_spPj-2Y0YYgfsplK_fvbw2lq3itdRPU8TaP_Dzohn79CtaIwJcXPfMaw/s1600/chapgif1+(3).Movie_Snapshot.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0H8j9cDoexETBh8EFbXK9KLwmrmzq38eZ4v_wbxhJxZeg3ZizR8h4tgh4SbiUz3l6v6kpNU4Uf_-ewKyFO_spPj-2Y0YYgfsplK_fvbw2lq3itdRPU8TaP_Dzohn79CtaIwJcXPfMaw/s1600/chapgif1+(3).Movie_Snapshot.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;">"Hello, handsome. You can call me Claire. Actually, you can call me anything --<br />
just call me ;). I have no sexual hangups at all ..."</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSBr386uCl_hkFbkqJTLMLahl4_YHfdiOd5BwQyrShs9ekPwSc6rVlgXWiRnFtYH8hLSL4LC-bD9Q8Oagm2QyRDB5rU0RBWHf3wg733pG9rRbBoPK6YnzIy3WGdUx_gXlOvCyFn_MjZA/s1600/chapgif1.gif" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="298" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSBr386uCl_hkFbkqJTLMLahl4_YHfdiOd5BwQyrShs9ekPwSc6rVlgXWiRnFtYH8hLSL4LC-bD9Q8Oagm2QyRDB5rU0RBWHf3wg733pG9rRbBoPK6YnzIy3WGdUx_gXlOvCyFn_MjZA/s400/chapgif1.gif" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;">"... just ask any delivery guy who comes to my house."</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLI-bDOHZPbUfOGTDkmS80igmXWxVYx2OB7FiUuNAzwQlNWAwIP8vsfDhJqzRCWuvZLyDzCNwk2dAOFcwrYB2inua7W1B_PLliqndhR9P9eggg280Vx_JlY6xBXZjI3QgyPDFMFJujkQ/s1600/chapgif4.gif" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="298" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLI-bDOHZPbUfOGTDkmS80igmXWxVYx2OB7FiUuNAzwQlNWAwIP8vsfDhJqzRCWuvZLyDzCNwk2dAOFcwrYB2inua7W1B_PLliqndhR9P9eggg280Vx_JlY6xBXZjI3QgyPDFMFJujkQ/s400/chapgif4.gif" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;">"Or musician. Or anything with chest hair, for that matter."</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdR7BzixXEv5C4S6a1OyQvwF6RaRWjAYI9OkZPA2H8IeqE6UWvp7bkaousa-CkBYhQsAguZEg0V30zmUFjCiLsyVM6vnG87WynpW_5deq7YNKhiKGh-GayTo5AN3pE25zb8Y6h_FeYaA/s1600/chapgif1+(6).Movie_Snapshot.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdR7BzixXEv5C4S6a1OyQvwF6RaRWjAYI9OkZPA2H8IeqE6UWvp7bkaousa-CkBYhQsAguZEg0V30zmUFjCiLsyVM6vnG87WynpW_5deq7YNKhiKGh-GayTo5AN3pE25zb8Y6h_FeYaA/s1600/chapgif1+(6).Movie_Snapshot.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;">"Never mind about her, dear sir! Pay attention to me! My name is<br />
Glynis and I am terribly self-absorbed. My smarmy husband is just<br />
as pretentious as I am, so we get along splendidly ..."</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6P2Z_49Ja3HQxaGH2U2EtUvnUYi2pOX59TcW1-Pv-vaifJENRxIU9lWGkjeEN8QnMtHmI5mx5qZEOq1W2fcOUTcd59Z8o0Hf1RxkY2k-j2J0fnrn45fD38vUDU-_DC1XeyV_JqTcvZg/s1600/chapgif4+%25287%2529.Movie_Snapshot.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6P2Z_49Ja3HQxaGH2U2EtUvnUYi2pOX59TcW1-Pv-vaifJENRxIU9lWGkjeEN8QnMtHmI5mx5qZEOq1W2fcOUTcd59Z8o0Hf1RxkY2k-j2J0fnrn45fD38vUDU-_DC1XeyV_JqTcvZg/s400/chapgif4+%25287%2529.Movie_Snapshot.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;">"... but the other day I met a younger man on the beach when I caught<br />
his ball, and I'm, um ... curious."</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQeUqfnWyfcjFmErA1Y2_Tmjs8GNs8PiQmTVE8jPK3hXMkw-CjykweMUuQDYqKlw-SQc3P88lUdUia3GiiSCoqnawXJZoC21SZ10M3XGXIV9VvZKV-ZFZ-ZFDMgSyBenTqRxkXqPEGUg/s1600/chap1.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="305" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQeUqfnWyfcjFmErA1Y2_Tmjs8GNs8PiQmTVE8jPK3hXMkw-CjykweMUuQDYqKlw-SQc3P88lUdUia3GiiSCoqnawXJZoC21SZ10M3XGXIV9VvZKV-ZFZ-ZFDMgSyBenTqRxkXqPEGUg/s400/chap1.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;">Dear Glynis: It sounds as if you might need to become involved in a<br />
cause bigger than yourself. May I suggest women's suffrage?</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjj1Ax6gk8G3k0nwUmrqL2R4BAdRfrd5u2Dgh1VE3ivLTAXMTnRBd5YT7lTFGBYQmDDRZK8q-6nLiwJKoEiiGDhDol6HHyEae_xpV_8tnj8ipdWL4tU1cQE0nATaLWW9aDa_juCTq2UkA/s1600/chapgif1+%25282%2529.Movie_Snapshot.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjj1Ax6gk8G3k0nwUmrqL2R4BAdRfrd5u2Dgh1VE3ivLTAXMTnRBd5YT7lTFGBYQmDDRZK8q-6nLiwJKoEiiGDhDol6HHyEae_xpV_8tnj8ipdWL4tU1cQE0nATaLWW9aDa_juCTq2UkA/s400/chapgif1+%25282%2529.Movie_Snapshot.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;">I'm afraid that's all the time we have today for oversimplifying<br />
people's sexual behavior. Next week's topic will be "The Future" -- a time of<br />
<span>widely available birth control, medication for erectile dysfunction and<br />widespread gay marriage. Ha ha! Just kidding! Drive safely!</span></span></td></tr>
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<br />Davidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05128111077794801640noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3428647353853444922.post-42673043978531980412023-09-21T13:29:00.000-04:002023-09-21T13:29:21.822-04:00Podcast: The Quiz Show Scandals -- "The $64,000 Question" <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyvclHmr9RSEsMocqVJKNpKblKbWGqbQfIIxUZKuCxbrX3bbsyTGXAO7su2z1ibNtOy7qNpZgjlX4ygHgPPA-yJBD3PPT1IQ4HPkOWziuOoEwkDdBe9UmlC_eBUfjZyUESy2zC0-PJA3Lh_N4c2bd-4DgqtehbYTeSPVd087g6lyQgPlmQ4ero-dkQ/s1440/ae995254c12f777428cc1e1cb16a6788.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1080" data-original-width="1440" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyvclHmr9RSEsMocqVJKNpKblKbWGqbQfIIxUZKuCxbrX3bbsyTGXAO7su2z1ibNtOy7qNpZgjlX4ygHgPPA-yJBD3PPT1IQ4HPkOWziuOoEwkDdBe9UmlC_eBUfjZyUESy2zC0-PJA3Lh_N4c2bd-4DgqtehbYTeSPVd087g6lyQgPlmQ4ero-dkQ/s320/ae995254c12f777428cc1e1cb16a6788.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div><br /></div><iframe data-link="https://www.podbean.com/media/player/n64br-7d174b?from=yiiadmin" data-name="pb-iframe-player" frameborder="0" height="100" scrolling="no" src="https://www.podbean.com/media/player/n64br-7d174b?from=yiiadmin" width="100%"></iframe><br /><br /><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">During the summer of 1955, a new TV show kept people in front of their sets on hot Tuesday nights. “The $64,000 Question” was a big-money quiz show that made its contestants instant celebrities and the show even displaced “I Love Lucy” as the nation’s top TV program. What nobody realized at the time was that the show was planned, paced and cast like a drama, and a contestant’s success depended not on the questions he or she answered correctly, but on a sponsor who would drop you when you ceased to be useful.</span><br /><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><br /></span><br /></span><div style="padding: 0px 0px 15px;"><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif" style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Sources:</span></div><div style="padding: 0px 0px 15px;"><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif" style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Box-Oral-History-Television-1920-1961/dp/1491054050/ref=sr_1_sc_2?