Well, dear readers, I am finally starting to hear back from people to whom I’ve had messages in to for a while. For example, yesterday I heard from not one but two Williams – Sammy and Cindy. It was great to hear from both of them. Sammy will be attending our Stages partay, and Cindy is checking her schedule to see if she can take part in the LACC benefit. In addition to those and many other phone calls, I wrote quite a bit on the short story, and also managed to get a few errands done, as well as picking up some lovely packages which had been long overdue. Has anyone sensed that I’m not with it yet? I’m not in the swing of these notes yet. These notes are not swinging, and I, for one, am appalled. We need these notes to swing, and they’re just meandering along with facts, just the facts, like Dragnet. These notes are Jack Webb when they should be Benny Goodman. We need these here notes to swing, swing, swing (that is three swings). We need these here notes to be freewheeling and mad as a hatter, and instead they are just sitting there like so much fish. Damn them, damn them all to hell. Where was I? Oh, yes, the swinging notes. Hit me with a hot notes and watch me bounce. We need Tuxedo Junction, baby, and all we’re getting is Mantovani. In any case, these notes are gonna swing and that’s all there is to it. What else did I do yesterday? Well, I hired me a stage manager for the play. It is the same stage manager I had for What If. I had me a conversation with our Emmy Award-winning set designer, and told him he was going to have to be brilliant to make our chosen theater work for the play. He’ll be seeing the theater on Friday, and I’ll be giving him the play to read at that time. On Thursday, we’re finalizing the deal on the theater. Today, Miss Joan Ryan is coming over to pick up some CDs to listen to, which has to do with the album we’re talking about doing together. Tonight I’ll be supping with Mrs. Guy Haines herself, the delightful Kasey Rogers (aka Laura Elliot), her friend Mark, and their friend Kathy Vigoda, who, I gather, is somehow related to the Fish himself, Mr. Abe Vigoda. See, things are swinging now, baby. I’m wearing my bobby sox now, baby. Hit me with a hot notes and watch me bounce, baby. I no longer have a clew as to what the HELL I’m talking about.
Last night I watched a motion picture on DVD entitled L’Enfer (Hell), un film de Claude Chabrol. I am only familiar with Mr. Chabrol’s late 60s and early to mid-70s work, so it’s been fun to discover his 80s and 90s output. L’Enfer is a strange little film based on a script by the great director, Henri-Georges Clouzot (Diabolique, Wages of Fear). It’s a rather harrowing portrait of jealousy out of control and, finally, madness. Francois Cluzet gives a fantastic performance as the husband who suspects his wife of cheating on him. Whether she is or isn’t isn’t really clear – it’s sort of left to the viewer to decide, although the wife, played wonderfully by Emmanuelle Beart, swears she isn’t. I have always wondered what happened to Mr. Cluzet, whom I loved in Round Midnight, so it’s nice to see that he’s been working. Mr. Chabrol’s direction is perfection. Yes, you heard it here, dear readers, we have direction perfection, as well as Clouzot/Cluzet. This DVD is part of a large onslaught of Chabrol films from Kino on DVD – I’ve just purchased three more on eBay (amazon is its usual weird self – they don’t ship these Kino titles for four weeks). I also began watching the new region 2 DVD of Akira Kurosawa’s The Bad Sleep Well, which I’m enjoying thoroughly and which I’ll have a full report on in tomorrow’s notes.
What am I, Ebert and Roeper all of a sudden? Why don’t we all click on the Unseemly Button below so we can continue our swinging ways.
Man, these notes are really swinging now, aren’t they? Just remember, it don’t mean a thing if it ain’t got that swing. Of course, if it ain’t got that swing, you can always call the Swing help line at Pennsylvania 6-5000.
Now just wait a darned minute. Don’t we have some winners in our Unseemly Trivia Contest? I do believe we do. I do believe we have some swinging winners. First, here was the question:
This theatrical season produced an amazing number of musicals and plays, one right after another. Several of the musicals turned out to have long runs, and several of the plays did, too. One particular play ran under one hundred performances. It had quite a large cast, and was based on a well-known book. It had looked like a sure thing, but neither critics nor audiences took to it. Still, a few years later it became a hit motion picture, although none of the cast or creative team was involved. Starring in the play was a performer much more familiar to filmgoers than theatergoers – a big movie star. Also in the show was someone who was better known as a singer than an actor. Also in the show was someone who was better known as an actor than a singer, yet this person would, just a few years later, go on to star in a hit musical. Also in the cast was an actor who would, just a few short years later, start his ascendancy to becoming a well-known movie star. Finally, also in the cast was an actor who had played a small but quite unique role in a hit musical a few seasons earlier, a role he repeated when the musical came to the screen.
Name the play.
Name the big movie star.
Name the performer who was better known as a singer than an actor.
Name the performer who was better known as an actor than a singer, and name the hit musical in which the performer would star a few years later.
Name the cast member who, just a few years later, would begin the journey to becoming a major motion picture star.
Name the actor who had a small but unique role in a hit musical a few years earlier, a role repeated in the film version of said musical.
I purposely made the question rather easy, in hopes we’d get some people off their butt cheeks to at least make an attempt, and we did get quite a few answers, and a few from people who haven’t played before, but I was surprised at certain folks around these here parts for not even trying. And the answers are:
One Flew Over The Cuckoo’s Nest
Kirk Douglas
Ed Ames
William Daniels, 1776
Gene Wilder
Al Nesor, Li’l Abner, Evil Eye Fleagle
Our winners are Dan-the-Man, jbelles, Robert Armin, Macchus999, FJL and JMK. And our Electronic Hat has chosen completely at random this week’s High Winner: jbelles. So, if jbelles will send his handy-dandy address, he will receive a sparkling prize.
Now wait just a darned minute. I believe we’d all better just put on our pointy party hats and our colored tights and pantaloons, we’d better break out the cheese slices and the ham chunks, we’d better dance the Hora and the Wah-Watusi, because we’ve got us a birthday to celebrate and that birthday belongs to our very own vixmom. So, let’s give a big haineshisway.com birthday cheer to our very own vixmom. On the count of three: One, two, three – A BIG HAINESHISWAY.COM BIRTHDAY CHEER TO OUR VERY OWN VIXMOM!!!
Well, dear readers, I must take the day, I must do the things I do, I must write, I must have telephonic conversations, I must do errands, I must pick up and ship a few packages, and I must sup with Mrs. Guy Haines and party. Today’s topic of discussion: Who are your favorite swing artists (big band and vocalists) and what are your favorite swing tunes (instrumentals and vocals). I do love me my Glenn Miller and my Benny G. and my Duke Ellington. My favorite big band ballad is At Last. And here’s a little mini-trivia question for you – what film used At Last as its main source of music. Hint – the director of the film is mentioned in today’s notes. Let’s have loads of lovely postings, shall we, because we’re swinging now, baby, and nothing’s going to stop us now. Hit me with a hot notes and watch me, unlike my close personal friend Mr. Stephen Sondheim, bounce.