The Classic/Retro Pop Culture Thread

RJDiogenes · Dec 24, 2018

White Chrimble said:
Interesting...the coda (particularly in the TV audio) makes these guys sound a little less '50s and a little more Gary Puckett & the Union Gap.

Ironically, they don't sound 50s at all to me. :rommie:

And they sure do have a lot of people in that band.

Anyway, it's the funky "You Met Your Match" that follows that word:

Good one. Also, I love that backdrop.

make Neyron think that he's got temporary precognition (which Dr. Jim tells him is an actual medical syndrome!)

"Take two aspirin and just tell me now how you'll feel in the morning."

The core of the scheme involves the IMF using drugging, sound effects, projection, and the wall safe remote to make Neyron think he's having a vision of Layton taking back his money and shooting him. Thus when Real Layton shows up and starts behaving the same way, Neyron shoots him preemptively.

Wow.

This one includes a good moment of surreal humor: When one of the victims is dramatically rasping out his last word, Tara mistakes his "dry...dry..." as a request for water, and he responds, "No, thank you," in a normal, matter-of-fact voice, then proceeds to finish his dramatic rasping.

Even at death's door, the Brits must be polite, eh wot?

This week's prize for inept spycraft goes to the bad guys. When Tara gets captured, again per formula, she's locked in an ankle chain with a bottle of acid conveniently within reach.

Conveniently labelled, I hope.

If Billy Barty was in it, I didn't see him.

REMEMBER PEARL HARBOR...SMASH A TRANSISTOR RADIO

Pretty much that whole sentence would be gibberish to somebody today. :rommie:

Trying to discourage his rookie partner from getting too involved, Malloy relates an anecdote about a Christmas during the war when all he got was a sack of marbles. Somewhere in telling this story, Malloy talks himself into pulling up outside a toy store and asking to borrow a few bucks, much to Reed's amusement.

Awwww.

Back on patrol, the officers pull over a very drunk driver and take him back to the station for a breathalyzer test.

Someday they'll invent a portable version. Using transistors!

This results in a brief moment of tenderness between the couple before things flare up again when Mrs. B realizes that Mr. B's gift to her was expensive, and he could've taken her out to dinner...!

Oh, for crying out loud, just shoot them!

"Schwartz's Island"

Wow, I have no recollection of this at all.

Siegfried uses his giant magnet to bring the Chief to the island from a Coast Guard cutter, made possible by the steel-helmeted diving suit that the Chief is wearing. When the CONTROL trio escape after disabling the magnet, Max and 99 use the Chief in his inflatable suit as a life raft.

Come to think of it, the island being a KAOS project could explain a lot of what happened on that show. Puts kind of a Lost twist on the saga of our seven stranded castaways.

I guess I don't care much what a song is trying to say if the music is lousy.

Ouch.

If you weren't, here's what you need to know.

I've really got to watch those movies one of these days.

TREK_GOD_1 said:
"Suckers" is the mild way to describe this bunch.

Doesn't that describe anyone who listens to a politician? :rommie:

The Old Mixer · Dec 24, 2018

_______

50th Anniversary Album Spotlight

Soul Christmas
Various Artists
Released November 1968
#9 on Rolling Stone's 25 Greatest Christmas Albums of All Time

Rolling Stone said:
The stars of the Atlantic Records R&B roster came together for this fantastic 1968 set. The best rock & roll Christmas albums stay true to tradition while spinning it in fun new directions, and this perfects that balance. Otis Redding does a slow, heart-weary "White Christmas" and a satisfied, Southern-fried "Merry Christmas Baby," while Carla Thomas spins her signature hit "Gee Whiz" into the fireplace-stoking forget-me-not "Gee Whiz, It's Christmas." And then there's Clarence Carter's stocking-stuffer supreme, "Back Door Santa" – "I ain't like old Saint Nick/He don't come but once a year/I come runnin' with my presents every time you call me, dear."

The version of the album currently available is a later issue that includes a few additional songs from later years, and drops one song from the original. I wound up buying the missing song and reconstructing the original track listing as a playlist, and it's that version of the album that I'm covering here.

Side 1 opens distinctively with Clarence Carter's "Back Door Santa":
This is a fun, suggestive, blues-inspired number in the vein of the classic "Back Door Man". It was also sampled on Run-D.M.C.'s "Christmas in Hollis," which has been in my collection for years.

King Curtis's smooth jazz instrumental of "The Christmas Song" is absolutely beautiful:
Definitely something to put on if you need a little help getting into the spirit.

Not to speak ill of the then-recentely departed Otis Redding, but I'm not feeling it for his rendition of the most over-rendered song of modern times, "White Christmas". It seems...strained to me...perhaps a little overwrought.

Joe Tex's "I'll Make Every Day Christmas (For My Woman)" is the song that I had to purchase separately. It's...definitely Joe Tex. I can sorta see why, of all of the original songs, it might be cut, as it's one of those songs that references Christmas but arguably isn't really about it per se. The backing vocals actually make it sound a bit like a parody to my ear, whether or not that was intended.

