It’s been a while since I posted. I apologize for missing the last blogathons–I’ve been so busy this summer. Between being busy, going to the beach with my husband for our anniversary, birthdays, and everything else, it’s been hard. With autumn here, and (hopefully) the rainy Oregon weather coming back, I can be more diligent about posting. Over Halloween weekend, my husband and I will be traveling down to Southern Oregon to stay at the historic Wolf Creek Inn where Clark Gable and Carole Lombard stayed back in the late 1930s. I’m hoping I’ll be able to do an article about it after my trip.
Another thing that I did this summer was attend the Film Noir Foundation’s annual Noir City event at the Hollywood Theatre in Portland, OR. This is the third year in a row that we’ve attended, and the third year that we’ve had VIP passes. TCM host and Film Noir Foundation president, Eddie Muller, was also in attendance all weekend to talk to the attendees and introduce the films. This year’s theme was “Face the Music,” which meant that every one of the seven films screened featured either a musician or a nightclub. This year, my husband and I attended Noir City with our BFFs and my parents.
Noir City started on Friday night. First my husband, friends and I attended the VIP party at the Bar Hollywood (next door to the theater), and then moved next door to the theater to watch our first film, Black Angel (1946) starring Dan Duryea and Peter Lorre. This was an interesting film, one that I’d seen once before. However, towards the end of the film, I had to go to the bathroom so badly and actually had to leave the theater during the film, because I couldn’t take it anymore. Turns out there is a drawback to free drinks at the VIP party–an insanely and uncomfortably full bladder. I typically do not leave the theater once the film starts. The next film that evening was The Man I Love(1946) with my queen, Ida Lupino, and Robert Alda. This is a film that I’d just seen for the first time a couple years ago. I really enjoy this film which features Ida as a torch singer with the odd name of “Petey.”
Saturday was the second and longest day of the festival. This was also the day when 2/3 films featured were new to me titles. The day opened with a “Conversation with Eddie Muller” event with the Hollywood Theatre Director of Education & Special Projects, Ted Hurliman, who was previously acquainted with Eddie Muller prior to the revival of Noir City Portland in 2024. They had tried to do Noir City previously back in 2008, and it bombed. In 2024 they tried Noir City Portland again and it’s sold out three years in a row–yay! After the conversation, there was a book signing. I have all of Eddie’s books, so instead of the book signing my parents, husband, and I went a few doors down to Sizzle Pie pizza for lunch. My friends opted out of the conversation event and went to OMSI to see the traveling Titanic exhibit. I highly recommend that exhibit to anyone who will be visiting Portland before October 18.
Saturday’s afternoon slate of films started with a new-to-me film, A Man Called Adam (1966) starring Sammy Davis Jr, Cecily Tyson, and Louis Armstrong. In this film, Sammy plays the titular Adam, a musician who is self destructing. As someone who was in band from 5th-12th grade, I want to make it clear that while the film refers to Adam as a trumpet player, he’s actually playing a cornet. After ‘Adam,’ it was time for the film of the day that I had seen before, To Have and Have Not (1944), starring Bogie and Bacall. When I saw this film on the schedule, I thought it was featured maybe for Bacall’s character who sings in the film. During his introduction, Eddie clarified that while this film may not be a noir per se, it had enough elements of noir that it works and that he wanted to show something featuring Hoagy Carmichael. Eddie stated that he considered Carmichael to be one of America’s greatest musicians and songwriters.
Saturday ended with the premiere of the Film Noir Foundation’s recent restoration of The Yellow Canary (1963) a film noir featuring Barbara Eden (!) and Pat Boone. Yes. That Pat Boone. Boone plays a singer whose child is kidnapped and he takes it upon himself to investigate and find his kid. This wasn’t the greatest film, but it was a lot of fun. It felt like a long episode of Get Smart without the gadgets. TCM recently re-aired The Yellow Canary on Noir Alley and I’m so mad my recording didn’t take. I’m hoping that this film will be released on Flicker Alley (who typically distributes The Film Noir Foundation’s new restorations) in the near future.
Sunday was the final day of Noir City and started with The Man with the Golden Arm (1955) starring Frank Sinatra, Kim Novak, and Eleanor Parker. This movie features a very atypical Sinatra role and shows that he was a good actor. Kim Novak is also very good and Eleanor Parker is a little over the top but it works for this film. Finally, the day closed out with probably the biggest film of the festival, Sweet Smell of Success (1957) starring Burt Lancaster and Tony Curtis. I love journalism movies. This movie also has an amazing score and cinematography. I couldn’t help but notice though that Elmer Bernstein’s score for both ‘Man’ and ‘Sweet’ were VERY similar. That doesn’t matter though because both scores are excellent.
Noir City is such a fun event and reasonably priced, especially if you’re like me and don’t have to rent a car or hotel room to attend. I do have to drive ~45 minutes across town one way three days in a row, but that’s worth not spending hundreds of dollars to stay in a hotel. Eddie Muller is so much fun to talk to and he makes the effort to talk to everyone who approaches him in the lobby and at the VIP party (if you can get in). I highly recommend it.
This blog entry is going to have three parts: 1) My memory of the Drive-In; 2) My answers to the Drive-In Movie List Game; and 3) My highlight of a very funny scene in The Facts of Life (1960) that takes place at a Drive-In.
1. My Memory of the Drive-In
Site of the former North Salem Drive-In, now the Highway Fuel Co. Note that the site has the cone Drive-In shape.
Having been born in 1984, I missed the heyday of the Drive-In. By the time I was old enough to be out watching movies in a theater, or even at the Drive-In, most of the Drive-Ins in my hometown (Salem, OR) were long gone. I performed some research at cinematreasures.org and discovered that Salem had the following Drive-Ins:
North Salem Drive-In, Opened 1954. Closed 1982.
South Salem Drive-In #1, Opened 1953. Closed 1961.
South Salem Drive-In #2, Opened 1970. Closed 1993.
The South Salem Drive-In #2, is the one that I visited when I was in the third grade in 1992. From reading about the history of South Salem Drive-In #1, it sounds like the Drive-In closed in 1961, then was finished off for good by a fire in 1964. The South Salem Drive-In #2 opened in 1970 a few miles away. Interestingly, the original site of the South Salem Drive-In has never been developed and it still has the classic cone shaped plot that Drive-Ins often had. From this bird’s-eye view, it is easy to make out the layout of the Drive-In.
Current bird’s-eye view of the former site of the South Salem Drive-In. It closed in 1961.
As for the South Salem Drive-In #2, I remember the last film I saw was Wayne’s World (1992). I cannot recall any specifics about the experience, and I have to think that we saw another film too since Drive-Ins often show double features. I have vague memories of my dad setting the radio station to pick up the movie, and our snacks that we brought from home. I remember also being able to look around and see glimpses of the other movies being screened.
The site of the old South Salem Drive-In. The building with the pin is the current Regal multiplex. The rectangle on the left still shows the berms from one of the old screens. Another access road is seen on the left.
The old derelict South Salem Drive-In sign that stood for 13 years past the Drive-In’s 1994 closure, finally being torn down in 2007.
The electrical components of the South Salem Drive-In marquee. This is what they looked like after 13 years of sitting unused, out in the elements.
The South Salem Drive-In ended up closing in 1993. In 1994, there was a “mysterious fire” in the projection booth and concession stand. It was officially ruled to be arson, but the community was very skeptical. Later, the same year, another fire all but put an end to any remaining structures at the Drive-In. One would think that the Drive-In closing, and the actual building of the multiplex Santiam 11 Regal Cinemas (the first in Salem with stadium seating!) in 1999, that the South Salem Drive-In marquee sign would be torn down. Nope! Not only did the South Salem Drive-In sign continue to stand for 13 years after its closure, until it was finally torn down in 2007, Regal Cinemas STILL hasn’t built an entrance sign for the theater. The Drive-In sign became something of a Salem landmark. It was only torn down when it was deemed a Safety hazard.
2. My Answers to the Drive-In Movie List Game
1. What is your favorite science fiction movie featuring aliens?
Science fiction and movies with aliens aren’t typically my cup of tea. Occasionally aliens will be fun, like Alf, the Neutrinos in Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, and Jeff Goldblum and Jim Carrey in Earth Girls Are Easy. I also like the alien cast of Third Rock From the Sun. However, to answer this question, I do enjoy the original The Day the Earth Stood Still (1951), with Michael Rennie as the alien Klaatu and The Blob (1958) starring the alien, The Blob.
The Blob, star of “The Blob.”
2. What is your favorite science fiction movie that has no aliens?
Again, science fiction isn’t really my thing, but in researching what films were considered science fiction that don’t have aliens, I found that I did enjoy a lot of films on the list. Most of the films I like involved time travel. I love Back to the Future (1985) with Michael J Fox traveling back to 1955 from 1985 and inadvertently preventing his parents from meeting. Time is of the essence as he pretends to be high school student “Calvin Klein” and tries to get his future parents to go to the dance together. The dance is where they met.
3. What is Your Favorite Movie Featuring Action Heroes or Superheroes?
I love Frank Drebin, played to perfection by Leslie Nielsen in the Naked Gun trilogy. He is the perfect spoof of the 1980s/1990s action hero with car crashes, intense student driving lessons, fun Bond-like gadgets, and high stakes missions, like preventing the assassination of Queen Elizabeth II at an Anaheim Angels baseball game. Frank memorably goes undercover as Enrico Pallazo and umpires the baseball game as he looks for which player has been set-up to kill the queen. Aside from the Naked Gun films, I also love the 1980s/1990s Batman films, with Batman Returns (1992) being my favorite. Michelle Pfeiffer is the quintessential Catwoman. I saw this movie in the theater in the third grade and had all the commemorative cups from McDonalds.
Enrico Pallazo showing off his moves in “The Naked Gun.”
4. What is Your Favorite Movie Featuring Outcasts or Antiheroes?
I love The Brady Bunch Movie (1995) and A Very Brady Sequel (1996) featuring the iconic Brady family living in 1990s Los Angeles. The world around them has become grungier and less squeaky clean, but the Bradys remain firmly entrenched in the 1970s. The entire Brady family, dressed to the hilt in 1970s leisure suits and polyester, are ridiculed to their faces and behind their backs, with the family members oblivious to the insults. Marcia is hilariously still popular (despite her dated clothing) but is ridiculed by Doug Simpson “the big man on campus,” and neighbor Eric who says “she’s harder to get into than a Pearl Jam concert.” They think Marcia is such a goody goody because she won’t let a boy put his hand on her shoulder on a first date (that’s third base), let alone sleep with them. Marcia doesn’t even give them a second thought though as her biggest drama is having two dates for the same evening. The Brady family stick out like a sore thumb in the 90s, but you can’t help but root for Marcia to brush her hair 100 times, get Davy Jones to appear at the high school prom and win $20,000 in the talent show to pay their tax bill and prevent losing their home.
