My interview with June Foray occurred on an early June Saturday of 1996 at The Cartoon Company, a specialized shop selling animation cels, in Crown Center, Kansas City, Missouri. Then my notes were lost and the story never written…until now. Enjoy!

By Steve Crum

I never met “The Man of a Thousand Voices,” Mel Blanc, but I did meet “The Woman of a Thousand Voices.” It happened 27 years ago, around the first of June, 1996.

That was when Natasha Fatale was in Kansas City. So were Jokey Smurf,  Rocky the Flying Squirrel, Tweety Bird, and Granny (Tweety’s protector from Sylvester the Cat). And I have to mention one of my fav voices, that of the vicious “Talking Tina” in the classic Twilight Zone episode,”Living Doll.”

Hokey Smoke! They were June Foray!

I caught up with her as she was greeting fans at—appropriately—The Cartoon Company, a store specializing in sales of motion picture cartoon cels. In the creation of cartoons before digital art, cels were hand-drawn on clear celluloid sheets placed over painted backgrounds. These are better known as animation cels. Since 1990, studios have used digitalized images instead of cels.

As I walked into the shop, about a half dozen fans were waiting in line to meet the voice legend. At room center, Foray sat behind a table and atop a tall chair, which hid her diminutive 4’ 11” height. She did not look nearly as old as her 79 years, and her strong, trained voice was still vibrant.

“My voice is in my genes,” Foray explained, “and it has been that way since I was six years old.” So began my few minutes virtually alone with June Foray. (No one else was waiting to see her, so I had ample private time with her.)

“My untrained talent led to an extremely lucrative career in cartoon voices”—for Warner Brothers, Jay Ward, Walt Disney, Hanna-Barbera, and various other radio, TV and movie voice-overs and commercials. After hundreds of vocal appearances in cartoons, Foray began the 1960s with her efforts for the preservation and promotion of animation. During that period, she was awarded for her past work in films.

After two decades, her lobbying for the creation of an Academy Award for Best Animated Feature category finally paid off. This was a definite plus in her career.

On the flip side, she carries ill feelings about the trend of casting celebrity voices instead of professional voice actors in animated features. This is exemplified by Tom Hanks and Tim Allen in the Toy Story movies. Not only do they get paid much more, but they receive screen credit big time.

“It usurps those who are trying to make a living solely as such,” Foray says. Yet she has been greatly unaffected by the trend, having had steady work from the beginning.

My introduction to that Foray voice came when she WAS given voice credit—but on radio during the summer of 1957. That is when she was part of the stock company of credited voice actors (along with Daws Butler, the voice of Huckleberry Hound) starring on the CBS radio comedy program, The Stan Freberg Show. She had already made a name with satirist Freberg on several best selling 45 rpm records during the early 1950s—St. George and the Dragonet, Sh-Boom, and Little Blue Riding Hood among them. She, Butler and Freberg had even performed St. George live on The Ed Sullivan Show. June Foray’s wonderful sense of humor was so apparent.

I am sure that most Freberg fans cite his 1961 Capitol LP, Stan Freberg Presents the United States of America, Vol.1, as his classic best recording. This monumental musical-comedy satire includes June Foray doing a variety of voices that cover the founding of our nation. Thirty-five years later, Vol. 2 was finally released…and Foray was again a prominent voice therein.

It had just been released when I spoke of it to her. She heartily roared when I brought it up.

“I was out driving and had not listened to it yet,” she says, “so I  put the CD in my player…and laughed. I laughed so hard I had to pull over and park the car to continue laughing.”

Warner Brothers animation legend Chuck Jones worked with Foray numerous times in some of the most hilarious cartoons ever created.

“June Foray is not the female Mel Blanc,” he said. “Mel Blanc was the male June Foray.”

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June Foray worked primarily in television productions throughout the rest of her life. She remains the oldest entertainer to receive an Emmy Award for her voice work in 2012’s The Garfield Show (as Mrs. Cauldron). She received a Governors Award Emmy the following year. She died at 99 on July 26, 2017.

This review of Superman Returns originally appeared in the July 6, 2006 Liberty Tribune newspaper.

By Steve Crum

In Superman Returns, our caped hero does not turn the world backward to relive time, but much of director Bryan Singer’s film seems lifted from 1978’s Superman: The Movie, including John Williams’ super score. 

Nevertheless, this new take is a mixed treats bag well worth gobbling down. Homage to the classic 1950s TV series adds more surprises inside. OK, enough sweet metaphors for the eye candy flick of the summer. 

Singer (The Usual Suspects and the first two X-Men movies ) and writers Michael Dougherty and Dan Harris have retooled The Man of Steel into a much more introspective guy given to quietly musing about the earth’s needs for him.

In one scene he floats in outer space, listening for sounds of turmoil around the world. We learn via TV newscasts that Superman has squashed evils in various countries during the past day. He is not limited to Metropolis crimes, as previous films have implied. 

