blake edwards s/d, rfi

Blind Date was a hit and – wow – so was Skin Deep.

Saw The Party last night for the first time in ages... It wears out its welcome when Sellers is hunting for a bathroom for 10 minutes, but yeah, "birdie num num." It was conceived of as a silent film, but Sellers balked at the last minute. Tati influence pretty clear.

The guy who plays the best drunken waiter ever is Steve Franken, who was an older cousin of Al.

http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-hzRg3Zoawik/UEAq_RmuovI/AAAAAAAAJ68/XTBIzdISt5s/s1600/the-party-steve-franken-tries-to-pry-off-cornish-hen-by-dvdbeaver-800x346.jpg

Watched Victor/Victoria for the first time ever tonight. It is a good 20 mins too long, and much of the slapstick feels tacked on, but its queer-positivity feels remarkable for the time (although I am reminded of a review that I once read of Making Love which suggested that the immediate pre-AIDS era produced a minor, and sadly aborted, golden age for such things). I appreciated that it was Robert Preston's Toddy that provided the arc for the story much more so than Andrews, the film opening not with her but rather with a melancholy scene between Toddy and his young lover and then progressing through his various personal triumphs. Its a lovely performance, justifiably nominated (the only way I can account for Warren's nom, on the other hand, is that the Academy seems to have a thing for these Madeline Kahn in Paper Moon/Mira Sorvino in Mighty Aphrodite types), and if i never for a moment bought Andrews as a man, I not sure that I was really supposed to. I do wish the film hadn't felt the need to let Garner's character off the hook re: his attraction to Andrews so quickly, though I realize that in making this complaint I may be asking a bit too much of a (progressive, but still) mainstream Hollywood comedy from 1982.

I had forgotten that William Peter Blatty had co-adapted A Shot in the Dark, one of 4 scripts for Edwards. Still have never seen 'What Did You Do in the War, Daddy?

Coincidentally was thinking of watching Days of Wine and Roses tonight - but don't see much love for it here...

i believe i saw the original TV play long ago, never the film

(Cliff Robertson, Piper Laurie, John Frankenheimer)

Did watch it.

It's one of the films in David Thomson's 'Have You Seen...?' book. Thomson says that Frankenheimer was too busy to make the movie version, and that Lemmon pushed hard for the lead role, and also suggested Lee Remick as his co-star (tho Edwards had recently worked w/ her on Experiment in Terror, so not sure about that - anyway, she's fantastic in it). First half hour plays like a semi-sequel to The Apartment - Lemmon is a hard-drinking Public Relations man, essentially acting like a pimp for wealthy clients, who introduces secretary Remick to the pleasures of a Brandy Alexander (she likes chocolate not booze when they first hook up.) Film then charts the different stages of their mutual descent into alcoholism, naturally getting progressively darker (literally so - early scenes are all bright West Coast exteriors, later scenes dark, shabby apartments and motels). Some of the writing is a bit too on-the-nose (Remick's father literally grows roses, which at one point are destroyed by Lemmon in drunken desperation) and you need to be fairly pro-Lemmon (I am) to stomach the full-on scenes of him in a strait-jacket, detoxing (def shades of Lost Weekend there). You might also say that the film is unfairly harsh on the Remick character - she turns out to have less willpower than Lemmon - but it provides the film with a pretty bleak ending that still seems desperately sad, and is true to the larger theme of the way that you can corrupt even someone you love. The black and white photography is beautiful and crisp (by Philip H. Lathrop) and the Mancini score is suitably restrained, aside from the rather corny theme song.

So, good movie, well worth watching.

Experiment In Terror was before Days, yes. It's also very much worth seeing.

Thanks, have added it to my Amazon rental list.

Days theme song won an Oscar and sold well (esp for Andy Williams), probly sold a lot of tickets

Watched some baseball tonight: Experiment in Terror, first time. Great opening credits, a couple of very modern jump-scares, '70s-like ending (Two-Minute Warning, Black Sunday) in Candlestick. You get to see Harvey Kuenn leg out a double, Mike McCormick on the mound, and the back of Mays in one shot. Names over the loudspeaker: McCovey, Felipe Alou, Jose Pagan, Wally Moon. I wasn't sure if it was Drysdale or not on the mound--younger than my image of him--but checking the number it was.

Robert Preston would've been 100 last Friday. I've never attempted to survive The Music Man, but he's certainly a live wire of joie de vivre in Victor/Victoria and S.O.B., not to mention Junior Bonner, The Last Starfighter, etc.

The Last Starfighter was my first exposure. I use to confuse him with Karl Malden.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m0NcH_XIzKY

Watched Micki & Maude for the first time in 35 years -- a Kael favorite (she compared Dudley Moore favorably with Cary Grant). Definitely doesn't all work, but it doesn't shrink from judging the wacky bigamist ("when it comes to value judgments, he's up there with Nixon and Custer"). Also has a great gag in the last reel, when Ann Reinking is beating up a disguised housebreaking Moore; he takes his beard off, and she starts hitting him harder.

also Amy Irving's dad being a pro wrestler was sort of a genius touch

I thought Micki And Maude was hilarious back in the day, Victor/Victoria is a straight up masterpiece. How come he's not better respected i wonder? I mean.. Tiffany's, A Shot In The Dark.. guy deserves to be better remembered IMO.

He's mostly remembered for the Sellers connection, esp Clouseau, and Tiffany's as well

then for being married to Julie, then maybe "10"

I can see why Operation Petticoat was his breakthrough. Grant and Curtis are ideally cast, and it plays funnier than M*A*SH now. A submarine is really a fine setting for a delirious wartime sex comedy...

supporting cast features three future smash-sitcom second bananas -- Gavin MacLeod is very funny, Dick Sargent too; alas Marion Ross is the least visible of the nuses.

It was written by the same guys who did Pillow Talk that same year, but while nearly as 'dirty' it's a bit less smarmy.

watched "10" over the weekend, probably first time in 20+ years

gen very good slapstick, and maybe best Julie Andrews perf in one of his films

i rewatched a shot in the dark a while back and it is really very good, the wordless intro before the credits is particularly marvelous

also the Dudley-Julie argument about his use of the noun "broad" would pass all but the most rigid language police standards (she wins)

The Tamarind Seed is by no means a total dud, but Julie Andrews is so bloodless when she doesn't sing or clown, and despite the Hitchcock references, Blake was no Hitch. Kind of amazing to see a Maurice Binder title sequence in a non-Bond film too.

Julie IS James Bond

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BR4-PADx-V0

The Tamarind Seed on Amazon Prime. I should stream it then, aye?

it's OKKKKKKKK

I saw our KJB's extravagant praise a decade ago and figured I could play you two off each other.

not takin' the bait

Great score. John Barry?

That's Life! is one of the worst films I've ever seen. Jack Lemmon should've been frogmarched to The Hague.

Experiment in Terror bangs so hard

I was at my mother's house the other day and it's quite a clutter zone. One thing that stood out was a dvd of Darling Lili on a table. It's a garbage movie but she has an attachment to it because her fave little brother who drank himself to death two decades ago is an extra in it. I'm keen to find the scene he's in it to get a grab but even she doesn't know. She doesn't even own a dvd player.. lol