5. What is Your Favorite Horror Movie Featuring Monsters?
I love Little Shop of Horrors (1986) with Rick Moranis, Ellen Greene, Steve Martin, and of course, Audrey II. I love that Audrey II is sassy and vulgar and sings the banger, “Mean Green Mother From Outer Space.” The music in this film is fantastic. I love Steve Martin’s “Dentist” song and Audrey’s “Somewhere That’s Green” where she dreams about watching I Love Lucy on the 12″ screen. The Henson Company’s puppetry is fantastic. The puppet itself is also very impressive. The cast is also great. Who knew Rick Moranis was such a good singer?
Audrey II in “The Little Shop of Horrors.” I love the little plants.
6. What is Your Favorite Horror Movie with No Monster?
I am not a big horror fan either, but I do like thrillers or really cheesy slashers like the original Friday the 13th. However, I am willing to give any genre a chance if the film intrigues me. One of my favorite monster-less horror movies is the original version of The Stepford Wives (1975) starring Katharine Ross. Ross plays Joanna and moves from New York City to the idyllic community of Stepford, Connecticut. She befriends the local wives, including Paula Prentiss and Tina Louise. Soon she starts noticing that some of the other wives seem to be robotic, incredibly submissive, and devoid of any distinct personality. Then she witnesses one of the women repeating herself over and over–almost like she’s a broken record. I love this movie. It’s so delightfully beautiful and creepy.
7. What’s Your Favorite Movie Featuring Motorcycles or Cars?
I love Smokey and the Bandit (1977). I’ve seen this movie at least a dozen times, but a few years ago, my sister and I saw it in the theater and it was amazing. This movie is perfection with the cool and somewhat reckless Burt Reynolds as the titular Bandit, and Sally Field as the gorgeous, yet sassy and bitter “Frog.” Paul Williams plays Little Enos. Then Jerry Reed plays not only Bandit’s BFF “The Snowman” who travels with his basset hound, Fred, he also sings the catchy and fantastic theme song of the movie, “Eastbound and Down.” As great as Reynolds’ black Trans Am is and as fun as the car scenes are, this film’s greatest asset is Jackie Gleason as Buford T Justice, aka “Smokey Bear.” Every single thing that Buford T Justice says is hilarious. Some day, I’d love to go into Carl’s Jr that has a Diablo burger and say “Get me a Diablo sandwich and a Dr Pepper and make it quick because I’m in a goddamned hurry!” However, I don’t want a Diablo burger and I also think the staff would have no idea what I’m saying, so I’d just look like a jerk.
Jr. tries to keep Papa Buford’s hat on his head in “Smokey and the Bandit”
8. What is Your Favorite Movie Featuring Gangs or Criminals?
I love film noir, so there are a million films that I love that fit this criteria. One of my favorites is White Heat (1949) starring James Cagney as gangster Cody Jarrett who has a mommy complex and reoccurring debilitating migraines. He is being tailed by FBI agent Fallon (Edmond O’Brien) who manages to get inside Cody’s gang. Cody has an explosive temper and ending. Virginia Mayo who plays Cody’s girlfriend has one of my all-time favorite lines, “Money’s just paper if you don’t spend it.” Other gang or criminal movies I love are The Killing (1956), Gun Crazy (1950), and Double Indemnity (1944).
9. What is Your Favorite Movie Featuring War or a War Setting?
I am not a big war person. However, I love movies about the World War II home front, or if it prominently features war, I’d rather the war have something else like a romance or some other story intertwined and not focus solely on the battle and maneuvers. The actual scenes of war with battles and maneuvers and such don’t usually excite me. One of my favorite war movies is From Here to Eternity (1953) that takes place in the days leading up to December 7, 1941. This movie only really has war at the end, but the audience knows that it’s coming while the soldiers are practicing mundane drills and such. There are also two romances and drama that I enjoy. Another war movie I love is Cry Havoc (1943) about a group of volunteer women (mostly civilians, some nurses) who live together and administer aid and care to the wounded soldiers.
Burt Lancaster and Deborah Kerr in that iconic beach scene from “From Here to Eternity”
10. What is Your Favorite Movie Featuring a Mystery?
I love film noir, Hitchcock, the mystery-comedy movies like The Thin Man series, but my favorite is probably Mildred Pierce (1945) where the mystery of who murdered playboy Monte Beragon (Zachary Scott) is revealed. Mildred Pierce (Joan Crawford), wife to Monte, is brought in for questioning. The entire action of the film is unveiled via flashback. We learn about Mildred’s divorce from husband Bert (Bruce Bennett) and her children, especially her horribly spoiled daughter, Veda (Ann Blyth). Jack Carson and Eve Arden are the buddy comedy that we never knew we wanted as they provide support to Mildred throughout the film. This movie is fantastic and I love Veda. Veda is my queen.
11. What is Your Favorite Movie Western?
I haven’t seen a ton of Westerns, but I am trying to watch more. I love Shane (1953) starring Alan Ladd as the titular Shane. This is one of those typical stranger arrives in town type films. Shane comes to the aid of the local Starrett family, led by Van Heflin and Jean Arthur, whose land is at risk of being taken over by a wealthy cattle baron. Ladd is fantastic in this film as are Heflin and Arthur. Shane is known as a great gunslinger and his presence in town threatens the cattle baron. He in turn hires Jack Palance, another great gunslinger to take on Shane. This film is gorgeous to look at and exciting to watch.
Alan Ladd in “Shane”
12. What is Your Favorite Adventure Film?
I love The Adventures of Robin Hood (1938) with my favorite, Errol Flynn. Despite Flynn not being particularly excited by the role, he was born to play Robin Hood. He is sheer perfection in this film as are Olivia de Havilland as Maid Marian and Claude Rains as Prince John. The Adventures of Robin Hood is as close to a perfect film as one can get. The Technicolor is gorgeous. The costumes are gorgeous. The scenery is beautiful. The action scenes are exciting. The score is fantastic. Everything about this film is perfection.
13. What is Your Favorite Movie Featuring a Female Lead?
My #1 favorite movie of all time is The Long, Long Trailer (1954) starring Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz. Made in the middle of I Love Lucy, this film plays more or less like a 90 minute long episode, sans the Mertzes. The Long, Long Trailer is hilarious. I have seen this movie at least 100 times (no exaggeration). I wore out two VHS, two DVD, and now I have a blu ray. I’ve seen it on the big screen twice. My favorite part of this film is when Lucy falls out of the trailer, on her back, into a giant mud puddle. The scream she lets out is hysterical.
Lucy tries to cook dinner in the back of a moving trailer in “The Long, Long Trailer.” It does not go well.
14. What is Your Favorite Movie Featuring Beaches and Rock and Roll?
If there’s another type of film I love besides film noir, women in prison, and The Long Long Trailer, it’s teen beach movies–especially 1950s and 1960s teen beach movies. My favorite of the teen beach movies is the OG, Gidget (1959), starring Sandra Dee as everyone’s favorite girl surfer, and teen idol James Darren as Moondoggie. Cliff Robertson plays The Big Kahuna. Gidget features another teen beach movie trope, the luau. James Darren croons two songs, including the title track “Gidget” and “The Next Best Thing to Love.” I also love the sequel, Gidget Goes Hawaiian (1961) with Deborah Walley as a redheaded Gidget and Darren again as Moondoggie. Carl Reiner and Jeff Donnell play Gidget’s parents.
I would be remiss if I didn’t mention the Beach Party movies. I love Beach Blanket Bingo (1965) with Frankie Avalon and Annette Funicello. Linda Evans shows up as “Sugar Kane” a singer with whom Frankie is instantly smitten, much to Annette’s chagrin. Like in all Beach Party movies, Frankie says/does something dumb and Annette is mad at him. Then there’s the world’s oldest teen gang member, Eric Von Zipper, who gets involved. Joel McCrea’s son, Jody, meets a mermaid. And Buster Keaton spends the entire movie chasing a bikini girl. Then there’s my girl, Deborah Walley, playing a skydiving instructor. This movie makes absolutely no sense, but I love it.
For a more serious teen beach movie with rock and roll, I love Where the Boys Are (1960) starring Dolores Hope, Paula Prentiss, Yvette Mimieux, and Connie Francis. The four women play college students who decide to leave their snowy college town for a week long, warm spring break in Florida. Each girl hopes to meet a boy, but each have different goals and personalities. Their beaus end up being George Hamilton, Jim Hutton, a disgusting creep named Dill, and Frank Gorshin. Yvette Mimieux probably gets the saddest, but juiciest part. In between the drama however, are a lot of hilarious scenes and a fantastic title song sung by Connie Francis.
Honorable Mentions for favorite beach rock and roll movies: Dr Goldfoot and the Bikini Machine (1965) with Vincent Price;Beach Party (1963) with Frankie and Annette; Muscle Beach Party (1964) with Frankie and Annette; It’s a Bikini World (1967) with Deborah Walley; For Those Who Think Young (1964) with James Darren, Pamela Tiffin, Nancy Sinatra, Bob Denver, Tina Louise, Paul Lynde (!) and Ellen Burstyn!; Girl Happy (1965); and Clambake (1967) both starring Elvis and Shelley Fabares.
For those who love horror and teen beach movies and would love to see the two combined, I recommend Psycho Beach Party (2000) which follows the Gidget storyline almost exactly, but in this film, Gidget acts more like Michael Myers.
Moondoggie teaches Gidget how to surf in “Gidget”
3. Movie Featuring the Drive-In–“The Facts of Life” (1960)
An interesting movie poster for this film
After I Love Lucy and The Lucy-Desi Comedy Hour ended in 1960, and her divorce from Desi Arnaz, Lucille Ball signed on to co-star with longtime friend, Bob Hope. The Facts of Life (not to be confused with the 1979-1988 television show of the same name) featured Ball and Hope as Kitty and Larry, a pair of friends who embark on an extra-marital affair. Both have issues in their respective marriages that drive them into each other’s arms. Kitty’s husband is always working or gambling. Larry’s wife is so preoccupied with the children, not paying any attention to him unless it has to do with the kids. Every year, Kitty and her husband, Larry and his wife, and another couple all take the same vacation to Acapulco. However, this year, after a series of illnesses and events, Kitty and Larry find themselves on the vacation alone. Eventually, we know it will come to a point where they’ll need to decide whether their relationship is worth breaking up two marriages.
