Around She Goes, And Where She Stops, Nobody Knows!

I love the Twilight Zone, but I never expected to find myself living in it.  Within the last 72 hours, I stepped from one dimension to another -- I had a nice little house to rent, and my own house closing was scheduled for this Wednesday.  In one day, the closing was postponed, and I found out that my potential landlady is completely insane.  I am now bereft, bothered and bewildered, caught in a legal whirlpool, and also really mad.  So I have adopted the Tasmanian Devil as my alter-ego for the moment.

I rented the same little house 25 years ago when my boys were in grade school.  We loved it.  My landlady then was eccentric, but knew her business.  We lived there 7 years and I've always remembered it fondly.  I had kept in touch with the landlady over the years -- she would call every couple of years and ask how my sons were doing, how I was doing.  It was really sweet.  So when the offer on my house was accepted, I saw that the house was for rent.  I was very sad to hear that my landlady had died last Christmas.  However, her daughter (I will call her Myrtle) was taking over, and very interested in having me again for a tenant.  You see, I pay my bills on time and I don't tear up houses.  Myrtle lives 4 hours away and is rarely able to come to town to check on the house.  It has been refurbished and just lovely.  All looked to be going great.  Myrtle sounded eccentric too, but I just figured it was a family trait.  There is just one difference -- her mother was eccentric ... Myrtle is crazy. 

She was allowing me to move in before we signed a lease -- she believed me to be trustworthy, and indeed I am.  This past Friday, we got everything boxed up, all junk removed, and the moving men were coming Saturday morning.  In Friday's mail, I received the lease in the mail to sign and return.  Oh my God -- Myrtle had taken a standard lease and added to it 52 -- count 'em-- 52 codicils, handwritten in a crabbed scrawl.  What I could do, what I couldn't do (1 nail for 1 picture only), how to scrub the floor, etc. etc.  If anything inside the house breaks, it must be my fault so I would have to pay for it.  I was not to allow water to stand on the countertops.  If something spilled on the rug, I was not to use any cleaning products, but call her first and pay for professional carpet cleaners of her choice.  She knew I had a cat, but the lease said no pets -- yet one of the codicils said "Cat shall not climb mini-blinds."  Huh?  I felt like I was in the belly of the beast.  I cannot even begin to try to describe the 12 page lease with the 52 handwritten clauses, and how crazy it really is.  My sons read it and flatly refused to move me in there at the mercy of a crazy person.  I sincerely thank God that the lease didn't arrive on Saturday afternoon or Monday, when I would have already been moved in.  Just the thought of it makes me shudder.  So I turned down the house (I can't bring myself to describe that conversation).  It was a huge disappointment, to say the least. 

On the same day I got the lease, my realtor called and said that the buyer's FHA loan would not be approved until lead paint all around the house, window trims, door trims, porch had been scraped off, painted and every chip swept up.  It's an old house in an old neighborhood -- all the paint is lead paint.  So the closing was postponed for this coming Wednesday.  The FHA appraiser was here 3 weeks ago, and we just found out.  Apparently the buyer's realtor did not read the appraisal report correctly, and just realized himself what was being asked before the loan could go through.  The buyer was perfectly willing to do it himself after closing, but oh no -- FHA refuses the loan until it's done.  So the painter has to spend at least 3 days doing all that, then FHA wants 2-3 days, then the bank wants 3 days -- the closing will not occur, if all goes well, until late next week, if then. 

So here I sit, boxes all around me, wondering if I'm going to be leaving at all.  Meanwhile, the house is being spruced up, which really makes me whirling mad because if I could have afforded that kind of thing myself, I wouldn't sell in the first place!  Irony can be so ironic sometimes ... (I love that clever phrase!)  Of course, the first thing I corrected, the most important thing, was cancelling my transfer of AT&T.  I knew that Turner Classic Movies and my computer would save my sanity!  On Saturday, I just spent the day recovering.  Today I looked for places to live.  Now I'm here for a while until the next round of moving plans begins.  My son the Marine refers to events like these as FUBAR.  I couldn't say it better.

I don't usually do personal kinds of posts, but had to get it out and let my Faithful Readers and Friends know that I am still here for a while.  I will be making the rounds and catching up on your wonderful blogs, between crying jags -- LOL!  Actually, I am doing extremely well through all this.  I'm going on faith, doing what I can do, looking for another place to live, all the things that must be done.  I have not once gone to bed at noon and pulled the covers over my head.  I think that is quite an accomplishment!

Classic Movie Blog Association Annual Awards

I've said it before and I'll say it again...
The best classic movie organization on the Web

I just want to thank all members of the CMBA who voted my article, Mobsters, Pals and Skirts, as Best Classic Movie Article for 2011.  If you have not read it and are interested, click this link to the article:  http://www.classicbeckybrainfood.blogspot.com/2011/04/mobsters-pals-and-skirts-golden-age-of.html.

There is no way to say it without sounding cliche, but there were some great articles in competition for all the categories this year.  Click on the link below to find the list of winners and final nominees -- all of these are well worth reading.  Thanks again, from the bottom of my classic movie-loving heart!
http://www.clamba.blogspot.com/

A Look Back ......

I am in a nostalgic mood, it's autumn, Halloween is coming, and I decided to re-print one of my earliest posts, done on October 21, 2009. It fits the season. I did not yet know most of you, my Faithful Readers, and I'd like to share it with you. It's a strange, wonderful little movie that I don't think has ever been given its due. If I wrote it today, I would give more information about history, trivia -- all the things I have learned over the past two years. However, I am not changing any text. All that I have done is add a couple of great pictures that I found. I didn't even know Bing.com existed when I started, and I didn't know how to do captions!

My post is just below.  Changing the date on an older post does not make it a new one.  It doesn't show up on blogrolls!  Thus, this little prologue -- if you have not read it, I hope you enjoy it.

