haines his way

04/28/2003:
"CATCHING UP"

Well, dear readers, I am home, safe and sound after my whirlwind trip to New Jersey. I had a glorious night of sleep last night, which I desperately needed, having only gotten three hours of sleep the night before. Prior to my glorious night of sleep we had the most lively and sparkling chat right here at haineshisway.com, with a lively and sparkling roomful of lively and sparkling people. Today I have many things to catch up on, so let’s get right to the meat, or at least the chicken of these here notes.
Yesterday, I picked up some new DVDs that were waiting for me, and I watched a couple of them already. First I watched Mr. Cary Grant, Mr. Jim Hutton, and Miss Samantha Eggar in Walk, Don’t Run, a remake of The More the Merrier. It was made just prior to the swingin’ part of the swingin’ sixties, and is very sweet and very old fashioned. It’s not great, it’s sometimes forced, but I found it sweet and enjoyable, and you simply can’t beat that kind of star power. Grant, as always (in his final film role) is charming and handsome, Hutton was a great light comedian who is and was very underappreciated, and Eggar is thoroughly adorable and enchanting (and where is she today?). The transfer is delectable (some of it was shot on location in Tokyo during the ’64 Olympics), and the score by Quincy Jones (in his Mancini mode) is terrific. Then I watched Big Jake, with Mr. John Wayne and the ever and always lovely Maureen O’Hara. I always forget how much I enjoy Big Jake – it’s not ever thought of in the same league as the Duke’s greatest, yet it has a really good script by the Finks (who would write Dirty Harry right afterwards), a great score by Elmer Bernstein, competent direction by veteran George Sherman and beautiful photography (can’t remember who at the moment). In fact, the only thing that mars the film really are the totally amateurish performances of Duke’s son Patrick and Robert Mitchum’s son, Chris. But, to make up for them you have Richard Boone, John Doucette, Harry Carey, Jr., Hank Worden, and Jim Davis. There is a hilarious running gag that was lifted verbatim by John Carpenter for Escape from New York, and which has also been ripped off by others. The transfer is mostly breathtaking.
Finally, I watched The Swimmer, starring Mr. Burt Lancaster. I know it’s become hip to like this film, but ever since I saw it on television in the mid-seventies I have championed it. There’s just something about it – it’s totally a one-off unique film – there’s really never been another like it. It’s got a weird dreamlike quality to it, and part of that is due to the interference by the studio to Frank Perry’s work on the film. For example, in the long sequence with Janet Landgard (and where is she today?) there are close-ups of her throughout the scene which have nothing to do with the scene being shown and which were obviously all shot at one time. That and other editorial weirdnesses (all to shorten the film, I believe) end up giving the film a hallucinogenic quality. The scene with Janice Rule towards the end of the film is excellent but again, totally unlike anything else in the film because it looks and sounds totally different. That’s because it was shot by a different director (Sydney Pollack) and different cameraman – because Miss Rule replaced the original actress in the scene, Barbara Loden. But somehow, it’s all of a piece, and very evocative of Mr. John Cheever’s original story. Lancaster is great, as is the entire and large supporting cast (very strange casting choices throughout, including Marge Champion and Joan Rivers). The ending is devastating even though you know it’s coming. The transfer is excellent and I cannot recommend it highly enough.
What am I, Ebert and Roeper all of a sudden? Quick, let’s all click on the Unseemly Button below before I write about more DVDs.

I’m still in that slightly groggy state (California) of having gotten a lot of sleep. So, please forgive any grammar and spelling errors for I simply do not have time to proof these here notes today.
For those were weren’t at the chat, or who were errant and truant during the weekend, there is lots for you to catch up on. I mentioned in the chat that the most popular celebrity in attendance at Chiller was Rowdy Roddy Piper. Can you imagine?
Well, dear readers, I must get these notes posted and get crackin’. I must take the day, I must do the things I do, I must drive hither and thither and even yon in an effort to catch up. “Up” is very slippery these days and is difficult to catch, but I shall endeavor to do my best. Today’s topic of discussion: I mentioned Jim Hutton and Samantha Eggar as two of my favorite underappreciated actors from the past. Who are your favorites? Who would you champion to our merry troupe and which films would you recommend seeing them in? I’ll check back in a bit, so post away, my pretties and I’ll see you shortly or, at the very least, longly.

