Mozipedia: The Encyclopedia of Morrissey

'There's more to life than books you know, but not much more,' the gorgeously sinuous voice of Morrissey once sang. Well, it's possible for Morrissey to be wrong once in his life, for he never cracked open Simon Goddard's Mozipedia: The Encyclopedia of Morrissey and the Smiths (Plume Books, 2010).

Not your regular 'aardvark to zebra' type of encyclopedia, the Mozipedia is a special kind of reference book: the kind devoted to everything Morrissey and the Smiths. Simon Goddard is the acclaimed author of The Smiths: Songs That Saved Your Life, a book that dissects every single Smiths track and analyzes it from every conceivable angle: from creation and critical reception, to song meaning, and beyond. It is a book that succeeds in piecing together each individual pop masterpiece to demonstrate how they fit into the Smiths' glorious oeuvre, cementing them as one of the most influential rock groups from the past century. It's truly a spectacular essential for Smiths extremists. Songs That Saved Your Life is still the most comprehensive and best Smiths reference book on the market, but, until now, there was no similar study of the art and influence of Morrissey's long solo career. In his Mozipedia, Goddard smartly re-hashes every single Smiths track from a broader perspective which does not render his earlier effort obsolete. You will want to buy the revised second edition of Songs That Saved Your Life, with invaluable input from the Smiths' guitarist Johnny Marr, to go along with your Mozipedia.

Mozipedia is a treasure chest of Moziana and Smiths arcana, from earliest interviews (and pre-dating Morrissey's musical fame whilst he was still an aspiring music and film writer making a name for himself as a strange spectre in the local Manchester scene) through the latest news available prior to publication. Goddard's information is culled directly from primary sources including written, audio, and video interviews, as well as personal interviews that he conducted with everyone who has been in Morrissey's own circle, except for the man himself. Besides entries for every single song ever recorded (and a few that probably weren't), Goddard has entries for every person, place, or thing that has had an influence on Morrissey's life, including musical collaborators and musicians through favorite writers, books, actors, films, haunts, and other obsessions that might help the reader understand how the mind of this brilliant man came to be. As far as this reviewer can say, no stone remains unturned. What results is the single greatest book on the topic of Morrissey that has been published so far (until the long-promised publication of Morrissey's memoirs that he has been teasing fans with for over a decade). While not totally unbiased (clearly Goddard is a devout disciple -- would you want to read a 500+ page book about him by someone who isn't?), it is a factual and enviable feat that all Morrissey fans should have on their book shelves. It's an enlightening look into the life of a public enigma, only whetting one's appetite to know this strange creature even more intimately. Whether you're interested in his thirty years' contribution to great music, how the legacy of Morrissey and the Smiths fit into modern culture, or understanding one of the most outspoken yet impenetrable  personas of the past quarter decade, Mozipedia is an essential reference point. He is, after all, the last truly important British person you will ever know.

Here are few samples of some of the most mind-blowing morsels of Morrissey revelations:

- At least in one interview, Morrissey referred to himself as 'Mogsy'. Surprisingly, his personal nickname hasn't caught on amongst his fans.
- Morrissey likes lower-browed television than one would expect. He rambles about his favorite soap opera (Coronation Street), and some of his frequently listed favorites from the 1980s were Cagney and Lacy and The Golden Girls!
- Truculent? There was a full explanation of the rather confusing royalties court case between the Smiths' drummer, Evil Mike Joyce v. Morrissey and Marr, which finally cleared up the complicated mess that has coated most of Morrissey's lyrics ever since with a thick layer of spite. Just call Mozipedia 'Morrissey's 1996 Court Case For Dummies'. Did you know that Morrissey sought an appeal to the obviously unfair and biased verdict? He approached Tony Blair for help (he wasn't), and, more surprisingly, he contacted the Queen (I'm assuming he means Queen Elizabeth II rather than one of his various friends), whom he later described as 'quite nice.'

