So Much Fun, Girls!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

                                         The best laid film plans went awry this weekend.  First, I was all set to have us watch the A-list 1957 adaptation of "Peyton Place," with Lana Turner and Hope Lange!  Dinner plans curtailed that for Saturday, so we decided to watch it on Sunday evening.  With Baby Gojira and Kerwyn present.  But, as it turned out, only 26 minutes of the 157-minute film were actually recorded.

                                            So, we had no choice but to watch the planned alternative, 1977's "The Turning Point," with Anne Bancroft and Shirley Maclaine.  The year 1977 was a strong year for films, and while this was nominated for 11 Oscars, and in a lesser year may have picked up a few, it was completely shut out.

                                              Not that it can't be enjoyed.  This may not be the masterwork that "The Red Shoes" is but there is much pleasure to derive from it.

                                                 Having not seen it for so long, I had forgotten my favorite Anne Bancroft line.  After bitchy company director Adelaide (Martha Scott) suggests to Emma (Bancroft) that she could "stage" "Sleeping Beauty" next season, Bancroft slowly rises, and blithely says, "I really must do something about my face!"

                                                     Oh, girls, how many times have we used that one?  And how many times was it the truth???????????????

                                                      Then there is Lesley Brown's (as Shrley Maclaine's daughter Emilia) drunk scene, which is hilarious.

                                                        Capped off by the catfight of all catfights atop the roof of the ballet theater.  I love it, and so do all us queens!  Because even Bancroft and Maclaine could not keep a straight face during the filming of it!!!!!!!!!!  I love when Bancroft throws her purse at Maclaine, yelling "You bitch!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

                                                            Sure, some serious topics are tackled--the world of dance versus the world of reality, the sacrifices one must make for art, the need to be driven, relationships between parents and children, friends and rivals, and Antoinette Sibley just steals the show as Sevilla!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

                                                              "The Turning Point" is hilarious, artistic fun!  Who steals the show from whom in this one, hum, darlings?????????????????????????????????

                                                                Now, if you will excuse me, "I really must do soemthing about my face!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

                                                              

She Has Some "Clouds In Her Coffee, Clouds In Her Coffee!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

                           No, girls, Carly Simon is still alive, thank God, but she is facing, at 83, some horrible situations.

                           She has been diagnosed with and under care for Parkinson's Disease, as well as undergoing surgery for basal cell carcinoma on her face, both ills leaving her to lead a now reclusive lifestyle.

                          Oh, Carly, thank you for getting us all through broken relationships by recording "You're So Vain," which acted as a catharsis to many of us during those times.

                            This is a sad day for those of us fond of Carly, but Carly is determined to deal with everything as strong as she can.  The creative energy she once put into her music is being put into her health.  Which could bring Carly back to the music.

                                So, let's all send out our special get well wishes to Carly Simon.

                               "Nobody Does It Better," darlings!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

"Tokyo Story" Is Beautiful And Haunting, But Not The Devastating Experience I Was Expecting!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

                                       Among cineastes, it is fairly common knowledge that this film's director, Yasujiro Ozu, was inspired by Leo McCarey's 1937 Hollywood film, "Make Way For Tomorrow."  I saw that film when young, and to this day could never view it again.  For years, when I heard "Tokyo Story" was a Japanese version of the McCarey film, I avoided it all these years.

                                       But, inspired by age to catch up on films I am embarrassed not to have seen, I watched "Tokyo Story" yesterday, and was surprised to find that I would gladly view this film again, if given the opportunity to see it on the big screen.

                                         An elderly couple living in a distant suburb outside Tokyo, decide to travel to the big city to see their children, who never come to see them.  That, and the indecision about what to do with their parents once they are there, call up comparisons to "Make Way For Tomorrow."  However, the children in this film, while self-absorbed, are not the selfish, cruel monsters they are in "Make Way For Tomorrow."    They even send the parents on a trip to a gorgeous spa, where a walk along a wall results not only in a beautiful camera shot, but the foreshadowing to come.

                                          The separation in "Make Way For Tomorrow" was forced on the couple by their children, when the only daughter living on the West Coast, agrees to take the father.  When the couple part at the train station, the viewer knows, sadly they're seeing each other for the last time.  Death is more present in "Tokyo Story," when the mother dies, but does so with all her children around them and given a beautiful memorial service.

                                             The film, through the parents, talk about parent and child expectations, or the lack thereof, how the elderly become invisible with change, and how the cinematography uses recurring images of smoking sky high tower chimneys, ancient pagodas, and trains recurrently passing over the tracks to highlight social change.   Imagery is key in foreign films, and these plus the geometric patterns and panels of business buildings and personal residences give the film a visual beauty unique to its nation's culture.

