Well, dear readers, I am sitting here like so much fish, going through the symphonies of film and classical composer Christopher Gunning, who passed away a couple of years ago. The symphonies are very enjoyable, and some are very film music-like. I’ve gotten through six so far – he wrote twelve, but numbers eight, nine, and eleven remain unrecorded. One hopes that will be rectified at some point. He also has several appealing concertos for such instruments as guitar, oboe, clarinet, saxophone, violin, and cello. And his film scores are very enjoyable. You might instantly know what is probably his most famous, the music for the David Suchon series, Poirot. Prior to that, I watched the first half of Hotel on the Warner Archive DVD. While it’s great to have it and it looks decent and has good color, the element used for the transfer is second or third generation and it looks a bit soft and certainly doesn’t show off the glossy photography of Charles Lang, Jr. The movie certainly came at a time when Hollywood was changing and beginning to move towards the 1970s, with films like The Graduate and Bonnie and Clyde and Seconds and the old-fashioned and glossy movies like Hotel would soon be phased out almost completely. Hotel did get almost across-the-board great reviews and they were well deserved. And it holds up just fine, reflecting the era in which it was made, when hotels like the fictional St. Gregory really were luxurious, just like the movie palaces back then. And that’s what the book and film are about – the corporate takeover of everything that had actual personality. I forgot how wonderful Merle Oberon and Michael Rennie were – their subplot is one of my favorite things in the movie. Catherine Spaak was so beautiful and a fine actress. Melvyn Douglas is perfect as the owner of the hotel, Rod Taylor is great, Kevin McCarthy couldn’t be sleazier, Karl Malden is hilarious, Richard Conte is always a pleasure to watch, but everyone in the large cast does a great job, including veteran character actors like Roy Roberts and Ken Lynch. The big hotel set is fantastic, and everything just moves along at a steady clip. And Johnny Keating’s score is a major asset to the film, and there are several wonderful cues that aren’t on the soundtrack album, not that anyone’s ever going to do an expanded release. I’ll watch the second half this evening.
Other than that, I got nine hours of good sleep, answered some e-mails, had no telephonic conversations, and just relaxed and tried to rest my voice. Allergies have been coming on, so I have to be very careful. I’d pre-ordered food, using the third and last of the 50% off coupons on UberEats. I had penne pasta in pink sauce with one meat ball – it arrived around one-twenty, and it was excellent, from nearby Maria’s Kitchen. Of course, that begs the question, what is the sound of one meat ball clapping? Or is it hand clapping? Or teeth? Normally, there are two meat balls just because that’s how the balls bounce, but I only wanted one. I have no idea what the HELL I’m talking about. Then I moseyed on over to the mail place – haven’t been in eight days and shockingly all there was was one piece of junk mail and the package with the kazoos. Most annoying. Then I came right home, had to put together some mp3s for Doug Haverty – that took an hour, and then I watched the first half of Hotel. And here we are.
Today, I’ll be up when I’m up, I’ll do whatever needs doing, not sure what I’ll do about food or when I’ll eat it, but I’m thinking I’ll go to Gelson’s to get something that has reasonable calories – as I mentioned, I may make some homemade chicken salad sandwiches, just to see how it comes out, or I might get their good ribs. We shall see. Whether I do that pre or post-Zoom remains to be seen. Zoom is at three with Brent and the musical director and me. Although, it’s mostly them but I have the Zoom stuff so had to host it. After that, I’ll watch the rest of Hotel, the listen and relax.
Tomorrow, much as I need to sleep in, she of the Evil Eye comes, so I have to be up at eight at the latest and out the door by eight-thirty. Not sure where I’ll go for a light breakfast. Then I’ll come home, do whatever needs doing, and then relax until it’s time for the Kritzerland rehearsal, which begins at four, I think, and goes to about six-thirty. Wednesday, just two people are coming and Richard Allen will be playing for them. Otherwise, I can relax. Thursday can be a ME day, Friday is our second rehearsal, Saturday can be a ME day, Sunday is our stumble-through and then the Tony Awards are on. If I want to watch them I’ll have to do a free trial somewhere, then Monday is sound check and show. I’m also hoping to see the new and improved Benjamin Kritzer galley and I’ll find out if I can change the eBook version – if not, the publisher can do it with the file we send.
Well, dear readers, I must take the day, I must do the things I do, I must, for example, be up when I’m up, do whatever needs doing, figure out food, have a Zoom session, the watch, listen, and relax. Today’s topic of discussion: What are your favorite movies starring Rod Taylor, Melvyn Douglas, and Karl Malden? Let’s have loads of lovely postings, shall we, whilst I hit the road to dreamland, where I shall ponder the age-old question of what is the sound of one meatball clapping?