Links:
Meet Simon Goddard at Married to the Moz

Miscellanea

TELEVISION
- Discovery Channel's Auction Kings returns next Wednesday, April 25 at 10:00 PM EST. Great show.
- Discovery cancelled Cash Cab. Bad channel. I am in mourning.
- It's that time of year again. TVLand's 10th Anniversary Awards Show will air on -- where else? -- TVLand on Sunday, April 29 at 9 PM EST. Look forward to seeing all your favorites, including reunions of Laverne And Shirley and One Day At A Time, as well as appearances by Pee-Wee Herman and Aretha Franklin. Murphy Brown and In Living Color will be honored. No word on whether Dan Quayle will be presenting the cast of Murphy Brown with their award. This year's host is Kelly Ripa, despite the fact that she lacks a sort of... je ne sais Reege.
- One of my few cable obsessions, Syfy's Hollywood Treasure, returns May 22 (Morrissey's birthday) with a look at Sean Astin's Lord of the Rings memorabilia collection! I can't WAIT until this show starts up again. [via the show's official Facebook page]
- Can you believe it's officially been 25 years since the Simpsons first appeared as a short on the Tracy Ullman show? I wasn't an instant fan, but it sure is hard to remember a time before the Simpsons. Sadly, no one is celebrating any such anniversaries for Herman's Head.
- A new documentary, Plastic Galaxy: The Story of Star Wars Toys, is about, arguably, the best part of the Star Wars universe: THE TOYS! I'm going to watch the newly released trailer with my two favorite fellas, Bib Fortuna and Squidhead. And perhaps Salacious Crumb. I wonder if director Brian Stillman can track down my beloved (and missing) Return of the Jedi cup with the chocolate milk stain.

MUSIC
- Morrissey's official Facebook page announced a handful of US tour dates coming up (two in Hawaii and his birthday, May 22, in San Diego)! Will he next turn his lovely head to the east? I say yes. He says no, but he might change his mind.
- Blur is celebrating 21 years since the release of their debut album, Leisure, with an incredible box set and expanded remastered albums. It's a 21 disc box set with all seven of their albums receiving the expanded two-disc treatment. Plus four discs of exclusive rarities (claiming 3 1/2 hours of 'unreleased' material). Plus three DVDs (claiming over 2 hours of 'unreleased' footage) with two live shows and an exclusive disc of video rarities. Plus a collectible 7" of a very early (Seymour-era) live track. Plus a deluxe hard-bound book with new interviews, extensive liner notes, and unseen photos. There's no way that such an incredible sounding bit of loot won't boast an equally incredible price tag [note: £158?! YIKES. NO WAY.]. It's worth noting that the remastered two-disc albums will be available separately and will also be available on vinyl. Apparently, you can pre-order through Blur's official site or Amazon.co.uk. If only they would throw in every single b-side plus the various EPs like Bustin' + Dronin'.. AND the new post-reunion tracks (that were mostly for the independent Record Store Day), as well as the live albums that stemmed from their recent reunion concerts. Despite the completeness of the Blur box set, I figure if I refused to shell out the big bucks for The Smiths' comparable box set, (which, to be fair, had none of the earth-shattering rarities), I won't do it for Blur.
- Since Pulp's 2011 live reunion of the classic Different Class-era line-up [Jarvis Cocker, Russell Senior, Steve Mackey, Candida Doyle, Mark Weber, and Nick Banks], they have continued to headline some major festivals and concerts. Recently they made it to America, most tragically for two sold-out shows at New York's Radio City Music Hall. They also headlined Coachella (along with those crazy kids from Madness)! Last week, Pulp made their first appearance on American television in fourteen years on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon (they performed 'Common People' and one other song that is exclusively on Jimmy Fallon's website). The performance was fantastic, though it was soured somewhat by the lack of Russell Senior (note that two people had to take his place). I don't know if that means that he didn't make it to America with the rest of the group. Here's a clip of Pulp making their American televison debut in 1995 on David Letterman. By the time I saw this performance, I had heard Pulp but didn't have any of their albums. I was immediately hooked and bought the album by the end of the month. They've been a favorite ever since!

LITERATURE
- J.K. Rowling recently announced she will be publishing her first adult novel, The Casual Vacancy in September.
- J.K. Rowling will also be publishing an official Harry Potter encyclopedia.
- Noir scholar Robert Polito has compiled five novels by the cult Philadelphia noir writer David Goodis. Five Noir Novels of the 1940s & 50s received a rave review by the Philadelphia Inquirer. A panel discussion on David Goodis appeared to be the highlight of this year's abbreviated Philadelphia Book Festival.

Brando Birthday Bash

You can't have a party without Judy Garland, Beatrice Lillie, and James Dean! Here's what Marlon Brando's all-star birthday party would have looked like:





But, really, isn't it best when all the guests go home and you can just relax?

