Is this the end?

things are not going very well for me right now. I will be taking a break from movie blogs. If you have read these blogs I do thank you.

August 4 Louis Armstrong

To celebrate Louis Armstrong’s birthday I watched A Song is Born. The film is a musical version of Ball of Fire. Danny Kaye and company are recording music. He realizes that they have been working for so long on the recordings that they did not know about jazz. Danny goes out into the world to hear it and invite the artists to the mansion to record. One of those musicians is Louis Armstrong. Louis basically is himself. He has a small role and a few spoken lines but is often on camera.

Enough is enough and there will be no more.

August 3 Delores del Rio

Happy Birthday to Tony Bennett and Delores del Rio

To celebrate Delores del Rio’s birthday I watched In Caliente. Pat O’Brian’s eyes glaze over for 2 things liquor and Delores del Rio. Pat plays an editor to a big New York magazine. Edward Everett Horton plays his friend and assistant. Pat is supposed to marry Glenda Farrell and Edward thinks she is a gold digger. Pat gets drunk and sleeps it off for over a day as Edward takes him unconscious to Caliente Mexico. Delores is a guest at the hotel, she is a famous dancer/singer. Her manager is a card cheat. Through a misunderstanding Edward thinks that she is an “adventuress” and hires her to entertain Pat, because upon seeing her Pat stated (paraphrasing) that was a woman he could give up drinking for. Delores agrees because Pat wrote a bad review of her performance in New York the year earlier. He called her “bag of bones”.

Pat falls for her. He falls in love very quickly. Edward tells Pat what he did. Pat still wants to marry her, but for revenge. Glenda then shows up when Delores and Pat are in an intimate moment. They argue and she won’t see him again. She decides to dance in the hotels show that night to prove to Pat that she is a good entertainer. In a very strange Berkley number there are horses and bandits as part of the production. Pat realizes he really is in love with Delores and chases after her. He gets her in the end and they marry.

The big production number is The Woman In Red. In the Berkley collection there is just a scene of the musical so I was interested in the movie. It is a 1935 release and I wonder how the costumes got through the production code. There is not a lot of skin showing but the gowns look like there is a lot of mesh with strategically placed embroidery.

Delores looks her best in this film. She is stylish and graceful. She flows when she moves. She has great facial bone structure. She pool dives a few times and seems like an expert, an arch down and there was very little splash.

July 31 Geraldine Chaplin

Happy Birthday to Geraldine Chaplin and Barry Van Dyke.

TCM showed Peppermint Frappe which stared Geraldine Chaplin technically the day after her birthday. This movie creeped me out a little bit. Geraldine plays a duel role. One as a brunette with a peaches and cream complexion, nurse who is somewhat dowdy and a wild blond, pale complexion who is married to the doctors best friend. The doctor seeing the similarities between the women seduces the nurse. The doctor invites the nurse and his married friends to dinner. The friends liberally drink. The nurse is late and the blond decides to go find her. She rides a bike with her husband following her. The nurse is hiding in the shadows of the house. The blond collapses and then her husband. The doctor follows in the car. He puts them both in the car. He drives to a cliff, gets out and then pushes the car off the cliff. When he gets back to the house the brunette is pretending to be the blond. They kiss. The end..

I really didn’t get the film. There was something about eyelashes and lipstick and legs (ok I get the legs) that was just weird. I don’t get why he spiked the drinks and killed the couple. I thought at first that maybe the brunette was jealous and spiked the drinks, but I watched the film again trying to understand the film and the doctor did not drink. He held the class but never actually drank.

August 1 Yvonne DeCarlo

At first I was worried about not being able to find most of the films for the August birthdays. There are two stars who have days devoted to them this month that were born in August, Lucille Ball (on her birthday) and Joan Blondell (not on her birthday). There are 8 others that have films being shown throughout the month. I am going to follow the order that is being shown, not necessarily the day.

To celebrate Yvonne DeCarlo’s birthday I watched Criss Cross. The beginning of the film shows her in the arms of Burt Lancaster in a parking lot. She goes inside club where her husband Dan Duryea is looking for her. In a flashback you find out that Burt and Yvonne were married. They talk about getting back together. Burt’s family and friends threaten her and tell her she is poison to stay away from Burt. She marries Dan, who beats her. Burt and Yvonne spend time together while Dan is out of town. Dan finds out and blackmails Burt who is an amour car driver into working on a heist. Something goes wrong and Burt’s partner is killed.

Burt is injured and hospitalized. The gang want the rest of the money and drag him out of the hospital. He convinces the man to take money and drive him to Yvonne. Yvonne is upset that he is there knowing Dan isn’t far behind. Yvonne packs to leave, taking the money and plans to leave Burt there, because you have to take care of yourself and an ill man would slow her down. As she leaves a car pulls up. It is Dan. Yvonne runs back into the house screaming Burt’s name. She runs to his arms, Dan comes in limping and he looks awful. Dan pulls out a gun and kills the couple. The sound of police sirens come closer and Dan leaves the house. The end. It seems to end abruptly. There are not really any good guys in the film, but there are different levels of badness. Burt who grudgingly went along. Yvonne is out for herself and will take what she can get. Dan who is just mean and nasty.

Yvonne will probably be most well known as Lilly Munster, but she is a talented beautiful actress.

July 27 Lynda Carter

Happy Birthday to Lynda Carter and Jennifer Lopez.

To celebrate Lynda Carter’s birthday I watched the first season of Wonder Woman. There are 3 Halloween costumes I remember wearing: a sailor suit (my dad’s), Cinderella and Wonder Woman. The last two were the plastic dress and cape and a plastic mask that had a string that didn’t stay connected and little holes for the mouth (which felt like it was hard to breathe) and eyes (which made it difficult to see).

I forgot the story took place as it was originally written in the comic books during WWII. Henry Gibson and Kenneth Mars play Nazi soldiers who plot to bomb NY with a plane and a submarine. Lyle Waggoner plays a US officer/pilot who goes after the Nazi plane. He shoots down the plane and looses his own plane in the process. He lands on a beach where Lynda Carter, a princess finds him. Her mother is played by Cloris Leachman, a well jeweled Queen who created the Paradise Island where there are no men, but the Queen acts like she misses one aspect of men.

To decide who will take Lyle back to his own country a tournament is held. The princess is not to compete and decides to go into the country. The women are masked per tradition. The Princess wins. She is given a belt for protection and a golden lasso which forces the person wrapped in it to tell the truth. She already has the bracelets that are bullet proof. She gets the flag outfit and the red boots and calls herself Wonder Woman. The outfit causes quite a stir on the 1940’ crowd.

Stella Stevens is a Nazi spy who is working as a secretary for Lyle at the defense department. Red Buttons is working with her, but you don’t know that at first. His part is as a theatrical agent who witnesses Wonder Woman take care of bank robbers including deflecting bullets. To get money she agrees to a show. An older woman working with Stella Stevens has a machine gun in her valise. Wonder Woman deflects all the bullets with a smile.

Wonder Woman takes down the Nazi plane and crashes it into the U boat. She takes down the Nazi spies and saves Lyle. Her secret identity is the secretary for Lyle at the defense department. Clark Kent glasses and all. I like the transition scenes Lynda spins to become Wonder Woman. If only it were that easy.

July 25 Walter Brennan

To celebrate Walter Brennan’s birthday I watched A Stolen Life. Walter plays a lighthouse keeper. A salty land sea dog. He agrees to pose for a portrait for Bette Davis for a ship in a bottle that he states was promised to him when his friend died.

Bette Davis plays twins. Kate and Pat. Kate falls in love with Glenn Ford, who works at that lighthouse with Walter. They go out on a few dates but Pat steals him away and Pat and Glenn marry. Kate throws herself into her painting to get over her broken heart. She meets Dane Clark a struggling artist who mentors her painting. When Glenn asks Kate’s help to pick out a birthday present for Pat she gladly agrees but is disappointed in Glenn when doesn’t say anything about her birthday. She goes back to her house where Dane is waiting for her. He comes on strong and kisses Kate and she runs away. She goes back to the cottage and Pat is there. She did not go away with Glenn on his new job. The woman go sailing and a big storm comes up. Pat slips overboard. Kate tries to save her but Pat slips away and the ring comes off Pat‘s finger. Walter sees what happens from his lighthouse. Pat’s ring is on Kate’s finger when she awakens.

Walter tells “Pat” it s not her fault that he saw what happened and that she tried to save her sister. Kate plays the role of Kate. When Glenn returns because of Kate’s death he states that after the affairs are settled that “Pat” should go to Reno to get a divorce. Turns out Pat is involved with another man and have been with others during her marriage. Kate decides to leave Glenn due to Pat’s past. She doesn’t want to put Glenn through anymore pain and humiliation. Kate goes back to the cottage and her guardian, Charles Ruggles suspected it really was Kate. Glenn knew it was Kate with her parting words.

