Tonight's movie was an outstanding Noir with Humphrey Bogart, called "The Big Shot" (1942). I had mentioned that we'd have more Bogie movies coming as a result of my recent "Warner Archives" search in the library database. This was one of them, and man was it ever hard-boiled.
Bogart is a down and out ex-con who's done two stints in prison, one lasting five years, the other, ten. He is trying to go straight as he explains in a voiceover at the beginning of the film, but no one will give him a job. The cops follow him everywhere he goes, just waiting for him to slip up. He is broke and has been reduced to accepting free meals from a sympathetic restaurant owner. The rent is barely paid up in his flophouse apartment. One day, two hoodlums enter the restaurant, one being the great character actor Howard daSilva. He is an acquaintance of Bogart's from past crimes. His partner is a young punk named "Frenchy", who takes one look at the unshaven, slovenly Bogie and starts shoving him around. Howard daSilva wants Bogie to be the third man on an armored car robbery. "Frenchy" doesn't think he can handle it, but then Bogart - tired of being abused by the youngster - kicks his ass and the question is settled. There's still some fire underneath the worn-out exterior, and Bogie is up for the job. More than anything, he just needs the money.
Now, holy smokes folks - there are gonna be so many plot twists and double crosses in "The Big Shot" that I won't be able to relate even half of them. This is yet another of those examples of tremendous screenwriting from the Golden Era that I harp about, and this script is extra exceptional. I mean, this movie is one of the best Noirs I've ever seen. You never know what's coming next.
The armored car robbery doesn't go well, but Bogie did not take part after all. He backed out at the last minute because he has run into an Old Flame who doesn't wanna see him go back to prison, which he will if caught, and it will be for life this time. She has an ingenious way of making sure he doesn't participate in the heist, and it works. The only problem is that, in the interim, while Bogie was in prison, she married a wealthy lawyer, a shyster who organises bank jobs and defends any of his crooks who happen to get caught. Now Bogie is in double trouble because not only has he flaked on the armored car job, but his girl is also the wife of the leader. And "Frenchy", his punk nemesis, has seen Bogie with the dame. Will "Frenchy" fink on him to the boss? What do you think? :)
So now, the Boss - the crooked lawyer - is gonna frame Bogie for the robbery, even though he didn't participate. Bogie returns the favor by telling the lawyer that - hey - is he goes back to prison he will have nothing to lose, because he will be in for life, therefore he will name names and implicate the lawyer as the main man who planned the whole thing.
Now it's getting really nasty and double-crossy. There are even triple crosses happening.
I hate to say it, but Bogie is gonna wind up back in prison. He is no match for the clever, well connected lawyer, so back into the Joint he goes, this time for life. He does have a friend in the prison warden, though, a reformist who has known Bogart through the years and recognizes his basic decency. The warden is going to allow a talent show to take place, for the prisoners' entertainment. Bogie befriends a con by the name of Dancer, who is to be the headline act in the show......
Can you believe this is only an 82 minute movie? Yep, and I haven't even mentioned several other important characters nor have I delved deeply into the most important relationship in the film; that of the lawyer's wife and Humphrey Bogart. They were once a couple before all of this mess, but will they be together again?......
You will have to find out for yourself, as I've told you way more than I usually do, to entice you to see this picture. I had never heard of "The Big Shot" before I discovered it in my library search, but once again I was lucky to find yet another Humphrey Bogart movie when I thought I'd exhausted the supply. How in the world do I keep doing that? "The Big Shot" is so good that it deserves to be included on the list of The Greatest Film Noirs. You know how Martin Scorcese champions certain films and is shown on the dvd extras sometimes, doing an interview where he talks about what the film means to him? For this movie, they should have me doing it. That's how good it is.
Two Gigantic Thumbs Up for "The Big Shot", which also features some very dramatic (and even brutal) action footage from the crime in progress - exceedingly well shot and edited for 1942, when action was not a prime concern in movies. There is also a chase scene in the snowy mountains, but then I have told you way too much and I am sorry about the spoilers. Just give it a couple of weeks and you'll forget what I've said. Then you can watch the movie with no advance information remembered.
My highest recommendation, especially for (but not limited to) Humphrey Bogart fans. ////
Elizabeth, I liked your photos of the contemporary nature paintings. Her use of contrasting color really brings out the depth in those treescapes, plus the tones make it look magical. I am working on my hardest drawing yet, where I am attempting to overlap images in a way that both combines them and keeps them separate. I am having such a blast this year with drawing in colored pencil, and I have completed five Really Weird Ones already. Gotta get some Krylon finishing spray and a portfolio to put 'em in so they don't collect dust. And, I've still got all my older abstract drawings leaning against all my bookcases and walls in the Tiny Apartment. I am artworking myself out of the place, haha.
I hope all of your projects are coming along well, and I have no doubt they are. Art rules!
and just being creative is so much fun, whether drawing, singing, playing piano, writing music, making films, taking photographs, or any other form of creativity including just being outside in nature and thinking about it.
That's all I know for tonight. I will see you in the morning with much love sent as always. xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo :):)
Tuesday, May 14, 2019
Monday, May 13, 2019
"High Chaparral" & especially "Ghost Story" + Aliso + Singing
No movie tonight, instead it was All TV. I watched an episode of "High Chaparral" - a motion picture quality Western series that is rapidly becoming a favorite of mine - followed by a very scary episode of "Ghost Story", in which Lynn Loring inherits a dilapidated mansion from her mother, who has just died in a mental institution. I mean, right there you've got you some horror. You've got a mansion, it's run down, it's paint is peeling, it's got cobwebs inside and even a few rats running around. And you've got the mother in a mental institution.
It was entirely a coincidence that I happened to watch this episode on Mother's Day. :)
But yeah, I mean, who wouldn't want to inherit a Grey Gardens type house from their psychic and slightly kooky mother? Former real life 60's starlet turned studio executive Loring arrives at the house to find it condemned. Signs put up by the city indicate that it will be demolished if the necessary repairs are not completed by an upcoming deadline. Loring ventures inside the mansion to meet with her two eccentric cousins, played by Rip Torn and Geraldine Page. Now I ask you, where are you gonna get that caliber of acting talent on television, if not on "Ghost Story"? Torn and Page (Torn Page!) are a couple of kookoo bird siblings who dodder about the dusty premises and drink an elixir to help them sleep at night. They seem to have a secret, concerning Page's ex-husband, who is buried in the back yard along with his loyal butler. Lynn Loring, meanwhile, is having night terrors involving The House, The Ex-Husband and The Butler. She sleepwalks at night, and can see the deceased husband and butler engaging in a game of billiards. Then suddenly........
Ahh, but I'm not going to tell you about "then suddenly" because it's way too spooky and creepy. Loring is starting to freak out about her dreams, so Rip Torn suggests she drink more sleep elixir at night, but it ain't working. Finally, the Health Department comes calling about the deadline for the house repairs. The agent has brought the Sheriff with him, so Torn and Page lock Loring in the basement to prevent her from telling the men what she has seen.
The Basement.
Now, you know nothing good can come of being locked in The Basement.......or can it?
I won't tell you, but I will say that I am always astonished when anyone in a horror movie or tv show descends into The Basement voluntarily.
I mean, c'mon. Nobody would do that in real life, right? You and I would never go down into The Basement, for any reason, ever. But man, these people in horror shows, what are they thinking? I just can't figure 'em.......
