April Star of the Month- Melvyn Douglas

 

MELVYN DOUGLAS

BIRTH: April 5, 1901

DEATH: August 4, 1981

AGED: 80 years

DIED FROM: pneumonia and cardiac issues

REAL NAME: Melvyn Edouard Hesselberg

MARRIED: Twice-1st to Rosalind Hightower. 2nd to Helen Gahagan, an actress and the physical inspiration for the Evil Queen in Disney’s Snow White.  She became a 3 time Congresswoman(D)

CHILDREN: 3 kids. 1 from the first and 2 with his 2nd wife

GRANDKID: Illiana Douglas- check her out, you know her

FRIENDS: FDR and Eleanor Roosevelt 

OSCAR NOMINATIONS: “I Never Sang  For My Father”

OSCAR WINS: “ Hud” and “ Being There”

KNOWN FOR: winning trifecta in awards- Oscar, Emmys and Tony Awards

This man is a solid actor who had no illusions about age, stood up against tyranny, faithful to his wife and loved being an actor. His mom, came from high Southern family and  had her direct roots to the Mayflower while his dad was an immigrant from Latvia who was a Concert Pianist and composer and taught piano. Melvyn had no idea his dad was Jewish until he turned 14 years old and learned about his heritage from his aunts who were proud to tell him. He loved his Jewish ancestry and never hid from it where most people did in Hollywood, like all the studio heads. Melvyn never finished high school but signed up for WW1 and, after that, ended up on the theatre stage….his first love. He married twice, the first to  an artist and had one son with her who, in turn, had a daughter, Iliana Douglas, who made a name in her own right as an actress on film and TV. His 2nd wife was his big love and, together, they were a force, often fighting for injustice. When they visited Europe after they got married, in 1931, and saw first hand, the anti-Semitism in Germany and France, were appalled and fought fascism for the rest of their lives. After the 2nd World War, which he signed up and was head of  an Entertainment unit in Burma rising to Major, he and his 2nd wife started being called leftist sympathizers which caused a delay in his film career. I love that his wife became a 3 time congresswoman who went up against Nixon in 1950. Nixon fought dirty ( and won) calling her a Pinko and said he wouldn’t be surprised if her undies were even pink. She was the one that coined the term, “Tricky Dick”..I think I love her! When he returned to the big screen, he looked much older, probably due to his heart issues. Sadly, his wife died of cancer in 1980 and Melvyn was left bereft. He did make one more film, “Ghost Story” but sadly died before his scenes were done. The director worked around those scenes and it became his last film. A rare gentleman in Hollywood.

FILMS

1. Theodora Goes Wild-1936  ( my favourite)

2. Mr. Blandings Builds His Dream Home-1948

3. I Never Sang For My Father-1970

4. Hud-1963

5. Ninotchka-1939

6. Ghost Story-1981

7. Being There-1980

8. As You Desire Me-1932

9. That Gorgeous Hussey-1936

10. That Uncertain Feeling-1941

The Last 3 and others not mentioned, I have yet to see. I tried to placed the first 7 in order of my favourites…Ninotchka should be higher..just so darn hard.

 

The Mighty Beaver

 

Get your heads out of the gutter because I am talking about Canada’s emblem, the mighty beaver, that has turned 50 years old on March 24th. To be honest, I thought our beaver was older than that since l was 11 years old when the Beaver got the royal treatment. In honour of this  mighty rodent with the ever growing teeth and flat tail, I found 3 movies that has the beaver as the highlight.

1. THE BEAVER VALLEY-1950

I saw this when The Wonderful World of Disney was a staple at 7pm on Sundays with Walt Disney hosting (from beyond the grave) the hour long program. I know I watched this back then and was totally enthralled at how exciting Disney created this short documentary which won an Oscar! The male does all he can to protect his family from the elements, fun loving otters and predators. I always loved watching animal shows from Disney to Mutual of Omaha’s Wild Kingdom.

2. GREY OWL-1999

This film is quite a good movie that is directed by Sir Richard Attenborough and stars Pierce Brosnan as Archie Grey Owl who was a Canadian fur trapper who became involved with a young Iroquois woman. She is disgusted how animals slowly die in the traps and when, a beaver mom is trapped, the woman saves her 2 kits and rears them. The little beaver kits get under the skin of Archie and, with her help, he begins to see how wrong it is to trap animals especially the beaver that, in the 1930s, was endangered due to all the killing for its fur. He writes a book and is an early environmentalist becoming famous lecturing on the problem of over hunting and fishing especially the beaver. He even spoke in front of the British Royalty but it soon comes out that he is not Native to Canada at all. This is based on a true story which I never knew about until I watched this film. If you ever get a chance, you should see this film especially for the cute little beaver kits.

