Category: Blogathon

Categories
Blogathon Favorite Modern Movies (post-1980)

The Seventh “So Bad It’s Good” Blogathon–Xanadu (1980) & Road House (1989)

The 1980s ushered in the era of the blockbuster, a type of film with an entirely different filmmaking philosophy than the eras that preceded it. The Golden Age of Hollywood (1927-1968), was the period of the studio system and production code. While this period did produce many of Hollywood’s most beloved films and stars, it was definitely not an era that encouraged individualism and art. While money is the main goal of most film productions, in the Golden Age, it was the only goal. No matter how creative or avant-garde a film might have been, if it didn’t turn a profit, Hollywood executives didn’t care. Too many failed projects, and the star would be labeled “box office poison,” and kicked to the curb.

By the late 1960s, with the fall of the studio system and implementation of the modern ratings system, the New Hollywood movement took off. This movement brought a lot of more contemporary themes to the big screen like Vietnam, and the women’s rights movement. Young Hollywood filmmakers like Steven Spielberg and Martin Scorsese, free from the rigid production code adhered to by their Golden Age predecessors, were able to take more risks with their themes and content. Growing advances in computers and technology led to more advanced filmmaking, seen in films like Star Wars and Close Encounters of the Third Kind, both released in 1977. The new Hollywood films of the 1970s often were more gritty, more realistic and presented a less glamorous side of life.

Olivia Newton-John in just one of her many costume changes in the finale in “Xanadu”

The 1980s ushered in the age of the blockbuster–films that were specifically made to appeal to the mass audience’s senses and yield the highest box office. Gone were the convoluted plots of the film noir of the 1940s. Gone were the experimental films of New Hollywood. While there were definitely outliers, many of the 1980s films didn’t have the heavy, dreary plots of their 1970s predessors. Plots were simple, but entertaining. Comedians like Steve Martin, Rick Moranis, Christopher Guest, John Candy, Dan Aykroyd, Rodney Dangerfield, and Eddie Murphy (to name a few), were given the chance to star in hilarious comedies that exhibited their unique type of comedy. Action stars like Murphy (Beverly Hills Cop), Bruce Willis (Die Hard), and Mel Gibson (Lethal Weapon) were popular for their action-packed, but also funny, series of films.

The content of films featuring teenagers changed (simultaneously for better and for worse) as they featured more realistic plots such as in Valley Girl (1983) and Fast Times at Ridgemont High (1982), but were also made to appeal to adult men, which was definitely a step in the wrong direction. Actors who were part of the “Brat Pack” (Demi Moore, Ralph Macchio, Molly Ringwald, Rob Lowe, Emilio Estevez, Jon Cryer, Anthony Michael Hall, Andrew McCarthy, to name a few) were featured heavily in teen films of the era. Also featured heavily in 1980s films was music.

Olivia Newton-John, Gene Kelly, and Michael Beck in “Xanadu”

Soundtracks in the 1980s really upped their ante with film after film being chockful of catchy tunes and themes written for the film (“Ghostbusters” and “Axel F,” anyone?). Pop singers and bands were recruited by filmmakers to contribute one or more tunes to the soundtrack. Other films featured soundtracks comprised of a dozen or more popular songs, specifically chosen to fit the mood and tone of the scene. To finally get to the point in this article, two such films featured with excellent soundtracks are the “so bad, they’re good” Xanadu (1980) and Road House (1989) which bookended the decade and showed the complete shift from the late 1970s-1980s era of disco and New Wave to the new Aqua Net enhanced hairy, yet grungy late 1980s.

In Xanadu, Olivia Newton-John, still riding the success of Grease (1978) from two years prior, starred as Kira, one of the nine muses of Olympus. One day in Los Angeles, Sonny Malone (Michael Beck), a struggling artist, tosses one of his failed sketches into the wind. It lands in front of a mural depicting the nine muses of Olympus, which suddenly comes alive. The other eight muses fly away, but Kira skates towards Sonny and kisses him.

Olivia Newton-John and Gene Kelly in Xanadu

Sonny’s job involves him painting album cover reproductions. He is tasked with painting an album cover for a group called “The 9 Sisters.” The cover features a mysterious woman standing in front of an Art Deco building. Sonny realizes that the mysterious woman is the woman who kissed him earlier. His boss states that she isn’t supposed to be on the cover and that she’s popped up in previous covers he’s done as well. Obviously the “mysterious woman” is Kira. Sonny manages to track her down and learns her name.

Sonny then meets Danny McGuire (Gene Kelly), a former clarinet player and orchestra leader. He is now a successful construction mogul. Danny and Sonny get to talking and Danny tells Sonny that in the 1940s, he fell in love with a big band singer who resembled Kira. Eventually Kira encourages the two men to open a nightclub together, Xanadu, inside the old abandoned Art Deco building seen in Sonny’s album cover.

Xanadu is ridiculous. The plot sounds good on paper, but wasn’t executed properly. The script apparently changed day-to-day, with parts even being written during filming (which worked for Casablanca; but it did not for Xanadu!). Parts of the story feel disjointed–especially the Don Bluth-animated sequence. The sequence was a shortcut the producers took to showcase an additional song and shoehorned it in–and it shows, horribly. However, the poor execution of everything is also what gives the film its charm.

Gene Kelly’s amazing “glitz makeover” in Xanadu

It is amazing that the film got Gene Kelly, even a legend in 1980, to appear in this film. Kelly is the highlight of this film. He more or less reprises his character from 1945’s Cover Girl, except obviously there is no mention of Rita Hayworth or Phil Silvers’ characters. Kelly appears in my favorite part of the movie, the “Glitz Makeover” scene, where he’s given a snappy new wardrobe, more in line with the film’s aesthetic. He is also given a chance to dance and performs a genuinely charming dance number with Olivia Newton-John. At the end of the film, he appears on roller skates at the opening of Xanadu. In a move that should surprise no one, Gene Kelly choreographed all his numbers and controlled the filming of his dance number with Newton-John. She called dancing with Kelly one of the highlights of her career. Despite the star power of Kelly and Newton-John, Xanadu ultimately failed at the box office. One big reason was that when the film went into production at the end of 1979 (alongside one of my other favorite “so bad, it’s good” films, Roller Boogie), roller disco was popular. By the beginning of 1980, the fickle audience hated roller disco.

Despite how one may feel about roller disco, what cannot be argued however, is the awesomeness of the soundtrack. Olivia Newton-John and her longtime producer/writer, John Farrar, and Electric Light Orchestra (ELO) both contributed about a half dozen songs to the bangin’ soundtrack. Newton-John’s “Magic,” “Suddenly” and the title track, “Xanadu” all come from this film. ELO was the perfect choice for this film as their style of music and image meshed perfectly with the New Wave, roller disco, fantasy aesthetic of Xanadu.

Patrick Swayze cleans up the town in “Road House”

Flash forward nine years. The 1980s are almost at a close with hair metal and glam rock on its way out and grunge is on its way in. Flannel and Doc Martens, fashion almost synonymous with the 1990s, has replaced the power suits of the 1980s. Also popular during this time is the Rockabilly look and the ever classic mullet. And let me tell you, nobody, NOBODY, has ever rocked the mullet better than Patrick Swayze in Road House. Kurt Russell in Big Trouble in Little China is a close second.

It can be argued that Road House is a modern version of the classic American Western, a film genre that was also making a comeback during the 1980s. In Road House, Swayze plays James Dalton, the professional bouncer who is hired by Frank Tilghmann, owner of the Double Deuce road house in Jasper, Missouri. To draw correlations between Road House and the Western, Dalton (as he’s known throughout the film) is more or less the sheriff brought in to clean up the town (aka the Double Deuce).

Patrick Swayze almost rips out someone’s throat in “Road House”

The beginning scenes of Road House feature an insanely rowdy bar, full of drunks, breaking the furniture and throwing things at the house band protected by a cage. These fight scenes are juxtaposed against the music coming from the amazing house band, led by blind guitarist, Jeff Healey. Healey and his band deliver a rendition of my favorite song by The Doors, “Roadhouse Blues.” Not to be outdone, Patrick Swayze also sings on the soundtrack (though he doesn’t perform at the road house). Much of the Road House soundtrack is comprised of rowdy classic rock songs and other popular music, including Otis Redding’s “These Arms of Mine,” Dion’s “Runaround Sue,” and Little Richard’s “Long Tall Sally.”

Dalton starts to clean up the rowdy bar by firing anyone who does not agree with his philosophy. He repeatedly coaches his employees to refrain from fighting, but isn’t above getting into brawls himself, as long as they’re outside. Road House is full of tons of amazing fight scenes, well choreographed and executed perfectly by Patrick Swayze, a professional dancer.

Patrick Swayze and Sam Elliott in “Road House”

Dalton makes a mistake however, when he fires the nephew of Brad Wesley (Ben Gazzara), a local businessman who essentially runs the town. He and his gang have a hold over all the other local businesses, and use their control to make demands. If the business owners fail to acquiesce, Brad and his gang will use violence to make sure that the business owner pays. Dalton solidifies his position as Brad’s #1 enemy by pursuing a romantic relationship with Dr. Elizabeth Clay (Kelly Lynch), to whom Brad is also attracted. Obviously, she is going to date Dalton. Who would turn down Patrick Swayze in his prime? Brad’s hatred of Dalton starts to hurt operations at the Double Deuce after Dalton gets it turned around.

Time for some eye candy! Patrick Swayze practices tai chi.

