haines his way

06/05/2003:
"THOROUGHLY MODERN BK"

Well, dear readers, I have finally caught up on my sleep and am feeling a bit better. First of all, just what was “up” doing on my sleep, that’s what I’d like to know? I’ve been a bit under the weather since coming home (due solely to not getting enough sleep), but now I’m feeling my oats again or, at the very least, feeling my bran.
Last night I watched a motion picture entitled The Guru. I gather this was in the theaters for about ten seconds and then disappeared. You wouldn’t know that by reading the imdb and amazon reader reviews, which make this film sound like an all-time classic. It is not an all-time classic, although it certainly means well. The script borrows liberally from any number of other movies (including mine own), but it does come to life whenever they do one of the loopy Bollywood musical numbers. The film is about an Indian (as in India) who wants to come to the USA to be a star. Adventures ensue. The cast is game, but the script is lame. It’s very colorful, and New York looks lovely. If the whole movie had the fun of those Bollywood excerpts then it would have been faboo.
I then watched the first forty minutes of the brand spanking new DVD of Thoroughly Modern Millie. It does have its fun aspects, but it never quite achieves the charm it wants to achieve. I thought that when I saw it on opening day, and I think it now, even though it’s very enjoyable. The fact that this has become something of a classic is very interesting. Still, Julie is terrific, Mary Tyler Moore less so, James Fox is so goofy you want to shoot him, and John Gavin is, well, John Gavin. The film really belongs to Bea Lillie, who is brilliant as Mrs. Meers. Still to come is Miss Carol Channing. The transfer, however, is everything you could hope for – it looks as good as the day it was made and is, in fact, breathtakingly clear at times, so much so that you can see the freckles underneath Miss Andrews’ makeup. Also newly released, Fritz Lang’s marvelous thriller, Cloak and Dagger, which I haven’t looked at yet, and a new transfer of Midnight Run, which I like. Next week is the biggie for me – Once Upon a Time in America.
Well, why don’t we all click on the Unseemly Button below, because don’t I have excellent questions to answer? Don’t I have impromptu chats to discuss? I do, and I shall, not necessarily in that order.

Tonight at six o’clock Pacific Mean Daylight Savings Time, we shall have an impromptu Unseemly Live Chat. We’ll talk about our New York sojourn, the recording sessions, and anything else we feel like. So, be there or be round. And now, your excellent questions.
George asks if I like karaoke. Have I ever sung in a karaoke bar? Have I ever sung karaoke in another setting, someone’s home perhaps? What, in general, do I think of karaoke? I want to make sure I really understand – this is a question about karaoke, yes? I just want to be sure. I have never sung in a karaoke bar, but I have been in a karaoke bar. I don’t have anything against karaoke except for the fact that the daughter of people I really dislike liked to sing karaoke. In general, I think karaoke is a really stupid-looking word. I think it should be spelled Carry Okie.
Allan asks just what are we all? We are all Hainsies/Kimlets and all Hainsies/Kimlets are gay, gay and carefree and fancy-free and free as the wind and gone with the wind and carefree and light as a feather floating on air. That is what are we all.
Jrand asks if I own the DVDs of The Judy Garland Show or if I’ve seen them. I have the first couple. Do I have a favorite episode? Not really – I like them all just fine. Which performer do I think made the most glorious guest appearance on a variety show from the 60s. Barbra Streisand was always electrifying.
Jennifer wants to know more about the CD we just recorded because, apparently, Jennifer doesn’t read these here notes every day. It is an album of great songs from horror films, and it is a lot of fun – it has novelty songs, some beautiful standards and some just plain weird stuff, all sung by some of the best singers around.
Laura asks what is the best thing before sliced bread? I believe the best thing before sliced bread was sliced cheese and an occasional ham chunk. Also, Laura is about to take her first trip to New York, New York, and would like suggestions as to what they should see? Well, you can’t go wrong with Hairspray. And normally I’d say you can’t go wrong with Gypsy, but apparently with this production you can.
William E. Lurie asks if I ever dine anywhere other than Joe Allen whilst in New York. I have dined in many of the finest restaurants, usually with my friend Harvey Schmidt, who knows from fine restaurants. The problem is, I rarely remember the names of the fine restaurants – I do recall Bice, and I adore the Manhattan Ocean Club and I went to a wonderful Chinese restaurant with Brent Barrett and Miss Lauren Bacall near the Empire Hotel. Oh, and I used to eat at the Union Square Café quite often.
MBarnum asks when I was acting on television and film in the seventies, who was my favorite performer to work with and my least favorite performer. Least favorite is easy: John Pleshette (you can read why at www.brucekimmel.com by searching for Doctor’s Hospital under my bio section). Most favorite – well, I loved working with Jean Simmons and Patricia Neal, and I adored Shirley Jones and the Partridge gang, and I also liked Ron Howard and the Happy Days gang a lot, too, and of course, my beloved Cindy Williams.
Matt H. asks if I could pick one currently living personality whom I’ve never worked with to be on a CD of mine, who would it be? Well, even though I know it would be trouble, I’d love to work with Barbra Streisand, and I know this will sound crazy, but I’d love to record Liza Minnelli, but they’d both have to put themselves in my hands. That’s the deal, and they don’t need to call if they’re not willing to.
Td asks if and when a follow-up recording of more songs from horror films is done, will The Piper Dreams be on it? Who would I have sing it? If I’d thought of it, I’d probably have put it on this album. It’s the song from The Omen, and I might have someone like Liz Callaway do it.
Matthew mentions that on the first Unsung Musicals CD there is a song called The Vamp – what show is it from and where can one look for sheet music? The show is actually called The Vamp and the song is actually called Ragtime Romeo (sung by the delicious Liz Larsen). I don’t really know if the sheet music was ever published or not, and I can’t remember where we got it from. You might try Colony in New York – they seem to have quite a large selection of rare sheet music.
Well, dear readers, I must take the day, I must do the things I do, I must go hither and thither and I might go yon if I’m so inclined. Today’s topic of discussion: It’s Guilty Pleasures day – name some of your favorite film and theater guilty pleasures. Now, just for clarification – a guilty pleasure is something that really doesn’t work for most people, that really wasn’t a hit. For example, a guilty pleasure might be the Village People’s Can’t Stop the Music film. We all know it’s awful, but we watch it anyway, and enjoy it to boot. Post away, my pretties, and I’ll see you at tonight’s impromptu chat.

