Talking about movies, movies, movies. I believe movies are one of the best pleasures in life. Nothing better than watching a classic film and talking with others about them. Love the classics the most but will also talk about the newer stuff too. And covering all genres: comedy, action, horror, sci-fi, drama, musicals, etc. Will also discuss TV shows, more of the classics, but occasionally the newer stuff too. And anything else that might be on my mind. Feel free to drop by and have a chat.
James Garner is LA private detective Marlowe who is hired by a young girl named Orfamay Quest (played by Sharon Farrell) to find her missing brother. What starts as a simple job turns into a mystery involving a high profile Hollywood actress, a ruthless gangster, cops, strippers, and one questionable doctor. Garner is very smooth as Marlowe. The standouts in this film include a wow striptease and incredible performance by Rita Moreno, who is smoking hot and a face off between Marlowe and Bruce Lee in his film debut. My classic movie goddess of the month Sharon is also very good in her role as Orfamay, as this was one of her first big films after enjoying a solid run on TV series during the 60's. Enjoyable enough.
Here is a fun little interview I wrote imaging what Irene Dunne would have said after winning the Favorite Classic Movie Actress title on my blog, All Good Things. Here we go.
Me: Irene, nice to have to you come by my blog for this little interview.
Irene: Glad to be here Monty. I recently started following your blog a few months ago and I love it.
Me: What do you love most about it Irene?
Irene: Oh just about everything. Your monthly classic movie goddess feature...your Happy Birthdays, oh and I love it when you sit down to talk with fellow bloggers to talk about their favorites.
Me: Now Irene, what was your reaction after you won favorite classic movie actress here on my blog?
Irene: I was totally flabbergasted Monty. I mean I'm honored to win but I really didn't think I would get past the 30's era bracket. That was some tough competition in that era..Clara, Barbara, Claudette and Carole...all tough opponents.
Me: Yeah, your battle with Carole was the highpoint of this tournament. I have to be honest with you Carole is my favorite actress of all time and I was pulling for her. But you're my second favorite.
Irene: Why thank you Monty and Carole is such a great woman and amazing talent, I see no fault with her.
Me: Your match did have that little snafu with the voting being suspect and I had to restart it, but you won fair and square.
Irene: Oh I didn't realize that happened. Well I'm glad it worked out.
Me: Me, too...so there you are in the final four with Grace Kelly, Vivien Leigh and Natalie Wood. And you have to battle Grace. What was that like?
Irene: Oh my god..going up against Grace was interesting. I mean she's a princess for crying out loud. And here I am, this little ol girl from Louisville, Kentucky. It was truly a great experience.
Me: And then came the final match against Vivien Leigh...what was that like?
Irene: Are you kidding me? Me and Scarlett O'Hara? That's something out of a fairytale. I have so much respect for Vivien and it was an honor to be in the final match with her.
Me: Well, Irene you have a passionate fan base as well. Just ask my friends Renata, Desiree, and Janine. They adore you.
Irene: Tell those girls I love them as well. And thanks to all my fans who voted for me. I truly appreciate it.
Me: Are you game for next year? Want to defend your title?
Irene: Oh Monty...I don't think I can go through this again. Whew! Once was enough! HAHAHA!
Me: Irene, you're the best. Thank you for stopping by. See ya soon.
Happy Birthday to one of the more quirkier actresses ever to grace the silver screen. I love Sandy Dennis because she was definitely different from most actresses. She is known for her roles in Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?, The Out-of-Towners, Up The Down Staircase, Sweet November and Come Back to the Five and Dime, Jimmy Dean.
I remember watching The Carol Burnett Show every weeknight at 6:35 pm on the cable channel TBS during the 80's while in my teens. And it was one of the funniest shows I had ever seen. When it originally aired back in the late 60's through the late 70's, it was variety show unlike any variety show before it. Filled with skits, musical interludes and guest stars by the buckets. The crack ensemble cast was led by Carol Burnett, who for my money is the funniest woman on TV. Sorry Lucy and Mary. Carol would come out at the beginning of each show and talk to the live audience directly. She would answer questions and sometime bring guests up on stage with her. One of her most frequent requests was for her to do her famous Tarzan yell. She nailed it everytime, much to the delight of the audience. She also had the lovely habit of always tugging on her ear. Those two things quickly became her trademarks, much like Elizabeth Montgomery's nose twitching as Samantha on Bewitched or Telly Savalas licking a lollipop as Kojak.
