Cult Movie Theatre: I Bury the Living

This review is by guest blogger ClassicBecky from ClassicBecky's Brain Food.

Richard Boone in IBTL.

Have you ever been digging through a big barrel full of DVDs at Walmart and thought you found a gem...and the gem turns out to be cheap glass? A few years ago, I found a collection of DVDs with 85 science fiction movies. Frankly, I had forgotten my glasses that day, so I couldn’t read the tiny type required to list all 85 titles on the back of the DVD set. I figured, what could go wrong? Surely there would be a bunch of good ones in the group. That’s how I found the 1958 film I Bury The Living (IBTL), starring Richard Boone. It was one of three movies that even seemed like they might be good, the others being White Zombie, which I do like, and The Crawling Eye, which I thought sounded fun. The rest had names like Hercules vs. the Amazon Women and Clowns on Mars.  Pretty sad.

I really like Richard Boone, having suffered a huge crush on him when he played Paladin, the gentlemanly, very moral gunman on Have Gun--Will Travel on TV. That black and silver ensemble – what girl child could resist it? It was strange to see him in ordinary street clothes in IBTL, and he didn’t seem as tall without his black cowboy hat. However, he was still masculine, appealing, and a good actor. The movie also starred Theodore Bikel, a well-respected actor, and Robert Anderson,  a well-known character actor and Dad to Dennis the Menace.

Boone plays Robert Kraft, a businessman who has to take his turn amongst the big boys in town to run Immortal Hills, the town cemetery.  Bikel is Andy McKee, a Scottish cemetery groundsman who has 40 years in the business and is creepily attached to his graveyard. Anderson is Jess Jessup (his parents must have had no imagination), the town newspaperman who must be frantically looking for some kind of story…he is always at the cemetery.  Other members of the cast include recognizable character actors and a woman who plays Boone’s love interest. She is actress Peggy Maurer, whose only other claim to fame is the two-minute part of grown-up Wendy in 1960’s Peter Pan.

The real star of the show is The Map. I capitalize The Map because it is the centerpiece of the movie.  isual effects man Edward Vorkapich (who never did anything much else in the movie biz) designed The Map, and it is fairly creepy. It’s really big, and shows the topography of the cemetery. Big black lines, which are never explained as far as what they represent, are scrawled across the map, and look like weird Picasso-ish eyes. Throughout the movie, the map changes perspective, becomes brighter and the black lines bolder. It does so as Kraft goes quietly crazy. 

Bikel and Boone in front of The Map.

In his capacity as manager of the cemetery, it is Kraft’s job to keep track of the dead who are already buried there, and the pre-planners who are yet to come. Black pins are used to mark the already-present dead, and white pins to mark customers who have not yet arrived. The tension begins when Kraft, who apparently can’t tell black from white, keeps using black pins to mark the living. When he accidentally does this, the people die, like right away, pretty much dropping in their tracks from auto accidents, heart attacks and the like. Kraft begins to believe that he is causing the deaths. He becomes hyper-aware of McKee’s annoying singing and the sound of the chisel chipping away at the gravestones McKee is making. McKee, in the meantime, is of little help to Kraft’s mental state, and is just generally strange. The story, which has holes like swiss cheese, finally wraps up with a barely believable ending.

IBTL is directed by Albert Band, known for extremely B movies (my favorite title of his is Dracula’s Dog). The music, which is OK but not particularly good, was done by music editor Eve Newman, also known for her work on Roger Corman’s Poe movies. She also composed the score for TV’s Sky King, one of my favorites when I was a kid (“Out of the blue of the western sky comes … Sky King!”)  According to IMDb, most of the people involved in IBTL appear to be best known for this movie, which apparently wasn’t much of an asset to their curriculum vitae.

Turner Classic Movies did show IBTL on its underground movie schedule in 2007. Otherwise, I don’t know where you would find it except in the big barrel at Walmart. By the way, it didn’t really have 85 movies–just 30. Still, three good movies out of 30 is not a good bargain!

The poster is great, but whoever designed it must not have actually seen the movie.  A great “cry”?  Maybe from the audience who paid money to see it.  Otherwise, I didn’t hear a thing.

Five Favorite Classic Movie Villains

I must apologize in advance for the skimpiness of detail in discussing my villains.  Computer problems are preventing me from pulling up sites that I use to refresh memory and find information.  If you are reading this at all, it means that I got lucky.  Instead of a more comprehensive look at the actors, I offer this pictorial with the information I have in my memory.  I have many favorite villains in movies, and I have picked five to share with you. I have chosen pictures of the actors in their roles, as well as the same actors as just themselves.  It would be fun to hear from you about your favorites:

#1  Henry Daniell as Lord Wolfingham in The Sea Hawk (1940).  As a slimy, deceitful Englishmen who spies for Spain, Daniell incurs the wrath of one of England's Sea Hawks (Errol Flynn).  Daniell's wonderfully clipped, nasal British accent makes him a perfect villain who believes he will win in the end.  He doesn't...


Daniell could not swing a sword at all, and was doubled
in all fencing shots -- but who cares?  He was a great villain!

I'm not sure if he smiled much, but
he is distinguished and very proper!

 
#2  Richard Widmark as Tommy Udo in Kiss of Death (1947).  Widmark became a star with his portrayal of the disgusting, giggling psychopath member of a crime mob.  He would stop at nothing, and enjoyed his job.

Yes, Tommy Udo gleefully pushed the crippled lady down the stairs...

Widmark ... handsome and well-liked by colleagues.

#3  Jane Greer as Kathie in Out of the Past (1947).  Beautiful, slinky, a dame who epitomized female sociopaths in classic film noir, Jane Greer worked her deadly wiles on Robert Mitchum and Kirk Douglas.  She almost got away with it ... almost...

