I was thinking, always dangerous, what events happened in January and, quite a bit to be honest. I decided to think of movies that correlate with the event in January and here we go…
1. ZULU-1964
This stars a young Michael Caine as an arrogant British officer, stationed in Africa, who must defend their stronghold against the Zulus who have decided to squish the British into dust. Much to the Zulu’s disbelief, the small band of soldiers give all they have to defend their small area winning the Zulus’ respect. I could have seen this film many times but just never felt the pull to see this. I’m glad I finally did because it is so well done. The acting, cinematography, direction is all superlative and the writing is sure to grab you and build the tension between the 2 armies.
2. A MAN FOR ALL SEASONS-1966
Good ole Henry the 8th is married but without a male heir. He notices the young and very attractive Anne Boleyn and soon his loins are wanting every inch of her…he was a pig after all. The problem? He’s already married and the church doesn’t like to see divorce, so Hank Baby is in a pickle. He asks his good friend, Sir Thomas More to side with him so he can be all horned toad with poor Anne but Thomas will not hear of it. Thomas believes in his convictions and will not budge ending with imprisonment and his head. Henry and Anne end up marrying in January but to what, end does it mean? Paul Schofield won an Oscar as Sir Thomas More, deservedly so, and Richard Burton plays the dashing king ( before the King’s excesses won out creating a Bloated jerk with syphilis).
3. THE TAKING OF PELHAM, ONE , TWO, THREE-1974
The first subway was in London in January in the late 1800s, but this takes place on a grubby NYC subway where 3 men take over this one subway and request money or else a person will die each hour..I think it’s an hour. The tension is strong with superlative acting by Robert Shaw as head of the gang and Walter Matthau as the head of the traffic. It’s so interesting how each person has to make their small parts carry and it does. It is so worth seeing without young hunks and barbies acting as if they are normal human beings. It's intelligently written and grips you from beginning to end.
Any films you can think of where the event took place in January?
Over at Curious As A Cathy, The Monday Music Moves Me is all about January. You can go by new beginnings, the history of this month, the wolf moon or just tht it is the double F…F%&@Ing Freezing. I do love the glitter of the snow like diamond dust and, when you walk, it feels like one is walking on powdered sugar. I so enjoy it, for now, ask me in March and you will get a different answer…lol. Here are the songs I have chosen..
1. SONG FOR A WINTER’S NIGHT SUNG BY GORDON LIGHTFOOT-1967
I love Gordon Lightfoot who is a Canadian icon and this song, about love, lost love, seems to suit this month since people are already bemoaning what a long winter we are having. Get ready, because we still have February and the dreaded March which has a bag of mixed weather tricks.
2. HAZY SHADE OF WINTER SUNG BY SIMON AND GARFUNKEL-1966
I love Simon and Garfunkel even if they can’t stand one another, they just harmonize so beautifully together. This is another great song that Paul Simon wrote.
3. WHITE WINTER HYMNAL SUNG BY FLEET FOXES-2008
I never heard of this improv folk band from the States until recently ( another blogger posted it on their site and I forgot who…I am so very sorry but thank you for introducing them to me) and I love the way they sound. I will hear more when I get the chance.
Bonus…
JUNE IN JANUARY SUNG BY JULIE LONDON-1956
I do love Julie London who sings like velvet all steamed up and ready to mingle. This was written by Ralph Rainger and Leo Robin. It’s from her album, “Calendar Girls.”
The year of the movies was 1990 when Dances With Wolves was the big winner ( I am going by the year the films came out, not the year of the Oscars). Despite people hating this film, I still like it very much( except when the dastardly S.O.B.‘S kill the wolf...I can't see that scene..hurts too much). I am one of a few who just can't stand Goodfellas. I hate Ray Liotta's laugh and the whole film just makes me want to take a shower. It's repellent to me. I know, I’m one of the few. One film that didn't get much love at all was Edward Scissorhands and it should have been up for more Oscars including Best Original Screenplay.
1. EDWARD SCISSORHANDS
Edward Scissorhands should have one Best Original Screenplay because it is such an original fairy tale using the Frankenstein thinking but in a completely unique way. Dianne Wiest, who should have been up for Best Supporting Actress, is an Avon lady who decides to drive way up to this dilapidated castle where she meets a Dr. Caligari type “ monster” with scissors for hands. He is gentle but lonely so she decides to bring him home to live with her and her family, which includes her teen daughter, played by Winona Ryder. All the neighbours are curious about this scarred up young man including the local nympho who lets Edward cut her hair. He becomes the next best thing creating amazing hairdos along with great artistic pieces from neighbourhood bushes. The only one who can’t stand him is the girl’s boyfriend. The art direction is superb and seeing Vincent Price in a sympathetic role as his “dad” just is the cherry on the top. It should have been up for Best Picture and Best Score, even though I like Dances with Wolves score a Smidget better, but it’s all apples and oranges. Johnny Depp met Winona n the set and they became an item to the degree that he had her name tattooed on his arm. Of course, it didn’t work out so he changed his tattoo which now says Wino Forever.