M-G-M: Hollywood's Greatest Backlot

California is known for its full range of geographical terrains inching up from dry desert heat and dangerously curving into palatial Pacific coasts, dense redwood forests, paradisal fields of flowers and orchards, and capped with snowy mountains. It seems quite fitting that this cinematic Shangri-la should be as ostentatious as the reputation of its southern hotspot, Hollywood. After all, one needn't leave Culver City to travel to the furthest reaches of the earth and from yesteryear to the glimmer of a far distant tomorrow. It is on the vast real estate called backlots where the reality of movie magic was truly invented, and no other movie studio encapsulated the true grandeur of Hollywood's potential as Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. Once boasting more stars than there are in the heavens, M-G-M's unrivaled star power was only outdone by its awe-inspiring backlot. While M-G-M's collection of backlots have officially followed the great movie moguls to their own demise, they are legends that the few survivors of the studio system continue to describe in astonishment.

M-G-M: Hollywood's Greatest Backlot (Santa Monica Press, 2011) is the best guidebook for a place that no longer exists. Writers Steven Bingen, Stephen X. Sylvester, and Michael Troyan take the reader on the ultimate tour of the ultimate backlot. This is a virtual tour of a Hollywood that no longer exists, and, some could argue, never did. It was on these unassuming backlots populated with mere facades of main streets, foreign villages, jungles, and cityscapes that the biggest M-G-M hits were born. As much as seeing the naked lots (or the multitude of photos showing the same lots being thinly veiled and dressed up for all manner of movie scenes) shatters the illusion of movie magic, it creates a whole other admiration -- a wonderment of how these dressed-down plots of muddy dilapidation could pass for Paris, Tarzan's jungle, and Main Street USA. The most striking aspect of the book is how lovingly and exquisitely detailed it is. The research compiled in the book is incredible, and it is filled with meticulous maps, photographs, and original documentation, as well as background information from the people who worked and walked the backlots themselves. The writers provide an unmatched glimpse behind the facades of each filming site and detail some of the movie magic that was made in each location from the lots' original formation to their ultimate dismantling. The writers manage to nestle the biography of this greatest backlot into a concise contextual history of the rise and fall of Hollywood's much ballyhooed studio system, so the reader can grasp the importance of M-G-M as a business model rather than merely an artistic one.

The book is as much an elegy to the end of an era as it is a celebration of what made movies great in the golden age. There is a lot of information regarding the collapse of the system and the razing of old Hollywood for a new generation of filmmakers. Sadly, the extensive locations that brought the elusive sparkle of movies to life became themselves faded relics. The book ends with the physical razing and liquidating of M-G-M's backlot and assets, the death knell for a Hollywood that can now only be read about or seen in old pictures. We have the writers of this book to thank for unearthing and preserving what little information remains of what was indeed Hollywood's greatest backlot. This is a must-read for all cinemaphiles and for those who want to understand the inner workings of a Hollywood studio at the height of its greatness.

Links:
M-G-M: Hollywood's Greatest Backlot - 'A lavish illustrated history of Hollywood's greatest movie studio' (official website)
Information about the book at Santa Monica Press

On the... TV

Where has Toy Hunters been all my life? Toy Hunters is a new series that debuted last month on a channel normally devoted to perverse gluttony and vacations that attack, the Travel Channel. Toy expert Jordan Hembrough is on a mission to uncover the rarest and most collectible toys of the 1970s and 1980s for resale at New York's Comicon. In this week's episode, he headed to Ohio, former headquarters of Kenner, to rummage through former employees' private stashes of mint in box wonders and some toys that never even made it to store shelves. There are plenty of original Star Wars, MASK, and Carebears treasures, but the real gems include the mythical prototype of a never-produced (unpainted even!) Boba Fett action figure with a real shooting missile that was deemed unsafe and a rare Thundercats bubble action toy. My choice item of the episode was a top-secret Ewok figure that had been deliberately packaged with a Squid Head backing card. The back of the card that normally shows a selection of the line had the new Ewoks characters blacked out since Return of the Jedi hadn't been released yet. Toy collectors will salivate over this show, even though it is true that, like most 1970s-80s toy and collectible references, it could have included much more in the way of girls' toys. Just as I couldn't get enough of gawking in toy stores when I was a kid, I sure hope there's more Toy Hunters coming up! I'm still unsure of how many episodes of Toy Hunters have already aired, but apparently it has just been picked up for a season of twelve half-hour episodes. [Speaking of wondering what happened to a great collectible show: Hey Syfy, when will there be more Hollywood Treasure? AND I still love Discovery's Auction Kings. These three shows would be so good together.]

