The same year Peggy Ann Garner performed her award winning role in “A Tree Grows in Brooklyn,” the 13-year-old actress found herself in a coming of age comedy, “Junior Miss” (1945).
Similar to “And So They Were Married” (1936), Christmas is merely a backdrop to adolescent antics in “Junior Miss” (1945), but the holidays play larger roles in this coming of age film. Continue reading
Lunch is to be served promptly at 1 p.m. with guests: her son Theodore (Richard Ney), daughter Patricia (Jean Rogers), best friend Cecila (Spring Byington), family friend Elliot (Edward Arnold) and her doctor (Miles Mander).
A year after “Mr. Boogedy” (1986) aired, the Wonderful World of Disney aired its 1987 sequel, “Bride of Boogedy.”
In the sequel, the Davis family is now comfortably settled at their newly renovated in Lucifer Home and happily rid of the ghost Mr. Boogedy for a year.
The children in Mr. Lynch’s store, and Mr. Lynch being grumpy.
The family is involved and well liked in the town now, much to the chagrin of shop owner Tom Lynch (Eugene Levy). Eloise and Carl Davis (Mimi Kennedy and Richard Masur) are preparing to open their Gag City store downtown, and Carl Davis was named mayor of the town’s festival. This is a position usually held by Mr. Lynch, causing Mr. Lynch wanting the Davis family to leave town.
One night while walking home from babysitting, their daughter Jennifer (Tammy Lauren) is spooked in the woods by someone in a hat and cloak telling her to get out of his house. Believing that Mr. Boogedy is back, Jennifer runs home screaming.
Many of us have movies that we watched repeatedly as children.
For my two older sisters and myself, it was the made-for-TV Disney horror comedy “Mr. Boogedy” (1986). My sisters saw it when it originally aired on Disney channel on a Sunday night in April of 1986. Eventually my parents recorded it off of the television to keep and we’ve had it ever since. I’ve watched it more times than I can count and can still quote along.
Our version of the VHS tape was recorded in the mid-1990s, complete with commercials for the New Mickey Mouse Club, an up and coming singer named Brandy Norwood and promos for movies such as “Angels in the Outfield” and “Batteries Not Included.” I’m re-watching this Pickens family favorite on the old VHS as I type.
The Davis’s new home, a “definite fixer upper”
The 45 minute movie follows the Davis family who moves to small town Lucifer Falls, New England to live in a in their very first house. The parents- Eloise (Mimi Kennedy) and Carleton Davis (Richard Masur)- apparently didn’t see the house in person before purchasing and just went by what the realtor said.
The family plans to open a franchise gag store, Gag City. Carleton is full of practical jokes and frequently quips “just kidding.”
When they pull up to the decrepit old house with wind blowing and lightening striking, Carleton excitedly exclaims, “Just what the realtor said, a definite fixer upper.” The rest of the family isn’t too sure- which includes two sons Corwin (David Faustino) and Aurie (Benji Gregory) and daughter Jennifer (Kristy Swanson).
Xavier Cugat
One of my favorite CDs to listen to while my hour long commute is “Maracas, Marimbas & Mambos: Latin Classics At M-G-M.” Along with ballads performed by Colombian singer Carlos Ramierz and toe tapping, show stoppers by Carmen Miranda, one of my favorite 1940s bandleaders multiple times on this album: Xavier Cugat. From the fun and humorous “Take it Easy” from “Two Girls and A Sailor” (1944) to the bouncing “Walter Winchell Rumba,” Cugat’s songs are jaunty and full of spirit.
What do you think of when you hear “1940s culture”? Big band music performed by the likes of Glenn Miller or Tommy Dorsey with teens swing dancing and Frank Sinatra crooning? Though big band and swing seem to characterize the popular perception of World War II era United States, one of the biggest fads in the United States in the 1940’s was Latin and Spanish culture.
Throughout the mid-1930s through the early-1950s, Hispanic themed music was popular and Xavier Cugat was the Rumba King.
Cugat, nicknamed Cugie, was arguably was the top Hispanic bandleader during this time, popularizing the rumba in the United States. Cugat’s popularity landed him into 17 Hollywood films, including “Luxury Liner” and “Holiday in Mexico” with Jane Powell, and “Thrill of Romance,” “Bathing Beauty” and “On an Island with You” with Esther Williams.
