STARSTRUCK/Merman brings the house UP
By Steve Crum
ETHEL MERMAN [1908-84], The Grande Dame of the Broadway Stage, belted out at Kansas City’s Starlight Theatre during the hot and humid summer of 1968. She was in town for a week long run of her Broadway hit musical, Call Me Madam. My senior year at Emporia State was coming soon, and I was working once again as a resident camp counselor at Camp Lake of the Woods in Swope Park. I took the evening off to see the great Merm in person at KC’s legendary outdoor theater, also located in Swope Park. It was less than a mile from my camp.Merman played Sally Adams in Call Me Madam, a role for which she earned a 1951 Tony. Although the Irving Berlin scored play was very dated by 1968 with numerous Harry Truman jokes [he was prez in ’51] and post-WWII atmosphere, it was and remains a Merman classic. She even starred in a feature film version.
Opening night at the Starlight, however, there was a technical difficulty. Merman’s first number, sung stage center, face to the audience, was The Hostess With the Mostes’ on the Ball [“I was born on a thousand acres/Of Oklahoma land…”]. Merman’s microphone was dead. But that did not stop her. She obviously did not require a mic, as her booming voice projected out, up and around, penetrating the eardrum of every audience member in sight. Sitting three rows from the stage, I could really hear every Merman murmur, despite the sound glitch.
Then, around the lyric line, “And in Washington I’m known by one and all/As the hostess with the mostes’ on the ball,” the theater sound system kicked in, and Merman’s belting opened up another 10 notches. The audience, including yours truly, collectively jumped six inches in our seats. Merman never stopped, never hesitated. And the audience applauded her even more for it.
I figured this would be the only chance ever to see Merman in person, and it was. What a sensational performer, and memorable evening.
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For a clip of Ethel Merman singing with Donald O’Connor from the film Call Me Madam, follow this link:
‘District 9’ has terrific action, thought provoking script
By Steve Crum
While a couple of its sequences echo Transformers and Independence Day, District 9 is much, much more. Here is a sci-fi film with bold nuance, triggering multiple blasts at social mores, politics, genetics, mass media, conspiracy, trust, and oppression. District 9’s savvy script, co-written by its director Neill Blomkamp and Terri Tatchell, encompasses a load of thought provoking issues, yet never seems bogged down or labored. The story moves briskly from frame one, and maintains interest consistently. District 9 is a fascinating and exciting movie, the most original of its genre since 1998’s Dark City. Blomkamp’s strong visual effects, including the creatures, weaponry and realistic violence, were influenced by his background as animator for TV’s Dark Angel and Smallville. Co-directing the short Crossing the Line with fantasy film legend Peter Jackson (The Lord of the Rings trilogy) undoubtedly helped too. Their collaboration continues; Jackson produced District 9.
The title refers to the ghetto area in which 1.8 million alien refugees, and we are talking outer space types, reside. Incarcerated is the apt term. The story goes that nearly three decades ago, the creatures were found starving inside a huge space vehicle (think the Independence Day mother ship). Evidently the refugees were the last survivors of their unnamed planet. The ship had been hovering over Johannesburg, South Africa for a long time before it was decided to forcefully cut into the hull for entry. Since the tall, wiry, squid-faced beings preferred garbage over gourmet human food, they were nicknamed “prauns,” denoting their bottom feeding ways. In long shot action sequences and close-up, the CGI generated creatures are stunningly realistic. Incidentally, the prauns crave canned cat food, which turns out to be an interesting plot element.
Now, 20 years later, the prauns still live in their designated District 9, but their numbers have grown. Governments worldwide are tired of dealing with them, and decide to hire a private company, Multi-National United (MNU), to gather up the prauns, and move them to another larger, more comfortable facility. Or so they are told. Mercenary types with tanks, helicopters, missiles and machine guns move in with authorized media coverage. The main TV newsman is South African personality Wikus Van De Menwe (Sharlto Copley), who treats the live, on-air event as a lark. But that is what he is paid to do, to put a spin on the negatives of the occasion. And there are many negatives. Prauns, which speak in their tongue only (with English subtitles), are given to violence. So are the MNU forces. Death and destruction occur, but Wikus laughs it off.
