I'm hoping to get back over once or twice this next week to catch more of the festival before it's gone for another year...
Kicking off tonight's program was the impressive short embedded below, which intercuts clips from a few dozen classic Noir films, synched perfectly with Massive Attack's 'Angel' used as background score.
It was a huge crowd-pleaser for the packed house of Film Noir fanatics at The Castro...
'The Endless Night: a Valentine to Film Noir' was assembled by Serena Bramble, a 20-year-old studying psychology at Santa Rose Junior College.
Click here to read more about Ms. Bramble, the festival and its highlights.
Follow the video to its posting at YouTube, for notations listing all the films used as source material.
Five decades spent in showbiz. Numerous appearances on stage, screen, TV - - and I'll wager that there is not one production among them that was not greatly improved by his presence.
Even just the sound of his distinctive voice - - I have fond memories of hearing him in the ensemble cast of some of Booker & Foster's silly comedy albums, like 'When You're In Love, The Whole World Is Jewish', or in the role of band leader Al Tijuana. ▶
- Click over to the 'Tijuana Brass Sound' box set post at WFMU's Beware of The Blog and you'll find numerous Al Tijuana cuts sprinkled throughout the available mp3s.
(At the very least, take a listen to the adaptation of 'Peter Gunn'.)
So: A World Without Lou Jacobi In It?
Impossible to contemplate.
No thank you, I reject the notion.
His listing at IMDb tells me that it has been fifteen years since Lou Jacobi's last film credit, but I've enjoyed watching him on several occasions during that time.
I also see in that long list at IMDb that there are still many of his performances waiting for me in films I've not yet seen.
Thank you for everything Mr. Jacobi, I look forward to seeing you again soon.
- A YouTube clip embedded below: ▼
From 1971, a juicy Jacobi scene from Jules Feiffer's 'Little Murders', directed by Alan Arkin.
Jacobi plays the judge, reacting to news from engaged couple Marcia Rodd & Elliott Gould that they plan to omit God from their wedding vows...
As a young man, puppeteer Jim Henson was bursting with creative ideas and wasted no time in making things happen.
In the mid-1950s, he was making puppets for children's television before he was out of high school.
He created his first muppet TV show, Sam and Friends, during his freshman year of college. The five-minute program aired daily, and ran for six years.
Simultaneously, Henson's muppets were making other TV appearances on variety shows and in assorted commercials.
But it wasn't all about muppets all the time...
When Henson graduated from college in 1960, he was married, had a new-born daughter, and had been working in TV and advertising for several years. He was 23.
That same year, Jim Henson released an odd, jazzy little 45 single. On the A-side, 'Tick-Tock Sick', he complains of being 'bugged' by the relentless ticking of the clock.
Regarding this 45 and a recurring motif of 'racing time' in Henson's work, Karen Falk, historian and head archivist for The Jim Henson Company said: "Jim Henson accomplished an amazing amount in his life, but given the large number of files on unrealized projects that are in the archives, he clearly didn't have enough time to do all that he wanted to do. And 'Tick-Tock Sick' tells us that he was already feeling the crunch just six years into his career."
As the 1960's progressed, amidst increasing exposure of The Muppets, Henson also began working with experimental film.
'Time Piece' was a short film that Henson wrote, produced, directed and starred in. He began production in 1964 and took about a year to finish, working on it in between TV projects.
It premiered at New York's Museum of Modern Art in May of 1965, traveled the film festival circuit, and was nominated for a Best Live Action Short Subject Oscar in 1966.
Incorporating animation, reverse motion, rapid edits and a rhythmic, percussive soundtrack by Don Sebesky, 'Time Piece' continues some of the theme explored by 'Tick-Tock Sick' a few years earlier.
See also: Circa 1965, Henson made two Muppets, Inc. industrial promo films pitching to Wilson's Meats, an advertising account, filmed in a tongue-in-cheek, mock-documentary style. Follow links to: - Wilson's Meats #1 - Wilson's Meats #2
It's possible that not enough people are still talking about actress / singer Judy Canova, and maybe that situation can change...
While lying awake late the other night, unable to sleep again, as often happens in that situation I pulled my laptop close to me and dialed up the Old Time Radio library at Internet Archive. Wanting a break from my customary late-night streaming of old Jack Benny shows or Fibber McGee & Molly, this time I stumbled onto their stash of 1940s episodes of The Judy Canova Show.
