"Dead Ringer" Rings True With Many Surprises

Dead Ringer is one of several thriller movies that Bette Davis made in the 1960s. She made both it and Hush…Hush, Sweet Charlotte in 1964. In addition, she also made creepy classics Whatever Happened to Baby Jane? in 1962 and The Nanny in 1965. However, Dead Ringer is my favorite of these films.

It co-starred Karl Malden, who won an Oscar as Mitch in A Streetcar Name Desire (1951). Later in his career, he achieved television fame with the hit series The Streets of San Francisco (1972-1977) co-starring a little-known young Michael Douglas. Surprisingly, Malden never won an Emmy for his portrayal of the character Detective Lt. Mike Stone on the show.

The screenplay to Dead Ringer is based on the story La Otra, also called Dead Pigeon, by Rian James who was one of the screenwriters. The movie was directed by former actor Paul Henreid, whose most famous performances were in 1942’s Casablanca with Humphrey Bogart and in Now, Voyager in 1942 with Bette Davis. He directed other movies and several episodes of television shows such as Alfred Hitchcock Presents, Maverick, Bonanza and The Big Valley.

The story begins when Edith Phillips comes to the funeral of her twin sister’s husband. Edith and Margaret DeLorca are identical twins. Margaret, called Maggie by her friends, sees her sister and invites her to her house. Edith is shocked to enter the DeLorca mansion and see the decadence in which Maggie lives. Maggie takes her upstairs to her bedroom, where she has the gall to offer Edith clothes she is going to throw out. However, Edith sees a mink stole and likes her image in the mirror. Edith tells Maggie that she has been living in Los Angeles for years and has kept up with Maggie in the social news. We soon discover that Edith was deeply in love with Mr. DeLorca.

The problem is that Maggie had a relationship with him as well and Mr. DeLorca married her because she told him she was pregnant. Edith questions her sister about the baby, whom Maggie says died when he was an infant. Bitter over Maggie’s life style and her lack of sympathy for her dead husband, Edith storms out of the house. She stops halfway down the stairs and looks sadly at Mr. DeLorca’s large portrait. Henry, the butler, notices how sad she is and tells her what a good man Mr. DeLorca was. You can tell her that Henry (Cyril Delevanti) is not fond of Mrs. DeLorca. Maggie’s chauffeur drives Edith home. She questions him about the child that died. He informs her that he has been with the DeLorca family for many years and tells her that no child ever born.

Edith owns a bar in the poor section of town and lives in a one room over it. The bar is small, but Edith is a hard worker. Police Sergeant Jim Hobbson (played touchingly by Karl Malden) comes to visit Edith on her birthday and her a watch as a present. Hobbson is in love with Edith, but has never really told her. He just assumes she knows it. Later that night after Hobbson has left, Edith is confronted by the building’s owner, whom she owes three months rent. Edith is a nice woman who kindly helps others which causes her dilemma with the rent. She goes back to her room and calls her sister, telling her she knows everything and wants her come over right away.

While waiting for her twin’s arrival, Edith puts on a robe and hides a revolver in her dresser. She also writes a note. Maggie comes in the room and Edith tells her to sit down. She angrily tells Maggie that she knows that there was never a child and asks Maggie why she lied to DeLorca. Maggie admits she was never pregnant and offers her sister money. Angrily, Edith says no amount of money is enough for what Maggie has done to her by marrying the man she loved. She pushes Maggie in a chair and tells her to read the note. As Maggie reads it, Edith goes to the dresser, takes out the gun and shoots her sister in the head, making it look like suicide. In a creepy scene after her sister is dead, Edith undresses her and puts her robe on her sister’s body and changes into her sister’s clothes and leaves. Thus, Edith is going to live the life of luxury that she feels she was denied. The new Mrs. DeLorca’s chauffer then drives her to the mansion.

Soon Edith realizes that her plot is not as easy as she thought. She looks just like her sister, however, she does not know the names of Maggie’s friends, nor the combination of her safe, and she cannot duplicate her sister’s signature. She also has the maid and the butler, who know Mrs. DeLorca’s rather callus side, to fool as well. Mr. DeLorca’s Great Dane, who never liked Maggie, suddenly adores the new Mrs. DeLorca.

Things for Edith just get worse and worse. Maggie’s life turns out to be more complicated than Edith could ever have imagined. There are many twists and turns in the story which make the movie so entertaining. Edith’s bitterness toward her sister is the cause of her downfall. It is sad to watch her spiraling deeper into the misery of assuming her sister’s identity causes her. She is basically a good person, but bitterness and greed overcome her.

Dead Ringer was remade in 1986 as a made-for-television movie called Killer in the Mirror, with Ann Gillian playing the twin sisters. In Dead Ringer, Paul Henreid wanted Lana Turner to play the twins but she turned down the role. In turn, Bette Davis turned down a role in a movie called 4 for Texas starring Frank Sinatra and Dean Martin to play the twins in Dead Ringer. This wasn’t the only film in which Davis played identical twins. She played twins in A Stolen Life (1946) with Glen Ford.

If you watch this movie, notice the young actress playing Mrs. DeLorca’s maid, Janet. Her name is Monika Henreid and she is Paul’s daughter. Paul Henreid also directed a movie called Ballad in Blue in 1964 where his daughter had a small role as well.

If you get a chance, catch this thriller on DVD or Netflix. It is worth your time.

It's Best to Sit Alone if You Watch James Cameron's "Aliens"

It is definitely best to sit alone in a chair when you watch this fast-paced, action packed sci-fi horror thriller. If you sit on a sofa beside other people, it is likely you will hit them swinging your arms, scare them by jumping out of your seat, or scream things like “no,” “look out,” “shoot it,” and “get out of there,” throughout the entire movie. The tagline of the movie is: “This time there’s more.” That means you will feel ten times the tension you did when you watched Alien!

Ellen Ripley, (Sigourney Weaver) the only survivor on the ship, Nostromo, is found floating in space by a salvage ship. Ripley has been in a cryogenic sleep for fifty-seven years. She wakes up to find herself in a hospital recovering. She soon learns that she is required to go before a panel of executives from her employer, the Weyland-Yutani Corporation, to explain her reason for blowing up their space ship, Nostromo. The panel doesn’t believe her story about an Alien who sneaked aboard the Nostromo and killed every crew member on board but her. They tell her they don’t believe it because a colony of terraforming scientists has been living on the planet LV-426 for thirty years without seeing any Alien or Alien ship. She loses her space flight license and is offered a lowly job of running loaders and forklifts.

Ripley is plagued with nightmares about what happened on the Nostromo. Then, one day, Carter Burke (Paul Reiser), a Corporation lawyer, and Marine Lieutenant Gorman (William Hope) inform her that all contact with the colony on LV-426 has been lost. They want her to join a Marine unit and explain what happened in detail on the Nostromo to help prepare them for what they will be facing LV-426. Ripley refuses to go because she is still recovering from the traumatic experience fifty-seven years ago. However, from Ripley’s point of view, it just happened last week. Realizing that she will never conquer the fears in her nightmares, she reluctantly agrees to go. Now the action begins so hold onto your seat!!!

Ripley meets the Marines on the warship, Sulaco. She is pleasant to all of them but Bishop (Lance Hendrickson) who is an android. Ripley is not fond of androids since an android tried to kill her on the Nostromo. She explains to them how only one alien killed the entire crew on the Nostromo. However, the Marines are rather boastful and think they are more than qualified to eliminate any aliens on the planet. Ripley isn’t happy about how lightly they listened to her story. She helps them load their supplies with a forklifter which foreshadows one of the best fighting scenes in the movie.