Replies: 70 Unseemly Comments

I have so many guilty pleasures.
XANADU would be one of them. I like parts of it, but I also have fond memories of where I saw it and when it came out. I think that has a lot to do with it.
"Peggy Sue Got Married" is another one. Parts of it don't quite work, but I love it anyway.
The film of "Hello Dolly" is repeatedly put down, but this was the first version I saw, and it was splashy; the orchestrations are great, and I still like it. I simply consider to be something totally different from the play and don't compare them.
I'm sure I will think of others.
Posted by Kerry @ 06/05/2003 09:14 AM PST

Guilty Pleasures: "The Yellow Rolls-Royce"
"Rome Adventure"
"Parrish"
(and one that is not-so-guilty any longer since so many folks agree with me):
"GOODBYE, MR. CHIPS" with O'Toole and Clark!
Posted by Ron Pulliam @ 06/05/2003 09:26 AM PST

Thanks for your answer Mr BK!
I like all the guilty pleasures in the first two posts.
XANADU - I love the music and the dancing!
Troy Donahue in ROME ADVENTURE especially because of the music and the scenery over PARRISH, but that movie has Connie Stevens and Claudette Colbert! I would also add SUSAN SLADE and YOUNGBLOOD HAWKE to make a quartet of Delmer Daves 1960's movies that I always enjoy watching!
I have only seen THE YELLOW ROLLS ROYCE once, and don't remember much about it.
GOODBYE MR CHIPS - ah yes, we have discussed this before here at HHW! O'Toole and Clark are so good and convincing as an unlikely couple...and I really enjoy the Bricusse score.
But to have one all my own, it would have to be HARLOW with Miss Carroll Baker and VALLEY OF THE DOLLS with Misses Patty Duke, Barbara Parkins, Sharon Tate, AND starring Miss Susan Hayward as Helen Lawson...baby!
Posted by Jrand52 @ 06/05/2003 09:39 AM PST

BK, I do read the notes everyday! But until I saw the pics MS posted of the recording session, I did not know what the cd was called (and I'm still not sure when it comes out). I just kept reading here about "the cd". Sorry, I must have forgotten or misplaced the info.
I have a question for everyone. The pics and diary of the recording session that Michael posted yesterday are in red writing on top of black (i guess for the spooky effect). While, I can read it when it's in bold, I find it very hard to look at otherwise. Is it just me or do others have this problem too? I ended up just highlighting the text with my mouse so it would be blue on white.
Btw, speaking of Bollywood movies, I saw my first one last weekend, Bollywood/Hollywood. It sounds quite similar to The Guru that BK described. I had heard a lot about these types of movies and was curious to see what one would be like. Mine was okay. I guess it could have been a bit heavier on plot. And i wish the musical numbers were more elaborate. But the concept is interesting.
Jennifer
Posted by Jennifer @ 06/05/2003 09:57 AM PST