                                              The parents are played by So Yamamura and Cheiko Higashiyama.  They are moving and touching, and so is Setsuko Hara as daughter-in-law Noriko, widow of their dead son, and the only really kind person to them, though as the father says, "not even a blood relative."

                                                So, yes, "Tokyo Story" is a form of "Make Way For Tomorrow," but if I may be so bold as to state it, America is still cruel toward the aged, while the Japanese revere them in a more loving way.

                                                 I urge you to see "Tokyo Story." It is warm and moving, but not emotionally crippling.

                                                  And what does that say about cultural differences?????????????????

                                                

Don't Let This Movie Make A Monkey Out Of You, Darlings!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

                                    My equally movie knowledgeable friend Chris, and I, talked about seeing this in the theater.  Chris, dear, I am here to tell you how lucky we were that we did not.

                                       Because we got home late from our dinner, which was an experience in itself, we could not watch the movie I had planned on viewing.  That film will be screened tonight and written about in the forthcoming week.

                                        So last night, because it was short enough to be on time to watch The Eleven O' Clock News on Channel 2, we watched "Primate."

                                          Now, older viewers will remember the name Ben used for the lethal rat in both 1971's "Willard," and its sequel.  I will not even TALK about the 2003 remake!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

                                           What "Primate" actually turns out to be is a feature length expansion of the sequence in Disney's "Old Yeller," where Tommy Kirk and Kevin Corcoran had to shoot the beloved pet they once loved, who is now a rabid monster.

                                             Ben is turned into a rabid monster, when he is bitten by a mongoose, in Hawaii, yet, but without the build-up of warmth and love that made so many of us cry at the climax of "Old Yeller."  I was so done with this movie before it ended, girls, that, much as I love animals, I could not wait to see the monkey get beaten over the head.  Or electrocuted. Or anything!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

                                                Besides, Old Yeller was a real dog.  So was Toto.  Ben here is just some CGI manufactured thing, so who cares?

                                                 He becomes rabid within minutes and goes on a rampage.  I was fascinated for his fascination in wanting to pull people's faces apart by removing the jawline and their mouths!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  Perhaps he was overdue for a dental appointment.

                                                  The problem with "Primate" is that it took itself too seriously.  I was hoping for a delicious camp romp that would make me laugh.  Instead, my mouth hung open at the sheer stupidity.

                                                   Troy Kotsur, who played the deaf father in the 2021 A list film "CODA," here is cast as a deaf scientist.  He is barely in the film, and his role is thankless, but when one is a deaf actor, I suppose you have to take what is out there.

                                                     Rumor has it that both Kate Winslet and Meryl Streep turned this one down!  I do not blame them!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

                                                      Monkey see, monkey do!  Do NOT watch "Primate!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

                                                    

Charles Dickens Created Scrooge!!!!!!!!!!!!! But Did Anyone Really Ever Name A Child Ebenezer??????????????????????????

                                                                               

                                The first picture is a Victorian representation of the Alaistair Sim Scrooge, from 1951, still the best live action version of the story.  The second is "Mister Magoo's Christmas Carol," which is truly second best!

                                    But that first name--Ebenezer!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  Where, beside this story, have you heard the name?  Certainly not in this day and age, and when grade school kids are old enough to catch on, anyone with the name would endure merciless teasing.  

                                     I am beginning to wonder if the first name was also created by Charles Dickens.  Having read my way through his works, the Brontes, George Eliot and Jane Austen, I cannot find the name anywhere else.  Nor in Thomas Hardy or Henry James.

                                      So, I have come to accept the name Ebenezer as a dramatic conceit.

                                      If anyone can show further example, then come forward!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 

                                      And remember, in Winter, to take your gruel, darlings!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!                                                

For Darren McGavin And Carl Kolchak Fans Only!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

                                          Really, darlings, if you have never seen it, or are fans of the above there is no other reason to tune in to "Svengoolie's" screening of the 1972 film "The Night Stalker."

                                            David and I had planned to watch something else, which I was saving as a surprise, but now, with questionable dinner plans in play, that takes care of that.  Oh, David said we could watch tomorrow, but, as Baby Gojira will be the first to tell you, without our Saturday movie the weeknight is just not the same!!!!!!!!!!!!

                                             Besides, we saw this the last time it was shown and once was quite enough for me.  We may even have seen the follow up, "The Night Strangler."

