Posted by Jose C. Simbulan @ 04/14/2003 09:06 AM PST

I was a poet,
And didn't know it!

Posted by JJ "Dynomite" Walker @ 04/14/2003 09:06 AM PST

It's a lovely day today - an Irving Berlin reference - and promises to be lovely tomorrow.

We have a second and final round of auditions for South Pacific this evening. Please send good thoughts that Miss Nellie Forbush will walk in the door!

THE COURT JESTER...remember to never get your armor magnetized! When I directed ONCE UPON A MATTRESS, I had everyone watch this movie. What great ease of movement in the costumes what lovely musical speech... Is this available on DVD with extras? Or should I stick to my video?

What an intriguing question of the day.

Hmmmmmmmm...I think I would like to be on the set of Carroll Baker's HARLOW the day they filmed the scene with Red Buttons where she describes her honeymoon fiasco. I would like to watch her work and find out who had the idea that she had to do the ENTIRE SCENE with her eyes closed!!!

And I would love to have watched Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers do any dance scene, but since we can be specific..."Pick Yourself Up" which we have discussed here before. It is perfection. And I am sure it was not achieved without great effort!

Posted by Jrand52 @ 04/14/2003 09:13 AM PST

OH MY! How could I forget.. I would love to have seen the "Singin' in the Rain" sequence being filmed.. along with just about any scene in that movie as well!

Posted by Craig @ 04/14/2003 09:18 AM PST

Many thanks again for my intro
into the Sunday live chat and
making me feel welcome . .

On to the question du jour:
The teaparty on the ceiling
scene in Mary Poppins. Love
Ed Wynn, and, well, all of
them. Those lucky kids . . .

Posted by Kurt @ 04/14/2003 09:58 AM PST

What a fascinating question!

"Stagecoach" - the scene where stuntman Yakima Canutt did his amazing stunt with the horses and stagecoach (later replicated in Raiders of the Lost Ark with the Nazi truck).

"Sherlock, Jr." - Any scene involving Buster Keaton doing his brilliant physical comedy bits (essentially all of them).

"The Adventures of Robin Hood" - Errol Flynn and Basil Rathbone's climactic duel.

"Young and Innocent" - the famous lo-o-o-o-o-ong pan (going "through" a wall!) ending in a close-up of the guilty man's distinctive facial tic.

"Intolerance" - Another super-long pan (which doesn't exist in its uncut state, damn them, damn them all to hell!) that opened the film, beginning with an aerial shot of ancient Babylon and ending on a tiny chariot, led by doves, delivering a rose from the princess to the prince.

"A Touch of Evil" - The famous opening.

"Ben-Hur"(silent) - the chariot race.

"The Thing from Another World" - Oh, boy, I would love to have been there for the whole damn thing.

Posted by Lulu @ 04/14/2003 09:59 AM PST

The burning of Atlanta for GTTW.

BK is "Court Jester" on DVD yet or just VHS? I have the BK-produced soundtrack.

Re: "Frog and Toad" - Reviews were good as stated above, but several of them questioned charging a $90 top for a children's show. I totally agree. The Times also stated that if you don't bring a child with you it probably not worth it for an adult to go alone. In other words, unlike the Eisner shows, this is strictly children's theatre as opposed to theatre for the whole family. Nothing wrong with that but they should re-think the prices.

Posted by William E. Lurie @ 04/14/2003 10:00 AM PST

BTW, Judy Garland fans -- rev up your VCRs, "Little Nellie Kelly" is on TCM tonight at 11:30 EST. The video's long OOP and 'spensive (as Ricky would say).

I've never even seen it, believe it or not! I can hardly wait. :)

Posted by Lulu @ 04/14/2003 10:04 AM PST

Yes, The Court Jester is on DVD, has been for a couple of years. The transfer is spectacular, widescreen and enhanced for widescreen TVs, in its glorious VistaVision ratio. The tape is a pale joke as is the laserdisc - the DVD is a must-have - sadly no extras, but the movie looks as good as the day it was originally shown.

Posted by bk @ 04/14/2003 10:07 AM PST

Wasn't able to get to this here site this weekend. I was busy with domestic things like housecleaning and groceries, etc.

Re the question of the day, one of the first things that lept into my mind was any scence from West Side Story, but especially the America sequence. I would also like to go back and see the filming of the first movie made at one of the NY or NJ studios. The Triplets scene from Bandwagon. The Man that Got Away from A Star is Born. The Trolley Song from Meet Me in Saint Louis. The opening scence from The Graduate w/Dustin Hoffman in the pool. The huge scene of the dead Confederate soldiersin Gone with the Wind. I think that's enough.

Posted by Ben @ 04/14/2003 10:08 AM PST

I love "You'll never outfox the fox" # in The Court Jester!

