Rock Hudson Gets Caught in an Avalanche!

Rock Hudson makes a call!

A 3.7 rating (out of 10) on the IMDb and a 7% (out of 100%) audience score on Rotten Tomatoes might lead one to believe that a movie may be a turkey. Yet, there's always that "may" and, besides, I'm a Rock Hudson fan and have a bit of a soft spot for disaster movies. Thus, I spent 91 minutes watching Avalanche so you wouldn't have to.

Rock stars as David Shelby, a rugged developer who has risked his entire fortune on a newly-opened, sprawling snow resort (you know he's rugged because he boldly wears a light-green plaid flannel shirt with a white turtleneck underneath). In addition to launching his new business, he's dealing with a messy situation involving a crooked politician and trying to woo back his ex-wife Caroline (Mia Farrow). She catches the eye of rugged photographer Nick Thorne (you know he's rugged because he lives in a cabin by himself on a snow-covered mountain).

Mia Farrow looking concerned.

Nick (Robert Forster) warns David of bad incoming weather and an unstable slope; there's also mention of a deadly avalanche that occurred in the 1880s. (Such foreshadowing is often a standard element in disaster movies). No one seems concerned about the snowfall, though, including the two figure skaters, Shelby's secretary, his mother (Jeanette Nolan), and a studly skier ("I ski like I breathe or talk...or make love").

After an hour or so of tedious plot, the avalanche finally comes when an airplane collides with the top of the mountain. The big event consists of a lot of stock footage interspersed with what appears to be foam blocks rolling into people. When the moving mounds of snow stop, the big rescue begins.

Avalanche was produced by Roger Corman during the period in which his New World Pictures was trying to compete with the bigger studios. Even so, it's borderline shocking to see the likes of Rock Hudson and Mia Farrow in a Corman picture. Unfortunately, I think most of the film's budget went to their salaries. The best disaster movies (e.g., The Poseidon Adventure, The Towering Inferno) benefit from the kind of well-known cast that Roger just couldn't afford.

Robert Forster tries to save the day.

It still might have worked in the hands of a better writer and director. Corey Allen had a long successful career as a TV director and an actor before that (he was Buzz in Rebel Without a Cause). So, perhaps, he just had a bad experience making Avalanche--I don't know how else to explain his shoddy work behind the camera and as co-writer. Robert Forster, who gives perhaps the best performance, inexplicably disappears for most of the film's second half. In some sequences, Allen cuts back-and-forth between scenes so quickly that it's dizzying. His characters are poorly-developed and uninteresting and there's no logical narrative to the film. Heck, a few juicy subplots would have made a world of difference!

Still, I guess Avalanche must have affected me on some innate level for I found myself looking for another New World Pictures disaster film: Tidal Wave (1975). It starred Lorne Greene, though the disaster footage was lifted from a big-budgeted Japanese movie called The Submersion of Japan. I thought for sure I'd find it on YouTube...but not yet.

Remembering Television's Original Peter Pan

Mary Martin as Peter Pan.

With NBC mounting a new live production of Peter Pan on December 4th, I wanted to pay homage to the network's earlier version starring Mary Martin. That classic television special premiered almost 60 years ago, originally as an episode of the anthology series Producer's Showcase. Its success was immediate—Peter Pan became the most watched program in the brief history of network TV. Even more surprisingly, it provided what turned out to be its star's signature role.

In Ronald L. Davis' book Mary Martin, Broadway Legend, the author includes this quote from Ms. Martin: "Peter Pan is perhaps the most important thing, to me, that I have ever done in theater." That's high praise from a legendary star who is also identified with two Rodgers and Hammerstein classic stage musicals: South Pacific and The Sound of Music.

Whole books have been devoted to the history of James M. Barrie’s Peter Pan, which was originally written as a play in 1904 and later transformed into a novel (also known as Peter and Wendy). Actually, Peter made his first appearance as a character in Barrie’s 1902 novel The Little White Bird (portions of which were later published as Peter Pan in Kensington Gardens). Barrie bequeathed all profits from Peter Pan to the Great Ormond Street Hospital for children.

Martin was 41--but didn't look
her age!

In 1954, producer Edwin Lester and stage director Jerome Robbins came up with the idea to transform Barrie's Peter Pan into a Broadway musical. Ironically, just a year before, Walt Disney had adapted Barrie's play into an animated film with songs (though it's not really a musical). Lester hit the jackpot when Mary Martin agreed to play Peter Pan, a part typically portrayed by actresses. Martin was already a huge Broadway star, having won a Tony award for South Pacific.

From the beginning, the intent was to mount a stage musical and then "film" it for NBC television. Moose Charlap and Carolyn Leigh wrote the songs for the original version, which included now-favorites "I've Gotta Crow" and "I'm Flying." After a West Coast tryout, director Robbins decided to add more songs and turned to Jule Styne (already a popular songwriter) and Betty Comden and Adolph Green (who had teamed with Leonard Bernstein for On the Town). The most notable contributions from Styne, Comden and Green were the songs "Never Never Land" and "Wendy."

Cyril Ritchard made a delightful
Captain Hook.