Both contributions by Booker T. & The MG's do exactly what they should, bringing the group's lovably quirky instrumental style to the classic material. Exhibit A, "Silver Bells":

Carla Thomas's "Gee Whiz, It's Christmas" doubles as 55th anniversary business, as it was originally released as a single in 1963!
This is one that I've had in my collection for years, so it's pretty friendly and familiar. The song is invoking her biggest hit, 1961's "Gee Whiz (Look at His Eyes)" (#10 US, #5 R&B).

Side 2 opens with another Otis song, and this one is much more like it--"Merry Christmas Baby":
Pure, classic Otis, and another one that I've had in my collection for years.

Solomon Burke's "Presents for Christmas" is another previously released single on the album, this one only dating back to 1966. It's decent...I could definitely tell who it was by without looking.

Booker T. & The MG's, Exhibit B: "Jingle Bells". We rest our case.

I'm not too familiar with William Bell. "Every Day Will Be Like a Holiday" has a good sound, but could be considered even less of an actual Christmas song than the Joe Tex contribution, sleigh bells and flourishes of "Jingle Bells" notwithstanding.

The original album comes to a proper close with another smooth contribution from King Curtis, "What Are You Doing New Year's Eve". The later version of the album places its four additional tracks after the New Year's song, which just sounds wrong.

Overall, this is a good addition to my holiday collection, accentuated by its timeliness as 50th anniversary business.

Next up: Beggars Banquet, The Rolling Stones

_______

TREK_GOD_1 said:
blasting LBJ over Vietnam (as though that what was his administration was all about...)

If it wasn't, it wasn't for lack of trying on LBJ's part.

Oh, and let's not forget that in production order, it was the episode featuring the debut of Matt Jefferies' brilliant Klingon Battle Cruiser (now referred to as the D7).

Indeed...as somebody who got into the series in production order, it's a damn shame to see what should have been the ship's spectacular debut buried so deep in the season, after it had already appeared onscreen twice.

It was titled "Schwartz's Island" primarily because the episode was shot on then then-still standing lagoon set from Gilligan's Island (CBS, 1964-67), located at CBS' Television City in the Fairfax district.

Good to know--I was actually wondering if that might have been the case!

RJDiogenes said:
"Take two aspirin and just tell me now how you'll feel in the morning."

Wow.

This week's scheme is even more far-out....

Conveniently labelled, I hope.

Of course!

Just background-watched that Ed Sullivan Christmas special that they ran on Me. It was pretty crap, I'm afraid to say. Most of the holiday stuff was from 1992 when it was made; most of the classic stuff was non-holiday specific and you could tell that it probably originally aired with ad spots for buying the show on VHS.

TREK_GOD_1 · Dec 24, 2018

White Chrimble said:
50th Anniversary Album Spotlight
Soul Christmas
Various Artists
Released November 1968

Not to speak ill of the then-recentely departed Otis Redding, but I'm not feeling it for his rendition of the most over-rendered song of modern times, "White Christmas". It seems...strained to me...perhaps a little overwrought.

Side 2 opens with another Otis song, and this one is much more like it--"Merry Christmas Baby":
Pure, classic Otis, and another one that I've had in my collection for years.

Considering when this was released, it had to have been a near-smothering, melancholy experience listening to this. Like the case of Buddy Holly and Richie Valens, record companies releasing other material from recently killed artists always registered to me as the ultimate snake/grave-digging move.

Next up: Beggars Banquet, The Rolling Stones

I'm smiling...well, because of that and the fact the The Beatles/White Album is in the rear view mirror of assessment! :lol:

If it wasn't, it wasn't for lack of trying on LBJ's part.

See, I believe for many Hollywood types, mischaracterizing LBJ's administration was selective based on what mattered most to the critics; LBJ had already fostered landmark Civil Rights legislation (far more important to the nation with the still existing ills from its history than the effects of Vietnam) and initiated programs that did more to help the underprivileged than anything those paying lip service (i.e. ranting) at the government would accomplish.

In other words, some had the narrow focus on the war (with some concerned about their own skin) rather than correcting the problems that this nation was founded on, hence beating on that one drum to judge all things LBJ.

They conveniently forgot that while soldiers were wounded or died overseas, in the so-called Land of the Free--on their own soil, innumerable people were under attack from domestic terrorists all throughout the 1960s, with mass arson, bombings and murders posing a greater threat to the nation than being sent to Southeast Asia. It was enough for regular citizens, politicians and various arms of national security to think a second civil war was not out of the realm of possibility. That's what LBJ had to deal with, and I doubt the critic's fantasy president(s) would have handled it (as best as possible) as LBJ in that regard or had his formidable political talents to make any sort of progress to offset the tide of internal chaos.

Indeed...as somebody who got into the series in production order, it's a damn shame to see what should have been the ship's spectacular debut buried so deep in the season, after it had already appeared onscreen twice.

Well, at least we were able to see it more than one time. I think I had the AMT model kit of the D7 about three times, Yep, I was a hardcore Trekker kid!

Good to know--I was actually wondering if that might have been the case!

Trivia: Many of the Gilligan's Island cast and crew have claimed the lagoon smelled awful due to it being a closed, non-circulating body of water (like a pool) that stagnated, made worse if anything was left in the water. But hey, Schwartz had to crank those laughs out every wee, right?

