Mention the name “Harold Lloyd” to anyone even remotely acquainted with classic film, and it will instantly conjure up the image of a bespectacled man, sporting a straw boater hat, hanging from a large clock. I would argue that this image of Lloyd hanging from the clock in Safety Last! (1923) is one of the all-time most iconic images of the silent film era. It is up there with Charlie Chaplin’s “Tramp” playing with the dinner rolls in The Gold Rush (1925) and Buster Keaton’s “Stoneface” standing on the front of a train’s cowcatcher in The General (1926).
In many of his films, Harold Lloyd plays a fictional version of himself. The “Harold Lloyd” character features a young man wearing round horn-rimmed glasses, a straw boater hat, and a suit. Unlike Chaplin’s Tramp character which conveyed his character’s destitution, via a disheveled, ill-fitting suit, too-large shoes, and a bowler hat, designed to illicit sympathy, Lloyd’s character was meant to be more innocent, more boyish, more romantic. Whereas Chaplin’s Tramp was always trying to find work, make a living, find romance, Lloyd’s character never had those same struggles. He almost always already has a job, girlfriend, etc. His comedy comes from his character’s naivete, which leads to him getting into some crazy situations. Keaton’s “Stoneface” character is somewhat in the middle, not as pathetic or as sweet as Chaplin’s “Tramp,” but not as friendly and innocent as Lloyd. His characters were often just struggling to fit in–leading to him getting into some wild situations.
Harold Lloyd hangs from the clock in “Safety Last!”
Harold Lloyd’s name is often mentioned alongside Chaplin and Keaton’s, but it always seems to be listed as a distant third. There’s Chaplin and Keaton…then Harold Lloyd. I would like to argue that this isn’t fair and Lloyd deserves to be mentioned alongside both Chaplin and Keaton in the same breath. Lloyd’s unique brand of physical comedy, while different than Chaplin and Keaton’s, was innovative and furthered the way that physical comedy was filmed and portrayed on screen. One of Lloyd’s most innovative and impressive physical comedy stunts was captured in what is arguably his most famous film–Safety Last!
Safety Last! opens with Harold Lloyd and his fiancée, Mildred (Mildred Davis to whom Lloyd would be married from 1923 until her death in 1969) at the train station, saying goodbye. Harold is leaving their small town of Great Bend and moving to the big city–in hopes of making it big. His goal is to be successful, send for Mildred, and marry her. Harold arrives in the big city and manages to find work at the fabric counter at De Vore Department Store. There is a floorwalker, Mr. Stubbs, from whom Harold often has to hide or conduct some tomfoolery to stay out of trouble. Mr. Stubbs seems to have it in for Harold from the get-go.
Months pass and Harold still hasn’t been promoted from the fabric counter. Day in and day out he cuts fabric for the picky female clientele–and heaven help him if there’s a sale. To maintain the charade of becoming both successful professionally and financially, Harold has been spending his meager earnings on expensive gifts to send to Mildred. He cannot even afford to pay rent on his apartment and has resorted to pawning his personal belongings.
Harold Lloyd tries to maintain order at the fabric counter during a sale at De Vore Department Store.
Harold’s fibbing about his finances and success backfires when Mildred arrives in town on the train, hoping to marry the successful Harold. To save face, he pretends to be the store manager. While retrieving Mildred’s purse from the manager’s office, Harold overhears the store manager proclaiming that he would pay someone $1000 ($18,900 in 2025) if they could come up with a plan to attract attention to the department store.
Harold comes up with a plan. He is going to call his friend Bill, who recently scaled the side of a multi-story building to escape from the police. Harold offers to give Bill half of the $1000 payout if he will perform the stunt and scale the side of the 12-story building that De Vore Department Store occupies. However, on the day of the stunt, Bill is detained by police and doesn’t show up–leaving Harold to perform the stunt himself.
Harold horrifyingly starts swinging by his ankle from the top of the building.
Harold Lloyd performed the stunt himself. However, he was not climbing an actual 12-story building; but that does not mean that his stunt was any less dangerous. A series of different building facades were built on the rooftops of buildings of varying heights in downtown Los Angeles. Lloyd would then climb the facade. The facades were constructed near the edge of the building’s rooftop for purposes of the photography. There was a platform for Harold Lloyd should he fall, however, it provided a very small safety net as it would be very easy for Lloyd to fall and miss it completely, and he’d plummet to the ground. Trick photography was used to give the illusion that Lloyd was climbing the outside of the building. While Lloyd did perform most of the stunts himself, stuntmen were employed such as in the long shots of Harold on the outside of the building and when he is swinging (by his ankle) on the rope.
The famous clock scene was the last scene filmed. The clock was constructed on the rooftop of the Broadway Leasehold Building, a seven-story building in downtown Los Angeles. As of 2025, this building is still standing.
The Brady Bunch (1969-1974) is an American pop culture icon. Even the most layman television fan can hear famous lines like “Marcia, Marcia, Marcia!” or “porkchops and applesauce,” or “Oh! My nose!” and not only know where the quote originates from; but even know which character uttered the line. The Brady Bunch sometimes gets a bad rap for being corny and unrealistic. Frankly, I love The Brady Bunch for those reasons–which is why I love The Brady Bunch Movie (1995) and A Very Brady Sequel (1996). I may have seen both films in the theater in middle school when the movies were new!
The movie cast recreates the iconic opening credit sequence.
The Brady Bunch Movie did a very good job with casting actors who somewhat resemble their television predecessors. Carol (Shelley Long) has Florence Henderson’s iconic flip/shag mullet ‘do. She wears a lot of brightly colored and patterned pantsuits. Carol puts absurd amounts of sugar in her coffee and constantly says “Oh Mike!” throughout the film. Gary Cole plays Mike Brady and while he doesn’t look exactly like Robert Reed (original Mike Brady), he has his style of speaking down to a T. Mike is very adept at always having a lesson at the ready, whether it’s something short like “when you tattle on others, you’re really tattling on yourself. You’re saying ‘I’m a tattletale'” or a more long-winded lecture, such as when he lectures Greg on not wanting to take part in the Search for the Stars Contest. Henriette Mantel, while she doesn’t really look like Ann B. Davis, she sounds similar to Alice and does a good job emulating her way of speaking. I also love how Alice’s formal dress looks like a fancier version of her maid uniform; but it’s the same thing. Even Ann B. Davis wears a powder blue jacket with buttons in the same arrangement in her cameo scene.
The Brady kids are varying levels of successful in terms of portryal with the standout being Jennifer Elise Cox as the perpetually overshadowed and ignored Jan. Eve Plumb gave us a very memorable portrayal of middle child Jan, who constantly feels inadequate next to her popular sister Marcia. Jan provided The Brady Bunch‘s most iconic quote: “Marcia, Marcia, Marcia!” Christine Taylor as Marcia is the second best character in the film. She is a dead-ringer for Maureen McCormick. She also is adept at mimicking some of McCormick’s odd pronunciations, “skewl” (school) being one of the most memorable.
Christopher Daniel Barnes plays oldest child Greg. He is most known for providing the voice of Prince Eric in 1989’s The Little Mermaid. He looks somewhat like Barry Williams and does a good job acting like the “Casanova of Clinton Avenue.” Paul Sutera plays middle son, Peter, memorably played by Christopher Knight in the original. Jesse Lee and Olivia Hack play Bobby and Cindy Brady, recreating the parts played by Mike Lookinland and Susan Olsen in the original series.
The Brady Bunch Movie presents a satirical look at our favorite 1970s family and plops them down in 1995 Los Angeles. The Bradys still live in their iconic mid-century modern home at 4222 Clinton Way–astroturf lawn and all. There are dozens of references to the original show. As an avid viewer of the television show and a massive fan of the movies, I could list all the references; but that may make this article insanely long to read. One of the main references to the show are the Bradys’ neighbors–Mr. and Mrs. Dittmeyer (Michael McKean and Jean Smart), who were mentioned on one or two occasions in the original series. Carol memorably hooks one of Mr. Dittmeyer’s bags of charcoal when she’s practicing casting a fishing line in the backyard. However, every characters’ respective personality and quirks are played to the hilt for laughs.
While The Brady Bunch television show is often criticized for being unrealistic in its tackling of non-issues like breaking mom’s favorite vase, or having to appear in a television show. This criticism is understandable, especially when it aired alongside shows like All in the Family and The Mary Tyler Moore Show. However, I would argue that having shows about having to wear glasses or braces, or being peer pressured to smoke cigarettes is far easier to relate to than a more timely, 1970s-centric, issue. While some shows from the 1970s seem more dated, The Brady Bunch remains timeless, which is why it still remains relevant today.
However, The Brady Bunch Movie does feature a very serious un-Bradylike issue as its main plot: Mike and Carol are behind in their property taxes and face foreclosure if they can’t come up with $20,000 by the end of the week. Their neighbor, Mr. Dittmeyer, is the villain of the story. He is in real estate development and hates the Bradys. He is trying to convince his neighbors to sell their homes to a developer for a tidy sum. The only hold out are the Bradys. Due to their mail being misdelivered and Mr. Dittmeyer’s opening of the Bradys’ mail, he gets wind of the Bradys’ tax problems. He is only too happy to buy their house at the upcoming auction.
