Monday, October 31, 2011

The Legend of Sleepy Hollow or Ichabod Crane-ium

     This 1949 Disney animated short is based on the story by Washington Irving, and narrated by Bing Crosby.  It makes for fantastic and mandatory Halloween viewing.  The legend is roughly as follows:


        A stranger strolled to Tarry Town
        Criss-crossing autumn’s golden gown
        Light in color and lank of frame
        Standing stark against the plain
        Battered tricorne for his crown.

        Awaking Sleepy Hollow domain
        Faces peer through window pane
        At the apparition there
        Soon to be made aware
        Its pedagogue Ichabod Crane.

        As foolish as he may appear
        He’s surprisingly urbane and debonair
        His standing around the hamlet
        Is buoyed by his charm and wit
        And earns him many an admirer fair.
Making song and sup his habit  
Only to passing pleasure commit
Till he met county coquette
Whom he could not forget
As unfortunate fate would have it.

Katrina Van Tassel as of yet
On her favorite swain hadn’t set
But Brom Bones was dismayed
By affection she displayed
For school master newly met.


To advance this game of love she played                   
The fair maid bade her blade
Join her Hallows Night  
And a special invite        
To both rivals was conveyed.
               
In a frolic setting to excite
Maid and master took delight
In sweet step and dulcet tone  
Confrontation could no longer postpone
A conclusion must ignite.

                                                                                
                                                  Leaving party on his own
                                                  Horse and rider all alone
                                                  Traveling at bewitching hour
                                                  Takes not long for headless spirit to devour
                                                  Leaving final fate unknown.

                                                                                    This Legend of Sleepy Hollow
                                                                                    Is rather melanchollow
And a trifle hard to follow.
For this Legend
As Irving penned
Has no decisive end.
Maybe Ichabod met his demise
At the fiery hands of the Headless guise
Who perhaps was not ethereal ghoul
But a rival much more tangible
Or maybe he survived his chase
And simply relocated to another, more amiable place.

        This story is spooky, but not scary, more mystery than horror – which is the kind of Halloween tale I prefer.  Bing Crosby is really the only voice heard throughout the entire episode.  There are only a few voices in the chorus which are not his.  And yet having him voice all the characters and do the narration works.  His entire interpretation is delightful.  There are surprising and amusing inflections, but he never resorts to “doing voices” or going over the top.  Crosby’s voice and tone fits perfectly.  In fact sleepy, hollow might be a most apt description of his crooning style.  And the songs he sings are quite catchy.
I always have been fond of the traditional Disney opening, that starts in an ornate library and then focuses in on the classic, gilt tome, which is how this story begins.  The entire cartoon clocks in at about thirty minutes, and moves rather briskly throughout.  I think the climax with the Headless Horseman, Ichabod, and the most animated animated horse ever is my favorite cinematic chase scene.  It is the perfect blend of comedy and terror.  The transformation of the old grey nag from lazy sack of skin and bones, to terrifiedly motivated race horse, and the camaraderie that develops between him and Ichabod out of a shared goal of avoiding death is quite impressive.  Even if Ichabod wasn’t fortunate enough to escape the fiery pumpkin I always hope that the plow horse made it to greener meadows.
Finally, to continue in the vein of a cartoon Halloween I recommend also viewing “Trick or Treat,” a 1952 Donald Duck cartoon featuring his mischievous nephews aided in their trickery by Witch Hazel and the slightly more intense “Ajax the Gorilla.”

Monday, October 24, 2011

Pardon My Past or Think Mink

     Pardon My Past is an odd little movie from 1945 that stars Fred MacMurray, William Demarest and Marguerite Chapman.  It is a postwar movie that takes a decidedly lighthearted view of GIs return to civilian life.  No ‘Best Years of Our Lives’ here.  The plot, for those out of the loop is roughly as follows: 
        Newly released GIs
        Chuck Gibson and Eddie York
Movie star status Proof # 1:
Glamorous studio portrait.
        Are in for a surprise
        When pulled off the streets of New York.            
        Plot propellant number one
        Mistaken identities
        Eddie looks like F. Pemberton
        Who owes a lot of monies.