I feel bad for the Dane Clark character. I think he was interested in Kate, but she was in love with Glenn and he never stood a chance with her. Dane Clark was equal to Bette Davis, where I don’t think Glenn Ford was.

July 27 Keenan Wynn

To celebrate Keenan Wynn’s birthday I watched The Patsy. Keenan, Peter Lorre, Everett Sloan, Ina Balen and John Carradine play the entourage to a star who dies and decide to create a new star based on what they learned. Jerry Lewis is that man, The Patsy. This is probably my second favorite Jerry Lewis film with the second best entrance.

This film like most of Keenan’s film he plays a supporting character. There are a lot of back of the head shots of him and the others as the center of attention is Lewis. Keenan is the public relations agent who wears the same grey plaid suit throughout the film. When Lewis laughs at Hedda Hopper’s umbrella stand hat Keenan goes up to her to “clean up”. When Hedda says he is a natural talent, Keenan takes the credit and boasts success.

At the end when Lewis is a smashing success in an unbelievable Ed Sullivan skit, when Lewis states that he will need a new secretary, Keenan is the first to stand up and defend her. When Lewis states he wants a wife that states he wants his wife to stay home and take care of the children the men scatter like leaves in the wind.

July 30 Peter Bogdanovich

To celebrate Peter Bogdanovich's birthday I watched They All Laughed which Peter wrote and directed. The first credit on the screen to dedicate the film to Dorothy Stratten. A woman takes a man in a cab to the docks listening to country music in New York City with the World Trade Center Towers in the background. There are a lot of great views of New York City. Long shots of people walking with music playing, Frank Sinatra and Louis Armstrong. Roller skating to Sing, Sing, Sing with neon lights and disco clothes seems surreal. John Ritter has a number of slapstick moments, tripping over his feet, a drinking straw goes up his nose, almost trips into a floor fountain, walks into a mannequin and he falls over skating. The stories all tie together as the main characters are detectives following women. The men fall for the woman they are following. Ben Gazzara for Audrey Hepburn and John Ritter for Dorothy Stratten.

The end credits list the actors name and a brief glimpse into the characters life. George and Ira Gershwin get a particular thank you in the end credits. And the last title is We thank the people of Manhattan, on whose island this picture was filmed.

The film is an interesting one but I am not really sure that I could explain the plot. In the special features Peter states this is his favorite film because it is most like him. It is his sense of humor, romantic, urban and in New York City. John Ritter plays Peter, glasses and all.

July 29 Theda Bara

Happy Birthday Theda Bara, Clara Bow, William Powell and Thelma Todd.

To celebrate Theda Bara’s birthday I watched A Fool There Was. Theda plays a Vampire (a seductress not the other kind that is very popular right now). She uses men for her own gain and doesn’t care what happens to the men. She uses all of her feminine charm to seduce men and make them bend to her will. A man pulls a gun on her stating he will kill her for what she has done. She very lightly pushes the gun away and he realizes that he cannot kill her and kills himself. Theda laughs as he pulls the trigger (we are told, this can’t be shown in 1915). She has a new victim, a happily married man who she seduces on the boat to Italy. When they come back the mans family and friends try to get him back but he is fully wrapped around her finger and falls weak and trembling to her.

I don’t get what makes her a seductress. The only thing I can think of is that she is an independent woman who cares about her own comfort and not others. She kisses in public where most don’t. Her cloths don’t seem fast but are bright and colorful compared to the white Victorian clothing the other women wear.

On the DVD a special feature has that Rudyard Kipling wrote is poem, The Vampire, based upon a painting. Porter Emerson Brown wrote the Broadway play based upon the poem which eventually became the movie. The poem was often read before the showing of the film (it is listed on the title cards).

Theda Bara was part of what may be the very first publicity stunts. The studio put out a fictional biography that she was an exotic Arabian actress. Later they made an intentional leak that it was a hoax.

July 28 Joe E. Brown

Happy Birthday to Rudy Vallee and Joe E. Brown.

TCM celebrated Joe E. Brown’s birthday with a marathon of films. I watched On With The Show. The film stars Arthur Lake stars as the leading actor in a local theater troupe. Joe plays the comedian in the same group. Most of the film takes place backstage before during and after a show. Joe’s big scene is a dance number where is energetic and stylish as Gene Kelly as leggy as Charlotte Greenwood and a hint of Buster Keaton. He does flips and cartwheels. You clearly see his face and know he is actually doing the moves. The film drags. But this scene and Ethel Waters make the film worth watching. Ethel’s scenes seem separate from the rest of the film. I wonder if like the Nicholas Brothers scenes in films, that Ethel’s scenes were edited out of the southern states releases. The other big scene rivaled a Ziegfeld number. Women in beautiful gowns and head dresses parading down steps and the stage. This is a 1929 film and they talk and talk and talk. I don’t recognize many of the actors. The film is based on a across stage musical, so most of the actors could be from the stage. One actor’s name is Thomas Jefferson. That is a name you won’t forget.

The first time I saw Joe E. Brown was in Some Like It Hot. My favorite movie line is “Well, Nobody’s Perfect”. He has the great honor of saying that line to Jack Lemon. Joe and Jack dancing is my favorite part of the film. I know people went to see the film for Marilyn Monroe and the barely there dress, but I just fast forward through that. Seduction you can see in any movie. Two men dancing, one in drag, you don’t see very often.

July 26 Jean Shepard

Happy Birthday to Blake Edwards, Kevin Spacey, Stanley Kubrick, Jason Robards and Jean Shepard.

TCM celebrated Blake Edwards birthday. TCM has not been showing a full day of films for directors lately. I like the directors day. There is usually a variety of films. Edwards directed comedy, drama and musicals. At the library this past weekend I found some Jean Shepard Cds. They are from 1960’s WOR New York radio broadcasts. Jan Shepard the writer and radio announcer not to be confused with singer Jean Shepard. As I was looking up some information I found out that his birthday was today. So I decided to write about him. I don’t know if the material is available to download so I am not downloading it on the site. I have written a few items, not word for word but close. I could not get the CD to pause and play very well on my CD player. The CD is full of philosophy and sociology and human nature told in a very humorous way. He talks a lot. There are a few commercial breaks (not aired) but it is mainly him talking the entire time with music occasionally playing. Shepard was inducted into the Radio Hall of Fame in 2005.

“Have you noticed the monster craze lately? There are kits that you can customize a monster. 75 to 100 years from now people are going to be collecting this clop. There is a monster kit that is fully transistorized. It looks like Dracula, Frankenstein and with just a little touch of the Thing with a little Debbie Reynolds thrown in. Disney and his monsters are all lovable you can’t worry about a Walt Disney monster and that is the Debbie Reynolds influence in a Boris Karloff world.” (this is probably my favorite.)

“Stuck in my mind since I first heard my mother say “There is no rest for the wicked” like a clove stuck in a piece of ham.”

“More and more we’re beginning to look upon our life, our whole existence as one slapstick comedy.”

He is probably most famous for narrating A Christmas Story (which he also had a cameo and worked on the screenplay), which was based upon his book In God We Trust (All Others Pay Cash. During a hot summer day (to paraphrase a local weather man that it is hot enough to pull the fish out of the lake already cooked) it is nice to think of the snow and the coolness of the Christmas season. I have seen a play and musical based on A Christmas Story. They lacked the charm and of the film. It is different to hear the voice of the adult than to see the adult reminiscing and of course Jean has a very distinctive style.

Every time I would think I had a favorite part something new would come up.

“Deep in the recess of my brain a tiny red hot little flame began to grow” and Ralphie fights the bully. “Something had happened and a fuse blew and I had gone out of my skull.” Poor Ralphie realized that he was not going to get his Red Ryder bee bee gun and the bulling had pushed him over the edge.

Ralphie climbs up the slide he has just been pushed to tell Santa that he wants a bee bee gun and Santa tells him that “You’ll shoot your eye out kid” Ralphie looks stunned and the music swells and Santa gives him the boot as he says Ho Ho Ho.. Haven’t we all faced that?

Ralphie wearing the oversized bunny costume.

Ralphie shooting his eye out, but actually just breaking his glasses.