For his Doc Holliday, Dalton recruits his friend, Wade Garrett (Sam Elliott), a legendary bouncer known across the industry. Together, Dalton and Wade join forces to take down Brad and his gang. Sam Elliott sports great hair in this movie! Interspersed with the action scenes and fighting, are shots of Dalton practicing tai chi, which he does as a form of relaxation. I’m not a tai chi expert, I don’t know if Swayze is even doing it correctly. But it doesn’t even matter. These are shots fully intended to show off his bod. These scenes are for the ladies not digging the rowdy fighting scenes. Personally, I like both.

While Road House was ridiculed upon its release mainly for the emphasis on showing off Patrick Swayze’s body, and the gratuitous fighting scenes, crude language and dialogue. However, the gratuitous fight scenes, language, dialogue and Swayze’s body are the whole reasons to watch the film.

Are Xanadu and Road House good films? No. Probably not. Are they fun films? Yes. Both films are very fun, and in my book, if they’re fun, then they’re good. Sometimes an entertaining film is enough. Not every film needs to change the world.

RIP Gene Kelly, Olivia Newton-John, and Patrick Swayze.

Categories
Blogathon Favorite Classic Movies (Pre-1980) Favorite Performers

We Love Musicals Week Blogathon–Carmen Miranda

Happy Valentine’s Day from the snowy and icy Pacific Northwest! I’m currently snowed/iced into my house due to a storm that started yesterday morning. Thankfully, the storm has passed and now it’s just a matter of all this nonsense melting. Anyway, what better way to spend a snow day than talking about one of my favorite musical performers, Carmen Miranda?

Carmen Miranda in one of her signature fruit-covered turbans.

Despite being known as “The Brazilian Bombshell,” Carmen Miranda was actually born in Portugal in 1909. Her family emigrated to Rio de Janeiro, Brazil when Carmen was not even a year old. Carmen was named after Georges Bizet’s opera, Carmen, which Mr. Miranda loved. Despite her father’s affinity for music, Carmen was not encouraged to pursue show business. In fact, her father actually beat her when he discovered that she’d auditioned for a radio program.

However, Carmen was not deterred. In 1929, she released her first single and her second single the year after. After her first record sold 35,000 copies, Carmen was signed to a contract with RCA in 1930. Until moving to the United States in 1939, Carmen made her living in Brazil, appearing in films and on the radio. In 1939, she made her debut in New York in the Broadway play, “The Streets of Paris.” While her part was small, Carmen Miranda was a sensation on Broadway. This led to her Hollywood film debut in Down Argentine Way in 1940.

Lucy Ricardo impersonates Carmen Miranda

In Down Argentine Way, Carmen Miranda makes her screen debut playing herself alongside two of Fox’s biggest stars: Betty Grable and Don Ameche. She performs quite a few songs throughout the film, including “Bambú, Bambú,” “South American Way,” and “Mamãe Eu Quero.” “Mamãe Eu Quero” was memorably lip synced by Lucy Ricardo (Lucille Ball) in the third episode of I Love Lucy, “Be a Pal,” in 1951. In the episode, Lucy is convinced that Ricky is homesick and tries to bring Cuba home to him. Despite Carmen Miranda not being Cuban, the scene is hysterical when Lucy, dressed as Carmen, tries to keep up with a record that has gone haywire. Carmen Miranda not only gave her blessing to Lucy to imitate her; but she was also in the audience during the filming and loved Lucy’s performance.

Carmen continued to appear in Hollywood films, including That Night in Rio (1941) where she doesn’t play herself, but plays a character, albeit a character named Carmen. In this film, she is re-teamed up with Don Ameche, and plays his girlfriend. She has a larger role in this film. She has scenes to play, in addition to performing. It could be argued that Carmen Miranda’s performance is a stereotype of the fiery Latina character, popularized by Lupe Velez a decade prior. This would be a fair criticism; however, her musical performances are so much fun to watch that this flaw can be overlooked.

The original Chiquita Banana mascot styled after Carmen Miranda

Around 1944, Carmen Miranda’s icon status was cemented with the creation of the Chiquita Banana mascot. Chiquita Banana was created by comic strip artist, Dik Browne. She started as an animated banana who dressed in a gown and fruit hat. This image was inspired by Carmen Miranda’s most famous song, “The Lady in the Tutti Frutti Hat,” in the film, The Gang’s All Here (1943).

“The Lady in the Tutti Frutti Hat” number was staged by famed choreographer, Busby Berkeley (who choreographed my favorite musical, Gold Diggers of 1933) and is completely bananas. Carmen is festooned in a turban made of bananas and strawberries with a strawberry necklace around her neck. Her solid black gown is rather toned down with strawberry appliques scattered sporadically throughout her gown. Dancing around Miranda are chorus girls carrying enormous bananas. In true Busby Berkeley fashion, he uses the girls and bananas to create a visual spectacle–culminating with Miranda standing against a backdrop of bananas, giving the illusion that she’s wearing an enormous turban, with miles of bananas stacked on top.

Carmen Miranda in “The Lady in the Tutti Frutti Hat,” in “The Gang’s All Here.”

Part of Carmen Miranda’s success in Hollywood during the 1940s can be attributed to the “Good Neighbor Policy,” a program implemented by President Franklin D. Roosevelt to improve the relationship between the United States and Latin and South American countries. This policy encouraged Hollywood to set films in Latin and South America and to hire Latin or South American actors and performers. The idea was that it would promote and showcase Latin and South American culture and dispel the negative stereotypes that many Americans had of their neighbors to the south. Carmen was encouraged by the government to perform on the stage, on radio and in film, as a means to promote the Good Neighbor Policy.

Carmen Miranda’s attempts to promote the United States’ Good Neighbor Policy did not come without criticism however. Back in Brazil, her critics (mainly the Brazilian press), criticized her for encouraging American commercialism and projecting negative stereotypes. Some critics did not like her style of music and dance and others did not care for perpetuating the Latina bimbo stereotype. Despite Carmen’s success in American films, she was quickly losing fans in the Latin and South American countries. It’s ironic that in her attempt to promote the United States’ Good Neighbor Policy which sought to eliminate negative stereotypes, she fell out of favor with Latin and South America for becoming “too American” and projecting negative stereotypes. One of the main criticisms was that Carmen Miranda was promoting this region of the world as all the same, when obviously every country has their own culture and traditions.

Carmen Miranda without her signature look.

In typical Old Hollywood fashion (and maybe current Hollywood fashion too), their attempts at diversity fell short. Like so many non-white actors, or even white actors with “exotic” features, Carmen Miranda was cast as different nationalities, including Cuban. She, along with Fox, were criticized for their inaccurate portrayal of the Latin and South American countries. Down Argentine Way was denounced for failing to accurately portray Argentine culture. Weekend in Havana (1941), was condemned for its portrayal of Cuba. Carmen in particular was attacked for her failure to accurately perform Cuban dances when playing a character supposedly from Cuba. (Where’s Desi Arnaz when you need him?)

After World War II ended in 1945, Carmen Miranda started to lose popularity. The colorful, almost garish Fox musicals she was showcased in were now filmed in black and white. By 1946, she was no longer under contract to Fox and her film prospects were dwindling. Carmen tried to change her image to a comedienne, appearing in such films like Copacabana (1947) with Groucho Marx, but was unsuccessful. Her film image was now passé and she was cast more for a novelty, such as a Latina with broken English in films like A Date for Judy (1948) and Nancy Goes to Rio (1950).

By the mid-1950s, Carmen Miranda was mainly appearing in nightclubs and on television shows. On August 4, 1955, after an appearance on The Jimmy Durante Show, Carmen collapsed during filming. Despite offers from Durante to replace her, Carmen finished filming. Early the next morning at around 3am, while returning from the bathroom to her bedroom, Carmen suffered a heart attack, collapsed on the floor and died.

Today, Carmen Miranda is more remembered for her wacky fruit covered turbans and the inspiration for Chiquita Banana. However, despite the criticism she received from her native Brazil during her career, today she is considered an important figure from the Brazilian music scene. Her image, while often parodied, did introduce the United States and the world to Brazilian music and dance, as well as traditional clothing. In 1998, the intersection of Hollywood Boulevard and Orange Drive (across the street from Grauman’s Chinese Theatre) in Hollywood, CA was named “Carmen Miranda Square.” This is the spot where Carmen gave an impromptu performance on V-J Day, celebrating the official end of World War II. In 2011, Carmen Miranda was featured on a stamp celebrating Latin music legends, released by the United States Postal Service. More recently, Carmen was remembered during the athlete’s parade at the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro and in 2017, she was honored with an official Google Doodle.

Categories
Blogathon Favorite Classic Movies (Pre-1980)

The Journey to Italy Blogathon–“Purple Noon” (1960)

Based on Patricia Highsmith’s 1955 novel, The Talented Mr. Ripley, Purple Noon (1960), directed by Rene Clement, is a brightly colored, gorgeous, stunning looking film shot on location in various locales around Italy. The film’s saturated color palette is in direct contrast to the dark themes present in Highsmith’s novel. The Talented Mr. Ripley is about an American man, Tom Ripley, who is sent to Italy by his employer to retrieve his son, Dickie Greenleaf. Dickie is content on living a carefree life in Italy and does not wish to be part of his father’s business in San Francisco. Dickie’s father encourages Tom to use any means necessary to coax his son back to the United States.

Tom insinuates himself into Dickie’s life by pretending to be a former acquaintance. He spends much of the summer with Dickie and soon becomes obsessed with him and his carefree lifestyle. He starts learning how to mimic Dickie’s signature and later is caught wearing Dickie’s clothing. Later, Freddie Miles, an actual friend of Dickie’s arrives and Tom becomes jealous. Dickie’s girlfriend Marge is also present and feels left out as Tom and Dickie spend more time together. Sensing her unhappiness, Dickie starts to spend more time with Marge, which fuels Tom’s jealousy. Ultimately, this love triangle ends with Tom deciding to murder Dickie on a boat out in the open sea.

