For the weekend: 2: Peter, Romy, Audrey

Some nice shots of Peter and Romy during the filming of our cult favourite WHAT'S NEW PUSSYCAT? in 1965.

Then there's Peter and Audrey in 1966 HOW TO STEAL A MILLION, and then Audrey and Romy among the all-star line up in the '70s Trash Classic (which I really must have another look at one of these days) BLOODLINE ... (with Omar, Irene Papas, James Mason and Ben Gazzara). More on these at the labels ...

John Huston as Noah ...

THE BIBLE – IN THE BEGINNING. As Russell Crowe’s NOAH is about to descend upon us, a timely look at that forgotten John Huston version from 1966, this version of parts of The Bible, as produced by Dino De Laurentiis looks rather like his production of BARABBAS, and also has a polyglot cast. 

The creation of man section is rather risible as Michael Parks and one Ulla Bergryd essay Adam and Eve discovering shame in their nakedness after that apple; then its on to Richard Harris and Franco Nero as Cain and Abel (before they went off to Hollywood and CAMELOT), Stephen Boyd is an oddly made-up King Nimrod with that tower of babel, Peter O’Toole plays 3 Angels who appear to Abraham – George C Scott going way over the top, with Ava Gardner as his wife Sarah. 

The central section has Huston himself enjoying playing Noah with all those real animals going two by two into the ark. Lets see if Aronofsky can top that! - it seems his animals are digitalised and not really central to the film. Then it is on to the destruction of Sodom as those decadent citizens want to “know” those Angels (didn’t O’Toole suffer enough as T E Lawrence?) . 

Before a nuclear bomb hits the city Lot (Gabriele Ferzetti from L’AVVENTURA) and his wife Eleanora Rossa Drago flee, but she too gets turned into that pillar of salt – that section was better done in Aldrich’s 1962 extravaganza SODOM & GOMORRAH. This is all over-ripe fun now – not quite an epic nor a peplum, but certainly a curiosity in Huston’s resume. 

2 more RIPs - Peter and Joan

Quite a lot of major RIPs lately, from Nelson Mandela to Tommy Loughlin ... but Peter O'Toole and Joan Fontaine will certainly create headlines - well Fontaine (always a favourite here) has been out of the limelight for years .... gratifying though to see the amount of love and affection for them both.

Peter O'Toole (1932-2013), at 81.
Here's what I said on Peter, over at IMDB: It was marvellous seeing LAWRENCE OF ARABIA for the first time on the big screen for its general release. I saw Peter on stage in 1965 - the first time I went to the theatre actually, aged 19 - in his hit play RIDE A COCK HORSE by David Mercer, with his wife Sian Phillips, Wendy Craig and Barbara Jefford. He was the golden boy of the time, after LAWRENCE and LORD JIM, which I actually liked a lot. 

We love Peter in WHAT'S NEW PUSSYCAT? with Romy (left), Capucine, Ursula and Paula; and with the two Hepburns - HOW TO STEAL A MILLION in '66 with Audrey, and the imperishable LION IN WINTER in '68 with Katharine. MY FAVOURITE YEAR and THE RULING CLASS are also ones to see. I finally caught the 1972 MAN OF LA MANCHA last year, there's a lot wrong with it but Peter and Sophia Loren (she used to beat him at cards) are both marvellous.
He was an amazing young actor and his HAMLET opened the new National Theatre in 1963. There was also of course his legendardy MACBETH in 1980 (?) so bad it became a sell-out! But we will always have LAWRENCE and BECKET and THE LION IN WINTER. He kept working into old age too, in movies like TROY. Sian Phillips' memoir is a fascinating read on those O'Toole peak years. Does that leave just Albert Finney as the last of that great generation of hell-raisers?

