Driving Lessons

Driving Lessons
September 4, 2006
UK Film Council etc.
Comedy, Drama
DVD
C

While this has some good performances and lovely scenery (particularly in Scotland), it's hampered by Jeremy Brock's writing and direction, which manage to be both cliched and nonsensical.  The film still has some curiosity value as the movie that Rupert Grint and Julie Walters made where they weren't playing Ron Weasley and his mum.  American Laura Linney does a fine job as the mother here, although it's hard to know how to take her or most of the other characters.  And I wish Grint, as Ben, wasn't so passive through most of the movie.  For what it's worth, more enjoyable than Grint's Wild Target (2010).

There are some other, more minor, Harry Potter connections.  Jim Norton, who plays Mr. Fincham, was Mr. Mason in Chamber of Secrets.  Samuel Gaukroger, who's a Child at Church, would be in Order of the Phoenix as a Hogwarts Student, while Rose Keegan, who's Emma Pagent here, would be Red Haired Witch in Deathly Hallows, Part I.

Charlie and the Chocolate Factory

Charlie and the Chocolate Factory
July 15, 2005
Warner Bros.
Children's, Musical, Fantasy
DVD
C

I don't think it's just that I'm Gen X is the reason why I enjoy this less than the 1971 Gene Wilder version.  I can see flaws in the earlier version and I would argue that there are three ways that this is actually an improvement.  The songs, taking Roald Dahl's original verse and pairing with a wide variety of styles (including disco!), are much better here.  Related to that, I prefer Tim Burton's Oompa-Loompas, including the device of them all being played by one man (through the magic of CGI).  Also, Charlie's family (including Burton's wife Helena Bonham Carter as Charlie's mum) is generally more likable here.  (Although the one dotty grandmother is mildly annoying.)

However, it is with Willy Wonka and his home life that Burton goes seriously awry.  Wilder played Wonka with a twinkle in his eye but he was also genuinely scary at some points.  Johnny Depp plays Wonka as both creepy and insecure, and we get several back-story flashbacks to his childhood with his candy-hating father.  Ten years ago, I found this to be psychobabbling derailment, and my opinion hasn't changed.  Can't Wonka just be inexplicably weird, rather than someone who just needs love and acceptance?

Also, with the exception of Freddie Highmore who's quite good as Charlie (and would do a bunch of other adaptations of children's books, none of which I own, but some of which I've seen), none of the children are as good as the '71 cast.  The parents are mostly forgettable, although Missi Pyle as Mrs. Beauregarde gives it her usual perky/crazy touch.  As for the look of the film, I'd say the movies are about equally good.

Nayef Rashed, under the name Adam Hussein, was Mohamad the Camel Seller in Ishtar and here appears as a Moroccan Market Vendor.  Nitin Ganatra, who was so memorable as Bride & Prejudice's Mr. Kohli, has a much smaller role here as Prince Pondicherry.

There are some minor Harry Potter connections.  Harry Taylor, who's the Station Guard in the first two movies, appears briefly as Mr. Gloop.  Lucy-Anne Brooks is a Factory Worker here and would soon be a Beauxbaton Student in Goblet of Fire.  Ray Donn had very small roles in both Bridget Jones movies, is a policeman here, and would be a Ministry of Magic Panel Member in Order of the Phoenix.  Brigitte Millar, who's a Journalist here, would be Emmeline Vance in Order of the Phoenix.  Tony Kirwood, who's Finckelgruber, would be a Death Eater in both parts of Deathly Hallows.

Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason

Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason
November 19, 2004
Universal/ Miramax
Comedy, Drama, Romance
DVD
C

The faults of Bridget Jones 1-- notably the manipulative soundtrack and directing choices-- are even stronger here in the three-years-later-made but set-the-following-year sequel.  (And Bridget is now born in '72, which makes her a year younger than last time.)  Renée Zellweger as Jones is back, as are her two men, Colin Firth as Mark Darcy and Hugh Grant as Daniel Cleaver.  And so are a whole bunch of mostly under-used perfomers, among them Jim Broadbent and Gemma Jones as Bridget's parents; James Callis, Shirley Henderson, and Sally Phillips as Bridget's friends; James Faulkner and Celia Imrie as Geoffrey and Una Alconbury; Neil Pearson as Richard Finch (Bridget's boss at Sit Up, Britain); Donald Douglas as Admiral (formerly just Mr.) Darcy; and Dominic McHale as Bernard.  I was pleased that Phillips as Shazzer (looking quite fetching, especially in a Beatles cap) has more to do this time, but at that, even she disappears for chunks of the movie at a time.

