At The Matinee Pays Tribute to Three Greats

Though this may be late, At The Matinee remembers three greats from the silver screen and television.

On the evening of Monday, August 11- the nation learned of the tragic death of actor and comedian Robin Williams, who took his own life at the age of 63.  He studied acting at The Juilliard School in New York, under the wing of noted actor-producer and drama director John Houseman (1902-1988).

His early stand-up routines led him to an appearance on Happy Days in 1978.  He portrayed Mork, an alien from the planet "Ork" to observe human behavior.  This led to a successful spin-off series, titled Mork & Mindy (with Pam Dawber) which ran on ABC from 1978 to 1982.

Williams would go on to play iconic characters in various films over the years, in comedies, dramatic, and animated features.   Some of Williams' iconic films include Moscow On The Hudson (1984), Good Morning, Vietnam (1987), Dead Poets Society (1989), The Fisher King, Hook (both 1991), the Disney animated feature Aladdin (1992, as the voice of the Genie), Mrs. Doubtfire (1993), Jack, Jumanji  (both 1996), the Academy Award-winning Good Will Hunting (1997), Patch Adams (1998), Bicentennial Man (1999), One Hour Photo (2002), the CGI-animated feature Robots (2005, as the voice of Fender), the Night At The Museum series (2006 & 2011, as Theodore Roosevelt), Man of the Year (2006), and his portrayal of President Dwight Eisenhower in Lee Daniels' The Butler (based on the real-life events of White House butler Cecil Gaines, portrayed by Forrest Whitaker in 2013).

Williams appeared in numerous stand-up comedy specials for HBO throughout his career.  His last TV series was the short-lived (yet critically acclaimed) CBS comedy, The Crazy Ones.  He was also known for his charitable work for numerous organizations, including St. Jude's Children's Research Hospital, Comic Relief, and touring in several USO shows for troops stationed in Iraq and Afghanistan.

On Friday, August 15th- the Downtown Frederick Partnership's Movie Night On The Creek event paid tribute to Williams by screening his 1993 comedy hit, Mrs. Doubtfire.  On the August 18th edition of CBS' Late Show, David Letterman paid tribute to Williams (Letterman made a cameo appearance on an episode of Mork & Mindy in 1979- titled Mork Goes Erk).  The Academy of Television Arts & Sciences is planning a tribute to Robin Williams for the upcoming Primetime Emmy Awards ceremony, which will be held on Monday, August 25th.

On Tuesday, August 12th- actress Lauren Bacall passed away at the age of 89 (ATM first heard the news that night via WTOP Radio).

Born Betty Joan Perske on September 16, 1924- she was raised in a middle-class household.  Her father was a salesman, and her mother was a secretary.  At the age of five, her parents split up, Perske would live with her mother and had no contact with her father.  She was a student of the American Academy of of Dramatic Arts, and also worked as a model- appearing on the cover of Harper's Bazzar magazine.

This caught the attention of Slim Hawks, who encouraged her husband, noted film director Howard Hawks to give the Harper's Bazaar model a screen test for his upcoming Warner Bros. film, To Have and Have Not in 1944 (adapted from Ernest Hemingway's novel).  At the suggestion of her agent (and from Hawks), she changed her name to Lauren Bacall.  In Hawks' adaptation, Bacall would star with Humphrey Bogart.  During filming, the young actress would be attracted to her co-star (there was a 25-year age difference between Bogart and Bacall).  To Have and Have Not would become a box office hit, and Bacall would become a major star overnight.   In 1945, Bogart and Bacall were married in Ohio (Bacall would become the fourth and final Mrs. Bogart).

The two would be in other notable feature films, including The Big Sleep (1945), Delmar Daves' Dark Passage (1947), and John Huston's Key Largo (1948, adapted from Max Anderson's 1939 play of the same name).  In addition to these major films, the actress devoted her attention away from film, and decided to spend time with her husband.  Bogart and Bacall produced a family together- a son, Stephen (born in 1949) and a daughter, Leslie (born in 1952).

