haines his way

03/27/2003:
"MY RALPH LAUREN'S ROMANCE"

Well, dear readers, you won’t believe it. I can hardly believe it myself and yet it is as true as the Lord made little green apples. I jogged two count them two miles yesterday and I am here to tell the tale. I sorely needed to start jogging and now I have and am sorely sore. The first mile I thought I was going to die right there in Studio City and I thought that tomorrow in the local section of the paper they’d write, “Jew found dead from jogging”. The second mile was, funnily, a bit easier. I then tried to watch a motion picture on DVD but I could not concentrate, no, I could not concentrate at that time. So, I ended up watching the special features of three count them three DVDs – Who Framed Roger Rabbit, Day for Night and A Man and a Woman. The Roger Rabbit documentary was very informative, and I’m looking forward to seeing the film again.
Have I mentioned that I am sorely sore from having jogged two count them two miles, which, by the way (BTW, in Internet lingo), I sorely needed to do. It is very windy here. The winds are gusting and blowing, not necessarily in that order.
I had to deliver something yesterday and when I saw the person to whom I had to deliver it we, of course, hugged, since it had been a while since I’d seen her. When I got back to my car and closed the door I was greeted by the most wonderful aroma of that person’s perfume and I smelled it as I drove around doing other things. I finally had to call her and find out the name of said perfume, as it was making me dizzy and causing me to drool (both in good ways) – she told me it was called Ralph Lauren’s Romance. I don’t like the smell of many perfumes, but boy do I like the smell of Ralph Lauren’s Romance. Of course, not all perfumes smell the same on all people, so there’s always that. That there’s always. Always there’s that.
Well, why don’t we all click on the Unseemly Button below because don’t I have excellent questions to answer whilst being sorely sore and remembering the smell of Ralph Lauren’s Romance? I do, and I shall, not necessarily in that order.

Ah, yes, questions to answer. I must now buckle down (no mean feat) and answer them. Or should I buckle up and answer them? I know not.
William E. Lurie asks if there are any movies that I was fond of years ago that most people don’t remember and that are rarely shown today? Absolutely, and both Benjamin Kritzer and its sequel are filled with them. But I’d add to those Frank Tashlin’s virtually forgotten Bachelor Flat, Frank Perry’s virtually forgotten Ladybug, Ladybug, The Mind Benders (just out on DVD), and many other movies on both top and bottom halves of double bills. Some of them have gone on to be considered worthy films, some of them have languished in obscurity.
Jose asks have I ever sorely regretted buying a piece of clothing that I swore would look good on me but then, after wearing it, didn’t. I’m such a creature of habit, clothes-wise, that I never buy things that are out of the ordinary – although there was that Hawaiian shirt which made me look quite stupid. What is the oldest piece of clothing I have and still wear? I tend to not throw things out and I still wear t-shirts and polo shirts I’ve had for five years. Is there a particular style of clothing I hope will come back into style? Yes, baggy pants. Do I wear boxers or briefs? Briefs, always, except on stage.
Donna asks what biographies I’ve read that I’d recommend as good reads? Well, Beverly Gray, who wrote the Ron Howard book I’m reading, did a really nice book on Roger Corman that I’d recommend. Otherwise, I just really haven’t read much in quite a while, because I don’t like to read when I’m in the process of writing.
Ron Pulliam asks if I know of a movement to get Disney’s Song of the South issued on DVD. I think there’s always a movement to get it released, and I think they’re always thinking about it. I find it so silly of them to take the stance they take – it’s a movie from a specific time and it’s actually a lovely film. I don’t remember it well enough to say whether it would offend or not, but really, it was made, it came out, and I don’t see why there should be a problem having it released. It reminds me of when Paramount shelved Sam Fuller’s brilliant movie of Romain Gary’s White Dog because they thought it was inflammatory, when it is the very opposite. Hopefully, Disney will come around someday.
Sandra asks why she always chooses the only computer in the whole Writing Center that keeps crashing? This is known as the Choosing the Computer That Crashes Syndrome and it is quite prevalent amongst young women who eat floop.
Tom from Oz asks if I like train travel and what is the longest journey I’ve taken by train. I’ve never really traveled by train, other than taking a train from New York, New York to Boston, Boston. What are my favorite songs about trains? When the Midnight Choo Choo Leaves for Alabam, Toot Toot Tootsie (is that about a train?), and I can’t think of anymore train songs.
S. Woody White asks if I’ve given any thought to collecting all my musings on DVDs to a special section of this site. Well, it might be something to think about, but it would take Mr. Mark Bakalor a year to implement it, so I don’t think about it much.
MattH asks if I have a television program that is a “must-see” for me. I don’t watch television at all, but when I get digital cable then the new season of The Sopranos will be it.
Arnold M. Brockman asks if I remember a movie by Elia Kazan called Panic in the Streets, starring Paul Douglas and Zero Mostel. I do indeed and I really like it. It’s Fox so I’m sure they’ll get around to it at some point.
Michael Shayne asks if there is a different process for a record producer when he/she produces an album of classical music vs. jazz vs. vocals vs. Broadway, or is producing a CD the same no matter what genre one records. Nope, each and every one of those mentioned has different needs, requires a different set-up, is thought out in different ways. Of course, many producers don’t understand that and just show up and hope their engineer does something right. But every album requires thought and care and design. Would I consider resurrecting my musical of To Kill a Mockingbird, Atticus, if Miss Lee should pass on or if the rights became available? It’s been so long since I’ve either read or heard it I have no idea. It was my first, I was very young and I have no idea if it sucks or not, although I assume it had to have something to interest the Seattle Rep and Don Murray. However, knowing that Miss Lee was not in favor of it being musicalized, I probably would respect her wishes. For his 70th birthday, Mr. Sondheim made a list of songs he wished he’d written (many of which I’d recorded on various Unsungs and Lost Ins). What five songs by other writers do I wish I had written? These are always very hard, but off the top of my head – That’s All, When I Fall in Love, Every Day a Little Death and Pick Yourself Up. Did I research which widescreen TV to buy or did I get what was on sale? I went to the store and let my eyes make the choice. I chose the one that looked best to me and I’ve been very happy with it ever since.
George asks if the two cut songs from Gypsy (Mama’s Talkin’ Soft and Nice She Ain’t) would still be in the show if the little girl who was supposed to sing Mama’s hadn’t been afraid of heights and if Klugman could sing. Well, Nice She Ain’t I think would have been cut anyway – it’s not very good, but Mama’s Talkin’ Soft is a great song and that might have stayed in. According to the Lost in Boston notes, Mama’s Talkin’ Soft was supposed to be sung in counterpoint to Small World. Why didn’t we record it that way – did we not have access or rights to do so? Well, here’s my thought: Urban Legend. There is no way the two songs can be sung in counterpoint because the harmonic structure of each is completely different than the other. We tried, oh, yes, we tried, but there’s no way. What I think was meant, and what was misunderstood, was that Mama’s Talkin’ Soft was sung AS a counterpoint to Small World, not IN counterpoint. In other words, it was a response to Small World. But, since no one seems to have a clear memory on the subject, we’ll probably never know. Is there any reason those two songs shouldn’t be put back into the current revival and if I were a producer and someone made that suggestion would I even consider it? I suppose not, because Gypsy is really perfection as it is, and why tamper with perfection (I’m talking about book and score here, not staging). Are there any other well-known musicals that could benefit from cut songs being put back in? Oh, I suppose maybe – they’ve done it several times with 110 In The Shade, but no one ever seems to think it helps, no matter how good the cut songs are.
KT asks what are desirable or attractive traits I look for in a woman. Blonde, brunette, or redhead? What do I notice in a person to want to get to know them better? Well, first and foremost, they must wear cotton underwear. I always look for a sense of humor and brightness first, then I like beautiful eyes and smiles, then the rest follows from there. I’ve never gone out with a real redhead, but I’ve gone out with a couple of fake redheads. I’ve dated blondes and brunettes, and I basically like all hair colors. They must like food and fun and movies and theater. I do like them to have some different interests to mine because it’s always fun to learn new things. And, of course, like me they must be loyal and true. What am I, date.com all of a sudden? What vibes have I gotten from and actor-auditionee that makes me crazy to cast that person? It’s hard to put in words – there’s something that makes me think they’ll be fun to work with, and that there won’t be high drama and, of course, they must have the talent to do the job well.
Laura asks if I figure my own taxes? Do I usually get a refund? If so, do I spend it on an indulgent item? Figures and BK are an oxymoron. I don’t know from figures, so I leave the figuring to others. Refund – sometimes yes, sometimes no. Indulgent item – yes, my lawyer.
Well, what an excellent batch of questions that was. My mind is not petered out from answering them. Not georged out, mind you, or even steved out, no, my mind is petered out and there are no two or three ways about it.
Well, dear readers, I must take the day, I must do the things I do, I must be sorely sore and yet try to jog again today, I must take out three sheets and go outside so I can be three sheets to the wind, I must write, call, and drive. Today’s topic of discussion: I’ll cadge KT’s excellent question and make it the topic of the day: What do you look for in a romantic partner. Be detailed and specific. I’ll check back later, so let’s have lots and lots of posts, shall we?

