Ho, Ho, Ho, Hangman!

Who knew that Serbia boasted so many high-placed fans of Rankin-Bass animation?

Posted By: Paul - Thu Jul 24, 2008 - Comments (0)
Category: Celebrities, Crime, Stupid Criminals, Eccentrics, History, Historical Figure, Military, Movies, Cartoons, Prisons, Torture, 1990s

Drunken Frankenstein’s Monster

Nowadays, Hollywood actors and actresses indulge in as much bad behavior as they ever did, if not more, frequently involving intoxicants of various stripes. But here's a difference from the Golden Age. As drunk or stoned as they get offscreen, they seldom seem to report for work in that condition, and if they do, the resulting footage is never seen by the public. Professionalism on the set is the rule, and the infrequency of live broadcasts adds to the censorship.

But such was not always the case.

James Dean was drunk onscreen in EAST OF EDEN.

Montgomery Clift did a scene drunk in FROM HERE TO ETERNITY.

And then we had the case of Lon Chaney Jr., a fine actor with an alcoholism problem.

When he acted the part of Frankenstein's monster on TV in 1952, he was totally plastered--so much so that he thought the live broadcast was a rehearsal! That's why, when he picks up furniture to smash, he instead gently sets it down, thinking he has to preserve it for the real performance!

Watch the three parts of this show now, if you wish. The first is below, and the other two after the jump.





More in extended >>

Posted By: Paul - Mon Jul 21, 2008 - Comments (9)
Category: Celebrities, Hollywood, Inebriation and Intoxicants, Movies, ShowBiz

Daring Polish Aviator—Times Two!

Synchronicity in the creative arts is pretty weird. The independent invention of very similar things. Charles Fort, one of the masters of all things weird, even had a term for it: "steam engine time." Fort's notion was that when an era was ripe, it called forth certain creations multiple times, without coordination among mere humans.

I was reminded of this recently in a small way while watching the 1942 film TO BE OR NOT TO BE. In this film, Robert Stack plays a dashing Polish aviator named Lieut. Stanislav Sobinski.

What other fictional dashing Polish aviator premiered right at this time? None other than Blackhawk, who debuted in August of 1941.

Could it be a simple case of the Blackhawk comic influencing the scripter of To Be or Not to Be? Unlikely, given the short span between the debut of Blackhawk and the release of the Robert Stack film, which had to be in production for some time prior.

It's more likely that the plight of Poland under Hitler's invasion called forth the notion of a national hero. But why aviator? Just the romance of aerial combat, I suppose.

Here're pictures of Blackhawk and Stack in his role (leftmost figure, below) to compare. Stack is out of uniform in this shot, but when he's wearing his flying outfit, the resemblance to Blackhawk is uncanny.

Posted By: Paul - Sun Jul 13, 2008 - Comments (11)
Category: Art, Comics, Celebrities, Decades, 1940s, Forteana, History, Historical Figure, Hollywood, Inventions, Movies, Synchronicity

Gumby Was Never Like This!

My pal Liz Hand just turned me on to the twisted stop-motion films of PES. The one below sent me into fits of laughter.

Posted By: Paul - Fri Jul 11, 2008 - Comments (3)
Category: Art, Domestic, Movies, Cartoons, Pets, Cats, Sexuality

Nick Millard, Auteur

The history of the cinema is littered with kooks, talented and untalented. One such was Nick Millard. I will leave it to the reader to decide which category Millard falls in. But let me tell you in advance that his serial killer is an obese woman named Fat Ethel.

Read a very entertaining synopsis of some of Millard's oevure, by one Joseph A. Ziemba, at his Bleeding Skull blog.

Then experience the majesty of Millard's cinematic style below.

Posted By: Paul - Fri Jul 11, 2008 - Comments (1)
Category: Art, Crime, Stupid Criminals, Death, Domestic, Eccentrics, Guns, Hollywood, Horror, Movies, Sexuality, ShowBiz