Replies: 81 Unseemly Comments

My favorite under-appreciated actress is Susan Gordon who should take advantage of her current training and make a musical.
I also miss Paula Ragussa Benjamin who acted under the name of Paula Prentice and appreared quite frequently with the aforementioned Jim Hutton.
Posted by William E. Lurie @ 04/28/2003 09:59 AM PST

Oh, gosh, underappreciated actors and actresses...what a great topic. This is near and dear to my heart, since even as an eighth-grader, I preferred the quirky and unusual to the mainstream. I can date this preference to at least the 8th grade because of the fact that we were given a poll by the yearbook staff, and asked to list our various "favorites." My favorite actor was Paul LeMat and my favorite actress was Mary Steenburgen (a sparkling virtual prize to the Dear Reader who can guess what movie I'd just seen starring both actors!). Needless to say, my choices were not reflected in the yearbook (winners of fave actor and actress were Tom Cruise and Heather Locklear, respectively. I weep for my generation).
My tastes have changed a bit since then, though, and I don't think either of those performers would make my list now (Paul LeMat has been in virtually nothing of interest in more than 20 years, and I now find Mary Steenburgen's insistently odd line-readings more perplexing than charming). However, the following performers do make my list:
Edward Arnold. Whether he's the gruff-but-lovable dad in "Dear Ruth," an irredeemable baddie in "Mr. Smith Goes to Washington," or an unrepentant dipsomaniac in "Sadie McKee," there's just something about Edward Arnold I can't help but like. It's always happy time when his name pops up in the opening credits.
Marjorie Main. "Cabbage has a cabbage smell." 'nuff said.
Robert Montgomery. If I read one more film star bio or movie book that slights Bob Montgomery, I will become violent. He was great at the light comedy playboy roles he was consistently given, and on the rare occasions he was given something of more substance, he acquitted himself well. I love that he directed an experimental "first-person" film and to top it all off, he's the dad of Samantha Stevens. Who could ask for anything more?
John Gilbert. Here's another male star whose name has been dragged through the mud of a thousand books that purport to be about film and film stars. John Gilbert is now considered the prototypical film-star-ruined-by-squeaky-voice-when-talkies-came-in, which is inaccurate and unfair. Watch Queen Christina sometime if you don't believe me. Not a thing wrong with that voice, and as a silent screen "great lover," he ran rings around Rudolph Valentino, in this reporter's opinion.
Richard Benjamin. Cute (in an unconventional way), smart, sardonic. Strangely, RB never hit it big (did he ever find a vehicle equal to his talents?), but he can be counted on to brighten up the creakiest of his films ("Scavenger Hunt," et. al.). When is some cable station going to re-run episodes of "He and She?"
Oh, my, I could do this all day. Better cut this short and give someone else a chance.
Posted by Lulu @ 04/28/2003 10:06 AM PST

Well - two of my choices are obvious. 8-D
Allison Hayes - try to find her in COUNT THREE AND PRAY opposite Van Heflin. This is not on VHS or DVD but shows up now and then on The Western Channel.
Frances Farmer - who most generally available performance is on VHS in SON OF FURY opposite Tyrone Power although COME AND GET IT is available on DVD.
I also like a lot of the early John Saxon performances as a troubled teen or mixed up young adult. UNGUARDED MOMENT (he lives in what became the Cleaver house), THE RELUCTANT DEBUTANTE, and THIS HAPPY FEELING. All in color and all big hits! Fun to watch.
Posted by Jrand52 @ 04/28/2003 10:08 AM PST

Jrand: I prefer John Saxon's turns in Enter the Dragon, Mitchell, and A Nightmare on Elm Street.
;)
Posted by Lulu @ 04/28/2003 10:12 AM PST

LOL - all good choices. But you prefer them to UNGUARDED MOMENT????
You should check out NIGHT CALLER FROM OUTER SPACE - an English sci fi flick from 1964. John is good there as well.
Posted by Jrand52 @ 04/28/2003 10:26 AM PST

I have absolutely nothing to add to the conversation, so I am going to say something totally unrelated. I was getting really tired of the daily egg shell sandwich, so I had decided that I was going to buy a big soft pretzel today instead. But when I got to the cafeteria, there were no big soft pretzels. So I bought a sandwich.
Posted by Sandra @ 04/28/2003 10:50 AM PST

Jrand: Just joshin'. Nothing's better than UNGUARDED MOMENT. I especially like Saxon's dad (played by that ubiquitous round guy with white hair and black horn-rimmed glasses whose name I can't recall) lurking in the shadows and sweating and leering and rubbing his hands together and rifling through Esther Williams' lingerie drawer (or did I imagine that part?)...
Posted by Lulu @ 04/28/2003 10:54 AM PST