Kathie is ready to do anything to get what she wants...

Jane washing her hair like any other woman...

#4  Steve Cochran as "Big Ed" in White Heat (1949).  Scheming and cocky, Big Ed plans to take over crime operations led by the insane gangster Cody Jarrett (James Cagney).  He also plans to take over Cody's wife Verna (Virginia Mayo).  Big Ed gets his in the end...

Big Ed with Verna.
Love the way he spits out his gum before he kisses her...

Steve Cochran looking handsome and friendly in real life...

#5  Claude Rains as Victor Grandison in The Unsuspected (1947).  Rains can play anything, and he does a tour de force performance in a rather flawed movie.  He plays Victor Grandison, a smooth-voiced, gentle and smiling radio writer and performer.  In reality, he is a killer who plans to knock off his loving ward and anybody else who gets in the way. 



Dear, sweet "Grandy" comforts his ward as he plots
to kill her for her money...

Rains ... a great actor respected by all...

Double Feature: Robert Duvall and ... Robert Duvall!

The great Robert Duvall

From his non-speaking movie debut as Boo Radley in To Kill A Mockingbird to the present day, Robert Duvall has been a chameleon star of the first order.  For most of the 50 years of his career, he has rarely looked the same way twice in any part.  Duvall submerges himself so completely in a character, I remember being surprised one day when reminded that he was in The Godfather, so completely did he become the character Tom Hagen.  It is no difficult task to make a double feature out of two Duvall movies and believe you are watching two different men.  My double feature highlights Tomorrow (1972) and The Great Santini (1979).  Besides showcasing Duvall's amazing range, these are also my two favorite movies of all the great ones he has made.  Tomorrow is Duvall's favorite of his performances.  The Great Santini is my favorite of all the great roles he has played.

Tomorrow is a little film with a great legacy.  Released by independent Filmgroup Productions, directed by Joseph Anthony (The Rainmaker), and given beautifully stark black and white cinematography by Allan Green, Tomorrow is considered the best of many attempts to translate Faulkner to screen, notoriously difficult to do.  Faulkner himself was very pleased with the marvelous original play turned to screenplay of his story by writer Horton Foote (other screenplay adaptations: To Kill A Mockingbird and Tender Mercies.)  Faulkner's title is taken from one of Shakespeare's most famous lines, from Macbeth:  "Tomorrow, and tomorrow, and tomorrow, creeps in this petty pace from day to day, to the last syllable of recorded time..."



Fentry (Duvall) and Sarah (Bellin)

Filmed on location in Mississippi, Duvall plays Jackson Fentry, a gentle, loving, semi-literate man who has never known anything but hard work and the hand-to-mouth living of a hard-scrabble farmer.  Duvall's accent is so authentic as to be almost difficult to understand at first, but that does not last long.  Fentry is a man to whom words come slowly, but what he has to say is said with truth and love, however uneducated he may be.  The story is told in flashback, beginning with an older Fentry as the sole hold-out for a guilty vote in the trial of a troubled young man.  Fentry remembers back to years past when he took into his poor shack a woman whose husband has left her homeless and pregnant.  Olga Bellin plays Sarah, suspicious and frightened at first, then loving and grateful to the kind man who rarely speaks, but cares for her as best he can in the primitive circumstances of his life.  Fentry calls the abandoned Sarah his wife, and when Sarah dies from childbirth, he names the infant boy Jackson Longstreet Fentry.  Fentry and Jackson Longstreet are happy during the boy's young years, the child receiving all that Fentry has to give.  Then one day, the family of Jackson Longstreet's real father comes to call.

Fentry and Jackson Longstreet

Tomorrow is a film that any Duvall admirer must experience, and that any movie-lover would cherish. 

The Great Santini was released in 1979 by Bing Crosby Productions.  Directed by Lewis John Carolino (also the writer of a favorite movie of mine, Resurrection), it is a completely personal, totally true-to-life story of author Pat Conroy's career-Marine father and his experiences growing up in a complex, dysfunctional family run by this harsh, yet caring "warrior without a war."  First released straight-to-tape as The Ace, the movie was so popular that it was pulled from home release and brought to theatres as The Great Santini.  It is hard to believe that this movie was not recognized by the makers in the first place as the great work it is, and was released in such a strange manner.




Bull Meechum (Duvall) and his children
as they face life in a new town.

Colonel Virgil "Bull" Meechum runs his family like he runs his squadron of Marine fighter pilots -- with harsh discipline, extreme expectations and abusive manner.  However, Bull Meechum also loves his wife and children.  He is as difficult to love as he is to hate -- a man who suffers from the same background as the one he creates for his own children.  Bull Meechum is a respected Marine pilot, well-liked by his peers, feared by his subordinates, a thorn in the side of his superiors.  He is an aggressive, confident-seeming man with a wickedly funny sense of humor.  His wife Lillian (Blythe Danner) adores him, but also recognizes him for what he is.  His four children fear and love him in extremes.  The family's story is told through the experiences of the teenage son, Ben (Michael O'Keefe), and his relationship with his father.  The oldest daughter, also a teenager, is Mary Anne (Lisa Jane Persky), and she plays a pivotal role.  Bull treats Ben just as his nickname reveals -- he bullies him into being a man.  A basketball game played in the family's backyard turns into a deadly competition between father and son, and is a prime example of Bull's own problems as well as his family's.  The family has just made another of many moves to a base in South Carolina, and Bull gives his usual speech to the children about avoiding fear, taking the new town by storm, eating life before life eats them.  That is Bull Meechum's approach to the world.