The Marines, Ripley, and Burke arrive on the LV-426, led by the young Lieutenant Gorman. The only colonist they find is a young girl who has been hiding from the Aliens by herself. Her name is Newt (Carrie Henn) and she tells them everyone else is dead. Soon they discover all the colonists are in one place. The young inexperienced Gorman sends his unit to locate the colonists and check for survivors. Gorman, Burke, Newt, and Ripley stay in the vehicle watching the progress of the Marines. They enter the building and are attacked by a slew of Aliens. Gorman, who panics and cannot decide what to do, is knocked unconscious when Ripley starts driving the vehicle into the building to save the Marines. She saves Private Vasquez (Jenette Goldstein), Private Hudson (Bill Paxton), and Corporal Hicks (Michael Biehn). The rest of the Marines are dead or taken by the Aliens to be cocooned. The rest of the plot is about how the Marines, Ripley, Newt, Burke, and Bishop try to survive.

Ripley’s relationship with Newt is one of the key ele-ments in the plot. The young girl has lost her family and is alone. Ripley becomes attached to Newt in a motherly way. It is her love for the child that makes Ripley the strong willed character she becomes in the movie. I own the uncut DVD of Aliens and there is a scene I wished had not been left out in the original version. Burke comes to see Ripley shortly after she has been found by the salvage ship. She has asked him to find her only child, a daughter, for her. Burke shows her the information and photo of her daughter who grew up and died of cancer. I think this scene was important to show why Ripley cares so much about Newt.

The plot progresses quickly and there are several twists and turns along the way. The ending is awesome. Ripley has a scene in the end that makes her one of the most famous kick-butt women characters in movie history. She says a line that has become a famous movie quote too. It is my favorite line in a science fiction horror movie.

James Cameron was told he could do a sequel to Alien only if his movie, The Terminator did well. Needless to say, it was quite a hit! Aliens was a huge hit not only in the United States but other countries too. It was the number one movie in the United States for four consecutive weeks. The movie totaled $131 internationally. The film was nominated for seven Academy Awards including Best Actress for Weaver although she didn’t win. Aliens did earn two Academy Awards for Sound Effects and Editing and for Visual Effects.

The movie was filmed over a period of ten months at Pinewood Studios in England. The terraforming colony scenes were filmed in a decommissioned power plant in London. Cameron thought finding the right cast was the hardest thing. Sigourney Weaver wasn’t sure she wanted to play Ellen Ripley again. It is a good thing she did because she was paid $1 million for her performance! Michael Biehn, Lance Henriksen, and Bill Paxton had all worked with Cameron on The Terminator. The casting of Newt was the biggest challenge. Approximately five hundred children tried out for the part, but Carrie Henn whose father was in the military was chosen.

James Horner, one of my favorite composers, wrote the music for Aliens. Horner said that Cameron gave him very little time to write the music. He thought he would never work for him again. However, Cameron liked Horner’s score in Braveheart (1995) and hired him to do the score for Titanic (1997) which is one of the most popular scores in movie history. As it turned out, Cameron also asked Horner to do the score for his successful movie Avatar (2009). Horner also did the score for Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan (1982) which is one of my favorites, and Star Trek III: The Search for Spock (1984). I own all five of these movie soundtracks. I love to listen to them and yes, they are on my iPod. I look forward to hearing more of James Horner’s music in the future.

Michael Biehn replaced the actor, James Remar, who was to play Hicks just a few weeks before filming. There is one scene in the movie where we see the back of Remar playing Hicks, but no one can tell the difference between Biehn and Remar. All of the actors except for Biehn were trained by the S.A.S, the British Special Air Service, an elite unit. Cameron had only written about 90 pages of the script, but 20th Century Fox liked it and told him he could make the movie. The Alien nest set was used in the movie Batman (1989). The tiny bathroom in Ripley’s apartment was actually a British Airways toilet. The Alien Queen required 14-16 operators to move her. Lance Henriksen wanted to wear special contact lenses to make Bishop a really creepy android. However, Cameron said he didn’t have to wear them because his acting made Bishop creepy enough.

Alien and Aliens are my two favorite sci-fi movies. I vary from day to day which one I like the best. I do think the atmosphere in Alien is a little creepier. However, the action and excitement in Aliens couldn’t be better. It is such a fast-paced movie that once the characters land on LV-426, the ending seems like the next scene. The shadows and use of dark lighting, off whites, and grays make the setting seem so chilling. The aliens were hidden so well in the darkness that when they jumped out at Ripley, I found myself jumping out of my theater seat. The scene when the Marines are first attacked by the aliens, my husband told me that I squeezed his hand too hard. Afterwards, I put my hands on my lap and squeezed them.

My son and I have watched Aliens many times together. He loves the film as much as I do. I never watch my DVD without thinking of all those times we saw it together. He bought me the uncut video and then the uncut DVD. I read in Entertainment Weekly in the 20th Anniversary Double issue recently that the Alien Anthology is on a Blu-ray disc set containing Alien, Aliens, Alien3, and Alien Ressurection with five hours of new interviews and behind-the-scenes footage. Son, if you read this I want you to know that I would love this Blu-ray set. It sure would make a nice Christmas present this year.

Sssssss…What a Great Snake Movie!!!

I saw Sssssss, a minor cult classic, when it was originally released in 1973. I remember my little brother calling the movie theatre just to make the girl working in the box office say the title (the ad line was: “Don’t say it…hiss it!”). He thought that was so funny. It was the first time I saw Dirk Benedict and I became an instant fan.

The film begins with some creepy “thing” making odd sounds in a wooden box. Dr. Stoner, an ophiologist, is selling the noisy contents in the box to another man. Stoner owns a snake farm where he extracts venom from a variety of poisonous snakes. He even “wrangles” with his King Cobra in front of an audience for money. The doc recruits a young man named David Blake (Benedict) to be his new assistant at the farm. It seems that Dr. Stoner’s former lab assistant just packed up and left him. David is instantly attracted to the doctor’s daughter, Kristina (Heather Menzes). Why David thinks that Kristina is cute is beyond me. She wears large round glasses and has a bad multi-layered hair style!! Considering she posed in Playboy magazine, one would think that she would look better. However, Dirk is really cute!

Soon, we discover that Dr. Stoner is very strange. He and Kristina have a pet python they both talk to like a human best friend. And we know something is amiss when the good old doc starts giving David injections of snake venom. When David asks why he is getting injections that make him sick and cause bizarre dreams, the doc tells him it will protect him from the poisons if he is bitten. It’s not long before David’s skin begins to peel, but the doc says it’s just a normal reaction. David believes him and keeps getting the injections.

Eventually, David and Kristina end up alone in the woods and go skinny dipping. Now you might think that these two will be completely naked. They do take their clothes off, but these silly leaves cover their exposed parts. Considering Menzies’s pose in Playboy, I have often suspected that the viewer might have seen more in this scene. Afterwards, David and Kristina go to a carnival where David gets beaten up by a local bully in front of Kristina. Meanwhile, Dr. Stoner, who is alone in the house, tells Harry the python that snakes are perfect creatures because they don’t make him sick and they don’t complain. He says the world would a better place with just reptiles. Stoner says that snakes can evolve and are God’s perfect creatures. If only man could evolve like the snakes, humanity could survive.

That night, the bully, Steve Randall (Reb Brown), comes to Dr. Stoner’s house and climbs into Kristina’s window. Harry the pet python attacks the intruder. Randall falls out of the window, but survives and kills Harry. Dr. Stoner wants revenge for Harry’s death, so he takes a Black Mamba snake to town and sneaks into the bully’s house. He puts the poisonous Mamba in the shower and Randall dies from its bite. The snake’s venom makes it look like the bully died from a heart attack.