Legends of The Headless Horseman



Dark and frightening horseman ... artist unknown



I always thought that the story of the Headless Horseman from Washington Irving's The Legend of Sleepy Hollow and was a uniquely American story.  Not so, it seems, for the legend, with some variations, exists in Ireland, Scotland, Germany and likely other countries as well.  Each paragraph of my article is illustrated with some really beautiful works of art depicting the Horseman.
  

Wild chase through the woods ... artist unknown

Irving describes the horseman thus:   "Ichabod, who had no relish for this strange midnight companion ... quickened his steed in hopes of leaving him behind. The stranger, however, quickened his horse to an equal pace. Ichabod pulled up, and fell into a walk, thinking to lag behind,--the other did the same. His heart began to sink within him. ...There was something in the moody and dogged silence of this pertinacious companion that was mysterious and appalling. It was soon fearfully accounted for. On mounting a rising ground, which brought the figure of his fellow-traveller in relief against the sky, gigantic in height, and muffled in a cloak, Ichabod was horror-struck on perceiving that he was headless!--but his horror was still more increased on observing that the head, which should have rested on his shoulders, was carried before him on the pommel of his saddle!"

From  the British Museum, equestrian
painting of a headless horseman

In 1796, Sir Walter Scott translated The Wild Huntsman, originally written by German poet Gottfried Burger, based on Germanic legend of a huntsman who does have a head, chasing unsuspecting riders in the night to their death.  Other Germanic folklore speaks of a headless horseman who wears a long grey coat, astride a grey horse, blowing a hunting horn to warn hunters of impending accidents.  In other versions, he has a pack of hounds with tongues of fire.  (Cool!)

A classic film-lover's horseman ... stark black and white

Scotsman Robert Burns wrote Tam O'Shanter in 1790, a narrative poem about a poor man riding at night, chased by really disgusting demons of all kinds who cannot cross running water or bridges.

Striking illustration by Kanaru92

I love the legend from the Green Isle best!  In Irish folklore the headless horseman, called the Dullahan, is a terrifying figure galloping through the night, holding his head under his arm, as the arbiter of death.  He wields a human spine as a whip, gallops to a place where someone will die and reins in his wild horse, where the head calls out the doomed person's name.  As told in the legend taken down from oral tradition by Thomas Crofton Croker in Fairy Legends and Traditions of The South of Ireland (1906), the headless horseman is completely different and much more dark and horrifying than any of the above versions:  

(As told by Irishman Charley Culnan on his way home from the pub one dark night) -- "His vision failed in carrying him further than the top of the collar of the figure's coat, which was a scarlet single-breasted hunting frock, having a waist of a very old-fashioned cut reaching to the saddle, with two huge shining buttons at about a yard's distance behind ... see further he could not, and after straining his eyes for a considerable time to no purpose, he exclaimed, with pure vexation, "By the big bridge of Mallow, it is no head at all he has!"   "Look again, Charley Culnane," said a hoarse voice, that seemed to proceed from under the right arm of the figure.  Charley did look again, and now in the proper place, for he clearly saw, under the aforesaid right arm, that head from which the voice had proceeded, and such a head no mortal ever saw before. It looked like a large cream cheese hung round with black puddings: no speck of colour enlivened the ashy paleness of the depressed features; the skin lay stretched over the unearthly surface, almost like the parchment head of a drum. Two fiery eyes of prodigious circumference, with a strange and irregular motion flashed like meteors ..., and a huge mouth reached from either extremity of two ears, which peeped forth from under a profusion of matted locks of lustreless blackness. This head, which the figure had evidently hitherto concealed from Charley's eyes, now burst upon his view in all its hideousness."

Unique art works of the Horseman, with a Disney finale:

I love this impressionistic sketch by Maquinafantasma

Black and brooding, with the demon
horse, by Jurei-Chan

Pumpkin carving, artist unknown

                           A YEARLY HALLOWEEN TRADITION -- DISNEY!

By the time the legend of the Headless Horseman got to Disney, the terrifying demonic creature was still scary, but mainly to children, and the dark nature of the stories, especially the Irish Dullahan, had changed the head to a glowing pumpkin. However, I will always have a special place in my heart for Disney's bumbling Ichabod Crane, and will remember that I was just as scared as poor Ichabod when the horseman gave chase through the wind-swept autumn woods!


Who could ever forget Disney's Legend of Sleepy Hollow  from 1949?

Seeing THIS coming at your would scare anyone of ANY age



My First Article For ClassicBecky's Brain Food, 2 Years Ago Today--"The Most Terrifying Book I Have Ever Read"



Then as now ... autumn is my time

Two years ago today, October 6, 2009, I posted my first article on my new blog.  I wrote about my favorite book of fright, which also was made into the best supernatural horror movie ever made, in my opinion -- The Haunting of Hill House, by Shirley Jackson.  So, without further ado, I am re-printing that inaugural article for ClassicBecky's Brain Food, just for auld lang syne ...
  
*************
10/6/09
It's October, the wind is sighing through trees, leaves are swirling and the night seems darker somehow.  Halloween is coming with its reminders of the demonic and divine.  This is the perfect time to scare yourself to death with one of the best horror novels ever written.

Shirley Jackson, Author

Shirley Jackson wrote The Haunting of Hill House in 1959, and readers ever since have found themselves unable to put down the book even though goosebumps literally run up and down their arms and they are reluctant to look behind them.  Director Robert Wise was given the book to read in 1962 by a friend.  He took it into his office and sat down to read.  He was about half way through when the friend came into his office and spoke.  Wise jumped halfway out of his chair.  He told the friend "I'm going to make a movie of this."