The kids have one of their infamous kid meetings to come up with a plan. Marcia is going to become a model (of course). Bobby and Cindy are going to try and find money around the house. Greg is going to become rock star, Johnny Bravo (obviously), and Peter is going to ask neighbors if they need chores done around their home. Jan’s plan is to enter the $20,000 “Search for the Stars” contest. This is the plan that they ultimately follow through with at the end of the film, and of course because its The Brady Bunch, they win. I love that all the original recordings performed by The Brady Bunch Kids are used in this film.
The Brady Bunch kids perform “Keep On” and win $20,000 to save their home!
The movie also features subplots for the kids, with Jan’s being the most memorable. Marcia accidentally makes two dates for the same night: one with Charlie and the other with “Big Man on Campus,” Doug Simpson. Doug is more interested in getting Marcia into the sack, since despite being the most popular girl in school, she is notoriously “harder to get into than a Pearl Jam concert.” Marcia’s also trying to get Davy Jones of The Monkees to perform at the prom. Greg is trying to become Johnny Bravo, by singing songs like ” ‘Til I Met You” (…clowns never laughed before, beanstalks never grew. Ponies never ran before, ’til I met you…). ” ‘Til I Met You” was co-written by Barry Williams. While the Greg in the television show was made out to be a ladies’ man, this Greg is so lame that girls literally scream and run out of the room.
Peter is going through puberty and also finds himself having a crush on Holly, the grunge girlfriend of his neighbor, Eric. Holly also thinks Peter’s cute “in a Gilligan sort of way.” Bobby becomes the school safety monitor and hates that his job involves ratting out his classmates. Then there’s Cindy. Frankly, the Cindy in this movie is a moron, she looks to be at least 12 but acts 5. She echoes the sentiments of Susan Olsen who hated how ridiculous Cindy acted throughout the series.
Potato sack race!
Finally, there’s Jan. Jan is so awesome and has the best subplot of the entire film. First she has to bear the indignity of having to wear glasses–saying that “glasses make [her] look positively goofy.” Then, she is mistaken for Marcia at school. Jan is so tired of Marcia being better than her at everything, she decides to set herself apart. In a scene straight out of the show (except a swap of venue and a more exaggerated sized wig), Jan decides to don a giant black afro wig to the prom, in a desperate attempt to draw attention away from Marcia. Her anxiety over being in constant competition with Marcia starts causing her to hear voices. Jennifer Elise Cox’s portrayal of Jan is worth the admission alone to the film.
“But Jan, you don’t have any friends.” My favorite line from the film. It makes me laugh every time.
In A Very Brady Sequel, the film answers one of the burning questions of the original series: What happened to Carol’s first husband? The original series never addresses what happened to the girls’ father/Carol’s husband. After the second season, the show stops even addressing the fact that the Brady Bunch is a blended family. Carol even makes comments about the boys inheriting traits from her!
Alice dusts the iconic horse statue in the original series.
The film starts with Trevor Thomas (Tim Mattheson) and Carol’s husband Roy Martin on a boat. Roy has a rare (i.e., expensive) statue in his possession and tells Trevor that he sent it ahead to his wife, Carol. Trevor and Roy’s ship then wrecks and Roy dies. Trevor spends the next decade or so trying to find where Roy’s wife, Carol lives. He finally tracks Carol down at the Brady home and introduces himself as Roy Martin. Carol and the girls are understandably shocked. Roy then spots the rare statue in the Bradys’ home–it’s the horse statue which was seen on a sideboard in the Bradys’ living room next to the famous stairs.
The Brady Kids take Trevor shopping and make him over into a horrendous looking vintage suit!
Like in the first film, there are numerous subplots involving the other characters in the film. The family is getting ready shopping and planning for Mike and Carol’s upcoming wedding anniversary. In an ode to another memorable episode, Greg and Marcia fight over the newly remodeled bedroom in the attic. In the show, Greg won the attic using the argument that he was older and was graduating the next year. In the movie however, both Marcia and Greg are given the room, with the idea that they’d share. However, when you have two opposite sex teenagers, technically not related, sharing a bedroom… Don’t get me wrong, Greg and Marcia don’t hook up; but they find themselves having very awkward feelings about each other. This entire subplot is an allusion to the real-life romance between Greg and Marcia’s original actors, Barry Williams and Maureen McCormick, who dated during season 4 and into season 5. There are many season 4 episodes where you can see Greg making cow eyes at Marcia.
Marcia and Greg are double dating (with other people, not each other) and get way too excited talking about Marcia’s hair care regimen.
In A Very Brady Sequel, Jan’s neurotic behavior continues when she invents a fake boyfriend named George Glass. Jan in the television series also made up a fake boyfriend named George Glass, but she didn’t go to the extent of making a dummy and pretending to be with him. Jan is so desperate to be seen as desirable that she hilariously calls a 1-900 hotline to speak to a “live guy.” Peter, Bobby and Cindy don’t have that exciting of storylines. Peter starts to idolize Trevor which concerns Mike. Bobby and Cindy start a “detective agency” and end up discovering that Trevor isn’t who he says he is. This leads to Trevor kidnapping Carol and taking her to Hawaii where he can meet with Professor Whitehead to sell the horse statue. As we all remember, in the television show, Vincent Price played the infamous Professor Whitehead who kidnaps the boys and ties them to large statues in his cave. There’s also the hilarious tiki statue and great “DO DO DO DOOOO” music that makes an appearance.
A Very Brady Sequel pays homage to the pilot episode of the television shows with Carol’s gold dress and the girls’ pink dresses. Mike and the boys however do not don pink paisley suits in the show.
The sequel isn’t nearly as good as the first film; but it is still funny and worth watching. The first film feels more cohesive, and all the references feel more organic. In the second film, all the in-jokes seem more forced, as if the writers realized there were more jokes from the series that they need to fit in. There are some funny scenes, such as Carol getting her hair done at a punk hair salon; or Jan seeing her guidance counselor Mrs. Cummings (RuPaul) at the pool with her daughters who are exactly like Marcia, Jan and Cindy. Though, I’m easy to please, so I find a lot of the scenes pretty funny. I love Jan’s phone call to the 1-900 number. “I’d like to speak to a live guy. What do you mean ‘what am I wearing?’ My red jumper with the floral print trim. What do you mean, ‘take it off?’ “
The sequel ends with Greg and Marcia finally ending the suspense and kissing each other (just go with it, they’re not technically related; though I’m sure a relationship between the two would cause some strange drama in the family). Jan meets a real boy named George Glass while in Hawaii and ends up inviting him to Mike and Carol’s anniversary party. The party ends with a shocker–the reappearance of Mike’s first wife!
Mike’s first wife, Jeannie (Barbara Eden). Eden would have been in her 60s at this time and she’s still making this outfit work, you go, Barbara !
Aaron Spelling is known for producing some of the biggest shows of the 70s, 80s and 90s. Some of his most popular shows include Charlie’s Angels, The Love Boat, Dynasty, Beverly Hills 90210, Melrose Place and Charmed. Many people do not realize that before he was producing television shows, amassing his massive wealth and building his 56,500 square foot, 123-room home, aka “The Manor,” Spelling was acting on television. His very first television appearance was in a 1955 episode of I Love Lucy, “Tennessee Bound.”
RICKY (from the car): Where are we? LUCY: Where are we? Uhhh…where are we Ethel? ETHEL: Uh… I don’t know, I wasn’t paying much attention. GAS STATION ATTENDANT: Shucks, you’re in Tennessee! LUCY: Tennessee?! ETHEL: Tennessee?! RICKY (from the car): Tennessee?! FRED (from the car): Tennessee?! GAS STATION ATTENDANT: You got a bad echo in that car! LUCY: Yeah well…How do you get back to Highway 60? GAS STATION ATTENDANT: You got here from Highway 60?! But there a’int no roads! You must’ve come across that mountain, in them old logging ruts. How’d you do it? LUCY: T’weren’t easy. Tell me where is the next city? GAS STATION ATTENDANT: You can get to Nashville from here. You go straight down here a piece, until you get to that big road, and you stay right on it, and it’ll take you right through Bent Fork. LUCY: Bent Fork?! ETHEL: Bent Fork?! RICKY (from the car): Bent Fork?! FRED (from the car): Bent Fork?! GAS STATION ATTENDANT: There goes that echo again!
Lucille Ball as “Lucy,” Desi Arnaz as “Ricky,” Vivian Vance as “Ethel,” William Frawley as “Fred,” and Aaron Spelling as “Gas Station Attendant.” I Love Lucy, “Tennessee Bound,” January 24, 1955.
While in Bent Fork, Ricky is pulled over for speeding and is hauled down to the jail. Lucy ends up being arrested for back talking the Sheriff. Then, having heard the ruckus about the city folk being caught speeding, Ernie shows up. He, Ricky and the Mertzes come up with a plan to break Lucy out of jail. However, it doesn’t go well and the whole group ends up behind bars. To get out of jail, Ernie decides that he’ll marry the Sheriff’s daughter who was sweet on him. Ernie declares his intent to the Sheriff. The Sheriff is overjoyed and leaves to go get his twin daughters–Teensy and Weensy. Teensy and Weensy are portrayed by Marilyn and Rosalyn Borden. These poor women are the butt of the joke in this episode. The twins are petite and rotund women. Ernie ends up proposing to the wrong sister and his plan is ruined.