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1504895717&sr=1-2-spell&keywords=The+Box+Jeff+Kisselloff" style="color: #2255aa;"><em>The Box: A Oral History of Television, 1920-61</em></a>, by Jeff Kisseloff</span></div><div style="padding: 0px 0px 15px;"><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif" style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><em><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Prime-Time-Misdemeanors-Investigating-1992-03-01/dp/B01K2WIPN4/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1504303325&sr=8-1&keywords=prime+time+and+misdemeanors" style="color: #2255aa;">Prime Time and Misdemeanors: Investigating the 1950s TV Quiz Scandal — A D.A.’s Account</a>,</em> by Joseph Stone and Tim Yohn</span></div><div style="padding: 0px 0px 15px;"><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif" style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><a href="https://www.amazon.com/TV-game-shows-Dolphin-book/dp/038513052X/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1504303444&sr=1-1&keywords=tv+game+shows+maxine+fabe" style="color: #2255aa;"><em>TV Game Shows</em></a>, by Maxine Fabe</span></div><div style="padding: 0px 0px 15px;"><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif" style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Remembering-America-Richard-N-Goodwin/dp/1497676576" style="color: #2255aa;"><em>Remembering America: A Voice from the Sixties</em></a>, by Richard Goodwin</span></div><div style="padding: 0px 0px 15px;"><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif" style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Fire-Ice-Charles-theRevlon-Hardcover/dp/B011MG13S8/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1511397394&sr=1-1&keywords=Fire+and+Ice+Andrew+Tobias" style="color: #2255aa;"><em>Fire and Ice: The Story of Charles Revson, the Man Who Built the Revlon Empire</em></a>, by Andrew Tobias</span></div><div style="padding: 0px 0px 15px;"><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif" style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Tube-Plenty-Evolution-American-Television/dp/0195064844" style="color: #2255aa;"><em>Tube of Plenty: The Evolution of American Television</em></a>, by Erik Barnouw</span></div><div style="padding: 0px 0px 15px;"><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif" style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">“The Cop and the $64,000 Question,” <em>TV Guide,</em> July 9, 1955</span></div><div style="padding: 0px 0px 15px;"><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif" style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">“A Summer Show Hits the Jackpot: $64,000 Prize, Carefully Picked Contestants Keep Nation Glued to Its Television Sets,” <em>TV Guide,</em> August 20, 1955</span></div><div style="padding: 0px 0px 15px;"><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif" style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">“Come and Get It: TV Giveaway Shows Lure Viewers with Bigger and Bigger Jackpots,” <em>TV Guide,</em> December 31, 1955</span></div><div style="padding: 0px 0px 15px;"><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif" style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">“The Quiz Show Scandals: An Editorial,” <em>TV Guide,</em> October 24, 1959</span></div><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">“Letters,” </span><em>TV Guide,</em><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"> November 21, 1959</span> </span></p>Davidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05128111077794801640noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3428647353853444922.post-14029998901501268802023-09-15T10:40:00.002-04:002023-09-15T10:40:09.678-04:00"The Big Sleep," or Doubting Shamus<p><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;">How do I love thee, <b>"The Big Sleep"</b>? Let me count the ways:</span></p><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;"><br />1. I love thee because thou are, for lack of a better term, a screwball noir. That may oversimplify it a bit, but "The Big Sleep" is, without question, one of the breeziest movies you'll ever see about blackmail, drug abuse, murder and, worst of all, the smoking of unfiltered Chesterfields.</span><br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi69dvaWAkOEZisCb9aDvVxNq3JOOAXm7Nx8_x0zsdc48QObSslaEmPhBv8SNW-aNoB0aHJ02UUQZ0LWeUx1lUcF63_26u5PB7R0KIOAmfnzAcZBS4FM0o_m-dMpAAQV3pAOV9eAfh8Dw/s1600/biggif4.gif" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi69dvaWAkOEZisCb9aDvVxNq3JOOAXm7Nx8_x0zsdc48QObSslaEmPhBv8SNW-aNoB0aHJ02UUQZ0LWeUx1lUcF63_26u5PB7R0KIOAmfnzAcZBS4FM0o_m-dMpAAQV3pAOV9eAfh8Dw/s1600/biggif4.gif" width="320" /></a></div><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;">The tone of "The Big Sleep" is attributable to two things -- the relaxed banter between co-stars Humphrey Bogart and Lauren Bacall, and the fact that director Howard Hawks thinks nothing about stopping the plot dead in its tracks in order to showcase the relaxed banter between co-stars Humphrey Bogart and Lauren Bacall.<br /></span><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBgJmZyQydJmJJecunQ3xzOqqZiBYFhEovIPxvBP9RuDTs7Iyj2shhJxMqNq4ySxPhXshZ-Dle2em1436zRBcFwRFHIhkwkjkpToDdN2e3TQTGljjNF_FZ9rjqm8kZFZy9_01LIwSWCw/s1600/biggif8.gif" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBgJmZyQydJmJJecunQ3xzOqqZiBYFhEovIPxvBP9RuDTs7Iyj2shhJxMqNq4ySxPhXshZ-Dle2em1436zRBcFwRFHIhkwkjkpToDdN2e3TQTGljjNF_FZ9rjqm8kZFZy9_01LIwSWCw/s1600/biggif8.gif" width="320" /></a></div><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;">2. I love thee also because thoust women are more interesting -- and arguably smarter -- than the men in this movie.<br /><br />I mean, look at the male representation -- Marlowe's client, Colonel Sternwood, is downright incapacitated, impotent in more ways than one. He can't do anything that doesn't involve a sauna. "I seem to exist largely on heat, like a newborn spider," he tells Marlowe. Then there's Joe Brody (Louis Jean Heydt), world's worst blackmailer, who gets a slug in the gut just for answering a lousy door buzzer. And then there's hapless Harry Jones (Elisha Cook Jr.), who gets talked into taking a tall drink of poison because he's protecting a tall drink of water named Agnes.</span><br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4T6YKbQx5xIZd7KLBNptFYRXUUPWWXvszBmq28BxjF0BUFsNw74W_VM3L6OXTtHniO6wSRitPoO5uC2pKTYQwSG6P0Bn5ep1p4zxRlN_FWY1gHJa_3-h_NmP3z6f0XlUfZwsWGJDxOQ/s1600/biggif3.gif" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4T6YKbQx5xIZd7KLBNptFYRXUUPWWXvszBmq28BxjF0BUFsNw74W_VM3L6OXTtHniO6wSRitPoO5uC2pKTYQwSG6P0Bn5ep1p4zxRlN_FWY1gHJa_3-h_NmP3z6f0XlUfZwsWGJDxOQ/s1600/biggif3.gif" width="320" /></a></div><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;">Meanwhile, look at the women! There are so many that Philip Marlowe practically trips over them, from Martha Vickers as the unbalanced Carmen Sternwood to Dorothy Malone as a bookstore clerk with come-hither eyes, a sexy pout and two paper cups for that bottle of pretty good rye Marlowe carries in his jacket pocket.</span><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVOYlKLQ9LMOVBT7hyphenhyphenHMkEFHj_aIODE9e1fB1SnqP1UyqDzIAqATvg0xVKJlnJr3mUN4YixBAVYA47MEi8vIOtgZyYDsxXPNMoW2coVdu1na6XyyIQXxTUaz5uQj9TytPs6hHWewtQ4A/s1600/biggif5.gif" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVOYlKLQ9LMOVBT7hyphenhyphenHMkEFHj_aIODE9e1fB1SnqP1UyqDzIAqATvg0xVKJlnJr3mUN4YixBAVYA47MEi8vIOtgZyYDsxXPNMoW2coVdu1na6XyyIQXxTUaz5uQj9TytPs6hHWewtQ4A/s1600/biggif5.gif" width="320" /></a></div><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;">And don't even mention the female cabby who gives Marlowe her card.<br /><br />Then there's the smartest one of all -- Bacall as Vivian Sternwood. She's not only as smart as Marlowe, she's as tough as he is. That doesn't mean she throws her weight around; neither does Marlowe. But she's there to help him outwit the movie's most dangerous bad guys, and Marlowe respects her for it. When he tells her afterward "You looked good, awful good," it's a declaration of love as heartfelt as a Donne sonnet.