2. GHOST
This film won Best Original Screenplay and…it shouldn’t have even though I love the movie. I think most of us have seen this film about a loving husband and wife when their lives are destroyed when he is murdered in a mugging. Of course, she is devastated but her dead husband is unsure why he is still roaming the streets. He happens onto a place where, it is claimed, this chick can talk to the dead. He wanders in and starts to laugh at the tactics that are being done to fleece the widows only to find out this gal hears him! Whoopi Goldberg was brilliant as the criminal who can hear the dead, for real. He enlists her help to talk to his wife, who does not believe her…at first. The story takes a dark turn when he finds out he was deliberately murdered for knowing too much and he has placed his wife in harm’s way. It is a sweet love story even though Demi Moore’s character could have been played by just about anyone. It’s a great story but it’s not as original as as Edward S. I always hope that Patrick Swayze is watching over his beloved wife and dancing with her when she is dancing. ( He could really dance and they met while dancing).
3. ALICE
There was a time that just about every year, Woody Allen was nominated in the Best Original Screenplay category before he had an affair with his step-daughter, the adopted daughter of Mia Farrow and Andre Previn, bringing an end to their marriage and creating a very vicious and public break-up. I mean, he didn’t do himself any favours when he left Mia for this girl whom he had known since she was, I think, 12 yrs old…maybe younger. This film stars Mia in a boring marriage who longs for some excitement and finds it via her dreams etc.. Woody Allen is brilliant in writing and creating complex characters who all may need a therapist, he should know since he has been going to one for decades.
Avalon, Green Card and Metropolitan were the other films up for this award. I’ve seen Green Card and not quite sure it should have been here. It’s nice but no match to the others.
What about you, do you agree with me, agree with The Academy or would you choose another?
I believe today is the day of friendship and my friend, Loretta and I, have been friends for over 40 years…crazy! The 80s do not seem to be 40 years ago, but it is…I find that wild. I’m posting 3 songs about friendship and these are songs that came into my head right away. I’m joining Monday Music Moves Me which is freebie week.
1. FRIENDSHIP SUNG BY LUCILLE BALL AND VIVIAN VANCE-1953
Loretta loves, I mean, Loves, Lucille Ball and who doesn’t?! This song, written by Cole Porter, was used in this episode to great effect when Lucy and Ethel sing this song together with great affection. This changes when, they show up at the benefit wearing the same dress. Jealousy ensues and mayhem takes the form of each gal slowly destroying the other gals’ gown.
2. THE WAY OLD FRIENDS DO SUNG BY ABBA-1979
I played this song for my friend who thought it was a bit sombre, aka, for funerals….she is wrong, of course, because I always think of Loretta and myself when I hear this song. I think it’s one of the most beautiful from this quartet.
3. WITH A LITTLE HELP FROM MY FRIENDS SUNG BY JOE COCKER-1969
This is just iconic as is Joe Cocker’s style when singing. This is a great song that I love listening to and never tired of. I believe John Lennon and Paul McCartney wrote this song for their band, you know…the Beatles.
What songs can you think of or, at least, what song makes you think of your best friend?
I’m going to let you guess the theme of these movies….let’s see if you get this right:)
1. KEY LARGO-1948
This is the 4th and last movie pairing of Humphrey Bogart and Lauren Bacall who star in a Crime Drama that co-stars Edward G. Robinson, Lionel Barrymore and Clair Trevor in her Oscar winning role as the gangster’s moll. Lauren Bacall and her Father in Law, Lionel Barrymore, own a hotel when Humphrey Bogart arrives who was an old army pal of the man who died during the war and left his wife and dad alone. A hurricane is coming shutting down the hotel with them and some seedy guests. You are introduced to Edward G. While having a bubble bath and you very soon find out he is not Mr nice guy. He’s a brute who berates his girlfriend and even strikes the wheelchair bound dad, played by Lionel who really was in a wheelchair because of his severe Rheumatoid arthritis. They did not count on Humphrey who will not let these thugs get away. It’s quite a great film that I like better than, “The Big Sleep” and you can’t beat the scene stealing Claire as the alcoholic, doomed girlfriend of Edward G.