Posted by Craig @ 04/14/2003 10:10 AM PST

Ben - do you have the DVD of A Star is Born? It includes the two alternate takes of 'The Man That Got Away' and while they certainly used the 'right' one in the movie...the others are interesting to see.

Lulu - speaking of tracking shots. I would also have loved to watch the opening sequence of SHOCK TREATMENT - a long long shot all around a tv studio as the audience comes in, the performers get ready, and the technicians are setting up. ST is the sequel to RHPS of course, with a really fun score!

COURT JESTER on DVD, thanks for the info. VistaVision...truly motion picture High Fidelity!

Posted by Jrand52 @ 04/14/2003 10:15 AM PST

I suppose the scene I'd like most to have been present for its filming would be the "But ya are, Blanche, ya are in that wheelchair" scene from WHATEVER HAPPENED TO BABY JANE. Beyond witnessing two mega-divas in a bitch fight, I think it would be cool to have witnessed firsthand the redefinition of "high camp!"

Dear Reader Lulu: Clearly, you enjoy loooooooong single shots. Try and find RUSSIAN ARK and take a lookie. (It played here in L.A. for about two weeks a few months ago.) The entire film (about 90 minutes) is one single, continuous shot, filmed at the Hermitage Museum in Russia. It is completely mesmerizing!

Posted by Jay @ 04/14/2003 10:21 AM PST

Jay: I'm fascinated with the obstacles that filmmakers have to overcome in order to do those long tracking shots. Or DID have to overcome - I don't think it's as big a deal today. F'rinstance, DW Griffith and his cameraman Billy Bitzer essentially invented the crane shot while shooting Intolerance (they realized that their initial idea of filming in a balloon just wasn't working...they had no control over where the balloon went, and when!).

A tracking shot also has to be beautifully done and serve a real narrative purpose, as well. It can be overused by show-offy directors (and I hate direction that *constantly* calls attention to the cleverness of the filmmakers).

So yes, I would love to see firsthand how some of the great tracking shots of all time were done, but they're not the end-all, be-all for me. :)

Posted by Lulu @ 04/14/2003 10:32 AM PST

Jrand: I saw Shock Treatment once, years ago, and was traumatized. Can't remember a thing about it. :)

Posted by Lulu @ 04/14/2003 10:34 AM PST

Jrand: No, I don't yet have the DVD of Star is Born but I have seen the alternate takes because I happen know a couple of Judy historians, John Fricke and Scott Schechter. You're right, they are very interesting to see and hear.

Posted by Ben @ 04/14/2003 10:38 AM PST

This just in...

Warner Home Video will release a bundle of horror greats on August 5th: the original masterpiece The Haunting, Vincent Price in House of Wax (not in 3-D), the killer rat-fest Of Unknown Origin, Charlton Heston in the oft-delayed The Omega Man, the movie that absolutely terrorized me as a child, Soylent Green, a new 50th anniversary edition of the Howard Hawks classic The Thing, and Audrey Hepburn in Wait Until Dark. And for you John Carpenter fans, at long last comes the last of the director's oeuvre not yet released on DVD, Memoirs of an Invisible Man, which streets on August 17th.

Can't wait for Soylent Green, House of Wax (one of my alltime faves) and The Haunting!

Posted by Craig @ 04/14/2003 10:58 AM PST

Great news about House of Wax, but I long to see it in 3-D once more. Wonder why they won't include *both* versions, since it's on DVD? Of course I realize 3-D really doesn't work as well on the small-screen, but still...

Posted by Lulu @ 04/14/2003 11:02 AM PST

Lulu---
You are right that 3D doesn't really work on television. In NYC the Film Forum is equipped to show 3-D and a couple of years ago they showed KISS ME KATE with Annie Miller kicking right over the audience's heads. Years ago the 3D version was on Cable and I taped it but it is really not very effective. There are some things you need to see in a theatre.

By the way, I hope you enjoy "Little Nellie Kelly". They usually show it on St. Patrick's Day. It's not bad, but not one of Judy's best (the fault of the screenplay - she is fine).

Posted by William E. Lurie @ 04/14/2003 11:12 AM PST

I'm going to let John Truitt kiss me tonight.

Posted by Esther Smith @ 04/14/2003 11:20 AM PST

Nice girls don't let men kiss them until after they're engaged. Men don't want the bloom rubbed off.

Posted by Rose Smith @ 04/14/2003 11:22 AM PST

WEL: Yes, I've heard it's considered middling at best, but stilll, I'd like to see for myself.

What films do you consider to comprise Judy's best work? (This question is open to whomever wants to answer!)

I love her in Meet Me in St. Louis and, of course, Oz. I can't wait to see The Clock when it's on TCM (it's scheduled for May or June) because I adore Robert Walker, her co-star.

Posted by Lulu @ 04/14/2003 11:28 AM PST

Me, a child! Listen here, Andrew Hardy, my mother just bought me an evening dress that simply has no visible means of support!

