A Christmas Wish (Danny Wheetman)
Sung by John Denver and Kermit the Frog (Jim Henson)
From John Denver and the Muppets: A Christmas Together
Aired December 5, 1979 (on ABC in the USA)
December 22, 1979 (BBC1 in the UK)
Excerpts:
I don't know if you believe in Christmas,
or if you have presents underneath the Christmas tree.
But if you believe in love, that will be more than enough
for you to come and celebrate with me. .....
Christmas is a time to come together, a time to put all differences aside.
And I reach out my hand to the family of man
to share the joy I feel at Christmas time.
For the truth that binds us all together, I would like to say a simple prayer.
That at this special time, you will have true peace of mind
and love to last throughout the coming year.
Peace and Happy Holidays to everyone -- Imagine an even better 2014
Friday, December 20, 2013
Thursday, December 19, 2013
Santa Claus shows up early My Favorite Wife
My Favorite Wife, Is that you Santa Claus?
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| My Favorite Wife Movie Poster (1940) Irene Dunne Cary Grant |
That's a great movie and it's got a real Christmas theme. Cary Grant is a guardian angel.
An Affair to Remember and Holiday take place over New Year's.
You have to see those. They are New Year's Eve rituals for some families.
There's another Cary Grant movie that I watch this time of year. It's something you may not think of as a Christmas movie.
Info on the 1962 remake that never was, Something's Got to Give with Marilyn Monroe, Dean Martin and Cyd Charisse with videos is also below.
My Favorite Wife is a 1940 screwball comedy starring Irene Dunne as Ellen Wagstaff Arden, a woman who returns to her husband and children after being shipwrecked on a tropical island for several years. Everyone, including her husband, Nicholas Arden (Cary Grant) believes she’s dead. His new fiance, Bianca, is played by Gail Patrick.
The first thing you see is a box with a ribbon and a bow on the outside. Inside we’re shown the opening credits. They’re on are a series of embroidered handkerchiefs or panels with lace borders. One by one, someone removes a panel.
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Cary Grant Anne Shoemaker My Favorite Wife Photo
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Irene Dunne and Cary Grant appeared in a similar movie in 1937, The Awful Truth. They played a married couple who were divorcing. That film was a great hit, receiving Academy Award nominations and one win, Best Director: Leo McCarey.
Irene Dunne, who was nominated for multiple Oscars, had been a hit in 1936’s Theodora Goes Wild. In 1941, she teamed again with Grant in another successful film, Penny Serenade. This time Grant was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actor.
Cary Grant hadn’t been known for this kind of role before The Awful Truth. By the time My Favorite Wife came along, the film’s trailer was touting him as one of our great screen comedians. These days, when most people hear the name Cary Grant, they probably don’t picture him as a comedian.
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| Cary Grant, Irene Dunne, Edgar Buchanan Penny Serenade Original 8x10" Photo |
Gail Patrick had already appeared in what would become a classic screwball comedy, My Man Godfrey with William Powell and Carole Lombard in 1936.
Since My Favorite Wife is over 50 years old, this article will be riddled with spoilers. Please consider yourself alerted. If you don’t want to know what happens before seeing it, my suggestion is that you take a break and enjoy the movie now.
While the film had its general release on May 17, 1940, its premiere was held May 2 in Louisville, KY, the hometown of star Irene Dunne.
Irene Dunne's birthday is December 20th. Look for them to show My Favorite Wife in December. Then it's Cary Grant's birthday on January 18. Watch to see what celebrations are in store for his birthday, too. Cary Grant was the TCM Star of the Month (on Turner Classic Movies) for December 2014. He would've turned 110 in 2014.
Attorney Nick Arden is in court both to have his first wife, Ellen, declared legally dead after seven years and to marry Bianca. We get the back-story of what happened to Ellen.
She was a member of an anthropological expedition in 1933. The judge asks why the mother of two infant children would go off on a trip.
Nick was supposed to go on the trip with her but he couldn’t get away from a case he was working on so she went alone. “She was having a tough time with the children,” Nick tells the judge she needed a change. “They were teething...”
Nick went to Bangkok to search for her, interviewed survivors who agreed she’d been swept overboard and drowned. The judge declares her dead and marries Nick and Bianca.
Films of this era took liberties in storytelling. Ellen has been stranded on a desert island but we’d never know it to look at her.
Scenes where Ellen is reunited with her family are poignant. Her children don’t recognize her but the dog does! The kids tell her, "My mother got drowned in the Pacific Ocean. We’re not supposed to know. We put flowers on her grave every Easter with Daddy." Then they say they’re not supposed to talk to strangers.
The My Favorite Wife film trailer
Ellen has a reunion with Nick’s mother with whom she was close. She asks to have a bath, saying it’s the first hot bath she’s had in years. When she hears that Nick’s married again, Ellen asks if his new bride is nice.
"No," Nick’s mother answers. "He met this one on the boat when he went to look for you. They’re off in a car to Yosemite on honeymoon.” Ellen arranges to fly to the hotel.
