Stirred, Straight Up, with a Twist

Tuesday, November 9, 2010

Bazazz

KAY THOMPSON
November 9, 1909 - July 2, 1998

Funny How We've Changed Places

Dear Joan and Lili Marlene had something else in common, besides ringmaster outfits, cowgirl drag, and tropical makeup: they also both bagged the eminently baggable Yul Brynner. In the 1940's, Brynner posed nude for George Platt Lynes. Nearly 20 years later, at age 43, he appeared wearing only slightly more in the campy Kings of the Sun (1963), his body betraying not a single passing year -- proving that Yul time should be celebrated every day of the year -- as Joan and Marlene could both attest to (as well as Hurd Hatfield!).

Looks Better Naked

Monday, November 8, 2010

A Marvelous Party

Noel Coward, Judy Garland and Kay Thompson talk about performing, Lena Horne, Roger Edens, and Marilyn Monroe. Once our jaws are back in place from dropping, our eternal thanks will go to Toby Worthington for bringing this to our attention, and to TallulahDahling for posting it.

Funny Face, Revisited

Growing up, we were transfixed by the flickering, glamorous images presented on the late, late show; we would set our alarm clock for 2:00 am, to catch even a heavily-edited presentation of anything from Marie Antoinette (1938) to Queen of Outer Space (1958). As technology slowly grew, we would program the VCR to tape practically every pre-1970 film that showed up on television. And then, in turn, we began collecting DVDs, downloading movies on the Internet (legally!), or even finding rarities on YouTube. But we only knew most of these vintage films, classic or obscure, as relatively small images on a TV screen, a computer monitor, or now, an iPod or iPhone. One of the reasons we love being in Manhattan, is the opportunity we get to see quite a few classic films on the big screen, often in lovingly-restored prints at Lincoln Center, MoMA, or Film Forum. And until you've seen these films as they were originally intended to be seen, you're really only getting a fraction of the enjoyment.

On November 3, the Film Society of Lincoln Center kicked off a week-long Stanley Donen festival with his classic 1957 musical, Funny Face, starring Audrey Hepburn, Fred Astaire, and Kay Thompson. The pleasures of this screening were many: for starters, the print was an eye-popping, digitally restored archival print direct from Paramount. Thompson's legendary "Think Pink!" production number has never looked better, or pinker. Second, Mr. Donen was in the audience -- we sat right behind him, Mike Nichols, and Elaine May. Third, viewing this movie, so beloved from our childhood, on the literally big, wide screen was eye-opening and thought-provoking in unexpected ways.

Our most striking observation was that the story is practically nonexistent, even for a frothy musical; the writing just isn't particularly good or compelling. Audrey Hepburn's Jo Stockton character is so sketchily drawn, it's a testament to Hepburn's personal magnetism and sheer loveliness that she somehow maintains the audience's affection: as the dowdy bookstore clerk, Jo is borderline irritating, rattling on about the Jean Paul Sartre-esque philosophy she follows, denouncing the fashion world as shallow and without meaning. Then, Jo slips into her first Givenchy gown, and is immediately converted to commercialism. Then she denounces it again, only to finally dance off into the sunset with Astaire -- and a Givenchy gown. Say wha -- ? Mr. Donen, when interviewed by Mike Nichols after the screening, commented himself that he felt "uncomfortable" with any scene not involving a musical number, as he didn't feel they were written well, either. Our personal fond memories of the film were basically bullet points: "Think Pink"! The Richard Avedon-inspired montages! The Givenchy fashions! The Gershwin songs! Dovima! We'd forgotten the flaws -- or maybe just never noticed them as much when watching it on television.

On a more positive note, the film was a wonderful showcase for Kay Thompson, and we left wondering why the hell she didn't become the biggest star in the universe after Funny Face. Of course, we always adored her "Think Pink!" number; but beyond that, our memories of her, and the film as a whole, were blurred. Thompson really is a major part of the film, and whenever she's on screen, she blows everyone, Astaire and Hepburn included, completely away. She's the best thing about the group number, "Bonjour, Paris!"; completely overshadows Audrey on "How to Be Lovely"; and is positively incendiary with Astaire on "Clap Yo' Hands" -- which is really more of a showcase for her, and Astaire wisely and gentlemanly lets her steal the stage.

Any disappointments we had in revisiting Funny Face on the big screen were outweighed, though, by the sheer delight in seeing it so gorgeously presented; by the excitement of almost "discovering" Kay Thompson for the first time; by those gorgeous Givenchy gowns; and by the final, still-heartrending scene of Fred and Audrey being reunited at the world's loveliest church to the strains of "S'wonderful." And, of course, being able to sit behind Stanley Donen. It really doesn't get any better than that.