What we're left with is a mix of unfunny slapstick and uneven drama.  Although the film is ostensibly (and Austensibly, this time influenced by Persuasion) about what happens after Happily Ever After, it's never really that convincing that Bridget and Mark are happy together.  So it's hard to care when they have a pregnancy scare or break up.  And when Daniel returns, it seems she may as well get off (and go off) with him instead.  I almost went with a C- on this, but I don't think it's bad, just disappointing.  And at that, it's sort of nice to see everyone again, although I wish they'd been given more to work with.  (I've read but don't own the book this is based on, although at the time of my reading blog I thought I did.)

Ray Donn was a Limo Driver in Bride & Prejudice, is a customer here, and would be a Policeman in Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.  Campbell Graham returns as Hamish and would be a Ministry Wizard in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire,  while Sam Beazley is Very Old Man here and would be Everard in Order of the Phoenix, and Jessica Stevenson is Magda here and would be the voice of Mafalda Hopkirk in Phoenix.  Tom Brooke, who plays a Production Assistant, would be Thick Kevin in Pirate Radio.

The Invisible Kid

The Invisible Kid
March 30, 1988
Elysian Pictures
Comedy, Sci-Fi
VHS
C

Although this has its share of quirkiness-- Why do they use a picture of Rene Auberjonois for the title character's father? Why does the high school have five mascot costumes?  What's up with the television advice call-in show?-- it also has a lot of predictable moments.  If you know that it's about a teenager who's pursuing the invention of invisibility, and furthermore that this is an '80s comedy, then you know his best friend is going to want to sneak into the girls' locker room.  If there's a chase scene with police cars near the end, then you know they're going to hit a fruit stand and a chicken truck.  If the principal comes across as an insensitive jerk, then you're not going to be surprised that he's a liar, thief, gambler, etc.  And if Chynna Phillips (then 20) is the girl next door, then she's going to have to be dating the star basketball player but end up with the title character.  But you might not predict that Karen Black (as cross-eyed as ever), as the title character's mom, will end up with a love interest.  The movie is mostly innocuous (except when the best friend is spying on and feeling up girls), but it's never quite funny or very entertaining.  I guess watch it if you're into this sub-genre.

Ellen Crawford, who's a teacher here, was a Tiffany saleswoman in Who's That Girl.  

Zorro: The Gay Blade

Zorro: The Gay Blade
July 17, 1981
Fox
Comedy, Romance, Historical
VHS
C

This is a slow-moving, innocuous movie with stereotypes, gay and otherwise, as well as virtually a one-man show for George Hamilton as twin brothers with multiple identities, and costumes.  Like The Pirate Movie the following year, the film has many false starts and almost-endings, but with Pirate M that only adds to the insanity, while here it prevents maintaining momentum.  There are mildly funny moments, like the "Don Jose from San Bernardino" scene, but the movie never really goes anywhere.  Also, it doesn't seem to know if it wants to be a parody, a political satire, a romance, or what.  There are worse ways to kill time, but there are definitely better ones, including other movies from '81.

Whipping master Norman Blankenship was "Man Beating Woman" in The Gong Show Movie.  Paco Morayta, Ramirez here, was Flok in Caveman.  Donovan Scott, who plays Paco, was Castor Oyl in Popeye.  Narrator Frank Welker would provide voices for both Schnoodle and Hootie in Heidi's Song.  Dick Balduzzi, 53 in the role of Old Man here, was a truck driver in Foul Play and would be a prisoner in Johnny Dangerously.

Only George Hamilton could steal scenes from himself.

Going Ape!

Going Ape!

April 10, 1981

Paramount

Comedy

VHS

C

In some ways, this is like a low-rent late-release '70s Disney movie, smashed up police cars and all, with the additions of the orangutans and writer/director of Every Way But Loose and Any Which Way You Can.  (The exclamation point in the title seems more like a '60s throwback.)  But the movie also has a lot of profanity, as well as one of the "apes" flipping people off, not to mention the two female leads being kissed while dressed as nuns, so I'm not really sure who the audience is.  I don't think the movie even works as a dumb comedy.  It's just sort of there, not painful but pretty forgettable, even with odd moments like a mother-daughter swordfight (40-year-old Jessica Walter vs. 21-year-old Stacey Nelkin), and 36-year-old Danny DeVito as Lazlo, the bearded Gypsy (I think) in a French maid's uniform.  Then almost 30-year-old Tony Danza is the main character (named Foster, rather than Tony), who's inherited the three simians and has to keep them alive for two years in order to get the bulk of his father's estate.  Mild hijinks ensue.  This was in the middle of Taxi's run, so it's interesting to see Danza and DeVito interact as different characters.  And Danza has a scene where he's shirtless, so there's beefcake.  I don't recommend the movie but you know, shrug.

Leon Askin, who's the landlord Zebrewski here, was the chief eunuch in John Goldfarb.  Ruth Gillette, who's Marianne here, was the Song Chairman [sic] in The Shaggy D.A.  Of the actresses playing Danza's sisters, Poppy Lagos was a reporter in I Wanna Hold Your Hand; Marji Martin was Kay in Scavenger Hunt; D. J. Sullivan was Mrs. Williams in Attack of the Killer Tomatoes (and apparently did several of the sequels).  Luke Andreas, who plays Carter, was Police Officer in Alley in I Wanna Hold Your Hand.