Coming close to sacrilege, Superman refers to himself as a savior the world needs. In addition, a sequence of Superman bursting through heavenly looking clouds, speeding to the rescue as a hallelujah chorus resounds, reinforces the movie’s religious edge. It is pretty eyebrow raising.

The plot is basically familiar with twists. Superman aka Clark Kent (Brandon Routh, a Christopher Reeve lookalike) crash lands via spaceship on his adopted parents’ farm after being out of planet—as opposed to out of town—for five years. Widowed Earth mom Martha (Eva Marie Saint) helps Clark recover from his fruitless, exhaustive search for traces of his Kryptonian family and similar beings like himself.

While away, crime has escalated. That includes recent evil doings by the world’s top criminal, Lex Luthor (Kevin Spacey). Lex has just been paroled after spending the past five years in prison. In his brief time out of jail, he has ransacked Superman’s Fortress of Solitude and plans to obliterate the United States.

Not only that, Daily Planet reporter and Supie’s babe, Lois Lane (Kate Bosworth) is engaged to Richard White (James Marsden aka X-Men’s Cyclops—but that’s another story entirely). AND Lois has a 5 year-old son with super powers. (Spoiler!) Hmm. Richard is editor Perry White’s (Frank Langella) nephew and assistant editor. 

See what happens when you turn the back of your cape on things for a few years?

Memorable set pieces include Superman placing a jumbo jet smack in the middle of an ongoing Major League Baseball game, and battling both Lex Luthor and Kryptonite at his crystal fortress. There is also an extended romantic sequence (see Superman: The Movie) wherein he flies Lois in tender embrace over the evening Metropolis skyline.

Superman Returns takes itself seriously, which works OK. Superman is often sullen, and Lex is colder and more brutal than Gene Hackman’s 1978 characterization. Lex’s moll, Kitty (Parker Posey), is hard edged too, as are his henchmen. Perhaps this reflects the time in which we live, where sadistic real villains abound.

Substantial cameos are by Noel Neill and Jack Larson (TV’s Lois Lane and Jimmy Olsen, respectively). It’s heartening to see Larson hugging the new Jimmy Olsen, played by Sam Huntington. 

Incidentally I increase the rating to an “A” by factoring in the fabulous IMAX version playing at the Olathe, Kansas AMC. Twenty minutes of jaw dropping 3D footage is included. 

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GRADE based upon A-F Rating; B+

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This feature was originally published in The Kansas City Kansan newspaper on June 9, 1995. 

By Steve Crum

Infidelity or cheating on a spouse is business as usual in Hollywood. Don’t confuse me with Bob Dole, who is Dan Qualing Hollywood for mishandling values and mores in the celluloid product. The fact is that infidelity has long been a plot device in motion pictures since the days of silent films as well as a pervasive element in plays and print fiction.

Case in point: does anyone really care about a middle-aged farm housewife who has an affair with a passerby photographer? Bet your Clint Eastwood boots on it. That basis sold millions of books for Robert James Walker and is raking in big bucks at neighborhood theaters as The Bridges of Madison County. Repackage the old tried-and-true and keep on selling. Maybe the romantic angle is the selling point, while the emotional negatives are ignored.

“No one is devastated like in real life,” reflects Pam Finley. “In the movies, you don’t see the effect on the children involved either.”

Finley, the Project Choice teacher at both Washington and Wyandotte High Schools, has unique insight into infidelity. As a marriage therapist and founder-president of Helping Hearts Heal, a national foundation to support spouses hurt by infidelity, Finley has appeared on over 20 TV talk shows (including Donahue and Geraldo, pictured) to emphasize the harm and pain of marital unfaithfulness.

“You also don’t see people so destroyed due to emotional breakdowns,” she adds.

Realistically portrayed or not, adultery as entertainment is a bankable commodity. Consider this sampling of Tinseltown history.

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Recent movies that have infidelity as a key plot element:

•THE ENGLISHMAN WHO WENT UP A HILL AND CAME DOWN A MOUNTAIN, 1995 [Lonesome for their husbands to return from WWII, several wives have children by a local innkeeper.]

•IT COULD HAPPEN TO YOU, 1994 [Bittersweet love story built around cop leaving his wife for a waitress.]

•JEFFERSON IN PARIS, 1995 [Ambassador Tom romances a married French aristocrat.]

•LEGENDS OF THE FALL, 1994 [Two brothers vie for their married brother’s wife’s attention.]

•MIAMI RHAPSODY, 1995 [Infidelity Central! Everyone in this family has ongoing affairs.]

•THE PEREZ FAMILY, 1995 [Tired of waiting for her husband to be released from 20 years in a Cuban jail, the wife starts fooling around with a local policeman.]

•SCHINDLER’S LIST, 1993 [Oskar had his fidelity problems.]

•TRUE LIES, 1994 [Schwarzenegger goes to extremes when he suspects wife Jamie Lee Curtis of infidelity.]

•WYATT EARP, 1994 and TOMBSTONE, 1993 [Wyatt repeatedly cheats on his basically common law life.]

