tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11933502516273183182024-03-14T13:03:52.065-04:00 A Man and A Mousetheses on unpopular culture from a man with a mouseA Man and A Mousehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14293145068448926466noreply@blogger.comBlogger249125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1193350251627318318.post-39395373873777402262022-12-01T10:36:00.009-05:002022-12-02T12:26:04.018-05:00Sammy Stops The World starring Sammy Davis, Jr. & Marian MercerSammy Davis, Jr. toured the country, played on Broadway and filmed for television a custom version of the Anthony Newley/Leslie Bricusse musical, <b>Stop The World I Want To Get Off</b>. This is the filmed production which also starred Marian Mercer.
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<b>Sammy Stops The World</b> came after Davis had a chart hit with the musical's signature tune, <i>What Kind Of Fool Am I?</i>. Others included in this production's creative team include Newley, Bricusse, director Mel Shapiro, producer Hillard Elkins, and Sammy's ubiquitous musical director, George Rhodes. I've also uploaded a PDF of the original theater program to archive.org. Download the program here: <a href="https://archive.org/details/sammy-stops-the-world" target="_blank">https://archive.org/details/sammy-stops-the-world</a>
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And the Sammy rhythm doesn't stop there! Here's a special piece of Sammy ephemera. This concert program was bought by my Mom and Dad when they went to see Sammy (in Vegas, I believe) sometime around 1970/71. The program is a short biography of Sammy and his career with loads of pictures. Enjoy!
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<hr>A Man and A Mousehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14293145068448926466noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1193350251627318318.post-7142984178882409092021-11-25T06:30:00.001-05:002021-11-25T06:30:27.195-05:00Strangler of the Swamp starring Blake Edwards<b>Strangler of the Swamp</b> is a sweet ghost story with great atmosphere. It was written and directed in 1946 by Frank Wisbar as an English language remake of his earlier German film. Blake Edwards does nicely as the handsome chap. I didn't recognize any of the other actors although, as it turns out, the female romantic lead was a Miss California. The movie is a bit creaky and this print not the best but it all adds up to a fun hour...so much fun I put its poster on a tee shirt! (<b>crew d'tees</b> / <a href="crewdtees.com" target="_blank">crewdtees.com</a>). Enjoy!
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A Man and A Mousehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14293145068448926466noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1193350251627318318.post-78077670557776052612021-10-09T08:01:00.000-04:002021-10-09T08:01:36.730-04:00High Society with Jean Smart & Mary McDonnellI've always depended on the kindness of strangers and watching <b>High Society</b>, the 1995 television series starring Jean Smart and Mary McDonnell that was <i>fashioned</i> after <b>Absolutely Fabulous</b>, has been no different.
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My first stranger allowed me to watch a version of the 13 episode series in which each episode was split into three files and uploaded to YouTube. This visual puzzle was fine when the internet was new but the feeling stalled a few years back - probably like Faith Prince's feeling when she was written off the show at episode six without explanation.
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Step up, our second stranger who, it seems, uploaded full episodes of the series to a <a href="https://archive.org/details/High_Society_1995-1996/" target="_blank">High Society page on archive.org</a> sometime in 2018.
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And that is the stranger (uploader Desmond Pfeiffer) I thank for the episodes below. The uploader also edited out the commercials and added them to the end of each episode! One of them has Julia Louis-Dreyfuss in a hair color commercial from the era.
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Although I love <a href="https://archive.org/">archive.org</a>, their mobile app is crap; it's easier to watch the antics of Elle and Dot on YouTube. (And I do think they will get a bigger viewing audience.) You'll still want to head over to the <a href="https://archive.org/details/High_Society_1995-1996/" target="_blank">High Society page on archive.org</a> though as there are recorded promos and a script in addition to the 13 episodes posted below on YouTube. Enjoy!