The Haunting of Hill House is the quintessential haunted house story.  The book tells of Dr. Montague, a parapsychologist, who has brought together three people to stay with him in the massive house, the reputation of which is so bad that people from the nearby village will barely speak of it, and never go there.  Since the death of the original owner, the house has been unoccupied because no one who has ever tried has been able to stay.  According to the professor, the house is diseased, leprous with the evil of the man who built it, Hugh Crane.  It is his determination to record the supernatural activity in the house in pursuit of proof of "the other side."


Dr. Montague and his invited guests Eleanor, Theodora and Luke, find their deepest fears and sensitivities challenged by the chilling atmosphere of the house.  Eleanor is a lonely, shy woman, insecure and vulnerable.  Theo is a bright, vivacious woman with the gift of ESP.  Luke is the nephew of the house's current owner, and only sees the house as a future gold mine for himself.  The relationships between these four people, the imposing housekeeper, Mrs. Dudley and her caretaker husband, and the addition of Dr. Montague's wife, a medium, and her stuffy friend Arthur, are all changed by their stay in the house.  The insensitive suffer no ill effects, but others are not so lucky. 

I will not go further into the plot, because it is exactly the events that transpire in the house that will give you the heebie-jeebies.  No spoilers here!  Robert Wise did indeed make the movie in 1963, called simply The Haunting.  It had a stellar cast, with Julie Harris, Claire Bloom, Richard Johnson and Russ Tamblyn. The four main characters were altered in personality and relationship, others were changed or completely left out, and for some unknown reason the doctor's name is changed to Markway.  However, the movie is a stunning experience of terror, and does justice to Shirley Jackson's magnificent writing.


Do yourself an October favor and get The Haunting of Hill House.  Read it at night with just one reading light on.  Then turn on all the lights before you go to sleep, and don't forget to keep your hands well under the covers.....
10/6/09
*************

It's been a real journey during the two years since I made this first attempt.  I knew only a few people who had come together at the TCM site, and decided to break off and make a group of our own, inspired and led by Rick of Classic Film and TV Cafe.  We are still friends, and have made so many others as the Classic Movie Blog Association grew to the wonderful group it is today.  I was lucky to be in the right place at the right time, meeting the right people and finding something I love to do.  Happy autumn, everyone!  Don't forget to read this book, see the movie, and find out, in the words of the great Vincent Price, "how wonderful it is to be scared to death."

The Dick Van Dyke Blogathon -- My Favorite Episode -- "Coast to Coast Bigmouth"

Ivan of Thrilling Days of Yesteryear was inspired to put together a blogathon for the Dick Van Dyke show, and his inspirations are always right on the money!  A lot of people loved the idea, including me ... this is my contribution.  Click on this link to find the entire line-up:  http://www.thrillingdaysofyesteryear.blogspot.com/.

Dick Van Dyke's weekly comedy show gave us so many memorable laughs, it is hard to pick one to write about.  However, this was the first that popped up in my mind, and it is my favorite:  Coast to Coast Bigmouth ... or, as I always call it, "the episode about Alan's hair."  I loved the shows in which Carl Reiner appeared as Alan Brady, and to me, this episode is easily in the Top 5 of all time (along with the one about the walnuts and the one about the Petrie family brooch shaped like the United States).  It aired during Season 5, on Wednesday, September 15, 1965.  This particular episode really spotlighted the comedic talents of all the main characters:  Mary Tyler Moore as Laura Petrie, Dick Van Dyke as Rob Petrie, and especially Carl Reiner.  Richard Deacon as Mel Cooley, RoseMarie as Sally, Morey Amsterdam as Buddy, and Ann Morgan Guilbert as Millie all had wonderful moments in this episode. 


Laura and Millie at the game show

 Poor Laura... already a bit ditzy herself, and when you put her with Millie, well, chaos erupts.  All for the sake of winning a rotisserie and a vacuum cleaner, Laura is sucked into a live game show hosted by a man who makes Don Rickles look like Loretta Young.  With the skill of a carnival barker, the host manages to confuse Laura with rapid-fire questions, and maneuvers the unsuspecting woman into revealing that TV star Alan Brady is bald.  At that point, the episode goes from good to TV comedy genius.

Laura has to tell Rob that she has blurted out Alan Brady's closest-kept secret. 
Mary Tyler Moore did a fabulous job with her trademark upset stammer that turns to
tears as she tries to explain:  "Well...Rob...you see...Ohhhh, Robbb!"   Van Dyke's
reaction is one of the funniest mugs he ever did, and it received one of the
longest laughs ever in my family, and I imagine many others!


Alan lines up all of his heads of different hair styles on his desk, looks at them and says:  "Fellas...."  I laughed just at that one word, with his hilarious delivery, but it gets better.


"Who wants to see me?  MRS. Petrie?
Well, send her in!"


A brave wife decides to visit the lion in his den, hoping to take the blame and save her husband and his job.

Alan:  "What am I going to do with all these now?"
Laura:  "Well, Alan, there must be some ... needy bald people."
Alan:  "Needy bald people!  Laura, you're a nut!"

http://www.hulu.com/watch/114027/the-dick-van-dyke-show-coast-to-coast-big-mouth
Will Rob and Laura survive the wrath of Brady?  Will Mel Cooley finally get some hair?  To find out, just go to Hulu and watch Episode 1 of Season 5.  I'll never tell!

The Night Gallery -- "Silent Snow, Secret Snow"

For a period of about four years of my life, Wednesday nights at 10:00 p.m. found me in a rut.  I was always doing the same thing – watching The Night Gallery. Oh,  I missed a few here and there, particularly when I was in labor and delivery, but always managed to catch up with re-runs. Night Gallery ran on NBC from 1969 to 1973, and it seemed to be famous for three things: (1) many episodes that ran the gamut from outstanding to adequate; (2) many episodes that ran the gamut from tolerable to totally lame; and (3) constant comparison to Serling’s groundbreaking and masterful classic TV series The Twilight Zone.

