Happy School Musicals-

 

Ok, yesterday I was so against school, today it’s all about how happy kids are where they find their true love and break out into song. We’ve all been there, right? I know, when I was bullied, I started to break out into song, sing about my right to be me and start to dance where every bullied student starts dancing in unison, ending in a fireworks light show. Too much? Ok, without further adieu, here are my 3…

1. STRIKE UP THE BAND-1940

Mickey Rooney and Judy Garland star in this fun musical with the exuberant, ADHD high school student, Mickey trying to get his band to Chicago to win a best band trophy sponsored by Paul Whitman( who plays himself). First, he and Judy put on a show and make enough money to buy the instruments for their high school but now he must get his band and female vocalist to Chicago, and after many faux pas’s, they make it and put on a big show. This is fun, energetic with great singing and dancing led by the young leads of Looney er , I mean, Rooney and Garland. I love the one scene with animated fruit in an orchestra..yup, you heard me…animated fruit.

2. GOOD NEWS-1947

This high school musical stars Peter Lawford and June Allyson as high school students who deal with all the angst associated with high schoolers….love and football. Basically, Lawford thinks he is in love with a popular gal and asks the gal who works in the library what to do. Of course, she is played by Allyson who falls for Lawford even though he’s an idiot. You have a subplot with, well, the same thing, one gal loves an idiot who loves another. In the end, everyone falls for the right person and they break out in an exuberant sing and dance number. It’s another fun flick and the one dance number, “ Pass the Peace Pipe” is so much fun, led by the tragic Joan McCracken( she was a gifted, although odd, dancer and singer who died young from diabetes). Today, this song would never pass muster just the title alone, can tell you why, but you would lose a great scene and one I wish, did exist in real life.

3. GREASE-1978

We should all know about Grease that stars John Travolta and Olivia Newton John as 2 high school students who meet and fall in love, before high school starts. Travolta is in some beach town for a family vacation where he meets Olivia and they have dreamy days and nights before he leaves. Now high school starts and she is a new student who is sweet and innocent and does not quite fit in with the tough gals in high school. She reunites with Travolta and is confused because he is not the sweet boy from summer vacation, but a leather-clad Rock’N Roller who is not the type of boy you bring home to meet dad. In between you have a lot of singing and dancing especially the high school dance. I love some of the staff, like Eve Arden, Sid Caesar and Joan Blondell that adds to this movie’s success. The happy ending shows Olivia giving up who she is as a person for the love of John wearing a slutty outfit so tight that Newton John had to be sewn into those pants. Mind you, she does look good and many young guys had the hots for Olivia but I just hate this ending. She conforms to what her boyfriend wants her to be leaving her own identity in the dust. What a crock!

So, any high school musicals you can think of? Did you ever break out into song? I bet you did😁

End of Summer= Back to School= Yuck!

 

I am 62 years old and, when I see and hear back to school commercials, I still get the heebie-jeebies. When my mom would say how much she could not wait to go back to school, I just looked to her as if she was some freak. So, I wondered if there are any songs about the he’ll of going back to school. I wish there was one that came close to my feeling of dreck, but I came up with these 3 and joined the wonderful Monday Music Moves Me, on Wednesday.

1. ANOTHER BRICK IN THE WALL BY PINK FLOYD-1979

This is a great song about the harsh way teachers and administrators dealt with kids. The worst I got was having to stand in the corner, I think I was in grade 2…My hubby was one who would get the strap or the ruler but he knew what to do. Pull out a hair from your head and place it on your palm of your hand. When the ruler, or strap, came down, it would cut and blood would show and the disciplinarians would have to stop. Ahhh, school. 

2. SCHOOL DAYS BY CHUCK BERRY-1957

This is just a fun song that I love and thought it was quite right….i hoped I would pass. Chuck was cool.

3.  HIGHWAY TO HELL BY AC/DC-1979

This doesn’t have anything to do with school, but I always thought about it when I knew I had to go back. I do believe, strongly, in education but I hated the system, the constant bullying and some teachers were horrible but typical teachers for the day. In my day, we had teachers who would look down the girls’ tops and the “popular” girls knew so they unbuttoned their tops and, yes, they got As. We had teachers who believed in  Hitler and would walk up and down the aisle with the  big ruler smoking it down on any kids’  desk. Oh and the ones who would throw the chalk or eraser at you if they felt you were talking. 