Yes!

This more or less is the beginning of Purple Noon. In the film, the name “Dickie” is switched to the more French-sounding “Philippe.” Tom (Alain Delon) and Philippe (Maurice Ronet) are seen carousing in Rome. They convince a blind man to sell his cane, which they then use to play tricks on the locals. Later, the two men decide to sail down to Taromina on the island of Sicily to meet Freddy. Philippe has grown tired of Tom’s presence and his constant fawning and is incredibly cruel to him on the boat. At one point, he gets Tom into a dinghy on the side of the boat and leaves him there. Tom’s dinghy breaks loose and he’s abandoned out at sea for hours until Philippe rescues him. Tom ends up sustaining a very serious sunburn which elicits the sympathy of Philippe’s girlfriend, Marge (Marie Laforet). Marge is on the voyage to take notes for a book she’s writing about Italian architecture.

This was a strange scene. Philippe walks in on Tom wearing his clothes and making out with his reflection. Also, Tom, never wear your hair like this again.

While on the boat, Tom makes a seemingly joking comment about how he is planning to kill Philippe and steal his identity. Amused and intrigued, Philippe asks for details. The two men are playing cards in the blazing hot sun out on the boat’s deck. What Philippe doesn’t know is that Tom has strategically hidden a knife under the cushion on his chair. When the opportunity strikes, Tom strikes. Philippe is killed. Tom wraps his body up in a cloth, and ties it to the ship’s anchor and drops it overboard.

The rest of the film involves Tom carrying out his plan to assume Philippe’s identity and later playing a cat and mouse game with the police. I find the scenes of Tom’s very meticulous crafting and planning to be fascinating. He softens a piece of wax and very adeptly uses it to copy the embossed seal on Philippe’s American passport. He rubs the copy against the corner of his own photo to mimic the look of Philippe’s passport. Tom then carefully removes Philippe’s photo and replaces it with his, with the embossed portion of the photo expertly lined up with the seal on the passport. He also buys a projector and projects Philippe’s very intricate signature up on the wall. Using a tool he built and some paper, Tom practices signing Philippe’s name in a fluid motion.

I’m not sure why she is so unhappy.

Tom then goes to work establishing himself as “Philippe Greenleaf.” He rents apartments and hotel rooms and tells people his name. The only person who he maintains his real identity with is Marge, whom he sees when he travels to Mongibello, where Philippe’s apartment is. Tom tells Marge that Philippe is in Rome and encourages her to visit him. She doesn’t have a presence throughout most of Tom’s deception; but does pop up occasionally to inquire about Philippe. At some point, Tom claims to have seen Philippe.

Eventually, as these things tend to go, Tom’s deception starts to fall apart and become more complicated. A ballet instructor who saw the real Philippe and Tom in Rome at the beginning of the film visits the same hotel where Tom is staying and is excited to learn that Philippe is staying there. Tom has to move out and find a new place. However, Philippe’s friend, Freddie, ends up finding that new place and Tom ends up killing him when Freddie starts to ask too many questions. Tom has a very trying time disposing of Freddie’s body.

Thank you to the film for giving the viewers what they wanted!

Meanwhile, the police are closing in and seem to be on Tom’s trail. After Freddie’s death, Tom becomes cocky, remembering that as far as anyone knew, he was still Philippe, so Philippe killed Freddie. The police inspector’s assessment that the fingerprints found in Freddie’s car are the same fingerprints found in Philippe’s apartment, only confirms Tom’s thought process. After this, he tries to unravel his web of lies by reinstating himself as Tom Ripley. He pens a suicide note from Philippe to rid himself of that identity. Now mourning over Freddie and Philippe’s deaths, Marge shows up and Tom uses her grief as the perfect time to make his move. Little does he know, the police still have him in their crosshairs.

This is a fantastic movie. The ending of Purple Noon greatly differs from Highsmith’s novel. At the end of the novel, Tom Ripley gets away with everything. However, in the film, while not seen on screen, it is easy to assume that Tom unwittingly walks into his arrest when the police use Marge’s maid to lure Tom into the home, by stating that he has a phone call. Highsmith wasn’t a fan of the ending; but loved Alain Delon as Tom Ripley. And why wouldn’t she?

Be still my heart!

Alain Delon is so impossibly hot in this film. He is just as breathtaking as the scenery. He is so hot, that it doesn’t even matter that he’s killed two people. The scene where he walks through town with his blazer thrown casually over his shoulder is so amazing. I could watch it on a loop. It doesn’t even matter that the film is in French and I don’t speak French (though obviously I read the subtitles). I could literally just watch Alain Delon for two hours. It doesn’t even matter what’s going on. I could watch him do something mundane like fold laundry and I would be enthralled.

Putting aside Delon’s looks for a second, as impossible a task at that seems, I wanted to give him credit for his acting and for Rene Clement’s directing. Tom Ripley could have been easily portrayed as a pathetic loser, a sad sack who wants to have everything and do nothing for earn it. At the beginning of the film, he as a little bit of that quality as he’s made out to be a bit of a lost puppy dog, helplessly following Philippe around. However, Delon makes Tom charming, even when he’s mooching off Philippe or emulating his hijinks in Rome. The beginning scene where Tom shows off his skill in forging Philippe’s incredibly intricate signature shows that he’s calculating. It’s played off as just an innocent quirk of Tom’s, but it also serves as foreshadowing. Why is Tom trying to learn how to sign Philippe’s name? However, he has this innocence about him in these early scenes, that it comes off as almost sweet in a sense. Like he admires Philippe and just wants some of that to rub off on him, like his signature.

When Philippe is being so rude and later outright cruel to Tom on the boat, I felt sorry for him. Throughout his entire adventure living under his assumed identity, Tom Ripley remains completely likeable and charming. As the audience, I wasn’t rooting for his capture. I wanted him to get away. I kept talking to him through the screen saying “Move away from Rome, move away from Italy. Go somewhere else and live your best life with Philippe’s money.” I attribute Tom’s continued likeability to Alain Delon’s performance and charm.

::fans self::

I want to talk about the title of the film briefly–Purple Noon. This is the English title, changed from the original French title of Plein Soleil or “full sun.” “Full Sun” makes a lot more sense as a title than the nonsensical “purple noon.” The title was supposedly taken from a poem by Percy Bysshe Shelley that juxtaposes the bright sea and sun with the poet’s dark mood. I’m sorry. Who is going to know that? Even a more boring title like “Full Sun” would have made more sense. Personally, I like the French title. Obviously, both the English and French titles are playing with the literal idea of the entire film being presented in the full sun, including Tom’s murder of Philippe. “Full sun” in this case not referring only to the literal bright sun throughout the film; but the bright colors used as well. This colorful backdrop is a stark contrast to the film’s plot involving a man murdering another man and assuming his identity. There are no dark alleys or shadows in this film.

However, I like to think Plein Soleil or “full sun” is also a metaphor for the fact that Tom is so brazenly impersonating Philippe out in public for everyone to see. He’s not hiding behind a typewriter sending out crazy letters or something. He’s living it up, spending Philippe’s money. Just like he planned to do all along. Patricia Highsmith’s novel was also adapted in 1999 using the novel’s original title: The Talented Mr. Ripley. This version reinstated the original names of the novel. Matt Damon stars as the titular Tom Ripley, with Jude Law as Dickie Greenleaf and Gwyneth Paltrow as Marge. Phillip Seymour Hoffman plays Freddie.

These people are also in this film. Who cares really.

Abstract

Alain Delon is hot.

Nothing to do with Purple Noon; but everything to do with Alain Delon. Mick didn’t have a chance with his pink pants and mismatched socks.

RIP Alain Delon and Marianne Faithfull
Categories
Blogathon Favorite Classic Television Favorite Modern Movies (post-1980)

On the Spot Blogathon–“The Brady Bunch Movie” (1995) & “A Very Brady Sequel” (1996)

The Brady Bunch (1969-1974) is an American pop culture icon. Even the most layman television fan can hear famous lines like “Marcia, Marcia, Marcia!” or “porkchops and applesauce,” or “Oh! My nose!” and not only know where the quote originates from; but even know which character uttered the line. The Brady Bunch sometimes gets a bad rap for being corny and unrealistic. Frankly, I love The Brady Bunch for those reasons–which is why I love The Brady Bunch Movie (1995) and A Very Brady Sequel (1996). I may have seen both films in the theater in middle school when the movies were new!

The movie cast recreates the iconic opening credit sequence.

The Brady Bunch Movie did a very good job with casting actors who somewhat resemble their television predecessors. Carol (Shelley Long) has Florence Henderson’s iconic flip/shag mullet ‘do. She wears a lot of brightly colored and patterned pantsuits. Carol puts absurd amounts of sugar in her coffee and constantly says “Oh Mike!” throughout the film. Gary Cole plays Mike Brady and while he doesn’t look exactly like Robert Reed (original Mike Brady), he has his style of speaking down to a T. Mike is very adept at always having a lesson at the ready, whether it’s something short like “when you tattle on others, you’re really tattling on yourself. You’re saying ‘I’m a tattletale'” or a more long-winded lecture, such as when he lectures Greg on not wanting to take part in the Search for the Stars Contest. Henriette Mantel, while she doesn’t really look like Ann B. Davis, she sounds similar to Alice and does a good job emulating her way of speaking. I also love how Alice’s formal dress looks like a fancier version of her maid uniform; but it’s the same thing. Even Ann B. Davis wears a powder blue jacket with buttons in the same arrangement in her cameo scene.

