June is Bride month...when did that come to be?

 I have been a bridesmaid more than once and have been a bride once. So much money has been invested in weddings that it has become big business. Ughhh!  I have been to the typical weddings, to very tasteful weddings, to one supremely tacky wedding which is one of my fondest memories. The stripper married our neighbour and her bridesmaids forgot which aisle they were walking down the way they shimmied their hips to the altar. You had the " beam me up, Scotty" cake complete with 1970s plastic bride & groom on top, even though this was 1993. The oil beads dripping around the cake was to make it look like rain and a light inside it to catch the glow. A Polish Elvis tried to sing some songs, but when the groom went up his bride's dress to get the garter and stayed up there way too long while she gave some squeaky noises, we knew it was time to leave. Aside from your wedding, any memorable ones you'd like share?

I am going classic this time but I will present a part 2 at the end of the month for Wedding month. 

Walking down the aisle to music is always the first highlight, so I am presenting 3 traditional ones.

1. THE WEDDING MARCH BY WAGNER-1850

Wagner was a real rascal, I know he was antisemitic, which is disgusting, but he was a brilliant composer if a bit too heavy handed, to put it mildly. He was a scoundrel who loved women, was always poor and ran from his creditors. He did fall in love with Liszt's daughter, Cosima, and it turned out to be a happy union. He was purely in the Romantic Era and this piece, from Lohengrin, is very famous but, I don't care for it, to be honest. 

2. AIR ON A G- STRING BY BACH -LATE 1700S

No, this is not about a stripper farting while dancing to "Come Fly with Me", but a beautiful piece of music often played when the bride, draped in a fluffy meringue, walks down the aisle. Good ole Johann Sébastian could bring out the worst in people for his exacting measures ( yup, he was German) but he created some great works of Baroque music. 

3. PACHEBEL'S CANON BY PACHEBEL-1680

He is another Kraut from the "Baroque you bought it" Era. This piece is so popular now that it gets played for weddings, funerals, in movies and, probably some strip show. I admit, I love this piece.

Which speaks to you? I had none of these at my wedding. I had a Celtic piece.

Which music did you ir your wife walk down the aisle to? 

Thursday Movie Picks-Fantasy

 

This is a toughie.....Not! I love this genre and could picks a ton of films in one year alone. Wandering through the Shelves picked a good one and one that can be used every year and never choose the same film twice. I tried to do a theme within a theme so here we go...

1. HERE COMES MR. JORDAN-1941

I love this original film that stars Robert Montgomery as a sports guy, who plays the trombone, who gets into an accident but wasn't supposed to die. The dumbnut angel took his soul too soon and now it is up to  the head angel, played by a fav of mine, Claude Rains, to try to make things right. He decides to place Robert's soul into the body of a very wealthy man who was murdered. He is placed into that body but must deal with his nasty wife and her lover, who offed him. He contacts his old coach and falls in love with a gal not happy with his business practices. It's funny, sad and poignant. Warren Beatty made a really good remake called "Heaven Can Wait". I would skip the Chris Rock remake. 

2. BETWEEN TWO WORLDS-1944

I remember this film as "Outward Bound"  which was the original title of the film made in 1930 with Leslie Howard( I still need to see that version). Paul Henreid plays a man who thinks he is holding back his wife during the war, in Britain. While she is out, he puts the gas on to commit suicide. His wife is at the terminal to get a permit to board the ship, she is trying to find a way out. There we meet a bunch of people who all are waiting to get into a cab to bring them to the boat. The wife leaves, we see the people get into the cab and promptly get hit by a bomb. The wife returns and is so upset that her husband wants to take this route since she wants to be with him. They decide to be together. Suddenly we see the couple on the boat wondering how they got there. The people from that cab are there too and the young couple realize they are dead. They are the only ones who know except for the one steward played by Edmund Gwenn. I love this movie and finally got it on DVD last year. You have the array of people you get to know...a married couple, the man is nice but his wife..ick! The angry young man with a chip, the size of Trump's ego, on his shoulder. A woman who believes men are jerks, a kindly old lady and so on. I really think it's a unique movie even if you know the typical characters. I can watch it over and over.