But that's all I am gonna tell you about tonight's episode of "Ghost Story". I highly recommend that you purchase the complete series dvd set for yourself and that goes double for "High Chaparral" if you are a Western fan. ////
This afternoon, I actually made it up to Aliso Canyon for a nice hike. It's almost impossible now, for me to get a hike in on a workday, but I made it, and it was like magic, with wildflowers overgrown around the trails and the Painted Lady butterflies that have hatched by the millions this Spring fluttering everywhere, even in your face as you walk. I have been to Aliso so many times during conditions of dryness and drought, and of course it is beautiful then too. But I've never seen it like this. Today the park looked like something out of Tom Sawyer or Huck Finn, overtaken by nature.
Lastly, we had good singin' in church, just like I promised. Our lead soprano was not there, so me and our other tenor got a chance to share lead singing duties. It was fun and we got to really belt it out.
I hope you had a nice day (and Happy Mother's Day too). See you in the morning, with all night love sent between. xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo :):)
It was entirely a coincidence that I happened to watch this episode on Mother's Day. :)
But yeah, I mean, who wouldn't want to inherit a Grey Gardens type house from their psychic and slightly kooky mother? Former real life 60's starlet turned studio executive Loring arrives at the house to find it condemned. Signs put up by the city indicate that it will be demolished if the necessary repairs are not completed by an upcoming deadline. Loring ventures inside the mansion to meet with her two eccentric cousins, played by Rip Torn and Geraldine Page. Now I ask you, where are you gonna get that caliber of acting talent on television, if not on "Ghost Story"? Torn and Page (Torn Page!) are a couple of kookoo bird siblings who dodder about the dusty premises and drink an elixir to help them sleep at night. They seem to have a secret, concerning Page's ex-husband, who is buried in the back yard along with his loyal butler. Lynn Loring, meanwhile, is having night terrors involving The House, The Ex-Husband and The Butler. She sleepwalks at night, and can see the deceased husband and butler engaging in a game of billiards. Then suddenly........
Ahh, but I'm not going to tell you about "then suddenly" because it's way too spooky and creepy. Loring is starting to freak out about her dreams, so Rip Torn suggests she drink more sleep elixir at night, but it ain't working. Finally, the Health Department comes calling about the deadline for the house repairs. The agent has brought the Sheriff with him, so Torn and Page lock Loring in the basement to prevent her from telling the men what she has seen.
The Basement.
Now, you know nothing good can come of being locked in The Basement.......or can it?
I won't tell you, but I will say that I am always astonished when anyone in a horror movie or tv show descends into The Basement voluntarily.
I mean, c'mon. Nobody would do that in real life, right? You and I would never go down into The Basement, for any reason, ever. But man, these people in horror shows, what are they thinking? I just can't figure 'em.......
But that's all I am gonna tell you about tonight's episode of "Ghost Story". I highly recommend that you purchase the complete series dvd set for yourself and that goes double for "High Chaparral" if you are a Western fan. ////
This afternoon, I actually made it up to Aliso Canyon for a nice hike. It's almost impossible now, for me to get a hike in on a workday, but I made it, and it was like magic, with wildflowers overgrown around the trails and the Painted Lady butterflies that have hatched by the millions this Spring fluttering everywhere, even in your face as you walk. I have been to Aliso so many times during conditions of dryness and drought, and of course it is beautiful then too. But I've never seen it like this. Today the park looked like something out of Tom Sawyer or Huck Finn, overtaken by nature.
Lastly, we had good singin' in church, just like I promised. Our lead soprano was not there, so me and our other tenor got a chance to share lead singing duties. It was fun and we got to really belt it out.
I hope you had a nice day (and Happy Mother's Day too). See you in the morning, with all night love sent between. xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo :):)
Sunday, May 12, 2019
"Battle Circus" starring Humphrey Bogart and June Allyson
Tonight's movie was called "Battle Circus" (1953), starring Humphrey Bogart and June Allyson as the head surgeon and nurse in a Korean War M.A.S.H Unit. I found it in a library database search for "Warner Archive" dvd releases, and yet again - just when you think you've seen all the available Bogie movies......and I have more coming, too. The search turned up several previously unseen Bogart flicks, which should begin arriving at the Libe in the next week or so.
"Battle Circus" was made during the final stages of Bogart's career, near the end of his life. He is only 53 in the movie but looks a little time worn. Like many Hollywood Stars of the era (and even actors who were not well known), he smoked and drank to excess, and probably pounded steaks and got little to no exercise. It is little wonder that so many actors lived what we now consider to be short lives. Humphrey Bogart would live four more years, to the age of 57 (two years younger then I am now, and fourteen years younger than Todd Rundgren, who I wrote about last night and who seems to have discovered the fountain of youth).....
But though Bogie looks a little beat up in "Battle Circus", he's still giving it his all, and it's a pretty good though not great war movie. I think it is certain that the original "M.A.S.H." movie was directly influenced by "Battle Circus", as the latter has all the wise cracks among the doctors and the sexual tension between the doctors and nurses that would eventually become part of the style of the "M.A.S.H." tv show. The M.A.S.H units were the only places in stressful combat zones where men and women worked together. The high stress level of non-stop emergency surgery on combat soldiers was relieved during lulls by bouts of drinking and uninhibited sexual advances by the men.
Bogart's character hits on June Allyson almost from the moment she arrives and he does so in a heavy handed way, with his paws all over her, that would never pass muster in our MeToo world. But even back then in the 1950s, this is shown to be not acceptable. Allyson thwarts his advances decisively, but then - because this is a 1950s pre-MeToo movie - she ends up falling in love with him.
It's fairly believable, because Bogie's really an alright guy. He works 'round the clock near the front lines of the war to save the lives of wounded soldiers and even a little Korean boy who has been hit by shrapnel. The problem is - for me at least - that the movie spent too much time on the romance, which felt a little contrived because of stilted dialogue, and not enough time on the jobs and daily war experiences of the doctors and nurses in the M.A.S.H. unit. To be sure, director Richard Brooks never lets you forget they are in a war zone, right next to the combat. You never know when a sniper will be shooting into the medical tents or a MiG fighter will swoop in to attack. There is plenty of action in the film, which results in the unit having to pack up and leave at a moment's notice. The logistics of these instantaneous relocations are daunting because they have to move their patients as well, most of whom are recovering from grievous wounds. The depictions of all of these consequences of battle are as realistic as was possible for a movie of this era. The members of the M.A.S.H. unit are shown to be the toughest and most dedicated soldiers in the military, because they are still saving lives while under bombardment and heavy fire, and they can't even fight back because they are a medical unit, but they don't flinch.
All of this toughness is shown in the movie, as are the perils faced by the unit when they are under attack. In this respect, "Battle Circus" is an excellent war movie featuring some spectacular (and scary) stock footage of MiG fighter strafing.
I just thought that overall, less time should've been spent on the romance between Bogie and June Allyson. Now, you know me, and you know that I am a sucker for romance. It's just that this one didn't work as well as it might've if Humphrey Bogart had been younger, and if June Allyson wasn't known for being a slightly daffy comedienne. The romance between the two did not wreck the film, and in the end it played out pretty well. But director Brooks should have placed the thematic focus on the M.A.S.H unit's exploits and in this case made the romance a secondary concern.
Only pump up the romance when you've got a Serious Romance to pump up. That's all I'm sayin'.
Still, I am gonna give "Battle Circus" Two Regular Thumbs Up, because the great MiG footage and general battle tension throughout redeems the picture. There is a great scene involving June Allyson as the head nurse and her attempt to calm down a Korean prisoner that is, for me, the centerpiece of the movie. That scene is reason enough to award Two Thumbs.
So, a flawed film overall because of the undue focus on a somewhat forced Hollywood Romance, but still undeniably excellent as a war movie, with high tension scenes showing the horrendous nature of what the personnel of the M.A.S.H. units experienced.