The Brady kids are varying levels of successful in terms of portryal with the standout being Jennifer Elise Cox as the perpetually overshadowed and ignored Jan. Eve Plumb gave us a very memorable portrayal of middle child Jan, who constantly feels inadequate next to her popular sister Marcia. Jan provided The Brady Bunch‘s most iconic quote: “Marcia, Marcia, Marcia!” Christine Taylor as Marcia is the second best character in the film. She is a dead-ringer for Maureen McCormick. She also is adept at mimicking some of McCormick’s odd pronunciations, “skewl” (school) being one of the most memorable.

Christopher Daniel Barnes plays oldest child Greg. He is most known for providing the voice of Prince Eric in 1989’s The Little Mermaid. He looks somewhat like Barry Williams and does a good job acting like the “Casanova of Clinton Avenue.” Paul Sutera plays middle son, Peter, memorably played by Christopher Knight in the original. Jesse Lee and Olivia Hack play Bobby and Cindy Brady, recreating the parts played by Mike Lookinland and Susan Olsen in the original series.

The Brady Bunch Movie presents a satirical look at our favorite 1970s family and plops them down in 1995 Los Angeles. The Bradys still live in their iconic mid-century modern home at 4222 Clinton Way–astroturf lawn and all. There are dozens of references to the original show. As an avid viewer of the television show and a massive fan of the movies, I could list all the references; but that may make this article insanely long to read. One of the main references to the show are the Bradys’ neighbors–Mr. and Mrs. Dittmeyer (Michael McKean and Jean Smart), who were mentioned on one or two occasions in the original series. Carol memorably hooks one of Mr. Dittmeyer’s bags of charcoal when she’s practicing casting a fishing line in the backyard. However, every characters’ respective personality and quirks are played to the hilt for laughs.

While The Brady Bunch television show is often criticized for being unrealistic in its tackling of non-issues like breaking mom’s favorite vase, or having to appear in a television show. This criticism is understandable, especially when it aired alongside shows like All in the Family and The Mary Tyler Moore Show. However, I would argue that having shows about having to wear glasses or braces, or being peer pressured to smoke cigarettes is far easier to relate to than a more timely, 1970s-centric, issue. While some shows from the 1970s seem more dated, The Brady Bunch remains timeless, which is why it still remains relevant today.

However, The Brady Bunch Movie does feature a very serious un-Bradylike issue as its main plot: Mike and Carol are behind in their property taxes and face foreclosure if they can’t come up with $20,000 by the end of the week. Their neighbor, Mr. Dittmeyer, is the villain of the story. He is in real estate development and hates the Bradys. He is trying to convince his neighbors to sell their homes to a developer for a tidy sum. The only hold out are the Bradys. Due to their mail being misdelivered and Mr. Dittmeyer’s opening of the Bradys’ mail, he gets wind of the Bradys’ tax problems. He is only too happy to buy their house at the upcoming auction.

The kids have one of their infamous kid meetings to come up with a plan. Marcia is going to become a model (of course). Bobby and Cindy are going to try and find money around the house. Greg is going to become rock star, Johnny Bravo (obviously), and Peter is going to ask neighbors if they need chores done around their home. Jan’s plan is to enter the $20,000 “Search for the Stars” contest. This is the plan that they ultimately follow through with at the end of the film, and of course because its The Brady Bunch, they win. I love that all the original recordings performed by The Brady Bunch Kids are used in this film.

The Brady Bunch kids perform “Keep On” and win $20,000 to save their home!

The movie also features subplots for the kids, with Jan’s being the most memorable. Marcia accidentally makes two dates for the same night: one with Charlie and the other with “Big Man on Campus,” Doug Simpson. Doug is more interested in getting Marcia into the sack, since despite being the most popular girl in school, she is notoriously “harder to get into than a Pearl Jam concert.” Marcia’s also trying to get Davy Jones of The Monkees to perform at the prom. Greg is trying to become Johnny Bravo, by singing songs like ” ‘Til I Met You” (…clowns never laughed before, beanstalks never grew. Ponies never ran before, ’til I met you…). ” ‘Til I Met You” was co-written by Barry Williams. While the Greg in the television show was made out to be a ladies’ man, this Greg is so lame that girls literally scream and run out of the room.

Peter is going through puberty and also finds himself having a crush on Holly, the grunge girlfriend of his neighbor, Eric. Holly also thinks Peter’s cute “in a Gilligan sort of way.” Bobby becomes the school safety monitor and hates that his job involves ratting out his classmates. Then there’s Cindy. Frankly, the Cindy in this movie is a moron, she looks to be at least 12 but acts 5. She echoes the sentiments of Susan Olsen who hated how ridiculous Cindy acted throughout the series.

Potato sack race!

Finally, there’s Jan. Jan is so awesome and has the best subplot of the entire film. First she has to bear the indignity of having to wear glasses–saying that “glasses make [her] look positively goofy.” Then, she is mistaken for Marcia at school. Jan is so tired of Marcia being better than her at everything, she decides to set herself apart. In a scene straight out of the show (except a swap of venue and a more exaggerated sized wig), Jan decides to don a giant black afro wig to the prom, in a desperate attempt to draw attention away from Marcia. Her anxiety over being in constant competition with Marcia starts causing her to hear voices. Jennifer Elise Cox’s portrayal of Jan is worth the admission alone to the film.

“But Jan, you don’t have any friends.”
My favorite line from the film. It makes me laugh every time.

In A Very Brady Sequel, the film answers one of the burning questions of the original series: What happened to Carol’s first husband? The original series never addresses what happened to the girls’ father/Carol’s husband. After the second season, the show stops even addressing the fact that the Brady Bunch is a blended family. Carol even makes comments about the boys inheriting traits from her!

Alice dusts the iconic horse statue in the original series.

The film starts with Trevor Thomas (Tim Mattheson) and Carol’s husband Roy Martin on a boat. Roy has a rare (i.e., expensive) statue in his possession and tells Trevor that he sent it ahead to his wife, Carol. Trevor and Roy’s ship then wrecks and Roy dies. Trevor spends the next decade or so trying to find where Roy’s wife, Carol lives. He finally tracks Carol down at the Brady home and introduces himself as Roy Martin. Carol and the girls are understandably shocked. Roy then spots the rare statue in the Bradys’ home–it’s the horse statue which was seen on a sideboard in the Bradys’ living room next to the famous stairs.

The Brady Kids take Trevor shopping and make him over into a horrendous looking vintage suit!

Like in the first film, there are numerous subplots involving the other characters in the film. The family is getting ready shopping and planning for Mike and Carol’s upcoming wedding anniversary. In an ode to another memorable episode, Greg and Marcia fight over the newly remodeled bedroom in the attic. In the show, Greg won the attic using the argument that he was older and was graduating the next year. In the movie however, both Marcia and Greg are given the room, with the idea that they’d share. However, when you have two opposite sex teenagers, technically not related, sharing a bedroom… Don’t get me wrong, Greg and Marcia don’t hook up; but they find themselves having very awkward feelings about each other. This entire subplot is an allusion to the real-life romance between Greg and Marcia’s original actors, Barry Williams and Maureen McCormick, who dated during season 4 and into season 5. There are many season 4 episodes where you can see Greg making cow eyes at Marcia.

Marcia and Greg are double dating (with other people, not each other) and get way too excited talking about Marcia’s hair care regimen.

In A Very Brady Sequel, Jan’s neurotic behavior continues when she invents a fake boyfriend named George Glass. Jan in the television series also made up a fake boyfriend named George Glass, but she didn’t go to the extent of making a dummy and pretending to be with him. Jan is so desperate to be seen as desirable that she hilariously calls a 1-900 hotline to speak to a “live guy.” Peter, Bobby and Cindy don’t have that exciting of storylines. Peter starts to idolize Trevor which concerns Mike. Bobby and Cindy start a “detective agency” and end up discovering that Trevor isn’t who he says he is. This leads to Trevor kidnapping Carol and taking her to Hawaii where he can meet with Professor Whitehead to sell the horse statue. As we all remember, in the television show, Vincent Price played the infamous Professor Whitehead who kidnaps the boys and ties them to large statues in his cave. There’s also the hilarious tiki statue and great “DO DO DO DOOOO” music that makes an appearance.

A Very Brady Sequel pays homage to the pilot episode of the television shows with Carol’s gold dress and the girls’ pink dresses. Mike and the boys however do not don pink paisley suits in the show.

The sequel isn’t nearly as good as the first film; but it is still funny and worth watching. The first film feels more cohesive, and all the references feel more organic. In the second film, all the in-jokes seem more forced, as if the writers realized there were more jokes from the series that they need to fit in. There are some funny scenes, such as Carol getting her hair done at a punk hair salon; or Jan seeing her guidance counselor Mrs. Cummings (RuPaul) at the pool with her daughters who are exactly like Marcia, Jan and Cindy. Though, I’m easy to please, so I find a lot of the scenes pretty funny. I love Jan’s phone call to the 1-900 number. “I’d like to speak to a live guy. What do you mean ‘what am I wearing?’ My red jumper with the floral print trim. What do you mean, ‘take it off?’ “

The sequel ends with Greg and Marcia finally ending the suspense and kissing each other (just go with it, they’re not technically related; though I’m sure a relationship between the two would cause some strange drama in the family). Jan meets a real boy named George Glass while in Hawaii and ends up inviting him to Mike and Carol’s anniversary party. The party ends with a shocker–the reappearance of Mike’s first wife!

Mike’s first wife, Jeannie (Barbara Eden). Eden would have been in her 60s at this time and she’s still making this outfit work, you go, Barbara !