In most of his film appearances, Cugat was accompanied by his female singer, Lina Romay.
Cugat’s trademark was directing his musicians with his violin in one hand while holding a chihuahua in the other. Other times he may sketch a quick drawing while directing.
Xavier Cugat in “Holiday in Mexico” (1948) performing the song “Yo Te Amo Mucho-And That’s That”
Along with Cugat, other hispanic performers would be featured, but each had their own musical style and none overlapped. Carmen Miranda’s numbers were colorful and often comical, characterized by her detailed and elaborate costumes.
Pianist José Iturbi would be featured playing classical pieces, sometimes accompanied by his sister Amparo.
But the Latin fueled music didn’t stop with Cugat, Iturbi and Miranda. In “Easy to Wed” (1946), Esther Williams and Van Johnson sing in Portuguese–coached by Carmen Miranda–“Bonecu de Pixe,” accompanied by “Hit Parade” organist Hazel Smith. Williams said they were trained by Carmen Miranda and she felt ridiculous singing in Portuguese since she was butchering the language, according to her autobiography “The Million Dollar Mermaid.”
To a lesser degree, in most 1940s films, if the stars are in a nightclub, you bet they will be doing a rumba at one point. In “A Date with Judy” (1948) Carmen Miranda teaches Wallace Beery how to rumba so he can dance with his wife, Selena Royal, for their anniversary. Even Charles Laughton was doing the rumba with Deanna Durbin in “It Started with Eve” (1941).
But this Hispanic influence didn’t stop at the music during this time period: It translated into clothing, film themes and dances.
Fashion
Donna Reed on a June 1946 cover of LIFE in peasant clothes
The Spanish and Latin influence was not just limited to night club entertainment but also rubbed off on fashion.
Popular 1940s summer fashions were influenced by Latin culture with peasant blouses, colorful fiesta skirts and espadrille shoes.
Jane Powell can be seen wearing this style in wore a in “Luxury Liner” (1948). The July 17, 1944, LIFE magazine cover features a model wearing what was known as the “Peasant Clothes.” She is wearing a lose, capped sleeve blouse, a flared striped skirt and wedged hemp shoes.
Fly Rio, Rio by the sea-o
Movies reflected the Spanish influence interest with fashions, music, location and even film title. Some films in the 1940s were:
•Down Argentine Way (1940)
•Week-End in Havana (1941)
•Holiday In Mexico (1946)
•Thrill in Brazil (1946)
Other movies like “Gilda” (1946) or “Romance on the High Seas” (1948) are located in South America and take part in Carnival.
Why was this Hispanic influence huge in United States pop culture?
The Good Neighbor Policy.
To state it as simply as possible-During Franklin D. Roosevelt’s presidency starting in 1933, the policy was created with the principle for the United States not to interfere with domestic affairs in Latin America, and the United States acting like “a good neighbor.”
Specifically with stars like Brazilian Carmen Miranda, her job was to star in patriotic films such as “The Gang’s All Here” to bridge the gap between the Americas.
However, the policy declined in 1945 after World War II ended and the Cold War began.
Cugat remained popular throughout the 1950s, but much like big band performers like Harry James or Tommy Dorsey, his popularity faded as the rumbas and dance music were less relevant and rock n’ roll started to emerge. He retired in 1971 after suffering a stroke.
This is part of the Hollywood Hispanic Heritage Blogathon with Aurora’s Gin Joint.
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“Gidget Goes to Rome” isn’t the best of the three Gidget feature films, but it may not be the worst?
Mike Connolly described the film as a “teenage takeoff on La Dolce Vita,” according to a Feb. 20, 1963, news brief.
In this film, we join Gidget and her friends for a third summer. Gidget (Cindy Carol) is about to go off to college and is planning a trip to Rome, Italy, with her friends — Lucy (Noreen Corcoran) and Libby (Trudi Ames). She’s trying to convince her boyfriend Moondoggie/Jeff (James Darren) and his buddies — Judge (Joby Baker) and Clay (Peter Brooks) — to come along. But before they can head abroad, Gidget’s parents need some convincing. They will only let Gidget go if she has a chaperon. Judge enlists his rich, eccentric Aunt Albertina (Jessie Royce Landis). Without her knowledge, Gidget’s father (Don Porter) writes to an old friend he met in Italy during World War II, Paolo Cellini (Cesare Danova).
