Stuff Like That There By The King Sisters

Betty Hutton sang it for the charts, Bette Midler sang it for the movies, Kelly Clarkson sang it for American Idol and Seohyun sang it for Asia but The King Sisters sang Stuff Like That There (music by Jay Livingston and lyrics by Ray Evans) first. The sisters were a vocal quartet who formed in the early 1930s, had several hits during the big Band era and ultimately joined the larger King family to host the ABC television series The King Family Show in 1965. The King Family musical tradition carried on into the 21st century when sister Luise's grandson Win Butler co-founded the alternative rock group Arcade Fire with, among others, his brother William.

First time on YouTube!!

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The Crowded Sky (1960)

In The Crowded Sky (based on the best-selling novel) every woman is a self-described tramp (except Hollis Irving as the virginal dog) and every man has a non-sexual flaw (except Keenan Wynn as the lothario). All of these peccadilloes are revealed in the first 90 minutes of the film which is followed by an exciting mid-air plane crash and its consequences. The crowd is populated by Rhonda Fleming, Anne Francis, Patsy Kelly, Troy Donahue, John Kerr, Dana Andrews and Efrem Zimbalist, Jr. (the latter two switching the pilot roles they played 15 years later in Airport 1975) but too many flashbacks and voiceovers make this precursor to the disaster films of the 70s unintentionally funny until the nicely filmed denouement.

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Bobbie Gentry's Spring Thing (1969)

The Spring Thing is a 1969 television special co-hosted by Bobbie Gentry and Noel Harrison (son of Rex and co-star of The Girl From U.N.C.L.E.). Unfortunately, there is no surviving video footage of this musical salute to spring which featured performances from Goldie Hawn, Shirley Bassey, 60s rock group Harpers Bizarre, Rod McKuen and Meredith MacRae (daughter of Gordon and star of the seminal 60s television series Petticoat Junction). Kudos go to the enterprising proprietor of the Noel Harrison fan site who posted this rare MP3 of Bobbie and Noel crooning Bobbie's hit song Peaceful; it was lifted directly from the program so I added visuals and now everyone can enjoy this slice o' Bobbie.

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An American Dream (1966)

An American Dream (aka See You In Hell, Darling) deserves a place in hell. The 1966 color noir is nothing but Stuart Whitman, Harold Gould, Murray Hamilton, Barry Sullivan and J. D. Cannon preening and showing each other the size of their dicks while Eleanor Parker and Janet Leigh do the same with their clitorises. This movie (based on the Norman Mailer novel) is the worst kind of claptrap for which I give it my first 0* rating; the negative and digital bits should be destroyed so future generations don't even know it existed.

aka Joey Heatherton

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Seconds (1966)

Rock Hudson has always seemed more a (cardboard) personality than an actor but he does acquit nicely in the somewhat squirm-inducing John Frankenheimer science fiction film Seconds - and he only appears in the last two thirds! Seconds is not an ordinary movie; it contains themes that are au courant, was filmed stunningly in black and white by James Wong Howe, and directed tautly by Frankenheimer. Any more details will spoil the unfolding horror so watch it cold for an indelible and harrowing experience.

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The Mothers-In-Law (1967-69)

The Mothers-in-Law is I Love Lucy (and Ethel) shtick performed by powerhouse talents Eve Arden and Kaye Ballard. I burst out laughing during a number of scenes in season 1 (not as much in season 2 where a Darren Stevens/Becky Connor actor switch of Ballard's husband was made). If you like this latest WORLD INTERNET PREMIERE clip of Arden and Ballard in a Camay commercial than a binge of The Mothers-In-Law should be in the cards for you.

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Kisses For My President (1964)

Kisses For My President is racist (all White House staff are black), misogynist (check out the ten minute strip club scene and the ending) and, more to the point, boring. The story of the first female president is actually the story of her poor husband, the first male First Lady, and badly riffs on Frank Capra's Mr. Smith Goes To Washington. Both Fred MacMurray and Polly Bergen (especially) are wasted as is the celluloid on which this one was developed.

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Come September (1961)

Come September has one thing in its favor: Gina Lollobrigida. This Italian bombshell is so tantalizing she can even get a rise (albeit a small one) out of pathetic co-star Rock Hudson. But when real-life newlyweds Sandra Dee and Bobby Darin are thrown in as a couple of doe-eyed teens, I couldn't wait for September to leave.

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Berserk! (1967)

A 64 year old Joan Crawford boards a hunky, 30 years young Ty Hardin in Berserk!, a murder mystery set in the world of a British circus troupe. Crawford looks phenomenal (as does Mr. Hardin) and there are some good supporting players (including a To Sir With Love-era Judy Geeson) that add to the camp value initiated by the lines that Crawford delivers. Circus fans might like the extended scenes (filmed in 1967) of real circus elephant and dog acts through which I fast forwarded.




Check out this
more informative review of Berserk! on Black Hole.

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The Children's Hour (1961)

The Children's Hour is Lillian Hellman's heart-breaking tale of two women and the gossip that destroys them. Audrey Hepburn and (especially) Shirley MacLaine are mesmerizing as the women and Miriam Hopkins turns the table by appearing as the gossipmonger (as opposed to the Shirley MacLaine role she played in the first filmization, These Three in 1936). Kudos to all involved for keeping the gossip as it was written.

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Play Time (1967)

Had Robert Altman decided to make a cinematic ballet it might feel a lot like Jacques Tati's 1967 film, Playtime. The barest outline of a story follows Tati as Monseiur Hulot through his day in Paris, meeting friends and strangers with barely audible words, and ending at a raucous jazz club party. The lack of a compelling narrative might bore some but I found the film fascinating to watch and now see where Mad Men got it's signature look.

