Spellbound

Spellbound ~ This one is a failing for me in many areas of my film watching and commentary career.  First and foremost, I've never seen Spellbound.  I know, for shame, a Hitchcock flick I've never seen, especially with the reputation this one has, and that legendary dream sequence designed by the great Salvador Dali.  To make matters worse, I've also never seen Mel Brooks' High Anxiety, mostly because I wanted to see Spellbound first. 

Wait, did you catch that vibe? If you know your Hitch, you definitely did. The above is the original opening I wrote for this review two years back, when I thought Spellbound was Vertigo - yeah, I know, I'm an idiot. I was confused, thought this movie was Vertigo not Spellbound, and therefore multiplied my disappointment. I know now, Vertigo is brilliant, Spellbound not so much. Back to my original review…

Hopefully, seeing Spellbound in a big beautiful old fashioned movie palace like the Walt Disney Theatre on the TCM Classic Cruise will make up for the long wait in viewing this one.  Seriously, it's the only way to see any film, classic or not.  And as I settled in to watch on an early Wednesday morning on board, the theater was packed, and a live introduction by the late Robert Osborne didn't hurt either. 

The story revolves around psychoanalysis, which at the time was new, but now is a bit old hat, if now completely outdated. That's where my suspension of disbelief fails. I just didn't buy the premise, and while the story doesn't hold together, and the performances are less than stellar, I did respect the direction and cinematography. Hitch has mad skills even in his least work.

All that said, obviously I didn't really dig the flick.  I realize it's a product of its time, but the sexism and clinical aspects of psychotherapy really angered and simultaneously bored me.  Besides that, I also didn't think this was Ingrid Bergman at her best, and this very young Gregory Peck didn't seem to have his chops yet.  Bill Goodwin (best known from Burns and Allen) as the hotel detective was one of the few bright spots for me.  Things livened up when he was on screen. 

And then there was that dream sequence.  I would have dug more of that but producer David Zanuck cut it from twenty-two minutes to two with narrative.  Knowing that before seeing it, and also knowing the full cut wasn't included, was a bit of a letdown within a film that was already a bit of a letdown.

Perhaps someday I sit down and try to watch this one again, give it a second chance. I just couldn't really get into it, and if I couldn't get into it in the best of all circumstances to see such a film, I don't hold out for much hope. I guess I just didn't like it. Your mileage may vary.

Gene Wilder 1933-2016

I have a couple friends who say they learn of celebrity deaths from my blog, that I write about these things first. I don't want to, you know, and I especially don't like doing it when it's about someone I really liked and admired. Today we lost award-winning actor, writer, director, and author Gene Wilder, star of screen and stage. Yeah, one of the big ones.

I knew Gene Wilder at a very young age, from commercials for Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory to multiple viewings of Bonnie and Clyde when it came to television, a family favorite which later became one of my favorites. As a kid and later as an adult, two different levels of humor, I loved him in Young Frankenstein and Blazing Saddles. As I grew older, I dug him in The Producers and when he got together with Gilda Radner, I even liked the charming but corny stuff they did together.

Wilder was a genius, a master of expressiveness and pantomime, a fantastic actor and a legend in his own time. He has been away for some time, but never forgotten. Gene Wilder will be missed.

RIP Dick Van Patten

Dick Van Patten is one of those faces we've all seen on television since we were kids and just started watching television. He's always been there, and now, sadly, he's gone. The great character actor passed away this morning in California after a long illness.

Most folks will recognize him as the father Tom Bradford in the late 1970s drama/comedy "Eight Is Enough." I was a fan of the show, even though it hasn't aged well, and was definitely a product of its times. Van Patten however was in everything, a fixture of anthology shows like "The Love Boat" and "Love American Style," he always played different roles, and was featured in over fifty different series over the decades. His career on TV went from "The Naked City" to " Hot in Cleveland." Van Patten was also a star of the silver screen as well, appearing in such films as "Charly," "Westworld," and "Spaceballs."

Speaking of Mel Brooks, with whom Van Patten worked frequently, that was where I first became enamored with his work. He played Friar Tuck in Brooks' rowdy comedic television version of the Robin Hood legend, "When Things Were Rotten." Forgotten by many and lasting less than a season, this was classic Brooks, and Van Patten was great.

We've lost one of the good ones. Dick Van Patten will be missed.

Don't Worry, We'll Think of a Title

Don't Worry, We'll Think of a Title ~ I talked about this one briefly once before.  This is another one of those lost films that inexplicably hasn't made it to home video yet. Filmed just before the last year "The Dick Van Dyke Show" was in the air, the movie features three of its cast members - Morey Amsterdam, Rose Marie, and Richard Deacon - and was written and produced by Amsterdam. Morey Amsterdam is old school, old time comedy writer, from Vaudeville to New York to old Hollywood to radio to even the forgotten DuMont Network. He was the real deal when it came to the comedy writer. He was even known as 'The Human Joke Machine.'