2. SOME LIKE IT HOT-1959
Jack Lemmon and Tony Curtis play two down and put musicians, in the late 1920s who witness a gangster murder and must leave town ASAP. It just so happens an all girl musical group, with the lead singer, Sugar Cane, in tow, played by voluptuous Marilyn Monroe, need a bass player and a saxophonist. Enter Jack and Tony as Josephine and Daphne who board the train as the newest girls for this all girls’ band. They both vie for the affections of MM which turns into Uberdrive once they reach Miami. Tony finds out what MM would love in a man and up turns a wealthy man, with his yacht, who sounds remarkably like Cary Grant. Jack is not happy and mentions to MM that Josephine may want to hear about MM’s future love. All 3 run to the hotel with Jack hoping to catch Tony in his lie but, there is Tony, as Josephine, in a bubble bath and wins this round. Tony asks Jack to keep the old guy, played hilariously by Joe E. Brown, who owns the yacht busy while he woos MM. by the morning, Tony is happy, MM is in love and Jack is engaged to Joe E. Now enters the big gangster, played by George Raft, with his goons, to a convention of all the gangster big wigs where Tony and Jack have been fingered as the 2 witnesses and are now on the run. This is one hilarious movie that I can watch over and over again. I love Jack Lemmon and George E. Brown’s scenes with the tango scene always making me laugh.
3. THE SILENCERS-1966
This film was made when 007 films were huge and Dean Martin spoofed this genre in a series of films as super spy, Matt Helm, who must thwart all sorts of evil bad guys. In this film, it starts with a femme fatale, played by Cyd Charisse, shot and killed after she gives a performance. Next we see Matt Helm in bed which turns upright and throws him into a very big bubble bath along with his secretary. He is happy being retired from all the spy business until his old boss comes calling asking for his help. Before you know it, he is after a very bad man who tries every which way to thwart Matt Helm in hilarious ways. Dean Martin is perfect in this role and he plays it to the hilt never taking himself seriously. The gals and Victor Bueno as the evil genius is great. I love these spoofs and you can see where Mike Myers got many of his gags from for his Austin Powers films.
A week has gone by since New Year’s Eve and over at Monday Music Moves Me, it’s about new songs one has heard but, since I’m still not well( I stayed home today), I can’t recall any new songs so I went with Happy New Year songs.
1. HAPPY NEW YEAR SUNG BY ABBA-1980
I love ABBA as you all know, so this had to be included. It’s part of their album called “Super Trouper.”
2. WHAT ARE YOU DOING NEW YEAR’S EVE SUNG BY ELLA FITZGERALD-1960
Ella had a great voice, although I’m not one for the scat singing, which I enjoyed so much when I hear her voice on different blog sites. She does a great job in her many years singing.
3. HAPPY NEW YEAR SUNG BY JUDY GARLAND-1957
I haven’t had Judy here for a while so I thought this was perfect.
I made it very short and sweet this week. Hope the new year has been treating you well so far. My dear friends, brothers, lost their mom on Monday and they are devastated even though it was the best thing. She was so thin and in way too much pain so it is for the best. She wanted to be with her husband which was his birthday on Sunday, so, a day later, she was able to be with him and without pain.
DIED FROM: Massive Heart Attack after years of drinking and heavy smoking
DISEASE: suffered from St. Vitrus’s Dance- cured using traditional Chinese medicine
REAL NAME: Wong Liu Tsong which means “Willow Frost Yellow”
NICKNAME: CCC- Curious Chinese Child.
MARRIED: Never
AFFAIRS: Marshall Nielan, Todd Browning, Irving Thalberg, Johnny Weissmuller, Eric Maschwitz etc. Rumour is she had an affair with Marlene Dietrich and Leni Riefenstahl but that’s just based on a photo and Anna’s chemistry with Marlene in Shanghai Express. I doubt she did from all I read.
CHILDREN: None
FAMOUS FAMILY: James Wong Howe, cousin and famous cinematographer. Mary Wong, her younger sister who appeared in films but, sadly committed suicide by hanging herself in 1940
TALENT: she could sing, dance. Knew Antonese, German, French and Italian. In the very early stages of sound film, many studios made 3 versions of the same movie, one in English and other usually, in German and French and or an Italian. Anna May Wong starred in all versions.
KNOWN FOR: Her privacy. Fashion icon. Intelligence, donating large amount to Chinese charities to help fight the Japanese.
If she was alive today, she would be a big name like Zang Ziyi( from Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon) or Bai Lu, probably bigger, but she entered Hollywood at a time when prejudice ran rampant ( still does as we all know). Yet, she made a name for herself, most often, as a co-star, but, on a few occasions she was a star. She had to fight to get every role and some directors fought for her. She knew, early on, that she wanted to be an actress hanging around film sites so much that they called her CCC- Curious Chinese Child. This profession went against her own culture and her parents’ thinking. Her dad did not condone her choice because it was felt an actress was no better than a whore ( thankfully, he changed his mind and was very proud of her). So this poor gal fought the studios and her own family. I applaud her courage and conviction while still remaining true to her culture. Whenever she could, she would dress in her traditional outfits in honour of her parents and culture in the 1930s, but she loved fashion and was once voted Best Dressed actress in the world. Her glamour and look was heralded in the 1920s often being cited as best dressed and was one of the first to herald the “Flapper” look.