Carol was backed by a wonderful supporting cast including Harvey Korman, Tim Conway, Lyle Waggoner, and relative newcomer Vicki Lawrence (she was only 18 when cast on the show). The skits were so hilarious, sometimes it was hard for everyone to keep a straight face, especially Korman. He would dang near laugh before the punchline was delivered. One of the more popular recurring skits was Mama's Family, which cast Lawrence as the head of a Southern family who constantly bickered. Carol played Eunice, the daughter who loved being the center of attention and berating her lazy husband Ed (played by Korman). The skits proved so popular that it begat a series of its own for 7 seasons and 130 episodes.
I love this photo, especially with Vicki cracking up
Another popular recurring skit was the office centered one with Tim Conway as the befuddled boss Mr. Tudball and his secretary Ms. Wiggins (Burnett). Carol's slow and inept secretary constantly got on her boss last nerve.
Another popular recurring motif was spoofs of classic movies. Notable send-ups included Gone With The Wind, Pillow Talk, Snow White (with a terrifiic Ruth Buzzi as a demented fairy godmother) and a truly hilarious take off on Norma Desmond (with Carol having a field day taking the star to an even further level of craziness).
The Carol Burnett show ran for an astounding 11 seasons for an impressive 278 episodes. Winning tons of Emmys and Golden Globes and setting a new benchmark for all variety shows that followed. There is a loyal fan following of this amazing series and rightfully so. It was the perfect mix of entertainment for people of all ages.
Here's a perfect example of a hilarious skit, only one minute long but very funny...
Happy Birthday to the extremely funny and talented Carol Burnett. I spent many a evenings watching The Carol Burnett Show while growing up and I can remember always laughing like crazy. Happy Birthday Carol. Watch for my upcoming post on that wonderful show.
Check out this funny skit with Carol and the gang doing classic movie parodies..Love the Pillow Talk spoof.
In honor of Shirley MacLaine's birthday, here are my top 5 favorite films of hers.
1.) THE APARTMENT (1960) As the wonderful lovable elevator girl Fran Kubelik, I think this is Shirley's best film performance. And she was definitely robbed of an Oscar.
2.) SOME CAME RUNNING (1958) Another Oscar nominated performance as party girl Ginnie Moorehead who falls hard for Frank Sinatra's returning soldier.
3.) IRMA LA DOUCE (1963) Shirley is the quintessential hooker with the heart of gold who Jack Lemmon tries to save.
4.) POSTCARDS FROM THE EDGE (1990) Shirley gives a larger than life performance as screen legend Doris Mann, who comes to her daughter's aid when she has trouble with relationships and drugs. Shirley and Meryl Streep make a dynamite mother/daughter pairing.
5.) STEEL MAGNOLIAS (1989) On of Shirley's most remembered later day roles as faded Southern belle Ouiser Boudreaux. Amid all the other women in this cast: Sally Field, Julia Roberts, Daryl Hannah...it's Shirley who gets all the best lines.
and honorable mention goes to THE SHEEPMAN (1958) A great western comedy co-starring Glenn Ford...
A definite product of the 1960's is this entertaining series that had astronaut Tony Nelson (a game Larry Hagman), returning from a space mission, who lands on an uncharted island. He finds a magic lamp and uncorks it to find the irrepressible Jeannie (a wonderful Barbara Eden) a powerful genie, who must obey his every command. Once Tony and Jeannie make it back home to the hip Cocoa Beach, Jeannie constantly is getting herself and Tony into trouble. Much like Lucy did to Ricky on I Love Lucy. Tony has to keep Jeannie a secret, but his best pal Roger Healy (scene stealer Bill Daily) finds out. They were always scrambling to keep Colonel Bellows (the talented Hayden Rorke) a psychiatrist from finding out about Jeannie.
I Dream Of Jeannie was basically NBC's answer to ABC's mega hit Bewitched. The similar themes were there in the form of a woman with magical powers trying to please her husband. Well in Jeannie's case, her master. Samantha had a twin sister named Serena and Jeannie was given a twin too, with the imaginatively titled Jeannie Two (a little sarcasm there). Now I always preferred Bewitched and the awesomeness that is Elizabeth Montgomery, but Jeannie was good, high spirited fun. It's strange to see Larry Hagman in full manic mode doing pratfalls and quick takes like a born comedian. A totally different persona than his legendary evil JR Ewing from the night time soap opera, Dallas. He definitely goes all out for any and all kinds of gags. Eden is a delight too as Jeannie, as she gets ample opportunity to show her comic skills as opposed to just showing off her looks. Daily is supremely funny as Roger,who manages to walk away with several scenes throughout the series 5 year run. And Rorke as Bellows nails the befuddled doctor to perfection.