Other notable film roles came along, including Young Man With A Horn (1950, with Kirk Douglas), How To Marry A Millionaire (1953, with Marilyn Monroe and Betty Grable- which was the second feature film photographed in Fox's Cinemascope process), Written on the Wind (1956), and Designing Woman (1957).  It was also during this time that Bogart's health began to decline (resulting from a heavy smoking habit), and that Bacall took care of her ailing husband- along with spending more time with her children.  Humphrey Bogart passed away on January 14, 1957.

After Bogart's death, Bacall had a short affair with Frank Sinatra- and had great difficulty finding successful film roles.  Bacall married fellow actor Jason Robards in 1961, and produced a son, Sam Robards (born in December 1961, who would become an actor beginning in the early 1980's).  Though she had several film and television roles throughout the 1960's, she still devoted time to her family.  Bacall and Robards divorced in 1969, as a result of Robards' alcoholic struggles.

Bacall would turn her attention towards Broadway, appearing in the musical Applause in 1970 (a musical adaptation of the 1950 film All About Eve), and won the Tony Award for Best Actress in a Musical.  She also appeared in the 1973 television adaptation.  Bacall appeared in Sidney Lumet's 1974 film adaptation of Agatha Christie's Murder on the Orient Express (as Mrs. Harriet Belinda Hubbard).  She was also in The Shootist (as Bond Rogers) in 1976- which was John Wayne's last feature film.  That same year, she was in a two-part episode of The Rockford Files (with James Garner) titled "Lions, Tigers, Monkeys, and Dogs".

Throughout the 1980's and into the millennium, Bacall appeared in numerous film and television roles- including Mr. North (1988, directed by Danny Huston, son of John Huston), Ready To Wear (1994, directed by Robert Altman), The Mirror Has Two Faces (1996, directed by Barbara Streisand, which earned Bacall a Screen Actors Guild award and her only nomination for an Academy Award), Manderlay (2005), and a cameo appearance on the critically acclaimed HBO series- The Sopranos. 

Turner Classic Movies will pay tribute to Bacall with a marathon of her most memorable films (including an airing of a 2005 interview with TCM host Robert Osborne) on September 15th and 16th.  A full schedule can be found here.

Don Pardo, on the set of NBC's Saturday Night Live.

On Monday, August 18th- longtime Saturday Night Live (and NBC) announcer Don Pardo passed away at the age of 96.  Born Dominick George Pardo on February 22, 1918- he became interested in theater while attending Norwich Free Academy in Norwich, Connecticut.

In 1938, he began to work with local theater troupes- including the 20th Century Players- who performed on WJAR Radio in Providence, Rhode Island.  Pardo would become an announcer at the station about a year later.  He changed his name to Dom, but many called him "Don" (according to an oral history interview with the Archive of American Television in 2006).

In 1944 (along with friend Hal Simms- who would later become another nationally recognized announcer), he made a trip to the National Broadcasting Company's headquarters in New York.  When Pardo thanked NBC's supervisor of announcers for organizing the tour, he immediately ended up with a job at the network, working as part of the studio's night staff (which worked until sign-off).  Two years later, an NBC executive asked Pardo if he knew anything about baseball for the then-new medium of television.  Pardo and another commentator would work on three televised baseball games that year.

Until the mid-1950's, Pardo worked between NBC radio and television.  Beginning in 1956, he would be the announcer for a new game show on the network, The Price Is Right (hosted by Bill Cullen).  On that first incarnation of the game show, it was where Pardo began to develop his signature vocal delivery.  He also had additional announcing duties at the network- including being one of the first to break the news of the assassination of President John F. Kennedy on the network's flagship station, WNBC-TV.

After The Price Is Right moved to ABC that same year, Pardo chose to stay with NBC. He would become the announcer for another new game show created by Merv Griffin- the first incarnation of Jeopardy!, hosted by Art Fleming (which ran on the network from 1964-1975).

Pardo is best known for his announcing duties on NBC's Saturday Night Live, which he had since the program's premiere in 1975 (except for the seventh season of the program).  In addition to the popular NBC program, he also had a voice cameo in the 1984 "Weird Al" Yankovic song, I Lost on Jeopardy.  Pardo did sign-off news reports for WNBC-TV (as seen in this clip from 1980, courtesy of Rick Klein's FuzzyMemories.tv).  From 1980 to 1991, Pardo also did announcing duties for WNBC-TV's afternoon newscast, Live at Five.  His final announcing duties on SNL was at the end of the program's 38th season in May (he retired from NBC in 2004, but stayed with Saturday Night Live).