                                               I am happy this did something for Darren McGavin's career, but it did absolutely nothing for me.

                                               Still, I almost would trade it in for the questionable dinner!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Watching Fellini's "8 1/2" Is Like Staring At A Renaissance Master Painting In Motion!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

                                                                                

                          The beauty of this film cannot be overestimated.  Let us start with the color white and how it is used--in the fabric of women's garments, the tables and chairs in the nightclub scenes, the pure cleanness of the spa, with its crucifix like cross to remind us that this is definitely a Catholic film, but one that dares to question the very nature of Catholicism.

                             And the women--Claudia Cardinale, Anouke Aimee, Barbara Steele--yes! --and Eddra Gale, who, as prostitute by the sea Saraghina, steals the show!  The whole question of the morality of the boys visiting her just to dance, with the ocean as a stunning backdrop asks the question of Catholicism how something so innocent and beautiful could be so immoral.  I have to hand it to Fellini for taking on these issues.

                             One surprise of the film is that the viewer gains insight into the type of film Guido (Marcello at his most Mastroianni) is going to make--a dystopian sci-fi epic with a launching pad set worthy of a surreal production of Sondheim's "Company."

                               It comes as no surprise that Piero Gheradi's costumes won the Oscar for Best Black And White Costume Design for 1963.   And the film won Best Foreign Film.

                               To think when I was a child such films were considered "dirty."  The visuals, and Fellin's use of geometrics and textures is inspired, as is his use of women--not just anorexic looking models, but plus sized, curvy ones.

                                While there are some sad moments--Guido and Lusa, Guido and his parents--the film literally ends as a circular celebration of life.  I cannot wait to see this on the screen.

                                    Those having never seen it at all, like me, it is time you did!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Where Are The Big Literary Events Of The Year?????????????????????????????????

                                                                              

                         I am talking about books that readers like me would instantly dash to their home bookstore to pick up a copy in hardback.  Take Jonathan Franzen and Donna Tartt.  Oh, I am sure they are working, but, guys, when are we going to see something?  Tartt has not published anything since "The Goldfinch" in 2013, while Franzen's "Crossroads," published in 2021, promised readers a trilogy, of which this was the first volume.  So, where are the other two, Jonathan??????????

                          What would Charles Dickens say?  And, Donna, I know, like me, you are a devoted Dickensian.  So, chop chop!  Give us readers something worth reading.  Haven't we waited long enough?

                             And Jonathan, you may be dreamy, but dreaminess alone does not satisfy the reader!

                             Last year was a bad book year.  And I fear this one is shaping up to be another!

                            Bring on the literary events--even some surprises!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

                          

Coming Next Week--The Raving Queen's Criterion Closet!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

       

                                                                         

                                                                                                                                                                                                  Yes, girls, I finally have assembled all the DVDs I compiled for my "Gay Film" list, so beginning next week, I will be watching and posting.

                          Though some words are in order.  I do not expect anyone to agree completely, or at all, with the list; these are just the most formative films of my youth, and the choices that came to me easily.

Others may have included "The Children's Hour," "Brokeback Mountain," "The Boys In The Band," "The Killing Of Sister George," or "Death In Vencie," and they would not be wrong.  But since I am limiting the list to ten films, I am going with what I have assembled, and they will be announced as I post after my viewing of them.

                            One more thing.  The films selected are not in any rank or order except the year in which they were made.  I can tell you this much--the years span from 1938 to 1937

                          Girls, think of how much fun this will be.  I want to hear your choices too; if one of them is something I have not seen, it may drive me to watch.  I have resigned myself to not reading every book out there, but even for a fast reader like me, a film is quicker to watch.  So, I stand a greater chance of catching up on movies I want to.

                            The klieg lights are up, darlings!  So, look for my closet posts starting next week.

                             As I bring these films out of the closet and into the light!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

                              

Girls, Isn't This A Great Shot?????????????????????????

                         Look at that lighting, that blocking, that camerawork--this is the mark of great filmmaking, darlings, and this shot is from a little-known RKO thriller that deserves more recognition. The film is called "The Window;" it was shot in 1947 but released in 1949.  Pictured are child star Bobby Driscoll, who won a Juvenile Oscar for his performance, and an actress we all love, Ruth Roman, young, and in one of her sinister roles.

                             Ah, the tragedy of Bobby, whose body was found amidst a pile of rubble in the East Village on March 30, 1968.  Talk about Fantine.  I don't think his body was identified for a long time.  The body, I believe was first interred in an unmarked, or Potter's, grave.