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<iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/abaisl01G50" title="YouTube video player" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen></iframe><br>01 Family Val's 10-30-1995
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<iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/f8gSnFMAIo8" title="YouTube video player" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen></iframe><br>02 Whose Son Is It Anyway 11-06-1995
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<iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/322p1zpQEH0" title="YouTube video player" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen></iframe><br>03 Sleeping With The Enemy 11-13-1995
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<iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/BQeDJFgZieE" title="YouTube video player" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen></iframe><br>04 Dolce & G'bye Now 11-20-1995
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<iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/NUYolV3nq5c" title="YouTube video player" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen></iframe><br>05 Tomb With A View 11-27-1995
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<iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/kho5YxBj2yU" title="YouTube video player" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen></iframe><br>06 The Naked And The Deadline 12-04-1995
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<iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/TtYUntwneYo" title="YouTube video player" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen></iframe><br>07 Finnigan's Rainbow 12-11-1995
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<iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/KeSBFSff9UE" title="YouTube video player" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen></iframe><br>09 Nip And Tuck 1-16-1996
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<iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/B6YkXLFD2pE" title="YouTube video player" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen></iframe><br>10 Alice Doesn't Pump Here Anymore 01-22-1996
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<iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/mBpATGnz9HE" title="YouTube video player" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen></iframe><br>11 Touching Up Your Roots 02-05-1996
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<iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/eezLUquyaRk" title="YouTube video player" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen></iframe><br>12 I Found My Thrill On Nancy Garver Hill 02-12-1996
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<iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/-2HDl14GLxo" title="YouTube video player" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen></iframe><br>13 The Family Jewels 02-26-1996
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<HR>A Man and A Mousehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14293145068448926466noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1193350251627318318.post-63894977652811555082021-09-26T08:00:00.001-04:002021-09-26T12:32:25.354-04:00Bob Clark's She Man with Dorian Wayne<b>She Man: A Story of Fixation</b> is a 1967 American film directed by Bob Clark. It's the tale of a soldier (Leslie Marlowe) forced to take estrogen and wear lingerie when he's blackmailed by a violent transvestite (Dorian Wayne). It's very much in the vein of early John Waters; in that I mean it's perfectly lovely.<br><br>
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Director Clark is most famous for the slasher <b>Black Christmas</b> (1974), comedy <b>Porky's</b> and holiday <b>A Christmas Story</b> so I guess he swung all ways. Here is <b>She Man</b> in all it's glory! Featuring drag performer Dorian Wayne in one of several film roles she had.<br><br>
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Dorian Wayne is a drag artist from the 1950s-1960s. In 2008, Rick Colantino created <b>Dorian: A Picture</b> about his years performing as Dorian Wayne; it's available <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NI85Tn-sG7k">here</a>.<br><br>
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<hr>A Man and A Mousehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14293145068448926466noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1193350251627318318.post-9107230989358469192021-09-15T14:22:00.003-04:002021-09-15T14:57:06.347-04:00The Great Victor Herbert starring Mary Martin & Allan Jones<b>The Great Victor Herbert</b> was directed in 1939 by Andrew L. Stone and is one of the few Hollywood films starring Mary Martin. It's not a Herbert biography <i>(as is made clear by the disclaimer displayed at the END of the film)</i> but an account of the romance of his (fictional) star singers, Martin and Allan Jones. In the film, Walter Connolly (as Herbert) witnesses their life experiences as their friend and creator of their greatest theatrical triumphs.
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The movie is a curio. By 1939, operettas had lost their luster to the more accessible musical comedies so audiences weren't clammering for Herbert music. (The composer died in 1924.) And, it seems, Paramount Pictures was trying to make Mary Martin into the next Jeanette McDonald. Martin is fine and the movie watchable but it's kind of a Show Boat knock-off without the latter's complex storyline and diverse musical styles. (Jones is aged to look exactly like Gaylord Ravenal in the later scenes.) Despite all this, I noticed <b>The Great Victor Herbert</b> was not online so now it is. I do not own the copyright to this and have 'placed it here in memory of something that has died'. Enjoy!<P>
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<HR>A Man and A Mousehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14293145068448926466noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1193350251627318318.post-81192373807887970342021-09-05T09:19:00.008-04:002021-10-24T10:00:03.377-04:00The French Line starring Jane RussellThe year after <b>Gentlemen Prefer Blondes</b>, Jane Russell starred in a musical that received the <i>CONDEMNED</i> rating from the Catholic National Legion of Decency. The reason? Her almost-there outfits (especially THAT one in <i>Looking for Trouble</i>) were designed by the film's producer Howard Hughes (and the craftsmen at RKO) to display Russell's physique in the best manner. The film was first released in 3D which offered eye-poping views of Jane's assets and added to its reputation as scandalous.