July 13 Harrison Ford

To celebrate Harrison Ford’s birthday I watched Blade Runner. It took a while to get. The library has 3 copies and they are always reserved or checked out. The film starts out with a prologue, (high points listed), “Advanced robot evolution virtually identical to humans called Replicants. The Replicants were used for off world slave labor in the hazardous exploration and colonization of other planets. After a bloody mutiny the Replicants were declared illegal. Police squads, Blade Runner Units, had orders to shoot to kill, upon detection. It was not called execution. It was called retirement.” I liked that and settled in for a good film. The film is set in Las Angeles in 2019. There were great special effects. The set designer threw in everything in the sets. The sets were very busy with background. There were a lot of people everywhere. I really didn’t get the story. I can understand the Replicants and the Blade Runner Unit, but I think I missed something. Ford as a police man or Blade Runner was very focused and intense.

I think Rutger Hauer had the best line in the film “…all those moments will be lost in time, like tears in the rain“. He said this after he saved Ford and then his soul or he himself turned into a bird then expired or was shot. I watched this scene several times trying to figure it out.

My mother’s birthday is also July 13. She is a few years younger than he. When Star Wars originally came out 1977 (and the other films) she would not go. My Dad took my brother, a few family friends and I. When the special edition of the films were released she agreed to go because of Harrison Ford and I could only get her to see Star Wars and not the other two. My mom does not like to go to movies by herself. If my Dad or I do not go with her she states she will watch it on cable, by that time she generally forgets what she wanted to see. I went with her to see Working Girl and Sabrina. For the record I am not going to see Cowboys & Aliens. I enjoy both actors work, but there is no way I am going to see this film.

July 22 Louise Fletcher

To celebrate Louise Fletcher’s birthday I watched One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest. The beginning of the film the patients of the mental institution are given their medication. There is classical/elevator music playing and each person is handed their medication and water. They have to take the medication in front the nurse. It reminded me of Catholic ceremony. Louise plays the head nurse, Ratched. Jack Nicholson is the new patient. He is the timeline of the story. Ratched leads the group sessions soft spoken and stone faced, very little phases her. At Christmas the patients are left alone (which doesn’t seem right in the first place) and Jack Nicholson smuggles in girls and they bring alcohol. All have a good time. The next day when the staff comes back the place is in a shambles. One man is found with a woman. Ratched humiliates him by telling him she will tell his mother. He becomes very upset and is dragged away hitting himself. He commits suicide. This pushes Jack over the edge and he attacks and strangles Ratched. He is taken away and is forever changed. The next day everything is back to normal with Ratched wearing a neck brace.

In the special features the character is described as frigid and cold. I don’t see the character that way. I see the character as professional. The character is the villain because she represents authority, the man. Everyone acted really well in the story, it was almost too real. That is why I avoided the film for many years, thinking I could not handle the realness of the story. Also in the special features it was mentioned that the Jack Nicholson character was us, the audience. That is a very good statement and it makes sense. Nicholson can’t believe that the men are voluntarily committed and that the man wants his cigarettes and the nurse won’t give them to him, so he gets them for him. One person helping another to end suffering.

July 19 Kathleen Turner

Happy Birthday to Kathleen Turner, Pat Hingle, Anthony Edwards and Beverly Archer.

As part of the Arab images on film, Jewel of the Nile was shown on TCM so I decided to watch the film for Kathleen Turner’s birthday. I probably saw the film in it’s original release in 1985, but I didn’t remember the film and after I saw it I realized why, it is not a good film. Dr. Shaheen called it one of the 10 worst films of arab images.

The film starts as a scene of Kathleen Turner’s new story. The scene then switches to a modern story with Kathleen Turner writing a story on a typewriter on a boat. She has writers block and in a fit of frustration she throws the typewriter into the water. Michael Douglas tries to comfort her, but they argue about their future plans. Later that day is a party. At the party a man, Spiros Focas, approaches Kathleen to write his biography. He has been vilified in the press and wants to set the story straight. Michael is invited, but declines. Kathleen gets her things and goes with Spiros. On the way back to the boat Danny DeVito stops Michael on the dock. On the water the boat explodes and he decides to go after Kathleen.

The film goes downhill after that. Danny DeVito overacts, Michael Douglas as a drifter and protector is well acted. Kathleen Turner plays a curious/noisy American at the Arab compound taking pictures getting in things where she doesn’t belong also acts very well.

I am not a fan of friends. When I found out that Kathleen Turner was going to play Chandlers DAD I was intrigued. Kathleen played a drag queen in Las Vegas. She was a hoot. I think you have to have a really good sense of who you are as a person and an actor to play someone of the opposite sex.

July 20 Natalie Wood

Happy Birthday to Natalie Wood and Don Knotts.

TCM celebrated Natalie Wood’s birthday with a marathon of films. I watched Tomorrow is Forever. In this film Natalie was a young blonde Austrian girl. She had a small role, but she had a very good accent and spoke German convincingly. Orson Wells played her guardian who brought her to the USA after parents were killed by invading Nazi soldiers in front of her. Orson was an American who fought in WWI. He was badly wounded and stay in Europe, pretending that he was dead with the help of Natalie‘s dad, a surgeon, he was able to start a new life and identity. Claudette Colbert was his wife. Orson an Austrian chemist comes to America during WWII and works with Claudette’s 2nd husband. She recognizes him and confronts him stating that she wants the past but has a great present. He is ill and dies, Natalie is very upset over his death. My DVR cut out as Claudette was hugging her.

The second film of the day is the great film Miracle on 34th St. Not just a great Christmas film, but a great film in general.

July 21 C Aubrey Smith

TCM celebrated C. Aubrey Smith’s birthday with a marathon of films. I watched Daybreak. Smith has a small roll as an Austrian military commander. Ramon Novarro is a lieutenant under his command, who is also his nephew. Ramon has a $14,000 gambling debt, which he cannot pay. He does not want to go to other his uncle. But his uncle finds out. He offers the money but with condition that that Ramon marry a woman of the uncle’s choosing. Ramon is in love with a common woman and refuses. The uncle states he cannot have the money. When a military man comes to let him know that the leader is aware of the debt, Smith pays the debt, saying that the family was now involved.

Since this was a small part and short film I was able to watch Little Lord Fauntleroy. Freddie Bartholomew plays the boy who becomes the Lord, heir to an earldom. The Earl is played by Smith. He plays a tough man who loves the boy so much that when a another child of an older son comes forward, he is very upset. Freddie is the cutest, most charming child actor. The Earl has a Great Dane, that once he sees Freddie he starts following Freddie around. The only place I did not see the dog with Freddie was when Freddie was in bed.

July 9 Richard Roundtree

Happy Birthday to Brian Denney & Richard Roundtree.

To celebrate Richard Roundtree’s birthday I watched Shaft’s Big Score. I was expecting more violence than there was and I kept anticipating violence by closing my eyes. The film has great photography and editing. Shaft’s girlfriend’s brother is killed. At the funeral, the camera starts in the grave and comes up and over the actors, but it is off to the side so the actors are not looking at the camera, very unique angle. During a scene where Shaft is being beaten in the basement there is moment of fighting then a moment of girls dancing in the bar, then a moment of fighting and back to the girls dancing, this happens several times. It is a very long sequence, but seems to go very fast if that makes sense. Richard Roundtree seems to act with his whole body and eyes. You see everything the character is thinking and feeling on his face and in his body language. At the funeral Richard eyes all the men around the grave trying to figure out who killed the man while all the time comforting his girlfriend. He moves fast too. When they go back to her place after the funeral, the place is ransacked. He pulls out his gun moves throughout the rooms lighting fast.

The music is amazing. It is 1970’s music, but there is an influence of jazz. There is a theme song, but it not the original Shaft song, very similar, but not the same. The dialog is like a 1950’s film noir. You understand what is being said but people don’t use words in that way any longer.

I was 10 minutes into the climatic scene when I realized there had little talking for awhile after the film ended I went back to the start of the end. The climatic scene is about 17 minutes long. Action and music with very little words. This was great. It is difficult to explain action but here is the basic run down.

Starts as the grave is being dug up because they think there is money in the casket. The money is pulled out and put in a bag with several people being killed. Shaft gets the money and the head man and gets him in his car with his girlfriend driving. The man’s men follow and the car chase is on. Shaft aims the gun at the wheels and the front of the other car. The other man are careful to shoot because they don’t want their man shot. They try to ram the car off the road. With a helicopter following but having a hard time because of wires and high vegetation.

Shaft’s car is stopped and they get out on foot at the boat drive. Shaft forces the man onto a motor boat. He handcuff’s the leader to the boat. The helicopter follows the boat and flies very low and eventually strike the with bullets. Shaft gets out of the boat at a power plant (or ship building or construction, I can’t tell which) with the bag of money and leaves the man handcuffed and the boat explodes. The other car gets there along with the helicopter. One man gets out of the car and the other tries to ram Shaft, but Shaft shoots him and the car runs into a pole. The helicopter follows and tries to shoot him but can’t get close enough. Shaft leaves the bag of money on the ground.

