A Wonderful Pair

Gene: ohhhh 'Shortcut Suzy.'
Rita: ohhhh 'Hard Way Maguire'...
......We're a fine pair.
Gene: A wonderful pair.
Rita: Aren't we, though?

Cover Girl (1944), Rita Hayworth, Gene Kelly

Monologue - Femme Fatale.

Jose here with the Monday Monologue.

The Limits of Control might not be Jim Jarmusch's best film (in fact it was panned by most critics) but there are hints of the auteur's brilliance throughout that overcome the otherwise nonsensical, pretentious existentialism. One of these scenes involves Tilda Swinton (no surprise huh?). She's one of the characters the hitman (played by Isaach de Bankolé) must meet for information.

Swinton enters the scene in a conspicuous outfit made out of a trench coat, a hat and dark glasses. She looks around everywhere before she sits with the hitman. She seems to read through him and makes up in her mind as to what kind of man he is. "Are you interested in films by any chance?" she asks.

She doesn't wait for an answer before she continues

I like really old films. You can really see what the world looked like; thirty, fifty, a hundred years ago. You know the clothes, the telephones, the trains, the way people smoke cigarettes, the little details of life.

Jarmusch fills his movie with cinematic references of every kind and uses Swinton as a conductor who spoils the films he got inspiration from to make this one. She continues and in less than a minute manages to make to references to both Tarkovsky and Marilyn Monroe

The best films are like dreams you're never sure you've really had. I have this image in my head of a room full of sand and a bird flies towards me and dips its wing into the sand. And I honestly have no idea whether this image came from a dream or a film.

Sometimes I like it in films when people just sit there, not saying anything. Diamonds are a girl's best friend...

Then, in a compelling self conscious move she details her own creation

Have you seen The Lady From Shanghai? Orson Welles.
That one makes no sense. Rita Hayworth is a blond, I think it's the only film she was ever blond in. It's like a game: deception, glamor, a shootout with shattered mirrors.

She dies in the end.

It's obvious that Tilda's character more than the others is extracted out of pulpy, smokey film noir. When she tells of her fascination with Hayworth, she's describing herself. From the fact that Jarmusch gave Tilda a very blond wig, to her mysterious attitude, she's the lovechild of Raymond Chandler and David Lynch.

After this random monologue she leaves the table and we don't see her again until this...

The hitman walks down a street and notices a movie poster with a character that looks just like Swinton's. The title of the film being advertised is Un Lugar Solitario which translated into English almost reads In a Lonely Place. The hitman notices something is going on just feet away from there. This very woman is being abducted by a group of men who throw her into a car.

Then and there it becomes clear to him that she was never real, she came from that world of intrigue and dreams in the black and white that she loved so much. Even if we too know this, we still can't help but wish the whole movie had been about her.
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MM@M: "9 out of 10 Hollywood stars depend on LUX"

Mad Men at the Movies. In this series we've been covering movie references made on the 1960s show. Even if you don't watch, you're here because you love talking 'bout the movies. Previously we covered a telling Gidget reference, a throwaway Wizard of Oz bit and the scandal of Lady Chatterley's Lover. Episode 4 mentions an ad campaign that featured Hollywood's A-List actresses.

1.4 "New Amsterdam"
Young account executive Pete Campbell is at dinner with the rich in-laws. The father in-law has some unsolicited advice.

Tom: You've got to get that LUX soap campaign over to Sterling Cooper. Janet Leigh, Natalie Wood -- now, there's a day at the office. I'm telling you, you boys have got it made: Martini lunches, gorgeous women parading through. In my next life I'm coming back as an ad man.

Pete Campbell: Well, there's slightly more to it than that.
Tom: Yeah? Well, I'd keep that to yourself.

When Tom says "Natalie Wood" he gestures briefly toward his wife rather than the son-in-law he's speaking to. Is the Mrs. a fan? It wouldn't be surprising.

Natalie Wood for LUX soap --->

Wood's fame was not yet at its peak in 1960 (West Side Story, Splendor in the Grass and Gypsy coming right up) but she'd been quite famous since the mid 40s. She belonged to that rare breed of actor, the child star who becomes an even bigger teen idol and then a full on A List movie queen. As the book Pictures at a Revolution reminds us, Natalie held an odd cultural position in the 60s. Though Natalie was younger then many of the members of what came to be known as 'New Hollywood'

"she was Old Hollywood to the core... even if the term New Hollywood had been in use, Wood certainly would have considered herself no part of it.

It figures that she held great cross generational appeal.

But back to LUX soap for a minute. Their ad campaign was an enduring familiar one. It had featured legendary Hollywood beauties for decades with slogans like "To him, you're just as lovely as a movie star" and "9 out of 10 Hollywood stars depend on LUX"

Here's a few actressy LUX ads for fun.


An Olivia deHavilland ad from 1941, a German version starring Marlene Dietrich and Claudette Colbert's from 1935.


Rita Hayworth's from 1957. These ads were generally doubling as sneaky movie advertisements... this one for Pal Joey) and Debbie Reynolds' from 1956.

