I first saw The Birds in the 90s when I was in middle school. It was supposedly “very scary” but I didn’t find it scary in the slightest. In fact, back then and even now, I find parts of it very funny. Because of Hitchcock’s known fondness for macabre humor, it’s hard to know whether Hitchcock purposely intended for these scenes to be funny. There are also parts of this film that I find very bewildering. I also love the birds in The Birds and think that they are 100% the heroes of the film.
The peach-faced lovebirds are adorable and need their picture in this article.
The Birds, based on Daphne du Maurier’s 1952 short story of the same name, starts with socialite and known party girl, Melanie Daniels (Tippi Hedren) in a San Francisco pet shop. She seems to just be browsing. The shop proprietor, Miss Inch from The Parent Trap, steps away for a second. While she’s out of earshot, lawyer Mitch Brenner (Rod Taylor) enters the shop looking for a pair of lovebirds for his sister Cathy’s (Veronica Cartwright) birthday. Mitch recognizes Melanie as the party girl whose picture he saw in the newspaper. It seems she had been arrested for pulling a practical joke and due to her notoriety as a raucous socialite, she made the local newspaper. Knowing that she doesn’t work at the pet shop, Mitch pretends to mistake her as an employee and asks her technical questions about birds. She tries to pretend that she knows about birds, but fails. Mitch tells her that he knows about her and leaves. Resenting that Mitch made her out to be a fool, Melanie purchases the lovebirds and decides to deliver them to Mitch herself.
Mitch and his mother (or lover?) Lydia
Melanie ends up following Mitch to his weekend home in Bodega Bay, about an hour outside of San Francisco. When she arrives in town, she asks around town for the location of Mitch’s home as well as the name of his sister. She’s directed to the home of the local school teacher, Annie Hayworth (Suzanne Pleshette) who is Cathy’s teacher. In addition to learning Cathy’s name, she also learns that Annie is Mitch’s ex-girlfriend who broke up with Mitch over his overbearing mother, Lydia (Jessica Tandy). Melanie also earns an invitation to stay with Annie at her home. As an aside, the whole Mitch/Lydia dynamic is odd. First of all, she seems much too old to be Cathy’s mother. It would be more believable if Cathy were Mitch’s daughter. This change in the storyline wouldn’t affect the plot. But aside from that, there are also scenes between Mitch and Lydia, where they oddly seem like romantic partners versus mother and son. I find some of their scenes strange.
Anyway, Melanie ends up renting a boat and rowing across the bay to Mitch’s farmhouse. She breaks into his home and delivers the lovebirds. She then returns to her boat so she can wait for Mitch to enter the home and find the lovebirds. He does and quickly finds Melanie. When Lydia meets Melanie, she is cold to her, because she resents any woman in her son’s life. She is very much the jealous lover even though she’s Mitch’s mother. Anyway, it is after Melanie’s burglary of Mitch’s home is when the birds start attacking!
The birds assemble on the jungle gym, ready to make their move.
Melanie is hit by a seagull upon returning to shore to return the boat. Mitch sees her and tends to her injury. Later, the children at Cathy’s birthday party are attacked by a flock of birds. Throughout the film, there are random bird attacks, which are unexplained. Never once in Hitchcock’s narrative does he try to offer a rational explanation for the bird attacks. The randomness and severity of the attacks is what lends the horror to The Birds. Hitchcock also opted to not use any sort of soundtrack or score, instead choosing to only utilize the sound of the birds to punctuate the action in the film. There are also large chunks of the film where there is no sound at all, except the diegetic and ambient sounds present within the film.
The birds finally do what the audience wanted to do–put an end to that god awful song.
The absolute best example of Hitchcock’s use of silence and specific diegetic and ambient sounds is in the climactic scene when the birds attack the children at the school. To get this off my chest, I have to say that the song that the kids sing is so annoying and so awful, that I don’t blame the birds for attacking. The birds were doing the audience a favor. That song is irritating. I applaud the birds for putting an end to it. This is why they are the heroes of the film. Hitchcock also uses silence and diegetic sound very effectively at the film’s end, when the Brenner family walks an injured Melanie out of the house into the car, while the birds sit perched in silence. It’s very eerie and uncomfortable.
The hysterical mother in the diner.
Earlier in this article, I mentioned there are scenes that I find funny. Some scenes I think are intentionally funny, like the lovebirds leaning into every curve while Melanie is driving. One scene that I doubt is supposed to be funny but is funny is the scene when Mitch and Melanie are trying to find Cathy after the bird attack at the school. They go to Annie’s home and find Annie dead on the stairs, victim of the bird attack. Then, Melanie asks “Where’s Cathy?” Suddenly, Cathy pulls open the curtains and is sobbing in the window. For whatever reason, Cathy’s hysterical crying combined with the dramatic curtain pull makes me laugh. I know that’s probably terrible. Unfortunately, I cannot find a photo of Cathy in the window to support my statement. The other part that makes me laugh is the distressed mother in the diner. I also love that the other diners, like the bird lady, casually discuss the murderous birds. The distressed mother’s children are unaffected by the talk, but the mother is determined that her children are scared to death. I choose to believe that this mother deserves the stress as payback for wrecking Henry Fonda and Vera Miles’ lives with her false accusations in The Wrong Man.
Melanie in the phone booth
One of the highlights of The Birds is the big explosion at the gas station. The birds attack a gas station attendant and he and the other employees run inside. Because of the attack, the gas attendant drops the gas hose on the ground, leaving a trail of gasoline. The birds start to attack and Melanie takes refuge in a phone booth. The scene of Melanie in the phone booth with birds hitting the glass walls is one of the famous scenes in the film. This scene concludes in spectacular fashion with a customer lighting a cigar at the gas station, igniting the massive trail of gasoline. A huge explosion levels the gas station. Melanie returns to the diner. Then, the distressed mother launches into her diatribe, accusing Melanie of bringing about the bird attacks and being evil.
MOTHER: Why are they doing this? Why are they doing this? They said when you got here, the whole thing started. Who are you? What are you? Where did you come from? I think you’re the cause of all of this. I think you’re evil. EVIL!
Doreen Lang as “Hysterical Mother in the Diner” in The Birds (1963)
I love that The Birds does not have a resolution. As far as we know, the birds are still out there, running Bodega Bay.
I hate pickles. I find them disgusting and hate when the complimentary pickle spear finds its way onto my plate at restaurants. I don’t like the pickle water bleeding onto the neighboring food and making it also taste like pickles. I can tolerate pickles chopped up in things, like tuna salad, but only if the amount of the other ingredients outweighs the amount of pickle.
My hatred of pickles makes “The Pickle Story” episode of The Andy Griffith Show especially funny. This episode originally aired on December 18, 1961 and the plot is simply that Aunt Bee’s (Francis Bavier) homemade pickles are disgusting. At the beginning of the episode, Aunt Bee is visited by her friend, Clara Johnson (Hope Summers), Mayberry’s reigning pickle champion at the county fair for the last eleven years in a row. She hopes that this year’s batch will win her twelfth blue ribbon. This scene also introduces the episode’s cliffhanger: Clara announces that this year she’s increased the amount of allspice in her pickle recipe. Will this lavish use of allspice put Clara’s blue ribbon in jeopardy?
“I simply went wild with allspice!” -Clara
Well if it does, Bee won’t be the one ending the streak. After offering Clara a pickle, Bee looks at her with a look of hope and optimism–maybe this will finally be the batch that will usurp champion Clara’s domination of the pickle competition at the county fair. Clara takes a bite of the pickle and winces. The funniest part of this episode is the music that plays every time someone tastes Bee’s pickles. Clara tries to use the compliment sandwich technique of offering critical feedback. She tells Bee that while her pickles are very pleasant and nice and she wouldn’t change a thing, she recommends that Bee use younger cucumbers so her pickles wouldn’t be so soft. Clara also suggests that Bee tone down her brine as it’s heavy and steep an extra sprig or two of parsley in vinegar prior to adding it to her brine. She also suggests that Bee drain her pickles more, use fresher spices and boiling her vinegar longer. But other than that, Bee’s pickles are nice, Clara says.
“I don’t know how I can face the future knowing there’s eight quarts of those pickles in it.” -Barney
Clara’s thinly disguised distaste of her pickles is lost on Bee as she eagerly heads down to the Sheriff’s office to bring lunch to Andy (Andy Griffith) and Barney (Don Knotts). At first the men are excited to see Bee but their enthusiasm quickly fades when they realize that she’s brought a jar of her awful “kerosene cucumbers.” Andy and Barney know what fate awaits them and they try to act excited, but are horribly failing. Bee is completely oblivious. Barney tries to feign being full, but Bee won’t hear of it. Andy and Barney are forced to placate Bee and eat her pickles and the hilarious music plays. She then tells them that she made eight quarts. Eight quarts of these godawful pickles.
Andy’s face is how everyone’s face looks after eating Bee’s pickles.
This starts a scheme where Andy and Barney try to get rid of Bee’s pickles and replace them with store-bought pickles which are far superior. There’s a funny scene where Andy tries to shoo a fly off the pickle and Barney discovers that it died! Bee’s pickle brine was so bad a fly died. That evening, Barney comes over to Andy’s house while Bee is over at Clara’s house to take all the jars of pickles. Bee unexpectedly enters through the kitchen door, just as Barney is trying to leave. She spots Barney’s suitcase and asks if he’s going on a trip. Barney, the smooth operator that he is, explains that yes, he is going on a trip and he came over to borrow Andy’s suitcase, because “[his] is at the cleaners.” Despite Bee accepting the story and wishing him a good trip, Barney keeps awkwardly blathering while Andy is dying on the inside.
The pattern on Bee’s dress hilariously matches the wallpaper.
Barney finally leaves and we see a montage of scenes of him stopping motorists and handing them a jar of pickles saying that their exemplary driving made them the winner of Mayberry’s Safe Driving Award. A poor driver from Portland, OR (where I live, more or less) is handed a jar of Bee’s horrible, mushy, briny pickles. I appreciate that “Oregon” was pronounced correctly in the episode and not as “Or-eh-gone.” Anyway, Andy makes the switch and he, Barney and Opie all gladly eat Bee’s pickles. One evening at dinner, while eating a pickle, Bee expresses happiness over how good “her” pickles are and announces she’s going to enter them in the county fair. As an aside, in the dinner scene, the pattern on Bee’s dress perfectly matches the pattern of the wallpaper behind her and I always find it funny. Anyway, Andy is horrified that Bee is planning to enter something that she didn’t make.
Barney during happier times eating Bee’s pickles as she gleefully looks on.