While in Bent Fork, Ricky is pulled over for speeding and is hauled down to the jail. Lucy ends up being arrested for back talking the Sheriff. Then, having heard the ruckus about the city folk being caught speeding, Ernie shows up. He, Ricky and the Mertzes come up with a plan to break Lucy out of jail. However, it doesn’t go well and the whole group ends up behind bars. To get out of jail, Ernie decides that he’ll marry the Sheriff’s daughter who was sweet on him. Ernie declares his intent to the Sheriff. The Sheriff is overjoyed and leaves to go get his twin daughters–Teensy and Weensy. Teensy and Weensy are portrayed by Marilyn and Rosalyn Borden. These poor women are the butt of the joke in this episode. The twins are petite and rotund women. Ernie ends up proposing to the wrong sister and his plan is ruined.
However, Teensy and Weensy express interest in dancing with Ricky (because why not? He’s hot!). Ricky at first refuses, but is convinced to do so by Ernie. Ernie comes up with another plan, telling the Sheriff that Ricky will dance with the twins, but only if they can do a square dance, “so he can dance with both at once.” This is where Aaron Spelling comes back into the episode as he just happens to be at the jail. Maybe he had heard about the trouble the group got into and wanted to see what happened. Spelling, the Sheriff, Teensy and Weensy round out the square alongside the Ricardos and Mertzes. Ernie serves as the square dance caller. They start with a traditional square dance; but Ernie soon gives clever calls that subtly cue the Ricardos and Mertzes to make their move to escape. They grab a rope and tie the Sheriff, his daughters and Aaron Spelling up and they’re back on the road!
This is a very funny episode, though you can’t help but feel sorry for Teensy and Weensy. They fill the role that is present in a lot of old television shows and movies where a father with supposedly unattractive daughters feels compelled to try and pawn them off on any man who will pay them even a second of attention. Cousin Ernie can be a bit of a divisive figure in the I Love Lucy community; but I love him. Aaron Spelling’s re-appearance at the end of the episode is somewhat random as he just kind of shows up again, but obviously they needed eight people for the square and Spelling was already on the set. Spelling’s appearance isn’t entirely memorable unless you’re a big I Love Lucy fan and he’s unrecognizable from his 70s-90s image. However, it is fun to see a huge television titan at the beginning of his career in such a goofy role. He could have done worse though for his television debut than I Love Lucy, the #1 show in the country.
The character of Mame Dennis has endured many iterations, as the titular character in Edward Everett Tanner III’s novel and later it became the 1966 hit Broadway musical, Mame, starring Angela Lansbury. In 1974, the musical Mame was adapted into the movie musical of the same name, starring Lucille Ball. Ball’s version is considered an absolute disaster and she was considered miscast. Lansbury’s performance as Mame Dennis was one of the highlights of her career. As much as I love Lucille Ball, I wish that Lansbury had been given the opportunity to reprise her role in the film. The iteration that is the most remembered however, is the 1958 adaptation, Auntie Mame, starring Rosalind Russell. Russell was reprising her Tony Award-winning role in the 1956 adaptation of Tanner III’s novel. She was born to play Mame Dennis. It is the perfect marriage of star and part.
Auntie Mame starts in 1928 when Mame Dennis’ nephew Patrick is orphaned when his father Edwin dies unexpectedly. Edwin’s sister, Mame, is given custody of Patrick per Edwin’s will. The trustee of Patrick’s large inheritance, Dwight Babcock (Fred Clark), had been tasked by Edwin to try and undermine Mame’s enormous influence over everyone. Her larger than life personality and love for unique people, cultures and experiences– her overall lust for life so to speak, charms her to many people from different walks in life. Mame has an eccentric group of friends, all whom end up at her townhouse all hours of the day–often because she’s invited them over for a wild party. Some of Mame’s friends include book publisher Lindsay Woolsey (Patric Knowles), actress Vera Charles (Coral Browne), and Acacius Page (Henry Brandon) who runs a nudist resort. Patrick of course is fascinated by all these people, which horrifies Mr. Babcock.
The stock market crash of 1929 bankrupts Mame. She is forced to start working to pay her bills. All her jobs end disastrously, including appearing on stage with Vera where the bells on her jewelry and clothing is distracting both to the actors and audience. Later, Mame works as a switchboard operator and finally as a sales girl at Macy’s. While at Macy’s, Mame meets oil baron Beauregard Jackson Pickett Burnside (Forrest Tucker). Mame and Beauregard fall in love and marry and spend their days traveling the world. Meanwhile, Patrick is living under the guardanship of Mr. Babcock which is leading to Patrick developing a more conservative personality.
VERA to MAME: What the HELL have you got back there? Reindeer?!
Coral Browne as “Vera” to Rosalind Russell as “Mame” while Vera and Mame appear onstage in “Auntie Mame”
In 1937, Beauregard dies in a mountain climbing accident, leaving Mame a very wealthy widow. Beauregard’s death serves as the moment when the film transitions from child Patrick to adult Patrick (Roger Smith). When Mame returns to her home after her husband’s death, she is greeted with gifts from Patrick: a Dictaphone, typewriter, and a secretary named Agnes Gooch (Peggy Cass). Patrick and Mame’s friends encourage Mame to write her memoirs. A ghostwriter is hired, Brian O’Bannion (Robin Hughes) is hired, though it quickly becomes apparent that he’s after Mame’s money.
Now comes for my favorite part of the film: the introduction of the Upson family. Patrick announces to Mame that he’s engaged to Gloria Upson (Joanna Barnes), the snobby rich daughter of Doris (Lee Patrick) and Claude (Willard Waterman). There’s a funny scene where Mame visits Doris and Claude and is given Claude’s signature cocktail, a daiquiri made with a lot of honey. Rosalind Russell is hilarious in this scene. Her facial expressions fully inform the audience how disgusting this drink is. Later, she basically tosses the drink over her shoulder and wisely turns down a refill. It is this scene where Mame learns that the Upsons live in a restricted community. Of course, Mame who loves people from all religions, occupations, etc. is appalled. She gets delicious revenge later.
Joanna Barnes’ performance of Gloria is hysterical. At Mame’s party, she tries to entertain Mame and her friends, with actual interesting lives and stories, with her anecdote involving a wild ping pong game which resulted in the ball being stepped on. As one can imagine, Mame and her friends are not impressed at this vapid, snobby, idiotic woman. Gloria constantly calls everything “top drawer” with her nasally “Valley Girl-esque” voice. She tries so hard to impress everyone with her wealth and status, but she’s so shallow and has no substance that she comes off as an idiot. Mame is repulsed by the Upsons and does everything she can to try and open up Patrick’s eyes to the family he’s about to marry into.
GLORIA: Oh my, what a stunning apartment! MAME: Thank you. GLORIA: Books are awfully decorative, don’t you think?
Joanna Barnes as “Gloria” and Rosalind Russell as “Mame” in “Auntie Mame”
GLORIA: Bunny Bixler and I were in the semi-finals – the very semi-finals, mind you – of the ping-pong tournament at the club and this ghastly thing happened. We were both playing way over our heads and the score was 29-28. And we had this really terrific volley and I stepped back to get this really terrific shot. And I stepped on the ping-pong ball! I just squashed it to bits. And then Bunny and I ran to the closet of the game room to get another ping-pong ball and the closet was locked! Imagine? We had to call the whole thing off. Well, it was ghastly. Well, it was just ghastly.
Joanna Barnes as “Gloria” in “Auntie Mame”
Eventually Mame gets a new secretary, Pegeen Ryan (Pippa Scott), after Agnes ends up pregnant after a (presumably) one night stand with O’Bannion. Earlier in the film, Mame had sent Agnes to a party in her place to sabotage O’Bannion’s attempts to woo her, i.e. move in on her money. Patrick is smitten with Pegeen, a pairing that pleases Mame. At the aforementioned party, Mame invites her friends over to show off her memoir. She also redecorates her townhouse with futuristic decor, including a seating area that can be raised and lowered with different cords. Mame’s goal of course is to drive the Upsons out of her home and of course, Patrick’s life.
Rosalind Russell is everything in the role of Mame. She is loud, vivacious, glamorous, hilarious and incredibly charming. I love how Mame’s zest for life is portrayed through the evolution of Mame’s costumes and decor in her townhouse. As Mame visits a new country or becomes interested in another culture or decorating style, her clothing and furnishings change to reflect her new interests. Russell’s costumes are gorgeous, my favorite costume being the silver sequined shirt and harem pants with a chartreuse organza wrap she wears at her big party with the Upsons. Mame also wears a great orange crepe coat with a mandarin collar while she’s in her “Asian period.” At the end of the film, while Mame is packing for a trip to India she is dressed in a beautiful gold gown with a matching embroidered gold wrap. I think Russell’s height (5’8) suited her well for all the gorgeous coats and gowns that Mame wears.
VERA: If you kept your hair natural like I do… MAME: If I kept my hair natural like yours, I’d be bald.
Coral Browne as “Vera” and Rosalind Russell as “Mame” in “Auntie Mame”
An interesting aspect of Auntie Mame‘s presentation is how it is presented as if one were watching a play on the screen. Each section of the play ends with a dimming of the screen and a bit of a pause in the action–as if we needed to wait for new sets and costume changes. This gives the film a very stylized, elegant presentation which might be off-putting to some, but I find it appropriate for the Mame character. She herself is a stylish person. She is sophisticated. Since her style evolves as she does, the stylish aesthetic of the film is fitting. The presentation of the film and of Mame herself supports her message: Life’s a banquet and most poor suckers are starving to death!