Categories
Blogathon Favorite Classic Television

The John Saxon Blogathon–“Ménage-a-Phyllis” (1974)

When I saw this Blogathon announced, I’ll admit that I wasn’t too familiar with John Saxon. I only knew him from his performance in Mr. Hobbs Takes a Vacation as one of James Stewart’s son-in-laws. When I saw this blogathon announced, I perused John’s filmography and realized that I’d seen him in more things than I thought I had. He had a very long, interesting and diverse career, beginning with appearing as a teen idol in the 1950s, Italian films in the early 1960s, and even appearing with Bruce Lee in Enter the Dragon, which I saw for the first time at the 2023 TCM Film Festival. John even appeared in three episodes of another favorite show of mine, Murder She Wrote.

However, what really stuck out at me was John’s appearance in an episode of The Mary Tyler Moore Show, “Ménage-a-Phyllis.” When I read the synopsis of the episode, it immediately came back to me. ‘Mary Tyler Moore’ was my second favorite show back in middle and high school in the 90s when I watched Nick at Nite religiously. It was second only to I Love Lucy.

Phyllis discusses using her hair to hide the earrings that Mary lent her.

“Ménage-a-Phyllis” starts with Mary (Mary Tyler Moore) and Lou (Ed Asner) in Mary’s living room, trying to come up with a subject for an upcoming documentary. Phyllis (Cloris Leachman) comes busting in in her usual way, fishing for compliments about despite how glamorous and good she looks in her new outfit, she couldn’t possibly be a model. Of course, she’s wanting Lou and Mary to assure her that of course she could be a model. She then asks Mary if she could borrow a pair of earrings. She then casually drops the bombshell that she’s getting ready for her date to the ballet–except she isn’t going with her husband, the never seen Lars. Instead, she’s going out with another man, Mike (John Saxon). She states that Lars is aware and fully approves as he is not interested in the art scene in Minneapolis. Phyllis states that her relationship with Mike is purely platonic.

(About the earrings Mary offers to lend Phyllis)
PHYLLIS: Don’t you have anything a little nicer?…Never mind, my hair’ll help cover them. Anyway Mike has never seen them.

MARY: Mike?!

PHYLLIS: Uh-huh. The guy I go out with…

MARY: Phyl, what do you mean ‘the guy you go out with?’…

PHYLLIS: As you know, Lars and I have this perfect marriage, based on mutual respect and esteem. There’s just one problem: When it comes to culture, Lars is a pinhead. So I’ve got myself a companion. A bright, interesting guy. He and I go to the ballet, concerts and museums together. Lars, of course, totally approves…I know it’s a daring new concept: the idea that a man and a woman can just be friends; but I’ve always been a pioneer.

Cloris Leachman as “Phyllis” and Mary Tyler Moore as “Mary” on The Mary Tyler Moore Show, originally aired November 2, 1974.

Phyllis falls ill and becomes even more insufferable than she is normally.

One evening, Phyllis and Mike are set to attend a concert, however Phyllis falls ill. In a truly obnoxious Phyllis scene, she reverts back to childhood when Mary brings her magazines and ice cream, just like her mother used to. She then starts speaking like a toddler, saying that she “wuvs” everything. Mike and Mary attend the concert together and start seeing each other regularly, leaving Phyllis out. She starts to feel jealous and self conscious, thinking that Mike obviously prefers the younger Mary than her.

MARY: Phyl, come on. For once in your life, will you say what you mean? Will you just talk plain?

PHYLLIS: Okay, cutie. You want plain. I’m gonna give you plain. That dude isn’t going to be interested in a cultural evening with a happily married housewife when he’s got Action City, USA.

Cloris Leachman as “Phyllis” and Mary Tyler Moore as “Mary” on The Mary Tyler Moore Show, originally aired November 2, 1974.

To Mike’s credit, he genuinely is just hanging out with Phyllis to have someone with whom to attend concerts, ballets, and other artistic events. The idea of a married woman having a platonic friendship with a single man is brought up, with both Murray (Gavin MacLeod) and Ted (Ted Knight) voicing their distaste of the idea. Mary is a little shocked by Phyllis’ rather progressive relationship but believes her when she says it’s platonic. I don’t think Lou cares either way. The episode concludes with Mike telling Mary and Phyllis that he’s planning on marrying an ex-girlfriend of his, saying they worked things out.

(Telling Phyllis that he’s returning to his ex-girlfriend, Sharon, and getting married)

MIKE: We’re gonna get married.

PHYLLIS: Oh Mike, how nice. Have you told Mary?

MIKE: Yeah, I just told her.

PHYLLIS: Oh, poor Mary. Poor, dear, brave, gallant, Mary… Well Mike, I just hope that you and Sharon will be as happy in your marriage as Lars is in mine.

John Saxon as “Mike,” Cloris Leachman as “Phyllis” and Mary Tyler Moore as “Mary” on The Mary Tyler Moore Show, originally aired November 2, 1974.

John Saxon does a very good job in this episode as one of Mary’s beaus, even though he’s really just someone with whom she goes to concerts and films. Even Mary says she is tired of attending artistic foreign films, which to me alludes to the fact that she and Mike don’t really have anything in common. Unlike many of Mary’s beaus, John’s character doesn’t have some sort of ulterior motive (i.e., trying to get Mary into bed), he isn’t a doofus, he isn’t indecisive, he isn’t a creep, he’s just a decent guy who likes the Minneapolis art scene.

Mary and John Saxon
Categories
Blogathon Favorite Classic Movies (Pre-1980) Favorite Performers

The 6th Wonderful Grace Kelly Blogathon–“The Country Girl” (1954)

In 1955, Grace Kelly shocked Hollywood when she won the Best Actress Oscar for her work in The Country Girl over sentimental favorite Judy Garland. After being fired by MGM in 1950, Judy seemingly was finished making movies. She spent 1950-1954 appearing on radio and putting on well-received concerts across the United Kingdom and then in Manhattan. The renewed interest in Judy’s career, and especially her singing, led to her being offered the starring role in A Star is Born.

Grace Kelly on Oscar night with her award.

Judy Garland was seemingly tailor-made for the role of Esther Blodgett/Vicki Lester the amateur singer who hits it big in Hollywood. She is married to Norman Maine (James Mason) a matinee idol whose career is on the decline. Esther is discovered by Hollywood, rechristened “Vicki Lester,” and she is a star. Norman doesn’t handle it well. A Star is Born had a star-studded, nationally televised premiere with big stars like Lauren Bacall, Humphrey Bogart, Lucille Ball, Desi Arnaz, Frank Sinatra, Marilyn Monroe, Marlene Dietrich, Joan Crawford, Elizabeth Taylor, James Dean, and so many more in attendance.

Then March 30, 1955 rolled around. The day of the 27th annual Academy Awards. Judy Garland was heavily favored to win. A camera crew was at her home, ready for her acceptance speech. Judy couldn’t attend due to having recently given birth to her third child. Then William Holden announced Grace Kelly as the winner for her turn in The Country Girl. The cameramen awkwardly left Judy’s home. Only six votes separated Grace from Judy.

The Country Girl is perhaps Grace Kelly’s greatest performance and should dispel any of the common criticisms that she couldn’t act, was too wooden, cold, etc. And don’t even bring up the low-hanging fruit gossip that Grace’s supposed libido and tendency to hook-up with her male co-stars led to her success in Hollywood (and her Oscar). Miss me with that garbage right now. Grace was absolutely fantastic in this film. Bing Crosby might have had top billing; but this is Grace’s film all the way.

Prior to having seen The Country Girl, I only knew of it from William Holden’s promotion of it on his guest appearance on I Love Lucy, in the episode “L.A. at Last!” He says to Lucy, “We just finished shooting The Country Girl with Bing Crosby and Grace Kelly.” He then tells Lucy that he hopes she sees it and says she’ll enjoy it. Well I saw it and I enjoyed it, and it’s mostly due to Grace’s performance.

In The Country Girl, Grace Kelly plays Georgie Elgin, the long suffering wife of Frank (Bing Crosby). Frank is a former star whose alcoholism has derailed his singing and acting career. He’s been reduced to singing advertising jingles on the radio and other low stakes jobs to have income. At the beginning of the film, director Bernie Dodd (William Holden) is looking for a star for his upcoming play. The star needs to be able to sing and act. Having seen Frank perform when he was in his prime, he invited him to come audition–despite knowing full well about Frank’s alcoholism and reputation for unreliability. Dodd’s producer, Phillip Cook (Anthony Ross), is adamantly against Frank’s casting. Dodd insists on at least letting him audition. He does and is very good.

William Holden, Grace Kelly, and Bing Crosby.

Bernie, despite Cook’s hesitation, wants to offer Frank the part. He volunteers to take full responsibility for Frank in exchange for casting him. Cook reluctantly agrees. Bernie shows up at Georgie and Frank’s apartment to offer him the part. When Bernie meets Georgie, he sees an attractive woman (because it’s Grace Kelly, Edith Head could only make her look so dowdy), who has clearly stopped caring about her appearance. Her frizzy, mousy hair is tied back in a low bun. She wears big glasses on top her make-up free face (or Hollywood’s “no-makeup” makeup look). She’s dressed in a cardigan, blouse, long skirt, and flat loafers. This is not Lisa Fremont from Rear Window who is never seen in the same dress twice.