Read a Q&A with Jordan Hembrough at Nerd Bastards.


Blur at the BRITS 2012

It felt as if it were 1994 again! Legendary britpoppers Blur (champions of the famed Britpop wars) were honored at the 2012 Brit Awards with an Outstanding Contribution to Music award. After Adele's humble gesticular hissy fit, the quartet blasted onto the stage with a rousing five-song medley of their hits, including 'Girls and Boys;' 'Song 2;' 'Parklife' (oi, complete with actor Phil Daniels as in the original version); 'Tender;' and 'This Is A Low.' Audience members who were old enough to remember the 1990s greeted our boys with enthusiasm, and there were few who didn't sing and dance along with their entire set proving that some Brits still like a good song. I guess modern life is even more rubbish. The BRITS were shown in the U.S. on the Fuse music network (and ITV2 in the UK). It's possible they might air it again; check your local listings. In other Britpop news, Pulp has continued its reunion and is slated to tour America for the first time with its full classic line-up (including guitarist/violinist Russell Senior) since Different Class in the mid-1990s.

Michael Feinstein's American Songbook

Before watching the first two episodes of Michael Feinstein's American Songbook, I merely thought of him as an extremely talented singer and entertainer. After watching the first two episodes of American Songbook, I was in awe of how much Michael Feinstein has done to preserve our musical heritage. In fact, I have deemed Michael Feinstein the ambassador of America's Musical Heritage. He is the ultimate collector; a cultural conservationist and preservationist; a tireless archivist; and a cat lover. A kindred spirit! That's a whole lot of responsibility for one man, but he makes a case for his life's passion in his three-part PBS series. In the new season, which began last Friday, he shares his penchant for great music and, best of all, he opens up his personal archives.

Whipping Whimseys

New Notions!

Have you ever?...

Made earrings and lapel pins from feathery fishing lures?

Considered keeping Cleo (your goldfish) in a hanging fishbowl over your bed?

Adorned your wedge heels with colorful tacks?

Why not?...

The results will wow you speechless!

[Drawings by Jay Warmuth for Woman's Home Companion, May 1947]


Do you ever...?

Let your woo-woo gams run your life? If so, let this 3 cent pamphlet advise you how to reassert your independence!

...I'm not even sure what the last pamphlet is about! It's either golf or something that can only be hinted at...

[Offer from Woman's Home Companion, June 1947]

Cyberlink Monday (3 links for the price of 1!)

I'm bursting with excitement over three articles I read online this holiday weekend, and despite the fact that I have posted links to them on Twitter (follow me @cwblog!), I want to recommend them in a more proper ramble.

1) Department Store Movies: A $ign Of Our Times is a timely post-Black Friday article written by suzidoll [at TCM's Movie Morlocks blog]. It explores the depiction and symbolism of the department store ("a landmark of urban life") in twentieth-century cinema. Department stores are seen as "an ideologically rich setting in our pop culture for understanding attitudes, issues, and problems related to our economy and the differences among the classes." I've always been attracted to old movies that are set in department stores because, even on a subconscious level, they come across as emblematic of a less stylized view of daily life. You get a better sense for what it was like to live in a certain place at a certain time.

Fluorescerama: Equinox (1970)

In the tradition of the Peter Fonda cult classic Race With The Devil, Equinox is a supernatural thriller that satisfies on every level. The ludicrous plot seems stitched together at random by someone suffering from short term memory loss, and the characters' motivations are illogical at best. The acting is hollow, and... it was a real laugh riot! Although I might have found this movie amusing for all the wrong reasons, watching Equinox is a recommended treat!

[WARNING! This post contains a full plot synopsis that will spoil the movie for you!]

Macy's 85th Thanksgiving Day Parade

Chances are, while you're waiting for your turducken to heat up, you will be one of the 44 million people who will tune in to this year's Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade. After all, it's tradition! What you might not realize is that this year is the 85th anniversary of the holiday institution. And this oldster is showing no signs of slowing down! The parade will add at least six new balloons and floats as well as a controversial new route. In honor of the milestone, here are eleven trivial nuggets about America's favorite parade that you can use as conversation fodder around your dinner table.

Happy Haul-idays from Chronicle Books!