Who made the egg salad sandwiches?
Posted by 5 Neat Guys @ 04/28/2003 10:55 AM PST

Off screen it was Jeff Chandler rifling through Esther William's lingerie drawer.
And the Cleaver house mentioned above later became the Marcus Welby house.
Posted by William E. Lurie @ 04/28/2003 11:02 AM PST

Oh, Jeff Chandler rifled through *everybody's* lingerie drawers.
I know it's true because I read it in an article in Modern Screen entitled "Storm Clouds for Jeff."
Posted by Lulu @ 04/28/2003 11:13 AM PST

Lulu,
Why that would be Melvin and Howard. Now where, oh where is my sparkling virtual prize?
I'm about to leave work early, folks, to celebrate my Joe's birthday with the lovely card that you all helped me put together. Thanks and kudos. That's one thank and one kudo apiece. Don't get greedy.
Posted by William F. Orr @ 04/28/2003 11:17 AM PST

Tim Hutton has always topped my list in this category. I love Walk Don't Run and still laugh when I watch it. I also agree Robert Montgomery belongs on the list. I don't think Ginger Rogers received the credit she deserved in her movies with Fred Astaire. Her expressions alone could steal a scene. I'm sure I will come up with more names later but that's it for now.
Posted by Jane @ 04/28/2003 11:22 AM PST

WFO: Your sparkling virtual prize is winging its way to you as we speak (write)! Keep an eye on your e-mail inbox...
Posted by Lulu @ 04/28/2003 11:24 AM PST

Lulu,
A most useful and excellent prize it is, too. I shall put it to work immediately.
Thanks a jillion.
Posted by William F. Orr @ 04/28/2003 11:38 AM PST

Ooh! Just have to add to this list the distinguished name of Michael McKean. To most, he will forever be Michael "Lenny" McKean, but in truth the man is oh, so much more. Love, love, love him in "Best in Show" (perhaps the fullest expression of his talents) as well as "Spinal Tap" and "Clue." Just an extremely Kewl Dood (as Jrand might say).
Posted by Lulu @ 04/28/2003 11:57 AM PST

Lulu - I can't agree with you on McKean. While he was funny in the Guest films I really have not liked him in anything else. I couldn't sit through "LaVern & Shirley" (as good as the women were) because of McKean and his partner. And he starred in one of the worse shows I ever saw on Broadway - the one mis-step in Rupert Holmes's otherwise excellent career: ACCOMPLICE, a play so bad they were giving away tickets through a coupon in the New York Post. And to top it off, one of gimmicks of the play was that Mr. McKean was out of the show that night except that his "understudy" was really Mr. McKean - only Mr. McKean was standing in front of the theatre greeting patrons before the show so you knew it was really him on stage, thus spoiling the surprise at his "unmasking".
Posted by William E. Lurie @ 04/28/2003 12:12 PM PST

That's okay, WEL...I forgive you. ;)
Posted by Lulu @ 04/28/2003 12:24 PM PST

I of course am in total agreement with Jack R. about Allison Hayes! But the one B actress I truly believe deserved better was Gloria Talbott. She could transform the most ridiculous dreck into something watchable. Why she rarely rose above the B films is a mystery to me.
MB
Posted by MBarnum @ 04/28/2003 12:27 PM PST

Underappreciated actors? Why, Mr. Mark Bakalor and myself! Haha! I have to run (we're doing MEISTERSINGER tonight from 5-12:30...at least thats how long I have to be there), but I wanted to say hi and thanks to everyone for their kind words yesterday. I'm not getting too worried right now...everything happens for a reason. Hopefully my dad will find work soon...and Craig, too!
Tom from Oz: I got a package from you today! Thank you so much!! You're right...track 2 is magical.
Posted by Jason @ 04/28/2003 12:29 PM PST

MBarnum: I hope by ridiculous dreck you aren't referring to I Married a Monster from Outer Space or Girlstown??? I love both those classics!
I like Gloria Talbott, too. :)
Posted by Lulu @ 04/28/2003 12:33 PM PST

I had just come back to this here library because I remembered fifteen minutes before class that there was a test in Plants in Society today and I needed to "study" (drink Cherry Coke and surf eBay) and guess who ran into me (literally)? Naomi from fencing class last semester. She just got back from boot camp yesterday. Isn't that exciting?
Posted by Sandra @ 04/28/2003 12:45 PM PST