Scene of the Drive-In in “The Facts of Life” (1960)
Despite The Facts of Life being a rather mature film for 1960 and for Lucille Ball and Bob Hope, two actors primarily known for comedy, there is a very comedic scene in this film that takes place at, you guessed it, a Drive-In! Before Kitty and Larry deliberate about whether to divorce their respective spouses for each other, they try to carry on their affair discreetly, under everyone’s noses. One evening, Kitty and Larry arrange to rendezvous at the local Drive-In. However, Larry is detained when his wife, Mary, asks him to go to their son’s scout meeting.
Lucy and Bob Hope rendezvous at the Olympic Drive-In in LA. According to the internet, it is long gone and is now a car dealership.
Larry finally arrives at the Drive-In and climbs into Kitty’s car. They embrace and kiss. However, while they’re kissing, Kitty sees Thompson, the dry cleaner, who makes regular house calls to all her friends’ homes (including Larry’s) in the neighboring car. Thompson of course, recognizes her. Kitty warns Larry about Thompson. Knowing that Thompson can see Kitty, Larry must keep his back to him to hide their affair. After accidentally hitting the horn, causing it to be stuck, and annoying all the neighboring moviegoers, Kitty and Larry decide that they need to leave. To keep Larry’s identity secret, he and Kitty continue to kiss while they attempt to drive a car together with Larry’s foot on one pedal and Kitty’s on the other. Thompson is none the wiser, all he knows is that Kitty was making out at the Drive-In.
Lucille Ball and Bob Hope kiss at the Drive-In before they have to co-drive a car together
Rick at the Classic Film and TV Cafe started National Classic Movie Day on May 16th, back in 2014, and it’s still going strong. I actually have tickets today to see Double Indemnity up on the big screen, but I’m trying to decide whether to go. I know this sounds sacriligious, especially today, but it is about a 1.5 hr round trip from my house to NE Portland, OR. Frankly, sometimes I’m just not feeling the drive, you know? I have also seen Double Indemnity in the theater before, even at Grauman’s Chinese Theater! I could also see it tomorrow too. So we’ll see. I may opt to celebrate National Classic Movie Day at home with Chinese takeout instead. Also in my defense, I saw two classic films in the theater last weekend–Casablanca and The Bad and the Beautiful.
The Classic Movie Blog Association provided all the members with a series of prompts to celebrate this occasion. At the risk of creating an incredibly long blog post, I am going to try and answer each prompt.
Edmond O’Brien and Lucille Ball in A Girl, A Guy and A Gob.
Your Favorite Hidden Film Gems
A Girl, A Guy and A Gob (1941). This is a great comedy starring my fave, Lucille Ball, a young Edmond O’Brien (another one of my faves, and in his second film!), and George Murphy. In this film, O’Brien plays Stephen Herrick, the wealthy boss of a large shipping company. Lucy plays Dot, a secretary who ends up working for Stephen. Unfortunately for them, there was no “meet cute” as the two had met a day or two prior in a tumultuous encounter at the theater. Stephen is part of the upper crust and is engaged to a woman who is obviously with him for the status and perks that his class brings her. He ends up meeting Dot’s more down to earth, albeit eccentric family, and is enchanted by how fun and carefree they live their lives. He and Dot start falling for each other–except she’s going with “Coffee Cup” (Murphy), a sailor whom she’s been dating forever.
The Devil and Miss Jones(1941). This is another great comedy from 1941 with another of my faves, Jean Arthur. In this film, Arthur plays the titular “Miss Jones,” her character’s first name is Mary. “The Devil” in the title refers to Charles Coburn’s character, John P. Merrick, the owner of the department store in which Mary works. At the beginning of the film, Merrick receives word that the employees at his store are trying to unionize. He decides to go undercover as “Thomas Higgins” and get a job at the store so he can discover who is instigating the unionization efforts. Higgins gets a job on the shoe floor selling slippers. He meets Mary and her co-worker/friend, Elizabeth (Spring Byington) and is quickly charmed by both–especially Elizabeth. He then meets Mary’s boyfriend, Joe O’Brien (Robert Cummings), and learns that he is the person behind the unionization campaign. However, at this point Merrick has developed a friendship with these employees and starts to sympathize with their cause. This film is very funny and charming.
Conflict (1945). This is a great, unsung film noir, that even the film’s star, Humphrey Bogart, disliked immensely. However, I disagree with Bogart and think that this is a great film. In this film, Bogart plays Richard Mason, husband to Kathryn (Rose Hobart). In the opening scene, we can see that there is trouble with the Masons. Kathryn nags Richard relentlessly, and even tells him he’s wrong about disliking mutton when he very pointedly says he hates it. However, the tension in their marriage isn’t due to mutton, it’s due to the fact that Richard is openly smitten with Kathryn’s sister, Evelyn (Alexis Smith). Richard eventually comes up with a scheme to “off” Kathryn, and make it look like an accident. The plan seems to go off without a hitch. Family friend, Dr. Mark Hamilton (Sydney Greenstreet), however is suspicious as are the police. This is a great movie and the ending was done very well. While it might not be at the top of the Bogart canon of films, it’s a good movie. Bogart also played a wife murderer in a few films after this one–The Two Mrs. Carrolls (1947) with Barbara Stanwyck, which is also very good.
Out of the Blue (1947). This is an insane, but very funny movie. This film stars George Brent and Carole Landis as Arthur and Mae Earthleigh. The Earthleighs live in an apartment in New York City’s Greenwhich village. Their terrace is next door to bachelor David (Turhan Bey) who owns the very rowdy German Shepherd, Rabelais. David is also an artist and employs a lot of models to pose for him. His current muse is Deborah (Virginia Mayo), who also wants to breed her German Shepherd with his. Later, Mae goes out of town. Bored, Arthur goes to a bar where he meets Olive (Ann Dvorak), a woman who loves brandy, which she says helps soothe a heart condition. However, while the brandy may help Olive’s heart, it also causes her to pass out. In a questionable move for a married man, Arthur invites Olive to his home for brandy. Later, Arthur asks Olive to leave and she does. Until she reenters his home and passes out in his guest room, but not before redecorating the room! The next morning, he discovers Olive and accidentally knocks her down onto the floor. He thinks she’s dead; but she’s actually passed out. This starts a hilarious third act where Arthur, Deborah and David try to move Olive’s “body” around–all while the nosey old lady neighbors, including Elizabeth “Mrs. Trumbull” Patterson watch in shock.
That Funny Feeling (1965). This is a very funny movie starring power couple Sandra Dee and Bobby Darin. Nita Talbot, Larry Storch, and Donald O’Connor provide excellent and hilarious support. In this film, Dee plays Joan Howell, an aspiring actress who makes a living as a maid, cleaning clients’ homes. Darin plays Tom Milford, a publishing executive. On three separate occasions, he and Dee run into each other (literally) at the neighborhood newstand. What Tom doesn’t know is that Joan is the maid who cleans his apartment. Tom’s boss, Harvey (O’Connor), is in the middle of a divorce and is using Tom’s apartment to hide some of his expensive oil paintings, so that they’re not taken from him during the divorce settlement. Harvey wants to send Tom away on a business trip for two weeks. Tom leaves a note for his maid, letting her know that he’ll be gone and requests additional cleaning. She decides to invite herself and friend Audrey (Talbot) to spend the two weeks at her client’s apartment, to getaway from their horribly crummy and cramped place. Tom’s business trip ends up being canceled. He takes Joan out on a date. When it comes time to take her home, Joan directs Tom to his apartment, telling her it’s her home. He is amused and confused, but decides not to come clean just to see how far she’ll go in her deception. At one point, Tom is with Joan and his friends and has to pretend that Harvey’s place is his new place, as they would recognize his place that Joan is pretending is hers. This movie is very funny–especially the part when Dee and Talbot attempt to make Duck a l’orange to disasterous results.
Virginia Mayo, Ann Dvorak, and Turhan Bey in Out of the Blue
2. How did you become a classic film fan and/or who introduced you to classic films?
I’ve always watched classic films, as they were just films. My family never considered movies “old,” they were just movies. My love for classic film really increased though in 1994 when I was 10, when I discovered I Love Lucy one night on my beloved Nick at Nite. I loved the show and especially loved Lucille Ball. My family also went to the library once a month. I discovered that my library had a lot of Lucille Ball, I Love Lucy, and everything adjacent. I read all of it. From these biographies about Lucy, I learned about her movie career. My library also just happened to have a large number of Lucy’s films available on VHS in their audio/visual department. I borrowed every single one. From Lucy’s films and I Love Lucy, I discovered even more favorites–Katharine Hepburn, Gene Kelly, Ginger Rogers, William Holden, Eve Arden… the list goes on. Then from seeing some of these stars’ movies, I discovered other favorite stars like Fred Astaire, Grace Kelly, Ann Blyth, etc. etc. Even 30+ years later, I’m still finding new favorites and I don’t anticipate that trend ending anytime soon.
Vivian Vance, William Frawley, Desi Arnaz, and Lucille Ball in I Love Lucy.
3. What is your favorite film memory?
Seeing Casablanca at the 2023 TCM Classic Film Festival at Grauman’s Chinese Theater, completely packed house (almost 1000 seats), and it was so quiet you could hear a pin drop.
Another favorite film memory is seeing Barbarella in a sold-out house at the Hollywood Theatre in Portland, OR. The audience was completely entranced by the campfest that is Barbarella. One of the female attendees even dressed as Barbarella, which is admirable, because it was January in Oregon. Now THAT is dedication to cosplay.
Finally, another favorite memory is seeing Titanic on opening day in December 1997 when I was in the 8th grade. Me, my parents, my sister, my friends, my friend’s parents… at least 10 of us, filled most of an entire theater row at the now defunct Movieland in downtown Salem, OR (where I grew up). My mom worked a few blocks from the theater and went a week or two ahead of time to get the tickets. That was such a fun memory and I ended up seeing Titanic in the theater three times before it finally left the screens in late 1998.
4. What film(s) would you watch to introduce kids to classics?
I would probably choose a colorful, exciting film like The Adventures of Robin Hood (1938) with my fave, Errol Flynn, or something colorful and funny like Singin’ in the Rain (1952). Kids, I’m sure would love Cosmo’s “Make ’em Laugh” dance where he does backflips off of the walls. I also think kids would like Meet Me in St. Louis (1944) because of Margaret O’Brien’s antics and for the bright colors and music.