Jrand52 and LuLu: Ooh! Ooh! I just had a flashback to my Indianoplace days!!!
"Don's Guns" TV ads!
And Don's famous closing line on each ad: "I love to sell guns!"
Is old Don still doing business????
Posted by Ron Pulliam @ 06/05/2003 10:00 AM PST

Yes, Ron - he is. Though his commercials run much less frequently now - and he has fewer locations. He will also now give you a free stungun for the little woman when you buy a .38 special.
Posted by Jrand52 @ 06/05/2003 10:03 AM PST

Speaking of Bollywood, yesterday I finally caught up with "Shakespeare Wallah," which may have been the film that first introduced the concept of Indian musicals to American and British audiences. "Shakespeare Wallah" was the break-through film for Merchant-Ivory in 1965 and introduced Felicity Kendal to films. She and her family were part of a touring Shakespearean acting troupe in India during the post-WWII years and Felicity's character falls in love with a rich playboy who is also dating a major Bollywood star! The one musical number in the film must have seemed funny at the time, but it seems quite typical of Indian musicals now.
Posted by OM Time @ 06/05/2003 10:07 AM PST

BK - Is THE GURU you watched the Merchant/Ivory film from the late 60s with Rita Tushingham and Michael York or some other film using the same title?
Rupert Holmes - who wrote one of the KRITZERLAND blurbs - has his own novel coming out next month. It's called WHERE THE TRUTH LIES and is a fictionalized version of when Rupert worked with Barbra. I wonder if a blurb from BK appears on the cover.
Posted by William E. Lurie @ 06/05/2003 10:16 AM PST

Jrand52: How very droll! : )
It was the stun gun concept that reminded me of Don. We are having a sensor installed in a major entry that is not always attended. We gan joking with the installer that what we really needed was something that would stun someone entering the office uninvited. I then flashed on the first time I'd heard of a stun gun and saw Don's beaming face...and the "I just love to sell guns" came flooding back!
Ahh...mid-western memories!
Some scary news: I visited the Kristin Chenoweth site and learned a couple of performances of "Wicked" were cancelled because Ms. Chenoweth had a knee injury. Haven't heard why her understudy didn't go on. The show is technically in preview status until June 10 when a critics performance will be given.
Posted by Ron Pulliam @ 06/05/2003 10:27 AM PST

I LOVED "The Guru" - that would definately be a guilty pleasure. Same with the TV show "The Nanny". Along with "Xanadu", "Rollercoaster" and "The Pirate Movie"
I just LOVE bad movies/theatre. Oh wait, I don't consider "The Nanny" bad movies or theatre, or even bad TV, just a guilty pleasure.
Posted by Matthew @ 06/05/2003 10:28 AM PST

I LOVED "The Guru" - that would definately be a guilty pleasure. Same with the TV show "The Nanny". Along with "Xanadu", "Rollercoaster" and "The Pirate Movie"
I just LOVE bad movies/theatre. Oh wait, I don't consider "The Nanny" bad movies or theatre, or even bad TV, just a guilty pleasure.
Posted by Matthew @ 06/05/2003 10:28 AM PST

Sorry for the double post!
Posted by Matthew @ 06/05/2003 10:29 AM PST

Actually I'm a day behind on reading the cast recordings list and the info i wanted was mentioned by Max Preeo:
The Bruce Kimmel-produced CD mentioned here and on other chat groups is a project in conjunction with SCARLET STREET, "The Magazine of Mystery and Horror."

Available around August, initially through the magazine's website (scarletstreet.com), this fun collection will feature Kimmel's band of "usual suspects" (with some cast surprises) performing songs from horror/mystery movies including THE BLOB, THE UNIVITED ("Stella by Starlight"), WHATEVER HAPPENED TO BABY JANE?, WHO KILLED TEDDY BEAR?, and others. A six-month web exclusive for SCARLET STREET, the CD will eventually be relaunched on Kimmel's own label.
Posted by Jennifer @ 06/05/2003 10:29 AM PST

No, this Guru is not that Guru - this Guru stars Heather Graham, Marisa Tomei and Jimi Mistry.
I didn't think that's what Rupert's book was about (at least from a description I read), but maybe I'm wrong. And no, I'm sure he has blurbs from better than the likes of me.
Posted by bk @ 06/05/2003 10:35 AM PST