Later, the sheriff comes to Stoner’s house and asks about his former assistant, Tim, who has disappeared. It seems his family has reported him as missing. Stoner tells the sheriff that Tim just left and never came back. Stoner confronts his daughter about having sex with David. She tells him it is none of his business. Her father says it is dangerous if she has sex because of David’s venom inoculations. You can’t help but wonder what is the doc up to?

Stoner sends his daughter to pick up a snake. While she is gone, David begins to transform into “something.” His skin changes in texture and color, his eyes get smaller, and his head becomes more rounded. While Kristina is waiting for the snake to arrive, the postman tells her about a “snake-man” he saw in the carnival in town. He says it looked so real that it gave him the creeps. Kristina tells him it is obviously a fake, but the postman convinces her to go and see it for herself. What will Kristina find at the carnival and what will be David’s fate?

Surprisingly, there are several religious references in Sssssss. When Dr. Stoner talks to Harry the Python, he says how snakes are God’s most perfect species and can even survive an apocalypse. The skinny dipping scene in the forest is reminiscent of Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden.

The make-up used on David’s character is good, as are the special effects for the snake-man. In the scenes where Dr. Stoner milks the snakes, the reptiles were real (except for one part where Martin grabs the King Cobra’s head and a puppet is used). A snake actually bit Strother Martin in the movie. The King Cobras were flown in from Thailand,and the Python was from Singapore. Benedict and Menzies had to handle the real snakes, too. The herpetological library used in the movie is a real one. The Spanish title for this movie was Ssssilbido de muerte which translated in English means “Hiss of Death.” Martin actually used a hypodermic needle and really punctured Benedict’s arm during the injection scenes.

Sssssss was directed by Bernard L. Kowalski, who did many pilots for television shows such as Richard Diamond, Private Detective (1957) and NYPD (1967). He was the executive producer for Baretta (1975) and worked on many Mission: Impossible episodes. He started out in movies by playing an extra in two Errol Flynn movies, Dodge City (1939) and Virginia City (1940).

Dirk Benedict is most famous for playing Starbuck in the original Battlestar Galactica (1978) television series and as Templeton “Face” Peck in The A-Team. Heather Menzies gained modest fame for playing Louisa von Trapp in The Sound of Music (1965). She was married to Robert Urich for 27 years until his death in 2002 from cancer. Urich was in the television series Vegas (1978) and Spenser: For Hire (1985).

Strother Martin is best remembered for his role as The Captain in Cool Hand Luke, where he uttered that film’s classic line: “What we have here is a failure to communicate.” He was also in Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (1967) and Slap Shot (1977) with Paul Newman. Strother Martin died in 1980.

Yes, Sssssss is a cheesy horror film, but it was scary to me the first time I saw it and has gained a minor cult following over the year. I hadn’t seen it since 1973 before I watched it again recently. It didn’t scare me as much this second time around. Still, Sssssss is an original and effective low-budget picture that’s worth watching—if you aren’t afraid of snakes.

The Narrow Margin is a Fast Train Ride

The tagline to The Narrow Margin states: “That Bullet’s Meant for Me.” And believe me, that is the truth for the unfortunate Mrs. Neall. The Narrow Margin is a film noir made in 1952 and directed by Richard Fleischer. Fleischer directed several film noir movies which made him famous such as: The Bodyguard (1948), Follow Me Quietly (1949) and Armored Car Robbery (1950). The Narrow Margin is one of his best thrillers.

Walter Brown (Charles McGraw) is a policeman assigned to protect a dead mobster’s wife. Mrs. Neall (Marie Windsor) has agreed to testify before a grand jury. Needless to say, her dead husband’s friends do not want this to happen. She becomes a target and two men are hired to murder her. She is being hidden in a hotel and will be transported by train from Chicago to Los Angeles. Brown shows his contempt for the mobster’s wife by describing her to his partner as: “The sixty cent special--cheap, flashy, strickly poison under the gravy” (I love that line). Unfortunately, Mrs. Neall is indeed rude, dressed cheaply and irritating. As Brown and his partner are escorting her the hotel room, the beads from her necklace break and some fall down the stairs. Two beads land right beside the killer’s feet as he waits at the end of the stairs in the darkness. Brown’s partner goes down the stairs first and is shot and killed. Now it is left up to Brown to get her safely to the train station and on the train.

Mrs. Neall panics in the taxi and tells Brown he’d better be good protecting her because her life definitely depends on him. When they arrive at the station, Brown realizes they have been followed by two mobsters sent to silence the witness. One of the mobsters even tries to bribe Brown, who refuses to let him have Mrs. Neall. Brown successfully hides her in a train compartment without the two mobsters knowing which one. Mrs. Neall is so annoying. She is rude to Brown, flirts with her, and constantly complains. He leaves her to go to the dining car to bring her breakfast when he meets a pretty blonde woman named Ann Sinclair. On his way back to the compartment, he also runs into a woman with a wildly imaginative son. The little boy sees Brown’s gun under his jacket and yells it to anyone within shouting distance. Brown gets around the boy only to be confronted by a fat man who blocks his way. The fat man complains that no one likes a large man on a train and Brown hurriedly gets around him. It turns out that everyone Brown has confronted on the train has secrets he doesn’t know about. The rest of the movie moves swiftly to the ending where, of course, the mobsters try to kill Mrs. Neall.

The film is only 71 minutes and is quickly paced. That is a good thing too because movies on trains can be very boring in such a confined setting. The Narrow Margin is not boring at all because the taunt action, snappy dialogue, and the many twists with the characters keep the movie fast-paced and interesting. I kept wondering how Brown was ever going to outsmart the mobsters and save Mrs. Neall’s life. The screenplay is well-written and the tight direction makes this movie a great film noir. The Narrow Margin was remade as Narrow Margin in 1990 starring Gene Hackman and Anne Archer, which is a good, fast-paced film that's also well worth watching.

The Narrow Margin was shot in only 13 days. The only scene filmed near a train was the arrival scene in the movie. The rest of the movie was filmed on a set. Fleischer used a hand held camera to film the actors going from one compartment of the train into another one, which was a unique idea at the time. The train set was nailed to the floor and Fleischer’s use of the hand held camera made the train appear to move with a rocking motion. The Narrow Margin was filmed in 1950 but not released until 1952. Howard Hughes, then owner of RKO Pictures, had a copy of the film sent to him to view in his private screening room. Hughes thought the movie had a lot of potential and considered making it into a higher class film by editing and even reshooting some of the scenes. Hughes kept the film for a year.

Star Charles McGraw was known for portraying hard-boiled law officers or military leaders in films like Fleischer's Armored Car Robbery (1950). He played the naval commander in The Bridges of Toko-Ri with William Holden. His most famous role may be as the gladiator trainer in Spartacus (1960). He died in a freaky accident at the age of 66 in 1980. He slipped and fell through a glass shower door in his own home.

Marie Windsor, who trained as a stage actress, plays Mrs. Neall. She starred in mostly "B" films, with her most most well-known being the manipulative wife in Stanley Kubrick's The Killing (1956). Jacqueline White, who portrays Ann Sinclair, only made 25 films. This is her most famous "B" picture. However, she did make one "A" picture movie called Crossfire (1947), directed by film noir veteran Edward Dymtryk.

Director Richard Fleischer is the son of the famous animator and producer, Max Fleischer. Richard began his film career directing animated shorts produced by his father such as Popeye and Superman. Walt Disney, who was once his father’s rival as a cartoon producer, asked Richard to direct 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea (which was written by The Narrow Margin's screenwriter Earl Felton). Fleischer won an Oscar in 1948 for a documentary entitled Design for Death which he co-wrote with Theodor Geisel who later became better known as Dr. Seuss. Later in his career, Fleischer directed many different kinds of films such as the action movie Mr. Majestyk (1974) starring one of my favorite actors, Charles Bronson and The Vikings (1958). Then he turned his talents to making movies about famous serial killers such as: Compulsion (1959), The Boston Strangler (1968) and 10 Rillington Place (1971). He also helmed one of my favorite “guilty pleasure” films, Conan the Destroyer with Arnold Schwarzenegger (1984). Other notable movies he directed were Barabbas (1961), Fantastic Voyage (1966) and Dr. Dolittle (1967).

