Must-See Movie: I Married a Witch

I Married a Witch (1942) 
This fantasy romantic comedy is the perfect find for some classic Halloween fun!  The film opens in 1672, where two witches were burned by puritan Jonathan Wooley. We are told that before her burning, the female witch cursed all future generations of the Wooley family; she deemed that all the sons will marry the wrong woman and be miserable. A tree grows over the place where they were hanged, trapping the witches' souls.

Fast-forward to the 20th century, and a bolt of lightning frees the witches, Jennifer and her father, from the tree. Jennifer assumes corporeal form (Veronica Lake) and decides to track down campaigning politician Wallace Wooley (Fredric March). True to the curse, Wooley is unhappily engaged to a shrewish woman and is miserable.  Jennifer concocts a scheme to make Wooley fall in love with her, thereby ruining his wedding and making his life even more disastrous. Wooley is not easily swayed by her charms, so Jennifer has to resort to a love potion. Unfortunately the potion backfires, and comedy ensues.

The TV show "Bewitched" was influenced by this film and later "Bell Book and Candle."  This film also solidified the iconic Veronica Lake hairstyle, platinum blonde and long, with her right eye covered. Many women copied the style during this time, which caused problems since they were working in war plants and their hair kept getting caught in the machinery. Lake was asked to change her style until after the war. When she did, she lost her iconic look and her popularity soon faded along with her career.

Monday's This & That

Whilst I deal with Monday's "dog-eat-dog" feeling, how's abouts we see what's floating around the interwebs?

Let's start with this article of some "secrets" of Lucy and Ricky...you have to click a billion times to get them all, but hey - you had nothing better to do, right?

Here are 25 cocktail recipes that apparently everyone should know.  Study them all for the test on Friday (when you can drink yourself in to oblivion over the weekend).

So you like to read about grisly deaths on set, do you?  Well then this article is for you...some you may have heard of, others not so much.  Unfortunately, most deaths are from dear stuntmen just doing their job.

And lastly, here's a list of 10 Audrey Hepburn Quotes with fabulous photos of her to peruse. #3's about makeup is particularly inspirational.

Enjoy!

Cocktail Recipe Du Jour: The B&B (and B)

If you've ever watched the Mel Brooks classic "High Anxiety" (like I have) and were captured by the 70's portrayal of the piano bar and cocktail scene (like I was), you'll appreciate this.  

In the 1977 film that pays homage to Hitchcock classics, psychiatrist Dr. Thorndyke (Brooks) suffers from "high anxiety" (a.k.a. vertigo).  One of his patients is a mystery that he is trying to unravel.  The patient's daughter Victoria is trying to assist him in his findings, so of course they meet at a piano bar to discuss matters.  Cut to the piano bar where we find Thorndyke and Victoria sitting by the piano, and a waiter is bringing them drinks.  "Here you have a B&B," he says, handing the drink to Thorndyke, "and you had the B and B and B," he finishes, handing Victoria her drink.

So what is a B&B, you ask?  Glad you asked.

Must-See Movie: High Society

High Society (1956)
With a stellar cast and some catchy tunes, this is a no-brainer to see...but there are still some cons that go with the pros of how "must-see" this movie is.

Here's the story:  Jazz musician C.K. Dexter Haven (Bing Crosby) still holds a torch for his ex-wife, Rhode Island socialite Tracy Samantha Lord (Grace Kelly). He stays at a neighbor's house, bringing his full jazz band (including Louis Armstrong) to disrupt Tracy's upcoming nuptials to to a boring but wealthy man (John Lund).  But that's not the only conflict.  Reporter Mike Connor (Frank Sinatra) and photographer Liz Imbrie (Celeste Holm) from Spy Magazine, a fictional tabloid newspaper, are there to cover the wedding.  They are essentially blackmailing their way in, holding on to some embarrassing information about Tracy's father.  So to prevent the tabloid from getting the true story, Tracy begins an elaborate charade, pretending to be overly snobbish and frivolous, as well as introducing the tabloid to the wrong people.  To make matters even more confusing, Mike falls in love with Tracy, and she wakes up on the day of her wedding confused and unsure of what to do.