Oh, BK, I'm so glad you mentioned Union Square Cafe. I forgot to mention on the day we mentioned favorite restaurants. I don't eat there often, owing to budget restraints, but it is, IMHO, one of the best restaurants I have ever been to.
Guilty Pleasures: Boys in the Band, Valley of the Dolls, Cybil (the television series from the late 90s), The Love Boat, On a Clear Day, At Long Last Love (another Cybil), Willie Wonka and the Chocolate Factory, the song YMCA by Village People, polka music. Whew, this list is getting long. I'll stop before I think that I have nothing more to do than watch movies and listen to strange music.
Posted by Ben @ 06/05/2003 10:39 AM PST

Hey can we add tv guilty pleasures? If so, we all know what mine are: REALITY TV :)
Posted by Jennifer @ 06/05/2003 10:49 AM PST

Wow, Jrand and RP...I've been having kind of a crummy day, but mention of Don and the Don's Guns commercials put a smile on my face. His whole tagline is "I don't wanna make any money...I just love to sell guns, heh-heh-heh." Sometimes he even does a little making-his-hand-into-a-gun-and-pulling-the-trigger thing while he says it. My aunt DESPISES this man and would avert her gaze whenever he came on the television.
RP: Do you also remember Dave Mason Buick ads? "Because ol' Dave needs the money...THAT'S why!" and "Nobody will give you a better deal on new or used cars...Nooooooooooooooo-body!" God, I love zany local television. It is truly a dying art.
Guilty pleasures: Many of the ones already named, especially Can't Stop the Music, Xanadu, and Rollercoaster (though I haven't had the pleasure yet of viewing Susan Slade...I hear it's one of John Waters' favorite films and I would *kill* to see it!). Add to the list:
Towering Inferno
Poseidon Adventure
(yes, I know these films were hits when they came out, but would we consider them to be well-regarded today? Hardly!)
Any Ed Wood film made in the '50s
Flash Gordon
(the deLaurentiis one from 1980. It's really dreadful, but the art direction, costumes, etc., are superlative. Of course, that's not the only reason I enjoy it, but I just wanted y'all to know that.)
Remo Williams: The Adventure Begins
(Joel Grey as a million-year-old shriveled-up prune of a Korean martial arts master says to Fred Ward, "You move like a pregnant yak!", among other things.)
Clue
("I hated her SO...much!...Flames...on the side of my face...heaving...breathing...heaving breaths...")
Solarbabies
(okay, admittedly, I haven't seen this one in eons, but it used to be on HBO CONSTANTLY...or maybe I was just having an extended fever dream? Can anybody verify that this film - Jamie Gertz is an apocolyptic orphan living on a water-starved planet and oh yeah...she goes everywhere on roller skates - really exists?)
And finally, the ULTIMATE guilty pleasure (drumroll):
MIDNIGHT MADNESS!!!!
Yes, BK, your close personal friend is responsible for one of the best-loved cult films of my generation. I can quote endlessly from this classic (but will wisely and kindly refrain from doing so). Well, sorta. Okay, I'll keep it down to one word: FAGABEEFE. 'nuff said.
Posted by Lulu @ 06/05/2003 10:58 AM PST

Lulu - Oh no! Is CLUE really to
be regarded as a guilty
pleasure? If so, color me very
guilty. One of my all-time
faves! Can't go wrong with
Madeline Kahn and Eileen
Brennan, not to mention Tim
Curry and the rest of the
wonderful cast!
Uh-uh, even if you were
right, it would be 1+1+2+1, not
1+2+1+1.
Posted by Jed @ 06/05/2003 11:08 AM PST

To find out why the first hour of the Tonys should have remained on PBS, click on my name.
Posted by Isabelle Stevenson @ 06/05/2003 11:11 AM PST

Actually, per the article I, Rupert's novel is more about the period he was working with Ms. Streisand than Ms. Streisand herself, but she is there in spirit (albeit disguised). I think it's one of those books where you will be able to figure out who the characters are based on rather without names being named. And BK, don't claim that better people than you will give their blurbs. You are the best, so how can anyone be better?
Posted by William E. Lurie @ 06/05/2003 11:16 AM PST

Well, Jed, there are degrees of guilt, y'know. I don't think we need to feel as guilty about Clue as we would about, say, Can't Stop the Music.
"Wadsworth, am I right in thinking there is nobody else in this house?"

"No."