Olivia de Havilland and Errol Flynn in The Adventures of Robin Hood
5. Talk about your favorite film era/decade/genre
I love the 1940s, it’s my favorite decade of my favorite era (Classic Hollywood) and it is also the peak of my favorite genre–film noir. I love the 1940s for the wartime, homefront movies. I love the advent of film noir and the switch from the glamorous escapist films of the 1930s to the shadow-filled, moody, sometimes derelict locations of film noir. The 1940s were also when another of my favorite genres, musicals, started to become popular with the emergence of Gene Kelly, another of my favorite stars. Two of my favorite films, Casablanca (1942) and Mildred Pierce (1945) came out during this era.
Ann Blyth and Joan Crawford in Mildred Pierce
6. Create a watch list
I’ll admit that I’m not the watch list type. My letterboxd watch list contains exactly zero films. However, right now, these are the films I’m trying to watch, mostly because I got them from the library and need to return them:
1. Nights of Cabiria (1957) 2. Days of Heaven (1978) 3. The Twelve Chairs (1970) 4. Manhattan (1979) 5. The Farmer’s Daughter (1947) 6. Hannah and Her Sisters (1986) 7. Ishtar (1987) 8. Lonely Are the Brave (1962) 9. Swingers (1996) 10. Vanishing Point (1971) 11. Dangerous Liasions (1989) 12. Jerry Maguire (1996) 13. Money From Home (1953) 14. The Towering Inferno (1974)
7. Is there a film that has been passed down generations in your family?
Only films that my parents shared with me. I didn’t really grow up seeing extended family very often, mine lived halfway across the country from us.
8. Share any bucket list classic film you have
Besides allegedly lost films like Convention City (1932) and the full version of The Magnificent Ambersons (1942), I need to watch the entirety of Gone with the Wind (1939). I’ve only seen the first half. I also sometime want to watch Cleopatra (1963) because of the legendary stories about the tumultuous filming. My “bucket list” films are going to be many of the very long films that are supposedly masterpieces.
Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton in Cleopatra
9. What are your favorite classic film resources?
TCM (of course), My own physical media shelves, Criterion Channel, and the library–especially the Inter-Library Loan program.
10. What classic films do you long to see on the big screen?
I’ve been fortunate that I’ve been able to see a lot of my favorite films on the big screen, including my all-time #1 favorite film, The Long Long Trailer (1954) which I’ve seen on the big screen twice. As for some of my other favorites that I haven’t been able to see on the big screen, I’d love to see The More the Merrier (1943), Funny Face (1957), Dark Passage (1947), and Gaslight (1944).
Charles Coburn and Jean Arthur in The More the Merrier
Satsuke and sister Mei take shelter from the rain at a bus stop with Totoro keeping watch in My Neighbor Totoro (1988).
As a native of the Pacific Northwest, Oregon specifically, I have seen my share of rain. In fact, NW Oregon (where I’ve lived my entire life) is in the middle of yet another “atmospheric river” event. Basically, we’re getting rain and a lot of it–at least 3″ between yesterday through tomorrow. Personally, I like the rain. It’s relaxing and makes the outside smell nice. Plus, it makes for excellent movie watching weather. As long as the rain stays out of my basement, I am good.
During the last major rain event, just a couple weeks ago, I watched a bunch of excellent rainy film noir and Clue because I love it and it has rain. That rain marathon and this week’s downpour inspired me to write a post about rain in the movies as well as allows me to highlight some of my favorite movies. Right now, I haven’t returned to watching any rainy films, because I’ve been obsessed with playing Pokopia on Switch 2.
Movies have been using rain since almost the beginning to put forth a certain emotion, add suspense, express a metaphor, or even just to add some atmosphere. A rainstorm is often used as a reason for characters to be forced to stay confined in one space, such as in Key Largo (1948). Rain can be used as a setting for romance, such as the famous kiss in the rain between Audrey Hepburn and George Peppard in Breakfast at Tiffany’s (1961). To add atmosphere, rain will often be included such as in Clue (1985), where the characters are summoned to Mr. Boddy’s mansion during a dark, rainy night, and end up caught up in a murder mystery. In this blog entry, I want to focus on some of my favorite rain scenes in films.
Rain is often used to lend suspense to a scene, and where else would you want a lot of suspense and drama? A scene in which someone is driving. Driving in the rain can already be fairly treacherous. Add in a driver who is nervous, angry, distraught, or any other distracting emotion and it’s almost always a recipe for danger, or at least great melodrama.
BEST DRIVING IN RAIN SCENES
Lana Turner has a meltdown in “The Bad and the Beautiful.”
The Bad and the Beautiful (1952). Lana Turner’s Georgia is distraught after discovering that her boyfriend and producer, Jonathan Shields (Kirk Douglas) has been cheating on her with a starlet. She expresses her indignation over his betrayal and he more or less tells her that he can do whatever he wants. He doesn’t owe her any loyalty, because he gave her stardom. Distraught, Georgia gets into her car and takes off on a high-speed race home, through a pouring rainstorm. Anyone who thinks Lana couldn’t act should watch her performance in this scene. She enters the car sobbing, but soon collapses into pure hysteria as the reality of Jonathan’s betrayal and callousness sets in. Juxtaposed against the frenzy of rain and flashes of lights, Georgia’s emotional collapse reaches its apex when she screams and slams on the brakes.
Dead Reckoning (1947). Humphrey Bogart’s character, Rip Murdock, is investigating the death of his friend, Johnny. During his investigation, he falls in love with Coral Chandler (Lizabeth Scott). Unfortunately, he learns that Coral isn’t all she seems and was involved in his friend’s death. Coral and Rip end up in a car together after she accidentally shoots her accomplice instead of him. While Rip drives through heavy rain, he and Coral argue over her intending to kill him. She then pulls out a gun and he hits the gas pedal to floor it. Anyone who has watched a lot of old movies knows that whenever it’s raining and someone is driving recklessly, something bad is going to happen. In this film, Rip ends up crashing head-on into a tree, mortally injuring Coral.
Psycho (1960). This is a classic and for good reason. In this film, Janet Leigh’s Marion Crane leaves Phoenix and heads to California with $40,000 in stolen money in hand. She wants to marry her boyfriend, Sam (John Gavin), but he refuses to do so due to lack of funds. When Marion’s employer asks her to deliver a $40,000 deposit to the bank, the temptation is too strong to resist. This money would solve all of her and Sam’s financial woes. While she originally plans to drive through the night, a rainstorm forces her to seek refuge at the Bates Motel, operated by the young and nervous Norman Bates (Anthony Perkins). Unfortunately for Marion, this is the end of the line.
Rain can also be used to add romance to the scene, because what is more romantic than a classic kiss in the rain type scene. Rain also seems to bring people together–often because they’re forced to seek shelter and each other for warmth.
FAVORITE ROMANTIC RAIN SCENES
Lucy and Desi kiss and make-up in “The Long Long Trailer.”
The Long, Long Trailer (1954). My favorite film of all time features a romantic, albeit cliched (now) romantic kiss in the rain. Tacy (Lucille Ball) and Nicky (Desi Arnaz) spend the entirety of the film more or less on the honeymoon road trip from hell, with one catastrophe after another. The tension and frustration reaches its end when Nicky discovers that Tacy has not only lied to him, but has also put their lives at risk. The couple needs to drive over a high elevation (8000 feet) peak in Colorado. Because of the steep incline and possibility that extra weight could pull the trailer down (and possibly off) the mountain, Nicky tells Tacy that she needs to get rid of all the extra weight she’s added to the trailer in the form of rocks and preserves. Tacy’s idea was that they could collect large rocks from different places they visit and use them to decorate their patio when they reach their new home in Colorado. As a cost-saving measure (to justify the purchase of the trailer), Tacy stars canning fruits and vegetables.
Instead of removing the material from the trailer, she instead distributes it evenly around the trailer, thinking it would solve the weight issue. It does not. Everything comes out. Nicky discovers it. The couple fight and separate. In the pouring down rain, Nicky finally tracks down Tacy (and the trailer) at a trailer park where she’s in the middle of planning to sell the trailer. He opens the trailer door, finds Tacy, but can’t bring himself to apologize. Nicky drives away and suddenly Tacy realizes that she doesn’t want him to leave. She runs out into the rain, in front of Nicky’s car. He stops and gets out. Nicky and Tacy embrace, having made up and reconciled. They run up the steps into their home (the trailer) and kiss.
Breakfast at Tiffany’s (1961). While a lot can be said about this film, ::cough:: Mickey Rooney ::cough:: there are some fun parts as well. The ending of ‘Tiffany’s’ is much like the end of The Long, Long Trailer, with Audrey Hepburn’s Holly Golightly and George Peppard’s Paul (or “Fred Baby” as I like to call him) reconciling and kissing in the rain drenched streets of New York City. However, this scene has extra poignancy beyond the classic kiss in the rain. In a previous scene, Holly very cruelly abandons “Cat” her pet, out in the rain, saying that nobody belongs to anyone–even animals. Her whole mantra throughout the film is that she’s a free spirit, she doesn’t belong to (or with anyone). Paul is the only person her circle to actually care about her and want to help her. Everyone else in her orbit is someone she makes money off of (via trips to the powder room), or someone who takes advantage of her naivete (e.g., Sally Tomato providing her with the “weather report” to pass on to one of his associates).
However, Holly is no better in that she only associates herself with people she believes can do something for her. She’s a phony, her agent says. Paul bitterly tells Holly off by stating that in her efforts to prevent herself from being put into a “cage” she’s put herself into one, because she’s unwilling to share herself or part of her life with anyone. He then gets out of the car, throws the ring (that they’d had engraved at Tiffany’s during their fun day in New York City together) at her. The ring is a symbol of a time where Holly was probably being closer to her true self and not putting on airs. Holly grabs the ring, places it over the ever important (and symbolic) left ring finger and realizes that she (and Cat) belong with Paul. Their kiss in the rain (plus keeping Cat warm) symbolizes their new life together. Holly found where she belongs.
Top Hat (1935) Another one of the Fred Astaire-Ginger Rogers films that features Astaire as a character who initially annoys Rogers’ character until a dance brings them together. In this film, Astaire’s Jerry Travers, a tap dance star, arrives in London to appear in a show for producer Horace Hardwick (Edward Everett Horton). Late at night, he decides to practice his number (on hard floors!) and wakes up and annoys Dale Tremont (Rogers). She comes up to his room to complain and he is smitten. She is less so. Then there’s a case of mistaken identity, with Dale thinking that Jerry is Horace, the husband of her friend Madge (Helen Broderick).