Recommended for Humphrey Bogart completists especially. ////
I'm fighting fatigue these days, folks, and I know I didn't finish my Todd Rundgren review last night, but please go to setlist.fm and search Todd at The Wiltern on May 10 2019 to see the complete setlist for that show. If you are a Todd fan, you will see what I mean when I say that he threw in everything but the kitchen sink, and played things like "Born To Synthesize" which as I said last night, would not even seem to be reproducible in concert. Man oh man oh man oh man what a show it was. :):)
I will try to do better in the coming blogs, but man I have been super duper tired because of my job.
I have church in the morn, which means an additional lack of sleep, but I guarantee the singing will be good. See you there, much love til morning. xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo :):)
"Battle Circus" was made during the final stages of Bogart's career, near the end of his life. He is only 53 in the movie but looks a little time worn. Like many Hollywood Stars of the era (and even actors who were not well known), he smoked and drank to excess, and probably pounded steaks and got little to no exercise. It is little wonder that so many actors lived what we now consider to be short lives. Humphrey Bogart would live four more years, to the age of 57 (two years younger then I am now, and fourteen years younger than Todd Rundgren, who I wrote about last night and who seems to have discovered the fountain of youth).....
But though Bogie looks a little beat up in "Battle Circus", he's still giving it his all, and it's a pretty good though not great war movie. I think it is certain that the original "M.A.S.H." movie was directly influenced by "Battle Circus", as the latter has all the wise cracks among the doctors and the sexual tension between the doctors and nurses that would eventually become part of the style of the "M.A.S.H." tv show. The M.A.S.H units were the only places in stressful combat zones where men and women worked together. The high stress level of non-stop emergency surgery on combat soldiers was relieved during lulls by bouts of drinking and uninhibited sexual advances by the men.
Bogart's character hits on June Allyson almost from the moment she arrives and he does so in a heavy handed way, with his paws all over her, that would never pass muster in our MeToo world. But even back then in the 1950s, this is shown to be not acceptable. Allyson thwarts his advances decisively, but then - because this is a 1950s pre-MeToo movie - she ends up falling in love with him.
It's fairly believable, because Bogie's really an alright guy. He works 'round the clock near the front lines of the war to save the lives of wounded soldiers and even a little Korean boy who has been hit by shrapnel. The problem is - for me at least - that the movie spent too much time on the romance, which felt a little contrived because of stilted dialogue, and not enough time on the jobs and daily war experiences of the doctors and nurses in the M.A.S.H. unit. To be sure, director Richard Brooks never lets you forget they are in a war zone, right next to the combat. You never know when a sniper will be shooting into the medical tents or a MiG fighter will swoop in to attack. There is plenty of action in the film, which results in the unit having to pack up and leave at a moment's notice. The logistics of these instantaneous relocations are daunting because they have to move their patients as well, most of whom are recovering from grievous wounds. The depictions of all of these consequences of battle are as realistic as was possible for a movie of this era. The members of the M.A.S.H. unit are shown to be the toughest and most dedicated soldiers in the military, because they are still saving lives while under bombardment and heavy fire, and they can't even fight back because they are a medical unit, but they don't flinch.
All of this toughness is shown in the movie, as are the perils faced by the unit when they are under attack. In this respect, "Battle Circus" is an excellent war movie featuring some spectacular (and scary) stock footage of MiG fighter strafing.
I just thought that overall, less time should've been spent on the romance between Bogie and June Allyson. Now, you know me, and you know that I am a sucker for romance. It's just that this one didn't work as well as it might've if Humphrey Bogart had been younger, and if June Allyson wasn't known for being a slightly daffy comedienne. The romance between the two did not wreck the film, and in the end it played out pretty well. But director Brooks should have placed the thematic focus on the M.A.S.H unit's exploits and in this case made the romance a secondary concern.
Only pump up the romance when you've got a Serious Romance to pump up. That's all I'm sayin'.
Still, I am gonna give "Battle Circus" Two Regular Thumbs Up, because the great MiG footage and general battle tension throughout redeems the picture. There is a great scene involving June Allyson as the head nurse and her attempt to calm down a Korean prisoner that is, for me, the centerpiece of the movie. That scene is reason enough to award Two Thumbs.
So, a flawed film overall because of the undue focus on a somewhat forced Hollywood Romance, but still undeniably excellent as a war movie, with high tension scenes showing the horrendous nature of what the personnel of the M.A.S.H. units experienced.
Recommended for Humphrey Bogart completists especially. ////
I'm fighting fatigue these days, folks, and I know I didn't finish my Todd Rundgren review last night, but please go to setlist.fm and search Todd at The Wiltern on May 10 2019 to see the complete setlist for that show. If you are a Todd fan, you will see what I mean when I say that he threw in everything but the kitchen sink, and played things like "Born To Synthesize" which as I said last night, would not even seem to be reproducible in concert. Man oh man oh man oh man what a show it was. :):)
I will try to do better in the coming blogs, but man I have been super duper tired because of my job.
I have church in the morn, which means an additional lack of sleep, but I guarantee the singing will be good. See you there, much love til morning. xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo :):)
Saturday, May 11, 2019
Todd Rundgren at The Wiltern (a partial review) + King's Freakin X
Tonight I went to the Wiltern Theater again to see Todd Rundgren. If you remember, I was just there with Grimsley last Saturday to see Robin Trower. This time I went by myself. The traffic was typical for a Friday night, heavy but not at a standstill thank goodness. I was able to park for free on a nearby side street, which was also nice because parking in a lot down there varies from 10 to 20 bucks. I was inside the theater and in my seat by 7:45. Fifteen minutes later the concert began.
Todd Rundgren has recently become one of a handful of artists whom I have seen in concert over a forty year period or longer. Rick Wakeman holds the record at 44 years (first show 1974, most recent 2018) and there are others, like Sparks, Black Sabbath & Alice Cooper. Next time Van Halen plays, they will join the club. As for Todd, I first saw him with Utopia at the Santa Monica Civic Auditorium in April 1977 on the "Ra" tour, so tonight makes 42 years from first show to most recent. Judging from tonight's performance, Todd might make it to the fifty year mark, only eight years away.
What can I say except that the guy is incredible? He obviously takes good care of himself just to have the energy to tour at 71, and to play, on this tour, a two hour and twenty minute show where he is singing full throttle most of the time. Todd has been naming his tours lately, this one is called "The Individualist", after his most recent album and autobiography that came our last December. I wasn't even gonna go to this show because at first, I'd read that it was gonna be a "book & music" tour where Todd would stop to take questions from the audience. I pictured him sitting onstage on a stool, perhaps with a piano and acoustic guitar nearby. I thought he was gonna spend some of the time talking about his book and his life in a discussion with the audience, and some of the time playing acoustic versions of his songs. I had already seen him three times since 2016, always with a full band, so I figured I didn't need to see a book publicity tour, and up until a week ago I didn't have a ticket and wasn't planning to go. But then two things happened. The first was that I checked Youtube, on spur of the moment curiosity, just to see if anyone had posted footage from the current tour. Yes they had, and I saw right away that it was a real concert with a full band, not a "sit down" lecture tour, as had been publicized. Whoever wrote that original promo should be fired, because that was exactly what was indicated, a solo Todd show where he would be talking about his book. That's why I wasn't planning to go.
Boy am I glad I Youtubed......and boy am I glad I also checked setlist.com. When I looked at setlists from this tour, they featured 27 songs! Holy smokes, that's Paul McCartney territory.