The supporting cast is excellent as well and work well in Mame’s world. Coral Browne plays Mame’s best friend, Vera, and is just as outrageous. She often gets plastered at Mame’s parties and just sleeps it off. Vera has an acid tongue and is hilarious. Peggy Gooch as Mame’s secretary is hysterical. Her raspy high pitched voice is funny enough, but it is even funnier with her frumpy appearance. Joanna Barnes as the snobby and spoiled daughter of the Upsons is hilarious–especially when you can see from where she got her behavior. Lee Patrick and Willard Waterman are obnoxious. They’re like every snobby rich person who thinks that money makes up for having class and taste. Because they’re rich, everything they eat, drink, do, etc. is fancy and for the elite, because they’re doing it.
The Luso World Cinema Blogathon is an annual event hosted by Spellbound with Beth Ann and Critica Retro. I’ll admit that I didn’t know anything about Luso cinema, in fact, I didn’t know what “Luso” meant. Research revealed that “Luso” is a prefix used in relation to Portugal and Portuguese culture. From reading through the list of actors/actresses of Portuguese heritage, I learned that one of my favorites, Mary Astor, fits this description.
Mary Astor was born Lucile Vasconcellos Langhanke in Quincy, Illinois on May 3, 1906. Her father was German and her mother was American. Mary got her Portuguese heritage from her mother. Mary was homeschooled by her mother until 1919 when she sent a photo of herself to a beauty contest and became a semi-finalist. When she was 15, she began taking drama lessons and appearing in local productions. Mary submitted her photos to other beauty contests, eventually catching the attention of an employee at Famous Players-Lasky. She was then signed to a six-month contract at Paramount. Mary would eventually make her screen debut in 1921 at the age of 14.
Mary’s career in silent film had its ups and downs. In 1929, she briefly found herself out of work as her voice was deemed too deep for talkies. However, she appeared in a play with her friend Florence Eldridge (wife of Fredric March) which ended up getting her back into films. She started being cast in films again and was on her way to stardom. In 1935, Mary had an extra-marital affair and was later embroiled in a bitter custody dispute with her ex-husband. In many cases, an adulteress’ career would be over, but the scandal seemed to have little effect on her career. Mary would eventually win the Best Supporting Actress Oscar in 1941 for her role in The Great Lie.
Mary Astor’s career reached its peak in the 1940s with her Oscar win and appearance in the film noir classic, The Maltese Falcon, as Brigid O’Shaugnessy. As what happened with a lot of actresses back then, as soon as Mary hit 40 she was seen as a “mother” figure and was often cast in more matronly roles such as matriarch Anna Smith in Meet Me in St. Louis and Marmee in Little Women. Some of Astor’s best roles however come during this time when she took on against-type parts, such as playing a prostitute in Act of Violence or a madam in Desert Fury. Mary made her final appearance in 1964 in the small, but important role of Jewel Mayhew in Hush, Hush Sweet Charlotte.
Mary Astor had a lot of great roles in her long career. Here are my top 5 favorite Mary Astor performances:
Walter Huston and Mary Astor in “Dodsworth.”
#1Dodsworth (1936). In this film, Mary plays “the other woman,” a role which typically isn’t sympathetic and is usually villainous. However, in Dodsworth, Mary’s performance as Edith Cortright and relationship with Walter Huston’s Sam Dodsworth is so beautiful that she is seen as the woman that Sam deserves. In this film, Sam and his wife Fran (Ruth Chatterton)’s daughter is all grown and married. Fran cannot accept being old enough to have a grown and married daughter. Sam retires and hopes to live a life of leisure with Fran. They’re planning on starting their retirement with an extended European vacation. While on the ocean liner, Sam meets Edith and Fran meets a young Englishman (David Niven) with whom she flirts. Sam ends up spending much of his time on the boat with Edith. While in Europe, Fran wants to be part of the jet set, spending her time living the high life while pretending to be much younger. Sam just wants to see the sights. As the Dodsworths find themselves growing apart, through a chance encounter, Sam reunites with Edith.
Mary’s performance in Dodsworth is very charming and sweet. She is what the film needs to offset the vain and materialistic Fran. While she is the “other woman” so to speak, Sam is such a nice guy and Fran is so awful, that we as the audience want Sam and Edith to be together.
Mary Astor and Joel McCrea in “The Palm Beach Story.”
#2The Palm Beach Story (1942). Mary Astor’s performance in this film is unlike any other part that I’ve seen her play. While she doesn’t seem like the obvious choice to appear in a Preston Sturges screwball comedy, Mary is right at home. In this film, she plays the oft-married Princess Maud Centimillia. At the start of the film, she’s on her way home to Palm Beach, FL with her latest conquest, Toto. She pulls up to the dock in her yacht and immediately wants to drop Toto for Tom Jeffers (Joel McCrea). Tom is in town looking for his wife, Gerry (Claudette Colbert) who has traveled to Palm Beach from New York. While on the train to Florida, Gerry meets the Princess’ brother, John D. Hackensacker III (Rudy Vallee). John is instantly smitten with Gerry and takes her back to his home to give her a place to stay.
Mary Astor’s performance as the Princess is hysterical. Even though she’s taken Toto as her lover, she wants nothing to do with him as soon as she spots Joel McCrea. Her disdain for Toto is so clear and obvious, but he’s a dope and doesn’t pick up on it. The Princess constantly has to think of errands to send Toto on so she’ll go away. She’s also very funny when Gerry introduces her husband as “Captain McGlue” in an effort to hide the fact that he’s her husband. When Tom later reveals that he is not Captain McGlue, the Princess says: “Thank heaven for some things. That name!”
Clark Gable and Mary Astor in “Red Dust.”
#3 Red Dust (1933) In this film, Mary plays Barbara Willis, the wealthy wife of Gary (Gene Raymond) who is sent to oversee a rubber plantation in French Indochina. The manager of the rubber plantation is Dennis Carson (Clark Gable). Another visitor to the plantation is Vantine (Jean Harlow), a young prostitute on the lam. Vantine is instantly smitten with Dennis and he seems interested in her until he sees Barbara. Barbara is the polar opposite of Vantine. She is brunette, more classy and ladylike. In contrast, Vantine is a bleached blonde, a brash, and outspoken. Gary ends up coming down with malaria, which puts him out of commission and more importantly, away from Barbara. Dennis spends the week of Barbara’s visit seducing her until she finally succumbs to his advances. Meanwhile, Vantine looks on with intense jealousy.
This is a very sexy part for Mary Astor. She is given the chance to have the hot and heavy affair with the hunky Clark Gable. The entire film is sweaty and it feels sweaty. At one point, Barbara is caught in the rain and is drenched. She then shares a sexy kiss with Gable.
Mary Astor and John Barrymore in “Midnight.”
#4 Midnight (1939) In this film, Mary plays the wealthy Helene Flammarion, the wife of Georges Flammrion (John Barrymore). She is very openly having an affair with ladies man, Jacques Picot (Frances Lederer). At the beginning of the film, Eve Peabody (Claudette Colbert) crashes a concert attended by members of the Parisian high society. She ends up running into Marcel Renaud (Rex O’Malley) who invites her to play bridge with himself, Helene, and Jacques. Eve introduces herself as “Madame Czerny.” Georges enters the room and sees Eve. He pretends to recognize Madame Czerny.
Georges comes up with a scheme to break up his wife and Jacques. He proposes to Eve that she try and break up Jacques and Helene. If she succeeds, Georges will give her a good payoff to reward her for her efforts. He will also give her 50,000 francs and invites her to his and Helene’s home in Versailles for the weekend. Georges also puts Eve up in a suite at the Ritz and buys her a new wardrobe, worthy of her persona as Madame Czerny. Meanwhile, cab driver Tibor Czerny (Don Ameche) is looking for Eve, having fallen in love with her while her drove her around town. When he finally finds her, he is amused that she’s taken on his surname as her fake royalty name.
While Mary Astor is more of a side character in this film, she is very funny in her part as John Barrymore’s unfaithful wife. She has absolutely no discretion in her affair with Jacques. Mary excels in these parts playing a bit of a goody two shoes, but also classy and a bit rigid. She’s also great at delivering her lines with a bit of bitterness, cynicism, while also being very funny.
Mary Astor and Humphrey Bogart in “The Maltese Falcon”
#5 The Maltese Falcon (1941). This is perhaps Mary Astor’s most famous role, that of femme fatale Brigid O’Shaugnessy in John Huston’s directorial debut and Humphrey Bogart’s breakout role. In this film, Brigid introduces herself to Bogart’s Sam Spade as “Miss Wonderly,” but he soon figures out that she’s lying about her identity. She comes to Sam wanting help in finding out the whereabouts of her missing sister. All Brigid can say is that she came to town (San Francisco) with Floyd Thursby. Sam puts his associate, Miles Archer, on the case. Miles is murdered while investigating Thursby’s whereabouts.
Sam sets out to investigate Archer’s death, but is soon thrust into an even larger (more interesting) mystery. He goes to Brigid, now calling herself Brigid having abandoned the “Miss Wonderly” moniker, to find out more information about Thursby. Brigid confesses that she made up the story about her sister and revealed that Thursby was her partner. She also puts forth the theory that Thursby probably killed Archer. When Sam returns to his office, he encounters Joe Cairo (Peter Lorre) who is wanting help looking for a statue of a black bird.