According to The New York Times, show creator Lorne Michaels announced that Saturday Night Live will have a tribute to the iconic announcer at the beginning of the program's 39th season.

Ken Burns' "Empire of the Air" (plus update about "Movie Night on the Creek")

Cover Art from Ken Burns' Empire Of The Air.
Credit: Antique Wireless Association (Artwork)/
Florentine Films/Public Broadcasting Service.

As a person who is interested in classic/contemporary film, I always enjoy watching the documentary films of Ken Burns (which are telecast from time to time on PBS).  The Brooklyn Bridge, The Statue of Liberty, The Congress, The Civil War, Baseball, Frank Lloyd Wright, Lewis & Clark, Jazz, Mark Twain, Horatio's Drive, The National Parks, The War, The Dust Bowl, and the upcoming documentary on the Roosevelts.

One of his documentaries, Empire of the Air- examines the pioneers of radio broadcasting (originally telecast in 1991). Narrated by Jason Robards (1922-2000), Ken Burns' documentary showcases three iconic innovators - Lee DeForest, inventor of the audion vacuum tube; Edwin Howard Armstrong, inventor of the regenerative circuit, the superheterodyne radio receiver and "frequency modulation"- or FM radio broadcasting; and David Sarnoff, who created one of the biggest communications companies.

Empire of the Air goes through the innovators' triumphs and struggles, programming during radio's "golden era", early FM broadcasts, radio's role in the Second World War, and early television technology.  The documentary features interviews (and recollections of radio) with noted radio dramatist Norman Corwin (1910-2011), sports commentator Red Barber (1908-1992), Jeanne Hammond- niece of Edwin Howard Armstrong and broadcast historian Erik Barnouw (1908-2001).

Ken Burns' Empire of the Air is an insightful documentary about the pioneers of broadcasting and communications.  If you've never seen the film before, see it when you have the chance.  It is available on DVD (also part of the Ken Burns' America box set, along with The Brooklyn Bridge, The Statue of Liberty, The Congress, Thomas Hart Benton, Huey Long, and The Shakers) and streaming through Amazon Instant.

UPDATE: "MOVIE NIGHT ON THE CREEK" At The Matinee's previous post was about the Downtown Frederick Partnership and their event, Movie Night on the Creek.  The author contacted the executive director of the organization, Ms. Kara Norman about the possibility of showcasing classic and contemporary motion pictures for future Movie Night events.

Yet unfortunately (according to the message), the organization doesn't have plans of showcasing classic/contemporary feature films for this year's event.  No other plans have been made for films that will be showcased for the 2015 Movie Night season.  ATM appreciates the Downtown Frederick Partnership and Ms. Norman's quick response- yet it would be nice if classic/contemporary films were added to future Movie Night screenings.

As this author has stated before, classic/contemporary/cult cinema is severely under-appreciated in the Frederick area.  It would be nice to see classic films (in the area) the way they were meant to be seen- on the big screen.

Downtown Frederick Partnership's "Movie Night on the Creek" (Kickstarter Fundraiser)

Downtown Frederick Partnership/Douglas Via Photography

Special Thanks to Friend of the Matinee Ashlee Fleming for spreading the word about this (via this author's Facebook news feed, leading to the Downtown Frederick Partnership's official Kickstarter site).  

The Downtown Frederick Partnership has organized Movie Night On The Creek, where people go out to see a feature film projected on an outdoor screen (near Carroll Creek in Downtown Frederick, Maryland). The first film that was screened for the event was the 2013 remake of The Secret Life of Walter Mitty (held this past July).  The event was a major success, with over 400+ attendees viewing the film.

The organization feels that the current screen that they are using for the event isn't large enough, so they are encouraging the general public to donate funds towards a bigger outdoor screen for future Movie Night events, via their Kickstarter page.

The next scheduled event will take place on August 15th.  The film that will be shown on that night will be the 2004 Will Ferrell comedy, Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy.

