Well, I vowed to post something today and AIN'T NOBODY CAN CALL ME A LIAR. Hardly ever. Now that I've gotten Firefox, which I thoroughly endorse, I am able to put in pictures, and have been amusing myself by doing that. I must have gone through a thousand pictures of William Shatner before I chose the winner below. Cute, huh? Captain Kirk. Try to imagine how much it must pain an egotistical halfwit like Shatner that that's the way he ended up looking. This is the guy who had a couple of extras fired when they laughed at him when his hairpiece fell off during a fight scene (Star Trek 5, I think, the atrocity he directed), and who insisted that Paramount digitally abbreviate his ass -- at great expense -- in a couple of shots in Star Trek 6. Does he still ride horses? Or oxen, maybe? I mock Shatner but that doesn't mean I don't love him. He was great in Galaxy Quest.
It is my wish to talk about the 1968 movie of Finian's Rainbow. I had this on Netflix a week ago. Finian's Rainbow did well on Broadway in 1947. But it was about racism, and nobody wanted to make a movie of it. I can't imagine what made Warner Brothers think that in 1968 Finian's time had finally come. Maybe they just wanted to adapt a musical for old Fred Astaire. They made a "bold" decision, or at least I'm sure they thought so, to retain all the racial discrimination stuff. And to give a 1947 musical added appeal for hippie-era audiences they hired Francis Ford Coppola, who was under 30 and could therefore be trusted by hippies. At that point he had directed only two features, a student film which played in theaters and made some money, and Dementia 13, a pretty good horror movie.
In a nutshell -- a pistachio would be about right for the depth of this plot, waggish old Irishman Astaire and his daughter Petula Clark, who was older than Coppola, have just arrived in the "mythical" state of Missitucky. They lease some land in Rainbow Valley, which is populated by an absurdly clean-cut interracial bunch of sharecroppers. Finian has stolen a crock of gold from the leprechauns, and means to bury it in Rainbow Valley because of its proximity to Fort Knox. It is his demented belief that burying it there will cause the gold to grow. He is pursued by Monkees-type pop star (invented by publicists) Tommy Steele (age 32) as a leprechaun who is turning mortal because that's what happens when your 3-wish-granting gold is stolen.
Steele is easily the best thing in the movie. I love to see a grown man scamper and cavort. He has a couple of close-ups which I think are Harpo quality. Everything he says is funny and his songs are just the cutest.
The songs are written by E.Y. Harburg and composed by Burton Lane. Harburg wrote the Wizard of Oz songs (composed by Harold Arlen). Harburg obviously had a thing about rainbows. Harburg first knew and loved W.S. Gilbert's work as a writer of light satiric verse. He professed to be amazed when he learned that Arthur Sullivan composed music that went along with that crazy stuff. The songs are great and reason enough to see this long two hour twenty five god damn minute movie. And Tommy Steele. Petula's good. It depends on your taste but Fred Astaire isn't bad. He was better when he was even older and didn't dance any more, like in Ghost Story.
The movie is CLUELESS and often EMBARRASSING. It is Without Guts and tries to appeal too broadly. It is abnormally flabbily edited; scenes shuffle along forever. One of the subplots added for the screenplay is about the sharecroppers trying to develop a strain of tobacco that is pre-mentholated. We're supposed to sympathize because their fucking minty cancer leaves won't burn and rejoice at the end when they inexplicably burst into smoky flame. One of the wishes gets wasted mistakenly turning a bigot senator into a black man, then another wish spent to turn him back after he learns his lesson and his attitude gets adjusted (ooh, did I forget to tell you there were "spoilers"???). Petula's young hero boyfriend is 40 and has fake hair. For good Irish whimsy type fun watch the Disney movie Darby O'Gill and the Little People.
Sorry, Steve, Burton Lane didn't write any songs for THE WIZARD OF OZ. E.Y. Harburg's collaborator on that film was Harold Arlen. Otherwise, I'm enjoying the blog.
Posted by: Dan Kravetz | February 04, 2006 at 12:53 AM
Of course Arlen composed the Oz songs! Thanks, Dan, I went back and fixed that.
Posted by: Mr. Steve | February 04, 2006 at 07:28 AM
Al Lewis is dead.
And I need to know the German word for HORN. The kind of horn you play, not play with.
Posted by: DARG | February 04, 2006 at 07:18 PM
Horn is 'horn,' you moron, don't you know anything? Jesus.
Posted by: Mr. Steve | February 04, 2006 at 08:12 PM
Jesus, don't be a hater!
Posted by: Doug | February 04, 2006 at 10:00 PM
Did you know that the movie "CLUELESS" is lightly based on the Jane Austin novel, "EMMA"??
I was horrified to hear of Al Lewis' passing. Had I known he was down in the village at "Grandpa's" a lot I would've-SHOULD'VE-gone down there and 'hobb-knobed' a bit with him. What a soul! As a kid I would fantasize about having sex with him. I also fantasized about having sex with Bob Crane, another one on a long list of childhood heart throbs. Leonard Nimoy is on that list as well. My girlfriend Allison O'Brian fantasized about Mr. Shatner, so when we would play 'house' together she would always be taking a shower with "the Captain" and I would always be taking a shower with Spock. As I write this, I am realizing on a deeper level, just how important 'free play' is for young girls.
Posted by: Eva | February 06, 2006 at 01:11 PM
For God's sake, Eva! You DID NOT fantasize about Grandpa Munster! This is too hideous! Get out of here and get you own blog! Ecch, and I was just about to go to bed...
Posted by: Mr. Steve | February 06, 2006 at 11:43 PM
I ate at his place on Bleecker once. I went pee pee and he came into the bathroom and started a conversation with me WHILE I was at the urinal. He stared at my schwang. What a pervert.
Eva, does that add to or diminsh your fantasy?
Posted by: doug | February 08, 2006 at 01:43 PM
Doug! I didn't read your experience with AL Lewis looking at your penis until now -- WOW! Hm....you know, that experience adds a hefty amount of volume and dimension to my fantasy. In fact, I feel like masturbating right now -- I'm in the Library, so I'm going to have to ask the librarian for the key to the bathroom so I can take care of myself. Thanks a lot!
Posted by: eva | February 13, 2006 at 10:44 AM
I loved Finian's Rainbow when I was a kid. I had a crush on Tommy Steele for the duration of the movie every time I saw it. I did not remember a thing about that plot...
Posted by: Theresa | May 03, 2006 at 02:42 PM
I loved Finian's Rainbow when I was a kid. I had a crush on Tommy Steele for the duration of the movie every time I saw it. I did not remember a thing about that plot...
Posted by: Theresa | May 03, 2006 at 02:42 PM