Replies: 96 Unseemly Comments

Re today's question, I found it without even looking so I can't possibly answer. As Comden and Green wrote for Eileen: "I've heard it said, you'll know it when you see it." I think many people have such specifications of what they are looking for that they can't see the forest for the trees (oh - a reference to Donald's upcoming Arbor Day show).
Posted by William E. Lurie @ 03/27/2003 08:48 AM PST

Well, we had another very productive Career Exploration session today. We had mock job interviews. Mine was for the job of lion-tamer at the circus. Has anyone here ever tried to convince a 350-pound psycho-therapist with his rear end stuck in a chair that you would be a perfect lion-tamer? I did it, though, and was the only person to get a round of applause when the interview was over. Then the middle-aged hippie who's been out of work for twenty years did his interview. He has that very rare gift of being able to talk for a very long time, but never actually say anything. By the time he was done, nobody could remember what job he was interviewing for. But he threw around a lot of very impressive words.
Posted by Sandra @ 03/27/2003 09:21 AM PST

Dear Reader Sandra wonders "has anyone here ever tried to convince a 350-pound psycho-therapist with his rear end stuck in a chair that you would be a perfect lion-tamer?" Funny you should ask...
Dear Writer BK asks "what do you look for in a romantic partner[?] Be detailed and specific."
Well, Dear Writer BK (henceforth DWBK), I agree with WEL that sometimes the Perfect Person will surprise you by not being some things you thought were musts, or conversely by being things you would have thought you could never live with. Yet somehow, the way everything comes together in that person just works.
That said, I do think the most important qualities (for me) are a sense of humor, intelligence, steadfastness (I can be mercurial, and need a steadying influence), openmindedness and kindness (my, those are a lot of "nesses"!). I don't have a handle on the whole "physical attraction" thing, in that I have never felt particularly attracted to one "type" or another (ie: dark vs.blonde, skinny vs. muscular, etc.). In fact, it strikes me as rather silly that so many people seem to have it in their heads that they will only be attracted to a certain "type." To me, physical attraction just happens (or doesn't), and yes, it is necessary for a Romantic Partner, albeit hard for me to quantify.
I'll now make you all very happy by refraining from bragging about my wonderful husband. :)
Posted by Lulu @ 03/27/2003 09:47 AM PST

Another TRAIN SONG:
On the Atchison, Topeka and the Santa Fee
And another...
Chattanooga Choo-Choo
Posted by Ron Pulliam @ 03/27/2003 09:52 AM PST

Choo Choo Ch'Boogie is a favorite train song of mine. The Manhattan Transfer have recorded it several times.
Posted by George @ 03/27/2003 09:58 AM PST

Don't forget "Waitin' for the Evening Train" from JENNIE or the title song from ON THE TWENTIETH CENTURY. We could probably come up with a long enough list for Donald to do a whole train show.
Posted by William E. Lurie @ 03/27/2003 10:04 AM PST

from Sheldon Harnick's mouth to my ears not an hour ago:
The TV version of Fiddler has postponed shooting until after Gulf War II, because the Czech government wants several million dollars in "war insurance" and armed guards around the filming location.
Also, Sheldon thinks Victor Garber will make a wonderful Tevye. Also, one of his favorite Tevye's was Brent Carver in a Canadian production.
Well, to my ears and about three dozen other people. There is a Musical Theatre Conference going on here at Hofstra, with lots of academic papers but also people like Sheldon, Joe Stein, Martin Charnin.
Tomorrow night is "Cy Coleman and Friends" with Carolee Carmello, Michelle Lee, Greg Edelman. Sunday is the revised What Makes Sammy Run?
I'm all jiggy and truant and all, but I'd be more jiggy without this awful head cold.
Posted by William F. Orr @ 03/27/2003 10:40 AM PST