Sandra---
Did she learn to make other kinds of shoes at camp too or only boots?
Posted by William E. Lurie @ 04/28/2003 12:55 PM PST

I *wondered* how Wal-Mart could sell their footwear at such low, low prices!
Posted by Lulu @ 04/28/2003 01:04 PM PST

Does anyone know if there is going to be a chat tonight? Or is this the chat? I am a little confused as to how this all works.
Posted by JB aka JK @ 04/28/2003 01:14 PM PST

JB / JK: Chat was last night. It alternates weeks -- One week it will be Sunday at 6:00 p.m. EST, the following week it will be Monday at 6:00 p.m. EST, then the next week it will be back to Sunday again.
Sorry!
Posted by Lulu @ 04/28/2003 01:19 PM PST

So the next chat will be one week from today at 6 p.m. California time.
Posted by Jrand52 @ 04/28/2003 01:37 PM PST

Gloria Talbott was also very good as Jane Wyman's daughter in ALL THAT HEAVEN ALLOWS - and starred in a Superman tv episode as THE GIRL WHO BOUGHT SUPERMAN. And what did she do with him? She made him jump onto her mantle and turn a piece of coal into a diamond.
Posted by Jrand62 @ 04/28/2003 01:39 PM PST

Thanks Lulu!!
Posted by JB aka JK @ 04/28/2003 01:45 PM PST

Lulu and JB aka JK, it's actually at 6:00 Pacific Standard Time, not "Eastern" Standard Time. If you try to enter the chat room three hours early (or any other non-chat time), you won't be able to get in at all and you'll be sad.
Posted by George @ 04/28/2003 01:54 PM PST

John Cazale I though was a brilliant actor who only did a handful of pictures (Godfather 1 & 2) Dogday Afternoon, Deer Hunter and The Conversation.
Barbara Harris is another favorite who never achieved the stature she deserved.
I also feel that Donald Sutherland and Richard Gere have never been recognized how good they good be. See Sutherland in Ordinary People he was outstanding. As was Gere in a film called Blood Brothers and Fields of Heaven.
And finally an actor who gave up acting to become a record producer. I always thought he was a deft comedic actor and always enjoyed his work even before I got to know him through the internet. Comedic acting is an art that most people do not achieve. This guy did.
Posted by Michael Shayne. @ 04/28/2003 01:56 PM PST

Welcome JB aka JK! A special haineshisway.com award for the first person who guesses the identity of JBakaJK.
I can add to my list Veronica Lake, Joel McCrea (one of the greats, and almost virtually unknown today), Gene Tierney, Ona Munson (both Miss Tierney and Miss Munson are brilliant in The Shanghai Gesture).
Posted by bk @ 04/28/2003 01:56 PM PST

I am SO embarrassed! I meant to type PST, but somehow I typed EST instead. JB/JK, I hope you made a note of my goof! It's 9 p.m. EST, 6 p.m. PST.
And I haven't the slightest idea who JB/JK is, but I'm sure he/she is (as Sammy Davis, Jr. might say) "a really heavy cat, man."
Posted by Lulu @ 04/28/2003 02:00 PM PST

My favorite underrated actor: Clinton Sundberg whom you see pop up in movie after movie at MGM. He must have been their most often used male featured player. I love him playing Mike the barkeep in EASTER PARADE and then one of the music store workers in IN THE GOOD OLD SUMMERTIME. I wish I knew more about him. He obviously had a stage career, too, since I just ran across a picture of him while reading a chapter in AT THIS THEATRE.
Lulu, I think the problem I have with John Gilbert is probably the same problem most folks had with him at the time: his speech is so florid and affected. It isn't that his voice is so high pitched, but his vocal intonation is so OVERLY enunciated, it clashes violently with the average Joe-nice guy image of him that plays in film after film. His speech reeks of foppishness, yet he's not usually playing a dandy.
Posted by Matt H. @ 04/28/2003 02:01 PM PST

Matt: Huh. Foppish? I don't get that at all from JG. I guess, as BK would say, "That's what makes horse-racing."
Joel McCrea. Great choice, I agree wholeheartedly.
How 'bout this name out of the past? Anne Shirley, aka Dawn O'Day. (Her stage mother must've been a real piece of work.) Her mannered style of acting wouldn't work now, but I like her all the same.
Posted by Lulu @ 04/28/2003 02:06 PM PST

hello everyone.....new Broadway Radio Show went up yesterday....not the one I had planned, but circumstances beyond my control forced a postponement....sorry I didn't post yesterday, but we are in the middle of an office move here at work and things are a bit insane
Posted by Donald Feltham @ 04/28/2003 02:09 PM PST