Jerry pursues Dale throughout the film and she continues to be repulsed by him because she thinks her friend’s husband is coming onto her. A rainstorm at the park forces Jerry and Dale to seek refuge under a gazebo, where they dance to “It’s a Lovely Day (to be Caught in the Rain).” As with many of their films, Rogers’ annoyed attitude towards Astaire lessens, as they start to fall in love through song and dance.
Finally, rain can also be utilized to add a certain atmosphere to a film, or to evoke a specific feeling.
FAVORITE ATMOSPHERIC RAIN SCENES
Gene Kelly in what is probably the most famous rain scene of all time in Singin’ in the Rain.
Singin’ in the Rain (1952). This film contains the most iconic rain scene of all and I would be remiss to not mention it. Gene Kelly’s classic dance in the rain to the title song, is perhaps the greatest dance number ever captured and the most joyous. I dare anyone to watch this scene and not feel better at the end. What is happier than a dance in the rain, splashing in puddles, without a single care in the world? The “Singin’ in the Rain” number happens after Kelly’s character, silent screen star Don Lockwood, returns from a disastrous screening of his first “talkie,” The Dueling Cavalier. It co-stars his on-screen partner, the incredibly untalented Lina Lamont (Jean Hagen), who is oblivious to the movie’s awfulness and delivers one of my favorite lines, “I liked it!” Don figures that his career is over until friend Cosmo Brown (Donald O’Connor) and new love, Kathy Selden (Debbie Reynolds) convince him to re-tool the film to be the musical, The Dancing Cavalier, with Kathy providing behind the scenes support to cover up Lina’s inadequacies. Overcome with joy and his new lease on life, Don happily sings, dances and splashes his way down the Hollywood streets, until he’s stopped by a befuddled cop. What a buzzkill.
Clue (1985). This film opens with the six main characters arriving at the mansion of Mr. Boddy, in their color-coded vehicles. The house is tall and ominous, as is the torrential downpour. Inside the mansion, both Mr. Boddy and the chef are killed, leaving the six guests, plus butler Wadsworth (Tim Curry) and maid Yvette (Colleen Camp), to wonder who was responsible. The rain forces other unsuspecting visitors to enter the mansion, like a motorist breaking down in the rain and wanting to use the phone, and a cop investigating the motorist’s abandoned car. It rains the entire time throughout the film, lending a sort of spookiness to the classic mystery of “Who Killed Mr. Boddy?”
Thunder on the Hill (1951). This film takes place almost entirely at a convent. Sister Mary Bonaventure (Claudette Colbert) is in charge of the hospital ward of the convent. A horrific rainstorm closes nearby roads, keeping everyone inside and others out. A woman, Valerie Carns (Ann Blyth), is brought to the convent to wait out the storm due to the closed roads. She is supposed to be delivered to the prison to await her execution for the murder of her brother. However, the washed out road delays the inevitable and she is forced to stay at the convent. As one can imagine, Valerie is not particularly amiable or even polite. Sister Mary does her best to be gracious and empathetic to Valerie, eventually softening her up a little. Through talking to Valerie, Sister Mary realizes that she may be innocent and decides to investigate Valerie’s brother’s death before the rain lets up and the roads re-open.
In this film, the rain adds a harshness and uneasiness to the events in the film. As soon as the rain lets up and the road is passable, Ann Blyth’s character is headed to Death Row for a crime that she may not have committed. Other refugees are unhappy with her presence. The head doctor’s wife, Isabel, is a patient at the hospital and is unhappy with Sister Mary. Lending to the tension is that this same doctor also testified against Valerie in the case against her brother–more or less sealing her conviction. The Mother Superior (Gladys Cooper) is upset that Sister Mary refuses to follow her orders that she not intervene between Valerie and the police. Sister Mary is also holding onto her own baggage–the recent suicide of her sister. The relentless rain, the only thing keeping these people cooped up at the convent, increases the tension and drama.
HONORABLE RAIN SCENE MENTIONS:
Dorothy Malone watches, longingly, as Bogart departs her bookstore in “The Big Sleep.”
The Big Sleep (1946). It rains constantly in this film and only lends to the overall darkness and spookiness of the proceedings. The plot is also a mess, the weather might as well be too.
My Neighbor Totoro (1988). In this film, sisters Satsuke and Mei discover Totoro, a forest spirit, living near their new home. The sisters are living near a local hospital where their mother is convalescing. Totoro and his fellow spirits watch over the girls and intervene when Mei goes missing.
Casablanca (1942). Humphrey Bogart’s Rick stands in the rain, eagerly awaiting Ingrid Bergman’s Ilsa’s arrival, only to be handed a “Dear John” letter. As Rick’s heart breaks, the rain washes Ilsa’s words off the page. His life is over as he knows it.
Red Dust (1932). Getting caught in a monsoon forces Mary Astor’s stuffy Barbara into the home of the rugged Dennis Carson (Clark Gable). Also staying with Dennis? Vantine (Jean Harlow), a prostitute who is none too happy or impressed with Barbara’s presence. Vantine has her eye on Dennis too and does not want to share. However, upon spotting a rain soaked Barbara, Dennis is overwhelmed and seduces her. The rain in this film lends an intensity, further making an already stifling film feel even more stuffy than it did before. This isn’t a cold rain. This is a hot, humid, rain.
The Old Dark House (1932). A common trope in horror or mystery films, this is another movie that uses rain to force people inside. Horror often has people seeking shelter from strangers, and they’re always unusual strangers. In this movie, Phillip and Margaret Waverton (Raymond Massey and Gloria Stuart) are driving in a heavy storm with their friend, Penderel (Melvyn Douglas). They end up seeking refuge from the Femm siblings, Horace and Rebecca. The Femms are very weird. They warn their visitors about their butler Morgan (Boris Karloff), who is mute, alcoholic, and extremely dangerous. Eventually, two more people arrive at the Femms seeking shelter, Sir William Porterhouse (Charles Laughton) and Gladys DuCane (Lillian Bond). As the group stays at the home longer, they start to discover more and more unusual people and continue to be terrorized by Morgan. This is not only suspenseful, it is also very funny. “Please pass the po-tay-toes,” is my favorite line in the film.
A ‘B’ movie is typically a low-budget film, often sharing half of a double bill with the ‘A’ movie. The ‘B’ movie would be screened first, assuming that the audience would sit through it to get to the ‘A’ movie. ‘A’ movies starred the A-list actors, like Humphrey Bogart, Bette Davis, Errol Flynn, Cary Grant, to name a few. During the Golden Age of Hollywood, Westerns, Science Fiction, and Horror were popular ‘B’ movie genres. One of the biggest stars of the 1950s-1970s wave of ‘B’ horror movies was Vincent Price.
Price was an A-list actor during the 1940s appearing in such films as Laura (1944), Leave Her to Heaven (1945), and Dragonwyck (1946), all co-starring Gene Tierney. Price also appeared in other A-list films like The Three Musketeers (1948) with Gene Kelly and Lana Turner, and Song of Bernadette (1943) with Jennifer Jones. During the late 1950s, Price segued into the B horror movie part of his career with films like The Fly (1958) and House on Haunted Hill (1959).
Vincent Price during the 1940s
What I love about Vincent Price’s B movie career is that he looks like he’s having so much fun in his roles. In interviews he made it clear that he appeared in these films to fund his main hobby and interest, which was collecting art. During his lifetime, Price was a world-renowned art collector and commissioned custom works from artists such as Salvador Dali. Price didn’t particularly set out to be an A-list, highly respected actor. He used his acting talents to fund the other pursuits in his life. I am confident that this is why Price appeared to be having fun in his films, because he didn’t care whether the film was seen as “good.” He knew the film would make him money, which was his goal. This isn’t to say that Price phoned in is performances. His natural charisma, screen presence, and fantastic voice made him an entertaining actor to watch on screen.
Many of Vincent Price’s most memorable 1950s-1970s horror films were made with producer Roger Corman, who produced dozens of memorable films at American International Pictures (AIP). Corman and Price collaborated on a series of films based on Edgar Allan Poe films including House of Usher (1960), The Pit and the Pendulum (1961), my personal favorite, The Raven (1963), and The Tales of Terror (1962).
Peter Lorre and Vincent Price
The stars of The Tales of Terror, Vincent Price, Peter Lorre, and Basil Rathbone, reunited in 1963 for The Comedy of Terrors. Boris Karloff, a major star in his own right, joined the trio. Lorre, Rathbone, and Karloff all regularly appeared in A-list productions and were stars in their own right. The Comedy of Terrors is so zany, it had to be a fun production for all four of the actors. 1930s comedian Joe E. Brown has a cameo as a graveyard employee. The cherry on top is director Jacques Tourneur, who had experience directing horror films such as the Val Lewton-produced films, Cat People (1942), I Walked with a Zombie (1943), and The Leopard Man (1943). He also directed the moody film noir Out of the Past (1947) and the snow-covered Nightfall (1956).
In The Comedy of Terrors, Vincent Price and Peter Lorre play Waldo Trumbull and Felix Gillie, respectively. Trumbull and Gillie are a pair of undertakers who run the funeral parlor, Trumbull and Gillie. Their operating funds are limited, so limited in fact, that they only have one coffin. When someone dies, Trumbull and Gillie show up with their coffin. The decedent’s burial ceremony takes place and their coffin is lowered into the ground. At night, Trumbull and Gillie return to dig up the grave, dump out the body, and take back the coffin to reuse on a future customer. However, “future customers” are comprised of people killed by Trumbull.
Basil Rathbone, Boris Karloff, Peter Lorre, and Vincent Price
Boris Karloff plays Amos Hinchley, the elderly and senile former owner of Trumbull and Gillie’s funeral parlor. Trumbull is also Hinchley’s son-in-law as he is unhappily married to Hinchley’s daughter, Amaryllis (Joyce Jameson). A running gag throughout the film is Trumbull’s attempts to poison Hinchley via some “medicine” dumped into his drink. Trumbull’s medicine bottle is clearly labeled with the word “poison.” He eagerly wants to inherit Hinchley’s fortune, but needs him out of the way.
Eventually, Trumbull and Gillie discover that their rent is in arrears and their landlord, John Black (Basil Rathbone), is demanding payment, otherwise they’ll be evicted. To kill two birds with one stone (so to speak), Trumbull and Gillie come up with a plan to kill Black. By killing him, they’ll solve their eviction issue as well as their money issue. However, there’s a problem–Black just won’t die.