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Flower Drum Song (1961)

Flower Drum Song is lesser Rodgers and Hammerstein - way lesser. The story is dated and dull (as is lead Miyoshi Umeki) and the music is only somewhat memorable. This is supposedly the least grossing Rodgers and Hammerstein film and deserves that reputation.

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Hello, Dolly! (1969)

Yes, she's too young, too pretty and too Jewish for the role Carol Channing performed but Barbra Streisand made the titular matchmaker her own using a timeless, pseudo-Mae West characterization and her trademark humor in this film version of Jerry Herman's Broadway hit Hello, Dolly! Yes, the production is overblown and the film is long (like these three lines) but the story moves along at a horse's clip, Walter Matthau shines (working up some chemistry with Streisand despite their reported dislike for each other), and the classic songs (including Just Leave Everything To Me, Before The Parade Passes By, Put On Your Sunday Clothes, and Hello Dolly - sung by Streisand with Louis Armstrong) are so catchy you'll be humming along even if you've never heard them before. So no, it's not a bad movie (although you might want to stay away if you're not a Streisand fan) and, contrary to popular belief, it brought in more money than the $26,000,000 it cost 20th Century Fox to make it.

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The Group (1966)

It's easy to see how The Group was controversial in its day (touching on domestic violence, suicide, insanity and lesbianism) but it has not aged well. The group of college chums (portrayed by a stellar cast of Candice Bergen, Joan Hackett, Elizabeth Hartman, Shirley Knight, Joanna Pettet and Jessica Walter) are a bunch of idiot women, despite their educations, for whom I felt no affinity. And I've seen much better films by director Sidney Lumet.

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The Birds (1963)

There are so many incredibly composed and terrifying images in Alfred Hitchcock's The Birds that it makes you wonder, if he could pull this off fifty years ago - why do today's filmmakers need computers for films far less memorable? The famed auteur (who can be seen in the film's first scene walking two dogs) has assembled a first-rate cast (Tippi Hedren, Rod Taylor, Jessica Tandy, Suzanne Pleshette, Veronica Cartwright) that brings to life this tense story of birds attacking a small Northern California town with old school effects, no music and no ending (sic). This is a scary film (you can feel the birds as they are shown pecking at each victim) - one of Hitchcock's best and with his legacy that's saying a lot.

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This Property is Condemned (1966)

Natalie Wood and Robert Redford steam up the screen (as they say) in This Property is Condemned, the story of a small Depression-era town that is losing its sole source of revenue - the railroad. The film is based on a Tennessee Williams one act (and reportedly dissed by him upon its release) but is elevated by the star performances and cinematographer James Wong Howe. Kate Reid, Charles Bronson, Robert Blake and Mary Badham (she of To Kill A Mockingbird/Scout fame) offer excellent support but it's the star romance that makes this one so involving.

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A Raisin in the Sun (1961)

A Raisin in the Sun is one of the best films of the 60s based on one of the best plays of the 50s that is still as relevant today as it was almost fifty years ago. The emotional resonance in the story of an African-American family that comes into a large sum of money also offers incredible and indelible performances by Sidney Poitier, Claudia MacNeil, Ruby Dee, Diana Sands and Louis Gosset, Jr. (in his film debut). Don't let the black and white cinematography steer you away from this magnificent film that looks and feels as if it was released yesterday.

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With Six You Get Eggroll (1968)

A surprisingly robust drama is molded to fit the fabric of a Doris Day comedy in With Six You Get Eggroll. Set in the real swinging sixties (with an appearance from The Grass Roots), it tells a relatively honest tale of two people who marry quickly and must then merge their respective families (including a teenaged Barbara Hershey in her film debut). The story moves along despite the circumstances that always stop short of an onscreen shtup between Ms. Day and her co-star, Brian Keith but it's a sweet film that is a fitting cap to Ms. Day's illustrious career (to date, this is her last film).

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Oliver (1968)

More than forty years after winning the Academy Awards for Best Picture and Best Director (Carol Reed) Oliver is still tuneful, colorful, and frightful. Anchored by commanding performances from Ron Moody and Jack Wild (Oscar nominees), Shani Wallis, Mark Lester (whose singing was dubbed by a girl) and especially Oliver Reed (hired to play the dark, villainous Bill Sykes by his director uncle), it's a wonderful journey to a lost time. It is rather long so turn off all the lights, shut off the phone and put a sign on the door that you are not to be disturbed and lose yourself in Charles Dickens' story of Oliver Twist enhanced with an excellent cachet of songs by Lionel Bart (including It's A Fine Life, As Long As He Needs Me, Who Will Buy, Oom Pah Pah, Consider Yourself, Food Glorious Food, Reviewing The Situation and Pick a Pocket Or Two).

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Buona Sera, Mrs. Campbell (1968)

Gina Lollobridgida and the extremely colorful art direction are the only reasons to see Buona Sera, Mrs. Campbell, a none-too-funny comedy about an Italian woman who doesn't know which of the three American soldiers that she shtupped during World War Two is the father of her now sixteen year old daughter (Janet Margolin). The supporting cast (including Shelley Winters, Telly Savalas, Peter Lawford, Lee Grant and Phil Silvers) play the non-existent jokes much too broadly - both of which (cast and jokes) can be blamed only on director and co-writer Melvin Frank. Fortunately, Frank also hired Lollobridgida who is stunning and likable despite the sour script (which was used thirty years later as the basis for the ABBA musical, Mamma Mia.)

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