Show Boat Has a Good Flowing Story

The 1951 remake of Show Boat is one of my favorite movie musicals. It was directed by George Sidney, who also helmed such famous musicals as Annie Get Your Gun (1950), Kiss Me Kate (1953), and Bye Bye Birdie (1963) in addition to The Three Musketeers (1948) and Scaramouche (1953). Howard Keel was the leading man in Show Boat, which co-starred the talented Kathryn Grayson. Keel was also in Annie Get Your Gun and starred with Kathryn Grayson again in two other musicals: Kiss Me Kate and Lovely to Look At (1952). The movie Show Boat is based on a book by Edna Ferber. Jerome Kern wrote the music and Oscar Hammerstein II wrote the script and song lyrics. It is one of MGM’s most popular musicals. There are quite a few differences between this remake and the 1936 original version. Many movie critics like the earlier one better, although the 1951 remake is more elaborate and the running time is shorter. I have never seen the 1936 version of Show Boat.

The story takes place at the end of the nineteenth century when river boats were still popular. The name of this show boat is the “Cotton Blossom.” It is not a passenger boat, but simply a boat that performs musical entertainment to towns along the Mississippi River. The “Cotton Blossom” is owned by Andy Hawks (Joe E. Brown) and his wife, Parthy (Agnes Moorehead). They have a grown daughter named Magnolia (I love that name), whom they call Nolie (played by Kathryn Grayson). Magnolia is good friends with the Julie LaVerne (Ava Gardner), who is the leading performer in the musical show along with her husband, Steve Baker (Robert Sterling). Magnolia looks up to Julie as a big sister. Along comes Gaylord Ravenal (Howard Keel), a riverboat gambler looking for a job as an actor on the show boat. He is instantly attracted to Magnolia. They sing “Make Believe” which becomes their love song. Julie sees quickly that Ravenal is smitten with Magnolia, who comes to Julie and asks her about being in love. Julie sings the song “Can’t Help Lovin’ Dat Man.” (Ava Gardner’s voice is dubbed by a singer named Annette Warren. However in the MGM soundtrack album, Ava Gardner actually sings the song.)

Trouble begins when a man named Pete (Leif Erickson), who works on the show boat, finds out that Julie has given a necklace he gave her to a black woman. Julie tries to get away from him and her husband, Steve, hits him. Joe is mad at Julie and knows a secret about her that will cause her to be fired from the show. He goes to the local sheriff and tells him that Julie’s father was white and her mother was black. He adds that Julie is married to a white man. The sheriff goes to the “Cotton Blossom” and confronts Julie, Steve, and Mr. Hawks since interracial marriages are against the law. Mr. Hawks does not want to, but has to let Julie go. Steve leaves with her. Before Julie leaves, Magnolia gives her an early Christmas gift that she made herself. As Julie and Steve depart the show boat,” Joe (William Warfield), who works on the boat, sings the famous “Ol’ Man River” song as the fog rolls in off the river.

Mr. Hawk comes up with the idea of his daughter, Magnolia, and Gaylord Ravenal taking over as the lead performers in his musical show. The two soon fall deeply in love. Parthy Hawks is not happy with her daughter getting involved with a river gambler. She tells Ravenal he is not to kiss her daughter during any play performances and watches the two “like a hawk”. Every chance they get Magnolia and Ravenal sneak in a kiss. When they tell Magnolia’s parents they want to marry, Mr. Hawks is delighted—but not Parthy. So, Magnolia and Ravenal leave the “Cotton Blossom.”

They move into an expensive hotel in Chicago. At first, they are happy singing “You Are in Love” and “Why Do I Love You.” Ravenal gambles and makes a lot of money. He buys Magnolia jewels and spends his money lavishly. However, his luck begins to run out and he owes debts. Magnolia offers him her jewels to sell, saying she loves him and not the money. Her husband sells them and loses all the money. He leaves Magnolia without telling her, not realizing that his wife is pregnant. Magnolia is forced to find a job to support herself and her baby. Julie finds out about Magnolia hardships. Julie’s story is heart retching and the saddest part of the story. She does two courageous and compassionate things that change Magnolia’s life. I cannot tell you the rest of the story without spoiling it.

The plot of Show Boat is not the usual happy, simple plot of most musicals. It is more like a drama with musical performances. The film’s background is quite interesting. Judy Garland was chosen to play Julie, but her contract with MGM has ended by the time the part was available. The next choices were Dinah Shore and Lena Horne, but they were dropped. Ava Gardner won the role and did an outstanding job. George Sidney was sick for several days and associate producer Roger Edens had to take over for him. He directed the scene with the fog when Julie and her husband left the show boat and William Warfield sang “Ol Man River.” Many critics say this was the best and most original scene in the movie. Roger Edens’ name is not listed in the credits. Edens searched for the singer to play Joe who sang “Ol Man River,” and he discovered the unknown William Warfield.

The most famous line in the movie is Joe E. Brown’s Andy Hawks. who is drunk on New Year’s Eve. saying “Hap---py New Year!” Notice how Agnes Moorehead as Parthy uses it in the ending. Leif Erickson’s name is misspelled in the credits as “Lief.” Ava Gardner’s Julie plays a big sister role to Kathryn Grayson’s Magnolia, but both actresses were born year in 1922. Both grew up in North Carolina towns too. Ava was born near Smithfield, NC and Kathryn Grayson in Winston-Salem, NC. When Kathryn Grayson died last March, the Ava Gardner Museum in Smithfield did a tribute to her. Howard Keel was known as a fine singer, but also played dramatic roles, such as Clayton Farlow on the Dallas television show from 1981-1991.

The water used as the Mississippi River was the lake built for the Johnny Weissmuller Tarzan movies made at MGM Studios. It was on a back lot and was called The Lagoon. An amusement park bought the boat in 1973 for one of its attractions and it was taken apart in 1995.

Show Boat boasts an engrossing story, a terrific cast, and marvelous music and songs. Try to see the new DVD, which features clear, beautiful color.

Airwolf Whirls into Action

Airwolf, which aired from 1984-87, was one of my favorite action TV shows. I looked forward to every episode with excitement. It ran for four seasons with 79 episodes. Series creator Donald Bellisario did an episode for Magnum P. I. entitled “The Birds of a Feather” in 1983, hoping the idea would sell as the pilot for Airwolf. It wasn’t picked up by any network, so Bellisario made some revisions and shot another pilot that was broadcast as a two-part Airwolf in January 1984.

The stars of Airwolf were Jan-Michael Vincent, Ernest Borgnine and Alex Cord. Jan-Michael Vincent had been in movies for many years. His wholesome American good looks led to his discovery as an actor. He guest starred in many television episodes and appeared in movies such as The Mechanic (1972) with Charles Bronson, White Line Fever (1975), and the miniseries The Winds of War (1983). His outstanding performance in The Winds of War won him the leading role in Airwolf. Ernest Borgnine’s acting career took off when he portrayed Sgt. “Fatso” Judson in From Here to Eternity (1953), and he is still acting today. Alex Cord guest starred in many television series. However, it was the movie Synanon (1965) in which he played a dope addict that brought him notice. I saw him portray the murderer in Edgar Allan Poe’s short story The Tell Tale Heart in 1971 with Sam Jaffe as the old man. His performance was excellent and one I will always remember.

