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Rosemary's Baby (Roman Polanski, 1968)
Apr
30
Hairstyle Appreciation Day
“It's by Vidal Sassoon. It's very in.”
– Rosemary Woodhouse
Both the lady's movie husband Guy Woodhouse (John Cassavetes) and real-world husband Frank Sinatra were incensed by the bold move. Of course, in Rosemary's Baby the haircut is Rosemary's attempt to make sense of the changing world around her. Moving to a new city, an unexpected pregnancy, all those lovely new neighbours to socialise with… a girl needs to feel in control!
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Yellow Submarine (George Dunning, 1968)
Apr
28
Clean Comedy Day
A Blue Meanie pirouetting on a blossoming flower that pushes itself up into the sky. The sky is white while the flower and clouds are multicoloured.
A Gen X-er, I grew up in a completely different world where so many films and TV that kids watched – if watched with today's eyes — were not particularly kid-oriented at all. I fondly remember Monty Python and the Holy Grail (1975) and reenacting the Black Knight scene in the school grounds. Yul Brynner as a faceless, rampaging cyber cowboy in Westworld (1973)? Sure, bring it on! Not that the official kid's movies were “clean”. Did you spot the chicken decapitation in Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory (1971)? Well, you will now.
“Once upon a time, or maybe twice, there was an unearthly paradise called Pepperland. 80,000 leagues beneath the sea it lay, or lie. I'm not too sure.”
– narrator
Alright, I'll keep it clean and suggest a dose of Yellow Submarine. A fantastic adventure starring The #Beatles (well, their likeness mostly) who are summoned to save utopian, music-loving #Pepperland from the music-hating Blue Meanies. Trippy fun, and lots to discover the older you get.
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Distant Drums (Raoul Walsh, 1951)
Apr
24
Scream Day
The Scream happening to Judy Beckett (Mari Aldon) and Capt. Quincy Wyatt's (Gary Cooper) dismay. DP: Sidney Hickox.
One joyous day, Pvt. Wilhelm gave his dear life for movie geeks everywhere. The Gary Cooper (super duper!) western Distant Drums (1951) is the origin of what's known as the Wilhelm #scream. During a dramatic action scene, our dearly beloved private is hit in the thigh with an arrow.
– GATORS! GATORS!!
– AAH!
– AH!
That bloodcurdling scream was part of a sounds effect reel voiced by Sheb Wooley, known better for his 1958 rock 'n roll novelty song The Purple People Eater than fighting off hostile natives. Later, other screamers popped up in anything from A Star Is Born (1954) to Reservoir Dogs (1992).
And yes, even a long time ago. In that galaxy far far away.
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Afternoon (Andy Warhol, 1965)
Apr
19
National Hanging Out Day
Fabulous Factory people hanging out. Edie interacts with the camera, the rest looks mostly bored. Image owned by the Warhol Foundation yadda yadda for educational purposes only.
Part of the never-realised #SuperStar-studded The Poor Little Rich Girl Saga, #Warhol's Afternoon documents a day in the life of doomed socialite Edie Sedgwick. Miss Sedgwick and her entourage (Ondine, Dorothy Dean, Arthur Loeb, and Donald Lyons) spend an afternoon at #Edie's place. The superstars, the bored and the beautiful, chat, drink and do drugs.
“Isn’t it wonderful that we can be just friends?”
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Jerry's Deli [Jerry] (Tom Palazzolo, 1974)
Apr
17
National Stress Awareness Month
Jerry Meyer in his sandwich place, taking orders.
Stressed?‽ Who's got time to be stressed when there's a business to be run!!? Tom Palazzolo's Jerry’s Deli is a great character study of not only a character, but a whole time period inhabited by characters. The titular Jerry is Jerry Meyer, owner and proprietor of a Chicagoan deli that happened to be right next to Palazzolo's film lab. You wanna eat? Now, eat! Wanna order? Whaddaya waiting for?? Order!! Roast beef on rye please.
“On RYE!?!”
– Jerry Meyer
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Boy on a Dolphin (Jean Negulesco, 1957)
Apr
14
National Dolphin Day
Phaedra (Sophia Loren) posing victoriously on the bow of a sailboat, with the statue, still in its ropes after hoisting it off the ocean floor, behind her. DP: Milton R. Krasner.