Georgie is very cold and dour. All her words carry a tinge of bitterness. This is a very unhappy woman who has spent the prime years of her life taking care of her weak, alcoholic husband. She has had to evolve into the stern taskmaster just to keep her husband somewhat on track. A flashback sequence in the film reveals that Georgie and Frank’s relationship wasn’t always this way. Some years prior, Georgie was happier, more vivacious, and took more pride in her appearance. The Georgie in the flashback looks more like the Grace Kelly audiences know: light blonde hair, glamorous, and elegant in a fashionable dress and heels. She and Frank’s young son are watching him record an album. Georgie is planning to leave their son with Frank and go to the beauty parlor. A big deal is made about Frank having total responsibility for him. Then, Frank takes the child outside and is asked to pose for a publicity photo. He lets go of the child’s hand and that one second is all it takes. The child runs out into heavy traffic, is hit by a car, and is killed.

Georgie during happier times with her son, watching Frank.

That terrible accident is the turning point in Georgie and Frank’s lives and relationship. The idea of his being responsible and it ending with their son’s death haunts Frank. From then on, he’s unable to assume responsibility for anything or anyone again, out of fear of failing. He has so much anxiety over the idea of being responsible for anything that he’s a mere shell of his former self. This leads to all the responsibility falling on Georgie–which would be exhausting for anyone.

Frank accepts the part in the play at Georgie’s urging. She sees it as his opportunity to turn his career around. Throughout the film, Bernie is constantly at odds with Georgie, thinking that she’s responsible for Frank’s inability to make decisions, advocate for himself, and generally contribute anything to the play other than reciting the lines and singing the songs. Frank will say things to Georgie such as needing a dresser to help him make the quick costume changes, not liking the understudy watching his performance backstage, wanting a run-of-the-play contract, and other things. Then Georgie will mention these things to Bernie. Bernie will then talk to Frank about them, and Frank will deny having said anything of the sort. This type of incident repeats itself through out the film to the point where Georgie is made out to be some sort of demanding “stage wife” (instead of stage mother).

Bernie has had it with Georgie.

To further ruin Bernie’s image of Georgie, Frank tells him about how Georgie slashed her wrists after their son’s death and how it was him that saved her. He tells Bernie about Georgie’s supposed alcoholism, and her wild behavior which is what ruined Frank’s career. In a scene that I have to imagine clinched Grace’s Oscar (though I don’t know specifically what was submitted to the Academy on her behalf), Georgie finally learns of the lies that Frank told Bernie and tells him of all the lies, many of which were taken from previous plays Frank had appeared in. As for her being suicidal and an alcoholic, that’s Frank, Georgie says.

After a pivotal moment at the end of the film, Frank finally steps up and accepts responsibility for the success of the play. He had the ability the entire time, he just needed to find it in himself to do so. On opening night in New York City, on Broadway, Frank has tremendous success on stage. Cook even talks to him directly, which he hadn’t the entire film. He only talked about Frank, but not to him. Georgie is there, dressed to the nines, looking more like Grace Kelly. She is beaming, proud of her husband. Her entire demeanor is transformed. She and Frank leave the party and walk down the streets, together. One has to hope that this is a new beginning for them.

For the record, Grace Kelly deserved to win the Oscar.

Grace Kelly and William Holden on Oscar night
Categories
Blogathon Favorite Classic Movies (Pre-1980)

A Haunting Blogathon: In the Afterlife–Random Harvest (1942)

“Random Harvest” (1942)

For the Classic Movie Blog Association’s Annual Fall Blogathon, this year’s theme is the afterlife. However, the definition is expanded beyond the supernatural and instead also includes the idea of someone being haunted by something–whether it is past trauma, unattainable love, abandonment, obsession, or even the pursuit of a goal seemingly out of reach. Random Harvest (1942) starring Greer Garson and Ronald Colman definitely fits within the confines of this motif.

Random Harvest is a story of a woman, Margaret Hanson (Garson) who is desperate to regain the love and life she lost. The film starts with a man, a patient, casually walking away from the asylum where he’s been convalescing since the end of World War I. During the war, the man was gassed in the trenches and as a result has amnesia. After walking away from the asylum, the man ends up in the small town of Melbridge.

While walking to work, Margaret comes across the strange man meandering through the streets of Melbridge. Figuring out that he is from the nearby asylum, Margaret invites the man to come with her to the theatre where she works. It is here where we see Margaret (stage name Paula Ridgeway) perform a delightful number, “She’s Ma Daisy” while showing off her great legs! Later that evening, the man is spooked after an incident brings unwanted attention to him. Wanting to help, Margaret brings him to an inn out in the country to rest. They end up falling in love and marrying. They rent a small cottage and have a son together.

Margaret’s great gams!

Margaret ends up nicknaming the man “Smithy.” While settled into his new life with Margaret, Smithy discovers that he has literary talent and seeks to obtain work at a newspaper. While in Liverpool for a job interview, Smithy is hit by a car. The impact from the car causes him to regain his memory, but lose memory of his life with Margaret and their son. Smithy, now going by his real name of Charles Rainier, returns to his previous life as a wealthy businessman. He has no memory of the previous three years of his life. The only remaining souvenir of his past life with Margaret is the key to their cottage. However, Charles no longer remembers what the key unlocks. The image of him looking at the key will be a reoccurring motif throughout the remainder of the film.

This leads to the most heartbreaking part of the film where Margaret desperately looks for her missing husband. She spends months trying to find him until one day, she sees his picture in the newspaper under his real name. Margaret also learns that Charles is looking for a secretary and applies for and gets the job as his executive assistant. Every day Margaret gets to see Charles, but he has no idea of their previous life. Making matters worse is when he becomes romantically involved with (and later engaged to) a young woman named Kitty (Susan Peters).

Margaret and Charles in their business marriage.

Then, if having to watch the love of your life romance another woman while not remembering you isn’t enough, Charles proposes a business marriage or a “merger” after being elected to Parliament. Charles admires and appreciates Margaret’s efficiency and the value that she brings to his work. He wants to translate that to his career as a member of Parliament. Charles makes it very clear that this marriage is a business proposition–not romantic. He promises that he won’t develop any emotional attachment. Oof. Margaret makes the heartbreaking decision to accept his proposal, figuring that being in a platonic marriage with Charles is better than no marriage at all.

To his credit, Charles knows that he’s missing something. There are three years of his life that he cannot remember. Throughout the second half of the film, he comes across small trinkets from his previous life with Margaret. Through happenstance, Charles ends up in Melbridge again where he first met Margaret. As he walks through town, his memories start to unlock and he starts to remember pieces of his life with Margaret. His memories bring him back to the inn and then the cottage where he is reunited with Margaret–his true love.

The happy moment when Charles finally recalls what door his key will unlock.

Random Harvest is absolutely heartbreaking while also being incredibly romantic. Both Margaret and Charles are haunted by what they’ve lost: Margaret lost her husband and true love, Charles. Charles has lost memories of his entire life with Margaret. He spends the film haunted by the knowledge that he missed the last three years of his life. Seeing Margaret starts to rekindle things in his memory. While it might be unconscious on his part, it is apparent that there’s something about Margaret that reminds Charles of his lost three years. When Kitty plays the hymn she wants played at her and Charles’ wedding, he is reminded of his previous life. While he cannot articulate it, his reaction informs Kitty that Charles is in love with someone else. The most tragic part of this entire film is when Margaret agrees to marry Charles for business purposes. Here she is living out the dream she had for her and Charles, albeit in a superficial and platonic way. One’s heart aches for Margaret as she has to put on a facade of being the perfect wife and hostess. Charles just thinks his secretary is so adept and perfect for the job of “his wife.” Margaret wants to be these things too but as a reflection of her love for her husband. When Charles finally sees and remembers Margaret at their old cottage, it is almost overwhelming. Finally, Margaret can stop suffering.

Categories
Blogathon Favorite Classic Movies (Pre-1980) Favorite Performers

“We Are Family Blogathon”–Olivia de Havilland & Joan Fontaine

To say that sisters, Olivia de Havilland and Joan Fontaine, did not get along is putting it mildly. These two women were involved in a lifelong feud that only officially ended with Fontaine’s passing in 2013 at the age of 96. However, I’m sure it picked up again with de Havilland’s death in 2020 at age 104.

Olivia de Havilland and Joan Fontaine.

Olivia de Havilland was born in Tokyo, Japan on July 1, 1916. Her sister, Joan, was born only 15 months later, also in Tokyo, on October 22, 1917. Even as young children, the sisters were constantly bickering and torturing each other. In a 1978 interview with People magazine while promoting her memoir Bed of Roses, Joan claimed that Olivia would constantly try to scare her with dramatic readings of the crucifixion scene in the Bible. In retaliation, Joan would mimic and mock everything Olivia said. On another occasion, Joan tried to pull Olivia into a pool by her ankle, but Olivia put up a fight. This skirmish culminated with Joan breaking her collarbone against the ledge of the pool. Yikes.

In the same 1978 interview, Joan makes a comment about her and Olivia’s mother, Lillian Fontaine de Havilland, and her reaction to seeing daughter Joan in her film, Jane Eyre. According to Joan, Lillian’s response to her daughter’s performance was that “[Joan] was defeated by her beauty.” Joan then states that her mother could never express pride in either her or Olivia.

While I would not even attempt to pretend that I know about psychology or psychiatry, from what I know about the sisters is that both women seemed to be engaged in a lifelong rivalry and attempts to one-up each other. One has to wonder whether this was a subconscious response to their mother’s inability to be proud of either of her daughters. Joan was quoted as saying “Olivia has always said I was first at everything. I got married first, got an Academy Award first, had a child first. If I die [first], she’ll be furious, because again I’ll have got there first!” For the record, Joan did die first.

Joan Fontaine and Olivia de Havilland during seemingly better times.

