LifeSoFarLaRue

In my travels over the years, I usually bought a memento (a t-shirt or most likely a pin to commemorate the visit.)   As time went by I discovered that I has so many pins that it was time to "specialize."   I decided to collect only "entertainment" based pins (Disney, Broadway, Movies, etc.) There is even a pin from the 1939 World's fair among the others.  Then I put them all on a denim jacket which weighs a "ton' that I use to wear occasionally.  Now, it sits in the guest bedroom, longing for one more outing.  Maybe, someday.

The GOOD:  "THE YEARLING." A wonderful film from Hollywood's Golden age with incredible performance all across the boards.  It is the story of a family, a coming of age film that started the genre.  Claude Jarman, Jr.  plays Jody, a boy who finds and adopts a fawn.  Gregory Peck and Jane Wyman are the parents who have lost three other children in childbirth causing the mother to be afraid of showering too much love on Jody. Nominated for Best Picture, Best Actor and Best Actress and winning the Oscar for Best Art Direction and Best Cinematography, every frame of this film is a masterpiece in beauty and design.  It is an emotional journey that you will long remember.  One of the greats!! The BAD:  "STAIRCASE."  A film with good intentions, no doubt. but this story of an aging homosexual couple (Rex Harrison and Richard Burton) has too many stereotypical moments to merit watching.  The pair do their best but seem lost in their attempt to portray these charact

Perhaps not the best title for this posting.....Delusions is more accurate.  But we called them ghosts, so that is what I'll relate. And I relate this to alert you in case you are ever in our situation. In the last two or three years of Fabian's life and as a direct result of Parkinson's disease (According to his doctor), he saw people and even animals who weren't there.  (It may also have been a result of all the meds he was on, to my way of thinking, but that is certainly open to debate.) On more than one occasion, he would ask me to let the dogs back into the apartment (He saw several on the lanai.) I would explain that we didn't have any dogs but did have a cat.  He would usually say something like "That's why the dogs don't want to come in.  It's the cat."  So I would open the lanai door for a few minutes and he would be contented that the dogs had come inside. As to the people who visited, he was fond of a "pretty little girl&q

The GOOD:  "WHO'S AFRAID OF VIRGINIA WOOLF?" Nominated for thirteen Academy Awards, this film won five including Acting Oscars to Elizabeth Taylor and Sandy Dennis.  The other two co-stars, Richard Burton and George Segal were nominated but did not win.  Likewise, Mike Nicholas as Best Director.  The film was also in nomination for Best Picture but lost out to "A Man For All Seasons."  Still, this is a well thought-out ant thought provoking movie.  And Ms. Taylor (who gained 30 pounds to play the frumpy Martha) is a revelation.  Ernest Lehman wrote the screenplay from the play by Edward Albee and it is very true to the original.  A lesson in acting, this is high on the list of films to see for that reason. The BAD:  "BYE, BYE BIRDIE."  Where to begin: what was a delightful Broadway musical was turned into a vehicle for Ann-Margret as a teen-age sex kitten while attempting to keep the plot in tact.  Dick Van Dyke (in his film debut) reprise

They have always been called "pop-up" books even after attaining some stature over the last decade or two.  Now, they are remarkable works of "Paper Engineering."  I have been an aficioando of these endeavors for too many years that I choose to recall.  I remember the early ones just had a single image....and some of them have been repeated today. But beyond that a few artist (notably Robert Sabuda) have expanded it into an art form and while photography doesn't do them justice, I'll post a few.   One of the first I discovered was "The Disney Alphabet" (below).    Yes, A is for Ariel (The Little Mermaid). The page below is from "The Chronicles of Narnia." Another view is from "The Adventures of Alice in Wonderland." With over thirty different titles in my library, I can't show them all (and of course there are numerous pop-ups in every book). Other artists have contributed other books like

The GOOD: "THE NIGHT OF THE HUNTER."  This only film directed by Charles Laughton and borrowing from German expressionism makes you wish he'd done more.  It is unique, mesmerizing and downright lyrical in it's poetry.  It's all about Robert Mitchum as a corrupt minister turned serial killer who tries to woo a widow (Shelly Winters) with two young children, to steal a large sum of money hidden by her dead husband (and his ex-cellmate), With a screenplay by James Agee and a tour de force by Lillian Gish as the protector the children stumble upon in their flight from the minister, this is one for the ages.  With black and white cinematography at its finest, you can't take your eyes off this riveting film.  And, in particular, the under water scene with Shelly Winters and some of the extreme long shots of the minister drawing ever near in his attempt to kill the children.  It will send chills up your spine. It is a classic in every sense of the word.

I did "Funny Girl" at the Meadowbrook with Denise Lor (a popular TV singer from "The Garry Moore Show") and Johnny Desmond (another popular singer who was the first replacement in the Broadway/Streisand production) I recall that Desmond had his own take on things: "Barbra did it this way," much to the chagrin of Ms. Lor who wanted to do it her way which caused some occasional friction in rehearsals.  That all eased considerably once the show opened and everyone realized that Ms. Lor was quite capable and had the role in the palm of her hand.  She was very, very good! Unfortunately, that was not my case, at least not in rehearsals.  I was playing the role of John (which I don't remember at all) and also in the chorus.  The choreographer (Jim Smock) had been in the Broadway version and insisted that this chorus would do the original choreography by Carol Haney (and overseen by Jerome Robbins).  And some of it was a "killer" particularly a