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Jane is a charmer: singing, dancing, and dripping the monotone sarcasm she used to her advantage in the previous musical. Also appearing are silent film's Gilbert Roland, future Tony nominee Mary McCarty and Theresa Harris who performs <i>Well, I'll Be Switched</i> with Jane and disappears. If you blink, you'll miss Kim Novak's first film appearance as a show girl in the <i>Poor Andre</i> number. Unfortunately, this is the censored (United States) version of the film.
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<HR>A Man and A Mousehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14293145068448926466noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1193350251627318318.post-15761336387903397172021-05-23T10:22:00.005-04:002021-05-23T13:46:27.787-04:00Ladies of the Burlesque DanceSunny Knight, Mickey <i>'Ginger'</i> Jones and Shirley Heart are not names that are remembered today but there are filmed records of these <i>burly Q</i> queens dances in the 1949 public domain film <b>Midnight Frolics</b>. Granted by the time this film was made, burlesque had already died and been buried but it is nice to have this record (albeit modified according to the film's title card). For this WORLD INTERNET PREMIERE, I've extracted Sunny's dance (the star spot at the end of the show), Mickey's dance (an act one closer) and Shirley's dance (strip opener starts like a lamb and ends like a lion). Check out these ladies and their energetic, gymnastic and naively salacious dances.
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If you want a <b><i>Burlesque or Bust</i></b> vintage-style tee shirt I created for my <a href="crewdtees.com" target="_blank">crew d'tees</a> tee shirt collection, check it out <b><a href="https://www.storefrontier.com/product/burlesque-or-bust" target="_blank">here</a></b>.
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<hr>A Man and A Mousehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14293145068448926466noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1193350251627318318.post-26217010744471644072021-04-18T14:02:00.012-04:002021-04-18T16:48:45.006-04:00Julian Eltinge in Madame Behave<center><iframe src="https://assets.pinterest.com/ext/embed.html?id=548876273343855874" height="389" width="236" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" ></iframe><br><b><i>Eltinge as groom and bride</i></b></center>
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Julian Eltinge was internationally renown as a female impersonator in the aughts and teens of the 20th century. He made his name on vaudeville stages and in Broadway theatres - even as he christened the Julian Eltinge Theatre on Broadway, September 11, 1910. In the 1920s as Prohibition was changing the country and vaudeville was dying, Eltinge went to Hollywood and made several films. One of these films is called <b>Madame Behave</b> and I've just posted <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XruaD1fLXtI">the film to YouTube</a> with a score made of jazz tunes from the 1920s. (See song titles and artists at the bottom of this post.)
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I had never seen Eltinge perform on film and by the contemporaneous reviews I'd read of his live performances, I imagine he had a lovely singing voice and his female mimcry was legitimately spot on (and not what we would consider <i>campy</i>). In fact, Eltinge was so popular with the female population for his raiment and makeup that he started a cottage industry with <i>Julian Eltinge's Magazine of Beauty Hints and Tips</i> which promoted his own line of cosmetics, corsets and shoes. One ad has a picture of Eltinge as a woman with the copy <i>"See What the Julian Eltinge Cold Cream Does for a Man. Imagine What It Will Do For a Woman"</i>.
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My guess is that <b>Madame Behave</b> was made to capitalize on Eltinge's fame because it doesn't hold up to the imagination after reading reviews of Eltinge's live performances. We (obviously) don't hear a singing voice and we certainly don't see a high standard of female mimicry on screen so it does nothing to capture what Eltinge did on stage. In <b>Madame Behave</b>, Eltinge jokes around and gets in his gowns quickly and without care. There are some scenes in which he is well put together but by 1925 Eltinge was in his forties and more overweight than in his youth so it's difficult to compare the time periods in that respect. <b>Madame Behave</b> is also not funny despite its best attempts. The film co-stars Ann Pennington as Eltinge's <i>girlfriend</i> and there is a minute or so of Pennington dancing the Charleston; she was a very famous dancer of the day known for her Black Bottom and others so this is something of a see.
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Other than Pennington and the fact that it is a surviving Eltinge film, <b>Madame Behave</b> is similar to movies like <b>Charley's Aunt</b>, <b>Tootsie</b> and <b>Some Like It Hot</b> in its use of drag is a pretext that a <i>straight</i> man must do to get out of whatever situation he finds himself. Unfortunately, it's just not as good as the aforementioned titles but it is 95 years old! Music used to score <b>Madame Behave</b> includes the following tracks in order of aural appearance.