Joan Fontaine (1917-2013) at 96. The star of Hitchcock's REBECCA and SUSPICION, sister of Olivia de Havilland, their famous feud was legendary. We like Joan a lot, in lots of films like THE WOMEN, JANE EYRE, IVY and THE CONSTANT NYMPH, Ophuls' LETTER TO AN UNKNOWN WOMAN which she helped produce, 
she certainly worked with interesting directors like Fritz Lang, and later co-starred with the likes of Bob Hope and Mario Lanza - I like her role in Lanza's SERENADE (see Fontaine label), where her quizzical look and raised eyebrow work overtime; she dismisses movies like these in her acidic memoir "No Bed Of Roses". Her last film THE WITCHES in 1966 was revived this summer. 
Right: Joan's pose in "Vanity Fair" a few years ago. 
Left: her white gloves and sheath halter top in ISLAND IN THE SUN, one of her '50s treats, when she was busy opposite those '50s icons like Bob Hope, Mario Lanza, Harry Belafonte, Rossano Brazzi etc. 

Pussycat ! - a summer re-run.

WHAT'S NEW PUSSYCAT? from 1965, is a key '60s movie for me,which I just found myself defending over at IMDB, where someone considered it one of the worst movies ever made. As I said: I can quite well accept its one of the worst films ever made but thats part of the attraction, if you were 19 in 1965 (as I was) and saw it at the cinema with your friends and we all laughed ourselves silly and liked the cast, it remains a cherished memory, and the height of mid-60s chic. glamour  and zaniness. 

My pals Stan and Michael and I adored it back in the '60s and returned to it several times in that pre-video world. Stan and I used to quote lines from it to each other ("Miss Lefebvre [Capucine's real name...] your face is like the pale autumn moon" "What did you say?" etc; of course Sellers and Cap were also hilarious in the original PINK PANTHER). O'Toole, Sellers and Woody + the delirious quartet of Romy, Capucine, Paula and Ursula AND Fellini's Edra Gale ! (Ursula dropping in by parachute and saying "Whats that thing?" when she sees Edra in the Viking get-up, and as she says to Peter O'Toole "Come back to bed immediately...". Whats not to like ? - even my French favourite chanteuse Francoise Hardy pops up at the end after that madness at the country hotel and they all going off on go-karts! 

Left: lovely shot of Romy & Peter - he certainly worked with them all: the 2 Hepburns, Loren, the PUSSYCAT gals ...

I just can't believe its 47 years ago ... I had the funky Burt Bacharach soundtrack album as well...and I just love the look of it, as helmed by Clive Donner. For me it and MODESTY BLAISE are the mid-60s stylish comic peaks. 

Even now the memory of Woody chasing Romy around, O'Toole and Capucine trapped in the elevator, Cap pretending to be the cleaner when Romy walks in, the language class repeating everything O'Toole and Romy say, Paula's suicide attempts, those fantastic costumes they wear .... and then they all running around the hotel etc.

A very 1968 christmas - its only 44 years ago

My last year's Christmas post was about that new version of Dickens' GREAT EXPECTATIONS, there has since been a newer version, but we always return to Lean's classic .....

Back in 1968 when I was 22 [it was my hippie summer of love, left - in my hipster jeans and bell and beads, taking acid with my hippie friends at 2001 A SPACE ODYSSEY, seeing The Doors and Jefferson Airplane at The Roundhouse, along with The Who, Traffic, Aretha Franklin etc], Carol Reed's film of Lionel Bart's musical OLIVER seemed a curiously old fashioned film then in the year of 2001 and those hip movies of the time, but it has grown in stature over the years and is a genuine Christmas classic too now. There is so much to like in it, it looks terrific of course, marvellous cast, those well-drilled dancing kids and again some terrific musical sequences. Oliver Reed too is a very fearsome Bill Sykes, as directed by his uncle Carol Reed.

