Forgotten Hollywood

Manny P. here…

   Ball State University will be offering an on-line course in conjunction with TCM’s Summer of Darkness beginning in June. They invite movie fans from around the world to join us for a flexible, multimedia investigation and celebration of film noir.

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   In this nine-week course, they will go back in film history to investigate the The Case of Film Noir—the means, motives, and opportunities that led Hollywood studios to make these hard-boiled crime dramas, arguably their greatest contribution to American culture. This course will run concurrently with the Turner Classic Movies  programming event, airing 24 hours of films noir every Friday in June and July 2015. This is the deepest catalog of film noir ever presented by the network (and perhaps any network), and provides an unprecedented opportunity for those interested in learning more to watch over 100 classic movies.

   Both the course and the associated films will enrich your understanding of the film noir phenomenon—from the earliest noir precursors to recent experiments in neo-noir. You will be able to share thoughts online and test your movie knowledge with a worldwide community of film noir students and fans.

Course Outcomes

Students will

• gain a deeper appreciation of classic Hollywood movies
• be able to identify the characteristics of a film noir
• able to explain the origins and history of film noir
• be able to perform close analyses of films noir

Topics include

• What is Film Noir?
• Film Noir and Its Influences
• Film Noir in the Studio System
• Film Noir Themes and Characters
• Film Noir in the Postwar Period

   Sign up now for this free, flexible course from Ball State University, taught by film noir expert Richard Edwards. You may join the course as late as July 19th. Here is a link to enroll:

https://www.canvas.net/browse/bsu/tcm/courses/film-noir

Until next time>                               “never forget”

Manny P. here…

   With the consent of Diane Sawyer, a book on the late Mike Nichols is in the works. Penguin Press announced Friday that it had reached a deal with Mark Harris, author of the acclaimed film histories, Pictures at a Revolution and Five Came Back. The new book will be called Mike Nichols: A Biography, and has the support of Sawyer, his widow, and most other family members, according to Penguin.

   Nichols, one of the most honored film and stage directors of his time, died last Fall. Harris initially interviewed Nichols a few years ago for Pictures at a Revolution, a comprehensive take on five major movies of 1967, including Nichols’ The Graduate.             DIANE SAWYER / MIKE NICHOLS ——->

   A release date has not been set. When you read finally the upcoming work, remember one word…. plastics!

Until next time>                               “never forget”

Manny P. here…

   Aurora Repertory Theatre of Nevada is producing a silent film festival in honor of the 100th anniversary of Edna Purviance’s noted movie career. Edna was born in Paradise Valley, Nevada and grew up in Lovelock, Nevada. She was a pioneer of the motion picture industry and appeared in 34 Chaplin productions.

   In addition to the award winning The Kid, The Tramp, and The Vagabond, the festival will feature seven additional Charlie Chaplin films co-starring Edna including her only lead role in the controversial Chaplin-directed A Woman of Paris.

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Aurora Repertory Theatre & Artown

Edna Purviance & Charlie Chaplin Film Festival  Speakeasy Costume Party

July 17th, 18th, 19th

National Auto Museum 1 E. Lake St. Reno, NV

Tickets on sale to the public on June 1st

Group discount available; Adult day pass $30 Festival pass $50; Seniors / Students $25 Children under 12 free

Speakeasy Party $50 person / $90 couple

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For more infomation – contact Lena Covello at: lenacov@att.net or 775-846-1788.

Until next time>                               “never forget”

Manny P. here…

   Elizabeth Wilson was a Tony Award-winning actress. She was elected to the Theatre Hall of Fame in 2007. She also had a wonderful cinematic career, best remembered as the screen mom to  Dustin Hoffman, Ralph Fiennes, and Bill Murray  in various movies.

   Wilson made her Broadway debut in Picnic in 1953. Her stage credits include Desk Set, The Importance of Being Earnest, You Can’t Take It with You, Ah Wilderness, and A Delicate Balance. She won a Tony for her performance in 1972’s Sticks and Bones.