Ben and Lillian (Danner)
before the family game

Lillian Meechum spends most of her time refereeing between Bull and his children, particularly the two oldest.  Ben is expected to excel at basketball, and a high school varsity game is another pivotal point of the story.  Mary Anne loves to stir the pot, and her mother tries to impart some wisdom: 
Lillian: "Your father is very nervous about this game. Look at me, young lady! Look at me! You've got to interpret the signals he gives off!"
Mary Anne: "No problem! He always gives off the signals of a psychopathic killer, so it really doesn't matter how you interpret them!"

In an attempt to get attention from her father, Mary Anne displays not only her sharp humor, but also an intelligent and desperate need for his approval.  It is a telling scene, but not without humor.  Part of the conversation gives you an idea:
Mary Anne: "Hey Dad, why do you love me more than your other children?"
Bull:  "Beat it, I'm reading the sports page."
Mary Anne: "Let's have a conversation Dad. Let's bare our souls and get to know one another."
Bull: "I don't want you to get to know me. I like being an enigma, like a Chink. Now scram."
Mary Anne: "Am I a Meechum Dad? Can girls be real Meechums; girls without jump shots? Or am I a simple form of Meechum, like in biology. Mary Anne, the one-celled Meechum."

The story revolves around Ben, with wonderful subplots involving fascinating and heartrending characters, and yet, to me, Mary Anne stands out as the sharply-intelligent, frustrated voice of all the children in their feelings about their father.

Conroy's father Donald called himself  the Great Santini after a magician he once saw.  Conroy wrote a completely unsanitized version of his father's abuse and skewed love, and yet the book and the movie brought the family back together again from a long period of estrangement.  Donald Conroy, with all of his problems, loved his children, and swallowed his lifelong pride to see that he needed to heal his family.  On his tombstone, Donald Conroy asked for the epitaph "The Great Santini".  This backstory has as much heartache and triumph as the movie.  Duvall never gave a better performance, and this is one role in which I cannot imagine any other actor. 

Robert Duvall, one man, two completely different roles -- a great double feature of a great actor.

(Quotes from IMDB)

A William Castle Double Feature: The Tingler and Mr. Sardonicus- An Undertaker Is Standing By In Case You Die Of Fright!

William Castle and his signature stogie!

How can you not love this face?  William Castle, director extraordinaire -- not that his movies are masterpieces for the ages, but that they are just so much fun!  He has been responsible for some of the best movie nights of my young life.  Actually, to this day, if I see that 13 Ghosts or House on Haunted Hill are to be shown on Channel 4 Friday Macabre Theatre, I instantly start rearranging my social schedule so that I will be in front of the screen precisely at the stroke of the hour.  I always wish I had a pair of the special glasses handed out in theatres for 13 Ghosts so I could see the ghosts clearly, and certainly wish a skeleton would whoosh over my head as Castle rigged up for certain theatres showings of House on Haunted Hill.

That was Castle, guru of gimmicks, who could make even bad movies fun with his shenanigans.  Most of his low-budget horror movies were pretty darn good, though, in my eyes.  Two of my special favorites, besides the ones I already mentioned, are the double feature I have created for myself, and will enjoy at home with my own DVDs this weekend.  The movies:  Mr. Sardonicus and The Tingler.

The Tingler (1959) starred my favorite scary movie master, Vincent Price.  Price plays Dr. Warren Chapin, a pathologist who is convinced that people can die of fright because of an actual creature that forms in their body when they are terrified.  I don't know how he got that idea, but it makes for a great movie.  The Tingler has the honor to be the first movie in which a character uses LSD (still legal in 1959) to try to induce hallucinations.  Price was joined in the movie by Judith Evelyn, playing an easily-frightened deaf-mute (you may remember her as Miss Lonelyhearts in Hitchcock's Rear Window); Patricia Cutts as Isabel, Price's lovely and unfaithful wife; Phillip Coolidge as Ollie, the deaf-mute woman's suspect husband; and Darryl Hickman, who received almost no pay because Castle convinced him that being in the movie at all would enhance Hickman's career.  (Castle was obviously a man of many talents -- one can see him standing at the back of a covered wagon selling Dr. Castle's Miracle Elixir.)



Vincent!  LSD?  Wow, the colors!

The gimmick for The Tingler was called Percepto, by which some members of the audience would feel tingling when the Tingler was near.  Most fans think that Castle had certain theatre seats wired for low-level electricity, but that was not the case.  Selected seats had World War II surplus vibrating buzzers placed under them, and at certain times during the movie, the projectionist would set them off.  Castle also would plant fake audience members to start the screaming when appropriate.  One really fascinating part of the movie is the famous bloody red bathtub scene.  The movie is black and white, and in order to create the scene of red blood in a bathtub, Castle used color film, then had the set painted in white, black and grey, and had actress Judith Evelyn wear grey makeup.  It is a startling effect.

Like Hitchcock, Castle liked to appear in his own movies, and his scenes are the ones I look forward to the most.  Because only Castle can really showcase Castle, I'm providing here the funny prologue Castle filmed of himself explaining what might happen to certain audience members during the showing of The Tingler:

http://youtu.be/7FQm30eQn7I

The second film of my double feature is just about my favorite -- Mr. Sardonicus (1961).  A very strange, Gothic tale of horror, it stars Guy Rolfe as the main character; Oskar Homolka as his manservant Krull (Krull? What kind of name is that for an Eastern European butler?); Ronald Lewis as Dr. Robert Cargrave; Audrey Dalton as Mr. Sardonicus' unfortunate wife Maude; and various lusty, busty maidens.  Who is that mysterious masked man?  Why is his wife so afraid of him?  What does he do with the bevy of village maidens invited to the lower level of his skull-shaped castle by the one-eyed Krull?  We do know that Mr. Sardonicus has hired Dr. Cargrave to help him with a facial problem.  I can say no more except to tell you that finding out Mr. Sardonicus' secret is the best part of the movie!  And the moral of the movie is -- don't play the lottery!
 


