Well, dear readers, it is the weekend. I ask you, where else on all the Internet can you find such information? Nowhere, that’s where. In any case, it is the weekend and I, for one, have very few plans, other than lying about in my smoking jacket, my lounging pyjamas, my leopard-spotted dickie, and my bunny slippers. I shall eat only reasonable amounts of non-caloric food, and I shall catch up or, at the very least, ketchup on my DVD viewing. Speaking of my leopard-spotted dickie, I had an interesting day yesterday. It started off with me going to Staples to get my play Xeroxed. Then, Miss Tammy Minoff and I went to the El Portal, where we met up with our wonderful Emmy Award-winning set designer, so he could see the difficult job that lies ahead for him. He liked the space very much, but of course he can’t say anything until he reads the play. We also found out the news that in the next two weeks the theater may be making a decision to change the way the seating works in the theater, in which case it will be much more of a proscenium look, which would probably work better for us. That was an interesting new twist, so I’ll be curious to see where that leads. If not, though, I’m certain our set designer will come up with an ingenious design. After that, I had a call from Mr. Harvey Schmidt informing me that the priority mail package I sent to him last Thursday still hasn’t shown up. I really find the USPS appalling sometimes – especially when they have the gall to screw up a priority mail package. So, I resent what I’d sent via Fed Ex so he’ll have it today. I then did a few errands, but that was about it. I had almost no telephonic calls, almost no e-mails, and almost no CD orders. I spent most of the afternoon writing my short story, and I’m just around two pages from finishing it. I also got several early copies of new DVDs – for the list, see yesterday’s posts. Isn’t that exciting? Isn’t that just too too?
Yesterday, I managed the incredible feat of viewing four count them four motion pictures on DVD. That’s why I enjoy films that are ninety minutes or under. The first motion picture on DVD was entitled Felix and Lola, un film de Patrice Leconte. I have yet to see a Patrice Leconte film I haven’t enjoyed thoroughly, and Felix and Lola is no exception. It’s a light film, a character study really, and I found it engrossing and entertaining, with really terrific performances by Charlotte Gainsbourg and Philippe Torreton. I then watched the second motion picture on DVD, which was entitled Red Garters, starring Miss Rosemary Clooney, Mr. Jack Carson, and Mr. Guy Mitchell, with support from Gene Barry, Patricia Crowley, and Cass Daley. I’d never seen the film. It starts off by telling us we’re seeing a “new” kind of western, then tells us it’s going to be very unreal. What it is, it surreal – all the sets are just “suggested,” like a play. I found the whole affair very strange, and the script, which wanted to be very funny, wasn’t really laugh-inducing. Still, it’s very pretty to look at, color-wise, and the cast is good – especially the winning Miss Crowley. No one sings like Rosie and she delivers quite a few nice Livingston and Evans songs. Cass Daley sounds and mugs exactly like Martha Raye. Guy Mitchell, a much better singer than actor, would go on to record one of my all-time favorite songs from my childhood – Singin’ the Blues. The transfer from Paramount could scarcely be better – sharp and vibrant and very Technicolor. Red Garters seems more like a 50s TV spectacular than a movie, but it still has its pleasures. I then watched the third motion picture on DVD, which was entitled Somewhere In The Night, starring Mr. John Hodiak, Miss Nancy Guild, and Mr. Lloyd Nolan. Again, I’d never managed to see the noir I’ve always heard so much about. It’s a great film, beautifully written and directed by Mr. Joseph Mankiewicz (written with Howard Dimsdale, although the whole film reeks of Joe – interestingly, the adaptation is by Lee Strasberg), beautifully shot, and wonderfully acted by Mr. Hodiak. Lloyd Nolan and Richard Conte turn in their usual excellent performances, and there are fun one-scene bits from Whit Bissell and Jeff Corey. I was quite taken with a supporting actress named Margo Woode – quite taken. I paused the film to look her up on the imdb (by searching Somewhere In The Night) – she apparently didn’t have much of a career, but she’s just terrific, delivering every Mankiewicz line perfectly. I wish I’d waited to search the imdb because these stupid cretins have put something in the cast list that basically gives away the entire film – how dumb are these people? So, if you haven’t seen it, don’t be looking at the imdb prior to your viewing. The transfer is fine, and I’ll be watching this one again. I then watched the fourth motion picture on DVD, which was entitled Casanova’s Big Night, starring Mr. Bob Hope, Miss Joan Fontaine, Mr. Vincent Price, and Mr. Basil Rathbone. I know I’m supposed to find all these Hope (and Hope and Crosby) films hilarious, but I sometimes find them a trial to sit through. However, Casanova’s Big Night had me laughing out loud from the first scene to the last. If you want to see just how indebted Mr. Woody Allen is to Mr. Hope, watch this film. You will be astonished how close Woody’s delivery in his early films is to Mr. Hope’s. The gags come fast and furious, and the direction by Norman Z. McLeod is perfect. The transfer, while not as good as Red Garters, looks just fine.
