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?

Best Actor-Who Should Have Won for 1945

 

1945 nominees for Best Actor were not a lot of great choices, to be honest….it could have been much better but the Academy decided to go with ho-hum actors. This could have been a much better year instead of …meh. The first actor is who won the Oscar, the 2nd is my choice as to who should have won…

1. RAY MILLAND IN THE LOST WEEKEND

This is a Billy Wilder film and one of the first to depict a troubled alcoholic and his downward spiral into alcoholism despite the love of a woman and his brother’s devotion. All he wants is to drink and will do whatever it takes to get that drink. Ray Milland was known as a light comedian but wanted to be more so he went after this role. He convinced Wilder and it won him the Oscar, and I have no idea how he won this. Wait, I do…a light comedian acts in a serious role as an alcoholic…some things never change. I can’t stand this movie, not because of the directing or the character actors or the main actress, played by Jane Wyman, but because of Ray Milland. To me, he greatly overacts to the point where he made me laugh out loud ( he has booze in a paper bag and he is looking all around wondering what everyone else sees. His eyes seem to pop out of his head as he looks at everyone in a paranoid manner and it made me laugh. I just can’t get into his character because he is very unlikeable, condescending  and obnoxious. 

2. EDWARD G. ROBINSON IN SCARLETT STREET

Edward was not even nominated for his brilliant turn as a hen-pecked husband who loves to paint. He is taken out by his work to celebrate all the years working at the bank and as he walks home he meets up with a beautiful woman, played by, now brunette, Joan Bennett. He helps her out and thinks she is quite the lady but, she is anything but. She is slovenly, lazy, two-timing wrench who sees her mark. Edward is smitten and places her in  a nice apartment, buying her whatever she desires. He just loves to paint her and she is fine with this and so is her boyfriend played so slimely by Dan Duryea. Through a series of events, Edward's paintings get noticed by a reputable art dealer and his paintings are being sold but they think the artist is the broad. Poor Edward has no idea but continues to give this gal her every wish to the point where he now embezzles from his work. We all know this actor as a rough gangster so this is a new character he plays and he acts so well that you believe him to be this sad, beat upon man. Edward was, actually, a very soft soul who hated guns and would often close his eyes causing the director to yell "Cut" until he got the take. Edward was also a lover of art and had quite the collection. I believe Edward G. Robinson deserves the Oscar for this role and, yet, he was not even nominated.

3  CORNEL WILDE IN A SONG TO REMEMBER 

This is one of the many romanticized bios that the studios made during the 40s, this being one of them. Cornell Wilde was a handsome stud and one I had a crush on when I first saw this film. I always got a kick out of how these great composers composed...from figuring out how to play his new work to playing the piece with full gusto all within 30 seconds. This is a very fictionalized account of Chopin's life including his affair with George Sand. She decided to dress and act like a man since men made it on the world where women were delegated  to bring them their slippers. Merle Oberon played Sand but had to play her as the villain because  you can't have a strong woman who dresses like a man, as a woman with strength.  Chopin was proud of his Polish heritage and fought to have Poland become independent. Cornell was good in his role but nothing special, again, in my opinion. 

The other nominees were Gregory Peck in "Keys for the Kingdom"; Gene Kelly in, "Anchors Aweigh;" and Bing Crosby in"The Bells of St. Mary's."

Humphrey Bogart wasn't nominated for his role in " To Have and Have Not." John Wayne in "They Were Expendable." And even Hurd Hatfield in "The Picture of Dorian Gray."

August

 

August, the last hurrah before school starts…I still get the shivers when I see back to school commercials. This is also the month when families decide to take a trip with their kids…apparently, that is supposed to be fun. Did you hear about the brat who would not sit down and get strapped in in his airplane chair? Where the FUCK were his parents? The airplane was taxiing when it had to turn back because of that brat and his delinquent parents. I hope they were thrown off the plane and continued on. How rude to all the others in the plane causing much conflagration on the plane, and the whole airport with the costs including the people who tell the planes where to go. Anywhoo….here are my picks for music about August and I am joking the Monday Music Moves Me which is always fun.

1. TIME FOR AUGUST SUNG BY JULIE LONDON-1956

Of course, my Calendar Girl, Julie, is here singing another sultry number from her album, “ Calendar Girl”. I am really enjoying this album and sharing each month with you.