∞∞Older/Classic Films∞∞

•CAMELOT, 1967 and the upcoming Sean Connery starrer FIRST KNIGHT, 1995 [Most of plot is built around King Arthur’s discovery of wife’s affair with his—and her—favorite knight.]

•FATAL ATTRACTION, 1987 [Infidelity gets its just rewards?]

•GONE WITH THE WIND, 1939 [Scarlett certainly courted infidelity by constantly thinking about Ashley while she was married.]

•A GUIDE FOR THE MARRIED MAN, 1967 [Gene Kelly directed this “comedy of Robert Morse trying to teach faithful husband Walter Matthau the ABC’s of adultery, with the aid of many guest stars….”—Leonard Martin.]

“Infidelity is everywhere,” says Finley, “so it’s no longer a major issue.”

But it helps sell popcorn. 

By Steve Crum

The Woman King is an immensely impressive historical action-drama film. To be honest, I was reluctant to watch it since the trailer smacked of it being nothing more than bloody battle scenes between African tribes. 

The Woman King is much, much more. 

Dana Stevens’ screenplay speaks to 1820s West Africa, warring tribes, slavers, power, trust, patriotism, and love. The mix works—throughout the film’s 135 minutes.

Directed by Gina Prince-Bythewood (The Secret Life of Bees), filming took place in South Africa’s coastal province of KwaZulu-Natal—for jungle scenes. However, most of the movie was lensed in Cape Town.

The mostly fictional story involves the West African kingdom of Dahomey, circa 1823. General Nanisca (Viola Davis) leads an all-female troop of warriors trained to defend their territory from the vicious Oyo Tribe. For years the Oyo have supplied Portuguese slave traders with abducted women, men and children to be chained and boated to slave auctions. 

It so happens that the young women soldiers under Nanisca’s charge were rescued from Oyo’s slavers. Their incentive to fight is therefore a given. Dahomey’s King Ghezo (John Beyoga) is preparing for war with the Oyo, led by their general, Oba Ade (Jimmy Odukoya). 

In the midst of impressive showings (really choreography) of Nanisca’s troops both training and doing battle, we get to know a handful of the young women prepping for combat. The primary character is the new recruit, Nawi (Thuso Mbedu), believably acted on a level equal to Davis’ general. In fact, the two are linked in complicated ways—which directly shape the plot. 

A subplot involves Nawi’s complicated romance with Malik (Jordan Bolger), one of the slave traders. 

Overall, through the truly grand finale, The Woman King is a dazzler from Terence Blanchard’s symphonic score to Polly Morgan’s eye pleasing cinematography. Acting is A-1, particularly by Davis and Mbedu. 

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GRADE on an A-F Scale: A

By Steve Crum

“It all means something” is an advertising catchphrase of Jordan Peele’s latest horror film, Nope. While the viewer tries to figure out what all the terrifying commotion is about, the movie’s 130 minutes escalates from a deadly “accident” to an unmoving cloud to mass murdering range war. Director-writer Peele clearly knows the business of suspending disbelief. I say “yup” to Nope. 

Beginning with 2017’s brilliantly creepy Get Out, Jordan Peele has become this century’s horror movie king. Adding Us, released in 2019, justifies such praise. 

In Nope, the alien types are again living near us. Specifically, the bad things are alive in the clouds over a small ranch located in the boondocks of Agua Dulce, California. That is where the Haywood family of three train
their horses for movies and TV shows. Then one day outdoors, father Otis is killed while sitting in the saddle of one of his horses. Odd that he would die from a small object falling from the sky. As the story progresses, that oddity is explained multifold.

“Odd” could aptly be the subtitle of Nope, since there are a variety of weird—and often bloody—happenings. There is Ricky “Jupe” Park (Steven Yen), a former child actor on a TV sitcom who carries nightmarish memories of the time a supposedly trained ape savagely turned on cast members during a taping. Now Ricky owns a Western theme park, Jupiter’s Claim, not far from the Haywood ranch. 

Then there is Angel Torres (Brandon Perea), a tech who sets up a security camera system at the Haywood’s home since strange things are occurring on the premises.

Figuring in most importantly are the main stars, Daniel Kaluuya (Otis “OJ” Haywood) and Keke Palmer as Emerald “Em” Haywood. They are superb as siblings still dealing with their late dad’s death. OJ is quiet and unassuming. Em is in-your-face talky and given to song. 

There is obvious UFO activity afoot (actually a-sky, per se), and the trio wants to capture the culprit on video. 

Meshing together the superb visuals of cinematographer Hoyte van Hoytema, Michael Abels’ score and editing by Nicholas Monsour, the end product is convincingly a nail biter. What was once hidden in the clouds finally shows itself. Chaos results. With a horse involved, it resembles an Old West showdown at 50 paces. 

By the way, at one point in the midst of attack (look for it), OJ wisely utters, “Nope.” Ah yes, the birth of a film title. 

Throughout Nope, we never know the “why” of what is happening, but who cares. Just relax—if possible—and enjoy one of cinema’s all time thrill rides.

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GRADE on an A-F Scale: A