She arrives at the Yosemite honeymoon hotel before Nicky and his new bride. Coincidentally it’s the same hotel where he took Ellen when they were first married just over ten years earlier. In a famous visual, Nicky spots her just the elevator doors closing.
This is all unfortunate for new bride, Bianca. She’s bought matching leopard print robes, but he doesn’t wear his until much later. “I feel like a hairy ape,” he says. She doesn’t even get to watch her new husband shave before he’s headed downstairs under the pretense of having someone shave him.
In some 1940s/1950s movies we see women wearing what looks like swim caps instead of shower caps when they take a shower. Styles have changed.
The reunion of Nick and Ellen is very sweet and romantic. "Hey, there's a law, no necking in barrooms..." Nick gets Ellen a suite.
At first the hotel manager is impressed that Nick has women in two rooms, “What a man.” Eventually, as Bianca’s pages and phone calls get out of hand, Nick’s going between Bianca in one room and Ellen in the other, the manager takes him aside.
“We run a first class hotel and we don’t like being made a party to intrigue.”
Much of the film deals with Nicky’s distress in how he’ll tell Bianca that Ellen is alive and Ellen’s growing impatience.
“How long does it take to tell a woman my wife's come back? I can say it in two seconds.”
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| Cary Grant as Nick with children Tim and Chinch 8x10" |
It turns out that Ellen wasn’t alone on the island but washed ashore with a handsome man named Stephen Burkett (Randolph Scott). Nick finds out and he’s jealous. Seven years Stephen and Ellen spent on this island and they called one another Adam and Eve.
Stephen is a vegetarian who lives at the YMCA. The first time we see him is the first time Nick sees him. He is very athletic, gets mistaken for Johnny Weissmuller, and he makes women swoon. When Stephen orders raw carrots and carrot juice for lunch, Nick orders a steak sandwich.
There are several similarities between My Favorite Wife and The Awful Truth. Ellen moves in with them. She uses an accent, pretending to be a friend of the family. In The Awful Truth, they’re married and he suspects her of cheating. My Favorite Wife came out the same year as The Philadelphia Story. Grant is C. K. Dexter Haven, a man destined to re-marry his former wife, Tracy Lord, played by Katharine Hepburn.
The holidays are a time to reevaluate and look at what’s really important in life. Love, friends and family. Christmas is love, generosity. People as like comfort and sentiment in the movies we watch. Does Nick really have the luxury of choosing his favorite wife?
My Favorite Wife is among a special group of films with a seasonal theme. They may take place at Christmastime, have a holiday scene. Maybe they end at Christmas or New Year’s.
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| Bishop's Wife, Cary Grant is Dudley |
We wonder why is it why it has that a Christmas scene? What does it evoke in our minds? Filmmakers may want to accentuate the contrast of setting and what characters are doing time of year, expectations. If you see Santa Claus, what do you expect from Santa?
Gift ideas from My Favorite Wife:
** A diamond brooch: As an engagement gift, Nick gives Bianca a brooch that he'd previously given Ellen. Bianca wears it through most of the movie. Regifting can turn out to be a bad idea especially if your first wife comes back... Best to buy a new diamond brooch for each wife.
** A whimsical robe, better yet, matching robes for the two of you. Choose an exotic animal print and add I can't give you anything but love, baby to your list of carols.
** A framed photo of Cary Grant. The Arden family has a framed photo of Cary Grant (or is it Nick Arden? They look a lot alike) on the table in their living room. It is a nice item to complement any room. If you've had a hard day, you can be like Mary Richards on The Mary Tyler Moore show and tell the photo your troubles, "Oooohh, Mr. Grant!"
There’s something about these non-traditional Christmas-season movies that makes them nice to watch at this time of year.
The list of movies with Christmas and/or New Year’s scenes is varied. It includes dramas, comedies and even horror films from every time period: The Thin Man (balloons on your Christmas tree?), Meet Me in St. Louis, Little Women, Our Vines Have Tender Grapes (Edward G. Robinson), A Tree Grows in Brooklyn, Our Town, Heidi, My Reputation, Oceans 11, Auntie Mame, Holiday (Cary Grant & Katharine Hepburn), Bachelor Mother, 1939 and its counterpart, Bundle of Joy 1956. The Apartment with Jack Lemmon, Shirley MacLaine and Fred MacMurray covers both Christmas and New Year's.
Looking for another nontraditional Cary Grant Christmas film? In Name Only is a drama he did in 1939 with Carole Lombard and Kay Francis.
How about Lethal Weapon and of course, Gremlins, 1984. There's the noir Christmas favorite from 1947, Lady in the Lake. "I like your tan. It's very Christmassy."
We watch some of these movies each Christmas. They become part of your family tradition as much as holiday movies movies like Miracle on 34th Street, It’s a Wonderful Life, The Bishop’s Wife or Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer.