 <—–  ELIZABETH WILSON made her screen debut in 1946 in Notorious. She reprised her character in the 1955 film adaptation of Picnic. Other movies include The Birds, The Graduate, The Day of the Dolphin, Catch-22, The Prisoner of Second Ave., 9 to 5, Regarding Henry, The Addams Family, and Quiz Show. Her final celluloid appearance was as Sara Delano Roosevelt in Hyde Park on Hudson. On television, she appeared in Kraft Television Theatre, The U.S. Steel Hour, Another World, Dark Shadows, Murder She Wrote, a recurring role in All in the Family, and Law & Order: Criminal Intent.

   The matronly Elizabeth Wilson was 94.

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   The ugly Lucy artifact just won’t go away. A statue of Lucille Ball in her western New York hometown has made enough people laugh to earn a spot in the new National Comedy Center, breaking ground soon. Chairman Tom Benson says the center will embrace the statue not as a likeness of the late comedian but as a tribute to what she was about — making people laugh.

   I think I’ve done enough splaning…

Until next time>                               “never forget”

Manny P. here…

   If you enjoyed the cult classic, Harold and Maude, you’re going to love this story! It takes place in Indiana…

   An Indiana teenager who took his 93-year-old great-grandmother to his junior prom says he had a great time, even though her early bedtime nearly cut the night short. Drew Holm says his classmates thought it was pretty cool that he asked Kathryn Keith to last Friday’s Crothersville High School junior prom.  DREW AND KATHRYN –>

   Holm picked Keith up in her Cadillac for the dance in Seymour, about 60 miles south of Indianapolis. Keith, who wore a blue dress, told the Seymour Tribune that she’s proud that he asked her. The pair hit the dance floor for only one song, sharing a slow dance. Their night ended by 9p because Keith has an early bedtime. Holm then took his actual girlfriend to an after-prom event at a bowling alley.

   Harold and Maude is the unconventional tale of a young man who falls for an octogenarian. Directed by Hal Ashby, the Colin Higgins screenplay featured Ruth Gordon and Bud Cort in the title roles. The 1971 film is ranked #45 on the American Film Institute’s list of 100 Funniest Movies of all Time and was selected in 1997 for preservation in the National Film Registry of the Library of Congress. At the 29th Golden Globe Awards, Cort and Gordon each received a nomination for Best Actor and Best Actress in a Musical or Comedy Film.

   Colin Higgins later adapted the story into a stage play. The original Broadway production, starring Janet Gaynor as Maude and Keith McDermott as Harold, closed after just four performances in February, 1980. Higgins had expressed interest in 1978 about both a sequel and prequel to Harold and Maude. The sequel, Harold’s Story, would have Bud Cort portray Harold’s life after Maude. Higgins also imagined a prequel showing Maude’s life before Harold, Grover and Maude had Maude learning how to steal cars from Grover Muldoon, the character portrayed by Richard Pryor in Higgins’ 1976 film Silver Streak. Higgins wanted Ruth Gordon and Pryor to reprise their roles.

   Now, real life captures a similar moment..

Until next time>                               “never forget”

Manny P. here…

   Turner Classic Movies will honor the genre of movies that celebrates an adapted European style of filmmaking that became popular as Axis aggression swept two continents. Dubbed film noir… writers such as Dashiell Hammett and Raymond Chandler were quickly hired by the movie studios to update how gangster-films were put together. Hammett was particularly adept at this gritty nuanced style.

   A detective with duplicitous motives, menacing dark evening streets, and a femme-fatale, made stars of Alan Ladd, John Garfield, Van Heflin, Lana Turner, Veronica Lake, William Bendix, Lucille Ball, Sterling Hayden, Robert Mitchum, Barbara Stanwyck, Lizabeth Scott, Fred MacMurray, etc.  Iconic flicks, including The Glass Key, The Maltese Falcon, Double Indemnity, The Blue Dahlia, Out of the Fog, The Big Sleep, Macao, and The Asphalt Jungle still plays well in black-and-white cinematography that starkly compliments a rich noir script.

