Well, dear readers, it’s the start of what will hopefully be a very nice week. Certainly we’ll be seeing some very nice people this week, and having some very nice meals and get-togethers this week and I will be having some nice work sessions this week, too. In fact, I’d say it will be a non-stop week of doing non-stop things, starting this very day. Speaking of this very day, yesterday was a very day. For example, I got up. That was very. I then toddled off to see the final French motion picture entertainment, which was entitled Family Hero. I really thought I wasn’t going to like it because it was very confusing at the beginning, but after about ten minutes things settled down and I ended up liking it the best of all the films I saw this week. It was quite likeable, had some funny things in it, was touching, and it features a great turn by Catherine Deneuve. I’m also not a fan of songs in films, but the songs in this are beautifully chosen and work really well. I’m hoping that this and Change Of Address get DVD releases here, because I’d definitely like to own them. I haven’t mentioned it, but they’ve shown little short films prior to each screening – some of them have been really good, most running between two and six minutes. Yesterday’s was entitled Judas, and, while it was obviously inspired by Mr. Terry Gilliam, it was quite interesting, and it starred the very recently deceased Jean Pierre Cassel. It was the longest of the shorts, running eighteen minutes. It had really good music, but while watching the credits carefully, some peckerhead turned on her cell phone and I got distracted and missed the music credit. In any case, it was a nice end to a week of moviegoing. After the film, I got a bite to eat, and then came home, where I sat on my couch like so much fish.
Last night, I managed to watch two count them two motion pictures on DVD. The first motion picture on DVD was entitled Too Soon To Love, and starred an acquaintance of mine, Richard Evans, with Mr. Jack Nicholson in a small supporting role. Despite the exploitation aspects of its release, it was quite an earnest little film about two kids in love – the girl getting pregnant and them having to deal with it. I must say, I usually don’t respond to this sort of thing, but I found it very entertaining for some reason. Certainly, the film was more entertaining than the transfer – despite the promised 1:85 anamorphic transfer, we got an open matte full screen transfer, and a bad one at that. This company (VCI) licenses a lot from Kit Parker Films, and Kit Parker Films’ source material on many of their titles is a sorry joke. This one barely looks better than VHS – dark and ugly. The film was directed by Richard Rush, who would go on to direct some AIP films and then The Stunt Man. The film was shot in LA, but these directors simply didn’t shoot the city well and you don’t see much of it – just a few tantalizing little things. There are several scenes at a drive-in theater, but you never see the name of it – I think it might have been my beloved Olympic Drive-In, but I can’t be sure. There’s one great shot of the two leads walking down a sleazy street, where you see an old movie theater I’d never heard of called the Banner. I looked it up, and it was on Main St. and 5th, downtown. The second motion picture on DVD was on the same disc – a double feature. This one was entitled Unwed Mother (do we sense a theme here), and it starred Mr. Robert Vaughn as a complete cad – he was quite good. MBarnum’s beloved Diana Darrin had a small role, and Ken Lynch, a character actor I’m fond of, was also in it. This film was also shot in LA, and again you don’t see as much as you wish you could. Several scenes take place in a department store – I’m pretty sure it’s the May Company on Wilshire. There’s definitely a nice scene on Fuller above Hollywood Boulevard. But the best is the robbery of a movie theater – you get great shots of the old Oriental on Sunset Boulevard (between Fairfax and La Brea). I was only in the Oriental once, but it was a typical nabe theater, the kind that dotted mostly every major street in LA. It’s completely demolished now. This transfer is presented in 1:85 anamorphic, but unfortunately, they were working off a full frame print that had been zoomed in, not an open matte print – hence it’s blown up and everything is mis-framed. Still, if you like stories about unwed mothers (and who doesn’t), you can’t go wrong with this double bill.
Well, why don’t we all click on the Unseemly Button below because I’ve got a lot to do and I must get a good night’s sleep and beauty rest to be at my best.
If you missed any of the merriment and mirth and laughter and legs around these here parts over the weekend, do catch up or, at the very least, ketchup. And if you were errant and truant, do go in the corner and bitch-slap yourself from here to eternity and hell and back.
Today, I must ship some packages in the morning, then attend a two-hour work session with Miss Joan Ryan, then do some errands and whatnot, then proof at least fifty pages. Tomorrow is more of the same, and we’re also having our little mini West Coast hansies/kimlets get-together with MBarnum, MusicGuy, Miss Adriana Patti, Mr. Cason Murphy, and whoever else shows up. We will be dining at Musso and Frank at six.
The rest of the week will be filled with work sessions, proofing, and then the Ray Courts show on Friday and Saturday.
Well, dear readers, I must take the day, I must do the things I do, I must, for example, ship, have a work session, drive about in my motor car, proof, sup, and then watch a DVD or three. Today’s topic of discussion: What are your favorite classic exploitation films – when exploitation actually meant something. Let’s have loads of lovely postings, shall we, as we begin our nice week on this very day.