Look at the snazzy 60's era clothing...very cool
I enjoyed watching Jeannie reruns doing the early 80's on WTBS and it has developed a significant fan base over the decades. While it may not be always recognized as one of the top TV comedies of all time, you can't deny it's place in the annals of TV history. And for the record, I do think it is one of the best TV comedies of all time.
Some pertinent trivia and facts: Jeannie's groovy bottle which was her home was actually a painted 1964 Jim Bean bottle. The evil blue Djinn who had imprisoned Jeannie in her bottle for two thousand years was played by Eden's husband at the time, Michael Ansara. After the pilot was made, Eden discovered she that she was pregnant. So for the first season, the producers used close-ups and always shot Eden from above the waist. I Dream Of Jeannie ran for 5 years on NBC with 139 episodes. A reunion movie was made in 1991 with Eden and Daily returning but not Hagman. He was replaced with former M*A*S*H star Wayne Rogers.
Came across another wonderful new blog called Pre-Code Vixen. The author is Nicole Loeser, and I met her on Facebook at FlickChick's FB page. We were commenting on FlickChick's topic of the day, which was movie hats, in honor of those fabulous Easter hats. I will let Nicole explain to you in her own words about her blog:
I would like to welcome you all to my little corner of the blogosphere, where I intend to share my passion of classic film, with an particular emphasis on pre-code film with you all. If you are unfamiliar with pre-code film, it is that special era of film making, starting in 1929 with the beginning of the talkies, and ending in July of 1934, when the 1930 Hays Code was given teeth. The reason for my love of this era, is that as a modern viewer these films go against the grain of what we usually think of “the good old days”, and deal with issues in a way they weren’t dealt with again, until 25 to 30 years later. Through film reviews, star profiles, character profiles, photos and much more, I will share my passion for these films with you all, and I hope you enjoy.
It is a new blog that she just started back in March, so she doesn't have too many followers yet. I promised her I would get the word on her terrific blog. I especially enjoyed her recent post on Miriam Hopkins. So please drop by and check out Nicole's new blog. Here is the link below: http://precodevixen.blogspot.com/
My friend KC over at Classic Movies asked a bunch of us to fill in for her for a few weeks while she is on maternity leave. Each person is responsible for providing links to other sites and interesting articles. My day is tomorrow so please drop by KC's wonderful blog to check them out. Now to expand on my post title about this being a great blogging community...well it is. When someone needs help or puts on a blogathon, or some type of event, everyone pitches in. Like a family, and that's the way it should be. I've made so many friends since I started blogging and seems to me I get a new friend everyday. It's just a great feeling to be a part of something like this where everyone is nice and friendly. Just wanted to share that everyone, and wish KC well with the birth of her child. The link to her site is below: http://classicmovieblog.blogspot.com/
Happy Birthday to Shirley MacLaine, who burst on the scene in the late 50's in such films like The Trouble With Harry and Some Came Running. She had a terrific role in the 1960 film The Apartment which should have netted her an Oscar but did not. But she did win one for 1983's Terms Of Endearment. One of her most popular later roles has to be in the women's ensemble film Steel Magnolias.
Happy Birthday to Sandra Dee, one of the film stars of the 60's. She made a lot of fun and splashy movies during that decade including If A Man Answers, Come September, Take Her She's Mine, That Funny Feeling and let's not forget her film roles as Gidget and Tammy.
