Showing posts with label You Tube. Show all posts
Showing posts with label You Tube. Show all posts

Friday, April 3, 2015

Female Comic Strip Character Movie No. 5: BLONDIE


Hard to believe that after a year hiatus on this subject, I'm giving you two in a row. I thought this would be the hardest for two reasons: availability and viewing pleasure. Thanks to Youtube, I watched this for free, as well as a few others in the series.

I remember seeing these at various times on WTCG/WTBS from Atlanta, and later on they were run on KSPR in Springfield, MO on Sunday afternoon. I was afraid that seeing this again after all those years would I would say to myself, "This sucks! I thought this was so wonderful in my childhood. I must have been a moron!" Truth is, I enjoyed seeing this again.

The 1938 film, Blondie, was the beginning of a long running series of films based on the popular comic strip, that is still in newspapers today. Most of the movies I've reviewed have been based on continuity strips rather than gag-a-day comic strips. The fact is Blondie started out as a continuity strip and also part of a short lived fad called "pretty girl" strips. She was a ditzy blonde flapper, who liked to party. I realize I'm going to upset some people with this next statement, but the "pretty girl" comic strips were the 20's version of some of the reality shows on cable TV.  Before we had Paris Hilton, Tila Tequila, Lauren Conrad, the Kardashians, and the girls of Jersey Shore, the funny papers had Tillie the Toiler, Winnie Winkle, Boots and Her Buddies, Dixie Dugan, Ella Cinders and Dumb Dora. Several of these characters were drawn to look like actress Louise Brooks, just as Valentina would later.

Blondie, as well as another strip, Fritzi Ritzi, were part of this trend but survived long after because they were revamped. Fritzi Ritzi was joined by a little niece named Nancy, who became the focus of the strip. Under the name Nancy, the comic strip is still popular to this day.

From the first day of the strip Blondie was in love with a somewhat clumsy and goofy son of a railroad magnet named Dagwood Bumstead. When they finally married, Dagwood's father disowned him. From that moment until today, Blondie became the smart and well-grounded one in the relationship. It also dropped the continuing storyline for the gag-a-day format that it has today.


Blondie is played by the lovely Penny Singleton. Close your eyes during one of these movies and listen to her voice. If it sounds familiar, it is because she was later the voice of Jane Jetson on The Jetsons. She is very convincing as a beautiful young woman, who would do anything for her doofus husband.

Speaking of doofus husband, Hollywood could not have found a better actor to play Dagwood than Arthur Lake. His head is shaped like Dagwood's head is shaped in the funnies. Lake paved for actors such as Buster Crabbe, Tom Tyler, Ralph Byrd, Sam J. Jones, and, more recently, Ryan Reynolds and Ben Afleck to play more than one comic strip/book character in the movies. Lake had played Harold Teen in a silent movie of that popular comic strip.

However, the movie is stolen by Larry Simms, a four year old playing Baby Dumpling (now known in the comic strip as Alexander). He is hilarious in this first film and rather good in the others that I sampled. I'm sure some would be upset with a scene where he bashes a neighbor kid in the head with a large brick (Off camera, but still the suggestion would upset people).

This movies sets up a formula that worked in the rest of the series. Dagwood gets in trouble with Mr. Dithers (Johnathan Hale), who eventually fires him, then Dagwood gets involved in some other mess trying to win his job back, meets a beautiful woman, Blondie becomes jealous, but she eventually saves the Dagwood's butt.

The movies were made from 1938 to 1950. They were re-released to the theaters for several year and then syndicated to TV with an opening theme song, featuring two unknown singers, were added over the original credits. Also the opening featured a clip of Dagwood crashing into Postman Beasley and his yell "BBBLLLOOOONN-DDDEEEEE!," which may have been from the radio show, since Lake and Singleton played Blondie and Dagwood radio too.

Besides Dagwood running late and smashing into Postman Beasley, there is an appearance of one of Dagwood's famous sandwiches. One thing changed from the comic strip was Blondie's maiden name. In the movie, her mother and sister have the last name of Miller. In the comics, Blondie's family name was Boopadoop. Sometimes movies change things about comics for the best.