<UL><LI><b>Chant of the Weed</b> Don Redman and his Orchestra</LI>
<LI><b>Four O’Clock Blues</b> The Original Memphis Five</LI>
<LI><b>The Minor Drag</b> Fats Waller</LI>
<LI><b>Viper’s Dream</b> Django Reinhardt</LI>
<LI><b>Bull Frog Blues</b> Six Brown Brothers</LI>
<LI><b>Do-Doodle-Om</b> Piron’s New Orleans Orchestra</LI>
<LI><b>Forgetful Blues</b> The Original Memphis Five</LI>
<LI><b>New Orleans Wiggle</b> Piron’s New Orleans Orchestra</LI>
<LI><b>Pianoflage</b> Fate Marable’s Society Syncopators</LI>
<LI><b>Red Man Blues</b> Piron’s New Orleans Orchestra</LI>
<LI><b>Red Onion Drag</b> Louis Dumaine’s Jazzola Eight</LI>
<LI><b>Sad New Blues</b> The Original Memphis Five</LI>
<LI><b>Pillow Fight</b> SFX</LI>
<LI><b>All Muggled Up</b> Blue Steele And his Orchestra</LI>
<LI><b>Astoria Strut</b> Jones and Collins Astoria Hot Eight</LI>
<LI><b>Dear Almanzoer</b> Celestin’s Original Tuxedo Jazz Orchestra</LI>
<LI><b>Henpecked Blues</b> The Original Memphis Five</LI>
<LI><b>Mobile Stomp</b> Sam Morgan’s Jazz Band</LI>
<LI><b>New Orleans Blues</b> Johnny de Droit and His New Orleans Jazz Orchestra</LI>
<LI><b>West Indies Blues</b> Piron's New Orleans Orchestra</LI></UL>
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More pictures from (and an article or two regarding) Julian Eltinge's life and career are available on my Julian Eltinge Pinterest board.
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A Man and A Mousehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14293145068448926466noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1193350251627318318.post-55290746317053572302021-03-21T12:56:00.003-04:002021-09-15T14:36:03.129-04:00Grease: A New ’50’s Rock ’N’ Roll MusicalIn 1972, Pocket Books published <b>Grease: A New ’50’s Rock ’N’ Roll Musical</b> as a mass market paperback with the tag <i>The Book of the Newest Broadway Hit</i>. The tie-in contains the 1972 libretto of the musical, 12 black and white photographs from the production (Barry Bostwick, Adrienne Barbeau, etc.) and one color cover photo. You can download a PDF of this out-of-print paperback from <a href="https://mega.nz/folder/RrgQWaYa#6mGDrIj2fQXvddgInvKN-g">here</a>.
<HR>A Man and A Mousehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14293145068448926466noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1193350251627318318.post-43232627961741676592021-03-15T17:12:00.007-04:002021-03-16T19:55:46.657-04:00Blithe Spirit 1956 TV Production<b>Blithe Spirit</b> is a play by Noël Coward about novelist Charles Condomine who invites eccentric medium/clairvoyant, Madame Arcati, to his home to conduct a séance which brings to <i>life</i> the ghost of his annoying and temperamental first wife, Elvira. In 1956, Coward directed a LIVE ON AIR American television adaptation for Ford Star Jubilee.
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Coward stars with Claudette Colbert as his second wife Ruth, Lauren Bacall as Elvira and Emmy nominee for Best Supporting Performance by an Actress, Mildred Natwick as Madame Arcati. The endlessly-rushing maid is played by Marion Ross who most viewers will remember as the mother on the television series Happy Days. Fred de Cordova, longtime producer of The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson, is listed as having staged the production for television. Based on the thumbnail image there seems to have been a tour and record associated with this production as well although a quick search garnered no other information. Originally broadcast in color, only black and white kinescopes survive. I believe this is also a WORLD INTERNET PREMIERE! Enjoy!