Wow, BK - I must be balancing you out here on the East Coast. I, too, went for a jog yesterday after quite a long time of not jogging or any other major physical activity. (I started back on Monday actually). I'm hoping to get in more than a mile today of running - I fast-walk a 1/2 mile, then run a mile, then another 1/2 mile of fast-walking. -Just easing back into it.
I also find the first part of the run a bit harder then the rest of it - I think that after the first mile, the oxygen just stops going to my brain, and I'm running on delirium. ;-) I was going to alternate cardio and weight-training days, but since it's supposed to rain tomorrow, I'm gonna head out in a little bit for another run.
Oh, and, yes, I was sorely sore too after my first jog in a long while... and after my second jog... But actually, today the quads aren't burning as much. I guess that's a good sign.
As for today's topic of discussion... It always happens when you're not looking for it. At least for me. From my work "behind the table", I've come to recognize the classic "looks", and I do find myself attracted to them. However, after that initial attraction, there's that certain quality from a person that has to sustain my attention. That, as François would say, that certain "Je ne sais quoi." The person has to make me smile, and make me feel good about him and myself at the same time. I used to think I had a "type", but my most recent experiences keep seeming to disprove my own preconceived notions. Best of all, I'm actually having a fun time dating. Go figure?!?!? I'm meeting people I want to spend more time with, people I just want to hang out with, and, yes, people I don't want to spend more time with... I'll keep you posted.
-Can I get off the couch now?
Posted by Jose C. Simbulan @ 03/27/2003 10:43 AM PST

The girl that I marry will have to be
As soft and as pink as a nursery
The girl I call my own
Will wear satins and laces and smell of cologne
Her nails will be polished and, in her hair,
She'll wear a gardenia and I'll be there
`stead of flittin', I'll be sittin'
Next to her and she'll purr like a kitten
A doll I can carry, the girl that I marry must be
Posted by Frank Butler @ 03/27/2003 10:48 AM PST

But you cain't get a man with a gun!
Posted by Annie Oakley @ 03/27/2003 10:55 AM PST

No, Annie, but you can get a Tony.
Posted by Bernadette Peters @ 03/27/2003 10:56 AM PST

It's been a VERY long time since I've looked for a romantic partner, but the qualities I value most in anyone--romantic or not--are a sense of humor, honesty, and being open enough to get excited about things (my late husband had all 3). I feel sorry for blase' people--it's such a phony attitude, and they miss so much.
Posted by Pam @ 03/27/2003 11:09 AM PST

TONY!?
A boy like that who'd kill your brother,
Forget that boy and find another,
One of your own kind,
Stick to your own kind!
Posted by Anita @ 03/27/2003 11:12 AM PST

Five foot two, eyes of blue,
Oh, what those five feet could do
Has anybody seen my gal?
Turned-up nose, turned-down hose
Flapper? Yes sir, one of those
Has anybody seen my gal?
Well, if you run into a five-foot-two
Covered with pearls,
Diamond rings, all those things,
Bet your life it isn't her
But could she love, could she coo!
Cootchie-cootchie-cootchie coo!
Has anybody seen my gal?
Posted by Sam Lewis and Joe Young @ 03/27/2003 11:24 AM PST

I've always had a soft spot for blondes.
Posted by K. Kong @ 03/27/2003 11:29 AM PST

As long as he's breathing, he's OK in my book.
Posted by Miriam Haines @ 03/27/2003 11:33 AM PST

Does she or doesn't she?
Posted by Miss Clairol @ 03/27/2003 11:33 AM PST

Lucky, you're a man who likes children, that's an important sign.
Lucky, I'm a woman with children..
Small world, isn't it!
Posted by Mama Rose @ 03/27/2003 11:34 AM PST

Now, before this modern idea had burst
About the women and children first,
The men had much more charm than they have today.
And if only one of that type survived,
The very moment that he arrived,
I know I'd fall in love in a great big way.
I can't imagine being bad
With any Arrow collar ad,
Nor could I take the slightest joy
In waking up a college boy.
I've no desire to be alone
With Rudy Vallee's megaphone,
So when I'm saying my prayers, I say:
Find me a primitive man,
Built on a primitive plan.
Someone with vigor and vim.
I don't mean a kind that belongs to a club,
But the kind that has a club that belongs to him.
I could be the personal slave
Of someone just out of a cave.
The only man who'll ever win me
Has gotta wake up the gypsy in me,
Find me a primitive man,
Find me a primitive man.
Trouve moi un homme primitif
Trouve moi un garcon naif.
Quelqu'un tout plein de vigeur,
Ces p'tits maquereaux qu'on appelle gigolos ne
Pourraient jamais donner le vrai bonheur.
J'ai besoin d'un bel animal
Pour chauffeur mon chaffage centrale.
Et l'homme qui me veut pour capitane
Devrait reveiler mon sang tzigane,
Trouve moi un homme primitif, vif,
Trouve moi un homme primitif.
(Find me a primitive man,
Find me a forthright young lad,
Someone with vigor to spare,
Those fatuous beaux they call gigolos could never give me happiness.
I must have a gorgeous beast
To heat up my own central heat.
And he who aspires to be my stud
Must reawake my gypsy blood.
Find me a primitive man.)
Posted by C. Porter @ 03/27/2003 11:39 AM PST

Anyway, to address the issue of Song of the South again, I'm curious as to why it has been singled out for criticism about racial stereotyping (to the point where it is unavailable for purchase in the US), while other films (notably Gone with the Wind) are immune?
I realize nobody here will have a definitive answer, but speculation could be interesting.
Posted by Lulu @ 03/27/2003 11:43 AM PST

Is it me, or my medication that causing me to think that the only posters today are celebrities both living and dead?
Posted by Craig @ 03/27/2003 11:44 AM PST

Craig:
It's you.
Posted by H. A. Lucy Nation @ 03/27/2003 11:46 AM PST

Lulu---
In this day and age of so-called "political correctness", I think the Michael Eisner Company is afraid that a few militant Blacks or Black groups might boycott the theme parks, films and products that capitalize on Walt Disney's name if SONG OF THE SOUTH is released. They fail to take into account that the film is historically correct and does not depict the "Negro" in any kind of a bad light... just as they were in the middle of the 19th Century. In the mid-1940s when the film was made nobody seemed to care. This is the same mentality that keeps FINIAN'S RAINBOW with its original book from being performed. A small but very vocal minority don't want to see Blacks depicted as they were --- only as they are today. It is amazing that these same people have not kept DUMBO out of circulation as well because of the Crows.
As for GONE WITH THE WIND, I don't think that Ted Turner (who owns the rights) cares if a few people complain or boycott his products.
I'm hoping that The Eisner Company will include SOUNG OF THE SOUTH in their next group of Disney Treasury DVDs which are aimed at the collector and not their usual family trade. These get very limited promotion and distribution but would at least make the film available to those who wanted it.
Posted by William E. Lurie @ 03/27/2003 12:02 PM PST

And why do I find typos as in the above posting only AFTER I have proofed the message?
Craig---
Neither Lulu nor I are celebrities, either living or dead.
Posted by William E. Lurie @ 03/27/2003 12:05 PM PST