The Magic of Lassie

The Magic of Lassie
August 2, 1978
Lassie Productions
Children's, Drama, Musical
VHS
C

Corny and slow-moving as this movie is, you might find some interest in the songs, sung mostly by Pat and Debby Boone and written by the Sherman Brothers.  Unfortunately, the Shermans also wrote the script, which is not exactly gripping, even by the low standards of '70s kiddie flicks.  Jimmy Stewart, then 70, closed out his big-screen career in the role of the caring but crusty grandfather, and yes, he sings.  So does Mickey Rooney, in the role of manager to Mike Mazurki (one of the hoods in Some Like It Hot) as a wrestler named Apollo.

There are a few connections to another dog of a movie, C.H.O.M.P.S. from the following year.  Don Chaffey directed both.  Also, James Reynolds, Officer Wilson here (the one who says, "Right on") would be a reporter there, while William Flatley, one of the truck drivers, would be an engineer in that movie.

Much livelier and more colorful than the actual movie

Thank God It's Friday

Thank God It's Friday
May 19, 1978
Columbia
Comedy, Musical
VHS
C

This plays like one of the more forgettable episodes of The Love Boat, only with casual drug use and of course a disco setting.  There are different plot threads and characters, many of them involving romance, and they only somewhat overlap.  None of them is particularly interesting, and I can only recommend this movie for maybe half a dozen decent to good songs and a chance to spot a handful of people who went on to better things, notably Fame's Valerie Landsburg (playing a teen who's supposed to be a marvelous dancer, although we can't really tell from the brief sample) and poor Debra Winger, as a nice girl looking for a nice guy.

And there's Jeff Goldblum, still only 25 at that point, but looking older and reptilian as the sleazy owner of the Zoo disco.  His character tries to seduce Sue, played by Andrea Howard, who'd be the love interest in The Nude Bomb.  Her husband Dave is played by Mark Lonow, who'd be a Father of the Bride in The Wedding Singer.  

As for the music, Donna Summer sings the Oscar-winning "Last Dance" and three other songs, and the Commodores sing "Hot to Trot" and the classic "She's a Brick House."  Just about everything else is forgettable, except for the over-the-top title track, which makes the Columbia lady boogie down.

Phil Adams, who's Tarzan here, would be a "hood" in C.H.O.M.P.S.  Wade Collings would also dance in Can't Stop the Music.  MacIntyre Dixon, a bartender here, would have a more substantial role, as Cole Oyl in Popeye.  Paul Jabara, who plays Carl and performs (on the soundtrack rather than as Carl) "Disco Queen" and "Trapped in a Stairway," wrote not only "Last Dance" but "It's Raining Men," which plays in Bridget Jones's Diary among other movies.

Director Robert Klane went on to the Weekend at Bernie's movies, which I don't own.

Cancel My Reservation

Cancel My Reservation
September 21, 1972
Naho/Warner Bros.
Comedy, Mystery
VHS
C

Louis L'Amour wrote the novel that this Southwest mystery was based on, with the less Hope-ful title of The Broken Gun.  I can only imagine what Dominic Frontiere would've done with that, since he sings the Jackson-5ish "Cancel My Reservation" over both opening and closing credits.  Bob H was pushing 70 at this point, but his character is supposed to be 42, and he's paired with 48-year-old Eva Marie Saint, who looks stunning.  (And she shows off a lot of skin for a middle-aged woman, including in hot pants.)  The two of them are unhappily married because she's a women's libber whose "own thing" is becoming co-star on his talk show.  (They interview a pre-Happy-Days Pat Morita as a karate expert.)  Even though he doesn't seem to like children (he says that two rude autograph-seekers, one played by the director's daughter, at the airport are a good argument for the Pill), she blames herself that they haven't had any kids.  The happy ending, after he's several times arrested and they both come close to dying, before he finally solves the mystery, is she's pregnant and can leave the show.  Even though she told "Crazy" (Anne Archer) that she hated being stuck at home while her husband went off to work, she seems pleased about this.

As for the mystery, it includes Forrest Tucker and Ralph Bellamy as villains, some Indian land rights, and a few murders.  Keenan Wynn plays the local sheriff, and Chief Dan George a really old Indian.  I haven't read the book, so I don't know how much of this was added by co-adapters Bob Fisher and Arthur Marx, who'd teamed up for I'll Take Sweden.  I am fairly sure though that the joke, "I'll come back for my stomach later," when Bob is on the back of a motorcycle is a direct self-steal from Sweden.  And I suspect L'Amour did not include a rape joke.  (Eva MS, upon finding out that the Indian girl Bob H is accused of killing wasn't raped, says, "And that gets you off the hook with me.")  The movie is of course sexist and racist, although I suppose it could be worse.  It's incredibly dated, even for its time (the Twiggy joke for instance), and the cameos of Bing, John Wayne, Johnny Carson, and Flip Wilson are only slightly better than those in Birds Do It.  (At least they're given lines, although not good ones.)  Oh, and this time Herb Vigran plays Roscoe Snagby.