Barney doesn’t see what the big deal is, but Andy explains that he cannot in good conscience allow Bee to unknowingly enter pickles she didn’t make. It is decided that Bee must make more pickles. Barney is horrified at the thought of purposely forcing Bee to make more pickles, but he ultimately relents. This sets up a hilarious scene of Andy, Barney and Opie eating jar after jar of pickles, so that 1) there aren’t any pickles left to enter in the contest; and 2) So that Bee sees them enjoying “her” pickles and wants to make more. Andy, Barney and Opie all have their own theme music that slows down as they eat more and more pickles. Andy’s music is more or less a modified version of the show’s theme song, Opie’s is more childlike, and Barney’s is in the middle. By the last jar of pickles, each character looks like they’re going to be sick and the music has slowed down to a labored dirge.
Despite having watched the boys eat all her pickles, Aunt Bee is horrified to see that all her pickles are gone. She quickly makes more and soon it’s time for the fair! The judging scene is funny. The judges get to Bee’s jar, pull a pickle out, sniff it, apprehensively taste it and concur that it must have been made from kerosene. In the end, Clara’s gamble with her wild use of allspice pays off and she earns her twelfth blue ribbon. Bee also announces that because everyone loved her pickles so much, she made a double batch! 16 quarts of pickles. Andy then resigns himself to a lifetime of eating terrible pickles. “Learn to love them,” he says, stoically.
“Don’t tell me Aunt Bee’s making marmalade now!”
In the hysterical tag scene, Andy is eating breakfast and spreads some marmalade on his toast. Barney comes in and asks if he’s painting. Andy says no and concludes that it’s Opie’s glue. Barney disagrees and says that it smells like ammonia. He then sits down to some breakfast and smears some of the marmalade on toast. Barney is about to take a bite and is almost overcome by the fumes. Andy opens the container of jam on the table and realizes that it is the source of the smell. They open the cupboard and are horrified to see a dozen jars of Aunt Bee’s latest concoction.
This episode is absolutely hysterical. From the music that plays each time someone eats one of Bee’s awful pickles, to almost all of Barney’s dialogue. Clara’s constant boasting of using allspice is hilarious. It’s as if she discovered some secret ingredient that’s elevated her recipes and she can’t help but brag about it. Poor Andy is caught in the middle between not wanting to hurt Bee’s feelings but also not wanting to eat anymore of her disgusting pickles. Barney just hates Bee’s pickles and doesn’t want to eat them. He doesn’t care. Opie doesn’t have a big role in this episode, but he is memorably stuck eating jar after jar of pickles. Bee is absolutely oblivious (or in denial) throughout the entire episode, as anyone with eyes could see that people don’t enjoy eating her pickles.
As a native Oregonian, I still think about that poor soul from Oregon who was unwittingly gifted a jar of Bee’s kerosene cucumbers.
When I saw this event announced, it took me a bit to decide who I wanted to marathon for this event. The no more than three films viewed requirement also caused further deliberation. No binging a favorite, I needed to pick a rarely viewed star whom I wanted to watch. As I thought more and more about some of my favorite performers, I thought about Paulette Goddard. I’d only seen her in three films: Modern Times (1936), The Women (1939), and Hold Back the Dawn (1941). I loved her in each film. Goddard’s films, with the exception of the ones I’d previously watched, rarely air on TCM. I believe this is most likely due to Goddard being under contract to David O. Selznick and later Paramount. Both of these studios’ output is outside of the Warner Brothers film library to which TCM has access. The film library is made up of the output of Warner Brothers, RKO, and pre-1985 MGM films. As a result, stars under contract with the aforementioned studios are more likely to have a stronger presence on TCM.
Bob Hope & Paulette Goddard
But I digress. I selected Paulette Goddard, as I had handful of her films available in my home library and had a couple of her films recorded. As I reviewed my choices for this marathon, I realized that 3/5 Goddard films also featured Bob Hope. Hope was another Paramount contract player with a long film career. As I thought about which of his films I’d watched, I realized that I’d only seen a couple of his films as well. I decided to add Hope to my entry for this blogathon event.
Paulette Goddard
Dramatic School (1938)
This film is reminiscent of Stage Door (1937) and Finishing School (1934). All three films are about a group of women either living or working together–all involved in the same pursuit, whether it’s living at the Footlights Club boarding house for aspiring actresses (Stage Door), attending the same finishing school (Finishing School) and in the case of Dramatic School, it’s a group of women attending the same, you guessed it, dramatic school. The humor and drama from the film comes from the women’s interactions with one another and their various rivalries when it comes to men and desired acting roles.
Luise Rainer plays the star student, Louise Mauban, who spends her evenings working in a factory to pay for her drama lessons. Due to burning the candle at both ends, Louise is constantly late. To avoid revealing her evening job to her classmates, Louise concocts a lie about spending her evenings being wined and dined by her boyfriend, the Marquis Andre D’Abbencourt. Louise’s classmates begin to suspect that she’s lying, as the stories seem a little too fantastic to be true. Paulette Goddard plays the ringleader, Nana, who comes up with a scheme to reveal Louise’s lie and embarrass her in front of her classmates. It is obvious that Nana and the other girls, one of whom is played by Lana Turner, want to knock Louise down a peg.
Nana’s scheme is to invite Andre and Louise to her birthday party, and bring up one of Louise’s stories in front of Andre. Nana assumes that Andre will inadvertently spill the beans about not dating Louise, which will expose Louise as well as embarrass her. However the plan backfires when Andre is somehow charmed by the stories about him and Louise’s dates, and decides to play along. Then they become a real couple.
Despite being second billed, Paulette really doesn’t have a huge role in the plot. This is more or less Rainer’s film. However, I don’t want to focus on Rainer, because frankly I would have much rather seen more Paulette. Her character is more or less the villain of the film, as she wants nothing more than to humble Louise. I wish her scheme had gone off as she’d planned, it would have made the movie a lot more interesting to watch. Dramatic School was pretty much a dud, but Paulette managed to breathe some life into it every time she was on screen. Her vivacious personality added some nice levity and livened things up, and believe me this film needed all the life it could get.
The Crystal Ball (1943)
This was a blind buy I’d actually purchased from Classic Flix during a previous sale. I’d never heard of this film before, but it sounded fun and I was intrigued by the cast: Goddard, Ray Milland, William Bendix, Cecil Kellaway, Gladys George? I finally watched the film for this blogging event and I’m glad I did. It was a lot of fun.
In this film, Goddard plays Toni Gerard, a young woman who moves to New York from Texas. Homeless and desperate for a job, she reluctantly takes a job as a decoy for a local shooting gallery, run by Pop Tibbets (Kellaway). Having revealed in a conversation with Madame Zenobia (George) that she was a sharpshooter back home, Toni is referred to the shooting gallery for a job. After showing off her shooting skills, Pop hires her. Her job is to pretend to be a random passerby who chooses to try her luck at the shooting gallery. She’ll hit all the targets and attract other customers to try their luck. Then Toni leaves and comes back later when a new batch of potential customers are around.
Madame Zenobia is part of another scam with her colleague, a woman who obtains work as a maid at the homes of wealthy clients. After working for the client for awhile, she determines a piece of jewelry or something else of value that the client loves and would notice if it went missing–or she makes a point of making sure the client knows it’s missing. At the beginning of the film, the maid’s target is wealthy widow Jo Ainsley (Virginia Field). She takes one of Jo’s prized rings and drops it down the drain pipe. She then cries to Jo that her ring is missing and puts on the crocodile tears, feigning distress about her client’s lost property. The maid also cleverly deflects any sort of blame or suspicion. She then convinces Jo to visit a psychic who could tell her the location of her ring. Then of course, before Jo’s visit, the maid has gotten to Madame Zenobia to reveal the location. Jo’s confidence in psychics is affirmed when Madame Zenobia tells her the location and it turns out to be true.
Eventually, Madame Zenobia is injured and Toni has to fill in. She runs both the shooting gallery and psychic scams. Toni also lives at Madame Zenobia’s store. One evening, she spots Jo and her boyfriend, government lawyer Brad Cavanaugh (Milland) entering Madame Zenobia’s store. His chauffer, Biff Carter (Bendix), waits outside. Toni is instantly smitten with Brad and decides to use her new position as the psychic to break up Brad and Jo so she can have him for herself. This scheme is the start of a highly questionable impression that Toni does when she pretends to enter the spirit of Brad’s deceased Native American friend. Toni uses a lot of bad Native American stereotypes and the “injun” slur. This would NEVER go over today. It definitely goes on a bit long too, I think it could have been edited down a smidge.
Regardless, Goddard and Milland have fantastic chemistry–a chemistry that would carry them through four films together. She also has a lot of great comedic moments and gets to wear a few great dresses, including an one shouldered sequin gown that is reminiscent of the one she wears in The Women. Goddard looks absolutely gorgeous in this film and even though the ending kind of doesn’t make sense, we know that she and Milland will end up together.
—
Paulette Goddard & Bob Hope
The Cat & the Canary (1939)
This was a really fun horror-comedy film starring Paulette Goddard and Bob Hope. Goddard and Hope made three films together and I watched all three. ‘Canary’ starts with a familiar horror movie premise: a group of people are invited to come to a large estate. The guests are familiar with the host, but don’t know each other. Typically the guests are either offered an incentive to stay (House on Haunted Hill), or are stuck there due to circumstances (The Old Dark House), or in the case of The Cat and the Canary, the guests are there to witness the reading of the deceased homeowner’s will. In this film, the deceased Cyrus Norman’s will stipulated that the heir to his estate and fortune could not be revealed until 10 years after his death. 10 years is up and that is the start of our film.
Goddard plays Joyce Norman, the only actual direct relative of Cyrus’ and the sole heir. However, he has named a first runner-up heir, should the sole heir not be able to live up to the terms of the will–specifically not to go insane within the first 30 days. It’s a weird clause, but it’s well established that Cyrus was an eccentric individual. The runner-up heir’s name is not revealed, which sets up another typical horror film trope–the guests turning against one another. Bob Hope plays another relative of Cyrus’, Wally Campbell. He however, is not related to Joyce. Other guests include Cyrus’ aunt Susan (Elizabeth “Miss Trumbull” Patterson) and a mousy relative named Cicily. Then there are two men, Fred Blythe and Charles Wilder, who seem to resent not being named heirs.
It can be expected that a bulk of the film will involve the other potential runner-up heirs, save for Wally, trying to torment Joyce and drive her insane. Wally makes it a point to be on Joyce’s side and keep an eye on her and keep her safe from the other guests. When I got through Hope and Goddard’s other two films, I noticed that a common plot line was Hope being in love with Goddard. This film was no exception. Hope and Goddard have a nice rapport and chemistry with one another and I enjoyed their three films immensely.
