Tag: film

Categories
Blogathon Favorite Classic Movies (Pre-1980)

Favorite Stars in ‘B’ Movies Blogathon–“The Comedy of Terrors” (1963)

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

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

The Silent Pioneers Blogathon–“Safety Last!” (1923)

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.

Categories
Blogathon Favorite Modern Movies (post-1980)

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Olivia Newton-John and Gene Kelly in Xanadu

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

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

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

Gene Kelly’s amazing “glitz makeover” in Xanadu

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

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

Patrick Swayze cleans up the town in “Road House”

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

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

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

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

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

Patrick Swayze and Sam Elliott in “Road House”

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

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

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

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

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

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