Airwolf was the code name of a high-tech military helicopter created for the United States. It was capable of flying half-way around the world and could out run jet planes. It was loaded with a computer system that practically controlled the aircraft. It was designed for three pilots to control it; however, it could be controlled by only two. One pilot would control the aircraft while the other one could see anything on radar, identify approaching aircraft, and initiate an array of various cool weapons. One character described Airwolf as a “mach one class chopper that can kick butt”—which is an accurate description.

The series pilot “Shadow of the Hawke” explains that Airwolf was designed by Dr. Charles Moffet (David Hemmings). While demonstrating the helicopter for the military, he suddenly blows up the entire military installation and steals Airwolf. Moffett decides to use the aircraft for mercenary reasons, but he is a cruel man and doesn’t want money from other governments. Instead his fee for using Airwolf is so he can pick women of his choice to torture and murder.

Alex Cord plays a man who works for an organization called The Firm. His name is Michael Coldsmith Briggs III, but his codename is Archangel (he wears glasses with a patch over the left eye lens, uses a cane, and wears a white suit...symbolizing an angel!). Archangel goes to see Stringfellow Hawke (I just love that name), who flew Airwolf as a test pilot. He wants him to find the helicopter and return it to the government. The problem is that Hawke is a recluse who lives in the mountains in a cabin by a lake with his dog, Tet. He likes living alone and doesn’t want to help Archangel, who shows up at his cabin with a young woman who is an agent. Hawke’s character is fascinating. He parents died in a boating accident on the lake. He inherited the cabin from his grandfather who collected famous paintings as a gift for his grandmother. He even serenades an eagle playing a cello in a chair on his dock.

Stringfellow had a brother named St. John (pronounced “Sinjin”), who flew helicopters in Vietnam with him. Their helicopter was shot down and only String was rescued. St. John has been listed as an MIA for fourteen years. Hawke has lost everyone he loved and is very depressed. He has only one friend, Dominic Santin, played by Ernest Borgnine who runs a helicopter stunt service for movies. Hawke is his main stunt pilot. Dominic raised Stringfellow and St. John after their parents died. Hawke finally agrees to go on the mission to retrieve the helicopter from Dr. Moffet and return it to the United States military. Archangel offers him a million dollars, but Hawke is not interested in the money. He wants the government to find his MIA brother. Archangel agrees to Hawke’s demands.

Naturally, Hawke falls in love with the female agent Archangel has brought with him. When she gets into trouble, Hawke steals Airwolf and goes after her. In the end of the pilot, Hawke decides to keep Airwolf to blackmail the government into helping him find his brother. He hides the helicopter in the desert in a unique place. Archangel recruits Hawke into helping The Firm on secret missions. Archangel does not want any government to know about Airwolf nor is Hawke to be associated with the government in any way. Hawke agrees to do so. Every week, he goes on a mission to other counties to help the organization keep America safe.

The first season of Airwolf is rather dark because Hawke is a man who prefers his peace in his cabin. During the second season, the show was changed to lighten the stories to make it more family-oriented. Jean Bruce Scott was added to the series as Caitlin O’Shannessy, a pilot in Santini’s helicopter business. She was on the show for two years. The fourth season was terrible because the entire cast was completely written out of the show. Hawke quits, Dominic is killed, Archangel is reassigned, and Caitlin is just gone. Hawke’s brother (Barry Van Dyke), who turns out to be alive and has been secretly working for the government, becomes the leading character. The fourth season was the last one. I watched three episodes and decided I didn’t like it.

I loved the first three seasons Airwolf. The series featured excellent action scenes and Vincent’s interesting character always made it entertaining. Jan-Michael Vincent has always been one of my favorite actors. His life has been a hard one. He was in a car accident, which permanently damaged his voice, and also has battled alcoholism. He is doing better now and has retired from acting.

The helicopter used as Airwolf was sold after the show. It was used as an ambulance helicopter in Germany. During a thunderstorm in 1992, it crashed and, sadly, all three crew members were killed.

Into the West: "Bite the Bullet" Races Toward the Finish

Richard Brooks produced, wrote, and directed Bite the Bullet in 1975. A prolific screenwriter and later director, Brooks earned Oscar nominations for penning the screenplays for Blackboard Jungle (1955), The Professionals (1966), Cat on a Hot Tin Roof (1958), and In Cold Blood (1967). He won the Academy Award for Best Screenplay Adaptation for Elmer Gantry in 1960. He married Jean Simmons, who was his leading lady in that movie.

Brooks loosely based Bite the Bullet on a 700-mile cross country horse race that took place in 1906. The film opens with a newspaper sponsoring such a race with the winner receiving $2,000. The race’s participants are followed by a train that stops at various checkpoints along a course loaded with supplies and even prostitutes for the men. When a horse and rider check in at these stops, they are allowed to rest, eat, and sleep and leave in the order they arrived. A newspaper reporter follows some of the racers with his motorcycle. He writes about the race and helps out any riders who might get into trouble.

The race’s contestants are a mixed group of people. Sam Clayton (Gene Hackman) and Luke Matthews (James Coburn) are former Rough Riders who went separate ways in life, but still remain good friends. Their friendship is the most interesting part of the movie. The race’s only female rider, a former prostitute named Miss Jones (Candice Bergen), has an ulterior motive for wanting to be in the race. A Mexican rider (Mario Arteaga), who is battling a painful toothache, wants to win the money to make a better life for his family. An old sick cowboy, Mister (Ben Johnson), is risking his life to participate in the grueling race. Carbo (Jan-Michael Vincent) is a young immature man who is cruel to animals. Jack Parker (Dabney Coleman) is the wealthy owner of a thoroughbred champion horse and desperately wants his horse to beat the quarter horses adapted to the Western territory. He has even hired an experienced rider to ride his horse. The last man is Sir Henry Norfolk (Ian Bannen), who traveled all the way from England to ride in a Western race just for the sport of it. He even rides an English saddle instead of the widely-used western saddle suited for a race like this one. The way these characters interact during the race reveals much about each of them and also how they deal with the changing times (a theme explored again by Brooks in The Professionals). The cowboy’s way of life is coming to an end with the new transportation of the twentieth century.

At the beginning Bite the Bullet, Sam in en route to deliver a champion thoroughbred horse to Jack Parker, who is waiting on the train. Sam is riding his own horse and leading the thoroughbred. He finds a wild mare that has been captured and tortured by wranglers. She is dead and Sam stops to remove a piece of metal stuck through her nose. He sees a foal belonging to the mare and hears coyotes approaching to kill the young horse. Sam loves horses and has a kind heart. He puts the foal across his saddle. He rides and sees a farm with a young boy milking a cow. Sam asks the boy if he would like a horse of his own. The boy says yes, but he can’t pay for the foal. Sam gives him the foal, telling him he doesn’t have to pay for it but just treat it well. Sam arrives late at the train stop and is promptly fired by Parker, who claims Sam made his champion thoroughbred walk too far.

In town, Sam meets his old friend Luke, who is a gambler and has bet his own money on himself to win the race. He asks Sam why he hasn’t entered the race. Sam says he has been fired by Parker and, since he’s out of a job, he adds his name to the race’s roster. Later, the two men encounter the young punk Carbo hitting a donkey and quickly put a stop to it. This scene and the rescue of the foal show Sam and Luke will not tolerate animal cruelty and truly love horses, which plays a key role in the film’s climax.

Sam and Luke also will not tolerate prejudice. When a stranger makes fun of the Mexican rider, Sam lies and says his grandfather was a Mexican. Luke follows suit and says he is part Cherokee Indian. The racist man is afraid to fight both of them and leaves. Later, the young Carbo calls Miss Jones a whore and doesn’t treat her with respect. Sam takes up for her and puts the kid in his place.