Shaft is shot but still shooting. He gets the one man on foot. He runs into a building and the helicopter follows leaving a trail of sparks from bullets on the ground. The gunman is shot in the leg and Shaft goes out the door. The helicopter leaves the building looking for Shaft. The glass is shot out and the gun man falls. The helicopter seems to be floating for a few minutes and then Shaft fires and the helicopter comes down in a blaze of flame. The police finally arrive. Shaft states he doesn’t know where the money is, but the film cuts to where the bag is sitting.

July 17 James Cagney

Happy Birthday to James Cagney and Donald Sutherland.

To celebrate James Cagney’s birthday I watched Picture Snatcher. It is very fitting for the current times. James Cagney played an ex-con getting out of jail. He goes back to his gang where he tells them he is going legitimate and work for a newspaper. The newspaper is a rag where anything to get a story is ok. Ralph Bellamy works on the paper and originally wrote to Cagney in jail offering a job. Bellamy didn’t really mean it. When an assignment comes up that no one else can do, Cagney agrees to get a picture. He goes into a burned out apartment where the fireman could not save his wife from a fire and turns out she was not alone. Cagney poses as an insurance inspector to get a picture.

Cagney falls in love with a police captains daughter. The man who shot him that landed him in jail originally. A woman is being executed and Cagney, whose paper is not invited, steals an invitation and goes to the ceremony. No cameras allowed. The reactions of the newspaper men are varied: one gets sick, one states you see one you’ve seen them all. Most have a slight reaction to the switch being thrown, but Cagney is more worried about getting the picture and doesn’t react to the death at all. Once outside the camera attached to his ankle is reveled. The other newspaper men tell the police and the police state they are not going to get any further details or allowed back in for other stories. The reporters chase after Cagney, but he gets away and gets the picture to the paper.

The police captain was responsible for the reporters. He is demoted and his daughter breaks up with Cagney. Cagney falls apart. Cagney’s former gangs new leader is accused of killing a police officer and a large manhunt is underway. Cagney goes to his old girlfriend who is the girlfriend to the gang leader. He uses her to get the location of the man. He goes to him to talk to him and possibly get him to the police station. The police surround the building and start shooting. The man’s wife and children are in another room. He had planned to use them as a shield. Cagney tries to save them. While Cagney tries to talk to the man to get the family to safely the other man is shot.

As a kid I always liked Yankee Doodle Dandy. I avoided the ganger movies for a long time, but they are really good.
The intensity that Cagney brings to the role make you root for the man even when he is the bad guy. On William Bendix’s birthday I watched Time of Your Life. Cagney was the star and he is on screen most of the time, but he doesn’t move around much. He captures your intention the whole time.

July 18 Red Skelton

TCM celebrate Red Skelton’s birthday. I watched Three Little Words a musical biography of songwriters Kalmar-Ruby. Red plays Harry Ruby a theater stage hand who writes songs. Fred Astaire plays Bert Kalmar a song and dance man and song writer who plays the Palace with Vera-Ellen and decides to create a new act as a magician. Red acts as a backstage assistant one night and completely messes up the act. Red gets back with Vera-Ellen and plays the Palace once again. Stage hands moving a bed hit Fred and he hurts his knee and can’t dance for 1 to 2 years.

Fred goes to see his music publisher and Red is their trying to get his song heard. Fred rewrites the lyrics to the song. They sound really good together. Fred realizes who he is and crumbles the paper, throws the paper on the ground and leaves. Red takes the paper and the song gets published with Kalmar-Ruby name. Red tricks Fred into becoming a partner. There is a scene where Fred dances to see how his knee will hold up and when he does one move, you can see the pain on his face. You know that he has suffered that pain in real life.

Even though Red still does his comedy, both physical and verbal, he is more subdued and serious than any other film I have seen him appear.

Some of the songs included:
Sweet Tennessee
So Long, Ooh Long
Who Is Sorry Now
I’m In Love With You
Alone With You
I Wanna Be Kissed By You
I’m Up In The Clouds
Thinking Of You
Hooray for Captain Spaulding
I Love You So Much
Three Little Words

July 16 Barbara Stanwyck

Happy Birthday to Barbara Stanwyck and Ginger Rogers.

When I first put my calendar together I was not sure which actress I was going to single out for today. But there were several films this month with Barbara Stanwyck so the choice was made for me. I watched The Bride Walks Out. Barbara plays a model with many suitors. The most persistent is Gene Rayburn an engineer. He makes $25 a week. He gets a new job for $35 a week and asks Barbara to marry him. She refuses, she doesn’t think they can live on his salary and wants to keep working, which he refuses. They eventually compromise and marry, on his lunch break. At the courthouse right after the wedding they argue, Gene hits a police offer and spends some time in jail. When he is arraigned he gets 30 days or $50. He has the money at his apartment. Robert Young is arraigned for drunkenness and loans the $50. They go back to the couple’s new apartment were Robert is given his money and then shown the door.

Barbara no longer works but spends money on unnecessary niceties and is not paying the bills. Gene thinks she is along with saving money so he can buy his own surveying equipment. New Years Eve Day the furniture is repossessed. Robert Young brings huge bottles of Champaign which he, Barbara, Helen Broderick and the movers all get drunk. Gene wants to celebrate New Years in a big way. Barbara tells him that she wants to go back to work. They argue and he leaves the restaurant before midnight. She waits for him in the stair well of their apartment. Gene comes back home and Barbara preparing for the worst sees that the furniture is all back in place. Robert Young got all the items back for her.

Barbara goes back to work but does not tell Gene. Barbara hires Hattie McDaniel to cook dinner. One day Gene comes home early and sees her placing food on the table. Hattie gives the full truth and Gene upset leaves the room. He purchased his equipment with the funds of his that Barbara saved, but it was her working that made it possible for him to purchase the equipment. When Barbara gets home Gene confronts her. She tells him she went back to work but he doesn’t ask why. He states he hates liars and he packs a bag and starts to leave. Barbara decides she has to leave instead. She applies for a divorce. Gene drunk goes to Robert’s work and destroys the windows. Robert and Barbara have been going out and Gene thinks it is Robert’s fault for the divorce. Robert asks Barbara to marry him and she refuses.

In order to pay her back he decides to take a job in South America in a plague ridden area. It is a good salary, but there is a chance he will die and has a large insurance policy. His friend and co-worker Ned Sparks decides to go with him. When Ned’s wife Helen finds out they track down Barbara and tell her what Gene is doing and they go to the boat. Robert has his chauffer pick a fight with Gene so Gene can’t take the boat. Robert throws Barbara a kiss goodbye. Barbara admits to the police that it is her fault and she is taken in paddy wagon and Gene hangs onto the side of the wagon and they kiss through the wire wrapped windows.

TCM celebrated director William Dieterle’s birthday. I watched Grand Slam. I have to admit how can you make a film about a Bridge player and card games? The answer as you watch this film is by treating the card came and players like boxers. This is a very fast paced film. I will even go as far as stating it is a parody of boxing. I don’t know anything about Bridge other than what I have seen on I Love Lucy.

Loretta Young plays a hat check girl. Paul Lukas plays a Russian waiter. They fall in love and marry. Loretta Young and friends teach Paul how to play Bridge. Paul is a writer and interested in travel whose job as a waiter pays the bills. One night Paul is reading a book and playing Bridge. He briefly looks at his cards and his opening bid is 7 Spade. The others give him a hard time. He is called in to work as a waiter at a Bridge party. He is asked to make up a 4th and once again opening bid is 7 Spade. He also states that Bridge is childish. One of the players at the table is Van Dorn a Bridge expert. After a while everyone is around that table as Paul completes that came. Loretta is meeting Paul after work and meets up with her old friend Frank McHugh. He has become an author. The next day there is a story in the paper about Paul beating Van Dorn. Paul describes Van Dorn as “Jackie Cooper with a beard”. Frank tries to convince Paul to write a book, but he doesn’t want to so Frank will write it for him under Paul’s name, Stanislavsky. Frank then creates a brand name. Loretta asks Paul to give it a year, which he agrees. During an interview the writer calls Paul and Loretta America’s Bridge Sweethearts since they don’t fight. Bridge is supposed to keep husbands and wives together. There are radio broadcasts of the Bridge games. While radio spots are on, families are shown playing Bridge.