                            "The Window" was Bobby's golden glory. Directed by Ted Tetzltaff, who should have received more recognition after the superb job he did on this film, the story is based on Cornell Woolrich's "The Boy Cried Murder," a variation on "The Boy Who Cried Wolf."

                                Tommy Woodry (Driscoll) lives with his working parents (Arthur Kennedy and Barbara Hale) in a Lower East Side tenement apartment in the late 1940's.  Upstairs above live Joe and Jean Kellerson (Paul Stewart and Ruth Roman) who, if you met them in the hall, would appear to be lovely people, but in reality, are nothing but a pair of grifters who are not above committing murder, and who would do Sante and Kenneth Kimes proud.

                                  Murder is what sets the film in motion.  Before there was air conditioning, or maybe even window fans, people in the Summer used to sleep out on their fire escapes.  Which is what Tommy Woodry does.  Much to his misfortune, he awakens to a light and noise coming from the Kellesons' apartment above.  He sneaks a peak and sees Mrs. Kellerson, all dolled up like a prostitute, which she probably is, with her husband's approval--pretty heady stuff for the 1940s--try to sneak money from a sailor whom she has gotten drunk.  The sailor awakens, realizes what is happening, and attacks Mr. Kellerson, as his wife grabs a pair of scissors, stabbing the sailor in the back, killing him.

                                    One can almost guess what happens next.  Tommy tells his parents, they do not believe him, the Kellersons get wind of it, and next thing they are after him.  To reveal more would ruin the film, but the performances are all award caliber, and it is a shame Stewart and Roman were not recognized for their work here.

                                      But the shot above carries a warning. Even if you are not a nine-year old boy, but you see a young Ruth Roman standing on your outside apartment fire escape looking in at you, don't hesitate--RUN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

                                       Head for the hills, darlings!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Well, Girls, I Am Back From My Colonoscopy!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

                                      I thought this was the cutest and most tasteful way of conveying this message.  Not as annoying as Cologuard, or those droplets of urine and poop.

                                        Oh, hons, did my body get a workout on Tuesday.  Even with the lemon flavor the taste of the solution was unctuous.  Thank God for being allowed to drink Gatorade and coffee, because both helped.  Without them, I might have vomited.

                                           The procedure was faster than I thought.  The room began spinning once the IV fluid was in me, and my last thought was "The Wizard Of Oz," before coming to back in my bed spot, the procedure all done.  And nothing found!  So, I don't have to come back for five more years, or 1,825 days!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  But when does it stop?

                                                Anyway, nothing to really worry about till January when I may be facing ongoing cataract surgery.

                                                But we will cross that bridge when we come to it.

                                               Or, as Scarlett O'Hara would say, "I'll think about that tomorrow."

                                           

Girls, Can You Believe It Took Me This Long To See "Targets????????????????????????????"

                                     I had heard about "Targets" for years.  It was the remarkable debut of a promising then new director named Peteer Bogdanovich.  He went on to do "The Last Picture Show," in 1971, and then "Paper Moon," in 1973.  After that his career imploded.  What a sad end to such talent.

                                      "Targets" surprised me in several ways.  I had always imagined it was shot in black-and-white, but it was not.  Also, I had thought there would have been more of an interaction between Bobby, the killer, and Byron Orlock, the horror star played brilliantly by Boris Karloff in what was his final film role.  What a way to go out!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

                                        Based on the Charles Whitman 1966 University of Texas shooting, the film shows Bobby evolving from having "funny ideas" into a full-fledged mass shooter.  The title is so apt, because the viewer sees him lining up his shots--as targets.  He starts with his family, then goes on to kill anyone he can.  It is chilling and disturbing to watch; it must have been in 1968, but you can bet this did not show up at any theaters in New Brunswick, New Jersey, back then!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

                                       What is even more chilling about "Targets" is its prescience, for who could have, then foreseen, Columbine, Sandy Hook, and the Virginia Tech shootings?  And the wheel keeps going, spewing out more victims, while some arcane laws do not allow for accountability or still fail to take these incidents seriously.  And how about gun control?

                                          Bobby, played by Tim O'Kelly, may be a serial killer on the make, but he is so amateurish, leaving an entire arsenal of guns atop the gas tower he poses during the day while committing his atrocities.  But it is the fall of night, the seediness of Los Angles, and the terror that can erupt in a seedy L.A. drive-in that Bogdanovich and his cinematographer, the talented Laslo Kovacs, capture so well.  The final dissolving shot is just brilliant and says it all.