Posted by Betsy Booth @ 04/14/2003 11:33 AM PST

Tootie killed the Braukoffs - all by herself! Tootie is the most horrible of all!!!!

Posted by Agnes Smith @ 04/14/2003 11:42 AM PST

Danielle Foussard: Actually, I may be slightly more of a woman than you are.

Frances Stevens: Would you like to stand in shallower water and debate that?

Posted by The Cat @ 04/14/2003 11:48 AM PST

I kicked that cat of yours down the basement stairs, and I heard her spine hit on every step.

Posted by Katie @ 04/14/2003 11:59 AM PST

We'll fix him fine. It'll serve him right for poisoning cats. He buys meat and then he buys poison and then he puts them all together.

Posted by Tootie Smith @ 04/14/2003 12:01 PM PST

And then he burns the cats at midnight in his furnace. You could smell the smoke.

Posted by Agnes Smith @ 04/14/2003 12:04 PM PST

It was cute once. 'nuff said.

Posted by Dave @ 04/14/2003 12:12 PM PST

Hey, I know a bunch of you are (or have been on the Atkins diet). I heard earlier that during the recent snow storm Mr. Atkins hit his head and is now on life support. That is so totally terrible.

Posted by Jennifer @ 04/14/2003 12:15 PM PST

Without a doubt she is at her best in A STAR IS BORN. In many of her MGM films she is much better than the material she was given to work with (scripts much moreso than songs), but she shines in OZ, ST. LOUIS, HARVEY GIRLS and EASTER PARADE. I also love PIGSKIN PARADE and can imagine audiences seeing for the first time this chubby little girl with the big voice.

Posted by William E. Lurie @ 04/14/2003 12:17 PM PST

So were you, Dave.

Posted by The Zookeeper @ 04/14/2003 12:35 PM PST

WEL: I agree about Star is Born. She worked so hard to get that film made and she shines in every frame. You're also right that many times she was better than the material she had to work with. One of my favorite films of JG's is her last one. It's not a very good film but there is something about her performance that I find riveting. She seems to peel away layers to become more and more raw. It's amazing to see her work. I also really like her in a non-musical film, A Child is Waiting. I know that I Could Go On Singing shows up on Turner every so often, but I don't know about A Child is Waiting. If you get a chance, check them out.

Posted by Ben @ 04/14/2003 12:41 PM PST

Ben - you are so right about I COULD GO ON SINGING - although the story doesn't make much sense, Judy onstage as Jenny Bowman is a delight and probably close to her real Judy Garland stage deportment.

I got a VHS copy of it on EBAY a couple of years ago...probably spent about $25 or $30...widescreen but NOT stereo.

I have never seen a movie or tv show that really presents what a short, tiny woman she really was. When we saw her in 1966 - it was a shock!!

Posted by Jrand52 @ 04/14/2003 12:45 PM PST

I'd like to visit the set of "South Pacific" and talk Logan and Shamroy OUT of using those colored mood-enhancing lenses.

I'd like to tell Ray Waslton to can the ham and do it straight.

I'd like to tell Mitzi to lose her awkward accent.

I'd to be on the Fox set when they did the "Alexander's Ragtime Band" number and the Finale in "There's No Business Like Show Business."

I would have loved being on the MGM lot while they were shooting the ballet for "An American in Paris."

And I would have loved being on the Fox sounstages any time Alfred or Lionel Newman and Alex North and Franz Waxman and Bernard Herrmann and Leigh Harline and Victor Young and Cyril Mockridge were conducting the Fox orchestra.

Posted by Ron Pulliam @ 04/14/2003 12:46 PM PST

Some of my fav have already been mentioned. The "burning" of Atlanta, The Wizard of Oz, but for me would be the tornado scene.

Some others:

The earthquake in San Franscico. Especially when the street splits open and rises up.

Julie A at the top of the mountain and the famous twirl in the Sound of Music.

The ship turning over in The Poseidon Adventure.

The elephant stampeed in Elephant Walk.

The Incredible Shrinking Man fighting the spider.

Ben-Hur (remake) chariot race

In Cold Blood the scene where Robert Blake talks about his father. It is raining outside and the rain the splatters on the window is reflected on Blake's face and it makes it look as if he is crying.

and the maid declaring in court that she saw Gloria Vanderbilt Sr kissing another woman in Little Gloria Happy At Last. No wait a minute! I was there :-)

I am sure there are others.

Posted by Michael Shayne @ 04/14/2003 12:49 PM PST

Ben, I would *love* to see I Could Go on Singing sometime. I've only ever viewed a clip of the scene where Dirk Bogarde tries to get her to go on ("I sing for my *self*. For my own pleasure") and I was amazed at her sheer power. I think you hit the nail on the head: raw. A rare combination of fearlessness and utter vulnerability. Rarely have I decided I need to see a film based on viewing a tiny clip, but this was a rare exception.