The realization soon came to me that perhaps there hasn't been enough Judy Canova in my life.
Sure, I knew of her - - I could recognize the comedienne from old photos, remembered a bit about her country cornball schtick and its context - - But in hearing her vintage radio comedy, it dawned on me that I'd not actually witnessed much of her in performance over the years, and certainly not in a long while.
You are encouraged to investigate the The Judy Canova Show for yourself. (follow link)
As of this writing, The Internet Archive has almost three dozen episodes available for listening, dating from 1943 to 1948.
The half-hour radio sitcom revolves around Judy, playing 'herself' as an uncultured bumpkin uprooted to Hollywood life as a popular actress and singer. Broad but gentle humor that still engages, despite its dated or non-PC moments.
The supporting cast includes Ruby Dandridge (mother of Dorothy Dandridge) as Geranium, the maid, and Mel Blanc as Pedro, the Mexican gardener / chauffeur, speaking with the same comic accent he'd use occasionally on The Jack Benny Program that would eventually evolve into the cartoon voice of Speedy Gonzales. (Not surprisingly, Blanc also doubles for other character voices and sound effects)
In the episodes I've heard so far, I recognized voices of radio veteran Verna Felton, as well as Sheldon Leonard. Great voices!
The program ran for twelve years, first airing on CBS in 1943 on Tuesday nights, before moving to Sunday nights on NBC in 1945. Other cast members during the show's run included Hans Conried, Joseph Kearns and Gale Gordon (the latter two who, among other roles, would both go on in later years to play Mr. Wilson opposite Jay North's 'Dennis The Menace' on television).
Prior to her own show on radio, Judy Canova (1913 - 1983) had made regular appearances on many radio programs during the 1930's, most notably The Chase & Sanborn Hour with Edgar Bergen and Charlie McCarthy.
She'd also had several supporting roles in films during that time, while working as a contract player for Warner Bros. and Paramount.
Her show business career had begun while still a teenager in Florida, performing in a singing trio with her sister, Anne, and older brother, Zeke. The vaudeville circuit led them from Florida to New York, where 'The Three Georgia Crackers' were 'discovered' by singer Rudy Valee.
Radio, stage and film appearances soon followed, eventually paring the act down to a solo.
Though Judy had originally intended to pursue a more serious singing career, her talent and personality mixed with her unconventional looks to type-cast her into a good-natured yokel persona that she honed during the vaudeville years and played to perfection for decades following.
Below, ▼ appearing in a scene with her siblings in the 1937 film 'Artists & Models', it's easy to see why she stood out...
- Follow this link to the Turner Classic Movies website to view Judy singing in a bathtub scene from the same film, before sharing dialogue with a young Ida Lupino.
Though 'Hillbilly Humor' was nothing new, there's a quality to Judy Canova (including and beyond the 'hick' factor) that can be seen in the performances of comediennes who followed after her in the 1940s, '50s and beyond, from Minnie Pearl and Dorothy Shay, to Lucille Ball and Carol Burnett.
In 1940, Judy Canova was offered a movie contract by Republic Pictures.
'Scatterbrain' provided her first leading role, and she would star in 17 films in fifteen years while working for Republic.
It was the popularity of those 'B-movies' that helped to land her the radio series, which led her to greater popularity than her films.
(click on images to enlarge in a new window)
Below, ▼ a 1941 publicity shot (via Flickr) shows Canova posing with fellow Republic Pictures star, actor Tom Tyler, decked out for the adventure film serial Adventures of Captain Marvel, the very first film adaptation of a comic book super-hero.
Speaking of comic books, Judy starred in just a few issues of her own, published by Fox Comics in 1950.
Below left, ▼ issue #3 features cover art by (then soon-to-be) comics legends Wally Wood and Joe Orlando, just prior to their heyday producing artwork for EC Comics.
Radio, film and numerous records made for RCA-Victor and other labels made Canova a star throughout the 1940s and early '50s, as did a business sense that belied her standard performance persona.
Her contract with Republic Pictures ceased in 1955, the same year that her radio show ended.