The movie isn't dreadful but it doesn't even have the camp appeal of Hope's '60s comedies.  It's just sort of there.  I guess see it if you're curious and/or a completist.

This is somewhat the chronological midpoint of this project, since I started with 1929 and I'm unlikely to finish before next year.  At the moment, I don't own any movies from after 2012, but that will probably change before I'm through.

Points for correct use of "whom"

Star Spangled Girl

Star Spangled Girl
December 22, 1971
Paramount
Comedy, Romance
VHS
C

This adaptation of a Neil Simon play didn't make anyone happy, including Neil Simon.  There are two things that strike me on this viewing.  It is sort of funny, even if sometimes I'm laughing at how hard they're trying, from the Midnight Cowboy joke to the way the dialogue, Tony Roberts's in particular, sounds completely unnatural.  (His "perfect aurals" line and his description of a feather duster stand out most.)  The other thing is that you've got these two young guys publishing an underground weekly magazine, but one is a shoplifter and the other a stalker (even after the victim repeatedly tells him she's not interested), yet they think they can question what's wrong with America.  Yes, some '60s activists were hypocrites, but no one ever calls these two out on these specific issues.  Yes, Amy (played by Sandy Duncan with a Florida twang) almost calls the police a few times, but she's too forgiving.  And then she falls for Roberts (the shoplifter) and empathizes with Todd Susman (the stalker).  The film is even more of a mess than it was 40 years ago, including the whole thing of Roberts supposedly sleeping with his landlady (so he can put off paying the rent), but only shown doing dangerous sports like sky-diving.

The song "Girl," which Davy Jones sings over both opening and closing credits, is the same one he performed on the classic Brady Bunch episode that year.  Peter Hobbs, who plays the man in the car who buys the Nitty-Gritty because it sounds like smut, would be Dr. Dean in Sleeper.  The duck is uncredited, but probably not the one from The Million Dollar Duck, which Roberts and Duncan had costarred in earlier in the year.

The Perils of Pauline

The Perils of Pauline
August 2, 1967
Universal
Comedy
VHS
C

A modern (but not mod) take on the 1914 serial, this starts out somewhat authentic to that earlier time, in terms of cars and clothes, but then seven years pass and suddenly we're in the world of the Peace Corps, the Berlin Wall, cosmonauts, and cryogenics.  We're not meant to take any of this seriously, so the ethnic/national stereotypes are less offensive than they could be, but mostly the movie is too bland to generate any strong emotion.

If you're going to watch this movie, it'll probably be for the cast.  No, not "Dodge Rebellion Girl" Pamela Austin as Pauline, or 33-year-old Pat Boone trying to be convincing as ages 13 to 25.  I mean the supporting cast, none of whom give stellar performances, but it's just interesting to see them show up.  Edward Everett Horton, 81 and passing as 99 1/2, plays the 2nd richest man in the world.  Bullwinkle fans will also be pleased at June Foray dubbing some of the kid voices, from Pauline as a baby to a spoiled Arab prince.  My favorite cameo was the one of William "Father Mulcahy" Christopher as a doctor, practically rolling his eyes at the corniness.  The most embarrassing appearances are possibly those of Billy Barty, as the king of the "white pygmies," and Terry-Thomas, as a "great white hunter" who falls for Pauline.  On the other hand, it's not like other roles of theirs have had much more dignity.

Keith Taylor, who was Plympton in Boy, Did I Get a Wrong Number!, is Henry here.  James Milhollin, who plays Everett's male secretary Stafford, was a hotel manager in The Cool Ones.  Vito Scotti (instantly recognizable to Gilligan's Island viewers) is the "way-out" Italian director Frandisi and would be a cook in How Sweet It Is!  Angelo Rossito, who has credits going back to the '20s (he was in Freaks), is Barty's assistant here and would be Seymour Spider and Clang on the TV show H.R. Pufnstuf, as well as the movie.  Bruce Rhodewalt, who plays Clarke, would be Wilbanks in The Barefoot Executive.  Hamilton Camp, aged up with gray hair from his 32 years, plays Boone's male secretary Thorpe, but he would have a very different role as Col. Hershey in Meatballs Part II.

Vic Mizzy did the title song that Boone sings repeatedly, but it has none of the wacky pizzazz of his usual work (on The Addams Family, Green Acres, and some other movies, including at least one coming up).