Posted by Lulu @ 04/14/2003 12:51 PM PST

Mr. Zookeeper, if I had made a comment like that, we would all have been encouraged not to feed the animals. ;-)

Don't worry, I'm not biting...

Posted by Dave @ 04/14/2003 12:54 PM PST

And in context, Lulu, the dressing room scene is even more powerful.

Ron - you are so right about South Pacific. Now from what I've read, and of course history colors perception....Logan says he was assured that if the filters didn't work, they could be optically eliminated, which of course didn't turn out to be the case. He says he hated the result as well - but of course others say he insisted on them.

On the A/E biography of Mitzi Gaynor they showed some bits of her singing/dialog screen test - and they were better than anything she did in the movie. Mitzi said that Logan (in the looping of the film) insisted on giving everyone line readings and would NOT accept anything from the performers except his specific interpretation. Which means of course that Logan was at the looping sessions for THERE'S NO BUSINESS LIKE SHOW BUSINESS and LES GIRLS as well, but that's another story....

Ray Walston....thought he was great in the OF MICE AND MEN remake a few years ago...otherwise....nope...don't get the message, but that is just IMHO.

Posted by Jrand52 @ 04/14/2003 12:59 PM PST

Dave,

I think you are just being paranoid.

Posted by more @ 04/14/2003 12:59 PM PST

Gets pretty hot in the kitchen, doesn't it, Dave?

Posted by Emeril @ 04/14/2003 01:01 PM PST

I COULD GO ON SINGING shows up on Turner almost every June for JG's birthday.

Posted by William E. Lurie @ 04/14/2003 01:08 PM PST

WEL: Sadly, not this year. :( They *are* showing Thoroughbreds Don't Cry and Presenting Lily Mars, however ( in addition to the aforementioned A Star is Born, The Clock, etc.).

Posted by Lulu @ 04/14/2003 01:12 PM PST

Paranoid, moi?? ;-)

Help, I'm being accosted by an anonymous troll....oh, never mind.

Bam!

Posted by Dave @ 04/14/2003 01:22 PM PST

No accosting here at haineshisway.com. We are accosting conscious here.

The Cat: I believe, dear cat, that you're quoted dialogue is backwards - Danielle says "Shall we stand in shallower water and debate that."

Posted by bk @ 04/14/2003 01:29 PM PST

I am sure you are all waiting with baited breath (no mean feat) to see if my weather forecast for today is correct. Dear Readers Kerry and Drumm will attest to the fact that it is, indeed, completely cloudy today, which I was able to predict because of the amazing weather-forcasting headache I had yesterday.

Yes, I'm sure you were all just waiting for that.

Posted by Laura @ 04/14/2003 01:35 PM PST

I worked with Josh Logan and
every thing said about him is
probably true.

Color this. . .

Posted by Kurt @ 04/14/2003 01:49 PM PST

Dear Reader Laura--

Eeeewwwwwww! You eating worms again?

Posted by Waiting with bated breath for your response @ 04/14/2003 01:49 PM PST

Josh Logan was wacked out most of the time. He was a manic depressive and I read somewhere he refused to be medicated

Posted by MDS @ 04/14/2003 01:55 PM PST

I posted earlier and it didn't show up. I think I'm the one who deserves to be paranoid!

Movie: I would have loved to be on set in January 1943 for the one day of filming of "No Escape" (AKA "I Escaped From the Gestapo") before Edna Burge's hairdressing career was so tragically cut short.

And Jennifer: yes, it's true about Dr. Atkins, but he is the slimmest person on life support at the hospital, and that's all that really matters.

Posted by JMK @ 04/14/2003 02:01 PM PST

Thank you, BK. I remembered the gist of the exchange but not the specifics.

>8-)

Posted by The Cat @ 04/14/2003 02:02 PM PST

Can it be that I accomplished my goal?

Posted by Anonymous Troll @ 04/14/2003 02:04 PM PST

JMK - you are so correct. I would also choose the set of NO ESCAPE that January day.

But I would also like to have been on the set of COME AND GET IT the day Frances Farmer took out after William Wyler with a flyswatter when he ask for another take of the taffy-pulling scene.

Or the set of FLOWING GOLD for take 12 of Frances' fall down in the mud scene....

Posted by Jrand52 @ 04/14/2003 02:05 PM PST

I would like to have been there for the filming of the "diner" scene in Sullivan's Travels. I would also like to have been present at the following:

The Chalice from the Palace scene from The Court Jester.

The fireworks scene from To Catch a Thief.

The entire filming of Rosemary's Baby.

Any scene from The Seventh Voyage of Sinbad.

The train berth scene from Some Like it Hot.