Other references in this episode
Television: a black and white western series... but which one? | Celebrities: Bob Newhart and Lenny Bruce | Books: Psalms and Nursery Rhymes From France | Theater: Bye Bye Birdie
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Underrating Rita.

Hello, Jose from "Movies Kick Ass" here with something that's been bugging me since I watched "Separate Tables" last week. The film features an altogether impressive cast with the likes of David Niven, Deborah Kerr, Gladys Cooper, Burt Lancaster and Wendy Hiller among others. But the one who made the greatest impression on me was the incredible Rita Hayworth. She plays Ann Shankland, an American social climber/seductress who comes to the hotel where the film takes place, looking for her ex-husband John (Lancaster).

In a few scenes, most of which feature long silences, Hayworth creates a character with a fascinating backstory. One that's more interesting because it's only suggested (her backstory might vary from viewer to viewer). Most of the time Hayworth slips quietly in the back, partly because her character's "questionable morals" force her to and partly because she's overshadowed by bigger "actors" who shout, acquire funny accents and succumb to deglam (Kerr particularly who is in full "Ugly Betty" mode).

I was not surprised to discover that out of the three performers that got nominated for Oscars for this movie (Kerr and eventual winners Niven and Hiller) Hayworth was nowhere to be found, what did upset me was realizing that in her entire career Hayworth didn't receive a single nomination! Yes, not for "The Lady from Shanghai", neither for "Blood and Sand" and most shockingly not for "Gilda" where she creates one of the most iconic performances in film history (and performs in what I think is the sexiest scene of all time).

After wondering what prevented her from being recognized for her acting, the most obvious conclusion was that she was ignored because her acting never required her to stop being beautiful. Several other actresses have endured that same "curse" (Marilyn Monroe comes instantly to mind) where their beauty overshadows (or overlights?) their talent and they are forced to submit themselves to Academy regulations of what acting should be about.
Some succumb (Grace Kelly and almost everyone who's won Best Actress this decade are obvious examples) but people like Hayworth only continued to grow more beautiful, and better, with every single performance.

This weird AMPAS standard is best summarized in a line from "Separate Tables" where John tells Ann "The very sight of you is perhaps the one thing about you I don't hate." If only the same were true for their appraisal of talent.

TONY Award Nominations / Movie Connections

The Tony Award Nominations are upon us. As is my inconsistent tradition, I thought I'd share a little bit about a movies you can rent or think about to create an unfulfilling celluloid guilty-by-association approximation of the Broadway experience of the 2008/2009 season before the TONYs roll around on June 7th. Not everyone gets to New York to see the shows. And even if you live here, like me, you don't get to them in your financially challenged years. Tony Winners Cynthia Nixon (who seems to be everywhere lately, right?) and In the Height's man Lin-Manuel Miranda are announcing them live any minute now.

If you want a reminder of what's eligible which you can use to see who got snubbed check out this eligibility chart.

P L A Y R E V I V A L
Joe Turner's Come and Gone
This is the 2nd in August Wilson's famous 10 play decade by decade cycle of the African-American experience. The themes are identity and migration. There is sadly no great movie epic about The Great Migration (That's a missed opportunity A list writer/directors. Get on it!). The original production starred Delroy Lindo and Angela Bassett so you can rent one movie from each. Only one (!?!) of Wilson's plays has been filmed: The Piano Lesson with Charles S Dutton and Alfre Woodard in the lead roles.

Mary Stuart
Imagine a whole movie about Samantha Morton's doomed Mary Stuart instead of Cate Blanchett's cousin-killing Elizabeth in The Golden Age. Although maybe you wouldn't like to think about the Golden Age right now or ever again. My apologies!

A sampling of actresses who've played Mary: Helen Hayes, Vanessa Redgrave, Samantha Morton and Janet McTeer. Scarlett Johansson was set to play her in an upcoming film but that seems to be off her schedule now.

Better yet, rent Vanessa Redgrave's Oscar nominated turn as Mary, Queen of Scots (1971) with Glenda Jackson as her rival. Oscar nominee Janet McTeer (Tumbleweeds) is Mary of Scots in the Broadway revival. Further reading about Bess & Mary

The Norman Conquests
This comedic trilogy by Alan Ayckbourn was filmed in the 70s for television but it's not on DVD.

Waiting for Godot
This Beckett classic has been staged countless times and filmed a few times for television. It's so theatrical and abstract by nature (two men wait in vain on an empty country road. The end!) that it doesn't really invite the screen treatment. The current revival stars Nathan Lane and Bill Irwin. When I interviewed Bill Irwin (who shoulda been Oscar nominated for Rachel Getting Married) last year we talked about this a bit. I figured he could handle Nathan Lane what with all that sparring with Kathleen Turner already under his belt. I heartily recommend renting Beckett on Film in which interesting directors interpret Beckett's work. At the very least you'll get to see Julianne Moore doing Beckett's insanely great monologue piece Not I (see previous post)

M U S I C A L R E V I V A L
Guys and Dolls
The 1955 movie version starring Marlon Brando and Jean Simmons isn't really definitive since it's not particularly well loved and there are some singing issues. The current revival stars familiar actors from TV mostly (Oliver Platt, Lauren Graham and Craig Bierko). When they revived this musical comedy in London 4 years ago the Brits got two actors who fill me with glee: Ewan MacGregor and Jane Krakowski. No fair!