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| Cary Grant and Ingrid Bergman Notorious (Did someone give them mistletoe?) 1946 Snowflake Porcelain Ornament, 3-Inch 
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In a few days, as part of a Christmas Movie Blogathon, I’m doing a post on the Katharine Hepburn/Spencer Tracy movie, Desk Set.
The police come to arrest Nick on charges of bigamy. The four of them go before the judge. Bianca understands what’s happened and she’s fine having her marriage to Nick annulled. Stephen asks Ellen return with him to the island. “You can even bring the kiddies along.”
The possibility of losing Ellen again finally pushes Nick into action. The thought of Adam and Eve is too much for him to take.
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| Cary Grant with Lucille Ball and Ann Sheridan |
Most of these holiday-themed films have happy endings and this is no exception. Several of them offer a main character a chance for redemption, similar to the chance that Ebenezer Scrooge received. Nick Arden gets a second chance with his wife Ellen, their children get the chance to be raised by their mother.
Stephen is going back to the island. Have you heard the song Christmas Island? Do you like the Jimmy Buffett, Leon Redbone or another version best?
Even Bianca is happy, glad to be rid of Nick. "As far as I’m concerned you’re legally dead," she tells him.
What’s the holiday theme in My Favorite Wife, you ask? It doesn’t come until the very end of the picture when Nick drives Ellen and the children to their cabin.
Nick had planned to take a 60-day cruise to think things out, and thinks Ellen should stay at the cabin for a respectable amount of time. It’s made clear that Nick and Bianca’s marriage is annulled. He and Ellen are still married and, “can pick up where they left off.”
Nick says he has to stay overnight at the cabin. Ellen teases him a bit, making him sleep in the attic; a good place to think things out. She refuses to let him sleep with her (in one of the twin beds apparently) in their bedroom. Again, a scene reminiscent of one in The Awful Truth.
The attic is packed with children’s toys that make noises. There are Christmas decorations. Garland is draped around and you get an idea that the family might spend the holidays at the cabin. Garlands nearly fall on top of him as he blows out a candle to go downstairs.
Ellen reminds him that his 60 day cruise should have him back home to her around Christmastime. “We’ll have a lovely Christmas,” she says looking up at him from a comfortable bed.
When he tells her that he won’t bother her anymore that night and he leaves the room, she’s disappointed. But in short order, back he's back dressed in a Santa Claus suit.
"Merry Christmas!"
I like to watch My Favorite Wife at Christmastime because it's so fun. Probably more because of the somewhat unexpected Christmas present we, really what Irene Dunne’s character, gets at the film’s climax.
Note how it's put in the book, Irene Dunne: First Lady of Hollywood.
Irene Dunne is the "only comic actress working under the strictures of the Production [censorship] Cose who actually ends two of her comedies, The Awful Truth and My Favorite Wife, under the covers enticing her chosen mate (Cary Grant) into her bed under the guise of keeping him at bay."  |
| My Favorite Wife, Cary Grant is feeling jolly |
These movies don’t have to be watched at holiday-time but it's a swell time for swell movies. Find characters you like, characters you'd like to see again year after year.
Cary Grant was awarded the prestigious Kennedy Center Honor for Achievement in the Performing Arts. CBS aired the event on December 26, 1981. Audrey Hepburn, Rex Harrison and James Stewart were among the presenters. Also receiving the honors were William "Count" Basie, Cary Grant, Helen Hayes, Jerome Robbins and Rudolf Serkin.
Cary Grant's daughter, Jennifer was born in 1966. Her mom is actress Dyan Cannon. Mr. Grant recorded this sweet Christmas Lullaby in 1967.
The Remakes of My Favorite Wife
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Marilyn Monroe Life Magazine 1962
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On its June 22, 1962 cover, Life Magazine featured Marilyn Monroe, in a blue terrycloth robe. The headline read, "The skinny dip you'll never see."
She was unable to return to work and was subsequently fired. This was the last film she ever worked on.
Doris Day and James Garner were cast after Monroe's death in August 1962. The new version was released by Fox with the title, Move Over, Darling in 1963.
Footage is available of the movie...
Including outtakes with Marilyn Monroe and Dean Martin
What are you and your family having for Christmas Dinner?
As the great philosopher, Kermit the Frog said way back in 1979: "Christmas is the time to come together. A time to put all differences aside and I reach out my hand to the family of man to share the joy I feel at Christmas time." -- The Christmas Wish
The Parent Trap (1998) does a mini tribute to My Favorite Wife by imitating the elevator sequence. Both men (Cary Grant and Dennis Quaid) are with a new bride and soon-to-be bride respectively when they enter an elevator only to be surprised to gaze on their believed-to-be-dead wife (Irene Dunne) and ex-wife (Natasha Richardson) respectively.
-- from video description
Not with My Wife, You Don't! (1966) with Tony Curtis, Virna Lisi and George C. Scott has a similar elevator scene.