Under-rated actors? Not really a good topic for me. I watch films, but I usually don't "watch" films. And truth be told, there are a LOT of films that I should have seen by now, but just never had the time or the timing to watch them. -Thus, the pile of DVDs sitting next to my player waiting to be viewed. *I did watch the first Schoolhouse Rock DVD last night - ah, the memories... And there were a few I remember seeing only once, and some I don't remember seeing at all. -I remember watching ABC every Saturday just to catch the Schoolhouse Rock segments. I don't even think I can recall any of the cartoons that were on at the time.
-Wow, that was a tangent...
I, too, love Ordinary People. I first watched it in my high school Sociology class. It really got to me then, and still does now. Donald Sutherland is amazing, and the look of apprehension/guilt/sorrow/etc. on Mary Tyler Moore's face at the end... WOW!
Posted by Jose C. Simbulan @ 04/28/2003 02:27 PM PST

Lulu, if you've seen OUR BETTERS (or even the clip from it in THE CELLULOID CLOSET), then you'll remember the character of Ernest played by Tyrell Davis. If you close your eyes and not look at his face (overly painted with dark red lipstick), you'd swear it was John Gilbert talking with a British accent. It's verbal precision carried to a flowery degree. At least, that's what it sounds like to my ears. And that's what I think audiences found laughable.
Posted by Matt H. @ 04/28/2003 02:29 PM PST

Ruben Blades. Not exactly a household name here in OZ but I have loved his performances in quite a few movies.
Hope DR (sort of) Joe is having a wonderful, feel terrific day full of the smell of roses and such. We shall dance a corroboree in your honour.
Jason: Hope you enjoy the rest of the CD but the Masenet is indeed pure magic.
Posted by Tom from Oz @ 04/28/2003 02:30 PM PST

Jose wrote "I watch films, but I usually don't "watch" films. And truth be told, there are a LOT of films that I should have seen by now, but just never had the time or the timing to watch them." That's me exactly. Except that for me it's not usually a matter of having the time, I just never take the time. The other thing that I do A LOT is tape and buy movies and then never watch them. I have piles and piles (literally) of movies and shows taped from TV that I say I'll watch when I get around to it...then I don't. Someday, I've just got to get a round tuit.
As for the topic at hand, I'm not that observant. It's a flaw.
Posted by George @ 04/28/2003 02:49 PM PST

Re: Joel McCrea. I just won a truly stunning Swedish half-sheet on eBay of "Come and Get It" featuring a beautiful drawing of Joel and Frances. I outbid a Mitchell McCrea who I am assuming is Joel's grandson (Jody's son). Sorry, Mitch, bubbe, it was too pretty to pass up (gorgeous green Deco tree design).
Re: Frances. JR did not mention that one of her most charming films, and the one that started bringing her great acclaim, is about to be released on DVD: Rhythm on the Range, with Bing Crosby and Martha Raye (hysterically funny) in her film debut. Great score includes "Empty Saddles" and "I'm an Old Cowhand," plus the bonus of a very young Roy Rogers in a cameo. I have director Norman Taurog's original shooting script, full of the blue revision pages and stuffed to the gills with notes. It appears from the script that the bulk of his director's notes went, strangely, to Bing. Or maybe Frances came by later and erased all of hers. :)
Posted by JMK @ 04/28/2003 02:55 PM PST

Oooooooh, I am so excited to be part of a contest!! I am a "heavy cat, man":) And by the way, my cat's name is Georgie, but I lovingly call him Peanut - he looked like a peanut when he was born :)
Posted by JB aka JK @ 04/28/2003 03:05 PM PST

I am reminded of Amanda McBroom's wonderful song "Errol Flynn" after reading the posts - naturally I play the Barbara Cook version. (Most played version in the house is by David Campbell).
Mention of Joel McRae took my mind back to another favourite of mine - Glenn Ford.
The astute HHW readers will no doubt note the OZ connections in this post!
Posted by Tom from Oz @ 04/28/2003 03:30 PM PST

Jacqueline Bouvier AKA Jackie Kennedy. You read it here first.
Posted by Liz Smith @ 04/28/2003 03:39 PM PST

