It is freebie week over at Monday Music Moves Me and it’s the first week of May…May! I can’t believe we are in the 5th month already, the days are longer, more birds are singing and it’s warm….forget that last one. I just hope we have a Spring and it doesn’t go to major heat waves. Anywhooo…here are my 3 songs about the Month of May
1. THE MERRY, MERRY MONTH OF MAY SUNG BY NELSON EDDY-1948
Poor Nelson Eddy was a big hit with Jeanette MacDonald in the mid to late 30s singing light operetta before falling out of favour. In his nightclub act, he had a good sense of humour and would often make fun of his old persona from his movies. His baritone voice worked well with MacDonald’s soprano and they had great chemistry. This old song, was written back in 2862 by Stephen Foster which, I’m certain, we have all heard versions of this song.
2. MAY TIME SWING PERFORMED BY SUSANNA HEYSTEK-2015
Apparently, this is a Canadian song, written by Graham Townsend that is quite popular. I don’t really know it but enjoyed listening to it and decided to showcase it here.
3. PEOPLE WHO ARE BORN IN MAY SUNG BY JULIE LONDON-1956
Julie London created a whole album based on each month of the year and this is her version of this May song written by Earl Brent. I have a whole new appreciation for this seductive siren that I first learned about when she starred as a nurse on the tv show, “Emergency.”
DIED FROM: Pulmonary Complications caused by breaking her ribs falling over her cat
MARRIED: Never Married
AFFAIRS: None
CHILDREN: None
FAMOUS FRIENDS WITH: Margaret Hamilton ( the witch in “The Wizard of Oz”) and RobertStrong Woodward (American Painter).
OSCAR NOMINATIONS: The Gorgeous Hussey-1936: Of Human Hearts-1938
OSCAR WINS: None
TALENT: an Intellectual, Love of Elocution, love of acting
KNOWN FOR: loving acting, loving cats, world travel, Fashion
This lady has been in countless films often playing the mom who just needs some TLC. She is often long suffering but resilient, soft but with a hidden strength, she had a soft voice that could turn cold and sharp…she was a superb actress that made her mark as a character actress. She may have been typecast as the “mom” but she made the most of it and we remember her face if not her name. We all know her as the mom to Jimmy Stewart I. “it’s a Wonderful Life,” which was their 4th pairing together on film( she played his mom 8n an episode of his TV show, “The Jimmy Stewart Show.”) and they shared a special bond getting along famously which showed on their on screen chemistry. She became famous when she was in her early 40s and worked u til her untimely death at age 92. This very intelligent lady, with a Masters in Oratory, loved philosophy, and high fashion. She had a huge collection of vintage fashion with many gowns designed by Natasha Rambova ( once married to Rudolph Valentino). She was an avid traveller venturing to Australia, around the world trips and a few trips to Africa and on safari, even well into her 80s. She loved her work and was only disappointed twice, once when not given the role of Ma Joad, in, “The Grapes of Wrath” and, “The Adventures of Tom Sawyer.” For the role of Ma Joad, she went to visit the migrant workers and bought a jalopy to drive around in, believing she secured the role. For Tom Sawyer, she actually got the role when May Robson fell ill but lost it when Robson recovered faster than expected. Nonetheless, she continued working receiving a standing ovation when she won the Emmy for her role as Martha Walton in the TV series, “The Waltons”. She makes my eyes tear up every time I watch, “Make Way For Tomorrow,” as the old wife and mom Separated from her husband by her unfeeling kids. It’s a timeless film and one that should have been nominated for Oscars in many categories. In fact, I think the director, Leo McCarey and Beulah should have been nominated. Sadly, this lady, dedicated to her work who never married or even had affairs, loved cats. Her favourite cat, Mr. Cat, was the reason she died. She tripped over her cat breaking 3 ribs and dying from pulmonary complications as a result of her broken ribs. I hope her cat still got a good home. She is one of the Grande Dames of supporting actresses that is remembered to this day.