3. THE BEAVER-2011

Yes, this is one strange movie and one that was supposed to bring Mel Gibson back after his out of control downward spiral. Jodie Foster directed this movie and stars as Mel’s unhappy wife. He is the owner of a toy company ready to go tits up, his wife is leaving him and his son hates him( Anton Yelchin who, sadly died, in 2016). Mel finds this beaver sock puppet in the trash and starts wearing it and speaking only through the beaver puppet. It’s a bit odd but I can see how Jodie created this character and film for her friend, Mel Gibson. I’m not sure I would see it again but it was ok to see it, at least, once.

What rodent films have you seen?

I still miss Leslie Nielsen..

Spring is Here...Somewhere

 

Like Harley, I'm waiting for Spring. Well, Harley would love more snow and we may get more on Wednesday...today. Let's think more about spring the theme, this week, over at Monday Music Moves Me. 

1. SPRING, SPRING, SPRING SUNG BY CAST OF BROTHERS AND BRIDES-1954

I love this movie which is, somewhat, based on the Rape of the Sabine Women. The uncouth brothers, taught manners by the bride( Jane Powell) of the oldest brother( Howard Keel), decide to find brides of their own. They take their brides from the town and due to a major avalanche, the townsfolk can’t get the girls back. The girls are aok, more than actually,  and by Springtime, are very happy as indicated in this song with music composed by Gene De Paul and lyrics by Johnny Mercer. Spring is always about love or lust…interchangeable.

2.  SUDDENLY, IT’S SPRING SUNG BY HILDEGARDE-1944

This came from the film “Lady in the Dark”, a film I dislike that stars Ginger Rogers as a successful business woman but is unhappy because she doesn’t have a man..blecchhh. I should watch it again since I haven’t seen it since I was 20 but this song is nice, with music by Jimmy Van Heusen and lyrics by Johnny Burke.

3. I LOVE PARIS IN THE SPRINGTIME SUNG BY ELLA FITZGERALD-1956

This song was written by the great Cole Porter and was introduced by the singer Lilo in the Broadway hit Can Can which was later made into a movie starring Shirley MacLaine and Frank Sinatra. I had to go with the wonderful Ella Fitzgerald who is just exceptional.

Bonus…

SPRINGTIME FOR HITLER SUNG BY CAST-1968

Don’t get your tethers in a bunch as this was written by Mel Brooks who is Jewish. This is from his excellent film called, “The Producers” starring Zero Mostel and Gene Wilder who figure out how to become rich by making the worst musical ever. Mel Brooks, who fought in WW2 and saw the horrific events of the war and the starving Jewish people who had just left those camps vowed that the best way to get back at those murderous a-holes was to make fun of them. He knew that they would not appreciate  how he made fun of their thought process. I think it’s brilliant. 

Happy!

 

I think, today, is National Happy/Happiness Day so I decided to pick 3 films that have always made me laugh no matter how many times I have watched it. It is more special because I  watched these films with my dad who taught me to love movies. In all 3 of these films, I can recall when he started to laugh with tears streaming down his face, at the films we watched together. So here are the 3 films, I chose, that make me laugh ( there are so many more)…

1. ARSENIC AND OLD LACE-1944

Some people don’t care for this film because of Cary Grant’s manic acting but I think it perfectly fits with the feel of this classic comedy. Grant plays Mortimer Brewster, a famous author about how marriage should never be. Well, he is getting married to the very pretty, Pricilla Lane who was/is the girl next door. When they get back to their homes, she runs to her home to pack and he goes to his to do the same and tell his sweet aunts that he got married. The problem is that those sweet old Aunts are serial killers who give unsuspecting older men, they deem lonely, elderberry wine laced with arsenic. Their brother, who thinks he is Teddy Roosevelt, believe the men are just another victim of yellow fever and must bury them in the basement. Mortimer finds this all out shortly after getting married and now must find a way to get his lovely aunts to stop killing men. Enter Mortimer’s evil brother, played with great relish by Raymond Massey, who along with a doctor, played by Peter Lorre, come home and wish to hide a body,  Massey’s latest victim, but has to deal with the nuttiness in the home. It’s so very funny especially when Massey reacts about looking like Boris Karloff( who played this character on stage). That reaction just made my dad laugh and laugh…and laugh. It’s a very funny film that I can watch over and over again.