The Old Mixer · Dec 24, 2018

TREK_GOD_1 said:
Considering when this was released, it had to have been a near-smothering, melancholy experience listening to this. Like the case of Buddy Holly and Richie Valens, record companies releasing other material from recently killed artists always registered to me as the ultimate snake/grave-digging move.

I don't think there was anything unseemly about it, especially if these songs had been recorded with the intent of releasing them this year (I don't know offhand). He'd just died during the Christmas season of the previous year, so remembering him at this time of the year would have seemed appropriate enough. And it looks like no less than four posthumous albums had been released in '68, so putting these two songs on the album was just a drop in the bucket.

I'm smiling...well, because of that and the fact the The Beatles/White Album is in the rear view mirror of assessment!

It was always the plan to give Beggars its day. And my original intent was to assess it on its own merits, not to frame it in a Beatles vs. Stones context.

See, I believe for many Hollywood types, mischaracterizing LBJ's administration was selective based on what mattered most to the critics; LBJ had already fostered landmark Civil Rights legislation (far more important to the nation with the still existing ills from its history than the effects of Vietnam) and initiated programs that did more to help the underprivileged than anything those paying lip service (i.e. ranting) at the government would accomplish.

In other words, some had the narrow focus on the war (with some concerned about their own skin) rather than correcting the problems that this nation was founded on, hence beating on that one drum to judge all things LBJ.

They conveniently forgot that while soldiers were wounded or died overseas, in the so-called Land of the Free--on their own soil, innumerable people were under attack from domestic terrorists all throughout the 1960s, with mass arson, bombings and murders posing a greater threat to the nation than being sent to Southeast Asia. It was enough for regular citizens, politicians and various arms of national security to think a second civil war was not out of the realm of possibility. That's what LBJ had to deal with, and I doubt the critic's fantasy president(s) would have handled it (as best as possible) as LBJ in that regard or had his formidable political talents to make any sort of progress to offset the tide of internal chaos.

LBJ gets his due for his Great Society and Civil Rights legislation. If not for the nightly news from Vietnam, the body counts, the coffins coming home, then maybe there would have been more focus on that in its time.

Trivia: Many of the Gilligan's Island cast and crew have claimed the lagoon smelled awful due to it being a closed, non-circulating body of water (like a pool) that stagnated, made worse if anything was left in the water. But hey, Schwartz had to crank those laughs out every wee, right?

(Typo unintentionally gives us an idea of what might have been in that lagoon....)

_______

I should maybe give some advance notice of what my plan is for the holiday week off, whether or not I manage to keep to schedule. My 51st and 50th anniversary movie coverage fell completely off course during the show-heavy Fall season. I'd like to make up for that by watching and at least lightly covering a film per day (the write-ups possibly falling a day behind the viewing). On the list for coverage:

Camelot (Premiered Mar. 14, 1967 [Italy]; US release: Oct. 25, 1967)
Guess Who's Coming to Dinner (Premiered Dec. 11, 1967; General release: Dec. 12, 1967)
The Good, the Bad and the Ugly (Premiered Dec. 23, 1966 [Italy]; US release: Dec. 29, 1967)
Bullitt (Released Oct. 17, 1968)
The Producers (Premiered Nov. 22, 1967; General release: Nov. 10, 1968)
Head (Premiered Nov. 6, 1968; General release: Nov. 20, 1968)

Looking forward to getting some shit off my DVR!

ETA: Just watched "Too Many Christmas Trees" for the holiday thanks to This. Nice to see Mrs. Peel again.

TREK_GOD_1 · Dec 25, 2018

White Chrimble said:
It was always the plan to give Beggars its day. And my original intent was to assess it on its own merits, not to frame it in a Beatles vs. Stones context.

In that case...who is better? Paul or Mick?? Yoko or Anita? Oldham or Epstein? Well???

LBJ gets his due for his Great Society and Civil Rights legislation. If not for the nightly news from Vietnam, the body counts, the coffins coming home, then maybe there would have been more focus on that in its time.

Again, it was still selective; war or no war overseas, there was a crisis from one end of the nation to the other with numerous conflicting faces interests in the question of race relations / equal rights, which was of paramount concern before, during and long after the war. It did not need to fight for attention as it was hitting nearly everyone and forced the question of what America was about...or if it had any value at all. In context, post 1960s, few have an interest in / see Vietnam as a live-shaping subject, but the injustices that inspired the American civil rights movement remains a fiery, troubled problem.

(Typo unintentionally gives us an idea of what might have been in that lagoon....)

Yuck, and of course, the mind goes to the worst possibility concerning cast members.....

Next!