<HR>A Man and A Mousehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14293145068448926466noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1193350251627318318.post-66395631848900749312020-05-24T20:06:00.001-04:002020-05-30T11:19:36.745-04:00How Gary Cooper Broke Into The Movies<P></P>
<center><a data-pin-do="embedPin" href="https://www.pinterest.com/pin/548876273340129374/"></a></center>
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<blockquote><i><b>How I Broke Into The Movies</b> is a book published in 1930. It contains 60 articles on the title theme, written by movie stars of the day. Each star has a portrait on the left page and text they've (purportedly) written on the right page with the star's hand-written signature at the bottom for validity. The previous articles I've published are:
<UL><LI><a href="http://amanandamouse.blogspot.com/2014/10/how-marion-davies-broke-into-movies.html" target="_blank">How Marion Davies Broke Into The Movies</a></LI>
<LI><a href="https://amanandamouse.blogspot.com/2015/12/how-gloria-swanson-broke-into-movies.html" target="_blank">How Gloria Swanson Broke Into The Movies</a></LI>
<LI><a href="http://amanandamouse.blogspot.com/2014/12/how-colleen-moore-broke-into-movies.html" target="_blank">How Colleen Moore Broke Into The Movies</a> (also announced the WORLD INTERNET PREMIERE of the Moore's 1925 silent film <b>Ella Cinders</b> newly scored by me with jazz music of the 1920s)</LI>
<LI><a href="http://amanandamouse.blogspot.com/2015/04/how-clara-bow-broke-into-movies.html" target="_blank">How Clara Bow Broke Into The Movies</a></LI>
<LI><a href="https://amanandamouse.blogspot.com/2017/12/how-joan-crawford-broke-into-movies.html" target="_blank">How Joan Crawford Broke Into The Movies</a></LI></UL></i></blockquote>
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I will continue publishing articles until the book is digitized at which time I will post it to my account on <a href="https://archive.org/details/fav-amanandamouse" target="_blank">archive.org</a>. Here is the WORLD INTERNET PREMIERE of <i>How I Broke Into The Movies</i> written (in his own words) by Academy Award winner Gary Cooper whose career spanned 36 years from 1925 to 1961.
<HR size="10" color="purple" width="60%">
<center><img src="https://www.amanandamouse.com/blogspot/BrokeIntoMovies/GaryCooper/garyCooper.png" width="350" /><br><i><b>How I Broke Into The Movies</b> Gary Cooper picture<br>Right click to view the full-size image.</i></center>
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<center><img src="https://www.amanandamouse.com/blogspot/BrokeIntoMovies/GaryCooper/garyCooperText.png" width="350" /><br><i><b>How I Broke Into The Movies</b> by Gary Cooper<br>Right click to view the full-size image.</i></center>
<HR size="10" color="purple" width="60%">
<center><b>Some interesting Cooper links</b></center>
<p></p>
<dl>
<dt>A Farewell to Arms 1932</dt>
<dd><center><iframe src="https://archive.org/embed/afarewelltoarms1932garycooper" width="450" height="360" frameborder="0" webkitallowfullscreen="true" mozallowfullscreen="true" allowfullscreen></iframe><br><i>This pre-Code drama is based on <b>A Farewell to Arms</b> by Ernest Hemingway, directed by Frank Borzage and stars Gary, Helen Hayes and Adolphe Menjou.</i></center></dd>
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<dt>Gary's FBI File</dt>
<dd><center><iframe src="https://archive.org/embed/100HQ351713" width="560" height="384" frameborder="0" webkitallowfullscreen="true" mozallowfullscreen="true" allowfullscreen></iframe></center></dd>
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<dt>Meet John Doe 1941</dt>
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<dd><center><iframe src="https://archive.org/embed/MeetJohnDoe1941GARYCOOPER" width="450" height="360" frameborder="0" webkitallowfullscreen="true" mozallowfullscreen="true" allowfullscreen></iframe><br><i>Frank Capra's wonderful piece of romantic Americana pits him against Barbara Stanwyck with Walter Brennan, Spring Byington and James Gleason.</i></center></dd>
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<center><img src="https://www.amanandamouse.com/blogspot/BrokeIntoMovies/GaryCooper/garyCooperPsychAnalyzed.jpg" width="500" /><br><i><b>Gary Cooper Psycho-Analyzed</b> Screenland, February 1930<br>Right click to view the full-size image.</i></center>
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<dt>Stream any of 75 Cooper films</dt>
<dd><center><a href="https://ok.ru/video/c1318402"><b>HERE</b></a></center></dd>
<p></P>
<dt>For Whom The Bell Tolls radio drama</dt>
<P></P>
<dd><center><iframe src="https://archive.org/embed/lux-1945-02-12-for-whom-the-bell-tolls" width="500" height="30" frameborder="0" webkitallowfullscreen="true" mozallowfullscreen="true" allowfullscreen></iframe><br><i>Gary and Ingrid Bergman recreate their film roles in this radio presentation of the Ernest Hemingway novel</i></center></dd>
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<dt>Gary in The Virginian 1929</dt>
<dd><center><a data-pin-do="embedPin" href="https://www.pinterest.com/pin/548876273340130367"></a></center></dd>
<p></P>
<dt>Gary in Beau Sabrer 1928</dt>
<dd><center><a data-pin-do="embedPin" href="https://www.pinterest.com/pin/548876273340130341/"></a></center></dd>
</dl>