The first meeting between Fred MacMurray and Barbara Stanwyck in Double Indemnity.

The Prologue of West Side Story.

Make 'em Laugh and Singin' In the Rain from Singin' In the Rain.

Anything from Swing Time.

I did get to take a time machine back to be present at the filming of a motion picture, but you'll have to wait until you read Kritzerland to find out which.

Posted by bk @ 04/14/2003 02:12 PM PST

What fish does one use to "bait" a breath?

My cat has baited breath -- it's always slightly redolent of tuna.

Posted by Ron Pulliam @ 04/14/2003 02:23 PM PST

My, my, lots to talk about:

Ben, PLEASE tell John Fricke the next time you talk to him that his commentary on THE ULTIMATE OZ laserdisc set was worth the price of that box. Sadly, it wasn't ported over to the DVD special edition of OZ, but I enjoy watching the movie on laser listening to all his anecdotes. He's my unsung hero. I wish Warners would contract him to provide commentaries on all future Garland DVDs.

All this talk of Judy Garland reminds me of the film I'd like to see filmed: Judy's version of ANNIE GET YOUR GUN so I could see for myself how bad a shape Judy was in during the filming. I'd particularly like to be there the day of her infamous firing during the "I'm an Indian Too" dialogue sequences.

Fortunately, I was able to pick up LITTLE NELLIE KELLY on laser paired with EVERYBODY SING. Bless George Feltenstein for getting those Judy laserdiscs produced before the format died. Thanks to him, I have her entire MGM career in one form of media or another.

Posted by Matt H. @ 04/14/2003 02:24 PM PST

Jrand52 -- I got it. Logan -- "Les Girls" -- "There's No Business Like Show Business" -- no mean feat indeed!

Posted by Ron Pulliam @ 04/14/2003 02:25 PM PST

We were talking about Hawaii last week and the lost song: The Wishing Doll. I remember in the version I saw Andrews singing a snippet while playing with her sisters. One of them was played by her "stepdaughter" from the the Sound of Music Heather Menzies

Now the film was roadshowed at 189 minutes. It was then cut to 171 and then further to 151. The last video release had 20 minutes returned to the film. Now did it make it 171 from the 151 minute or 189 from the 171 version. Also in the run time did they count the overture and the entr'acte music?

Also heard that Fred Zinnaman was the original director. He was fired or quit and replaced by George Roy Hill. Hill was fired and the hawaiin native actors went on strike to get him back. Arthur Hilller took over. I believe Andrews originally backed the firing but relented and asked for him back. Hill did return.

Posted by Michael Shayne @ 04/14/2003 02:28 PM PST

As I am sure Bill knows, Matt, there are some of Judy's scenes on the That's Entertainment III video, and also some on the Betty Hutton ANNIE GET YOUR GUN dvd. Interesting. Specially when Judy starts cleaning her gun and Busby B calls, "Cut!" And Judy lets him have it with: "You didn't let me say my line!"

Posted by Jrand52 @ 04/14/2003 02:28 PM PST

It's odd, to me, that the most exciting audio and the most exciting video portions of "Annie Get Your Gun" are the Garland takes...they're magic and she is, too!

Hutton, as wonderful as she was, pales in this comparison test. They shouldn't hadn't oughtn't a done that to the final version.

What's more incredible, the CD soundtrack features stereo tracks of the Garland recordings -- in phenomenal shape -- and the original Hutton recordings are muffled and mono.

Something seems very hinky.

Posted by Ron Pulliam @ 04/14/2003 02:28 PM PST

ahh but am I really dead?

Posted by schroedingers cat @ 04/14/2003 02:35 PM PST

I think the Judy footage is okay. I don't know how I feel about her 'Annie' - and it's really not fair of me to say from just the bits and pieces and the assembled numbers footage. And maybe I am just a BIG Betty Hutton fan.

I wish Judy had done the movie, but she would have needed more help than she was getting from her director.

Posted by Jrand52 @ 04/14/2003 02:36 PM PST

I bought a black market tape years ago (a third or fourth generation dub) of all of Judy takes of her songs and dialogue, a lot more than on THAT'S ENTERTAINMENT III (which I have on laser, a super set, BTW, with some priceless musical outtakes from MGM musicals) or the ANNIE DVD. Judy is "up" while the camera is turning, but once "cut" is yelled, the smile disappears, she walks out of the frame on unsteady feet and looking like she's about ready to collapse any minute. Sad but worth every penny I paid. And, on the opposite front, to see her so unhappy and then to hear "action" and see the smile turn on, and she's out there giving her all performing is priceless.

Posted by Matt H. @ 04/14/2003 02:51 PM PST

Re: Laura's headache-y weather prediction -- I do so attest. 'Tis cloudy. Tomorrow, we're supposed to get California's rain, to which I say "Hurrah!."