I should maybe give some advance notice of what my plan is for the holiday week off, whether or not I manage to keep to schedule. My 51st and 50th anniversary movie coverage fell completely off course during the show-heavy Fall season. I'd like to make up for that by watching and at least lightly covering a film per day (the write-ups possibly falling a day behind the viewing). On the list for coverage:

Camelot (Premiered Mar. 14, 1967 [Italy]; US release: Oct. 25, 1967)

Guess Who's Coming to Dinner (Premiered Dec. 11, 1967; General release: Dec. 12, 1967)

The Good, the Bad and the Ugly (Premiered Dec. 23, 1966 [Italy]; US release: Dec. 29, 1967)

Bullitt (Released Oct. 17, 1968)

The Producers (Premiered Nov. 22, 1967; General release: Nov. 10, 1968)

Head (Premiered Nov. 6, 1968; General release: Nov. 20, 1968)

That should be interesting.

The Old Mixer · Dec 25, 2018

Now I wasn’t sure if I should do them in the order listed (straight up chronological organized by general US release date), or ignore the year as I would have if I’d stayed on schedule and alternated between 50th and 51st anniversary business.

RJDiogenes · Dec 25, 2018

Merry Christmas, folks!

White Chrimble said:
Side 1 opens distinctively with Clarence Carter's "Back Door Santa":

What does Santa need with a back door?

Not to speak ill of the then-recentely departed Otis Redding, but I'm not feeling it for his rendition of the most over-rendered song of modern times, "White Christmas". It seems...strained to me...perhaps a little overwrought.

Definitely overwrought, but that's what's good about it.

Just background-watched that Ed Sullivan Christmas special that they ran on Me. It was pretty crap, I'm afraid to say. Most of the holiday stuff was from 1992 when it was made; most of the classic stuff was non-holiday specific and you could tell that it probably originally aired with ad spots for buying the show on VHS.

I enjoyed it, although it wasn't spectacular. Although I love Bob Newhart, I would have preferred to just see something in the vein of the "Best of" episodes. I guess it was what it had to be, though, in terms of bringing attention to the show for the contemporary audience. It would actually be nice to see something like it done again today. The Sullivan show is a treasure trove of American and world culture that most people are completely unaware of.

TREK_GOD_1 said:
In other words, some had the narrow focus on the war (with some concerned about their own skin) rather than correcting the problems that this nation was founded on, hence beating on that one drum to judge all things LBJ.

Some were indeed focused on their own skin, and rightly so-- but also on their friends and sons and brothers and fathers. Pretty much everyone knew somebody who came home in a bag, or crippled, or just sadly changed. The war was hardly a narrow focus. The tragedy of the veterans of the Vietnam War still haunts us today. If you're looking for a reason to be critical of the Left, you should take note of how badly they treated those returning veterans, as if they were as much to blame as those who had drafted them. The mistreatment of vets was one of the main reasons I knew, even at that tender age, that there's a big difference between Liberal and Left Wing.

They conveniently forgot that while soldiers were wounded or died overseas, in the so-called Land of the Free--on their own soil, innumerable people were under attack from domestic terrorists all throughout the 1960s, with mass arson, bombings and murders posing a greater threat to the nation than being sent to Southeast Asia.

That was hardly forgotten-- it was the defining spirit of the times. There were multitudes of people with a "narrow focus" on bringing the reality of society up to those ideals that the country was founded on. And for most there was really no difference (or competition) between the Anti-War Movement and the Civil Rights Movement and the Women's Lib Movement. It was all the second American Revolution. LBJ certainly gets his deserved credit for his pro-American domestic agenda, but is rightly criticized for his bungling of the war (and, like many people, he was often his own worst enemy).

The Old Mixer · Dec 25, 2018

RJDiogenes said:
Merry Christmas, folks!

Father Chrimble brought us a 55-year-old gift....

_______

55 Years Ago Spotlight

December 26 – The Beatles' "I Want to Hold Your Hand" and "I Saw Her Standing There" are released in the United States, marking the beginning of Beatlemania on an international level.

Selections from Billboard's Hot 100 for the week:

3. "Louie Louie," The Kingsmen
4. "Since I Fell for You," Lenny Welch
5. "You Don't Have to Be a Baby to Cry," The Caravelles
6. "Drip Drop," Dion

8. "Popsicles and Icicles," The Murmaids

10. "Be True to Your School," The Beach Boys
11. "Midnight Mary," Joey Powers
12. "Quicksand," Martha & The Vandellas
13. "The Nitty Gritty," Shirley Ellis
14. "Loddy Lo," Chubby Checker

17. "Everybody," Tommy Roe
18. "The Boy Next Door," The Secrets
19. "Pretty Paper," Roy Orbison
20. "As Usual," Brenda Lee
21. "Surfin' Bird," The Trashmen
22. "Can I Get a Witness," Marvin Gaye
23. "Have You Heard," The Duprees feat. Joey Vann
24. "Drag City," Jan & Dean
25. "Kansas City," Trini Lopez
26. "Wonderful Summer," Robin Ward
27. "In My Room," The Beach Boys
28. "She's a Fool," Lesley Gore
29. "Walking the Dog," Rufus Thomas

31. "For Your Precious Love," Garnet Mimms & The Enchanters
32. "That Lucky Old Sun," Ray Charles

34. "Little Red Rooster," Sam Cooke

36. "Baby Don't You Weep," Garnet Mimms & The Enchanters
37. "Whispering," Nino Tempo & April Stevens
38. "Out of Limits," The Marketts