Hmmmm...Judging from BK's answer to my question, it would appear that if anything isn't going right around here we must blame it on Mr. Mark Bakalor. Sounds good to me!
What do I look for in a romantic partner? Well, der Brucer and I have joked about the common traits he has with my first R. P., specifically that they were both adopted, have fathered children, love theater, were in the military, and were raised in Pennsylvania. However, of all these traits the truly operative hook seems to be that military thing. It's not that I get happy when I see a uniform, because if that were true I'd have my head turned by all sorts of pretenders. But there is something about a fella who has "worn the uniform" and put what it stands for above his own life, something about the standards that sets that sets that sort of man above the rest. Of course, having a good sense of humor and a curious intelligence helps a great deal too.
Posted by S. Woody White @ 03/27/2003 12:12 PM PST

Yes, and Jose and Pam and WFO aren't celebs, either (or are they??). :)
WEL, that's interesting. I don't think Ted Turner has the rights to GWTW anymore, but what you say makes sense, that Disney might be more reluctant than other corporations to offend people.
It does beg an explanation for the Brer Rabbit/Bear/Wolf-themed WDW ride Splash Mountain, though (as has been noted before). The characters sing and dance and have the same accents they did in the film (at least, iirc). Wonder why that's considered ok? Maybe because they're "critters"?
I have the same problem with the old Hal Roach Our Gang shorts being heavily cut-up and even banned for so many years. A very few of them out of the more than 200 produced really were fairly racist and hard to watch today ("Lazy Days" comes to mind), though I don't condone censorship even in those cases (those who don't remember the past, etc.). But many of the "offensive" lines and situations in those shorts were not only benign, but downright progressive (surely I'm not the only person to notice that Stymie is always the smartest kid in the gang). And do people somehow fail to realize that these shorts were made in the 1930s, when white kids and black kids all playing together like they do in the Gang *very* likely led to decreased bookings in the south because people down there were "offended" (much as some people claim to be offended now)?
I dunno...seems to me that it's better to face up to life as it is than to ban everything that reminds us of the inequities and vicissitudes (how's THAT for a GRE word?) of life so we can try to pretend that everything is hunky-dory.
Thus endeth the sermon. (And I only felt free to go on at such length because the board seems kind of dead today.)
Posted by Lulu @ 03/27/2003 12:19 PM PST

Yeesh...of course it's not Brer Wolf, but Brer Fox.
Posted by Lulu @ 03/27/2003 12:20 PM PST

The most beautiful girl in the world
Picks my ties out,
Eats my candy ,
Drinks my brandy-
The most beautiful girl in the world.
The most beautiful star in the world
Isn't Garbo, isn't Dietrich,
But the sweet trick
Who can make me believe it's a beautiful world.
Social-not a bit,
Nat'ral kind of wit,
She' d shine anywhere,
And she hasn't got platinum hair.
The most beautiful house in the world
Has a mortgage-
What do I care?
It's goodbye care
When my slippers are next to the ones that belong
To the one and only beautiful girl in the world!
Posted by L. Hart @ 03/27/2003 12:39 PM PST

. . . But preferably shorter than four feet.
Posted by L. Hart @ 03/27/2003 12:41 PM PST

Lulu---
It's not the animals that they are afraid of. Uncle Remus and the Hattie McDaniel characters are the "offensive" stereotypes they are trying to protect us from.
When Turner and Time-Warner merged GTTW was part of the whole package, so since Turner is still involved with the company, he sort of still controls GTTW.
Posted by William E. Lurie @ 03/27/2003 12:47 PM PST

When I was a boy, my mother often said to me,
Get married boy and see, how happy you will be.
I have looked all over, but no girlie can I find,
Who seems to be just like the little girl I have in mind.
I will have to look around until the right one I have found.
I want a girl just like the girl that married dear old Dad,
She was a pearl and the only girl that Daddy ever had.
A good old-fashioned girl with heart so true,
One who loves nobody else but you.
I want a girl just like the girl that married dear old Dad.
Posted by William Dillon and Harry Von Tilzer @ 03/27/2003 12:48 PM PST

No answer to my question? 8-(
I have no romance in my soul.
I have no one special in my life.
To be united is not my goal.
The internet is a lovely wife.
Yes, I just finished watching the wonderful DVD of
8 WOMEN. Thanks to BK and all other dear readers who recommended this film. It is quite unlike any other film. It is BEACH BLANKET BINGO and VALLEY OF THE DOLLS it is Douglas Sirk and Alfred Hitchcock. I must watch it again.
There is a girl dressed exactly like Gloria Talbot in MAGNIFICENT OBSESSION down to her beret and ponytail. There is a woman wearing a red-lined coat and dress just like Lana Turner in PEYTON PLACE. The credits open with diamonds like IMITATION OF LIFE and there is a lovely black maid who takes care of everyone. But it is still unlike any and all of those films. A delight to listen to and to look at.
I hope I feel better tomorrow. The movie helped a LOT!
Posted by Jrand52 @ 03/27/2003 12:48 PM PST

Mr C Porter:
I hope you have heard my version of your song!
But in the morning, no!
Posted by Cybill Shepard @ 03/27/2003 12:50 PM PST

jrand: I hope you're feeling better soon, too.
What was your question? Maybe I can answer it for you. ;)
Posted by Lulu @ 03/27/2003 12:51 PM PST

Whew! Two Miles! Actually, 1/2 mile of fast walking (to the park), 2 miles of running/jogging, then the 1/2 mile back home.
-Now if I can just get my quads to let me sit down without flinching. And, yes, I am stretching!
Posted by Jose C. Simbulan @ 03/27/2003 12:51 PM PST

Oh! OK, got it.
Jrand: I'm going to bet that BK's favorite Jeanette MacDonald film is San Francisco.
If I'm right, what do I win, Johnny?
Posted by Lulu @ 03/27/2003 12:53 PM PST

Any man's my man if I want it that way.
Posted by Eva Phillips @ 03/27/2003 01:00 PM PST

I like a quiet girl.
Posted by Comden and Green @ 03/27/2003 01:02 PM PST

All I want is a plain man.
Posted by Marion Paroo @ 03/27/2003 01:03 PM PST

Not Judd!
Posted by Carol Lee Phillips @ 03/27/2003 01:14 PM PST

There's an old, old sayin',
"If it isn't everythin', it's nothin'."
And my heart keeps sayin' the sayin',
"If it isn't everythin', it's nothin'."
So if just one ingredient should be missin',
Though he may be such that many a girl would fall,
He'll not be the gentleman I'll be kissin'.
If it isn't everythin', it's nothin' at all!
Posted by Ellen Roe Danaher @ 03/27/2003 01:14 PM PST