Whoa!

A little bit of trivia for you on this hump day...
While filming The Private Lives of Elizabeth and Essex (1939), the tension between Bette Davis and Errol Flynn was thick. Davis wanted Laurence Olivier to play Flynn's part, and so detested him the entire shoot.

During the film when Elizabeth (played by Davis) slaps Essex (Flynn) in front of the entire court, Davis intentionally smacked Flynn right across the face. The anger on Flynn's face is quite genuine, as is his visible imposition of self-control to avoid hitting Davis back.

Must-See Movie: Boys' Night Out

Boys' Night Out (1962)
As far as classics go, this movie is not at the top of the list, but it does have James Garner in it. Garner is adorable as Fred Williams, a single guy who lives with his mother, and pools his money together with three of his other friends (all married) to share an apartment in the city. What's the point?  Not only can they each have their evening at the apartment away from their wives, but the lovely Kathy (Kim Novak) is staying in the apartment to be at the mens' beck and call. Now that's the ugh stupid part of the plot.  But what redeems the film is a few factors.  First of all, there's James Garner in the film.  'Nuff said there.

Hi, Lover...

Fun Fact o' the Day

Joan Crawford's 1933 contract with MGM was so detailed (and strict!) that it even had a clause in it stipulating what time she was expected to be in bed each night. [source]

Must-See Movie: Mister Roberts

Mister Roberts (1955)
Talk about one of the finest war films in cinematic history. Starring Henry Fonda, Jack Lemmon, and James Cagney, this award-winning comedy-drama is the quintessential guy movie. It's got war, it's got honor, it's got men being men. But mostly it has a lot of heart.

Mr. Roberts (Henry Fonda) is the cargo supervisor on the USS Reluctant (a.k.a. "The Bucket"), an American cargo ship lying stagnant in the Pacific Ocean during World War II. Roberts desperately wants to leave the tedium of his post to join in the action of war. Weekly he writes for a transfer, but the captain of the ship (James Cagney) is a tyrant over the crew, especially Roberts, and chooses to forward all of his letters with his stamp of disapproval. The Captain's only real pride is a palm tree that was given to him as reward for "his" hard work and effort in delivering cargo. The men all look up to Roberts and how he stands up to the Captain, but things change when Roberts somehow finagles a "liberty" for the men in a beautiful South Pacific port.

Also on board is Robert's cabin-mate Ensign Pulver (Jack Lemmon), who does all he can to avoid confrontation with the captain and instead bides his time buying and selling for hard-to-get items on the ship. He also spends time telling people how one day he's going to get even with the Captain's tyranny, whether it be putting marbles in his overhead or launching a firecracker under his bunk.

Also complimenting Ford and Lemmon's performances is William Powell, who plays Doc. He acts as Mr. Robert's sounding board, and also his voice of reason. This was Powell's last film before he retired from acting. The powerful accomplishments of the male cast make this film a great way to celebrate our war heroes, and masculinity!

This post is dedicated to my Dad, whose recent passing has put my blogging at a stand-still for a while. But this was his favorite movie, and would always bring a tear to his eye (and my eye, as well). I love you Dad, and I miss you. "Now what's all this crud about no movie tonight??"

Attack of the Remakes!

If you're getting that feeling of deja vu, it's because there's more of Hollywood's lack of originality on the way. Besides the ones we've previously mentioned, expect these additional regurgitations coming soon to theaters near you:

The Day the Earth Stood Still, an update to the 1951 classic, this time starring Keanu Reeves.

1984, updated from the 1965 version, which doesn't even make sense. It's supposed to be about the future, yet it's titled 1984 and its expected release is 2009??

Barbarella, this time starring Rose McGowen as the title character.

Land of the Lost, a remake of the popular 1974 TV series.

Star Trek, directed by J.J. Abrams.

The legendary cult fave The Rocky Horror Picture Show is in the works, much to the chagrin of Susan Sarandon.