The Comedy of Terrors is hysterical. Between Basil Rathbone’s refusal to die and Trumbull and Gillie’s constant attempts to kill him, the story is just non-stop insanity and nonsense. Adding to the comedy is Trumbull’s constant drunkenness. The story is definitely on the macabre side; however Vincent Price’s dry delivery of his lines and Peter Lorre’s constant disbelief at what is happening, makes the film. Adding to the hilarity is just how unscrupulous Price’s character is. He drums up business by murdering wealthy people so that he can apply for the job as undertaker and conduct his coffin scam. He then receives the payment, spends it all on booze, then drinks all of it without sharing.
Buddy the Yellow Sided Green Cheek Conure was not a fan of Joyce Jameson’s operatic singing!
I recognized Joyce Jameson as one of the “Fun Girls” on The Andy Griffith Show. In The Comedy of Terrors, her character, Amaryllis, is an aspiring opera singer. She practices her operatic singing throughout the film–much to Trumbull’s chagrin. Also, much to my bird’s chagrin as well. He kept screaming in anger every time she sang. Boris Karloff as Amaryllis’ father is hilarious. His character’s senility lends to humorous moments, such as when he delivers the eulogy at Mr. Black’s funeral. His eulogy is long-winded, stammering, and completely all over the place. Later, he delivers Trumbull’s comeuppance in a very funny scene.
The Comedy of Terrors is a bit of a misnomer, as there is no terror in this film. There is nothing scary whatsoever about this film. However, it is full of comedy and a fun late career film for the four leads. Three of the film’s stars, Peter Lorre, Boris Karloff, and Basil Rathbone, would pass away within six years of the film’s release. Vincent Price would continue making films for almost the next 30 years, until his passing in 1993.
Rhubarb the cat, who also played “Cat” in Breakfast at Tiffanys has a memorable role in The Comedy of Terrors
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.
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.”
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.”
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.”
I first saw The Birds in the 90s when I was in middle school. It was supposedly “very scary” but I didn’t find it scary in the slightest. In fact, back then and even now, I find parts of it very funny. Because of Hitchcock’s known fondness for macabre humor, it’s hard to know whether Hitchcock purposely intended for these scenes to be funny. There are also parts of this film that I find very bewildering. I also love the birds in The Birds and think that they are 100% the heroes of the film.
The peach-faced lovebirds are adorable and need their picture in this article.
The Birds, based on Daphne du Maurier’s 1952 short story of the same name, starts with socialite and known party girl, Melanie Daniels (Tippi Hedren) in a San Francisco pet shop. She seems to just be browsing. The shop proprietor, Miss Inch from The Parent Trap, steps away for a second. While she’s out of earshot, lawyer Mitch Brenner (Rod Taylor) enters the shop looking for a pair of lovebirds for his sister Cathy’s (Veronica Cartwright) birthday. Mitch recognizes Melanie as the party girl whose picture he saw in the newspaper. It seems she had been arrested for pulling a practical joke and due to her notoriety as a raucous socialite, she made the local newspaper. Knowing that she doesn’t work at the pet shop, Mitch pretends to mistake her as an employee and asks her technical questions about birds. She tries to pretend that she knows about birds, but fails. Mitch tells her that he knows about her and leaves. Resenting that Mitch made her out to be a fool, Melanie purchases the lovebirds and decides to deliver them to Mitch herself.
Mitch and his mother (or lover?) Lydia
Melanie ends up following Mitch to his weekend home in Bodega Bay, about an hour outside of San Francisco. When she arrives in town, she asks around town for the location of Mitch’s home as well as the name of his sister. She’s directed to the home of the local school teacher, Annie Hayworth (Suzanne Pleshette) who is Cathy’s teacher. In addition to learning Cathy’s name, she also learns that Annie is Mitch’s ex-girlfriend who broke up with Mitch over his overbearing mother, Lydia (Jessica Tandy). Melanie also earns an invitation to stay with Annie at her home. As an aside, the whole Mitch/Lydia dynamic is odd. First of all, she seems much too old to be Cathy’s mother. It would be more believable if Cathy were Mitch’s daughter. This change in the storyline wouldn’t affect the plot. But aside from that, there are also scenes between Mitch and Lydia, where they oddly seem like romantic partners versus mother and son. I find some of their scenes strange.
Anyway, Melanie ends up renting a boat and rowing across the bay to Mitch’s farmhouse. She breaks into his home and delivers the lovebirds. She then returns to her boat so she can wait for Mitch to enter the home and find the lovebirds. He does and quickly finds Melanie. When Lydia meets Melanie, she is cold to her, because she resents any woman in her son’s life. She is very much the jealous lover even though she’s Mitch’s mother. Anyway, it is after Melanie’s burglary of Mitch’s home is when the birds start attacking!
The birds assemble on the jungle gym, ready to make their move.
Melanie is hit by a seagull upon returning to shore to return the boat. Mitch sees her and tends to her injury. Later, the children at Cathy’s birthday party are attacked by a flock of birds. Throughout the film, there are random bird attacks, which are unexplained. Never once in Hitchcock’s narrative does he try to offer a rational explanation for the bird attacks. The randomness and severity of the attacks is what lends the horror to The Birds. Hitchcock also opted to not use any sort of soundtrack or score, instead choosing to only utilize the sound of the birds to punctuate the action in the film. There are also large chunks of the film where there is no sound at all, except the diegetic and ambient sounds present within the film.
The birds finally do what the audience wanted to do–put an end to that god awful song.
The absolute best example of Hitchcock’s use of silence and specific diegetic and ambient sounds is in the climactic scene when the birds attack the children at the school. To get this off my chest, I have to say that the song that the kids sing is so annoying and so awful, that I don’t blame the birds for attacking. The birds were doing the audience a favor. That song is irritating. I applaud the birds for putting an end to it. This is why they are the heroes of the film. Hitchcock also uses silence and diegetic sound very effectively at the film’s end, when the Brenner family walks an injured Melanie out of the house into the car, while the birds sit perched in silence. It’s very eerie and uncomfortable.
The hysterical mother in the diner.
Earlier in this article, I mentioned there are scenes that I find funny. Some scenes I think are intentionally funny, like the lovebirds leaning into every curve while Melanie is driving. One scene that I doubt is supposed to be funny but is funny is the scene when Mitch and Melanie are trying to find Cathy after the bird attack at the school. They go to Annie’s home and find Annie dead on the stairs, victim of the bird attack. Then, Melanie asks “Where’s Cathy?” Suddenly, Cathy pulls open the curtains and is sobbing in the window. For whatever reason, Cathy’s hysterical crying combined with the dramatic curtain pull makes me laugh. I know that’s probably terrible. Unfortunately, I cannot find a photo of Cathy in the window to support my statement. The other part that makes me laugh is the distressed mother in the diner. I also love that the other diners, like the bird lady, casually discuss the murderous birds. The distressed mother’s children are unaffected by the talk, but the mother is determined that her children are scared to death. I choose to believe that this mother deserves the stress as payback for wrecking Henry Fonda and Vera Miles’ lives with her false accusations in The Wrong Man.
Melanie in the phone booth
One of the highlights of The Birds is the big explosion at the gas station. The birds attack a gas station attendant and he and the other employees run inside. Because of the attack, the gas attendant drops the gas hose on the ground, leaving a trail of gasoline. The birds start to attack and Melanie takes refuge in a phone booth. The scene of Melanie in the phone booth with birds hitting the glass walls is one of the famous scenes in the film. This scene concludes in spectacular fashion with a customer lighting a cigar at the gas station, igniting the massive trail of gasoline. A huge explosion levels the gas station. Melanie returns to the diner. Then, the distressed mother launches into her diatribe, accusing Melanie of bringing about the bird attacks and being evil.
MOTHER: Why are they doing this? Why are they doing this? They said when you got here, the whole thing started. Who are you? What are you? Where did you come from? I think you’re the cause of all of this. I think you’re evil. EVIL!
Doreen Lang as “Hysterical Mother in the Diner” in The Birds (1963)
I love that The Birds does not have a resolution. As far as we know, the birds are still out there, running Bodega Bay.
I hate pickles. I find them disgusting and hate when the complimentary pickle spear finds its way onto my plate at restaurants. I don’t like the pickle water bleeding onto the neighboring food and making it also taste like pickles. I can tolerate pickles chopped up in things, like tuna salad, but only if the amount of the other ingredients outweighs the amount of pickle.
My hatred of pickles makes “The Pickle Story” episode of The Andy Griffith Show especially funny. This episode originally aired on December 18, 1961 and the plot is simply that Aunt Bee’s (Francis Bavier) homemade pickles are disgusting. At the beginning of the episode, Aunt Bee is visited by her friend, Clara Johnson (Hope Summers), Mayberry’s reigning pickle champion at the county fair for the last eleven years in a row. She hopes that this year’s batch will win her twelfth blue ribbon. This scene also introduces the episode’s cliffhanger: Clara announces that this year she’s increased the amount of allspice in her pickle recipe. Will this lavish use of allspice put Clara’s blue ribbon in jeopardy?
“I simply went wild with allspice!” -Clara
Well if it does, Bee won’t be the one ending the streak. After offering Clara a pickle, Bee looks at her with a look of hope and optimism–maybe this will finally be the batch that will usurp champion Clara’s domination of the pickle competition at the county fair. Clara takes a bite of the pickle and winces. The funniest part of this episode is the music that plays every time someone tastes Bee’s pickles. Clara tries to use the compliment sandwich technique of offering critical feedback. She tells Bee that while her pickles are very pleasant and nice and she wouldn’t change a thing, she recommends that Bee use younger cucumbers so her pickles wouldn’t be so soft. Clara also suggests that Bee tone down her brine as it’s heavy and steep an extra sprig or two of parsley in vinegar prior to adding it to her brine. She also suggests that Bee drain her pickles more, use fresher spices and boiling her vinegar longer. But other than that, Bee’s pickles are nice, Clara says.
“I don’t know how I can face the future knowing there’s eight quarts of those pickles in it.” -Barney
Clara’s thinly disguised distaste of her pickles is lost on Bee as she eagerly heads down to the Sheriff’s office to bring lunch to Andy (Andy Griffith) and Barney (Don Knotts). At first the men are excited to see Bee but their enthusiasm quickly fades when they realize that she’s brought a jar of her awful “kerosene cucumbers.” Andy and Barney know what fate awaits them and they try to act excited, but are horribly failing. Bee is completely oblivious. Barney tries to feign being full, but Bee won’t hear of it. Andy and Barney are forced to placate Bee and eat her pickles and the hilarious music plays. She then tells them that she made eight quarts. Eight quarts of these godawful pickles.