Judy did transition to TV in the '50s, but through numerous guest appearances rather than starring vehicles. In addition, nightclub appearances and theatrical stage roles filled out the rest of her performance career, throughout the 1960s and into the '70s.
Below, ▼ In Hollywood with Liberace on 'The Colgate Comedy Hour', November 11, 1952. (via LIFE Magazine)
◀ At left, Judy Canova at age 65, attending the National Film Society convention, May 1979, accompanied by her daughter, actress Diana Canova, Diana's partner, actor Steve Landesberg, and (on the right) Landesberg's mother. (Photo by Alan Light, click on image to enlarge in a new window)
UPDATE, 6.25.09: Big, big thanks to Matt for sending along a nice note that included 4 of his favorite tracks from an old 10-inch LP, 'Favorite Songs of Judy Canova'.
Sad but not terribly surprising, none of Judy's music is currently in print, at least here in the U.S. - -
- - And these great western-swingy tracks that Matt has provided weren't included on the last readily available CD collections of her work, so that makes them an extra-special treat for all of us!
Thanks for sharing, Matt! It's kinda like Xmas or something...
Today's news of Eartha Kitt's passing has helped to put a bit of a damper on this Christmas, except that it gives an opportunity to look over a few highlights of the career of this charismatic singer/actress.
Thanks Ms. Kitt, for all that you gave us.
She was 81, and remained busy through most of her long career.
Her final performance was just last month, and according to an obituary in The Independent, that Chicago appearance was taped for a PBS special about Kitt's career that is scheduled to air this upcoming Februrary.
Reading obituaries and online bios and her Wikipedia entry will give you a general overview of Eartha Kitt's life, so what I've rounded up here are just a few additional links and images that are worth noting...
Likewise, a wealth of Eartha Kitt video clips are available at YouTube: - Performing 'My Heart Belongs To Daddy', one of several excerpts from a 1957 live TV appearance on Nat King Cole's show.
- An odd bit of British newsreel footage from 1960; 'Eartha Kitt Keeps Fit'- - A work-out in preparation for 'Talk Of The Town', her successful London stage revue that year.
Below ▼, from Swedish television in 1962, reprising 'I Want To Be Evil', one of her biggest mid-1950's hit songs.
- An infamous bit of controversy surrounded Eartha Kitt in January, 1968 when she was one of many women invited to the White House by Lady Bird Johnson to discuss the problems of juvenile delinquency in America.
Kitt caused a stir when she spoke up and declared that American youth was rebelling against the war in Vietnam.
It was the first time that anyone had spoken out against the war at a White House function.
It upset the First Lady, and brought Eartha Kitt lots of bad press and the wrath of LBJ.
She was effectively blacklisted in the US for several years, during which time she performed abroad.
1950s pin-up queen Bettie Page died yesterday, December 12th, at the age of 85.
There are plenty of places to see her racy photos and read about her career and her mystique, and I urge you to click around the web and take a peek - - especially if you're not that familiar with her.
There's also much that's been written about her that tries to define her particular allure.
I think the vintage 'dance' footage below typifies the quality she had for transmitting a sex appeal that wasn't lascivious, but wasn't really about innocence, either. Maybe just the joy of 'pretend' or 'play'?
In these 'striptease' films, Bettie looks gorgeous, but her dance moves are just downright silly (Was she self-taught?), and for the most part seem to have very little correlation to sexiness - - and maybe that's what makes them - - and her - - so fascinating.
I suppose that the video clips below are NSFW, but gosh, are they tame by today's standards...
(NOTE: Please leave a comment if you discover dead video links. Thanks.)
American character actor Paul Benedict passed away last week at his home in Martha's Vineyard. He was 70.
Though best remembered for the role of Mr. Bentley, the wacky British neighbor on the TV sitcom 'The Jeffersons' in the 1970s and '80s, his career began in the early 1960's and took him from stage to film and television, sometimes as a director.
Looking back on 'Mr. Bentley', a point of interest was how little that role showed of Benedict's range in the choices he made throughout so much of his film career.
It's always a treat to see him show up in some small part in some curious old film. If Bentley is most of what you remember of Benedict, examples of other appearances are often surprising.
- 'Goodbye Paul Benedict, and Thank You'; a nice remembrance posted at the Film Threat Blog, that includes video clips of Benedict's performance opposite Richard Dreyfuss in Neil Simon's 'The Goodbye Girl' in 1977.