When I was a kid, in the 70s, there used to be a show called, “Bowling For Dollars.” It was dreck…boring as dirt but it stayed on TV for years…I’m not sure who watched it, but I figured people who gave up on life. Aside from that, I like bowling but only the small balls and I can’t bowl the normal way. I’m the granny who take the ball in both hands, move my feet like Fred Flintstones, and throw the ball down the lane watching it go into the gutter. It made me think of movies with bowling in it and I realized I saw 3 movies with bowling a big part of the movie.
1. UNCLE BUCK-1989
I love John Candy and this film stars Candy in a John Hughes film about a lazy git who lives off of horse betting and doing as little as possible. His sister in law’s father has suffered a heart attack, and they must travel back to care for her dad but they have no babysitter. Enter Uncle Buck, who is available and, with his exhaust fumed car, agrees to babysit the kids. The 2 youngest like their Uncle but the oldest kid, with a huge chip on her shoulder, does all she can to disrupt her Uncle. At one point, he takes them all bowling with some hilarious antics. This is not a great film, but it is funny and sweet plus it showed how much chemistry Candy had with a young McCauley Caulkin. I think my favourite scene is between Candy and the Principal of youngest niece’s school. The huge mole on this lady’s face gives Candy all he needs to make this scene beyond funny. I also realize I had a car similar to the one in this movie.
2. KINGPIN-1996
Woody Harrelson plays a down and out alcoholic who once had a promising career as a professional bowler only to have been scammed by a fellow bowler which resulted in the crippling of his hand. He now uses a rubber hand but his career is over. In fact, he reaches a new low when he sleeps with his very gross landlady instead of paying his rent. He meets up with Randy Quaid, who is an Amish man who loves bowling. Woody sees that Quaid is an excellent bowler and decides to train him to enter a championship in order that Quaid can save his family’s farm from being taken over by the bank. This is one very, very funny movie that I need to see again. The one scene that stuck in my head and my ex is the gross bedroom scene between Woody and the Landlady. Funny, when my ex and I went to Prague, in 1997, we arrived just before midnight in this skanky train station. I was lucky to get Czech money just before the money exchange closed and went to call the Taxi service. My ex needed to go to the washroom but it costs money to get into that icky bathroom. I turned around to see this very gross looking woman yelling at my ex about paying. She looked exactly like the landlady in this movie that I could not help doing a gesture, that landlady made to Woody resulting in Woody throwing up, to my ex. I thought he was going to throw up. My ex was able to use that washroom, we got a taxi that I haggled to a reasonable amount and looked like the taxi from “Planes, Train and Automobiles,” and we reached our hotel. Getting back to this movie, it is an under-rated film that is very funny.
3. THE BIG LEBOWSKI-1998
This is a cult film with Jeff Bridges as The Man! the Dude who is cooler than cool. The Coen Brothers wanted to make a film based on the Raymond Chandler films from the 40s with a convoluted plot that, in the end, you don’t care too much about. It’s all about the characters and The Dude is the cool one. He doesn’t do too much except for bowling and enjoying life doing as little as possible. I’ve tried to figure out the plot but, like “the Big Sleep,” I have to watch it many time to try and understand it. Jeff Bridges deserved an Oscar for his brilliant portrayal as the Dude who gets involved with thugs, kidnapping and other mayhem. It is worth watching and has become a cult film.
Can you think of anny other films that showcase Bowling?
It’s that time again, time for Baseball season to begin. Whenever I think about baseball I can’t help but think bout my brother who loves baseball. I don’t men he loves baseball, I mean he LOVES baseball. He bought baseball cards from the time he was 5 years old and kept them! When many kids placed the cards in the spoke of the bicycle wheels to get that whirring sound, my brother was creating stats fields on paper and marking them down from the back of the cards. He started playing baseball in the late 60s and was forced to stop just last year. His knees gave out and had to give up playing, but on his terms. He had knee replacement surgery on his left knee in January and is recuperating nicely but it has not been easy.
I’m dedicating this post to my beloved bro and would love to know his baseball song pics in the comments below. I’m going with 3 big baseball players who have had songs (and movies) made about them. Here are my 3 choices for this week’s theme from Monday Music Moves Me..