Andy’s face is how everyone’s face looks after eating Bee’s pickles.
This starts a scheme where Andy and Barney try to get rid of Bee’s pickles and replace them with store-bought pickles which are far superior. There’s a funny scene where Andy tries to shoo a fly off the pickle and Barney discovers that it died! Bee’s pickle brine was so bad a fly died. That evening, Barney comes over to Andy’s house while Bee is over at Clara’s house to take all the jars of pickles. Bee unexpectedly enters through the kitchen door, just as Barney is trying to leave. She spots Barney’s suitcase and asks if he’s going on a trip. Barney, the smooth operator that he is, explains that yes, he is going on a trip and he came over to borrow Andy’s suitcase, because “[his] is at the cleaners.” Despite Bee accepting the story and wishing him a good trip, Barney keeps awkwardly blathering while Andy is dying on the inside.
The pattern on Bee’s dress hilariously matches the wallpaper.
Barney finally leaves and we see a montage of scenes of him stopping motorists and handing them a jar of pickles saying that their exemplary driving made them the winner of Mayberry’s Safe Driving Award. A poor driver from Portland, OR (where I live, more or less) is handed a jar of Bee’s horrible, mushy, briny pickles. I appreciate that “Oregon” was pronounced correctly in the episode and not as “Or-eh-gone.” Anyway, Andy makes the switch and he, Barney and Opie all gladly eat Bee’s pickles. One evening at dinner, while eating a pickle, Bee expresses happiness over how good “her” pickles are and announces she’s going to enter them in the county fair. As an aside, in the dinner scene, the pattern on Bee’s dress perfectly matches the pattern of the wallpaper behind her and I always find it funny. Anyway, Andy is horrified that Bee is planning to enter something that she didn’t make.
Barney during happier times eating Bee’s pickles as she gleefully looks on.
Barney doesn’t see what the big deal is, but Andy explains that he cannot in good conscience allow Bee to unknowingly enter pickles she didn’t make. It is decided that Bee must make more pickles. Barney is horrified at the thought of purposely forcing Bee to make more pickles, but he ultimately relents. This sets up a hilarious scene of Andy, Barney and Opie eating jar after jar of pickles, so that 1) there aren’t any pickles left to enter in the contest; and 2) So that Bee sees them enjoying “her” pickles and wants to make more. Andy, Barney and Opie all have their own theme music that slows down as they eat more and more pickles. Andy’s music is more or less a modified version of the show’s theme song, Opie’s is more childlike, and Barney’s is in the middle. By the last jar of pickles, each character looks like they’re going to be sick and the music has slowed down to a labored dirge.
Despite having watched the boys eat all her pickles, Aunt Bee is horrified to see that all her pickles are gone. She quickly makes more and soon it’s time for the fair! The judging scene is funny. The judges get to Bee’s jar, pull a pickle out, sniff it, apprehensively taste it and concur that it must have been made from kerosene. In the end, Clara’s gamble with her wild use of allspice pays off and she earns her twelfth blue ribbon. Bee also announces that because everyone loved her pickles so much, she made a double batch! 16 quarts of pickles. Andy then resigns himself to a lifetime of eating terrible pickles. “Learn to love them,” he says, stoically.
“Don’t tell me Aunt Bee’s making marmalade now!”
In the hysterical tag scene, Andy is eating breakfast and spreads some marmalade on his toast. Barney comes in and asks if he’s painting. Andy says no and concludes that it’s Opie’s glue. Barney disagrees and says that it smells like ammonia. He then sits down to some breakfast and smears some of the marmalade on toast. Barney is about to take a bite and is almost overcome by the fumes. Andy opens the container of jam on the table and realizes that it is the source of the smell. They open the cupboard and are horrified to see a dozen jars of Aunt Bee’s latest concoction.
This episode is absolutely hysterical. From the music that plays each time someone eats one of Bee’s awful pickles, to almost all of Barney’s dialogue. Clara’s constant boasting of using allspice is hilarious. It’s as if she discovered some secret ingredient that’s elevated her recipes and she can’t help but brag about it. Poor Andy is caught in the middle between not wanting to hurt Bee’s feelings but also not wanting to eat anymore of her disgusting pickles. Barney just hates Bee’s pickles and doesn’t want to eat them. He doesn’t care. Opie doesn’t have a big role in this episode, but he is memorably stuck eating jar after jar of pickles. Bee is absolutely oblivious (or in denial) throughout the entire episode, as anyone with eyes could see that people don’t enjoy eating her pickles.
As a native Oregonian, I still think about that poor soul from Oregon who was unwittingly gifted a jar of Bee’s kerosene cucumbers.
When I saw this event announced, it took me a bit to decide who I wanted to marathon for this event. The no more than three films viewed requirement also caused further deliberation. No binging a favorite, I needed to pick a rarely viewed star whom I wanted to watch. As I thought more and more about some of my favorite performers, I thought about Paulette Goddard. I’d only seen her in three films: Modern Times (1936), The Women (1939), and Hold Back the Dawn (1941). I loved her in each film. Goddard’s films, with the exception of the ones I’d previously watched, rarely air on TCM. I believe this is most likely due to Goddard being under contract to David O. Selznick and later Paramount. Both of these studios’ output is outside of the Warner Brothers film library to which TCM has access. The film library is made up of the output of Warner Brothers, RKO, and pre-1985 MGM films. As a result, stars under contract with the aforementioned studios are more likely to have a stronger presence on TCM.
Bob Hope & Paulette Goddard
But I digress. I selected Paulette Goddard, as I had handful of her films available in my home library and had a couple of her films recorded. As I reviewed my choices for this marathon, I realized that 3/5 Goddard films also featured Bob Hope. Hope was another Paramount contract player with a long film career. As I thought about which of his films I’d watched, I realized that I’d only seen a couple of his films as well. I decided to add Hope to my entry for this blogathon event.
Paulette Goddard
Dramatic School (1938)
This film is reminiscent of Stage Door (1937) and Finishing School (1934). All three films are about a group of women either living or working together–all involved in the same pursuit, whether it’s living at the Footlights Club boarding house for aspiring actresses (Stage Door), attending the same finishing school (Finishing School) and in the case of Dramatic School, it’s a group of women attending the same, you guessed it, dramatic school. The humor and drama from the film comes from the women’s interactions with one another and their various rivalries when it comes to men and desired acting roles.
Luise Rainer plays the star student, Louise Mauban, who spends her evenings working in a factory to pay for her drama lessons. Due to burning the candle at both ends, Louise is constantly late. To avoid revealing her evening job to her classmates, Louise concocts a lie about spending her evenings being wined and dined by her boyfriend, the Marquis Andre D’Abbencourt. Louise’s classmates begin to suspect that she’s lying, as the stories seem a little too fantastic to be true. Paulette Goddard plays the ringleader, Nana, who comes up with a scheme to reveal Louise’s lie and embarrass her in front of her classmates. It is obvious that Nana and the other girls, one of whom is played by Lana Turner, want to knock Louise down a peg.
Nana’s scheme is to invite Andre and Louise to her birthday party, and bring up one of Louise’s stories in front of Andre. Nana assumes that Andre will inadvertently spill the beans about not dating Louise, which will expose Louise as well as embarrass her. However the plan backfires when Andre is somehow charmed by the stories about him and Louise’s dates, and decides to play along. Then they become a real couple.
Despite being second billed, Paulette really doesn’t have a huge role in the plot. This is more or less Rainer’s film. However, I don’t want to focus on Rainer, because frankly I would have much rather seen more Paulette. Her character is more or less the villain of the film, as she wants nothing more than to humble Louise. I wish her scheme had gone off as she’d planned, it would have made the movie a lot more interesting to watch. Dramatic School was pretty much a dud, but Paulette managed to breathe some life into it every time she was on screen. Her vivacious personality added some nice levity and livened things up, and believe me this film needed all the life it could get.
The Crystal Ball (1943)
This was a blind buy I’d actually purchased from Classic Flix during a previous sale. I’d never heard of this film before, but it sounded fun and I was intrigued by the cast: Goddard, Ray Milland, William Bendix, Cecil Kellaway, Gladys George? I finally watched the film for this blogging event and I’m glad I did. It was a lot of fun.
In this film, Goddard plays Toni Gerard, a young woman who moves to New York from Texas. Homeless and desperate for a job, she reluctantly takes a job as a decoy for a local shooting gallery, run by Pop Tibbets (Kellaway). Having revealed in a conversation with Madame Zenobia (George) that she was a sharpshooter back home, Toni is referred to the shooting gallery for a job. After showing off her shooting skills, Pop hires her. Her job is to pretend to be a random passerby who chooses to try her luck at the shooting gallery. She’ll hit all the targets and attract other customers to try their luck. Then Toni leaves and comes back later when a new batch of potential customers are around.
Madame Zenobia is part of another scam with her colleague, a woman who obtains work as a maid at the homes of wealthy clients. After working for the client for awhile, she determines a piece of jewelry or something else of value that the client loves and would notice if it went missing–or she makes a point of making sure the client knows it’s missing. At the beginning of the film, the maid’s target is wealthy widow Jo Ainsley (Virginia Field). She takes one of Jo’s prized rings and drops it down the drain pipe. She then cries to Jo that her ring is missing and puts on the crocodile tears, feigning distress about her client’s lost property. The maid also cleverly deflects any sort of blame or suspicion. She then convinces Jo to visit a psychic who could tell her the location of her ring. Then of course, before Jo’s visit, the maid has gotten to Madame Zenobia to reveal the location. Jo’s confidence in psychics is affirmed when Madame Zenobia tells her the location and it turns out to be true.
Eventually, Madame Zenobia is injured and Toni has to fill in. She runs both the shooting gallery and psychic scams. Toni also lives at Madame Zenobia’s store. One evening, she spots Jo and her boyfriend, government lawyer Brad Cavanaugh (Milland) entering Madame Zenobia’s store. His chauffer, Biff Carter (Bendix), waits outside. Toni is instantly smitten with Brad and decides to use her new position as the psychic to break up Brad and Jo so she can have him for herself. This scheme is the start of a highly questionable impression that Toni does when she pretends to enter the spirit of Brad’s deceased Native American friend. Toni uses a lot of bad Native American stereotypes and the “injun” slur. This would NEVER go over today. It definitely goes on a bit long too, I think it could have been edited down a smidge.