40. "When the Lovelight Starts Shining Through His Eyes," The Supremes

42. "Somewhere," The Tymes

46. "Hey Little Cobra," The Rip Chords
47. "Sugar Shack," Jimmy Gilmer & The Fireballs
48. "It's All Right," The Impressions

52. "Daisy Petal Pickin'," Jimmy Gilmer & The Fireballs

55. "Hooka Tooka," Chubby Checker

61. "For You," Rick Nelson

63. "Baby, I Love You," The Ronettes
64. "Anyone Who Had a Heart," Dionne Warwick

72. "You Don't Own Me," Lesley Gore

75. "What Kind of Fool (Do You Think I Am)," The Tams

79. "What's Easy for Two Is So Hard for One," Mary Wells

Leaving the chart:

"Bossa Nova Baby," Elvis Presley (10 weeks)
"Deep Purple," Nino Tempo & April Stevens (15 weeks)
"(Down at) Papa Joe's," The Dixiebelles w/ Cornbread & Jerry (13 weeks)
"Hey Little Girl," Major Lance (10 weeks)
"I Wonder What She's Doing Tonight," Barry & The Tamerlanes (10 weeks)
"Washington Square," The Village Stompers (14 weeks)

Recent and new on the chart:

"Daisy Petal Pickin'," Jimmy Gilmer & The Fireballs
(Dec. 14; #15 US)

"For You," Rick Nelson
(#6 US; #1 AC; #14 UK)

"You Don't Own Me," Lesley Gore
(#2 US)

_______

Meanwhile in 51st Anniversaryland, Jim and Artie are taking a well-earned holiday break.

_______

ETA: OMFG, a Christmas episode of Bonanza guest-starring Wayne Newton...! :eek:

RJDiogenes · Dec 26, 2018

White Chrimble said:
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Catchy!

"Daisy Petal Pickin'," Jimmy Gilmer & The Fireballs

I never heard this one before. It's kind of cute.

"For You," Rick Nelson

Good stuff. In about five years, though, he'll have a bad experience at a garden party.

"You Don't Own Me," Lesley Gore

Classic. And definitely sounds like the 50s.

ETA: OMFG, a Christmas episode of Bonanza guest-starring Wayne Newton...!

Back to Vegas with ye, Wayne Newton!

The Old Mixer · Dec 26, 2018

_______

51st Anniversary Cinematic Special

Camelot
Starring Richard Harris, Vanessa Redgrave, Franco Nero, David Hemmings, Lionel Jeffries, Laurence Naismith, and Pierre Olaf
Directed by Joshua Logan
Premiered March 14, 1967 (Italy); US release: October 25, 1967
Winner of 1968 Academy Awards for Best Art Direction-Set Decoration (John Truscott, Edward Carrere, John Brown), Best Costume Design (John Truscott), and Best Music, Scoring of Music, Adaptation or Treatment (Alfred Newman, Ken Darby); Nominated for Best Cinematography and Best Sound

Wiki said:
Camelot is a 1967 American musical comedy-drama film directed by Joshua Logan and starring Richard Harris as King Arthur, Vanessa Redgrave as Guenevere, and Franco Nero as Lancelot. The film is an adaptation of the musical by Alan Jay Lerner and Frederick Loewe. Lerner also wrote the screenplay.

Someone left the Table in the rain...

This was a recent recording that just happened to line up with existing Cinematic Special business. When I read that the original reviews were underwhelming and that the film was 3 hours long, it was cause for concern, but overall I'd say that I enjoyed it despite its flaws.

I have to agree with one criticism that I read, that they could've taken advantage of the movie format to show things like Excalibur being pulled from the stone, rather than stick to the play's description. Granted, as structured that would have been a flashback within a flashback...but we get some of those anyway, relating scenes of Jenny and Lance's affair after the fact. Likewise, we hear a lot about the Round Table but barely see it. The timing of its big reveal is awkwardly late, and it doesn't look like it seats 150. More like 30. Though they did demonstrate that it was big enough to ride horses on.

Also, musicals aren't generally my thing...and I wouldn't know how much of this owes to the original play...but this one seems a bit unevenly structured. Some parts of the film are thick with musical numbers, but there are decent-sized stretches in which they seem to forget that it's a musical.

Guenevere: Did you hear me praying?
Arthur: I couldn't help it, milady, you did pray rather loudly.

Humility sure ain't one of this version of Lancelot's virtues, as he demonstrates in his introductory number, "C'est Moi". Guenevere does call him out on it, at least, though that, of course, is more a bit of early sexual/romantic tension than anything else. The moment is played well when it appears that Lancelot has killed Sir Dinadan at the tournament, though it turns into a display of his Holy Paladin Healing Power. The guy does all but walk on water here.

One of the knights at the tourney, Sir Lionel, is played by Gary Marshal, who appeared as Noel Prince in three episodes of That Girl.

With Merlin himself not being present during Arthur's kingship in this version of the story, Pellinore (entertainingly portrayed by Lionel Jeffries) plays a prominent mentor role here. Arthur trying to describe his idea of a fair justice system to Pelli was pretty funny. And speaking of David Hemmings, he is pretty good as Mordred.

