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There's Toscanini, Iturbi, and Me
I have access to TCM again, so that's mainly what's been filling up my time Not Working. My sleep is pretty bad so tonight the issue will be keeping myself sane overnight and then finding the right balance of sleep to wake up for my 4 PM shift.
I'm going through the back catalog trying to catch up (they delete a day's worth of movies at midnight) and there was a Maureen O'Brien day so I watch a few of hers. I really like her, but one WWII precocious child film after another can get a bit much
There was a western that was kind of supposed to be a comedy called Bad Bascomb about a gang leader who reforms after hiding out in a Mormon wagon caravan headed to Oregon and catching feelings for a little girl. It's sort of a brilliant premise, but the girl keeps talking to this middle-aged guy about how she wants him to wait for her to grow up? There's some blurry stuff in there about whether they are playing those as actual love scenes or not, Hollywoodcould gets confused sometimes. The very last second there's a moment where she almost made me cry but I think that's just O'Brien being a power house.
I also watched Music for Millions which I enjoyed much more even though it was RIDICULOUS. June Allyson is a member of the national orchestra and her little sister arrives unexpectedly for a visit. (She was previously with their grandmother who goes to work at a factory? No one ever talks about their parents.) At first I thought Allyson had diabetes but it turns out she's pregnant and also she hasn't had a letter from her overseas husband in a few weeks. ENSUE HIJINKS. The film is basically all about women friendship (+ Jimmy Durante) and there are some really great songs. They keep playing Claire de Lune which is honestly unfair and cheating. A lot of the films I watched had some sort of focus on classical music and I wonder if that was part of the "fighting for our liberty" sort of thing (like, we're fighting for humanity so we can keep achieving these great works of art). Anyway, to * spoil the rest of the film *, Allyson's friends intercept a telegram, except none of them want to give it to her. She is five months pregnant and at one point while they're traveling in Europe she's like "look, I haven't heard from him in months, you're hiding a telegram, just give it to me" and they're like NO so they FORGE A LETTER from her husband saying that he just got lost on an island somewhere. To protect her nerves because of the baby or something. THE MOVIE IS INSANE.
Also, this happens:
I do think it's one of Allyson's best performances, and you really feel her torment and uncertainty. She's able to be very scrappy and cute but vulnerable at the same time. I love Allyson, and this film is great to point to for why.
The film after that was Big City (the 1948 version, because apparently there are MANY versions). Margaret O'Brien is found as a baby on a stoop and raised by a reverend (Robert Preston), a cantor (Danny Thomas) and a (Irish, obvs) policeman. The first guy to marry becomes the sole legal guardian. Preston falls in love with a teacher and the policeman falls in love with the always fantastic Betty Garrett. They don't do as much with the premise as they could, which is a shame, and they go VERY hard on the nationalism and child choir aspects, so I found myself tuning out occasionally, but every scene Garrett is in is a kicker. She performs a couple of songs as a showgirl at a bar and they're funny and sexy and great. The film is very much about common humanity and the everyday life of people and how love and understanding is important. It comes to the conclusion that having a home with three dads is every bit as loving as any other home, and I thought that was pretty important for 1948. There's also a good dose of synagogues and Jewish prayer which right after the war is...yeah. Necessary.
I also rewatched half of Thousands Cheer but didn't make it through before it got taken down. I was mostly watching to see Mickey Rooney host and for Kelly to do that dance with the broom again, so win/win. It astonishes me every time I see him move. Or the idea that he's anything like Astaire.
THEN I watched It Happened in Brooklyn which I've been meaning to get to for ages, and let me tell you, it was worth the wait. There are a few things to be highly wary of (ESPECIALLY THE BROWN FACE OPERA) but the heart of it is very down to earth and really interested in what it's like to readjust to a society that seems to be moving so much faster than you are. Plus all the (non-opera) songs are Styne and Cahn which means we get the introduction of "Time After Time," "The Brooklyn Bridge," "The Song's Gotta Come From The Heart," all sung by Frank Sinatra SO WHO COULD COMPLAIN EVER. Durante is in this one too and when he and Sinatra duet Sinatra does an impression of him and oh my god I'm watching this film on repeat for the rest of my life. Most of it takes place either in a high school or a music shop (where the kids lindy in the booths) and it's about dreams deferred and it's honestly just a really nice, quiet musical about normal people having fun and there are some really nice observations about life. It was definitely a film that was like "this is what you were fighting for, so the youth of America could go on dancing and singing and maintain their innocence" but it's not very overt, just a background hum of what the culture was like. The only thing I couldn't stand was the romantic triangle (GIVE SINATRA A BREAK) and the fact that Peter Lawford is such a nonperson and yet somehow ended up with the girl. And also the nameless nurse at the beginning is somehow the love of a guy's life. BUT Sinatra singing opera. (It's weird. He's definitely supposed to be a crooner.)
And then finally I was out of the 40s and watched the first half of I Love You, Alice B. Toklas last night and am finishing it up tonight. I paused fifteen minutes from the end to write the post >_< It's probably not as potent (heh) as it was when it was released (my dad said he saw it in college and it was hysterical) but always gotta love Peter Sellers and it's kind of a send-up of everything, which I can respect. I'd suggest eating the brownies when they do in the movie, but the film would be over before they kick in so like, just watch the whole thing high I guess. That's what I'd like to do.
