The iconic DARK SHADOWS. Tim Burton. Johnny Depp. A lavishly budgeted production enabling old fans to rekindle the magic of the TV classic they grew up with. A chance to attract new fans unfamiliar with the original. Cameo appearances by beloved original cast members. Pre-release advertising saturation. How could it possibly miss?
Here’s how.
One of the producers admitted in Entertainment Weekly that he had never heard of the original “Dark Shadows” (the 1966-71 ABC-TV gothic/supernatural soap phenomenon that so swept the country that its star vampire was summoned to a Halloween party at the Nixon White House), so he simply “studied up” by watching DVDs. As if. The extent of the similarly clueless EW writer’s grasp of the original was that it “was notorious for its cheapo production values and campy melodramas.”
Such superficiality overlooks the 1225-episode original as an absorbing, magical fantasy. More than just a television show, “Dark Shadows” was a total experience. Its characters – whether conventional or other-worldly, good or evil – had compelling, often sympathetic, human appeal. You wanted to step into their world. You cared for most of them, even the evil ones. That’s why, like thousands of kids across America, I used to run home after school to watch it. That’s why I got hooked again when the Sci-Fi Channel resurrected it in the ‘90s.
Who wants to wait until the 31st to wallow in Halloween indulgences and scary movies?! Home Projectionist doesn’t! And so we’ll have pairings of 31 Frights and 31 Bites every one of October’s 31 nights: a scary, snack size movie “trick”, and a delicious “treat” to go along with it.
Trick & Treat for October 2nd:
WHATEVER HAPPENED TO BABY JANE? (1962; Bette Davis, Joan Crawford, Victor Buono; directed by Robert Aldrich) Former vaudeville child star “Baby Jane” Hudson (Bette Davis) has left her best days far behind her. Now, as an adult, she lives in a dark, locked-up Hollywood mansion with her talented, but now disabled, movie star sister, Blanche (Joan Crawford). The child-like, cruel and delusional Jane taunts and torments Blanche relentlessly. This fascinating, grotesquely sad horror movie was a forerunner of films starring aging, big-name actors in gaudy dramas. There are plenty of nuts here in more ways than one. So fasten (and loosen) your seat belts, it’s going to be a bumpy night!
ON THIS DAY in 1967, lawyer and civil rights advocate Thurgood Marshall was sworn in as the first African-American justice of the United States Supreme Court. His life was documented in the 2011 HBO film of the theatrical play, THURGOOD, starring Laurence Fishburne.
Who wants to wait until the 31st to wallow in Halloween indulgences and scary movies?! Home Projectionist doesn’t! And so we’ll have pairings of 31 Frights and 31 Bites every one of October’s 31 nights: a scary, snack size movie “trick”, and a delicious “treat” to go along with it.
Trick & Treat for October 1st:
THE BLACK CAT (1934; Bela Lugosi, Boris Karloff; directed by Edgar G. Ulmer) Devil worshiper and architect Karloff confronts doctor (Lugosi) in Karloff’s streamlined yet bizarre, claustrophobic home. Creepy, chilling, scary. The Black Cat and a Kit Kat! Both classics!
ON THIS DAY in 1946, members of the political, military, and economic leadership of defeated Nazi Germany were sentenced at the Nuremberg Trials. Director Stanley Kramer’s 1961 film, JUDGMENT AT NUREMBERG, starring Spencer Tracy, dramatized these post-war tribunals.
ON THIS DAY in 1927, Babe Ruth hit his 60th home run of the season, establishing a Major League Baseball record that was held until 1961. In 1948, Ruth’s feat was portrayed by William Bendix in THE BABE RUTH STORY.
Recently I was reminiscing about the days before the Internet when if you wanted to see a movie or hear a song you had to either take pot luck with what was on television or save up your pennies and buy a recording. Nothing instant. Favorite film viewings were treasured experiences. I recall getting the TV Guide each week and my mother and I would circle the films that we wanted to watch. Hers in red; mine in blue. I was lucky to have parents who didn’t care when I slept. I would stay up all night watching movies on our giant 19-inch Panasonic black and white television set. If the movie was something really special, I would take our reel-to-reel tape recorder and capture the audio by putting the microphone to the tiny speaker. Over and over I would listen to the soundtrack of THE POSEIDON ADVENTURE,THE HAUNTING, and the Marx Brothers’ HORSE FEATHERS, acting them out and memorizing every line. (You should have seen the pillows fly during the ship capsizing scene!)
After years of instant cinema gratification with DVDs and the Internet, I think we should reflect on how lucky film buffs are today. Decades before I was even born, the only way someone could revisit a film was either through a re-release of the feature, which was done for only really popular films such as GONE WITH THE WINDor FRANKENSTEIN, was to hear a dramatization on the radio.