My only problem with this movie is an appearance by my least favorite actor of all-time, Willie Best. Ugh!

The Blondie film series is the forerunner of many of the early TV sitcoms. The humor and situations are identical. I realize someone reading this will go into one of those rants about "If only we had movies like this today the world would be a better place." Well, brace yourself for this, but in the early 90s, the artist behind Blondie, Dean Young (son of the strip's creator Chic Young), decided to update the strips look and content in the 90s. For many years, everything in the strip was drawn the same as it was when these movies were made, which may have been why they were still popular for years after their original run. From the 90s on the characters used cell phones and computers. Blondie wears slacks and started a catering business with her friend, Tootsie. Baby Dumpling now works at a fast food joint called Burger Barn. He and his sister listen to hip-hop. Yes, folks change has to come, so GET OVER IT!!!

As I mention, this film and most of the other films in the series are available on YouTube. The only trailer I could find is either from a re-release of the 50s or a TV promo for Blondie On a Budget. It is obviously a re-release because the voice over is by comedian Eddie Lawrence, who didn't become famous until the mid-50s and Rita Hayworth was not a major "promotable" star when this film came out. 





Saturday, July 20, 2013

The Electric Company - The Plumber and the Parrot Cartoon



I recently purchased a DVD of The Electric Company to show my three year old great-nephew. He didn't pay much attention to it, but it was a trip back to my childhood for me. One of the things that I had sort of forgotten about was the catchphrase "It's the plumber. He's come to fix the sink." This cartoon appeared in the pilot and this is what started it all with that line.

Wednesday, May 8, 2013

Saturday, March 30, 2013

Liberace Sings "Easter Parade" To His Mother



I was looking for the clips from the 1962 "shockumentary" Mondo Cane of baby chicks being dipped in dye and run through a large oven for Easter gifts for little spoiled Baby Boomers. I was also looking for another clip from Mondo Cane that shows men in the Philippines on Easter week nailing themselves to crosses to carry and beating themselves with rocks in an attempt to experience the same suffering as Jesus Christ suffered. I could not find those clips separate from the whole film.

However, I found this great clip from the Liberace TV show of him singing "Easter Parade To his mother. I decided this was more family friendly (I can't believe I wrote that - I HATE THAT PHRASE!)

HAVE A SAFE AND PLEASANT EASTER!!!

Sunday, March 24, 2013

RADIO STATION TV COMMERCIALS FROM THE 80s WITH DEBORAH SHELTON

I've said it many times on this blog and the old blog, but it bares repeating. Somewhere in the last two decades, radio lost its ability to promote itself. Billboards and TV spots died out for awhile in the radio industry (or at least in this area). T-shirts and bumper stickers have gone the way of the dodo bird.

In the 80s, radio promoting on TV was a big deal. Granted, there has been a mind set the last few years that TV is the competition and radio shouldn't be buying time with "the enemy." B-S!!! The truth is the media (TV, radio, print and Internet) should acts as one big family and help each other succeed, because the real enemies of the media will destroy all media, not just one form of media.

Back to TV commercials for radio stations. I recently discovered several commercials on You Tube for radio stations. These are great ads and all have one thing in common: Deborah Shelton. Shelton was Miss USA in 1970 and eventually competed in the Miss Universe pageant. She was in the Brian DePalma film Body Double and appeared on Dallas for three seasons, playing J.R. Ewing's mistress, Mandy Winger.

These ads were produced for KOY-AM in Phoenix, Arizona by legendary Top 40 consultant Chuck Blore. Interesting to see that in 1982, there were still pop music stations AM, even though that would soon be changing. This is a link to an ad for WIOG-FM in Bay City, Michigan (It is on after the Matlock promo). If I could ever launch my revamped adult contemporary format on a radio station, I would definitely have commercials like these.

    

Saturday, December 15, 2012

CHRISTMAS MOVIE CONNECTIONS

This is a kind of free form, stream of consciousness post that may lead to a sequel, but I've tried to think of as many of these as possible. I began noticing that several things in the popular Christmas films were connected. Sometimes on purpose and sometimes on accident. If anyone thinks of one I left off, post a comment and I'll check it out.


