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craigcalman
Reviews
Tales of the Unexpected: My Lady Love, My Dove (1980)
Elaine!
To enjoy Elaine Stritch chewing up the furniture AND the staircase is what makes this episode special for me. And I discovered talents I was unaware of before, including Shane Rinner and Douglas Lambert. And of course Lisa Eichhorn, who has such a special quality.
Life's A Bitch (2019)
Promising Teaser
The teaser for this new sitcom is a hoot -- the show has a very "Curb Your Enthusiasm" vibe to it -- in fact, I half expect the next door neighbors to be the Larry Davids. Imagine the chaos! "Life's A B...." is totally professional, starring two very accomplished actors, and promises to be very entertaining. I am looking forward to its evolution.
Down Memory Lane (1949)
Origins of "Down Memory Lane" based on primary research
"Down Memory Lane" was actually aired on television in 1949 with the assistance of Hal Roach who was one of the first motion picture producers in Hollywood to convert to television production. During my research for my book "100 Years of Brodies With Hal Roach" (BearManor Media, 2014) I discovered a letter dated December 1, 1948 wherein Roach wrote to his New York City rep Grace Rosenfield "Mack Sennett has a fifteen minute comedy with Donald Novis singing a very beautiful song. The negative is in good shape and he has an old print. Would you please check around and see what can be done about selling this picture to television...I would like to assist him as personal favor to him."
Peroxide Passion (2001)
William Preston is in the cast
You Tube has a clip of this film with a featured part for the late great William Preston who played Oldy Olsen of The Conan O'Brien Show and appeared in numerous films including "Malatesta's Carnival Of Blood" 1973), "Lady In a Corner" (where he played a millionaire, unusual in that he usually played homeless bums) "The Fisher King" (1991) "Waterworld" (1995) "The Crucible" (1996) and "Illuminata" (1998). He should be added in the cast list. It may be his last credit, as he passed away in 1998 and this film was released in 2001. Bill did not begin acting until the age of 50 and gained his greatest fame in the last years of his life. He was a poet and a well spoken man, not exactly the eccentric oddball he usually played.
The Honeymoon Machine (1961)
Unexpected hilarity
I turned this on in the middle or perhaps toward the end of the movie, not knowing what I was watching. I was immediately struck by Jack Weston's hilarious performance. He is priceless as a staunch obey-the-orders Naval grunt sent out on a mission that turns into a stunt worthy of Harold Lloyd. I really think he deserved an Academy Award just for the way he poured and downed glasses of bourbon, let alone his arabesque on the hotel lech -- I mean ledge (that's an inside joke -- watch the movie). Dean Jagger is admirable as always and the role of Admiral suits him to a T, er, an A; Steve McQueen is cool as the wisest smart Aleck in movie history; there's near-sighted Paula Prentiss and Jim Hutton along for the laughs. The scintillating dialog, tinged with Cold War obsessions, the breakneck pace reminiscent of Preston Sturges at his maddest -- gee, I wonder if the WHOLE movie is this good or I just lucked out and caught it at its best! But from the moment Weston attempts to search McQueen's hotel suite to the wacky end, it's a hoot.
This film works -- at least this vastly entertaining segment -- for me. And I'm a tough customer to please. Based on a play by Lorenz Semple, Jr. and he's no slouch!