   On Fridays in June & July, join TCM for a Summer of Darkness, 24-hours of tense cinema. Czar of noir Eddie Muller will walk us through more than 100 noir greats, such as Laura, Johnny Eager, Murder My Sweet, The Third Man, Lady on the Lake, White Heat, Gilda, The Postman Always Rings Twice, Strangers on a Train, The Big Heat, Key Largo, and D.O.A. For a complete schedule, click the link or (cut-and-paste):

http://i.cdn.turner.com/v5cache/TCM/2015/summerofdarkness/TCM_SummerOfDarkness_Schedule2015.pdf

   Keep the lights on when you watch these wonderfully sinister films!

Until next time>                               “never forget”

Manny P. here…

   The Muscular Dystrophy Association is pulling the plug on its annual Labor Day telethon, a television tradition for decades that has slowly disappeared from view since the sudden departure of Jerry Lewis in his role as host following the 2010 show. From over 21 hours in Lewis’ final year, the show had been reduced to two hours the last two years on ABC. His abrupt exit, announced by the MDA a full month before the 2011 telethon, was never fully explained.

   His history with the charity goes back nearly to its beginning: the MDA was started in 1950, and a year later, Lewis and his comic partner Dean Martin mentioned the charity on their NBC show. The two comics hosted a 1956 telethon before breaking up. Lewis began hosting it regularly in 1966, starting on a single television station in New York.

   The annual telethon was a relic from a different age, a tuxedoed Lewis oozing show biz schmaltz and hosting stars from Frank Sinatra to Jennifer Lopez over 45 years, pushing through his exhaustion to sing You’ll Never Walk Alone as a tote board rang up millions of dollars in donations. Jerry’s roster through the years were a who’s who of entertainment, including a post-Beatles John Lennon, Michael Jackson singing with and without his brothers, Liberace, Johnny Cash, Ray Charles, and Celine Dion. Former Johnny Carson sidekick Ed McMahon filled the same role with Lewis on Labor Day for many years. In 1976, Sinatra engineered a reunion of Lewis with Martin, his estranged former partner.

   With years of telethon tapes, the MDA has the equivalent of years of show biz gold in its vaults. They have been discussing with Lewis ways to release some of this archived material. With television time costly, the MDA’s fundraising efforts will move primarily online.

   And so it goes…

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   Two kings of R&B are in the news.

   Former lead vocalist for The Drifters, Ben E. King has died. His biggest hits included Dance With Me, There Goes My Baby, Save the Last Dance for Me, This Magic Moment, I Count the Tears (with The Drifters), Spanish Harlem, I (Who Have Nothing), Don’t Play That Song, and Stand By Me. The latter tune was featured as the title track of a Stephen King-adapted movie that starred Richard Dreyfuss and River Phoenix.

   Ben E. King was 76.

  BEN E. KING                                B.B. KING

   B. B. King has announced he is receiving hospice care. The 89-year old Blues legend has been in declining health. His rendition of The Thrill is Gone is considered an anthem. He appeared in a fabulous little comedy as himself, Heart and Souls, a film that showcased the talents of Robert Downey Jr., Charles Grodin, Elisabeth Shue, Alfre Woodard, Kyra Sedgwick, and David Paymer.

   Let’s wish Blues Boy King the very best…

Until next time>                               “never forget”

Manny P. here…

   Tickets for the 2015 Humphrey Bogart Film Festival are now on sale! This year’s event takes place in October.