Lionel Barrymore was originally to play Ebeneezer Scrooge in the movie version of A Christmas Carol, but suffered an injury. He played the role on radio every year. Because he was so good at playing Scrooge, Frank Capra chose him to play Old Man Potter in It's a Wonderful Life.




In this scene from Santa Claus Conquers The Martians, the kids defeat the bad guy, Voldar, using toys (provided by Ideal Toys). MST3K and others have pointed out the violent and dangerous nature of some of the toys used. The film was made in 1964. A year after that film came out a movement by parents to have toy company stop selling war oriented toys. It was around this time that New York radio personality Jean Shepard, talked to a "concerned woman" in a coffee shop about the "Ban War Toys" movement. It brought back a memory from his childhood of wanting a Red Ryder BB gun and being told by several adults "You'll shoot your eye out." That story was included in his book, In God We Trust, All Others Pay Cash. It became the basis for the movie A Christmas Story.


A Christmas Story was directed by Bob Clark, who also directed a horror film called Black Christmas in 1974 (Above). Peter Billingsley, who played Ralphie in A Christmas Story, plays an elf named Ming-Ming in Elf.


Obviously, Holiday Inn and White Christmas have both Bing Crosby and "White Christmas" in common, but what does White Christmas and It's a Wonderful Life have in common? If you said Alfalfa, you're right. Former Our Gang/Little Rascals star Carl "Alfalfa" Switzer played Mary's date at the dance in It's a Wonderful Life (His big moment is opening the gym floor to plunge George and Mary into the swimming pool in an act of jealousy). In White Christmas, he is only shown in a photo (below) as Vera-Ellen's brother "Freckle Face" Benny Haynes.



Also the gag involving the photo is similar to the one in another Christmas film, Home Alone. Kevin finds a photo of his bully, big brother Butch's girlfriend (above), which cause Kevin to say, "WOOF!" (below) It is actually a photo of a boy in drag. Director John Hughes felt that using a photo of a "real girl" would be cruel.


The 1934 film version of Victor Herbert's Babes In Toyland, starring Laurel and Hardy, there are several joking references to Walt Disney, including a Mickey Mouse clone (Below) and Three Little Pigs (accompanied by "Who's Afraid of the Big Bad Wolf?" in the background).



 In the 1961 Disney version of Babes in Toyland, Barnaby's henchmen are Laurel and Hardy clones (Above).

Character actor Dick Elliot plays the Judge in Christmas in Connecticut. In It's a Wonderful Life, he is the neighbor, who yells at George Bailey, "WHY DON'T YA KISS HER?" when he is escorting Mary home. 

  
 

Wednesday, October 10, 2012

THE MOST UNDERRATTED HORROR FILM OF THE 70S - MESSIAH OF EVIL

If I could nominate a movie for Best Overlooked and Underrated Horror Film of the 70s. It would be Messiah of Evil from 1972. Directed by Willard Huyck and Gloria Katz, who were friends of George Lucas. They later wrote the screenplay for American Graffiti.

This film has a Lovecraftian story line with elements of Night of the Living Dead and a stylish Italian art film look. The film stars Marianna Hill, as a woman looking for her missing father played by Royal Dano, of Twin Peaks and just about every Western every made. She travels to a small, sea side community to find him.

She falls in with a handsome arts patron and ladies man named Tom, played by Michael Greer (Above). Interesting fact about Michael Greer, he was an openly gay actors/comedian in the 70s. His first major movie role was in a movie called The Gay Deceivers. After that some the trailers to his next few movies referred to him as "the fairy godmother" and "fairy queen." As far as I know, Stepin Fetchit didn't have to deal with this kind of infamy. He is great as Tom. One critic says he looks like the fourth Bee Gee in this stylish 70s suits. He kind of gives off a Peter Fonda vibe to me.