2.  IT’S A MAD, MAD, MAD, MAD, WORLD-1963

This is an all star cast headed by Spencer Tracy as a cop who asks his Dept. To watch over a bunch of people trying to reach this park after they find out money is hidden under the “Big W”.  You have many of the big comedians of that time all in this one film from Buddy Hackett, Sid Caesar, Milton Berle, Jonathan Winters to the great Terry-Thomas, Phil Silvers, and the very funny Dick Shawn as “Sylvester”. I can’t start on the plot but they are in a race to get to that park not realizing the cops are watching their every move. My friend Loretta (in the top pic with moi) and I have watched this film more than once and we just yell, “Sylvester!” In our best Ethel Merman impersonation making each other laugh. Dick Shawn’s stoned girlfriend, Barrie Chase (still alive) only dances in the film and I made my friend laugh when I got up and started to twist like Barrie….my dad was just crying from laughing when a bunch of the men end up on a whacked out fireman’s ladder. In fact, years later, my mom was just laughing so hard that I went upstairs to see what she was laughing about only to see the same scene. I sat down and we laughed together.

3. WHAT’S UP, DOC-1972

Every time this film came on TV, I had to watch it and it has never gotten old. It is a classic screwball comedy that stars Barbra Streisand as a madcap gal who ends up at this hotel when she sees Ryan O’Neil as Howard Bannister, a professor with his igneous rocks. You also see a crazy lady in hot pants who brings her jewels with her and a man with classified documents. Judy (Streisand), Howard, the lady and the man with the documents all own the same bag which creates confusion and mayhem resulting in one of the best car chases ever filmed. This film introduced Madeline Kahn as Eunice, Howard’s fiancée. The one scene, when she is dropped off at the address, she was told, the party would be, was so funny that, once again, my dad was laughing so hard that tears fell down his face. In fact thinking of her slowly going up those rickety stairs while she gently whines makes me laugh and I am not watching the movie as I write this. If you need to have a good laugh, this is another gem.

What films make you happy?

By the way, Christopher Cross won for Athur's theme, Sheena Easton was nominated  for Your Eyes Only and Neil got Nadda for America.

Which Song Won the Oscar-1981

 

It’s freebie week over at Monday Music Moves Me and it’s “Guess which song won the Oscar, which was nominated and which got nuttin’ baby”  for the year, 1981. I hope people visit Cathy’s blog since she helps host this weekly music series. So let’s see who gets this right…

1.  AMERICA SUNG BY NEIL DIAMOND

At the height of Neil Diamond’s fame, Hollywood came calling and placed him in the lead of the film, “The Jazz Singer” that also starred Sir Laurence Olivier as his Jewish dad and Lucy Arnaz( Desi Arnaz’s and Lucille Ball’s daughter) as his wife. This is a remake of the famous film of 1927 that starred over the top Al Jolson, a film that brought in the Talking picture. The song was a great achievement for Diamond who wrote the song and became even bigger as time went on. It was a patriotic song after the 9/11 attacks with Diamond changing one lyric to make it more appropriate for that time.

2. THE BEST THAT YOU CAN DO SUNG BY CHRISTOPHER CROSS

This song was written a host of people including the lead singer, Christopher Cross, and Burt Bacharach for the film Arthur that starred Dudley Moore as a drunken playboy billionaire and Liza Minnelli as his lady love. Sir John Gielgud stole the show as his butler who knows how to deal with this nut of an employer. The song became a big hit and is also known as “Arthur’s Theme.”

3. FOR YOUR EYES ONLY SUNG BY SHEENA EASTON

This song, written by Bill Conti with lyrics by Mick Loeson became a huge hit for this Scottish babe, Shirley Easton, who sang this title song for the James Bond film of the same title that starred Roger Moore. In fact, it’s one of my favourite Bond films ever with great scenes taking place in Meteora, Greece, a place I must visit before I die even if I am scared of heights. I remember when Sheena sang this at the Oscars and her voice was spot on. Yeah, the Oscars must bring back the best songs being sung at the Oscars. That James Bond songfest, done this past year, was totally useless. 

So…do you know which song won, which was nominated and which song came up empty-handed? 

Jeff- A Great Guy!

 

This is my ex and my dear friend Jeff whom we recently took out for his birthday dinner. It was supposed to be on February 16th, his actual birthday, but we had a big snowstorm. Our friends, Peter and Ron, left on a cruise so, yadda, yadda, we finally took him out this past Saturday.

