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rossco-3
Writer: on film and film music for Music from the Movies, many other film journals and publications. See my tribute to composer Elmer Bernstein in the current Film Score Monthly, film music journal out of Los Angeles.
Reviews
The Boy Friend (1971)
From Bad to Brilliant!
Interesting how the user reviews have shifted from the first entries which mostly HATE this film through to the current ones which mostly seem to LOVE it. That's some kind of cultural progress and sophistication at least.... Personally it's one of my favorite Russell films and I especially love the brilliant orchestrations by Peter Maxwell Davies. BOYFRIEND will reportedly be screened in Sept. by the American Cinematheque in Los Angeles. Russell has been in LA over the past month and I recently saw him at a screening of WOMEN IN LOVE and THE MUSIC LOVERS at the Aero in Santa Monica. Richard Chamberlain was also at the MUSIC LOVERS screening. So can't wait to see THE BOYFRIEND on the big WIDE screen again at last. I seem to remember that at the original first-run screening in NYC the fantasy sequences were all in stereo. Hope they manage to get that print at the Cinematheque.
Ben & Arthur (2002)
RE: Plan 9 from WeHo
Not since Ed Wood, Jr.......
I wanted this comment to be a terse one-liner (above) but IMDb says I must have a minimum of 10 lines of text.
But what can you say about this film that has not already been said?
If there's an (overtly) gay Plan 9 from Outer Space, this is it.
You could also mention the palm trees in the Vermont wedding scene.
The several scenes where the camera just keeps rolling even when everyone has left the frame.
The incredible garishly lit "set" for the priest's office and the ensuing expressionistic camera angles.
The cameos of the cats in villain's apartment.
The director/star's audacious nude scene, but maybe that's best forgotten.... (Not since Divine.....)
The hysterical staging of the final "shock" ending.
In about 50 years this may off the "Bottom 100" (!) and right up there with Glenn or Glenda....
I could go on, but I think I've covered my 10 lines. (And I didn't even SHOUT).
Duchess of Idaho (1950)
From the 1940s into the '50s
DUCHESS OF IDAHO (1950) is one of those lesser-known MGM/Joe Pasternak musicals that bridge the marathon musical spectaculars of the 1940s (BATHING BEAUTY, TWO GIRLS AND A SAILOR) and the more streamlined editions of the 1950s (EASY TO LOVE, Texas CARNIVAL, etc). But as with many of the '40s films DUCHESS is still more concerned with wit, music, and pure style than any kind of cohesive plot line. Musically we're still in the '40s big band mode here, and the songs, by some of MGM's lesser-hyped tunesmiths, are catchy, serviceable, and very 40-ish. (JAILHOUSE ROCK and Presley were still seven years in the future). A highlight is "Let's Choo Choo Choo to Idaho," arranged by Skip Martin, and performed on a train on route to Sun Valley by vivacious band singer Connie Haines, Van Johnson, and an African American quartet called the Jubalaires.
Lena Horne is also on hand with a few numbers, as is Eleanor Powell for one of her last big solo dances on film, and comedian Red Skelton also puts in a guest appearance. A none-singing Mel Torme briefly appears (as a bellhop), and ditto "Gunsmoke's" titian-haired Amanda Blake as one of Lund's rejected girlfriends). In the second female lead Paula Raymond is one of those obscure but promising MGM personalities who, however, never quite made a break through. In DUCHESS she shows glimmers of charm but is seriously handicapped by some of the clunkiest outfits in the usually impeccable MGM wardrobe.
The look of DUCHESS anticipates the peak Technicolor styling of such early 50s MGMs as LOVELY TO LOOK AT, YOUNG BESS, and SCARAMOUCHE. Many of the interiors are keyed to soft beiges and earth tones against which Esther's always-modish outfits (one of which includes slipper socks!) stand out in jolts of brilliance. And of course it wouldn't be an Esther Williams picture without a few aqua numbers though those featured here are some of her most restrained. (A nocturnal ski run with multi-colored torches also provides a trippy visual/musical interlude mid-film).
Someone once said about Esther that "Wet she's a star, but dry she ain't," but on the whole DUCHESS showcases the star's under-rated acting skills and her often-ironic sense of humor. ("You'll see Esther Williams swim and ski and skate and do a dozen thrilling things!" the movie book ads proclaimed). While as noted the plot is not the strongest, the dialogue (by three credited screenwriters) is witty, often sophisticated, and well-delivered by all involved, including deadpan MGM character staple, Clinton Sundberg, who mutters an on-going chorus of grumbling asides as Lund's much put-upon man Friday. DUCHESS OF IDAHO is the cover story for the August, 1950 issue of "Screen Stories" which also includes a full-page ad for the film in the prime MGM spot right next to the contents, indicating that the studio considered this one of their key box-office attractions for the summer.
Lovely to Look At (1952)
Lovely to Look At and Listen To
While I have to agree with many of the points made in the preceding reviews (and I'm surprised there are so many) no one has pointed out one of the main attractions of LOVELY TO LOOK AT; it is simply one of the most beautiful Technicolor films ever made.