When MGM was going to make “The Good Earth” about a Chinese husband and wife and all that they must endure, Anna fought hard for the lead role and would have been perfect as O-Lan but there was no way in hell she was ever going to land this role that she deserved because her co-star was caucasian. Discrimination was rampant and there would be no way she, a Chinese person, could be the lover and wife of a white man in film, who is portraying a Chinese person. It was better to have white people made to look Asian than have actual Asians play the roles. Luise Rainer played the lead and won her second Oscar and, I have to say, to me, Rainer did a great job, but I would have loved to have seen Anna in the role. After this bitter disappointment, Anna left the States for over a year to visit her dad who went back to his ancestral home( her mom died in 1930 after being hit by a car) with her younger brothers and sister. The stress proved too much when she arrived to a huge gathering of her fans, the usual genial actress, suffering from depression, was rude and angry. The fans quickly turned to a mob and she had to leave quickly. While staying with her dad, she learned mandarin and her ancestral history which she embraced.
When she returned to Hollywood, she starred in B movies…starred and was also still a co-star but she now had the conviction to help her fellow countrymen and often donated large amounts to Chinese charities. She sold her costumes and gave a large portion of her money to their cause since they were fighting the Japanese invasion. She continued to star on Broadway and radio. In 1951 she had her own tv show called, “The Gallery of Madame Liu-Tsang.” She played an art dealer who ends up being a detective solving crimes along the way. Talk about a precursor to “Murder, She Wrote”. Sadly, the studio dumped all their tv shows into the New York Harbour…yup, they did that! Over the years, her smoking and drinking affected her health where she suffered a cerebral hemorrhage and cirrhosis of the liver, finally, dying in 1961, from a massive heart attack.
I’d love to see more films of hers and her TV spots. She died too young which is such a shame, but a special coin was created in her honour as well as a commemorative stamp. Very intelligent and fascinating person.
Max Swain was in many Mack Sennett films and was a big comedian in the early days of film. Happy New Year everyone! Let’s hope Putin is defeated, Trump disappears, the White House is restored, Ukraine wins, The Hamas is defeated and the Pakistan people are able to rebuild. Etc, etc, etc….On personal notes, let’s hope we remain healthy as well as our families, we don’t suffer financial mishaps and our furbabes are all healthy and happy.
Now, on with the show and since this is New Year’s Day, let’s talk about movies where New Year’s Eve plays into a major plot point. Here re my 3…
This is such an underrated film with James Stewart and the luminous Carole Lombard meet, fall in love and marry in just one day. He is married to his work as well which does not sit well with Carole Lombard. She also must contend with Jimmy’s very controlling and manipulative mother who makes things difficult for these 2 lovebirds. They have a baby which only contributes to their stress which culminates at a New Year’s Eve party. They are amidst the celebrations but saddened knowing they will separate..until they find out their baby is very sick and needs a serum but a blizzard stops them from attaining that serum. Charles Coburn, Stewart’s boss, hires a plane to fly the serum in but will the pilot make it? This is a gem of a film with the 2 leads bringing dimension to their characters. New Year’s is the climax of the film when this dramedy turns into an adventure film fraught with intense emotions. Stewart got along well with potty mouthed Carole Lombard who everyone loved. Sadly, during the making of the film, a technician fell to his death when releasing balloons for the New Year’s Eve party.
3. THE POSEIDEN ADVENTURE-1972
I love this Irwin Allen disaster pic which were all the rage during the 70s. Like Airport, this film involves a who’s who of actors on a ship celebrating New Year’s Eve. A rogue wave throws the ship upside down killing poor Leslie Nielsen as the Captain. Gene Hackman ( what a horribly tragic death he had), plays a priest who tries to tell people they must leave and walk the bottom of the ship which is now at the top of the ocean. Most don’t want to leave, believing they will be saved if they stay put. A few decide to follow Hackman including an old couple , played by Shelley Winters and Jack Albertson, a bickering couple, Earnest Borgnine and Stella Stevens, the singer played by Carol Lynley, an older teen played by Pamela Sue Martin along with her kid brother. You also have Roddy McDowell who is a purser on the ship. They all climb the Christmas tree up to safety just before the glass roof cracks up and the ocean comes in killing everyone below. We follow these people as they keep climbing towards the bottom of the ship to safety, some don’t make it and Stella keeps losing her clothes. Shelley got an Oscar nomination for her role as the older lady who used to be a swimming champ. The song,”The Morning After” hit the charts and won the Oscar for best song. This is a fun movie and I love watching it.
What New Year’s movies can you think of? Did you celebrate, stay up to watch the ball drop or go to bed early?