"Then there IS someone else in this house?"

"No, sorry. I said no, meaning yes."

"'NO meaning YES'? Look, I want a straight answer!"
"Certainly." [clears throat.] "What was the question?"
"Is there someone else, or isn't there?!? Yes or no?"

"No."
"No there is, or no there isn't?"

"Yes."
Posted by Lulu @ 06/05/2003 11:17 AM PST

"It is unclear how this will effect red carpet coverage..."
A sparkling prize to the dear reader who can point out the boo-boo in the above sentence that came direct from broadway.com.
Posted by Lulu @ 06/05/2003 11:23 AM PST

It should read, "It is unclear how this will AFFECT red carpet coverage."
Posted by Jason @ 06/05/2003 11:30 AM PST

Bing bing bing!!! We have a winner! Jason, you are now the proud owner of...
*A BRAND NEW CAR!!!" (imagine Johnny Olsen saying this...not Rod Roddy.)
Naturally, it's a virtual car, not a real one - but you'd be amazed how this keeps your expenses down. No fuel, no insurance...and you don't even have to pay taxes on it! PLUS, it's available in the make, model, and color of your choosing!
Enjoy. :)
Posted by Lulu @ 06/05/2003 11:33 AM PST

"It is unclear how this will effect red carpet coverage..."
should read:
"It is unclear how this will affect red carpet coverage..."
Now, where's my prize? (ooh, an ASSASSINS reference!)
Posted by Dave @ 06/05/2003 11:35 AM PST

Curses! Foiled again.
Must...type...faster...
Posted by Dave @ 06/05/2003 11:36 AM PST

Maybe they bought too much and it should read: "It is unclear how this will effect [sic] the red carpet overage."
Posted by Jrand52 @ 06/05/2003 11:39 AM PST

OK, thanks to Jed I am now in the grip of Clue Fever. Yessir, I am in a veritable Clue tizzy, I'm Mad About the Clue, and everything is Clue-riffic! Stop me, before I quote again!
"Professor Plum, you were once a professor of psychiatry specializing in paranoid and homicidal lunatics suffering from delusions of grandeur."
"Yes, but now I work for the United Nations."
"So your work hasn't changed."
Posted by Lulu @ 06/05/2003 11:40 AM PST

Dave, we don't want you to go home empty-handed, so the lovely Carol Merrill has some lovely parting gifts for you backstage...namely lovely Rice-a-Roni (the San Francisco treat) and a year's supply of lovely, lovely Turtle Wax.
*waves as Dave is escorted from the stage*
Posted by Lulu @ 06/05/2003 11:44 AM PST

This is why I love eBay:
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI
.dll?ViewItem&item=2931457201
(cut and paste...I broke it up so the site wouldn't go to Cinemascope.)
Posted by Lulu @ 06/05/2003 11:53 AM PST

DUH!!! I should've just done this in the first place. Click on my name to see the auction.
Posted by Lulu @ 06/05/2003 11:54 AM PST

Guilty pleasures. Ahhh, what a delightful topic.
Madame X - All-time guilty pleasure. Miss Lana Turner at her best. John Forsythe as the husband who sees through her bad make-up to recognize his one great love. Constance Bennett as the ultimate evil mother-in-law. And, let us not forget Keir Dullea defending the tragic Madame X, never knowing that she is really his mother, who gave up everything to protect him.
Summer Place - A close second. Troy and Sandra, along with Richard Egan and Dorothy McGuire. Illicit sex, forbidden love…. All the things that make life worth living.
Add me to the list of Goodbye Mr. Chips fans. It is one of my favorite movie musicals, but it is so hard to find a copy, and, of course, there is no DVD (that I know of).
I will pass on both Yellow Rolls Royce and Xanadu not because I am any kind of cinema snob (or should that be sinema snob?). I just was bored to death by both of them.
One more guilty pleasure is The Big Bus. Apparently not everyone shares my sense of humor when it comes to disaster film send-ups. However, I still fall over laughing, every time I watch it.
Posted by TCB @ 06/05/2003 12:06 PM PST

Lulu: Thanks for the link to the eBay "Ghost in a Jar" auction! What a HOOT!
There's a movie in there, somewhere!
I DO remember "ol' Dave"! Thanks for the memories!
Posted by Ron Pulliam @ 06/05/2003 12:17 PM PST

