Damn dirty links

I dunno. June was simply a slow month for me. Not a whole lot out there I was eager to see. I do have some more outdoor movies planned for the summer, however, plus a few blogathon posts, so that should make up for the lack of activity. Other than that, I don't have much more to say, except thanks for reading. I've broken another record for monthly pageviews, so I know you're out there.

Your links:

Jacqueline looks at Montgomery Clift's first film role, a sober post-war drama about refugee children.

Raquel celebrates ten years of film blogging.

Silver Screenings Ruth recently went on a Hollywood tour about the very early days of the industry.

FlixChatter Ruth goes into the details of her short film.

Pam hearts German actor Jurgen Prochnow.

Aurora has another guest post, from someone who shares memories of a childhood going to the drive-in.

The New York Times and its panel of experts pick the 25 best films of the century - so far.

One fan's memory of seeing ET for the first time.

Here's what the new Transformers movie is like.

Enjoy the holiday. I shall return July 8.

20 Feet From Stardom

20 Feet From Stardom
seen @ Herbert von King Park, Brooklyn NY


20 Feet From Stardom was one of those movies that got away from me at first. I remember when it came out; I told myself I would see it for sure, but I never did. Either I was short of cash or it came and went in a hurry; I don't recall. I was pleased to get a second chance at it last weekend as a free outdoor movie.


Stardom is the Oscar-winning documentary about backup singers throughout rock history. They sing the parts of songs that are always fun and easy to sing along with: the shoo-bee-doo-bee-doos, the ram-a-lam-a-ding-dongs. We may not be able to sing like Aretha Franklin, for example, but we can always do the "re-re-re-re-re-re-re-re-spect JUST A LITTLE BIT!" part, whether we're in the shower or the car or in Aisle 6 reaching for the can of corn.

Among the many singers interviewed, including superstars like Jagger and Springsteen and Stevie Wonder, the best-known of the backup singers is probably Darlene Love, who sang with many of the big names of the 50s and 60s. The songs on which she sang lead were not credited as such for a long time. She talks about her struggles with uber-producer Phil Spector, as well as the events that led to her solo career and greater recognition, in and out of music (she was Danny Glover's wife in the Lethal Weapon movies).

Darlene Love

We get to meet other singers, mostly black, mostly female. Things changed for them when they were encouraged, and more to the point, allowed to sing the way they knew how, the way they were used to singing all their lives as opposed to simply filling in the spaces between the lyrics. Rock stars like the Stones, Bowie, Lynyrd Skynyrd, put them on their records, brought them on tour, made them more in-demand. Why didn't these singers become stars in their own right? The movie suggests there's no one answer - but they have no regrets. (Seeing this made me wish, not for the first time, that more black people made rock music today - and that radio would play them - but that's another post.)

Naturally, I thought of my sister Lynne as I watched this, though in her case, it's different. She's the lead singer of a band, one that has been her support structure for years as they play around New York. Her husband is part of that band. As far as I know, she hasn't tried being a backup singer for anybody. Still, the theme of pursuing a career in the field, gaining recognition, resonates.

Lisa Fischer

I think Lynne is a great singer, but she kinda got a late start in going for a career, and in a field that values youth so highly, I think it's fair to say the odds of ever hearing her on the radio one day are long. I think if she did nothing but play bars and clubs with her band for the rest of her life, though, she'd be okay with that. She enjoys the music so much; always has. I think that's what matters most - and Stardom suggests that's the best way to be.

This was the first outdoor movie of the season for me. Von King Park is deep within a part of Brooklyn with which I was unfamiliar. It was a warm summer night, with lots of people having cookouts and playing music and kids roaming freely - but with few people actually watching the movie.

Merry Clayton

The inflatable screen was set up on a largish lawn area. I came without a blanket to lie on (I forgot) and I was concerned my spot would get eaten up by the encroaching audience, like it would if I were at, say, Brooklyn Bridge Park. In fact, the crowd was so sparse, there was room for kids to play catch with a small dog and to kick a soccer ball around. This went on behind me for the most part, though the dog trampled my leg once while running.