                                             "Targets" is a must for those who take cinema seriously.  But it also demonstrates that as used to as we seem to be to such incidents, this film still has the power to unnerve.

                                                  Don't miss it, darlings!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

If I Had Gone Into Show Business, I Might Have Ended Up Like This!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

                                                                                

                               That's right, girls!  Singing in a sleazy Atlantic City night club in New Jersey, drinking in between performances, and talking to anyone who will listen, like Dorothy Comignore as Susan Alexander in "Citizen Kane."  The movie makes it look fascinating but is it really?  What does Susan have now, compared to what she had?  At least she does not have to do jigsaw puzzles anymore!

                              Or I could be in some sleazy Manhattan night club, straddling the piano in a glamorous thirties gown, and singing "I'm Just A Black Sheep Who's Blue," like Dorothy Dell as Bangles Carson in "Little Miss Marker."

                                Some choices, huh?  Maybe it is a good thing I did not go into show business.

                               Oh, honey!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

                               "Why don't you come and take me away from it all??I'm just a black sheep who's blue!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

I Will Not Be Here For The Next Several Days!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

                                Like the sign says, I am having a colonoscopy on Wednesday, so I will be off this blog for some time.  I don't want to do it, but it is that time.  Tomorrow is the prep, which is still horrible: God grant me the strength to get through it. Then Wednesday I go and have the procedure.

                                    So much fear and things to worry about.  And yet I must go through this.  I would honestly rather do this than the alternative.

                                       May I return to write more about interesting items, new movies yet to be seen, and books having been and being read.  And anything else that should come up.

                                         Wish me luck, girls!  I will report on what happens when I return!

                                           "Oh, Mommy, Mommy, don't let the hurt me!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

                                          Heeeeeeeeeelllllllllllppppppppppppppp   meeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I Finally Saw "The Third Man!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

 

                         The above shot has been famous to me for years, ever since I saw footage from this film used in Peter Jackson's 1994 film, "Heavenly Creatures," a film I need to see again.

                             The teen girls in that film, a young Kate Winslet and Melanie Lynsey are obsessed with this film and go to see it constantly.  I can understand their obsession for this film, but not the reasons behind it.

                                Every frame in this masterpiece is pure gold.  So much so that, while Carol Reed gets directorial credit, I have to wonder if Orson Welles himself had a hand in its making.  So many of the shots rival what Welles did in some of his films.

                                  Welles is a mystery figure who does not appear till midway through the film, revealed by a cute cat.  Alida Valli is attractive and haunting as Anna, who loves Harry Lime in spite of his singular negative qualities.  Same with Joseph Cotten, who once again proves himself to be Hollywood's most underrated actor.  I must admit I prefer Valli in the role of the repressed lesbian recruiting young girls in "Les Yeux Sans Visage."

                                      Everything I have heard about this film is true--the footage in the sewers, the haunting amusement park, that iconic Ferris wheel, and the ride Lime and pulp novelist Holly Martine (Cotten) take on that Ferris wheel.  The images in this film are stunning, the plot striking, and it all came from the pen of Graham Creene.

                                        But it took Carol Reed and who knows who else to get it all on film.  Cinema is much better for it, since it can be looked at again and again.

                                          If you have seen it, you get what am I saying!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

                                         If you have not, then what are you waiting for??????????????

                                       

Darlings, There Are Two Good Reasons To Watch "Swamp Thing" Tonight! And Both Are Adrienne Barbeau!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

                                      Adrienne has been famous for her "assets" for decades.  So, you can bet Baby Gojira is really excited that "Svengoolie" is showing "Swamp Thing" tonight at 8PM.

                                       The monster is actually a metaphor for the state of Florida, the people who live there, and what the state has become--or always was--in general.

                                          To think Adrienne was the original Betty Rizzo in "Grease."  Who could have been more perfect?  How I would have loved to have seen that performance.  Stockard Channing, indeed!  Are you kidding????????????????

                                               First time I can remember being more excited about a cast member than monster in one of "Svengoolie's" films.  Oh, I forgot, tonight The Sven Squad is hosting this movie, and while I think it will be perfect for them, with Adrienne getting lots of attention, they could easily have hosted and livened up last week's clunker, "Village Of The Giants."

                                                  This is a screening not to be missed.  The morning after, girls will be stuffing their bras so they can look the size of Adrienne!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

                                                     Believe me, chests do get you someplace in this business, darlings!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Oh, My God, That Norine Schmittlapp!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

                       Just days after posting on the passing of Joanna Petet, I had a dream last night about the movie "The Group."  In the dream, my mother was telling me I could not see it, and I told her I was because I wanted to go to Vassar and become one of "The Group"--specifically Libby, the high-powered literary agent, played by Jessica Walter, with just a foreshadowing of Evelyn Draper.

