MUSINGS, PONDERINGS, RUMINATIONS AND FANCIES

[CinemaInternational]

Never apologize, mister. It's a sign of weakness.

Putin's favorite score might just be the rousing martial music from Hitch's TOPAZ.

(...must now try my best to not reply with, "You're Putin me on here!"...been used MUCH too many times already...no originally at all)

Eeh, as I'm sure you've noticed after all these many years here Bronxie, MY weaknesses are SO bountiful and transparent that tryin' to keep 'em hidden from others would be a full time job in itself!

And so I really don't care about that kind'a thing anymore.

(...MUCH too taxing on his old soul of mine here if I did)

I've never heard it! You sure you're not PUTIN me on?????


My nickname for him is a rather vulgar euphemism (Fill in the blank, POON____) Apologies to those offended but I really call him that!

Well he is definitely a ruthless thug so it seems appropriate for such a bad egg. It reminded me though of one of the all time bad character names: Joan Collins being stuck playing a character named Polyester Pøøntäng in her then-husband's vanity project, Can Heironymus Merkin Ever Forget Mercy Humppe and Find True Happiness?

[CinemaInternational]

Even though there are some jokes about birth control and the like, Yours, Mine, and Ours is at heart an extremely square movie, unlike a bunch of other late 60s "generation gap" movies trying to be hip and failing badly. I recently mentioned having seen Doctor, You've Got to Be Kidding, which is a good example of the genre. Others I'd add would be things like Bob Hope in I'll Take Sweden or everybody in Marriage on the Rocks.

I will also add HOW SWEET IT IS! to that awful gen-gap sub genre. Oh, God, I'LL TAKE SWEDEN, lol. (although I do like Frankie Avalon singing "I'll take Sweden, ya, ya, ya!") Lovely Dina Merrill has one of the worst Scandinavian accents ever. Jeremy Slate too. All those movies are just so BAD.

Don't forget Take Her, She's Mine and Generation!

Let's also not forget the hippies (including Jaime Farr) at the end of Doris Day's last film With Six You Get Eggroll (seing a scene or two with Doris and George Carlin interacting was something else)

And also, while not a generation gap film, I don't think I ever got over the sight of Myrna Loy is a psychedelic disco in The April Fools (1969).

[Hibi]

I wanted to stay awake for THE PLEASURE OF HIS COMPANY (apart from Debbie, an odd cast -- Lili Palmer, Fred Astaire, Gary Merrill, Charlie Ruggles...) but nodded off about thirty minutes in.

TAMMY AND THE BACHELOR -- the Tammy song always makes me cry, it's so wistful (like Moon River). I used to warble it as a young'un. Debbie is wonderful! (as always)

I've always liked the title song as well. Was it Oscar nominated? (probably not).

Yes, Tammy was an Oscar nominated song, but the win that year went to the Frank Sinatra standard "All the Way"

Thanks. Well, at least it was nominated!

[Hibi]

(...must now try my best to not reply with, "You're Putin me on here!"...been used MUCH too many times already...no originally at all)

Eeh, as I'm sure you've noticed after all these many years here Bronxie, MY weaknesses are SO bountiful and transparent that tryin' to keep 'em hidden from others would be a full time job in itself!

And so I really don't care about that kind'a thing anymore.

(...MUCH too taxing on his old soul of mine here if I did)

I've never heard it! You sure you're not PUTIN me on?????


My nickname for him is a rather vulgar euphemism (Fill in the blank, POON____) Apologies to those offended but I really call him that!

Well he is definitely a ruthless thug so it seems appropriate for such a bad egg. It reminded me though of one of the all time bad character names: Joan Collins being stuck playing a character named Polyester Pøøntäng in her then-husband's vanity project, Can Heironymus Merkin Ever Forget Mercy Humppe and Find True Happiness?

LOL! I'd forgotten about that. That's one film I've always wanted to see, just out of curiosity. What one does for love.

[Hibi]

I will also add HOW SWEET IT IS! to that awful gen-gap sub genre. Oh, God, I'LL TAKE SWEDEN, lol. (although I do like Frankie Avalon singing "I'll take Sweden, ya, ya, ya!") Lovely Dina Merrill has one of the worst Scandinavian accents ever. Jeremy Slate too. All those movies are just so BAD.

Don't forget Take Her, She's Mine and Generation!