The Ghost Breakers (1940)
This was Paulette Goddard and Bob Hope’s second film together and ended up being my favorite of the three. In this film, Hope plays Lawrence “Larry” Lawrence Lawrence, a radio broadcaster who uses his show as a platform to expose the crimes of local gangster, Frenchy. Goddard plays Mary Carter, a woman staying at the same Manhattan hotel as Frenchy. During the broadcast, Mary is visited by Cuban solicitor Parada (Paul Lukas), who is delivering the deed to a plantation and mansion in Cuba that she’s inherited. Parada wants to take the property off her hands and buy it, but Mary refuses. Another Cuban, Ramon Mederos (Anthony Quinn), calls Mary and warns her not to sell her property. After the radio broadcast ends, Larry is invited by Frenchy (who heard the program) down to the hotel.
Larry arrives at the hotel with a gun, thinking that Frenchy inevitably will try to kill him. At the same time, Ramon arrives as Parada is leaving. Larry, Frenchy, Ramon and Parada all end up in a shootout with Ramon killed in the fracas. Larry thinks he may have accidentally killed Ramon. He ends up hiding in Mary’s steamer trunk, hoping to escape. The plan goes off and he ends up on an ocean liner to Havana with Mary. On board, Mary and Larry end up meeting Geoff (Richard Carlson), an acquaintance of Mary’s. Eventually, Mary and Larry make it to the property that she inherited.
This film was a lot of fun and I attribute its success to the wonderful rapport between Paulette Goddard and Bob Hope. This was another film where Hope fell in love with Goddard. She has such a delightful presence in her films, as she brings some humor imbued with glamour and charm. Hope pretty much plays the same type of guy in a lot of his movies–the wisecracking everyman, but it works. I loved this film and actually found the ending to be surprising.
Nothing But the Truth (1941)
This film was Paulette Goddard and Bob Hope’s last film together. In this film, Hope plays stockbroker, Steve Bennett, who moves to Miami to take a new position—working for TT Ralston (Edward Arnold). On his first day, TT’s niece, Gwen Saunders (Goddard) shows up, in need of money to cover a $40,000 pledge she’s made to a charity. TT promised Gwen that he’ll cover half of her pledge if she can come up with the other half. It either wasn’t clearly stated, or I missed this minor plot point, but it seems that the charity gave Gwen $10,000 and she promised to increase it to the $40,000. The charity’s manager, Mr. Bishop (Grant Mitchell) appears throughout the film trying to find out the status on his $10,000. Gwen appeals to Steve to invest her $10,000 and double it. The catch? She only has 24 hours to give Mr. Bishop the $40,000 pledge, or return the $10,000 otherwise he’ll have her arrested for embezzlement. It seems like it’d be easier to return the $10,000, but we wouldn’t have a movie if she did.
At the same time, Steve tells TT and his other colleagues that he doesn’t approve of their procedure to push bad stocks onto unsuspecting clients. He insists that they could be just as successful telling the truth versus lying. TT and the other men think Steve is crazy, but make a bet with him that he can’t tell the truth for 24 hours. TT puts up $10,000 and Steve puts up Gwen’s $10,000. With $20,000 on the line, we have the main plot of our film. There’s a very funny scene later in the film when Steve’s honesty is tested when he converses with a “mature” woman who insists she looks 30.
Again in this film, Bob Hope’s character is in love with Paulette’s. They have some very funny scenes together. Hope has some great scenes where due to circumstances, he has to try and sneak around on a yacht wearing a dressing robe, belonging to Linda, an exotic dancer.
Bob Hope
Bob Hope
Road to Singapore (1940)
Surprisingly, I had never seen one of Bob Hope and Bing Crosby’s “Road” movies. I decided to watch their first film together and enjoyed it very much. There was obviously some humor and situations very of their time, but overall it was an enjoyable film. Hope plays Ace Lannigan, the best friend of Crosby’s character, Josh Mallon. At the beginning of the film, the two men work on the same ship. Upon disembarking the ship, Ace and Josh notice the mistreatment their colleagues receive at the hands of their wives. Ace and Josh vow to never get involved with women. That vow lasts all of five minutes when they return to town and meet up with Josh’s father (Charles Coburn) and his apparent fiancée, Gloria (Judith Barrett). Mr. Mallon, a rich shipping magnate, wants his son to settle down, marry the right girl and assume a proper role in the family business.
Not wanting to settle down, Josh and Ace head for Hawaii, then later Singapore. In Singapore, they meet Mima (Dorothy Lamour), a local woman who is involved in an abusive relationship with her boyfriend and dance partner, Caesar (Anthony Quinn). Josh and Ace allow Mima stay with them. This sets off some funny scenes where Mima tries to clean the men’s home and cook them proper meals. She also decorates their shack to make it more homey. At first Ace and Josh resent Mima “feminizing” their space, but it is obvious that they secretly like it–and Mima. Eventually they run out of money and Ace comes up with a scheme selling a cleaning product. He assumes the role of snake oil salesmen when he tries to promote this product to the native population, but the sales pitch does not go well. Eventually, Mr. Mallon and Gloria find their way to Singapore to bring Josh back.
It’s obvious why Bob Hope and Bing Crosby were so successful in their road films. The two men were best friends in real life and their friendship extends on screen as well. Dorothy Lamour also co-starred in the “Road” films and she is a good extension to the team. Her character fits well without her seeming like she’s the third wheel, or just shoehorned in. Hope and Crosby’s characters play to their strengths, with Hope having a lot of comedic parts and Crosby singing. Lamour was a dancer and singer and her strengths are allowed to be showcased as well. I haven’t watched the other “Road” movies yet, but I look forward to seeing the next one.
Boy, Did I Get the Wrong Number! (1966)
This movie is one of Bob Hope’s 1960s sex comedies. I am not sure how he ended up in these types of films, but for whatever reason they work for me. I quite enjoy his 1961 sex comedy, Bachelor in Paradise, co-starring Lana Turner. In ‘Number,’ Hope plays married man, Tom Meade, a California businessman who sinks a fortune into a remote lakeside cabin in Rocky Point, Oregon. He thinks that he’ll easily be able to resell it for a profit, but the cabin turns out to be a money pit. It also turns out that the cabin is too rural and not in a desirable place to live.
At the same time, French actress, Didi (Elke Sommer), is tired of playing a sexpot who is renowned for her sexy bathing scenes in her films. When her director/lover insists that she take yet another sexy bath, Didi protests, gets into her car and drives off. In a plot point that doesn’t really make sense, but we’re going with it, Tom makes a business call and is accidentally connected with Didi. She explains that she’s holed up in a nearby hotel and is in need of food and water. Tom tries to covertly sneak out of the house to deliver food and water to Didi’s hotel, but his housekeeper, Lily (Phyllis Diller), catches on and soon she’s involved in the scheme as well.
Seeing his opportunity to profit off this situation, Tom offers Didi the use of his Oregon cabin. Knowing that there’s an intense manhunt for her, Tom thinks that by allowing Didi to stay at his home, he can market it as the cabin in which she hid out. Didi takes Tom up on the offer and relocates to Southern Oregon. As a native Oregonian, when scenes at the the cabin were shown, I could tell from the landscaping that they were not in Oregon. I was right. The “Oregon” scenes were filmed at Lake Arrowhead in California. This film definitely was not the type of film where realism mattered, the extra expense to film on location in Oregon wouldn’t have made a difference.
The main conflict of the film comes when Tom’s wife, Martha (Marjorie Lord) wants to spend a romantic weekend at the cabin. He’s stuck between a rock and a hard place, as he obviously can’t tell Martha the truth. Tom and Lily arrive ahead of Martha and find Didi nearly unconscious from sleeping pills. They manage to move her to a bedroom just in time for Martha’s arrival. This sets off a comedy of errors with Tom needing to move Didi from room to room to keep his secret from Martha. Phyllis Diller has some very funny scenes, including multiple scenes with her driving a motorcycle. I particularly liked the scene when she mowed down all the Boy Scout tents. Hope and Diller had fantastic chemistry. Their chemistry was so good in fact, that it almost makes Martha and Didi secondary characters. As an aside, Marjorie Lord has the absolute worst hairstyle in this film. I know the 60s were about beehives and tall hair, but Lord’s hair is completely absurd. It looks like she placed Agnes Moorehead’s Endora wig on top of a dutch boy haircut.
Take Her, She’s Mine is part two of a trilogy of films that James Stewart made during his “grumpy dad” period. The first film, Mr. Hobbs Takes a Vacation (1963) features Stewart as the titular Mr. Hobbs, a man who takes his wife (Maureen O’Hara), children, their spouses, and their children, all on vacation at the beach. The third film, Dear Brigitte (1965) features Stewart as the father of Billy Mumy, who is in love with French film star Brigitte Bardot. The second film, penned by the husband and wife team, Henry and Phoebe Ephron (parents of Nora), features Stewart as Frank Michelson–father of “a dish” in the form of Sandra Dee.
Sandra Dee as “the dish” aka Mollie in “Take Her, She’s Mine.”
At 21, Dee is all grown up and no longer possesses the gawky frame and innocent wide-eyed face of her most famous role as Frances “Gidget” Lawrence, in 1959’s Gidget. By 1963, Dee had been married to singer Bobby Darin for three years and have given birth to their son Dodd in 1961. Dee plays Mollie, the recent high school graduate, turned college freshman. At the beginning of the film, she horrifies her father by donning a yellow bikini which shows off her curves and attracts the attention of her male classmates. Frank and his wife, Anne (Audrey Meadows), are relieved that their daughter will be attending college in New York and hopefully devoting her attention elsewhere.
Throughout the main Mollie plotline, Frank’s story is interwoven. An overprotective, nervous father, Frank is seen rushing into an emergency school board meeting which has been called to address some recent scandals with which he’s involved. The president of the Pacific Palisades Board of Education, Frank’s reputation and job are on the line. His attempt to rationalize his involvement in these scandals frame the Mollie storyline, which is presented in flashback. The first scandal involves Frank being arrested at a protest at a New York college where Mollie is attending. Like many young adults attending college in the turbulent 1960s, Mollie becomes involved in politics and adopts multiple causes. She also forms a folk act with a friend.
FRANK: How old is the punk?
MOLLIE: He’s not a punk.
FRANK: All right, how old is the non-punk?
James Stewart as “Frank Michelson” and Sandra Dee as “Mollie Michelson.”