Bruce, I think Cindy Williams is hilarious! I hoped she was as fun in real life as she is in reel life!
Just about all of my favorite movies and TV shows are guilty pleasures, it would seem...and here are the tops:
BEYOND THE VALLEY OF THE DOLLS ...what great music and what a bizarre movie!
ATTACK OF THE PUPPET PEOPLE ...I watch this movie at least once a year! And it has been my fave since I was in 2nd grade.
ALL THAT HEAVEN ALLOWS ...colorful and entertaining
JAPANESE WAR BRIDE ...Don Taylor brings Shirley Yamaguchi home to meet the folks, and all heck breaks loose!
And lastly, any and all of the 1960s Hercules/Samson/Ursus/Maciste films!
Posted by MBarnum @ 06/05/2003 12:25 PM PST

Lulu - is that Ron Popeil's Ghost in a Jar?
I will miss the Unseemly Chat tonight, just as it starts I will be welcoming the audience to the opening night performance of South Pacific!
Positive vibes from all H/K would be most appreciated!
Posted by Jrand52 @ 06/05/2003 12:27 PM PST

TCB - the last ten minutes of MADAME X is my favorite Lana Turner performance!
In her review of the film, Pauline Kael said: "Lana Turner is not Madame X, she is Brand X."
Wonder how many of Lana's movies are still in print and selling, and how many of Kael's books are the same?
Posted by Jrand52 @ 06/05/2003 12:29 PM PST

....which just goes to show that Americans would rather watch trashy movies than read. ;-)
Posted by Dave @ 06/05/2003 12:35 PM PST

Send me a man - who reads?
Posted by Helen Gurley Brown @ 06/05/2003 12:37 PM PST

Watch what you call trash, buddy.
Posted by Estelle Anderson @ 06/05/2003 12:45 PM PST

Hello everybody,
I'm back from my own trip to New York, which was terrific. BK, I'm glad you had a swell trip too and are safely back in CA. I only wish I had been a fly (cult movie reference?) on the wall for that recording session. Or better yet a butterfly, because flies are ugly.
I have a lot of guilty pleasures--I never fail to watch "Grease" or "The Rocky Horror Picture Show" when they air on TV. And when I'm bored and up late, I'll watch Nick at Night, bad shows like the young, faux-nerdy Sarah Jessica Parker in "Square Pegs."
I'm kind of too scared to rent "Xanadu." Do I really want to see Gene Kelly in a disco musical?
Sorry I'm going to have to miss the chat tonight...I was looking forward to my first one. Well, maybe next week.
Posted by Maya @ 06/05/2003 01:20 PM PST

RP: Apparently you're not the only one who thinks the Ghost in a Jar will make a great movie. Click on my name for the scoop!
Posted by Lulu @ 06/05/2003 01:33 PM PST

Due to a lack of sleep last night and a slow start this morning, I just returned from taking Echo for a walk. Way too late during a heat wave! I just about dragged myself home. Last night I lost all sense of time while taking a trip down memory lane with Benjamin as my tour guide. I especially loved the bigger than life family descriptions and had to laugh quietly as not to wake Keith. I'm looking forward to reading the third book.
Guilty pleasures-silly romantic movies.
Posted by Jane @ 06/05/2003 01:37 PM PST

Perish the thought that I be errant and truant, or even truant and errant, but the villian this time is my own internet provider. I was without my e-lifeline for over 48 hours!! And what's this I now hear about an impromptu chat this evening? Sadly, I will not be available. But I promise I'll join in next time. (Please, a little more advance notice, minstrel?)
Posted by Susan @ 06/05/2003 01:50 PM PST

With all due respect to our friends from Oz, I didn't see any claims by the Ausse dude/dudette that he holds any legal claims to them. Whoever registerst he title with the U.S. patent office gets full rights to the use of the "title" unless someone takes on the financial burden of suing to claim the rights.
That said, what's the real legal dope on this issue from some of our more "legalwise" HHW brethren?
Posted by Ron Pulliam @ 06/05/2003 01:50 PM PST

p.s.
I'm with Jane on those romantic love stories. They get me every time!
:-)
Posted by Susan @ 06/05/2003 01:51 PM PST

Since when does purchasing movie rights to a project come with an already written script?? I was hoping to bring in M. Night Shyamalan to both direct and to write the screenplay for "Ghost in a Jar".
DR Jrand - I am keeping good vibes for you all day today regarding "South Pacific", or at least until my call for Dolly (not quite a Jerry Herman reference) at 6:30 tonight. As of midnight last night, the actress playing Dolly still had only one costume that fit.
Posted by TCB @ 06/05/2003 01:57 PM PST