In one scene, Parker has his hired rider provide essentially handicap the race by telling him who has the best chance of winning. The rider replies that: the punk kid is too inexperienced; the Mexican is tough and so is his horse; Luke doesn’t have the best horse, but he takes chances and is lucky; the woman can ride as well as any man; and the Englishman’s horse can keep up with the thoroughbred. However, he says the one to watch is Sam. He has the experience, knows the territory, and his horse has the heart.

During the course of the story, you see these characters take care of each other. They help one another, support each other when bad things happen, grow to respect each other and even learn from one another--especially Carbo who races his horse so hard he kills him and Parker, who wants his champion horse to win wants a fair race.

Bite the Bullet is a well-acted Western with good themes, plenty of action, and interesting characters. Many things happen to the riders and their horses along the way. However, it is the story of Sam and Luke’s friendship that makes this movie an excellent Western. The surprise ending is one you will not forget.

Charles Bronson was offered the leading role of Sam Clayton, but turned it down. He would have been a good choice for the role, but Hackman does an outstanding job. The movie was shot on location in New Mexico and Nevada—the desert scenes will make you thirsty. My favorite quote is Miss Jones explaining to the young Carbo how a cowboy dresses and undresses. That description always makes me laugh.

Bite the Bullet was nominated for two Oscars: Best Sound Mixing and Best Music and Original Score by Alex North. North received an astounding 14 nominations for Best Original Score—and never won an Oscar (though he did receive an honorary one in 1986). The two leading men both later won Oscars for acting: Gene Hackman for The French Connection (1971) and Unforgiven (1992) and James Coburn won for Affliction (1997).

Love Stories: Romance, Music, Motion...It's a Clean Sweep for Dirty Dancing!

Dirty Dancing has to be one of the most romantic movies in movie history. It was made in 1987 and directed by Emile Ardolino, who has won several awards. Eleanor Bergstein, who wrote the screenplay, based the lead male and female characters on real people she knew. Those roles were played by the charismatic Patrick Swayze and Jennifer Grey, the daughter of Joel Grey, the Oscar-winning actor from Cabaret. Both Swayze and Grey were relatively unknowns at the time. Most of the dance scenes in this movie were choreographed by Kenny Ortega, who is now probably most famous for the High School Musical films.

Jennifer Grey had already been trained as a dancer. She was only 27 years old when the movie was filmed. Patrick Swayze was 34 and an accomplished dancer himself. He and Grey had worked together three years earlier in Red Dawn. Grey didn’t really want to work with Swayze again, saying that they hadn’t gotten along well on their previous film. However, the two actors worked out their differences and made movie history with their electric chemistry on the screen.

The story takes place in 1963 in the Catskill Mountains where the Kellerman family is vacationing. Dr. Kellerman (Jerry Orbach) is a Jewish physician who is a friend of the resort’s owner. He and his wife have two daughters. One daughter’s name is Frances, but she is called “Baby” by her family. Baby is 17 years old and going to Mount Holyoke College in the fall. While at the resort, Baby is captivated by a dancing instructor named Johnny Castle (Patrick Swayze). She is invited to one of the staff parties, where she sees Johnny and his friends dancing in a “dirty” way.

Later, Baby finds out that Johnny’s dance partner, Penny Johnson (Cynthia Rhodes), is pregnant and the father is another staff member. Penny gets an abortion and starts hemorrhaging afterwards. She refuses to go to a doctor because abortions are illegal. Baby feels sorry for Penny and convinces her physician father to help Penny. Dr. Kellerman saves Penny’s life. However, he falsely assumes that Johnny was the man who fathered Penny’s baby. He forbids Baby to associate with Johnny and his “lowly” friends again.

Of course, Baby does not listen to her father--because she is 17 years old and in love with Johnny. Johnny tries to resist her innocent charm, but he finally gives in and they have an affair. Baby is seen by another guest leaving Johnny’s cabin. The guest is jealous of Baby spending the night with Johnny, so she tells the resort’s owner that Johnny stole a guest’s wallet. The turning point in the movie is when the resort manager is going to fire Johnny. Baby does something for Johnny which changes his life. The dance scene in the end of the movie is stunning and so romantic that just thinking about it makes me shiver.

Dirty Dancing, which was made on a budget of only five million dollars, earned over two hundred million dollars worldwide. The movie made history when the video was the first one to sell over a million copies. Several songs from the movie became famous. “I’ve Had the Time of My Life” won a the Academy Award for Best Original Song, the Grammy Award for best duet, and a Golden Globe award. Another song, “She’s Like the Wind,” was written by Patrick Swayze and Stacy Widelitz. Swayze even sings it in the movie. The dance scenes in this movie, as well as the music, played a major part in the film’s popularity. Some women consider it the most romantic film in history. It certainly made Patrick Swayze famous.

The movie wasn’t filmed in the Catskill Mountains in New York. It was filmed at Lake Lure in North Carolina and the Mountain Lake Resort near Roanoke, Virginia. Lake Lure is a beautiful place and I have been there on a vacation. It is famous not only for being one of the settings in Dirty Dancing; a scene from the movie The Last of the Mohicans was filmed there as well. The lake scenes were supposed to be in the summer, however, it was October and the leaves were changing colors. The leaves had to be painted green. The last line of the movie is famous, but I cannot include it in my review because I would give away the ending.

If you have never seen Dirty Dancing, it is a must see movie. It is my favorite romantic movie. The songs are outstanding and on my iPod. I think it is Patrick Swayze’s best movie. I was so sad when Patrick died, but with Dirty Dancing and Ghost he leaves behind a great legacy in the movies.

A Month of Mysteries: "Jagged Edge" is a Movie with Many Edges

Made in 1985, Jagged Edge is one of my favorite mystery/suspense movies. It was directed by Richard Marquand, who is famous for directing Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi two years earlier. The screenplay was written by Joe Eszterhas who also wrote Basic Instinct in 1992. Many film critics think there is a similarity in the plot between the two films.

Jagged Edge reminds me of a courtroom mystery thriller made during the 1940s. It begins with a woman who is sleeping in a bed in a beautiful beach house. A person dressed in black with a black mask enters her room with a jagged-edged hunting knife. He overpowers her and ties her hands and feet to the bed. Then, we hear her screaming and see the outside of the house.

The murdered woman is Page Forrester, a wealthy socialite who owns a newspaper. The district attorney Thomas Krasny (Peter Coyote) immediately suspects that the victim's husband, Jack (Jeff Bridges), murdered his wife. Krasny is a lawyer who views this high profile case as a step to further his career. He is an interesting character who will stop at nothing to convict Jack.

Teddy Barnes, played by Glenn Close, is the lawyer who decides to defend Jack even though she has not tried a criminal case for four years. Teddy has her reasons for taking the case. She worked with Krasny four years ago. The two of them prosecuted a low-life criminal named Henry Styles for a crime. Teddy learned after Styles was convicted that Krasny knew information that could have proved Styles’ innocence. Teddy quit practicing criminal law because she said nothing about this and Styles went to prison. Krasny sees Teddy having dinner with her ex-husband in a restaurant. He informs her that Styles hanged himself in prison. Krasny hopes this fact will make Teddy feel even guiltier and she will not defend Jack. Instead, it only makes Teddy more determined to defend Jack; she views proving his innocence as a way to right the wrong done to Styles.

Teddy tells Jack she will not defend him unless she believes he is innocent. Jack is a clever man and convinces her that he truly cared for his wife. As the plot progresses, we see Teddy falling in love with Jack. They begin having an affair even though Teddy knows it is unethical. Teddy works with an investigator named Sam Ransom, played by Robert Loggia (who has the best lines in the movie). He is a crusty foul-mouthed investigator who warns Teddy about her relationship with Jack. He tells her he thinks Jack murdered his wife. Teddy defends Jack.