His flippant, condescending manner is tested when he accidentally exposes himself to an alien virus, followed by vomiting and extreme skin reactions. When his body begins to change, Wikus is on the run from the pursuing MNU, who want to literally cut him up for experimentation. It all has to do with extraterrestrial DNA and praun weapons. (Their weapons can only be activated by prauns.) A sub-plot involves Nigerian con men who reside within the praun community, and who trade the creatures cat food for their weapons. They are also pursuing poor Wikus, but for reasons–and religion–cannibalistic. See it to believe it.Meanwhile, in hiding, Wikus befriends a praun scientist and his son whose literally underground plan is to return to their home planet. Homage to E.T. indeed. Then there is a grand finale that includes a Transformer-reminiscent sequence.
It is becoming more difficult for any science fiction film to be entirely free from including creatures and technology reminiscent of those found in previous sci-fi films. If anything, District 9’s inclusions refine and improve. The whole of the film is fresh and original. Plaudits should include the no name cast, particularly Copley. His days of anonymity are now past. For that matter, send another great script to director Blomkamp. Or have him write it himself.
If sensitive, intelligent, and cat food craving creatures whose heads look like transplants from the Star Wars cantina scene is by itself not enough to pique your interest to see District 9, then wherefore art thou?
On an A to F Grade Scale: A
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IT’S CRUMMY TRIVIA TIME…with ALFRED HITCHCOCK!
SPELLBOUND [1945], the terrific Alfred Hitchcock thriller starring Gregory Peck and Ingrid Bergman, has a unique sequence that is jolting and memorable. But you have to look fast. Toward the movie’s end, Leo. G. Carroll’s Dr. Murchison character commits suicide via pistol. In close-up, his gun turns directly to the camera and fires. The flash appears in vivid, Technicolor red in a mere two frames, about a second long.
The kicker is the rest of the movie was filmed in black and white.
Spellbound holds the Guiness book record as having the shortest color sequence of any commercial feature in film history. Bloody good.
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Savoring delicious ‘Julie & Julia’ means no lean cuisine
By Steve Crum
Channeling Julia Child had to be a challenge for Meryl Streep, and I do not mean just getting that distinctive voice down. Streep not only nails the voice, but the body language as well. Most importantly, and amazingly, she embodies the great chef’s spirit. In the vastly enjoyable Julie & Julia, Streep is Julia Child. And Amy Adams’ portrayal of Julie Powell, upon whose book the center of the film is based, is pretty superb as well. Prediction: Both will be nominated as Best Actress, with Streep winning…again.I could not help but channel Julia Child myself, having watched her TV cooking shows over the years, and seen her spoofed by comedians like Dan Aykroyd on Saturday Night Live–which is actually shown in Julie & Julia. Surely anyone who ever heard Child has one of her lines (i.e. “Save the liver!”) to imitate in that deep, quavering, New England voice. I still have Child’s unforgettable narration of Tubby the Tuba on a Boston Pops album. Think Child, and punch, “Tubbbbby.”
Director Nora Ephron’s brilliantly realized screenplay blends two best selling books: Child’s My Life in France, written with Paul Prud’homme, and Powell’s Julie & Julia: 365 Days, 524 Recipes. Julia & Julia exceeds Efron’s best directorial work, You’ve Got Mail and Sleepless in Seattle included. She is, as Child might exude, on a Croissant roll.
The film opens in 1949 Paris. The Childs, Paul (an Oscar caliber turn by Stanley Tucci) and Julia, are moving into their new abode, a comfortable and attractive downtown apartment which Julia immediately praises as being “Versailles.” Cut to 2002, and Julie Powell’s small Queens, N.Y. apartment. Small is key here, since she and her husband Eric (Chris Messina) immediately have issues about space in regard to kitchen area.
Soon into flipping from Julia to Julie and back, it is apparent both women face self crises. Both have willingly moved to support their respective husband’s careers. Now that the guys are content and living near their new jobs, the gals feel empty, and pursue their own career paths. For Julia, it means enrolling in cooking school; Julie starts a new receptionist job downtown, and to blog on her computer. Julia has a great line early on when her husband Paul is trying to help her decide on something to do to occupy her time. “What do you really like to do?” he asks. Julia’s answer: “Eat!” Cooking seems to be her destiny. It is also Julie’s. Utilizing her favorite cookbook, Child’s Mastering the Art of French Cooking, Julie decides to make it the basis of her new blog. In one blog entry per day, for an entire year, she will give an account of creating each and every recipe in Child’s book. That means she will have to cook, bake or grill at least one of the 524 dishes every day. Then she, her husband, and friends will get to eat each meal. That also means Julie has to meet her self imposed deadline of chronicling each day. Generally, she and her husband do OK with the new regimen, but it eventually wears on their relationship. It impacts Julie’s full time job as a phone receptionist as well. There are only so many hours in one day.