It's an interesting choice to not fully depict the fall of Camelot to its bitter end, but to close on the positive note of young Sir Tom (Malory, I presume) living to tell the tales.

_______

RJDiogenes said:
I never heard this one before. It's kind of cute.

Sounds like sometime before the marriage, Bohemian Coffee House Chick was playing hard to get.

Good stuff. In about five years, though, he'll have a bad experience at a garden party.

More like eight. Anyway, I was surprised to learn that Ozzie and Harriet was still a thing even deeper into the '60s than this. Though as one might have guessed given the timing, this will be his last Top 20 single until that future one.

Classic. And definitely sounds like the 50s.

I think that this is easily her strongest single, though it was held from the top spot by a watershed moment in the histories of both rock & roll and pop culture in general. Lesley shouldn't have felt too bad about it, though..."Louie Louie" had just been held under for several weeks by the Singing Nun and Bobby Vinton!

Back to Vegas with ye, Wayne Newton!

Bonanza-era Wayne might have founded Vegas!

TREK_GOD_1 · Dec 26, 2018

RJDiogenes said:
Some were indeed focused on their own skin, and rightly so-- but also on their friends and sons and brothers and fathers. Pretty much everyone knew somebody who came home in a bag, or crippled, or just sadly changed. The war was hardly a narrow focus.

It was a narrow focus to those who did ignore all else--greater problems at home--to attack LBJ about Vietnam. That's the point of comments about shows (and participants) like Laugh-In, because they were hardly talking about the issues that people on the street were screaming about--and dying for, other than the occasional misplaced reference to some politician or other personality as a joke. And regarding "pretty much everyone", there was no demographic escape (meaning age, gender, or any other category), from the turmoil / struggle on American soil, which was not limited to the "inner cities" or the southern states of the country. On a personal note, I have friends and family who served in Vietnam, and for some, despite what they had to face overseas, they still held intense concern / fears over what was happening at home. That was an incredible burden for those thinking they had to fight over there, but felt they barely had a place at home, their friends and families were at risk, or if they made it back, they would have to pick up in another war they left off when drafted. This was something utterly lost to certain Hollywood types beating that one drum against LBJ.

The tragedy of the veterans of the Vietnam War still haunts us today. If you're looking for a reason to be critical of the Left, you should take note of how badly they treated those returning veterans, as if they were as much to blame as those who had drafted them. The mistreatment of vets was one of the main reasons I knew, even at that tender age, that there's a big difference between Liberal and Left Wing.

That was hardly forgotten-- it was the defining spirit of the times. There were multitudes of people with a "narrow focus" on bringing the reality of society up to those ideals that the country was founded on. And for most there was really no difference (or competition) between the Anti-War Movement and the Civil Rights Movement and the Women's Lib Movement. It was all the second American Revolution. LBJ certainly gets his deserved credit for his pro-American domestic agenda, but is rightly criticized for his bungling of the war (and, like many people, he was often his own worst enemy).

However, its not uncommon retrospectives and university courses spend most of the LBJ years on Vietnam--its a bias from not only that mindset which emerged rom the 60s, but academia, who cannot let go over their resentment of certain politicians, the military (hence the mistreatment of veterans retuning from that war), instead of giving more attention to LBJ's domestic achievements which changed the nation forever in ways no war since WW2 had or could. Perhaps for some, if the achievements did not necessarily serve their own ends, its was not--then or now--as important as Vietnam, with a more direct focus on the anti-war culture.

The Old Mixer · Dec 26, 2018

^ I don't see what any of this has to do with Laugh-In doing a sketch about LBJ. As the incumbent President, he was naturally the subject of parody. It wasn't Laugh-In's job to anoint him. And whatever good he'd done in the struggle for Civil Rights, that war was far from won, as your own argument underscores. Between that, the mess he'd made in Vietnam, the intensifying turmoil in the streets over Civil Rights and Vietnam, and his opting to leave office and let somebody else clean it all up, he was hardly above criticism.

RJDiogenes · Dec 27, 2018

White Chrimble said:
When I read that the original reviews were underwhelming and that the film was 3 hours long, it was cause for concern, but overall I'd say that I enjoyed it despite its flaws.

I've never actually seen the whole thing, and if it's three hours long I'm not likely to in the near future. :rommie:

Likewise, we hear a lot about the Round Table but barely see it. The timing of its big reveal is awkwardly late, and it doesn't look like it seats 150. More like 30.

Well, not all at once. They sit in shifts.

though it turns into a display of his Holy Paladin Healing Power.

2d4 +2.

It's an interesting choice to not fully depict the fall of Camelot to its bitter end

One brief shining moment.

More like eight.

Math? What's that?

Anyway, I was surprised to learn that Ozzie and Harriet was still a thing even deeper into the '60s than this.

Ozzie and Harriet were well known even into the 70s. In fact, when I was a kid, they had a brief revival of their show called Ozzie's Girls where they took in a couple of college girls (one Black, one White, to illustrate the changing times) after the boys moved out. I barely remember it now, but I remember liking it.