They go on a cross country tour playing Bridge. They start to argue, mainly about Bridge playing. Due to the fame, Paul becomes in demand by females for personal tutoring on Bridge. One night Paul goes to a woman’s apartment for lessons. Frank states “Every town he has to buy a bigger hat”. Loretta jealous asks Frank to take her out, which he does. She goes to the woman’s apartment at midnight and is told that he left an hour before. The taxi has battery problems and can’t leave. Paul comes out of the apartment house. Loretta leaves Paul. Paul goes to Frank to find her, but he wont talk. Frank decides to tell the press the real story and there is a scandal. Paul decides to quit and his backers state they are out money. Paul goes to Van Dorn who was an Indian in a medicine show. Paul asks Van Dorn to publicly challenge him to a game.

The night of the Bridge game a table is set up surrounded by ropes. There a coast to coast radio broadcast with an announcer who gives a play of the action. The contenders shake hands and when the word “play” is said the world literally stops and there is a montage of action stopping in the middle of the motion. They don’t have any cards. A reporter has give someone a dollar to get a couple of packs of cards. While waiting a reporter tells Paul that his wife is in Reno and will file for a divorce in the morning. The cards arrive and Paul, distracted ends up 15,000 points down at the end of the first night. During the game there are shots of the crowds reacting to the plays called. The next night Paul can’t get a partner and a fellow card playing waiter becomes his partner. During the game there is a to do and the partner is taken out of the game. Loretta has come in to watch the game and becomes his partner. After the announcer states America’s Bridge Sweethearts the world starts to spin again and the action that was stopped earlier is back in action. After playing a while Van Dorn concedes. The crowds cheer. The couple back together get away and decide no more bridge.

July 14 Polly Bergen

To celebrate Polly Bergen’s film career I watched Move Over Darling. Polly plays a woman engaged James Garner. They are in a courtroom where Garner is declaring his first wife dead so they can marry. She is wearing a noisy bracelet that bothers the judge. After they marry they go on their honeymoon. At the hotel her groom starts acting very strange. What she doesn’t know is the first wife, Doris Day is back after being stranded on an island for 5 years. At the hotel Polly tries to seduce Garner with lingerie and champagne, but he keeps leaving the hotel room. When he does come back he is wrapped in bandages and has a bad back and cannot move.

The next day they go to their home. Garner’s mother, Thelma Ritter, hires a Swedish nurse, Doris Day to take care of him. Polly consults her psychoanalyst about her new husbands strange behavior. She treats him like a father. While the man is there Garner is arrested for bigamy, after a warrant by his mother and the truth comes out.

In court Polly wants an annulment and has her analyst “her dearest friend” is there for support. When the judge annuls the “kiss less bride” she goes to her analyst and watches the rest of the action from the gallery.

Polly is very well accessorized in the film. She has scarves, bracelets, pins, hats and necklaces. She plays the character very light and breezy.

July 11 Tab Hunter

Happy Birthday Tab Hunter and Yul Bryner.

TCM celebrated the 80th Birthday of Tab Hunter in prime time. I was thrown a bit with Robert Wagner introducing the films and could not get into Gunman’s Walk and Tab’s only beach film, Ride the Wild Surf. Watching the men just sit on surf boards talking and eventually surfing was not interesting to me. It made me feel like an old woman gawking at men half my age. I did notice that Tab has a nice smile.

I DVRed Battle Cry. The film takes place during WWII, Tab is a marine “the kid”. He had his father sign his forms so he go into service at age 19. He is the strong silent type, out in the world for the first time and imitates the people. Sergeants are almost stereotypical mean robots who none of the requites like, but respect because they have too. Tab’s group makes it to radio school after basic training and in San Diego CA. After getting drunk in a bar fellow marines drop him off at a USO canteen. He wakes up hung over and asks the caretaker to walk him to the bus. He hasn’t talked to a woman in 6 months and wanted some feminine company. They kiss and she, a married woman goes back to the USO.

After a USO hayride, the woman invites him back to her apartment. She freshens up and Tab takes off his shirt. Hay is making him itchy. He is embarrassed that she saw him without a shirt and puts the shirt back on, and moves away from her. They kiss again and he stays to get a drink. They decide to swim in her pool, she gives him her husbands swim trunks to wear. It starts to affect his work and is creating fake liberty passes. The leader arranged a long distance phone call to his parents because he has not been writing. He then breaks things off with the married woman. He doesn’t want to, but he can’t see someone else and have a girlfriend back home.

Tab gets leave and goes back home. He and his girl go off and get married. They are shipped out to Camp Wellington, New Zealand possibly. They fight in the South Pacific. Van Heflin plays the Cornel of the troop. He likes to break records and is the by the book commander. Tab tries to get another soldier leave so he can get married before they have to go back to fight. The commander refuses stating that it makes the men stronger. The man gets his leave and Tab is best man at the wedding.

They fight again in the South Pacific. They are shipped to a remote island in Hawaii to standby, reserve. Van Heflin disagrees and gets his troops to the front lines of the pacific. Tab is wounded in battle and the scene cuts to his wife screaming that he is dead. Tab is wounded and gets discharged from the service.

July 12 Milton Berle

I am too young to know Uncle Milty, but I can appreciate his early television career. I watched PBS documentary Pioneers of Primetime. It is great to see him still sharp as an older man. The documentary also features Bob Hope, Steve Allen and Red Skelton. I miss them.

To further celebrate Milton Berle’s birth I watched It’s a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World. A man, Jimmy Durante, has a car accident and literally kicks the bucket. The people who go to help him, Milton Berle, Sid Caesar, Mickey Rooney, Buddy Hackett and Jonathan Winters, are told about money in a part hidden under a big W. Thus begins the race to get to the park to get the money. Milton plays a man traveling with his wife and mother-in-law (Ethel Merman). He convinces his family to go on the treasure hunt.

My favorite part with Milton Berle is when Ethel takes the keys from Terry Thomas’ car. Milton and Terry argue with her about the character of Milton’s brother-in-law Dick Shawn. Ethel then puts the keys down her top. If her son isn’t good enough to be involved then none of them are to get the money. The men chase her around. Once they catch her they lift her upside down and shake her until the keys fall out. The men go off leaving Ethel and her daughter by the side of the road.

July 2 Ron Silver

Happy Birthday Broc Peters and Ron Silver.

To celebrate Ron Silver’s birthday I watched Reversal of Fortune. I have to admit July has been a strange month for me. I only watched about 2 weeks, mainly the weekend of the current events. I got a little too caught up in the had action and also disgust at our congress. We are the greatest nation, but we have a lot of problems. I decided that if I had to track down a film that I wanted to watch for someone that I would do that, even if did not see it on that persons birthday it would still be in their honor. One was Edie Falco (I did not think I could sit through the television series that she has appeared in) and one was Ron Silver. A great actor who does not have a lot of films on DVD.

My favorite role of Ron Silver is probably Rhoda. He was on the later seasons after her divorce. Those seasons are not yet out on DVD. I chose Reversal of Fortune since it was probably his biggest role. He played Alan Dershowitz the lawyer who Claus von Bulow portrayed by Jeremy Irons hires to take care of his appeal after he is convicted of harming his wife Sonny portrayed by Glen Close. Ron probably has the most dialog and is the most natural character. Claus was cold and aloof, Sunny was unconscious most of the film, but did have some dramatic moments of being cold and alcoholic. Ron played basketball, swore, was emotional, middle class, caring and dedicated.

July 10 John Gilbert

To celebrate John Gilbert’s birthday I watched The Big Parade. He plays a rich man’s son who is not as industrious as his brother but is his mothers favorite. War breaks out and he has no plans to go. As he is driving he is stopped by a parade of people and sees his friends in the parade to enlist. Gilbert is caught up music and excitement in the air and enlists. When the men get to France they stay at barn in Champillon. There he falls in love with Renee Adoree a farmers daughter. When the men are called to battle the couple are separated and search the lines to find each other. When they finally see each other they run to each other and kiss. This is the scene that is used in Silent Sunday Night sequence. The sergeant drags them back to the truck where Renee grabs his leg and starts to run along. She then grabs a chain at the end and is drug along the ground for as long as she can hold on.

The scene then changes to a long line of trucks and men marching. This is the big parade. The men are shot at by planes. Once they get to the front lines the men are told to add their bayonet and to make attack formation. The men look stunned and hesitant. They then march into a field. They march and march and march. Men are shot and fall and yet men keep marching. Gilbert and two other men take refuse in a shell hole. Orders come for one man to go to take out one of the machine guns. Karl Dane goes after winning a spitting contest of tobacco. He is wounded after taking out the gun and the two men worried about him go out after him. Gilbert finds Karl dead. He then goes mad and shouts and fights the other man is killed. He is wounded in the leg. He shoots an enemy soldier who comes after him. The soldier crawls away once he sees Gilbert come after him with a bayonet. They end up in a shell hole together. Gilbert has the knife to his enemy’s throat but cannot kill him. He gives the soldier his last cigarette. The allies attack and Gilbert is taken to a hospital.