I would add to our underappreciated list of actors Suzanne Pleshette. Always gorgeous, she's also always been the back-up person, rarely the lead. And she's STILL great, doing wonderful voice work in Spirited Away and giving class to Good Morning Miami.
I have to strongly disagree with Mr. Lurie about ACCOMPLICE. When der Brucer and I saw it at the Pasadena Playhouse, we thought it was a funny and twisty spoof on murder mysteries. As did everyone else in the theater that night. And yes, Mr. McKeon was very good in the play. Just goes to show that some plays just don't work in NYC. It isn't the play, it's the venue.
Posted by S. Woody White @ 04/28/2003 03:58 PM PST

Now, c'mon people now, smile on each other - While the Bouvier/Kennedy is a good guess I would have thought that you smart hainsies/kimlets could have offered up some other guesses. Hint - concentrate on the second two initials - it will help you immeasurably.
Posted by bk @ 04/28/2003 04:24 PM PST

Well I'll guess the JK is Judy Kuhn but I'll have to get back to you on the JB connection. And 'round my house, I'm JK!
Posted by JMK @ 04/28/2003 04:37 PM PST

Hi all.......and esteemed BK,
I just wanted to post a quick hello. DR Sandra, you must send me the recipe for "egg shell sandwich" ...
Let's see, under-appreciated actors; well no offense to DR Jason and DR Mark B., but I think I would have to say, DR Kerry and my humble self, in the Hallmark produced film "The Lost Child." Honest, we're in it! A prize to anyone that can spot us!! :)
Our career makes Ethel Smith in "Bathing Beauty" seem positively mainstream.
Dear and suave BK...I'm off to the kitchen, as I'm attempting a version of chicken Sidney Beckerman tonight. Whee !
Posted by MusicGuy @ 04/28/2003 06:10 PM PST

I'll champion a few actors who made strong, enduring impressions on me in a few films from the early 70s and, to my utter delight, I've found the films on VHS and they hold up beautifully.
First, the young Richard Thomas -- pre-Waltons -- was as promising as any young actor could be. He had a stunning part as Joanne Woodward and Paul Newman's son in "Winning" and he was dazzling in both "Last Summer" and "Red Sky At Morning."
"Last Summer" is notable as a Frank Perry film and one set completely at seaside one summer with a very young Bruce Davison and beautiful young Barbara Hershey who, along with Thomas, flashed some of the whitest, most beguiling teeth (i.e. smiles) I've ever seen on screen. What makes the film extraordinary is one Miss Catherine Burns who portrays Rhoda -- younger than the others, but not by much, who is just too smart and too afraid to live on the edge. The other three bring her into their fold and make the viewer uneasy about their intentions -- until you feel you've got things figured out -- and the ending totally messes with your mind.
Miss Burns was nominated as Best Supporting Actress for her role.
Far more impressive, though, was Miss Burns' performance (IMO) in "Red Sky At Morning" because it was so different from Rhoda -- totally different personality, totally different approach to the role, but equally wonderful acting. Thomas was luminous and perfect in the lead role, and Desi Arnaz Jr. was astoundingly good as the third wheel in their friendship.
If any of you get an opportunity to see any of these films, you'll ask yourself what happened -- how did Thomas' career take the turns it did, how did Arnaz Jr. NOT have an acting career (he made a wonderful TV movie called "Mr. and Mrs. Bobo Jones" that I have fond memories of seeing), and most importantly, how is it that Catherine Burns isn't one of the leading actresses of her generation?
Posted by Ron Pulliam @ 04/28/2003 06:31 PM PST

Lulu,
Actually the only Gloria Talbott movies I would consider close to dreck are Daughter of Dr. Jekyll and Oregon Trail...otherwise I really enjoy her other movies! I guess what I should have said is that many of her films would have been dreck had she not been in them...she did great things in roles that other actresses would have made just ordinary.
Gloria was also very good in THE KETTLES ON OLD MCDONALD'S FARM and WERE NO ANGELS. Her role in the noirish film CRASHOUT is fairly small, but very memorable.
Posted by MBarnum @ 04/28/2003 06:44 PM PST

OK, MusicGuy.
Egg Shell Sandwich
Hard-boil one egg. Peel if desired. Chop. Add mayo. Spread one tablespoon thinly on bread. Add one lettuce leaf. Serve frozen and charge too much.
Posted by Sandra @ 04/28/2003 07:28 PM PST

I have not read the notes or posts yet, but in addiion to playing Merman at work the other day, the customers were also treated to Jason Graae and Carmen Miranda. Who could ask for anything more?
More later.
Posted by Kerry @ 04/28/2003 07:28 PM PST