As the trial progresses, facts appear that make Jack look less guilty. Page Forrester’s best friend is put on the witness stand by Krasny. She tells the jury that Page was going to divorce her husband. Krasny points out that Jack Forrester is the sole beneficiary of his wife’s will and if his wife had divorced him, he would lose everything. Teddy questions the wife’s best friend and has a letter written by her saying how much she wanted Jack to become her lover—then an unexpected twist occurs. A note written on a 1942 Corona typewriter sent to Teddy suggests that a similar murder may have been attempted on another woman four months earlier. Teddy finds the intended victim, who tells the jury about her attacker. The attack and her attacker fit the murder of Page Forrester, throwing doubt onto another man. Will this latest revelation sway the jury?

I won't divulge the rest of the plot because it would ruin the ending. There is another twist and the climax of Jagged Edge is an absolutely stunning surprise. The last line in the movie, said by Sam Ransom, is just priceless--it's one you will remember forever.

The plot is carefully developed with intricate details. The viewer goes from thinking Jack is guilty to Jack is innocent several times. Is Teddy being fooled by Jack and his charm or is Jack really in love with her as she is with him? Will the two be happy forever in the end of the film? You will have to watch and see for yourself.

Robert Loggia was nominated for Best Supporting Actor in 1985. He didn’t win, but I think he should have. John Barry composed the haunting music. Barry is famous for composing many scores, including the ones for the James Bond movies. The 1942 Corona typewriter used in the movie was the same one that Joe Eszterhas used in writing the screenplay. I am a Star Wars fan so I have to mention this fact. When the ex-husband goes into his son and daughter’s bedroom to kiss them good night, there is a movie poster on the back of the bedroom door of Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi, which, as previously mentioned, was also directed by Marquand.

If you watch this movie, play close attention to all the details and events that occur. That is the most interesting and fascinating thing about it.

12 Days of Christmas: National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation

National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation is one of my favorite Christmas movies. I saw when it was released in the theater in 1989. My husband and I liked it so much we finally bought the videotape and later the DVD. We watch it every Christmas Eve with our children. It is one of our Christmas traditions.

The movie is about a man’s dream of having the perfect family Christmas with all the relatives over for the holidays. This is the third National Lampoon movie so naturally the Griswold family’s plans for a big family Christmas will turn into utter disaster.

Clark Griswold (Chevy Chase) is hard-working, middle-class businessman. He invents products for a large company owned by a wealthy man. This Christmas, Clark told his wife that he invited all of their relatives to their house for Christmas. Ellen Griswold (Beverly D’Angelo) knows that her husband has high ideals that can rarely be met. She tells him that he sets standards that no family can live up to. The problem is that Clark thinks he can pull this off without any problems. However, we all know things don’t usually work that easily for Clark.

The plot thickens when the two sets of parents arrive. These in-laws do not care for each other and bicker and nag Clark and Ellen. Even Ellen and Clark’s children, Audrey (Juliette Lewis) and Rusty (Johnny Galecki), want the grandparents to leave and suggest they stay in a hotel. Clark wants to make the house beautiful for the holidays. He works all day to put lights all over the house. He gets the whole family to come into the yard to watch as he plugs in two cords to illuminate the house. The house does not light up. Ellen’s father says it was a dumb idea anyway and all go back into the house. Clark’s daughter, Audrey, feels sorry for her Dad and tells him she thinks it looks pretty anyway. Later Ellen figures out why the lights won’t turn on and turns on another switch. The house lights up so brilliantly that the next door neighbors are blinded and trip over each other and fall down the stairs.

One of the key scenes in the movie is when the family decides to go Christmas shopping. Clark is hiding presents in the attic and someone closes the door locking him inside. The family leaves and while they are gone, Clark finds an old film made when he was a child. When he watches the film on an old projector, we see that his family Christmases were not so happy.

There are many memorable scenes that show how Clark’s perfect Christmas is just doomed. One is when Clark doesn’t want to buy a tree, but to find the perfect Christmas tree. He drives Ellen, Audrey, and Rusty into the country and digs up an entire tree. Even Rusty tells his Dad that the tree is too big for their yard. Clark, however, takes the tree into his house, cuts the rope around it. The tree’s branches break the living room windows.

Just as the movie starts to slow down, it gains momentum when Eddie (Randy Quaid) the redneck cousin arrives driving an old RV in which he and his family live. Eddie is pretty dumb, too. He empties the RV's septic tank into the sewage drain in front of Clark’s house. Clark tells Ellen, who replies: “He just doesn’t know any better.”

Clark tells all the relatives he is going to have a swimming pool installed in his backyard and invites everyone to his house in the summer. He plans on paying for it with his Christmas bonus. Clark’s boss has decided he isn’t giving his employees any Christmas bonuses this year. It is cousin, Eddie, who saves Clark in the ending with his big heart and no brain.

The dialogue is sharp and witty with many memorable laugh out loud scenes. One of my favorite moments is when Aunt Bethany is asked to say the blessing at the Christmas dinner. Poor old Aunt Bethany can hardly remember or hear a thing. Her husband yells to her to say “the BLESSING.” Aunt Bethany doesn’t have a clue what he said so she recites “The Pledge of Allegiance.”

Even though Clark’s idea of a perfect Christmas is not realized, the point the film makes is that family is more important than anything. Swimming pools, perfect meals, many gifts, Christmas trees, and a beautifully decorated house are not what Christmas represents. It is about having one’s family together even if they don’t all get along with each other and enjoy their time together.

There are some interesting scenes in this movie that you should look for if you ever watch it again. The scene where Clark’s son is watching TV on the sofa, note that he's watching It’s a Wonderful Life. The house in the home video that Clark watches in the attic is the same house used on the TV show Bewitched. The glasses which Clark and Eddie use to drink their eggnog features the theme park character “Marty Moose” from one of the other Lampoon movies.

This Christmas Eve when you are watching your favorite Christmas movie before heading to bed to wait for Santa Clause think about Aki and her family because we will watching National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation in our den.

Underrated Performer of the Week: Diana Muldaur

Starting in the mid-1960s and for the next thirty years, Diana Muldaur was one of the busiest performers on television. The dark-haired actress with the striking eyes guest starred in dozens of TV series, ranging from Hawaii Five-O to Kung Fu, Fantasy Island, Charlie’s Angels, and Hart to Hart.

She appeared in two episodes of Gene Roddenbery’s original Star Trek: playing a scientist whose body becomes possessed by an intelligent alien in season 2’s “Return to Tomorrow” and portraying a blind telepath in season 3’s “Is There Truth No Beauty.” Two decades later, Roddenberry added Muldaur to the cast of StarTrek: The Next Generation as the Enterprise’s chief physician, Dr. Kate Pulaski. She left the hit series after a single season, stating in a People Magazine interview in 2000: “I don’t think they were happy to have me there.”

In 1989, the same year in which she left The Next Generation, she joined McKenzie, Brackman, Chaney and Kuzak on NBC’s popular L.A. Law. She earned two Emmy nominations for her portrayal of aggressive attorney Rosalind Shays in seasons 4 and 5. But it was her character’s shocking death—Shays fell down an elevator shaft—that earned her a place in television lore.

Muldaur also played game warden (and best-selling author) Joy Adamson in Born Free, a short-lived 1974 series adapted the hit movie about Elsa the lioness.

Though she occasionally had roles in theatrical films, big screen stardom eluded Muldaur. Still, she played opposite John Wayne in McQ and had her best screen role in Thomas Tryon’s The Other.

Off screen, Diana Muldaur served as board member on the Screen Actors Guild and as president of the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences. She has been married twice. Her first husband, actor James Vickery, died of cancer in 1979. She has been married to writer-producer Robert Dozier since 1981. She has bred Airedale Terriers and served as a judge at dog shows.