 
THE LION IN WINTER, also 1968, was a marvellous treat then, it cemented Katharine Hepburn's return to movies, great period detail with all those dark ages castles. Its a witty script of course from the play, and very well directed by Anthony Harvey. I liked the faux medieval score too by John Barry. O'Toole is in his element and the young cast excel: Jane Merrow whom I liked and had met, Timothy Dalton (I had seen him up close in a stage play at London's Royal Court, where he was one of the most magnetic actors I had seen, plus Hopkins and John Castle.  It was magical seeing it on the big screen at the Odeon Haymarket, particularly when Kate's boat sails down the river and her later in-fighting with husband O'Toole and those unruly sons. If Eleanor of Aquitaine was not really like this then she should have been.
Kate of course is in her element - Pauline Kael though did not like her at all here, as per her caustic review in "Going Steady", where she said Hepburn had become "sweet and lovable ... like Helen Hayes". It remains a great Christmas movie though. 

After Christmas: films of the year, headed by AMOUR. Maggie Smith back in cinemas in QUARTET and on television in the latest DOWNTON ABBEY Christmas Special, but I have 2 other Maggies to review: her other QUARTET for James Ivory in 1981 with Alan Bates and Isabelle Adjani; and a BBC production of MEMENTO MORI directed by Jack Clayton in 1992, which like MISS BRODIE, is from a tale by Muriel Spark. Happy Holidays! 

Man of La Mancha

MAN OF LA MANCHA from 1972 seems a curiously overlooked musical, despite O'Toole and Loren I never wanted to see it at the time and when I got the dvd I just had a cursory look and filed it away, but some good comments at IMDB got me intrigued, so time for a proper look.

Locked up in a dungeon, awaiting a trial before the court of the Inquisition, Miguel de Cervantes tells his cell mates a story (created by his fantasy) of a nobleman of La Mancha, Don Quixote, who, inspired by the ancient tales of chivalry, attires himself in dilapidated armor and departs, riding a bony nag, in the company of an impromptu squire named Sancho. Don Quixote wants to renew the splendors of the knights errant; he fights windmills which he mistakes for giants; he meets a humble scullery maid whom he calls Dulcinea and elevates to the rank of sweet damsel; he takes a beating from some merchants whom he had ordered to recognize the incomparable beauty of Dulcinea; He makes an innkeeper, whom he mistakes for a lord, equip him as a knight, and at last returns hom where Dulcinea joins him to bow lovingly over his deathbed. 

Based on the hit Broadway musical of the same name by Dale Wasserman the film was greeted with negative notices but like many musicals of that era, posterity has been kind - its not quite the bomb its reputation would suggest, even if a little heavy-handed in parts. The colour scheme is drab throughout, all browns and beiges, so when Loren picks some vivid green plants its a stunning burst of colour. It is really another one-song show (FIDDLER ON THE ROOF?) and "The Impossible Dream" is undeniably effective. O'Toole is dubbed but brings a nice sweetness to Don Quixote, an addled old man here. Sophia, though, dominates the film, when her Aldonza spits out her rage she is a real woman who has been abused, "a wounded animal in pain" as a friend says in his IMDB review. 

The cast is the thing here, as directed by Arthur Hiller (PLAZA SUITE, THE OUT-OF-TOWNERS, LOVE STORY etc: There's that man again - Brian Blessed (see recent  FLASH GORDON, review, below) as the beefy mulateer with the hook for a hand, left.
(Brian did a Christmas panto season at my local theatre here a year or two ago, and was also in THE TROJAN WOMEN with Hepburn, Redrave, Papas & Bujold). There is also Ian Richardson, Rosalie Crutchley, Harry Andrews, John Castle (from BLOW-UP and LION IN WINTER). Unlike bloated musicals like CAMELOT, STAR! or HELLO DOLLY this seems a minimal, pared-down musical showing Don Quixote's story to be the ultimate in human heroism, a tragic man of courage struggling to see and live life, not as it is, but as it should be. To dream the impossible dream indeed ... career highlights then for Peter and Sophia, who is certainly stunning here.To think its 40 years old !

Back to 1965: "Pussycat pussycat I love you" ...

THE PASSENGER from yesterday was a major trip down memory lane for me, so too is WHAT'S NEW PUSSYCAT? from 1965, which I just found myself defending over at IMDB, where someone considered it one of the worst movies ever made. As I said: I can quite well accept its one of the worst films ever made but thats part of the attraction, if you were 19 in 1965 (as I was) and saw it at the cinema with your friends and we all laughed ourselves silly and liked the cast, it remains a cherished memory, and the height of mid-60s chic and zaniness. 