The Peter Pan musical opened on Broadway in October 1954 and, despite a planned limited run that lasted just 152 performances, earned Tony awards for Mary Martin and her co-star Cyril Ritchard (who, as is tradition, played Mr. Darling and Captain Hook).

The stage musical was then recreated on NBC's sound stages for Producer's Showcase and broadcast in March 1955. It was both a popular and critical success, earning Mary Martin an Emmy. NBC showed another live telecast with the same cast the following year. Then, in 1960, NBC mounted a third production, which was recorded as a stand-alone television special. This version was subsequently rebroadcast on NBC in 1963, 1966, 1973, and 1989. It has since been shown on the Disney Channel and released on DVD.

Sandy Duncan as Peter.

Although the Mary Martin Peter Pan (as dubbed by its fans) is the most famous, there have other adaptations of the Broadway musical on stage and on television. Sandy Duncan received a Tony nomination for a 1980 revival, which co-starred George Rose as Captain Hook.  In 1991, gymnast Cathy Rigby starred in a “theater in the round” revival. She also received a Tony nomination and later reprised the role in 1992 and 1998. My wife and I saw Lulu (To Sir, With Love) as Peter Pan in a West End production in the mid-1980s (she was fabulous!).

Mia Farrow and Danny Kaye.

Despite the steady stage revivals, the only attempt to replace Mary Martin as Peter Pan on TV occurred in 1976. The Hallmark Hall of Fame broadcast an entirely new musical with songs by Anthony Newley and Leslie Bricusse. Mia Farrow portrayed Peter with Danny Kaye as Captain Hook. Despite a game cast, it was a rather mundane affair that was quickly dismissed by critics and viewers.

That brings us back to NBC’s Peter Pan Live! starring Allison Williams as Peter and Christopher Walken as Captain Hook. I hope it captures the spirit of the original, which Mary Martin described aptly in the aforementioned biography: “Neverland is the way I would like real life to be...timeless, free, mischievous, filled with gaiety, tenderness, and magic."

31 Days of Halloween: Rosemary's Baby

A landmark film of the horror genre, Rosemary's Baby (1968) also marked Roman Polanski's U.S directorial debut. The film, a runaway hit on release, was the prototype that inspired the onslaught of big-budget "A" horror films that followed: The Exorcist, The Omen, etc.

In the tradition of Hitchcock, Polanski achieves his effects with little overt violence and gore but much finesse. Like Hitchcock, Polanski masterfully commandeers the emotions of his audience. Drawn into Rosemary's point of view and her growing alarm, the viewer becomes increasingly aware that something is very wrong but, like Rosemary, doesn't grasp exactly what has happened until the final scenes.

This suspense is propelled by a deliberate ambiguity that implies Rosemary's fright may have a rational explanation (women do have difficult pregnancies), that her fears may be paranoia-based (though related to an infamous Satanist, her neighbors could just be a pair of elderly oddballs). On the other hand, the storyline and action are such that the viewer has difficulty simply writing off Rosemary's anguish to imagination and coincidence. Equally ambiguous throughout much of the film are the majority of the characters. While Rosemary remains constant as the naive young wife, those around her are more enigmatic - from her ambitious actor husband and her intrusive neighbors to her wise and kindly old doctor. Cleverly, several of the most villainous characters are also the most comically eccentric.

The subtle intermingling of suspense with irony and humor is one of the film's distinctive qualities. A few unforgettable scenes: Rosemary (Mia Farrow) and her husband Guy (John Cassavetes) are having dinner with her friend Hutch (Maurice Evans) who describes the Bramford building's ghoulish history (including a pair of sisters who devoured children) as he carves lamb at the dinner table...a graphic and shocking suicide scene in front of the Bramford simultaneously introduces the Castevets: Minnie (Ruth Gordon), dressed and made up in the manner of an over-the-top Christmas tree, and Roman (Sidney Blackmer), clad as though vaudeville was still alive and well...and finally, when Rosemary sees her baby for the first time she, uncomprehending, shrieks, "What have you done to its eyes?" Roman Castevet adroitly responds, "He has his father's eyes"...

Another of the film's delights is its painstaking recreation of the time in which it was set, late 1965 to mid-1966. Costume designer Anthea Sylbert precisely captured that timeframe's contemporary look with Rosemary's short shift dresses (some with peter pan collars), a long and luxurious plaid skirt, red chiffon lounging pajamas. Rosemary has her blunt-cut pageboy snipped short by Vidal Sassoon, she relaxes at home reading Sammy Davis, Jr.'s book Yes, I Can, the Pope's visit to New York is glimpsed on TV, and Time Magazine's famous "Is God Dead?" cover is shown on a waiting room table.

The hand-picked supporting cast includes especially solid performances by Patsy Kelly and Ralph Bellamy. Uncredited but in an acknowledged key role is The Dakota, a famed gothic confection at 72nd and Central Park West. The Dakota starred as the Bramford, and exteriors were shot there. Because filming was not allowed inside, its interiors were recreated at Paramount. Significantly, the film begins and ends with aerial views of the building.

Roman Polanski deftly combined the trademark elements of his style (atmospheric location, psychological distress, irony, dark humor, an endangered and isolated protagonist), his penchant for meticulous craftsmanship and the high gloss afforded by Hollywood to create a masterpiece that has developed a legend all its own over the years...