Man, oh, man, when you find out the answer to the question posed earlier you're all going to kick yourselves in your collective butt cheeks, oh, yes, you will kick yourselves in your collective butt cheeks.
Frank Perry did a lovely job on Last Summer - I'm a big fan of his, and as you know just watched The Swimmer. Red Sky at Morning features a gorgeous score by a very underrated film composer (tomorrow's topic of discussion, along with theater composers, so don't jump the gun), Billy Goldenberg.
Posted by bk @ 04/28/2003 07:34 PM PST

Maybe ACCOMPLISH works better in a smaller venue instead of 1 1600 seat theatre with only about 200 seats filled. It just got too convoluted with the play within a play within a play and the author and director making guest appearances et. al. Great set though.
John Cazale would probably still be working today (and married to Meryl Streep) if he hadn't died in the early 80s.
Posted by William E. Lurie @ 04/28/2003 07:36 PM PST

Personally...I think JK is the one and only Jack Ketchum!
And if it is.. then welcome and shame on all of the rest of you for not paying CLOSE attention to yesterday's notes ;)
Posted by Craig @ 04/28/2003 07:48 PM PST

Here is my guess: JB aka JK is your
daughter, who has married and is no
loner named Kimmel. That is why it
seems that you would know, and we
would kick ourselves.
I just finished watching "Igby Goes
Down." It was darkly hilarious, and
also very affecting.
I have realized that the phrase
"Damn them, damn them all to hell!"
has been appearing more and more
in my vocabulary. Thanks, Bruce, for
that marvelous addition to my
vocabulary.
Here's an interesting corollary to
SWoody's idea that the venue is
often to blame for a play's lack of
success. In general, a play which is
produced without success in New
York, and to great success at every
regional theater in the country is
assumed to be in this position
because New York critics/audiences
are tougher to please. This is not
always true. The Hank Williams
revue currently at the Little Shubert
was produced in September at the
Cleveland Playhouse, to reviews
that were indifferent at best. They
criticized it as hokey and ersatz, and
wondered why it was being
produced by a major theater. In New
York, the critics raved. How odd.
Posted by Hapgood @ 04/28/2003 08:21 PM PST

Gah! Hapgood took my
answer! :-) I, too, believe that
JB/JK is BK's very own
daughter (Jennifer, I believe).
If only I'd read today's notes
before Hapgood!!!
Posted by Jed @ 04/28/2003 08:35 PM PST

I'm sticking with my guess of Jack. Afterall, I suspect that Bruce invited Jack to stop by the site whilst at Chiller and maybe even chat with us (or at least be a fly on the wall).
After all, Jennifer appearing on the site after over a year would be a tad more random...
Posted by Craig @ 04/28/2003 08:48 PM PST

Forgetting the contest for moment, Thelma Ritter and Mary Wickes made anything they appeared in worth watching. The made good material better, and made bad material worthwhile.
Posted by Kerry @ 04/28/2003 09:23 PM PST

The new "Andrews Sisters" - Ethel, Carmen & Jason. Sounds a delightful work place Kerry - and so much better than listening to sport. Hope your boss was duly impressed.
And I thought DR Jennifer had gone and married BK!
Posted by Tom from Oz @ 04/28/2003 09:37 PM PST

Thanks to DR Sandra for the mystical recipe for the Egg Shell Sandwich. You live on the edge girl!!
Esteemed & erudite BK -- the Chicken Sidney Beckerman turned out to be pretty damn close, yessiree Bob! You'd have to ask Kerry, but I think that the proof was in the pudding. (What is it, fish?)
Looking forward to film composers and theatre composers topics tomorrow...yea, let's here it for the musician's!
Posted by MusicGuy @ 04/28/2003 09:46 PM PST

Hapgood and Jed are correct. It is the one and only daughter, who has finally figured out how to get to the site. More about it tomorrow.
Posted by bk @ 04/28/2003 09:50 PM PST

I did some further checking. ACCOMPLICE sold out it's run at the Pasadena Playhouse, and extended that run, prior to it's production in NYC. After the theatergoers of NYC decided they weren't amused, the play found commercial and critical success in Chicago, Dallas, Miami, and Toronto. It also won Mr. Holmes his second Edgar Award.
The only location where ACCOMPLICE didn't win over it's audience appears to be NYC.
Posted by S. Woody White @ 04/29/2003 02:50 AM PST

Matt - Clinton also plays one of a dusty quartet who sings AURA LEE with Franny in COME AND GET IT.
And Woody, I would have to add YOUNGBLOOD HAWKE, THE BIRDS, and ROME ADVENTURE to your Pleshette list.
Arnaz, Jr did turn in some fine performances and so did Richard Thomas. Wow - what great memories from all these posts!
Posted by Jrand52 @ 04/29/2003 03:03 AM PST