I never thought comparison to Twilight Zone gave a fair shake to Night Gallery. Such a horror anthology series can only be original once, and Zone had that claim to fame. Zone was, in my mind, consistently better in story and filmmaking. I could name ten times the number of Zone stories that were unforgettable than I could Gallery episodes of the same category. However, out of both of these series, there is one episode I believe to be the best and most beautiful. It has haunted me since the first time I saw it.

October 20, 1971 -- I had returned from my honeymoon and was "making my nest,” as my Mom used to call it. The nest still needed some work, but it was Wednesday, and Night Gallery was on. I missed much of the show, but was on the couch with my husband, the lights off and a candle burning, when a commercial ended and Rod Serling walked into the gallery to introduce this exceptional story.

"For our last offering in the Night Gallery...a painting that brings
to life a legendary classic from the pen of Conrad Aiken.  Fragile,
lovely, haunting.  It's titled Silent Snow, Secret Snow."  (Rod Serling)

Although I usually like to discuss the makers of a film, history behind it and trivia, it is not my intention to do so with this story.  As Serling described, it is a fragile story, and I do not believe will bear too much discussion.  It is significant in three aspects:  the brilliant writing by American poet and novelist Conrad Aiken; the poignant and spine-chilling music by Paul Glass and Oliver Nelson, absolutely essential in creating the mood of this unusual story;  and the mesmerizing narration by Orson Welles.  The protagonist of the story, Paul, is played by young actor Radames Pera, who must also be mentioned for his fine portrayal of a boy descending into madness.

The music sets the stage for the truly hypnotic narration by Welles.  Only a few lines are spoken by characters -- otherwise, the story is told by Welles, the music and the snow. Without these, this fragile story of a young boy's disturbing fate could have been just a typical pedestrian episode of a TV series. With Welles’ narration and the marvelous music, the quietly horrifying journey of young Paul is presented with delicacy and beauty.

Aiken’s story is seen solely from the perspective of Paul. Teacher, parents, doctor, the world itself are seen only through his eyes. Paul is a boy who is becoming obsessed with snow, its pure white beauty, the scouring cold winds that blow in winter, the sparkle of ice. Paul dreams of snow, sees snowy landscapes of great beauty, made more lovely by the music, and he wakes in the morning surprised to find only green grass and trees outside of his window. In a truly inspired technique of storytelling, Paul’s obsession is first revealed in the footsteps of the postman and the double knock he gives on each door as the mail is delivered. At first, as he wakes in the morning, Paul hears the postman’s heavy boots on the sidewalk from far down the street. As the days go on, the postman’s footsteps become muffled, and Paul’s snow dream truly begins.

Soon, Paul’s world begins to shrink.  He lives more and more within himself.  Even parents whom he once loved seem only strange and hostile.  They are strangers who want to separate him from his desire, his fearful yet desperate need for the only thing he sees, the only thing he wants -- the snow:  (Welles) “The snow was waiting. Out of sight, with a voice that said, "Wait, Paul. Just wait till we're alone together. I will tell you something new, something cold, something sleepy, something of cease and peace, and the long bright curve of space…I will be waiting for you.”

I can say no more than I have without spoiling the sense of disquiet and oncoming dread. The story’s ending is as poetic as it is horrifying. For me, quiet horror is the most frightening, and that kind of fright gives me the nightmares that I cannot forget. That Wednesday night in 1971, I was very glad that I did not live alone. It was not only that I was glad for the comforting presence of another person, but also that I was not alone to think and really take in the reality of the fate of the young boy.

Silent Snow, Secret Snow is available to view for free on Hulu. Look up Night Gallery, go to the show page, and find Season 2, Episode 5. It is the last piece for that show’s episode, and is approximately 20 minutes long. (Youtube also has the show, but the clip is blurry and thus loses the artistry – I do not recommend it.)

West Side Story and the New York Skyline...

Today, New York City is in all of our thoughts.  New York in my mind will always look and feel like two separate cities.  The first is the city of the 1930's and 40's, with beautiful brownstone homes, tenements, news kiosks and coffee shops, the Empire State Building (with King Kong on top) -- all in atmospheric, shadowy, beautiful black and white.  The second is the New York of the movie West Side Story.  The opening prologue of West Side Story begins with a representation of the New York skyline in vertical pencil lines, highlighted by shifting colors, while the glorious music plays.  At the end of the prologue music, the pencil lines are replaced by an unforgettable picture of the city from high above.

The World Trade Center was not yet built when West Side Story was made, so it is not in that picture of the skyline.  Now the skyline once again is void of the World Trade Center.  I watched this scene from West Side Story this morning, thinking of the same thing we are all remembering today.  Once those fabulous buildings did not exist.  They stood for a time.  Now they exist no longer.  For all of the people who suffered and died there on this day 10 years ago, for all of us who watched helplessly, for our country which was changed forever after that day -- I am offering the opening prologue of West Side Story, for the music, for the haunting pencilled representation, and for the final glorious birds-eye view of the skyline.  This link will take you to the prologue -- I hope you will go there to experience what I felt this morning, pausing on the picture at the end and thinking of our mortality and our eternal spirit:

http://youtu.be/yuyFTeZXy5I

God be with us all...

John Huston, Montgomery Clift and "Freud"

Hauntingly evocative Spanish-language theatre poster
Freud (also know as Freud - The Secret Passion)

In 1962, a herculean task in movie history was undertaken -- creation of a film about one of history's giants, Sigmund Freud.  Who better to tackle this project than another giant in his own field, John Houston? And who better to create the character of this complicated, tortured, gifted man than another in his own field, Montgomery Clift?  Few films are able to carry in a one-word title such expectation of things to come, but the name of Freud alone carries the weight of a genius who changed the identification and treatment of mental illness forever.  The theories of Sigmund Freud are a source of friction as much in our time as in his own.  Elements of Freud's original theories about the motivations of the subconscious mind have come under fire by some in modern psychiatry, yet are still widely-considered by others to be a major source of blinding truth as powerful as when this great man first postulated his theories.  In particular, Freud's theories of sexuality as the major psychic force, have been argued for generations.