Regardless, Goddard and Milland have fantastic chemistry–a chemistry that would carry them through four films together. She also has a lot of great comedic moments and gets to wear a few great dresses, including an one shouldered sequin gown that is reminiscent of the one she wears in The Women. Goddard looks absolutely gorgeous in this film and even though the ending kind of doesn’t make sense, we know that she and Milland will end up together.
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Paulette Goddard & Bob Hope
The Cat & the Canary (1939)
This was a really fun horror-comedy film starring Paulette Goddard and Bob Hope. Goddard and Hope made three films together and I watched all three. ‘Canary’ starts with a familiar horror movie premise: a group of people are invited to come to a large estate. The guests are familiar with the host, but don’t know each other. Typically the guests are either offered an incentive to stay (House on Haunted Hill), or are stuck there due to circumstances (The Old Dark House), or in the case of The Cat and the Canary, the guests are there to witness the reading of the deceased homeowner’s will. In this film, the deceased Cyrus Norman’s will stipulated that the heir to his estate and fortune could not be revealed until 10 years after his death. 10 years is up and that is the start of our film.
Goddard plays Joyce Norman, the only actual direct relative of Cyrus’ and the sole heir. However, he has named a first runner-up heir, should the sole heir not be able to live up to the terms of the will–specifically not to go insane within the first 30 days. It’s a weird clause, but it’s well established that Cyrus was an eccentric individual. The runner-up heir’s name is not revealed, which sets up another typical horror film trope–the guests turning against one another. Bob Hope plays another relative of Cyrus’, Wally Campbell. He however, is not related to Joyce. Other guests include Cyrus’ aunt Susan (Elizabeth “Miss Trumbull” Patterson) and a mousy relative named Cicily. Then there are two men, Fred Blythe and Charles Wilder, who seem to resent not being named heirs.
It can be expected that a bulk of the film will involve the other potential runner-up heirs, save for Wally, trying to torment Joyce and drive her insane. Wally makes it a point to be on Joyce’s side and keep an eye on her and keep her safe from the other guests. When I got through Hope and Goddard’s other two films, I noticed that a common plot line was Hope being in love with Goddard. This film was no exception. Hope and Goddard have a nice rapport and chemistry with one another and I enjoyed their three films immensely.
The Ghost Breakers (1940)
This was Paulette Goddard and Bob Hope’s second film together and ended up being my favorite of the three. In this film, Hope plays Lawrence “Larry” Lawrence Lawrence, a radio broadcaster who uses his show as a platform to expose the crimes of local gangster, Frenchy. Goddard plays Mary Carter, a woman staying at the same Manhattan hotel as Frenchy. During the broadcast, Mary is visited by Cuban solicitor Parada (Paul Lukas), who is delivering the deed to a plantation and mansion in Cuba that she’s inherited. Parada wants to take the property off her hands and buy it, but Mary refuses. Another Cuban, Ramon Mederos (Anthony Quinn), calls Mary and warns her not to sell her property. After the radio broadcast ends, Larry is invited by Frenchy (who heard the program) down to the hotel.
Larry arrives at the hotel with a gun, thinking that Frenchy inevitably will try to kill him. At the same time, Ramon arrives as Parada is leaving. Larry, Frenchy, Ramon and Parada all end up in a shootout with Ramon killed in the fracas. Larry thinks he may have accidentally killed Ramon. He ends up hiding in Mary’s steamer trunk, hoping to escape. The plan goes off and he ends up on an ocean liner to Havana with Mary. On board, Mary and Larry end up meeting Geoff (Richard Carlson), an acquaintance of Mary’s. Eventually, Mary and Larry make it to the property that she inherited.
This film was a lot of fun and I attribute its success to the wonderful rapport between Paulette Goddard and Bob Hope. This was another film where Hope fell in love with Goddard. She has such a delightful presence in her films, as she brings some humor imbued with glamour and charm. Hope pretty much plays the same type of guy in a lot of his movies–the wisecracking everyman, but it works. I loved this film and actually found the ending to be surprising.
Nothing But the Truth (1941)
This film was Paulette Goddard and Bob Hope’s last film together. In this film, Hope plays stockbroker, Steve Bennett, who moves to Miami to take a new position—working for TT Ralston (Edward Arnold). On his first day, TT’s niece, Gwen Saunders (Goddard) shows up, in need of money to cover a $40,000 pledge she’s made to a charity. TT promised Gwen that he’ll cover half of her pledge if she can come up with the other half. It either wasn’t clearly stated, or I missed this minor plot point, but it seems that the charity gave Gwen $10,000 and she promised to increase it to the $40,000. The charity’s manager, Mr. Bishop (Grant Mitchell) appears throughout the film trying to find out the status on his $10,000. Gwen appeals to Steve to invest her $10,000 and double it. The catch? She only has 24 hours to give Mr. Bishop the $40,000 pledge, or return the $10,000 otherwise he’ll have her arrested for embezzlement. It seems like it’d be easier to return the $10,000, but we wouldn’t have a movie if she did.
At the same time, Steve tells TT and his other colleagues that he doesn’t approve of their procedure to push bad stocks onto unsuspecting clients. He insists that they could be just as successful telling the truth versus lying. TT and the other men think Steve is crazy, but make a bet with him that he can’t tell the truth for 24 hours. TT puts up $10,000 and Steve puts up Gwen’s $10,000. With $20,000 on the line, we have the main plot of our film. There’s a very funny scene later in the film when Steve’s honesty is tested when he converses with a “mature” woman who insists she looks 30.
Again in this film, Bob Hope’s character is in love with Paulette’s. They have some very funny scenes together. Hope has some great scenes where due to circumstances, he has to try and sneak around on a yacht wearing a dressing robe, belonging to Linda, an exotic dancer.
Bob Hope
Bob Hope
Road to Singapore (1940)
Surprisingly, I had never seen one of Bob Hope and Bing Crosby’s “Road” movies. I decided to watch their first film together and enjoyed it very much. There was obviously some humor and situations very of their time, but overall it was an enjoyable film. Hope plays Ace Lannigan, the best friend of Crosby’s character, Josh Mallon. At the beginning of the film, the two men work on the same ship. Upon disembarking the ship, Ace and Josh notice the mistreatment their colleagues receive at the hands of their wives. Ace and Josh vow to never get involved with women. That vow lasts all of five minutes when they return to town and meet up with Josh’s father (Charles Coburn) and his apparent fiancée, Gloria (Judith Barrett). Mr. Mallon, a rich shipping magnate, wants his son to settle down, marry the right girl and assume a proper role in the family business.
Not wanting to settle down, Josh and Ace head for Hawaii, then later Singapore. In Singapore, they meet Mima (Dorothy Lamour), a local woman who is involved in an abusive relationship with her boyfriend and dance partner, Caesar (Anthony Quinn). Josh and Ace allow Mima stay with them. This sets off some funny scenes where Mima tries to clean the men’s home and cook them proper meals. She also decorates their shack to make it more homey. At first Ace and Josh resent Mima “feminizing” their space, but it is obvious that they secretly like it–and Mima. Eventually they run out of money and Ace comes up with a scheme selling a cleaning product. He assumes the role of snake oil salesmen when he tries to promote this product to the native population, but the sales pitch does not go well. Eventually, Mr. Mallon and Gloria find their way to Singapore to bring Josh back.
It’s obvious why Bob Hope and Bing Crosby were so successful in their road films. The two men were best friends in real life and their friendship extends on screen as well. Dorothy Lamour also co-starred in the “Road” films and she is a good extension to the team. Her character fits well without her seeming like she’s the third wheel, or just shoehorned in. Hope and Crosby’s characters play to their strengths, with Hope having a lot of comedic parts and Crosby singing. Lamour was a dancer and singer and her strengths are allowed to be showcased as well. I haven’t watched the other “Road” movies yet, but I look forward to seeing the next one.
Boy, Did I Get the Wrong Number! (1966)
This movie is one of Bob Hope’s 1960s sex comedies. I am not sure how he ended up in these types of films, but for whatever reason they work for me. I quite enjoy his 1961 sex comedy, Bachelor in Paradise, co-starring Lana Turner. In ‘Number,’ Hope plays married man, Tom Meade, a California businessman who sinks a fortune into a remote lakeside cabin in Rocky Point, Oregon. He thinks that he’ll easily be able to resell it for a profit, but the cabin turns out to be a money pit. It also turns out that the cabin is too rural and not in a desirable place to live.
At the same time, French actress, Didi (Elke Sommer), is tired of playing a sexpot who is renowned for her sexy bathing scenes in her films. When her director/lover insists that she take yet another sexy bath, Didi protests, gets into her car and drives off. In a plot point that doesn’t really make sense, but we’re going with it, Tom makes a business call and is accidentally connected with Didi. She explains that she’s holed up in a nearby hotel and is in need of food and water. Tom tries to covertly sneak out of the house to deliver food and water to Didi’s hotel, but his housekeeper, Lily (Phyllis Diller), catches on and soon she’s involved in the scheme as well.
Seeing his opportunity to profit off this situation, Tom offers Didi the use of his Oregon cabin. Knowing that there’s an intense manhunt for her, Tom thinks that by allowing Didi to stay at his home, he can market it as the cabin in which she hid out. Didi takes Tom up on the offer and relocates to Southern Oregon. As a native Oregonian, when scenes at the the cabin were shown, I could tell from the landscaping that they were not in Oregon. I was right. The “Oregon” scenes were filmed at Lake Arrowhead in California. This film definitely was not the type of film where realism mattered, the extra expense to film on location in Oregon wouldn’t have made a difference.
The main conflict of the film comes when Tom’s wife, Martha (Marjorie Lord) wants to spend a romantic weekend at the cabin. He’s stuck between a rock and a hard place, as he obviously can’t tell Martha the truth. Tom and Lily arrive ahead of Martha and find Didi nearly unconscious from sleeping pills. They manage to move her to a bedroom just in time for Martha’s arrival. This sets off a comedy of errors with Tom needing to move Didi from room to room to keep his secret from Martha. Phyllis Diller has some very funny scenes, including multiple scenes with her driving a motorcycle. I particularly liked the scene when she mowed down all the Boy Scout tents. Hope and Diller had fantastic chemistry. Their chemistry was so good in fact, that it almost makes Martha and Didi secondary characters. As an aside, Marjorie Lord has the absolute worst hairstyle in this film. I know the 60s were about beehives and tall hair, but Lord’s hair is completely absurd. It looks like she placed Agnes Moorehead’s Endora wig on top of a dutch boy haircut.