Easy Come, Easy Go

Easy Come, Easy Go
June 14, 1967
Paramount
Comedy, Musical
VHS
C

While this isn't like the Elvis movies that I couldn't get through even once (Roustabout springs to mind), it's hard to get excited about a movie that has indifference built right into the title.  That title is played on, with Pat Harrington's club, the Easy Go-Go, but mostly it applies to the way that all the major characters react to a treasure turning out to be relatively worthless.  Also, there are characters who appear in a scene or two and then disappear with no notice, including unfortunately Elsa Lanchester, who does get to sing a song about Yoga with Elvis.  Even with "beatniks" (here on the edge of the Summer of Love), including that dancer guy from The Swinger and The Cool Ones (still wearing his usual dark vest), Schneider, Marilyn Munster (Pat Priest), and Dodie Marshall (sort of playing Elvis's love interest, although romance is minor here), the movie had trouble holding my interest this time.  Oh, and it's got Tom Hatten, who in 1988 shared memories on Family Film Festival of making the film.  (The LA TV host has a very small role, but it's early on and you'll recognize him if you're an X-Generation Southern Californian.)

Besides Vest Dancer Guy, this movie shares a couple things with The Swinger.  Diki Lerner, who plays the crazy car-artist Zoltan here, was Svengali there.  Also, Dodie Marshall lives in an artists' commune where they have "happenings," including using women as paintbrushes.  Robert Isenberg, who plays an artist here, would have a small role in Elvis's Live a Little, Love a Little.

Perfect for a caption contest

The Ghost in the Invisible Bikini

The Ghost in the Invisible Bikini
April 6, 1966
AIP
Comedy, Horror, Musical
VHS
C

Although this has the director, Don Weis, of Pajama Party, and the writer, Louis M. Heyward, of Pajama Party and Sgt. Deadhead, it never reaches the delightful outrageousness of either movie.  It's not for lack of throwing a very eclectic cast and plot elements together, since we get:

• As primary heroes Tommy Kirk, Deborah Walley, and Patsy Kelly
• As secondary heroes, what's passing for the teen crowd these days, headed by a no longer studly but now scaredy-cat Aron Kincaid and a supposed to be mousy Nancy Sinatra, who gets only one song
• A musical number, with dancing on beds and bad rhymes, by petite Italian singer Piccola Pupa sort of as herself
• As primary villains, Basil Rathbone, his sexy but nearsighted daughter named Sinistra, a now bitchy and American Bobbi Shaw in a harem outfit, an Indian named Chicken Feather, Jesse White again as J. Sinister Hulk, and of course Mr. Robot Monster himself, George Barrows, as Monstro the gorilla  (I used to own Robot Monster, but lost it long ago and never got around to replacing it.)
• As secondary villains (and the only carryovers from Beach Party, which now seems a long three years ago), Von Zipper and his gang, who spend most of the movie hardly interacting with the rest of the cast
• Boris Karloff, in a somewhat larger role than his cameo in Bikini Beach, as The Corpse, whose will and hidden fortune bring everyone to his decrepit but stately mansion
• The thirty-years-dead title character, played by Susan Hart in an unflattering blonde wig and a non-'30s-compliant bikini (not invisible in any suggestive way), and given annoying mannerisms and unexplained changes in size (the special effects are unimpressive)
• The Bobby Fuller Four performing "Swing A-Ma Thing" in what looks like a Wham-O commercial
• A torture chamber populated by robots
• A muddied theology, where if you're bad you go to Heaven as an angel, while if you're bad but reform you become a child

I can't decide which is more or less appealing, the sloppiness of this movie or the relative slickness of Ski Party.  Both movies come across as misogynist, especially towards poor Deborah Walley, who in this one is repeatedly dragged to and from a buzz saw while tied to a log and wearing a skimpy nightie.  It's not funny and is at best irritating, since no one bothers to untie her for several minutes.  (At least Puss 'n' Boots rescued Sugar Kane when they had the chance, and they didn't even like her.)  Deborah is sort of paired up with Tommy, but they're much more fun, separately and together, in It's a Bikini World.  I guess if you're an AIP Beach Party completist, you may as well watch this, at least to see how much damage adding horror (rather than just cameos by horror stars) to the mix and taking out Frankie and Annette can do.  Not that F & A are any guarantee of entertainment, but I'll get to Fireball 500 tomorrow....

The surviving Beach Party crowd include Frank Alesia, Patti Chandler, Ed Garner, Luree Nicholson Holmes, Mary Hughes, and Salli Sachse, as well as relative newcomers Christopher Riordan and Sue Hamilton Williams.  They're given very little to do, other than dance by the pool that the D but S mansion has.  Besides Von Zipper, all the Ratz & Mice return:  Brutsche, Fife, Harvey, Macchia, Nelson, Romano, and Ross.  The part of the gardener was the last role for silent star Francis X. Bushman.  Benny Rubin, the forgettable Buster Keaton substitute, would play a waiter in The Shaggy D.A.

