Well, dear readers, and thus begins our countdown to our Rockin’ New Year’s Eve. Christmas 2007 is done and all creatures including the mouse can stir to their heart’s content. Christmas Day turned out to be a very nice, quiet day, but one in which I did not see the darling daughter. It’s a complicated situation and we’ve had this problem a couple of other times, but basically the darling ex-wife, who lives near San Diego, has both a Christmas Eve AND Christmas Day dinner and the darling daughter is expected to attend both. Therefore, in order to visit her darling father she and her hubby must drive for two-and-a-half hours, spend a couple of hours here, and then drive two-and-a-half hours back. Most of the time they do, but a couple of times, including yesterday, it’s just too difficult. So, she’ll be coming today and it will be lovelier than lovely to see her. So, yesterday, after a night of really bad heartburn (the spaghetti sauce had more kick than its usual kick) and very little sleep, I managed to get about five hours and got up quite late. I opened my various and sundried gifts – I received a nice shirt, a book, a lovely frame with about eight photographs in it, various and sundried candy, wines, and a few other nice items. I then had some leftover tuna pasta salad whilst watching yet more episodes of The Mod Squad. I was so mystified by one location, a construction site in Hollywood where they were building a high-rise on Sunset Blvd., that I got in my car to go check it out and solve the mystery. In the show I could briefly see a Pep Boys store, and finally in one shot a landmark I recognized immediately as the Cinerama Dome theater. Once I had that, I for some reason thought I was looking west to the Dome, which meant the high-rise could only have been at the southeast corner of Sunset and Vine. But that didn’t make sense, as that building’s proximity to the Dome is a few blocks. Also, there was no way a Pep Boys would have been across the street. Once I realized that, I knew that the shot must have been facing east and when I drove down there I knew immediately where it was, right at Cole and Sunset, a building I’ve passed many times. The Pep Boys is now Studio Instrument Rentals (SIR studios), and you can still see the Pep Boys sign on the side of the building.
While I was there, I drove down Hollywood Blvd. and was surprised to see quite a few stores open, I guess because of the tourists. Most of the restaurants, however, were closed. I then came back to the Valley, bought a rye bread at Jerry’s Deli (which was jammed with people), and came home, where I ate some bread, then a couple of donuts, some dark chocolate almond bark and various and sundried other foodstuffs, whilst watching more Mod Squad episodes. Most of these were directed by not very good TV guys, but one episode, one of the best, was directed by Jack “The Incredible Shrinking Man” Arnold. Lots of fun guests in these episodes I just watched, including a terrific guest star turn by an old acquaintance and very good friend of my cousins, Richard Evans. We also had Alan Oppenheimer, William Smithers, Joan Van Ark, Herb Vigran (love him), Arthur Franz and many others. Transfers continue to be stellar. Oh, and one episode had a lengthy sequence shot right here on Laurel Canyon Blvd. at the store located halfway between Mulholland and Sunset Blvd. That was fun.
I then watched a motion picture on DVD entitled Anatomy Of A Murder, a widescreen region 2 DVD (the region 1 is full frame). I’m reading a new book on Otto Preminger and have decided to rewatch several of his films. What a splendid film Anatomy Of A Murder is. I always forget just how good it is, and Mr. Preminger really was a mostly-terrific director and Anatomy is one of his best. It’s a really well written script by Wendall Mayes from the novel by Robert Traver, and though it’s quite a long film (over two and a half hours) the pace is great and it never seems overlong. And the cast. Oh, the cast. The likes of which we’ll never EVER see again. James Stewart, Arthur O’Connell, Ben Gazzara, Lee Remick, George C. Scott, Murray Hamilton, Eve Arden, John Qualen and everyone else, giving great performances and, unlike today’s insipid actors, no one WHISPERS their lines. We can hear them all and guess what – they’re all subtle and acting for the screen. Mr. Preminger’s genius casting in this film is Joseph Welch as the judge. Mr. Welch, the man who was instrumental in bringing down Joseph McCarthy, is just wonderful, and his admonitions to Stewart and George C. Scott are priceless. Mr. Preminger also had an uncanny knack for discovering and/or employing perfect composers for his projects, dating all the way back to David Raksin on Laura, and continuing with Mischa Spoliansky on Saint Joan, Georges Auric on Bonjour Tristesse, Ernest Gold on Exodus, Jerry Fielding on Advise and Consent, Jerry Goldsmith on In Harm’s Way, and Paul Glass on Bunny Lake Is Missing. The Anatomy score is by Duke Ellington and it works perfectly with the film. The film was nominated for many Oscars, but unfortunately was up against the mighty Ben-Hur. The transfer is the same as region one, but it looks ever so much better in its proper ratio without all that useless headroom.
Well, why don’t we all click on the Unseemly Button below because I really must try and get my beauty sleep.
I keep saying it, but I just cannot believe this year is over with. Over the next few days, I’ll be taking a look back at the year that was, which flew by like a gazelle with a sexual identity problem.
Speaking of a sexual identity problem, today I shall be visiting with my darling daughter and her darling husband. They’ll be sampling the leftover spaghetti sauce, opening their gifts, and then they’ll be starting their long drive home.
I have some errands to do, which I’ll do once they leave. Tomorrow I have a lunch with the creator of Town Without Pity, otherwise I just have to ship out a couple of packages. Friday, I have a party to attend, thrown by the Chance Theater people – it will be nice to meet the rest of those folks. And Saturday, I finally see Sweeney Todd.
Well, dear readers, I must take the day, I must do the things I do, I must, for example, arise early, have a few hours with the darling daughter, do some errands, eat some foodstuffs, and perhaps even pick up a missing package or three. Today’s topic of discussion: It’s Ask BK Day, the day in which you get to ask me or any dear reader any old question you like and we get to give any old answer we like. So, let’s have loads of lovely questions and loads of lovely answers and loads of lovely postings, shall we, as we begin our countdown to Rockin’ New Year’s Eve, the only place on all the Internet you’ll want to be. I cannot call the notes Countdown To Rockin’ New Year’s Eve, since I used that title, therefore the title of the notes is…