To Think It Took Me This Long To See "Mean Streets!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

                                          I was a tender 20 when this came came out, so why it was not on my radar I cannot remember.

                                          But seeing it now will provide lots of surprises. Imagine, seeing Harvey Keitel and Robert DeNiro so young!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

                                            This was the film that put Martin Scorsese on the map, and deservedly so. Shot as a night in the big city of New York, it is laced with carefully selected lighting, violence and two star making performances from Keitel and DeNiro.  "Mean Streets" has no real conventional narrative, outside of these thugs going after everyone in sight for either drugs or money.  This could have been nothing.  But Scorsese's camera placement, his carefully lit night shots and the almost documentary feel to the film raise it above the level of an ordinary gangster pic.   Looking back, I asked myself, "The man who directed 'The Age Of Innocence' directed this?"  It seems inconceivable.

                                                For Scorsese fans, especially those who like me who have never seen it, "Mean Streets" is a must.  It will take you back to the director's roots and will allow viewers to see how he has evolved.  And how the city of New York has, too!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

                                                   "Mean Streets" will grip the viewer from start to finish!!!!!!!!!!!!!

                                                   And eat some pasta bolognese afterward!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

What The Hell Is "Svengoolie" Showing This Week???????????? My Advice, Girls, Is To Avoid It!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

                            Who the hell is Captain Kronos?  I know this is a Hammer film, and even though the poster suggests a showcase of bosoms, I am not sure I want to watch a film I never heard of.

                            So, Baby Gojira and I have a real gem planned instead, but, unfortunately, David does not like this particular film.  But then, about a week ago, he had the temerity to say he thought "Meet Me In St. Louis" was too long.  Can you imagine?  A film of perfection?

                            I mean, even Baby was appalled.  So, we have picked out a special film, which I will try and write about tomorrow.  For those who choose to watch this, let me know what it was like.

                              To me, it looks like some ersatz "Brides Of Dracula" knockoff!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

A Victorian Welcome To August!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

                                      Yes, darlings, here we are at the start of the year's most ambivalent month.

                                        As a child, I hated this day, because it meant the next month was September and that meant going back to school.  I still have that feeling, though I have been out of school for decades.

                                         August signals not only the last full month of Summer, but that Labor Day and Autumn are getting closer.  And the sunshine we have enjoyed will decrease and darkness will surround us.

                                           As Little Edie sang in the musical "Grey Gardens," "Another Winter In A Summer Town."

                                           That is what August means to me.  But it also has the Feast Of The Assumption, the anniversary of Woodstock, and Baby Gojira's birthday.  He will be 22 this year, but he is still our baby.

                                              And I get another month of movies to see and write about.  And books!

                                              So maybe August is not so bad after all.

                                              It is the anticipation more than the actuality!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

A Victorian Farewell To July!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

                       Seven months have just gone by.  And this month seemed to fly faster than the others.

                         A heat wave--two, actually--two summer colds, a colonoscopy--which came out OK--and an obsession with seeing movies that by this age I should have already seen.

                          Yes, July was both an exciting and challenging month.  I am always glad of the support I get from my readers, as well as all my friends here--David, Baby Gojira, Little Pippin, and Cucumbo.

                           To think tomorrow is August 1st already.  Before you know it, Proserpina will be packing to return to Hell.  That always makes me sad, but I will have more say on the day tomorrow.

                              Meanwhile thank you for the fun and warmth you brought us, July.  Seven down, and five to go!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

                                   See you next month, darlings!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Oh, My God!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Girls, Look What They Are Making A Musical Of!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

                                              Award-winning playwright Lynn Nottage and renowned composer and lyricist John Legend are combining talents to present a musical adaptation of the Fannie Hurst classic, "Imitation Of Life."  The question is, how are they going to do it????????????

                                                 First of all, it is a limited run, from November 21 to January 3.

                                                 How in hell will they do this story today?  Will the daughter have a pink princess phone?  Will the Lana Turner character be an actress.

                                                   And what about Annie Johnson and her daughter Sarah Jane, who can pass for white?  How will this be treated?  Will it?  Or will there be something different, like maybe Sarah Jane going trans.