While At The Matinee's mild-mannered author thinks this is an interesting idea, he wonders if any classic/cult/contemporary/independent features will be shown for future Movie Night On The Creek events (in addition to semi-current/cult feature films).  The author has contacted the Downtown Frederick Partnership about this.

Donate whatever you can to the Downtown Frederick Partnership's Movie Night On The Creek Kickstarter fund (whenever you have the chance to).

STILL NO WORD ON THE EBERT DOCUMENTARY: At The Matinee has mentioned Life Itself (the new documentary on the life of noted film critic Roger Ebert) in a previous post.  As of this writing, there has been no word from MDL Holiday Cinemas showing any interest in screening the film.  At this point, I guess I'll have to wait when the film airs later this year on CNN (who co-produced the film).  Again, I think it would be great if Life Itself were shown on the big screen.

ATM REMEMBERS: At The Matinee remembers documentary filmmaker Robert Drew (1924-2014), who passed away on July 30th, 2014 at his home in Sharon, Connecticut.   Drew was known for his pioneering documentaries, including the film Primary (about the 1960 Democratic presidential candidate primary race held in Wisconsin between John F. Kennedy and Hubert Humphrey).  

The Sequel to "Creature From The Black Lagoon"

1955 promotional ad for Universal Studios'
second "gill-man" feature,
Revenge Of The Creature. 

To cash in on the success of the aforementioned 1954 film, Universal decided to make a sequel- titled Revenge of The Creature. Directed by Jack Arnold, the film featured John Agar, Lori Nelson, and John Bromfield.  In the second installment, a group of scientists capture the "gill-man", and is put on display at an ocean park in Florida (the actual location used for filming was California's Marineland of the Pacific).

Just like its predecessor, Universal released the film to cinemas in both polarized 3-D and standard 2-D versions for exhibition (most cinema venues in the nation showcased the film in 2-D).  Hoping that it would be more popular than Creature of the Black Lagoon, audiences and critics were disappointed in the sequel.  Universal produced a third (and final) installment of this film series, The Creature Walks Among Us in 1956.

Some 26 years later, Universal syndicated Revenge Of The Creature to local stations- not in polarized 3-D, but in anaglyph 3-D (the iconic red-and-blue 3-D method).  Local stations were encouraged to team up with area merchants to provide 3-D glasses to customers, in order to promote the 3-D telecast of the film.

One example would be Chicago station WFLD (an independent owned by Field Enterprises at the time), which teamed up with Chicago-area 7-Eleven stores to give away 3-D glasses to customers to promote the local telecast- hosted by Son of Svengoolie (portrayed by Rich Koz).  Examples of the July 1982 telecast can be found through archivist Rick Klein's FuzzyMemories.tv, The Museum of Classic Chicago Television.

Nearly 32 years later, the film was seen recently (in 2-D) on MeTV Network, and their Saturday night showcase of classic Universal horror/sci-fi features- hosted by Svengoolie (Koz- whose iconic Universal horror showcase has been seen nationally since 2011- when Chicago's MeTV Network launched on television stations across the nation).  Throughout the month of July, Svengoolie showcased the entire Universal "gill-man" trilogy.

More on Svengoolie will be featured in an upcoming edition of At The Matinee.  For those who haven't seen his Saturday night MeTV show, check it out sometime (check local listings for channel).  It is also available on DVD, as part of Universal's Creature From The Black Lagoon: The Legacy Collection box set of the complete trilogy.

FUN FACT: Revenge of The Creature was lampooned on Mystery Science Theater 3000 (MST3K) around 1996, when that iconic program moved from Comedy Central to the Sci-Fi Channel (unfortunately known today as "Syfy").

MGM is still neglecting "The Alamo" (1960)

From a 1960 issue of Motion Picture Daily 
(on United Artists releases for 1960).

Since the end of May, numerous film enthusiasts and archivists have called on MGM to restore the "roadshow" version of The Alamo.  This ongoing issue in the field of film preservation has gained significant media attention.  Many (including the author of this blog) have informed MGM that preservation work on the film needs to begin immediately.   This author has also written to The Library of Congress, so that The Alamo can be nominated in this year's National Film Registry.