Katharine Hepburn and Cary Grant go on Holiday, another non-traditional holiday film
The Philadelphia Story, Features of Romantic Comedies and Screwball Comedy from the Golden Age
Bringing Up Cary Grant and the Oscars
Bernard and the Genie : Holiday Goodness with Lenny Henry, Alan Cumming, Rowan Atkinson
Tuesday, December 17, 2013
Painting as Therapy for Persons with Alzheimers
I Remember Better When I Paint : Music and art can have a positive impact on the life of a person living with Alzheimer's. Instructive and Inspiring
Are you familiar with the work of Dr. Oliver Sacks on music therapy and memory? You and your loved one may find a connection through creating or appreciating music or art. You can get in some exercise and fun.
Consider what stage of the disease your family member is in, what kind of day he or she is having. There are many sources in the community and online with ideas.
Start with something easy, free-form. Make a greeting card, a scrapbook page. Make something as a gift or memento for yourself. Have a variety of materials, colors, options and patience.
The holidays can be a particularly trying time for people with diseases such as Alzheimers. Consider what we can do for them and for ourselves as caretakers to make this time more peaceful and pleasant. Make more special memories.
I recall when we went through taking care of a relative who had Alzheimer's and some other medical issues, at times she found marching to music to be easier on her legs than walking. It was a lot more fun, too.
I Remember Better When I Paint : DVD
Narrated by Olivia de Havilland, I Remember Better When I Paint is a documentary about the positive impact of art and other creative therapies have on people with Alzheimer's and how these approaches can change the way we look at the disease.
The personal stories which are related include that of Yasmin Aga Khan, president of Alzheimer's Disease International, who discusses the experiences of her mother, Rita Hayworth, who had Alzheimer's and also painted.
Among those featured are renowned neurologists who explain how creative activities engage areas of the brain that are not damaged or less damaged by the disease and thus help reawaken a sense of personality, identity and dignity.
The DVD also includes seven bonus films:
"Organizing an Outing", "Organizing a Creative Workshop", "The Importance of Physical Exercise", "Recreating Social Bonds", "The Hearthstone Method", "The Memory Gardens" and "Art and Care Until the Last Stages."
I Remember Better When I Paint: Art and Alzheimer's:
Opening Doors, Making Connections : Book
The book has received high marks from customers. It would be helpful on its own and would be a fine companion to the video.
-- Some information from manufacturer, Amazon
Olivia de Havilland is perhaps best known for the screen epic Gone With the Wind where she played the role as Melanie Hamilton opposite Clark Gable and Vivien Leigh.
Ms. de Havilland appeared in eight films with Errol Flynn including The Adventures of Robin Hood. She is the sister of the late actress Joan Fontaine.
The sisters were both nominated for the Best Actress Academy Award in 1942.
Fontaine won that year for her role in Suspicion (an Alfred Hitchcock movie) over de Havilland's performance in Hold Back the Dawn.
Olivia de Havilland won the 1947 Academy Award for Best Actress in a Leading Role for her work in the film To Each His Own.
She also won the 1950 Best Actress Oscar for her work in the film The Heiress. There were many other award wins and nominations in her career.
The Hilgos Foundation is tremendous resource for information. They produced the book and documentary, a segment of it is above.
I Remember Better When I Paint: documentary narrated by Olivia de Havilland on positive impact of art, museums, music & creativity on people with Alzheimer’s.
Once married to Orson Welles, Rita Hayworth was an iconic actress and dancer active from the 1930s through the 1970s. She danced with Fred Astaire in You'll Never Get Rich.
Some of her best known films include Gilda, Cover Girl, The Lady From Shanghai, Salome and The Story on Page One. Rita Hayworth was an American servicemen's pinup.
Her marriage to Orson Welles lasted 1943-1948. They had one daughter.
Rita Hayworth died in 1987 from Alzheimer's Disease at the age of 68.
According to a 1987 The New York Times article, Hayworth "had been under the care of her second daughter, Princess Yasmin Aga Khan, who by publicizing her mother's tragic illness had drawn national and international attention to Alzheimer's disease, about which little was known until recent years."
When public figures discuss their experiences with the disease it can make it easier for the rest of us to face our situation and get help.
There is annual Rita Hayworth Alzheimer's Gala was held at the Waldorf Astoria. I've also read of an annual Alzheimer's Association Rita Hayworth Gala taking place Mother's Day weekend at the Hilton in Chicago.
-- An excerpt from my web page, Alzheimer's Movies, Books and Songs (This page includes a list of celebrities who have and who had Alzheimers and dementia.)
Links to related pages of interest:
Alzheimer's Disease Programs at Museums: Art appreciation, therapy. Regularly updated. Don't hesitate to check with your local museums to see what might be available
Short Films: One Too Many (Éramos pocos), Helmer & Son
List of Famous People with Alzheimer's Disease, Dementia
Kanreki, Turning 60, Japanese tradition, Celebrations
Croning Ceremonies for Women 50-60, pride in aging
Cinematic Journeys From One Traumatic Transition to Another: Puberty, Aging, Alzheimer's
Nursing Home Week, Seniors, Relatives Considering Moving
Musicophilia: Tales of Music and the Brain, Revised and Expanded Edition, Oliver Sacks Available on Kindle, paperback, audiobook, etc.