Yeah, I guess I’m a bit jaded:) Wht songs can you think of about your school years?

Star Of The Month: Trevor Howard

TREVOR HOWARD

BORN: September 29, 1913

DIED: January 7, 1988

AGED: 74 years

DIED FROM: Cirrhosis of the Liver from years of acute alcoholism 

MARRIED: Once to Helen Cherry…bless her soul

CHILDREN: None

AFFAIRS: numerous affairs most notably with actress Anouk Aimee

OSCAR WINS: None

OSCAR NOMINATIONS: 1..Sons and Lovers-1960

FAMOUS FRIENDS: Kenneth More, Jack Hawkins and Rex Harrison

TALENT: His incredible acting talent who was always on time, knew his lines and delivered what was needed plus so much more. He hated Marlon Brando because of Brando’s eccentricity, being late and feeling superior to others. 

KNOWN FOR: his love of Cricket. His legendary drinking, carousing, and keeping his private life, private.

When I saw “Brief Encounter”, I fell for Trevor Howard and thought he was so gentle, romantic, gentlemanly….the. I saw him in a later movie and thought..”What The Hell?” His soft features were gone and the cutting angular edges took hold. I had no idea that he was a raving alcoholic and, more than likely, a sex-addict. He was known to have numerous affairs and could drink and drink and drink. His wife stood by him, loyal, until he died…she deserved a medal! He and his sister lived with their parents in Ceylon before their mom took them on a long trip, first to California where Mary Pickford overheard the child, Trevor, speak about Father Christmas and was enchanted by him. Apparently, he was in a couple of her films, but this enchantment was short-lived as they travelled to Canada and stayed for a long time while his mom visited her family. When they returned to England he was sent to a boarding school. This must have traumatized him since he travelled and was with his family and now, 8 yrs old, he is all alone in a strict school which he hated. It was here that he started to play Cricket. He LOVED cricket making sure that he would see his beloved Cricket even when making a movie. He had it added in his contract that he would be off work during cricket matches! Brief Encounter put him on the map even though the character, a gentleman who longed for Celia Johnson, kissing her..he never understood the character because why have all this longing just get it done. In one of his movies, he shared the longest kiss, for that era, ending up in the Guinness Book of World Records! I still have to see that movie.

He was in the army and was credited for his valour as a paratrooper, seeing action and awarded the Military Cross. These were all lies! He was in the army but never saw any combat and was discharged for his mental instability and his psychopathic personality. The latter imprint was due to incessant lying about his childhood and school days. He was discharged, with the lies formulated by the studios and Trevor not denying it. His drinking escalated after his discharge and, when he was awarded the CBE by the Queen, he declined it. He was intensely private, loving his local pub, talking with the men in the pub rather than schmoozing with the film people, and watching cricket. He was a complex man who seemed a gentleman yet was moody and could throw things across the room, have a few DUIs where he lost his license for 8 years culminating in his death from cirrhosis of the liver. A sad end to a man who really was a great actor.

FILMS-( films I have seen with a couple I have not which is why they are near the bottom)

1. Brief Encounter-1945

2. The Third Man-1949

3. Von Ryan’s Express-1965

4. The Battle of Britain-1969

5. The Sea Wolves-1980

6. Mutiny on the Bounty-1962

7. Ryan’s Daughter-1970

8. Gandhi-1982

9. Charge of the Light Brigade-1968

10. Outcast of the Islands-1951

Sad Week

 

I was shocked to learn that Dolly Parton, who had a big soul, bigger than her voluptuous ta-tas. She was aok with all the comments and laughed with all of us. She helped so many people in need, started an amusement park and was always a ray of sunshine. Her different marriage lasted over 50 years until he passed away last year and, like so many couples in long marriage, she passed away a year after. She was small in stature but was a powerhouse in her singing, writing her own songs, acting, producing and a no- nonsense business woman. She was a huge philanthropist as well. We could all learn from her philosophy in life. Might I add that, in 1987, she started her own variety show. It only lasted a year but it gave my dad, who was dying of brain cancer, so much joy. I was a dumb ass 23 year old who thought she was old news but I will never forget how much happiness she brought to my dad in the last few months of his life. Thank you Dolly!