If the surrounding park-goers had any interest in the movie, they didn't show it. Far behind me, music (modern hip-hop, of course) continued to play, though the movie was loud and clear enough that it wasn't a problem. With the Fourth of July just around the corner, at one point fireworks went off behind the screen. You'd think a free movie prominently featuring black people would attract more interest in what looked like a mostly-black neighborhood. I dunno. I'm just glad it didn't rain.

Fargo

The Reel Infatuation Blogathon is an event devoted to favorite movie characters, hosted by Silver Screenings and Font and Frock. For a complete list of participating bloggers, visit the links at either site.

Fargo
from my VHS collection

Larry wasn't born with the brains God gave a duck but he was my brother and he shouldna oughta died like that: shot, left in the snow in the middle o' the night. I told him to stay on 71 when he called me: "Stay on 71," I says, "that'll take ya to I-94 and I-94'll take ya to Minneapolis." Don't know how he ended up in Brainerd, but that's Larry for ya - and all on account o' him and his girlfriend needin' to go to that damfool Three Stooges film festival.

I went to Brainerd to... you know, identify the bodies and all. Long drive from Billings.

I got there and went to the police station and that's where I met Sheriff Marge Gunderson.

The pros and cons of post-credit scenes

The Avengers post-credit scene ended the movie on a laugh.

When I saw Wonder Woman, I anticipated a post-credit scene. I stood against the back wall of the Movieworld auditorium, watching the audience slowly file out, as the long, detailed list of names rolled on the screen. A staffer discreetly cleaned up with a broom. A part of me felt slightly ridiculous. I never stick around for the credits (if I'm by myself, anyway), because I'm usually too eager to go to the bathroom.

These days, however, audiences for superhero movies have come to expect some sort of Easter egg scene tacked on to the very end of the film, long after the last production company logo unspools. (In industry lingo, they're called "stingers." They predate the superhero movies by quite a margin.) They usually come in two flavors: a light-hearted, jokey moment, or a tease for the next movie. Are they necessary? No; they're usually a little something extra for the fans, a way of saying "thanks for watching." Could it be, though, that they're drawing more attention than necessary?

Josh Brolin's uber-baddie Thanos has been teased after the
Avengers movies for awhile.

Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 had FIVE post-credit scenes - or more accurately, closing credit scenes. They were interspersed throughout the credit roll. Two of them, arguably three, were teasers for the next movie. In and of themselves, they were funny and intriguing, but I feel like this is a sure sign of success going to the filmmakers' heads. It's self-indulgent.

When Marvel Studios did it with the first wave of Avengers movies, they bonded the films and built up anticipation for the Avengers movie, when we'd finally see all these characters together in one film. Could they have been integrated into the bodies of their respective films? Probably. Would they have generated the same amount of attention? Debatable.

That's what these scenes are about, at the heart of it all: buzz; generating hype for what's to come - because we know there will be more shared-universe superhero movies, from Marvel and WB (parent company of DC Comics), at any rate. It's like they're the US and the Soviet Union, engaged in an ever-escalating nuclear arms race, only the end result here is more like Mutually Assured Box Office.

Some scenes, like the one after X-Men: Apocalypse, can
leave non-TruFans® baffled with their vagueness.

The whole thing almost makes me wish all these superheroes were in the public domain, so we could get interpretations of these characters that weren't shackled to the shared-universe concept. (I know the prospect excited me at first, but that was before I realized what it would lead to.) In the comics, they publish alternate-universe stories, reinterpreting the heroes in different times and places. Imagine if the same were done for the movies: a Superman inspired by the "World of Tomorrow" future of the 1939 World's Fair. A Batman set during the Revolutionary War. A Marvel Universe set in the time of Queen Elizabeth. But perhaps we're not ready for that yet.

Getting back to the post-credit scenes. I hear you complaining: "If you don't like them, don't watch them!" What can I say? If I lived without the Internet, maybe I would. If it were possible to avoid any and all discussion of them, on- and off-line, from now until the end of time, I might do that. The fanboy mentality, however, has infected moviegoers, and like zombies looking for some brains to munch on, we notice and discuss the minutiae of genre movies, especially things like post-credit scenes. I think the jury's still out deciding whether or not this is a good thing.