The Birds starring Naomi Watts.

The Wolf Man, a remake of the 1941 classic.

Friday the 13th, called a 'reboot', not a remake -- but the lack of originality is still there.

The A-Team, in production since the mid-1990's, is finally set to be released in 2009.

Robocop, which is being kept hush-hush as to whether it will be a "re-imagining," a sequel, or a remake.

There's also talks about remakes of "Dune" and "Nightmare on Elm Street." And don't forget all the sequels!

Jurassic Park IV
Lethal Weapon 5
Pink Panther 2 (which is a shameful sequel to a remake of the original Peter Sellers comedy)
Night at the Museum 2
Fast and the Furious
Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen
Toy Story 3
Alvin and the Chipmunks 2
Iron Man 2
Shrek Goes Fourth
Beverly Hills Cop IV
Cars 2
...and more Spiderman movies...
The list goes on and on as the years go by...Anyone heard of any others??

Must-See Movie: Teacher's Pet

Teacher's Pet (1958)
I got the chance to watch this movie over the weekend (as Dyno watched football). It's yet another Doris Day comedy where a man pretends to be someone else after he finds out she hates him, although she's never met him.

James Gannon (played by Clark Gable), the gruff city editor of a newspaper, believes that the only way to learn the business is by doing, and so thinks college education is superfluous. Thus he's not pleased when he's invited to lecture at a college journalism class. He turns down the invitation and writes a nasty letter to the instructor. Yet his editor-in-chief orders him to go. When Gannon shows up to confront Professor Erica Stone (played by Doris Day), he finds her attractive. Before he is able to introduce himself and apologize for the letter, Erica reads it aloud and mocks Gannon before the entire class.

Humiliated, he decides to join the class to show her up, posing as a wallpaper salesman named Jim Gallagher. As they circle around their mutual attraction, they both begin to gain respect for each other's approaches to reporting news.

I found myself laughing out loud many times during the movie. Especially whenever the character of Dr. Pine was on-screen. Played by Gig Young, the character is the successful doctor that Gannon sees as his competition for Erica's affections. Young has played these types of characters before (especially in Doris Day movies), and he's always hilarious. His role in this film, however is different in that we don't know what kind of relationship he has with Erica.

Gable is great in this comedic role (much like his gruff It Happened One Night character), and his reactions are priceless. The only thing distracting is the obvious age difference between Gable and Day. Apparently the movie was deliberately filmed in black & white in an attempt to disguise Clark Gable's age and weight. And other actors turned down the role, seeing that there was such a huge age difference (Cary Grant and James Stewart, allegedly -- although it didn't seem to bother Grant in That Touch of Mink). But all in all it was a fun movie to watch and laugh along with.

Must-See Movie: Paris - When it Sizzles

Paris - When it Sizzles (1964)
Playboy screenwriter Richard Benson (played by William Holden) has been paid to write a screenplay for his boss. In his arrogance he's squandered his time in Paris drinking, tanning, and doing just about anything but writing a screenplay. Two days before the script is due he hires Gabrielle Simpson (the adorable Audrey Hepburn) to type the script. Richard and Gabrielle come up with various off-the-wall scenarios for his screenplay, called The Girl Who Stole the Eiffel Tower. As the screenplay they write slowly develops, romance blooms between them.

This movie was filmed a decade after Hepburn and Holden's affair (during the filming of Sabrina) and apparently Holden wanted to pick things up where they left off. However, there is still visible chemistry between them.

The movie was later remade as Alex & Emma, starring Luke Wilson and Kate Hudson.

Here's the TCM trailer:

The Real "Great Escape"

The movie "The Great Escape" that featured James Garner and Steve McQueen was based on the real escape of 76 men from the Nazi POW camp Stalag Luft III.

Nova has explored the legendary escape on a special microsite that features the articles:

Inside Tunnel "Harry"
A Prisoner's Sketchbook
The Three That Got Away (although 76 made it out of the camp, only 3 made it to freedom)
and History's Great Escapes

Enjoy, "Great Escape" fans!