Before showcasing 3 of her films, I want to let you know who won the Oscar for best song of 1992, who was nominated and which song came up empty-handed. So, " A Whole New World" won the Oscar( it's Disney, big surprise). "Beautiful Maria Of My Soul" was nominated( this is a better song, in my opinion) and "I Will Only Love You" came up with nadda. Yup, this iconic song, written by Dolly and, whom I think, sang it better, was not nominated because it was sung before and shown on screens before. 

Ok, here are my 3 films with Dolly...

1. 9 TO 5-1980

This is a very funny film starring Jane Fonda, Lily Tomlin and Dolly Parton as 3 women who work in a big firm where their boss is a narcissistic, chauvinist jerk who believes women are subservient to men and him, specifically. Dolly is his personal secretary who is sick and tired that he just thinks her brains are at her chest. Fonda plays the mousy employee and Tomlin is the head of all the gals in the office. They are sick and tired of their jerk of a boss so they drug, kidnap and hog-tie him taking over his job. They make the place much better but they did kidnap this jerk. It's a very funny take on female empowerment and Dolly was a big surprise to critics and everyone with her acting and how funny she was.

2. BEST LITTLE WHOREHOUSE IN TEXAS-1982

I enjoyed this movie when it first came out which starred Burt Reynolds, Dolly Parton, Dom DeLuise and Charles Durning. Dolly plays the Madam of a very popular and famous whorehouse where the sheriff, played by Reynolds, and the rest of the town enjoy its services. Enter a radio and TV personality, decides to take on this business and wants to shut it down. Dom DeLuise is hilarious in the role of the nast TV  guy wanting to shut this down and Dolly is perfect as the madam. This did not make money maybe because it was a musical, but I enjoyed it.

3. STEEL MAGNOLIAS-1989

This is another, mainly female-headed cast, headed by Sally Field with Dolly Parton, Shirley MacLaine, Olympia Dukakis, Darryl Hannah and Julia Roberts playing Sally's daughter. Dolly plays a hairstylist where everyone goes to get their hair done, gossip and find ways to help one another. Sally's daughter, Julia, gets married but has some bad disease or life issues and shouldn't get pregnant. Guess what? She does and things don't end well but the ladies are strong together and help out Sally when she needs it. I think my favourite character is Dolly and I couldn't take Julia for some reason, who was nominated for an Oscar for this role. This is my least favourite film of these 3 but I will watch it again, if nothing else is on TV. 

PART 2

Dolly passed away on the 25th and Tim Curry died the following day. This was not a surprise because this brilliant actor suffered a severe stroke a few years ago and has dealt with so many health issues but he continued to work lending his voice to many animated shows and movies. He played many villains, butler's and one freaky transvestite. He was in many ensemble casts but always shone over the others just with his mischievous smile. He is good in "Home Alone 2" looking just like the Grinch in one scene, but I don't like MacCauley Caulkin so I chose 3 other films...

1  ROCKY HORROR PICTURE SHOW-1975

I am not a fan of this movie even though it has gained a huge cult following  where one now engages with the film, yelling at it and throwing stuff at the screen. I did not appreciate getting a sandwich in the back of my head. This film stars Curry as well as Barry Bostwick and Susan Sarandan as newlyweds who get lost and end up at this freaky mansion. They meet all the ghoulish people there including sweet transvestite Curry. His voice is great for his role and he relishes in it. There are a few great songs that come from this movie which I have danced to many Halloween nights. Curry makes the film.

2. LEGEND-1985

This film stars Tom Cruise, Mia Sara and Tim Curry as the best devil I have ever seen. In this fairy tale, the Devil wants to bring the world into eternal darkness. To do this, he needs the horns of the 2 unicorns and enlists the help of some goblins. Cruise is the young lad who falls for Mia and is THE person to destroy the evil. This bombed at the box office which is a shame because it is a beautiful film. I love the look of this film and the makeup is excellent. It's worth a look.

3. CLUE-1985

This movie is based on the popular board game which I love playing. Tim Curry plays the butler, with Madeline Kahn, Eileen Brennan, Michael McKean, Lesley Ann Warren and Christopher Lloyd playing all the characters who were all told to come to this house. The mystery person is blackmailing them with information that can destroy their careers etc... mayhem ensues with the body count increasing. There are 3 endings to this film and i have only seen 2. This also bombed when it came out, but it has developed a cult following and the critics have since changed their minds and Harald this as a very funny film. It is funny and just a joy to watch despite the dead bodies.