In New York, Mollie’s activism and folk performances end up taking priority over her studies. She writes telegram after telegram to her parents informing them of her latest arrest (due to protesting) and lamenting that she’s still a virgin. Frank is concerned about Mollie’s activism leading to legal troubles and ends up traveling to New York to talk to her. There’s a funny scene in the cafe where Mollie sings where he thinks that she’s become a stripper, due to the drunken antics of a group of college boys who keep yelling at her to “take it off.” There’s also an odd performance by Jim Nabors, whose voice is inexplicably dubbed. As someone who has seen a lot of Nabors as Gomer Pyle, his dubbed voice is obvious and off-putting. Look for Bob Denver who also performs at the club. Frank then ends up joining Mollie in a protest and ends up being arrested at a sit-in when he stands up for the kids. Due to failing all her courses, Mollie is kicked out of school.
Audrey Meadows, Sandra Dee, and James Stewart in “Take Her, She’s Mine.”
Back at home, Mollie is seen painting in a bikini outside her home while she partakes in one of her hobbies, painting. Mollie’s style is abstract and doesn’t make much sense to Frank and Anne, but it catches the attention of someone with connections to a prestigious art school in Paris. Paris is where a bulk of the action of the film takes place. While in Paris, Mollie excels at her studies, but also attracts the attention of a young Frenchman, Henri (Philippe Forquet). Mollie and Henri become an item and seem to be a good match. Frank and Anne become concerned when Mollie sends a telegram stating that Henri’s painting of her is going to appear in Life Magazine. When the magazine is published, Frank and Anne are horrified that the painting appears to feature Mollie topless. Frank packs his bags and heads to Paris.
FRANK: Do you know what ‘Life’ means when they say protege?
ANNE: Welll….
FRANK: When they say protege, they’re winking. It’s their way of slipping you the dirt. When they say protege, what they’re really saying…
ANNE: Okay, Okay!
James Stewart as “Frank Michelson” and Audrey Meadows as “Anne Michelson”
There’s another storyline interwoven in the Paris segment with Henri and Mollie trying to get Henri’s parents to accept Mollie, despite her being American and not French. There’s a funny sequence where Henri, Mollie, and Henri’s parents attend a masquerade party aboard a large ship. Henri and Mollie are dressed as Marc Antony and Cleopatra, along with almost every other young couple on board. One would assume that the recent release of Elizabeth Taylor’s Cleopatra epic probably influenced a lot of Halloween costumes that year. Frank gets wind of the party and decides to attend as Daniel Boone.
On board, there’s a funny running gag with Frank’s costume literally falling apart at the seams as he tries to figure out which Cleopatra is Mollie. There’s another joke running throughout the film with various people mistaking Frank for James Stewart. Eventually Frank finds Mollie just as her and Henri’s relationship appears to be ending. Based on his actions throughout the film, one would think that Frank would be overjoyed with his daughter’s relationship ending; but he begins to realize that she and Henri had something special going. It is at this point when he has to decide whether to continue trying to protect Mollie, or finally accept that she’s a grown adult.
The newly constructed LAX airport in 1963.
While this isn’t the greatest film ever made, it is a fun piece of 1960s fluff–the perfect coming of age film to watch on a Saturday or Sunday morning, or a lazy summer afternoon. Sandra Dee’s costumes are adorable and some are quite sexy, especially when Frank imagines her as a can-can dancer in the Moulin Rouge. This film is also fun to see Paris in the 1960s and the newly constructed LAX aiport. Having just traveled through LAX in April, it’s always fun to see somewhere I’ve been in an old movie.
One of Frank’s daydreams about Mollie becoming an apache dancer in Paris.
James Stewart is quite funny as the nervous, overprotective father whose own fuddy duddy-ness and lack of knowledge about the current generation leads him to unwittingly getting involved in all sorts of scandals–including being photographed inside a Parisian brothel with one of the prostitutes on his arm. John “the butterfly collector from ‘Gilligan’s Island’ looking for the Pussycat Swallowtail” McGiver, who was seemingly in every 1960s film and television show ever made, is hilarious as one of the school board members. Sandra Dee, who is unfairly regarded as an eternally virginal goody two shoes (a la “Look at Me, I’m Sandra Dee” in Grease), is excellent in this film. She’s completely believable as a young woman trying to find her way in the world and learn who she is. Her frustration with her father is understandable, as well as her desire to keep him involved. She wants to be allowed to fail, but also wants her father to help her should she need it. Dee’s character runs the gamut in this film from naive, to curious, to angry, to frustrated, to optimistic, to happy, to scared, and to romantic. And let’s face it, she’s a dish too!
In the 2018 documentary, Jane Fonda in Five Acts, Fonda discusses her experience filming the 1968 cult classic, Barbarella. She has gone on record previously, stating that she disliked how Barbarella shamelessly used her body and sexuality to advance her own needs, and also didn’t like how her character or the film itself, completely ignored the social and political realities of the time. In ‘Five Acts,’ Fonda also talks about how at the time, she was 30 years old, bulimic and very insecure about her body. The famous opening scene where Barbarella floats in space and strips off every piece of her space suit, was excruciating for Fonda to film. She said that she drank a bunch of vodka before filming, so that she’d work up enough liquid courage to get completely nude in front of the crew and in front of the camera. Looking back on the sequence and the film fifty years later, in ‘Five Acts,’ Fonda says now that she likes the film and how she looks, saying it is a lot of fun.
The iconic “Barbarella” title sequence featuring Barbarella undressing in zero gravity.
“A lot of fun” is really all one can say about Barbarella. This is not a masterpiece. This is not groundbreaking cinema. But it is a spectacle and it is a blast to watch–especially in a packed house at the Hollywood Theatre in Portland, which is what my husband and I experienced this past January. Seeing Barbarella in the theater was one of the best theater experiences I’ve ever had. This movie is peak camp cinema and the audience was into it. The vibe was awesome. One audience member even cosplayed as Barbarella, despite it being a January evening in Oregon. She must have been freezing; but she looked great, and I appreciated her commitment.
Barbarella is based on Jean-Claude Forest’s 1962 French comic book of the same name. Barbarella originally appeared as a small comic strip in the French periodical, V Magazine. In 1964, these comic strips were published as a standalone comic, which caused a major scandal. Barbarella officially became the first erotic comic book, published exclusively for adults. One of the major social and cultural issues to come out of the 1960s was the sexual revolution. Despite Jane Fonda’s claims that Barbarella did not reflect the social and political realities of the time, the comic book heroine was intended to embody the modern, sexually liberated woman. After watching Barbarella, there is no doubt that Barbarella is sexually liberated. Though I suppose to Fonda’s point, it could be that Barbarella feels that she has nothing else to offer except for her body and sex. That is a whole other topic that could be researched and argued further, but that is not my intent for my entry into this blogathon.
Director Roger Vadim, Fonda’s husband at the time, was hired by producer Dino De Laurentiis after having expressed interest in comic books and science fiction. How convenient for him that De Laurentiis had just purchased the rights to the French sci-fi comic, Barbarella. Vadim’s first choices for the titular role were Brigitte Bardot and Sophia Loren, before finally choosing his wife, Jane Fonda. Vadim was quoted by Fonda as saying “I want to do this film as though I had arrived on a strange planet with my camera directly on my shoulder–as though I was a reporter doing a newsreel.”
Barbarella would strip out of this number during the opening title sequences of the film.
Strange planet indeed. Barbarella takes place in the year 40,000. At the beginning of the film, “space adventurer” Barbarella is returning to her pink spaceship, the Alpha 7. The Alpha 7 is its own character in the film. It seems to have a single room, completely covered (literal wall-to-wall) in caramel-colored shag carpeting. In one part of the room is Alphy, Barbarella’s computer that she can use via voice activation. To the right of Alphy is her video phone. The cockpit of the ship features a lot of buttons and gizmos, but Barbarella, a 5-star double-rated Astro Navigatrix, handles the flying of the ship with ease. The Alpha 7 unfortunately sustains a large amount of damage during the film, which eventually will be repaired by Professor Ping.
Barbarella receives a phone transmission from the President of Earth. He informs her that scientist Durand Durand has gone missing during a mission to the North Star and is believed to to have landed somewhere in the Tau Ceti star system. Because not much is known about this region of space, the President is concerned that Durand Durand’s invention, the positronic ray, might fall into the wrong hands. It is inferred that the positronic ray is powerful and has the potential to start an intergalactic war, should the wrong people obtain possession of it. Earth no longer has a military nor does it have police, as it has been free from conflict for centuries. It falls to Barbarella to find Durand Durand. In a funny sequence, the President electronically transmits various weapons and a device that will light-up if Durand Durand is nearby. This device also conveniently has a “tongue box” which will also translate any language so that Barbarella can communicate.
Barbarella’s shag-covered spaceship.
After crash landing on Tau Ceti’s 16th planet, Barbarella is knocked unconscious by two children. The children load Barbarella up onto a sled, that is pulled by a giant manta ray that glides across the ice. When she awakens, Barbarella finds herself surrounded by multiple sets of twins and blue bunnies. These children are very creepy. Making the scene even creepier, is when the children tie Barbarella up and unleash a bunch of mechanical dolls with sharp teeth and hinged jaws to attack her. The children take sadistic glee in hurting Barbarella. As she looks around her settings, Barbarella realizes she’s inside the wreckage of the Alpha 1, Durand Durand’s old ship.
These creepy dolls attack Barbarella.
Before the scary dolls can inflict any further damage on Barbarella, a man named Mark Hand appears and saves her. He unties her from her bindings and carries her off to safety. This is where a common motif is introduced into Barbarella. Men who encounter Barbarella often want to have sex with her in the form of a payment of sorts for helping her out. Barbarella will nonchalantly agree and proceed, as if this is just a normal thing for her. However, this scene is very funny when Barbarella starts to take out her “transference pills.” She explains to Mark that on Earth, people have sex by each taking a transference pill and putting their palms against one another. Obviously overwhelmed by such a hot sounding suggestion, Mark suggests that he and Barbarella have sex on his bed the old-fashioned way. Barbarella is skeptical about engaging in such archaic traditions but agrees. Of course she agrees and the two appear to have a very satisfactory encounter underneath the sheets. Mark repairs the Alpha 7, and Barbarella is on her way.
Barbarella is trapped inside a bubble full of adorable budgies.