After all that, he is still known for his role of Buddy on "The Dick Van Dyke Show," which is a-okay, because he was essentially playing himself, despite the character actually being based on Mel Brooks. And he's pretty much doing the same thing here in Don't Worry, sometimes twice.

The premise is that of a spy spoof, not that there weren't enough of them around at the time, and Amsterdam loads this one down with as many old jokes and gags as possible. It's almost as if he raided Henny Youngman's reject pile for some of these. There's lots of fourth wall breaking and a

madcap score, funny at first, but getting old quickly. Remember the unfunny Three Stooges shorts with Joe? Imagine one two hours long. And Moe is even one of the guest stars here, there are lots of cameos, but very little pay off.

This really had a lot of potential, but in the end, it's just hard to watch. I can't even recommend this for hardcore fans of "The Dick Van Dyke Show."

Kenneth Mars 1936-2011

Kenneth Mars, the film, television and animation actor passed away this past Monday. You might not know the name but you know this guy. He was in everything. You might remember him as the Nazi playwright in Mel Brooks' original The Producers film, or perhaps as Hugh in one of my favorite films, What's Up, Doc?. But that would only be the tip of the iceberg.

He was also in Young Frankenstein, "Get Smart," "Wonder Woman" and even "Misfits of Science." On television I first discovered Mars as recurring guest W.D. "Bud" Prize on the brilliant "Fernwood Tonight" and "America 2-Night." Just think of a TV series in the 1970s and he was in it. His animation career began with voice work on "The Jetsons" in 1962 and continued until just a couple years ago.

Kenneth Mars will be remembered and he will be missed.

Dom DeLuise 1933-2009

Comedian, actor and chef Dom Deluise has passed away in his sleep. He was suffering from kidney failure and respiratory problems as a result of his battle with cancer. He was 75.

His film debut was in Sidney Lumet's classic Fail-Safe, and amused television audiences first on "The Dean Martin Show." Active in the 1970s, 80s and 90s, DeLuise was known mainly for his films with director Mel Brooks and also for frequently playing sidekick to Burt Reynolds. Reynolds himself told the press, "I was dreading this moment. Dom always made everyone feel better when he was around. I never heard him say an unkind word about anyone. I will miss him very much."

Dom was also the author of many cookbooks of his favorite Italian recipes, including "Eat This" and Eat This Too," as well as a handful of children's books. He'll be missed. Applaud now, this is the end.


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Caveman and Company

Caveman ~ Oddly the thought of this movie brings back vivid memories of listening to WIFI-92 FM back in the late 1970s. This, along with flicks like Grease, Sgt. Pepper and Moment by Moment were treated like serious event movies with promotions and contests running constantly on the station. Caveman, notable for its own caveman language and that it featured superstar couple Ringo Starr and Barbara Bach, is actually a pretty funny visual joke piece. It kinda reminds me of what might have happened had Mel Brooks wrote and directed One Million Years B.C.. A hundred times better than any Geico commercial. The funniest part of the DVD however is that if you plug the captions in, all of the nonsense words are there to follow along. Zug zug.

Red Doors and the short subject Educated are wonderful and deservedly award-winning films by writer/director Georgia Lee about the Asian experience in America with quirky funky casts, characters and storylines. I just wish she would get over her seeming obsession with urination. Despite that, highly recommended.

Queen Sized ~ Like Ricki Lake a generation ago with the first version of Hairspray, the star of the new one, Nikki Blonsky, seems to have a stranglehold on every ‘big girl’ role in Hollywood. Here she plays an outcast girl (guess why) who is picked on by the cool kids until she triumphs over evil and becomes the high school Homecoming Queen. Harmless ABC Family fun.


Steambath ~ This was one of the shows that cemented my father’s opinion that Public Television at night was either educational documentaries or pornography. Good thing he never saw “I Claudius” later on in the decade. This was a television adaptation of Bruce Jay Friedman’s brilliant off-Broadway play. As good as I remembered as a kid, and watching it now as an adult I not only get the jokes but I understand just how really good it is.

27 Dresses ~ This chick-lit-style chick flick starring Katherine Heigl of “Grey’s Anatomy” is a bit predictable but on the whole quite entertaining. She plays a woman whose been a bridesmaid twenty-seven times but is secretly in love with the man who’s about to marry her shallow sister. Add in American-talking Brit James Marsden and hilarity ensues. Honestly not as bad as it sounds, and the best part is where Heigl models all twenty-seven bridesmaids dresses. “Really, you can shorten them and wear them again.”