Meanwhile, several decades earlier, Julia progresses in her French cooking classes at the celebrated Le Cordon Bleu school in Paris. Despite a language challenge and being the only female student enrolled, her positive drive and intelligence elevate her to the top of the class. Her love for food is shared by her husband, who also loves and, frankly, lusts for Julia throughout the film. And vice versa. Somehow Julia’s catchphrase, “Bon, appetit!” fits here.
The two ladies’ side careers take major turns. Julia Child will eventually write the humongous Mastering the Art… cookbook (734 pages), co-authored by Louisett Bertholle (Helen Carey), and become world famous for it. The frustrating years of publishers rejecting the book are depicted as well. (There is a choice sequence of a meeting with the author of what was then and remains the number one cookbook in the U.S., The Joy of Cooking.) Once Child’s book is published, and heralded as the “seminal culinary work” of all time, Child will find world fame as star of her own TV show(s) as The French Chef. Her personality, as well as her recipes, sells. In a somewhat parallel vein, Julie’s blogs have garnered enough faithful readers that The New York Times features her. This leads to a best selling book, Nora Ephron, and this film.
“All I can think about every day is food,” says Child. “Shopping for food is as interesting as buying a new dress.” Certainly Julie & Julia is about food and the delights of eating. But it is also about love between spouses, and between two authors. Although Julia never met Julie, Julie loved Julia, in a respectful, culinary way.
Ephron’s love for them both is obvious.
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On an A to F Grade Scale: A
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Don’t forget Red, George, ZaSu, Gunther, Dayton, Crazy & Pinky
By Steve Crum
Not so fast, NBC and the Nielsen survey. Last night’s TV’S 50 FUNNIEST PHRASES left out some prime, and prime time, classics. Sure there were memorable phrases uttered by the likes of Bea Arthur’s Maude [“God’ll get you for that one”], Henry Winkler’s Fonzie [“Sit on it!”] and Redd Foxx’s Fred Sanford [“I’m comin’, Elizabeth!”]. And sure, last night’s program was just Part 1, with the second half airing next week. I should wait another week, but I can’t. Judging from last night’s list, few of the programs represented go as far back in TV history as THE JACK BENNY SHOW [1950-65]. While it is great Benny is among the chosen with his “Now cut that out!,” his inclusion is a bit of a fudge. Years before his TV stardom, his radio program was among the top 10. Catchphrases like “Well!” and “Now cut that out!” were spoken way back then.
My memory bank, which needs bail-out, includes a deposit box jammed with comic catchphrases. [No withdrawal jokes, please.] A couple of them might be included in the Top 50; I doubt the rest will. Here are my choices. Can you match them up with the photos above?
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THE RED BUTTONS SHOW [1952-55]: Red created a national sensation when he repeatedly uttered the immortal, “Strange things are happening.” Another Buttons catchphrase was “Ho-Ho!” [He’d say this as he cupped one ear, and hopped around the stage.] The two sayings were so popular that Buttons’ best selling single record included Strange Things Are Happening on one side, and The Ho-Ho Song on the other.THE GEORGE GOBEL SHOW [1954-60]: “Lonesome George” Gobel made tales about his “mean ol’ wife Alice” even funnier when he punctuated them with phrases like “Well, I’ll be a dirty bird” and “We don’t hardly get those no more.” The dirty bird line is still spoken by many of the 50+ bracket today.
THE PINKY LEE SHOW aka THOSE TWO [1950-57]: There were two great, but silly, lines: “Yoo-Hoo, it’s me, my name is Pinky Lee” [his theme song] and “Game time, Pinky, game time!” The latter was yelled at him by one of his cast members as he squeezed and slapped Pinky’s cheeks. This was hilarious to me, an eight year-old.
THE STEVE ALLEN SHOW [1956-61]: Allen’s stock company of talented comedians is legendary. Among them, great catchphrases were born:
DON KNOTTS, always portraying a nervous guy, had his line. Each week, Allen would invariably ask him, “Are you nervous?”, to which Knotts would quickly reply, “Noop!”