Freud in 1885

 John Huston's film deals with the five-year period of 1885-1890 during which Freud began his journey into the field of mental illness with patients who had been termed "hysterical."  These patients, the most recognizable being women, suffered from physical maladies for which no organic cause could be found.  Doctors of the time erroneously assumed this to be exclusively the province of women, thus using the word hysteria which has its roots in the Greek regarding female.  The patients were written off as overly-dramatic females looking for attention.  Freud disagreed strongly, realized that this strange malady is also suffered by men, and was drawn to find the real root causes.  In these beginning years of discovery with regard to mental illness Freud made use of hypnosis, at the time a very controversial technique, to probe the mind for origins of mental trauma so heinous as to cause such debilitating problems as blindness and the inability to walk.


Montgomery Clift as Freud

 This early evolution of Freud's journey from hospital neurologist to ground-breaking theorist and practitioner is the subject of John Huston's Freud.   The years of Freud's career from 1885 to 1890 are considered the birth of psychoanalysis, and it is this period of time which with the film concerns itself.  Montgomery Clift, simply put, gives a masterful performance as Freud.  Clift, at only age 42, was nearing the end of his too-short life  The alcoholic, mental and physical  health problems affecting Clift caused such difficulties during filming that Universal Studios sued him for the cost of delays caused by him.  Fortunately, the trial took place after release of the film, showing it to be so successful and money-making for the studio, due mainly to the draw and performance of Clift, that the court ended up awarding a settlement to Clift, not the studio.  His great performance notwithstanding, some moviegoers were unhappy with his appearance in the film, disliking the moustache, beard and stiff-collared clothes designed to give Clift the realistic look of Freud.  Certain fans were not impressed, expecting to see the same clean-shaven, modern, handsome actor to whom they were accustomed.  More discerning moviegoers appreciated the experience that for the length of the movie, they might have been seeing Freud himself.

John Huston

Epic director Huston took a narrative approach to the movie, with his own distinctive voice as narrator, which I believe was an asset to the feel of the film as an almost documentary-type depiction of a piece of true history.  An absorbing screenplay by Charles Kaufman (Bridge to the Sun, When Tomorrow Comes) included, without shrinking, the often disturbing words of patients and doctor probing intimate sexual secrets. (Originally, the famed Jean Paul Sartre was slated to write the screenplay.  His work was found to be too long, complicated and unusable.  Huston and Sartre did not share the same vision, nor did they get along well.  Sartre eventually published his own screenplay as a book, "The Freud Scenario.")  Stark black and white cinematography, utilizing shadows and odd camera angles to depict a cave-like atmosphere in scenes depicting nightmares and memory, was beautifully created by Douglas Slocombe (Lion in Winter, Raiders of the Lost Ark).  Perhaps the most unusual behind-the-scenes story is the musical score by Jerry Goldsmith (prolific writer of movie scores, as well as many Twilight Zone episodes).  I had not seen Freud for many years, and in watching it recently, the music was very familiar to me, only not in the context of the score of that movie.  After much thought and not a little frustration, I realized where I had heard it before.  It was a famous part, note by note, of the score to the 1979 movie Alien.  I discovered that Jerry Goldsmith also composed the score for Alien.  Goldsmith did not, however, intend for his score from Freud to be used either in part or whole.  It was a studio decision to use his previous work for a particularly important scene in Alien, and Goldsmith was not happy about it.


David McCallum

 

Clift and Susannah York



Freud's nightmare - delving deeply into the subconscious mind


In his beginning treatment, particularly of two patients, Freud began to develop his theory of the interpretation of dreams, the act of free association of words, and finally his discovery of "talk therapy," the infant name for the treatment of mental illness which Freud eventually termed "psychoanalysis."  The first of Freud's significant patients, Carl, is played by young David McCallum in his first movie role.  The deep-seated problems of this young man disturb the young doctor so badly that he cannot continue his treatment.  An eerie nightmare scene shows the extent of Freud's own intimate secrets and his reluctant discovery of the concept of infant sexuality and the origin of the Oedipus complex.  The short scene with McCallum and Freud's subsequent nightmare are disturbing, even now when we think we have seen everything.  The second patient, Cecily, played by Susannah York, forms the main basis for Freud's discoveries of feelings and events that had no name before he came along -- repression, false abuse memories, dream interpretation as a tool for deep memory, intensive talk therapy rather than hypnosis, and the transference of love from patient to therapist which is common in psychoanalysis.  York is excellent, although if Jean Paul Sartre had had his way, Marilyn Monroe would have played the part. In her early youth, Monroe could have played such a part well, as she did the part of the mentally disturbed young woman in 1952's Don't Bother To Knock.  However, by 1962 she was a mature woman and well-known sex symbol, no longer suitable for the part of a sick young girl.

The supporting cast is quite good, including Susan Kohner in a rather wasted part as Freud's wife Martha; Larry Parks as Dr. Breuer, Freud's partner and champion; and Eric Portman as Dr. Meynert, a man who was secretly aware of his own neuroses, yet worked to destroy Freud in the medical community.  A special nod should be given to character actor Fernand Ledoux as Dr. Charcot, a practitioner of medical hypnosis who was a great influence on Freud's development of the psychoanalytic method. 

Freud in later years

During his lifetime, Freud developed many explanations for the workings of the human mind, perhaps the most famous being his categorization of the three elements of the unconscious mind -- the id, the super-ego and the ego.  Fans of the classic science fiction film Forbidden Planet will remember "monsters from the id" --- the portion of the psyche without strictures of conscience, struggling to break through and act without thought of consequence.  Freud called the second element of the psyche the super-ego, entirely opposite of the id, and acts strictly as the moral compass for the mind.  The third element, the ego, Freud believe to be the psychic element of balance for the other two.  Later in his career came another theory still fervently argued today, the aspect of deep-seated feminine envy of the male.  Indeed, to tell the whole story of Freud would require more than one movie can fulfill.