Jeff loves books, Shakespeare, Dante ( he memorized a classic piece  from Dante's Inferno..I think from there), Chaucer, but has great interest in architecture, the World Wars, snakes, camping, movies, humor  like the great Far Side, and ughh...his puns. He is a Master at that as many can attest like me. He has a great love of photography and bought a few cameras along with new lens. He loved being on Facebook and Instagram showcasing his talent and built quite a following until last Thursday. He joined a group called "Canadians Against Pierre Pollievre", but couldn't look further, as he was called away from his fun. About an hour later, he came back to read about that post, but he was banned, not suspended, but banned! Off Facebook and Instagram! A huge WTF is an understatement and devastated Jeff. Like you, with your blog or WordPress,  if you were suddenly cut off, I bet some of you would be pissed or upset.  He found out that this Facebook page about Pew Polyp, as I like to call him, was still up so it had to be someone following him that complained and got him banned. I mean, I showcased a wonderfully, sculptured head of Trump made from cow dung, and I'm still standing so, I just don't get it. 

I told Jeff about the wonderful blogs and people I have found on my Blog and some, yes, like Trump..I know, but they do( enter devilish grin with a wink to my blogger buds who like this person) and we all respect and get along and agree that Freedom of Speech is a must. I hope you look at his new blog and check out his posts with some great photos he has already posted. I will tell him about the Insecure Writer's Support Group and the A to Z  Challenge. Here is his link- https://jeffgaboury.blogspot.com/

I hope you enjoy his new blog

1960 Best Actor-Who Should Have Won

 

This is a tough one because all Best Actors were good this year but my heart goes to one that was not even nominated even though, later on, he sucked the life out of the character in sequels tht should never have been made. Anyways, I am picking the one who should have won, the won who did win and one who was nominated…did I tell you it was a tough year? 

1. ANTHONY PERKINS IN PSYCHO

Anthony Perkins was known as the kid next door, innocent but brave so, when Hitchcock was looking for someone to play Norman Bates, Perkins seemed perfect because nobody would suspect this innocent. Hitchcock used this ploy before when he had boy next door, Robert Walker, play the psychopath Bruno, in the brilliant, “Strangers On A Train.”  This film was shot on a low budget with his TV crew and, when it came out, Hitchcock made a trailer asking people not to divulge anything bout the film. If you haven’t seen the film yet, spoiler alert, you follow a young and Beautiful Marion Crane( Hitchcock had a thing about. Birds too) Who has taken money from her employer to run to her boyfriend but, after coming to a run down motel, she decides to go back and face the music. Unfortunately, she is brutally murdered in the shower by Norman’s mom and Norman must clean up the mess. What he does not anticipate is that her sister and Marion’s boyfriend trying to find her. It is well acted and Anthony Perkins excels as the nervous manchild who cleans up after mom. He truly deserved the Oscar, in my humble opinion, and, if you ever saw the last moment Perkins is on the screen, he conveys so much without saying a word.

2. BURT LANCASTER IN ELMER GANTRY

Burt Lancaster won the Oscar for his flamboyant role as a flim flam guy who sees his ticket in the preacher, played, brilliantly, by Jean Simmons. She has the way to seduce people into believing she can walk on water and people are coming to see her in droves. Of course, it’s not free and money is coming in much to his heart’s content. Actually, I think his toothy grin deserves a special Oscar all on its own because Burt soaked up every scene he was in. He is really great in this role and gave the character much more depth than one would think. Shirley Jones, mom from the “Partridge Family” won a Best Supporting Actress Oscar as a whore who knows Burt’s past but the one Jean Simmons was over-looked again, as the Minister who believes in what she is spouting. This is, somewhat, based on the famous Aimee Semple McPherson who was a huge “star” in the 1920s making a huge fortune on the gullible. 

3. SPENCER TRACY IN INHERIT THE WIND

Spencer Tracy was, rightly, nominated for his role as the defence attorney who comes to the small American town to defend a teacher who had the audacity to state that we descended from apes not  from God’s finger. Frederic March plays the prosecutor who is equally famous for his religious convictions and who ran to become the President. This is based on the infamous Scopes Monkey Trial where the poor teacher was persecuted for teaching, well, the truth ( Sadly, Florida and many others are hurtling backwards as we speak…freedom of speech where are you now). Both actors are legends by this point and Spencer really knew how to work up March. While March would give a glowing speech in the courtroom only to see Tracy pick his nose, obviously, off camera. This is an excellent film even if you don’t agree with what it states. It is well acted by, not only the 2 leads but Gene Kelly as a, somewhat, slimy reporter, and Dick York( Darrin from Bewitched) as the teacher. 

So, have you seen these films? Do you agree it would you say someone else was more deserving or that Burt should have and was the correct winner? I have to say, all 3 are excellent but what a shame that Perkins was not even nominated.