Welcome to my second annual Chronicle Books Happy Haul-idays submission post (last year, I actually posted from my other blog, Curly Wurly)! Chronicle Books (my favorite publisher!) has upped the ante this year. This year's winner will score $500 worth of books handpicked from the publisher's vast catalogue. What's even more exciting is one of the triumphant blog's readers (who comments on their submission post) will receive a matching set of the winner's handpicked selections. And, Chronicle Books has decided to be even more generous this year! They will also donate $500 worth of books to a charity of the winner's choice. So, without further ado, here is my official submission post to Chronicle Book's Happy Haul-idays contest. If you're interested in winning my picks, please comment on this post. [NOTE: Obviously, your winning these books depend upon my winning the contest.] If you know anyone who might like my selection, feel free to link them to this post. (If you entered this contest, too, and think I might be interested in your list of books, let me know!) Finally, if you have a blog and want to enter the contest for yourself, simply click on this link and follow the simple directions. [All submissions and entries must be received by December 2, 2011. Read the official rules! Good luck!]

This week on... TCM (November 14 - 19)

Monday, November 14, 2011
The Glass Key (1942) 3:00 PM - It might not be The Blue Dahlia, but this one is worth watching every time it's on, too.
Shanghai Express (1932) 10:00 PM - Marlene Dietrich on a train.

Tuesday, November 15, 2011
The Story of Vernon and Irene Castle (1939) 4:00 PM

Thursday, November 17, 2011
Ship Of Fools (1965) 1:15 AM

Friday, November 18, 2011
Ziegfeld Girl (1941) 3:30 PM
Equinox (1970) 2:00 AM - 'Four friends are attacked by a demon while on a picnic due to their possession of a mystic tome.' This sounds like a cross between Buffy The Vampire Slayer and one of the best movies I've ever seen, Race with the Devil [2]

Saturday, November 19, 2011
Saturday Night and Sunday Morning (1961) 4:30 AM

This week on... TCM (November 6 -12)

TCM's November schedule has officially broken out of the graveyard of Halloween horror movies. While this month doesn't promise wall-to-wall thrills and chills, there are some really good selections. Also, I'm looking forward to Robert Osborne's return to the hosting chair on December 1! It was just announced that Drew Barrymore would be taking over Alec Baldwin's co-hosting duties for TCM's Essentials series. I'm disappointed that Alec Baldwin won't be continuing because he was an insightful co-host, but I think that Robert Osborne and Drew Barrymore should be an interesting pair.

Sunday, November 6, 2011
The Prince and the Showgirl (1957) 4:00 PM
Critic's Choice (1963) 8:00 PM - Bob Hope and Lucille Ball team up for a match made in comedy heaven.

Monday, November 7, 2011 (theme: Battle of the Blondes -- Veronica Lake and Lana Turner)
This Gun For Hire (1942) 8:00 PM - One Alan Ladd and Veronica Lake movie and...
The Blue Dahlia (1946) 9:30 PM - ...My favorite Alan Ladd and Veronica Lake movie (I'm so excited!)! TCM doesn't bring this movie out frequently, and it's not on DVD (nor does it appear that it will be anytime soon). Definitely plan to watch or tape this if you like film noirs. [2]
The Postman Always Rings Twice (1946) 11:15 PM - This Lana Turner / John Garfield noir is one of the finest of the genre, I guarantee.
The Bad And The Beautiful (1952) 1:15 AM

Wednesday, November 9, 2011 (theme: Jean Harlow)
Dinner At Eight (1933) 6:00 PM - I get too hungry for dinner at eight, so I'm glad they scheduled this for six instead.
Bombshell (1933) 12:00 AM
Platinum Blonde (1931) 1:45 AM
Harlow: The Blonde Bombshell (1993 documentary) 3:30 AM

Thursday, November 10, 2011
Mr. Skeffington 5:30 PM
Love Affair (1939) 8:00 PM - You can watch the full movie anytime at the Internet Archive
Now, Voyager (1942) 10:45 PM

Friday, November 11, 2011
Marlowe (1969) 12:00 AM - James Garner takes on the role of Raymond Chandler's P.I., Philip Marlowe. It will be interesting to see Garner's take on one of the characters that is so deeply associated with Humphrey Bogart.
The Iron Rose (1973) 2:00 AM - 'A young couple is trapped in a cemetery and soon fears begin to overtake them.' - Perhaps more appropriate for last Friday, this French horror movie piques my interest. I hope it's not as slow-paced as the last foreign horror/suspense movie I watched (Roman Polanski's Repulsion)
Carnival of Souls (1962) 3:30 AM - This movie reminds me a lot of the Twilight Zone episode, The Hitch-Hiker (which first aired in 1960). Sure, there are plot differences, but the overall atmosphere, theme, and Inger Stevensesque blonde are somewhat similar.