Mod Men

Another film we saw as part of the Film Society of Lincoln Center's tribute to Stanley Donen was his 1966 comedy-thriller, Arabesque -- another one of our all-time childhood favorites. We'd seen it countless times on television and VHS, so we were thrilled to finally see it in its original widescreen presentation. We weren't disappointed. The cinematography (which won Christopher Challis a BAFTA award) is stunning, and lives up the film's famous tag line: "Ultra Mod! Ultra Mad! Ultra Mystery!" The actors are shot through mirrors, sunglasses' lenses, chandelier crystals -- it's gimmicky, totally of its time, and absolutely wonderful.

The film itself is nowhere near great, but completely entertaining from start to finish. The story (which shamelessly borrows from the James Bond formula; Hitchock's North by Northwest; and, most heavily, Donen's own Charade, with Gregory Peck taking Audrey Hepburn's role as the civilian improbably thrust into international intrigue, and Sophia Loren in Cary Grant's place as the side-switching enigma) is labyrinthine but compelling, particularly if you employ a lot of suspension of disbelief. Helping matters immensely is the fact that the stars have a marvelous chemistry together, with Peck strangely appealing as the slightly ragged, frayed-around-the-edges professor; and La Loren, besides being at the absolute height of her beauty, is alternately sensual, playful and witty as the helpless pawn (or is she?) in this game of espionage.

Alan Badel is third-billed, and makes a splendidly silky, sinister, Bond-worthy villain, complete with mod shades, a closet full of Savile Row suits, and a pet falcon. But the real co-star of the film is Loren's fabulously insane, custom-designed Christian Dior wardrobe, valued at (in 1966) $150,000, and consisting of 14 eye-popping outfits (our personal favorite: the emerald green coat, leopard turban, and emerald earrings) and -- get this, shoe fetishists -- 50 pairs of shoes.

In spite of a derivative storyline, implausible situations, and characters who walk a thin line between satire and cartoon, Arabesque works because of Donen's slick, economical direction (there isn't a dull moment in its entire 105 minute running time), Challis's inventive cinematography, and the superstar power of Gregory Peck and Sophia Loren. By the way, did we mention how absolutely stunning Sophia looks? Forget the mod camera angles; Sophia's closeups alone probably secured Challis his BAFTA.

Saturday, November 6, 2010

Jack Benny Humps Clint Walker

Darlings, we simply couldn't find a more clever title than that. Jump to 2:22!

Friday, November 5, 2010

Making Trax

In the fall of 1960, 20th Century Fox began filming a picture based on the 1896 Olympic Games, held in Greece. Jayne Mansfield, perhaps as compensation for having been loaned out to cheapie European studios for her last three, fairly horrid films (Too Hot to Handle; The Challenge; and The Loves of Hercules), was given star billing in what was intended to be a rather lavish costume drama. Fox president Spyro Skouras personally visited the location filming in his native Greece, and declared that the film would make Jayne Mansfield a bigger star than Marilyn Monroe. Dorothy Kilgallen predicted in her newspaper column that It Happened in Athens would be the biggest Fox hit of the year.

Good old Dottie may have been a shark at guessing the occupations on What's My Line?, but she was way off the mark with her estimation on this one. It Happened in Athens wound up sitting on the shelf for nearly two years; and then it was only released as a double-bill offering and marketed as a farce. No one escaped the wreckage unscathed: Fox unceremoniously dropped Jayne's contract, and newcomer Trax Colton, whose star-making vehicle this was to have been, and who was our latest Mystery Guest, never made another film. To be fair, as illustrated in the clip below, Colton may have been pretty to look at; but anyone who makes Jayne Mansfield's acting seem nearly as accomplished as Katharine Cornell's probably would have had a relatively short shelf life under any circumstances.

The handsome actor was born Louis Morelli; "Trax Colton" was the invention of Henry Willson, the notorious Hollywood agent who renamed, groomed, and created (and most likely fellated) such SSUWAT favorites as Rock Hudson, Tab Hunter, Guy Madison, Rory Calhoun, and scores of other would-be heartthrobs. By the time Morelli/Colton arrived at Fox in 1960, however, Willson's golden touch had tarnished to the point where the agent's own homosexuality was such an open secret in Hollywood, that his handsome male clients were almost immediately assumed to be gay, bisexual, or at least "cooperative" with Willson -- and in the aftermath of Confidential magazine scandals involving Hudson and Hunter, this didn't always set Willson's novice clients' careers up for success.

Presumably disillusioned with Hollywood, Morelli/Colton disappeared after filming Athens; his one other, previous credit was a small role in another 1960 Fox production, The Marriage-Go-Round, which more successfully introduced another newcomer, Julie Newmar. We haven't been able to dig up any more information about him before or after his brief Hollywood sojourn, other than the fact that he had been a used car salesman at the time of his discovery. We can only hope that Louis Morelli has lived a contented and happy life since 1960, and that he would be pleased that Trax Colton still is of interest to a discerning few today. Thanks for playing, darlings!