Barbarella eventually ends up in the Labyrinth, and meets a blind angel named Pygar (John Phillip Law). He takes her to see Professor Ping (Marcel Marceau). The Professor explains that Pygar, despite having wings, does not fly. He can fly, but lacks the morale to do so. All the inhabitants of the Labyrinth are prisoners, being held there on the orders of the Great Tyrant. They apparently are not evil enough to live in Sogo, the City of Night. Wanting to restore his will to fly, Barbarella and Pygar have sex in his nest. Because their romp was a success, Pygar is more than willing to fly Barbarella to Sogo, a den of iniquity. They are captured by the Black Queen (Anita Pallenberg).
Pygar is forced to endure a mock crucifixion, while Barbarella is placed in a cage full of adorable budgies. Despite being adorable, the birds attack Barbarella, slowly pecking at her and drawing blood. She ends up being saved by Dildrano (David Hemmings), the leader of the underground, who is willing to join her pursuit to find Durand Durand. He gives Barbarella an invisible key to the Black Queen’s “Chamber of Dreams.” The plan is to sneak in while she’s asleep. The scenes of Dildrano passing the invisible key to Barbarella is pretty funny. Also, to thank Dildrano, Barbarella offers to have sex with him. At this point, Barbarella is completely into old-fashioned sex, but Dildrano is not into that at all. He prefers the new method with the transference pills. Finally, the audience gets to see what the pill and the palms method is all about. Despite not yet having exchanged psychocardiograms, Barbarella agrees. The scene of Dildrano and Barbarella having sex via their palms, is one of the funniest parts of the movie.
Barbarella inside the Excessive Machine.
After sneaking out of the headquarters, via a chute that deposits her somewhere else, Barbarella is found and re-captured. In what is probably the funniest part of the movie, she is placed inside the Concierge’s (Milo O’Shea) torture device, “The Excessive Machine” which is supposed to murder its victim by giving them more sexual pleasure than the victim can handle. However, this machine is no match for Barbarella. The Concierge cannot believe his eyes when his precious machine bites the dust, and Barbarella is still alive, experiencing intense afterglow.
Eventually, Barbarella finds Durand Durand and discovers his true intentions with the positronic ray. She and the Black Queen join forces and Barbarella and Pygar eventually fly to safety.
There is surprisingly a lot of plot in Barbarella and not a lot of plot at the same time. This entire film is about the spectacle and I will say that the art director, prop, and costume departments worked overtime creating the sets for this film. The sets are absolutely insane as are the costumes. One of the highlights of Barbarella are the amount of costume changes that its heroine has throughout the film. Sometimes the costume changes make sense, such as when Barberella has no clothes and has to wear something else. Other times, her clothes are destroyed and she needs another outfit. And other times, it’s just that Barbarella decided to do a costume change. Barbarella’s costumes are amazing at one point, she wears a short costume with see-through plastic cups covering her breasts. Unlike many film productions, Barbarella utilized the skills of an actual fashion designer, versus a studio costume department. Barbarella’s costumes were designed by Jacques Fonteray. He did an extraordinary job!
I absolutely love this movie, and I’ve even seen it in the theater in 35mm no less. This film doesn’t make any sense, but it’s a great late night movie to watch when you just want to watch something frivolous. This is not a film that will make you think, unless it’s to think about either what is happening in the film or wondering what you just watched. Despite her criticisms of the film, I think Jane Fonda did a great job as Barbarella and was very believable as a “five-star double-rated Astronavigatrix.”
A tribute to Barbarella’s Costumes:
Barbarella throws this green number on after destroying “The Excessive Machine.”
Barbarella would later be attacked by dozens of adorable parakeets in this outfit.
Barbarella sports this one-piece black ensemble with see-thru breast plate.
Barbarella dons this fur number after having sex with Mark Hand
After Barbarella is attacked by the dolls with sharp teeth.
Barbarella’s costumes incorporated a lot of capes which I appreciate.
On February 13, Kim Novak turned 90! I love Kim, I am happy that she was able to celebrate this milestone birthday. She also lives in Oregon, like me, so I feel a kinship with her. When this blogathon was announced, I thought I would cover one of her films that you don’t hear mentioned as often. Boys’ Night Out is a film very much of its time (1962) and may contain some ideas that definitely wouldn’t fly today (they didn’t even fly in 1962), but it is entertaining and Kim is wonderful in her role.
Boys’ Night Out tells the story of a group of men who all commute from Greenwich, CT to New York City together on the same train. They often have drinks together at a bar prior to getting on the train. One evening while partaking in their daily bar ritual, the men spot Fred Williams’ (James Garner) boss carrying on with his mistress (Zsa Zsa Gabor). The men decide that Fred’s boss is living the dream and fantasize about setting up a love nest in the city so each man can have his own mistress in the city. These men definitely sound like sleazeballs (and in some ways they are), but an insight into their respective lives at home demonstrates why they might feel inclined to have an extra-martial affair.
Kim Novak makes the acquaintance of Howard Duff, Howard Morris, and Tony Randall.
George Drayton (Tony Randall) feels ignored and steamrolled by his wife, Marge (Janet Blair), who constantly cuts him off and finishes his sentences. Doug Jackson (Howard Duff) wants to just fix things around his own house, but his wife Toni (Anne Jeffreys) doesn’t trust him as a handyman and keeps hiring other people. Then there’s Howard McIllenny (Howard Morris) whose wife, Joanne (Patti Page), is always dieting and keeps her husband on a diet as well. Joanne also makes sure to make it known that she’s been permanently dieting for Howard’s sake, not hers. Fred is the only un-attached man who isn’t experiencing martial issues. His mother, Ethel (Jessie Royce Landis) is there to make it known that she wishes she had grandchildren and wants Fred to marry.
One afternoon, the men are discussing their fantasy to establish a love nest in New York. They hypothetically divvy out the days of the week where each man can use the love nest for his respective mistress. Thinking that this is merely just fantasy, they give Fred the joke assignment to find a cheap apartment and a blonde to go with it. Fred, however doesn’t realize that his friends aren’t serious and starts looking for an apartment.
He ends up finding a ridiculously cheap luxury apartment in New York. The realtor, Peter Bowers (Jim Backus), is desperate to rent out the apartment and prices it to sell. It seems that the apartment was the location of a highly publicized murder. Unsurprisingly, nobody wants to live there. At the same time, a young woman, Cathy (Kim Novak), arrives wanting to look at the apartment. Mr. Bowers explains that it has been rented. Fred, sensing an opportunity to set up the “young blonde” in the apartment, tells her that while he is the one who rented the apartment, he is looking for a young housekeeper. He also tells her that he and his friends are the ones renting the apartment. Cathy accepts the position. After Fred tells the men that he’s gotten the apartment and the blonde, they come up with the same story to tell their wives. They will each be attending “The New School for Social Research” which requires them to spend the evening in New York.
Kim Novak and James Garner
What Fred and his friends don’t realize is that Cathy is not just simply a young woman looking for an apartment. She is a sociology graduate student whose thesis is about “the adolescent fantasies of the adult suburban male.” While the men are meeting with Cathy on their assigned evening, they think that they are carrying on an affair, when in reality, Cathy is using them for research. Each man also makes the other think that he’s carrying on a sexual affair with Cathy. Eventually, as all these films go, the relationship between the men starts to go awry and the wives catch wind of the real reason their husbands are spending one night a week in New York. There’s a very funny scene where the wives go out to lunch to commiserate about their husbands’ infidelity and end up getting schnockered.
Boys’ Night Out is very much of its time and feels very 1960s. This film could only exist in the 1960s. This is the era when wives stayed at home in their suburban homes while their husbands traveled into the city for work. The 1960s also feels like the only time that a sociology student would be studying sex and would take advantage of a situation for research purposes. The three married men are all hilarious and henpecked. James Garner, being the only single man, is the only one who is presented as someone who would be moderately interesting to Kim Novak. Perhaps because the studio system is still in effect, or perhaps because Garner and Novak are the stars of the film, they are the characters who are depicted as needing to be together. If this film were made today, or even in the 1980s or 1990s, it is possible that Novak’s character would fall in love with one of the married men and break up his marriage.
“The Wives” (Anne Jeffreys, Janet Blair, and Patti Page) and Fred’s mother (Jessie Royce Landis) are ready to scratch Kim Novak’s eyes out.
While the idea that a husband could set up a love nest for weekly rendezvouses is very dated today, it is a common plot point in 1960s films. Perhaps that is due to the shift in American life where more families lived in the suburbs while the jobs remained in the city. The husband traveled into the city daily for work, while their wives stayed at home. It’d be relatively simple to carry on an affair without the wife being the wiser. In the film, Any Wednesday, Jason Robards is a businessman who has been lying to his wife about traveling out of town each Wednesday of the week. Despite telling his wife that he was out of town, in reality, he’s hooking up with Jane Fonda, his mistress. Both Boys’ Night Out and Any Wednesday seem horrible now, but it would be interesting to know how many suburban men had mistresses in the city.
Regardless, I would recommend Boys’ Night Out to anyone who is a fan of the cast and/or fans of 1960s sex comedies. It is very entertaining and has a stellar cast.
I love the Muppets. The Muppet Movie (1979) is hilarious. I love The Great Muppet Caper (1981). I maintain that The Muppet Christmas Carol (1992) is the best version of the Charles Dickens tale ever committed to celluloid. However, I will admit ignorance when it comes to the actual Muppet television program. Growing up in the 90s and 00s, I don’t remember The Muppet Show ever being rerun on TV. Maybe it was and I just missed it. I don’t know. Apparently now it’s streaming on Disney+ but I’ve been too busy re-watching my favorite episodes of The Simpsons and haven’t watched it yet. I think the only part of The Muppet Show I am familiar with is the theme song.
“The Fake Jan” Geri Reischel, Florence Henderson, Robert Reed, and Christopher Knight in the amazing yet terrible yet awesome “The Brady Bunch Variety Hour.”
So with my unfamiliarity with The Muppet Show out of the bag, it should come as no surprise that I had no idea that Carol Brady, aka Florence Henderson, guest starred on the 1970s television program. One 1970s program that I DO know that Florence guest-starred on is The Paul Lynde Halloween Special (1976). Now THAT is truly something to behold. Besides Florence and Lynde, Margaret Hamilton (!), Billie Hayes (who I was unfamiliar with but apparently she was on H.R. Pufnstuf, a show that I have seen back in the early days of TVLand. I didn’t get it at all), Roz “Pinky Tuscadero” Kelly, Betty White (!), Billy Barty, Tim Conway (!), Donny and Marie, and… KISS! I watched this special for free on Amazon Prime a couple years ago and I can honestly say that I have never seen anything else like it. On the special, Florence sang “That Old Black Magic.” She is also one of the few cast members of The Brady Bunch Variety Hour (a show that is simultaneously the greatest and worst thing I have ever seen) who wasn’t completely out of their element and was good.
