Well, dear readers, I am sitting here like so much fish, listening to a band and Swingle Singers-type cover album for Legrand’s Les Demoiselles de Rochefort. This came out a few years ago and I totally forgot it even existed. Lots of fun and, of course, those Legrand tunes can’t be beat. I did manage to watch two motion picture last night in between sessions of dozing off due to six days in a row of five or six hours of not enough sleep. The first motion picture was entitled Flesh and Fantasy, one of those portmanteau movies with several different stories. I’d never seen it but have always wanted to. It’s not quite the classic people seem to think it is – the role model for this type of film is Dead of Night. But there’s much to like in Flesh and Fantasy, including some wonderful performances. The wraparound story that launches us into each tale features the witty Robert Benchley. There was originally a fourth segment, which Universal cut, then later with additional footage turned into a separate film called Destiny. The first story is excellently done – beautifully shot and directed and with a wonderful performance by Betty Field. Also starring is Robert Cummings. The second story is also okay and it leads directly into the third story, which features the best performance – Barbara Stanwyck – and also, for me, a performance that just grates on me by Charles Boyer – whose appeal I’ve never understood, although I do like him in Barefoot in the Park. Julien Duvivier directed – a wonderful French director and visual stylist, and the score by Alexandre Tansman is very good. It actually made me want to watch Dead of Night. The second movie was entitled Night of the Eagle aka Burn, Witch, Burn. The original title is better for reasons that are readily apparent when watching the film, but Burn, Witch, Burn isn’t a cheat – it’s a line spoken in the film. The screenplay credit is impressive – Charles Beaumont, Richard Matheson, and George Baxt adapting Fritz Lieber’s Conjure Wife – and the film is well directed by Sidney Hayers. Anyway, I used to own a 16mm print and I’ve always enjoyed the movie. The US version (Burn, Witch, Burn) features a prologue over black spoken by Paul Frees doing his best Orson Welles – it’s pretty hilarious and terrible at the same time. Thankfully, the Night of the Eagle version doesn’t have that – that’s the only difference between the two versions. Janet Blair has always seemed an odd choice for leading lady, but she’s fine. For me, the creepiest thing in the entire film is a character who’s wearing a mohair sweater. Lordy, I remember owning one in the early 1960s and HATING it – itchy, weird-looking, bleccch. And they still make them and apparently, they’re popular with the hipster crowd. Go know.
Otherwise, I got the usual five hours of sleep, got up, answered e-mails, and listed about twenty CDs on eBay all throughout the day. I will now take a bit of a break and then dive into a new batch, some OOP stuff. For food, I was just in a McDonald’s mood even though I don’t care for it much – had a Big Mac and Filet-o-Fish – both were fine. I had a few telephonic conversations and then had a couple of small appetizer things from the Cheesecake Factory – they were good and very small but not anything I need to have again. The Darling Daughter’s in town, so we’ll be seeing each other. Then I watched the movies, dozed for about two hours, took all pills, and here we are.
Today, I’ll be up by ten and I’ll be on my way to the eye doctor at 11:45 – hopefully, any traffic will have abated by then. Appointment is at 1:15 and I should be out of there and on the way home about thirty minutes later IF he’s on time. Last time he was behind by twenty minutes. Once home, I’ll text the Darling Daughter and see if she wants to come over and have some food and a visit. I think she’s here for a week. I won’t be listing anything today, and I’m hoping we can set our casting dates and announce them – I believe it will be around October 8, so that’s coming up very quickly. Time does fly. Then at some point, I’ll watch, listen, and relax.
Tomorrow, it will be back to listing stuff – I’ll probably only put up another ten CDs total, then start thinking about the fun stuff, the memorabilia, the kind of thing everyone loves from the Indiegogo campaigns. Friday, I attend an opening night, and then I think the weekend is pretty free, but more tracks will be coming and then we’ll routine act two and get those done in the nick of time for the cast to get them and get familiar with their music.
Well, dear readers, I must take the day, I must do the things I do, I must, for example, be up by ten and on my way at 11:45, have an appointment, come home, perhaps have a visit with the Darling Daughter, and a meal, and then I can watch, listen, and relax. Today’s topic of discussion: It’s Ask BK Day, the day in which you get to ask me or any dear reader any old question you like and we get to give any old answer we like. So, let’s have loads of lovely questions and loads of lovely answers and loads of lovely postings, shall we, whilst I hit the road to dreamland, where I shall probably have nightmares about a mohair sweater.