The second thing that happened, almost by coincidence or more likely serendipity, was that Live Nation was having one of their annual Concert Week promotions, where all tickets to certain concerts were only 20 bucks, with no added fees. The Todd concert was almost sold out, except for a few of these twenty dollar tix. Great googly moogly folks, I scored one. (Can you even believe the luck?....)
So all of a sudden, I was gonna go to the Todd Rundgren show, where just a day earlier, I wasn't.
And it was pure magic, the longest show I've ever seen him play. The first set lasted 80 minutes and consisted of an early greatest hits retrospective, but since Todd only had a few hit singles, what I mean is that everything he played was a fan favorite. He opened with "I Think You Know" from the "Todd" album, which just happens to be the first Todd song I ever heard. I bought that album at College Records in early 1974 and the first song on the album is that one. It has a spacey hook and swirling synthesizer noises over a pop/soul melody. I became a Todd fan for life after that one initial song.
The rest of first set featured all the hits from "Something/Anything", several from "Mink Hollow" and just a ton of stuff, at least fifteen songs and maybe more. Go to setlist.com, as I did, to see for yourself. He even did "An Elpee's Worth Of Tunes" from "Todd", which would seem not reproduceable in concert, but his crack band pulled it off. The band consisted of longtime Todd sideman Jesse Gress on second guitar, Utopia member and all around MVP Kasim Sulton on bass and impeccable backup vocals, Greg Hawkes from The Cars on keys, human metronome Prairie Prince on drums and Bobby Strickland on saxophones and woodwinds. The first set all by itself would've been a full concert for most bands.
I am gonna have to finish this review tomorrow night, just because it is late and I was too effusive and not as concise as I would have liked to have been. Please forgive me as I am a full-time caregiver and I am already stretched to the limit with my daily schedule. I do love to write, however, be it movie reviews or about concerts or just my ordinary thoughts. My problem is that I need time, to edit, to finish my thoughts, etc. And I don't have as much time as I used to, so sometimes or even often a blog may seem incomplete or not well executed. In any case, I will try to finish my Todd review tomorrow night. In the meantime, here is a blog I wrote last night but didn't have time to review or edit. The same deal is therefore in order - if it sounds like gibberish, sorry about that. :)
(from May 9, 2019) Grimsley came over tonight, which means I don't have a movie to review, which means I have to think up something to talk about. Let's see if I can do it. I am working on two books at the moment. One is "King's X : The Oral History" by Greg Prato. Notwithstanding my fanboy status, I think it is one of the best rock biographies I've ever read. It covers the group's entire history going back to the early 1980s when they were a covers band called The Edge. In 1983 they changed their name to Sneak Preview and played power pop for a few years in Springfield, Missouri, where they were based at the time. You can see a video for the song "Linda" by Sneak Preview on Youtube, and even in that early incarnation their talent is obvious, even though the song sounds nothing like what King's X would become. But it's got a great hook, and Doug was a star even then, and "Linda" could've been a hit in it's own right.
As the contributors to the book testify, King's X should've been huge. They've had every ingredient for massive success : incredible songwriting on par with the greatest bands of all time, top level musicianship played from the heart and not just with technique, though they have that in spades. And singing. This is what makes them unique. All three guys sing, Doug is one of the greatest lead vocalists in the history of rock, and I say that not only as a fanboy but as a Rock 'N Roll Expert since the age of four. But Ty and Jerry also sing, and as a band they use three part harmonies to the greatest effect since The Beatles.
As I've been reading the book, I've been going back and listening to songs from each album, as they are reviewed chapter by chapter. Doug, Ty and Jerry comment on the songs, as do musician fans of the band. Even though I've listened to KX a million times over the years, because of the book and it's description of the writing and recording process of each album, I am revisiting the songs anew with all of that information in mind. And I am feeling so much power from every song that it's like hearing each one for the first time, and I have to ask myself if these guys aren't The Greatest Band of All Time.
In the 90's I considered them so. Their fifth album "Dogman" came out the day before our earthquake. It had a sound to match the seismic waves and to this day it is one of my Top Five albums of all time.
King's X are not just one of my very favorite bands (maybe even my most favorite), but they also feel like family to me, as all of my closest favorites do, from Van Halen to Sparks.
I first heard King's X when Pat brought over the album "Gretchen Goes To Nebraska" in June 1989. Many fans consider that album to be the band's masterpiece. I was blown away from the first listen.
Little did I know my life was about to change two months later. I actually did not know it had changed until October 1993, but it had, and King's X was with me during all that time of amnesia in the early 1990s. By January 1994, my memory was just beginning to come back, so when "Dogman" came out, the steamrolling sound of the music mirrored the way I felt. I thought I was gonna conquer the world with what I was remembering. King's X was my soundtrack of The Truth.
So the band has been with me for 30 years and so has The Other Thing, meaning 1989.
Both of us should've been huge - KX for their music; me for my story. Great music lasts forever, and a story can be timeless if it supplies a sense of mystery that can't quite be answered. If it casts a spell and is larger than life.
At the time, when I was writing my story in 2006, I wanted it to be huge. I wanted everyone in the world to know what happened to me, and I still do.
I was kidnapped by my next door neighbor and The President of The United States came to get me out, though he wouldn't become the President for another three years.
It's a true story (with a lot more to the context), and like the music of King's X, I've been living with it for thirty years. They have provided the soundtrack to my life for all this time, and it has meant so much to me that I haven't the words to describe, except to say that they are family.
Now, they haven't recorded a new album since 2008.
But wait! As of two weeks ago, they have been ensconced at Blacksound Studios in Pasadena, where they are indeed recording their first new album in 11 years. Doug will be 70 in September, the same month that will mark the 30th anniversary of What Happened In Northridge.
King's X may never become huge in their lifetimes, but they are already legendary, and the respect and appreciation for their music will continue to grow over the years and decades, simply because it is so magnificent. In the long run, people will continue to discover them because, like The Beatles, they have written so many songs that will become part of our musical dna.
One day the truth will be told, one day King's X will be huge.
See you in the morning with love sent all night long. xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo :):)
Todd Rundgren has recently become one of a handful of artists whom I have seen in concert over a forty year period or longer. Rick Wakeman holds the record at 44 years (first show 1974, most recent 2018) and there are others, like Sparks, Black Sabbath & Alice Cooper. Next time Van Halen plays, they will join the club. As for Todd, I first saw him with Utopia at the Santa Monica Civic Auditorium in April 1977 on the "Ra" tour, so tonight makes 42 years from first show to most recent. Judging from tonight's performance, Todd might make it to the fifty year mark, only eight years away.
What can I say except that the guy is incredible? He obviously takes good care of himself just to have the energy to tour at 71, and to play, on this tour, a two hour and twenty minute show where he is singing full throttle most of the time. Todd has been naming his tours lately, this one is called "The Individualist", after his most recent album and autobiography that came our last December. I wasn't even gonna go to this show because at first, I'd read that it was gonna be a "book & music" tour where Todd would stop to take questions from the audience. I pictured him sitting onstage on a stool, perhaps with a piano and acoustic guitar nearby. I thought he was gonna spend some of the time talking about his book and his life in a discussion with the audience, and some of the time playing acoustic versions of his songs. I had already seen him three times since 2016, always with a full band, so I figured I didn't need to see a book publicity tour, and up until a week ago I didn't have a ticket and wasn't planning to go. But then two things happened. The first was that I checked Youtube, on spur of the moment curiosity, just to see if anyone had posted footage from the current tour. Yes they had, and I saw right away that it was a real concert with a full band, not a "sit down" lecture tour, as had been publicized. Whoever wrote that original promo should be fired, because that was exactly what was indicated, a solo Todd show where he would be talking about his book. That's why I wasn't planning to go.