Have not had time to read today's notes yet (or posts). I will do so in about six hours.
Debbie Burton released a single (MGM) of "Whatever Happened To Baby Jane" which included Bette Davis lines too. The "flip" side was "I've Written A Letter"
I shall be truant for most of the day as I am driving a friend to hospital.
Posted by Tom from Oz @ 06/05/2003 02:21 PM PST

What do you want to bet that PBS will get the broadcast rights back for the first 10 Tonys next year? I'm predicting that the League and Wing are going to be so unhappy with what CBS is doing with that extra hour that they'll petition CBS to give PBS back those first awards. I'm very disappointed all the awards aren't going to be done live for us to see.
Guilty pleasures: Anything by Joan Crawford after her Warner years, but particularly the melodramatic TORCH SONG and FEMALE ON THE BEACH.
I really dislike XANADU. My favorite disco musical is THANK GOD, IT'S FRIDAY which features a zippy score including the Oscar-winning "Last Dance," my choice for the best disco song ever written.
Posted by Matt H. @ 06/05/2003 02:34 PM PST

Chat in just about three hours.
Posted by bk @ 06/05/2003 02:50 PM PST

Good afternoon/early evening...
Just wanted to chime in right now - I think that was a high B-flat - and say HI, and to tell you that I won't be able to be at the chat tonight - and I really, REALLY wish I could be there. So much stuff about the recording session, Joe Allen, NYC, etc., I'm sure will be discussed. Hmm.. Maybe someone can archive it for me. ;-)
In any case, I'm home between shows, and just wanted to check in, and now I'm off again...
-Oh, and if my memory serves me correctly, I shall be meeting new DR Maya tonight! A little mini-H/K get together!
Later folks!
Posted by Jose C. Simbulan @ 06/05/2003 03:03 PM PST

I have another guilty pleasure to add, as my 8th graders reminded me today in front of 200 people that one of my passions, and in this circle and others I'm SURE a guilty pleasure is Jim Hensons/Disney's "Bear in the Big Blue House" I admit, I LOVE Bear.
Can't join the chat, I'll be retreating into "The Secret Garden" this eve and for the next few nights. Keyboard 1 is really fun, I'm looking forward to it.
Posted by Matthew @ 06/05/2003 03:21 PM PST

I might have said "Xanadu," but from the posts so far, it's starting to sound like more of a hit than a guilty pleasure.
So for my guilty pleasure movie I'm selecting "The Adventure of Sherlock Holmes' Smarter Brother." I find it to be one of the best of the non-Mel-Brooks Mel-Brooks-type movies. It is by no means a classic, and doesn't even completely work as a movie, but it features Wilder, Feldman and Kahn at the peak of their comic powers. If you can't get enough of "Young Frankenstein" or "Blazing Saddles," but you've seen them both too many times, this is a good alternative. It also has a lovely Elgar-inspired score by John Morris and some charming old English music hall numbers.
As far as musical guilty pleasures, I submit for your consideration the entire singing career of Leonard Nimoy. I fear I am alone on this one.
Posted by Sigerson Holmes @ 06/05/2003 03:44 PM PST

In the middle of the earth in the land of the Shire
lives a brave little hobbit whom we all admire.
With his long wooden pipe, fuzzy, woolly toes,
he lives in a hobbit-hole and everybody knows him
Bilbo! Bilbo! Bilbo Baggins
He's only three feet tall
Bilbo! Bilbo! Bilbo Baggins
The bravest little hobbit of them all
Posted by Leonard Nimoy @ 06/05/2003 04:23 PM PST

CLUE is a hoot! I love seeing Tim Curry running around, explaining the murders...great cast.
Guilty Pleasures? Sure, lots, but can't tell about some...in the movie category, it's got to be TUFF TURF, tho.
Posted by KT @ 06/05/2003 04:26 PM PST

Guilty pleasures? For movies: Thank God It's Friday, Xanadu, The Adventure of Sherlock Holmes' Smarter Brother, The Last Remake of Beau Geste and At Long Last Love (I've got the album…an Oh, Brother! reference). For theater: I really like Oh, Brother! (based on recording only, of course). I guess the show itself was pretty bad.
I won't be able to make the chat tonight. I have to leave work early and won't be able to make it back home in time.
Posted by George @ 06/05/2003 04:45 PM PST

Sorry I will have to miss my first chat. Unfortunately, I will be leaving to perform in a show that I am sure BK would be interested in -- The First Nudie Dolly
Posted by TCB @ 06/05/2003 05:29 PM PST

