Well, dear readers, here it is, Thursday, the day in which I answer your excellent questions. A handful came in quite late, but I will do my best to get to all of them – if not, simply ask again next week. Isn’t that exciting? Isn’t that just too too?
Late yesterday afternoon, Pat, the Installation Man, came over and removed the broken DVD player and hooked up the new all-region player and I must say it is working splendidly and looking great. He also did a convergence on my television, and now everything is sharper and perfect, convergence-wise. I checked out a few of the PAL discs for the first time in progressive scan mode and they look swellegant if I do say so myself and I do.
Last night I watched a motion picture entitled Far From Heaven, a new film in the old Douglas Sirk style. It was fun to see it after having just watched Imitation of Life. Todd Haynes, a director I’m not familiar with, is obviously familiar with Mr. Sirk since this film is a faithful homage to his work and style – high-fashion melodrama. It’s very slavish in that regard. Here is what I was happiest with: that with two brief exceptions totaling less than ten seconds he never wavers from Mr. Sirk, and he doesn’t pander to today’s youth audience. I cannot imagine today’s youth audience would know what to make of this film or any of Mr. Sirk’s films either. It’s leisurely cut, there is not one note of source music anywhere (it takes place in the 50s, but there are no 50s songs, thank goodness) and best of all, there is no totally out-of-place rock song over the end credits. At least Mr. Haynes has the courage of his convictions. I have never been that big a fan of Julianne Moore, but she’s wonderful in this film, and she sounds rather like the young Debbie Reynolds. Dennis Quaid really delivers in what must have been a very difficult role for him – he should definitely be up for an Oscar as should she. The rest of the cast is excellent too, including the African-American actor who is the other lead, whose name I can’t remember. The fourth star of the film is Mr. Elmer Bernstein who has come up with the best score he’s written in ages – very much like his 50s and early 60s classics – think Summer and Smoke meets Some Came Running. If the Academy has a brain (doubtful, but you never know) they will give eighty-year-old Elmer Bernstein the prize. Beautiful color and décor as well. I can’t imagine too many people will care about a new director paying this kind of rigorous homage to one of the most interesting directors of the 50s, but maybe they will. The fact that this got made gives one hope that maybe someone will do a musical, an original screen musical in the old style, paying homage to Mr. Stanley Donen and Gene Kelly. Once can hope.
I also watched, on the advice of a dear reader, Designing Woman, which I bought on DVD but hadn’t looked at yet. What a splendid transfer it is, and it’s somewhat delightful (speaking of style, Minnelli has is it in spades). I was surprised at just how charming both Peck and Bacall are in this, and Jack Cole as Jack Cole is so manic I thought he was on speed the entire film. And it’s always nice to see Tom Helmore in a good role.
What am I, Ebert and Roeper all of a sudden? I finally drove all the way to Westwood to pick up All About Eve and the other new releases only to arrive there having forgotten to bring my wallet and my checkbook. So, I’ll be going back there today.
Well, why don’t we all click on the Unseemly Button below because don’t I have excellent questions to answer?
Well, let’s get directly to your excellent questions because frankly I’ve babbled on long enough.
William E. Lurie asks if, in addition to the eight new songs I’ve written for Nudie Musical, if all the other film songs will remain in the show. For now, that is the plan – they are all in the first draft. Has Cissy Wechter finally ever visited our site? I’m afraid the answer is no – she’s very peculiar about visiting new places on the Internet – in fact, I’d say she doesn’t really visit anywhere on the Internet. She is not computer savvy and I think it all makes her nervous. However, next time I’m at her house I will bookmark it for her and that may be the impetus she needs, oh, yes, that may be the impetus she needs.
Jrand55 asks if I’ve ever seen the Fox movie, Between Heaven and Hell. Why yes, I own the DVD and I have watched it. I like all those old scope films and I always enjoy Terry Moore. And Mr. Friedhofer, the composer, can do no wrong in my estimation.
