ED WOOD (1994) – Great tribute to a cross-dressing auteur

Ed Wood is easily the best film ever made about one of the worst filmmakers ever.

Edward D. Wood, Jr. is renowned in movie cults for two astounding facts: (1) he was an enthusiastic transvestite with a fondness for angora sweaters, and (2) he was so excited about being in the Hollywood aura that he never noticed how bad his own movies were.

Wood’s primary connection to Hollywood glory is with washed-up Dracula star Bela Lugosi (a deservedly Oscar-winning performance by Martin Landau). Wood convinces himself that because he uses a former star in his movies, his films are automatically great — even though one of Lugosi’s scenes involves his struggle with a fake octopus that can’t be made to move.

Other Wood actors include The Amazing Criswell (Jeffrey Jones), a psychic of no known talent. (Criswell’s monologue, which opens the film, sounds bizarre until you discover that it was paraphrased from one of Wood’s own movies.) There’s Tor Johnson (George “The Animal” Steele), a wrestler whose bulk was used to mask his total inability to take direction. Wackiest of all is Bunny Breckinridge (Bill Murray), an outrageously fey hanger-on.

Wood’s enthusiasm for filmmaking overcomes disinterested distributors, budgets that ran from shoestring to nothing, and a vast array of non-talent. His main claim to immortality is Plan 9 from Outer Space, an astoundingly bad sci-fi movie whose making is well-chronicled here.

Tim Burton, who certainly understands misfits (Beetlejuice, Edward Scissorhands), directed this potentially campy bio-flick with only the greatest affection. The black-and-white photography perfectly mirrors Wood’s era. All of the performances are crazily heartfelt. And Depp delves into another quirkily beiievable character. (Most winning of all is Vincent D’Onofrio’s cameo as Orson Welles, who gives Wood some much-needed encouragement.)

The movie ends with Wood’s triumph of Plan 9‘s premiere and before his descent into alcoholism and poverty. The real-life Wood craved any attention he could get, and no doubt he would have been thrilled at this affectionate look at his filmmaking ineptitude.

THE GANGSTERS ALL HERE Live Tweet movie for Sat., Oct. 3: RAILROADED! (1947)

All right, you mugs! I’ve been spoiling you rotten the last couple of weeks, showing you gangster movies from big studios like Columbia and Warner Bros. with stars like Richard Widmark and Jimmy Cagney. This week we’re going back to Poverty Row studio PRC, where the closest you’ll get to a big-name star is Beaver Cleaver’s dad, Hugh Beaumont!

Railroaded! is the 1947 saga of innocent teenager Steve Ryan (Ed Kelly), who gets framed for a robbery that happened to involve the (stolen) laundry truck that Steve drives for a living. Since Steve was unfortunate enough to leave his monogrammed scarf in the truck, the cops seize upon this weak link as though it was gold-star Exhibit A just to get Steve, who has no previous record of any wrongdoing, behind bars in record time.

We find out soon enough — well sooner than clueless cop Mickey Ferguson (Beaumont), anyway — that the real culprit is Duke (John Ireland), a monotone, paranoid criminal with a fetish for using perfumed bullets. (Yes, you read that right.) Ferguson starts examining the clues and ends up getting caught in a love triangle between Steve’s sister Rosie (Sheila Ryan) and Duke.

The most surprising name in the credits is that of director Anthony Mann, who went on to better efforts such as Winchester ‘73 (1950, with James Stewart). Mann tries hard here, but he fills the screen with such ultra-noir-ish shadows, you’ll have trouble telling the heroes from the villains.

On a scale of 1 to 5 fannies, I give this one a 3. The movie’s style doesn’t completely overcome its routine substance, but you’ll have to love the way that the cops ignore 57 varieties of the Ryan family’s civil rights in order to make their case against Steve stick.

#SatMat Live Tweet movie for Sat., Oct. 3: KING KONG (1976)

The most unfortunate line of dialogue in the 1976 version of King Kong is when Jack Prescott (Jeff Bridges), as proof of Kong’s existence, points to jungle debris and says, “Who do you think made that mess – some guy in an ape suit?”

Unfortunately, that’s exactly what I think.

In between the original 1933 version of King Kong (a classic and the best version –- no arguments allowed) and Peter Jackson’s 2005 version (which put me off but obviously has its fans), there came producer Dino De Laurentiis’ version –- which, to cop a much-used phrase from Roger Ebert, knew the words but not the music.