No wide-eyed, eager, wholesome, innocent Sunday-school teacher for me...No golden, glorious, gleaming pristine goddess...No bright-eyed, blushing, breathless baby-doll baby, no sir! The sadder but wiser girl's the girl for me. The sadder but wiser girl for me.
Posted by Harold Hill @ 03/27/2003 01:15 PM PST

Once you have found her
Never let her go........
But don't tell her about the kids.
Posted by Emile deBecque @ 03/27/2003 01:16 PM PST

Carol Lee: Ask him.
Posted by Eva Phillips @ 03/27/2003 01:17 PM PST

I used to dream that I would discover
The perfect lover some day.
I knew I'd recognize him
If ever he came 'round my way.
I always used to fancy then,
He'd be one of the Godlike kind of men;
With a giant brain and a noble head,
Like the heroes bold in the books I read.
But along came Bill,
Who's not the type at all.
You'd meet him on the street
And never notice him;
His form and face,
His manly grace
Are not the kind that you
Would find in a statue,
And I can't explain,
It's surely not his brain
That makes me thrill.
I love him
Because he's wonderful,
Because he's just old Bill.
He can't play golf, or tennis, or polo,
Or sing a solo, or row.
He isn't half as handsome
As dozens of men that I know.
He isn't tall and straight and slim,
And he dresses far worse than Ted or Jim;
And I can't explain why he should be just
The one, one man in the world for me.
He's just my Bill,
An ordinary boy,
He hasn't got a thing
That I can brag about;
And yet to be
Up on his knee
So comfy and roomy
Feels natural to me,
And I can't explain,
It's surely not his brain
That makes me thrill.
I love him
Because he's
I don't know,
Because he's just my Bill.
Posted by Julie LaVerne @ 03/27/2003 01:17 PM PST

I won't ask him...you tell me. Who is it?
Posted by Eva Phillips @ 03/27/2003 01:19 PM PST

Above posted by Carol Lee...duh
Posted by Carol @ 03/27/2003 01:19 PM PST

Thanks Lulu. TWT.
Posted by Jrand52 @ 03/27/2003 01:20 PM PST

Eva, you're like some fancy kind of disease. I had it once...now I'm immune!
Posted by Judson Prentiss @ 03/27/2003 01:22 PM PST

Where's my rope and low-heeled shoes?
Posted by Carol Lee @ 03/27/2003 01:24 PM PST

Carol Lee, dear, don't bother to change. You look sweet...even in those tacky old clothes.
Posted by Eva Phillips @ 03/27/2003 01:27 PM PST

Jrand: TWT?
Posted by Lulu @ 03/27/2003 01:30 PM PST

Time will tell.
Posted by Jrand52 @ 03/27/2003 01:31 PM PST

Who is it?
Who do you think?
Judd, get the Lincoln.
Posted by Eva Phillips @ 03/27/2003 01:31 PM PST

Gotta have some hot love baby this evenin'
I need some hot stuff baby tonight
I want some hot stuff baby this evenin'
gotta have some lovin'
got to have a love tonight
I need hot stuff
hot love
lookin' for hot love
Hot, hot, hot, hot stuff
hot, hot, hot
hot, hot, hot, hot stuff
hot, hot, hot
Posted by Donna Summer @ 03/27/2003 01:44 PM PST

What am I reading? Just a book about bees.
Posted by Cousin Jennifer from Chicago @ 03/27/2003 01:47 PM PST

Oh, she'll sting you, too. Ever so softly. And you won't even know it...till you fall down dead.
Posted by Carol Lee Phillips @ 03/27/2003 01:47 PM PST

When I'm not with the girl I love,
I love the girl I'm with!
Posted by Og the Leprechaun @ 03/27/2003 01:50 PM PST

Am I the only one? Many of our guest posters' references today, I have to tell you, are way over my head.
Posted by Jay @ 03/27/2003 01:51 PM PST

Jay - you must see my new film produced by Jerry Wald and released by Columbia Pictures. I play Eva Phillips. It is titled QUEEN BEE.
Jean Louis has designed a terrific wardrobe for me, including a reversible mink coat.....white mink one side and beautiful brown ranch mink on the other side.
Watch for it at your local theatre.
Posted by Joan Crawford @ 03/27/2003 01:58 PM PST

Jay, the only posts that had me confused were the ones from the Phillips sisters and Judson Prentiss.
Click on my name, and all will be revealed.
Posted by Dave @ 03/27/2003 02:00 PM PST

In the dating department, I look first and foremost for intelligence. Not that I consider myself any kind of brain, but being able to talk somewhat intelligently about anything from books to movies to sports to feelings and needs is important, and I've found those who can't don't hold my interest very long (and I'm sure my inclination to want to verbalize is a turn off, too).
Feel better, Jrand52.
Posted by Matt H. @ 03/27/2003 02:02 PM PST

Dear Reader Miss Joan Crawford:
Thank you so much for clarifying matters for me.
Posted by Jay @ 03/27/2003 02:05 PM PST

And you, too, Dear Reader Dave.
Posted by Jay @ 03/27/2003 02:06 PM PST

Bless you, Dave. A lovely photo is on the way.
Posted by Joan Crawford @ 03/27/2003 02:10 PM PST

It's funny that Miss Crawford should appear here at HHW.com today. Just last night I went to a screening of MOMMIE DEAREST, hosted by Outfest and held at the Los Angeles Gay and Lesbian Center.
I hadn't seen the picture in years, and last night I found it to be even more over the top than I had remembered.
The flyer promised an interactive experience, and let me tell you, it, indeed, was mighty interactive. If you think the picture is a hoot, you must see it some day in the company of several hundred other--to use the current euphemism--show tune lovers.
Posted by Jay @ 03/27/2003 02:14 PM PST

...and a case of Pepsi.
Posted by Joan Crawford @ 03/27/2003 02:15 PM PST

Jrand52, I must have missed your question. I'm not sufficiently "with it" to choose a favorite Jeanette MacDonald film, I'm sorry to say. Hope you feel better.
Posted by bk @ 03/27/2003 02:15 PM PST

Doctor tomorrow. 8-P
Posted by Jrand52 @ 03/27/2003 02:48 PM PST

Comedy tonight!
Posted by Jay @ 03/27/2003 02:49 PM PST

Somebody please check--is it a full moon? Does that explain the general jiggyness?
Posted by Pam @ 03/27/2003 03:00 PM PST

I'm thinking it's the character of Uncle Remus as a literary character that came under attach -- as a white man's stereotype. He's too "happy" -- he needed to be wretched and beaten, I suppose.
There are many who criticize the Academy for having awarded James Baskett a special Oscar for his portrayal -- but he surely DID receive one.
It's the magnificence of the animation, Baskett's performance and his tales, and the fabulous musical score that are pure treasures here -- as good as anything every done for a film.
It's sickening that it cannot be available in our "free society."
Posted by Ron Pulliam @ 03/27/2003 03:05 PM PST

