HAPPY MEMORIAL DAY!

I LOVE LUCY

     Me after the election results...

Oh, Marlon...

Shopping

     Joan was just beside herself with that mighty steak she discovered.  Tom will be so pleased...

Vintage Ads

Marilyn

     I know exactly how she feels.

Fab...

The Man Who Knew Too Much

     Alfred Hitchcock had wanted to remake his 30's thriller "The Man Who Knew Too Much" since around 1940.  And thankfully, he did remake it.  The result is the very underrated 1956 mystery that is slowly emerging as a lost Hitchcock classic.  It deserves it.

     Ben and Jo McKenna (James Stewart and Doris Day), an American couple vacationing family in Morocco, accidentally and unwittingly become part of an assassination plot.  Before they know it, their son is kidnapped, and the two are knee deep in a web of murder, intrigue, and suspense. This is classic Hitchcock here, kids.  For many reasons.  First off, it's got James Stewart in it, and we know how all the other Hitchcock/Stewart collaborations ended up.  I'm not a fan of James Stewart, but I love his Hitchcock films.  What does that say?

      Doris Day holds her own here, and delivers an often overlooked but superb performance.  The film offers some gorgeous photography, and we're even treated to Doris delivering one of her signature tunes, "Que Sera, Sera".  The film builds to a stunning climax chock full of suspense, and the usual Hitchcock humor shines throughout.  It's all around enjoyable on all levels.

     I grew up watching this on the Late Show, and I love it just as much as "Rear Window", "Vertigo", or "North By Northwest".  Hitchcock was in his prime throughout the 1950's, belting out one classic film after another.  "The Man Who Knew Too Much" is one of those films.  Virtually ignored for many years, it's now slowly but surely finding an audience.  It's a great rainy day flick, or part of a Hitchcock marathon.  Thumbs up.  Way up.

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

     Well kiddos, it's the week of Halloween.  And I'm counting down each second!  My favorite time of the year!  Halloween leads to Thanksgiving which leads to Christmas and New Year's and well, you know what all that means, right?  Parties!  Cocktails!  Madness!  Oh yes.  Halloween starts the holidays, and it's the best time of the year.  Trick or treat!

Some Like It Hot

     Movies, much like music at the time, was in a strange place in the 1950s.  Lucy was pregnant on tv, but couldn't say the word or how she got that way.  The Hollywood studio system had changed- most of the great stars of the 30s and 40s had been let go, and a barrage of cream cheese stars had replaced the legends.  Sex became very much repressed in this decade, and Debbie Reynolds, Sandra Dee, Troy Donahue, and many other innocent and wholesome faces saturated theaters.  Even the divine Doris Day was virginal and honorable.  Now sex was certainly very much alive in the 50s, and was most definitely expressed during this strange but fascinating decade.  You cannot listen to "Harlem Nocturne" and not think of sex.  And thank God for directors such as Alfred Hitchcock and Billy Wilder- directors who weren't afraid to push boundaries and test the strict moral code of the time.  It's no wonder Marilyn Monroe exploded in the mid 50s.  Which brings us to the movie.

     Here's the plot.  Two Chicago musicians, Joe and Jerry (Curtis and Lemmon), accidently witness the St. Valentine's Day Massacre.  They flee for their lives, in hot pursuit by the mob.  Desperate, the two men disguise themselves in female drag, rename themselves Josephine and Daphne, and join an all-girl traveling band on a train to sunny Florida. Which in turns only starts more complications as the two men, who are heterosexual, find themselves surrounded by beautiful women.  One of whom is sensuous Sugar Kane, played to delicious and luminous perfection by the incomparable Marilyn Monroe.  The men enjoy being around the girls, but get frustrated quickly.  Joe ends up falling for Sugar, and goes out of drag to pretend he's a mysterious millionaire in order to woo her.  Meanwhile, Daphne finds herself seduced by aging millionaire Osgood Fielding III, played by the amazing Joe E. Brown.

     The acting is truly superb.  Tony Curtis, Jack Lemmon, and Marilyn Monroe and top notch here, and lead a smashing cast.  Brilliantly directed by Billy Wilder, "Some Like It Hot" is exactly how a comedy should be done.  This is possibly Jack Lemmon's most hilarious performance- he is truly spectacular here.  He's responsible for some of the films funniest moments. Tony Curtis almost outdoes Lemmon here with his infamous Cary Grant impersonation, it's just that fantastic.  And of course Joe E. Brown manages to not only give a wonderfully funny performance, but manages to steal the show in the process.  His immortal closing line of the film is the stuff of legend- this is exactly why I love the movies.

