Well, dear readers, it is late and therefore I must write these here notes in a hurry whilst taking dance lessons from Arthur Murray and eating curry and writing words in a flurry trying not to worry or have my eyes get blurry or write a treatise on Madame Curie or worrying about whether there’s fringe on my surrey. Well, that was a feast of rhymes, wasn’t it? I do believe we shall have rhyming notes this day, what do you say?
Yesterday was a day that crept by without too much incident, which was good. I got a little over eight hours of sleep, which I needed, then I got down to both brass and aluminum tacks and began creating a complete Patrick Bronstein filmography – he talks about most of his movies in the book, but there are times when he mentions doing four or five films in a row and he doesn’t mention what they are. Needless to say, that was a load of fun. Then I made two sandwiches on bagels – I had some pepperoni slices here so that was a nice low-cal two sandwiches and very filling they were.
After that, I continued doing the filmography, had a few telephonic calls, found out The Snows of Kilimanjaro CDs will be in today at noon, the helper came by and took more DVDs to Amoeba, where she got some idiot who was really slow and really stupid – she only let him have one box and we got reasonable money for that. She wisely took the other box back and she’ll simply go back with that box and another and get someone better. That’s the problem there – some of the folks are reasonable and know what they’re doing, and some are just plain dolts.
I then replaced a choreographer for the LA show for the second time, but happily got the wonderful Cheryl Baxter-Ratliff to do it. She choreographed What If for me, Sami’s tap routine for Welcome to My World, and the two big production numbers for last year’s ALS benefit, as well as several Outside the Box episodes from the first season. She and I work very well together and she’s a great collaborator. There’s really not going to be that much real dancing in the show – I have ideas for two big production numbers, but everything else is small and I can stage a lot of that. So, that was good news.
Then I read Muse Margaret the filmography and she laughed a lot and thinks it’s great to have it as an appendix in the book. Then I went to Von’s, something I rarely do, just to get a quick snack for the evening – I ended up with something they make there in their deli – deviled egg potato salad. It was pretty good. Then I sat on my couch like so much fish.
Last night, I watched two motion pictures on Blu and Ray, both from Twilight Time. The first motion picture was entitled The Last Detail, starring Jack Nicholson and Randy Quaid. I always remember loving it until I realize that it’s the other sailor film that came out the same year that I love – Cinderella Liberty. So the reality is I didn’t love The Last Detail back then and I certainly don’t love it now. I think it’s an okay film with great performances. The writer is Robert Towne and the script is considered one of his masterpieces, but I find it nowhere near the level of Chinatown. The direction is okay. I’ve never been a huge Hal Ashby fan, frankly. I liked Harold and Maude quite a bit, and I certainly love Shampoo, but everything else falls into the okay category for me. But if you’re a fan of the film you will find this to be a great transfer. It looks like a 1973 film and that’s a good thing. I do like Mr. Nicholson very much and Randy Quaid is terrific, too.
Then I watched the second motion picture on Blu and Ray, entitled The Happy Ending. I’d only seen it once before and found it an odd film, and that hasn’t changed. It really IS an odd film and very much of its era. It’s overwritten and the dialogue never sounds like it’s natural or that any human being would actually say it, and the film is very herky-jerky in its structure. It does feature a good Michel Legrand score with liberal use of the song What Are You Doing the Rest of Your Life. The writer/director, Richard Brooks, was coming off two huge hits, The Professionals and In Cold Blood, but this film was a complete failure at the box-office. All that said, any movie with Jean Simmons (she was, at the time, married to Mr. Brooks, and the her alcohol problem in the film is based in reality, as were the marital problems depicted) is okay by me. She delivers a great performance. John Forsythe has always seemed kind of wooden to me, so he’s not my favorite. But Shirley Jones is terrific – she enters the film halfway through and she just is saucy as can be. But the casting of the rest of the film is just so peculiar on every level – Dick Shawn with the largest hair I’ve ever seen on a white male, Robert Darin as a gigolo (yes, Bobby Darin) is too weird for words, and Nanette Fabray is in a universe all her own as a housekeeper with a tray filled with drugs. The transfer is from MGM/UA, and their transfers can be spotty – this is a newer transfer and if you’ve read elsewhere that there are dust specks and debris, it’s not true. The transfer is very clean. The film has a lot of opticals and I suppose the color could be a little truer – just a bit brown, but not terrible at all. I enjoyed seeing it again, especially for Miss Simmons, who is magical.
After that, I finally decided on the Kritzerland show and quickly made a list of thirty potential songs (with this composer you could make a list of 100 great songs easily), and instantly booked Kerry O’Malley and asked one of our favorite male singers. As soon as he gets back to me, that will enable me to figure out the other cast. I also contacted someone who, if she’s in town, would be a wonderful guest star. I shall keep you all posted, but I think it will be a wonderful show. Guy Haines may even sing a ditty.
Today, I’ll be up by nine-thirty. The helper will come by to get everything ready for shipping, and I’ve pulled more stuff for her to take to Amoeba. Then I have a work session with Kay Cole and John Boswell at one. After that, I’ll eat, hopefully pick up packages, start gathering music, hopefully cast the rest of the show, and attend to some more book stuff.
Tomorrow I may or may not be seeing a dress rehearsal of Grease Live. It will depend on a few factors that I’ll hear about today. Otherwise, I have a lot of work to do, and unless a miracle happens it is going to get very tense around these here parts and I do not need that. So, send those excellent vibes and xylophones, please. The weekend there’s stuff to do, but hopefully I’ll get the other proofers’ proofed books so I can get that stuff entered and get the book designed next week.
Well, dear readers, I must take the day, I must do the things I do, I must, for example, ship CDs, have a work session, eat, hopefully pick up packages, gather music, cast, do book stuff, and relax. Today’s topic of discussion: What are your favorite films of Jean Simmons and Shirley Jones? Let’s have loads of lovely postings, shall we, whilst I hit the road to dreamland, where I shall dream of things happy and not crappy or too sappy or too rappy because rappy has false rhymes too many times and I only like rhymes that are true don’t you?