Here we have another installment of music videos that feature either classic movie stars, movies or reference classic movies.
This month’s music video is “Bones” by The Killers from their album “Sam’s Town.”
The video is of a guy and a girl in a drive in movie and we see several classic films on-screen as well as being acted out by the couple.
Some movie references are:
•”Jason and the Argonauts” (Very first shot, the fact that the band members are skeletons
•”From Here to Eternity” (1953)- :30 seconds, 1:00, 1:30
•”Easy to Love” (1953)- 2:12
•”Lolita” (1962)- 2:39
•”Creature from the Black Lagoon” (1954)- 3:16
Wishing you all a very Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays!
Merry Christmas also from Priscilla Lane
On this special holiday I am sharing two clips of two of my favorite things.
First is my favorite scene from my favorite movie, “Since You Went Away” (1944). The movie stars Claudette Colbert, Jennifer Jones, Shirley Temple, Joseph Cotton, Monty Wooley and Robert Walker. It follows a woman and her daughters as they fight the war on the home front during World War II. The clip is at the end of the film during Christmas while their father is fighting during the war. It’s a little long, but it’s heart warming and seems to be the spirit of Christmas to me.
The second clip is vastly different. My favorite band is The Killers and I really like their frontman, Brandon Flowers who just came out with a new solo album. For the past six years they put out Christmas songs to raise money for AIDS. The clip below is their song from 2007 and it is my favorite of them all. No, the Killers aren’t old, but they have referenced several classic films as I mentioned in a June post. I also feel like Brandon Flowers has some really old-fashioned values, which I like. Anyhow, its a funny, clever video and song and I hope you like it.
Lady Gaga and Brandon Flowers, lead singer of the Killers
I am always listening for classic movie information, facts or references. Imagine my surprise while listening to my two favorite musical artists, Lady Gaga and The Killers, when I ran across some classic film references.
I’m not talking about the old worn out “Bette Davis Eyes” where the whole song is dedicated to one actor, but these are subtle lyrics mentioning favorite actors.
It gives me joy that Lady Gaga and Brandon Flowers must have some respect for classic Hollywood. It seems so many of the people in Hollywood don’t care about the past or are unaware. Without the James Cagneys and Bette Davises, the actors in Hollywood wouldn’t have the freedom they exercise now.
• “The Ballad of Michael Valentine” by The Killers from the Sawdust album:
“But I’ve got a buzz like Marlon Brando straight faced with misery tonight”
“But I’ve got a buzz like Greta Garbo walking fowards in the sun”
• “Romeo and Juliet” covered by the Killers on the Sawdust album:
“There’s a place for us, you know the movie song”
-talking about “West Side Story”
•”A Dustland Fairytale” by the Killers on the Day & Age album:
“‘Moon River’ what you do to me, but I don’t believe you…”
-Mentions the theme from “Breakfast at Tiffany’s”
The video seems to be modeled after “Rebel Without a Cause” or “West Side Story” with the switch blade gang fighting.
• “Speechless” by Lady Gaga from The Fame Monster album: “With your James Dean glossy eyes In your tight jeans with your long hair”
“I can’t believe how you looked at me with your Johnnie Walker eyes”
-I actually had to look up who Johnnie Walker was. He was an actor in the 1920’s and 1930s
and he died in 1949.
• “Bad Romance” by Lady Gaga from The Fame Monster album:
“I want your psycho, Your vertigo stick, Want you in my rear window, Baby you’re sick”
-Huge Hitchcock reference talking about “Psycho,” “Vertigo” and “Rear Window.” I
heard in an interview that she was sighting imperfect film romances and saying that she
would take your imperfections and still love you anyways.
• “Dance in the Dark” by Lady Gaga from The Fame Monster album:
“Marilyn, Judy, Sylvia, Tellem’ how you feel girls!”
-Marilyn Monroe, Judy Garland and I’m assuming Sylvia Plath
“Work your blonde (Jean) Benet Ramsey, We’ll haunt like Liberace, find your freedom in the music find your Jesus, find your Kubrick”
-Pianist Liberace and director Stanley Kubrick
Kim Novak, the Lavender Blonde
• “So Happy I Could Die” by Lady Gaga from The Fame Monster album: “I love that lavender blonde, the way she moves, the way she walks….”
-In her early days of acting, Kim Novak was publicized as the Lavender Blonde or the Lavender
Girl at Columbia studios. They tinted her blonde hair with lavender highlights, frequently
dressed her in shades of purple and forced her to decorate her apartment in the color, according to the book “Leading Ladies: The 50 Most Unforgettable Actresses of the Studio Era.”
Comet Over Hollywood 