        Claims that he’s York don’t work
        Mr. Arnold demands payment
        Takes Chuck and Eddie’s three Gs
        Then throws them out on the pavement.

        Mink farm funds now depleted
        New scheme must be needed.

        Plot propellant number two
        From rich look alike Francis
        Acquire cash or IOU
        At the Pemberton manse-es.

        Mr. P's been out of town for two years
        And is a grade-A heel, so it appears.

        They spend the night, but then comes the dawn
        Open the safe and the moneys all gone
        Uncle Wills is up to something rotten
        Hoping to increase his gains, ill gotten.

        Plot propellant number three
        Though deception makes him feel jerky
        While staying at the Pemberton home
        Eddie falls for cousin Joan.

        But Mr. Arnold won’t be put off
        And at Eddie’s protests continues to scoff
        Finally they wheedle a check from Uncle Wills
        Enough to cover unpaid bills.

        Ah but plot propellant number four
        The real Francis arrives at front door
        And grandpa reveals with maniacal grin
        Eddie is Francis’ long lost twin!

        Finally settle all the bills
        And true identities revealed
        It’s out on his back for Uncle Wills
        And all the other problems healed.

        Chuck, Eddie and Joan rush to catch their train
        And meet up with Mr. Arnold again.

        They start to run, from force of habits
        But he comes bearing gifts
        And who would’ve guessed
        That minks breed just like rabbits.

Movie star status Proof # 2:
Fans demanding autographs.
Like many moviegoers I was originally familiar with Fred MacMurray through a series of fluffy Disney movies.  Among others, he was both the Absent Minded Professor and the Happiest Millionaire (though being married to Greer Garson who could blame him?).  It was therefore rather surprising to find at one point he had been a prominent and popular romantic leading man.  What?  The man who invented flubber?  Surely not.  There are numerous movies from the 30s and 40s that will cement him in viewers’ minds as a bona fide movie star.  This movie might not be one of them.
Pardon My Past has an absolutely goofy, ridiculous plot, with highly soap-operatic moments (why it must be his twin!), but its pretty good fun in spite of that.  Or maybe because of it.  I personally tend to enjoy ridiculous, goofy, minimal plot movies.  My biggest disappointment in this movie was that it did not actually take place on a mink farm as I was anticipating.  The pacing is fairly quick and never really lags.  The only times it drags is when it tries to get semi-serious.  The billowing musical score during the “dramatic” scenes, ie the ones with abandoned wife and child, was unnecessary and distracting.  No such cues needed in a comedy.  But that is a minor complaint.
      One final thing to note, this was one of several movies costarring MacMurray and Demarest, long before ‘My Three Sons’ aired.

Tuesday, October 18, 2011

Happy Birthday Angela Lansbury

She was beautiful then ...
     October 16 was Angela Lansbury’s 86th birthday.  I’ve been a huge fan of hers for the longest time.  My Sunday night ritual in elementary school was to get all my class things ready for the next day, get into my pjs, watch ‘Murder She Wrote’ while having a late night snack, and then go to bed.  It was great.  But it wasn’t till a bit later that I realized what a genuinely diverse actress she was.


     I remember thinking how cool it was to “see” her on the big screen in ‘Beauty and the Beast.’  ‘Tale as Old as Time’ is still one of my favorite songs, and hers is the best rendition.  I also saw her in kid friendly movies, such as ‘Bedknobs and Broomsticks’ and ‘National Velvet.’  However, my tastes did eventually move past that.  Once I discovered she’d been in a number of movies I scarfed up all that were available, no matter how small her role.  Sometimes this was good (it introduced me to ‘Gaslight’ and Charles Boyer) other times not so great (The Three Musketeers, but maybe I was too young for it?).  
And is beautiful now.


I’ve never been able to see her on Broadway, but if she does one more play I promise I will drop everything I’m doing, forget about the expense, and buy a front row ticket to see her.  I think actors, or movies, or books, or any person or thing that you discover as a child stays with you in a much deeper way than if you’d become a fan at a later age.  I’ve been enamored of Angela Lansbury since I was about seven years old, and I’m glad I happened to make such a wise choice at such a young age. 