Saturday, November 12, 2011
The Producers (1968) 11:00 PM
Hot Millions (1968) 2:15 AM

The Haunting Of Room 635

Sometimes guests in Room 635 claim they see mysterious links hidden in dark corners or behind the heavy drapery. Others have insisted they've seen them reflected behind them in the bathroom mirror, but, when they turn around, there's nothing there. One guest, 'Joel Cairo' -- who I believe was besotted -- told the maid that he received a particularly disturbing phone call in the middle of the night by one such link. He insisted the phone call was coming from INSIDE his room! Now, I personally don't believe in such childishness. However, I have compiled a list of some of the most ghoulish sitings that have been reported to my extremely gullible staff. Until we can gather enough money to hire those Ghost Hunters people, you'll have to judge for yourself. Click if you dare.

Just in time for Halloween home viewing, Rod Serling's 1969 series, The Night Gallery. There are many episodes on YouTube and a few choice links can be found on this Metafilter post. Guest stars include John Astin, Carl Reiner, and Joan Crawford (the directorial debut of Steven Spielberg).

Also at Metafilter: The CBS Radio Mystery Theater is now online in both streaming and downloadable formats. The original Metafilter post suggests some holiday titles.

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Gary Larson's brilliant comic, The Far Side, was made into a 1994 Halloween special for CBS (that somehow I don't remember)! More information about the short-lived Tales From The Far Side can be found at Wikipedia. Vinnie Rattolle's blog has download links (and spoilers!) for the television version of the special, but I didn't watch it (so download at your own risk).

What does Garfield have in common with Michael Scott? Apparently, they have the same greatest fear (not the bankruptcy of Sbarro's). In 1989, a series of Garfield strips was published where Jim Davis posited a sort of parallel universe where Garfield was left in a dark, cold house devoid of Jon and Odie. What results is an unsettling and surprisingly philosophical story arc that seems as much a hallucination to the reader as to the lasagne-loving cat himself. As Garfield plunges into the the depths of madness, he begins to question his very existence. Not since the 'Nermal is Dead' (complete with various 'clues' surrounding his death and its cover-up) plot of the previous year had the Garfield strip delved into such murky waters. Read the original stories here (and at the Retro Junk link above). And follow up with analysis from Jim Davis at Boing Boing.

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Secret Style Icon: Edward Gorey and Everyone He Has Ever Drawn. Interesting post from an up-and-coming post-Sassy Sassyesque magazine. Warning: Teenage clothes and pictures of Edward Gorey covered in sleeping cats.

How To Make Magnetic Googly Eyes. (see also: All Googly: The #1 Source for Pictures of Things with Googly Eyes)

This week on... TCM (October 30 - November 4)

Sunday, October 30, 2011
Dial M For Murder (1954) 2:00 PM
A Funny Thing Happened On The Way To The Forum (1966) 10:30 PM

Monday, October 31, 2011
Village Of The Damned (1960) 8:00 PM - Interesting movie to have coinciding with mobs of sugar-addicted kids banging on your door
The Innocents (1961) 12:15 AM
The Haunting (1963) 2:00 AM
Repulsion (1965) 4:00 AM - I've wanted to see this Roman Polanski movie for a long time. Stars Catherine Deneuve, who - can you believe it - just turned 68! Q: What follows Repulsion? A: Tension! (see Tuesday)

Tuesday, November 1, 2011 (theme: hilarity?)
Tension (1950) 4:00 PM - 'A man who had planned to murder his wife's lover becomes the prime suspect when somebody beats him to it.' I feel like I've seen this movie a thousand times, but it sounds good and stars Cyd Charisse.
The Big Sleep (1946) 6:00 PM
The Adventure of Sherlock Holmes' Smarter Brother (1975) 8:00 PM - Hilarious movie with Gene Wilder as the great Sigerson Holmes, Madeline Kahn, and Marty Feldman. Hey, it's better than the terrible new steampunk franchise!
Sleeper (1973) 9:45 PM
Modern Times (1936) 1:15 AM - Eating Machine! Eating Machine!
Jour de fête (1949) 3:00 AM - 'A small town postman tries to adopt modern efficiency techniques.' Jacques Tati