Winter A-Go-Go

Winter A-Go-Go
October 28, 1965
Columbia
Comedy, Drama, Musical
VHS
C

I was thinking of giving this a C, like Ski Party, before we got to the character of the giggling Chinese cook.  And while the sexism isn't as hostile as in Ski P, the interview question of a girl's measurements has dated in a bad way.  But the movie was saved from a C- by an increase in funny drama.  You know the kind, where characters have lines like "You're a great girl and maybe someday you'll be the real you and get over whatever's hurting you inside."  Or this double-entendrous exchange (I'm paraphrasing since I don't take notes)--
VILLAIN: You can get hurt playing both sides of the fence.
REFORMED HENCHMAN: I like to go where the action is.
VILLAIN: Well, you're fooling around with the wrong guy.

It's pretty sad when the Nooney Rickett Four are your most famous musical act, other than the Hondells, who, yes, sing the theme song with it's oh so '60s title.  One of the dance numbers, however, looks like the grandmother of "Jingle Bell Rock" in Mean Girls, the costumes especially.  As for the comedy, well, when a joke about "CA" for "Cokes Anonymous" is only funny because this is 17 years before Cocaine Anonymous was founded, well, I start to get impatient for the next dramatic scene.
GIRL #1: (during one of the fight scenes) They'll kill each other!
GIRL #2: I can't watch this!

There are, not surprisingly, some crossovers in the casts of AIP movies and Elvis movies.  Beverly Adams ("Jo") was Cassandra in How to Stuff a Wild Bikini.  Carey Foster was in Pajama Party.  Linda Rogers ("Penny") was the auburn-haired Mouse in the earlier Beach Party movies.  Nancy Czar ("Jonesy") was in Girl Happy and would be in Spinout, costarring with Arlene Charles again.  Julie Parrish ("Dee Dee") would be in Fireball 500.

Ski Party

Ski Party
June (?) 30, 1965
AIP
Comedy, Musical
DVD
C

This may be the low for the AIP Beach Party and Spin-Offs series.  (It's been awhile since I've seen The Ghost in the Invisible Bikini, and there are the "racing" movies with Fabian coming up, so I'm not going to commit myself just yet.)  Alan Rafkin has mostly directed for TV, which isn't necessarily a bad thing, but the script is by Robert Kaufman, who also wrote AIP's Dr. Goldfoot movies, which I've never cared for.  There are serious problems with this script, most notably the fact that Frankie*, and to some degree his sidekick Dwayne, won't take no for an answer when it comes to kissing+ (Yvonne's character laughs as she tells of Dwayne tying her up with hair ribbons on their first date!), dress in drag (in what Dwayne acknowledges onscreen is a Some Like It Hot rip-off) in order to spy on girls (oh, and to learn to ski on the bunny slope, not exactly on the level of having a Chicago mob chasing after you), and worst of all drive a mentally ill man further into insanity.  And then in the end, Deborah's character is the one who apologizes!  Deborah wonders what Yvonne did wrong and the future Batgirl replies, "Guilt by association."

There are really only two reasons to watch this movie, and they may not be enough for all but the completist.  One, there's more of the AIP fourth-wall-breaking than we usually get, by both Frankie and Dwayne.  (The latter had practice on Dobie Gillis.)  At one point, Frankie asks what the average age of the audience is, and Dwayne replies 15, so they have to leave the slumber party.  There's also one of the odder cameos at AIP, Annette Funicello playing a hot 35-year-old professor.  (A TILF?)  IMDB says this movie came out in June, but I'm not sure where it actually falls in the Series & Related chronology.  Since I'm reviewing Winter A-Go-Go later today, this seemed like the best place for it.  And, no, AIP never made Cruise Party, as the end credits promise/threaten.

The other good thing about this movie is the music, no, not those darn Hondells, who sing the forgettable title song, but Leslie Gore doing her hit "Sunshine, Lollipops, and Rainbows," and the fabulous James Brown and the Famous Flames.  The soul band shows up just before the hour-mark, Yvonne says she has all their albums (since she's cooler than the rest of the cast, I believe her), and then we get a poorly dubbed but wonderfully choreographed rendition of "I Got You (I Feel Good)."  Then they leave, unfortunately, taking most of the energy with them.  Even getting back to the beach at the end doesn't help.

The returning Beach Party crowd includes Patti Chandler, Jo Collins, Mickey Dora, Ed Garner, Mike Nader (given a couple lines), Luree Nicholson Holmes, Mary Hughes, Christopher Riordan, and Salli Sachse.  Bobbi Shaw is again Swedish but seems a bit more fluent than usual.  Aron Kincaid plays a blond stud like he did in Beach Ball, although he ends up falling for Dwayne's alter ego, "Nora."  (Since this is a feeble answer to Some LIH, he gives Nora his pin.  Dwayne/Nora seems to return his feelings, but later claims to have been kidding.  Uh huh.)  Mikki Jamison and Bill Sampson were in Beach Ball with Aron, as was Dick Miller, who this time plays the taxi driver.