The Movieworld staffer saw me and said there was no such scene after Wonder Woman. I thanked him and left. Its absence didn't bother me. Who knows? Maybe it's the sign of a counter-trend.

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Related:
Are opening credits becoming uncool?
The main title work of Saul Bass

Books: Tracy and Hepburn

The 2017 Summer Reading Classic Film Book Challenge is an event in which the goal is to read and write about a variety of books related to classic film, hosted by Out of the Past. For a complete list of the rules, visit the website.

The unique professional and personal relationship of Spencer Tracy and Katharine Hepburn lasted a quarter century. Though they never married, they were a couple in almost every way that counts; a true meeting of the minds who brought out the best in each other, as actors and as people. One who knew them intimately was writer Garson Kanin. In 1970, he shared his memories of the celebrated duo of Hollywood and Broadway in his book Tracy and Hepburn.

I bought this at a used book sale at Symphony Space in Manhattan last fall, when I went there to see For the Love of Spock. This was my first Kanin book. You'll recall I also wrote about his novel Moviola months ago, in which I said I wasn't impressed with his writing style, though I liked the story. Style is less of an issue here. Kanin takes a non-linear approach, sharing anecdotes about his friends as they come. I found this an easier read by comparison. Changing tenses and shifting points-of-view were non-issues here.

Kanin and his wife, actress-screenwriter Ruth Gordon, were the Fred & Ethel to Tracy & Hepburn's Lucy & Ricky. We know the former as writers for the Tracy & Hepburn movie Adam's Rib, as well as for a number of films and plays. Off screen and off stage, the four of them were close companions, intellectual and cultural aesthetes who split time between the east coast, the west coast and Europe when they weren't working. T&H is as much about their friendship as it is about the actors' lives and careers.

With Hepburn, we discover her cultivated eccentricities, her exceeding generosity and her formidable sense of will. We also learn the extent of her influence behind the camera. If she had wanted to, and if she had been given the opportunity, she could have been a director, as well as a producer and even a writer. As for Tracy, his health issues are discussed, as well as his rep among others in Hollywood, his theater experiences, and his own peculiarities.

Kanin drops a ton of names in T&H, a number of which are from the early 20th century theater and film worlds. He writes as if you're already familiar with them. I have a tendency to take my audience for granted too, so I probably shouldn't complain, but a little context here and there wouldn't have hurt. Kanin comes across as a rugged individualist intolerant of ignorance, not unlike his subjects, and his wife. By his admission, there have been moments where he took a joke too far with his friends and paid the price for it. We see this aspect of their relationship in T&H also.

L-R: Tracy, Gordon, Kanin, Hepburn

Tracy & Hepburn were far from perfect. Hepburn's strident nature occasionally comes across as bullying, and Tracy rarely discusses his other life with his children and his wife Louise Treadwell, whom he never divorced.

T&H is a totally subjective book; we see the duo through Kanin's eyes. A more objective biography might be more rounded, but Kanin makes it clear at the outset this is not that book. That's okay. For what it is, it's a rare and valuable portrait of two of Hollywood's finest.

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Also by Garson Kanin:
Moviola

Recently:
Ann Blyth: Actress Singer Star

Wonder Woman

Wonder Woman
seen @ Movieworld, Douglaston, Queens NY

SPOILERS

So Warner Bros. finally stopped dicking around and gave us a Wonder Woman movie (mostly) worthy of her status within the DC Comics pantheon, and the wider pop culture at large. For years, DC kept selling us the idea of Wondy being one of superhero comics' Big Three, along with Big Blue and Long Ears. WB, the parent company, tended to stick with making movies with just the other two, however. With bombs like Supergirl, Catwoman, Green Lantern and Suicide Squad on their resume, you almost can't blame them. Almost.

Kudos, therefore, to WB for simply getting this movie made. They gave it to a woman director, also a good move. Patty Jenkins might be best known for Monster, the film that got Charlize Theron the Oscar. Jenkins had been lingering in TV since, until this one. Although producer Zack Snyder's fingerprints are detectable, she did a real good job overall.