</span><br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOWbOVxZCoKy5Kxpktyd7Sm2Qb5I1M4cC4eEoIG2xQXJLSlLqI0wpK_5OLi7LIrlohUxQLEma0VFHAyRuuKSb0C1xFvMRpyylMh2RdmVgkq4nFEggHE1QnjT2Jd_2x3JzOi0PcbD-Czg/s1600/biggif2.gif" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOWbOVxZCoKy5Kxpktyd7Sm2Qb5I1M4cC4eEoIG2xQXJLSlLqI0wpK_5OLi7LIrlohUxQLEma0VFHAyRuuKSb0C1xFvMRpyylMh2RdmVgkq4nFEggHE1QnjT2Jd_2x3JzOi0PcbD-Czg/s1600/biggif2.gif" width="320" /></a></div><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;">3. I love thee for thou go-to-hell storyline that leaves plot strands hanging like unconditioned hair. We all know that "The Big Sleep" doesn't make total sense -- Hollywood historians have been telling us that for decades. For instance, nobody has been able to figure out who killed Owen Taylor, the Sternwood chauffeur, whose body was found in the family Packard in the water off Lido Pier. And, of course, it doesn't really matter -- even the script's loose ends were tied up as neatly as ribbons on a Christmas package, "The Big Sleep" would still be known more for its atmosphere and its quirks than its plot.<br /></span><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUoANm4cayLfAOAXvTOP9amVf8ReJPZWzRNwVDhF8ros-zV6tO64M3eC2HQz2cQ3y7E0ii0pH9bwnur_UfPRxv-g_8z43MX0Rn78Ofxh0GbfVpDR55R_URjoOl8GJJ7qHOCPzVC8kWTg/s1600/biggif7.gif" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUoANm4cayLfAOAXvTOP9amVf8ReJPZWzRNwVDhF8ros-zV6tO64M3eC2HQz2cQ3y7E0ii0pH9bwnur_UfPRxv-g_8z43MX0Rn78Ofxh0GbfVpDR55R_URjoOl8GJJ7qHOCPzVC8kWTg/s1600/biggif7.gif" width="320" /></a></div><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;">4. And finally, "The Big Sleep," I love thee because, at heart, you are a deeply romantic story in that way only cynical movies can be. You are the story of a Sir Galahad in a 1938 Plymouth coupe who saves the honor of the Sternwood family while falling in love with one of the princesses. You are the story of a slightly rumpled knight in blue serge who works for $25 a day and expenses -- one who displays emotion with a pull on the ear and a wince of a smile. One who fearlessly confronts bad guys who are taller than he is, with no effort made to hide the height difference.<br /></span><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;"><br /></span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgr3lR4-oqZ7ma_4gkXOXGXxGtG0zz_YLE9U_q4_28SDeZsyME-lxhdg7uV494l5e50Mhwxrafa_WxzUw_UauBoGeFryJcGIKYTrV5XFbGtmd6RIyOWY-IU4BTJGaTJSoaptCgMs7-FFA/s1600/biggif6.gif" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;"><img border="0" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgr3lR4-oqZ7ma_4gkXOXGXxGtG0zz_YLE9U_q4_28SDeZsyME-lxhdg7uV494l5e50Mhwxrafa_WxzUw_UauBoGeFryJcGIKYTrV5XFbGtmd6RIyOWY-IU4BTJGaTJSoaptCgMs7-FFA/s1600/biggif6.gif" width="320" /></span></a></div><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;">Raymond Chandler described Philip Marlowe thusly: "As honest as you can expect a man to be in a world where it's going out of style." As played by Bogart, more than ably supported by the woman who was his best co-star in the movies as well as in real life, he's a hero for the ages.<br /><br />And yea, verily, that is the truth. </span>Davidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05128111077794801640noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3428647353853444922.post-61494441759010899082023-09-06T14:26:00.000-04:002023-09-06T14:26:01.314-04:00Podcast: Ed Sullivan, American Gatekeeper<span style="background-color: white; font-size: medium;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg98Y6vtGb-a7XHH2Pei2Y8w4ib2-mmhoL8F1K4aGWLFu259ziqdPhAxIW26OG6SEaFzADfMQmayGIogmKjA7NRMk_8ROHUdytNQn5y5YaXZBEMrhhpcWdE9Z_kfnd4czGetYFsbgbkuA9FuOA3iHMs235uZGNO9sZIQnd7AHio97mXq-woDmtJzA/s2400/573682-gettyimages-3111571.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1612" data-original-width="2400" height="215" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg98Y6vtGb-a7XHH2Pei2Y8w4ib2-mmhoL8F1K4aGWLFu259ziqdPhAxIW26OG6SEaFzADfMQmayGIogmKjA7NRMk_8ROHUdytNQn5y5YaXZBEMrhhpcWdE9Z_kfnd4czGetYFsbgbkuA9FuOA3iHMs235uZGNO9sZIQnd7AHio97mXq-woDmtJzA/s320/573682-gettyimages-3111571.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />In 1948, Ed Sullivan began hosting a weekly variety series on CBS-TV. His background as a newspaper columnist served him well — he had an unerring instinct for what people wanted to see, and he used his unique power to become an influential American gatekeeper for most of the 1950s and ’60s. We take a look a Sullivan’s influence, including “blessing” Elvis Presley and the Beatles by praising them on the air and reassuring anxious parents of teenagers. We also review his feuds with the likes of Steve Allen, Jackie Mason and Buddy Holly.</span><br /><br /><p><iframe data-link="https://www.podbean.com/media/player/sxfn4-7dc91b?from=yiiadmin" data-name="pb-iframe-player" frameborder="0" height="100" scrolling="no" src="https://www.podbean.com/media/player/sxfn4-7dc91b?from=yiiadmin" width="100%"></iframe> </p>Davidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05128111077794801640noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3428647353853444922.post-75200907544729951822023-09-03T12:38:00.002-04:002023-09-03T12:38:50.916-04:00Pre-Code vs. Post-Code: "The Criminal Code" and "Convicted"<p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFjVhbjhC1f-Q-875zAnisAAz9tGJpnCkF8dkG8XAMijDHnY0ZKT49a6k60CEM7MaShL5C1FU9qUCqKLxAGBLjZOPIL8_YLRqfiHqiOx2dWMVnMyVCkRgOzMCDP8M6-fa3MNnA02-N1g/s1600/CriminalCode-1931-Columbia-oneB.jpeg" style="clear: left; display: inline; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFjVhbjhC1f-Q-875zAnisAAz9tGJpnCkF8dkG8XAMijDHnY0ZKT49a6k60CEM7MaShL5C1FU9qUCqKLxAGBLjZOPIL8_YLRqfiHqiOx2dWMVnMyVCkRgOzMCDP8M6-fa3MNnA02-N1g/s320/CriminalCode-1931-Columbia-oneB.jpeg" width="213" /></a><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;"><span>The title of the 1931 film <b>"The Criminal Code,"</b> based on Martin Flavin's 1929 play, refers </span><span>to two different codes -- the one in the law books, cut and dried and in black and white, administered by men like district attorney Martin Brady (Walter Huston). The other is the unofficial code among prison inmates to protect each other, even if it leads to physical abuse or solitary confinement.</span></span></p><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Bob Graham (Phillips Holmes) is </span>one of those inmates. He was sent up the river by Brady, and when Brady is named warden of the prison where Graham is serving his time, their paths cross again, as do the paths of Graham and Brady's daughter, Mary (Constance Cummings).<br /><br />The 1931 film, directed by Howard Hawks, has an Oscar-nominated screenplay by Seton I. Miller and Fred Niblo, Jr. And it's a much bleaker view of prison life, with morally dicey characters to match, than its 1950 remake, <b>"Convicted." (</b>Miller and Niblo are also credited with the screenplay of "Convicted," along with William Bowers.)</span><br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBEM0ZTF9fKMM4Su1fHVq_IcuZzYZxLg17VZ6HZtC13oWdyRyOuTxLWhmy1DQhIdUvy6S4X1pna7SZuZz_x9Rio7Sqks7aT6lTheKKcmqPJZV3i_mOsJiSUGA6IO0hM3GptrgrupdIrQ/s1600/ConvictedPoster.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBEM0ZTF9fKMM4Su1fHVq_IcuZzYZxLg17VZ6HZtC13oWdyRyOuTxLWhmy1DQhIdUvy6S4X1pna7SZuZz_x9Rio7Sqks7aT6lTheKKcmqPJZV3i_mOsJiSUGA6IO0hM3GptrgrupdIrQ/s320/ConvictedPoster.jpg" width="208" /></a></div><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;">In "Convicted," Broderick Crawford is the D.A.-turned-warden, here named George Knowland. And Glenn Ford is the inmate, here named Joe Hufford. Dorothy Malone plays Knowland's daughter, Kay, even though in real life Crawford was only 14 years older than Malone.