“Gidget Goes Hawaiian” (1961) is the worst of the Gidget feature films. And even though it’s ridiculous and has some stupid
The success of the 1959 “Gidget” film was followed by two feature films, three made-for-TV movies and two television shows.
As previously mentioned, I adore the film “Gidget” (1959) that spawned a beach culture craze. However, the film that followed two years later is abysmal.
In the film, Moondoggie/Jeff Matthews (James Darren) returns from college. He and Gidget spend a carefree summer together, and Moondoggie gives Gidget his fraternity pin. All is bliss until Gidget’s parents (Jeff Donnell, Carl Reiner) surprise her with a trip to Hawaii. Rather than being overjoyed, Gidget is outraged, because she will have to leave Moondoggie, who only has two weeks of summer vacation left. In a tizzy, she runs to tell him the bad news. Rather than being angry with her, Moondoggie is happy that she has the opportunity to go on this trip. Naturally Gidget assumes that this means he doesn’t love her, so she flies off the handle, gives him back his fraternity pin and decides she wants to go to Hawaii.
When I first started getting interested in classic films, my mom would get excited about movies she wanted to introduce to me. “Gidget” (1959) was one that she could hardly wait to show me.
Views of Sandra Dee in some of my favorite swimsuits and dresses from “Gidget.”
Sitting there on a Sunday night at age 14, I fell in love with this film. It’s an explosion of color on the gorgeous backdrop of Malibu beach. It features awesome surfing shots and has excellent cast filled with one-liners that are real gems. It’s the perfect fun-in-the-sun Southern California travelogue. To date, it also has one of my favorite film wardrobes.
The movie was pivotal in my film love and got me further entrenched in 1960s pop culture. I read up on famous surfers, researched surfer lingo, listened to the Beach Boys, plastered 1960s surf images around my room and hunted for bathing suits that gave off a 1960s vibe. Of course, I wanted to learn how to surf, which has still never happened since I live four hours away from the beach on the east coast.
I may not have been alive when the 1966 “Batman” television show starring Adam West and Burt Ward was originally aired, but it is my favorite adaptation of the caped crusader. Ward was even one of my first celebrity crushes.
Adam West as Batman and Burt Ward as Robin int he 1966 “Batman” TV show.
This declaration frequently gets me in trouble. “It’s goofy. Batman isn’t supposed to be funny,” friends will retort. This is probably true. However, when life is too serious, hokey lines mixed with colorful word bubbles of “Bam!” and “Pow” popping up during fights can be balm for the soul.
I was first introduced to the television series when TVLand re-aired the show in 2001. I was 13 and starting to dig deeper into my classic film, television and music obsession that is still running strong today.
My mom remembered watching the show as a child and dressing up as Batman and Robin with her friends. She introduced me to the show, and like most nostalgic things my parents introduced me to, I was hooked.
The parody show ran originally from 1966 through 1968. Airing twice weekly for the first two seasons, each half hour show ended with a cliff hanger of Batman and Robin in peril with the announcer alluding that the “Worst was yet to come” and to be sure to tune in the “Same Bat time, Same Bat channel.”
The lines Batman said were delivered in the most serious manner but meant to be ridiculous and humorous. Robin’s character on the show is characterized by his exclamations of “Holy,” connected to what he and Batman were discussing.
Every night “Batman” aired, I would sit watching with what I called my “Holy List.” . And I tried to write down every single “holy” uttered during the show.
I still have my “Holy List,” and it’s sitting beside me as I write this. Creased with fold marks and with faded pencil writing, my list ended up being nine pages, some front and back. Included on the list are some of the Riddler’s puzzles scrawled in the margins.
A few of my favorite Robin “Holy” quotations:
-Holy purple cannibal
-Holy here-we-go-again
-Holy reverse priority
-Holy missing relatives
-Holy Fourth Amendment
-Holy Rip Van Winkle
-Holy diversionary tactics
-Holy uncanny photographic mental process
-Holy squirrel cage
-Holy one-track-bat-computer-mind
The show was a favorite of some of Hollywood’s top celebrities including Natalie Wood, Frank Sinatra and Cary Grant. All three wanted to guest star but were never able to be fit in.