Here is Florence’s bad wig from season 1.
Florence Henderson is best known as Carol Brady, everyone’s favorite 70s TV mom, on The Brady Bunch (1969-1974). Usually in kid-oriented sitcoms, the parents are often lame at best. Or if they aren’t lame, they’re just…there. There to dispense wisdom. There to discipline. There to parent their kids but usually completely devoid of any type of interesting personality or shenanigans. However, The Brady Bunch is different. Yes, the show can be corny at times and maybe unrealistic, but I don’t care. I like it. The Brady Bunch has a charm about it that makes it infinitely re-watchable. One of the best aspects of The Brady Bunch, in my opinion, is that the parents, Mike and Carol Brady, both seem to have lives outside of their six kids. They even seem to ::gasp:: have a sex life, an aspect of their relationship lampooned to hilarious effect in The Brady Bunch Movie (1995). Florence made a cameo appearance in The Brady Bunch Movie as Carol Brady’s mother. No doubt Grandma Florence made for a hotter grandmother than she did when she played her own grandmother, Grandma Hutchins, in one of my least favorite episodes of the show, “You’re Never Too Old,” which aired in 1973.
In the first season of the show, Florence donned a poofy blonde bubble wig as her own hair had been cut very short. Prior to being cast on The Brady Bunch, Florence had chopped her hair very short to appear in a play. By season two, Florence’s hair had grown to an acceptable length and she could ditch the silly bubble wig. This is why Carol’s hair seems to change from a light almost peroxide blonde to a dark dishwater blonde. In the first season, Carol played more of a typical housewife and was submissive to Mike’s decisions. However, unlike many sitcom moms, Carol had to take on the task of getting six kids to get along–six kids who had just become step-siblings due to their respective parents’ recent marriage. Early episodes featured common themes like boys versus girls, such as the girls wanting their own clubhouse when the boys won’t share, or the girls and boys needing to learn how to cooperate and compromise when it comes to spending their trading stamps.
Carol and Mike had an actual romantic relationship outside of parenting their kids which I appreciated.
By season two however, the Carol Brady character really got rolling and frankly became much more interesting. While she was still a housewife (a plot point Florence Henderson hated, as she wanted Carol to be employed), Carol was presented as having hobbies and outside activities. Carol was part of the PTA. She was also part of an anti-smoking committee, which was briefly in jeopardy when a pack of cigarettes fell out of oldest son Greg’s jacket. Carol was at the helm of the “Save Woodland Park” committee, which was organized when it became known that the local park was at risk of being closed and developed into office space. Some of Carol’s hobbies include sculpting, embroidery, and writing. Her writing hobby culminated with her being asked to write an article about her family for Tomorrow’s Woman Magazine.
I wish I could find a screenshot of Carol’s hilarious face from “Getting Greg’s Goat,” but I couldn’t. This shot is from that episode. I also think Carol’s hair looked best in season 5 and I love her yellow dress with the teal beads.
One of my favorite aspects of Carol’s character was that she and Mike seemed to make time for romance, despite having six children. Carol regularly dons frilly nightgowns, a character trait that Florence herself requested. She wanted Carol to be sexy and fun. No long sleeved, high-necked flannel nightgowns for her. In another episode, Mike and Carol make plans for a romantic getaway. Carol comes up with different costumes to suit the ever-changing locale. She puts on a cute red and purple snowsuit when she thinks they’re going to a mountain cabin, then switches to a bikini when she thinks they’re going to the beach. Later, she trades the bikini in for a cowgirl outfit when they decide to go to a dude ranch. However, that all goes out the window when “Most Popular Girl” Jan announces that her acceptance speech is the same evening they’re supposed to leave for the weekend. I took all of Carol’s different costume ideas to mean that she likes to dress up for her husband. Carol and Mike also seem to love and respect one another and they’re both intelligent. I cannot tell you how tired I am of sitcoms with the dopey husband whom the wife has to baby like he was one of her children.
I always loved when The Brady Bunch had random dance scenes like when they do The Charleston, and in another episode they do a square dance. And let us not forget the potato sack race!
While “Carol” isn’t my favorite character on The Brady Bunch (that would be either Marcia or Greg), she definitely has some great moments on the series.
Getting Greg’s Goat (October 19, 1973). Carol Brady’s funniest scene in the entire series is the look on her face when she catches Greg and “Raquel” the goat in her linen closet and then learns that Mike has known about the goat the entire time. She shoots daggers at Mike with her eyes then retreats to tend to the emergency PTA meeting being held at their home. The PTA is meeting to discuss the recent mascot stealing incidents between Westdale and Coolidge High. Raquel is Coolidge High’s mascot and guess who stole it? Oops.
The Show Must Go On (November 3, 1972). Marcia has signed herself and her mother up to appear in the “Family Frolics Night” at Westdale High–much to Carol’s chagrin. But after some coaxing, Carol agrees. She and Marcia perform a delightful rendition of “Together, Wherever We Go” from Steven Sondheim’s score for Gypsy. Florence Henderson is in her element and Maureen McCormick (Marcia) holds her own.
The Voice of Christmas (December 19, 1969). I’m not the biggest fan of many of the first season episodes, because the kids are just so young. A lot of their problems are just annoying. But there is no doubt that this episode is definitely among one of Carol’s (and Florence’s) best moments on the show. In the episode, Carol is tapped to sing at the family’s Christmas church service. However, a few days before her performance, she comes down with a case of laryngitis. Things are looking grim, until Cindy asks Santa to give her mom her voice back for Christmas. Yes, this episode is sappy to the nth degree, but what’s a good Christmas episode without a lot of sappy sentimentality? Spoiler Alert! Because this is The Brady Bunch, of course Carol gets her voice back and she’s able to perform a beautiful version of “O Come, All Ye Faithful.” Carol would repeat this performance (so to speak) in 1988 when she holds a vigil outside of a collapsed office building where Mike is trapped in A Very Brady Christmas TV Movie.
The Fender Benders (March 10, 1972). Carol gets into a fender bender in the supermarket parking lot when she and Mr. Duggan (aka Uncle Fester aka Jackie Coogan) back into one another. They initially agree to fix their own vehicle and call it a day. However, Mr. Duggan decides to extort money from Mike and Carol and arrives at their home to request more money, stating that the damage was worse than he claimed. Then of course, Mr. Duggan makes some sexist statements about women drivers. Mike and Carol refuse to pay Mr. Duggan any more money. He announces his intention to sue. Of course, he shows up at the civil trial donning a neck brace. This episode features excellent Carol moments such as when she refutes Mr. Duggan’s claims that she’s frail.
Never Too Young (October 5, 1973). Forget about the main “Bobby might have caught mumps from Mary Ingalls” storyline. The best part of this episode is when Carol and Mike sing “I Wanna Be Loved By You” for their upcoming 1920s party and later, the family practices The Charleston in the living room, complete with fringed flapper gowns, full length bearskin coat on Mike, long necklaces, headbands, and all that other razzmatazz. Let me tell you, when The Brady Bunch commit to something, they do not screw around. Case in point, the dunking booth that Mike supposedly built for the upcoming school carnival. The entire cast, especially Florence, look like they’re having so much fun dancing.
Honorable Mention: In What Goes Up? (December 11, 1970), Florence calls Peter, “Chris.” Peter is played by Christopher Knight. I always thought that was funny. Barry Williams aka Greg, follows up Florence’s gaffe by calling Jan “Eve” aka Eve Plumb, Jan’s portrayer’s real name.
I love The Brady Bunch. I love Florence. I was honestly very sad when she passed away on Thanksgiving in 2016. It felt like I’d lost my own family member. In fact, after she passed, I went back to my house (I was staying at my parents’ house for the holiday) to retrieve my Brady Bunch DVDs so I could honor Florence’s memory. And that was how I discovered that my basement had flooded. Initially I wasn’t planning on going to my house after getting off work. Without needing to get my Brady Bunch DVDs, my basement could have been flooding for days.
It would be very remiss of me if I neglected to mention Florence Henderson’s iconic Carol Brady shag haircut. It’s very 1970s, but I don’t think it’s her worst look. The bleached blonde bubble wig wins that award.
On May 2, 1955, Van Johnson appeared as himself in “The Dancing Star,” an episode of I Love Lucy. I Love Lucy was the pioneering and now-iconic television sitcom starring his old friends, Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz. In this episode, Lucy’s character, Lucy Ricardo, finally realizes her dream of show business success. Van Johnson is appearing in a show at the hotel where the Ricardos and Mertzes are staying while Ricky (Desi) makes his film debut. Van’s partner is sick and Lucy ends up getting the chance to fill in. In this episode, Lucy Ricardo is finally given the opportunity to perform in a musical number where she doesn’t screw it up, whether purposefully or inadvertently. For a more detailed synopsis about “The Dancing Star,” click here.
Van Johnson, front left, watches as Frances Langford rallies the co-eds at Pottawatomie College in Too Many Girls.
Van Johnson’s relationship with Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz did not start with I Love Lucy. He actually made Desi’s acquaintance first back in 1939 on Broadway. Desi had recently arrived in New York City as part of Xavier Cugat’s touring orchestra. Previously, he’d lived in Miami after emigrating there from his birthplace of Santiago de Cuba, Cuba. Desi had been performing as part of the Siboney Septet. He was discovered by Cugat and hired as a singer and conga drum player. Desi’s natural charisma and talent as a showman led to him forming his own orchestra. He was discovered by director George Abbott who wanted to cast Desi as Manuelito, the Argentinian football player. Van was cast in the same play as a college student and also as an understudy for the three male leads. He later understudied Gene Kelly in the Broadway production of Pal Joey which eventually led to Kelly’s discovery and subsequent Hollywood stardom.
Desi Arnaz #24 top left and Van Johnson #41 bottom center, appeared together in the film adaptation of Too Many Girls.
In 1940, Van came out to Hollywood to appear in the film adaptation of Too Many Girls. Van’s role is very small. He has an uncredited role as a fellow college student and appears as part of the chorus in some of the musical numbers. Van is near Lucille Ball in the big celebratory conga number (led by Desi Arnaz and Ann Miller) at the end of the film when Pottawatomie wins the big game. Watch Lucy screw up the choreography, she very noticeably comes in early or late in every single one of the moves. However, Van’s role in Too Many Girls did not lead to any big breaks. Disenchanted, he was ready to return to New York and back to Broadway where he had experienced more success.