Three scenes I'd like to see as they were filmed: PAINT YOUR WAGON, when No Name City falls down & goes boom.

CAT BALLOU: drunken Lee Marvin on drunken horse.

And from THE BEST YEARS OF OUR LIVES, my favorite scene from my favorite movie: Freddie March's early return to his apartment and the best acting moment Myrna Loy ever perpetrated.

Posted by Drumm @ 04/14/2003 03:04 PM PST

Dear Reader Drumm--

I must confess: tears start streaming down my face every time I see that scene in THE BEST YEARS OF OUR LIVES. Strange, TBYOOL used to be considered one of the all time greats, but it seems to have fallen from favor of late. Can't understand why.

Posted by Jay @ 04/14/2003 03:21 PM PST

It certainly would appear that I have accomplished at least some of my goals here.

Posted by Another Anonymous Troll @ 04/14/2003 03:38 PM PST

Jay: I don't even have to SEE that scene for the tears to come.... just thinking about it does it for me. A perfect scene in a near perfect movie. Like you, I keep hoping that TBYOOL will enjoy a resurgence, but it always seems to be an afterthought, even among true film fanatics.

Posted by Drumm @ 04/14/2003 03:43 PM PST

Jay: Perhaps, given the hyper-jingoistic tenor of the current times, The Best Years of Our Lives is more reality than many of us want to handle right now.

There are probably four or five different points in that movie where tears well up for me, but then I've always been kind of a sap (maple).

Posted by Lulu @ 04/14/2003 03:45 PM PST

Movie scenes I would have liked to have been present at-

The stunt cock scene from First Nudie Musical ("Eet's just so BEEG!")

The Ramones concert scene in Rock and Roll High School

The tin man's scene (If I Only Had A Heart) in Oz - just how did they get him to do all those moves in that cumbersome costume?

Posted by Ray @ 04/14/2003 03:57 PM PST

Audition update: I just got a call from Bob Kline Casting. They want to see me on Monday to read and sing again for the National Tour of OKLAHOMA! YAY!!

Posted by Jason @ 04/14/2003 03:57 PM PST

Yippee, Jason! :) :) :)

Posted by Lulu @ 04/14/2003 04:03 PM PST

No one mentioned Judy's powerful performance in Judgment At Nurenberg...which was loaded with striking performances. I also go along with The Clock and A Star Is Born, as being way up there at the top of the list.

I would have loved to have been on-set for the entire filming of all 3 Godfathers, especially Connie's wedding & Sollozzo's murder (Part 1), Anthony's Confirmation gala (Part 2), and Michael's party (Part 3).

Posted by KT @ 04/14/2003 04:14 PM PST

That's NureMberg...pardon my typo!

Posted by KT @ 04/14/2003 04:15 PM PST

Dear BK: Regarding that unneighborly orange tree crashing into your fence last night - at about what time did this happen? Because there was a smallish earthquake, centered in Carson, at about three in the morning. It caused a considerable thud where my ever-lovin' der Brucer and I live in Long Beach. The two events could be related. Or at least married. Or maybe fooling around, but don't tell Mother Nature.

Also in the noteworthy events of last night, a cat died in our back yard. Apropos of whatever.

The only film I can imagine wanting to see filmed is one I would want to interfere with, which of course is a violation of any time travel ethics. Be that as it may, I would like to travel back to the catastrophic filming of the first story in The Twilight Zone - The Movie, to prevent the deaths of the two children and Vic Morrow. I don't know how much this would change history, but it seems the right thing to do.

Posted by S. Woody White @ 04/14/2003 04:17 PM PST

I might also want to be there for various scenes of The Manchurian Candidate...

Posted by Craig @ 04/14/2003 04:20 PM PST

It occurs to me that there are any number of films that can't be rented at Blockbuster (and are usually kept in a separate area into which people under 18 are not allowed in the stores that DO carry them) where I wouldn't have minded at all being present for the (you should pardon the expression) shoot.

Posted by Jay @ 04/14/2003 04:26 PM PST

Now, Jay...are we going to have to smack your little wrist?

Lord help me, I'm listening right at this moment to Jack Jones crooning "Love...life's sweetest reward...let it flow...it floats back to you...THE LOVE BOAT!"

How many here know that the Voice of ABC guy (who would always say, "Next on...the LO-O-O-O-OVE Boat...Captain Stubing meets up with an old flame, and Gopher is embarrassed by his parents") was in actuality the famous horror movie host Ghoulardi?

Posted by Lulu @ 04/14/2003 04:29 PM PST

Jay, you are not the only one who was thinking what you were thinking about the kind of movie that you wanted to witness. You were just the first person to acknowledge it. ;-)

Movie shoots at which I would like to have been:
--"Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid" when they jumped off of the cliff
--ANY scene from "The First Nudie Musical"
--ANY scene from "1776"
--"Cell Block Tango" from "Chicago"

Speaking of Jack Jones, has anyone (well, actually, hasn't everyone) heard Faith Prince's live cabaret CD "A Leap of Faith?" She has a VERY funny story about a time when she was performing in "On a Clear Day..." with him. The whole CD is really very good.