Mr. Sardonicus wearing his special mask

Castle's special gimmick for this one was the Punishment Poll.  Audience members were handed glow-in-the-dark cards as they entered the theatre.  Each card could be turned to show a thumbs-up or thumbs-down.  Just before the last scene of the movie, Castle comes on-screen and explains that it is completely up to the audience to decide the ultimate fate of Mr. Sardonicus by holding up their cards while he counts them.  The truth is that Castle only filmed one ending, punishment of course, but it was a great idea!  As before, the best way to experience this Castle gimmick is to view Castle's scene:
http://youtu.be/ZJjK9njAwu0

Castle loved to engender fear.  Besides the audience shills who would scream on cue, Castle would also hire professional fainters, who would be carried out of the theatre on stretchers by fake nurses.  He once offered a $10,000 insurance policy to any audience member who might die of fright.  Castle said of himself:  "We all have a common interest, bigger and more horrible monsters - and I'm just the monster to bring them to you."  I doubt if this fun and creative father of 3 was a monster, but boy did he know how to make memorable movie experiences and scare everybody while they had the time of their lives!

The Five Best Cartoons

In choosing The Five Best Cartoons, I considered the quality and popularity of the cartoons, heavily tinged by the fact that they are my favorites.  It will not be hard to figure out that Warner Brothers' fantastic cartoon shorts rate high on my list.  There are so many really good cartoons, from the movies and from television, and everybody has at least five they love.  Here are my top choices:

"Oh Bwunhilde, you're so wuvwy!"
"Yes I know it, I can't help it!"

(1)  What's Opera, Doc (1957).  Directed by the great Chuck Jones, I believe it to be Number One in cartoon creations.  The voice we all love, Mel Blanc, is in top form with this spot-on hilarious spoof of Wagnerian opera, with Bugs Bunny and Elmer Fudd in their greatest roles.  Elmer's "Kill the Wabbit!" has become one of the most well-known cartoon quotes ever.  IMBD's succinct and hilarious description of this cartoon is worth a quote:  Bugs is in drag as the Valkyrie Brunhilde who sits on an overwieght (sic) horse. "She" is pursued by Elmer playing the demigod "Siegfried".
Interesting fact:  This cartoon has approximately 104 cuts, more than any other Warner Brothers cartoon.

"That lovin' R-A-A-A-G !!"

(2)  One Froggy Evening (1955).  Director Chuck Jones again, this time with the story of the most lovable and frustrating frog that ever lived.  Only one voice is ever heard in the cartoon, that of Michigan J. Frog, the eternal little amphibian who sings and dances, but only when nobody but his owner is listening.  Michigan's singing voice is provided by Bill Roberts, popular '50s nightclub singer, in a series of great old songs, including "I'm Just Wild About Harry" and "Please Don't Talk About Me When I'm Gone."  His most famous is "The Michigan Rag", which sounds old but was actually written for this cartoon.
Interesting Fact:  Due to the cartoon, "Dancing Frog" is now computer terminology for a computer problem that will not appear when anyone else is watching.  (Quoted from IMDB.)  Happens to me all the time!

"That's strange.  All of a sudden I don't quite feel like myself."

(3)  Duck Amuck (1953).  Who else? ... Chuck Jones and Mel Blanc.  Daffy Duck finally got the starring role he always dreamed of when he had to play second banana to Bugs.  This is a most unusual cartoon short, spotlighting the ability of the invisible cartoonist to make Daffy do anything he wants, and tearing down the usual "fourth wall" between film and audience.  Poor Daffy.  He just goes through hell in this hilarious cartoon.  In one burst of extreme frustration, he screams, "... I've never been so humiliated in all my life!", only to realize that his invisible nemisis has taken away the sound. 
Interesting Fact:  This cartoon nearly didn't get made because there was resistance to the idea of using Bugs Bunny in such a limited role near the end.  (Quoted from IMDB.)  Poor Daffy ... he just can't get out from under Bug's shadow!

"Leopold!"

(4)  Long-Haired Hare (1949). (I won't even bother to name them again.)  Bugs Bunny at his tormenting best, this time bedeviling an opera singer trying to practice at home, while nearby, Bugs is playing the banjo and singing at the top of his voice.  Bugs even follows the enraged and nervous singer to the Hollywood Bowl for his performance.  With hair and tuxedo disguise, Bugs appears to the orchestra.  He says nothing, but the musicians whisper "Leopold!" in awe, convinced that Bugs is the great Leopold Stokowski.  Bugs' conducting style and what he does to that poor man on the stage is no less than comedy at its best.  The voice of singer Nikolai Shutorov is heard as the opera singer belting out the longest one-note in cartoon history.
Interesting fact:  Leopold Stokowski never conducted with a baton. This is the reason why Bugs Bunny breaks the baton before conducting.  (Quote from IMBD.)

These guys look even creepier when they walk!

(5)  Popeye In Goonland (1938).  Directed by the marvelous Dave Fleischer, and with the unforgettable voice of Jack Mercer, I just plain love this one from my days as a kid watching cartoons on TV.  Even then, my favorite Popeye cartoons were the old black and whites, with the credits displayed behind ship cabin doors that open and bang shut.  Nobody could mutter like Popeye, and it is imperative to listen carefully to his hilarious mumbling to really get the fun that is Popeye.  In this story, Popeye is forced to go to Goon Island to rescue his Pappy.  Those goons just creeped me out when I was little.  Actually, they still do!
Interesting Fact:  This short marked the first animated appearance of both Poopdeck Pappy and of the Goons, both of which Popeye comic strip creator 'Elzie Segar' introduced in the late nineteen thirties. (Quote from IMBD.)