Freud is rarely shown on television and difficult to find for renting.  I was unable to find out why in my research.  It was a well-received, though controversial movie in 1962.  I was lucky enough to find the entire movie on Youtube.  The most enlightening and sexually open discussion of Freud's belief that sexuality is the driving force of human motivation is given in a scene of Freud's presentation to the medical society. The Victorian-era doctors are horrified and totally outraged.  I have set forth below the clip that includes this marvelous scene, a better example of both Clift's performance and the impact of the theory than I could ever write. To view the scene, forward to 2:37 and watch to 6:05.  It is a worthwhile four minutes for anyone who admires Huston's direction, Montgomery Clift's acting talent, great writing and unstinting truth.  Actually, those are the four best reasons to find and watch this extraordinary movie.

 

 

Four Little Gems -- Old Movies That Are New To Me

I ran across four little movie gems as I surfed through Netflix Instant Streaming, my last remaining source of uncut classic films, at least apart from my collection.  I have been pretty happy with the amount of classics available, although certainly not as many as a fan like me would like.  In using the Netflix suggestions, I found these four movies that I have watched one after the other, just mesmerized with them.   I do not say that they are great movies, or worthy of extensive praise -- they are all from the 1940's, most British, lovely black and white, not fast-paced yet keeping your attention .. just good little movies that appealed to me  My intention here is not to review, but to recommend.  They are pictured below, and I have numbered them in order of my favorites:


The Lost Moment (1947)  (My #1)
A story of high romance involving an American publisher searching for the long-lost love
letters of a great poet to his lover, Julianna.  the American finds Julianna, very aged, still alive
and living with her  mysterious niece in an old house filled with secrets, tragedy and madness.



Good Time Girl (1948)  (My #2) 
(pictured here, Flora Robson and a very young Diana Dors)
As narrated by a caseworker to another troubled girl, we learn the story of Gwen, unfolding
from abusive childhood, to rebellious teens, to eventual involvement in the world of crime
a a party girl whose young life is ruined by tragedy.  Although cetainly a moral message tale,
Good Time Girl is not a "B" exploitation fillm - I found it to be quite good with a talented cast.

 

Hungry Hill (1947)  (My #3)
A wealthy British family in the early 19th century makes a business decision to sink
a copper mine into the countryside of Hungry Hill, a venture which affects both the
family and community with several generations of both tragedy and hard-won redemption.

  

Beware of  Pity (1946)  (My #4)
A young British army officer becomes reluctantly involved  in the life of
a young crippled girl of a wealthy family.  The young man cannot return her love,
but finds himself embroiled in her family's appeal to him to help the girl by pretending to do so.

 All four films feature popular British and American actors of the era, many who cross over from one film to another, including Dennis Price, Margaret Lockwood, Maurice Elvey, Jean Kent, Peter Glenville -- and actors who eventually achieved greater fame such as Flora Robson, Herbert Lom, Robert Cummings Jean Simmons and Susan Hayward.  All are about mystery, madness, family dynasty, tragedy and even hope.  One or two may have been considered "B" films, although I have found that the term "B" film with regard to a British movie is different in quality from American.  Perhaps it is the accents!  They always just sound intelligent!

When you are looking for something you have not seen, something good, give these four movies a try.  I think you may react as I did, enjoying all of them, and finding that one or two may even become favorites.

The Mystery Science Theatre 3000 Guys Do It Again!



Mike Nelson with his Robot Friends



Bill Corbett with his alter-ego, Crow T. Robot





Kevin Murphy, the man behind the
gumball head of  Tom Servo 





I thought you might enjoy a little update of the live-by-satellite theatre showing of Jack the Giant Killer, a movie which was verbally demolished by the Mystery Science Theatre 3000 trio in fine form.  (See my original pre-show article here: (http://www.classicbeckybrainfood.blogspot.com/2011/08/special-theatre-showing-of-really-bad.html)  You don't very often hear an audience of adults giggling and snorting, but that's what we did all through this special presentation.  My son and I left the theatre with sore facial muscles caused by extreme laughing.  We were also developing bruises on our ribs from reaching over and poking each other constantly.

Mike Nelson, Bill Corbett and Kevin Murphy appeared onstage/onscreen to do their shtick, and seeing their own live faces as well as hearing the familiar robot voices made the experience even more fun.  I cannot even begin to describe the stream of  marvelous humor, but some of the pertinent snarky remarks included:  "So, is he a really big guy who kills? ... No, dummy, he's a regular-sized guy killing a giant!" ... "Hey, he seems more like Jack the Giant Annoyer to me!" ... "Hoist the cliches, me hearties!" ... "Look!  The villain is a chubby version of Ming the Merciless!" ... "My God, Jack is wearing a Peter Pan outfit to fight a giant!"  Some of my favorites were aimed at the particularly annoying little leprechaun who lived in a bottle and spouted rhymes continuously.  The Irish jokes were plentiful, my favorite being, "I'll be free and puking up Guinness soon!"  I know the little green guy was supposed to be beguiling and beloved, but I just kept wanting to say "Be quiet!"

Rifftrax presents the MST3K guys periodically in theatres all over the country.  When you get the chance, be sure to attend one and have a great time with lots of other like-minded, sick-humored folks! 

Could You Use A Good Movie Laugh? I Could!



The great Leopold Stokowski and Mickey Mouse.
How did this odd combination come about?

Well, of course, Stokowski and Mickey met during Fantasia, the 1940 Disney masterpiece of animation and classical music.  If you know Fantasia well, I bet you thought I was going to link to Mickey's piece, "The Sorcerer's Apprentice."  Nope.  I just love this picture of the grand old man of classical music and the mouse.