1. THE BABE(BABE RUTH) SUNG BY TERRY CASHMAN-1994
https://youtu.be/JQa8wMPyx9M?si=Vzz83yEO_-ZtnTr0
Yeah.... you have to go to youtube to play this. I couldnt find it via Blig...grrrr. Terry Cashman is a noted music producer but is also famous for the song, “Talkin’ Baseball” but I thought of some famous baseball players who must have had songs written about them. The great Babe Ruth came to mind and I found this song. I think Terry wrote in 1994, but I wonder if this song is actually earlier….
2. JOLTIN’ JOE SUNG BY BETTY BONNEY WITH THE LES BROWN ORCHESTRA-1941
Joe DiMaggio is another very famous Baseball player from the 1930s and early 40s who had a 56 game hitting streak. He is also famous for falling in love and marrying Marilyn Monroe. Even though they divorced, they started getting closer, again, shortly before her death and was devastated when she died. He made sure her funeral was perfect and he sent a red rose to her grave every day.
3. DID YOU SEE JACKIE ROBINSON HIT THAT BALL BY COUNT BASIE-1949
This song was written by Buddy Johnson and became a hit. Jackie Robinson is a noted baseball player who deserves the accolades of a player in the big leagues, but he is also known as the first man to break the colour barrier. This man deserves so much more for heroic times on and off the field dealing with the horrible racism that is ingrained in the U.S, especially the South. I like this song and I wish it was as well known as the standard ones like, “Take Me Out To The Ball Game.”
Which songs do you think of when baseball season comes round.
Yesterday, I had the “Which song won the Oscar” and I have remembered to write the answer here! …Finally! So Three Coins In The Fountain” won the Oscar…yuck. “the Man That Got Away” was nominated and “ When You’re In Love” from Seven Brides was not even nominated! This last musical won for best score so you would think it would have been nominated for a best song, but, it wasn’t. When I think about “Seven Brides For Seven Brothers” I immediately thought of that gob-smacking barn dance sequence and it made me think of the musicals I love. I decided to think of musical numbers that just left me in awe of the dance and chose the 3 that came into my head right away.
1. TOP HAT: THE CHEEK TO CHEEK NUMBER-1935
This is considered one of their best films from the very white Art Deco Venice to the great dance numbers culminating in this famous “Cheek To Cheek” number. Fred Astaire, along with his friend and choreographer partner, Hermes Pan, would work out all the dance moves. Enter Ginger who was taught all her dance moves by Hermes Pan before she and Fred would finally dance on screen. Fred was known as a perfectionist and a worrier about everything where his sister, Adele, and first dance partner, called him “Moaning Minnie”. For this dance, Ginger had a certain look she wanted for her dress which included many feathers. Sadly, the dress started to shed the many feathers onto Astaire’s dapper top Hat and Tails. He wanted that dress gone and Ginger would not budge (Thank God) so the dress went back to the drawing board where each feather was individually sewed on. Thank heavens because this dress works in this highly charged, romantic scene. In the end, Fred gave Ginger a new nickname, Feathers..lol. I was left in tears when I saw this dance number and have watched this number many times over the years.
2. COVER GIRL: THE ALTER EGO DANCE.-1944
This is a great musical that has gone under the radar today which should not happen to such a golden musical. It stars Gene Kelly, Rita Hayworth and Phil Silvers as 3 friends in Brooklyn. Gene owns a club and Rita is a chorus girl who loves Danny McGuire( Gene), but Gene is a bit blind to the fact that this stunningly beautiful, talented girlfriend is in love with him ( um..he must be blind…deaf and beyond stupid). Enter a dashing older man who is involved in Broadway, who sees Rita and is stunned because she is the spitting image of a girl he loved and almost married. It turns out, this was her grandmom, and he wishes to make her a star on Broadway. All that Gene has to do is say, “Stay with me!” but he does not want to stay in her way, so she leaves and becomes a star. What happens next? Well, you have to see the film. I loved how wonderful the 3 leads worked together but I was stunned by an amazing dance number Gene did…with himself. Danny is frustrated and not sure what to do with his girlfriend leaving. He ends up dancing with a ghostlike image of himself. There is no A.I., Kelly had to dance this number twice and the one was superimposed onto the other film. Kelly had to match his footwork, spins, twirls etc.. to the T. This was the first musical where Kelly was given the keys to do all his own choreography and it worked out beautifully. He and Stanley Donen, an oft collaborator, worked out the dance scenes.