Gal Gadot has the goods. I didn't expect her to put on an accent (Greek? I suppose). That took some getting used to, but it was no big deal (unless that's her real accent; I dunno). Kinda embarrassed I didn't recognize Captain Kirk at first, but it was nice to see him in another franchise.

All this said, I have a problem with the ending, which is a shame, because I was with this movie until that point. If you don't wanna be spoiled, go no further.

Wonder links

I've noticed something about classic film bloggers lately. Blogathons have gotten so popular, some bloggers go from one to the next, with no other type of post in between. It's a tribute to the ubiquity of the meme that this is totally possible. When I began WSW, I was convinced I had to blog all the time in order to establish a presence. I think if I were to start out now, knowing what I do about blogging, I might stick to blogathons too, at least at first. Eventually, though, there would come moments like this, where I wanna blab about other stuff.

Last month, Sandi and I went to a local production of Raisin, the musical version of A Raisin in the Sun. It was put on by the Astoria Performing Arts Center, which I admit I wasn't aware of before. Raisin is basically the Lorraine Hansberry script with songs added. They're very good songs. All the principal characters get them, both solo and in groups. As I told Sandi afterwards, whoever plays Walter Lee will have to contend with the memory of Sidney Poitier, a heavy weight to bear. Warren Nolan Jr. didn't have his physical energy, but he was good. He had a superb singing voice.

Comings and goings: Bibi & Eric came into town over Memorial Day weekend and we went down to Coney Island. It was their first time there. We rode the Wonder Wheel and the Tilt-a-Whirl, but they balked at the more daring rides. Pity. We ate at a Ukrainian restaurant, where the matronly waitress told us all about the food and tried to teach us a few Ukrainian words. 

Also, a couple of weeks earlier, John & Sue threw a going-away party on the occasion of their impending departure from New York. After too many years at a job that drove him nuts, John's gonna pursue writing on more of a full-time basis. They're only going upstate. Still, I feel like an era is ending. John's my oldest friend. Knowing he was always around was comforting. As for Sue, I've grown to deeply appreciate her as a friend and the perfect companion for John. I can't imagine anyone else putting up with him on a daily basis!

Behold the trailer for Star Trek: Discovery. It certainly looks more cinematic than its predecessors. I'm thrilled to see Michelle Yeoh in Star Trek, but one has to remember she's not the star here. That would be Sonequa Martin-Green. Her Cmdr. Rainsford does look like she's gonna undergo a kind of trial by fire, with the Klingons as the forge. Judging from their look, as well as the look of the uniforms and sets, I'm convinced this is the alternate timeline, which is not what we were initially led to believe. Sigh. Well, I'll be there for the premiere, if they ever manage to finish this bloody show. It's been delayed at least twice! (By the way, check out the trailer for Seth MacFarlane's live-action Trek-like series - on free TV!)

It's been a light year for new releases around here so far. I expect that to change somewhat this summer. After debating whether or not to return to the long underwear scene, I decided I gotta see Wonder Woman simply because it's a movie that's shamefully overdue. Plus, it's not directed by Zack Snyder. The new Apes movie is a given, and holy guacamole, Christopher Nolan doing the battle of Dunkirk? Sign me up. Also, outdoor movies - assuming the weather warms up enough for them - may be thin this year because there are so many screenings of films from the last year or two. We'll see.

Your links this month:

Aurora offers a guest post from someone who has a slightly dissenting opinion on Feud.

Paddy reviews a book about a pre-code actor and interviews the author.

Ivan, like, totally grooves on the 80s Sarah Jessica Parker series Square Pegs.

Kristina falls under the spell of Boris Karloff's Invisible Ray.

Pam plays with some shockingly age-inappropriate Alien toys.

Angela on Feud.

This review of Feud provides more of a historical perspective.

When the late Jonathan Demme was still an actor, he appeared in schlock like this.

Now it can be seen: lost footage of the Beatles filming Help!.

In appreciation of Joan Crawford, the Thespian.

No, seriously, WTF were they thinking in trying to remake Dirty Dancing?