I could jot just choose one or the other so this is a lengthy post, but I hope you enjoyed reading it. May they be happy, healthy and with their loved ones now. 

Which Song Won The Oscar-1992

 

1992 is this month's pick to find out which song won the Oscar, which one was nominated and which came up nadda! Im joining Monday Music Moves Me this Wednesday:))

1. I WILL ALWAYS LOVE YOU SUNG BY WHITNEY HUSTON

If no one ever heard this song, you must have been living on a deserted island for the 35 years. This song was written by the great Dolly Parton, whom I found out, last night, died yesterday. Im still in shock because I really thought she would live to be 95. This song became a huge hit from the film, "The Bodyguard" but, to be honest, I don't like Whitney's version of this. I feel like she screams it out and just didn't have great control, she let the song take over. I might not make sense but, that's OK, each have their style.

2. WHOLE NEW WORLD SUNG BY BRAD KANE AND LEA SALONGA

This song was written by Alan Menkin with lyrics by Tom Rice who are very much associated with Disney. This is no different since this comes from the animated film, Aladdin. The 2 who sang this were the voices of Aladdin and Jasmine expressing their love for one another.

3. BEAUTIFUL MARIA OF MY SOUL SUNG BY ANTONIO BANDERAS 

This  song is from the film, "The Mambo Kings"  This was Antonio Banderas's  first English language role. I love this song and always to see this film, but have yet to see it. Funny, Antonio Banderas turned down to sing the song at the Oscars so Placido Domingo sang it...the first Spaniard to perform at the Oscars.

So, can you guess who won, who was nominated and which song came up empty? 

I  Honour of the late, great Dolly Parton, here is her version of her own song, " I Will Always Love You."

Gone Too Soon

 

I was watching a movie, yesterday, that I have never seen before, and I felt sad because the actress had died before the film was completed. It got me thinking about all the actors and actresses that died while filming their, unknowingly, last movie. I could have chosen films where the actors did complete their roles just before dying but I went with stars that died before the film was completed and the studios had to get a stand-in to complete the role. Ok, maybe a bit morbid, but I can lean toward the dark side…

1. SARATOGA-1937

This is the film I watched yesterday, for the first time, that stars Clark Gable and Jean Harlow in her final role. The film is a romantic comedy, with dramatic overtones, about a grandfather, played by Lionel Barrymore, who will be losing his stud farm except old friend Gable won the farm in a gambling venture. The granddaughter, played by Jean Harlow, is not happy about , well, everything and is not happy with Gable. Gambling continues, we see quite. Bit of horse-racing and, in the end, Gable wins over Harlow. To be honest, I didn’t care for the writing and so the plot is still vague. I even read the plot and it’s just not sinking in. All I know is that there is gambling involved and racehorsing. Racehorsing was a big deal in Hollywood with many stars going to the track and many owning horses like Fred Astaire and Bing Crosby. While watching this film, I could see that Harlow did not look well-She looked a bit bloated and very tired. She collapsed on the set and, instead of staying in the hospital, she was home with her mom, a Christian Scientist. The story goes that the mom believed in holistic healing so did not believe in hospitals.  When Gable visited Harlow, who was a good friend of his, he smelled urine in her breath. Louis B. Mayer also visited and that was enough for him to call the ambulance. Unfortunately, it was too late and Harlow died of Uremic poisoning at the age of 26. The film was going to be shelved but the public had an outcry to see Harlow’s last film so they brought in Mary Dees to sub for Harlow. Gable had a few more scenes but was very uncomfortable because he felt like he was filming with a ghost. She was way too young to die, but, boy, did she have quite a life in those 26 years.