3. STAIRWAY TO HEAVEN-1946

This is truly known as " A Matter of Life and Death" but, when I first saw it, it was titled Stairway... This stars David Niven as the pilot of a doomed war plane who makes sure his men get out ok but he has no parachute so he knows he is doomed. He ends up talking to a radio operator, played by Kim Hunter, happy knowing he spoke to her before he dies. Here lies the rub, he ends up washed ashore with not even a scratch! Yup, a dumb angel forgot to take his soul but they only realize after David  meets the girl on the other end of the phone and they fall in love. Now David must fight for his right to live to he can love the woman he met. Another great movie with some neat effects like that Stairway. It's a film by Powell and Pressburger who are known for their beautiful looking films and unique story telling. I think it's a gem.

Which fantasy films are your favourites?

Musical Art

 

Who doesn't have some painting, statue or whatever hanging on their walls? We love some form of art whether it is classic, nature, modern etc...we love to hang something on our walls that make us feel good. I thought, why not talk about songs that were inspired by art so here we go.

1. VINCENT BY DON MCLEAN-1971

Of course this has to be recognized since it is one of the best pieces of music about art. Don McLean was inspired when he read about the life on Vincent Van Gogh.

2. MONA LISA SUNG BY NAT KING COLE-1950

This is one of the best known song renditions of this famous song written by Ray Evans and Jon Livingston for the movie Captain Carey U.S.A.  and won the Oscar that year as well. Nat King Cole made it into a huge hit.

3. SUNDAY IN THE PARK WITH GEORGE SUNG BY BERNADETTE PETERS AND MANDY PATINKON-1985

This is a famous musical, by the legendary Stephen Sondheim, about George Seurat and his very famous painting, "Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte". It is a fictionalized account about the pointillist painter Seurat and his affair with Dot, his long time mistress At the heart is his master work, "Sunday in the Park" that takes on a life of its own. One day I will see this musical that actually won a Pulitzer. 

What art song can you think of?

Star of the Month

 

JOHNNY WEISSMULLER

BORN- JUNE 2, 1904

DIED- JANUARY 20, 1984

AGED-79 YEARS

DIED FROM- PULMONARY EDEMA

MARRIED TO- 5 TIMES! (HE WAS A BUSY BOY) MOST FAMOUSLY TO LUPE VALEZ

CHILDREN-3 THE YOUNGEST DIED IN A CAR ACCIDENT I WHEN SHE WAS JUST 18

TALENTS-FAMOUS OLYMPIC SWIMMER. THE FIRST TO SWIM THE 100 METRE IN UNDER A MINUTE. WON 5 GOLD MEDALS AND 1 BRONZE IN WATER POLO. SET 67 WORLD RECORDS.

KNOWN FOR- HIS TARZAN YELL WHICH HE CAME UP WITH

I chose Johnny because he is born on the same day as me and I like him better than the Marquis De Sade who was also born on my day. (ughh, why him, why not any other writer but him). Johnny has German heritage but was born in what used to be the Austrian-Hungarian Empire and is now Romania. His family, with him in tow at 5 yrs old, immigrated to the U.S. and started life anew. He loved to swim and excelled at it winning in 2 Olympic Games in the 1920s, plus setting 67 world records. He got noticed by some scout or other when Johnny was doing an underwear ad because they were looking for a new Tarzan. 

He became THE Tarzan and made several pictures as the loincloth man who swings to the best vines. He meets Jane and, with his trustee companion, Cheetah, they live in the luxury of his home. Later, they find a baby and name him Boy(how original). Cheetah, apparently, had a thing for Johnny and got very jealous of Maureen O'Sullivan when they had to do romantic scenes. The ape would bite her when give the chance. 

Johnny was a life-long advocate for eating well and exercising devoted to the Kellogg school of dieting and healthy living (Yes, that Kellogg who was a strange, strange bird) but he ran into many health issues in the 1970s. he broke his leg and hip and almost died from an infection and then developed lung issues etc. As a side note, he saved many people from drowning in a boating accident, in 1927. He was a life guard in Chicago training for a marathon when this accident happened. Apparently Johnny was known to have saved quite a few people over his life time. 