*This time, none of the characters have the performers' names.  I just don't care enough to type them all out.  One girl is named "Indian" for inexplicable reasons.

Help!

Help!
August 25, 1965
United Artists
Comedy, Musical, Action
VHS
C

Although it's nice to see the Beatles in colour-- including in a prescient scene where they wear facial hair for disguises and look like their future selves (except Paul)-- there's no question that this isn't as good as A Hard Day's Night.  Instead of giving us a slightly surreal view of a day-in-the-life-of-the-band, we instead get a nonsensical yet boring plot involving two sets of bad guys-- worshipers of the goddess Kali, and a mad scientist and his idiot assistant-- all of whom are after a ring on Ringo's finger.  (George gets a later ironic line about not wanting to criticise anyone's religion.)  The music is good of course (including sitars that would influence George) but there's not much of it and it's not shot anywhere near as creatively as in HDN.  I also don't like how John and Paul want to cut off Ringo's finger when the ring won't come off.  There are some nice touches, like the design of the lads' house, but I'd rather watch an average episode of The Monkees than this.

A few of the Hard Day's Night cast show up: Bob Godfrey, who was Man in Park, is a priest/thug here; Jeremy Lloyd, who was Tall Dancer at the Disco, gets a couple lines as a restaurant patron; and of course Victor Spinetti, the TV director, becomes mad scientist Foot.  Roy Kinnear, who's Foot's assistant Algernon, would be Veruca Salt's dad in Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory.

A Night in Casablanca

A Night in Casablanca
October 12, 1946
United Artists
Comedy, Musical
VHS
C

The Marx Brothers "retired" after The Big Store, and who could blame them?  This was their post-war comeback movie, but it's not any better than Store.  Then again, it's not any worse.  They're Dumont-less this time, although they do have Sig Ruman again, much more villainous than he was in A Night at the Opera and A Day at the Races.  (As in Store, the serious plot involves a string of murders.)  The movie isn't really a parody on Casablanca, although the Nazis are causing trouble here, too.  The Marxes, especially Harpo (playing "Rusty," as he did in Go West), look old and tired.  (They were then in their mid to late 50s.)  The jokes are mostly old and tired, too, although there are moments I smiled a little, as when Harpo indeed is "holding up a wall."  This wasn't quite the end for the comedy team, but I haven't seen Love Happy in about thirty years, so I can't tell you if it's any worse.  I have Groucho coming up in 1947's Copacabana and 1968's Skidoo.

Mary Dees was in The Women.  Philip Van Zandt was in Citizen Kane.  And Dan Seymour was in Casablanca.  Kalmar & Ruby's "Who's Sorry Now" (from 1923) is sung by the villainess, a whole night club, and then Groucho.

The Big Store

The Big Store
June 20, 1941
MGM
Comedy, Musical
VHS
C

While this is much livelier than Room Service, I'm going to have to put it on the same level, because, unlike At the Circus and Go West, which offer "Lydia the Tattooed Lady" and the big train scene respectively, there's not really anything that the Marxes do here that stands out.  In fact, the only amusing moments I recall are deadpan Virginia O'Brien, as Kitty, inventing rock & roll (OK, technically still swing, but she is singing about rocking, a baby), and Charles Lane showing up at the end and being very Charles-Laney as the Finance Company Man.  (He always played the same stern type, including in It's a Wonderful Life.)  Yes, it's nice to see Groucho romancing Dumont again and insulting the villain.  (Douglas Dumbrille, who was the horse-scaring-voiced Morgan in A Day at the Races, is the even more sinister Mr. Grover here.)  But there's just too much boring music, which sadly includes Harpo in a "mirror scene" that is nothing like the one in Duck Soup.  Also, there's a perfect example of what I call gratuitous racism, where for no reason at all, four black cotton-pickers show up in the middle of the "Sing While You Sell" production.  (OK, other than O'Brien's weird lullaby, I did like Groucho's remark about Technicolor being too expensive for the fashion show, which I suspect is a dig at The Women.)  Don't get me started on the various ethnic families shopping for beds!

Jan Duggan, who did a few Fields movies, plays the wife Groucho insults in the bed department.  Perennial elevator operator Buddy Messinger actually has a few lines this time.  Russell Hicks was in Follow the Fleet.  Al Hill and Pierre Watkin were in The Bank Dick.  Lennie Bluett sang in A Day at the Races as well as this movie.  And, yes, that's Auntie Em, Clara Blandick, as the nice old lady that the male romantic lead makes a record for.

Lew Harvey and Milton Kibbee would go on to Citizen Kane, Kay Deslys to Never Give a Sucker an Even Break.  Victor Potel, who plays the father of the Swedish kids, would be a newspaper editor in The Miracle of Morgan's Creek.