However, before Van left for New York City, he had lunch with Lucy at Los Angeles’ famed Chasen restaurant. She introduced him to MGM’s casting director who just happened to be sitting at a nearby table. This led to a series of screen tests at many of the big studios. He ended up scoring a $300/week ($5452/week in 2022) contract at Warner Brothers. Van made his debut as a leading man in 1942’s Murder in the Big House opposite Faye Emerson. Unfortunately for Van, this contract did not lead to big success at Warner Brothers and his contract was dropped after six months.
Irene Dunne, Spencer Tracy, and Van Johnson in A Guy Named Joe.
Eventually Van was signed to MGM where his friend, Lucille Ball, had recently signed with after leaving RKO. Van’s big break was in the 1943 film, A Guy Named Joe, which starred Spencer Tracy and Irene Dunne. During production, Van was in a car accident which left him with a metal plate in his forehead and numerous scars on his face. For most of his career, Van would hide his scars under heavy makeup. However, in 1954’s The Caine Mutiny, he opted to not wear the heavy makeup. His large forehead scar is prominently displayed in that film. MGM wanted to replace Van in A Guy Named Joe, but Tracy advocated for him. Thanks to Tracy, Van became a star after their film was a big success at the box office.
Van continued to appear in one hit film after another. In 1946, Van appeared with his friend Lucy in Easy to Wed, a remake of the 1936 hit, Libeled Lady. Van took on the role of Bill Chandler, which was played by William Powell in the original film. Keenan Wynn, Lucille Ball and Esther Williams take on the roles played by Spencer Tracy, Jean Harlow, and Myrna Loy, respectively. Bill Chandler is hired by Warren Haggerty (Wynn) to marry his girlfriend Gladys (Lucy) and then romance and woo Connie Allenbury (Williams), a socialite who is suing Warren’s newspaper for a large sum of money after they publish a false story about Connie being a homewrecker. To save the newspaper from financial ruin, Warren wants Gladys to charge Connie with alienation of affection after word gets about Connie’s romance with her husband, Bill. Curiously enough, perhaps in an instance of life imitating art, Keenan Wynn’s wife, Evie, married Van Johnson on THE DAY (!) of their divorce.
Van Johnson and Lucille Ball in Easy to Wed.
Easy to Wed is not nearly as good as Libeled Lady, but it is amusing. Lucille Ball is definitely the highlight and steps into Harlow’s shoes very well. Van asserts himself nicely as the straight man and is good at portraying the All-American young man. In the late 1940s and 1950s, Van continued to appear in films in every genre from war to film noir to musicals to comedy. At the time of his 1955 appearance in I Love Lucy, Van was at the height of his fame. In one of the episodes of I Love Lucy leading up to the big cross-country drive, Lucy asks her friend Marion Strong if she’d like Lucy to give a message to “the gang.” “The Gang” being Clark (Gable), Cary (Grant), or Van (Johnson), or Marlon (Brando)?” Later while the Ricardos are celebrating their wedding anniversary in Hollywood, Ricky name-drops Van and his wife Evie to a Hollywood newspaper about a (fake) party he’s throwing at the Mocambo. Van continued to appear in films and television. In 1968, he appeared in another film with Lucille Ball, Yours, Mine and Ours. Desilu had purchased the rights to the story in 1967, right before Lucy sold the studio to Paramount. Desilu had been founded in 1950 by Lucy and Desi. Desi retired in 1962 and sold his shares to Lucy.
Van Johnson, Henry Fonda, and Lucille Ball in Yours, Mine and Ours.
Van’s role in Yours, Mine and Ours is fun. He appears as Darrell Harrison, a fellow officer who works with and is friends with Frank Beardsley, played by Henry Fonda. Lucy appears as Helen North, a nurse who works in the dispensary at the base. Darrell thinks that Frank and Helen are perfect for one another, the only hitch being that Frank has 10 children and Helen has 8. To prove his point, he fixes Frank up with a young Hippie woman who is half Frank’s age and is very sexually aggressive. Frank is more modest and finds her sexual appetite off-putting. Darrell then fixes Helen up with a doctor who specializes in obstetrics and is at least half a foot shorter than she is. Darrell effortlessly brings the two characters together. For much of the rest of the film, he is used for comic relief and is delightful.
Van Johnson in Here’s Lucy in 1968.
Van continued to work with Lucy. He appeared as himself during the first season of her third sitcom, Here’s Lucy, in 1968. In the episode, Van plays himself and plays a Van Johnson doppelganger. In the episode, the Van Johnson doppelganger and Lucy (as Lucy Carter), talk about Yours, Mine and Ours. The fake Van Johnson, imitating the real Van Johnson, says that he loved working with the “kooky redhead.” Lucy Carter says that she thought that she (Lucille Ball) was much too young for Henry Fonda. Later, Lucy Carter compliments the real Van Johnson on his appearance in The Romance of Rosy Ridge, which was the film debut of Janet Leigh. Eventually, Lucy remarks that she was glad Van was court-martialed in The Caine Mutiny after he refuses to go along with her schemes.
Van and Lucy continued to appear in various specials together and remained friends. After Ball’s passing in 1989, Van continued to give interviews and appear in various documentaries and retrospectives about Lucy and Desi. He was one of the interviewees in PBS’ American Masters episode about Lucille Ball, “Finding Lucy.” It is apparent that Lucy, Desi, and Van all held each other in great esteem. It is obvious through their professional and personal collaborations and the way in which Van continued to talk about his friends long after their respective passings. Van Johnson passed away in 2008 and it is nice to think that he is now back with his friends.
“They (Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz) were soulmates. They knew it. The whole world did.”
“I am the luckiest guy in the world. All my dreams came true. I was in a wonderful business and I met a lot of great people all over the world.”
I have to admit that I don’t know a lot about Roger Corman. What I do know about him, is that he is very prolific and very influential. He was instrumental in producing and directing a lot of American International Pictures’ (AIP) best campy horror films, often starring Vincent Price. Other horror icons, such as Peter Lorre, Boris Karloff, and Basil Rathbone also turned up in AIP’s horror films, with Price in the lead and Corman at the helm. In the 1960s, Cormon and Price brought seven different Edgar Allan Poe tales to the big screen. One of these films, is the very campy adaptation of Poe’s 1845 poem, “The Raven.”
The film opens as Poe’s poem does:
Once upon a midnight dreary, while I pondered, weak and weary.
Over many a quaint and curious volume of forgotten lore.
While I nodded, nearly napping, suddenly there came a tapping.
As of someone gently rapping, rapping at my chamber door.
“‘Tis some visitor,” I muttered, “tapping at my chamber door.
Only this and nothing more.”
Edgar Allan Poe “The Raven” (1845), recited by Vincent Price in “The Raven” (1963)
Two legends of horror and Classic Hollywood: Peter Lorre and Vincent Price
The film takes place at the turn of the 16th century in 1506. Vincent Price’s character, sorcerer Dr. Erasmus Craven is mourning the death of his wife Lenore. She has been gone for over two years, and Erasmus’ daughter, Estelle (Olive Sturgess) wishes that her father would move on. One evening, Erasmus is visited by Dr. Bedlo (Peter Lorre), a wizard, who has been transformed into a raven. Dr. Bedlo begs Erasmus to help him transform back into his normal form. He gives Erasmus a simple list of ingredients: dried bat’s blood, jellied spiders, chain links from a gallow’s bird, rabbit’s lard, dead man’s hair, just your normal run-of-the-mill pantry staples. Erasmus looks at Dr. Bedlo in disgust.
ERASMUS: “No, we don’t keep those things in the house. We’re vegetarians. DR. BEDLO: “And that calls himself a magician. Honestly, this is too much!”
Vincent Price as Dr. Erasmus Craven and Peter Lorre as Dr. Bedlo in “The Raven” (1963)
The magic fight between Vincent Price and Boris Karloff in all its glory
Erasmus ends up taking Dr. Bedlo down to his deceased father’s laboratory–a laboratory that has sat unused for over 20 years. As Dr. Bedlo waits patiently, Erasmus looks through his father’s old chemicals. This scene allows for the seemingly squeamish Erasmus to come across ingredients that are either repulsive (e.g. a box of eyeballs), and other funny ingredients that Dr. Bedlo scoffs at, as they don’t belong in his recipe. Eventually Erasmus ends up finding all the ingredients and concocts a very powerful looking potion. Dr. Bedlo, still in his raven-form, drinks the potion excitedly. However, Erasmus didn’t make enough and the potion only takes effect part-way. Dr. Bedlo only semi-transforms back into his normal form. It is in this scene where we get the delightful imagery of Peter Lorre wearing a raven costume. He has a human head and a bird body.
Father Peter Lorre and Son Jack Nicholson
Dr. Bedlo implores Erasmus to make more potion so he can complete his transformation. However, the two men discover that they have run out of a crucial ingredient–dead man’s hair. There’s only one thing to do of course–go to the cemetery and get more hair. Eventually Dr. Bedlo is transformed into his normal form. He then explains to Erasmus that he was initially transformed by Dr. Scarabus (Boris Karloff) in an unfair duel. Dr. Bedlo also tells Erasmus that he saw the ghost of Lenore (Hazel Court). Intrigued, Erasmus and Dr. Bedlo set off for Scarabus’ castle, with Estelle and Bedlo’s son, Rexford (Jack Nicholson). It is at this point when we can laugh at the idea of Jack Nicholson being Peter Lorre’s son.
Vincent Price takes his shot in the magic fight
The gang arrive at Scarabus’ castle. After a variety of mishaps and revelations, the visit culminates with an amazing magic fight between Erasmus and Scarabus. The scene of Vincent Price and Boris Karloff fighting each other with magic, using 1963 special effects, makes the film worth the watch.
Boris Karloff fires back with his magic
This film is so ridiculous. It is very funny and very campy. Do not go into this movie expecting something revelatory. Go into it expecting the absurd. Just go with whatever happens and you will not be disappointed. I absolutely love Vincent Price’s voice. He recites a few passages from Poe’s poem and it is mesmerizing. I wish he were around today to record audio books. He could make any story sound ominous and compelling. Can you imagine if Price had read something like “Little Women” or “The Great Gatsby” ? Peter Lorre also provides the dialogue for the raven. I love that it is just him talking and not someone trying to impersonate a bird’s voice. Lorre has some pretty funny lines.
ERASMUS: “Shall I ever see the rare and radiant Lenore again?” DR. BEDLO (in raven form): “How the hell should I know?”