During the 1942 Oscars, Joan and Olivia were seated at the same table. Both sisters were nominated for Best Actress–Joan for Suspicion and Olivia for Hold Back the Dawn. Joan won. In her memoir, Joan wrote: “All the animus we’d felt toward each other as children, the hair-pullings, the savage wrestling matches, the time Olivia fractured my collarbone, all came rushing back in kaleidoscopic imagery. My paralysis was total.” At that moment, the sisters moved past mere sibling rivalry, to a full-fledged war.

The final nail in the coffin in Joan and Olivia’s relationship, according to Joan, came in 1975 when their mother passed. Olivia was executor of the estate. She also handled their mother’s remains, including cremation, without involving Joan in any of the decisions. Olivia didn’t even invite Joan to the memorial service! Joan attended anyway. In the 1978 interview with People, Joan states that she hadn’t seen Olivia recently and didn’t intend to.

While Joan seemed more than willing to discuss her feud with her sister, Olivia did not seem to want to discuss it. Very little information seems to exist telling Joan’s stories from Olivia’s perspective. In 2013 after Joan’s death, Olivia did say that her sister was a “was a brilliant, multi-talented person, but with an astigmatism in her perception of people and events which often caused her to react in an unfair and even injurious way.” Joan was also quoted as saying “I regret that I remember not one act of kindness from Olivia all through my childhood.” Olivia responded stating that “I loved her so much as a child.” She also made comments stating that her behavior was defensive and she didn’t instigate anything with Joan.

Joan Fontaine and Olivia de Havilland.

To their credit, it doesn’t appear that Joan and Olivia loathed each other to the point where they wished the other any ill will. During the 1960s, the sisters appeared to be moving towards an amicable reconciliation and perhaps even ::gasp!:: becoming friends. Joan spent Christmas 1961 with Olivia. The two attended an event together in 1967 and were actually seen laughing (!), and Joan came to Olivia’s home in Paris in 1969 to help her with some financial and marital issues. Their mother’s death in 1975 killed the relationship. It has been also said that despite their differences, Joan and Olivia respected each other and were proud of the each other’s careers and lives.

Personally, I could never pick one sister over the other, as I enjoy watching both women in their respective films. I don’t even feel that one is better than the other. I feel that their onscreen personas and the types of films they made are different enough that both ladies can stand on their own. In fact, I think today after I finish this article, I may do an Olivia and Joan double feature in honor of this article and Joan’s recent birthday.

My Top 5 Olivia de Havilland and Joan Fontaine Performances:

Olivia de Havilland

Olivia in “The Heiress.”
  1. The Heiress (1949). Olivia’s performance in this film is brilliant. At the beginning of the film, her character, Catherine Sloper, is meek, weak, quiet, mousy, and very unsure of herself and everything. However, once she is betrayed by Morris Townsend (Montgomery Clift), her entirely personality changes. Morris’ betrayal confirms Catherine’s father’s (Ralph Richardson) opinion that he is only after her money. After this climactic scene, Catherine’s entire demeanor changes. She is now bitter, cynical, angry, and confident that she will not let anyone close to her again. Her meek, mousy voice changes to a deeper, more angry and bitter tone. Mariah, lock the door, indeed.
  2. The Adventures of Robin Hood (1938). In this classic action-adventure film, Olivia plays Maid Marian to frequent co-star Errol Flynn’s Robin Hood. She gives a beautiful performance as the ward of King Richard who falls in love with the former Saxon-turned outlaw. Sir Guy of Gisborne (Basil Rathbone) who is in love with Marian and is power-hungry with Prince John (Claude Rains). Marian bravely defies the Norman rulers to aid Robin Hood and the outlaws. She risks being put to death for treason, all because she believes in Robin Hood and his cause.
  3. Hold Back the Dawn (1941). In this film, Olivia gives an amazing performance as Emmy Brown, a young teacher from California who meets Romanian immigrant (Charles Boyer), Georges Iscovescu, in Mexico. Just prior to meeting Emmy, Georges met up with former dancing partner, Anita Dixon (Paulette Goddard), who explains how she circumvented the American immigration rule which requires immigrants to obtain a quota number. These waiting periods can take up to eight years. Anita says she married an American and was admitted into the US right away. When Georges meets Emmy, he sees her as his ticket into the US. His ultimate plan is to immigrate to the US and reunite with Anita. Of course, when Emmy falls in love with him and later learns of his plan, it is pure heartache.
  4. Hush, Hush Sweet Charlotte (1964). This film reunited Olivia with friend and former co-star, Bette Davis. Olivia was brought in to replace Joan Crawford, who memorably appeared and fought with Bette in What Ever Happened to Baby Jane? (1962). (Can you imagine if Olivia de Havilland and Joan Fontaine had appeared in ‘Baby Jane’ ?) Anyway, in ‘Charlotte,’ Bette takes on the role of the helpless protagonist whose married fiancé (!), John Mayhew, was murdered in 1927. He and Charlotte were attending a party and planned to elope. Charlotte’s father did not approve. For 37 years, the community has believed that Charlotte murdered John. She was never arrested or tried, due to lack of evidence. Olivia plays Charlotte’s cousin Miriam, who was also present at that party. Miriam comes to stay with Charlotte at the large family estate. During Miriam’s stay, strange things start happening to Charlotte which cause her (and other people) to start questioning her sanity.
  5. Dodge City (1939). In another pairing with Errol Flynn, Olivia plays Abbie Irving, a young woman who has recently moved to Dodge City, Kansas. Her brother, Lee (William Lundigan), was supposed to move with her but was killed during the trip from the East Coast to Kansas. He was a drunk and incited a stampede and was crushed to death. Accompanying Abbie and the rest of the settlers is Wade Hatton (Flynn) and his gang Rusty (Alan Hale) and Tex (Guinn “Big Boy” Williams). In a classic Western trope, Wade is quickly appointed Sheriff of Dodge City to clean up the town. His main goal is to drive Jeff Surrett (Bruce Cabot) and his gang out of town. Soon after moving to Dodge City, Abbie gets a job at a newspaper operated by Joe Clemens (Frank McHugh). Her role at the newspaper ultimately puts her in the position of having a lot of information (and a venue to publish it) about Surrett and his gang. Of course, she and Wade are also romantically involved. This is a fun Olivia performance as she stands up to Wade’s attempts to put her in her place and she gets to play an atypical female role in a Western. No saloon singer for Olivia!
Olivia in “Hush, Hush Sweet Charlotte.”

Joan Fontaine

Joan Fontaine and Judith Anderson in “Rebecca.”
  1. Rebecca (1940). Despite having won the Oscar for Suspicion, Rebecca is the ultimate Joan Fontaine role. She should have won her Oscar for this part instead. In this film, Joan plays the second Mrs. de Winter who marries recent widower, Maxim de Winter (Laurence Olivier) after a quick whirlwind relationship. The newlyweds return to Maxim’s estate, Manderley, where he previously resided with his deceased wife, Rebecca. The second Mrs. de Winter (whose first name is never mentioned), is constantly reminded of Rebecca’s presence throughout the home. Making matters worse is the incredibly creepy Mrs. Danvers (Judith Anderson), who makes it her life’s work to remind the second Mrs. de Winter that she pales in comparison to Rebecca. Mrs. Danvers was seemingly in love with Rebecca and always looms in the background while the second Mrs. de Winter attempts to make Manderley her home. Joan Fontaine gives a fantastic performance as the mousy, nervous, anxious second Mrs. de Winter who seemingly is always on edge and feels in constant competition with a dead woman whose presence is felt throughout the entire film.
  2. Ivy (1947). In this film, Joan plays the titular Ivy who is always scheming to get the finer things in life. Tired of her current husband Jervis’ (Richard Ney) inability to provide her with the things she wants, Ivy has her sights set on the wealthy Miles Rushworth (Herbert Marshall). She and Miles start going together, but he ultimately bails on the relationship when he learns she’s married. At the same time, she’s also having an affair with Dr. Roger Gretorex (Patric Knowles). Seeing that her marriage to Jervis is an obstacle in her quest for a better lifestyle, she decides to poison him and pin the murder on Roger. The plot ultimately succeeds, but then things start unraveling for Ivy. This is a great movie. Joan is able to use her typical quiet, somewhat mousy demeanor to her advantage to make Ivy seem unassuming at first. This makes her transformation into the greedy and murderous Ivy even more shocking.
  3. Born to Be Bad (1950). In this film, Joan plays another schemer, much like Ivy, but without the murderous streak. She plays Christabel Carey, a young woman who comes to live with her uncle’s employee, Donna Foster (Joan Leslie) while she attends business school. However, from the beginning, Christabel is revealed to be a schemer. The most innocuous thing she does is arriving a day before she’s due to do so. Almost on day one, Christabel has flirted with Donna’s fiancé Curtis (Zachary Scott), painter Gabriel Broome (Mel Ferrer), and author Nick Bradley (Robert Ryan). Christabel initially has her sights set on Curtis and starts to plant seeds in Donna’s mind that he might not be the one. However, he is “the one” for Christabel. Much like Ivy, Joan Fontaine’s quiet, unassuming, somewhat timid demeanor works to her advantage. She’s able to move in on Donna’s man (and the other men) quickly and subtly, without being overt.
  4. Suspicion (1941). While I hate that Cary Grant calls Joan Fontaine “monkeyface” throughout the entire film, I will say that Joan is very good. Again, she’s got the timid, scared woman role down to a tee. In this film, she suspects that new husband Cary Grant wants to kill her and spends much of the film on edge, thinking that everything he does is part of an overall plan to kill her. This role really is an extension of her part in Rebecca, except without Mrs. Danvers and without Rebecca. She is incredibly nervous and frightened, which is nicely juxtaposed by Cary Grant’s cool, calm, and collected demeanor.
  5. Letter From an Unknown Woman (1948). This is such a fantastic film and an excellent part for Joan. In this film, Joan plays a woman, Lisa, who some years prior to the start of the film had fallen in love with Stefan Brand (Louis Jourdan), a pianist. Lisa first saw Stefan when she was a teenager and spent many years pining after him from afar. When she’s an adult and working as a a dress model in Vienna, she stands outside Stefan’s window. While he doesn’t try to pursue anything with her, he finds himself strongly drawn to her. They eventually start dating and fall in love. The film uses a letter written by Lisa in the present as a framing device for the flashback sequences in the film. The events leading up to the beginning of the film are revealed throughout Lisa’s reading of her letter. Joan gives a brilliant, heartwarming and heartbreaking performance as the young woman desperately in love with a man. She gets to play a role outside her usual timid woman, and instead gets to play a romantic, passionate, optimistic woman.
Joan Fontaine and Louis Jourdan in “Letter From an Unknown Woman.”
Categories
Blogathon Favorite Classic Movies (Pre-1980)