This duo only made two films together but they both were box office blockbusters. Paul Newman was one of the biggest stars during the 60's. He was the top ranked star in 1969, the year he teamed with Robert Redford for the first time. Newman had been ranked as a top ten box office star six times during this decade. Redford was just getting started with such films like This Property Is Condemned (1966) with Natalie Wood and Barefoot in the Park (1967) with Jane Fonda. So when these two were brought together for the western, Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, after Steve McQueen turned down the role of Sundance over a matter of who would get top billing, the result was magnificent. The film earned a huge $102 million and was the top film of 1969, more than doubling the number two film of the year, The Love Bug. To put that in perspective, that amount earned in 1969 would equate to about $565 million at today's ticket prices. How many films have earned that in today's cinema? Only Titanic, The Dark Knight and Avatar have earned over $500 million domestically. It is true when they say more people went to the movies back then. So almost everyone went and saw Butch and Sundance at least once at the theater back then. Ticket prices were way cheaper then so ticket admissions were definitely higher then than they are now. With that huge success, it was almost a given that Newman and Redford would be paired up again. And it was only four years later, when that moment came with The Sting. As big as Butch and Sundance was, The Sting dwarfed it easily. It earned $156 million in 1973 to land as the second biggest film of the year, trailing behind only the mega smash The Exorcist, which racked up $232 million. The Sting's adjusted gross today would be a cool $714 million. And it also won 7 Oscars, including Best Picture. So after two huge smashes for Newman and Redford, you would have thought more pairings would have been the order of the day. Sadly, no third film ever came for these two box office golden boys. Which is a shame. But they can say they are a perfect 2 for 2 in film history.
BUTCH CASSIDY & THE SUNDANCE KID (1969) $102 MILLION THE STING (1973) $156 MILLION
I thought I might catch a breather in May but things are steadily popping up even as I write. The Classic Movie Goddess will be Lee Remick. A talented actress and one of my favorites. Starting next month I will also be doing a classic movie actor spotlight and John Wayne has the honor of being the first actor represented. Makes sense since his birthday happens to fall in May. My guest for the month will be Audrey of Fedoras and High Heels. Can't wait to hear her answers. My classic movie line-up of films that I will be watching and reviewing will tie in with several Remick and Wayne films among others. Leading the way will be Experiment in Terror (1962) starring Lee and Glenn Ford; Anatomy of A Murder (1959) with Jimmy Stewart and Lee; The Wheeler Dealers (1963) with Lee and James Garner; and Loot (1973) with Lee one more time. Other films to be viewed include Two Mules For Sister Sara, Red River, The Pleasure Seekers, Sex and the Single Girl, The Seven Year Itch, After The Thin Man, Rome Adventure, The Wild Bunch and Cash McCall. You will notice a lot of 60's movies amid that group as I gear up for my July homage to that great decade of yesteryear. Oh and May 30th will kick off my much anticipated Classic Movie Actor Tournament, which has had buzz building ever since the women's concluded a few weeks ago. So another busy month here on All Good Things, which is the way I like it.
This is my week's lineup of films I plan to watch. RIO BRAVO (1959) Just bought this new collector's edition, so I will definitely be watching this one. THE GAUNTLET (1977) The Clint Eastwood macho fest that ends with that awesome shoot-out in downtown involving a bus and scores of police officers. HANDS ACROSS THE TABLE (1935) The Carole Lombard/Fred MacMurray screwball comedy is one of my favorites. AND THEN THERE WERE NONE (1945) The Agatha Christie whodunit.
Yes, Bewitched is one of my favorite shows of all time. I remember when TBS would air it alongside I Dream Of Jeannie, and while I also like Jeannie, I thought Bewitched was better. Mainly because of the terrific performance of Elizabeth Montgomery as Samantha. Here is the story: Advertising executive Darrin Stephens (played by two different actors-Dick York and Dick Sargent: York was the better of the two) marries Samantha, a witch and they settle down in Westport, Connecticut at 1164 Morning Glory Circle. Samantha promised Darrin she would give up using magic to live the quiet life with him but that was easier said than done. Especially when Sam's mother Endora (played wonderfully by the great Agnes Moorehead) would pop in unannounced to stir things up. Endora and Darrin did not get along at all. She would constantly mispronounce his name and call him Durwood or Darwin. She would frequently turn Darrin into different kinds of animals or send to far away places. Of course Sam would have to do her best to bring these two together and it was never easy, but it provided plenty of laughs. Sam also had to deal with her nosy neighbor Mrs. Kravitz, who would always see Sam perform some magical trick and couldn't convince her husband of what she saw. Sam's mother wasn't the only relative to drop by. There was her dad, Maurice (played by Maurice Evans) who was debonair and doted on his daughter. But he too, despised Darrin. Sam had an uncle named Arthur (played to the hilt by Paul Lynde). Whenever Arthur showed up, it was like comedy night, as he let loose with a barrage of one liners and jokes. Next was Aunt Esmeralda (played by Alice Ghostley) who was very accident prone. Then there was Aunt Clara (Marion Lorne) who had trouble remembering certain spells. Sam even had a doctor at her beck and call named Dr. Bombay (Bernard Fox). Every fan should know the procedure for calling Dr. Bombay. Sam would recite his name several times like this: Calling Dr. Bombay..Calling Dr. Bombay. And he would magically appear right that second. And finally Sam had her wild sister Serena (Montgomery played both roles to great effect)who would constantly try to get Darrin into all kinds of trouble. That is an impressive cast list right there for supporting characters. And lets not forget Darrin's boss Larry Tate (David White) who was often confused at the antics going on at the Stephen's household. The series would eventually introduce a child into the mix as Sam and Darrin had a daughter named Tabitha (who also had magical powers).