<br /><br />The characters of Brady and Knowland are similar on the surface -- assured, self-made men who believe in the system and in the sanctity of the law. But Brady has rougher edges -- he smokes stogies as opposed to Knowland, who prefers a more professorial pipe. And Brady is a bit of a politician -- he is given the warden's job as consolation for a losing race for governor, and he's always worried how things will look to his enemies. By contrast, Knowland is more able to see life's gray areas, if just barely.<br /><br />The movie begins with a death -- the son of a prominent political figure has been killed by accident in a nightclub fight. The character played by Holmes and Ford -- we'll call him Bob/Joe -- is the "killer," although both prosecutors know that the act was accidental and in self-defense.<br /><br />"Tough luck, Bob," Brady tells Bob in the 1931 film, "but that's the way things go ... you gotta take 'em the way they fall."<br /><br />But Bob doesn't have to take 'em that way, and Brady knows it -- but he doesn't tell Bob.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;">"If that kid belonged to me," Brady tells his assistant (and no one else), "I'd make a plea of self-defense and fight it out. I'd get him out ... he'd never serve a day. A thing like this is liable to happen to anyone."<br /><br />Brady is content to "let things fall" and let Bob face the music. Bob's counsel is just this side of incompetent -- he's a corporate attorney, hired by the brokerage house Bob works for, who knows nothing about criminal law. And Brady offers no guidance whatsoever.<br /><br />In the 1950 film, Knowland at least advises Joe's attorney to hire a criminal lawyer. But it's for naught.<br /><br />As expected, Bob/Joe is convicted of manslaughter and sentenced to 10 years in prison. In the 1931 film, Brady stands stoically by as the sentence is passed and a bailiff picks his teeth. Bob's useless attorney blows off the whole thing with a simple "the best man won, I'm afraid" as Bob is taken away to the big house. In the 1950 film, Knowland at least shows some pangs of conscience -- he tells off Joe's lousy lawyer -- and his humanity is further emphasized by having daughter Kay with him, noting his sadness:<br /></span><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/SrZrkABObs4" width="420"></iframe></div><br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/ySuhxMKQaiw" width="420"></iframe></div><br /><div></div><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;">In prison, Bob/Joe makes friends with his two cellmates. One plans to escape; the other (Boris Karloff in the 1931 film, Millard Mitchell in the 1950 film) wants to off the yard master. Seems the head bull caught the prisoner, just after he was paroled, having a beer. Thanks to that parole violation, the prisoner is back in stir -- for 12 years. (That's one heck of a beer.)<br /><br />Despite all that, Bob/Joe's best friends are his cellmates, and between them they illustrate that other criminal code -- the one that isn't in the law books.<br /><br />Bob has been in prison, wasting away, for six years before Brady becomes warden; in the 1950 film, Joe has only been in for three years before Knowland's arrival. Because Brady/Knowland is responsible for putting so many of the inmates behind bars, they greet his arrival with "yammering" -- a long, loud series of growls. Both men decide that the only way to deal with the uprising in the prison yard is to confront the yammerers:</span><br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/pc01A_P8W4Q" width="420"></iframe></div><br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/6a_4QqHQia4" width="420"></iframe></div><br /><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;">Meanwhile, Bob has been falling apart in prison. He works every day in the prison's dirty, dusty jute mill, spinning fiber into burlap. Then he receives word that his only contact with the outside world -- his mother -- has died. This leads to a breakdown in the jute mill and, after a doctor's intervention, Brady appoints Bob as his chauffeur.<br /><br />In "Convicted," Joe is close to his father. and while he's in stir, Kay visits the old guy, creating a bond between she and Joe even before they meet. As opposed to Bob's stint in the jute mill, Joe works in the prison laundry -- not a perfect setting, but at least it's cleaner. Joe's breakdown occurs when he learns of his father's death, and as a result he's put into solitary -- it isn't until he's released from there that he joins Knowland's staff as chauffeur.<br /></span><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVtxyiCwhH_1M-mjY8tRQy_uZsGTj3r5rK0EwCMawxEInFiWZA7aC-AhcnRD0N4HkO60xHifLx9yMeHHCsIiVaWGb0BZS-O3SRH4ZvAfXTtgOzHY0IO5sDgpYEGMTP0YDjNgVhVx0iHQ/s1600/criminal1.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVtxyiCwhH_1M-mjY8tRQy_uZsGTj3r5rK0EwCMawxEInFiWZA7aC-AhcnRD0N4HkO60xHifLx9yMeHHCsIiVaWGb0BZS-O3SRH4ZvAfXTtgOzHY0IO5sDgpYEGMTP0YDjNgVhVx0iHQ/s320/criminal1.jpg" width="185" /></a></div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1ESZAOF_y-zGJ9T9qAdXdL_G46kRPOtp66LOI69nfQN7psCCFBRiMLKUIfXiIzB4tazzv56Kom-gvc3-vmtyWyQpudbwId3HZrxZxxMX3cEgzppuJ9uohEF9_z5UezbqPPmLerDIoiA/s1600/convicted1.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1ESZAOF_y-zGJ9T9qAdXdL_G46kRPOtp66LOI69nfQN7psCCFBRiMLKUIfXiIzB4tazzv56Kom-gvc3-vmtyWyQpudbwId3HZrxZxxMX3cEgzppuJ9uohEF9_z5UezbqPPmLerDIoiA/s320/convicted1.jpg" width="239" /></a><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;">Still, Joe's time in solitary doesn't seem to affect him as much as Bob's. In general, in fact, Holmes looks like hell for a good part of this movie, while Ford looks like ... Ford.<br /><br />As the prison chauffeur, Bob/Joe spends more time driving around the warden's daughter than he does the warden himself. And things start improving as prisoner and daughter are drawn to each other.<br /><br />Then comes a crisis, one involving both of Bob/Joe's cellmates. One attempts to escape, only to be shot and killed because one of his co-conspirators was a stool pigeon. The other cellmate -- the one determined to kill the yard warden -- also sets his sights on the stoolie.<br /><br />Warden Brady/Knowland is hiding the stoolie in his office.<br /><br />"I gotta get him off my hands," Brady says to the head of the parole board. "Pardoned, paroled transferred -- anything!" So he has no hesitation about letting the guy go. Knowland is more principled -- he wants the guy transferred, but not set free.<br /></span><br /><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpo9L3xgxR04dVFS1hPqpTTY2J0GUA-Dsgrb_t93RNckryI9eBZqIzLWEImxan0vSY7LOfezVuMy9usIAYrUU5pMOWFmIjrXp4Mm5ZfDOpxKjAx94qcngkmYNxtudBIIx4jkzoVsIU1g/s1600/New+Movie+%252810%2529.Movie_Snapshot.jpg" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpo9L3xgxR04dVFS1hPqpTTY2J0GUA-Dsgrb_t93RNckryI9eBZqIzLWEImxan0vSY7LOfezVuMy9usIAYrUU5pMOWFmIjrXp4Mm5ZfDOpxKjAx94qcngkmYNxtudBIIx4jkzoVsIU1g/s320/New+Movie+%252810%2529.Movie_Snapshot.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This guy doesn't need Frankenstein makeup.</td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;">But it ends up being a moot point very quickly, because Bob/Joe's cellmate, who works as the warden's cook, sneaks into the warden's office and knifes the pigeon. (Karloff is supremely scary as the cellmate in the 1931 film; in the 1950 film, Millard Mitchell seems a lot more comfortable as a convict than he does as a studio head in "Singin' in the Rain.") The only witness to the murder is Bob/Joe, who won't talk, and he ends up in solitary, as much to save the warden's pride as anything.