        "Some Like It Hot" is the best comedy of all time.  No doubt about it.  And The American Film Institute agrees as they named "Some Like It Hot" the #1 comedy of all time.  It's staggering to think how this movie got past the censors.  Mind-blowing, actually.  Quite risque for its time, it's chock full of surprisingly suggestive content and smart double-entrendres.  It simply needs to be seen.  No synopsis of this classic comedy would do it any justice whatsoever.  This is a timeless comedy.  It's not dated one bit, really.  I honestly believe anybody today could see the hilarity of "Some Like It Hot" and respond to it.  It's a madcap and uproarious farce that never fails to amaze.  Everything was just done so right here.

     This is one of the greatest achievements ever put on film- I have yet to see one smart comedy anywhere near the level of intelligence and wit that "Some Like It Hot" has in spades.  It's absolutely true- they don't make movies like this anymore.  Anybody could have done the hair gel scene with Cameron Diaz.  Yet I can't imagine anybody else bringing these wonderful characters to life.  You have the one and only Marilyn, singing "I Wanna Be Loved By You" and the mind-bending, gender-busting performances of Curtis and Lemmon- what more could you ask for in a movie?  It's legendary in every aspect, and worthy of so much more admiration and respect.  If you haven't seen this movie, rush out now and rent it, buy it, whatever.  This is the funniest movie of all time.  It doesn't get any better than this.  Yes.

THE INCREDIBLE SHRINKING MAN

 

  
     Don't be fooled by the title.  This is one of the best sci-fi/horror films to come out of the 50s- rivaling 1956's "Invasion Of The Body Snatchers" as the best, in my opinion.

     Scott Carey and his wife are out enjoying their cabin cruiser one day at sea.  While his wife is momentarily below deck, the small craft passes through a mysterious mist.  Scott is left covered by a strange, glitter-like substance, which eventually disappears.  All seems fine, until a few days later when Scott is accidentally sprayed with an insecticide.  Then, he incredibly begins to realize that his entire body actually seems to be shrinking.    

      "The Incredible Shrinking Man" is an amazingly thought-out movie, and the stunning special effects (for the time) enhance the story greatly.  It also doesn't hurt the fact that it's based on such a well-written story to begin with, and the fact that the author himself adapted the screenplay.  It's not just a bunch of lines delivered with the usual b-movie schlock.  As fantastic as the special effects were for the time, the film is actually just as much a character study.  Grant Williams does a fine job with Scott Carey- it's fascinating to watch him become more and more resourceful in a desperate attempt to save his life and to deal with ordinary, everyday objects (spiders, the cat, etc.) that are now much more dangerous. On top of the repercussions his new fate has on his marriage.  Up until then, there had simply not been a film to deal with the psychology of the over-the-top and fantastic situations portrayed in the movie.  It's just a well-done flick all around.  If you want to see a perfect example of 50s sci-fi/horror, check out "The Incredible Shrinking Man" now!

The Best Of Everything

      The creamy 1959 classic "The Best Of Everything" is a high-gloss, big-screen soap opera centering on the lives and loves of four young career girls working at a New York publishing firm.  Hope Lange, Suzy Parker, Martha Hyer, and Diane Baker star with the always glamorous and delicious Joan Crawford. Joan plays Amanda Farrow, a no-holds-barred bitch who just might have a heart of gold under all that tough and direct demeanor. She's the wise and older career gal who's been around the block or two, while presiding over the younger women.

     Johnny Mathis croons the title tune, while the fabulously 50's credits in hot pink roll by- this film is a 50's lovers delight.  This is the 50's version of "Valley Of the Dolls".  Not an Oscar-winner by any means, but it's a gorgeously filmed 50's soap that never fails for one second to entertain.  You just can't beat the glossy Cinemascope films of the 1950's and 60's, and this one is no exception.  "The Best Of Everything" is chock full of gorgeous shots of a bustling downtown Manhattan, gloriously bitchy dialogue, male characters who are nothing more than sexist pigs, sensational retro costumes and set designs, and fabulous 50's style, with a sudsy soap opera to boot.

      It's a fun and campy time capsule that gives us a look at working women and the obstacles they faced in a male-dominated 1950's.   Practically an urban "Peyton Place", it's all-around delicious!