At the hospital Gilbert finds out that Champillon has been fired upon. He is wearing a cast from foot to hip. He climbs out of the bed, goes out the window and gets a ride on a truck to Champillon. Once he gets there the town is deserted and destroyed. Renee and her mother are walking away from the city. There is more fire and Gilbert collapses. An ambulance picks him up. He is yelling Renee name. War is over and Gilbert goes home. His fiancée is now interested in his brother. Gilbert in a dramatic homecoming has lost part of his leg. The filming of this was extraordinary done. He is hugged by his mother who is holding him like a little boy as a montage of images as a young child flash across the screen. He tells her about Renee with such love and light in his eyes. The it last scene is of him with an awkward gait running towards Renee. They are once again reunited.

July 6 Janet Leigh

TCM celebrated Janet Leigh’s birthday with a marathon of films. I watched Angels In The Outfield. I had a hard time watching the film since the sound track was out of sync. Occasionally this happens for a few minutes, but the whole film was off. It is a baseball film. The player would hit the ball and start running and then the sound of the ball hitting the bat is heard. A lot of the film is told in voice over and Paul Douglas as baseball manager when he is swearing the voice is garbled so you don’t exactly know what he is saying but you get the gist.

This film has everything. A woman, Janet Leigh a writer of woman’s features is sent to get the female angle of the hometown team Pittsburg Pirates. She goes to the locker room and sits outside as Paul talks. His voice is garbled and she reacts very shocked and runs out without an interview. She follows Paul around to get a story. How he can’t notice this beautiful woman following him around, I don’t know. Paul walks around the empty field that night and hears a voice, a voice of an Angel. The Angel tells him to cut the swearing, fighting and to be nice and he will help the team win. The team starts to play better and win games. At one game a group of orphans and their guardian nuns comes to the game. One girl sees Angels at the ballpark. Her story gets into the paper. Paul goes to see her at the orphanage. Paul and Janet start to see each other and take the girl on outings after the girl recovers from an illness. The girl actually sees an Angel with each player, in the dugout and at the scoreboard.

The story gets around about the Angels and the commissioner requests a hearing. At the hearing witnesses are called to see if Angels exist. A priest, a rabbi and a minister discuss along the orphan and a nun. After the hearing is the final game for the pennant. The oldest player, the pitcher is dying and struggles through the game. He wins the game which gives them the pennant. Paul, Janet and the orphan are all together, will they become a family? You don’t really know. The final scene is about the great baseball players who have moved on to become an Angel and they are playing in spirit and sound on the field.

July 1 Farley Granger

Happy Birthday Leslie Caron, Farley Granger, Olivia DeHaviland, Charles Laughton, Sydney Pollack, William Wyler and James M. Cain.

TCM had a mini celebration of Farley Granger films. I watched Behave Yourself! After the opening credit’s the characters are introduced, not the actors. A picture of the actor by category. The first credit is of “The Lovers”, Farley Granger and Shelley Winters. It is their second anniversary, which Farley forgot. He goes to a phone booth and calls to see if he needs to pick anything up “milk, butter, gin”. The next booth has a dog on leash tied to the handle. Farley gives the dog part of his sandwich. Shelley states she is wearing his gift “the neckline might be you know sort a kind of low”. Farley replies “You’ve got the furniture for it baby”. As he leaves to purchase her gift the dog whines, and Farley gives the dog another piece of sandwich. The dog pulls against the knot and loosens and goes after Farley.

After a display is broken at an accessory store caused by the dog, Farley is walking home, talking aloud the conversation he is going to have with his wife and mother-in-law about not having a present, people pass by him giving him strange looks. When he gets to his door his wife sees no gift and is disappointed. She then sees the dog, who picked up the card he had filled out at the store and she thinks the dog is the gift. Unbeknownst to them, the dog is involved with some unseemly characters.

The next day Farley sees an ad in the paper for the dog. He can’t get the dog away from the wife and goes to explain the situation. Before Farley gets there the man is killed and hidden so he dealing with another man who tells him that it is not the right dog, without seeing it. Farley left his card and the police find that card on the body. When he gets home that night the police come and take him to the police station, forcibly. At the station the chief stated the death fit the MO of someone else and Farley was released. The next day the paper had the same ad with a different address. He takes the dog to that address. When gets there the man he met the day before was dead in the bath. He runs. When he gets home at 2AM the dog is already there.

The next day Farley goes to the police and explains what happens they are not interested. There is another ad in the paper and Farley convinces the police to go to that address. There are two more dead bodies. Farley thinks it is tied to the dog and is worried about his wife. Shelley is walking the dog and he wants to go to a certain spot. One day at that spot a man hands her a bag in exchange for her package. She tries to give the bag back but he leaves. The man takes the package to Sheldon Leonard and it is a butcher package full of bones. Shelley meanwhile has a bag of money, counterfeit money. They take the bag to the police. Farley takes the dog to a kennel/pet shop and destroys the check tag. Shelley missing the dog, which she thinks ran away, puts an ad in the paper. The pet shop owner brings the dog back.

First arrives Sheldon Leonard and the bag man. The bag man did not know the money was counterfeit. He pulls a gun on Sheldon who also pulls a gun. They end up shooting each other and fall dead in the living room. Farley calls the police. A few minutes later they hear a knock on the door and thinking it is the police open the door. It is the other criminals. Farley having enough fights one of the men. They hear the sirens and the other man then is talked out the non fire escape window and is injured. All the fallen men are worth at least $5000 each. The last scene the dog is a prized member of the household, the mother-in-law is moved out and Shelley is wearing a mink stole (with the price tag still attached) at the breakfast table.

July 3 George Sanders

To celebrate George Sanders’ birthday I watched several of The Falcon films. George plays the character of The Falcon, with grace, style and charm. He is witty, smart, sarcastic and instead of a character disguise he pretends to be drunk. He doesn’t need to pretend to be another person because he can pull off being believably drunk in a second as needed. He is debonair and can charm any women he meets, much to the dismay of his fiancée.

For Celeste Holmes birthday I watched All About Eve. George Sanders played a very different character. He played a theater critic who saw through Eve, Anne Baxter character, almost from the beginning. Mainly because the character was similar to his own.

June 30 Anthony Mann

Happy Birthday Susan Hayward, Lena Horne and Anthony Mann.

TCM has a marathon of films to celebrate Anthony Mann’s life today. I watched The Bamboo Blonde. A film he directed that came out in 1946.

The story is told in flashback by Ralph Edwards. He is a President of a company called The Bamboo Blonde. Every marketable item that you can think of has the title The Bamboo Blonde. Face powder, chocolate bars and hosiery to name a few. A man comes to interview Ralph Edwards to find out the true story.

During WWII Russell Wade plays a lieutenant in the air force. He and his men are leaving at midnight for the South Pacific. At the airport his men arrange for him to meet them at a bar for a party. He goes to the bar, which is out of bounds for military personnel. A man lighting his cigarette stands in front of the sign. Frances Langford is a singer in the club who ushers him into the dressing room telling him he needs to leave. He stays as she sings and overhears some MP talking to Ralph Edwards, who is the club owner. He goes out the back door. When Frances leaves in between shows they go out to dinner. After dinner she takes him to the airport. Thinking him a poor farmer from PA, she loads him up with goodies for the trip. He gets a picture of her to take with him. They kiss and he drops all his packages. She leaves to do her midnight show. He is actually engaged, but his fiancée did not come to say good bye.

Russell and his group go to the Pacific. They are not getting many enemies. They decide to paint a picture of Frances in a bikini on the plane and call it “The Bamboo Blonde”. Russell is not happy about this. First because he is engaged to another woman, which he can’t admit to and secondly he doesn’t even know her name and is worried that she and/or her boyfriend will be upset. They see more action and take down some enemy planes. Russell gets promoted to Captain. On the first mission after the picture is painted a man states “I never saw a blonde yet who couldn’t wreck a city”. There is a story in the newspaper about the plane which Ralph sees. He decides to capitalize on the connection, but Frances is worried.