I made the type on the cd page a little bigger so I hope it will be easier to read and with a helpful suggestion from DR Craig I went in and fix the photos as well. Click on my name if you want to see the page.
Posted by Michael Shayne @ 06/05/2003 05:41 PM PST

If you want to know about Doctor's Hospital and John Pleshette click on my name.
Posted by Michael Shayne @ 06/05/2003 05:43 PM PST

BK! I thought of Liz Callaway also for THE OMEN's song!
Add me to the XANADU fans, though I missed its NYC premiere by choosing to second act THE BEST LITTLE WHOREHOUSE IN TEXAS that night. . .
VALLEY OF THE DOLLS get me everytime! I love it when Ms. O'Hara gets up to sing in the sanitorium!
AT LONG LAST LOVE, I did see on its opening night. I like the cut that appears on Cinemax better though.
Does CALIGULA count as a guilty pleasure? There's nothing like watching Peter O'Toole and Malcolm MacDowell walking past all the pornographic goings on, then reading their comments that they had no idea it was THAT kind of movie. Ah, well, Sir John G. adds a touch of class, as does the ever-watchable Helen Mirren.
LITZSOMANIA & THE MUSIC LOVERS - I love Ken Russell films, but, these two. . .whoah, baby!
But, I guess my real guilty pleasure is DUDE, WHERE'S MY CAR? I don't know why, but it makes me laugh everytime!
Posted by td @ 06/05/2003 06:01 PM PST

I tried to log into chat at 9:01 and it was not yet open. I just wanted to say that I will be joinging chat a little late today. I hope it will be open by then.
Posted by William E Lurie @ 06/05/2003 06:01 PM PST

What's up? I keep trying to get into the chat room, and it continues to disconnect me (three tries and counting).
Posted by Lulu @ 06/05/2003 06:01 PM PST

Chat is open. Come on in.
Posted by bk @ 06/05/2003 06:02 PM PST

I came late to the chat and only Dear Reader Laura was in. We had sparkling chat on our own. Noel joined for a few minutes, then we all left. Until the next time.
Posted by George @ 06/05/2003 09:06 PM PST

I had a great time in chat earlier, and it reminded me that another one of my greatest guilty pleasures is William Friedkin's CRUISING. I happened to think of it, because only today, my mail lady dropped off a winning package from Ebay: 16 mint lobby cards from CRUISING and DARLING LILI! Quite a duo, there.
Posted by td @ 06/05/2003 09:44 PM PST

Dang it! Another chat missed!
I thought tonight was going to
be a good chat night for me,
but I've been recruited to fill out
the bass section for a
performance of Carmina
Burana tomorrow night, and I
was off at a rehearsal.
For Lulu:
"How many husbands have
you had?"
"Mine or other women's?"
"Yours."
"Five."
"Five?"
"Yes, just the five. I feel
husbands should like
Kleenex: soft, strong, and
disposable."
Posted by Jed @ 06/05/2003 10:22 PM PST

Why and how can anyone count Goodbye Mr. Chips as a guilty pleasure? The film is wonderful, it's the audiences that were terrible. Besides, if anyone bothered to catch the AFI special on Tuesday, they'd have noted that Mr. Chipping was included in their list of Fifty Greatest Movie Heroes...and backed up that listing with shots of both Robert Donat AND Peter O'Toole playing the part! (Everyone knows that Mr. Chipping was Atticus Finch's Latin professor, back when Atticus was a foreign exchange student, right?)
Posted by S. Woody White @ 06/05/2003 11:11 PM PST

"A Little Night Music" is a guilty pleasure of mine. I plead guilty to being the owner of videos of Cliff Richard's "Heathcliff" and Barry minlow's "Copacabana". Guilt but not pleasure.
Posted by Tom from Oz @ 06/05/2003 11:13 PM PST

A film that DOES count as a guilty pleasure, for me, is the original Rollerball. Any film where the hero's best bud is named "Moonpie" automatically fits into guilty pleasure territory.
Posted by S. Woody White @ 06/05/2003 11:13 PM PST

Jed:
"...and why are you receiving phone calls from J. Edgar Hoover?"
"J. Edgar Hoover?!?"
"That's right. The head of the Federal Bureau of Investigation."
"Why is J. Edgar Hoover on your phone?"
"He's on everyone else's, why shouldn't he be on mine?"
Posted by Lulu @ 06/06/2003 07:23 AM PST

Oh, just one more:
"Communism was just a red herring."
Posted by Lulu @ 06/06/2003 07:24 AM PST

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