The black bird investigation proves to be a lot more interesting, especially when it turns out that Brigid is acquainted with Joe Cairo. Sam also learns that Cairo and Brigid are part of a gang led by Kasper Gutman (Sydney Greenstreet). Wilmer Cook (Elisha Cook Jr.) is Kasper’s gunsel and eventual fall guy. The ending of the film where Sam calls Brigid out and says she was responsible for Archer’s death. This is Mary Astor’s time to shine. In the scene, she is heartbroken that Sam Spade, with whom she thought she was in love, sends her up the river. She pleads with him to not turn her over to the police, but to no avail. He “consoles” her stating that she’ll probably be out in twenty years. As she descends in the elevator, Brigid’s face is covered by the shadows of bars on the windows.
Grumpy Old Men and its sequel, Grumpier Old Men, are more or less The Odd Couple 25 years later. Felix and Oscar are no longer roommates in New York City. They’re now neighbors living in the small midwestern town of Wabasha, Minnesota. Felix and Oscar are still alone, but are single and ready to mingle. The two men are polar opposites in every way, but are friends despite how incompatible they seem on the surface. They are the epitome of a “mismatched couple.”
Grumpy Old Men and Grumpier Old Men are more or less one film, as the second film continues the story a few months after the events in the first film. Grumpy Old Men spans winter and spring and Grumpier Old Men covers summer and autumn. My family always watches both these films on Thanksgiving after our annual viewing of Planes, Trains and Automobiles. Grumpy Old Men features Thanksgiving and Christmas, and we’ve found we can’t watch the first film without immediately watching the other. I have always accepted the events of both films taking place over a calendar year, despite the actual films being released two years apart. Both films are chock full of mismatched couples, covering a wide span of relationship types, from friendship to romance.
Jack Lemmon and Burgess Meredith as John and John Sr.
In the Grumpy Old Men series, Jack Lemmon plays John Gustafson, a widower and former teacher living alone in his beautiful Craftsman home in Wabasha. He survives off frozen meals and canned food and doesn’t seem thrilled about it. His daughter, Melanie (Darryl Hannah) and granddaughter come to visit often. His daughter’s relationship with her husband is on the rocks, and John isn’t upset to see it fall apart. John’s father, John Sr. (Burgess Meredith) is in his 90s and spends much of his time settling feuds between John and Max. John, Sr. is the polar opposite of his son. He eats unhealthily, smokes, and uses crass language. John’s biggest struggle in this film is that he owes a large sum of back taxes to the IRS and spends much of the film trying to dodge the collector.
Jack Lemmon and Walter Matthau as John and Max.
Meanwhile, John’s neighbor and exact opposite Max Goldman (Walter Matthau), also a widower, spends his time in his messy home watching television, happily eating frozen and canned food, and terrorizing John by playing pranks on him. Even Max and John’s pets are contrasting. Max’s dog is a drooling, smelly, one-eyed bulldog named Lucky who is regularly encouraged to terrorize John’s cat named Slick. Max’s son, Jacob (Kevin Pollak) is running for mayor. He is also the opposite of Melanie, John’s daughter. Aside from the obvious male/female difference, Melanie is tall, Jacob is short. He also harbored a crush on Melanie as a child and sees his golden opportunity when her marriage falls apart.
Walter Matthau and Ann-Margret as Max and Ariel.
Tensions between John and Max heat up when a new neighbor, Ariel Truax (Ann-Margret) moves to town from California. She purchases a home catty corner from John and Max. Compared to the more conservative residents of Wabasha, Ariel is a breath of fresh air and a curiosity to the other residents in town, specifically the men. She purchases all kinds of exotic homeopathic medicines and remedies from the local pharmacy–so exotic in fact that they have to be mail-ordered. Ariel paints, sculpts, cooks exotic foods, and zips around town on her bobsled. She runs outside in her leotard to make snow angels and overall has a zest for life. She always wants to take chances and risks on anything that is a new experience. John and Max both seem resigned to letting things happen to them, versus making things happen for them. The men are both enchanted by Ariel, because duh it’s Ann-Margret, so she’s also gorgeous, and try to do their best to woo her. In the end, John wins and Max is upset and disappointed.
The tension over Ariel brings to light the root cause of John and Max’s feud–after high school, John married Max’s high school sweetheart. John tries to smooth over the situation by saying that his wife ended up cheating on him and was not a prize. He further reiterates to Max that he lucked out with the woman he eventually married. However, Max is still hurt that once again, John has ended up with the woman he was interested in. Despite being opposites, Ariel’s interest in John ends up being a boon to his life as her love for life leads him to try new things and helps pull him out of his rut of loneliness that he was experiencing throughout much of the beginning of the film.
Sophia Loren as Maria
However, Max might have lost out on Ariel, but he has a happy ending yet to come in Grumpier Old Men. His polar opposite, an Italian woman named Maria Sophia Coletta Ragetti (Sophia Loren), the cousin of local resident “Spaghetti Ragetti,” opens up a “ristorante” in Wabasha. Because it’s Sophia Loren, she is of course absolutely gorgeous and turns the heads of every man (and woman) in town. She’s also of course, European, which also makes her standout in this small midwestern town. Maria arrives during the summer in Wabasha and purchases the now vacant bait shop. The bait shop’s proprietor, Chuck (Ossie Davis) had passed away during the winter, in Grumpy Old Men. Both John and Max are upset that their beloved bait shop is being converted into a restaurant. Presumably they are upset as this forces them to accept that their friend Chuck is really gone.
John and Max do their best to ruin Maria’s restaurant. They switch out her red paint with yellow while she’s repainting, they change around signage to divert drivers away from the restaurant, everything they can to ruin it. Their efforts almost succeed when Maria has no customers on her opening night; however, when Ariel hears about what they’ve done she forces them to apologize. As one can imagine, this behavior does not present Max in the most appealing light, but he eventually charms Maria into going out on a date with him. Here is this man, definitely not conventionally attractive, with this gorgeous sophisticated Italian woman. Max buys her cheap jewelry (unaware how cheap it really is), tries to cook dinner for her but ends up with peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, and really puts forth an effort. They keep up an antagonistic front, with Maria calling Max an “ox” and him calling her a “nag.” In the end they fall in love and their name-calling transforms into “ox” and “nag” being pet names for one another.
Despite all the differences between the various couples (friendship, family and romantic) described within this article, the core commonality they all have is love. John loves his father, John Sr. Max and John love each other despite their feud. When John has a heart attack and is hospitalized on Christmas Eve, Max is at the hospital to see him. When the nurse asks him if he’s a friend or family, Max hesitates and then says poignantly, “friend.” Ariel is at John’s beside pleading with him to stay with her. John and Max love their respective kids and each other’s kids. Melanie and Jacob eventually fall in love and elope. John and Max love their respective spouses, Ariel and Maria, despite the rocky starts both couples had. Even John Sr. finds love when he starts wooing Maria’s mother, “Mama,” (Ann Morgan Guilbert) a very conservative traditional Italian woman. At first she’s put off by John Sr.’s crass pick-up lines and innuendo, but eventually finds him charming. At the end of the Grumpy Old Men films, love triumphs over anything else.
Last weekend, on February 25, I had the opportunity to see Our Hospitality, starring Buster Keaton, for the first time at the Hollywood Theatre in Portland, OR. My husband and I are members of the Hollywood and regularly see films there as we get in free with our membership. We also get free popcorn! We primarily go for one of their three classic film oriented series: Cinema Classics, Hollywood Babylon (pre-code), and their Pipe Organ Pictures (silent film).
A photo of the Hollywood Theatre that I took while waiting in line to get in!
The organ at the Hollywood Theatre
The Pipe Organ Pictures productions are a collaboration between the Hollywood Theatre and the Columbia River Theatre Organ Society (CRTOS). The CRTOS’ main mission is to preserve and promote theatre organs. Through fundraising events (such as the Pipe Organ Pictures series at the Hollywood), donations, classes, and volunteers, they’ve been able to fully restore and maintain at least two working theatre organs in the Portland, OR area–one of which lives at the Hollywood Theatre! Each Pipe Organ Pictures production features a professional musician who composes his own score and performs it live.
Buster Keaton and his loyal dog friend meet a Canfield.
Our Hospitality was the latest production featured by Pipe Organ Pictures. Buster Keaton events at the Hollywood Theatre are always packed and this one was no exception. Our Hospitality is a re-telling of the famous 19th century feud between the Hatfields and the McCoys. In Keaton’s film, the feuding families are the Canfields and the McKays. Our Hospitality also features a Romeo and Juliet storyline that occurs when a Canfield and a McKay fall in love.
The film starts in 1810, with a mother and her one year-old son, Willie (Buster Keaton, Jr.) sitting at home late at night, waiting for her husband, John McKay to come home. Except he doesn’t. During the evening, he ends up in a deadly feud with his nemesis, James Canfield, which results in the death of both men. Mrs. McKay vows to take her son away from the violence and drama and leaves for New York where her sister lives. James’ family on the other hand, vow to avenge his death. Keep in mind that neither the living relatives of the Canfields nor the McKays have any idea why they’re in a feud. All they know is that there is a feud, per tradition. In other words, this feud is pointless and dumb.
Fast forward 20 years and a now grown Willie (Buster Keaton), learns that he’s inherited his late father’s country estate. Willie pictures an opulent mansion and jumps at the chance to redeem his inheritance. Mrs. McKay has since passed and her elderly sister gives Willie the lowdown on the McKay and Canfield feud, as a means to keep him from leaving. Undeterred, Willie boards a train headed for his father’s Southern home.
I can’t get enough of this train.