2. BRAINSTORM-1983

This film stars Christopher Walken as a scientist who, along with his colleague, played by Louise Fletcher, develop a computer program that act7ally record a person’s emotions plus more. Walken is fighting to keep this away from the government who want to use it for their owns needs which may not be in the best interest to HQ Public. Walkin is married, but estranged, to Natalie Wood who becomes embroiled in this sci-fi thriller. Sadly, Natalie Wood died before filming was completed for her character. I remember when she died and all the news reports which included  number of people who heard a woman crying for help in the middle of the night. According to reports, Robert Wagner, married to Natalie Wood,  Wood and Christopher Walkin were drinking, a lot, on Wagner and Wood’s yacht. Their captain was asked to take the boat out and they travelled to a nearby island where they continued to imbibe and eat at some restaurant. They went back on the boat and while anchored on the water, there was a heated argument between the 3 due to rumours that Walkin and Wood were having an off-screen affair. Walking went to bed but Wagner and Wood continued to argue before retiring, sometime after, Wood went overboard and drowned. The official report is that she wanted to leave the yacht and tried to get into a dinghy, in the middle of the night, slipping, hitting her head and falling into the water. Everyone was sleeping so no one heard her pleas for help. I don’t buy that version nor do I believe that Wagner deliberately murdered her. I believe that the 2 were arguing, while very drunk and Wagner pushed her or hit her and she went into the water. He may have tried to look for her or not, but he made no attempt to find her or wake anyone up to help find her. He didn’t want to be found out to be a drunken lout who smacked his wife or pushed her away. Drunk people do very, very stupid things. Natalie Wood had a phobic fear of water so would never have tried to get into a small dinghy in the black water. When she was a kid, she almost died, on set, falling into a man made river scene only to be saved g the nick of time. A psychic told her she would meet her fate in water so Natalie Wood would not have tried to get into a small dinghy. In the end, the producers and the director got her sister, Lana Wood, to dub her sister’s final scenes. Sadly, the film was not a success and Wood died at the young age of 43.

3. GLADIATOR-2000

I can’t believe this film is 26 years old! This is  great epic starring Russell Crowe as a former General for the Roman Army, close to the King who is betrayed by the King’s son played so creepily, by Joaquin Phoenix. Crowe is to be killed but he escapes and rushes back to his family only to find them dead on his farm. He is clubbed over the head and taken to become a slave trying to stay alive as a gladiator. The owner of these slaves is played by Oliver Reed who sees that Crowe is no ordinary gladiator slave and makes him toil so Reed’s group can appear at THE colosseum, in Rome. There, Crowe, who trained the men for combat, excels and beats the other gladiators winning the hearts of the public and the ire of the king, King creep Phoenix. Crowe and Reed did not like each other because Reed scoffed at Crowe’s dedication to his acting and Crowe was pissed off  at Reed’s cavalier  attitude to acting plus his drunken episodes and lateness on the set. Reed was known for his historic alcoholic ventures and uncaring ways to acting. So, one night, after filming in Malta, Reed with his wife, went to “The Pub”  to have a bit to eat and a few pints. Sailors, from the ship, “ HMS Cumberland” came in and Reed challenged these sailors that he could drink them under the table and beat them at arm wrestling. These young chaps had no clue who they were dealing with…Reed drank, wait for it, 8 pints of beer, 12 shots of rum, 1/2 a bottle of whiskey, plus several shots of cognac. He arm wrestled 5 sailors and won each one but then he suffered a major heart attack and dropped to the floor. The ambulance came, but Reed died what he did best-drinking. Ridley Scott, the director still had a few scenes to do, so, using computer technology and a double, they superimposed his face on a double and worked around his character to finish the picture. Reed was only 61 yrs old and I am surprised he lasted that long. At least he died doing what he loved best, drinking.

Do you know of any stars that died before filming ended?

Vegetables and Fruit Songs

 

This week, over at Monday Music Moves Me, it is all bout Vegetables and I am placing fruit in for good measure. I love oranges and eat 3 oranges per day along with 2 apples per day. I also love eating carrots which I eat daily but only raw carrots. I don’t like cooked carrots…blecchh. Broccoli is another vegetable I love since I was a kid and called them trees when I was little. Here re my 3.

1. THE LADY IN THE TUTTI FRUTTI HAT SUNG BY CARMEN MIRANDA-1943

This song is from the film, “ The Gang’s All Here” with the diminutive Carmen Miranda looking 10 feet tall in that huge hat. It is a great number staged by Busby Berkley using all the fruits into a number that is quite suggestive with the strawberries and bananas. The censor guys never caught on to what Busby was showing. 

2. APPLES AND ORANGES BY PINK FLOYD-1967

This is a unique song by the famous band, Pink Floyd and was written by Syd Barrett just before he left the band. It’s quite. Different song about a girl a guy meets in the supermarket. It’s quite psychedelic and I like it plus it’s about the 2 fruits I eat the most.

3. VEGETABLES BY THE BEACH BOYS-1967

This song is quite unique, written by Brian Wilson and Van Dyke Parks, and I really enjoyed listening to it. 

What veggie or fruit song can you think of?