The primary villains on the show were the Riddler, played by Frank Gorshwin; the Joker, played by Cesar Romero; the Penguin, played by Burgess Meredith; and Catwoman, played by Julie Newmar, Eartha Kitt and Lee Meriwether (in the film).
Lee Meriwether as Catwoman, Frank Gorshwin as the Riddler, Burgess Meredith as the Penguin and Cesar Romero as The Joker in the 1966 “Batman” film. Julie Newmar and Eartha Kitt played Catwoman on the TV show.
The show included celebrity guest stars who would play villains on the show including Tallulah Bankhead as the Blackwidow, Van Johnson as the Minstrel, Roddy McDowell as Bookworm, or Vincent Price as Egghead. Other times, stars like Jerry Lewis would appear when they were looking out the window as Batman and Robin scaled a wall.
Two other classic Hollywood stars appear on the show as regulars. Neil Hamilton plays Commissioner Gordon. Hamilton was in several 1930s films, usually playing a cad who jilted a woman. Alan Napier plays Alfred the butler. Napier was a character actor in the 1930s through the 1970s, appearing in films such as “Lassie” (1943) or “The Uninvited” (1944).
Roddy McDowall guest starred as “The Bookworm.”
On the show, Batman also had the most impressive gadgets including shark repellent (in the 1966 Batman film) or Bat sleeping gas used to knock out bad guys and take them back to the Bat Cave. However, while fighting crime, Batman always reminded Robin that safety and responsibility had to come first- often telling him to put on his seatbelt in the BatMobile or to do his algebra homework.
For years, I waited for the series to be released on DVD. I happily watched as seasons of my other favorite classic television shows such as “My Three Sons,” “Emergency” and “Adam-12” were released, and constantly wondered, “But what about Batman?”
When the announcement came earlier in 2014 that the television series would be released by Warner Brothers this November, I was overjoyed. I guess sometimes it’s the simple, material things that keep us going. Complications with rights prevented the release of the television show.
Now owning the first season of “Batman” on DVD, I found it just as delightful as I did when I was 13. The color and picture on the DVD is vibrant and looks great. My only qualm is that it looks like rather than releasing the full second season on DVD, the seasons are being split up in two parts- similar to how Warner released “My Three Sons.”
Whether you find Adam West cheesy as Batman or not, there is no denying that the television show is a pleasant and fun way to spend a spare hour.
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This week, Comet Over Hollywood is celebrating Halloween with slightly more offbeat horror films.
(This contains spoilers to explain alternate endings)
When I was growing up, there were two movies my sisters and I begged for our parents to rent from Blockbuster: “Troop Beverly Hills” (1989) and “Watcher in the Woods” (1980)
While I watch “Troop” fairly regularly, it had been at least 15 or 20 years since I had seen “Watcher in the Woods.”
I only remembered three things about the Disney horror film: a girl wearing a blindfold appearing in mirrors, elderly Bette Davis and being scared after watching it.
In the film, Americans Helen (Carroll Baker) and Paul (David McCallum) move their two daughters to England. Jan (Lynn-Holly Johnson) is an intuitive teenager and Ellie (Kyle Richards) is her younger sister.
The family finds a large mansion for rent at a price that they can’t refuse, leased by elderly Mrs. Alywood (Bette Davis), whose daughter disappeared under mysterious circumstances 40 years ago.
Much to the shock of several villagers, Jan looks very similar to Mrs. Alywood’s missing daughter Karen.
Within the first few days of the family moving into the large home, Jan begins to experience strange disturbances: a window breaks by itself and leaves the shape of a triangle, she sees a blue circle in a river, she can’t see her reflection in a mirror, and a mirror breaks by itself and she sees a blindfolded girl pleading for help.
Jan sees a vision of Karen pleading for help in the fun house in “Watcher in the Woods.”
Ellie even names a new puppy Nerak (Karen spelled backward) after something “tells her to name it Nerak.”
Several other disturbances happen like something is protecting the Curtis daughters. At a motorcycle race, Ellie starts yelling for Jan and when Jan moves to her, a motorcycle lands and explodes where she was standing.