LULL!
Posted by Ron Pulliam @ 03/27/2003 03:42 PM PST

No wooden hangers!
Posted by Joan @ 03/27/2003 03:54 PM PST

Bernadette, I know how you got the man—met-cute and sewed his button—but how did you get that Tony without a score to sing? Was it the same scissors used to sew that button that were used on Berlin’s songs?
Craig, if it is your medication, your medication is affecting me, too.
Topic-of-the-Day Response: Physique, sense of humor, sensitivity, behavior.
Posted by freedunit @ 03/27/2003 03:55 PM PST

WFO - Cy Coleman has written a new book....maybe he will talk about it at the forum! Be sure to ask him about recording some music at Republic Pictures to be used by Vera Ralston and her hubby Herbert Yates on their private skates on the lot!
Posted by Jrand52 @ 03/27/2003 04:01 PM PST

Inka-Dinka Dinka-Doo!
Posted by Jimmy Durante @ 03/27/2003 05:48 PM PST

I like to be a lion tamer
Sequins and tights and silk top hat
I know I can be a lion tamer
I've always got a long with cats
I have a whip and never use it
I simply holf it in my hand

I like to be a lion tamer
If I could be a lion tamer
I would be someone grand
Posted by Stephen Schwartz @ 03/27/2003 05:51 PM PST

Inka-Dinka Dinka-Doo!
Posted by Jimmy Durante @ 03/27/2003 06:09 PM PST

Don't go in the lion's cage tonight, Mother Darling.
For the lions look ferocious
and may bite.
And when they get their angry fits.
They may tear you all to bits.
Sooooooooooo....don't go in the lion's cage tonight.
Posted by Clyde Beatty Jr @ 03/27/2003 07:25 PM PST

BK is this you in the following?
Part One: The Ultimate
INVADERS FROM MARS

A two-part examination of a Sci Fi classic that, at least in Savant's opinion, should be showing in the Louvre.
Finally! A decent DVD is available for Invaders from Mars. Read Savant's review. (12.9.02)
Invaders from Mars is a modest 1953 science fiction film that has been a fascination since childhood. I don't think anyone has written about it in a way that really captures its genius; of all 50s sci fi I think it is the most visually sophisticated, perhaps the most cinematic and a work worthy of the term 'great art.' If you hate writers who jam sub-Freudian meanings into movies, have no fear. My argument is based on the movie we all can see, and doesn't try to conform the film to some graduate-student agenda. On the other hand, this article probably is more for confirmed Sci Fi aficionados than the general DVD Savant reader. I thank both for their patience.
But if you want to hear some discussion about Invaders from Mars, this is the place. Invaders is so rich in ideas I don't claim to have a handle on the whole subject. Part 2 of this article is the actual essay and argument for the film as an overlooked masterpiece. Part One presents a lot of relevant but loosely organized background, production, and restoration information. It also discusses some editorial structures within the film needed as setup for the essay.
PART ONE: Background.
William Cameron Menzies
Invaders from Mars was made relatively early in the 50s Sci Fi cycle, when the field was still dominated by "A" quality efforts. A script by John Tucker Battle, optioned by one set of producers, eventually landed with Edward L. Alperson, who made the uncharacteristically brilliant decision to put the entire project into the hands of legendary production designer and sometime film director William Cameron Menzies. Menzies was the genius who practically invented the concept of production design, on big silent movies like The Thief of Baghdad. His unique graphic sense graced the films of Sam Wood (Our Town, For Whom the Bell Tolls, King's Row). Menzies made Hollywood history with David O. Selznick by singlehandedly engineering Gone With the Wind's visual dimension. Without him the divergent contributions of a half-dozen directors might have created a shambles.
Menzies directed several earlier films, most notably the Science Fiction spectacle Things to Come. It unfortunately gave him the reputation of a director who couldn't handle actors or block scenes. The Savant article on the versions of Things to Come hopefully helps to explain how the haphazard slashing of that film from 110 to 96 minutes unfairly contributed to the denigration of Menzies' talent. Another fantastic Menzies effort was The Whip Hand, a thriller about a journalist who discovers a nest of Nazis in postwar America, seeking to launch a fourth Reich. The Whip Hand was also editorially mangled, this time by weird-o producer Howard Hughes. After the film was completely finished, Hughes decreed that it be reworked to turn the Nazis into Communists experimenting with biological warfare weapons. No other Hollywood film demonstrates as well how interchangeable Nazis and Commies really were in those politically charged years.
Synopsis (with spoilers)
Invaders tells the story of young David MacLean (Jimmy Hunt), who witnesses the landing of a flying saucer from his bedroom window. Burrowing into a sand pit, the Martians trap David's kindly father George (Leif Erickson) and plant a radio-activated control device in his neck. Now the Invaders' zombie-agent, George MacLean spreads their influence by luring others into the pit: David's mother Mary (Hillary Brooke), army General Mayberry. Soon the Martians are in control of the local police, too. Young David responds to the trauma of finding his own family transformed into inhuman automatons by confinding in his local astronomer friend, Dr. Stuart Kelston (Arthur Franz). With the help of attractive public health nurse Dr. Pat Blake (Helena Carter), they determine that the Martian invaders are planning to use their human operatives to sabotage an atomic rocket being developed at a secret government base nearby. Kelston informs the Army, which surrounds the sand pit. David and Pat are captured, and discover the buried Martian saucer contains only one real Martian, a disembodied, tentacled head in a glass globe. It commands a crew of giant, bug-eyed, green Mutant slaves, communicating telepathically with both them and its radio-controlled human agents. Hard-bitten Army Colonel Fielding (Morris Ankrum) launches a desperate rescue mission into the maze of Martian tunnels; David and Pat are freed before they can be implanted with control devices. The Army sets its demolition charges inside the eerie spaceship, but the Martian slaves seal off the escape tunnels. With young David manning a Martian infrared raygun to burn an exit tunnel to the surface, the entire cast runs for cover. When the explosives finally detonate, David wakes up and the entire adventure is revealed to be but a dream. But is it? Once again, David is awakened by the sound of an approaching spacecraft .. .
The Production
Invaders from Mars was shot in color, which automatically gave it an edge in the 1953 Hollywood independent market. Part of Menzies' job as designer was to choose a color scheme that would look good in the now long-abandoned CineColor process. Original prints of Invaders from Mars have an other-worldly color texture, with slimy greens and blues and vivid reds.1 It was not shot in 3-D, even though Menzies' depth-enhancing design makes it look more like 3-D than many real 3-D pictures.
Most of the movie was shot on inexpensive but carefully designed sets. One oft-repeated bit of trivia is that the bubbles lining the walls of the Martian tunnels were inflated condoms - clusters can be seen wobbling as soldiers run by them. Some sets were cleverly recycled - assassination target Dr. Wilson's lab is the same set as the forbidding Police station, redressed. Special effects man Jack Cosgrove executed a number of effective matte paintings that help stretch the budget. David's house, and the telescopic view of the atomic rocket are both mattes. Some of the saucer interiors are augmented with clever glass paintings, such as the dynamic angle down the glass tube above the Martian operating table.
The Infamous Zippered Aliens.
Casual Sci-Fi bashers have a lot of ammunition to hurl at Invaders from Mars, if they are so inclined. Most often derided are the plush velour jumpsuits used to represent the Martian slaves. Writers Robert Skotak and Scot Holton report that in the absence of a better budget, a friend of the producers jumped on her Singer sewing machine and whipped up these suits practically overnight, which accounts for the legendary famous zippers running up their spines. Bug-Eyed Martian faces were provided by a simple plastic eye-nose-mouth combo mask worn like sunglasses. In stills, the Martian slaves remind one of the moth-eaten CatSuits the wardrobe man of The Bad and the Beautiful tries to push on producer Kirk Douglas. Not the most convincing Aliens concocted for the screen .... point granted.