The movie attempts to “modernize” the story with a plotline about Fred Wilson (Charles Grodin), a greedy executive of an oil company named Petrox (“Pet Rocks,” isn’t that cute?). Wilson is sailing his crew to an uncharted island that promises hoards of oil that will help Petrox lead the way during the ’70s energy crisis. Stowing away on the Petrox ship is Prescott, an “environmentalist professor” who tries to show Wilson the political incorrectness of his greedy ways.

Bridges and Grodin seem pretty game for the plot conceit. On the other hand, there’s Jessica Lange, making her unfortunate film debut as Dwan, another of the ship’s passengers. Dwan is a would-be actress who talks like a flaky flower child. From this performance, you’d never have guessed that Lange would go on to be an Academy Award winner.

Other than hippie girl Dwan, the most head-shaking aspect of the movie is King Kong himself — who is shown, alternately, as a man in a gorilla suit (special effects artist Rick Baker) and a robot (designed by Carlo Rimbaldi, who went on to better things when he designed E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial years later for Steven Spielberg).

(SPOILER ALERT!) I feel compelled to mention that the only element that might spoil the movie’s fun for you is the setting of its climax. Whereas the ending of the 1933 movie famously took place atop the Empire State Building, here Kong climbs to the top of the twin towers of New York’s World Trade Center. That was obviously intended as a novel climax at the time of the movie’s release, and just as obviously, it might have negative emotional resonance for some viewers now.

Other than that, the movie is quite the valentine to 1970’s America in all of its tacky glory. So join us for some laughs this Sat., Oct. 3, at 4:30 p.m. EST at Twitter.com. Use the hashtag #SatMat to get the link to the movie online and to comment on the movie throughout our viewing of it!

Announcement: WHAT A CHARACTER! Blogathon 2015

It’s back!

Once upon a screen...

WE’RE BACK for number 4!

WHAT A CHARACTER! a phrase borrowed from Turner Classic Movies (TCM) so that we could dedicate a blogathon to those whose names few remember – the players who rarely got leading parts, exhibiting instead a versatility and depth many leading actors wished they had.  Kellee, Paula and I never tire of seeing them or paying tribute and as the previous three installments of this event proved, neither do you.  So, here we are with the fourth annual WHAT A CHARACTER! Blogathon.

To say we’re thrilled is an understatement and we hope you’ll join us in spotlighting the Edmund Gwenns and Spring Byingtons of the world, the oft forgotten names that never appeared above the title.  If this is right up your movie alley then give us a shout out…

Kellee at Outspoken & Freckled and (@IrishJayHawk66) and Kellee Pratt

Paula at Paula’s Cinema Club

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#BNoirDetour Film for 9/27: Pickup on South Street

From the ever-fun Twitter Live Tweet and movie blog BNoirDetour:

B Noir Detour

Ok, so it’s a cold war commie spy film with a thin plot, a low budget, and an implausible love story.

But against that, I give you a thief for a main character whose non-patriotic persona pissed off J. Edgar Hoover enough to complain to producer Darryl F. Zanuck and director Samuel Fuller. They removed the “FBI” from the advertising, but stood by their product, 1953’s Pickup on South Street, high on my list of great late noir entertainment.

To tempt you further, I give you not only charismatic bad boy Richard Widmark in the lead role, but also Thelma Ritter in an Academy Award-nominated performance as sympathetic police informant and blackmailing tie saleswoman Moe.

Widmark as unlikely hero Skip McCoy: “Are you waving a flag at me?”

Moe (Thelma Ritter) tallies her earnings.

And then there’s our tough cookie from the wrong side of the tracks, Candy (Jean Peters

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THE CANNONBALL RUN (1981) – This movie’s a bust — Adrienne Barbeau’s, specifically

If you’re familiar with the late 1970’s/early ’80s movie love-fests between Hal Needham (stuntman turned director) and Burt Reynolds (stuntman turned overindulged star), you’ll recognize The Cannonball Run as the tail end of a movie “series” that began at least fairly promisingly with Smokey and the Bandit.

This one is a fairly plotless number about a cross-country, high-speed chase-cum-race. Big-bust enthusiasts will greatly appreciate Adrienne Barbeau’s mostly-unzipped outfit, and a nifty cameo by Valerie Perrine as the only cop who slows her down. (Since the movie is rated only PG, it skips the obvious next step in the Perrine-Barbeau fantasy, in which Adrienne would use more dramatic measures to worm her way out of a ticket.)

The rest of the movie plays like a car-crash version of “The Love Boat,” in which aging stars amuse themselves with supposedly hysterical cameos. (Aging Rat Packers Dean Martin and Sammy Davis Jr. scrape the bottom of the barrel as bogus priests.) Why do the bustiest stars always appear in the worst movies?