Shot on location in Greece, sponge diver Phaedra (Sophia Loren) makes a splash when she finds an ancient statue of a boy on a dolphin, rumoured to bring good luck to her town. Her attempts to sell it to the highest bidder makes not only the bronze but also her the object of desire of an honest archaeologist and an unscrupulous antiques dealer playboy.
“Our paths have crossed and re-crossed: in Dresden, Rotterdam, Florence – wherever the Nazis looted. Raphaels, Rembrandts, even down to a dreary little china pot, which belonged to Madame Pompadour… there was always Captain Jim Calder of the U.S. Army, restoring priceless objects to their rightful owners – a typical middle-class gesture.”
– Victor Parmalee
Boy on a dolphin is not only the title of this movie but also possibly a reference to #Arion, son of the inhabitants of Lesbos (would that make this movie a bit too wild for 1957?), or #Taras, son of Poseidon and Satyrion. According to Greek legend, both mythological characters were saved by #dolphins.
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The Kirlian Witness (Jonathan Sarno, 1978)
Apr
13
International Plant Appreciation Day
Rilla (Nancy Snyder) in a neglected room, the floor's littered with empty food packaging. On a small table in front of her, a ficus hooked up to a polygraph. DP: João Fernandes.
Kirlian photography claims that plants can communicate telepathically. Rilla (Nancy Snyder) delves deep into the science so to interrogate the only witness to her plant-loving sister Laurie's murder, a ficus.
Not to be confused with the inferior alternative cut The Plants are Watching.
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Mighty Joe Young (Ernest B. Schoedsack, 1949)
Apr
12
National Only Child Day
Jill playing the grand piano in a ballgown while suspended high up in the air by Joe. DP: J. Roy Hunt.
Young Jill – played by the tragically doomed Lora Lee Michel – grows up on a ranch in an undisclosed African country (aka “Africa”) with her father. One day, two porters pass her house carrying an orphaned baby #gorilla. Smitten, she wants and gets the ape, names it Joe, and raises it until the simian reaches exceptional size. That's when a couple of showman collecting exotic menagerie for a Hollywood nightclub come across the odd couple. After long consideration and desperate for money, Jill decides to take Joe to the States where the two become an overnight cabaret sensation. But like Kong before him, Joe is not made for the concrete jungle.
“Am I dreamin', or did I just see a gorilla? And a beautiful dame!”
– Max O'Hara
One decade and a Hays Code later, the people who brought the world King Kong (1933) present Mighty Joe Young: more drama, more spectacle, and superior special effects by Marcel Delgado, Ray #Harryhausen and Willis O'Brien et al. A box-office dud ánd Academy Award for Special Effects winner, Mighty Joe Young is now recognised as an #animation classic. In particular the nightclub scenes (keep your eyes peeled for Phil “The Swedish Angel” Olafsson!) are a wonderful display of the magic of #StopMotion.
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Harvey (Henry Koster, 1950)
Apr
9
freebie: Easter Sunday
James Stewart is Elwood P. Dowd. An ordinary man with an extraordinary claim: his best friend is an invisible, six feet three and a half inches-tall #pooka – a mythological Celtic, shapeshifting creature – who in Mr Dowd's case resembles a rabbit called Harvey. Elwood's sister and niece, who also occasionally see the furry goblin, have their relative send to a sanatorium where the doctors and us viewers learn more about this curious case.
“Harvey and I sit in the bars… have a drink or two… play the juke box. And soon the faces of all the other people they turn toward mine and they smile. And they're saying, 'We don't know your name, mister, but you're a very nice fella'.”
– Elwood P. Dowd
Harvey, based on Mary Chase's #PulitzerPrizePlay with the same name, is guaranteed to bring a smile on your face, this humbug's scout's honour! Have a nice #Easter, CineMastodons!
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Mickey One (Arthur Penn, 1965)
Apr
8
Step Into The Spotlight Day
Mickey (Warren Beatty) bent over, holding a microphone with a bright spotlight aimed at him. DP: Ghislain Cloquet.
“I'm the king of the silent pictures. I'm hiding out till talkies blow over.”
– Mickey One
Having said that, there are several great small surreal moments that are carried by uncredited character actors alone. And then there's a sole spotlight, stealing it all away.