                        This was just a dream, but in reality, when the film was coming to the Albany Theatre in New Brunswick, back in 1966, my mother took me to see something I cannot recall, but I saw coming attractions of "The Group."  Oh, my God, darlings, when I saw the scene of Joanna Petet as Kay locked in the closet and screaming, I shouted to my mother, "I want to see this!"   Of course, my plea fell on deaf ears.

                         But, girls, there is so much you can learn from "The Group."  Like the clinical details of intercourse, pessary fittings and breast feeding.  How to wear a sanitary belt, what books to read, and stop acting like a Bohemian tramp like Norine, played by Carrie Nye, who was ousted by "The Group," and, embittered, tries to take Harald from Kay.

                          I mean, girls, the book and movie are just a primer for adult development.

                        But that Norine!  You really have to watch out for her!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

                         And all Norines out there!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Is This The Greatest Funeral Scene In Film History??????????????????????

                      It may be, darlings, but actually I prefer the one in 1965's "Doctor Zhivago."  It comes early on, and is a haunting, poetic with music and choral singing and a superb sense of viewing death from the eyes of a child.

                      Now, the above, is from Douglas Sirk's 1959 redo of "Imitation Of Life," one example where the remake becomes the definitive version.  Annie Johnson, played by the great Juanita Moore, has sacrificed her life for her daughter, Sarah Jane Johnson, so she can pass for white.  This, after the child from an early age, disses her and breaks her heart.  Well, Annie dies of that broken heart, but what no one knows is she has been putting money away so she can have the funeral of funerals. 

                     And does she ever!  Oh, my God, girls, marching bands, pounding drums, trumpets everywhere, and the voice of the great Mahalia Jaackson singing "Trouble In The World," as the biggest hearse in history carries Annie's coffin down the main street of the town.

                      But, wait!  The whole thing is capped by a now repentant Sarah Jane (Susan Kohner, who received an Oscar nomination) weeping and wailing alongside her mother's coffin, expressing sorrow now for the way she treated her mother.  Too little too late, Missy!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

                        Lana Turner, who plays a glamorous stage actress, and Sandre Dee, playing her entitled blonde daughter with the pink princess phone I always wanted, pull Sarah Jane in the car with them.  They should have left her on the street, for how she treated her mother.  Breaking her heart, killing her by running off to Vegas to become a cheap showgirl!  Not even I did that, darlings!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

                          Great or not, this funeral scene has to be seen to be believed!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

                         Like the song in "Chicago" says, "If you're good to Mama, Mama is good to you!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

Darlings, Would You Believe It Took Me 71 Years To See This Movie?????????????????????????

                          All this relates to my film project, which is ultimately catching up on movies I have yet to see because of my fear of cataract surgery.  I had just re-read the Agatha Christie novel, after a string of highbrow fiction.  I needed something light and frothy and this work delivers.  I think it is Dame Agatha's best.

                           Now, for years, girls, I had heard about Rene Clair's 1945 film version of this story, which was famous for his direction and a wonderful cast.  The cast is indeed wonderful but let me voice my first reservation; though Clair's direction is adept enough, too often this film is played for wit, like a British drawing room comedy.  I think the film would have been better served had it been directed by Alfred Hitchcock.  He may have been wanted, and may have wanted to do it, but don't forget he was still under contract to David O. Selznick, who kept him on a short leash.  Also, since Twentieth Century-Fox made the film, and given June Duprez' startling resemblance, couldn't they have had her role played by Gene Tierney??????????????????

                                The plot remains the same.  Ten unknown people are invited to a remote island by an injustice collector who wants to mete out the justice he/she thinks they deserve. One by one, the guests are killed off in mysterious, unsolvable ways.  Now, the film is faithful to the book, up to a point.  But there is a part which it disengages.

                                 Everyone in the novel is killed, including the perpetrator.  In the film, the two lovers--Louis Hayward and June Duprez, escape, while the alleged killer hints at suicide, but disappears, so does he really die or not?  This ruined the film for me.

                                  Nevertheless, the actors are strong, and so are the stylized Hollywood sets.  A real period feel is captured.  The costumes designed by Rene-Hubert do help, as does the art direction and set design of Ernst Fegte and Edward G. Boyle.  Their work is atmospheric and masterful.