2. STUCK IN THE AUGUST RAIN SUNG BY JETHRO TULL-1995

This was written by the lead singer and flutist, Ian Anderson who sings about the rain in the month of August. My brother introduced me to this band when I travelled with him to school. When I heard him sing about picking his nose, I was grossed out and then Giggled as only a young teen can. I love the style and how unique this band is. I thought this was a good song since St. Catharines, at the beginning of August, received something like 248mm of rain in 2 storms within a week. We made it on the national news due to the amount of rain we received. 80% of basements got flooded and so much was destroyed. There were mountains of garbage, formerly treasures etc.., on the lawns of so many homes. Our mayor called for a State of Emergency as he stood in his flooded basement. Our basement was dry! We had new pipes placed in about a decade ago and my sweetheart fixed around the house and placed extended the eavestrough to have the rain fall further away from the house.

3. COLD WIND IN AUGUST SUNG BY VAN MORRISON-1977

This is a really great song by Van Morrison who captures what August is supposed to be..the oncoming of Fall. Now it just feels like another hot month with the cool nights now starting in September. I really like this song and Morrison puts his own stamp on it with his style.

So, do you know any August songs?

The Working Man

 

It’s summer vacation for many right now since it is summer, the kids are out of school and parents take off to Disney, any amusement park, go camping or swim in a nearby pool, lake or ocean, for many of poor slobs, we are still working and punching in the clock. I decided to use the theme of the working man and here are my picks…

1. THE CROWD-1928

This is one of my favourite films about the average Joe who marries, starts a family and works trying to support them over highs and great lows! It stars the tragic James Murray as Everyman working in the cog of life. His fellow worker and friend suggests they double date and go to Coney Island. James meets his blind date, played by Eleanor Boardman( married to the director, King Vidor) and is immediately so smitten that, at the end of their date, he proposes and she accepts. Her brothers and mother disapprove of the union and his wife wonders why her husband does not move up in his workplace like his friend. They have 2 children while he tries to make ends meet. When something horrible happens, he is thinking of suicide but he is brought back from that ledge to continue living. This is a great film made near the end of the silent movie era. James Murray catapulted to stardom, but could not handle the fame ending up as a bum on skid row, dying from alcoholism. The director, King Vidor offered him a role in his movie but the actor told him off and disappeared. King Vidor wanted to make a movie about this man but never had the chance. Eleanor Boardman, I watched her interviews in the 13 part documentary on “Hollywood” and she is someone I would not want to know. She dissed Garbo in a prejudicial manner and mentioned this film. She was hoping to wear beautiful gowns and look glamorous only to be in this film wearing dowdy clothes and little make-up. I don’t believe she realized what a great movie this is. It is one, I say, is a must see.

2. THE GRAPES OF WRATH-1940

This is another great film that is a must see, but I can’t watch this film over and over. It is one dour film that stars Henry Fonda as Tom Joad, an ex con who comes home just in time to see his family packing up all they own to travel to California. These people, the salt of the earth, have been hit hard by the dustbowl and the Great Depression. They travel to California hearing there are jobs there and embark on their journey. The person holding the family together is Ma Joad, played by Jane Darnell, who keeps the hope even when hope seems to be dead and gone. When they get to California, they get a job picking fruit but are basically slaves to the unscrupulous owners living in shanties and paid very little. Fonda goes to a secret meeting but it ends with his friend, Casey ( played by John Carradine, whom I love), dead and Fonda killing the guard in self-defense. They all leave and wind up at a reputable company with cold and hot running water and toilets which this kids have never seen before. There are. Couple of great scenes where Ma Joad speaks about family and living forward while Henry Fonda has one the greatest speeches that is shown every time one talks about this film. It is not only brilliantly acted but I love the cinematography courtesy of the great Gregg Toland. 

3. MARTY-1955

Talk about an every guy, Ernest Borgnine plays a regular butcher who lives with his mom and deals with her, his siblings, and his friends all barrage him for still being single. His mom nags him into going to a ballroom for dancing and meeting people. There he meets Clara, a plain looking school teacher( of course), and they dance and talk the night away. Both are flying high with their romantic pairing until he goes home and finds out his Aunt has moved in and freaked out his mom saying that once Marty marries, mommy will be kicked out. Mom, fearful of this, disses his new gal  as well as his friends who further belittle her. Marty lets himself be manipulated by everyone and does not call her as he promised. Thankfully, he starts to see that he is not living for himself but for everyone. He gives a great speech and calls Clara up who wipes her tears away and accepts the call. There are many films made in the 1950s that have this look of black and white blandness. It is not a full on happy film but one which instills hope for the average person. I may not watch this film many times, but I do think it’s another film to watch.

What films make you think of the average Joe…or Jill.?