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Olivia De Havilland Photo
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Consider what stage of the disease your family member is in, what kind of day he or she is having. There are many sources in the community and online with ideas.
Start with something easy, free-form. Make a greeting card, a scrapbook page. Make something as a gift or memento for yourself. Have a variety of materials, colors, options and patience.
The holidays can be a particularly trying time for people with diseases such as Alzheimers. Consider what we can do for them and for ourselves as caretakers to make this time more peaceful and pleasant. Make more special memories.
I recall when we went through taking care of a relative who had Alzheimer's and some other medical issues, at times she found marching to music to be easier on her legs than walking. It was a lot more fun, too.
I Remember Better When I Paint : DVD
Narrated by Olivia de Havilland, I Remember Better When I Paint is a documentary about the positive impact of art and other creative therapies have on people with Alzheimer's and how these approaches can change the way we look at the disease.
 |
| Rita Hayworth 11x14 Photo High Quality Print Music Notes 
|
Among those featured are renowned neurologists who explain how creative activities engage areas of the brain that are not damaged or less damaged by the disease and thus help reawaken a sense of personality, identity and dignity.
The DVD also includes seven bonus films:
"Organizing an Outing", "Organizing a Creative Workshop", "The Importance of Physical Exercise", "Recreating Social Bonds", "The Hearthstone Method", "The Memory Gardens" and "Art and Care Until the Last Stages."
I Remember Better When I Paint: Art and Alzheimer's:
Opening Doors, Making Connections : Book
The book has received high marks from customers. It would be helpful on its own and would be a fine companion to the video.
-- Some information from manufacturer, Amazon
Olivia de Havilland is perhaps best known for the screen epic Gone With the Wind where she played the role as Melanie Hamilton opposite Clark Gable and Vivien Leigh.
 |
Gone With The Wind Poster 27x40 Clark Gable Vivien Leigh, Olivia de Havilland
|
Ms. de Havilland appeared in eight films with Errol Flynn including The Adventures of Robin Hood. She is the sister of the late actress Joan Fontaine.
The sisters were both nominated for the Best Actress Academy Award in 1942.
Fontaine won that year for her role in Suspicion (an Alfred Hitchcock movie) over de Havilland's performance in Hold Back the Dawn.
Olivia de Havilland won the 1947 Academy Award for Best Actress in a Leading Role for her work in the film To Each His Own.
 |
Olivia De Havviland Color Photo, choose size
|
She also won the 1950 Best Actress Oscar for her work in the film The Heiress. There were many other award wins and nominations in her career.
The Hilgos Foundation is tremendous resource for information. They produced the book and documentary, a segment of it is above.
I Remember Better When I Paint: documentary narrated by Olivia de Havilland on positive impact of art, museums, music & creativity on people with Alzheimer’s.
 |
Rita Hayworth Photo
|
Some of her best known films include Gilda, Cover Girl, The Lady From Shanghai, Salome and The Story on Page One. Rita Hayworth was an American servicemen's pinup.
Her marriage to Orson Welles lasted 1943-1948. They had one daughter.
Rita Hayworth died in 1987 from Alzheimer's Disease at the age of 68.
According to a 1987 The New York Times article, Hayworth "had been under the care of her second daughter, Princess Yasmin Aga Khan, who by publicizing her mother's tragic illness had drawn national and international attention to Alzheimer's disease, about which little was known until recent years."
When public figures discuss their experiences with the disease it can make it easier for the rest of us to face our situation and get help.
There is annual Rita Hayworth Alzheimer's Gala was held at the Waldorf Astoria. I've also read of an annual Alzheimer's Association Rita Hayworth Gala taking place Mother's Day weekend at the Hilton in Chicago.
-- An excerpt from my web page, Alzheimer's Movies, Books and Songs (This page includes a list of celebrities who have and who had Alzheimers and dementia.)
Links to related pages of interest:
Alzheimer's Disease Programs at Museums: Art appreciation, therapy. Regularly updated. Don't hesitate to check with your local museums to see what might be available
Short Films: One Too Many (Éramos pocos), Helmer & Son
List of Famous People with Alzheimer's Disease, Dementia
Kanreki, Turning 60, Japanese tradition, Celebrations
Croning Ceremonies for Women 50-60, pride in aging
Cinematic Journeys From One Traumatic Transition to Another: Puberty, Aging, Alzheimer's
Nursing Home Week, Seniors, Relatives Considering Moving
Musicophilia: Tales of Music and the Brain, Revised and Expanded Edition, Oliver Sacks Available on Kindle, paperback, audiobook, etc.