                                   I am glad I finally got a chance to see this film For those who have not, I urge you to do so.  Even more if you haven't, I urge you to read the book first.

                                   The real thrills are all there, darlings!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

                                   

This Is The Day I Always Consider Tne Middle Of Summer!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

                               At some point in my head, I got the idea that July 15 was the midpoint of summer.  And I still feel that way.  For many years, when younger, I would traipse out to Coney Island, all by myself, and go on the rides I wanted to.  These were the spook house rides, the carousel, sometimes the Tilt-A-Whirl, and on one occasion the kiddy roller coaster.  Which suited me fine.

                                 Today, I hardly go out to Coney, but I take pleasure in the half point of summer.  All the greenery, the beautiful flowers, the sunshine, the ability to dress lightly and comfortably, and, really, even though retired, just enjoying a more leisurely pace than one does in the winter months.

                                 And of course, the world is ablaze with color, which why summer, though it can be discomfiting for someone with my sensitive skin, and aversion to the sun.  Despite the detriments, summer is still my favorite season.

                                   So happy mid-summer everyone!  And here is the perfect song to go with it!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

                                       Enjoy the halfway point of summer, darlings!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

                            

Darlings, Wouldn't It Be Better To Get Lemonade In This More Elegant Way?????????????????????

                                  Remember that old summer rhyme, "Lemonade/Made in the shade/Stirred with a spade/By an old maid?"  Well, that old maid stuff has gone the way of all flesh, so to speak, and, while lemonade is still a seasonal summer tradition, I think it should be served in a more elegant manner.

                                    Ah, the elegance of a past age.  When ladies were ladies and gentlemen gentlemen. And lemonade was just that, not laced with some liquor so teens could indulge in underage drinking.

                                        Whatever happened to chivalry.  And leaving calling cards when visiting?

                                        Like the song in "Chicago" says, "Nobody's got no class!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

Girls, It Is Bastille Day!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

  Ooo La La, darlings!  Today, in 1789, the Bastille prison was stormed, marking the start of the French Revolution.    Today it is an excuse to indulge in exquisite French cuisine, or maybe reread Dickens' "A Tale Of Two Cities," or watch the MGM 1936 film, where Blanche Yurka steals the show as Madame De Farge.  You just have to love her, girls, knitting away as the heads fall into the basket from the guillotine.

I think I once had a toy guillotine, where you could repeatedly chop off the guy's head over and over.  It is amazing that I did not grow up to be a serial killer.  Perhaps it all changed when I saw "The Song Of Bernadette" for the first time!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

This is a day to be celebrated as one pleases; just celebrate If I owned a copy I think today, I would watch "The Umbrellas Of Cherbourg," one of, if not the most, romantic films ever.

Happy Bastille Day, everyone!  Set off your own fireworks!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Oh, Darlings, How I Would Like To Go Through Fairy Halls!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

                                    Wouldn't you, girls??????????  I know I would, especially with all that is going on with me.

                                     I am scheduled next Wednesday for a colonoscopy.  Only now I am 85% recovered from a cold, which lingers and makes me cough up glop to the point where I am not sure I should go through the procedure.  As if that was not enough, I have cataract surgery staring me in the face.  No date has been set, but I would guess early next year, since my doctor appointment is not till January 7th.

                                       Is it any wonder I want to go through fairy halls?  Or disappear to a world where colonoscopies and cataract surgeries were not necessary?????????????????

                                       As Charmian Carr sang in "Evening Primrose," "Take Me To The World!!!!!!!!"

                                       Or help me find a way to cope in this one!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Oh, No!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Not Joanna Petet!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

                        If, like me darlings, you were captivated by reading Mary McCarthy's novel, "The Group," you know that Joanna Petet, who died on July 7 at the age of 83, play Kay Leiland Strong in the movie version of "The Group."  Kay was the first one of her class to run around the table at the graduation dinner, signaling that she was engaged.  To one Harald Peterson, who did her bad.  He beat her, locked her in closets, and she died prematurely by falling out a window while surveying war planes.  Kay was the "bad girl," because, oh my God, she slept with a man before marriage, and girls like that had to come to a bad end.  Or so decreed the film and McCarthy's book.

                       It may not be but seems like Kay was the only thing she did.  She certainly did make an indelible impression in the film.  

                       Her death, on July 6, at 83, took me by surprised; she had such a fresh-faced look, almost like Julie Christie, that I thought of her as younger.  But then she was a young woman, well into her twenties, when she filmed "The Group."

                          Girls, if you have not yet read "The Group," you simply must.  It will change your life, as it did mine!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  It set my sight firmly on New York.