   Stephen Bogart will be joined by co-host Eddie Muller, the TCM host known as the Czar of Noir. Monika Henreid, daughter of Paul Henreid (Casablanca’s Victor Laszlo), will participate in a roundtable discussion about the making of the classic film. Additional guests will be announced soon. Here’s a complete schedule of movies and panels:

   This year, they will celebrate the wonderful life of Lauren Bacall, and will screen the best of Bogart’s films, including all four Bogie-Bacall classics. Their special events will take place in a more casual setting this year (which means lower prices for all-access passes!), so you can leave your tux at home.

   Travel to Key Largo for Bogie on the big screen and a ride on the original African Queen! Details + Tickets: www.bogartfilmfestival.com.

Until next time>                               “never forget”

Manny P. here…

   A long-lost silent film admired by historians as a rare visual account of Native American customs is being released after a private detective in North Carolina stumbled across a damaged copy. The Daughter of Dawn — first screened in Los Angeles in 1920 — features a large cast of Comanche and Kiowa people, and shows scenes of buffalo hunting and ceremonial dances obscured by time. The copy, discovered more than a decade ago, has been restored and was screened in Texas this week, ahead of its commercial release later this year.

   Two of the approximately 300 Comanche and Kiowa people in the film, which portrays a fictional love story that also serves as a record of Native-American traditions, are children of legendary Comanche chief Quanah Parker, whose exploits were widely recounted on the frontier. The Daughter of Dawn was a striking departure from the racial stereotypes found in films from that time, such as D.W. Griffith’s The Birth of a Nation.

  The year after the movie was first screened, a fire destroyed the Dallas warehouse where the small Texas Film Co., which produced The Daughter of Dawn, stored most of its work. Somehow, a copy later ended up in the care of a North Carolina resident, who offered five nitrate celluloid reels to the private detective as payment in an unrelated matter. The detective then sold the reels of the movie — shot in the Wichita Mountains in southwestern Oklahoma — to the Oklahoma Historical Society for over $5,000 before Milestone was recruited as the distributor. The historical society retains ownership of the original nitrate film, which is being stored at the Pickford Center for Motion Picture Study in Los Angeles.

   The delicate restoration work took years, and an orchestral score was completed in 2012. A year later the Library of Congress added the movie to its National Film Registry. An initial screening of the 87-minute, black-and-white film was held this week at an Amarillo library. The film will be released on DVD and Blue-ray, and made available through online outlets.

Until next time>                               “never forget”

Manny P. here…

     Space station astronauts have finally received a big screen. They are enjoying the 65-inch projection screen that was delivered to the International Space Station nearly two weeks ago. The screen, rolled up for compact storage, flew up on a SpaceX Dragon capsule.

   The screen is useful for work as well as entertainment. Last weekend, for instance, the crew used it to watch the 2013 space thriller Gravity. Until it arrived, astronauts had to huddle around their laptops for video conferences, training sessions, and cinema. While some of the astronauts had seen this epic film before arriving at the orbiting lab, it’s a vivid experience to be able to watch it in space, especially given the level of space station detail recreated in the movie.

   The Austin, Texas, manufacturer, Screen Innovations, calls it the Viewscreen, the same name used by the fictional Star Trek crew. The screen is designed to reject ambient light, ever-present inside the orbiting lab. Here’s to NASA, and to the first man-cave among the stars — the sky is no longer the limit, the company says on its website.

   For the record, there are currently five men at the space station, American and Russian; plus one woman, an Italian fighter pilot.

   A truly unique Hollywood-and-Vine moment, where Hollywood metaphorically meshes with history. My phaser is on stun!

Until next time>                               “never forget”

Manny P. here…

   Jayne Meadows, the Emmy-nominated star and television personality who often teamed with her husband, Steve Allen, has died. She was also the sister of Honeymooners star Audrey Meadows and was a staple of talk shows and game shows.