Friday, December 13, 2013
Step Into Character Mary Poppins Party Dick Van Dyke Julie Andrews
A Mary Poppins Interactive Party
In honor of the Birthday of Dick Van Dyke
& the Premiere of Saving Mr. Banks
& the Premiere of Saving Mr. Banks
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| Dick Van Dyke in mid-air, Mary Poppins 8x10" Photo 
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Marc Breaux and Dee Dee Wood choreographed the song Step In Time for the movie Mary Poppins, the 1964 film.
Dick Van Dyke played Bert the chimney sweep and Julie Andrews played the title role.
Loved this little clip because it shows the amount of work that went into creating the Step In Time segment of the film.
Step in time, step in time
Come on, mateys, step in time
Step in time
Step in time, step in time
Step in time, step in time
Never need a reason,
Never need a rhyme
Step in time, you step in time!
In December 2013, Dick Van Dyke and Julie Andrews celebrate Mary Poppins and the opening of the much anticipated Disney film about the making of Mary Poppins, Saving Mr. Banks. Stars of the new film, Emma Thompson and Tom Hanks are also in the video.
In 1964, Julie Andrews won the Academy Award for Best Actress for her role as Mary Poppins. The film and those who worked on it won and were nominated for many awards that year. It won the Best Picture Oscar.
In 1965, she was nominated for the Academy Award Best Actress for her role as Maria von Trapp in The Sound of Music. Her costar in this film was the great Christopher Plummer, who also has a birthday on December 13th.
Kick your knees up!
Kick your knees up, step in time
Kick your knees up, step in time
Never need a reason,
Never need a rhyme
Kick your knees up, step in time
Kick your knees up, step in time
Kick your knees up, step in time
Never need a reason,
Never need a rhyme
Kick your knees up, step in time
Have you been to sing-along film showings? The Sound of Music is, if not the number one sing-along movie, certainly one to the top five or ten. The sing-alongs often encourage costumes and they're great fun!
I've also seen the seasonal Nutcracker Dance-Along and the Goodfellas Curse-Along.
Attend a Mary Poppins Sing-Along to celebrate the start of 2014 at The El Capitan Theatre in Hollywood, CA. It ran January 10-20. "Sing along to the words on the big screen in this exciting interactive movie experience." January 10th Special Opening Night Show with a Costume Contest.
Be on the lookout for Interactive movie sing-alongs that may come to your area. I've seen a few of these advertised for Mary Poppins, one in London and one in New Jersey -- unfortunately both are over now. It's sort of Mary Poppins meets the Rocky Horror Picture Show experience??
You're given props and encouraged to dance in the aisles, assuming the film is shown in a traditional theater. The possibility of this sort of thing is endless. In New Jersey, lyrics were shown on the screen and actors were dressed as the title characters.
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Julie Andrews Dick Van Dyke Mary Poppins 8x10" Photo
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Party Planning, Activity Idea:
This sounds like fun. Not only should you attend one of these shows, but whenever you see one of your favorite musicals is going to be on television, arm yourself with goodies and throw an Interactive Movie Sing Along Party.
Try it in honor of Julie Andrews, Dick Van Dyke and Christopher Plummer. Do it to become a legend in your own neighborhood. Once everyone is up and moving around, it doesn't seem as silly. :) It's an opportunity to bond with your kids and your friends.
Mary Poppins: 50th Anniversary Edition (DVD + Digital Copy)
Optionally you can stream the movie on your computer or TV. Rent or buy it. You may or may not get extra features or end credits that come with the film as it is on the disc.
An audience participation kit was handed out. It included kazoos, bubbles and noise makers. A local candy company provided candy. Perfect local business promotional idea.
Of course think about the ages of your guests, the amount of supervision they'll need with items in the kits and the environment where you're showing the film. Have two bags, one for kids and one for adults?!
"...An interactive pack to help you immerse yourself in the film – feed the birds (tuppence a bag), have a tea party on the ceiling, march with the suffragettes, jump into a painting and join the chimney sweeps’ mischief."
Can you use the songs in the movie as inspiration for activities or costumes? Let's Go Fly a Kite? Penguin Dance. Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious.
Maybe you can make up a word. String together the names of your pets and say them really fast?
Make miniature kites.
Color kites.
Make a mini chimney brush
Choreograph a little line stepping dance to a song?
Move around and sing as much as possible!
Getting up and moving with the actors, with the songs we love so much is a super..... idea!
Round the chimney!
Round the chimney, step in time
Round the chimney, step in time
Never need a reason,
Never need a rhyme
Round the chimney, step in time
Round the chimney, step in time
Round the chimney, step in time
Never need a reason,
Never need a rhyme
Round the chimney, step in time
Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious personalize T Shirts
by ACRONIMS
Browse Zazzle for a different shirt design
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| An Assortment of Adorable Kid-Friendly, Kid-Sized umbrellas from Kidorable |
Kidorable is a leading maker of rain gear for kids. Whether your child is into animals, bugs, dragons, princesses or.... You'll probably find it. We've seen these in action, so to speak, at different events. So cute.