All of these cartoons are available on Youtube. I have the best versions of each saved in my Favorites, and would be happy to provide the links to anyone who is interested. 

    (Th-that-th-that-th-that-that's all, folks!)

A Tribute to Errol Flynn As His Own Sun Was Setting - His Performance in The Sun also Rises



Errol Flynn as Mike Campbell in The Sun Also Rises.

 Errol Flynn died at the age of 50, a little over two years after appearing in 1957's The Sun Also Rises.  Ernest Hemingway's novel is a story of people whose lives had been changed forever, some ruined, by the horrors of World War I.  Hemingway's characters were damaged human beings who had lost their personal centers of identity with their war experiences, and they wandered in disillusionment and disenchantment.  Flynn's character, Mike Campbell, is the most heartbreaking, and his performance was superb.  The Sun Also Rises was not his last film, but it was his last significant performance, one which should have put to rest once and for all the ridiculous question of whether or not Errol Flynn was a real actor.

Errol Flynn, Eddie Albert and Tyrone Power

My piece about this movie is not intended as a review, but as a spotlight for a wonderful actor who was never given his due by the industry to which he gave his talent, and for whose success he played a significant part.  In discussing Flynn's work in The Sun Also Rises, it should be noted that the film was criticized for the choices of actors to play the leading roles.  All were older than called for.  Tyrone Power as Jake Barnes, Flynn as Mike Campbell, and Eddie Albert as Bill Gorton were all in their late 40's.  As per the usual Hollywood double standard, beautiful 34-year old Ava Gardner, who always looked younger than she was anyway, was cast as Brett Ashley, much too young and fresh to be believable as a contemporary of the men.  Gardner did a fine job, but casting her only further pointed up the age factor.  Power and Flynn, both of whom battled alcoholism, difficult personal lives and the ravages of time, had lost the beauty of their youth, and viewers were shocked.  Inexplicably, movie audiences were apparently unaware that youth and beauty do not last forever, even for movie stars, and perhaps they could not forgive their heroes for being real men.  Hemingway's book was very challenging to transfer to screen, requiring filming on location in Paris and Spain, with the difficult filming of actual bullfights, but this was achieved beautifully.  Perhaps not a perfect movie, I believe that The Sun Also Rises is a great film.  This is due in large part to the performances of Power, Albert and especially Errol Flynn.

It has been said that the character of Mike Campbell was so much like Flynn himself that it did not require much acting on his part.  To my mind, that criticism shows incredible ignorance of acting as a craft as well as a gift.  Mike Campbell was an aging playboy, a man of great charm whose looks and money were gone, a man forced to question all of the decisions of his life.  Flynn was at this time toward the end of his life and  learning what we all learn -- the mistakes of our youth catch up with us.


Even in his older years -- always a dash of color in a drab world
(From Crossed Swords)

When he was very young with all of life before him, Flynn said "I intend to live the first half of my life.  I don't care about the rest." What young person ever truly believes he will get old and ill, or addicted to dangerous habits, or find tragedy in life?  That belief in immortality is the charm of youth, and Flynn had more charm than anyone around him.  When he matured and found that life as a movie star was not the picture of glamour most of us think, he once said  "It isn't what they say about you. It's what they whisper."  There were many whispers surrounding Flynn's life, as well as headline shouts.  When he began to age, and cruel remarks were made about him playing caricatures of himself,  he said "I allow myself to be understood as a colorful fragment in a drab world." Flynn was an enigma, charismatic and determined to live fully to the end of his life, but also a man with demons to battle.  Olivia deHavilland, who knew him well in his peak career days, said of Flynn, "He was a charming and magnetic man, but so tormented."  Most surprising to me, even Jack Warner, known to be a harshly insensitive man who didn't like actors, Flynn included, once said, "Errol Flynn was one of the most charming and tragic men I have ever known."


Errol Flynn and Ava Gardner

The complex role of Mike Campbell required the ability to play charm, frighteningly-quick anger, self-deprecating humor, passion, jealousy, disappointment and deep sadness.  This was not an easy part, and despite his personal problems, Flynn was magnificent.  The character of Mike carried much of the movie's pathos on his shoulders, and Flynn's many scenes are some of the best.  He received critical praise for his performance.  So he was obviously nominated for an Oscar for best supporting actor, right?  No.  According to daughter Rory Flynn's website devoted to her Dad:  A recent Australian documentary on his life and career, narrated by Christopher Lee, included a film clip of Errol Flynn being interviewed on his being nominated for the Academy Award for his critically acclaimed performance in The Sun Also Rises. We are then told that the nomination "disappeared".  (http://www.inlikeflynn.com/.)  That is all I could find out.  You know, I'm sure that the incredibly handsome, don't-give-a-damn-what-you-think type of man like Flynn grated a lot of people the wrong way.  I'm quite sure he could be very difficult to deal with, as are many people.  I'm certain men felt a jealous hate because their women wanted him -- women felt similar emotions because they couldn't have him exclusively.  And I would bet the farm that many of these were the very people in the movie industry who had the ability to deny him a well-deserved chance at an award. 

He might have not have won because he would have faced stiff competition that year -- Red Buttons, who won for Sayonara, and Sessue Hayakawa, nominated for The Bridge On The River Kwai, both gave fantastic performances.  Vittorio de Sica was wonderful in A Farewell To Arms.  But do you know who the the other nominees were?  Russ Tamblyn and Arthur Kennedy for Peyton Place!  No disrespect intended to those actors, but for that movie and those performances, it was an absolute joke. Somebody wanted to be sure Flynn was left out, and did so in such a manner that they may as well have knocked on his door and slapped his face.  Shameful.