<br /><br />It falls to the warden's daughter to set her father straight:<br /></span><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/3pvNscIYmSw" width="420"></iframe></div><br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/1LLlSGyf_qs" width="420"></iframe></div><br /><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;">Bob/Joe is released from solitary and paroled, and the "happy" ending fits each film's tone -- Brady looks a little uneasy at the idea of his daughter marrying a convict, even a noble one; and Knowland and Joe joke about his picking up the daughter as nonchalantly as if it was a Saturday night date.</span>Davidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05128111077794801640noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3428647353853444922.post-64248312651117897082023-08-27T15:20:00.007-04:002023-08-27T15:20:54.957-04:00"The Las Vegas Story," or Craps-ablanca<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikMdWEi10oboc76-OEc41mg8d9EgawpD4-FHBFVkHVMYYaHIKAZs8Kd6FBfGF1qn1zHWdZAGeT5yd-BzBN-4PIJ96yuxTfuSKaz_XNg-jHEkKelv84QWkmbypROlmTiz9WZkJ2fLS7tg/s1600/rko.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="162" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikMdWEi10oboc76-OEc41mg8d9EgawpD4-FHBFVkHVMYYaHIKAZs8Kd6FBfGF1qn1zHWdZAGeT5yd-BzBN-4PIJ96yuxTfuSKaz_XNg-jHEkKelv84QWkmbypROlmTiz9WZkJ2fLS7tg/s200/rko.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;">Everything below this logo is made up.</span></td></tr>
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<u><b><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;">RKO INTEROFFICE MEMO</span></b></u></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;"><i>February 2, 1952</i><br />
<i><br />To: Howard Hughes, RKO President</i><br />
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<i>From: Charles Foster Schmutz, RKO Legal Department</i><br />
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Chief --<br />
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First off, let me say it's nice to communicate with you. We haven't seen you around the studio since Preston Sturges gave you a swirly in the men's room. And also allow me to thank you belatedly for your Christmas gift -- the nail clippings certainly were packaged attractively. I am especially appreciative considering that many of the other executives received what I believe to be Mason jars full of urine.</span><br />
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Now, down to cases. As you know, we have received a letter from the legal department at Warner Bros. alleging that RKO's newest, most exciting, most brilliant, triumphant film spectacular of this or any year, <b><a href="http://www.tcm.com/tcmdb/title/80788/The-Las-Vegas-Story/" target="_blank">"The Las Vegas Story,"</a></b> is a blatant copy of "Casablanca." I have reviewed this letter and can refute these allegations completely. Here they are, one by one:<br /></span>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgiGe0MVxIe72TO-ii_S1HWbPqQn2YTOIoJYjc1sqTkAz314eyLpRs839DwzyjS3hQj6tx3l1VoA4HJ3hvt23sIgtl16zNQVr3vnQ3To-B6XGhGbq9tPjBzoN8yaX1z2qoaCUjKUGBLDA/s1600/lv1.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgiGe0MVxIe72TO-ii_S1HWbPqQn2YTOIoJYjc1sqTkAz314eyLpRs839DwzyjS3hQj6tx3l1VoA4HJ3hvt23sIgtl16zNQVr3vnQ3To-B6XGhGbq9tPjBzoN8yaX1z2qoaCUjKUGBLDA/s200/lv1.jpg" width="200" /></a></div><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;">
1. The Warner letter states: <i>"A story of romance and betrayal set in a city that is teeming with corruption and violence, "Casablanca" begins when cafe owner Richard Blaine is confronted once again with his great love, Ilsa Lund, who deserted him in Paris. "The Las Vegas Story" opens exactly like "Casablanca," by showing us a map of the region and then focusing on the city. Here a local police detective, Lt. David Andrews (<a href="http://www.tcm.com/tcmdb/person/125074%7C150995/Victor-Mature/" target="_blank">Victor Mature</a>) is confronted once again with his great love, Linda Rollins (<a href="http://www.tcm.com/tcmdb/person/167425%7C79325/Jane-Russell/" target="_blank">Jane Russell</a>), who deserted him as Ilsa did Rick."</i><br />
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Ha! Well, Chief, I don't have to tell you that "The Las Vegas Story" is TOTALLY different from "Casablanca." For one thing, is Casablanca the same city as Las Vegas? I think not! Just as the map of Africa is completely different from the map of Nevada! Is Las Vegas "teeming with corruption and violence"? Of course not! And just look at the character names -- Rick and Ilsa, David and Linda. TOTALLY different.</span><br />
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2. The Warner letter further states: <i>"In "Casablanca," Ilsa is with her husband, Victor Lazlo, and visits Rick's bar. The first person she sees is Sam, a philosophical piano player whose music, particularly the song "As Time Goes By," plays an important role in establishing the story's poignancy and romance. In "The Las Vegas Story," Linda has returned with her husband, Lloyd (<a href="http://www.tcm.com/tcmdb/person/155292%7C151397/Vincent-Price/" target="_blank">Vincent Price</a>). The first person she sees is Happy (<a href="http://www.tcm.com/tcmdb/person/29125%7C70821/Hoagy-Carmichael/" target="_blank">Hoagy Carmichael</a>), a philosophical piano player whose music, particularly "I Get Along Without You Very Well," plays an important role in establishing the story's poignancy and romance." </i></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCMBiI-WzKbeoZmYmJGo22dKR7qEpA1LW1tYjOhjHecgnZvegSdVvaxFUkpcxipki6xSP_Rj0pim7PIaW7wDDc0wV0CDugwy4t4-7CdVUMeT0iw9m-IlHVgsHPzXGKkgozbGBnkQABOw/s1600/las1.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCMBiI-WzKbeoZmYmJGo22dKR7qEpA1LW1tYjOhjHecgnZvegSdVvaxFUkpcxipki6xSP_Rj0pim7PIaW7wDDc0wV0CDugwy4t4-7CdVUMeT0iw9m-IlHVgsHPzXGKkgozbGBnkQABOw/s200/las1.jpg" width="200" /></a><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;">Ha! We've caught them with their pants down on this one, chief. The arrival of Lloyd and Linda in Las Vegas is TOTALLY different than the arrival in "Casablanca" -- unlike Ilsa and Victor, Lloyd and Linda come to Las Vegas by TRAIN! Also, unlike Sam, Happy is white.</span><br />
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3. Finally, the Warner letter says: <i>"In "Casabalanca," the empathetic side of Rick Blaine is highlighted through his efforts to help a young couple escape from the city while avoiding the romantic blackmail of police Capt. Renault, who is trying to seduce the wife. Rick arranges for them to win just enough money at roulette to pay for their passage. In "The Las Vegas Story," the empathetic side of David is highlighted through his efforts to help a young couple who have run away to get married in Las Vegas."</i> <br />
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Well, Chief, the runaways in "Casablanca" and "The Las Vegas Story" are TOTALLY different. In our movie, the boy has blond hair.</span><br />
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In conclusion, Chief, there are no grounds whatsoever to the Warner claims. Our movie centers around a stolen diamond necklace, while "Casablanca" centers around stolen letters of transit. And our movie ends with a helicopter chase! Unless I'm mistaken, there were no helicopters used during World War II. But there were plenty of Nazis, which are TOTALLY missing in "The Las Vegas Story."<br />
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I think that's it, Chief. Say hello to Faith Domergue for me.<br /></span>