My pals and I adored it back in the '60s and returned to it several times. One friend and I used to quote lines from it to each other ("Miss Lefebvre [Capucine's real name...] your face is like the pale autumn moon" "What did you say?" etc; of course Sellers and Cap were also hilarious in the original PINK PANTHER). O'Toole, Sellers and Woody + the delirious quartet of Romy, Capucine, Paula and Ursula AND Fellini's Edra Gale ! (Ursula says "Whats that thing?" when she sees Edra in the Viking get-up, and as she says to Peter O'Toole "Come back to bed immediately...". Whats not to like ? - even my French favourite chanteuse Francoise Hardy pops up at the end after that madness at the country hotel and they all going off on go-karts!

I just can't believe its 47 years ago ... I had the funky Burt Bacharach soundtrack album as well...and I just love the look of it, as helmed by Clive Donner. For me it and MODESTY BLAISE are the mid-60s stylish comic peaks.

Even now the memory of Woody chasing Romy around, O'Toole and Capucine trapped in the elevator, Cap pretending to be the cleaner when Romy walks in, the language class repeating everything O'Toole and Romy say, Paula's suicide attempts .... and then they all running around the hotel etc.

Rainy Saturday ....

LAWRENCE OF ARABIA: Its back in cinemas after 50 years! A nice contrast to the bland epics of today with their shallow CGI effects, full of pantomime grotesques and token females. Lean's magesterial epic seen on the big screen may seriously damage your ability to enjoy anything else.

It was also great to see CLEOPATRA on the big screen on its general release back in 1964 .... will that get a 50th anniversary re-release too?

Good too to see AMOUR (the breakout arthouse hit of the year), ARGO, THE MASTER, RUST & BONE and SKYFALL among the top 10 films in London.

Baby you can drive my car

Is there a dinkier car in movies? Nice to chill out in front of Wyler's 1966 comedy HOW TO STEAL A MILLION again, as not seen it for a very long time. Seeing this in the cinema originally at the time it seemed so laid-back it was almost horizontal, compared to the frenetic ARABESQUE that year with its non-stop action, editing where Greg Peck and Sophia Loren were another ideal team, she with a new Balmain outfit for every scene. Here, Peter O'Toole and Audrey Hepburn are of course another perfect pair (as he would go on to be with Kate Hepburn, and she with Albert Finney). Its all a good addition to Paris in the movies (Paris label).

Now though MILLION is the mid-60s in a nutshell, as Audrey in those Givenchy outfits drives her little car; Peter's yellow sports car looks dull by comparison. Hugh Griffith (having a lot of fun again as he did in BEN-HUR and TOM JONES) is her art forger father and somehow Audrey must get back that Cellini Venus statue lent to a gallery before it can be authenticated .... enter Peter's burglar, but whose side is he really on? This is more of CHARADE then but on a bigger canvas. The heist itself is amusing done if almost in real time, our couple seem to spend about an hour confined in that store cupboard ... as we get to spend time with them up close and personal. Eli Wallach does a droll turn too, like he did in THE MOON-SPINNERS. The gloss piles on with scenes at The Ritz where Audrey looks amazing in that lace mask, and the restaurant is probably Maxim's. 

Audrey of course always looks at home when back in Paris (where she spends most of her movies it seems) and Peter (I had seen him in the stage play RIDE A COCK HORSE the year before) was at his pinnacle (I also loved LORD JIM) and also seems to have fun back in Paris after WHAT'S NEW PUSSYCAT, with that posse including Romy, Capucine, Paula and Ursula, also 1965. It was Audrey's third with Wyler. O'Toole's next hit would be THE LION IN WINTER while Audrey had TWO FOR THE ROAD with Albert, back with Donen again.


Right: TWO FOR THE ROAD.



The red car was an Autobianchi Cabriolet.
As The Beatles said: Beep beep'n beep beep yeah.