The train that Willie rides is hysterical. Based on Robert Stevenson’s 1830 Rocket train, the train is tiny, with an engine in the front, a car full of wood, three passenger coaches and a caboose. The passenger coaches resemble the type of coaches that would normally be hauled around by horse. The train is hysterically small and slow. The man on the caboose alerts the engineer of potential dangers by yelling into a long horn. The track is also funny, as it moves around, is placed on top of and around landscaping, versus the land being leveled for the track. At one point, there’s a donkey close to the track and the crew opt to simply pick up the track and move it, versus dealing with the donkey. At another point, the train is completely off the track and cruising around as if it were a car. Finally, at another point, the track switch fails, and the caboose ends up in front of the engine.
While on the train, Willie meets a young woman, Virginia (Natalie Talmadge, Keaton’s real-life wife). The two form a close bond as they endure the hilarious train trip and by the time they reach their destination, they are close friends. When Virginia disembarks the train, we learn that she is part of the Canfield family. Willie, unaware of Virginia’s heritage, innocently asks a man where John McKay’s home is. That man turns out to be Virginia’s brother and he quickly figures out that a McKay is in town. Later, Virginia and Willie meet-up again and she invites him over for dinner. When he shows up, Virginia’s brother puts two and two together and informs his father and brother that their sister is seeing a McKay.
Buster Keaton and his wife, Natalie Talmadge
The remainder of the film depicts the Canfields chasing Willie and trying to kill him. The scene at the Canfields’ home is funny as father Canfield reminds his sons that it’s against family rules to kill someone inside their home. This starts a cat and mouse game where the brothers continually try to lure Willie outside. Willie picks up on the family rule and hilariously keeps getting back into the house to avoid being killed. His final escape is hysterical. Eventually the chase takes Willie and the Canfields to a mountainous terrain.
Buster Keaton’s stunts are always the highlight of his film and Our Hospitality is no exception. He has a spectacular stunt on a waterfall where he has to save the life of Virginia who will soon go over the side of the waterfall if something doesn’t happen quickly. Keaton’s waterfall maneuver actually elicited applause from the audience when it was pulled off successfully. This scene was absolutely insane. I cannot believe that anyone would do that stunt now, let alone in 1923. Though nowadays, CGI could be used to make it look like someone performed that stunt. Keaton didn’t have that luxury and completed the stunt himself.
Buster Keaton rides the velocipede.
Finally, in addition to Keaton’s stunts, this film also featured unique forms of transportation. Keaton was always interested in machines, especially in trains. Aside from the hysterical Rocket train, Keaton is also shown riding a Velocipede, which even by 1830 was outdated; but was used because it was funny. This bicycle is essentially a Flintstones version of a bicycle, in that it was powered by the rider’s feet. The Velocipede was referred to as a “pedestrian curricle,” a “dandy horse,” or “hobby horse” and was an invention that was designed to replace the horse. This invention was a response to the 1816 eruption of Mount Tambora in Indonesia, which led to massive climate changes. 1816 was known as the “Year Without Summer” in which temperatures dropped severely, causing crop spoilage and food shortages. A large population of horses died due to starvation or were killed for food and their hides. Eventually, rotary cranks and pedals were added to the Velocipede, which led to the eventual invention of the bicycle.
Happy Valentines Day, everyone! We’re about a month and a half into 2024 now, but I didn’t want to get too far into the New Year without having talked about my favorite new discoveries of last year. Per my Letterboxd stats page, last year I watched 397 films. I really wish I’d managed to squeeze in 3 more so I’d have an even 400, but alas. Now that’s not to say that all 397 titles were unique. I tend to rewatch movies, especially my favorites. Last year’s most watched stars were Joan Blondell, Barbara Stanwyck, Loretta Young, Humphrey Bogart and Cary Grant. My most watched directors were Howard Hawks, Alfred Hitchcock, Michael Curtiz, Mitchell Leisen, and William Wyler.
All in all, it was a good year for movie viewing–especially since I got to attend my first ever TCM Film Festival and had the best movie viewing experience of my life–Casablanca in Grauman’s Chinese Theater. I’d seen that movie four other times in the theater, and nothing will ever top seeing it at Grauman’s. For the record, my second best movie experience of the year was seeing Barbarella in 35mm at the Hollywood Theatre in Portland, OR. Seeing a campy movie like Barbarella with an audience that was completely entranced and loving every second, was fantastic. There was even a girl dressed like Barbarella, in a short silver dress, knee-high boots, and big hair–despite it being January in Oregon! Now that’s dedication!
Anyway, without further adieu, these are all my new watches of 2023:
The Apple (1980)
Appointment with Danger (1950)
Arsene Lupin (1932)
Ask Father (1919)
Barbie (2023)
Because of You (1952)
Between Midnight and Dawn (1950)
Big Business Girl (1931)
Big City Blues (1932)
Billy Blazes Esq. (1919)
Black Angel (1946)
Born to Be Bad (1934)
Born to Kill (1947)
The Boy and the Heron (2023)
Brute Force (1949)
Captain Carey, USA (1949)
Carnal Knowledge (1971)
The Children’s Hour (1961)
China (1943)
Cops (1922)
Deadline at Dawn (1946)
Dead Men Don’t Wear Plaid (1982)
Deception (1946)
Deep Valley (1947)
Desert Fury (1947)
The Desperate Hours (1955)
The Doctor and the Girl (1949)
Dragonwyck (1946)
Earth Girls Are Easy (1988)
An Eastern Westerner (1920)
Enter the Dragon (1973)
Experiment Perilous (1944)
Fallen Angel (1945)
The Famous Ferguson Case (1932)
Father Goose (1964)
Female on the Beach (1955)
The Five Pennies (1959)
Flaming Star (1960)
Flaxy Martin (1949)
Footlight Parade (1933)
Framed (1947)
A Free Soul (1931)
The Gilded Lily (1935)
Gold Diggers of 1937 (1936)
Grand Slam (1933)
The Great Moment (1944)
Guardians of the Galaxy, Vol 3 (2023)
Harvey (1950)
High and Dizzy (1920)
High Pressure (1932)
Honky Tonk (1941)
Houseboat (1959)
The Iron Mistress (1952)
I’ve Got Your Number (1934)
King Kong (1933)
Kiss the Blood Off My Hands (1948)
Ladies in Retirement (1941)
The Lady in Question (1940)
The Lady is Willing (1942)
Larceny, Inc. (1942)
Life Begins (1932)
The Life of Jimmy Dolan (1933)
Love Has Many Faces (1965)
Love Me Tender (1956)
Make Me a Star (1932)
The Man I Love (1946)
The Mask of Dimitrios (1946)
Mr. Cohen Takes a Walk (1935)
Mr. Soft Touch (1949)
Mrs. Parkington (1944)
Naughty But Nice (1939)
The Navigator (1924)
Night Editor (1946)
One Week (1920)
Passion Flower (1930)
The Petrified Forest (1936)
Play Girl (1932)
The Princess Comes Across (1936)
The Purchase Price (1932)
Race Street (1948)
Red Light (1949)
Rio Bravo (1959)
Romancing the Stone (1984)
Search for Beauty (1934)
Second Honeymoon (1937)
Secret Beyond the Door (1947)
The Secret Life of Walter Mitty (1947)
Shakedown (1950)
Shane (1953)
The Silver Horde (1930)
Singapore (1947)
The Sky’s the Limit (1943)
Stand-In (1937)
Strange Bargain (1949)
That Touch of Mink (1962)
There’s Always a Woman (1938)
Tight Spot (1955)
Traveling Saleslady (1935)
The Unfaithful (1946)
The Unguarded Hour (1936)
Union Depot (1932)
Week-End Marriage (1932)
Weird: The Al Yankovic Story (2022)
Whiplash (1948)
Wild in the Country (1961)
Woman in Hiding (1950)
A Woman’s Face (1941)
A Woman’s Vengeance (1948)
That was a lot of new movies last year, 108 in fact. I discovered a lot of new favorites and discovered some films that I never want to see again (The Apple, I’m looking at you). I’m not going to include the new films I saw, but I want to go on the record to say that Barbie, The Boy and the Heron, and Weird: The Al Yankovic Story were awesome.
Here are my Top 5 favorite new discoveries:
This is an incredibly misleading poster.
#1 Ladies in Retirement (1941). In September, Criterion Channel featured a series called “Gaslight Noir” which I took to mean film noir that took place during the Victorian era, but I think Criterion stated that it was “dark and moody film noir.” This film stars Ida Lupino, and was a movie that I’d heard about, but had never seen. I wasn’t even aware it was a film noir, the title makes it seem like it is a light-hearted film about rich women who live a life of leisure. However, that is definitely not what this movie is about. Ida plays spinster, Ellen Creed, who works as a housekeeper and live-in companion to her wealthy friend, Leonora Fiske. Ellen has two eccentric sisters who are about to be evicted from their apartment due to their behavior. Not wanting her sisters to be homeless, Ellen takes them in and convinces Leonora to let them stay. The sisters quickly wear out their welcome and Leonora demands that Ellen force them to leave. Not wanting her sisters to end up in an institution, Ellen takes matters into her own hands.
I did not expect the turn that this movie took and I absolutely loved it. I loved the setting of this remote English home that seems perpetually encased in fog. This movie had a spooky vibe to it and I just loved it. I wish that someone would put it out on blu ray.
#2 A Woman’s Face (1941). This is a Joan Crawford film noir that TCM played earlier this year. I’d heard of this film, but had never seen it scheduled. In this film, Joan plays blackmailer Anna Holm, a woman who bears a large, disfiguring scar on her face. Because of this disfigurement, Anna carries a lot of resentment and hostility towards others, which is why she has no empathy or remorse for carrying out her blackmail scams. Eventually, she gets plastic surgery from Dr. Gustaf Segert (Melvyn Douglas) to cover the scar. Without the scar to hide behind, Anna is forced to confront her insecurities, her anger over her past, and her current life of schemes and crimes.