 Johnny was also very famous for his affair and marriage to the loopy Lupe Valez who had one fiery temper plus bedded many, many, many.....did I say many?, men.  She had a habit of stabbing or firing a gun at her lover/husband as well. Gary Cooper was shot at by her and, I think, Johnny was stabbed but I could be wrong. It was superficial, thankfully. Yes, the marriage ended in divorce.

I always thought he was THE best Tarzan even though this Tarzan character is way off track from the actual Tarzan of the Edgar Rice Burrough books as Tarzan could read, write and speak eloquently in the novels. His yell is perfect which, even if you have not seen the films, you know his yell. Carol Burnett was great doing that yell on her famous TV variety show plus many others made fun/paid homage to it. 

FILMS

Tarzan The Ape Man-1932

Tarzan & His Mate-1934

Tarzan Escapes-1936

Tarzan Finds His Son -1939

Tarzan 's Secret Treasure-1939

Tarzan's New York Adventure-1942

Tarzan Triumphs- 1943

Tarzan's Desert Mystery-1943

Tarzan and The Amazons-1945

Tarzan and the Leopard Woman-1946

May Movies

 

Our new doggie who has much to learn. Harley is a handful but just loveable. I had a lovely birthday with many phone calls and...I got gnomes! I love them and hubby surprised me with them..love them.  So I'm getting right into the films I watched in May. I have nothing to add for TV because I am watching the same thing like before. Here's to the movies I saw in May.

1. ONE-EYED JACKS-1961

This came on TV so I watched it even though I am not enamoured with Brando. He, Karl Maldon and one other dude rob a bank but Maldon double crosses Brando takes the money and Brando ends up in a really bad prison. 5 yrs later, Brando escapes bent on revenge. He finds Maldon who is now married, a sheriff and has a beautiful step daughter. Brando is attracted to the young lass, of course and is not sure what to do. It's not a bad movie at all and I enjoyed it.

2  THE BIGAMIST-1953

I finally saw this film  directed and co- starring Ida Lupino. A man, feeling left out by his wife, falls for and marries this young gal, Ida, all while having wife #1, Joan Fontaine, at home wanting to have a kid. He has one with Ida...ahh the tangled web he finds himself in. Edmund Gwenn finds out about the guy's double life. I love how Ida had fun with Edmund comparing him to Santa and, when  Ida and Edmond O'Brian take a tour of Hollywood homes, they point out Edmund Gwenn's house. I thought that was so funny since Edmund was Santa in Miracle on 34th Street. This is a pretty good film and directed by a woman!

3. CLOAK AND DAGGER-1946

Gary Cooper plays a scientist hired by the OSS to get the scientist away from the Nazis. He gets help from the Italian resistance especially the lovely Lili Palmer, as they try to bring the older scientist to freedom. This feels very real and, not sure if the story is real, but the OSS is real(Christopher Lee was part of this secret service). I thought this was quite excellent.

4. KNIVES OUT-2019

This is a funny film even though it's about murder, back stabbing and a family you hope you are never related to. Christopher Plummer is the head of a household who all are beholden to the old man. You meet each one and learn why they are being cut off from daddy's purse strings. The only one who is true and blue is his health care nurse who can't tell a lie or she throws up. Trying to figure out who the killer is is Daniel Craig as a southern detective who reminds you of Sherlock Holmes. This is dark, but I love it.

5. BANDOLERO-1968

This is a fun movie that stars Jimmy Stewart as the good brother who saves the bad brother, Dean Martin, from the noose along with his mangy band of thieves. They end up taking Raquel Welch hostage as they travel to Mexico right into bandit territory. Hot on their trail is the sheriff who has the hots for Raquel..that's a lot of hots. They must band together to fight the bandits. I saw this many years ago and loved it especially Jimmy Stewart. It's what I would call a quirky western. 

6. IN HARM'S WAY - 1965

This was a good movie starting with Pearl Harbour and then going to the islands where the U. S. must fight and win all they can. It stars John Wayne who has a great friend in Kirk Douglas but both end up reprimanded until the Navy realizes they need Wayne. In this film, Wayne must find a way to win these islands and find time to woo Patricia Neal. There is a disturbing scene with Douglas and a younger nurse on a beach because Douglas is, allegedly, the actor who raped Natalie Wood when she was 18. It was known she was sexually assaulted but she never told anyone who the perpetrator was. Her sister, Lana, came out with this news recently. Back to the film, this is a bit long but I did enjoy it and found it realistic from the romance themes to the battles. 

