Tonight, Girls, "Svengoolie" Is Showing The Real Thing!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Wouldn't It Be Great If Nostalagiaferatu Showcased It????????????????

                                      There is only one Dracula, darlings, and that is Bela Lugosi in the 1931 classic that defined Universal as The Monster Studio for the next several decades.

                                        Let us hope viewers tonight get the real thing, with the gorgeous "Swan Lake" opening, that always makes me think of "Dracula," and no other music.  And please, not with the incorporation of the Philip Glass score!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  It detracts the mind from concentrating on the superb visuals Tod Browning has set up.

                                         Like the three vampire women--Dracula's "wives"--rising from their grave, their choreographed formation as flying bats, and best, their balletic entrance into Renfield's (the great Dwight Frye ) room, and the perfectly balletic movement of the silk as they back away from Dracula.

                                            And don't forget the camp dialogue between Helen Chandler as Mina, and the great Frances Dade as Lucy Westenra, who styles her hair like a flapper, and is turned by Dracula in to "The Bloofer Lady," who menaces children.  That scene better not be cut.

                                               Edward Van Sloan is the definitive Van Helsing, and his scenes with Lugosi have a dramatic spark to them.  Lugosi did this role on stage; did Van Sloan?  (Who also plays the doctor who diagnoses Jennifer Jones in "The Song Of Bernadette..")

                                                  And how about that armadillo?  The only time one is shown in a horror film.  In Romania?  No, darlings, because the film was shot in California; it must have wandered onto the set, at just the right time!

                                                    May all these treats and more be delivered to you tonight, my dears, as "Svengoolie" shows a real classic, not the dreck he has been showing recently.

                                                      And sometime, dolls, you have got to see "Dracula Sucks," though not on "Svengoolie."   Its tag line is, "This time, the Count is going for more than throat."  Who is in it?  Trust me, darlings, it does not matter!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

                                                         Enjoy the pleasures of a real classic tonight!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

If You Read Between The Lines, Darlings, This Is How Vance Got The VP Nomination!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

                                    Plainly stated girls, he kissed the ass of Trump.  Anyone who wants to work with him is required to do that; it is a kind of loyalty agreement to kiss that dirty, disgusting ass.  I mean, this is a man with skid marks on his underwear!!!!!!!!!!!  Does he even bathe?  I doubt it.  Pig!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

                                      So, good for you, Vance, you have passed the first test.  Will you take a knife or bullet for Trump, because he will ask you.  Though security on July 13 got to him almost too late!  Which makes me question their reliability.

                                          Yes, J.D. Vance is the supreme ass kisser.  May it bring him all the misery he deserves.

                                            Too bad they couldn't have nominated Vivian Vance!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

"This Isn't Dallas! It's Nashville! They Can't Do That To Us, Here In Nashville!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

                             Remember those apocryphal lines Henry Gibson spoke at the climax of Robert Altman's 1975 masterwork, which will turn 50 next year?

                                I could not help but hear them flash through my head, as I witnessed on TV the attempted assassination of former President Trump, an event, I fear that puts us dangerously closer to civil war than ever before.  Heaven help us if he had been killed!

                                 Hey, I don't like the guy. But that does not mean he should be shot, or such actions permitted.  Where was the security?  Or, more to the point, where wasn't it?  Was this all planned?  And right before the RNC???????????????

                                   I am not surprised someone took a shot at Trump.  I am surprised it took this long. But it does not bode well for the next several months, which will bring panic, chaos and outrage.

                                      A gag order, duct tape, and encampment at Mar-a-Lago is all that is needed.

                                    Violence only begets violence, darlings!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

A Night On The Town, Last Tuesday!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

                                        At David's behest, I was whisked off to Broadway Tuesday night, to see "The Notebook."  I was glad I went, but--

                                           When the movie "The Notebook" came out in 2004--hey, that is 20 years ago! --I had no intention of seeing it, until I read Dwight Garner in "The New York Times," who compared Ryan Gosling and Rachel McAdams to Natalie Wood and Warren Beatty in 1961's "Splendor In The Grass."  The last is one of my favorite films, so I had to see what all the fuss was about.

                                                 Even though "The Notebook," on screen and stage, is designed to be a tearjerker, it did not get to me until the end.  The movie had passionate performances by Gosling and McAdams, but this time I felt he was the Natalie Wood character.  The same could be said of Joan Allen and Andrea Burns, who play a variation of Audrey Christie's Monster Midwestern Mother from the 1961 film.  The influence of William Inge is all through "The Notebook," and I felt it keenly in the musical adaptation.

                                                       Would that the music would whisk the audience away to a romance felt by the younger Noah and Allie.  Alas, the Music and Lyrics by Ingrid Michaelson are repetitive and pedestrian; so much so that, while the voices are glorious, I wished they would just stop singing what sound like the same melodies over and over again.  I kept waiting for the famous rain scene, but that does not happen till the opening of Act Two.  Better it should have ended Act One; it would have been the perfect way to end the act.  Some sloppy musical theater writing, here.

