LifeSoFarLaRue

THE GOOD:  "SCHINDLER'S LIST"   The winner of seven Oscars including Best Picture, Best Director (Steven Spielberg) and Best Score (John Williams) who wisely enlisted Izthak Perlman to play the main theme on the violin, this black and white film is remarkable in one specific way, the use of color.   More specifically, a red coat worn by a young girl during the depiction of the liquidation of the Krakow ghetto.   That girl becomes a turning point for Schindler (Liam Neeson, Oscar nominee).  Others in the top-notch cast include Ralph Fiennes and Ben Kingsley.  And while the film is a little tough to watch at times, it is an important portrait of a man who saved 1,200 Jews in his lifetime.  And should justly go down in history as one of the greats. THE BAD:  "CAN'T STOP THE MUSIC"   Hoping to cash in on the Disco craze, this film was based loosely on how the band Village People was formed.  But, it was too little, too late.   Di...

Here's some more "stuff" for your amusement.   We had a small pedestal type, three-legged table with nothing to show it off.   Then, the fates stepped in.  While browsing through a local antique store here in Naples, I came upon the perfect bust to display.   Remember I'm a movie nut.  What could be better than Lon Chaney as "The Phantom of the Opera?"  It looks great on the table and does make people do a double-take when they first see it. Items number two and three go back to my childhood. I remember ordering the Hopalong Cassidy mug which was advertised on his radio show.  It most likely had a tie-in to Ovaltine or some such advertiser.  But I used it a lot as a child.   I've totally forgotten how the Shirley Temple pitcher came into my life but none-the-less I still have it. One more item from my childhood is my Mickey Mouse watch.  The crystal has been long gone, but it still works (if you remember...

It is amazing how much stuff one can accumulate in the span of some years   We had sold or given away a lot of things before we moved to Florida but, now after 17 years, it has quietly piled up again.  I thought you might be interested in some of my "treasures." The first item made the trip south successfully from upstate New York.  It was a Christmas gift from our neighbors, Lore and Walter Frey.  They knew my passion for movies and presented me with "The Maltese Falcon." (A replica, no doubt)  I can still hear Humphrey Bogart when asked by the detective, "What is it?"   His response, "The, uh, stuff that dreams are made of."  Item number two is a bowl that was presented to my grandmother on the occasion of her 50th wedding anniversary to my grandfather in 1933.   The gathered clan is pictured below along with the bowl of carnival glass.   The next piece was found at a tag sale and I bought it for three dollars. T...

THE GOOD:  "CHICAGO"  Director Rob Marshall's take on this musical is pure genius.  Telling the story from the viewpoint of Roxie Hart puts a delightful spin on the whole thing!   Renee Zellweger plays Roxie and Catherine Zeta-Jones fills the shoes of Velma her nemesis and fellow jail bird.  Yes, they are both awaiting trial for murder.  Richard Gere is the lawyer overseeing these matters and Queen Latifah and John C. Reilly fill other spots  Look closely, and you'll find Chita Rivera (an original Broadway cast member) in a cameo role.  Nominated for thirteen Oscars and winner of six, including Best Picture and Best Supporting Actress for Ms. Zeta-Jones, the film was directly responsible for the restoration of the musical movie to its rightful place in the annals of film.  The choreography (Mr. Marshall) is reminiscent of the Bob Fosse original steps and yet it takes on a life of its own and shows the artists in their best light (particularly...

Before I knew Mary Ann Niles, she had been married to Bob Fosse (his first wife) and they were a popular dance team of the day, appearing  in numerous TV shows such at "The Colgate Comedy Hour," "The George Burns and Gracie Allen Show" and even "Omnibus." After their divorce, Mary Ann went on to appear in a number of Broadway musicals as well as a hit movie in the dancing chorus.  These included "Carnival" (61), "The Unsinkable Molly Brown" with Debbie Reynolds (64), "Flora, the Red Menace" with Liza Minnelli (65), "No, No, Nanette" with Ruby Keeler (71), and acting as Dance Captain for "Irene" with Debbie Reynolds (73).   Her last Broadway show was "Ballroom" in 1978. Below is a photo with Vincent Gardenia and Dorothy Louden at center and my fiend Dick Corrigan on the far right. (Mary Ann is in there somewhere.) And how did we meet?  One night after a performance of "No, No Nanette,...

Perhaps my favorite restaurant in New York City (back in the day) was an unobtrusive place (well, from the street) named "One if by Land, Two if by Sea" located at 17 Barrow Street in Greenwich Village.   Aaron Burr's former coach house, it is supposedly haunted.  But who cares?  It is know for it's signature dish of Beef Wellington and I can attest to the fact that it is splendid, a culinary delight! Once inside, the room is magnificent...…. A grand piano and a fireplace were snuggled just inside the entrance next to the bar and many a celebrity (Liza, on occasion) would drop by to do a few tunes for the patrons. There was always an enormous arrangement of fresh-cut flowers in back of the bar which helped it to attain the reputation as one of the most romantic restaurant in the city. The main dining room had a balcony which overlooked it (for VIP seating and luckily we were given the honor on a few occasions - at that time we knew the owners.)   In...