As of this writing, MGM is still ignoring all options from the film community to save The Alamo.  A new article has appeared on The Digital Bits, written by columnist Bud Elder ("View from the Cheap Seats"). Elder explores the production history of the film, how Wayne's production company (Batjac) originally held  the rights to the film (until selling the rights to the film's distributor, United Artists), and film preservationist Robert A. Harris' warning on MGM's unwillingness to restore the film.

If anyone from the current incarnation of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) is reading this post, please consider restoring The Alamo.  The studio shouldn't be fooling around, they should be focused on preserving the vintage John Wayne film (with outside restoration experts) for all generations to see.  If the studio isn't willing to do this, they should let outside film preservation groups work on restoring the complete "roadshow" version of the picture.

To those that haven't informed MGM, tell them to save the complete "roadshow" version of The Alamo (via the studio's Facebook and Twitter feeds- in a positive manner).  The vintage John Wayne feature film should not be neglected, it should be preserved for all generations to see.

UPDATE: Two recent awareness videos (on MGM's ignorance of The Alamo) have appeared on YouTube- one from Mr. Chris Coombs, and another from Mr. Kevin T. Rodriguez (of The Movie Wizard).

Gene Siskel and Roger Ebert in
Life Itself, a Magnolia Pictures release.
Photo courtesy of Magnolia Pictures. Photo credit: Kevin Horan 

STILL NO WORD (YET) ON "LIFE ITSELF" IN THE FREDERICK AREA:  If you've read the July 2nd edition of At The Matinee, you may have heard about the new documentary on the life and legacy of the late film critic Roger Ebert, titled Life Itself.  ATM is still waiting for comment from the management of MDL Holiday Cinemas (which usually screens second-run theatrical features) to show the Ebert documentary in the area.

ATM and its proprietor hopes to hear from them soon.  If talks falter (between ATM and the Holiday), the author may have to contact another venue for interest in screening the film*.  As I've stated before, since this documentary is being released by Magnolia Pictures- it is being released on various platforms (in addition to cinema exhibition).  According to a recent article in Variety, Life Itself will be telecast on CNN later this year (this film was co-produced by the network's CNN Films unit).

In my view, I think it would be best for the Frederick area to have Life Itself shown on the big screen.

*If any readers of this blog know of some venue (in the Frederick area) that would be interested in screening Life Itself, feel free to drop a line (in the "comments" section of this blog).  Information for theaters (or venues) that would like to screen Life Itself can be found at this link.

Happy Fourth from "At The Matinee"

1959 Trade ad for United Artists and
their package of pre-1948 Warner Bros.
features (for TV), showcasing the 1942 
James Cagney musical Yankee Doodle Dandy.
NOTE: This was when UA had the rights
to the pre-1948 WB features.

At The Matinee wishes everyone out there a happy, fun, and safe Fourth of July weekend!

Turner Classic Movies will be showing many classics (in honor of America's day of Independence), including Yankee Doodle Dandy (which is featured on this post, and will air on the network at 4:15 PM EST), along with several Warner Bros. Technicolor short subjects related to the founding of the United States- Give Me Liberty (a 1936 short on Patrick Henry at 6:00 AM EST), Sons of Liberty (a 1938 short with Claude Rains as Haym Saloman at 8:45 AM), and The Declaration of Independence (also from 1938, which will air at 1:00 PM).

Other films that will be on that day's lineup are the 1972 adaptation of the musical 1776 (at 1:30 PM), a 1959 film on the life of John Paul Jones (with Robert Stack at 6:30 AM), The Howards of Virginia (1940, with Cary Grant & Sir Cedric Hardwicke at 9:15 AM), The Scarlet Coat (1955, with Cornel Wilde, Anne Francis, and George Sanders at 11:15 AM), and The Devil's Disciple (1959, with Burt Lancaster, Kirk Douglas and Lawrence Oliver at 6:30 PM).  Future articles on the aforementioned films will be featured on ATM in the near future.

Of course, it wouldn't be Independence Day without the Nathan's Famous Hot Dog Eating Contest, which will air live on ESPN2 at 2:00 PM (a repeat broadcast will begin at 6:30 PM).