This Week's Poll: Who is your favorite character in the original Star Wars trilogy?

Jedi Knights, this week’s poll requires you to make a tough decision: Who is your favorite character in the original Star Wars trilogy? Your choices are justly famous, but here are some refresher introductions anyway:

Han Solo (Harrison Ford) – Cynical pilot of the Millennium Falcon. Known to do a little smuggling. Not brainy, but has space smarts and never backs down from a fight.

Princess Leia (Carrie Fisher) – Feisty princess with the most famous hair-do of the late 70s. Can trade wisecracks with the best (e.g., Han Solo). Doesn’t like to be told what to do.

Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill) – Spunky lad who appears to possess gifts he doesn’t understand, such as dueling with a light saber and navigating fighter spacecrafts.

Chewbacca (Peter Mayhew) – Bigfoot-like co-pilot of the Millennium Falcon and crony of Han Solo’s. Prone to uttering growls of frustration during chases and battles.

Darth Vader (Dave Prowse & James Earl Jones) – Imposing villain and former Jedi Knight. Has embraced the dark side of the Force. Wields a mean light saber.

R2-D2 (Kenny Baker) – The little droid who can do it all; communicates with techno noises; handy for storing holographs with valuable information.

C-3PO (Anthony Daniels) – A human-size droid that looks sharp in gold; can speak in English; R2-D2’s de facto partner.

Obi-Wan Kenobi (Alec Guinness) –Master of the Force, a Jedi general during the Clone Wars who can perform the “Jedi mind trick.” Still pretty good with the light saber. Can make ghostly appearances when needed.

Yoda (Frank Oz) – Little Jedi master; species unknown. Quicker than he looks. Often speaks with nouns before the verbs (e.g., “Stopped they must be”).

Those are your choices. I said it’d be a difficult decision, so may the Force be with you!

31 Days of Halloween: Boil it, bake it, stew it, fry it? It's hard to destroy The Thing!

One of my favorite science fiction movies is the 1951 version of The Thing from Another World. Even though it was made long ago, it remains an excellent, scary movie. Although Christian Nyby gets the sole directing credit on the screen, most critics agree that producer Howard Hawks helmed much of the film. The screenplay is loosely based on the short story “Who Goes There?” written by John W. Campbell in 1938. John Carpenter’s 1982 remake of this story is a more faithful adaptation, because the alien in Campbell’s story is a shape shifter. In Hawk’s 1951 film, the alien is a more traditional monster.

The movie stars Kenneth Tobey, Margaret Sheridan, Douglas Spencer and Robert O. Cornthwaite, and James Arness as The Thing. I love this movie and watch it several times a year. The main reason I like this version is because the plot is simple and moves quickly, the characters are likable people, and the dialogue is witty and flows naturally. The characters are like old friends and are comfortable with each other; they don’t skip a beat when talking to one another.

Set in Alaska, the film opens with Air Force Captain Hendry and his men being sent to a remote Arctic research station to check on a group of scientists who claim a mysterious aircraft has crashed landed near their research facility. Captain Hendry (Tobey) allows a newspaper reporter to accompany them in the airplane along with sled dogs and other equipment.

Once there, Hendry quickly assesses the situation and discovers that the unknown aircraft has melted into the ice and refrozen. My favorite scene is when the scientists and Hendry’s men determine the shape of the craft. They each walk out to the rim of the craft and hold out their hands. Immediately, they realize they have found a round flying saucer. They all agree the best way to melt the ice to get to the craft is by using thermite heat explosives. However, they accidently blow up the spacecraft. Crew chief Bob, played by Dewey Martin, discovers the body of the alien frozen in the ice. (Interestingly, this icy-set scene was filmed at the RKO ranch in the San Fernando Valley in 100-degree heat.)

Dr. Carrington (Cornthwaite) is the film’s “mad scientist.” He tries to grow some “baby Things” using an arm torn by a sled dog who attacked the creature. He even uses human blood plasma to feed the seedlings, ignoring the possibility that he’s creating a race of Things that will consume the Earth’s population for food. But Carrington cannot help himself—his quest for knowledge about the unknown drives him to do these things. He does not want The Thing destroyed, so he pleads with Hendry: “We have only one excuse for existing, to think, to find out, to learn what is unknown.” A second later, one of Henry’s men quips: “We haven’t a chance to learn anything from that Martian, except a quicker way to die.” This theme of science vs. military became a staple of 1950s science fiction films (even in The Day the Earth Stand Still, Klaatu is shot by an Army soldier and later seeks out men of science because no one else will listen to his message).

Crew chief Bob is the most creative of the characters. He comes up with all the effective ideas not only to kill the Thing, but how to keep it at bay. His ideas save everyone! When they learn the monstrous alien is more vegetable than human, Scotty asks: “Here’s the sixty-four million dollar question, what you do with a vegetable?” Nikki quickly replies, “Boil it, bake it, stew it, fry it?” Bob says they have plenty of kerosene, so why not try to burn it? This is what I mean by natural dialogue that flows quickly between the characters.

You won’t find out the fate of the Thing in this review. Just watch the film and enjoy the screenplay and likable, interesting characters. The most famous quote comes at the end when Scotty warns people everywhere to “watch the skies.”

There is a colorized version of The Thing From Another World on video. My father recorded the film from television for me many years ago and I still have it. My husband got me the DVD for Christmas last year. That fact alone tells you how much I love this movie.

Chris George and The Rat Patrol

One of the most iconic images on television in the late 1960s was of a jeep flying over the top of a sand dune and--thump!--landing on the ground. Why was that so memorable? Well, there was a guy standing on the back of the jeep holding onto a machine gun! This eye-catching opening let viewers know that The Rat Patrol was going to be anything but boring. At a scant 30 minutes per episode, this World War II action drama never lets up.

The premise wasn't exactly believable. It followed a squad of four Allied soldiers (two per jeep) who conducted raids aimed at disrupting Rommel and the Germans during their operations in the Sahara. The four leads could be identified easily because they all wore different hats: Sergeant Sam Troy (Chris George) donned an Australian bush hat; Sergeant Jack Moffitt (Gary Raymond), the British member of the squad, wore a beret; Private Mark Hitchcock (Lawrence Casey) favored a Civil War cap; and Private Tully Pettigrew (Justin Tarr) usually wore a helmet.

My favorite was Chris George...and it wasn't just because he was incredibly handsome. The first year of the show was filmed in Spain and, during one of the stunts, a jeep fell over on Chris. I read about the incident in the newspaper, which mentioned the name of the hospital. I tracked down the address and wrote my first fan letter. He sent a great photo, signed in blue ballpoint (no stamped signature for Chris) and it hangs on a wall in my home to this day.

My favorite episode is from Season One and is called "The B Negative Raid." Moffitt is seriously wounded and has a rare blood type. Troy needs to find a donor. The only one he can find with the rare blood type is in bad guy Hauptmann Dietrich's desert headquarters and the guy just happens to be an American deserter. (The deserter dies in the end protecting Troy and Moffitt, so he redeems himself...just so you know what happened.)

When The Rat Patrol was over, I still followed Chris George’s career, whether he was low-budget flicks like The Day of the Animals or featured in a supporting role in a John Wayne film like El Dorado (he and the Duke were friends). Chris and his wife, Lynda Day George, also appeared regularly in made-for-TV films. Sadly, Chris George died of a heart attack in 1983 at the age of 52.

The other members of The Rat Patrol had modest careers after the show ended its two-year run in 1968. However, Hans Gudegast, who played the show's heavy, changed his name to Eric Braeden and became of one daytime television's highest-paid actors on The Young and the Restless.