Philip asks if once you have a DVD player that is all-region, how does one insure it will all play (NTSC and PAL) on one’s TV. The all-region player that I purchased converts PAL to NTSC – you don’t have to have a PAL television. They all do that – however, some do not unsqueeze anamorphic transfers and that is where you must be careful. According to the site where I purchased my machine, there are only two that do it correctly – the JVC I bought and a Malata.
Kerry asks what, if any, famous people live near me, now or in the past. Well, I live in a neighborhood which is populated by a lot of film and TV folks – actors, writers and directors. While I know there are many around me, I do not have any names to give you because I am oblivious to such things. My last house (from my married days) was purchased from Joel Cox, Clint Eastwood’s longtime editor.
JMK asks what is my guiltiest pleasure in terms of flop original cast albums. Oh, I used to listen to Goodtime, Charley quite a bit, and I’m fond of A Doll’s Life, too. But there are many flop cast albums I’m fond of, including the delicious Minnie’s Boys.
Jennifer asks what I meant when I said we were waiting for photos from people for our Unseemly Photo Gallery. Well, we’re going to have a Rogue’s Gallery of Dear Reader photos, so everyone is supposed to send their photos to Mr. Mark Bakalor at mark@hijinks.com.
Sigerson Holmes asks where online is a good place to find out the name of an old song. Other than doing a google search with the lyrics, I don’t know.
Donna says that Hitchcock had it. Cary Grant, Fred Astaire and Gene Kelly had it. Rodgers and Hammerstein and Lerner & Loewe had it. Style. Please define it and tell how I think one can develop it. Style is style – you either have it or you don’t – I think it can be developed to a point, I suppose, but I can always tell if it’s real or not. Lauren Bacall has style – Celine Dion doesn’t, try as she might.
S. Woody White asks if I’ve ever seen a feature film based on a television series that I would recommend anyone else watch. Well, I quite liked the two Lone Ranger movies that were done concurrent with the TV series, but that’s just me. I don’t mind the Batman movie (the one with Adam West), and I suppose Charlie’s Angels was fair. I can’t think of any others, really, that I would recommend.
Mike asks what in my opinion is the best film (non-musical) score written by the following people:
John Barry – oh, this is already too hard. I’m quite partial to Robin and Marian.
Elmer Bernstein – To Kill a Mockingbird
Georges Delerue – either Two English Girls or The Soft Skin
Ernest Gold – Exodus
Jerry Goldsmith – TOO HARD! But I’ll say A Patch of Blue.
Bernard Herrmann – TOO HARD! But I’ll say North By Northwest or Vertigo.
Maurice Jarre – Lawrence of Arabia
Erich Wolfgang Korngold – The Adventures of Robin Hood or Elizabeth and Essex.
Michel Legrand – Summer of ’42
Henry Mancini – Breakfast at Tiffany’s, Wait Until Dark, or Two For The Road.
Max Steiner – The Searchers
Alfred Newman – here’s an oddball one, but I love it – The Counterfeit Traitor.
David Raksin – The Bad and the Beautiful
Miklos Rozsa – TOO HARD! But I’ll say Double Indemnity just because.
Lalo Schifrin – Dirty Harry
Herbert Stothart – Stagecoach
Dimitri Tiomkin – The High and the Mighty
Franz Waxman – Peyton Place or Sunset Blvd.
John Williams – TOO HARD! But just to be contrary, I’ll say The Accidental Tourist.
Victor Young – Around the World in Eighty Days
Do I have a favorite not written by one of the above? But, of course, because you’ve left off one of the greats and one of the top five best scores ever written: Mr. Hugo Friedhofer and The Best Years of Our Lives. That was fun!
Hapgood asks what is the most memorable trip I’ve taken in the country? You’ll have to read the sequel to Benjamin Kritzer to find out. What is the most memorable trip out of the country? Well, there’s only been one – to Toronto and Montreal, so I guess that wins by default. Are there any musicals that are generally beloved but which I don’t really like? Sure – Oklahoma! Any plays? Sure – most of Shakespeare (shoot me, what can I say?). What is the most awful Broadway flop I’ve ever seen? Hands down, the most recent Cyrano musical. Have I seen Scotland, PA and if so what did I think. No, I don’t even know what it is.