Barbarians at the Gate Blogathon–Sleeping Beauty (1959)

Maleficent, upset that she was not invited to the party, and places a horrible curse on Aurora–on her 16th birthday, she will prick her finger on a spindle before sunset and die. Merryweather, not wanting the Princess to die at such a young age and in such an oddly specific way, uses her spell to somewhat mitigate Maleficent’s. Instead of dying after pricking her finger, Aurora will simply fall into a deep sleep, hence the title, Sleeping Beauty, and can only be awakened by love’s true kiss–obviously setting up the famous scene of Prince Phillip kissing and waking up Aurora.

Despite the fact that they could have avoided this whole situation by simply inviting Maleficent to the party, the King and Queen order that all spindles in the kingdom be destroyed to protect Aurora from Maleficent’s curse. Thinking that it would be safer to raise Aurora away from the kingdom, Flora, Fauna and Merryweather come up with a plan to sequester her at their cottage in the forest until her sixteenth birthday. To further hide her identity, Aurora is renamed “Briar Rose.” To keep Aurora even safer from Maleficent finding her, Flora forces Fauna and Merryweather to put away their magic wands and live as mere mortals.

For sixteen years, Briar Rose and the fairies live happily. As can be expected, the Princess grows up into a beautiful young woman. On the day of her sixteenth birthday, the fairies send Briar Rose out of the house to gather berries as a ruse so that they can throw her a surprise party. While in the forest, singing with the animals, Briar Rose attracts the attention of the now very handsome Prince Phillip (who is, in my opinion, the hottest Disney prince) who is also in the woods. They sing “Once Upon a Dream” together and promptly fall in love.

Unfortunately for Briar Rose, while she’s out in the forest falling in love with Prince Phillip, the fairies fail miserably at baking a birthday cake and sewing a beautiful new dress. Wanting Briar Rose’s birthday to be special, Flora agrees to let the fairies use their magic to make a proper dress and cake. Flora and Merryweather attract the attention of Maleficent’s minion, a crow named Diablo by fighting over the color of Briar Rose’s dress, using their wands to switch the dress from pink to blue. Then Briar Rose returns home and tells the fairies about Phillip. They reveal her true identity as Princess Aurora and warn her to not see Phillip again. Diablo hears this and returns to Maleficent to give her the news. Later that evening, the fairies return Aurora home to her parents.

The fairies end up overhearing a conversation between Aurora and Phillip’s fathers, and learn that Phillip is the man whom Aurora met in the forest. While this is going on, Maleficent’s curse unfortunately comes to fruition. Aurora is lured to a spindle in the dungeon of her castle by a mysterious light. This whole scene is very spooky with the dark scenery, ominous green light, and eerie sounding music seemingly hypnotizing poor Aurora. She pricks her finger and falls into a deep sleep. To keep the everyone in the kingdom from finding out, the fairies place a spell on the consituents–placing them into a deep sleep.

Meanwhile, Maleficent abducts and imprisons Phillip in an effort to prevent him from saving Aurora–can this woman carry a grudge or what? It’s been sixteen years, get over it already! However, the fairies find him and rescue him. This sets up the exciting action sequence in the film where Phillip fights Maleficent who has transformed herself into a ferocious dragon. Of course Phillip defeats her with his sword and this sets up the iconic scene of Phillip awakening Aurora and them marrying. Then of course, Merryweather and Flora’s fight over the color of Aurora’s dress (pink or blue) continues into eternity while the newlyweds dance the night away.

Categories
Blogathon Favorite Classic Television

The Aaron Spellingverse Blogathon- I Love Lucy, “Tennessee Bound.”

Aaron Spelling is known for producing some of the biggest shows of the 70s, 80s and 90s. Some of his most popular shows include Charlie’s Angels, The Love Boat, Dynasty, Beverly Hills 90210, Melrose Place and Charmed. Many people do not realize that before he was producing television shows, amassing his massive wealth and building his 56,500 square foot, 123-room home, aka “The Manor,” Spelling was acting on television. His very first television appearance was in a 1955 episode of I Love Lucy, “Tennessee Bound.”

RICKY (from the car): Where are we?
LUCY: Where are we? Uhhh…where are we Ethel?
ETHEL: Uh… I don’t know, I wasn’t paying much attention.
GAS STATION ATTENDANT: Shucks, you’re in Tennessee!
LUCY: Tennessee?!
ETHEL: Tennessee?!
RICKY (from the car): Tennessee?!
FRED (from the car): Tennessee?!
GAS STATION ATTENDANT: You got a bad echo in that car!
LUCY: Yeah well…How do you get back to Highway 60?
GAS STATION ATTENDANT: You got here from Highway 60?! But there a’int no roads! You must’ve come across that mountain, in them old logging ruts. How’d you do it?
LUCY: T’weren’t easy. Tell me where is the next city?
GAS STATION ATTENDANT: You can get to Nashville from here. You go straight down here a piece, until you get to that big road, and you stay right on it, and it’ll take you right through Bent Fork.
LUCY: Bent Fork?!
ETHEL: Bent Fork?!
RICKY (from the car): Bent Fork?!
FRED (from the car): Bent Fork?!
GAS STATION ATTENDANT: There goes that echo again!

Lucille Ball as “Lucy,” Desi Arnaz as “Ricky,” Vivian Vance as “Ethel,” William Frawley as “Fred,” and Aaron Spelling as “Gas Station Attendant.” I Love Lucy, “Tennessee Bound,” January 24, 1955.

While in Bent Fork, Ricky is pulled over for speeding and is hauled down to the jail. Lucy ends up being arrested for back talking the Sheriff. Then, having heard the ruckus about the city folk being caught speeding, Ernie shows up. He, Ricky and the Mertzes come up with a plan to break Lucy out of jail. However, it doesn’t go well and the whole group ends up behind bars. To get out of jail, Ernie decides that he’ll marry the Sheriff’s daughter who was sweet on him. Ernie declares his intent to the Sheriff. The Sheriff is overjoyed and leaves to go get his twin daughters–Teensy and Weensy. Teensy and Weensy are portrayed by Marilyn and Rosalyn Borden. These poor women are the butt of the joke in this episode. The twins are petite and rotund women. Ernie ends up proposing to the wrong sister and his plan is ruined.

While in Bent Fork, Ricky is pulled over for speeding and is hauled down to the jail. Lucy ends up being arrested for back talking the Sheriff. Then, having heard the ruckus about the city folk being caught speeding, Ernie shows up. He, Ricky and the Mertzes come up with a plan to break Lucy out of jail. However, it doesn’t go well and the whole group ends up behind bars. To get out of jail, Ernie decides that he’ll marry the Sheriff’s daughter who was sweet on him. Ernie declares his intent to the Sheriff. The Sheriff is overjoyed and leaves to go get his twin daughters–Teensy and Weensy. Teensy and Weensy are portrayed by Marilyn and Rosalyn Borden. These poor women are the butt of the joke in this episode. The twins are petite and rotund women. Ernie ends up proposing to the wrong sister and his plan is ruined.

However, Teensy and Weensy express interest in dancing with Ricky (because why not? He’s hot!). Ricky at first refuses, but is convinced to do so by Ernie. Ernie comes up with another plan, telling the Sheriff that Ricky will dance with the twins, but only if they can do a square dance, “so he can dance with both at once.” This is where Aaron Spelling comes back into the episode as he just happens to be at the jail. Maybe he had heard about the trouble the group got into and wanted to see what happened. Spelling, the Sheriff, Teensy and Weensy round out the square alongside the Ricardos and Mertzes. Ernie serves as the square dance caller. They start with a traditional square dance; but Ernie soon gives clever calls that subtly cue the Ricardos and Mertzes to make their move to escape. They grab a rope and tie the Sheriff, his daughters and Aaron Spelling up and they’re back on the road!

This is a very funny episode, though you can’t help but feel sorry for Teensy and Weensy. They fill the role that is present in a lot of old television shows and movies where a father with supposedly unattractive daughters feels compelled to try and pawn them off on any man who will pay them even a second of attention. Cousin Ernie can be a bit of a divisive figure in the I Love Lucy community; but I love him. Aaron Spelling’s re-appearance at the end of the episode is somewhat random as he just kind of shows up again, but obviously they needed eight people for the square and Spelling was already on the set. Spelling’s appearance isn’t entirely memorable unless you’re a big I Love Lucy fan and he’s unrecognizable from his 70s-90s image. However, it is fun to see a huge television titan at the beginning of his career in such a goofy role. He could have done worse though for his television debut than I Love Lucy, the #1 show in the country.