As much as I feel slightly ashamed of having lived this long without actress / singer Virginia O'Brien on my radar, it's a genuine treat to be discovering her now and finding myself a brand-new 'retro crush'.
(Evidently, I'm not the first to have been affected by the late Ms. O'Brien this way.)
Recently I watched the 1943 film 'DuBarry Was a Lady', a very silly and garishly Technicolor musical comedy, very loosely adapted from the successful and ribald stage success - - except with most of the Cole Porter songs removed (along with the bawdiness), and the original cast replaced with stars Red Skelton, Lucille Ball and Gene Kelly.
I'd sought it out primarily to see a young Zero Mostel in his first screen role, some twenty-five years prior to 'The Producers', and roughly ten years before he was blacklisted in Hollywood.
Zero's screen time as Gene Kelly's buddy, a crummy nightclub mentalist, is brief but wonderful.
I found that the garish color palette in the movie (Lucille Ball's first appearance as a redhead!) mixed well with the crazy lavish wardrobe, and the general and obvious 'half-assery' on the part of MGM studios' scuttling of the original play inadvertently contributed to it being successful as a a film that's great fun despite its many weaknesses.
I also enjoyed the appearances by Tommy Dorsey and his band (including catching glimpses of trumpeter Ziggy Elman and a very young Buddy Rich on drums), but the real surprise of 'DuBarry' was Virginia O'Brien, whose curious trademark 'deadpan' delivery lights up the screen the few times she appears in the film.
Virginia O'Brien (1919 - 2001) appeared in several MGM musicals made during the 1940's, having come from a stage background.
Her 'frozen face' deadpan schtick (which she didn't always use) reportedly had its origins in the late '30s, when a case of stagefright paralyzed her delivery during a musical number, which unexpectedly delighted the audience.
Her typical formula of impassively 'swinging' the vocals of a song strikes me as sort of a bizarro version of the explosive tendencies singer Betty Hutton used as a gimmick around the same period.
(Perhaps no coincidence that in the 1942 film version of 'Panama Hattie', O'Brien plays the role that Hutton had played two years prior in the Broadway stage production.)
- In the video clip below, ▼ Rags Ragland watches from the sidelines while Virginia O'Brien performs 'Salome' in a sequence from 'DuBarry Was a Lady'.
(NOTE: Beware of pop-ups when playing this video!)
By 1943, when 'DuBarry' was released, O'Brien had recently married stage and screen actor Kirk Alyn, an old friend of her co-star, Red Skelton. By the end of the '40s, Alyn would be the first actor to portray Superman onscreen, the role for which he is best remembered.
It's a collection of Tom Lehrer performing 12 of his songs in rare video clips of a European concert taped in 1967, shortly before he retired from active performing to resume full-time teaching.
Just like so many other people of my generation, Tom Lehrer's brilliantly satirical musical comedy records were a part of my formative years, and just like so many other people, I knew most every song by heart.
But despite the familiarity of his music, much of Lehrer himself remained enigmatic.
There were no photos of Mr. Lehrer on any of his LPs, and I was just a little too young to have seen him on the U.S. version of 'That Was The Week That Was' when it aired on TV.
Seeing photos of Lehrer much later was a sort of curious experience, as I tried to reconcile his appearance with whatever hazy mental image I'd been carrying around since childhood.
Given that lack of previous visual reference, I think it's really fun and revelatory to see Lehrer actually performing in these recently-surfaced video clips.
Mostly, it's just something I never thought I'd see.
Accessing the Main Playlist page will give you the option to watch all of the videos play out in sequence.
Scrolling down to the page's 'Favorites' section will also display some of the paltry few other Tom Lehrer video clips from other sources that have been floating around in recent years.
They may not be as cool as the European concert footage, but it's a blessing to have more choices.
Just a taste below; ▼ Tom Lehrer performs 'The Masochism Tango'
Much appreciation to Tim at Contrast Podcast for sending along this digitized LP.
"Ay-Thang-Yew!"
Please investigate Contrast Podcast if you haven't already. It's a weekly podcast from the UK. Every week folks from all over send in a musical track relating to whatever the chosen theme is for that show, and they include a spoken introduction to help set the scene.