Bewitched was a different type of sitcom during the 60's mainly because of the supernatural aspect of, but it was still one of the funniest ones ever to grace the small screen. Elizabeth Montgomery is truly excellent in her role as Samantha. She imbued Sam with smarts, good looks, and self reliance. She was nominated for an Emmy for five consecutive years for her role and don't ask me why or how she never won at least once. Major oversight on the Emmy's behalf. But anyway, Bewitched is a classic comedy series that ran for 8 years and produced a magical 254 episodes. It still airs today on cable and I watch it every now and then. And for the record I Dream Of Jeannie is a classic in it's own right too and I'm not knocking it. I will probably write a blog about it too. But there is something about Bewitched and Elizabeth Montgomery that had me at the very beginning. Her little quirks and sayings made her so adorable. Like before she performed any magic she would have to twinkle her nose or when she would get into trouble, she would draw out the word weeeellllllllllllll! Good stuff.
Check out this video clip of Samantha going through some highs and lows in emotions...
I shop at this video store called Movie Stop and you can trade and buy DVDS and Blu-rays there. You can also reserve copies of upcoming releases. Well I had reserved Harry Potter and The Deathly Hollows Part 1 (which by the way is the best Potter film yet) and went there to pick it up. While I was waiting I perused the store and found Rio Bravo (Two-Disc Ultimate Collector's Edition). Now I already own Rio Bravo on a regular DVD since it's my favorite western of all time but when I saw this bad boy I had to get it. When it first came out about 3 years ago it was listed at $34.95. They had it marked down the first time to $17.99. Then marked down again for $5.99. I was like whoa!, I can't pass up a deal like that. Check out all what came with this awesome movie:
2 Discs
Commentary by John Carpenter and film critic Richard Schickel
Wayne trailer gallery
"The Men Who Made the Movies: Howard Hawks" (1973 documentary)
Two all-new featurettes: "Commemoration: Howard Hawks' Rio Bravo," "Old Tucson: Where the Legends Walked"
Happy Birthday to William Holden (1918 - 1981) and Anne Shirley (1918 - 1993). Holden is one of my favorite actors and some of my favorite films of his include Sunset Boulevard, Stalag 17, Golden Boy, The Bridge on the River Kwai, Union Station and The Wild Bunch.
Some of Shirley's films that are my favorites include Government Girl with Olivia de Havilland, Stella Dallas, Murder My Sweet, and Vigil in the Night with Carole Lombard.
And by some twist of fate, not only were these two born on the same day, but the same year too.
Come on over baby, my husband is gone for the day.
Rose Loomis of the film Niagara, has to be considered one of film's most devious wives. As embodied by Marilyn Monroe, who is better regarded in frothy comedies and splashy musicals, Rose is one piece of work. It's not all her fault really. Her husband (played by the always solid Joseph Cotten) is abusive and jealous. Rose is dying to get out this marriage anyway she can. So while they are vacationing at Niagara Falls, Rose meets her lover and plan to do away with her husband. Rose is definitely sexy and dangerous and very manipulative. The way she handles her lover is manipulation 101. And the way she can anger her husband with a simple song is the work of a woman who knows what she's doing. I don't think too many men would turn Rose away and that's part of her charm. But I would always be on my guard, not knowing what this devilish woman is up to. Monroe is seductive and holds her own with Cotten and Jean Peters. She was never more beautiful and sexy than in this film. Monroe handles the dramatic moments pretty good too. But her Rose is one woman you definitely can't trust.
That's right baby, I've found someone else and you're history.
I'm not that bad, really...I'm just misunderstood.