The Sand Pit Hill Set.
Menzies appears to have put the majority of his rescources into one very large, very special set, the hill leading to the Sand Pit behind David's house. It is one of the most remarkable sets ever made, for a number of reasons. A slightly curved path winds up the hill between some leafless black tree trunks, followed by a broad plank fence. 2 Atop the hill, the blackened fence dips out of sight into the largely unseen Sand Pit beyond.
The hill is 'deceptively artificial.' On first impression it reminds of the bridge in the 1919 Cabinet of Caligari, the bridge over which Cesare the Somnambulist kidnaps his female victim. The Invaders hill appears to be a similarly flat-perspective, diorama-like design. In static shots it resembles a painted backdrop. But when an actor walks up the path, all sense of perspective goes haywire. The hill is like a 2-dimensional painting, but 3-dimensional people defy visual logic and diminish as they walk 'into' it. It's a 'reverse forced-perspective' optical illusion. George MacLean seems to get smaller than he should as he reaches the top of the hill, and it takes a lot of steps to get him there. But the trees at the rear of the set don't give the right 'perspective clues,' so it almost looks as if George MacLean is shrinking as he walks. It is a subtle effect that is more easily perceived on a large screen.
Stock Footage.
Invaders from Mars is shamelessly padded with stock footage. Large sections of a WW2 training film on how to transport tanks by rail have been spliced in, to represent the regiments Colonel Fielding summons to surround the Sand Pit. It's clear that the money just wasn't there to hire the National Guard, as did The War of the Worlds and The Day the Earth Stood Still to such good effect. Ditto all of the footage of tanks pulling into position amid the greenery around the Pit: it's all stock footage from earlier productions, some of it with rather non-American looking tanks. Evidence of padding is also seen earlier, when David and Doctor Kelston realign the telescope. Long, uninterrupted takes of the Observatory's rotating cupola bring the movie to a dead stop. These are probably not stock footage, but pickup shots from Los Angeles' Griffith Park.
The Strange Repetition of shots.
But the biggest invitation for nitpickers in Invaders from Mars is the constant and obvious repetition of shots. When those aforementioned tanks start shooting, a handful of angles are reused over and over. One specific image of a shell blast is seen at least a dozen times just by itself.
Not just stock footage is repeated. In the Martians' underground lair, shots of both shuffling Martian slaves and running soldiers look suspiciously recycled. There seem to have been at most three actual camera angles in the Martian tunnel set. The same six velour suits shambling past, repeated three times, become eighteen Martian slaves. These angles have also been flopped left-to-right, and the flopped versions repeated too! If you look at the back wall of the tunnel in this scene, the same three-bubble pattern can be seen repeated in over 50% of the shots, often back to back. Likewise, when David's parents flee the army in a two-angle no-budget car chase, both shots are flopped horizontally, and shown again.
During the underground fighting, two and three-shot sequences are repeated as well. Sgt. Rinaldi (Max Wagner) drags David out of the operation room and down to the next level of the saucer. A few moments later, David breaks free, runs back upstairs - and the same exact shots are reused as Sgt. Rinaldi drags David out a second time. A group of soldiers shoots down a Martian slave ("Blast him!") and the fallen alien gets back up again, seemingly unharmed. The soldiers doggedly open fire again, and the entire sequence of them shooting, and the Martian slave toppling, is repeated exactly as shown only seconds before.
Crazy Suspense Editing.
Invaders from Mars uses a 'deadline' tension device when the soldiers struggle to escape from the saucer before their demolition charges blow it up. A huge closeup of the time-delay readout of the bomb is intercut with fleeing soldiers, and the surface of the Sand Pit as the saucer attempts to take off. Editors usually cheat these kinds of sequences a little, stretching the material to last longer than it should, all in the service of suspense (clock the bomb countdown in Goldfinger sometime). Here in Invaders the bomb's second-hand defies all logic, passing the same numbers on its dial again and again. Also seen repeated is the saucer's initial emergence from the Sand Pit. Surely nobody expected anyone over the age of six to accept this sequence at face value.
If a filmmaker shoots twenty minutes of filmstock, and makes a ten-minute movie out of it, the movie is said to have a 2 to 1 shooting ratio. The joke to Invaders is that there are so many repeated shots, its shooting ratio is 1 to 2 !
A Bizarre Montage like No Other.
This is the point where Invaders from Mars becomes an editorial tour-de-force for some, and a cinema joke for others. The parallel actions of ticking bomb, escaping saucer, and fleeing troops overlap to a point where time stops progressing altogether. David never reaches the bottom of the hill, the saucer never breaks free of the Sand Pit. David runs for his life in an unending closeup. Then a prolonged optical montage begins. Striking images and violent action from earlier scenes are recapitulated, superimposed over David's running face and intercut with that same repeated shell blast. The music downshifts out of its martial frenzy, into a previously unheard ethereal theme, not unlike the conclusion of Holst's The Planets. David's running, already reduced to a non-progressing state, now goes in reverse, as we see another series of superimposed images, now running backwards. These are non-violent but eerily disturbing: David leaping from the embrace of his parents; the zombie police chief (Bert Freed) putting on his hat. Finally the odd visions dissolve into a starscape of planets receding, retreating away. A final explosion, concurrent with a clap of thunder, breaks the montage and restores David to his bedroom. The 'dream' part of Invaders from Mars is over. For some viewers, the experience is a feeble joke; in a series screening at UCLA the film got the most enthusiastic response of all, even as it remained a mystery. Savant hasn't yet read anything about Invaders that satisfactorily resolves the meaning behind Menzies and editor Arthur Roberts' crazy-quilt editing of these last reels.
A Victim of Version - Manipulation.
The American cut of Invaders from Mars is about 78 minutes long. A few months after it was completed, Arthur Franz, Helena Carter and young Jimmy Hunt were rehired, to film new footage to enable the film to clear foreign censors. England apparently nixed the dream structure of Invaders outright, for reasons that are unclear. It's the same structure used in The Wizard of Oz, after all. A very inexpressive angle was shot of the three actors reaching the bottom of the hill and ducking behind an Army vehicle. The saucer's animated landing was reversed to make it look as if it were taking off, with an added flash to show it being destroyed by the Army bomb. One of the prop trees lamely tips over. Pat glibly announces that with the control source destroyed, David's parents are now safe. Then there is a dissolve to David sleeping, and a tight angle on Drs. Kelston and Blake standing at his bedroom doorway cooing, 'He'll be safe now." End of show.
Collector Bruce Kimmel has an uncut 35mm print of this reshoot sequence. He allowed Savant to transfer it to tape in 1988, and resynchronize its audio - a defect which probably enabled the print to survive to become part of Kimmel's collection. Four years later it was used as an extra on the Special Edition Laserdisc of Invaders from Mars from Image, who, however did not fix its audio flaw.
Posted by Michael @ 03/27/2003 07:33 PM PST