The GOOD:  "THE SEARCHERS."   Arguably one of director John Ford's greatest pictures, it certainly is a favorite of mine.  Starring John Wayne, Jeffrey Hunter and Vera Miles, it concerns the tireless search for a missing girl abducted  by Indians when she was but a child. And it is steeped in beautiful photography and incredible art direction.  Although not appearing until the last half hour or so, Natalie Wood shines as the confused girl finding her long lost roots. Ward Bond is also in the cast as he was one of Ford's favorite actors.  Named by the American Film Institute as the "Greatest American Western" in 2008, it certainly is worthy of that title and has also been called a masterpiece in many circles.  While I am not a fan of the western genre, this one stands above the rest and is worthy of your attention.  It is a brilliant piece of film making! The BAD:  "AWRINKLE IN TIME."  Sometimes even Disney screws up. High hopes abound

This is another one of those tales that my mother told me because I simply don't remember when it happened, but I suspect it is true, nonetheless. In my small hometown of Corbin Kansas (pop. 69) there lived only white families.  Not by choice, but that's just the way it was in the late 40's.  As a child, I had not seen anyone of another race until one Christmas. There was a wonderful family with a college age daughter that lived just some blocks north of us. There last name was Black.  (Ironic, isn't it?)  The daughter, Judy, invited a college friend (maybe a roommate) to spend Christmas with her and her parents. I don't recall the name of the guest but I saw her at church the first Sunday after her arrival.  She was an attractive young woman and unlike anyone I had ever seen before.  The ebony tone of her skin was entirely new to me.  (I was probably 7 or 8.)  I do remember staring at her through a good deal of the service that Sunday morning. At any rate,

The GOOD:  "THE LITTLE SHOP OF HORRORS."  Every now and then, a film surpasses it's root source, in this case an off-Broadway musical.  Directed lovingly by Frank Oz (the Muppets creator) who uses his skill to instill charm as well as terror into the "star" of the film, a man-eating plant named Audrey II. The human actors included Rick Moranis, Ellen Greene (reprising her stage role) and Vincent Gardenia as Mr. Mushnik, the Skid Row flower shop owner.  Hysterical support comes from Steve Martin as a sadistic dentist and Bill Murray as his masochistic patient.  Others lending a hand to this madness are John Candy, Jim Belushi and Christopher Guest.  But Audrey II is the star and what fun it is watching her grow from a nursing seedling (drinking blood from the pin pricked finger of Seymore (Moranis) to a full blown "Mean Green Mother from Outer Space."  And the songs by Alan Menken and Howard Ashman are a delight.   In plain English, this is a feast for

While I'm sure everyone has their favorite kind of cake, this blog is about mine.  Granted, I love traditional cakes i.e. chocolate, white, yellow, spice, angel food, carrot, and any wedding or birthday type.  You can even give me cheesecake and German chocolate.  And I remember some odd mix called confetti cake from my youth.   But you ain't had cake till you've had a caviar cake. When I worked in the "Christmas business" I became good friends with Jayne Kline (Yes, it was Calvin's first wife.)  The picture below is the two of us at an office Christmas party. At the above party Jayne brought a caviar cake.  Wow!  I had to have the recipe.  It was not a dessert but rather an hors d'oeuvres served with crackers.   (I still make it to this day for Christmas parties.) So, now that I have your attention, here's the recipe for you to try, discard, or simply ignore. Grease a springform pan with Mayo. On the bottom of the pan, place "egg salad

The GOOD:  "LAWRENCE OF ARABIA."  This 1962 epic directed by David Lean was nominated for ten Academy Awards and won seven including Best Picture and Best Director. It is visually one of the best films ever made,   Starring Peter O'Toole in the title role, it also has an amazing cast including Alec Guinness, Omar Sharif, Anthony Quinn, Anthony Quale, Jack Hawkins, Claude Rains and Arthur Kennedy.  The Oscar winning score by Maurice Jarre is thrilling to say the least as are all the other Oscar winners especially Best Cinematography and Best Art Direction.  All in all, you can't go wrong seeing this picture. It is simply staggering! The BAD: "PAINT YOUR WAGON."   What many people felt "killed" the American musical (for the time being) is this sadly miscast and badly written attempt to breathe life into a bygone musical.  But casting Lee Marvin and Clint Eastwood  in singing roles would be its downfall  The one true singer in the piece is Harve Pr

So I'm a movie nut, a cinephile, an escapist?  Call it what you will.  But I'm going to relate my feelings about certain pictures (mainly for my friend Kim, who hasn't seen anything since "Titanic" until she saw "The Avengers: Infinity War " recently.) So here is a bit of my thoughts (cinema-wise). The GOOD:  "TO KILL  MOCKINGBIRD."  Academy Award winner Gregory Peck stars as Atticus Finch in this tale of fatherhood and racial strife in the deep South.  A brilliant book by Harper Lee is the basis for this film and features outstanding acting by Mary Badham and Philip Alford as the Finch  children with Brock Peters and Robert Duvall (in his screen debut) giving equally thrilling performances.  Elmer Bernstein's score was nominated for an Oscar as was Ms. Badham for supporting Actress.   The Horton Foote screenplay adaption won the Oscar as did Best Art Direction. It's about a trial, a Halloween and a mysterious man named Boo.  Perhap

One thing (call it a joy) that I remember from my boyhood in Corbin, Kansas was the ditch! Where I lived in that tiny town in Sumner County, there were only dirt roads.  Oh, they were covered with gravel to stem erosion, I suppose, but they were still the victims of Summer downpours.  And that was always a happy time for me and my friends. The closest swimming pool was miles away in Wellington and the one in Caldwell had yet to open (1956 I'm told by my friend Suzie).  And if you wanted to swim in the local river (The Chikaskia), well, you needed someone to take you there...…….So, we just waited for rain.  Rain that would fill the ditches and create our swimming hole.  Now the ditches were not deep, ("no diving" was not even a thought) but they held enough water to cool you off and let you splash about...…..Granted, it was a tad muddy, but that came with the territory. There were several boards that spanned the ditch to enable one to cross without having to jump ove