Quote from Rose herself:
Sure. I'm meeting somebody, just anybody handy, as long as he's a man! How 'bout the ticket seller himself? I could grab him on the way out, or one of the kids with the phonograph. Anybody suits me. Take your pick.
Yesterday was Elizabeth Montgomery's birthday and somehow I missed it. Thanks to Winona over at Breakfast at Shabby Chic Diva's for doing a post about her yesterday or I wouldn't be doing one now for Elizabeth. I love Elizabeth Montgomery. She was awesome and very talented. The daughter of actor Robert Montgomery and best remembered as the lovable witch Samantha from the hit 60's TV series Bewitched. Let's all wish Elizabeth a HappyBirthday!
This month marked the first time that two actresses shared the classic movie goddess honor. My original choice was Betty Grable but I recently came across Sharon Farrell on Facebook and decided to include her this month, sharing time with Betty. I covered Betty for the first half and now it's Sharon's turn. Let me start about by saying that the first thing I ever saw Sharon in was the 1983 Chuck Norris film Lone Wolf McQuade. She played Chuck's ex-wife Molly. McQuade was one of my favorite movies growing up as a kid. You got to see Chuck Norris square off against Kung Fu's Carradine. And I remember Sharon's role, which is saying something because they kind of gave more attention to actress Barbara Carrera. Still Sharon represented well in this action flick. The following year came the sci-fi/zombie flick Night of the Comet, which was actually a pretty good B movie. Now Sharon had been acting since the 60's but I would not find that out until much later. After her turn in Comet,which I went to the theaters and saw with some friends. I was 14 and Comet was one of the first PG-13 rated films to come out. I would next see her in the 1987 teen comedy flick Can't Buy Me Love, with a pre-Grey's Anatomy star Patrick Dempsey. I must have watched that movie like 30 times on HBO and Cinemax.
After that many years passed and I still didn't know about Sharon's early TV and film work until about 2005 when I saw the underrated film Marlowe (1969) with the supreme James Garner. Sharon played the awesomely named Orfamay Quest, a young girl from Kansas who hires private eye Marlowe to find her missing brother. Sharon was quite good in this role and she left quite the impression on me. And then I would find out...hey she made tons of stuff during the 60's and 70's. Such films like The Reivers with Steve McQueen; 40 Pounds of Trouble with Tony Curtis and Suzanne Pleshette; and her very first film-1959's Kiss Her Goodbye.
Sharon also was quite prolific on TV with guest appearances on such series as Alfred Hitchcock Presents, My Favorite Martian, Gunsmoke, Wagon Train, The Fugitive, Ben Casey, I Dream Of Jeannie, The Beverly Hillbillies, Dr. Kildare, Rawhide, My Three Sons, The Man From UNCLE, The Wild, Wild West, Love American Style, and The Six Million Dollar Man. She would have starring roles in the little seen but highly praised series Saints and Sinners (1962), about life seen through the eyes of employees at a big New York City newspaper. Sharon played the role of Polly Holloran. And for 13 episodes on Hawaii Five-O during the show's final season. Sharon played Detective Lori Wilson.
After Hawaii Five-O wrapped, Sharon landed a role in the much praised 1980 film The Stunt Man with Peter O'Toole. After this more TV work came in the form of Matlock, The Young and the Restless, and her last known acting work, JAG. So for the remainder of this month, I will be posting pics, reviews, facts and anything I can think of about this wonderful actress. And maybe I can get her to stop my by blog to share some personal stories as well. That would be awesome.
Since I will be having a Classic Movie Actor Tournament beginning on May 30th, I thought it would be the perfect time to start a monthly feature on classic movie actors. Similar to my Classic Movie Goddesses, I would focus on one actor each month and post reviews, photos, facts, videos, etc. Since there are so many great actors, this will be a long running series just like the women's. And the actor I have chosen to kick off things is the legendary Duke himself, John Wayne. It works out because May happens to be Wayne's birthday month. I love westerns so there are lots of John Wayne movies that I like and my all time favorite western in Rio Bravo. So May will be quite action packed now that The Duke is coming to All Good Things.
My favorite TV channel turns 17 today as TCM celebrates it's birthday. Easily the best channel currently on TV now, always good programming. So if you were the guest programmer today, what 4 movies would you play on TCM? I would show the comedies His Girl Friday, The Seven Year Itch, My Favorite Wife, and then one Elizabeth Taylor movie - Cat On A Hot Tin Roof.