   The red-haired Meadows appeared in several Broadway shows and films before she first became known to a wider audience as a panelist on the prime-time game show, I’ve Got a Secret and What’s My Line. She guest-starred on Robert Montgomery Presents, Kraft Television Theatre, Suspense, The Judy Garland Show, Medical Center, St. Elsewhere (she earned an Emmy nod), and Diagnosis: Murder. Of course, Meadows supported her husband by appearing on Tonight, The Steve Allen Show, and The Steve Allen Comedy Hour.         AUDREY MEADOWS —–>

   Her notable movie roles include Song of the Thin Man, David and Bathsheba, Lady in the Lake, The Luck of the Irish, and Enchantment. Later, she appeared in the City Slicker series of flicks, Casino, and The Player.

   After Communist China began opening up in the 1970s, Meadows traveled there with Allen several times, seeing the country of her birth for the first time in decades. She was active in community service, including volunteering at the Los Angeles Mission for people in need.

   Jayne Meadows was 95.

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 <——— DON MANKIEWICZ, an Oscar-nominated screenwriter from a legendary Hollywood family who created the television shows Marcus Welby M.D. and Ironside, has died. He also wrote of episode of Star Trek and the mini-series adaptation of President John F. Kennedy’s book, Profiles in Courage. He was the son of Herman J. Mankiewicz, co-writer of Citizen Kane, and his uncle was Joseph Mankiewicz, director of All About Eve and other classic films.

   His first job was as a writer for New Yorker Magazine. In 1954, he published the novel Trial that was made into a film starring Glenn Ford and Dorothy McGuire. Mankiewicz earned an Academy Award nomination for his 1958 screenplay adaptation of I Want to Live!, a movie that earned an Oscar for Susan Hayward. Early in his television career, Don wrote scripts for the drama series One Step Beyond and Playhouse 90. As a member of the Writers Guild of America, Mankiewicz helped gain union representation for quiz-show writers.

   Don Mankiewicz was 93.

Until next time>                               “never forget”

Manny P. here…

   To Kill a Mockingbird author Harper Lee has started a nonprofit company that will continue producing a play version about the book, ending a dispute that threatened to derail the long-running performance. Dramatic Publishing Co. had refused to extend the rights for the production in Lee’s hometown of Monroeville, but the Illinois-based publishing company announced Saturday that Lee has founded a new nonprofit group called the Mockingbird Company. The organization will produce the play beginning next year.

                         GREGORY PECK        MARY BADHAM

   The Monroe County Heritage Museum has staged the play for over two decades, but it’s been involved in legal disputes with Lee in the past. Lee sued the museum in 2013 over Mockingbird souvenirs sold in its store after the museum opposed her application for a federal trademark for the title of her book. The dispute has since been settled.

   The play is currently in its 26th season in Monroeville, which was the town template for the fictional Maycomb in Harper Lee’s book. The performances this month and next are sold out; lots of excitement over publication of Lee’s second literary work, Go Set a Watchman, helped tickets sell out faster than normal.

   The enduring legacy of Harper Lee, Atticus Finch, Boo Radley, and Scout continues…

Until next time>                               “never forget”

Manny P. here…

   Once barely understood by the Establishment, today they are celebrated. They even appear on a Royal Mail stamp, a big deal in England. This weekend, the surviving Monty Pythons (right) — John Cleese, Eric Idle, Michael Palin and Terry Jones, plus Yankee interloper Terry Gilliam (Graham Chapman, died in 1989) — reunited in New York for the 2015 Tribeca Film Festival, with a 40th anniversary screening of their Brit masterpiece, Monty Python and the Holy Grail, and other cinematic entries.

   The surreal comedy group created the sketch comedy program Monty Python’s Flying Circus that first aired on the BBC in 1969. Forty-five episodes were made over four years. The Python-phenomenon developed from the television series into something larger in scope and impact, spawning touring stage shows, films, numerous albums, several books, and an award-winning musical. The group’s influence on sketch comedy has been compared to The Beatles’ impact on music. They coloured the work of cult performers from the early editions of Saturday Night Live through more recent absurdist trends in television comedy.

