Well, dear readers, here we are in the throes of the long Labor Day Weekend. I intend to do nothing but relax and have fun and do whatever I choose. Of course, we’ll be having a non-stop partay right here at haineshisway.com, and we will be having an impromptu live chat whenever the mood strikes me. Has the mood ever struck you? The mood strikes me all the time and what have I ever done to the mood I’d like to know? Damn the mood, always striking me. I believe I shall have to bitch-slap the mood from here to eternity and hell and back. I’m sure I was talking about something interesting, but I’ll be consarned if I can remember what it was. Speaking of consarned, what a day I had yesterday. It actually was a very pleasant day except for the annoyance of not getting the Harvey Schmidt CDs. I got the Stages CDs and Kevin’s CD single, but the Harvey Schmidt print took forever to complete, and it got to the pressing plant very late yesterday afternoon, and then their assembling machine broke, so that was that. I’m told I’ll have them on Tuesday morning, and let me tell you that if they are even a few minutes late there will be hell toupee. Meanwhile, I’m shipping out the five orders that just wanted Stages. I must say, I’m very pleased with both the Stages package and Kevin’s CD single package (I know someone was waiting for me to say Kevin’s package, but this is a family site). Other than the frustration of the pressing plant not doing what they promised, I wrote a few pages, I did a few errands, I picked up no packages, and I made a few telephonic calls. I then had a wonderful dinner with Miss Tammy Minoff and her father. We went to The Smoke House, and whilst there I ran into my film composer pal, John Scott, and we had a lovely chat. After dinner, we drove by the El Portal so that Tammy’s father could see where we’ll be doing the play in January. I then came home, stuffed to the gills, and sat on my couch like so much fish. Isn’t that exciting? Isn’t that just too too?
Two nights ago, I watched two count them two motion pictures on DVD. The first motion picture on DVD was entitled Sabata, another spaghetti western, starring Mr. Lee Van Cleef. Like Death Rides A Horse, which I’d watched a few nights before, Sabata is completely entertaining, one of the best spaghetti westerns. Part of it is because of Mr. Van Cleef, who is just wonderful in these Eyetalian westerns. Plus, it has a fun plot, it’s well-directed (in the Leone mode) and has an infectious score (in the Morricone mode, but by a composer I’ve never heard of). The film is beautifully shot, too, and looks wonderful in all its widescreen enhanced glory on the region 2 DVD. It’s from MGM/UA, so I’m sure it will be released here one of these fine days. I then watched the second motion picture on DVD, which was entitled Jamboree. Jamboree was one of those rock-and-roll pictures – you know, a perfunctory plot and a bunch of early rock-and-roll artists. The film started off very sweetly, but quickly degenerated into a tiresome, predictable mess. Miss Kay Medford is the only actress I knew, and unfortunately, she’s playing a completely obnoxious character. The young female lead’s singing voice was provided by a very young Miss Connie Francis. Also appearing – Fats Domino, an extremely young Frankie Avalon, Carl Perkins, Jerry Lee Lewis, Count Basie, Slim Whitman, Charlie Gracie and many others. The transfer, from Warner Bros., is full frame. Of course, everyone excuses Warner Bros. when they do this nonsense because, well, it’s Warner Bros. If MGM/UA or Columbia or Paramount had done it, the uproar would be heard all across the nation. Just a quick look at any shot in the film will tell you it’s an open matte transfer with way too much extraneous head room, and with stuff at the bottom of the frame that wasn’t meant to be seen. Anyway, despite the good music, the film is a complete dud.
What am I, Ebert and Roeper all of a sudden? Well, why don’t we all click on the Unseemly Button below, for it is Labor Day Weekend, the weekend in which we do no labor whatsoever.
Have I mentioned that we’ll be having an impromptu live chat whenever the mood strikes me? We will, so you’ll want to be hanging around so you don’t miss it.
The mood is striking me right now to have an Unseemly Trivia Contest question, so here it is:
In this interesting theatrical season, one author had two plays on Broadway. One was a flop, one was a hit. Despite that, both plays were turned into films. One was quite successful, the other less so, but both were high profile. One film version kept the title of the play, and one did not. The cast of the flop was very interesting. Its female lead would go on to appear in a famous director’s film, one of his most interesting and beloved. She would also go on to appear in a very big hit television series. The male lead had appeared in at least two classic films prior to the play, and would go on to appear in a brief role in another classic film. The stars of the hit would not repeat their roles on screen. The stars of the flop would not repeat their roles on screen. The film version of the flop featured a hugely successful and popular movie star, and also starred someone who was not only a movie star, but a theater star as well. That same season, another play opened one month after the flop. It, too, was an even bigger flop, lasting only a little over a week. The plot of the play was extremely far-fetched, although over a decade later, one of its aspects proved not to be far-fetched at all. Its author would make several peculiar films. Its cast featured an actor who had co-starred in one of the most beloved and popular films ever made, and also in the cast was a gentleman who would go on to star in one of the best-loved sitcoms ever done. Also in the play was an actor who would go on to star in a hugely successful motion picture musical. The play’s director went on to direct a few classic films in a long and prolific film career. Are you with me so far?
Name the hit play and the flop play by the same author, and name the author.
Name the title of the film version that did not keep its play title.
Name the female lead of the flop play, the famous director’s film she would soon thereafter appear in, and the TV series in which she starred.
Name the leading man of the flop play.
Name the two stars of the film version of the flop play.
Name the second flop play and its author.
Name the actor who was featured in one of the most beloved and popular films ever made.
Name the gentleman who would go on to star in one of the most beloved sitcoms ever made.
Name the actor who would go on to star in a hugely successful motion picture musical.
Name the director who would go on to make several classic films.
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 the e-mails). Remember, you have until midnight on Monday to submit your answers. Good luck to one and all and also all and one.
Now wait just a darned minute. I do believe we’d all better put on our pointy party hats and our colored tights and pantaloons, we’d all better break out the cheese slices and ham chunks, we’d all better dance the Hora and the Texas Two-Step or the Kentucky three-step, for today is the birthday of dear reader MattH. So, let’s give a big haineshisway.com birthday cheer to dear reader MattH. On the count of three: One, two, three – A BIG HAINESHISWAY.COM BIRTHDAY CHEER TO DEAR READER MATTH!!! We also have a couple of other birthdays today – for former dear reader Joy, and occasional dear reader Sigerson Holmes.
I have to decide if I shall go to Cinecon today or not. I may, or then again, I mayn’t. We’ll see if the mood strikes me.
Well, dear readers, I must take the day, I must do the things I do, I must write, I must ship five packages, I must relax and smell the coffee or the roses, or the sauerbraten, I must be giddy and gay and also gay and giddy because it is a long, long weekend and I can play all the livelong day and night. Today’s topic of discussion: What have been the biggest showstoppers you’ve ever seen in musical theatre? You know, those moments, songs, scenes, or dances that literally stopped the show and got tumultuous applause that seemed like it would never end. Because teen girls seem to have taken over Broadway audiences and they love to whoop it up and scream at everything from Good Vibrations to Mamma Mia, let’s keep it to “real” showstoppers. You know the kind I mean. I’ll start – the title song from Hello, Dolly!. Turkey Lurkey Time from Promises, Promises. My Heart Is So Full of You from The Most Happy Fella. You’re Just in Love from Call Me Madam. Everything’s Coming Up Roses and Rose’s Turn from Gypsy. I leave the rest to you. Let’s have loads of lovely postings, shall we, and remember, we will have an unseemly live chat as soon as the fershluganah mood strikes me.