Boy am I glad I Youtubed......and boy am I glad I also checked setlist.com. When I looked at setlists from this tour, they featured 27 songs! Holy smokes, that's Paul McCartney territory.
The second thing that happened, almost by coincidence or more likely serendipity, was that Live Nation was having one of their annual Concert Week promotions, where all tickets to certain concerts were only 20 bucks, with no added fees. The Todd concert was almost sold out, except for a few of these twenty dollar tix. Great googly moogly folks, I scored one. (Can you even believe the luck?....)
So all of a sudden, I was gonna go to the Todd Rundgren show, where just a day earlier, I wasn't.
And it was pure magic, the longest show I've ever seen him play. The first set lasted 80 minutes and consisted of an early greatest hits retrospective, but since Todd only had a few hit singles, what I mean is that everything he played was a fan favorite. He opened with "I Think You Know" from the "Todd" album, which just happens to be the first Todd song I ever heard. I bought that album at College Records in early 1974 and the first song on the album is that one. It has a spacey hook and swirling synthesizer noises over a pop/soul melody. I became a Todd fan for life after that one initial song.
The rest of first set featured all the hits from "Something/Anything", several from "Mink Hollow" and just a ton of stuff, at least fifteen songs and maybe more. Go to setlist.com, as I did, to see for yourself. He even did "An Elpee's Worth Of Tunes" from "Todd", which would seem not reproduceable in concert, but his crack band pulled it off. The band consisted of longtime Todd sideman Jesse Gress on second guitar, Utopia member and all around MVP Kasim Sulton on bass and impeccable backup vocals, Greg Hawkes from The Cars on keys, human metronome Prairie Prince on drums and Bobby Strickland on saxophones and woodwinds. The first set all by itself would've been a full concert for most bands.
I am gonna have to finish this review tomorrow night, just because it is late and I was too effusive and not as concise as I would have liked to have been. Please forgive me as I am a full-time caregiver and I am already stretched to the limit with my daily schedule. I do love to write, however, be it movie reviews or about concerts or just my ordinary thoughts. My problem is that I need time, to edit, to finish my thoughts, etc. And I don't have as much time as I used to, so sometimes or even often a blog may seem incomplete or not well executed. In any case, I will try to finish my Todd review tomorrow night. In the meantime, here is a blog I wrote last night but didn't have time to review or edit. The same deal is therefore in order - if it sounds like gibberish, sorry about that. :)
(from May 9, 2019) Grimsley came over tonight, which means I don't have a movie to review, which means I have to think up something to talk about. Let's see if I can do it. I am working on two books at the moment. One is "King's X : The Oral History" by Greg Prato. Notwithstanding my fanboy status, I think it is one of the best rock biographies I've ever read. It covers the group's entire history going back to the early 1980s when they were a covers band called The Edge. In 1983 they changed their name to Sneak Preview and played power pop for a few years in Springfield, Missouri, where they were based at the time. You can see a video for the song "Linda" by Sneak Preview on Youtube, and even in that early incarnation their talent is obvious, even though the song sounds nothing like what King's X would become. But it's got a great hook, and Doug was a star even then, and "Linda" could've been a hit in it's own right.
As the contributors to the book testify, King's X should've been huge. They've had every ingredient for massive success : incredible songwriting on par with the greatest bands of all time, top level musicianship played from the heart and not just with technique, though they have that in spades. And singing. This is what makes them unique. All three guys sing, Doug is one of the greatest lead vocalists in the history of rock, and I say that not only as a fanboy but as a Rock 'N Roll Expert since the age of four. But Ty and Jerry also sing, and as a band they use three part harmonies to the greatest effect since The Beatles.
As I've been reading the book, I've been going back and listening to songs from each album, as they are reviewed chapter by chapter. Doug, Ty and Jerry comment on the songs, as do musician fans of the band. Even though I've listened to KX a million times over the years, because of the book and it's description of the writing and recording process of each album, I am revisiting the songs anew with all of that information in mind. And I am feeling so much power from every song that it's like hearing each one for the first time, and I have to ask myself if these guys aren't The Greatest Band of All Time.
In the 90's I considered them so. Their fifth album "Dogman" came out the day before our earthquake. It had a sound to match the seismic waves and to this day it is one of my Top Five albums of all time.
King's X are not just one of my very favorite bands (maybe even my most favorite), but they also feel like family to me, as all of my closest favorites do, from Van Halen to Sparks.
I first heard King's X when Pat brought over the album "Gretchen Goes To Nebraska" in June 1989. Many fans consider that album to be the band's masterpiece. I was blown away from the first listen.
Little did I know my life was about to change two months later. I actually did not know it had changed until October 1993, but it had, and King's X was with me during all that time of amnesia in the early 1990s. By January 1994, my memory was just beginning to come back, so when "Dogman" came out, the steamrolling sound of the music mirrored the way I felt. I thought I was gonna conquer the world with what I was remembering. King's X was my soundtrack of The Truth.
So the band has been with me for 30 years and so has The Other Thing, meaning 1989.
Both of us should've been huge - KX for their music; me for my story. Great music lasts forever, and a story can be timeless if it supplies a sense of mystery that can't quite be answered. If it casts a spell and is larger than life.
At the time, when I was writing my story in 2006, I wanted it to be huge. I wanted everyone in the world to know what happened to me, and I still do.
I was kidnapped by my next door neighbor and The President of The United States came to get me out, though he wouldn't become the President for another three years.
It's a true story (with a lot more to the context), and like the music of King's X, I've been living with it for thirty years. They have provided the soundtrack to my life for all this time, and it has meant so much to me that I haven't the words to describe, except to say that they are family.
Now, they haven't recorded a new album since 2008.
But wait! As of two weeks ago, they have been ensconced at Blacksound Studios in Pasadena, where they are indeed recording their first new album in 11 years. Doug will be 70 in September, the same month that will mark the 30th anniversary of What Happened In Northridge.
King's X may never become huge in their lifetimes, but they are already legendary, and the respect and appreciation for their music will continue to grow over the years and decades, simply because it is so magnificent. In the long run, people will continue to discover them because, like The Beatles, they have written so many songs that will become part of our musical dna.
One day the truth will be told, one day King's X will be huge.
See you in the morning with love sent all night long. xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo :):)
Thursday, May 9, 2019
"Soldier In The Rain", an unknown gem starring Steve McQueen & Jackie Gleason
Tonight I watched a movie called "Soldier In The Rain" (1963) starring Steve McQueen and Jackie Gleason. The odd pairing gives a hint that the film might be somewhat unusual, and it is. McQueen stars as a Supply Sergeant stationed at an undisclosed Army base (Ft. Ord was used as the location). He is a hick dimwitted enough to make Gomer Pyle seem like a scholar in comparison. He idolises the Master Sergeant on base - Jackie Gleason - a man of erudition who does the New York Times crossword puzzle in his spare time. Gleason is a true friend. He treats McQueen like an equal. They are the Odd Couple of the base, and are despised by two other men, an MP (Ed Nelson) and another macho Sergeant (Lew Gallo) for no other reason than they are different. McQueen is a goofy Southerner with an exaggerated accent, Gleason is fat and highly intelligent. Neither is what would be considered a standard Army Issue soldier, so the MP hates them both but picks on McQueen because he can get away with it.