                                                           Dorian Harewood, and especially Maryanne Plunkett makes up for it all as the older Noah and Allie.  Theirs are the most touching moments in the show, and their absence is felt when they are offstage.  Plunkett should have received a TONY Award for her work, and the ending does bring on tears the whole evening is trying to generate.

                                                               The end result is an entertaining show that demonstrates, proof positive, it did not need to be made into a musical.  Not everything does, darlings.

                                                                  This made me want to see the movie again, not only for the memorable turns by Gosling and McAdams, but also by James Garner and Gena Rowlands, who, tragically, now herself has Alzheimer's.

                                                                     One last thing.  In 1953, Inge wrote a one-act play called "Glory In The Flower," where two former lovers meet in a diner.  On the face of his winning the Oscar for his "Splendor In The Grass" script, though the characters earlier are named Jackie and Bus, they are recognized now as foreshadows of Bud and Deanie in 'Splendor.'

                                                                          "The Notebook" has a strong feminine demographic.  Teenage girls and those in their early twenties flock to it and will love it.  But I miss the show it might have been had a better score been provided.  Where was Jeanine Tesori?  Lucy Simon?  Or Carly? Stronger musical composition skills were needed here.

                                                                                 The show is worth seeing.  But how I miss all it might have been. 

                                 

To Me, She Will Always Be L.A. Joan!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

                               That was my introduction to Shelley Duvall, when I first saw "Nashville" back in 1975.  I was very sad to hear of her passing on July 11 of this year, just four days past her 75th birthday on July 7.  She had a quirkiness that worked for here in films, especially those made by Robert Altman.  I mean, she was just BORN to play the role of Olive Oyl in "Popeye," where she turned out to be the best thing in Altman's otherwise worst film.

                                   She struck gold with "Faerie Tale Theatre," which ran for six seasons on TV.

                                    But there came a point, incomprehensible to me, where the quirkiness did not work anymore, taking over her personality instead.  It stripped her of her unconventional beauty, leaving her a haggard, homeless look wreck, living out of a trailer.  Shelley Duvall?  Yes, darlings.  Without Altman as a compass to guide her, it all became too much.  Why she did not seek help, or no one reached out to her I cannot explain.  I know it was a tragedy, and resulted in an early departure, for Shelley, whom I mourn.

                          Just take a look at this photo, darlings.  It says it all. This is from Altman's 1977 film "Three Women," my favorite next to "Nashville."  Shelley, Sissy Spacek, the images and the color and composition thereof say more about filmmaking and the kind that unfortunately does not exist today. I do not just mourn Shelley Duvall, but the kind of filmmaking that allowed her to flourish.

                             Rest In Peace, Shelley Duvall!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Girls, Do Not Watch This If You Have Already Seen It!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

                                  Why is "Svengoolie' dragging out that 1966 chestnut, "Munster, Go Home," out of the vault for another screening?  I am telling you, having seen it, stretching out these TV series characters to a feature length film, and depicting them in color is tedious and make the actors look fake, which they do not in the black-and-white half sour sitcom of their lives.

                                     Poor Yvonne De Carlo looks the worst in this.  But she got even, when, five years later, she originated the role of Carlotta Campion in Prince/Sondheim/s "FOLLIES," and brought the house down with her rendition of "I'm Still Here."  Remember her that way, dears.

                                     So, we will watch something else tonight.  But we will not make the mistake we did several weeks ago.  That week, "Svengoolie" was showing "The Monolith Monsters," which I refused to see a second time.  We turned to Pay Per View and found a 2024 film entitled "The Twisters," which I mistakenly thought was the film "Twisters," opening later this coming week.  It had twisters, all right, but only stock footage superimposed against actors clearly going nowhere.  It was almost as bad as "The Ghost And Mr. Chicken," another film to avoid on "Svengoolie."

                                     Darlings, hopefully we will make a better choice this week. How I would love to see "Die! Die," My Darling!" with Tallulah Bankhead and Stefanie Powers.  You got to see the scene where Tallulah force feeds the unsweetened oatmeal to Stefanie.  And how about Yootha Joyce as housekeeper/sadist Anna???????????????

                                       Now, THAT would be an evening of fun, dolls!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Darlings, Wouldn't You Love To Have One???????????????

                                                That is right, girls.  There is a Giant Bat Rat Spider Crab Creature Doll!!!!!!!!!  Isn't it cute?  The most creative monster since Cucumbo in "It Conquered The World."  And made by the same studio, AIP--American International Pictures!

                                                   This is sure to brighten up any household.  A real cute, conversation piece.  But where to put it?  It might look nice on our lower book cabinet shelf.  Or how about as a settee on a kitchen or dining room table?  

                                                     Of course, at our house, it cannot upstage Baby Gojira!  As if anything could!

                                                      But, really, darlings!  This is must!

                                                       You will be the talk of your neighborhood or building!!!!!!!!!!!!