Even today, when our culture is supposedly more tolerant and open, and when Flynn is more loved than ever before by classic film fans, his loving daughter Rory has been trying to get a tribute to her Father from the Oscar people, and recently had to post on her aforementioned website:  Dear supporters, We have all struggled to have the Academy of Motion Pictures award a posthumous Oscar to Errol Flynn.  I am sad to share with you that the academy will not be able to do so.  The president of the Academy, Mr. Sid Janis has informed me that the academy will not and has not given the award posthumously.  It is a  sad moment for me personally and I know to the many who share with me the joy and happiness that Errol Flynn brought to the screen and to our hearts.  Thank you for your support.  Rory.   What the hell?  But then, Flynn himself probably would have said, "What the hell - I lived a man's life and loved it all.  They know what they can do with their award."  (I made that up, but it sounds plausible!)

I am providing a link to Youtube so that any interested readers who have not done so, can see first-hand the quality of  Flynn's performance in The Sun  Also Rises.  Actually, the link is to the entire movie, which surprised me to find.  I am providing here 3 particular scenes in which Flynn just shines, with the exact places for you to forward to to find them.  If you choose to watch these, I hope you enjoy them.  It is worth every second.

http://youtu.be/d3la1ueMgxw

(Opening credits with composer Hugo Friedhofer's magnificent score:)
   From the very beginning to the director's credit.

Cafe scene after bullfight:
   1:16:20 - 1:19:16

Outdoor cafe after the fiesta:
   1:34:20 - 1:37:10

Flynn's best small scene, very short, shows Mike as he is in private
   1:51:20 - 1:53:22

The 5 Best Episodes of the Original "Star Trek"

What a great example of ensemble casting:
William Shatner as Captain Kirk, Leonard Nimoy as Mr. Spock, George Takei
as Sulu, Nichelle Nichols as Uhura, Walter Koenig as Chekhov, Majel Barrett
as Nurse Chapel, James Doohan as Scotty and DeForest Kelley as Dr. McCoy. 

In his excellent article posted yesterday, "The Five Best Episodes of "the Fugitive", Rick expressed what I feel about my post today ... it is so hard to pick just 5 favorites of a series you love.  I am a rabid fan of Star Trek.  I've never been to a convention or paid $60 for the script of Episode 23 (more about that later in this article) ... I just know most episodes by heart, that's all.  There are so many that are memorable, famous, even just awful.  So I decided to pick the five episodes that really caught my mind, my heart or my funnybone.

The Conscience of the King (Season 1):  A troupe of Shakespearean players offers to perform Hamlet for the Enterprise, featuring Anton Karidian (Arnold Moss) and his beautiful daughter (Barbara Anderson).  Captain Kirk falls in love with Karidian's daughter, but he believes that Karidian may actually be Kodos the Executioner, a brutal dictator from Kirk's childhood who ordered the mass killing of some of his subjects and then disappeared.  Murders begin to take place on the Enterprise, and Kirk must find out who Anton Karidian really is.  Excellent episode with a fine climactic ending.



City on the Edge of Forever (Season 1):  Written by Harlan Ellison, and a Hugo award winner, this episode is considered by many to be the best of the series.  The Enterprise is taken back in time to 1930's America. Kirk falls in love with Edith Keeler (Joan Collins), an advocate for world peace.  However, Edith's impending death is known to Kirk, and he wants to save her, thus risking complete change of the future.  Spock and Dr. McCoy must help him through his heartbreaking dilemma. Fine acting and a great story prove this episode's award-winning status.

Wolf in the Fold (Season 2):  Women are stabbed and killed on a peaceful, welcoming planet.  Scotty appears to be the prime suspect, found each time with the dead women. He cannot remember anything.  A psychic senses the presence of a great evil, calling it Redjack. The lights go out-Scotty is found over her body. He is put on trial, with wonderful character actor John Fielder as an official convinced of his guilt. Kirk asks the computer to research the name Redjack-several meanings come up, one of which ... well, you'll have to find out.  Written by Robert Bloch, this is a favorite of mine.


The Trouble with Tribbles (Season 2):
Shatner shines in this funny episode with the adorable little Tribbles sold by slippery salesman Cyrano Jones (Stanley Adams). Kirk is supervising delivery of a special grain for an annoying official (Herbert Anderson, Dennis the Menace's father), a man who Kirk cannot help goading. The Trouble is that Tribbles reproduce in incredible numbers and love to eat the grain.  One of Star Trek's funniest memorable lines is from this episode:  "Who put the Tribbles in the quadrotritcale?"

Assignment: Earth (Season 2):  This episode was fun and starred Robert Lansing-I had a teen crush on him, which may be why I like this one. The Enterprise goes back in time to 1960's Cape Canaveral where they find a man from the future who has come to stop the successful launching of a rocket.  Lansing is Gary 7, the mysterious man with an interesting pet black cat.  A young Teri Garr plays his young and clueless secretary.  Who is Gary 7 and why is he trying to stop the rocket, which will change the future?  Designed as a pilot for a spin-off series, the story was not picked up by the network.  But it is a lot of fun.