          Angela Lansbury
          Is turning six and eighty
          And I like her – very.
          I knew her first as Fletcher, J.B.
          But she’d done a lot of roles previously
          Which were wide and vary
          Sometimes sweet, sometimes scary.
          She even was an Oscar nominee.
          Then on Broadway boards she did tarry
          In Sweeney Todd, Mame and Gypsy
          Which won her a many devotee
          A fact you cannot query
          So to this actress legendary
          We wish a birthday most happy! 


Monday, October 10, 2011

Double Wedding or The Triumph of Yumph

     Double Wedding is a 1936 flick starring William Powell and Myrna Loy.  It is smack dab in the middle of their 14 movie collaboration, and for me probably ranks about there in quality as well.  The plot, for those unfamiliar, is roughly as follows:
        Open with Charlie, Waldo and Irene Agnew                               
        Aspiring bohemians three
        Doing the things that bohemians do
        Staying up late and acting artsy.

        Just as they get going, they must get going
        So bid Charlie adieu
        Have to get home without sister knowing
        What exactly they’ve been up to.

        Margit Agnew, bossy sister in charge
        Of her charge errant
        Acts as she does, by and large
        Because both lack a parent.

        But the cat’s out of the bag
        The butler did squeal
        So Margit follows to nag
        And their actions repeal.

        A confrontation at Spike’s Place
        Starts in earnest the romantic chase.

        Meeting in the trailer minute
        Charlie and Margit bargain
        If he gives Irene the boot
        Their posing sessions can begin.

        Still acting snippy and irate
        Pretending that the other they hate
        They start to fall in love
        Though of that only Charlie is admitting of.

        Now start the hijinks and comedic schemes
        Charlie claims the wedding is his and Irene’s
        But to a few he does admit
        That he plans to marry Margit.

        And where’s Waldo you say
        Why he’s on his way
        And bringing with him yumph.

        With all the lovers properly claimed
        The wedding ends in a riot
        I guess that violence on true love can be blamed
        So perhaps we oughtn’t try it.

     While it may at first seem out of character for the sophisticated William Powell to play the crazy bohemian, it actually kind of works.  To me Powell has always straddled the line between debonair and nutty – especially the farther he got from the 1920s/early30s.  It’s sort of similar to the way some view Cary Grant: suave with an underlying hint of danger.  Well, William Powell is suave with an underlying hint of goofiness.  A sort of goofball meets highball.  This film merely places more of an emphasis on that element of his character.  Actually, it also plays up Myrna Loy’s underlying character, which to me has always been rather snobbish.

From this ...
     As to the charge that there is little to no plot, I don’t particularly agree.  In fact I very seldom agree with accusations of lack of complex storyline equaling bad movie.  How intricate does a plot really need to be?  As long as there is some sort of movement and action it doesn’t matter if its as simple as boy loves girl, how do they get together.  Even movies with no plots can have good writing, and some worthwhile moments.  And in some ways this story line is rather reminiscent of a Shakespearean tale.  In some ways.

     And none of that is not to say this isn’t a amusing film with some funny moments.  My favorite exchange (and visual) was the telephone gong gag.  Seeing Powell rise up from the bed, and confusedly ask “who rang my gong” just tickles me every time.

to this!
     Final things to note:  This was one of Sidney Toler’s last roles before becoming Charlie Chan.  Even here he has a rather funny accent though.  And the Oscar that clonks Powell on the head at the end could be a reference to the Oscar winning movie the previous year.  It was the Great Ziegfeld and starred …  William Powell and Myrna Loy.

Saturday, October 8, 2011

Mellow Greetings!

                I’m a classic film fan who intends to join the kabillions of other classic movie blogs, dissecting movies from the Golden Age of cinema.  One key difference is that I’m not an expert, either in film theory, critiquing or writing.  You’ll find no French phrases here, no auteur or mise-en-scène.  I take a completely superficial view of movies – mostly I look at actors, and usually only those I personally enjoy.  An errant director might sneak in every once in a while, and even rarer a broader look at genres and historical context.  But mostly I’ll “review” movies I like with actors I like.