The plane is going to be flown to New York as part of a war bond tour. His fiancée finds out about the blond and is jealous. She did not write to him, “how did I know he was going to be a hero?” She goes to the airport and has a conversion deliberately so Frances will hear. She is uncomfortable about the situation. Russell asks her to go along till after the party the next day which she does. The fiancée accuses Frances of going for his millions, which she did not know about. The fiancée states that if Frances does not stop seeing him, she will give the newspaper the story of their engagement. Frances concerned for Russell decides that she won’t see him after his tour leaves. After singing that night the air force men think that Frances should go on the bond selling tour. Ralph states “it will start a war on a new front”. Frances joins the tour. There is a high society party and Frances knows she does not fit in with his life-style. Russell’s parents were not invited to the party by the fiancée. Frances decides to go back to New York. The airport is fogged in and she can’t get out. Russell tracks her down and states he will fly her home. He actually flies to his back yard, telling her they are in Canada. He gets out and goes to his parent’s house, leaving Frances in the plane. She sees lights and follows. When Russell goes back to get Frances, Frances goes into the house. When Russell gets back he hears her singing. He pulls her into another room so they can be in private.

June 27 Julia Duffy

Happy Birthday Julia Duffy, Jason Patrick and Toby Maguire.

To celebrate Julia Duffy’s birthday I watched Together Again for the First Time. A happy dysfunctional Christmas film. Julia plays the family matriarch with two boys 18 & 24 married to David Ogden Stiers who has 3 girls 19 - 23. Only the youngest boy lives in the house, all the rest are visiting. They are together as a family for the first time since the parents married 7 years ago. Julia has a radio program about homemaking. She has decorated the house with every possible Christmas decoration. The house has more than 3 stores worth of decorations. It is Christmas Eve and she is getting ready for the dinner celebration. She puts a plate on top of a place setting and decorates the plates. Fake snow with a figure or figures that represents that person. She uses a fork to shape the fake snow.

The family all come home and the fireworks begin at the airport. The youngest son picks up everyone at the airport. The two brothers physically fight. He has a small hatchback and one girl (the mean sister) insists on driving and has so much luggage they have to hold it to the roof of the car. She is mad that her dad did not pick them up at the airport. The plan is, set by Julia, to eat dinner, go to the studio for a television spot and then comeback and have a party at midnight. The parents squabble and they don’t like how each parent treats their children. The youngest girl announces her engagement to a man that once dated the mean sister. He actually hides in the bushes so she won’t see him. He finds a packet of cocaine in the boys room. He tells his fiancé and they are going to wait till after the holidays to tell the parents. The mean sister finds out.

At the television station, the family are to read from the teleprompter and pretend they are having a good time and doing what action is required. Julia reminds everyone to be happy and remember this is her job. It may lead to a television program for her. The mean sister accidentally burned her top while ironing. At the show the oldest boy teases her by hanging ornaments on her back and threading string all around the set. He pulls the string and the decorations fall everywhere on live television. The mean sister then states that he is doing drugs. Everything comes to a halt but Julia goes on and finish the program. The boy leaves. Back at the house they try to get ready for the midnight party. The other son disappears. It turns out the drugs are the younger boy. The family goes out looking for him. They get him back and the family makes up.

The first I heard of Julia Duffy was as Stephanie on Newhart. She played a socialite turned maid at the Stratford Inn. The expressions she had, the room full of clothing racks because her closet was full of shoes. The huffing and stamping of her feet were more child like than adult. The character matured and grew over the years. When she went back home she would do more for herself than have the maid take care of it for her.

June 28 Mel Brooks

To celebrate Mel Brooks’ birthday I watched Twelve Chairs. My favorite film is The Producers, the original version with Zero Mostel and Gene Wilder. I could probably repeat all of the dialog by heart and every once in a while “Prisoners In Love” pops into my head. I decided to watch Twelve Chairs since I had not seen the film in a number of years. I do remember years and years ago on Siskel and Ebert that one of the men stated the film was bittersweet. That really sums it up. It is based on a book and the opening song written by Mel Brooks is Hope for the Best (Expect the Worst). The same song that Gene Wilder plays to call the monster in Young Frankenstein is heavily featured in this film (at least it sounds the same to me).

The story takes place in Russia (USSR) in 1927. A woman is dying. She wants a priest, Dom Deluise and her son-in-law, Ron Moody. She tells her son-in-law that she “in the dining room suite before the revolution she put jewelry, diamonds sewn into one of the chairs”. She dies. Ron then goes to his old house, a large estate to find the chairs. He goes into the basement where he sees his old servant Mel Brooks. Mel has a man with him, Frank Langella (a con man) who was looking for a bed for the night. Frank gets Ron to tell him what he is hiding and Frank gets involved.

Chair 1 (Estate) - A woman runs out of the estate with a chair. Ron chases her all around the countryside. He discovers the woman is actually the priest in a dress. They rip open the chair cover, no jewels. Dom is given false information and tracks down 11 chairs to Siberia. The couple refuse to give up the chairs.

Chair 2-6 (museum) - The other chairs are tracked town at a museum in Moscow. 7 chairs are taken out, 4 are enough to convey the period. After closing Frank and Ron rip apart the 4 chair covers. No jewels.

Chair 7-8 (Columbus Repertory Co) - The chairs are sold/given to a theater house. 6 go onto the truck and 1 is taken by a man and they loose him at the train station. They get hired on with the troop who are performing on a boat and check 2 chairs. Ron gets them kicked off the boat when he can’t perform. He enters and exits at the same time. Dom tracks down the couple to where they have relocated. He gets the chairs and has them taken to the beach. He destroys all 11 chairs and he can’t believe what has happened. The beach is lettered with the remains.

Chair 9-10 (Columbus Repertory Co) - A staff member of the theater troop steals and sells theater property. He sells 2 of the chairs. In order to get money Ron pretends to have a seizer to get money from people in the street. No jewels.

Chair 11 (circus) - an acrobat purchases the chair. The man uses it as part of his high wire act. Ron climbs up the ladder and walks the rope to get the chair away from him. As he is running outside with the chair, Dom is on the ground praying for help. He then chases after Ron. Frank stops Ron and they fight. Dom then grabs the chair and runs. Ron & Frank run after him. Dom runs up a stone hill. Dom pulls apart the cushion. No jewels.

Chair 12 (railway workers home of recreation) - they go back to Moscow to find the chair that was lost at the train station. There is an opening ceremony at a new Railway Workers Home of Recreation. They go in for a free buffet and see the chair. Others come into the room so they have to wait. That night they sneak into the building and tear into the seat. No jewels.

The jewels were found 4 months prior in the old recreation center and used to build up the new center. Ron screams and starts to destroy the room. He knocks over a policeman and the men leave, jumping onto a horse with Ron still carrying the back of the twelfth chair. They wonder the streets. Frank states they have to split up since they have no money. Frank walks away. Ron throws the chair away and pretends to have a seizer. A crown gathers and Frank talks the crowd into giving him money.

June 26 Eleanor Parker

Happy Birthday Peter Lorre & Eleanor Parker.

TCM celebrated Eleanor Parker’s with a movie marathon a week early. I watched One For the Book. I don’t know what the title means. It could mean that Eleanor is a new name Ronald Reagan’s black book or Eleanor’s romance with a theater producer is just one chapter in her life, a lesson learned. Eleanor & Reagan have really good chemistry. They seem to mirror each other with their movements. At the beginning Eve seems to overshadow Eleanor, but once Eleanor’s character loosens up with a kiss, she is brighter in personality. It is a cute romantic story.

Eleanor plays an actress who has not worked in a few months. Her boyfriend, the theater producer broke up with her right before Christmas. In the spring she sees an old friend and fellow actor Eve Arden. The two have almost a parallel experience. I actually made a flow chart comparison, but I am not sure how it would show up in the blog so I will have to write it out.

Eve has a date with a sweet Army man, Ronald Reagan.
Eve gets a better offer, from a Navy man she loves.
Eve dumps the Army man, stating she is married.
Eve states they can meet for lunch the next day.
Reagan tries several names in his book, but no one is available.
Reagan asks Eleanor out to dinner. She accepts.
They go to an excellent French restaurant.
Eve calls Eleanor later stating she is at an awful Hawaiian restaurant.
Eve is jealous of the good time they had.
Reagan falls asleep on her day bed.
Eleanor offers the day bed that night.
Reagan fixes lunch the next day for Eleanor.
Reagan does not call Eve.
Eleanor gets theater tickets from her former boyfriend, 3rd row.
Eve’s Navy man forgets his tickets for the back row.
Eleanor & Reagan are invited to a party by the producer.
Eleanor & Reagan kiss.
Reagan gets a hotel room.
Eve & Navy spend the evening playing Gin Rummy.
Reagan brings the morning paper to Eleanor’s and they eat breakfast.
Eve tries to find Reagan.
Eve comes to Eleanor’s apartment.
Reagan hides in the kitchen, leaves and comes back.
Eve asks him out to dinner.
Reagan declines.
Reagan fixes dinner for Eleanor.
The End.