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<br />Davidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05128111077794801640noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3428647353853444922.post-12479630765754829372023-08-21T13:45:00.004-04:002023-08-21T13:51:20.453-04:00Pre-Code vs Post-Code: "Whistling in the Dark"<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;"><span><p><span style="font-family: inherit;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsZUajgUC3ATBrqUNpf5k5C6VWuHvKkMEQOa716T4wo2S5q1GeOfXRmiE44VsOBLkr95ZfgkHaV4Sfss5GKpUnylLo9gzxhodcQ4MTUuS_ghZTUO7eeoJbu68opMb3CFEkNvUchH1o-TR0NhhLzOQv3_q6r6oImc_LKYz1JxOOalFmqJ6Mi7h3xtqw/s358/Whistling_in_the_Dark_(1933_film).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="279" data-original-width="358" height="249" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsZUajgUC3ATBrqUNpf5k5C6VWuHvKkMEQOa716T4wo2S5q1GeOfXRmiE44VsOBLkr95ZfgkHaV4Sfss5GKpUnylLo9gzxhodcQ4MTUuS_ghZTUO7eeoJbu68opMb3CFEkNvUchH1o-TR0NhhLzOQv3_q6r6oImc_LKYz1JxOOalFmqJ6Mi7h3xtqw/s320/Whistling_in_the_Dark_(1933_film).jpg" width="320" /></a></span></div><span style="font-family: inherit;">Usually when we compare pre-code and post-code versions of the same movie, the big differences are in the tone or in dialogue of the films, with the pre-code example a more sophisticated -- and yet more earthy -- version of each.</span><p></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit;">In the case of the 1933 and 1941 versions of </span><b style="font-family: inherit;">"Whistling in the Dark,"</b><span style="font-family: inherit;"> however, the difference is more than that, and it comes down to the leads in both films -- the subtle, Broadway-inflected performance of </span><a href="http://www.tcm.com/tcmdb/person/194451%7C48692/Ernest-Truex/" style="font-family: inherit;" target="_blank">Ernest Truex</a><span style="font-family: inherit;"> in the 1933 version and the more exaggerated performance of </span><a href="http://www.tcm.com/tcmdb/person/178763%7C128476/Red-Skelton/" style="font-family: inherit;" target="_blank">Red Skelton</a><span style="font-family: inherit;"> in the 1941 film, informed by his work on the radio and in vaudeville.</span></p></span></span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpkmMIr7ffhwxIg0nBjDHh7laF8cwUpeGpfPQBsPkiC-3bLXD8qI-YGv9yft56kPxSLd5qJi4kb8uLncJ917DVdfl4TJSn3zZIVyITs-ycKwJxPdLXru3K0eEgeDxG40ymc66Tt41MZw/s1600/Whistling_in_the_Dark_FilmPoster.jpeg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpkmMIr7ffhwxIg0nBjDHh7laF8cwUpeGpfPQBsPkiC-3bLXD8qI-YGv9yft56kPxSLd5qJi4kb8uLncJ917DVdfl4TJSn3zZIVyITs-ycKwJxPdLXru3K0eEgeDxG40ymc66Tt41MZw/s320/Whistling_in_the_Dark_FilmPoster.jpeg" width="215" /></span></a></div><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;"><span>Opening on Broadway in 1932, <a href="http://www.tcm.com/tcmdb/title/4837/Whistling-in-the-Dark/" target="_blank">"Whistling in the Dark"</a> by Laurence Gross and Edward Childs Carpenter came to the screen in 1933 with two of its main leads intact -- <a href="http://www.tcm.com/tcmdb/person/5769%7C44417/Edward-Arnold/" target="_blank">Edward Arnold</a> as gangster Dillon and Truex as Wallace Porter, a best-selling author of mysteries who is forced into planning a real-life murder by Dillon and his associates. The author of the screenplay and the film's director is our old friend <a href="http://moviedavid.blogspot.com/2014/12/the-elliott-nugent-film-festival-wise.html" target="_blank">Elliott Nugent</a>.<br /><br />Dillon works for crime boss Lombardo (C. Henry Gordon) and is trying to extort protection money from stubborn brewer Otto Barfuss (our old friend <a href="http://moviedavid.blogspot.com/2013/01/the-joseph-cawthorn-film-festival-white.html" target="_blank">Joseph Cawthorn</a>). When Wally and his fiancee Toby (<a href="http://www.tcm.com/tcmdb/person/130179%7C149368/Una-Merkel/" target="_blank">Una Merkel</a>), on their way to get married, encounter car trouble just outside of Lombardo's estate, Wally meets Dillon and brags about his crime-solving expertise. Dillon holds Wally and Toby captive at the estate until Wally formulates a perfect murder plan that the gangsters can use on Barfuss.</span><br /></span><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br />Since prohibition and its related opportunities for crime were a moot point in 1941, the later version of <a href="http://www.tcm.com/tcmdb/title/12898/Whistling-in-the-Dark/" target="_blank">"Whistling in the Dark"</a> changes the gangster's estate to a "sanitarium" run by cult leader Jones (<a href="http://www.tcm.com/tcmdb/person/197845%7C33894/Conrad-Veidt/" target="_blank">Conrad Veidt</a>), whose racket is charming wealthy old ladies into joining his group and then leaving their earthly belongings to him when they pass.</span><br /><br /></span><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQO9icF-62cQkv1xk_yWcAoTC3MGQ6natB-R2tOh4YClVVtrt1rYggpbLbrau0eFiq6jNFDucGRTBAUzWA97SfQMuFhqxfZiuVpqbwkaKL4w4AYWzLXHnN9TKrhq78HP1TAHGsvarvVg/s1600/w1941gif1.gif" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><img border="0" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQO9icF-62cQkv1xk_yWcAoTC3MGQ6natB-R2tOh4YClVVtrt1rYggpbLbrau0eFiq6jNFDucGRTBAUzWA97SfQMuFhqxfZiuVpqbwkaKL4w4AYWzLXHnN9TKrhq78HP1TAHGsvarvVg/s320/w1941gif1.gif" width="320" /></span></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Wally tries his sponsor's product.</span></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;">The 1941 film also changes Wally's character to someone much more suited to Skelton's style of broad, visual comedy. Wally is still a crime expert, but here he is "The Fox," the hero of a radio show who, every night, foils the bad guys and saves Carol (<a href="http://www.tcm.com/tcmdb/person/167642%7C13428/Ann-Rutherford/" target="_blank">Ann Rutherford</a>), an actress who is also Wally's real-life girlfriend. The scene introducing Skelton's character nicely establishes that premise and shows us some fun footage of a radio show being produced: </span><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div> <br /><br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/nkcWf-yCTAs" width="420"></iframe></div><br /><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;">The opening also establishes that the 1941 version of Wally has not one but three women in his life -- Carol; Fran, the sponsor's daughter (Virginia Grey); and his business manager, Buzz (Eve Arden, not utilized enough). The evil Jones visits Wally and poses as a prospective sponsor for his show -- then when he gets Wally out to his estate, Jones forces him to plan the murder of an heir who is standing between Jones and a cult member's fortune. Carol and Fran end up at the mansion too, held captive with Wally.<br /><br />In both films, Wally tries unsuccessfully to call for help, with Truex's underplaying taking the honors here -- he tries to make the call as quietly as possible and ends up mumbling into the mouthpiece:</span><br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/6RhdVla5aOk" width="420"></iframe></div><br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/olaD5aljl1o" width="420"></iframe></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiir-QTkR7Z-hgMC8e_qeQBv0PXZ92QvphWAwW1KroDnHSCLqOTWSrv78AlpAcOhKAbmuynAF5XtMPsWh1DlupDjzVU9zhdnlKmPCIgwSNu6Fsr0NpY94xV25haqmyW9cXDHhqx1KDtQQ/s1600/New+Movie.Movie_Snapshot.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiir-QTkR7Z-hgMC8e_qeQBv0PXZ92QvphWAwW1KroDnHSCLqOTWSrv78AlpAcOhKAbmuynAF5XtMPsWh1DlupDjzVU9zhdnlKmPCIgwSNu6Fsr0NpY94xV25haqmyW9cXDHhqx1KDtQQ/s320/New+Movie.Movie_Snapshot.