So sorry about the previous long post. I only meant to copy the last two paragraphs!!!
Posted by Michael @ 03/27/2003 07:48 PM PST

My "answer" to today's topic is Kevin Spacey.
Reality check. Humour, kindness and tolerance are essentials. I am a believer in "magic" just happens! (Probably only when you are not looking).
Posted by Tom from Oz @ 03/27/2003 08:41 PM PST

Yes, it is me - and my footage is used in the new DVD as well, without any thanks. I'm going to eliminate the bulk of Michael's post because I don't think it's quite legal to reprint the entire article, so I'll just leave the bits that Michael meant to print.
Posted by bk @ 03/27/2003 08:52 PM PST

Hmmm. What do I look for in a mate? Well, she has to be a beautiful bitch, with ears just slightly floppy. Spots should be evenly spaced, but not too many. Her tail should be of moderate length, not too long but DEFINITELY not cropped, I don't go in for any of that new fangled "body modification" crap. The nose should be moist and cool to the touch, but not cold, especially when she's sniffing me you-know-where.
Oh, and most importantly, must have a keen dislike for a certain Ms. DeVille.
Posted by Pongo (Dalmation) @ 03/27/2003 09:19 PM PST

Dear Reader Jason, any word on the auditions?
Posted by Laura @ 03/27/2003 10:08 PM PST

Michael: How soon my unofficial record for longest post gets broken! Of course, maybe the record still stands since you only cut and pasted the article, while I actually wrote mine!
-Of course, all of the above is to be read with an overzealous smugness to it.
And I believe my quads are almost back to normal! I can bend again!
Posted by Jose C. Simbulan @ 03/27/2003 10:56 PM PST

Well, I just saw The Pianist...I left with mixed feelings of sadness, reflection, awe and alot of other feelings...I was very impressed with Adrien Brody's performance; he truly deserved that Oscar. We need to be reminded every so often, "lest we forget". A whole section of my father's family was wiped out in Belgium.
I look for a few things in a prospective romantic partner: wit, conversation, affection, a little protectiveness without smothering, someone who loves film, music, and theatre; intelligence, confidence without egoism, some good rounds of Scrabble (a good speller), lots of laughter, and someone who hates camping and hiking and won't drag me out into the wilderness in a stinkin' pup tent or sleeping bag. He would be a good travelling companion who likes sightseeing and quaint restaurants. Then, just let me see some magic; I still believe in fairy tales, Virginia.
Posted by KT @ 03/28/2003 12:10 AM PST

Very important that my Ideal Man won't get to the NY Times crosswords--daily AND Sunday--before I do, a major passion in my life since I was 11.
Posted by KT @ 03/28/2003 12:17 AM PST

MOVIE ALERT!
"Julie" is on TCM today at 8:30 a.m. EST. For all-out nuttiness, this Doris Day "thriller" is even more fun than "Midnight Lace," to which it bears more than a passing resemblance. "Julie" also shows up on TV with much less frequency than does ML, at least in my experience (bear in mind I'm the gal who's only had TCM for the past two weeks). In it, Doris begins to suspect her new hubby (Louis Jourdan) is cuckoo for Cocoa Puffs. Events build to possibly the most preposterous climax to a Doris Day film *ever*.
Great tagline for "Julie"'s original poster art: "WHAT HAPPENED TO JULIE ON HER HONEYMOON?" (and yes, it was all in huge caps.)
Posted by Lulu @ 03/28/2003 03:39 AM PST

The Julie voiceovers are the wackiest ever - the pseudo-documentary shooting style gives it a strange real feeling. I love all the location shooting, and the ending is the berries.
When the ending comes, we always act it out following the instructions of the flight controller. It's harder than you might think.....your left wing is dipping!!!
Posted by Jrand52 @ 03/28/2003 05:48 AM PST

Those who are interested in checking out some great photos of Brent Barrett and Matt Bogart should click on my name forthwith...
Posted by Dave @ 03/28/2003 05:56 AM PST

Jrand: It's been years since I've had the pleasure of seeing Julie, yet I still remember those zany voiceovers of which you speak! "I couldn't help feeling that there was a sinister undertone to Lyle's concern...it was odd...it was strangely disturbing..." (I'm sure this is a very bad paraphrase, but nonetheless, I think the essential wackiness remains intact).
Leave us not forget that Barry Sullivan (JC's hapless hubby in yesterday's Movie-of-the-Day "Queen Bee") co-stars in Julie, as well.
Posted by Lulu @ 03/28/2003 06:23 AM PST

It's been so long since I've loooked for a romantic partner, that I'm not quite sure how ot answer this. It all depends on the person. Sometimes the other person cen be thwe opposite in so many ways of what I think I want and yet they can be perfect.
Posted by Kerry @ 03/28/2003 06:43 AM PST

Let me retype this: It's been so long since I've looked for a romantic partner that I'm not quite sure how to answer this. It all depends on the person. Sometimes the other person can be the opposite in so many ways of what I think I want, and yet they can be perfect.
Addendum: I have found that romantic partners happen along when you least expect them, and often when that's the last thing you need in your life right then.
Posted by Kerry @ 03/28/2003 06:47 AM PST

Kevin Spacey? Well, if he were out-of-the-closet, maybe… How Travolta, really.
Posted by freedunit @ 03/28/2003 03:42 PM PST

Ask BK: Got a question? Ask Bruce Kimmel...

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