James Frawley passed away today. He directed some of my favorite Monkees episodes (as well as the majority of them) and then The Muppet Movie. His incredible humor and personable style will be sorely missed. I feel like he really had a unique sensibility and was so good about sharing it with the world. Save the Texas Prairie Chicken.
I'm going through the back catalog trying to catch up (they delete a day's worth of movies at midnight) and there was a Maureen O'Brien day so I watch a few of hers. I really like her, but one WWII precocious child film after another can get a bit much
There was a western that was kind of supposed to be a comedy called Bad Bascomb about a gang leader who reforms after hiding out in a Mormon wagon caravan headed to Oregon and catching feelings for a little girl. It's sort of a brilliant premise, but the girl keeps talking to this middle-aged guy about how she wants him to wait for her to grow up? There's some blurry stuff in there about whether they are playing those as actual love scenes or not, Hollywood
I also watched Music for Millions which I enjoyed much more even though it was RIDICULOUS. June Allyson is a member of the national orchestra and her little sister arrives unexpectedly for a visit. (She was previously with their grandmother who goes to work at a factory? No one ever talks about their parents.) At first I thought Allyson had diabetes but it turns out she's pregnant and also she hasn't had a letter from her overseas husband in a few weeks. ENSUE HIJINKS. The film is basically all about women friendship (+ Jimmy Durante) and there are some really great songs. They keep playing Claire de Lune which is honestly unfair and cheating. A lot of the films I watched had some sort of focus on classical music and I wonder if that was part of the "fighting for our liberty" sort of thing (like, we're fighting for humanity so we can keep achieving these great works of art). Anyway, to * spoil the rest of the film *, Allyson's friends intercept a telegram, except none of them want to give it to her. She is five months pregnant and at one point while they're traveling in Europe she's like "look, I haven't heard from him in months, you're hiding a telegram, just give it to me" and they're like NO so they FORGE A LETTER from her husband saying that he just got lost on an island somewhere. To protect her nerves because of the baby or something. THE MOVIE IS INSANE.
Also, this happens:
I do think it's one of Allyson's best performances, and you really feel her torment and uncertainty. She's able to be very scrappy and cute but vulnerable at the same time. I love Allyson, and this film is great to point to for why.
The film after that was Big City (the 1948 version, because apparently there are MANY versions). Margaret O'Brien is found as a baby on a stoop and raised by a reverend (Robert Preston), a cantor (Danny Thomas) and a (Irish, obvs) policeman. The first guy to marry becomes the sole legal guardian. Preston falls in love with a teacher and the policeman falls in love with the always fantastic Betty Garrett. They don't do as much with the premise as they could, which is a shame, and they go VERY hard on the nationalism and child choir aspects, so I found myself tuning out occasionally, but every scene Garrett is in is a kicker. She performs a couple of songs as a showgirl at a bar and they're funny and sexy and great. The film is very much about common humanity and the everyday life of people and how love and understanding is important. It comes to the conclusion that having a home with three dads is every bit as loving as any other home, and I thought that was pretty important for 1948. There's also a good dose of synagogues and Jewish prayer which right after the war is...yeah. Necessary.
I also rewatched half of Thousands Cheer but didn't make it through before it got taken down. I was mostly watching to see Mickey Rooney host and for Kelly to do that dance with the broom again, so win/win. It astonishes me every time I see him move. Or the idea that he's anything like Astaire.
THEN I watched It Happened in Brooklyn which I've been meaning to get to for ages, and let me tell you, it was worth the wait. There are a few things to be highly wary of (ESPECIALLY THE BROWN FACE OPERA) but the heart of it is very down to earth and really interested in what it's like to readjust to a society that seems to be moving so much faster than you are. Plus all the (non-opera) songs are Styne and Cahn which means we get the introduction of "Time After Time," "The Brooklyn Bridge," "The Song's Gotta Come From The Heart," all sung by Frank Sinatra SO WHO COULD COMPLAIN EVER. Durante is in this one too and when he and Sinatra duet Sinatra does an impression of him and oh my god I'm watching this film on repeat for the rest of my life. Most of it takes place either in a high school or a music shop (where the kids lindy in the booths) and it's about dreams deferred and it's honestly just a really nice, quiet musical about normal people having fun and there are some really nice observations about life. It was definitely a film that was like "this is what you were fighting for, so the youth of America could go on dancing and singing and maintain their innocence" but it's not very overt, just a background hum of what the culture was like. The only thing I couldn't stand was the romantic triangle (GIVE SINATRA A BREAK) and the fact that Peter Lawford is such a nonperson and yet somehow ended up with the girl. And also the nameless nurse at the beginning is somehow the love of a guy's life. BUT Sinatra singing opera. (It's weird. He's definitely supposed to be a crooner.)
And then finally I was out of the 40s and watched the first half of I Love You, Alice B. Toklas last night and am finishing it up tonight. I paused fifteen minutes from the end to write the post >_< It's probably not as potent (heh) as it was when it was released (my dad said he saw it in college and it was hysterical) but always gotta love Peter Sellers and it's kind of a send-up of everything, which I can respect. I'd suggest eating the brownies when they do in the movie, but the film would be over before they kick in so like, just watch the whole thing high I guess. That's what I'd like to do.
James Frawley passed away today. He directed some of my favorite Monkees episodes (as well as the majority of them) and then The Muppet Movie. His incredible humor and personable style will be sorely missed. I feel like he really had a unique sensibility and was so good about sharing it with the world. Save the Texas Prairie Chicken.