Vincent Price as Dr. Erasmus Craven and Peter Lorre as Dr. Bedlo in “The Raven” (1963)
Boris Karloff was excellent as the villain, but I cannot help but think of The Grinch every time he speaks. He has an amazing speaking voice as well, as does Peter Lorre. These three would have made an amazing team recording audio books. It is absolutely fascinating seeing a young Jack Nicholson in this film. His trademark grin is present, but his voice is completely different. If I hadn’t known that this was Nicholson, I’m not sure that I would recognize him. He definitely evolved as an actor by the time that Chinatown (1974) rolled around.
I recommend this film to anyone who loves campy horror movies, Vincent Price, Peter Lorre, Boris Karloff, Edgar Allan Poe, and/or wants to see a 26-27 year old Jack Nicholson, pre-Easy Rider, pre-Chinatown… and my personal favorite, pre-Tommy.
If there was ever someone that I would associate with summer, it would be Sandra Dee as Francie “Gidget” Lawrence in Gidget. Gidget is the film that served as the catalyst for one of my personal favorite subgenres–the teen beach movie. While some teen beach movies like Frankie Avalon and Annette Funicello’s Beach Party movies can be pretty silly, formulaic, and ridiculous (though I enjoy them), others such as Gidget and Where the Boys Are (1960) strike a nice balance between silly and more serious topics. At its core, Gidget is a coming-of-age story about a young girl on the cusp of adulthood, learning about life and love during the pivotal summer between her junior and senior year of high school.
At the start of Gidget, we meet 17-year old Francie. She along with her friends (including a pre-Batgirl Yvonne Craig), are going on a “man hunt” at the beach. Francie’s friends pressure her to go along with them, stating that she doesn’t want to go into her senior year still a virgin (obviously they aren’t explicit in this point). The girls try hard to attract the boys, resorting to strutting around in bathing suits (including Craig’s horribly unflattering white bikini complete with granny panty bottoms), and tossing a ball around (which looks pretty dull to me, btw) while “accidentally” overthrowing it in the boys’ direction. For their part, the boys are watching the girls’ antics more as amusement than being seduced by them. They even laugh at poor Francie, who 1) is obviously less buxom than her friends; and 2) is clumsy and seemingly more childlike. Francie is only half-heartedly participating, as she is more interested in snorkeling than doing dumb things to attract the surfer boys.
James Darren, Sandra Dee, and Cliff Robertson in “Gidget”
Eventually, Francie insinuates herself into the group of surfer boys. She is immediately crushing on a college boy, Moondoggie (James Darren). She teaches herself how to surf and soon is just one of the “guys” in the surf gang. The boys bestow Francie with a new nickname, “Gidget.” Gidget is a portmanteau of “girl” and “midget.” While I don’t know if that’s entirely the most flattering nickname, it does demonstrate that the boys have accepted Gidget into their group. Moondoggie is charmed by Gidget’s innocence and sweet demeanor and becomes protective over her. Eventually Moondoggie asks Gidget to wear his college pin–essentially asking her to be his girlfriend. At the end of the film, Gidget’s friends are still single and Gidget has been pinned, solely because she chose to be herself and let her relationship with Moondoggie evolve naturally. Her friends on the other hand, were trying too hard and were unsuccessful. And while I think it’s safe to say that Gidget and her friends are all still virgins at the end, Gidget is the one who has ultimately prevailed in the “man hunt” and she’ll be entering her senior year as the girlfriend to a college man.
Sandra Dee’s dark brown eyes were one of her biggest assets
Dee was perfect casting for the wide-eyed, somewhat awkward Gidget. Her large, dark brown eyes conveyed so much vulnerability and innocence. While Dee might not have been outwardly glamorous or sexy, a la peers like Tuesday Weld or Ann-Margret, she very much fits the girl next door aesthetic. She seems approachable and someone with whom you can easily identify. However, Dee’s innocent persona also led to her being labeled as virginal and a goody goody, thanks to a popular tune from Grease (1978), in which bad girl Rizzo croons, “Look at me, I’m Sandra Dee.”
“Look at me, I’m Sandra Dee Lousy with virginity Won’t go to bed, ’til I’m legally wed I can’t, I’m Sandra Dee.”
Stockard Channing as “Rizzo” in Grease (1978)
However, these lyrics aren’t fair to Dee. Much like the older Doris Day who was also similarly labeled as “virginal,” she regularly stepped out of this persona. Even in Gidget, Gidget laments to her mother that she’s still “pure as the driven snow” after her attempt to hook up with Moondoggie at the luau aka “the orgy” fails–though they do kiss, for what it’s worth. I found it interesting that Gidget would openly lament her virginity with her mother, because really, who wants to discuss that with their mom? In 1963, four years after Gidget, audiences would see Dee again lament to her parents that she was still a virgin, in the very sunny Take Her, She’s Mine.
Sandra Dee in “Take Her She’s Mine.”
Take Her, She’s Mine co-stars Dee with James Stewart, who by this time had transitioned into my personal favorite era in his career, “the fussy dad period.” Stewart plays Dee’s father, Frank, who laments that his daughter, Mollie (Dee), has grown up and become “a dish.” We see Mollie strutting her stuff in a bikini, preparing to dive into the family pool in front of her co-ed group of friends. The film then segues into the main plot–Mollie is going away for college and Frank becomes concerned about the perceived “grown-up” activities that she’s getting herself involved in.
Mollie attends two different colleges in Take Her, She’s Mine. At the beginning of the film, she’s taken to the airport where she’s flying across the country to the East Coast where she’s starting college. College seemingly starts well for Mollie, except that she’s still a virgin after being at college for a few weeks. She laments her lack of “action” to her parents in a letter home. Because it’s 1962-1963, Mollie gets heavily involved in activism–participating in sit-ins, protests, and other activities which get her arrested more than once. Mollie ends up being expelled from the college, presumably because of her grades. She spends her summer at home, working on her true passion, painting. We see “the dish” Mollie, out in the sun, decked out in her bikini and sun hat, painting an abstract depiction of her family’s home. Mollie’s art talents ultimately lead to her being granted a scholarship to study art in Paris. There is an amusing scene where Mollie interviews with the representative from the college while in her bikini.
Sandra Dee is a dish in “Take Her, She’s Mine”
Again, Mollie is off to college, this time to Paris. While in Paris, Mollie falls in love with a hunky Parisian, Henri. Frank is highly concerned about his daughter’s relationship with a Frenchman. However, Mollie and Henri make a cute couple. We see Mollie on the banks of the Seine River, working on her painting while Henri looks on. Henri and Mollie are genuinely in love. In this relationship, it is unknown how far their relationship has gone, but it is easy to imagine that they could have already consummated their relationship, seeing that they have a few makeout sessions. They marry by the end of the film, so it’s safe to say that Mollie is “all grown-up” at the end.
While Take Her, She’s Mine might not feature the sun in the same way that Gidget does, in this film, Dee has such a bright, sunny personality and vivacious demeanor, that it’s easy to see why father Stewart would be so nervous. In this film, Dee is a little more mature than she was four years prior in Gidget. By 1963, Dee was 21 years old, and had been married to Bobby Darin for 3 years and was mother to a 2-year old child. She’s a little less vulnerable in this film, she seems more worldly, more confident. This film serves as a coming-of-age story for both Mollie and Frank, as Mollie learns how to live as an adult in the world and Frank learns how to let his daughter live her life and make her own decisions. Mollie can’t always be protected by Frank and Frank won’t always be there to protect Mollie.
Both Gidget and Take Her, She’s Mine feature Dee as a young woman who wants to grow up and sees losing her virginity as a sign that she’s grown. In both of these films, neither of Dee’s characters seem all that concerned about the possible repercussions of losing her virginity. While there doesn’t need to be a punishment, of course, both Gidget and Mollie see the loss of her virginity in a more positive light, a rite of passage. However, during the same year that Dee played the innocent Gidget, she also played another young woman dealing with sex, another character named Molly in A Summer Place.
Sandra Dee and Troy Donahue in “A Summer Place.”
A Summer Place is an amazing film. I love it for the sheer melodrama. This film has everything. The crux of the film though, is the relationship between Molly and Johnny (Troy Donahue), two teenagers who fall in love. Molly, bless her heart, comes from two very different parents–the easygoing and progressive Ken (Richard Egan), and the puritanical shrew, Helen (Constance Ford). Ken is realistic that his daughter is growing up and it is inevitable that she’ll start having sexual feelings. Helen on the other hand, wants to obscure her daughter’s growing figure with restrictive undergarments. She is obsessed with protecting her daughter’s virtue and even goes as far as to force her to submit to a humiliating physical examination. Johnny and Molly spend the night together (chastely) on an island after their row boat capsizes. Helen is convinced that they obviously had sex. She enlists her doctor to inspect Molly, presumably to ensure her hymen is still intact.
If the humiliating and incredibly invasive physical examination weren’t enough, Helen is constantly on everyone’s case about the teenagers’ burgeoning relationship and obsessive assertions that they’re sleeping together. Molly and Johnny are very much in love and struggle to be together in spite of Helen’s interference. Eventually, they do have sex and Molly ends up pregnant. And while it’s definitely not fair that Molly is punished for engaging in premarital sex, it definitely lends to the drama. Molly has to deal with the shame of being an unmarried, pregnant teenage mother–a shame instilled in her by her mother and society. Eventually, Molly and Johnny marry, saving Molly the stigma of being an unwed mother, and also giving her baby a name.
Sandra Dee’s amazing hat with built-in sunglasses in “A Summer Place.” I’ll never miss a chance to post this photo.
In A Summer Place, Dee’s deep brown eyes give her this vulnerability. She’s a little more worldly than Gidget, but not quite as mature as Mollie in Take Her, She’s Mine. Dee’s Molly in A Summer Place, wants to explore these new sexual feelings, but has to live in an environment where sex is both treated as a sin and as a natural human urge. Molly is conflicted, she wants to act on these feelings with Johnny, a boy whom she loves. But she also doesn’t want to have to deal with her mother who has drilled it into her that sex is bad. The summer setting in this film only adds to the conflict. For whatever reason, summer seems to be the perfect setting for a love story–the beautiful sunshine, the beautiful ocean setting, all in all a very romantic setting. Add in the teenage hormones and two beautiful teenagers, and you have the perfect setting for an intense melodrama.
Between Gidget, A Summer Place, and Take Her She’s Mine, Sandra Dee’s virginal status runs the gamut between wanting to lose her virginity as a rite of passage to still wanting to lose her virginity, but because she’s an adult. In between, Dee deals with the physical and social repercussions of actually acting upon losing her virginity. For an actress seemingly synonymous with being virginal, Dee spent a lot of summers preoccupied with sex.
Whimsically Classic 