Here's the story: the classic comedy series that almost didn't happen. When this story was pitched to the studio, it was rejected as being too unbelievable. One year later in 1968, thanks to the success of the Lucille Ball/Henry Fonda movie Yours, Mine, and Ours about a blended family with a total of 18 children, The Brady Bunch was green lit, and the rest is history. The early seasons are the best in my opinion, before things got too weird, like the addition of a cousin named Oliver. But before that happened, hi jinks and hilarity were the order of the day. The cast was first rate and all did very well in their roles, remarkable considering most of the child actors had no experience before appearing in this series. The head of the family Mike Brady was played by Robert Reed, who was perfectly cast. I don't think you can picture any other actor at the time pulling off his Mike Brady character. I will give props to actor Gary Cole for nailing his take on Mike Brady in the big screen Brady movies. He had that same sing song delivery that Robert Reed did so very well. It helped that he had the lovely and engaging Florence Henderson as his wife Carol. The eldest son Greg (Barry Williams), the middle son Peter (Christopher Knight) and the young son Bobby (Mike Lookinland) meshed well with the girls. Leading the way of course was Marcia (Maureen McCormick), middle sister Jan (Eve Plumb) who actually gave the series it's biggest spark as her dislike of Marcia drove her to near insanity. And little Cindy (Susan Olsen). To help shepherd all these kids and the dog Tiger was Alice, the maid (played by TV veteran Ann B. Davis, whose resume includes The Bob Cummings Show, Dobie Gillis, The Dick Van Dyke Show, and The Bob Newhart Show). Davis brought her considerable experience to The Bradys and it showed in almost every episode.
Most people, even the die hard fans, realize that The Brady Bunch is kinda corny and square if watched today but it's still funny. I know I enjoyed it, when I caught it during reruns of WTBS back in the early 80's. And after a semi-successful 5 year run which logged 117 episodes, you may be surprised to learn that The Brady Bunch was never really a ratings powerhouse. It's highest ranking was number 34 during it's run, but the appeal of this show is timeless. It spun off several other series including The Brady Brides, The Brady Bunch Variety Hour, The Bradys, and two Hollywood movies during the 90's that captured a whole new generation of fans. I still enjoy catching a episode every now then. As a matter of fact I just watched one the other day involving Peter being harassed at school by a bully. And having his dad step in to deal with the bully's dad. I laughed quite a bit. Anyway, The Brady Bunch is easily one of the great TV comedies of all time that I would gladly take over some of the comedies that are currently on TV right now. And it was very cool seeing the kids grow up right before your eyes. From precocious youngsters to teen-agers, they still managed to stay together like one big family. And that's how they became The Brady Bunch. Plus, let's not forget that great theme song, one of TV's best ever.
Happy Birthday to one of film's best singer/dancers of all time. Ann starred is such classic films like Stage Door (1937 with Katherine Hepburn, Ginger Rogers and Lucille Ball at the age of only 14), You Can't Take It With You (1938), Easter Parade (1948), On The Town (1949), Lovely To Look At (1952) and Kiss Me Kate (1953). Happy Birthday Ann.
Truly one of cinema's most despicable women came in the form of The Wicked Witch of the West in The Wizard of Oz. Granted, Dorothy did drop a house on her sister, so I guess I would be a little mad too and want some revenge. But it just seemed she enjoyed it a little too much. She was kind of gleeful in exacting her revenge against the young and innocent Dorothy. Just looking at her green complexion would give anyone the creeps. And then when you throw in that cackling voice, she becomes even worse. Her constant threats to Dorothy and Toto border on being really bizarre. And then let's not forget her really creepy flying monkeys. Those things gave me nightmares the first time I saw them. Actress Margaret Hamilton was phenomenal in actually two roles in the film: one as the witch and Miss Gulch, the neighbor to Dorothy's aunt and uncle. Miss Gulch is a more realistic character but has the same tendencies as the witch...and someone you don't want to mess with.
You see I told you this was the girl for you...now do you believe me?
Going so soon? I wouldn't hear of it. Why my little party's just beginning.
Ring around the rosie, a pocket full of spears! Thought you were pretty foxy, didn't you? Well! The last to go will see the first three go before her! And your mangy little dog, too!
Helping the little lady along are you, my fine gentlemen? Well stay away from her, or I'll stuff a mattress with you! And you, I'll make you into a beehive. Here Scarecrow, want to play ball?
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