What am I, Ebert and Roeper all of a sudden? Don’t we have an Unseemly Trivia Contest to get to? Well, why don’t we all click on the Unseemly Button below so we can get to it before I forget what it is.
If our more convoluted Unseemly Trivia Contests give you a headache, you can just skip ahead. Here is this week’s multi-part question:
It was a wonderful theatrical season on Broadway, for both plays and musicals. However, there were three plays which did not fare well – two of them closed within three weeks, and one managed to eke out about two-and-a-half months. However, all three flops had very interesting casts, and that is what we will be concentrating on in this contest. Flop one was written by someone who was much better known as a screenwriter of several classic films. It was directed by a very famous director of both plays and musicals. The incidental music for the play was by someone who was not known for being a composer – but who was very influential in the world of musical theater. The female lead would go on to become a hugely successful Academy Award-winning star. One of the male leads would go on to star in a highly acclaimed and very influential musical. One of the female co-stars would go on to become a well-known sex kitten. And another of the male co-stars would go on to co-star in one of the most iconic films ever made.
Flop two had a very brief run, but is author had had at least two huge Broadway successes prior to this flop. The play’s male star would go on to become a hugely successful film star, and one of his co-stars in this play would appear in the film that made this gentleman into a superstar, and one of the most important Hollywood players of his era. The female star was more known for musical theater rather than plays. Even though the play was a flop, it was turned into a flop movie, albeit with a different title.
Flop three was written by someone who would go on to write several extremely interesting films. It was directed by a legendary director of both plays and musicals. Interestingly, the flop’s male and female stars would both go on to do separate beloved sitcoms – both beloved sitcoms happened to star the same person.
Name flop one, its writer, and its director.
Name the composer of the incidental music, and what he did that was so influential in the musical theater world.
Name the female lead who would win an Academy Award.
Name the male co-star who would star in an influential musical and name the musical.
Name the well-known sex-kitten.
Name the actor who would co-star in one of the most iconic films ever made.
Name flop two and its author.
Name the play’s leading man who would go on to become a huge star and Hollywood player, and name his co-star who would appear with him in the movie that turned the actor into a superstar.
Name the female star who was more known for musical theater than for plays.
Name the title of the film version of the play.
Name flop three, its author, and its legendary director.
Name the male and female stars, and name the two sitcoms on which they would appear opposite the same person.
Whew! Remember: DO NOT POST YOUR ANSWERS TO THE SITE. Send them to me at bruce@haineshisway.com (and don’t worry if you get a bounced e-mail notice – I do get them). Good luck to one and all and also all and one.
Well, dear readers, I must take the day, I must do the things I do, I must write, I must lie about in my lounging pyjamas, my smoking jacket, my leopard-spotted dickie, and my bunny slippers, I must watch a few DVDs, and then I must go to a 35mm screening of Gypsy, starring Miss Rosalind Russell. Today’s topic of discussion: What are your all-time favorite songs by Miss Rosemary Clooney, Miss Peggy Lee, and Miss Ella Fitzgerald? Let’s have loads of lovely postings, shall we, and let’s make certain they are quite convoluted.