Announcing the ‘ONE’ OF MY ALL-TIME FAVORITE CARTOONS BLOGATHON!

Flush with success as I am from my recent See You in the ‘Fall’ Blogathon, I cannot resist jumping on the ‘thon wagon again. Ergo, I hereby announce the

Here’s your opportunity to sound off about one of your favorite animated films! Does a particular cartoon make you laugh, cry, think, or just plain fill you with joy? Post a blog entry about it here, and share your enthusiasm with the world!

Notice that I said it can be one of your favorite cartoons. This is not a contest in which you have to summon up superior evidence that your cartoon of choice is the greatest one ever made. Just write about the reasons why you like it.

The cartoon you choose can be of any length (short subject, feature film, television special) from movies or TV. It can be in “traditional” hand-drawn format or CGI. If you choose to write about a TV cartoon series, you can write about either the reasons why you like the entire TV series so much, or you can focus on a particular episode of the series. As long as you write an entertaining and reasoned blog in support of your choice, it will be accepted here. Also, duplicate entries are acceptable at this blogathon.

The rules are simple:

1. Please leave me a message in the “Comments” section below that includes the name and URL of your blog, and the name of the cartoon you choose to write about.
2. Below are banners to advertise the blogathon. Once you have completed Step # 1, please grab a banner, display it on your blog, and link it back to this blog.
3. The blogathon will take place from Fri., Nov. 6, through Sun., Nov. 8, 2015. Once you have posted your blogathon entry on one of those dates, please post its URL in the “Comments” section so that I can link our blog back to it.

That’s all there is to it! Have fun with your blog entry, and show everyone that the best cartoons aren’t just for kids to enjoy, but are meant for everybody!

Here is the list of entries so far:

Movie Movie Blog Blog – Popeye in The Spinach Overture (1935) and Tiny Toon Adventures (1990-1995)

Love Letters to Old Hollywood – Sleeping Beauty (1959) and 101 Dalmatians (1961)

BNoirDetour – Jessica Rabbit in Who Framed Roger Rabbit (1988)

Epileptic Moondancer – Alice in Wonderland (1951) and Rick and Morty (2013- )

Serendipitous Anachronisms – Pluto in Cold Turkey (1951)

Silver Screenings – Tex Avery’s Hollywood Steps Out (1941)

Moon in Gemini – Bugs Bunny and Gossamer in Hair-Raising Hare (1946) and Water, Water Every Hare (1952)

VocareMentor.com – Bugs Bunny in Rabbit Hood (1949)

The Movie Rat – Daffy Duck in Duck Amuck (1953)

The Wonderful World of Cinema – Disney Studios’ The Aristocats (1970)

365 Days 365 Classics – Chuck Jones’ High Note (1961)

Phyllis Loves Classic Movies – Mickey’s Gala Premiere (1933)

Mildred’s Fatburgers – Marc Antony and Pussyfoot in Chuck Jones’ Feed the Kitty (1952)

Movie Fan Fare – Porky Pig and Sylvester in Kitty Kornered (1946)

The Midnite Drive-in – Bugs Bunny in Hare-Way to the Stars (1958)

Let’s Go to the Movies – Disney Studios’ Aladdin (1992)

Silver Scenes – Disney’s The Reluctant Dragon (1941)

Dell on Movies – Tom & Jerry in Jerry’s Cousin (1951)

Final recap of the SEE YOU IN THE ‘FALL’ BLOGATHON

Happy first day of autumn! but unhappy last day of blogathon! However, we had some terrific entries devoted to favorite moments in TV and movie physical comedy, so let’s complete the list with our

Here are recaps from the previous days of the blogathon:

Day 1 recap * Day 2 recap * Day 3 recap

And here are the entries for our fourth and final day! (Click on each individual blog’s name to be linked to the blog entry.)

Reel Distracted brings us M. Hulot again trying to make sense of modern life, in Jacques Tati’s Playtime.

Wolffian Classic Movies Digest gives us Charlie Chaplin and Jackie Coogan in the classic comedy-drama The Kid.

In the Good Old Days of Classic Hollywood examines what happens when a wife (Doris Day) must deal with misbegotten news from her hypochondriac husband (Rock Hudson) in Send Me No Flowers.

What happens when a monster-smash comedy team meets up with monsters who like to smash things? Critica Retro finds out in her study of Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein.

And finally, Once Upon a Screen takes a close look at Laurel & Hardy delivering a piano (and lots of laughs) in their Oscar-winning short subject The Music Box.