3. SEVEN BRIDES FOR SEVEN BROTHERS: THE BARN RAISING DANCE-1954
I know I showcased this dance ( and the Cheek to Cheek #) before, but this just thrilled me when I first saw this dance number that brought in some acrobatic wowzers that left me wondering how can they do this!? When I rented it on VHS( remember this), I re-round the tape 3 times just to watch this number. This musical is based on the Rape of the Sabine Women, but much sweeter. Howard Keel is the oldest brother who all live up in the mountains. He comes to town for supplies and to find a wife and he finds her in the feisty cook, Jane Powell. She agrees to marry him and they venture back up to the mountains. Her dreams are dashed when she sees how horrible the cabin looks and how uncouth his 6 brothers are. She cleans everything up, including the brothers. They all go to a barn raising dance and they become enamoured with 6 girls who have suitors already. As winter encroaches, the love-stricken boys decide to steal the girls and bring them up to their mountain abode. They are successful, with an avalanche blocking them from going back to town and the townsfolk unable to get the girls back. The girls are not happy that they have been forcibly brought to the men’s home, but they soon realize that they are falling in love with the men. This is a dum rollicking musical with the dance sequences choreographed by Michael Kidd. The Barn raising sequence is a tour de force of dancing, strength and acrobatic feats done by the brothers. Tommy Rall, Marc Platt, Jacques D’Ambroise, and Russ Tamblyn played brothers and Julie Newmar, Virginia Gibson and Ruta Lee were the gals. You know Julie Newmar best as Catwoman from the TV show, “Batman”. Julie is in the purple dress just so you know.
Which musical number wowed you when you first saw it.
FYI- “ Count Your Blessings Instead of Sheep” from White Christmas; “ The High and the Mighty” from the movie with the same name and “ Hold My Hand” from Susan Slept Here were the other 3 nominated songs from 1944.
As it goes onward, I keep forgetting to let you know which song won the Oscar, which was nominated and which got 0 love. I will keep trying to remember to post, the next day, who won, etc… 1954 is at the height of many musicals before the decline of this major genre. Maybe the musical was already declining but I still like to think it was big back then. I'm joining Monday Music Moves Me on Wednesday and hope you enjoy. Onwards to the 3 songs, let’s see if you guess which won, which was nominated and which ended up empty.
1. THREE COINS IN THE FOUNTAIN SUNG BY FRANK SINATRA
I will be honest and say…I don’t like this song. I hate the way the tune starts up high before the singer takes the minor notes down…it just makes me cringe. This was written by Julie Stein with lyrics by Sammy Cahn who had a big hit since the majority of the people love this song which is why you can hear it still on other shows and movies( like Planes, Trains and Automobiles). This was sung by Frank Sinatra in the opening credits of the movie with the same name. It’s all about romance and this film is just that with the Trevi Fountain as the main focus in the film.
2. THE MAN THAT GOT AWAY SUNG BY JUDY GARLAND
This became a signature tune for Judy Garland, along with Over The Rainbow, which is from the film, “A Star Is Born.” This film is a remake from the same title from 1937, but done as a musical love note for Judy who should have won the best actress Oscar instead of Grace Kelly. Poor Judy was in the hospital, having just given birth to her son, Joey, surrounded by reporters, since everyone was expecting her to win. When Grace’s name was called, Judy said the reporters packed up so fast and left, she was feeling like very old news. This is one great song written by Harold Arlen with lyrics by Ira Gershwin that is one great torch song.