<hr>A Man and A Mousehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14293145068448926466noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1193350251627318318.post-71001056416349121642020-05-02T20:50:00.001-04:002020-05-04T18:58:04.801-04:00Ellen Foley, Debbie Allen and Mimi KennedyIn 1976 the BBC series <b>Rock Follies</b>, already a success in the United Kingdom, crossed the Atlantic and became a success on PBS stations in the United States. The scripted series of six episodes told the story of <i>The Little Ladies</i>, three women (played by Evita's Julie Covington, Alberto VO5's Rula Lenska and the Royal Shakespeare Company's Charlotte Cornwell) trying to hit it big in <i>the rock music</i>. It was a hit in the United States and there was (seemingly) an attempt to replicate that success with American talent when Kenny Solms and Gail Parent created a 4-episode variety show called <b>3 Girls 3</b>.
<P></P>
<center><a data-pin-do="embedPin" href="https://www.pinterest.com/pin/548876273339826115/"></a></center>
<P></P>
<b>3 Girls 3</b> starred three then-unknowns Debbie Allen, Ellen Foley and Mimi Kennedy whose overnight success as the stars was the show's premise. In the context of the show, the <i>little ladies</i> played themselves with Allen the dancer, Foley the singer and Kennedy the comic - although all three sang, danced and performed in sketches. The first episode aired in March, 1977 right after its broadcasting network, NBC, decided to cancel it. The three remaining episodes aired during the summer of 1977. All four episodes in their entirety can be found on <a href="https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLb4Aifc4IuCS_WB-K1NeJkzvFox5_n0yY">Mimi Kennedy's YouTube Channel</a>. There's also some interesting videos on <a href="https://www.youtube.com/user/KennySolms/videos">Kenny Solms YouTube channel</a>. I've posted some lovely performances by one of my favorite singers, Ellen Foley, and some other musical moments from the show.
<P></P>
<center><iframe width="400" height="225" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/3lz3kwPUxcE" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen></iframe><br><b>Ellen Foley sings New Kid In Town</b></center>
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<center><iframe width="400" height="225" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/2pNiRm76tnw" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen></iframe><br><b>Debbie Allen, Ellen Foley and Mimi Kennedy sing Broadway Baby</b></center>
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<center><iframe width="400" height="225" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/gEPZpO45huM" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen></iframe><br><b>Debbie Allen performs The Music and the Mirror</b></center>
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<center><a data-pin-do="embedPin" href="https://www.pinterest.com/pin/548876273339826435/"></a></center>
<P></P>
<center><iframe width="400" height="225" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/oYEruiRGfh8" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen></iframe><br><b>Ellen Foley sings This One's For You</b></center>
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<center><iframe width="400" height="225" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/0XuLTz63HTQ" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen></iframe><br><b>Ellen Foley sings Dear Friend/Will He Love Me from She Loves Me</b></center>
<P></P>
<center><iframe width="400" height="225" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/oxugJVGyXG4" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen></iframe><br><b>3 Girls 3 Theme Song</b></center>
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<center><a data-pin-do="embedPin" href="https://www.pinterest.com/pin/548876273339826173/"></a></center>
<P></P>
<center><iframe width="400" height="225" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/8HPclyh2AuE" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen></iframe><br><b>Celebrity Maids</b></center>
<P></P>
<center><iframe width="400" height="225" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/2kHwnWZttbI?start=469" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen></iframe><br><b>Debbie Allen, Ellen Foley and Mimi Kennedy sing Sondheim's You Could Drive A Person Crazy with, of all people, Steve Martin, the <i>wild and crazy guy</i></b></center>
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<HR>A Man and A Mousehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14293145068448926466noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1193350251627318318.post-11986762041333144022020-01-09T22:15:00.002-05:002021-02-24T19:43:47.537-05:00Mauthausen Concentration Camp<center><blockquote><b>Photos may take a minute to download. If you see broken links, right click the frame and select Reload Image. Clicking a picture opens a slide show of all pictures with no captions. Also available on <a href=https://flic.kr/s/aHsmUjWczc>Flickr</a>.</b></blockquote></center>
Midway between Salzburg and Vienna in Austria are the remains of Mauthausen, a Nazi work camp. The Mauthausen Memorial lies on the outskirts of its namesake town and has all the barracks, barbed wire and gas chambers of more <i>celebrated</i> concentration camps. Mauthausen <i>fed</i> prisoners to over 100 smaller work camps in Austria and Southern Germany as well as forcing prisoners to excavate rock from its quarry. Estimates put deaths at between 100,000 and 300,000. The staff of the memorial asked us to take many pictures and post them everywhere.