Most of the plot unfolds through a series of flashbacks, told through witness testimony in a court trial, where Anna is being tried for murder. Joan Crawford’s performance is fantastic as her character evolves throughout the film. Melvyn Douglas is great as the doctor who provides emotional support and sees Anna for whom she really is. Conrad Veidt as an excellent villainous role as the wealthy Torsten Barring, her partner in crime as well as her lover. The ending of the film is exciting and memorable.
#3 Harvey (1950). This was a discovery for my husband and I at the TCM Film Festival. I’d heard of this film, but I just hadn’t gotten around to seeing it yet. We absolutely loved it. In this film, James Stewart plays Elwood P. Dowd, a man who by all accounts is eccentric. His best friend is an imaginary friend, a 6’3.5″ rabbit named Harvey. His sister, Veta (Josephine Hull), is absolutely embarrassed and horrified by her bother’s behavior. Elwood doesn’t see anything wrong with his behavior and insists that Harvey is real. Veta eventually is so fed up that she goes down to the sanitarium to have Elwood committed and she ends up being committed herself. Harvey is expertly crafted to make the audience wonder if Elwood really is delusional and Harvey isn’t real, or is Harvey real and only Elwood can see him?
Josephine Hull won the Best Supporting Actress Oscar in the 1950 Oscars race and while I don’t know that she deserved to win over Nancy Olsen for Sunset Boulevard or Thelma Ritter for All About Eve, Hull is hysterical as Veta. She very much seems like her character from Arsenic and Old Lace, except without the murder aspect. James Stewart is the true standout performance (aside from Harvey, of course) in this film. He expertly plays Elwood P. Dowd to be friendly and likeable, there isn’t really any reason to distrust or dislike him. He seems content with his life and best friend. Peggy Dow is also a lot of fun as the nurse at the sanitarium, she’s also gorgeous as well.
#4 Shakedown (1950). Speaking of Peggy Dow, she’s in this film as well. In this movie, Howard Duff plays a cock-of-the-walk photographer, Jack Early, who will do anything to get a great photo. He manages to use these tactics to score a job at a prominent San Francisco newspaper, headed up by Ellen Bennett (Dow), the photography editor and David Glover (Bruce Bennett), the editor-in-chief. David is unimpressed by Jack’s somewhat questionable methods for getting the photos, but hires him anyway. He gives Jack the impossible assignment of getting a photograph of the face of local gangster, Nick Palmer (Brian Donlevy), a man who notoriously does not want his picture taken. Jack easily scores the photo by appealing to Nick’s ego. Appreciating Jack’s nerve, Nick takes him under his wing and tells him that the head of the rival gang, Colton (Lawrence Tierney), is planning a job. He gives Jack the time and location. He easily gets the photo and brings it back to David. Colton gets wind of Jack and hires him to pull one over on Nick. Jack continues playing both gang members against each other, all while David and Ellen start becoming more and more skeptical as to how Jack keeps scoring these amazing photos. Eventually Jack gets in over his head.
This was such a great movie. I didn’t know what to expect from it and was so impressed by all the twists and turns that the plot took. I highly recommend this film to anyone who loves a good film noir.
#5 Shane (1953). I’m not a big westerns fan, but I watched this one because I’ve recently been on an Alan Ladd kick and I’d never seen what is probably his biggest, most well known role. Ladd plays the titular Shane, a drifter who arrives at a small town in Wyoming. Most of the town is comprised of homesteaders who moved west, taking advantage of the government’s offer to give free land to people wishing to move west of the Mississippi and set-up their own homes, farms, ranches, etc. Upon arriving in town, Shane encounters Mary and Joe Starrett (Jean Arthur and Van Heflin), a couple living off of the land they received from the government. Mary and Joe also have a young son, Joey (Brandon DeWilde) who immediately admires Shane. The main conflict of the film is a ruthless cattle baron wants to use force to push the Homesteaders off their viable land, so that he can take it over and grow his cattle empire.
This is such a beautiful film. Alan Ladd was great as the mysterious stranger who comes into town, helps out some of the folks, and leaves just as mysteriously as he came. His scenes with Joey are adorable and he’s great with Jean Arthur as well. Jack Palance was great as one of the cattle baron’s men, Jack Wilson, and he has a fun showdown with Ladd at the end of the film.
Honorable Mentions: Dragonwyck (1946), Enter the Dragon (1973), Larceny, Inc. (1942), Experiment Perilous (1944), and Deep Valley (1947).
Take Her, She’s Mine is part two of a trilogy of films that James Stewart made during his “grumpy dad” period. The first film, Mr. Hobbs Takes a Vacation (1963) features Stewart as the titular Mr. Hobbs, a man who takes his wife (Maureen O’Hara), children, their spouses, and their children, all on vacation at the beach. The third film, Dear Brigitte (1965) features Stewart as the father of Billy Mumy, who is in love with French film star Brigitte Bardot. The second film, penned by the husband and wife team, Henry and Phoebe Ephron (parents of Nora), features Stewart as Frank Michelson–father of “a dish” in the form of Sandra Dee.
Sandra Dee as “the dish” aka Mollie in “Take Her, She’s Mine.”
At 21, Dee is all grown up and no longer possesses the gawky frame and innocent wide-eyed face of her most famous role as Frances “Gidget” Lawrence, in 1959’s Gidget. By 1963, Dee had been married to singer Bobby Darin for three years and have given birth to their son Dodd in 1961. Dee plays Mollie, the recent high school graduate, turned college freshman. At the beginning of the film, she horrifies her father by donning a yellow bikini which shows off her curves and attracts the attention of her male classmates. Frank and his wife, Anne (Audrey Meadows), are relieved that their daughter will be attending college in New York and hopefully devoting her attention elsewhere.
Throughout the main Mollie plotline, Frank’s story is interwoven. An overprotective, nervous father, Frank is seen rushing into an emergency school board meeting which has been called to address some recent scandals with which he’s involved. The president of the Pacific Palisades Board of Education, Frank’s reputation and job are on the line. His attempt to rationalize his involvement in these scandals frame the Mollie storyline, which is presented in flashback. The first scandal involves Frank being arrested at a protest at a New York college where Mollie is attending. Like many young adults attending college in the turbulent 1960s, Mollie becomes involved in politics and adopts multiple causes. She also forms a folk act with a friend.
FRANK: How old is the punk?
MOLLIE: He’s not a punk.
FRANK: All right, how old is the non-punk?
James Stewart as “Frank Michelson” and Sandra Dee as “Mollie Michelson.”
In New York, Mollie’s activism and folk performances end up taking priority over her studies. She writes telegram after telegram to her parents informing them of her latest arrest (due to protesting) and lamenting that she’s still a virgin. Frank is concerned about Mollie’s activism leading to legal troubles and ends up traveling to New York to talk to her. There’s a funny scene in the cafe where Mollie sings where he thinks that she’s become a stripper, due to the drunken antics of a group of college boys who keep yelling at her to “take it off.” There’s also an odd performance by Jim Nabors, whose voice is inexplicably dubbed. As someone who has seen a lot of Nabors as Gomer Pyle, his dubbed voice is obvious and off-putting. Look for Bob Denver who also performs at the club. Frank then ends up joining Mollie in a protest and ends up being arrested at a sit-in when he stands up for the kids. Due to failing all her courses, Mollie is kicked out of school.
Audrey Meadows, Sandra Dee, and James Stewart in “Take Her, She’s Mine.”
Back at home, Mollie is seen painting in a bikini outside her home while she partakes in one of her hobbies, painting. Mollie’s style is abstract and doesn’t make much sense to Frank and Anne, but it catches the attention of someone with connections to a prestigious art school in Paris. Paris is where a bulk of the action of the film takes place. While in Paris, Mollie excels at her studies, but also attracts the attention of a young Frenchman, Henri (Philippe Forquet). Mollie and Henri become an item and seem to be a good match. Frank and Anne become concerned when Mollie sends a telegram stating that Henri’s painting of her is going to appear in Life Magazine. When the magazine is published, Frank and Anne are horrified that the painting appears to feature Mollie topless. Frank packs his bags and heads to Paris.
FRANK: Do you know what ‘Life’ means when they say protege?
ANNE: Welll….
FRANK: When they say protege, they’re winking. It’s their way of slipping you the dirt. When they say protege, what they’re really saying…
ANNE: Okay, Okay!
James Stewart as “Frank Michelson” and Audrey Meadows as “Anne Michelson”
There’s another storyline interwoven in the Paris segment with Henri and Mollie trying to get Henri’s parents to accept Mollie, despite her being American and not French. There’s a funny sequence where Henri, Mollie, and Henri’s parents attend a masquerade party aboard a large ship. Henri and Mollie are dressed as Marc Antony and Cleopatra, along with almost every other young couple on board. One would assume that the recent release of Elizabeth Taylor’s Cleopatra epic probably influenced a lot of Halloween costumes that year. Frank gets wind of the party and decides to attend as Daniel Boone.