Tom has two girlfriends living with him. One is the cute Joy Bang (there is a porn name if I ever heard one) and sexy Anitra Ford, who was a Price Is Right model at the time. Also in the mix is Elisha Cook Junior as a creepy servant (Did the man play anything else?). Also I should mention Bennie Robinson, an African- American Albino, who plays a truck driver, who leads the zombies. His great scene in the film is when he eats a live rat while listening to Wagner.

This film has some effective zombie scenes such when Joy Bang is killed in a movie theater and Anita Ford is killed in a Ralph's Supermarket, after discovering a group of zombies eating raw meat from the meat case. For retro fans, this scene is great in that it features an automatic door with a rubber mat, that doesn't open when Anitra Ford stomps on it repeatedly. Also she dies to the strains of bad, syrupy supermarket music.
Another great scene is when cops trying to disperse an attacking mob of zombies realize that another officer is a zombie.

The look of the film is interesting because some of the pop art Tom collects. It is of life-sized, gray scale photos of people, which seem to be watching in disapproval in the background of every scene. The film also uses bright colors and bright lighting rather than dark tones and underlit scenes.

This film has turned up in several Mill Creek horror movie collection as well as other cheep public domain DVDs. It can also be watched for free on You Tube. It is a great film that you will not be disappointed in. 

Friday, June 29, 2012

THE MO-DETTES - WHITE MICE



I thought I would post this video of the punk girl band the Mo-Dettes to announce that 1) I am planing a 80s playlist like the recent "Campy 70s" playlist. I intend to make it fun, even though I notice when it comes to the two decades in the world retro blogs, some of the 80s folks don't have a sense of humor about the decade.

These people don' wallow in the badness like the 70s crowd does. They tend to either think the 80s were the greatest decade ever and not to be made fun of or they are embarrassed by the fun and frivolous things. These bloggers will tell you that their favorite song is "God Bless the U.S.A" by Lee Greenwood, their favorite movie is Red Dawn and since junior high they wanted to be either a stock broker or a computer analyst. Trust me, I'm from the 80s and I wasn't like that, although most of the people I graduated high school with were. In the words of Holden Caulfield, these people are "phonies" or, as I used to say on the old blog, they are "weenie bloggers."

The 70s oriented retro bloggers can't make up their mind if their favorite movie is Clockwork Orange, Star Wars, Blazing Saddles or Behind the Green Door. They like the Eagles, the Bee Gees and Led Zeppelin, but also "The Night Chicago Died" or "Kung-Fu Fighting." In college, the 70s bloggers were still try to decide between being a science fiction author or an adult film star.

Some 80s fans may whine and complain about what I choose. Oh well. My opinions are why I'm considered the Super Villain of the Ozarks. Mwu-HAHAHAHAHAHA!!!

2) I have removed some of the other You Tube videos from the blog because they were either removed from You Tube or You Tube is blocking them. Honestly, I'm not that concerned about them at the moment, because most were posted during the Countdown to Halloween or Countdown to Christmas. In other words, they were posted by me just so I could have something to post. No big loss. So watch the Mo-Dettes while you can.   

Monday, June 4, 2012

Mr. Trololo dies from stroke at 78 - Pravda

Mr. Trololo dies from stroke at 78 - English pravda.ru

The obit comes from Pravada, because it was written in his home country and doesn't contain comments from the snotty little right-wing, redneck trolls that leave comments on American sights. Let me add that I have always felt that what made this one of the greatest Internet memes ever was both the element of the familiar with the element of anticlimax. It looks like a performance from one of the many TV variety shows we watched as kids, yet we can't tell which one or who that guy is singing. We watch and wait for Eduard Khil to start singing the words, but words never come. Khil's "singing" noises get stranger and happier.

As a person with a Bachelor of Science in Electronic Media, I can deduce one reason Khil looks "odd." Any media major or professional in television production will tell you that when you are shooting in video tape you need to put make-up on your subject - A LOT OF MAKE-UP. Khil doesn't seem to be wearing any make-up which causes his face to look shinny and pasty. He is also wearing a shirt that is the same color as the background. It is the scourge of 60s and 70s fashion the maize shirt. It clashes with the mustard yellow background.

The story of Eduard Khil is an example of the power of the Internet to make stars of anybody or revive careers. There may be hope for me yet.
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