Archive for March, 2010
You are currently browsing the Anatomy Of A Classic blog archives for March, 2010.
29
Mar
2010
Who’s That Classic Film Star?!
Lately, I’ve been spending some of my rare free time watching old clips of “What’s My Line?” on YouTube. If you’re not familiar with the show, it was a 1950s/1960s game show where a panel would try to determine the occupation of a contestant by asking yes or no questions. The final round of the show is the part I enjoy the most, though. In this round, the panelists were blindfolded and tried to guess the identity of the mystery guest who was often a film star. It’s a lot of fun to watch because you get to see some of the greatest classic film stars just having a good laugh along with the audience. Also, the guest usually tries out a fake voice which can be pretty amusing (Lucille Ball especially). It’s also interesting to note how formal everyone was – on a game show. Ladies wore evening gowns, men wore suits with bow ties, and the contestants and panelists were always addressed as Mr. or Ms.
I suggest searching on YouTube for “What’s My Line” and then the name of your favorite classic film personalities like Bette Davis, James Cagney, Paul Newman, etc. You can also find “What’s My Line” videos with popular personalities like Walt Disney or Edward R. Murrow. Enjoy!
19
Mar
2010
Favorite Fridays: Quarreling Couples Edition
Alix picks: Peter P. Peters (Fred Astaire) and Linda Keene (Ginger Rogers) in Shall We Dance (1937).
Peter (Petrov) and Linda are my favorite quarreling couple because their petty arguments keep the film lighthearted and provide a lead into a few great song and dance numbers. One petty quarrel over the pronounciation of “either” and “neither” turns into the song “Let’s Call the Whole Thing Off” and a dance sequence on roller skates. Watch the scene here.
Lindsay picks: Nick & Nora Charles in The Thin Man (1934) and 5 sequels
Forget best quarreling couple, these two are the best fictional couple EVER. But that’s another post. Over the course of 6 films it’s great fun to watch Nick and Nora banter, bicker, tease, joke, argue, pester, and quarrel all while admittedly being very much in love. William Powell and Myrna Loy are irresistibly charming in what became their signature roles.
17
Mar
2010
Classic Classroom: The Rocky Horror Picture Show
I’ll admit it, I like classic science fiction films. Yes, the special effects may be laughable, but hey, camp can be fun. And speaking of camp science fiction, cult classic The Rocky Horror Picture Show (1975) is full of classic science film references. We’ve pointed out some of the references below and maybe after you finish doing the Time Warp you’ll think about giving some of them a try.
Science Fiction/Double Feature: The opening song is basically just a long list of classic science fiction references. Here is a breakdown of a few of the references made:
- Michael Rennie: Rennie starred in the 1951 version The Day the Earth Stood Stillas the alien, Klatuu. (This is an excellent film, by the way. Don’t let Keanu Reeves convince you otherwise.)
- Claude Rains and The Invisible Man (1933): We paid our tribute to Claude Rains here. Rains first major role was as Dr. Jack Griffin in The Invisible Man.
- Fay Wray and King Kong (1933): I’m sure all of you know who/what King Kong is. Fay Wray played the damsel in distress in the 1933 version of the film.
- Anne Francis and Forbidden Planet (1956): Francis starred in Forbidden Planet which is basically the science fiction version of Shakespeare’s The Tempest and was nominated for the Best Special Effects Oscar in 1957.
- Dana Andrews: Andrews is best known for starring in films like The Best Years of Our Lives (1946) and Laura (1944). In 1957 he played the leading man in the British horror film, Night of the Demon.
Hate/Love: The hate and love tattoos on Eddie’s knuckles is a direct reference to the Rev. Harry Powell in the film Night of the Hunter (1955). Night of the Hunter isn’t science fiction or horror, but it is a fantastic thriller. Linds chose the Harry Powell as her favorite villain in our Favorite Fridays: Villain edition.
Janet’s slip: The scene where Janet tears her slip to bandage Rocky is a reference to Jane tearing her dress to make a bandage for Tarzan in Tarzan the Ape Man (1932).
RKO: One of the major classic Hollywood film studios, RKO made some of the most famous movies of all time including Citizen Kane (1941), but also made quite a few B-horror movies like Cat People (1942), The Body Snatcher (1945), and The Seventh Victim (1943).
Rocky’s Creation: Rocky is brought to life in a scene that parodies the 1931 version of Frankenstein starring Boris Karloff.
Magenta’s Hair: Elsa Lanchester’s unique hairstyle from The Bride of Frankenstein (1935) has inspired many a (bad) Halloween costume. Magenta pays her own tribute at the end of the film.
There are also numerous symbolic references to classic film companies like Columbia, MGM, and Warner Brothers throughout the film. See if you can spot them!
3
Mar
2010
Classic Classroom: Dragnet
Whether you want to know more answers on Jeopardy!, win trivia night at your local bar, or simply be a well-rounded person, you’ll need to brush up on your classic film knowledge and we can help! Classic Classroom gives you the low-down on common cultural classic film references. Yay.
The post you are about to read is true. No names have been changed because… you already know my name.
TV’s “Dragnet” was a long-running police drama in the 50’s and 60’s that followed Sgt. Joe Friday and various partners as they worked cases in Los Angeles. Sgt. Joe Friday (played by Jack Webb, who also produced, wrote and directed many of the episodes) was a no-nonsense, straight-laced kind of guy who used to urge interviewees to tell him “just the facts”.
Watch out for “Dragnet” references in Sixteen Candles (1984), Stand By Me (1986), Die Hard 2 (1990), Reality Bites (1994), Men In Black (1997), and several episodes of Mystery Science Theater 3000. Dan Aykroyd and Tom Hanks starred in a 1987 film adaptation.
Al and I grew up watching “Dragnet” on Nick at Night, but since “The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air” is now apparently “classic” television your best bet is to catch it on Hulu, where there are several seasons available.