No, this all really came about because I was thinking about going on a diet.  As a rather odd classical music and movie lover with brain synapse problems, this naturally led my thoughts to Fantasia, "The Dance of the Hours," and the hippos in tutus that we all love.  (Now, let me hasten to add that I don't think I need a diet that badly.)  OK, now that we've cleared that up, let us continue.

I am working on an article for my blog that is rather heavy (I swear that was accidental).  I needed a break from it, and I also needed to lighten up personally.  Strange things are happening here at CasaClassicBecky, and I want something that will make me laugh so hard I choke.  Doesn't sound like fun when you put it that way, but it is!  I found out some interesting things about how "The Dance of the Hours" was made as well.  For instance, I never knew that Walt Disney hired dancers from the Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo to perform the ballet so that the animators would have reference to recreate the dance movements for the ostriches, hippos and alligators.  These dancers were not just the chorus, either -- the most surprising participant was Leonide Massine, premiere Russian dancer and choreographer whom many classic film mavens know as the demonic shoemaker from The Red Shoes.  The wonderful Cyd Charisse, a classically trained dancer, also took part.



The great Massine

Dad always called Cyd "The Legs"...















 



 



Sure, I can see the resemblance...

 
As long as we are talking about the interest that true artists had in being involved with Fantasia, this little anecdote is the one that fascinated me most. Stokowski was a giant in the world of classical music.  He inspired such awe in audiences and other artists that everybody was practically afraid of him, including, apparently, Walt Disney.  Following is a quote from the Internet Movie Database: 

"Walt Disney himself related the story of a chance meeting with Leopold Stokowski at Chasen's. They agreed to have dinner together. As they talked, Disney told of his plans to do "The Sorcerer's Apprentice" and other possible projects using classical music with animation. Disney said that he was stunned when Stokowski, then one of the two most famous conductors in the country (the other being Arturo Toscanini), responded by saying, "I would like to conduct that for you." It was an offer he couldn't pass up."

Apparently, many artists at the height of their talents and careers could see the great potential in Disney's ambitious project.  And they were so right. 

Now it's time to laugh.  Here is "The Dance of the Hours" as presented in Fantasia in all its hilarious glory.  I can feel the corners of my lips starting to curl upward already...


http://youtu.be/zaMlGheUlXU

Hitchcock and Herrmann--Alliance of Giants

Nothing lasts forever, but their genius will live on in our dreams.

Today, on Alfred Hitchcock's birthday, I cannot help but think of Bernard Herrmann.  Hitchcock and Herrmann were established professionals when they began to work together ... Hitchcock a great director, and Herrmann a great composer.  They did not need each other to be remembered for their work, but together they created a unique partnership in movie history.  Both were strong-willed men, both clung to their own ideas, and their relationship was stormy.  But what matter to us?  Their film alliance produced some of the best movies ever made, because of Hitchcock's incredible film visions and Herrmann's musical genius.

I have always considered Vertigo to be Hitchcock's masterpiece, and believe it was so in large part because of the perfection of Herrmann's musical score.  To celebrate both, I decided to listen to the Main Theme from Vertigo as interpreted by the fabulous Los Angeles Philharmonic and conductor Esa-Pekka-Salonen.  To those who have seen Vertigo, no more needs to be said.  For those who have not, no more needs to be explained as the strongest recommendation to do so.




Alfred Hitchcock (8/13/99 - 4/29/80. 
Bernard Herrmann (6/29/11 - 12/24/75). 
Equals in greatness.

A Tribute To Errol Flynn As His Own Sun Was Setting - His Performance In The Sun Also Rises

Errol Flynn as Mike Campbell in The Sun Also Rises

Errol Flynn died at the age of 50, a little over two years after appearing in 1957's The Sun Also Rises. Ernest Hemingway's novel is a story of people whose lives had been changed forever, some ruined, by the horrors of World War I. Hemingway's characters were damaged human beings who had lost their personal centers of identity with their war experiences, and they wandered in disillusionment and disenchantment. Flynn's character, Mike Campbell, is the most heartbreaking, and his performance was superb. The Sun Also Rises was not his last film, but it was his last significant performance, one which should have put to rest once and for all the ridiculous question of whether or not Errol Flynn was a real actor.

Errol Flynn as Mike Campbell, Eddie Albert as Bill Gorton, and Tyrone Power as Jake Barnes

My piece about this movie is not intended as a review, but as a spotlight for a wonderful actor who was never given his due by the industry to which he gave his talent, and for whose success he played a significant part. In discussing Flynn's work in The Sun Also Rises, it should be noted that the film was criticized for the choices of actors to play the leading roles. All were older than called for. Tyrone Power, Flynn and Eddie Albert were all in their late 40's. As per the usual Hollywood double standard, beautiful 34-year old Ava Gardner, who looked too young to be believable as a contemporary of the men, was cast as Brett Ashley. Gardner did a fine job, but casting her only further pointed up the age factor. Power and Flynn, both of whom battled alcoholism, difficult personal lives and the ravages of time, had lost the beauty of their youth, and this was probably a factor in the criticism as well.  Inexplicably, movie audiences were apparently unaware that youth and beauty do not last forever, even for movie stars, and perhaps they could not forgive their heroes for being real men.  I believe that The Sun Also Rises has its flaws, but it is a great film. This is due in large part to the performance of Errol Flynn.