Once upon a pre-home-video time this was one of the legendary vanished films of my youth. So (some years ago) I jumped at the chance to see a rare revival of it at the late, much lamented Regency in New York when it was screened as part of a Jerome Kern film retrospective.
The Regency must have unearthed an original Technicolor print because the film was even more stunning visually than I remembered. The deep blues in the Champions' "Smoke Gets in Your Eyes" number, the infernal reds in their "Yesterdays" sequence in the fashion show, the misty pastels in Keel and Grayson's dawn ride in the Bois de Bologna, the gilded primitif look of Miller's "Hard To Handle" nightclub act
..
These are among the most stunning Technicolor sequences ever shot.
MGM Technicolor seemed to peak in the late 40s and early 50s (prior, I might add to the industry-wide conversion to inferior but cheaper Eastman color). MGM films such as HOLIDAY IN Mexico (1946) and THE PIRATE (1948) through LOVELY and SCARAMOUCHE (both 1952) brought the art of color cinematography to a peak it was never to equal again.
Musically LOVELY is stunning too, with it vintage Jerome Kern score, beautifully arranged (mostly) by Leo Arnaud. The modernistic, sometimes jazz-tinged orchestrations are brilliant, especially in the fashion show instrumentals. (Listen again to the "Yesterdays" arrangement here, if the smoldering reds behind the Champions do not blow you away).
And Kathryn Grayson's rendition of the classic "Smoke Gets in Your Eyes" is one of the highlights of her career.
Rhino recently released the full soundtrack in stereo, a CD worth pursuing for those with an interest in vintage musicals and arrangements.
Both musically and visually LOVELY TO LOOK AT defines'50s Populuxe. It will take a super DVD release to reveal both the visual and aural riches of this flawed under-rated classic.
Grayson and Keel allegedly both loathed this film, but everyone in it is also at their peak of '50s attractiveness. The plot is secondary, and there are emphatic lapses such as Red Skelton's routine about mid-film when director Mervyn Leroy, in a rather shocking sequence for MGM, apparently just let the camera roll because Skelton was on one.
The Tuesday matinée series at the Los Angeles Museum of Art has LOVELY TO LOOK AT scheduled for screening in Dec. By fortuitous coincidence one of the most gorgeous Technicolor musicals is followed (the next week) by one of the most beautiful BxW musicals ever made, Lubitch's 193 THE MERRY WIDOW.
I only hope LACMA gets a print comparable to the one I saw at the Regency in New York so many moons ago! (Did anyone mention Vincente Minnelli guest-directed the fashion show finale?)
Earth Girls Are Easy (1988)
A Trip
What more can one say? The movie is a screamingly funny trip (and one of the most beautifully color-styled films of the increasingly drab, post-studio era).
I might add I recently saw Angelyne in the local 99-Cent Store (nothing over 99-cents EVER!) and had to tell her how much I love her in this film. She seemed pleased and actually very sweet. (I was also thrilled to observe she had a Tinkerbell back-pack in her signature pink Courvette!)
While most people probably associate Griffith Observatory with REBEL WITHOUT A CAUSE, I always think of EARTH GIRLS when I'm up there. (Griffith doubles as the Deco night club where Jeff Goldblum does his Jerry Lewis imitation).
I'm a fan of the equally stylish ABSOLUTE BEGINNERS as well.
Sons and Lovers (1960)
Ranks with WOMEN IN LOVE
I probably saw this film when I was in college and it made a big impression.
It then seemed to vanish, at least for me, until, amazingly, the American Cinematheque in Los Angeles screened it on a Monday night some months ago. I was extremely impressed with it again, especially the BxW CinemaScope cinematography (and I agree, wide-screen is the way to see this rare film, if indeed you ever can).
So many thanks to the Cinematheque for this unusual revival.
RE the musical score (by Italian composer, Mario Nascimbene): actually the theme was so melodic Percy Faith recorded it as a follow-up to his hit single of Max Steiner's SUMMER PLACE theme, (complete with similar 1950s piano triplets in the accompaniment!) In spite of the nod to '50s pop the SONS AND LOVERS theme was not a hit, but it remains one of the more lyrical (and obscure) movie themes from this period.
Remember when movies actually had original musical themes????
Ultimately I feel SONS AND LOVERS ranks with Russell's WOMEN IN LOVE in the admittedly small canon of excellent cinematic Lawrence adaptations.
It's also one of the adult Dean Stockwell's best roles, a long, long day's journey away from the almost too adorable, curly headed moppet in ANCHORS AWEIGH.
Pufnstuf (1970)
And a GREAT Musical Score
I'm always amazed at the following certain films I thought of as totally obscure actually have.
This is one of the funniest films I've ever seen. Admittedly the humor is of its time and really stoned out, but it works straight too, the best of both worlds.
I would also like to point out the great songs and musical score by Charles Fox.
One of the songs, "If I Could," sung by Jack Wild, is really touching and poignant, and Mama Cass's "Different" is a great 60s up-tune with a timeless message.
Charles Fox had scored another great trip movie, BARBARELLA, about this time, and this score is like Barbarella meets Witchie-Poo.
The score, originally on Capitol Records, belongs on CD, and the film itself should have a deluxe release on DVD.