                            Rest In Peace Joanna.  You shall always be remembered for Kay.

                             But don't make Kay's mistakes, girls!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

"Nothing I Can Do. It's A Total Eclipse Of The Heart!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

                        I will never forget first hearing Bonnie Tyler's gorgeously raspy voice on the song "It's A Heartache."  The distinction of that voice made the listener feel her pain.

                         I also loved her rendition of "I Need A Hero," and let me tell you, girls, during my single period, this song truly resonated with me.  I needed someone to hold on to, and yes, to reference another song, I looked in many wrong places, till I hit it right.

                          But it was "Total Eclipse Of The Heart" that defined Bonnie Tyler to all of us.  I shall try and provide the song at the end of this post.  The lyrics were almost metaphors for many of our lives.

                           So, on July 8, when Bonnie left us this year, after complications from a perforated intestine and surgery for such, I was shocked to discover she was 75.  I really thought of her as youth; she always looked so great.

                         Bonnie's passing was doubly sad in light of the recent passing of Louise Lasser.

                         Rest In Peace, Bonne.  "We really need you tonight.  Foerver's going to

start tonight......."

                                         Here it is, darlings.  Bonnie at her best with "Total Eclipse Of The Heart."

Girls, Join Us Tonight At 8PM, As "Svengoolie" Presents "Village Of The Giants!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

                                            Originally, darlings, I was not in favor of watching this, but, because the cast has a lot of teen actors of the era, and a few too old but still playing teens, we have decided to watch this. This film was made in 1965, and the TV series" "Land Of The Giants" first appeared in 1967, so did the film foreshadow the series???????????????

                                              Not really, because the film is actually based on the H. G. Wells' work "The Food  Of  The Gods," about the idea of increasing the world's food supply by decreasing the size of people.  The actual title was made into a 1976 movie, but the idea of it was used in 1936's "The Devil Doll," and an episode of "Science Fiction Theater, a 50's TV show, called "No Food For Thought," that Universal bought the rights to, and turned into their 1955 giant spider hit "Tarantula!"

                                                 So, I know already that this will not be a sterling representation of the Wells' story.  But will it be campy enough to be fun?  That is the question, darlings!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

                                                    David says we will watch the beginning, and, if we lose interest, we can switch to something else.  I hope so,  because this does not appeal to me at all.

                                                      However, hope springs eternal.  Se, we will see you at eight, girls.  If we switch to something else, I will be sure to let you know.

                                                        Wishing you a camp filled evening, dolls!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

This Has To Be The Marriage Proposals Of All Marriage Proposals!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

                                 Just watching it on TV made me dizzy.  Not even King Kong climbed that high!  

                                 Ah, the things we do for love, darlings!!!!!!!!!!!!  But this?  Where just one gust of wind could send a person into oblivion?

                                I don't think so, girls!  Nor for me!  Now, I suppose the only thing to outdo this would be a proposal atop Mount Everest?  But what are the odds of that?

                                Sure, the couple will face legal troubles, but I think it worth it.  Has anyone ever gotten a more romantic marriage proposal?

                                   Well, mine in Tiffany's was pretty special.  But that is another story!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

                               

"Mary Hartman! Mary Hartman!" Are You Really Gone??????????????????????

                                      Yes, darlings, Louise Lasser, Woody Allen's first muse, and who indelibly portrayed Mary Hartman, died on July 6 at the age of 87.  Her death was attributed to natural causes.

                                         During half of my college years, I cannot tell you how many times, darlings, I wandered back to the dorm, so I could hear Dody Goodman say the title name twice and watch all the shenanigans therein--daughter Heather (Claudia Lamb) with her cramps, Loretta and Charlie Haggers (Mary Kay Place and Graham Jarvis) and the disturbing portrayal of spousal abuse between actors. Martin Mull and Sunan Browning.

                                              The soap opera parody was created by Norman Lear. It reminded me of the one Bob and Ray did on radio, "Mary Backstage, Noble Wife."  And after the broadcast, newscaster Judy Licht would greet " 'Mary' maven" with an update on the news before turning out the lights.  

                                                It was a seminal part of my early college years.  Then it went off and Louise seemed to vanish, though I remember her brilliant performance as Ellen Burstyn's friend in the 2000 film "Requiem For A Dream," the film in which Burstyn was robbed of an Oscar.

                                                And now Louise has departed this world.  She will make the next one laugh, and that humor will be missed here on Earth.

                                                 Rest In Peace, Louise!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!