(The last picture is stolen from this very funny piece:  http://www.sandiegoreader.com/weblogs/big-screen/2012/jul/31/dig-a-hole-tony-martin-and-his-emtenement-symphony/)

Road to Zanzibar

Road to Zanzibar
April 11, 1941
Paramount
Comedy, Musical
VHS
C

I used to watch the Road to... movies on TV a lot as a kid, but I never owned any until a few months ago, when I saw this tape for less than $1.  This is the first I've watched the movie as an adult and, well, it hasn't aged well.  It starts out all right, with Bob & Bing bantering.  But I didn't like that everyone in the movie is immoral, with Bing manipulating best friend Bob, and Dorothy Lamour (as Donna Latour) tricking both of them, while planning to marry for money, and lots of other scheming going on throughout, including Donna's pal Julia tricking "the boys" when Donna seems to be sold in the slave market.  If this was meant to be a dark comedy, I mean a black comedy-- Oh dear.  The other big problem is this is set in Africa (they never actually get to Zanzibar), and the "natives" are stereotyped, especially the cannibal tribe that Bob & Bing meet.  Yes, it's possible this is all a parody, but it's not a funny one.  The wall-breaking jokes are better, as when the pattycake routine is anticipated and Bob says, "They must've seen the picture," i.e. Road to Singapore, the first in the series.  This one isn't terrible, but I can recommend it just to Hope and/or Crosby completists.  (Lamour fans will like the scene where she's wearing only leaves.)  That said, when I got this tape, I decided to spring for the Road to Morocco DVD.  It was my favorite of the series when I was a kid, and when I saw it as an adult a few years ago, I still enjoyed it.  (Not that it's not without its own problems, but we'll get to that.)

Eric Blore was headwaiter in Flying Down to Rio, and often played servants, so it's odd to see him as a rich man here.  Paul Porcasi was also in Flying Down, and would soon appear in Casablanca, as would Norma Varden. Joan Marsh, who plays Dimples, the Human Cannonball act assistant, was Pauline Bisbee in You're Telling Me.  Another of Fields's onscreen daughters, Una Merkel from the recent The Bank Dick, has a much larger role, as Julia.  Buck Woods, who portrays jungle guide Thonga, was a singer in A Day at the Races, which also featured Robert Middlemass.  Charles Gemora was often a gorilla, as in At the Circus.  Georges Renavent was Mr. Ram in Turnabout.  Ed Bridge would go on to The Miracle of Morgan's Creek.  Iris Adrian was recently in Go West and would much later appear in Freaky Friday.

The Story of Vernon and Irene Castle

The Story of Vernon and Irene Castle
March 29, 1939
RKO
Historical, Musical, Drama
DVD
C

Slow, corny, somewhat depressing movie that somehow ends up being proto-propaganda for U.S. involvement in World War II.  It's set 1911 to 1918 and patriotic Brit Vernon joins up when World War I breaks out.  (Astaire shows no trace of a British accent, although Vernon was nineteen when he emigrated to New York.  No New York accent either, for that matter.)  Before that, it's mostly a tale of the real-life celebrity dancers' rise and success.  Around the midpoint, when Edna May Oliver (Aunt March in Little Women) shows up, the movie sort of springs to life, and the montage sequence seems to have a better, livelier director.  Mostly though, Fred and more particularly Ginger are hamstrung by playing real roles, and ones they're not suited for.  (I really missed the sassy, brassy Ginger of Flying Down to Rio, as she played insecure, innocent Irene.)  I was getting so antsy that I started speculating on Walter Brennan as "Walter" having a threesome with the Castles.  (He does seem very taken with Vernon.)  Some of the dancing's pretty good of course, but you're not missing much if you skip this one.

William Worthington was in Duck Soup, Jean Stevens in Room Service, and Esther Muir was "Flo" in A Day at the Races, which also featured Max Lucke.  Leonid Kinskey, who plays the "bohemian" painter, was in Duck Soup as the agitator and would be in Casablanca as Sascha.  Kay Sutton appeared in Roberta, Brooks Benedict in Follow the Fleet.  Tiny Jones, who'd just done You Can't Cheat an Honest Man, shows how she got her nickname, here appearing as the small woman who goes through a revolving door.  Leyland Hodgson was also in Honest Man.  Donald "Jumping Butterballs" MacBride has a more leering, less angry role than in Room Service.  Douglas Walton was in Thank You, Jeeves!, and incidentally was Percy Bysshe Shelley in The Bride of Frankenstein.

Edmund Mortimer, George Irving, and Frank O'Connor were in previous movies of mine, and Mortimer would soon appear in At the Circus.  Rolfe Sedan would shortly be in The Wizard of Oz.  Jack Gargan would go on to The Bank Dick, Adrienne D'Ambricourt to Casablanca.  Eugene Borden plays a Frenchman in All About Eve as well as here.  Frank Faylen, who's an uncredited Adjutant here, would be much more memorable as not only Ernie in It's a Wonderful Life, but as Dobie Gillis's TV father.