                                                      The show is not being presented on Broadway, but Off-Broadway at  The Shed, located at 545 West 30th Street.  Will it move from there?  Only time will tell.

                                                      My advice to you, girls, is to watch the 1959 version as soon as you can.  Because there will be no Mahalia Jackson and a too late repentant Sarah Jane throwing herself on her mother's coffin!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!   This is the real thing, so see it.

                                                       Ironically, this vehicle so far is the most potentially exciting offering of the new theater season!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

                                                         I can't wait to tell you girls about it!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

                                                        

                                                   

                                            '        

We All Want To See "Wild Inside!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

                                          This documentary, directed by Penny Lane--yes, that is her name--is for lovers of Flaco, the owl whose quest for freedom captured the hearts of just about everyone in the tri state area, and more.

                                           Flaco escaped from his Central Park cage on February 2, 2023.  Someone had left the door open, and Flaco made a bid for freedom.  To this day, the person responsible for Flaco's escape has never been found or come forward.

                                             With his proud, sophisticated stance, and New York determination, Flaco and his adventures captivated me right away.  I kept hoping he would fly out to Bay Ridge and perch on the windows of our apartment.  But Flaco, a sophisticate, understandably preferred the Upper East Side, though he did make it down to the East Village.  He definitely was partial to the East, rather than the West Side.

                                                 I don't know if the filmmaker was able to get an interview with Flaco--I would have loved to have heard his comments on our city!!!!!!!!!!--but, as he is the star, he gets about as much screen time as BARBRA did in "Funny Girl."

                                                    May this film find a distributor.  It was screened the other night in either Central or Bryant Park and was a big hit.  Actually, I just found out that it is opening today at the IFC Center, and so we can all go and see Flaco on screen ourselves.

                                                      Flaco will always remain in our hearts, and now he will be immortalized on screen.

                                                       Go, Flaco!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

                                                

Gene Tierney As A Psycho Narcissist???????????? Darlings, You Have GOT To See "Leave Her To Heaven!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

                                                                                    

                                  Having seen this film awhile ago, I had forgotten how good it was.

                                  Long before Glenn Close was born, long before anyone ever heard of Alex Forrest, there was Gene Tierney as Ellen Berent, and what a piece of work she is.  Of course, when you look as stunning as Gene Tierney--and who wouldn't want to look like this, girls????????--you can get away with almost anyth9ng.

                                      The funny thing is Ellen's mother, played by Mary Phillips and her adopted sister, played by Jeanne Crain, seem to have Ellen's number but think nothing of warning Cornell Wilde, who gets trapped in her web.  Mrs. Berent, Ellen's mother, says her problem is "Ellen loves too much."  That is the picture's understatement.  She gloms on to men and psychologically, if not physically, sucks them dry, like a black widow spider.

                                          This was a daring film to present to a 1945 audience, but it must have worked, because it earned Tierney her only Oscar nomination.  She lost to Joan Crawford in "Mildred Pierce, another film that has GOT to be dealt with on here!!!!!!!!!!!!

                                            But there is another star besides Gene Tierney in the film, and that is the rich color cinematography of Leon Shamroy.  He was one of the top cinematographers at Twentieth, and he personally photographed Jennifer Jones' screen test for "The Song Of Bernadette," as well as having been married to one of that film's co-stars, Mary Anderson.  See?  It all comes back to 'Bernadette.'

                                                The outdoor scenes of the lake are breathtaking, and the carefully lit interiors highlight each mood of the story.  John M. Stahl's direction saves this from being sheer camp, but he does not manage to restrain Vincent Price, who, as Russel Quinton, Ellen's ex, and now an attorney, overacts all over the place in a courtroom scene unlike any on "Law And Order."

                                                    Otherwise, Stahl has done a marvelous examination of a troubled woman, and the consequences thereof, which include two children being murdered.  Yes!!!!!!!!!!!!!

                                                        But that title, "Leave Her To Heaven" is questionable.  Heaven has no place for Ellen Berent.  Satan is roasting a spit in Hell just for her!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

                                                           Oh, girls, don't be Ellen Berent, but let's all try to get our hair and wardrobe like Gene Tierney here!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!