The film is a comedy however, complete with a Henry Mancini jazz score that even plays over some of the dialogue. This is definitely a film of it's era, the breezy early 1960s, before that decade got heavy. Much of the film's first hour is devoted to hijinks. McQueen is always scheming on how to get rich. He wants out of the Army and has a plan to make one thousand dollars by winning a photographic contest of Pin-Up Girls. The script meanders, though, and every time you think a thread is going to be developed into a plot point, it melts into another scene instead. This is not a bad quality, in this case, because the story is not about plot but about friendship, and kindness. As I said, it is a unique movie, a story of people who don't fit in.
Sergeant McQueen may not be the sharpest knife in the drawer, but he is unfailingly happy and optimistic. He is outgoing too (and he's Steve McQueen so he's good looking) and all of this makes him popular with the girls. He tries to fix Jackie Gleason up with Tuesday Weld and at first it doesn't go so well, because Gleason is over 40 and heavy set, and Weld is 18, still in high school and even dimmer than McQueen. The three of them attend a fair and the sophisticated Gleason is not amused. He ends up calling Weld an imbecile; she responds by hurling insult after insult directed at his weight. These are brutal to listen to, and I think that only an actor like Jackie Gleason could have pulled off his responses with the philosophical equanimity that he displays here. Weld lets him have it with terrible name calling and he just absorbs it, making minor comments to calm her down. He realises that he brought this reaction out in her by calling her an imbecile and that, despite her youthful beauty and vivacious nature, she is well aware of the cultural and intellectual differences between herself and Gleason's character.
This scene at the fairgrounds, between Weld and Gleason, is a highlight of the movie and it demonstrates what good writing can accomplish in exposing the nuance of human emotion. Here you have a story that has thus far had no plot. You are wondering "what's the movie gonna be about", and then this scene sets everything that came before it into perspective. It is brilliant acting, and the next thing you know, Tuesday Weld is calling Gleason her boyfriend and he has taken her under his wing.
My description doesn't do it justice. It is really very touching, in the context of what began as a comedy.
Steve McQueen has a another friend on base, a Private played by Tony Bill. He is a Spaz who makes McQueen look like a rocket scientist, but he is also a track star and this gives McQueen another get rich quick inspiration. Bill says he can run a three minute mile and McQueen believes him. He starts planning to rent out the Rose Bowl to exhibit Bill's record shattering ability. The money they will make will enable him to retire from the Army when his stint is up. He hopes Gleason will retire with him. This is a movie about friendship after all, and about what friendship really means : people who "get" one another instinctively and who relate to one another naturally, through human chemistry.
I don't think I've ever seen a movie quite like "Soldier In The Rain". Blake Edwards co-scripted, right before he became famous with "The Pink Panther" (also with a Henry Mancini score), and for the first hour or so, you are sure you are looking at a goofy comedy that is almost played as a farce.
But there are those scenes between Gleason and Weld, and there is also the intermittent hovering presence of MP Ed Nelson, who is dying to take these misfits down.
There will be a darker turn to things at some point, but not so much as to radically change the whimsical tone. The feeling will shift from happy-go-lucky to poignant, but again, because the writing is so skillfully developed, these changes feel natural and not contrived.
I went back and read a lot of different fan reviews on IMDB, again just because "Soldier In The Rain" was so different. Almost everyone agreed that Jackie Gleason was brilliant, and I agree. He was a very good dramatic actor, and he is at his best here. Some fans, however, thought that Steve McQueen overacted his performance, and there I disagree. I think it was his caricature of the hick sergeant that set the tone for the farcical comedy that opened the movie, which was needed to contrast the pathos that follows.
Great performances all around, by Gleason, McQueen and Weld, and also Tony Bill.
I give "Soldier In The Rain" Two Huge Thumbs Up, it is a minor classic, you've never seen a movie quite like it. Highly recommended!
I hope you had a great day. I will see you in the morning and I send you love until then.
xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxooxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo :):)
The film is a comedy however, complete with a Henry Mancini jazz score that even plays over some of the dialogue. This is definitely a film of it's era, the breezy early 1960s, before that decade got heavy. Much of the film's first hour is devoted to hijinks. McQueen is always scheming on how to get rich. He wants out of the Army and has a plan to make one thousand dollars by winning a photographic contest of Pin-Up Girls. The script meanders, though, and every time you think a thread is going to be developed into a plot point, it melts into another scene instead. This is not a bad quality, in this case, because the story is not about plot but about friendship, and kindness. As I said, it is a unique movie, a story of people who don't fit in.
Sergeant McQueen may not be the sharpest knife in the drawer, but he is unfailingly happy and optimistic. He is outgoing too (and he's Steve McQueen so he's good looking) and all of this makes him popular with the girls. He tries to fix Jackie Gleason up with Tuesday Weld and at first it doesn't go so well, because Gleason is over 40 and heavy set, and Weld is 18, still in high school and even dimmer than McQueen. The three of them attend a fair and the sophisticated Gleason is not amused. He ends up calling Weld an imbecile; she responds by hurling insult after insult directed at his weight. These are brutal to listen to, and I think that only an actor like Jackie Gleason could have pulled off his responses with the philosophical equanimity that he displays here. Weld lets him have it with terrible name calling and he just absorbs it, making minor comments to calm her down. He realises that he brought this reaction out in her by calling her an imbecile and that, despite her youthful beauty and vivacious nature, she is well aware of the cultural and intellectual differences between herself and Gleason's character.
This scene at the fairgrounds, between Weld and Gleason, is a highlight of the movie and it demonstrates what good writing can accomplish in exposing the nuance of human emotion. Here you have a story that has thus far had no plot. You are wondering "what's the movie gonna be about", and then this scene sets everything that came before it into perspective. It is brilliant acting, and the next thing you know, Tuesday Weld is calling Gleason her boyfriend and he has taken her under his wing.
My description doesn't do it justice. It is really very touching, in the context of what began as a comedy.
Steve McQueen has a another friend on base, a Private played by Tony Bill. He is a Spaz who makes McQueen look like a rocket scientist, but he is also a track star and this gives McQueen another get rich quick inspiration. Bill says he can run a three minute mile and McQueen believes him. He starts planning to rent out the Rose Bowl to exhibit Bill's record shattering ability. The money they will make will enable him to retire from the Army when his stint is up. He hopes Gleason will retire with him. This is a movie about friendship after all, and about what friendship really means : people who "get" one another instinctively and who relate to one another naturally, through human chemistry.
I don't think I've ever seen a movie quite like "Soldier In The Rain". Blake Edwards co-scripted, right before he became famous with "The Pink Panther" (also with a Henry Mancini score), and for the first hour or so, you are sure you are looking at a goofy comedy that is almost played as a farce.
But there are those scenes between Gleason and Weld, and there is also the intermittent hovering presence of MP Ed Nelson, who is dying to take these misfits down.
There will be a darker turn to things at some point, but not so much as to radically change the whimsical tone. The feeling will shift from happy-go-lucky to poignant, but again, because the writing is so skillfully developed, these changes feel natural and not contrived.
I went back and read a lot of different fan reviews on IMDB, again just because "Soldier In The Rain" was so different. Almost everyone agreed that Jackie Gleason was brilliant, and I agree. He was a very good dramatic actor, and he is at his best here. Some fans, however, thought that Steve McQueen overacted his performance, and there I disagree. I think it was his caricature of the hick sergeant that set the tone for the farcical comedy that opened the movie, which was needed to contrast the pathos that follows.
Great performances all around, by Gleason, McQueen and Weld, and also Tony Bill.
I give "Soldier In The Rain" Two Huge Thumbs Up, it is a minor classic, you've never seen a movie quite like it. Highly recommended!