On board, there’s a funny running gag with Frank’s costume literally falling apart at the seams as he tries to figure out which Cleopatra is Mollie. There’s another joke running throughout the film with various people mistaking Frank for James Stewart. Eventually Frank finds Mollie just as her and Henri’s relationship appears to be ending. Based on his actions throughout the film, one would think that Frank would be overjoyed with his daughter’s relationship ending; but he begins to realize that she and Henri had something special going. It is at this point when he has to decide whether to continue trying to protect Mollie, or finally accept that she’s a grown adult.
The newly constructed LAX airport in 1963.
While this isn’t the greatest film ever made, it is a fun piece of 1960s fluff–the perfect coming of age film to watch on a Saturday or Sunday morning, or a lazy summer afternoon. Sandra Dee’s costumes are adorable and some are quite sexy, especially when Frank imagines her as a can-can dancer in the Moulin Rouge. This film is also fun to see Paris in the 1960s and the newly constructed LAX aiport. Having just traveled through LAX in April, it’s always fun to see somewhere I’ve been in an old movie.
One of Frank’s daydreams about Mollie becoming an apache dancer in Paris.
James Stewart is quite funny as the nervous, overprotective father whose own fuddy duddy-ness and lack of knowledge about the current generation leads him to unwittingly getting involved in all sorts of scandals–including being photographed inside a Parisian brothel with one of the prostitutes on his arm. John “the butterfly collector from ‘Gilligan’s Island’ looking for the Pussycat Swallowtail” McGiver, who was seemingly in every 1960s film and television show ever made, is hilarious as one of the school board members. Sandra Dee, who is unfairly regarded as an eternally virginal goody two shoes (a la “Look at Me, I’m Sandra Dee” in Grease), is excellent in this film. She’s completely believable as a young woman trying to find her way in the world and learn who she is. Her frustration with her father is understandable, as well as her desire to keep him involved. She wants to be allowed to fail, but also wants her father to help her should she need it. Dee’s character runs the gamut in this film from naive, to curious, to angry, to frustrated, to optimistic, to happy, to scared, and to romantic. And let’s face it, she’s a dish too!
Horse racing was a big past time in the United States from the late-19th century until about the 1950s-1960s when it began to lose popularity; but is still popular in some areas of the country. Many classic films are centered around illegal bookmaking operations (Miss Grant Takes Richmond, 1949) or have horse racing featured as a pivotal part of the plot (The Killing, 1956). Celebrities such as Desi Arnaz, Betty Grable, Harry James, Fred Astaire, Barbara Stanwyck, Mickey Rooney, and Gregory Peck could be seen sitting in the grandstands at racetracks in Del Mar and Santa Ana. Desi and Betty were such fixtures at the Del Mar track that both have races named after them. The Desi Arnaz Stakes and Betty Grable Stakes races are still held to this day.
Lucy and Ethel walk into an unwanted visitor in the den.
Starting right after I Love Lucy’s series finale in 1957, The Lucy-Desi Comedy Hour was a series of specials that Desilu produced between 1957-1960. Each of the thirteen episodes features one or more celebrity guest star. In the episode, the celebrity would get mixed up with Lucy Ricardo (Lucille Ball) in one of her outlandish schemes. The episodes used Ricky Ricardo’s (Desi Arnaz) celebrity and ownership of the Club Babalu (formerly The Tropicana) as an explanation as to how these celebrities come in contact with the Ricardos and Mertzes.
Betty’s love of horse racing and the horses themselves is how she becomes involved in one of Lucy Ricardo’s schemes in the fourth Lucy-Desi Comedy Hour special, “Lucy Wins a Racehorse.” In the episode, Betty and Harry are booked to perform at the Club Babalu. At the beginning of the episode, Lucy is begging Ricky for a horse. Stating that Little Ricky has been wishing for a horse for a long time. Being the logical part of the marriage, Ricky is against owning a horse due to the high cost involved. However, because it’s Lucy, she won’t take “no” for an answer. Lucy has already submitted dozens of entries (using the names of everyone she knows) for the “Korny Krinkles” cereal box-top contest. As an aside, I swear that I’ve seen these same boxes of cereal in multiple shows, but with different names. In another Lucy-Desi Comedy Hour, “Lucy Wants a Career,” Lucy gets a job as a Girl Friday promoting “Wakey Flakies” and the same boxes are shown with a different name. There’s also an episode of The Brady Bunch where Peter sells Sunflower Girl Cookies and the boxes look identical). But back to Lucy. The Korny Krinkles top prize is a racehorse.
RICKY: “Fred, do you see a horse on the stairs?” FRED: “I don’t see anything.” ETHEL: “What horse?!” LUCY: “What stairs?”
Lucy, rather Fred Mertz (William Frawley), wins the racehorse. Ricky is now out of the house, having left to go pick Betty Grable and Harry James up from the airport. The horse, “Whirling Jet,” has developed quite the attachment to Lucy. As she and Ethel (Vivian Vance) discuss how to break the news about the horse to Ricky, they walk into the Ricardos’ den to find Whirling Jet inside. Right at that time, they hear Ricky driving up and have to scramble to figure out how to hide the horse. Ricky walks in and hears a horse neighing from inside the den. Lucy successfully convinces him that he’s working too hard and is just hearing things. Ricky leaves to take a walk. Just as Lucy and Ethel are trying to walk Whirling Jet up the stairs, Ricky comes back. Betty and Harry enter quickly afterwards and have to wonder what they’ve gotten themselves into.
ETHEL (motioning toward her legs): “What’s the matter with these?” FRED: “Nothing, only you’ve got them on upside down.”
Vivian Vance (Ethel Mertz) and William Frawley (Fred Mertz)
Ricky has invited Betty and Harry to his home to rehearse one of the numbers, “The Bayamo,” that they’re set to perform at Club Babalu. Fred takes a front seat to get a load of “those gorgeous Grable gams.” Ricky and Betty run through the number and Harry has his trumpet solo. While “The Bayamo” isn’t the most energetic number, it is entertaining. Since they are in rehearsal, maybe it was more exciting when being performed at the club. Incidentally, Desi Arnaz and Betty Grable dated in 1939, before he met Lucy. Desi was on Broadway, performing in “Too Many Girls.”
Harry James and Betty Grable walk into chaos in the Ricardo living room.
Almost immediately, Lucy goes to work getting horse lover Betty to help her figure out how to keep Whirling Jet. She suggests entering the horse in a race, saying that if he wins, the purse would be big enough to take care of Whirling Jet for his entire life. However, Harry points out that they would need to pay a considerable sum of money upfront just to get into the race–a race that Whirling Jet isn’t guaranteed to win. Ricky immediately sides with Harry and shoots down Betty’s suggestion. Still not taking “no” for an answer, Lucy motions Betty into the kitchen to get more details about her idea. Betty agrees to go along with it because she’s never too busy to pull one over on a couple of husbands.
LUCY: “Listen, there’s something I want to know, Ethel.” BETTY: “Ethel?!” LUCY: “Oh I’m sorry, I usually cook up my schemes with Ethel.”
Lucille Ball (Lucy Ricardo) and Betty Grable (as herself).
BETTY: “Oh by the way, Lucy and I have a little scheme and we need your help with it, Freddy boy.” FRED: “Anything you say, Betsy girl.” BETTY: “We thought we’d enter Whirling Jet in a trotting race and not tell that mean old Harry and Ricky about it.” FRED: “No kiddin’.” BETTY: “And since you’re the legal owner of the horse, we’re going to need your permission.” FRED: “Well you have it, my dear.” BETTY: “Oh you’re a real sweetheart” [Betty kisses Fred’s cheek]… oh and one more thing, Lucy and I are a little short on the amount we need to enter the horse, so could you chip in with a little old measly, $200?Hmmmm? [Fred counts out $200 in cash] FRED: “Are you sure that’s enough?…And remember if you need anymore, just call on ‘Fred-sie boy.’
Betty Grable (as herself) and William Frawley (Fred Mertz)
Betty charms tightwad Fred Mertz out of $200
Betty states that they’ll need to put up at least $300 to cover costs such as entry fee, food, trailer to transport the horse, and trainer. Betty puts up $100, leaving $200 as the amount needed. In a very funny scene, Betty uses Fred’s admiration of her and her legs to coax him into lending her $200. Lucy nearly faints witnessing Fred so eagerly offer Betty a good portion of the bank roll in his pocket. With the needed money in hand, Lucy brings Whirling Jet down to the Roosevelt Raceway in Long Island for training. After the trainer has been working with Whirling Jet for a few days, Lucy visits the track where she is informed by the trainer that her race horse is hopeless for winning the big race.
LUCY: “Betty, you’re just what I’ve been looking for–an Ethel Mertz with money!”
Lucille Ball as Lucy Ricardo.
The trainer then notices the change in Whirling Jet’s attentiveness and sees how he’s taken to Lucy. It is suggested that she take the reins and race him in the big race. After some training and a fake mustache (to hide from Ricky, obviously), Lucy is in the race! Eagle-eye viewers will notice that one of the jockeys is Sid Melton, best known as one of the Monroe Brothers in Green Acres (1965-1970) and as Sophia’s deceased husband, Sal, in The Golden Girls (1985-1992). One of the other jockeys in the episode plays the shocked driver whom Lucy and Desi pass on the narrow road in my favorite movie, The Long Long Trailer (1954).
This episode is ridiculous but is one of the better Lucy-Desi Comedy Hour episodes. It makes excellent use of its guest stars, showcasing both their talents for dancing and music as well as comedic talents. Betty Grable basically becomes Lucy’s Ethel Mertz in this episode as she is the one who not only comes up with the scheme, but is fully complicit in its execution.