DAYTON ALLEN, later famous as the voice of Deputy Dawg, would answer a Steve Allen question with an upraised index finger and the surreal, “Why not?!” By the way, he and Steve were not related. •Enjoy this bit which does not include his catchphrase, but it is typical Dayton Allen: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t9SYfUPGCCQTOM POSTON’S schtick was to answer Steve Allen’s Man on the Street interview the same way week after week, year after year. The audience loved it, anticipated it. The simple bit was Steve asking Poston’s character his name. Then Poston would not know the answer, looking bewildered. Call it an anti-phrase, but it is catchy.
LOUIS NYE, before his stint on The Beverly Hillbillies as Banker Drysdale’s spoiled son, played Gordon Hathaway on the Allen program. Gordon’s wispy and hip delivery was punctuated by “Hi-Ho, Steverino!”
CHARLEY WEAVER aka CLIFF ARQUETTE was best known as guest comedian on THE JACK PAAR SHOW, THE STEVE ALLEN SHOW, and THE HOLLYWOOD SQUARES. Besides reading his fictional letter from his mother, which he preceded with “I got a letter from Mama!,” his most famous saying was always directed to his audience: “These are my people!”
THE JIMMY DURANTE SHOW [1954-57] introduced perhaps [see Red Skelton below] the most touching catchphrase from any comedy show. At the close of each program, the curtains opened to a bare, unlit stage as Durante would put on his coat [his hat was always on]. Large light circles from six spotlights led from stage center to the distance, and Durante would walk to each, turn, and tip his hat to the audience. Before taking the weekly finale, he would say sincerely, slightly tilting his head up, “Goodnight, Mrs. Calabash, wherever you are.” It was later learned he was referring to his late, first wife. •Here is that memorable closing: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yp7r0j4XrO8THE RED SKELTON SHOW [1951-71] certainly had its throat catching phrase which Skelton said at the close of each show: “Goodbye for now, and may God bless.”
JACKIE GLEASON’S AMERICAN SCENE MAGAZINE [1962-66] featured catchphrases Gleason had introduced in his early TV days of the 1950s, “How sweet it is!” and “And away we go!” among them. A regular comic on his show, CRAZY GUGGENHEIM, portrayed by FRANK FONTAINE, brought down the house each week during the Joe the Bartender sketch. Each time Joe (Gleason) would call Crazy from the back room, Crazy would enter with that goofy face, hat pulled down tight, and say, “Hiya Joe, Hiya Mr. Dunahee-hee-hee!” His delivery, which included a half-witted laugh, was everything.
THE MANY LOVES OF DOBIE GILLIS [1959-63] introduced MAYNARD G. KREBS, the beatnik played by BOB DENVER, and his expected response to anyone offering his a job: “Work!” He said it with shocked expression. •Follow this link to some Maynard and Dobie: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o5yvMExqKNA
MR. ED [1961-65] gave us the only memorable catchphrase uttered by a horse, the Mr. Ed of the title: “Wilbur!” Wilbur was his owner, played by Alan Young. Ed’s voice was ALLAN “ROCKY” LANE’S, a top B-western cowboy star.
THE GALE STORM SHOW [1956-60] had its own famous catchphrase…sort of. This is a bit of a fudge like the Jack Benny inclusion. Co-star ZASU PITTS, who played Gale Storm’s sidekick Nugey Nugent, would utter, “Well, forevermore,” during most episodes, when faced with a dilemma. Pitts actually used this phrase as far back as the early 1930s when she co-starred with Thelma Todd in Hal Roach 2-reel comedies. •For a very rare clip of ZaSu, selling Corn Flakes with Superman no less, follow this link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iOT20LddFOo
CAR 54, WHERE ARE YOU? [1961-63] seems like a spin-off from THE PHIL SILVERS SHOW. Nat Hiken created both series, and when Silvers’ Sgt. Bilko show ended, he brought many cast members to the streets of New York, playing funny cops. Even though their names were different and they were dressed for new occupations, some of the catchphrases stayed. JOE E. ROSS’ Officer Gunther Toody, for example, would say, “Oooo, Oooo,” whenever he was excited. His Sgt. Ritzik did the same thing on the Silvers program. It was a catchphrase that stuck with Ross until his death. But Toody did say an originally-written-for-Car-54-Where-Are-You? line at least once per episode, directed at his partner, Officer Francis Muldoon [Fred Gwynne]: “Francis! Francis!” Imagine this with “Ooo, Ooo!” bookending it.
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Tune in to next week’s second half of the TV’S 50 FUNNIEST PHRASES [Wed., Aug. 12, 7-8 p.m. Central Time] to see if any or all my choices make the cut.