Mix and match with what your kids already have or surprise them with a set. You won't have a problem finding your child in a crowd!
Lace, fabric paper parasols, different materials, colors and styles
Mary Poppins Day is August 29th. Have you used parasols and umbrellas in planning a weddings or other event? For decorating your little girl's room?
Resources:
Some information from Walt Disney and Wikipedia web sites
Short excerpts from the song Step In Time throughout
The Lanceville NJ Patch
The London Jewish Baby Directory
Thursday, December 12, 2013
Yeah Yeah Yeah Celebrate Edward G Robinson's Birthday
Edward G Robinson was born December 12, 1893 in Bucharest, Romania. He shares his birthday with Frank Sinatra, Bob Barker, Connie Francis, Dionne Warwick to name a very few. How did he feel about being imitated? It's a Thursday Talk-Alike!
The Martha Raye Show ran 1954-1956. A regular who appeared with the actress on the show was retired middleweight boxer Rocky Graziano.
Early in an episode where Robinson is guest star, they do an imitation of his Little Caesar character.
He rushes onto the stage talks about how aggravating it is to be associated with one character when he's done so many movies.
Actually to be truthful, he did play that sort of character in more than one film, but the character of Rico in Little Caesar is maybe the most famous. Still what he's saying is right and lots of actors have this problem -- if they're lucky enough to be famous.
What he has to say on the show:
"I can't take these imitations any longer! More than 20 years ago I made a picture called Little Caesar and ever since then the imitations have been going on. Yeah, yeah yeah!
"Since then I've made hundreds of pictures, wonderful pictures like Dr. Ehrlich's Magic Bullet (1940) where I played a nice sweet lovable German scientist. But do people imitate Dr. Ehrlich? No! It's just Yeah, yeah, yeah! ....
"The day my little baby was born. The first time that I picked him up in my arms... All other babies say, 'Goo Goo, Dah Dah.' He looked up at me and he said, 'Yeah! Yeah! Yeah!'"
** There's a bit more about Dr. Ehrlich's Magic Bullet below
[See him (for the first time) about 03:36 into the video]
In a documentary on Little Caesar they talk about the perennial popularity of characters like these. They also mention Bonnie and Clyde.
In 1937 he made a film with Bette Davis, Kid Galahad. Here's a little promotional video the stars made that includes a short behind-the-scenes introduction.
In 1963 John, Paul, George and Ringo realized the power of Yeah, yeah, yeah!
The Beatles had an early hit with the song She Loves You, written by John Lennon and Paul McCartney, released July 1, 1963.
Robinson was awarded an Honorary Academy Award in 1973. Apparently he knew of the award, but sadly he died two months before the award ceremony. His widow accepted the statuette in his honor.
So don't worry Edward G, with all due respect, as I'm a big fan of The Beatles and Edward G. Robinson....
They love you, yeah, yeah, yeah
They love you, yeah, yeah, yeah
And with a love like that
You know you should be glad.
The 1940 film, Dr. Ehrlich's Magic Bullet, met with some controversy due to the subject matter. With a strong script by script by John Huston, the film also featured Ruth Gordon and Otto Kruger. It was produced by the legendary Hal Wallis and directed by William Dieterle.
"Working under the puritanical restraints of the Production Code of the Motion Pictures Producers and Distributors of America, Warner executives furthermore seriously considered not mentioning the word syphilis in the movie.
"However, Hal B. Wallis, president of the association, while advising caution, wrote to Warner Bros. that 'to make a dramatic picture of the life of Dr. Ehrlich and not include this discovery [the anti-syphilis drug Salvarsan] among his great achievements would be unfair to the record.'"
-- -- short excerpt from Wikipedia
Producer Hal Wallis wrote in Starmaker: the autobiography of Hal B. Wallis
that one of the reasons he was
keen to make this film, despite objections from the Hays Office over the
syphilis subject matter, was to help refute a widely-quoted 1938
statement by Adolf Hitler in which he said, "a scientific discovery by a
Jew is worthless." (Ehrlich was a German Jew.)
-- info thanks to TCM. In the book, Wallis calls it "Hitler's widely quoted statement." There are many reasons for watching the film and films like it.
Books that cover medicine, doctors, illness, science and its history as it's portrayed in film. These studies can be so interesting and often they're either written by people in the field or have consultants who are doctors or other types of scientists.
They Called Me Mad: Genius, Madness, and the Scientists Who Pushed the Outer Limits of Knowledge
From Dr. Frankenstein to Dr. Jekyll, the image of the mad scientist surrounded by glass vials, copper coils, and electrical apparatus remains a popular fixture. In films and fiction, he's comically misguided, tragically misunderstood, or pathologically evil.
The Picture of Health: Medical Ethics and the Movies
The Science of James Bond: From Bullets to Bowler Hats to Boat Jumps, the Real Technology Behind 007's Fabulous Films
Medicinema - Doctors in Films
A podcast from Chemistry World about Dr. Ehrlich's discovery of Salvarsan. The film is hailed by doctors, scientists, microbiologists in particular as one of the best.