It has been said that the character of Mike Campbell was so much like Flynn himself that it did not require much acting on his part. To my mind, that criticism shows incredible ignorance of acting as a craft as well as a gift.  Yes, the part of Mike Campbell is that of an aging, alcoholic playboy, but even if an actor drinks in his personal life, he cannot work if he is really drunk, and no director would put up with it.  People who are truly intoxicated are unobservant, clumsy and not sharp enough to work.  Actors have to remember lines, make the mark required for the shot, act with subtlety when required -- Flynn was acting.  It could not have been easy for him either.  Mike was a man of great charm whose looks and fortune were gone, who was no longer receiving the easy attention his youth and beauty once gave him, a  man forced to question all of the decisions of his life.  Flynn at this time was also dealing with the ultimate experience of all people reaching the latter part of life -- seeing the mistakes of our youth catch up with us and trying to deal with it.

Even in his older years, a "colorful fragment in a drab world."
(Pictured here in Crossed Swords)

When he was very young, with all of life before him, Flynn said, "I intend to live the first half of my life. I don't care about the rest." What young person ever truly believes he will get old and ill, or addicted to dangerous habits, or find tragedy in life? That belief in immortality is the charm of youth, and Flynn had more charm than anyone around him. When he matured and found that life as a movie star was not the picture of glamour most of us think, he once said, "It isn't what they say about you. It's what they whisper." There were many whispers surrounding Flynn's life, as well as headline shouts. When he began to age, and cruel remarks were made about him playing caricatures of himself, he said, "I allow myself to be understood as a colorful fragment in a drab world." Flynn was an enigmatic man, charismatic and determined to live fully to the end of his life, but also a man with demons to battle. Olivia deHavilland, who knew him well in his peak career days, said of Flynn, "He was a charming and magnetic man, but so tormented." Most surprising to me, even Jack Warner, known to be a harshly insensitive man who didn't like actors, Flynn included, once said, "Errol Flynn was one of the most charming and tragic men I have ever known."
*Quotes credited to Flynn's own writings and the Internet Movie Database* 

Flynn with Ava Gardner as Brett Ashley

The complex role of Mike Campbell required the ability to play charm, frighteningly-quick anger, self-deprecating humor, jealousy, disappointment and deep sadness. This was not an easy part to play, and despite his personal problems, Flynn was magnificent. The character of Mike carried much of the story's pathos on his shoulders, and Flynn's many scenes are some of the best. He received critical praise for his performance. So he was obviously nominated for an Oscar for best supporting actor, right? No. According to daughter Rory Flynn's website devoted to her Dad:  "A recent Australian documentary on his life and career, narrated by Christopher Lee, included a film clip of Errol Flynn being interviewed on his being nominated for the Academy Award for his critically acclaimed performance in The Sun Also Rises. We are then told that the nomination 'disappeared'.  (http://www.inlikeflynn.com/.) 

That is all I could find out. You know, I'm sure that the incredibly handsome, don't-give-a-damn-what-you-think type of man like Flynn grated a lot of people the wrong way. I'm sure he could be difficult to deal with, as are many people. I'm certain men felt a jealous hate because their women wanted him -- women felt similar emotions because they couldn't have him exclusively. I would bet the family farm that many of these were the very people in the movie industry who had the ability to deny him a well-deserved chance at an award.  Flynn had always wanted very much to be considered a serious actor, and official recognition of this role would have done it for him.

The 1957 Best Supporting Actor nominees would have provided stiff competition for Flynn that year.  Red Buttons, who won for Sayonara, and Sessue Hayakawa, nominated for The Bridge On The River Kwai, both gave fantastic performances. Vittorio de Sica was excellent in A Farewell To Arms.  Flynn had given a performance of a stature that clearly belonged with those.  But do you know who the other two nominees were? Russ Tamblyn and Arthur Kennedy for Peyton Place! No disrespect intended to those actors, but for that movie and those performances, it was an absolute joke. Somebody wanted to be sure Flynn was left out, and did so in such a manner that they may as well have knocked on his door and slapped his face. Shameful.

Even today, when our culture is supposedly more tolerant and open, and when Flynn is loved more than ever before by classic film fans, the movie industry still refuses any tribute to him.  His loving daughter Rory has been trying to get a tribute to her Father from the Oscar people, and recently had to post on her aforementioned website:  "Dear supporters, We have all struggled to have the Academy of Motion Pictures award a posthumous Oscar to Errol Flynn. I am sad to share with you that the academy will not be able to do so. The president of the Academy, Mr. Sid Janis has informed me that the academy will not and has not given the award posthumously. It is a sad moment for me personally and I know to the many who share with me the joy and happiness that Errol Flynn brought to the screen and to our hearts. Thank you for your support. Rory." 

Janis's statement that the Academy does not give posthumous awards is just not true. My blogging friend Caftan Woman advised me that the great Edward G. Robinson had never been awarded an Oscar, and he was dying when the Academy decided to give him an honorary award.  Robinson died before the Oscar ceremony was ever held, yet he was posthumously given the honor he definitely deserved.  Selective regulations do not sit well with me, and I think the Academy's reasoning about Flynn shows incredible hypocrisy in denying this wonderful actor the recognition from his peers that he hoped for during his life.

I am providing a link to Youtube so that any interested readers who have not done so, can see first-hand the quality of Flynn's performance in The Sun Also Rises. Actually, the link is to the entire movie, which surprised me to find. I am providing here the beautiful opening credit, and 3 particular scenes in which Errol Flynn just shines, with the exact places for you to forward and easily find them. If you choose to watch these, the short time it takes is worth every second.

http://youtu.be/d3la1ueMgxw

Opening credits with composer Hugo Friedhofer's magnificent score:
   From the very beginning to the director's credit.

Cafe scene after bullfight:
   1:16:20 - 1:19:16

Outdoor cafe after the fiesta:
   1:34:20 - 1:37:10

My favorite of Flynn's scenes, very short, revealing Mike as he truly is, when no one is looking:
   1:51:20 - 1:53:22


*I wrote and published this article originally on the Classic  Film and TV Cafe movie blog of which I am a member.  I would also like to thank Caftan woman, whose tip about the posthumous Oscar situation was so valuable.  Links to both sites can be found on my blogroll at the sidebar*