Hair
I LOVED this production (see previous post) but if you can't get to NYC to see it, you can always watch the 1979 Milos Forman film version.

Pal Joey
This got the film treatment back in 1957 with Frank Sinatra as star, so you'll want to rent that. Here's two videos to give you a slice of musical heaven this fine Tuesday morning...



Rita Hayworth and Kim Novak. That combo is almost too beautiful to look at. Double mmmmm. Stockard Channing and 80s teen star turned ubiquitous Broadway player Martha Plimpton are the "mice" on Broadway.

West Side Story
I really want to see this rare revival of my favorite musical of all time. But I could always watch the movie a gazillionth time.

B E S T P L A Y
Dividing the Estate
This isn't a new play but this family drama from Horton Foote is having its first Broadway run, therefore eligible for "best play". Foote died just two months ago but in his long career he wrote many plays and screenplays, too (including that film adaptation of To Kill a Mockingbird which marked his first Oscar win). His most successful play-to-screen transfers happened in the 80s with the Oscar winners Tender Mercies and The Trip to Bountiful.



God of Carnage
A friend of mine has already seen this one three times. The play is about two sets of parents who meet to discuss an altercation between their childen. The civilized meeting goes haywire and everyone behaves very badly. The couples are film and tv regulars Hope Davis and Jeff Daniels and awards magnets James Gandolfini and Marcia Gay Harden (yay! my love grows)

reasons to be pretty
This is the latest provocation from Neil Labute also from my alma mater BYU in which a boyfriend's offhanded comment about his girlfriend's beauty-deficiency gets back to her sparking much trouble in their social circle. Thematically this is supposed to close an unofficial trilogy which started with The Shape of Things (which was made into a film with its original cast intact: Rachel Weisz, Paul Rudd, Gretchen Mol and Fred Weller) and continued in Fat Pig. LaBute's film career started strong with the vicious In the Company of Men which introduced movie audiences to Aaron Eckhart (another BYU alum) but lately he's been sliding: Lakeview Terrace and Wicker Man? Really... that's what you got?

33 Variations
This is the play that brought Jane Fonda back to Broadway. It's a story of a mother and daughter relationship and also a story about a composer: it spans 200 years from contemporary New York to 19th century Austria... plays aren't as literal as movies, you know.

Fonda is a nominee for Best Actress. Why can't somebody give her another shot at a third Oscar? Streep shouldn't be the only one giving Katharine Hepburn a run for her 4 Oscar record.

<--- Here's a photo from Jane Fonda's blog of 92 year-old Oscar winning supporting actress superstar CELESTE HOLM (!) visiting her backstage. This photo makes me so happy.

B E S T M U S I C A L
Billy Elliott
You've already seen the movie but why not watch it again. I'm still confused about how it makes a stage musical. If everyone is singing and dancing what makes little Billy so special. He's no longer out of place which was sort of the whole emotional point. That said, reviews are strong so maybe they worked magic.

Oh and yes, this will easily be the Slumdog of TONY night. It's up for 15 prizes including a special 3-way nomination for Best Actor

Film to Stage: It takes three boys to fill Jamie Bell's talented shoes

Next to Normal
A family in crisis (the mother is bipolar)... sings. More than 30 original songs. Alice Ripley (Side Show) headlines.

Rock of Ages
This is a head banging musical comedy (lots of famous songs from 80s radio) which unfortunately continues the trend of putting American Idol stars in Broadway roles -- this time it's Constantine Maroulis. Since this is a send up I guess maybe This is Spinal Tap! could be a vaguely connected movie rental choice. Or, go see Anvil! The Story of Anvil in theaters. It's a goodie even if its comedy is less intentional.

Shrek the Musical
I am in the tiny .001 percentile of the population that finds the whole Shrek phenomenon completely overrated and disheartening. I still think it's embarrassing that the movie beat Monsters, Inc to the Oscar . This musical doesn't have a prayer of accomplishing a similar feat, thank goodness. Small comfort because I am tremendously annoyed that my beloved Sutton Foster keeps wasting her bankability and starpower playing roles in mammoth productions that don't need a star of her calibre to sell tickets and for which no one will remember her. If your name alone can generate press and sell tickets why not harness your power for good and support new composers and smaller shows?

Here she is yukking it up at Joe's Pub last year and on Rosie O'Donnell in 2002 when her star first exploded in Thoroughly Modern Millie


(sigh) I love her so. It's so weird to me that she's never made a movie though she has finally done a bit of TV (Flight of the Conchords)

That's it! Whew. I'll talk about the actors and actresses soon (in brief) Have you seen any of these productions? If not, what's the last Broadway or touring show you saw?

Put the Blame on Mame