Dig Bob Denver on ‘American Bandstand’ introducing Annette Funicello who leads a kicking group of dancers doing ‘The Madison’. This bit about calling the dance steps (‘when I say hit it I want you do four up, a ‘Rifleman’, a ‘Jackie Gleason’ etc.) makes the experience of watching this an
Idaho. February 1958. A local TV station is broadcasting a show for teen audiences called ‘Seventeen’. A group of teenagers are gathered to demonstrate a new dance that’s all the rage called ‘The Stroll’. With heavy hearts and a stunning lack of enthusiasm they do so. Somehow, somebody somewhere keeps
Every frame of ‘Fresh Hare’, an early-ish Bugs Bunny/Elmer Fudd pairing (1942) is a gem–beautifully rendered and wittily constructed. You can feel how much fun the animators must have been having developing Bugs’ expressions, reactions and mannerisms–almost as if the animated animal anthropomorphically became a performer that was in control
If you set out to make a parody of a 1970s TV commercial for a Stereo store you might wind up with something like the above–if you were very very talented, of course. (By the way, whatever happened to Sansui? It’s mentioned in yesterday’s clip as well). Thoughts of stereo
Stereos were once an incredibly important bookshelf-filling music-delivery system. Much time was lavished on discussions of which were the best components, whether it was better to have an all-in-one receiver or a power amp, pre-amp and tuner, which massive speakers to buy (and how many). A true stereo-head preferred to
The tenth anniversary of Johnny Carson’s reign as ‘The Tonight Show’ host was celebrated in 1972 on perhaps the ugliest and most awkward set ever designed for a TV show. The overwhelming green-ness of the carpet, walls etc. makes it look like a bottle of Mountain Dew. Johnny is seated
Behold the trailer of the 1975 remake of Raymond Chandler’s ‘Farewell My Lovely’ starring Robert Mitchum as Phillip Marlowe. Yesterday I posted the trailer for ‘The Long Goodbye’ made two years earlier with the decidedly more eccentric casting of Elliot Gould as Marlowe. I seem to recall seeing this one
Here’s another wicked-cool trailer for a Peter Bogdanovich movie (see yesterdays ‘Paper Moon’ trailer), this time for ‘What’s Up Doc?’ Once again PB is featured heavily and the general mood and tone gives us the sense of filmmaking actually being a pleasurable and amusing adventure, which in fact it rarely
Behold this most eccentric of movie trailers. It’s a four minute theatrical trailer for ‘Paper Moon’ which features Ryan O’Neal, Tatum O’Neal and…Peter Bogdanovich. Indeed the wunderkind director is all over this, mugging with the cast, laughing off-camera, playing director with great enthusiasm etc. It reminds us of what a
This past Saturday the Directors Guild of America gave a memorial tribute (via Zoom) to the late great Peter Bogdanovich. I was the moderator and the guests included Frank Marshall, Bennett Miller, Cybill Shepard, David O. Russell, Chuck Workman, Doug McGrath and –via tape (or whatever we call whatever captures