I hope you had a great day. I will see you in the morning and I send you love until then.
xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxooxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo :):)
Wednesday, May 8, 2019
Shirley Temple in "The Story Of Seabiscuit"
I'm back. Let's see if I can stay awake this time, haha. I've got some Fred Flintstone heavy duty toothpicks on hand, just in case. :) Tonight I concluded my Shirley Temple mini-filmfest by watching "The Story Of Seabiscuit" (1949), in which Shirley plays the niece of Barry Fitzgerald, a highly regarded horse trainer from Ireland who has come to Kentucky to scout thoroughbreds for a wealthy breeder. Fitzgerald actually was Irish, and played variations on the same type of character in dozens of movies. He was always the happy-go-lucky Irishman, wise but full of blarney all the same. He played his own personality and was good at it. As his niece, Shirley Temple must sport an Irish brogue to match him, and she mainly pulls it off (about 70% or so).
Fitzgerald scouts a smaller than usual horse with big knees and gets a feeling about him. This horse has none of the physical attributes of a champion, but he is fast. Fitzgerald sees something more in him. He speaks of himself as being "fey", a word that nowdays would equate with gay or sissified at the very least, but in the movie - and I don't think I've ever heard "fey" in dialogue before - he explains that it means he has a form of second sight. "Fey" is an Irish slang term that means a person can see fairies and imps and other fabled woodland creatures, and can talk to them and understand them.
Barry Fitzgerald is fey in the movie, and the fairies have told him to choose Seabiscuit, a runty horse any sensible trainer would pass over.
As history shows, Seabiscuit became not only a champion but one of the greatest racehorses that ever lived. He ended up being based on the West Coast, in California, and racing at Santa Anita rather than the Kentucky Derby, but he won races and set records throughout the 30s and 40s. In 1938, in a special two-horse match race, promoted for big money, he defeated War Admiral, who had won the Triple Crown the year before.
"The Story Of Seabiscuit" is what you would call a Popcorn Movie, one that serves to give the audience thrills and something to cheer about. It is filmed in Technicolor but has scenes in black and white from the original archival footage of Seabicuit's Santa Anita races.
Shirley Temple plays a similar romantic role to the one she played in last night's "Fort Apache". There, she was the daughter of Henry Fonda seeking to marry Lieutenant John Agar. Here, she is the niece of Barry Fitzgerald, who becomes interested in Seabiscuit's jockey Lon McAllister (who we saw in the first episode of "Tales Of Tomorrow"). Lon wants to marry her but Shirley won't say yes unless he agrees to quit riding. I won't tell you the reason, but the movie is not plot heavy or dramatic anyway.
It is a formula box office picture, rather lightweight, but it is successful on it's own terms. Seabiscuit is awesome, Barry Fitzgerald is charming and perceptive and Shirley Temple is playing Shirley Temple, adult version. I still give it Two Thumbs Up, just because of the excitement of the racing scenes and the well crafted formula of the rest of the film. Seabiscuit gets injured at one point, which provides the all important "will he or won't he make a comeback" plot axis of many a Hollywood sports film.
You might like it yourself if you are a fan of Shirley or just if you like old movies, though it must be said that there are better "Horse Movies" out there, like "Black Stallion" and "Warhorse". But watch it anyway, and I will continue to look for more Shirley Temple movies for your (and my) enjoyment. ///
My goodness, I made it through my review without falling asleep! You have no idea how tired a person can get.........or perhaps you do. :):)
I will see you in the morning, then, fully refreshed, with a ton of love in the meantime.
xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo :):)
Fitzgerald scouts a smaller than usual horse with big knees and gets a feeling about him. This horse has none of the physical attributes of a champion, but he is fast. Fitzgerald sees something more in him. He speaks of himself as being "fey", a word that nowdays would equate with gay or sissified at the very least, but in the movie - and I don't think I've ever heard "fey" in dialogue before - he explains that it means he has a form of second sight. "Fey" is an Irish slang term that means a person can see fairies and imps and other fabled woodland creatures, and can talk to them and understand them.
Barry Fitzgerald is fey in the movie, and the fairies have told him to choose Seabiscuit, a runty horse any sensible trainer would pass over.
As history shows, Seabiscuit became not only a champion but one of the greatest racehorses that ever lived. He ended up being based on the West Coast, in California, and racing at Santa Anita rather than the Kentucky Derby, but he won races and set records throughout the 30s and 40s. In 1938, in a special two-horse match race, promoted for big money, he defeated War Admiral, who had won the Triple Crown the year before.
"The Story Of Seabiscuit" is what you would call a Popcorn Movie, one that serves to give the audience thrills and something to cheer about. It is filmed in Technicolor but has scenes in black and white from the original archival footage of Seabicuit's Santa Anita races.
Shirley Temple plays a similar romantic role to the one she played in last night's "Fort Apache". There, she was the daughter of Henry Fonda seeking to marry Lieutenant John Agar. Here, she is the niece of Barry Fitzgerald, who becomes interested in Seabiscuit's jockey Lon McAllister (who we saw in the first episode of "Tales Of Tomorrow"). Lon wants to marry her but Shirley won't say yes unless he agrees to quit riding. I won't tell you the reason, but the movie is not plot heavy or dramatic anyway.
It is a formula box office picture, rather lightweight, but it is successful on it's own terms. Seabiscuit is awesome, Barry Fitzgerald is charming and perceptive and Shirley Temple is playing Shirley Temple, adult version. I still give it Two Thumbs Up, just because of the excitement of the racing scenes and the well crafted formula of the rest of the film. Seabiscuit gets injured at one point, which provides the all important "will he or won't he make a comeback" plot axis of many a Hollywood sports film.
You might like it yourself if you are a fan of Shirley or just if you like old movies, though it must be said that there are better "Horse Movies" out there, like "Black Stallion" and "Warhorse". But watch it anyway, and I will continue to look for more Shirley Temple movies for your (and my) enjoyment. ///
My goodness, I made it through my review without falling asleep! You have no idea how tired a person can get.........or perhaps you do. :):)
I will see you in the morning, then, fully refreshed, with a ton of love in the meantime.
xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo :):)
Tuesday, May 7, 2019
"Fort Apache" starring Henry Fonda, John Wayne and Shirley Temple
This blog was started last night but I was unable to complete it due to Dog Tiredness. I just finished it up now, however, and here it is......
(the evening of May 6, 2019) :Tonight I watched a classic Western by John Ford : "Fort Apache" (1948), starring Henry Fonda, John Wayne and Shirley Temple. I had seen it once before, years ago, maybe even back when I was living with my Mom in the early 2000s, and I remembered the basic premise; that the fort was a desolate U.S. Army outpost in Arizona Indian territory, surrounded on all sides by factions of the Apache tribe. Their leader is Cochise, the legendary Apache chief. Henry Fonda arrives at the fort to assume command. He is a Lieutenant Colonel, very arrogant and strict. Captain John Wayne was in charge prior to Fonda. He ran the fort in a more relaxed atmosphere and the men love him. He has also gone out of his way to make peace with Cochise, whose Apache warriors are expert fighters. They outnumber the American troops by a 4 to 1 margin, so Wayne thinks it sensible to negotiate with them.
Colonel Fonda has no such sensitivity to the situation. He is rigid and ruthless. Ultimately, he will use Wayne against his friend Cochise, first by okaying peace talks between the two of them, then pulling the rug out from under the proposal by setting up an Army ambush on the Apaches when Cochise and his men arrive for the summit. Fonda has no scruples or second thoughts about engaging in such a treacherous act because he considers the Indians to be savages.