Posted by George @ 04/14/2003 04:54 PM PST

The crashing fence incident took place at around eight this morning, so it wasn't earthquake-related, I don't think.

Posted by bk @ 04/14/2003 05:01 PM PST

Jason, congrats!

In other audition update news, I just got called for FOREVER PLAID. I have been cast, but I won't know which role I'm being offered until the first rehearsal, which is in two weeks. I have met the other three Plaids (two of them are good friends of mine...), and I think we're going to have a good ol' time!

Posted by Dave @ 04/14/2003 05:54 PM PST

Congratulations, Dave. :)

Posted by Lulu @ 04/14/2003 06:12 PM PST

Thanks, Lulu! :-)

Posted by Dave @ 04/14/2003 06:23 PM PST

Well, see what happens when one has a weather headache. One says stupid things. I have been up since 1:15 a.m. No doubt when it rains tomorrow, Drumm, it will be while I'm standing at the bus stop on the way to the airport.

Congratulations, Jason and Dave! See what happens when H/K vibes are sent. BTW, the Oklahoma tour is coming to Phoenix next season. So I hope you get it!!!

Posted by Laura @ 04/14/2003 07:19 PM PST

THREE MOVIES FROM BEGINNING TO END-

A PLACE IN THE SUN - ON THE WATERFRONT and THE GODFATHER

Posted by Arnold M. Brockman @ 04/14/2003 07:28 PM PST

Dearest George:

Hate to disappoint you about the cliff jumping scene. but it would have been very anticlimatic. Paul and Robert only jumped a few at that location. The jump was completed later and had to be flopped so the cliff would be on the right side of the screen. I believe in the making of the film on the DVD release explains how it was done.

But did you know that the NYC sequence was actually filmed and not a series of photos as in the final film? The reason being that it was film on the NYC street set built for Hello Dolly and 20th Century Fox didn;t want two movies release at roughly the same time to have the same set in it. And the were competing in the oscars (1970) in many of the same categories, Best Picture, Cinematography (butch won), and sound (Dolly won) and Dolly ended up winning an oscar for its art direction/set decoration

Posted by Michael Shayne @ 04/14/2003 07:42 PM PST

This is from the Turner Classic Movie web site. Click on Butch's name for the complete page

Even a problem in filming one sequence was turned into an asset. The New York montage had been written as a dialogue scene and Hill hoped to shoot these sequences on a huge New York set which had been built for Hello Dolly! (1969), then in production. But Hello Dolly! would not open until after Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, and Fox executives didn't want to dilute the set's impact, so they refused Hill permission to use it. Possibly inspired by photographs of the real Butch, Sundance, and Etta in New York, Hill settled for shooting stills on the Dolly sets, and making the sequence a montage of the photos. It proved to be an excellent pacing device, and an effective marker between the two halves of the film

and then go here for some photos of 20th century and what is left of the Dolly set

http://www.seeing-stars.com/Studios/FoxStudioPhotos.shtml

Posted by Butch Cassidy @ 04/14/2003 07:50 PM PST

Congratulatons on FOREVER PLAID. I'll tell you this: I played Smudge for about a year all over the southeast, and it was the most fun and the most enthusiastic audience reception of any show I've ever been connected with. It was very difficult to learn the harmony and choreography, but SO worth it once we got it down. I know you'll love it.

Posted by Matt H. @ 04/14/2003 08:27 PM PST

Left overs from Hello Dolly Set

The windows in the Harmonia GArdens Restaurantlater be used as Poseidon Adventure's skylights in the dinning room. And was also used in the gay couple's house in Sleeper.

The hug fountain in Harmonia Gardens was later used in the Promenade Room in "The Towering Inferno

New York New York used some of the outdoor sets. Most noticably where Robert De Niro walks out of a nightclub at the end of the film. That was the Harmonia Gardens set.

Little House On the Praire used the NYC set in an episode although I think it was supposed to be Chicago.

SWAT which was film at 20th Century had an episode where they go to a studio that is being held hostage by a sniper. Most of the action took place in around the Hello Dolly Set

Posted by Michael Shayne @ 04/14/2003 08:29 PM PST

Matt, I've already taken a look at some of the harmonies, and I know that I'm going to have a challenge ahead of me. That's okay, I'm up for a challenge! :-)

Auditions next month for RAGTIME!

Posted by Dave @ 04/14/2003 08:38 PM PST

Congrats Dave!

Congrats Jason! -And who knows, maybe I'll be travelling with you... Hmmm...

Well, I've had some time to think about today's topic, and...