Wednesday, November 2, 2011 (theme: Battle of the blondes - Marilyn Monroe and Jayne Mansfield)
Niagara (1952) 8:00 PM - Excellent film noir starring Marilyn Monroe and Joseph Cotten. I never really appreciated Marilyn Monroe (with the exception of the next movie), but I've since realized what an underrated actor she was. She not only had comedic talent but also remarkable dramatic abilities. I was especially impressed with her performances in Niagara and Don't Bother To Knock (with Richard Widmark). Apparently, she was something of an intellectual, too. She was not just a pretty face! Surprisingly, I think I'm most disappointed that we have been denied seeing what Marilyn could have achieved in other mature acting roles.
Some Like It Hot (1959) 9:45 PM - Billy Wilder's classic

Thursday, November 3, 2011 (theme: Hit the deck with Doris Day)
Screen Directors Playhouse: The Life of Vernon Hathaway (1955) 4:00 PM - 'Meek daydreamer starts living his dreams in real life.' TCM will be showing many episodes of Screen Directors Playhouse over the coming months. This one sounds interesting if a tad Mittyesque (or, if you prefer, Billy Liar). This one stars Alan Young (yes, Wilbur!) and Cloris Leachman (geez, how old IS she!?). Many of the stories and cast lists sound very interesting. It's hard to imagine a time when such high calibre programming was on television.
Gentlemen Marry Brunettes (1955) 6:15 PM - Smart gentlemen, anyway.
Romance On The High Seas (1948) 8:00 PM
April In Paris (1952) 10:00 PM

Friday, November 4, 2011
Gold Diggers Of 1935 (1935) 9:30 PM - While this is not as good as '33, this is the one with the fifteen minute spectacular 'Lullaby of Broadway' sequence. 'Lullaby of Broadway' was Busby Berkeley's masterpiece.

Pop Culture Documentary #5: A Flea Market Documentary

A Flea Market Documentary is a cross country celebration of cool junk and the people who frequent these ragtag tag sales. The documentary was made for Pittsburgh's WQED PBS by my favorite pop culture filmmaker, Rick Sebak. His series of regional documentaries, including Sandwiches That You Will Like and A Hot Dog Program, have more warmth and depth than similar shows featured on the Food and Travel channels. This is his most exciting work to date.

This week on... TCM (October 24 - 29)

TCM is looking to disturb your sleep this week with several nights of terror, intrigue, and, of course, the macabre. Will you be brave enough to make it through this schedule?

Monday, October 24, 2011 (A night of TERROR!)
Carnival Of Souls (1962) 8:00 PM - I'm not a fan of the zombie genre, but I recall liking this title a bit better than Night of the Living Dead.
Strait-Jacket (1964) 12:00 AM
Pit And The Pendulum (1961) 1:45 AM
The Masque Of The Red Death (1964) 3:15 AM
The Devil's Bride (1968) 5:00 AM

Tuesday, October 25, 2011
Irma La Douce (1963) 3:00 PM - One of the two great movies pairing Jack Lemmon and Shirley MacLaine.

Wednesday, October 26, 2011
The Bad Seed (1956) 5:45 PM - Ooooh, this movie is GOOD! Weird but good.
Undercurrent (1946) 3:30 AM - 'Sheltered woman realizes either her husband or his mysterious brother is a psychopath' - Interesting cast for such a plot: Katharine Hepburn, Robert Taylor, Robert Mitchum

Thursday, October 27, 2011
Screen Directors Playhouse: No. 5 Checked Out (1956) 4:15 PM - Teresa Wright stars as a deaf woman confronting desperate crooks using one of her resort cabins as a hideout. The premise reminds me of Wait Until Dark (worth watching for Alan Arkin's manic performance!).
Fiddler On The Roof (1971) 8:00 PM - I've still never seen this musical, and there's probably no justification for that.
The Boy Friend (1971) 11:15 PM

Friday, October 28, 2011 (The night of a thousand evil twins)
Dead Ringer (1964) 8:00 PM 'Woman murders rich twin and tries to take her place' - Sounds like the new CW show, Ringer? Well, hopefully it's a little better since it stars Bette Davis.
The Black Room (1935) 10:00 PM - 'Evil twin disposes of his enemies in secret death chamber on his estate' - Boris Karloff
The Other (1972) 11:15 PM