Let's also not forget the hippies (including Jaime Farr) at the end of Doris Day's last film With Six You Get Eggroll (seing a scene or two with Doris and George Carlin interacting was something else)

And also, while not a generation gap film, I don't think I ever got over the sight of Myrna Loy is a psychedelic disco in The April Fools (1969).

Yeah, the ending of that almost tanked that film (Eggroll) Cringeworthy. I've never seen the April Fools. Would love to now just for that scene!

[Hibi]

Happy Belated Easter to everyone else who might celebrate it (thanks Bronxie for the wish)

I recall liking Goodbye Charlie when I saw it. I thought it had decent pacing and good performances. So you are not alone, Bronxie.

What's the Matter with Helen is a chilling and effective film, with two knockout leading performances from Debbie and Shelley. Debbie once wrote that she had a nightmare the night before they shot the film's most violent scene, and she went into the prop department the next morning and found that the prop knife was actually real. They didn't film the scene until a prop knife was found. That most violent scene was edited at the time to avoid an R rating, but the MPAA raised the rating on the film to an R about 8 years ago. Strange to re-rate a film 45 years after it was made, but MGM has resubmitted a lot of their late 60s/early 70s titles, and many have been given the R even though they were originally PGs (see also Sinful Davey, Mississippi Mermaid, The Happy Ending, Gaily Gaily). But then again, the film also had the misfortune of having the ending spoiled in the trailers, the posters, and the DVD cover.

Cecil B. DeMille was once regarded as one of the ultimate directors of films, one of the very finest, but his reputation took a big hit in the 60s after his death and never recovered. I have to say I really like some of his films like King of Kings (1927) and Reap the Wild Wind (1942). No, he wasn't the world's best director, but I manage to appreciate many of his films for their sheer earnestness, that wasn't as heavy as the later Stanley Kramer [Kramer did make a few films I liked, but On the Beach and Inherit the Wind are practically impaled on screen. I dubbed the latter film, unbearable to me, as "Inherit the Windbag".] (DeMille did have some head-scratchers though, such as 1930's indescribable Madam Satan or 1932's This Day and Age where a group of teenagers take vigilante action by kidnapping a gangster and hovering him over a pit of rats, which causes the Capone type to reform. Call it an early prototype of Willard.)

The Ten Commandments? I only saw that version once....unfortunately right before the former family dog died, so it will always be tainted a bit in my memory because of that. (I still can't watch the last film I saw before the dog died, The Barefoot Contessa, again) I recall thinking it was decent, if overlong. People still get a kick out of Anne Baxter's theatrical turn.

As for Putin, I have the distinct feeling that his favorite films are likely old USSR propaganda films, since he seems hellbent on reconstructing it. (Any bets that his favorite song is "Back in the USSR"?)

If we are talking about vivid fights with parents over movies, Barefoot in the Park immediately comes to mind. I liked it, my father despised it saying that Jane Fonda was screaming all the time (60s comedies in general are a bit loud).

Joanne Dru had the most unfortunate real life name: Letitia LaCöck. I guess she could have kept her real name had she ever joined up with Andy Warhol's company.

As for apologies, sometimes they are needed, but I found out the hard way that too many cause others to attack you like you are the slowest moving animal on the savanna.

I used to get the Fox Movie Channel, but the cable company had a long drag-out fight with Disney last September, and well, when then all got it ironed out, they dropped several channels entirely, and that channel was one of them. They repeated things endlessly, bur I miss it because I saw several films there for the first time.

Completely unrelated to anything talked about, but an error in an on demand listing made me laugh out loud. MGM+ (the channel once known as Epix) is listing 1983's The Big Chill as an ACTION movie.

OMG!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! JOANNE DRU! IF anyone benefitted from a name change, it was her! I did not know that! Her real name sounds like a character Mae West would've played in her prime!

Early in his career DeMille directed a variety of films. Not sure when he got locked into "epics" (Biblical and otherwise). I know he directed Gloria Swanson in some silents.

[HoldenIsHere]

I've always liked the title song as well. Was it Oscar nominated? (probably not).

Yes, Tammy was an Oscar nominated song, but the win that year went to the Frank Sinatra standard "All the Way"

Thanks. Well, at least it was nominated!

Is it true that Eddie Fisher was originally offered "Tammy" to record but turned it down?

[Dargo]

Oh, NO! Not the Los Angeles pronunciation debate again!!!

LOL

Yeah, I've brought this one up more than a few times before, haven't I Hibi.