(Many of these have already been mentioned... great minds do think alike.)

-Almost any scene from The Wizard of Oz, especially the first sequence in Oz.

-The final scene from Longtime Companion - talk about a guaranteed cry.

-That horrible - imho - Belgian film I saw a few weeks ago, Les Fils, just to see exactly what the director was smoking, snorting and/or shooting up. Just so I know that he was on something while filming the movie... it would explain a lot! ;-)

-Waiting for Guffman - any scene. Just to be able to watch all the improvs and "experiments". However, my favorites would have to be the "Midnight at the Oasis" audition, and Parker Posey's DQ monologue.

-The title song from Singin' In the Rain.

-The car chase from The French Connection.

There are probably a bunch more, but those are the ones that come to my mind right now.

-And what a truly glorious day it was. I ended up having lunch with some friends, and we ended up walking around Maymont Park which is a beautiful old estate that has been turned into a park and nature preserve. And the otters seemed to be in a very good mood today too!

Posted by Jose C. Simbulan @ 04/14/2003 08:41 PM PST

OH, the time machine! Yes, I'd go and visit George Pal...

Just think of all the things I could see:

Winnie Lightner singing "Pingo Pongo" and "Singing in the Bathtub" in SHOW OF SHOWS
Jolie doing "April Showers" in THE JAZZ SINGER
Jolie doing "Blue Skies" in THE JAZZ SINGER
Doris Day doing "Put it in a Box" in ROMANCE ON THE HIGH SEAS
Debbie Reynolds doing the single take choreography in THE UNSINKABLE MOLLY BROWN (with WSS's Gus Trikonis).
Julie's previously mentioned twirl in THE SOUND OF MUSIC
Brando's "Stella" closing with Kim Hunter in A STREETCAR NAMED DESIRE
Brando and the butter in LAST TANGO IN PARIS, as well as his last tango scene itself.
CITIZEN KANE: the dining room table shots
Natalie Wood's solo dance in WEST SIDE STORY
Peter O'Toole robing up in LAWRENCE OF ARABIA
Christopher Jones and Sarah Miles' love scene in RYAN'S DAUGHTER
Blowing up THE BRIDGE ON THE RIVER KWAI
Kate falling into the canal in SUMMERTIME
Angela's "Goodbye, Little Yellow Bird" in THE PICTURE OF DORIAN GRAY
The revelation scene in MURDER ON THE ORIENT EXPRESS
I'd also spend time with the entire shooting schedules for:
Fassbinder's QUERELLE
Lean's A PASSAGE TO INDIA
Wise's THE HAUNTING
Hill's THE STING
Cukor's THE WOMEN and JUSTINE
Truffaut's JULES ET JIM and MISSIPPI MERMAID
Kimmel's THE FIRST NUDIE MUSICAL
Almodovar's LABYRINTH OF PASSION and LAW OF DESIRE
Bertolucci's THE CONFORMIST and 1900

BTW (by the way in internet lingo) - this is a great subject for a Monday; or any other day of the week for that matter. (Whatever shall we do on Tuesday, discuss the whys and wherefores of our choices?)

Posted by td @ 04/14/2003 08:49 PM PST

If I had a time machine, I would zap myself into the FUTURE, so that I could see "The Importance of being Meltz and Ernest" being filmed.

Posted by Laura @ 04/14/2003 09:45 PM PST

It would be the film of us dining tomorrow night. Wait a second, I WILL be there for that. No filming will be necessary however.

Posted by Kerrry @ 04/14/2003 10:26 PM PST

Kerry was so excited there's an extra R typed there... ;)

I am just doing my part to make sure we get over 100 posts before Bruce dazzles us with another day of notes...

Posted by Craig @ 04/14/2003 10:37 PM PST

I have been out all day (outed at last) taking a friend to hospital. More of the same tomorrow for another friend. My life is driving others to medical appointments lately. Friendship is all.
Glad I am back to check in and read the good news and to congratulate Dave. Wonderful.
Now for some good news for and from Jason.
Maybe I would use the time machine to go and see Yvette in "The Time Machine". I much prefer that version.

Posted by Tom from Oz @ 04/14/2003 10:54 PM PST

Post # 99!

Posted by KT @ 04/14/2003 10:59 PM PST

Post # 99!

Posted by KT @ 04/14/2003 11:00 PM PST

Damn that mouse...I hit it twice. That would make this Post # 101!

Posted by KT @ 04/14/2003 11:01 PM PST

It is 11:16 pm Mountain Standard Time, and Dear Reader Sandra is just beginning the homework that is due tomorrow.

Posted by Laura @ 04/14/2003 11:04 PM PST

How 'bout it, Sandra? Did you ever finish that homework?

And how was Career Exploration? Do tell!

Posted by Lulu @ 04/15/2003 05:28 AM PST