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;">The 1933 version of "Whistling in the Dark" contains several pre-code allusions, including cracks about bank failures and the stock market crash. Wally also drinks quite a bit. And there's an interesting scene that isn't in the 1941 version at all -- convinced that the gangsters will kill them, Wally and Toby lock themselves into a bedroom and exchange their wedding rings in their own ceremony. Toby then strips down to her camisole and hops into bed, ready to consummate the marriage while Wally flutters about, not knowing what to do.</span><br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJwdH7r4_MlXzPSZh_FDbMbc9ukUByuYxmIFjYc9p9quhVgA4iXNXM4vGSo2rtXqcpnKUwm19Ds3Prs_vRpe3KgYmYShIb6k2cw12D_jRul2ol7ueBtxzWfZ0Rpxz4a7lkhjvStDuX8Q/s1600/w1941gif5.gif" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJwdH7r4_MlXzPSZh_FDbMbc9ukUByuYxmIFjYc9p9quhVgA4iXNXM4vGSo2rtXqcpnKUwm19Ds3Prs_vRpe3KgYmYShIb6k2cw12D_jRul2ol7ueBtxzWfZ0Rpxz4a7lkhjvStDuX8Q/s320/w1941gif5.gif" width="320" /></a></div><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">On the other hand, there's a scene in the 1941 version that isn't in the 1933 film, and it's likely inspired by the success of "The Ghost Breakers" of the year before, a haunted house movie with Bob Hope and Paulette Goddard. It involves Skelton, Rutherford and Grey trying to escape by following a secret passageway and running across assorted skeletons and mummies designed to supply a quick fright/laugh to the audience.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: inherit;">Wally does end up concocting a plan for murder that involves slipping poison into the victim's toothpaste tube. Once the gang leaves to implement the plan, Wally starts trying to contact the authorities by rigging up a radio to use as a transmitter. One of the denser gangsters finds out (played by Nat Pendleton in the 1933 film and Rags Ragland in the 1941 film), and Wally pretends he's doing a radio broadcast to throw the guy off. Here's how the scene plays out in both films:</span></span><br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/MEPYcWqzoMw" width="420"></iframe></div><br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/JcfkvuscUPA" width="420"></iframe></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3xhN_qoKw9bMWdyIRuP53ndl-zdhYArDMJUweAVbdwhBn70Rl4ssLKjh_cuk-eKcM-WvdNZe9GVXLiILeOzifC0xf0vLpEvKCRBhDpyrhcLV3FNcw0LRmvqPjZtyoFrqDGCUtiAyGuw/s1600/w1933gif1.gif" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3xhN_qoKw9bMWdyIRuP53ndl-zdhYArDMJUweAVbdwhBn70Rl4ssLKjh_cuk-eKcM-WvdNZe9GVXLiILeOzifC0xf0vLpEvKCRBhDpyrhcLV3FNcw0LRmvqPjZtyoFrqDGCUtiAyGuw/s320/w1933gif1.gif" width="320" /></a></div><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">When it comes to pacing, the 1941 version of "Whistling in the Dark" has it all over the 1933 version. The older version is too stagebound - it pretty much takes place in the one room where Wally and Toby are being held. And as good as Truex might have been on stage, his small stature and diffident comic manner don't translate very well to film. By contrast, for better or worse, Skelton pitches his performance to the back row, but it works. I'm not much of a Skelton fan, especially when it comes to his later sloppy TV performances, which can display a breathtaking contempt for the audience, but here he's fresh and funny.<br /></span><br /><span style="font-family: inherit;">The 1941 version of "Whistling in the Dark" was much more popular than the 1933 one -- so popular that Skelton appeared in two sequels. As for Truex, he alternated between Broadway and Hollywood, appearing in the films "Bachelor Mother" and "Christmas in July," among others, and the play "George Washington Slept Here," which was made into a 1942 film with Jack Benny. Truex also appeared in two episodes of "The Twilight Zone," including the classic "Kick the Can."</span></span></div>Davidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05128111077794801640noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3428647353853444922.post-5778417428686387892023-08-15T12:35:00.005-04:002023-08-15T12:36:52.328-04:00"Call Her Savage," or Texas Hold 'Em<p> <i style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;">The personal, private, top, top super-secret diary of Nasa Springer</span></b></i></p><div style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;"><strike>No</strike> boys allowed! (tee-hee)</span></i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilch8yuJ7kqR_MI1xHEy2qYfE_QDexsGTYthO4BS9UEEfoAyMhCsFZbrbCs4FZq2PfNLK9yjPyJjGmS_sYVMGe_HfblNxCIwLvHZWgUi6EeSdF17CSWPgaYxfHnfbZHB1FYowrzoi49Q/s1600/callgif1.gif" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;"><img border="0" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilch8yuJ7kqR_MI1xHEy2qYfE_QDexsGTYthO4BS9UEEfoAyMhCsFZbrbCs4FZq2PfNLK9yjPyJjGmS_sYVMGe_HfblNxCIwLvHZWgUi6EeSdF17CSWPgaYxfHnfbZHB1FYowrzoi49Q/s1600/callgif1.gif" width="320" /></span></a><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;"><i>June 12, 1932</i><br /><br />Dear Diary:<br /><br />Just got back from riding my horses across our vast Texas estate. We stopped for a water break at Dallas and then got as far as Amarillo before we turned back. Oh, and I savagely killed a rattlesnake with a whip. No wonder that whenever people refer to me, they say, <b>"Call Her Savage"</b>!<br /></span><br /><i><br /></i><i><br /></i><i><br /></i><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRlf5bSjX8-6yULjUvZ2nu7PQFRaHc29xap5yBzW-tBlmHYJi1Z8xQ2rm1CPvTd98JAPAuZVv9fVO9466aQULwq7DfoBlLoD9j5UBNGe_oiFgV3UAl7KiGwNnVdapdiNFDpMFU-l4GxA/s1600/callgif3.gif" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRlf5bSjX8-6yULjUvZ2nu7PQFRaHc29xap5yBzW-tBlmHYJi1Z8xQ2rm1CPvTd98JAPAuZVv9fVO9466aQULwq7DfoBlLoD9j5UBNGe_oiFgV3UAl7KiGwNnVdapdiNFDpMFU-l4GxA/s1600/callgif3.gif" width="320" /></a></div><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;"><i>June 13, 1932</i><br /><br /></span><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Dear Diary:</span><br /><br />Did I mention I love horses? I love their smooth skin, their tight hindquarters, their bulging muscles, their sinewy legs ... and did I mention I also like boys? Oh, and also today my temper got the best of me again and I crashed a guitar over someone's head.<br /></span><br /><br /><i><br /></i><i><br /></i><i><br /></i><i><br /></i><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiiAhZEPcFtolt_PM10rLIsh2mvRsEaThQkQDt-Zkj9rxlIbzEwe_Y0bBEzSx3J0Smhcu9748yDB5l0kNfUTFDQv-F_tGTAZoY8xgghw7L9xFrnvyoIAjopmyg3V2Oqp6_Jgff26G7SrQ/s1600/callgif2.gif" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiiAhZEPcFtolt_PM10rLIsh2mvRsEaThQkQDt-Zkj9rxlIbzEwe_Y0bBEzSx3J0Smhcu9748yDB5l0kNfUTFDQv-F_tGTAZoY8xgghw7L9xFrnvyoIAjopmyg3V2Oqp6_Jgff26G7SrQ/s1600/callgif2.gif" width="320" /></a></div><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;"><i>June 14, 1932</i><br /><br />Dear Diary:<br /><br />Father is mad at me again! All I did was bring a family of rabid possums into the house and interrupt some silly cotillion or something. Oh, and I forgot to put on underwear. The babies were so cute! The possums, I mean. But daddy was having none of it. He just gave me an angry look the way he always does, and said, "She's no daughter of mine!" And mother gave him a funny look and said, "You don't know how right you are!" Wonder what she means by that?