SAY, and speaking of "pronunciations" here, I've always kind'a wondered how one is supposed to pronouce YOUR handle around here?

Now, is it "Hee-Bee" OR or should it be somethin' like "High-By"???

(...nah, not really...it's the former one, isn't it...well, that's how I've always heard it in my mind's ear, anyway)

[Hibi]

Oh, NO! Not the Los Angeles pronunciation debate again!!!

LOL

Yeah, I've brought this one up more than a few times before, haven't I Hibi.

SAY, and speaking of "pronunciations" here, I've always kind'a wondered how one is supposed to pronouce YOUR handle around here?

Now, is it "Hee-Bee" OR or should it be somethin' like "High-By"???

(...nah, not really...it's the former one, isn't it...well, that's how I've always heard it in my mind's ear, anyway)

Yes, its the short "i" pronunciation. Short for Hibiscus (my favorite flower) which has the long "i" sound but HIGHBEE
or worse, HIGHBY doesn't sound right. But I guess either way would be ok as it's not really a word. (Hibi) I chose it many years ago as my moniker at TCM and kept it here. Kinda like Los Angeles.

[CinemaInternational]

Yes, Tammy was an Oscar nominated song, but the win that year went to the Frank Sinatra standard "All the Way"

Thanks. Well, at least it was nominated!

Is it true that Eddie Fisher was originally offered "Tammy" to record but turned it down?

I never heard about that, but it would kind of make sense if he was asked to do it, because the song is written in the third person, but in the movie Reynolds sings it about her own feelings. I do know though that the song reappeared in one of the follow-ups in the early 60s with Sandra Dee, and it was very obvious that Dee was dubbed.

[Dargo]

Joanne Dru had the most unfortunate real life name: Letitia LaCöck. I guess she could have kept her real name had she ever joined up with Andy Warhol's company.

OMG!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! JOANNE DRU! IF anyone benefitted from a name change, it was her! I did not know that!

You guys do know who Joanne's brother was, don't ya?! He also used a different surname in the biz.

It was (well, I should say "is" here and seein' as how he's still with us at age 98) the original 'Hollywood Squares' host Peter Marshall...



(...yep, that's right...the very same overbite that his sister had)

[Hibi]

Joanne Dru had the most unfortunate real life name: Letitia LaCöck. I guess she could have kept her real name had she ever joined up with Andy Warhol's company.

OMG!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! JOANNE DRU! IF anyone benefitted from a name change, it was her! I did not know that!

You guys do know who Joanne's brother was, don't ya?! He also used a different surname in the biz.

It was (well, I should say "is" here and seein' as how he's still with us at age 98) the original 'Hollywood Squares' host Peter Marshall...



(...yep, that's right...the very same overbite that his sister had)

I'd forgotten they were siblings! Noticed he changed his name too. (LOL!)

[CinemaInternational]

OMG!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! JOANNE DRU! IF anyone benefitted from a name change, it was her! I did not know that!

You guys do know who Joanne's brother was, don't ya?! He also used a different surname in the biz.

It was (well, I should say "is" here and seein' as how he's still with us at age 98) the original 'Hollywood Squares' host Peter Marshall...



(...yep, that's right...the very same overbite that his sister had)

I'd forgotten they were siblings! Noticed he changed his name too. (LOL!)

His real first name was Ralph, so he changed his full name. It's a good thing his real name wasn't Peter. Can you imagine that birth name? Peter LaCöck? The Freudians would have had a field day with such a phallic name.

[NoShear]

Joanne Dru had the most unfortunate real life name: Letitia LaCöck. I guess she could have kept her real name had she ever joined up with Andy Warhol's company.

OMG!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! JOANNE DRU! IF anyone benefitted from a name change, it was her! I did not know that!

You guys do know who Joanne's brother was, don't ya?! He also used a different surname in the biz.

It was (well, I should say "is" here and seein' as how he's still with us at age 98) the original 'Hollywood Squares' host Peter Marshall...



(...yep, that's right...the very same overbite that his sister had)

Yes, Dargo: On THE HOLLYWOOD SQUARES he'd address his sister in the more casual as "Joanie".

[Dargo]

His real first name was Ralph, so he changed his full name. It's a good thing his real name wasn't Peter. Can you imagine that birth name? Peter LaCöck? The Freudians would have had a field day with such a phallic name.

Yep, however his middle name was "Pierre", and so must have anglicized it and then used that as his given stage name.