Links to Related Pages:
Read More info about Mr. Robinson and his career
Bette Davis Impersonations on a Tuesday Talk-Alike : Sammy Davis talks like Jimmy Stewart talks like Bette Davis Imitations
 |
| Raquel Welch Edward G. Robinson The Biggest Bundle of Them All (1968) Original 8x10" Photo 
|
Early in an episode where Robinson is guest star, they do an imitation of his Little Caesar character.
He rushes onto the stage talks about how aggravating it is to be associated with one character when he's done so many movies.
Actually to be truthful, he did play that sort of character in more than one film, but the character of Rico in Little Caesar is maybe the most famous. Still what he's saying is right and lots of actors have this problem -- if they're lucky enough to be famous.
What he has to say on the show:
"I can't take these imitations any longer! More than 20 years ago I made a picture called Little Caesar and ever since then the imitations have been going on. Yeah, yeah yeah!
"Since then I've made hundreds of pictures, wonderful pictures like Dr. Ehrlich's Magic Bullet (1940) where I played a nice sweet lovable German scientist. But do people imitate Dr. Ehrlich? No! It's just Yeah, yeah, yeah! ....
"The day my little baby was born. The first time that I picked him up in my arms... All other babies say, 'Goo Goo, Dah Dah.' He looked up at me and he said, 'Yeah! Yeah! Yeah!'"
** There's a bit more about Dr. Ehrlich's Magic Bullet below
[See him (for the first time) about 03:36 into the video]
In a documentary on Little Caesar they talk about the perennial popularity of characters like these. They also mention Bonnie and Clyde.
In 1937 he made a film with Bette Davis, Kid Galahad. Here's a little promotional video the stars made that includes a short behind-the-scenes introduction.
In 1963 John, Paul, George and Ringo realized the power of Yeah, yeah, yeah!
The Beatles had an early hit with the song She Loves You, written by John Lennon and Paul McCartney, released July 1, 1963.
Robinson was awarded an Honorary Academy Award in 1973. Apparently he knew of the award, but sadly he died two months before the award ceremony. His widow accepted the statuette in his honor.
So don't worry Edward G, with all due respect, as I'm a big fan of The Beatles and Edward G. Robinson....
They love you, yeah, yeah, yeah
They love you, yeah, yeah, yeah
And with a love like that
You know you should be glad.
 |
| Edward G Robinson Dr. Ehrlich's Magic Bullet Clipping Magazine photo 8x10 2pg orig 
|
The 1940 film, Dr. Ehrlich's Magic Bullet, met with some controversy due to the subject matter. With a strong script by script by John Huston, the film also featured Ruth Gordon and Otto Kruger. It was produced by the legendary Hal Wallis and directed by William Dieterle.
"Working under the puritanical restraints of the Production Code of the Motion Pictures Producers and Distributors of America, Warner executives furthermore seriously considered not mentioning the word syphilis in the movie.
"However, Hal B. Wallis, president of the association, while advising caution, wrote to Warner Bros. that 'to make a dramatic picture of the life of Dr. Ehrlich and not include this discovery [the anti-syphilis drug Salvarsan] among his great achievements would be unfair to the record.'"
-- -- short excerpt from Wikipedia
Producer Hal Wallis wrote in Starmaker: the autobiography of Hal B. Wallis
that one of the reasons he was
keen to make this film, despite objections from the Hays Office over the
syphilis subject matter, was to help refute a widely-quoted 1938
statement by Adolf Hitler in which he said, "a scientific discovery by a
Jew is worthless." (Ehrlich was a German Jew.)-- info thanks to TCM. In the book, Wallis calls it "Hitler's widely quoted statement." There are many reasons for watching the film and films like it.
Books that cover medicine, doctors, illness, science and its history as it's portrayed in film. These studies can be so interesting and often they're either written by people in the field or have consultants who are doctors or other types of scientists.
They Called Me Mad: Genius, Madness, and the Scientists Who Pushed the Outer Limits of Knowledge
From Dr. Frankenstein to Dr. Jekyll, the image of the mad scientist surrounded by glass vials, copper coils, and electrical apparatus remains a popular fixture. In films and fiction, he's comically misguided, tragically misunderstood, or pathologically evil. The Picture of Health: Medical Ethics and the Movies
The Science of James Bond: From Bullets to Bowler Hats to Boat Jumps, the Real Technology Behind 007's Fabulous Films
Medicinema - Doctors in Films
A podcast from Chemistry World about Dr. Ehrlich's discovery of Salvarsan. The film is hailed by doctors, scientists, microbiologists in particular as one of the best.
Links to Related Pages:
Read More info about Mr. Robinson and his career
Bette Davis Impersonations on a Tuesday Talk-Alike : Sammy Davis talks like Jimmy Stewart talks like Bette Davis Imitations
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