Bonanza-era Wayne might have founded Vegas!

Hah. Now that would have been a good episode. :rommie:

TREK_GOD_1 said:
However, its not uncommon retrospectives and university courses spend most of the LBJ years on Vietnam--its a bias from not only that mindset which emerged rom the 60s, but academia, who cannot let go over their resentment of certain politicians, the military (hence the mistreatment of veterans retuning from that war), instead of giving more attention to LBJ's domestic achievements which changed the nation forever in ways no war since WW2 had or could. Perhaps for some, if the achievements did not necessarily serve their own ends, its was not--then or now--as important as Vietnam, with a more direct focus on the anti-war culture.

I don't see it. LBJ in general is probably a bit ignored, sandwiched in as he is between the best and the worst that the presidency has had to offer, but I don't see that the domestic situation is given any less attention than the war-- except maybe by Millennials who like to think they invented the world. :rommie:

[/quote]

The Old Mixer · Dec 27, 2018

_______

50th Anniversary Cinematic Special

Bullitt
Starring Steve McQueen, Robert Vaughn, Jacqueline Bisset, Don Gordon, Robert Duvall, Simon Oakland, and Norman Fell
Directed by Peter Yates
Released October 17, 1968
Winner of the 1969 Academy Award for Best Film Editing (Frank P. Keller); Nominated for Best Sound

Wiki said:
Bullitt is a 1968 American thriller film....The screenplay by Alan R. Trustman and Harry Kleiner was based on the 1963 novel, Mute Witness, by Robert L. Fish, writing under the pseudonym Robert L. Pike. Lalo Schifrin wrote the original jazz-inspired score, arranged for brass and percussion. Robert Duvall has a small part as a cab driver who provides information to McQueen....

The film was a critical and box-office smash....Bullitt is also notable for its car chase scene through the streets of San Francisco, which is regarded as one of the most influential in movie history.

In 2007, Bullitt was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress, as "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant".

I wasn't feeling it too much for this one. From what I've read and heard, the car chase is very famous for having been influential:
Car chases like that were all over the place in the '70s, so if this film started that, it deserves its credit. Likewise, it's credited for having established the "rogue cop" formula used by Dirty Harry and others.

But the plot was enigmatic to the point of being inscrutable, and the characters two-dimensional at best. Bisset's character, in particular, seems just there to be Bullitt's girlfriend, with an obligatory story beat in which she experiences some of his work world and subsequently expresses her angst about it:

Maybe somebody who better appreciates the film could make an argument for what I'm missing, but more likely it's just a matter of taste.

At least we got to see the actual Streets of San Francisco instead of stock footage and rear projection of San Francisco...but I was still wondering where Chief Ironside was during all of this.

Something I wouldn't have caught if I hadn't scanned the cast list: One of Bullitt's informers, Eddy, is Justin Tarr from The Rat Patrol.

_______

RJDiogenes said:
Well, not all at once. They sit in shifts.

Ah...so my bar seats 10!

2d4 +2.

When your Hit Points are 0, any increase is a Divine Miracle.

Ozzie and Harriet were well known even into the 70s. In fact, when I was a kid, they had a brief revival of their show called Ozzie's Girls where they took in a couple of college girls (one Black, one White, to illustrate the changing times) after the boys moved out. I barely remember it now, but I remember liking it.

I meant the run of the original show itself. I'd always heard of it in the context of it being a '50s show, but it was on until '66.

Kor · Dec 27, 2018

To me, McQueen was the epitome of 60s coolness.

Kor

The Old Mixer · Dec 28, 2018

_______

51st or 50th Anniversary Cinematic Special (take your pick)

The Producers
Starring Zero Mostel, Gene Wilder, Dick Shawn, Kenneth Mars, Lee Meredith, Christopher Hewett, and Andreas Voutsinas
Written and directed by Mel Brooks
Premiered November 22, 1967; General release: November 10, 1968
Winner of 1969 Academy Award for Best Writing, Story and Screenplay - Written Directly for the Screen (Mel Brooks); Nominee for Best Actor in a Supporting Role (Gene Wilder)

Wiki said:
The Producers is a 1967 American satirical comedy film written and directed by Mel Brooks and starring Zero Mostel, Gene Wilder, Dick Shawn, and Kenneth Mars. The film was Brooks's directorial debut, and he won an Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay.

Decades later, the film was selected for preservation in the National Film Registry and placed eleventh on the AFI's 100 Years...100 Laughs list. It was later adapted by Brooks and Thomas Meehan as a stage musical, which itself was adapted into a film.

The film was originally conceived as a play within a play, a concept that was eventually realized. Unlike the Broadway production, the movie isn't a musical, other than some performances in the audition scene and the big musical number in the fictional play. The ex and I saw the play on Broadway with Nathan Lane and, alas, Matthew Broderick's understudy that night. We enjoyed it, but it came to be memorable primarily for the date of the performance...September 8, 2001, the last time we visited the City before 9/11.

The film opens with theatrical producer Max Bialystock (Mostel) engaging in his usual M.O. (based on that of an actual producer whom Mel Brooks once worked for) of having affairs with little old ladies to fund his productions. Estelle Winwood (Aunt Hilda in Batman and Lady Clarinda in Camelot) is featured prominently in the opening credits sequence as the financial backer nicknamed "Hold Me Touch Me".