It is interesting to see John Wayne in the peacemaker role. More often he plays the Hard Guy, as Fonda does here. But Wayne is quite good as the Voice Of Reason (and he was a very good actor in his limited range) and he tries to tell Colonel Fonda about Cochise's skills as a military strategist. "The Apache have never been defeated", Wayne tells him. But Fonda will not listen to any advice from a junior officer. To him, it is close to insubordination.
Fonda has arrived at the fort with his daughter Shirley Temple, who became a stunner as a young woman (and yes, I had to mention it again, lol). She becomes attracted to a sharp looking officer fresh out of West Point, played by John Agar. He falls in love with Shirley, which causes her Dad Henry Fonda to have a fit, even though young Agar is a stand up gentleman. Fonda nevertheless declares his daughter off limits to Agar, who is ready to comply, but daughter Shirley won't accept it.
In real life, she didn't either. She wound up marrying John Agar, whom she met on the set of "Fort Apache".
This is one of the truly great Westerns, on par with "Red River" or "The Searchers". It has the length - 128 minutes - to allow for character development. The soldiers and their wives, who also live at the fort, seem like real people. The women have tried to "dress up" the barren encampment to make it feel more like home. They decorate with shared items of furniture and fabrics, and they throw dances and talent shows that Colonel Fonda at first tries to squelch but has to reluctantly allow as the women won't back down and are not under his command. Neither is his daughter Shirley, who won't give up on John Agar no matter what Dad says.
This will cause a major problem later on, but all of the themes of Life At The Fort, and Fonda's attempts to instill discipline there and quash the fun, will take a back seat in the 45 minutes, when Wayne proposes the peace talks with Cochise. A main obstacle preventing peaceful coexistence on the land is the presence at the fort of a Federally sanctioned Indian Agent, which is a fancy name for a trader, a man who is on site to sell goods to Native Americans. This Indian Agent is a bad man who has gotten many of the Apache men hooked on cheap whiskey. He also sells them rifles in order to provoke war. John Wayne knows what he is up to and reads him the riot act. Wayne is trying to make peace and his friend Cochise wants this man off the land. That is his one non-negotiable demand.
But Colonel Fonda will not hear of it. He sticks up for the Agent and says that if the Indians are drunk it's their own fault, kinda like when the CIA brought crack into the inner cities in the 1980s. He would've supported that, too. :)
The peace talks will ultimately break down, as mentioned, which will lead to a fateful climax. I won't reveal any more, however it is one of the most dramatic endings in all of Western movies.
The entire Fort Apache set was built at Corriganville, which is reason enough to see the film. I walk through that part of the park every time I go there. Signs mark the site, showing which way the buildings were situated. Now that I have it all fresh in my mind, the next time I go back I will be able to picture the set even more clearly (and Shirley Temple, too). :)
Two Enormous Thumbs Up for "Fort Apache", which also brims with the Irish humor often found in John Ford's films. Beautifully shot in black and white, including other non-fort scenes that were filmed at Monument Valley, Utah, Ford's most famous location. This one gets my highest recommendation, especially if you love Westerns. ////
That's all for now. Enjoy the rest of your afternoon and I will be back with another blog late tonight. Hopefully this time I won't fall asleep while writing it, haha.
See you in a few hours. Much love til then. xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo :):)
(the evening of May 6, 2019) :Tonight I watched a classic Western by John Ford : "Fort Apache" (1948), starring Henry Fonda, John Wayne and Shirley Temple. I had seen it once before, years ago, maybe even back when I was living with my Mom in the early 2000s, and I remembered the basic premise; that the fort was a desolate U.S. Army outpost in Arizona Indian territory, surrounded on all sides by factions of the Apache tribe. Their leader is Cochise, the legendary Apache chief. Henry Fonda arrives at the fort to assume command. He is a Lieutenant Colonel, very arrogant and strict. Captain John Wayne was in charge prior to Fonda. He ran the fort in a more relaxed atmosphere and the men love him. He has also gone out of his way to make peace with Cochise, whose Apache warriors are expert fighters. They outnumber the American troops by a 4 to 1 margin, so Wayne thinks it sensible to negotiate with them.
Colonel Fonda has no such sensitivity to the situation. He is rigid and ruthless. Ultimately, he will use Wayne against his friend Cochise, first by okaying peace talks between the two of them, then pulling the rug out from under the proposal by setting up an Army ambush on the Apaches when Cochise and his men arrive for the summit. Fonda has no scruples or second thoughts about engaging in such a treacherous act because he considers the Indians to be savages.
It is interesting to see John Wayne in the peacemaker role. More often he plays the Hard Guy, as Fonda does here. But Wayne is quite good as the Voice Of Reason (and he was a very good actor in his limited range) and he tries to tell Colonel Fonda about Cochise's skills as a military strategist. "The Apache have never been defeated", Wayne tells him. But Fonda will not listen to any advice from a junior officer. To him, it is close to insubordination.
Fonda has arrived at the fort with his daughter Shirley Temple, who became a stunner as a young woman (and yes, I had to mention it again, lol). She becomes attracted to a sharp looking officer fresh out of West Point, played by John Agar. He falls in love with Shirley, which causes her Dad Henry Fonda to have a fit, even though young Agar is a stand up gentleman. Fonda nevertheless declares his daughter off limits to Agar, who is ready to comply, but daughter Shirley won't accept it.
In real life, she didn't either. She wound up marrying John Agar, whom she met on the set of "Fort Apache".
This is one of the truly great Westerns, on par with "Red River" or "The Searchers". It has the length - 128 minutes - to allow for character development. The soldiers and their wives, who also live at the fort, seem like real people. The women have tried to "dress up" the barren encampment to make it feel more like home. They decorate with shared items of furniture and fabrics, and they throw dances and talent shows that Colonel Fonda at first tries to squelch but has to reluctantly allow as the women won't back down and are not under his command. Neither is his daughter Shirley, who won't give up on John Agar no matter what Dad says.
This will cause a major problem later on, but all of the themes of Life At The Fort, and Fonda's attempts to instill discipline there and quash the fun, will take a back seat in the 45 minutes, when Wayne proposes the peace talks with Cochise. A main obstacle preventing peaceful coexistence on the land is the presence at the fort of a Federally sanctioned Indian Agent, which is a fancy name for a trader, a man who is on site to sell goods to Native Americans. This Indian Agent is a bad man who has gotten many of the Apache men hooked on cheap whiskey. He also sells them rifles in order to provoke war. John Wayne knows what he is up to and reads him the riot act. Wayne is trying to make peace and his friend Cochise wants this man off the land. That is his one non-negotiable demand.
But Colonel Fonda will not hear of it. He sticks up for the Agent and says that if the Indians are drunk it's their own fault, kinda like when the CIA brought crack into the inner cities in the 1980s. He would've supported that, too. :)
The peace talks will ultimately break down, as mentioned, which will lead to a fateful climax. I won't reveal any more, however it is one of the most dramatic endings in all of Western movies.
The entire Fort Apache set was built at Corriganville, which is reason enough to see the film. I walk through that part of the park every time I go there. Signs mark the site, showing which way the buildings were situated. Now that I have it all fresh in my mind, the next time I go back I will be able to picture the set even more clearly (and Shirley Temple, too). :)
Two Enormous Thumbs Up for "Fort Apache", which also brims with the Irish humor often found in John Ford's films. Beautifully shot in black and white, including other non-fort scenes that were filmed at Monument Valley, Utah, Ford's most famous location. This one gets my highest recommendation, especially if you love Westerns. ////
That's all for now. Enjoy the rest of your afternoon and I will be back with another blog late tonight. Hopefully this time I won't fall asleep while writing it, haha.
See you in a few hours. Much love til then. xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo :):)
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