June 25 Charlotte Greenwood

Happy Birthday June Lockhart and Charlotte Greenwood

To celebrate Charlotte Greenwood’s birthday I watched Parlor, Bedroom and Bath. This is my favorite Buster Keaton sound film. The house used is Keaton’s actual house which was called the Italian Villa.

Dorothy Christy plays a rich young woman who will only marry a playboy, a man well versed in women, a cad. Keaton sees her at the pool and instantly falls in love with her. He is hit by a car driven by Reginald Denny. Denny takes him to the house. Dorothy is interested in him. Keaton is not a playboy and Denny tries several things to get Dorothy to see that he is one. He finally asks a social reporter, played by Charlotte Greenwood, to give him love lessons. It will be an extravagant dinner in a hotel room. Keaton gets the wrong girl to the hotel: a married woman with a jealous husband. He has a list that he has to follow of instructions.

Charlotte comes in the room in her evening cloths and chases him around the room. In her shoes and Keaton slightly hunched over she is 6” taller. Her waist is level with his chest. In coaching him how to make love to a woman she basically throws him around the room. When she has him do it back, he hardly moves. When she gets him to kiss her, she goes mad. It is a very brotherly type of kiss. She climbs over the couch and he runs to the closet. She chases him around again. She catches him, kisses him and throws him on the ground. He then comes after her, kisses her and throws her on the couch. When he comes back after her, she holds him off by her leg. She then runs out of the room to change cloths. Friends of the woman he ran off with come to get her, the husband is on the way. Dorothy shows up. Then Charlotte comes in the rooming wearing lounging pajamas and goes to her knees and pulls on Keaton’s pajama pants, which pulls them down. The husband comes in the room. He finds his wife in a negligee. He pulls a gun. There is a shot, Charlotte screams and states I’ve been shot and falls to the ground. Everyone runs out of the room. The man pushes Keaton into a chair, throws the gun on the floor and locks him in the room. Charlotte then opens her eyes and gets up. She goes into another room to get refreshed. When she comes back out Keaton tips over a lamp which falls on Charlotte’s head knocking her unconscious.

Keaton tries to move her body. He puts her upright in an inverted V. He then crawls under her so that she will be on his back and crawls to the closet. He can’t get her into the closet. He takes the door off the hinges and rolls her onto the door and puts the door upright and he holds up the door as the police come in the room. Once it is determined that she is not dead, everyone leaves except Keaton and Dorothy. He applies his lessons.

June 23 Bob Fosse

To celebrate Bob Fosse’s birth, I watched Give a Girl a Break. The story is about 3 women, Helen Wood, Marge Champion and Debbie Reynolds who are given a chance to audition for a Broadway musical after the star backs out. Bob plays a stage hand at the theater. He is interested in Debbie. Bob & Debbie play the musical comedy relief. They are the innocent couple. Bob wears yellow argyle socks. When they dance in the park (and it is beautiful) they are very energetic and light hearted. Bob falls into a pond at the end of the dance, with grace and style.

The 3 women have their final audition. During each dancer’s performance the camera shows the man who is interested/sponsoring the dancer. They reflect pride, love and desire. During the deliberations the men imagine they are dancing with the woman. Bob and Debbie have a short dance together, that goes backwards and then forwards. It is a very unique scene. At first you can’t realize they are in reverse until you watch the confetti going up instead of down. The men can’t decide so they decide to draw a name out of a hat. Helen Wood is picked. During rehearsals Helen won’t come out of her dressing room. Her husband is going a way for a few weeks. She decides to go with him and she can’t be in the musical because she is “going to have an act of God.” I have not heard it termed that way before. It is decided to give Marge Champion the role, but she disappears. Debbie Reynolds gets the role.

In the stage musical Gower Champion is the main actor and choreographer. The film only shows one scene of the musical. The beginning when the star backs out they are in plain cloths rehearsal, when Helen backs out they are in a dress rehearsal and the end Debbie is in the actual performance. She is the only actress you see in that role, so you can’t compare who is better. The reason you know it is the same scene is the snapping fingers that all the men do. This is really smart. Instead of trying to show all the numbers sticking with one shows the evolution of the entire story.

I have to admit at first I was not sure which man is Bob Fosse. I remember him from the 1970’s & 1980’s and he looked different from the 1953 film I watched. To me later in his life he looked the quintessential New York Broadway dancer/director.

June 22 Billy Wilder

Happy Birthday Billy Wilder, Paul Frees and Meryl Streep

TCM celebrated Billy Wilder’s birth with a 3 film marathon and an interview. One of my favorite films is Sunset Boulevard. When ever I watch a Billy Wilder film I find inspiration in writing. I am not a good writer, but I have decided to start writing short stories again.

I wanted to see something that I had never seen before so I watched The Lost Weekend. It is an amazing film directed and screenplay adapted by Billy Wilder. Ray Milland plays a writer who lives with his brother and is an alcoholic. Ray is going away with his brother, but decides at the last minute not to go. He takes $10 that is for the cleaning person that his brother had hidden and buys 2 bottles of alcohol, which he buys fruit to cover the stems of the bottles and goes to a bar. The passage of time and drinks is done by the condensation rings on the bar. It is abstract art. He drinks one bottle and hides the other, forgetting where he hid the bottle and desperately searching the house.

During an opera wine is being passed around on stage by waiters. Ray watches the trays and drinks move around the stage. He licks his lips. He remembers he has a bottle in his coat and leaves the performance. The coat check ticket he has is for a ladies coat. He has to wait until the end of the program for the owner of the coat, Jane Wyman. The bottle drops out of the pocket and shatters.

The music is dramatic, mysterious and there is a touch of sci-fi which is almost eerie. What really comes through is the desperation of the character. The lying, cheating, stealing and the personality change that Ray goes through. The ups and down of addiction. How friends and family make excuses for what is really going on. The scenes about DT and showing the hallucination that Ray has are really informative and scary. When Ray has the DT and he sees a mouse in a hole in the wall and a bat flying around the room, it took a few passes for me to realize what was going to happen. When the bat got the mouse, the mouse started squealing and a line of blood flowed down the wall I had to close my eyes. It is a simple moment, not overly violent, but captivating.

Howard Da Silva as a bartender has a great line "One drink's too many, and a hundred's not enough."

June 21 Jane Russell

Happy Birthday Judy Holliday, Bernie Kopell, Jane Russell, Maureen Stapleton and Wonderful Smith.

TCM celebrated Jane Russell’s birthday and I watched Double Dynamite. A 1951 comedy staring Jane Russell with Frank Sinatra and Groucho Marx. Jane plays a small town bank teller engaged to fellow bank teller Frank Sinatra. Frank decides they can’t marry because they don’t have enough money. They are having lunch where Groucho Marx is the waiter and their friend. Jane leaves to walk back to work alone. Frank leaves a short time later. When he is walking back to work he sees a man being beaten up by two men and helps the man. The man as a thank you takes him back to his shop, which is a shirt maker. They go to the back room where there is a horse gambling den. He gives Sinatra a $1000 bill. Sinatra tries to leave, but is forced to stay. The man states to consider the money a loan. He then takes the money back and bets it on a horse race and another and another. Sinatra ends up with $60,0000 after paying back the original $1000 loan. When he gets to bank several hours later, there is a discrepancy in the books and they are looking for an embezzler. Sinatra leaves and he and Groucho go back to the shirt shop. The gambling den is completely changed to women sewing shirts.

Jane as a plain, soft spoken, simply dressed woman wants to make Sinatra jealous by going out with the owners son. She wants to spend a lot of money and have a good time. She drinks a lot of Champaign. When the waiter brings a pheasant to the table she starts to cry. She feeds popcorn to pheasants in the park. After the meal he takes her home. Sinatra lives in the apartment next door and the walls are very thin. When they get to her place, she goes into the bedroom and he follows. When the man hears Sinatra’s voice he makes a hasty exit. Jane and Frank make up by singing (until the person upstairs complains). This is were Jane looks the most beautiful.

Groucho convinces Jane that Sinatra stole the money for him so they could marry. She goes to the owners son and tries to turn over some money and say that the money would be returned so there should not be any repercussions for the person who took the money. He starts to call the police when Jane states she will “do anything’ he hangs up the phone. When she states “even marry you” he goes to the phone and calls the police. Jane leaves in the mans car. She gets Sinatra and they run. In the police ABP he is described as “looks like Frank Sinatra” and she is described as “135 pounds extremely well distributed.” The police think she stole the money and arrest her. Sinatra is exonerated due to the bookie who gave him the money told the police the story when he was picked up.

The error was caused by the adding machine. When she is cleared they are having lunch. She is wearing a $3000 mink coat and $1500 ring. That is a happy ending.