Runner-up Episodes, pictures first:

Charlie and his first love, Yoeman Rand

Khan and Kirk



The Horta

Mirror, Mirror







   

Journey to Babel

Runner-up episode favorites:  Space Seed (featuring Ricardo Montalban as Khan); Charlie X (featuring Robert Walker Jr. as a teenager with lethal powers);  Journey to Babel (featuring Mark Lenard and Jane Wyatt as Spock's parents); The Devil in the Dark (featuring the ugliest alien ever, the Horta); and Mirror, Mirror (featuring an alternate universe in which Kirk, Bones, Scotty and Uhura switch places with their counterparts on a completely opposite Enterprise, a dictatorship where everyone plots to move up the hierarchy execution-style.  We get to see Spock as a logically ruthless science officer with a Mephistopheles-style goatee!)

 

Star Trek /Galaxy Quest - Even a rabid fan has to laugh! 

No discussion of Star Trek would be complete without a mention of a great spoof made in 1999, Galaxy Quest, with Tim Allen as the Captain, Alan Rickman as alien science officer and Sigourney Weaver as a bimbo communications officer.  Jokes aimed at Star Trek abound, with Allen as the egotistical Captain who still believes he was the reason the show succeeded, always being sure he got to take his shirt off in each episode, Rickman hilarious as the classically trained actor who hates the typecasting he has endured, and Weaver as the actress who resented her part as the sex object who did nothing but repeat what the computer said.

And now for the piece de resistance.  William Shatner spoofs himself in one of Saturday Night Live's funniest episodes.  It caused some stir among the fanatic convention group, but most viewers got one of the biggest laughs SNL ever presented, even for Star Trek lovers like me.  Just click on the link to experience a very entertaining comedy sketch featuring Shatner as a really good sport.  You'll love it!
http://dai.ly/bSllXC

The 5 Best TV Comedies ClassicBecky Didn't Like At All



I hope this is not my
fate after you read this.

Before I begin, I just want to tell my movie friends how much they mean to me, and how I would suffer in losing their friendship. I changed my mind about 35 times before deciding to count on the fairness and good humor of my friends in writing this little post  Of course, weekend blog posts don't get as much traffic, so perhaps I will retain some movie companions. Everyone has loving, nostalgic memories of comedy TV shows they watched as a child. I myself liked Gilligan's Island until the Professor made a radio out of coconuts rather than the more obvious need, A BOAT! The strange thing is, I could still sing the song word for word. So, for the fun of it, I am including the lyrics of the theme songs for each show. Without further ado, here are my picks for five comedy shows that I thought were just awful.  I pull no punches.  Some may be favorites for readers. If so, remember that the Classic Movie Blog Association does not allow foul language or disgusting pictures.

**Except for my summaries and comments, all quotes and trivia are taken from IMDB.  The theme song lyrics are from a lyric site, the name of which I can't remember, but consider this their credit.  Both of these sites have stuff  more interesting than the shows themselves**

My Mother, The Car

This inexplicable premise for a show actually made it onto the airwaves and lasted for 30 episodes in 1965. Jerry Van Dyke stars as David Crabtree, a man whose dead mother has reincarnated as a really special antique car. Ann Sothern is the voice of Mother, so fortunately she never has to actually appear. When Mother speaks to David, her voice comes from the radio, and the light blinks in sync with her voice. Avery Schreiber stars as Manzini, a stalker who wants the car, unaware that Ann Sothern is a built-in feature. Poor Jerry Van Dyke's career began and practically ended with this show. At the very same time, his brother Dick was captivating audiences with his show, one of the best comedies on TV. I wonder what Thanksgiving was like in the Van Dyke family.
Trivia:
*Jerry Van Dyke agreed to star on the series after turning down the lead role on Gilligan's Island and an offer to join the cast of the The Andy Griffith Show. (Bad moves, Jerry.)
Quotes:
*None. Even IMDB couldn't find a single funny quote.
Theme Song:
Everybody knows in a second life, we all come back sooner or later.
As anything from a pussycat to a man eating alligator.
Well you all may think my story, is more fiction than it's fact.
But believe it or not my mother dear decided she'd come back.
As a car...
She's my very own guiding star.
A 1928 Porter.
That's my mother dear.
'Cause she helps me through everything I do
And I'm so glad she's near.
(This guy has the ultimate Oedipus complex.)


Car 54, Where Are You

The wonderful Fred Gwynne plays Officer Muldoon, Joe E. Ross is Officer Toody and Al Lewis is Officer Schnauer. All very funny guys that I like like a lot. The story is about stupid policemen who do dumb things. That's about it. The show ran for 60 episodes in 1961-1963. The best thing that came from this show was that Fred Gwynne and Al Lewis ended up together in a cute show called The Munsters!  The worst thing is that this show won an EMMY for best director of a comedy -- was he the only nominee that year?!
Trivia:
*For the black-and-white location shots, the patrol cars were painted red so as not to confuse the local populace. (Confuse them? Didn't they see all the cameras and crew?)
*William Faulkner's favorite TV show. (The great William Faulkner! The author of "The Sound and the Fury"?  That makes me furious!)
Quotes:
*Officer Muldoon: "Here's your milk." (That's the only funny quote IMDB could find? What does that even  mean?!)
Theme Song:
There's a hold up in the Bronx,
Brooklyn's broken out in fights.
There's a traffic jam in Harlem
That's backed up to Jackson Heights.
There's a scout troop short a child,
Kruschev's due at Idlewild
Car 54, Where Are You?