Jan tells Mrs. Alywood about the disturbances, who shares with her about the night Karen went missing in the 1940s. Karen was with three friends in an old church. The church caught on fire and the three other teenagers escaped, but Karen did not. However, the church was searched and her remains were never found.
The Curtis family, including Carroll Baker, moving to their England home.
When Jan tries to ask the other three people who were with Karen about what happened, they are all too afraid to discuss the events. Only one man, Tom Colley (Richard Pasco) will say what happened. Karen was being initiated into a secret society when the church caught on fire. When a bell in the church fell, she disappeared.
As Jan searches for answers, a spirit- or the watcher- is using Ellie to communicate with Jan to free Karen.
During an eclipse, Jan assembles the original three people at the church to free Karen.
Ellie enters, possessed by the “watcher,” and explains what happened on the night 40 years before. The watcher has been on Earth since Karen was sent to an “alternate dimension” by mistake.
Jan stands where Karen stood as everyone holds hands around her, and Karen reappears, still 17 years old, and is reunited with her mother.
Alternate ending
The ending in the theatrical release is not what was originally released in theaters in 1980.
“Even when they released it, Disney couldn’t decide how to end Watchers in the Woods,” Davis said in the biography, “The Girl Who Walked Home Alone: Bette Davis: A Personal Biography By Charlotte Chandler. “…Eventually they tried three different endings, but I haven’t the foggiest as to which they chose for posterity.”
The film was also rushed to theaters to correspond with Bette Davis’s 50th anniversary as a film star.
In the first theatrical ending, released for a week in New York City on April 17, 1980, the group still gathers in the chapel for a seance to bring back Karen. Rather than a beam of light coming over Jan and returning Karen like in the 1981 ending, an alien comes into the room, picks Jan up and takes her away.
Jan’s mom runs into the chapel asking whereher child is, and Jan reappears with Karen. Jan returns Karen to Mrs. Alywood, and Ellie asks Jan what happened. Jan gives vague answers, still leaving what happened unexplained.
Ellie: Where was she?
Jan: I’m not sure. A place where people are changed into negative images.
Ellie: How did she get there?
Jan: An accidental exchange between the watcher and her. He needed my image to set her free.
Ellie: So what happened to the watcher?
Jan: Now the watcher can go home too, where ever that is *smiles into the distance and the film ends*
“I challenge even the most indulgent fan to give a coherent translation of what passes for an explanation at the end,” New York Times film critic Vincent Canby wrote in 1980.
Due to the cryptic ending, the film was poorly received and was said to not have an ending. “Watcher in the Woods” was pulled from theaters, re-edited and released again in 1981.
“We felt we had seven-eighths of a good picture, but the ending confused people,” said the Disney co-producer Tom Leech in 1981.
The revisions took 18 months and cost $1 million, but the film earned $1.2 million after the second release in its first week. Many theater owners said if the alien science fiction ending was changed, they would be willing to take the picture, according to an Oct. 22, 1981 article, “New ending gives Disney movie second chance” by Aljean Harmetz.
“The ending is seamless, satisfying, resolving the mystery,” wrote The Richmond Times-Dispatch after the second release.
My review:
While I was revisiting “Watcher in the Woods,” I couldn’t remember how it ended. I was probably six or seven years old the last time I watched the film, and I’m not surprised that I didn’t remember Karen being in an “alternate dimension.” Even now, I found that explanation of the missing girl mildly confusing. However, the 1981 ending is admittedly more clear than the 1980 ending.
Bette Davis, 72, in “Watchers in the Woods”
I think my favorite part was seeing Bette Davis, 72, and Carroll Baker, 49, late in their careers. Davis unsurprisingly gave the best performance in the whole film.
Though I’m not familiar with much of Lynn-Holly Johnson’s work, I believe Disney cast her because if you squint, she vaguely looks like former Disney star Hayley Mills.
I think my biggest complaint with “Watcher in the Woods” is, while I enjoyed it, the story seemed to move awfully slow for an 82 minute film.
Regardless, rewatching “Watcher in the Woods” was a pleasant trip down memory lane. I still found some parts genuinely frightening, such as when Jan is in the fun house, and Karen appears in every mirror pleading for help.
“Watcher in the Woods” is a fairly dark horror movie for Disney but it isn’t that scary. However if it is still semi-scaring me at 25, you can imagine why I don’t watch more frightening horror films.
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