Glenn Walker is a writer who knows pop culture. He loves, hates, and lives pop culture. He knows too freaking much about pop culture, and here's where he talks about it all: movies, music, comics, television, and the rest... Welcome to Hell.
The Dark Corner ~ I remember seeing this when I was a little kid, and of course then the whole novelty of seeing it was to simply see a movie with Lucille Ball. I grew up on Lucy as most of America did. I fondly remember afternoon reruns of "I Love Lucy," morning reruns of "The Lucy Show," and "Here's Lucy" running in prime time on CBS concurrently. She was a television fixture, so seeing this black and white detective flick on UHF was a treat of a different flavor.
Years later when I saw that this was running on board the Disney Fantasy in the Buena Vista Theatre as part of the 2016 TCM Classic Cruise, I had to check it out. The film was introduced by Eddie Muller, the czar of noir, and Lucie Arnaz, the daughter of Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz - and really if I had to tell you that last part, shame on you, and I know how old you are. Either way, I bet you never knew Lucy made a film noir.
Made in 1946, this taut thriller gave the impression that it was time to poke a bit of fun at the genre. The Dark Corner has a few film noir clichés that it turns on its head and laughs at. Add Lucy to the mix, even though she's the polar opposite of her comedienne character, and there's a lot of fun here. Sadly, she didn't have a lot of fun on set. She was on loan to Fox from MGM as punishment for trying to get out of her contract, and director Henry Hathaway hated her and thought she had no talent, and felt he was being punished by being saddled with her. So this was not a good experience for Lucy, but after hearing what Hathaway thought of her, she was determined to give her finest performance. Not only does she, hell, Lucy steals the movie.
Add in the possible fire between her and male lead Mark Stevens, the only man of whom Desi Arnaz was ever jealous, if that puts this potential onscreen romance in perspective, that makes this flick quite a footnote in Lucy's career. This story of a shady private investigator set up for murder, and his resourceful secretary who helps him out is classic noir, set apart by Stevens' wisecracks and Lucy's fast talking chutzpah, but rooted with Clifton Webb's evil baddie. Check this one out, it's well worth it, and you'll see Lucy through cool new eyes. Recommended.
TV Crunch last week posted a list of the top (or is it bottom) twenty-five worst sitcoms ever. Check here for their thoughts. Here’s the list itself, and some of my thoughts below.
25. “Veronica’s Closet” – This catches Kirstie Alley at her hottest in my opinion, before “Fat Actress” and after “Cheers.” Hot yes, but funny? I’d have to say not. Bad show or not, Kathy Najimy rocked the closet.
24. “Charles in Charge” – Chachi and Bibleman. Need I say more really?
23. “The Nanny” – When Fran Drescher would laugh, it was charming and cute. But when she pretended to laugh, it was like a nail gun in the ear. On this one it was more the latter than the former.
22. “Webster” – The poor little kid wanted so bad to be Gary Coleman. Even now, and that says a lot.
21. “All-American Girl” – I liked this show a lot. Margaret Cho rocks, and any sitcom that has Quentin Tarantino on has my vote. It’s a shame that the network tortured Margaret and destroyed the show.
20. “Babes” – Want to kill the inherent comedy and acting skills of the great Wendy Jo Sperber? Put her in a show where the only joke is that she’s a fat girl. I’m sorry, but even in the politically incorrect world that Fox was so at home in at the time, there are really only so many funny fat jokes.
19. “Mr. Belvedere” and 18. “Family Matters” – Are we sure these weren’t the same show?
17. “The Ropers” – How to kill two shows at once. To make the series they removed the funniest part of the “Three’s Company” ensemble and gave them their own show. The problem was without the rest of the cast the other was no longer funny. And of course, when “The Ropers” got canceled, both Norman Fell and Audra Lindley got screwed, as their contracts said they couldn’t return to “Three’s Company.” Good old ABC.
16. “Life on a Stick” – I remember this one and thought it had potential. But what do I know? I also like Godzilla, comic books and talk radio.
15. “It’s a Living” – This was kind of like an adult version of “The Facts of Life” in that the female cast just got older and fatter as the show went on. Never cared for this one, and I remember the piano player was pretty obnoxious.
14. “Shasta McNasty” – If it had had Gary Busey instead of Jake Busey, this would have been a runaway hit.
13. “George” – If only it were an infomercial for the Foreman Grill it would have not only been more entertaining, but more folks would have watched.
12. “Harry and the Hendersons” – Proof that Bigfoot really isn’t as funny as he should be.
11. “We’ve Got it Made” – The world is a much more lonely place without Teri Copley on television.
10. “Double Trouble” – Can’t you just see the network pitch meeting? “Hey, guys, let’s remake “The Patty Duke Show” only we’ll just take out all the funny parts…”
9. “Perfect Strangers” – An example of ABC trying to recreate the frenetic comic success of Robin Williams on “Mork & Mindy.”
8. “My Two Dads” – Is this the poor man’s “Full House?”
7. “Baby Bob” – Oh come on, you mean we weren’t sick of Look Who’s Talking by this time?
6. “Mama’s Family” – Like “The Ropers,” this is another example of destroying an existing ensemble success. This popular skit from “The Carol Burnett Show” was neutered when Carol Burnett, Tim Conway and Harvey Korman were removed from it.
5. “Cavemen” - This one is a disgrace. Not only was it based on some really annoying Geico commercials… but the commercials were funnier and more entertaining than the show itself.
4. “Woops!” – This is another early effort from Fox, and this one I actually liked quite a bit. To my mind (and don’t laugh) this was an intellectual version of Gilligan’s Island, only the seven were survivors of a nuclear war. Given a chance, I think this could have been really good.
3. “Yes, Dear” – How did this bastard child of Everyone Loves Raymond survive six seasons?
2. “Homeboys in Outer Space” – What began as an American version of Brit scifi-comedy hit “Red Dwarf” mutated into this mess. Man oh man, why couldn’t the WB have just shown the old “Red Dwarf” reruns?
1. “Small Wonder” – The secret that no one talks about is that VICI really was a robot…
I have to say that this is a somewhat reasonable list but many were left off that deserved their rightful place among the worst. The first that comes to mind would be “Life with Lucy,” featuring a very aged Lucille Ball doing pratfalls and stunts that would make Chevy Chase blush. The problem was every time she did one, the reaction of the audience at home was the same – horror – just like that old lady who couldn’t get up on the Life Alert commercials.
Comedian Dick Martin passed away yesterday from respiratory problems. He was 86.
Best known as Dan Rowan's partner as host NBC's popular "Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In," Martin also did stand-up in the 1950s, appeared as Lucille Ball's wacky neighbor in one of her sitcoms and was the principal director on "Newhart" during the 1990s. I most recently saw him in 2001's Bartlby.