3. WHEN YOU’RE IN LOVE SUNG BY JANE POWELL AND HOWARD KEEL
This song, written by Gene de Paul with lyrics by Johnny Mercer, was the love song that united the characters played by Jane Powell and Howard Keel as she goes to her new home with her new husband. It’s a very sweet song that works so well with the soprano voice of Jane and the baritone voice of Keel. While they sing, his brothers really know how to dance and win the eyes and eventual hearts of 6 maidens during the Barn raising scene. This is a dance like no other with acrobatics, logs, boards and axes all part of the dance. That dance is a must see even if you never watch the film.
So, can you guess which song won the Oscar, which was nominated and which ended up empty?
Over at Monday Music Moves Me, their theme was in dedication to Titanic that sank back on April 14, 1912. That made me think about all the Titanic films, then I went to movies involving ship disasters and finally, decided to just speak about movies that take place on a ship. I went with cruise ships and chose these 3 films…
1. ROMANCE ON THE HIGH SEAS-1948
I now have TCM and you can tell I am loving it since my ass appears to be getting bigger. Anyways, I finally saw this film that introduces Doris Day in her first film and she does great job as a singer hired by Janis Paige to impersonate her on a cruise ship. Janis suspects that her husband is having an affair and remains in New York City to catch her husband in the act. Her husband, played by Don Defore, believes his wife is having an affair and hires a PI, played by Jack Carson, to watch over his wife. Yup, the perfect set-up for romance and, yup, Carson and Day meet up on the ship and fall in love with each believing the other is someone else. For good measure, throw in Oscar Levant for some ascerbic comedy and elegant piano playing. Doris sings her heart out and I love her fresh faced, but knowing character who you would never think would turn into a hoity-toity, business woman refusing Rock Hudson in later films. She and Carson have real chemistry( they had an affair while making this film) and she steals every scene.
2. SHIP OF FOOLS-1965
This is not a happy film with many people on this ship having to deal with death, imprisonment, loss of beauty, racism/anti-semitism and a German asshole and blowhard. Simone Signoret plays a Contessa going to jail, in Spain, for aiding the Rebel Cause and uprising in 1933 Cuba. She falls in love with the doctor, played so well by Oskar Werner, with a severe heart condition. George Segal and Elizabeth Ashley are lovers who are artists but George doesn’t take his gal’s artwork seriously. Vivien Leigh is the once beautiful socialite whose beauty is declining along with her pleasant manner who has great disdain for Lee Marvin, a British baseball player who has eyes for the Flamenco dancers. Then you have the disgusting idiot German, played to the hilt by Jose Ferrer who openly shows his racial hatred to the Jewish people and other undesirables. The undesirable in question is the dwarf, played by Michael Dunn, who is the center for everything going on in this ship. Dunn received an Oscar nomination for this role and I’m glad he did. This is an excellent film to see as a great character study all set on this ship.
3. VOYAGE OF THE DAMNED-1975
This is the true story of the over 900 Jewish passengers, on board the St. Louis cruise ship headed by the heroic Capt. Schroeder, played by Max Von Sydow, who desperately tries to save the lives of these Jewish people. They thought they were home free escaping the persecution of the Jews in 1939 Germany, but were not allowed into Cuba because their Visas are now considered invalid. The Captain travels to Florida beseeching the American Government to take on the Jewish refugees but were turned away. When the captain wants to run the ship aground, the American ships follow the refugee ship out to opens waters. His next stop is Canada but, they are turned away as well. The Captain travels to England where, finally, a third of the passengers are taken by England with the rest taken in by the French and The Netherlands. You find out that, since the Nazis took over France and The Netherlands before being defeated in 1945, that of over the 900 Jewish people on that ship, over 600 were killed in the camps. This is a star-studded film headed by Faye Dunaway and Oskar Werner as wealthy, avant-Garde couple plus others who are terrified for their future. James Mason, Orson Welles, Lee Grant plus so many others are on this ship with lives that we get to see. It is a film forgotten but one that should not be. It’s an excellent film that is tension filled with a splash of glamour but it is no Love Boat.