</span><div><br /></div><div><br /><br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgq02zij4hN2Zk1L8I8Yzgx4LFOS0sXu6LF6MNyPl_6czsYeB37qPfUNOH_ul-dTT7ab_fTklSJ7EzRbA4o7ztzAeuIo3_850518ETYBPdwXmfWlwcT4-E8sOHvZ1a3ffiIb9KhANkW-A/s1600/callgif4.gif" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgq02zij4hN2Zk1L8I8Yzgx4LFOS0sXu6LF6MNyPl_6czsYeB37qPfUNOH_ul-dTT7ab_fTklSJ7EzRbA4o7ztzAeuIo3_850518ETYBPdwXmfWlwcT4-E8sOHvZ1a3ffiIb9KhANkW-A/s1600/callgif4.gif" width="320" /></a></div><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;"><i>June 15, 1932</i><br /><br />Dear Diary:<br /><br />Well, now I'm in Chicago attending finishing school. I've been on my very best behavior, which means I have reduced my fighting to once a week. Oh, and I've met the most wonderful man! He looks just like that actor in the movies, <a href="http://moviedavid.blogspot.com/2012/07/the-monroe-owsley-film-festival-ten.html" target="_blank">Monroe Owsley</a>. Except that in the movies Monroe Owsley always plays rotten cads, and this man seems great! I'm sure things will work out perfectly! P.S. I have learned enough in finishing school to know that you don't put an apostrophe in "kayos," silly<i> Daily Express</i>! P.P.S. I am wearing underwear more often.</span></div><div><br /><br /><br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZJNysbmzCsFledndeg2J8dbj-3D9NTkvdg_xhv74xaB3KIC1fHsUc-30_BaMQCEM3uB7xxazE_JRJAf5h02h7kIbg9i8AUJU_JGjbj-LJLJQjgWkMyqeWEQbB8I_5HtCKFI8Czz09HQ/s1600/callgif5.gif" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZJNysbmzCsFledndeg2J8dbj-3D9NTkvdg_xhv74xaB3KIC1fHsUc-30_BaMQCEM3uB7xxazE_JRJAf5h02h7kIbg9i8AUJU_JGjbj-LJLJQjgWkMyqeWEQbB8I_5HtCKFI8Czz09HQ/s1600/callgif5.gif" width="320" /></a></div><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;"><i>June 16, 1932</i><br /><br />Dear Diary:<br /><br />I've found out that married life has its challenges, especially when your husband turns out to be a congenitally unfaithful sociopath whose brain is being eaten by syphilis. But nobody's perfect. Oh, and I am pregnant.<br /></span><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2H1JwCJr6culxdj8qujqRwQqTv01lHWzeXtsmjTs4pixMSqxO7hw2YGTcHREU4VLdv0tk9AosHzPFiEj9_RrUU3aQCtqLY-SVIBenmSyIZner-dSgugNzQ58eYeRbnfahKeIk__HagA/s1600/callgif6.gif" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2H1JwCJr6culxdj8qujqRwQqTv01lHWzeXtsmjTs4pixMSqxO7hw2YGTcHREU4VLdv0tk9AosHzPFiEj9_RrUU3aQCtqLY-SVIBenmSyIZner-dSgugNzQ58eYeRbnfahKeIk__HagA/s1600/callgif6.gif" width="320" /></a></div><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;"><i>June 17, 1932</i><br /><br />Dear Diary:<br /><br />My baby is sick and my husband has deserted me, so in order to afford medicine I must walk the streets. I really don't have any other choice -- the only things I know how to do are ride horses and get into fights. So I went out and pretended to be very interested in a Bromo-Seltzer sign and one thing led to another. Oh, and while I was out my apartment building burned down.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;"> <br /></span><br /><br /><br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSJBQXkCc3reWNnGbg9-uD7uexmoLo_0ZuUEemVy5Y5T9oLEvZeAxAgIkcLxJ78S6MDk6QIXJdo4xQISbrnVoYUvRjFcRQUvtDrFHEbbM_vTs4oX1gwPR9hJKKlH2JHmcYvxceGDtJfg/s1600/callgif7.gif" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSJBQXkCc3reWNnGbg9-uD7uexmoLo_0ZuUEemVy5Y5T9oLEvZeAxAgIkcLxJ78S6MDk6QIXJdo4xQISbrnVoYUvRjFcRQUvtDrFHEbbM_vTs4oX1gwPR9hJKKlH2JHmcYvxceGDtJfg/s1600/callgif7.gif" width="320" /></a></div><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;"><i>June 18, 1932</i><br /><br />Dear Diary:<br /><br />You'll never believe this, but I'm wealthy again! My grandfather or whatever left me a lot of money, so I've been going out with very handsome men. I've learned to control my hot-blooded nature and I'm down to fighting only once a month. Or maybe twice. Oh, and under police orders I am allowed to eat off of only paper plates.</span></div><div><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFFFVw1Z7AlH6Bpmw-AsjR-a9AWk-7DxY77joHEhUqHpx9ChHSRv7Xqwet80BO5_IAeqQwA_dfUsbopT4ZxCsvIOO9RrODEYoctRCpYVnrLqD9Xk4VokC8zPfHaB0Cdb1Cyj_xz6R_6w/s1600/callgif8.gif" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFFFVw1Z7AlH6Bpmw-AsjR-a9AWk-7DxY77joHEhUqHpx9ChHSRv7Xqwet80BO5_IAeqQwA_dfUsbopT4ZxCsvIOO9RrODEYoctRCpYVnrLqD9Xk4VokC8zPfHaB0Cdb1Cyj_xz6R_6w/s1600/callgif8.gif" width="320" /></a></div><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;"><i>June 19, 1932</i><br /><br />Dear Diary:<br /><br />I have begun to seriously re-evaluate my relationships with men. What makes me such a savage around them? Why was I such a disappointment to my father? Why has my mother always had such an interest in Native American culture? What happened to those rabid possums? So many questions, diary, and so few mirrors!</span><br /><br /><br /><i><br /></i><i><br /></i><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdehSy9tdLGfeKeKvcE9TZ9Y1eVSdFxJZNSVsy9KlvUgd0jDPFxaefTo5TFIYWbPn0MlMbanNn523VJPnUQ-nTQdHQo1VCjUzlqVy_8oNfPKLLEt-T9032BXNPbdGvnTKWcwBDMc7N2w/s1600/callgif13.gif" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdehSy9tdLGfeKeKvcE9TZ9Y1eVSdFxJZNSVsy9KlvUgd0jDPFxaefTo5TFIYWbPn0MlMbanNn523VJPnUQ-nTQdHQo1VCjUzlqVy_8oNfPKLLEt-T9032BXNPbdGvnTKWcwBDMc7N2w/s1600/callgif13.gif" width="320" /></a></div><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;"><i>June 20, 1932</i><br /><br />Dear Diary:<br /><br />What a crazy month! It's been as tempestuous as my very nature! But now I am home again in Texas because my mother has passed away. In her final words, she pointed to my father and said, "He's not your real -- " and that was it! I'll never figure out what she meant! But my lifelong friend Moonglow is here, and today we went together to the wooded glen where I have so many happy memories of whipping rattlesnakes to death. And there, diary, I asked Moonglow the question that has long been on my mind ... </span></div>Davidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05128111077794801640noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3428647353853444922.post-59927599791779359012023-08-11T18:06:00.002-04:002023-08-11T18:06:15.293-04:00Podcast: Big Stars + Small Screens = Tiny Audiences<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiX_MVFosHliybuWmQWHNBmh9AyFnKy0DSWiwbdNjUuvpUE_8hZVdGxYlI1Dak3YGoIbvG2fhccMtXo3CaeYeAQOxZJ2zdW7s5y1xyDJfnBVd-rOQbm6_g5i5UseqmhEMZr9MsUx-WKUx_chuECByzCuMj-ZZW1mARxrebuu3dfAjvMKyN4QXhCtm68/s800/jimmy%20stewart.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="480" data-original-width="800" height="192" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiX_MVFosHliybuWmQWHNBmh9AyFnKy0DSWiwbdNjUuvpUE_8hZVdGxYlI1Dak3YGoIbvG2fhccMtXo3CaeYeAQOxZJ2zdW7s5y1xyDJfnBVd-rOQbm6_g5i5UseqmhEMZr9MsUx-WKUx_chuECByzCuMj-ZZW1mARxrebuu3dfAjvMKyN4QXhCtm68/s320/jimmy%20stewart.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div><br /></div>
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<br /><span face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><br /><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;">The big TV story in the fall of 1971 was that movie stars were coming to the tube, including James Stewart, Henry Fonda, Shirley MacLaine, Glenn Ford, Anthony Quinn, Rock Hudson and Tony Curtis, among others. Many of them turned to TV because movie roles were growing scarce, and for lucrative paychecks. But the vehicles they chose were garden variety TV — family sitcoms and cop shows — and viewers tuned out. We look at the highest-profile failures — <b>“The Jimmy Stewart Show,”</b> Shirley MacLaine’s <b>“Shirley’s World”</b> and Henry Fonda’s <b>“The Smith Family.”</b></span></span><br />
Davidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05128111077794801640noreply@blogger.com1