The Flying Nun

Once upon a time (in the real world), there was a little nun who weighed about 85 pounds and wore the traditional habit of her order, which included a medieval coif that had wing-like sides. One day, when a tremendous wind was blowing, she was lifted off the ground about 1-1/2 inches for about 1-1/2 seconds. True story. From that funny little incident, a television show was born in which we watched Sister Bertrille (Sally Field) soar above trees and towns like the Mini-Me of 747s. Mother Superior Placido (Madeleine Sherwood) was always worrying. At least there was handsome Alejandro Rey as Carlos to look at. Somehow, they churned out 82 episodes, from 1967-1970. It was difficult to distinguish one episode from another, so the writers had a really plum job. Fortunately, Sally Field was not typecast as a flying nun, and went on to become a wonderful actress with a great career.
Trivia:
*Patty Duke was originally the first choice for the role of Sister Bertrille.
*In one episode, Sister Bertrille is looking at home movies of herself from when she was a teenager. The home movies were actually footage from Sally Field's previous series Gidget.
*Sponsors of The Flying Nun include Oscar Meyer and Colgate-Palmolive, makers of Fab Detergent, Bright Side Shampoo, and Palmolive Dish Liquid. (Well, I thought that was interesting.)
*At the time of the series' popularity, MAD MAGAZINE did a parody of Sister Bertrille, The Flying Nun in which she was "Sister Brazil, The Flying Nut." (Gotta love it.)
Quotes:
Sister Bertrille: Could you please help? I'll give you five percent of the profit!
Carlos: Sister Bertrille -- five per cent of nothing is still nothing!!
(Again, the only funny quote IMDB had. Ha.....ha.)
Theme:
You don't need wings to flyyyyyyyy
Tiptoe through the skyyyyyyyy
As long as you got hea-ven byyyyyyyyyyy
You don't need wings to flyyyyyyyy
(Short, but pointless.)
(Don't you love the way the lyric site used all the y's to make it look melodic?  Duh.)

Green Acres

It is a shame that a fine actor like Eddie Albert (Oliver Wendell Douglas) will be remembered as an idiot who forks hay in his suit and tie. Eva Gabor (Lisa Douglas) didn't suffer from her part, as she was always considered a ditzy blonde with a sexy accent anyway. She was always trying to be a farm wife while dripping with diamond earrings, necklaces, rings...kind of reminds me of June Cleaver, who always vacuumed wearing high heels and a string of pearls. Oh no, don't worry -- I loved the Beav (Eddie Haskell was my favorite.)  Green Acres (as much of a turkey as any you'd find on a farm) ran for 170 episodes in 1965-1971). But then, the TV poll people never asked my opinion. The show did have a cute cast of characters played by decent actors: Pat Buttram (Mr. Haney), Frank Cady (Sam Drucker), Tom Lawson (Eb), Eleanor the cow, and best of all, Arnold the Pig.

Trivia:
*Mr. Haney had a basset hound named Cynthia who had a crush on Arnold.
*Before Eddie Albert was considered for the part of Oliver, the producers were seriously considering Don Ameche for the part.
*There has been considerable conjecture offered regarding in what state Green Acres might be set. (Seriously? Considerable conjecture?)
*Arnold the Pig was the only cast member to win an award for a performance in a sitcom. He won the coveted "Patsy" Award in 1967, given to the best performance by an animal. (Ouch! Sorry, real actors!)
*Although according to legend the pig that played Arnold was eaten by the cast and crew, Tom Lester has said that he just said it one time as a joke. (Aww! Too bad. that would have been the perfect ending for this oinker -- the show, not the pig.)
Quote:
*Oliver Wendell Douglass: [after watching a "conversation" between Lisa and an oinking Arnold] How
can you carry on a conversation with him? I can't understand a thing he's saying!
Lisa Douglas: That's because you don't LISTEN
(Pure Shakespeare.)
Theme:
Green acres is the place for me.
Farm livin' is the life for me.
Land spreadin' out so far and wide
Keep Manhattan, just give me that countryside.
New York is where I'd rather stay.
I get allergic smelling hay.
I just adore a penthouse view.
Dah-ling I love you but give me Park Avenue.
...The chores.
...The stores.
...Fresh air.
...Times Square
You are my wife. (Well, it was the 60's.)
Good bye, city life.
Green Acres we are there.

Petticoat Junction

Let's see -- pretty girls bathing in the altogether in a water tower, draping their underwear over the sides -- yeah, we can make a series out of that. And they did -- 222 episodes in 1963-1970. Again, nobody asked my opinion. Good thing for the network, which made a boatload of money on this one. And, once again, there was a good cast of actors (well, some were just pretty): Edgar Buchanan (Uncle Joe), Bea Benaderet (Kate), Frank Cady (cross-over from Green Acres as Sam Drucker), Linda Henning (Betty Jo), Lori Saunders (Bobbie Jo) and Meredith MacRae (Billie Joe). I liked the name of the Shady Rest Hotel, ,and the name of the train, The Cannon Ball.
Trivia:
*The dog on the show was simply named "Dog". While the dog's name was supposed to be Higgins, the name was never mentioned by any characters. (Then why name him at all?) His last acting role was as the title character in the movie Benji. (I really liked Benji!)
*Set in the same town as Green Acres. Characters from that series often appeared on this one. The series was also linked to The Beverly Hillbillies and the two shows occasionally crossed over. (I'm too scared to say anything about The Beverly Hillbillies.)
Quotes: Nada. Not one. (They might at least have mentioned the cool train whistle.)
Theme:
Come ride the little train that is rolling down the tracks to the junction.
(Petticoat Junction)
Forget about your cares, it is time to relax at the junction.
(Petticoat Junction)
Lotsa curves, you bet. Even more when you get
To the junction.
(Petticoat Junction)
There's a little hotel called the Shady Rest at the junction.
(Petticoat Junction)
It is run by Kate, come and be her guest at the junction.
(Petticoat Junction)
And that's Uncle Joe, he's a movin' kind of slow at the junction,

(Petticoat Junction)

(Did anybody say Petticoat Junction?)

If it will redeem me at all, I still remember the tunes and words to all the theme songs -- I wish I had retained algebra that well!