Max is called on by a meek, neurotic, security blanket-carrying accountant named Leo Bloom (Wilder), who discovers a relatively minor discrepancy in the books for a flop that Bialystock produced, then muses over the idea of deliberately producing an expensive flop as a way of making money. (This was also inspired by actual producers whom Brooks knew, who lived quite well off of strings of failed plays.) Max seizes upon this idea and convinces the reluctant Leo to help him realize it. (The montage of Max wooing Leo includes a brief scene on top of the Empire State Building, then still the tallest building in the world while the World Trade Center was under construction.)

Max and Leo proceed to pore through scripts looking for the most offensive one possible, and find it in Springtime for Hitler: A Gay Romp with Adolf and Eva at Berchtesgaden, written by helmet-wearing unhinged former Nazi Franz Liebkind (Mars). Max then gets to work on securing financial backing via his usual method, but on a much larger-than-usual scale, overselling percentages of the play's profits to a sum total of 25,000 percent! With the money in hand, Max treats himself to a "toy"--an attractive Swedish secretary named Ulla who doesn't speak English but likes to dance (Meredith).

Max tries to ensure the play's failure by also hiring the worst director available, Roger De Bris (Hewett), whose cross-dressing is based on Ed Wood. De Bris's stereotypically effeminate assistant is Carmen Ghia (Voutsinas). Confident in De Bris's inevitable failure, Max allows his director to modify the content of the play and proceeds to hold auditions for the star of the production.

De Bris said:
Will the Dancing Hitlers please wait in the wings? We are only seeing Singing Hitlers!

After seeing a number of actors sporting Hitler mustaches who audition by performing more conventional material such as "A Wand'ring Minstrel I," they find their star in a beatnik/hippie actor named Lorenzo Saint DuBois, a.k.a. L.S.D. (Shawn), who came to the wrong audition. L.S.D., whose most distinctive fashion choice is evoking Andy Warhol by wearing a Campbell's Soup can as a medallion, performs a psychedelic pop song called "Love Power" accompanied by a three-girl band who appear out of nowhere:

The story then skips straight to opening night. It's only natural to want to include a clip of the play's titular production number, but it actually includes some chorus girl costumes that are so risque as to be considered violations of board policy (most notably the girl wearing the pretzels). This number has the desired effect, causing audience members to start walking out in disgust, so Max and Leo exit for a nearby bar to toast their successful failure. But L.S.D.'s unconventional performance as Hitler draws the audience back in, even as it scandalizes the playwright. Liebkind unsuccessfully attempts to sabotage the play, but the audience responds to it as part of the show. Back at the bar, Max and Leo are horrified when audience members come in during the intermission raving about the play.

Max said:
How could this happen? I was so careful. I picked the wrong play, the wrong director, the wrong cast...where did I go right!?!

Liebkind attempts to kill Max and Leo, then to commit suicide. Max tries to send him to kill the actors instead, then gets the idea of attempting to blow up the theater. Max, Leo, and Liebkind end up injured in the attempt and tried in court, where the jury finds them "incredibly guilty". The story closes with Max and Leo pulling the same scam behind bars with a production titled Prisoners of Love.

Overall this made for a pretty entertaining watch, though it perhaps lost some of its bite from my having already been familiar with the story.

_______

Nerys Myk · Dec 28, 2018

No "Springtime for Hitler".

The Old Mixer · Dec 28, 2018

It's on YouTube. :techman:

Nerys Myk · Dec 28, 2018

White Chrimble said:
It's on YouTube.

I'll just watch the whole movie. "Springtime for Hitler" is just over the top craziness.

RJDiogenes · Dec 28, 2018

White Chrimble said:
I wasn't feeling it too much for this one. From what I've read and heard, the car chase is very famous for having been influential:

When I was a kid, I would find a car chase like this exciting. Now all I can think about is how much it would cost to fix the suspension and replace the tires.

Maybe somebody who better appreciates the film could make an argument for what I'm missing, but more likely it's just a matter of taste.

Aside from Steve McQueen, I think it was mostly that it was unlike what had come before, and the novelty was mistaken for actual quality.

Ah...so my bar seats 10!

Twenty if you count laps.

When your Hit Points are 0, any increase is a Divine Miracle.

I think my Hit Points are in negative numbers these days. :rommie:

I meant the run of the original show itself. I'd always heard of it in the context of it being a '50s show, but it was on until '66.

But it sounds like the 50s! :rommie:

Speaking of Ozzie's Girls, I checked to see if it's on DVD, and it's not-- but there are several episodes on YouTube. The picture quality is awful, but the Hippie chicks are as cute as I remember. Hold my calls!

Kor said:
To me, McQueen was the epitome of 60s coolness.

He was pretty good, but I have to make fun of him because my Mother has the hots for him. I especially like to mock him in Wanted Dead Or Alive because the character is such a simpleton. :rommie:

White Chrimble said:
It's on YouTube.

Nice pretzels.

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