   During a session with reporters Friday afternoon, the Pythons recalled that, back in 1975, Holy Grail opened in New York with free coconuts (which comically figure into the movie) presented to the first 2,000 ticketholders. It was a hit. But four years earlier, the Pythons’ first film, And Now for Something Completely Different, was a financial disaster in the United States, partly due to the producers’ meddling.

   In 2005, Holy Grail spawned a Tony Award-winning Broadway musical smash hit knockoff, Spamalot. Written primarily by Idle, the production has an overarching plot and leaves out certain portions of the movie due to difficulties in rendering certain effects on stage. However, the same gags are there for the majority of the show.

   They reign as elder statesman of cerebral silliness, these alumni of the comedy troupe and, some would argue, the funniest men who ever lived. My wife Laurie and my close friend Kenny Walter consider Monty Python and the Holy Grail the wittiest flick ever put on celluloid. Like Camelot… ‘tis a silly place.

    Now… RUN AWAY !!

Until next time>                               “never forget”

Manny P. here…

  NEW FORGOTTEN HOLLYWOOD SHOW ON THERAPYCABLE

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   Episode #4 on FORGOTTEN HOLLYWOOD features a savvy interview with publisher of the Hummingbird Review, author, and web cable host Charlie Redner. A man for all seasons, he is currently embarking on a new venture… documentary filmmaker. Redner’s initial project will share the story of former Middleweight Boxing champion, Joey Giardello. Overcoming adversity in his youth, he tackled Down Syndrome, when his son Carmen was diagnosed with the disease. Our program is entitled: Down Syndrome… A 12-Round Story.

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   The interview on THERAPYCABLE CHANNEL, Redner will chat about his efforts to see this project to fruition; chronicles the fine work of the Special Olympics; and discuss his career as a passionate and active scribe. He also offers how the influence of Silver Linings Playbook, The Devil’s Brigade, and Hurricane will influence Charlie’s approach in working on the upcoming documentary.

   Click on the link (or cut and paste) to watch and enjoy!

http://therapycable.com/forgotten-hollywood-down-syndrome-a-12-round-story.html

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   FORGOTTEN HOLLYWOOD ON THERAPYCABLE is based on my franchise that includes a book series, a weekly radio show airing on the 90.1 FM KBPK on Sundays at 7p (pst); this blog, and a documentary currently in production.

   Enjoy!

Until next time>                               “never forget”

Manny P. here…

   An email exchange in a newly published database of hacked Sony Pictures documents looks to be embarrassing for Ben Affleck and PBS. Affleck had demanded that the show Finding Your Roots withhold the nugget that he had a slave-owning ancestor. The pressure appeared to be successful, because when the Affleck episode aired, it made no mention of the relative. The revelation is courtesy of an email written by host Henry Louis Gates Jr. to Sony chief Michael Lynton seeking advice on how to handle the situation.

            HENRY LOUIS GATES JR.                                        BEN AFFLECK

   Affleck has expressed regret for seeking to have the information omitted from the episode that featured the actor and aired last October. Meanwhile, Gates offered his concern that once they open the door to censorship, they lose control of the brand. With the emails now public, he released a statement:

Ultimately, I maintain editorial control on all of my projects and, with my producers, decide what will make for the most compelling program. In the case of Mr. Affleck—we focused on what we felt were the most interesting aspects of his ancestry—including a Revolutionary War ancestor, a 3rd great–grandfather who was an occult enthusiast, and his mother who marched for Civil Rights during the Freedom Summer of 1964.

   Finding Your Roots is a public affairs program that highlights the genealogy of notable personalities, such as Robert Downey Jr., Anderson Cooper, and Ken Burns. PBS backed its host up, praising Gates’ integrity and saying the quality of the stories on his show speak for themselves.

   As a precaution, PBS will conduct an internal review following revelations that producers of Finding Your Roots may have violated the network’s editorial standards. I’m quite sure the public will chime in with an opinion over the decision.

   And, so it goes…

Until next time>                               “never forget”