So, that's it for now...what about you? Any movies or TV shows that caught your eye? I have to tell you, our last video store, called "That's Entertainment" is closing its doors because Covid was just too much for them to carry them through.  We bought many movies but I shall miss them.

Thursday Movie Picks- Failure to Launch

 

Nope, we are not talking about boats or the Oligarchs' yachts, but about movies that execs thought would make a good franchise but turned out to be duds. Frankly, I can't keep up with all the movie sequels ad nauseum. I long for originality and often think that the one movie was enough ( Matrix anyone?). Here are my 3 movies that I don't think are as horrible as many think or maybe I just thought I was ready to watch shit and was pleasantly surprised at the gut flora. ( I hate those commercials that say gut and flora...nothing smells pretty in one's intestines). Wandering Through The Shelves puts out a great theme each week so head on over and see what everyone else has chosen. Here are my 3

1. THE LEAGUE OF EXTRAORDINARY GENTLEMEN-2003

I like this flick even if it's full of holes and eye rolls. Sadly, this is Sean Connery’s swan song playing the legendary Alan Quartermaine( not the Alan Quartermaine from General Hospital) who is brought back into service to fight a man who wants to bring about war. He gets help from some young western kid, the Invisible Man, Dr. Jekyll, Vampire gal, Nina, Capt. Nemo and Dorian Gray. It's quite the group but I enjoyed the frolic through Venice to a winter's lair. I heard they were planning to make more but it tanked at the box office so just this one flick o poop.

2. THE A TEAM- 2010

Liam Neeson is doing so many action figure guys that I miss his actual acting. He takes over the role of George Peppard  in the tv series of the same name from the 1980s. I watched this show all the time because it was fun and...stupid. Yes, stupid but enjoyable. He plays Hannibal Lector..oops, wrong film, he plays Hannibal who, along with Face, Murdock and B. A. Baracus aka Mr. T( not actually Mr. T but an actual actor) must find a way to prove they are innocent. Along for the ride is Jessica Biel who is head of an FBI unit in charge of finding them and so angry with Face by putting her tongue down Face's throat. There were supposed to be more flicks but, alas, it did not make the mulah.

3. GREEN LANTERN-2011

I bet this will be very popular this week because it is infamous for crashing and burning. Ryan Reynolds, the star of the movie, makes sure to make fun of himself and the movie any chance he gets. He plays a loser who is given this green orb or something like that ( who cares) by an alien which makes him one of the guys in charge with keeping the peace. Humans are considered morons when it comes to peace but he learns and proves his metal while wearing this bright green outfit. I heard nothing but horrible reviews so, when I watched it, I expected to hate it, but I found that I didn't mind it. Again, it's dumb but I've seen much worse. This was suppose to be huge but it was just a huge flop so no more films were made. 💩

Any films that you can think of that are supposed to have been the start of long-winded sagas only to fizzle?

Happy Almost Birthday...to moi

 

What a fu#@^! Year I had, but 57 is gone by tomorrow and I will be 58. The next 2 years I can't switch the #s around or that would make me much older than 29.  My friend, VJ sent me this naughty book which I love. It brings out the lumberjack in me.

It's all about the year 1964 and these were the top 3 songs that hit #1 around my birthday.

1. LOVE ME DO BY THE BEATLES 

The Beatles came to America and really upset the apple cart. It was one of the biggest events to happen for them, the people around this band, and the freaky fans. TheBeatles appeared on Ed Sullivan and the crowd of gals went crazy. This topped the charts for many weeks even though it was written back in 1962 and was out earlier.

2. CHAPEL OF LOVE BY THE DIXIE CUPS

This song was written by Jeff Barry and Ellie Greenwich along with Phil Spector who also produced it. Jeff and Ellie had married and Jeff thought of this type of song. We have heard it many times, over the years especially in many romantic comedies.

3. MY GUY SUNG BY MARY WELLS

This was actually written and produced by Smokey Robinson  who loved Mary Wells' voice. I do too and think it's an excellent rendition. I have to admit I loved it in Sister Act. 

Any songs from 1964 that you love?