Saturday, October 29, 2011
Cat People (1942) 8:00 PM - Recommended!
Martin Scorsese Presents Val Lewton: The Man In The Shadows (2007 documentary) 9:30 PM
The Body Snatcher (1945) 11:00 PM
Bedlam (1946) 2:00 AM
The Seventh Victim (1943) 3:30 AM

This week on... TCM (October 17 - 22)

Monday, October 17, 2011 (Horrors!)
The Lady From Shanghai (1948) 2:15 PM - If people are wondering why you're watching a movie in the middle of the afternoon on Monday, you can tell them you're doing a little tarrrrr-get practice.
Horror Of Dracula (1958) 8:00 PM
House On Haunted Hill (1959) 9:30 PM
The Tingler (1959) 11:00 PM - Scream, ladies and gentlemen! Scream as loud as you can! (also, read my review of Spine Tingler!: The William Castle Story)
House Of Wax (1953) 12:30 AM - If you've got your 3-D glasses on, make sure you don't get hit by the paddle ball.
Curse Of The Demon (1958) 2:15 AM - I've never seen this one.. It's a Jacques Tourneur film starring Dana Andrews as an anthropologist investigating a devil worshipper. Typical Dana Andrews movie!

Tuesday, October 18, 2011
On Moonlight Bay (1951) 3:00 PM - A fun Doris Day / Gordon MacRae musical that will delight fans of Oklahoma! and Meet Me In St. Louis

Friday, October 21, 2011
She (1965) 8:00 PM - From the H. Rider Haggard book

Also, 'the vacationing Robert Osborne' will return in December!

The Encyclopedia of Guilty Pleasures

The Encyclopedia of Guilty Pleasures: 1,001 Things You Hate To Love by Sam Stall, Lou Harry, and Julia Spalding (Quirk Books, 2004) is the most opinionated and infuriating pop culture encyclopedia I've ever read.

The book is meant to be a satirical compendium of bad taste which plumbs the depths of trash culture and regurgitates the curiously popular bits. I found the writers' descriptions of the skewered subjects to be shallow and misguided and the writing style to be unnecessarily scathing.

This week on... TCM (October 9 - 14)

Boy, was American Horror Story creepy or what? I don't know that I can watch any more of that. Oh well, at least there's always the trusty TCM. Here's their very laudable October 2011 schedule.

Sunday, October 9, 2011
Critic's Choice (1963) 4:00 PM - 'A Broadway critic must write a negative review of his wife's play' - Fun with Bob Hope and Lucille Ball!
Limelight (1952) 1:30 AM - I've been interested in seeing this late Charles Chaplin movie which features Claire Bloom and Buster Keaton

Monday, October 10, 2011
Fiddler On The Roof (1971) 4:45 PM - It's hard to believe, but I've never seen this.
The Uninvited (1944) 9:15 PM - This is a really good Ray Milland supernatural thriller.
Dead Of Night (1945) 11:00 PM - Another good British supernatural movie. This is like a gentler Simpson's Treehouse of Horror (various vignettes weave together into a central psychoanalytical story).
Cat People (1942) 2:15 AM - Excellent Simone Simon tale
The Curse Of The Cat People (1944) 3:45 AM - This is a sort-of, kind-of sequel to Cat People, except it really has nothing to do with the first movie. Personally, I found it to be much more haunting.

Wednesday, October 12, 2011
The Glass Key (1942) 12:15 AM - You can't go wrong with this film noir starring one of the best duos of the genre, Alan Ladd and Veronica Lake. The plot is taken from a Dashiell Hammett book. Stay tuned for next month's airing of my (2nd) favorite, THE BLUE DAHLIA!
All The King's Men (1949) 2:00 AM - I read the Robert Penn Warren book in high school but never saw the movie. I've read nothing but rave reviews of Broderick Crawford's portrayal of Willie Stark.

Friday, October 14, 2011
The Third Man (1949) 8:30 AM - It's a favorite and I'll recommend it every single time it's on!
Some Like It Hot (1959) 10:30 AM
The Apartment (1960) 12:45 PM - Poor Jack Lemmon..
Far From The Madding Crowd (1967) 5:00 PM - A fine collection of actors: Julie Christie and Terrence Stamp (inspiring the 'Terry and Julie' lyrics of the Kinks' Waterloo Sunset?), Peter Finch, and Alan Bates (who was quite good in the Merchant Ivory movie Quintet)!