Kerry: I couldn't agree with you more re: Thelma Ritter and Mary Wickes. :)
Posted by Lulu @ 04/29/2003 04:56 AM PST

Was it THE MATING SEASON - when Thelma Ritter ran a hamburger stand and went to visit her son John Lund who had just married Gene Tierney? Thelma came in and Gene assumed she was the maid so Thelma kept up the charade - even after Gene's mom, Miriam Hopkins showed up. What a funny movie.
Posted by Jrand52 @ 04/29/2003 06:44 AM PST

I haven't seen The Mating Season, but love Thelma in A Letter to Three Wives, Rear Window, and that movie with Chuck Heston and Jane Wyman where Mrs. Ronald Reagan is a dress designer (and Edith Head has a cameo during the interminable fashion sequence squeezed into the narrative!). I love how Thelma the "Texan" doesn't even bother to disguise her Bronx rasp, yet somehow it works.
Posted by Lulu @ 04/29/2003 06:49 AM PST

By the way, WELCOME, JENNIFER!
:)
Posted by Lulu @ 04/29/2003 06:50 AM PST

Lucy Gallant, Universal International.
Posted by Jrand52 @ 04/29/2003 06:53 AM PST

I lied.
LUCY GALLANT - Paramount Pictures, 1955.
I should have known that Edith Head and Charlton would have been Paramount.
Posted by Jrand52 @ 04/29/2003 06:57 AM PST

Welcome, Jennifer B aka Jennifer K -- so glad you finally found us!
Posted by Laura @ 04/29/2003 07:06 AM PST

Thanks, Jrand. I knew it was a woman's name, but other than that I was drawing a complete blank. Of course, I could have looked it up on imdb, but I'm naturally slothful and besides, I knew you'd be able to come up with the goods... ;)
Posted by Lulu @ 04/29/2003 07:12 AM PST

Well, congratulations to Hapgood!! Hope you get a cool T-Shirt or something!! I am the one and only daughter of the wonderful, talented, faboo BK!! By the by, I only FOUND OUT about the website a couple of weeks ago, but I am overjoyed to be here now!
Posted by JB aka JK @ 04/29/2003 07:44 AM PST

Jennifer, if you only knew all of the questions we long to ask you...LOL. *rubbing hands together*
And we certainly *will* ask them...when BK's not around!
Posted by Lulu @ 04/29/2003 07:47 AM PST

Well Lulu - Bring it on!! I am sure there is plenty of juice I can give all of you dear readers! :)
Posted by JB aka JK @ 04/29/2003 08:01 AM PST

Oh, my...where to begin? Any questions? Any answers? Any rags, any bones, any bottles today...
Gosh, for me, the big one is just...what the heck was it like having the Dancing Dildoes guy for a dad?? :)
More later!
Posted by Lulu @ 04/29/2003 08:15 AM PST

I'll tell you - it was very much fun!! I had lots of fun and good times growing up!! We would do all the dance numbers from our favorite shows - especially Pippin (my all-time favorite). Uh oh, now I am going to have that song in my head all day - "Join us, leave your fields to flower/Join us, leave your cheese to sour" - Is that the greatest, or what?!
Posted by JB aka JK @ 04/29/2003 08:23 AM PST

Some underappreciated actors (IMHO)...
Men
Paul Douglas
Walter Pidgeon
Basil Rathbone
David Wayne
Women
Lolita Davidovitch
Irene Dunne
Gloria Grahame
Virginia Mayo
Posted by Donna @ 04/29/2003 08:23 AM PST

Jennifer, I can totally see BK being that kind of dad. :)
I always remember the song "Corner of the Sky" from Pippin, because we sang it in 5th grade choir.
Posted by Lulu @ 04/29/2003 08:30 AM PST

Donna: Great picks.
Does everyone here have superlative taste, or what??? :)
Posted by Lulu @ 04/29/2003 08:36 AM PST

Click on the link to see what Meron and Zadan will be up to next, courtesy of Playbill On-Line
http://www.playbill.com/news/article/79258.html
Posted by Ben @ 04/29/2003 08:40 AM PST

Lulu,
Actually, anyone who has consistently read Bruce's Notes should sing it,
BK belongs where he can ramble...
Posted by William F. Orr @ 04/29/2003 08:50 AM PST

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

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