And there's always A Capitol Fourth on PBS (with Tom Bergeron as host), live at 8:00 PM.

INTERESTING FILMS (AT THEATERS) FOR THE FOURTH:  If you've read the last post on At The Matinee, then you know that Life Itself (a documentary about the life and legacy of the late, renowned film critic Roger Ebert) is being released nationwide.  It will be shown in theaters (and universities) on the fourth (and on various dates thereafter).  ATM is still waiting for correspondence from MDL Holiday Cinemas, on a possible screening of the film (hopefully sometime in the near future).

And let's not forget about Janus Films' revival screening of A Hard Day's Night (in honor of The Beatles' 50th anniversary, the film was released on July 6th, 1964) on the same day.  Rolling Stone had a recent interview with Ryan Hullings, who works as an audio supervisor for Janus/Criterion (along with Giles Martin, son of The Beatles' producer Sir George Martin) on restoring the audio content for the film.

Yet unfortunately, the Frederick area will miss out on the big-screen revival of A Hard Day's Night.  The closest theaters that will show the film are the West End Cinema in Washington, D.C., the Angelika Film Center at Mosaic in Fairfax, the Alamo Drafthouse cinemas in Ashburn (Loudon County) and Winchester, Virginia; the historic Senator Theatre in Baltimore, and the Cinemark Egyptian 24 (at Arundel Mills) in Hanover, Maryland.

The film is now available on DVD & Blu-Ray disc (via The Criterion Collection).  Though this author has seen the brilliant Janus restoration on TCM, it would be nice to see A Hard Day's Night on the big screen in the area (without having to travel far).

It would be great if Janus/Criterion would offer some similar option to theaters that Magnolia is doing with Life Itself (where theaters can easily request possible screening dates from the distributor, as shown here).

To all of the cinema venues in the Frederick area, you're missing out on several big opportunities. We cinephiles want to see vintage films that are being re-released!

With all that aside, do something great (and exciting) on the Fourth.  Happy Independence Day to all of our readers!

"Life Itself" should be shown in Frederick

There are many attractions during the summer- fireworks, festivals, concerts- and movies.  There's those typical "summer blockbusters" in cinemas (and multiplexes) throughout the nation (mostly horror flicks, properties that are based off of action figures, computer-generated features, and unusual comedies).

Documentaries are often ignored (or overlooked) by theaters in the Frederick, Maryland area.  In this author's view, it is unfortunate that these types of films (along with art-house and vintage features) are being under-appreciated in the area.

Roger Ebert (1942-2013) and Gene Siskel (1946-1999) in Life Itself,
a Magnolia Pictures release.  Photo Credit: Kevin Horan

There is one feature-length documentary that I would like to see on the big screen.  Life Itself- a motion picture about the life and legacy of renowned film critic Roger Ebert (1942-2013).  The film is directed by Steve James.  The producers of the documentary are Zak Piper, James Basch, and Garrett Bash.   Martin Scorsese and Steven Zallian served as executive producers of the film.  The Ebert documentary premiered at the Sundance Film Festival earlier this year.

Life Itself will be released to theaters (and universities) nationwide on July 4th.  According to the list of theaters (and venues) that are showing the documentary- none of the theaters in the Frederick, Maryland area are listed.  The closest cinema venue would be the Landmark E Street Cinema in Washington, D.C.

Many of the theaters (listed on the film's website) have Life Itself scheduled for various dates (after July 4th), with the last exhibition date slated for August 22nd (at the University of Wisconsin).

The film is being released by Magnolia Pictures, a company that is known for releasing their line of feature films on various platforms in addition to cinema exhibition (on the same release date).  Magnolia has offered an option for theaters and venues who are interested in showing Life Itself- on the film's website, exhibitionists can request a screening of the film for their cinema (or venue).

At The Matinee has suggested this documentary to the management of MDL Holiday Cinemas, so that they might be interested in showing the film (in the near future).  Be on the lookout for future updates on this.  I think it would be great for the Frederick area to showcase Life Itself on the big screen.

NOTE: I'm not saying that there's anything wrong with the "summer blockbusters" in theaters (that are close to ATM's home base)- I just think there should be more variety when it comes to movie choices in the area.