I've been having fun contributing a track on a fairly regular basis since the end of July. You can also join in the fun...
Liverpudlian comedian Arthur Askey (1900 - 1982) was an institution of the British entertainment industry for decades.
He came up through the music halls in the early part of the 20th century, and performed for troops while in service during World War I.
Askey starred in the first sitcom to be broadcast on BBC radio, and was also featured in programming on the earliest form of BBC television broadcasts in the 1930's.
Several film appearances followed in the 1940's, and he became a staple of British TV from the 1950s into the '70s - - all in addition to his recording career.
On this album recorded in 1976, Askey reprised many of his most popular old songs. Their silliness mixed with his charming delivery and the longevity of his career, giving Arthur Askey a multi-generational appeal.
From the LP 'Before Your Very Eyes' (Argo Records, 1976), Listen to Arthur Askey, with Alan Cohen and his orchestra and Chris Hazell, piano:
- As of this writing, several old feature-length Arthur Askey films are available for online viewing at Veoh.Com. (Setting up a free account may be required to view them in their entirety.)
Moore began releasing adult comedy records in the 1960s, coming into a market that had been around for a while, but was reaching new 'heights' of rudeness with other comedians emulating the styles of Redd Foxx or Richard Pryor.
Whether appearing under his own name or as his alter-ego Dolemite, Moore's efforts often out-did them all - - at least when it comes to explicit content.
In the 1970s he became a bad-ass action hero in a series of films that are nothing if not memorable.
"Put yo' weight on it!"
I always particularly enjoyed his fighting skills...
NOTE: NSFW! In NO WAY are these collected video clips of Dolemite film trailers to be considered safe for work!
Below, ▼ from 1975's 'Dolemite'...
- - from 'The Human Tornado' in 1977... ▼
- - and ▼ 'Disco Godfather' from 1980.
(NOTE: Please leave a comment if you discover dead video links. Thanks.)
Here's a well worn old kiddie record, a 6-inch, 78 rpm orange disc, the old 'Little Golden Record' format.
◀ (Click on image to view outer sleeve ENLARGED in a new window)
On Side A, Jiminy Cricket sings his 'Safety Song', just as he did in several educational cartoons that aired on TV's 'Mickey Mouse Club' show, beginning in 1955.
- Follow link to a list of the different 'I'm No Fool' educational cartoons at The Big Cartoon DataBase.
Cliff Edwards (1895 - 1971) originated the voice of Jiminy Cricket for 1940's 'Pinnochio', and continued in the voice role until the 1960s.
Though he was uncredited in the film, the role helped to revive his career, which had been in decline since the depression.
In the 1950s, his return to the role on TV would do so again, for a time.
During the 1920s and into the early '30s, Cliff Edwards, a.k.a. 'Ukulele Ike' had been a Genuine Super Star as a recording artist, and on stage and screen.
His flair for jazzy scat singing, crooning and vocal 'tromnet' influenced many, and it was quite likely his use of the ukulele that helped make the instrument a staple of the era.
By the latter-half of the 1930s though, problems with money and problems with substance abuse and high-living began a roller-coaster of ups and downs that would follow him through the rest of his life, which ended, sadly, in obscurity.
See also: - The Red Hot Jazz Archive has many fine archived vintage Cliff Edwards recordings. (audio requires RealPlayer)
- Assorted other Cliff Edwards recordings at the Internet Archive If you've never heard Ukulele Ike, you must investigate.
A lifetime of movies, cartoons, records, comics, bad teevee and lots of other ephemera 'n' junk has left me happily unfit for a normal life in the real world. - - And so here I am. Good to see you're here also! Welcome!
Sound files and other material you may encounter here are only made available for a limited time (as are we all), are assumed to be out of print or otherwise not readily available in these parts, and are meant for educational and entertainment purposes only - - Y'know, for FUN - - and NOT with any intent towards profit or copyright violation. However, I'm ready and eager to immediately remove any potentially infringing posting if it will avoid a hassle or hurt feelings. Please e-mail me if you feel your toes are being stepped on, and I'll happily rectify the situation.
As I write this it's after midnight in the wee hours of Sunday morning, and I'm still buzzing from the superb double-feature I caught earlier this evening in the City at the historic Castro Theatre on the second night of NOIR CITY, The 8th Annual 
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