Craig has a plethora of questions. To wit: If only one of my future projects could win an award, which would I choose and why? Benjamin Kritzer (the Pulitzer, of course) because it’s the thing dearest to my heart. Do I have a word or phrase that I probably use too much when talking? Many, way too many. “What is it, fish?” “Yes or no?” and many others. Who thought up the expression “it’s always in the last place you look?” Mr. Reginald Milbaum IV, a gravedigger from Perth. I haven’t mentioned the singing bird in quite some time – has it flown south for the winter? No, the singing bird is out there, but it is very nervous about the barking dog. Sometimes they do a duet, and it’s quite lovely. Is there a story behind my very own song, Chinese Food in Bed or was it just a cool phrase that spurned a song. It just came to me one night and it really took all of three minutes to write it and it never changed. Just a happy happenstance. What movie would I consider the biggest – meaning the largest scale epic monstrosity ever put on celluloid. Well, monstrosity – much as it’s a guilty pleasure, probably Lost Horizon or Star! Have I ever seen Clash of the Titans? Of course, and I own the spiffy DVD of it. I don’t like it very much, though. What are my thoughts on Ray Harryhausen? Well, I love most of his work – in fact, I adore it beyond adoration. What is my favorite Harryhausen? The Seventh Voyage of Sinbad, always and forever.
Td wants me to do a fourteen track compilation of nominated Academy Award songs that didn’t take home the prize, sung by my usual stable of singers. That will take some thinking about and research so I’ll get to that there question next week.
Laura asks if I’ve ever had a speeding ticket. Surprisingly, I do believe I’ve only had one, maybe two, in my entire life, and I wasn’t over the limit by much.
Jose asks who was my first childhood crush and did I ever act on it? I know Jose has Benjamin Kritzer – both answers are in that book. Did I have a crush on a teacher in grade school? I loved one of my teachers (also in the book) but I can’t say I had a crush on her. What was my favorite nickname growing up? I never had one, although my brother sometimes called me “Bugs” (or something like it). Did I have a “blankie”? No. I think “blankie’s” are a more recent thing. Which Peanuts character was/is my favorite. Other than the musical, You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown, I don’t know that I have a clue about any of them. I’ve never read the comic strip and I’ve never seen any of the specials. Hard to believe, but true.
Susan Gordon asks if I could relive one day in my life what would that day be? Hmmm. That is a hard question. I don’t know that that day has arrived yet. Maybe just one of my normal childhood days from when I was ten or so.
Tom from Oz asks what was the first novel (adult fiction) that I remember reading? And what was the most recent novel I’ve read, and would I recommend either? Well, I’m sure I read some adult fiction before Psycho in 1960, but I was twelve and I suppose that counts. Sure, I’d recommend anything by Robert Bloch. Most recent: Kritzerland, and yes, I absolutely recommend it to one and all and also all and one.
KT asks what city or island would by my choice for the ideal vacation. Even though I’m there a lot, the island of Manhattan is always grand fun for me (and spending a vacation there would really be fun). Otherwise, I haven’t been anywhere like Paris, or London, or Tokyo – I must get around to doing those things soon. Am I a busy tourist/sightseer/shopper or a pina colada sipping beachbum by nature? Not the latter certainly, but a shopper absolutely.
And there you have it. Well, dear readers, I must take the day, I must do the things I do, I must do corrections, purchase a few DVDs and other various and sundried tasks. Don’t forget, tomorrow our fabulous Unseemly Interview with Miss Melissa Errico will be up and running. Today’s topic of discussion: What is your favorite “I want” song from a musical or musical film? The song where the character states what he/she/it wants (like Part of Your World, Corner of the Sky, etc.), usually the first or second song in a musical. Post away, my pretties.