Remake of "The Women" Premieres this Year

Never one to think of an unusual idea, Hollywood has decided to remake the 1939 George Cukor classic "The Women." The original starred the complete roster of MGM queens: Norma Shearer, Joan Crawford, Rosalind Russell... Well this movie is trying to one-up the past with it's own star power. But will it be as good (or better) than the original? Doubt it.

Here are how the stars compare -- here's a list with the new star, then who previously played the same role, then the character's name:

Eva Mendes/Joan Crawford - Crystal Allen
Meg Ryan/Norma Shearer - Mary Haines
Jada Pinkett Smith/Paulette Goddard - Miriam Aarons
Carrie Fisher/Florence Nash - Nancy Blake
Debra Messing/Phyllis Povah - Edith Potter
Annette Bening/Rosalind Russell - Sylvia Fowler
Bette Midler/Mary Boland - Flora DeLave

Other actresses pitching in to the remake are Cloris Leachman and Candice Bergen.
Now, these actresses are good, but they're nothing like the original. Guess we'll have to see...

Mee-Yow Friday

Gary Cooper was first up for the role of Rhett Butler in Gone With the Wind, but he turned it down, saying "'Gone With The Wind' is going to be the biggest flop in Hollywood history," and "I'm just glad it'll be Clark Gable who's falling on his face and not Gary Cooper."

Dreams Almost Squashed

Clark Gable
Failed his first screen test at Warner Brothers because Darryl F. Zanuck thought his ears were too large.

Clint Eastwood
In his early days he was told his speech was too soft, he was too tall, he squinted too much, and his teeth needed capping. "That's all still true today," he says, "but the attitude is a little different now."

Cary Grant
A casting director once informed him that he was bowlegged and that his neck was too thick.

Fred Astaire
The report on an early audition read, "Can't sing, can't act. Dances a little."

[source]

15 Ways to Become Famous

No talent is necessary if you use these actors as your example.

1. Nick Nolte: chew the scenery
2. Harrison Ford: look clumsy
3. Priscilla Presley: marry an icon
4. Kenneth Branagh: shout a lot in iambic pentameter
5. Clint Eastwood: whisper
6. Elizabeth Hurley: wear revealing dresses
7. Hugh Grant: curb crawl
8. Nicolas Cage: ring Uncle Francis
9. Kim Basinger: pout
10. Alec Baldwin: marry Kim Basinger
11. Barbra Streisand: warble
12. Sharon Stone: flash
13. Goldie Hawn: giggle
14. Roger Moore: act with your eyebrows
15. James Dean: die

[by Aubrey Dillon Malone]

Mee-Yow Thursday

Rod Steiger vs. Marlon Brando
As part of his contract in On the Waterfront (1954), Brando only worked till 4:00 every day and then he would leave to go see his analyst. His mother had just died and he was having trouble dealing with it.
During the famous "Brother Charlie" in the back of the cab, Brando left the set early, leaving Steiger to deliver his lines to an empty wall. Steiger carried a grudge about this until 1997, when the two finally made peace.

Classic Movie Kissy-Kissy Trivia

The movie with the most kisses in it is Warner Brothers' Don Juan from 1926, starring John Barrymore. In the course of the 167-minute film, he bestows a total of 191 kisses on a number of beautiful senoritas -- an average of one every 53 seconds.

Mee-Yow Thursday

Some of the things that happened behind the scenes of White Christmas (1954) were not so jolly.
For example, all of Vera-Ellen's costumes, down to her robe and sleepwear, had to be designed to cover high up her neck, as her anorexia aged the skin beyond its years. (Vera-Ellen is the woman on the right.)

Mee-Yow Thursday

During filming of Gentlemen Prefer Blondes Marilyn Monroe kept insisting on retakes despite the director, Howard Hawks' approval of each take.

When the production company asked Hawks how work could be sped up, he retorted: "Three wonderful ideas: replace Marilyn, rewrite the script to make it shorter, and get a new director."