Unlike today when "Trick or Treaters" are given prewrapped candy purchased from the local market, Halloween was a special time growing up in my small home town of Corbin, Kansas.  The local housewives would prepare wonderful home-made treats for the local children who would knock on their doors.  These included fudge, divinity, cookies, rice krispie treats, bags of nuts and raisins, an occasional scoop of candy corn, perhaps a candied apple or an orange and the best of all: popcorn balls.   I remember there was always a group of us, my cousin Jerome, the Wilson twins and a few others who would visit every house in town  (I told you it was small) on Halloween night wearing our rubber monster masks and "terrifying" the local residents  when they opened their front doors.               The next step would be our host/hostess trying to guess who these pint-sized creatures were.  (This was long before par...

THE GOOD:   "DOCTOR ZHIVAGO"    Another David Lean masterpiece with an all-star cast that includes Omar Sharif in the title role, and Julie Christie as Lara (his love).  Geraldine Chaplin plays his wife and other outstanding roles are filled by Alec Guinness, Rod Steiger, Tom Courtenay, Ralph Richardson and Rita Tushingham.  Nominated for ten Oscars including Best Picture and Best Director, it won five among them Best Score and Best Cinematography (both well deserved).  The scope of the film is magnificient touching on the Russian Revolution and subsequent Civil War but, more that that, it is an enduring love story and absolutely beautiful in the telling. THE BAD:  "TROG"  A preposterous vehicle for Joan Crawford whose career was at an end (This was her last film.)  She plays a scientist who tries to domesticate a living troglodyte discovered in a cave in the English countryside.  The film was universally panned and became a laughin...

When I was about ten, my parents ran a small café in my home town of Corbin Kansas. The picture below is the front door of that establishment.  And (probably, TMI) the people in this photo are:  Back row: my dad, Ralph a.k.a "Rusty," my brother Lagrant, an unknown man, my Uncle Herman Niebaum and my cousin Orcenith Smith.  Then, in front of them, we have my mom  Finace, Lagrant's wife Betty holding their first born Michael, my Aunt Myrtle (Orcenith's mother) (Her husband took the picture) my grandma Susan, my Aunt Grace (Herman's wife) and Aurora (Orcenith's wife)….Moving on (are you with me so far?)  We have the wide mouthed Christine (Orcenith and Aurora's daughter,  ME, with cousin Jerome Niebaum behind me, and Dick (Lagrant's wife Betty's younger brother.) PHEW! And the reason I post this photo is to give you a sense of what those days were like..... The café was a thriving, albeit small, business with regular customers dropping in daily for...

In 1979, my mother turned 70 years old (I was 38) and to celebrate, Fabian and I flew her to New York to spend a week with us.  She had never been on a plane much less seen NYC.   What follows are a few of the pictures that we (Fabian) took to commemorate the trip.  Let's start with Rockefeller Center.  We also saw something at Radio City Music Hall that day, but I don't remember what, but the Rockettes were involved and that was the point.   And there was a cruise on the Circle Line around Manhattan and out to the Statue of Liberty. There were numerous Broadway show we attended  (She promptly fell asleep during "A Chorus Line." A long day, I guess.)  And we saw a ballet ("Don Quixote") at the Metropolitan opera.  And she also visited the showroom of the company I worked for and was duly impressed with my wreath designs.     And what would New York be without a trip to Macy's? I think she bought a scarf. W...

THE GOOD:   "INHERIT THE WIND"  Based on the "Scopes Monkey Trial" of 1925 in Tennessee, the film directed by Stanley Kramer is fictionalized but holds true to the outcome of a teacher tried for teaching Darwinism in a public school.  Spencer Tracy and Frederick  March portray the two attorneys at odds with each other and Gene Kelly (in a rare non-musical role) plays a newspaper man sent to cover the case.   Florence Eldridge (March's real wife) plays his wife in the film.  Others in the noteworthy cast include Dick York as the teacher on trial and Harry Morgan as the judge.  The acting is first rate and Tracy was nominated for an Oscar.   This should be on your bucket-list if you have never seen it. It is mesmerizing watching the two lead giants of acting battle it out. THE BAD:  "POPEYE"   What sounds like a sure-fire hit on paper can turn into a fiasco in the hands of the wrong director.   In this case, the director was R...

THE GOOD:   "SWEENY TODD"  Brilliantly directed by Tim Burton and lauded by Stephen Sondheim as the only filmed musical of his work that he truly liked, this is a poem, a lyrical ode to blood and murder.  Don't let that turn you off.  It is bloody and it had to be.  The tale of a murderous barber who kills his deserving victims and enables his friend Mrs. Lovett to make meat pies from their remains, it is a bit squeamish at times.   But, oh, that Sondheim music. Rapturous and while the blood splatters the score soars creating a mood unlike anything you have ever witnessed. Johnny Depp stars as Sweeny with Helena Bonham Carter as Mrs. Lovett in two of the cinema's great performances. I have watched this film perhaps a half-dozen times and it is always enthralling and in my eyes, a masterpiece! THE BAD:  "STRIPTEASE"  Winner of the Golden Raspberry Award for the Worst Picture of 1996, the film starred Demi Moore (at a 14.5 million ...