My heartfelt and feverish thanks goes out to all of the bloggers who contributed their time and talents to making this blogathon such a success, and to the many readers who lapped it up — we couldn’t have done it without any and all of you!

Now that we’re finished, maybe it’s time for a drink…

Day 3 recap of the SEE YOU IN THE ‘FALL’ BLOGATHON

Well, there were only three submissions today. Happily, we can report a drop only in quantity, not in quality, as we present the

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(To read any of the Day 3 entries that you missed, just click on the appropriate blog’s name to get linked to it.)

Silver Screenings takes a look at Laurel & Hardy’s Foreign Legion misadventures in The Flying Deuces.

Silent-ology adores a good love story — even if it’s just Buster Keaton courting Roscoe Arbuckle in drag, in Good Night, Nurse!

And forgive me for stealing my own spotlight, but I just had to honor the 71st anniversary of the release of the short subject Gents Without Cents, in which The Three Stooges showed us just how slowly they turned.

And if you missed the first two days of our blogathon, here are links to our previous recaps:

Day 1 recap * Day 2 recap

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Now, then…keep us bookmarked, because we still have one day left in this blogathon tribute to physical comedy. And as for those eight blog entrants who haven’t yet submitted their entries: Don’t try to hide from us…we know where to look!

The Three Stooges in GENTS WITHOUT CENTS (1944) – Slowly they turned

This is the second of my two entries in my See You in the ‘Fall’ Blogathon, covering great moments of physical comedy in movies and TV. Click on the above banner to read terrific tributes to same from a wide variety of blogs!

Today is the 71st anniversary of the release of the Three Stooges short subject Gents Without Cents. So I cannot resist sharing my personal history with this delightfully silly film.

I was a huge Three Stooges fan when I was a kid, but as I grew older, I subconsciously decided that I needed more motivation in my comedy. Watching three guys knock each other around just for the sake of it seemed rather pointless.

But one day at the library, during one summer a few years ago, I was hard up for a movie to watch, so I checked out a DVD of Three Stooges short subjects. One of the shorts was Gents Without Cents, which was positive for me in two ways.

First, it was a short that began with the Stooges as fairly regular guys — they were performers rehearsing their act in their apartment. Second, the short featured the “Niagara Falls” routine (also known as “Slowly I Turned”), a famous knockabout comedy sketch that dates all the way back to vaudeville. (If you’re unfamiliar with it, click here for a brief history of it.)

As it happened, my then-8-year-old son watched Gents Without Cents with me. He was so enamored of the sketch, he insisted that we learn it. So that summer, any time we could get someone to sit still for us for five minutes, we performed a truncated version of “Niagara Falls” for them (minus the rowdier slapstick violence — after all, my son was only 8). It remains one of my fondest parenting memories.

My son, the Curly surrogate.

(WARNING: Major spoilers abound!)

At the start of Gents Without Cents, Moe, Larry, and Curly are rehearsing “Niagara Falls.” But just when they get to a crucial line in the act, there’s tapping on the ceiling, and a light fixture falls on Curly’s head. It turns out that this same interruption happens every time the boys reach that particular point in the act. The trio to resolve to go upstairs and fight with whoever lives on the floor above them who has been disrupting their rehearsals.

But when the Stooges get to the upstairs apartment, they find three leggy women enthusiastically rehearsing a dance number. The boys introduce themselves to the girls as Moe, Larry, and Curly, and the girls give their names as Flo, Mary, and Shirley. (Symmetry in action!) The six of them become friends and go to a talent agent named Manny Weeks (John Tyrell) to show off their talents.

Left to right: Laverne Thompson (Mary), Betty Phares (Shirley), and Lindsay Bourquin (Flo).

At first, Weeks is unimpressed with the boys, but eventually they win him over, and Weeks lets them accompany him to a local shipyard where entertainment is needed for its defense workers during a lunch hour. The Stooges perform “Niagara Falls” to an enthusiastic audience.

“Slowly I turned…”

When Weeks receives a telegram that the scheduled act cannot make it in time, the girls then perform a dance routine, and the Stooges do a comedy sketch as Army soldiers. The Stooges are such a hit that Weeks signs them up to appear in his Broadway show. Moe tries to give the girls a fond farewell, but they’re too assertive for that. The group ends up as three married couples — and don’t ask where they go to spend their honeymoon.

Here’s the movie. The entire short subject is worth watching, but if you want to skip ahead to the “Niagara Falls” routine, it begins at the 8:39 mark. (If you enjoyed this blog entry, click here to read my first blog entry, about Steve Martin as “The Great Flydini.”)