Lux Radio was a weekly anthology program that recreated for radio the films of the day. Most of them we now regard as classics. Starting in 1935 on NBC with Cecil B. DeMille as the host such films as THE AWFUL TRUTH,DARK VICTORY, STAGE DOOR, HIS GIRL FRIDAY, THE PHILADELPHIA STORY, ALLABOUT EVE,LAURA, were all adapted for radio. There were several other programs that did this as well, including Academy Award Theater and Screen Director’s Playhouse. Whenever possible, the original cast was brought back to recreate their original roles.
These Reader’s Digest versions of these films are treasures. In the early 1970’s Chicago was blessed to have Chuck Schaden living in our city. He was a collector of old radio programs and he started his Those Were the Days radio program. It was my first time experiencing many of these classic films. And with my trusty tape recorder, I was able to capture many of them and re-listen multiple times to LIFEBOAT, W.C. Fields in POPPY, and LOST HORIZON.I had known these titles as radio productions years before I watched the actual films.
If you haven’t listened to one of your favorite films, you are missing a treat. May I recommend the website www.otrcat.org. I’ve been shopping from this site for years and it’s got the most complete collection of radio shows around. ClickHERE to be brought to their Lux Radio Theater page and listen to the radio version of THE DAY THE EARTH STOOD STILLwith Michael Rennie and Jean Peters in the Patricia Neal role.
YouTube has many shows that you can easily access. Here below, is Alfred Hitchcock directing a radio version of his film LIFEBOAT, with Tallulah Bankhead and Jeff Chandler.
Here Lionel Barrymore introduces the original cast of LAURA
ON THIS DAY in 1966, General Motors introduced the Chevrolet Camaro “pony car”–a competing model to the Ford Mustang. A first-generation Chevy Camaro was featured prominently in the 1976 film, EAT MY DUST!, starring Ron Howard.
English: Publicity photo of Andy Williams from his television show. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
Andy Williams is gone. We will miss his charm, his distinctive voice (formally declared a “national treasure”), and his singular, laid-back style that we came to know through his long run as a recording artist and entertainer of stage and television.
Although he’s known for his blockbuster hits of several movie theme songs, including, of course, Moon River and Love Story, Andy didn’t have a substantive track record as an actor on the silver screen.
There is one little treasure, though, that I am longing to see. Williams starred in the Ross Hunter romantic comedy I’D RATHER BE RICH (1964), along with Sandra Dee, Robert Goulet, Maurice Chevalier, Hermione Gingold, Charles Ruggles, and Rip Taylor. What a cast. What possibilities.
From the reviews and clips I’ve seen, I’D RATHER BE RICHappears to be a delightful indulgence, and it includes the captivating song Almost There. Unfortunately, a quality home video DVD version isn’t available. It seems a mystery that this one’s been neglected, but the good news is that there is an opportunity to vote in favor of such a release here on the Turner Classic Movie web site.
Please vote today and help us get this one out in honor of Andy. RIP, Mr. Williams. You were one in a million.
SPECIAL NOTE: Home Projectionist blogger, Ben Alba, was a personal friend of Andy Williams. To access his recent WGN radio interview reflecting on Williams’ life, go to Remembering Andy Williams.
Gloria Bowman is a writer, storyteller, blogger, movie lover, freelance editor, and author of the novel, Human Slices. Access her blog at www.gloriabowman.com; on Twitter @GloriaBow
“When yellow leaves, or none, or few, do hang, Upon those boughs which shake against the cold.” So wrote Shakespeare. Of course, he was being poetic about the onset of Fall, at which we mortals find ourselves at this moment in time. Now, setting aside the beautiful Fall scenery of Hitchcock’s THE TROUBLE WITH HARRY, most of Hitch’s “fall” scenes had a slightly less pastoral aspect. Namely, those scenes would often be of a “fall” from a great height. But have no fear, no one will push you. This is merely a quiz, and not even one with a “high level” of difficulty.
(*The quiz title was inspired by Alfred Hitchcock’s North By Northwest:“Something wrong with your eyes?” “Yes”, says the sunglass-clad Roger O. Thornhill (Cary Grant), “They’re sensitive to questions”. Vandamm (James Mason) announces his intentions for the troublesome Eve Kendall (Eva Marie Saint) by saying, “This matter is best disposed of from a great height…”)
ON THIS DAY in 1939, the city of Warsaw, Poland, surrendered to the forces of Nazi Germany. This event was portrayed in THE PIANIST, a 2002 film directed by Roman Polanski and starring Adrien Brody.
East London-based Hot Tub Cinema is adding a simmering new dimension to the world of outdoor movie-watching. And here I thought chaise lounges on the roof were a good idea.
(Thanks to Home Projectionist fan Bruce Bieber of Wines of Washington promotion agency for alerting us to this steamy trend.)
ON THIS DAY in 1930, Bobby Jones completed the “Grand Slam of golf” upon winning the U.S. Amateur Championship. The event was dramatized in the 2004 biographical film, BOBBY JONES: A STROKE OF GENIUS, starring Jim Caviezel.
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