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<center><a href="https://www.dropbox.com/s/fbv03d3cokm9b93/campExterior.png?raw=1"><img src="https://www.dropbox.com/s/fbv03d3cokm9b93/campExterior.png?raw=1" height="450" width="600" /></a></center>
<p></p>
The picture above is the front of Mauthausen taken from the memorial parking lot. Note the guard tower, stone wall and camp's entrance at the confluence of the paths. To your right, the wall with black streaks is one of many memorials on the grounds of the camp.
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<center><a href="https://www.dropbox.com/s/o2kdh6h2traybp8/frontEntrance.png?raw=1"><img src="https://www.dropbox.com/s/o2kdh6h2traybp8/frontEntrance.png?raw=1" height="450" width="600" /></a></center>
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The front entrance to the camp opens onto a large courtyard where prisoners were <i>processed</i>.
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<center><a href="https://www.dropbox.com/s/loe8zwmo03u590r/courtyard.png?raw=1"><img src="https://www.dropbox.com/s/loe8zwmo03u590r/courtyard.png?raw=1" height="600" width="450" /></a></center>
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The courtyard.
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<center><a href="https://www.dropbox.com/s/rscow21m7et7azi/winkle.png?raw=1"><img src="https://www.dropbox.com/s/rscow21m7et7azi/winkle.png?raw=1" height="417" width="600" /></a></center>
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Prisoners were assigned a cloth <i>winkle</i> to wear on their prison uniforms. The form and color denoted the reason for persecution.
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<center><a href="https://www.dropbox.com/s/cou4l3qhf8z05xe/stairsToBarracks.png?raw=1"><img src="https://www.dropbox.com/s/cou4l3qhf8z05xe/stairsToBarracks.png?raw=1" height="600" width="450" /></a></center>
<p></p>
The stairs bring you from the courtyard up to the officer's quarters (left) or the prisoner's barracks (right).
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<center><a href="https://www.dropbox.com/s/dk8lo66bd3r3leu/officerQuarters.png?raw=1"><img src="https://www.dropbox.com/s/dk8lo66bd3r3leu/officerQuarters.png?raw=1" height="600" width="450" /></a></center>
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The officer's quarters (looking over the courtyard) are protected from the elements by the rocks the prisoners mined in the quarry. This building now houses administration offices for the museum.
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<center><a href="https://www.dropbox.com/s/vh9zhmaun1b983c/prisonerBarracksMemorial.png?raw=1"><img src="https://www.dropbox.com/s/vh9zhmaun1b983c/prisonerBarracksMemorial.png?raw=1" height="600" width="450" /></a></center>
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Prisoners enter their living grounds from the entrance at the far end of this photo. To your right are barracks; three of 25 survive. To your left are the kitchen, prison, gas chambers and crematorium. The metal box filled with rocks in the middle of the picture is a memorial.
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<center><a href="https://www.dropbox.com/s/m62fox022gjjnfv/barrack.png?raw=1"><img src="https://www.dropbox.com/s/m62fox022gjjnfv/barrack.png?raw=1" height="600" width="450" /></a></center>
<p></p>
Detail of outside of wood barrack.
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<center><a href="https://www.dropbox.com/s/p3zwbuh86tfq8h8/prisonersQuarters.png?raw=1"><img src="https://www.dropbox.com/s/p3zwbuh86tfq8h8/prisonersQuarters.png?raw=1" height="450" width="600" /></a></center>
<p></p>
The prisoners' sleeping area in a barrack. Lodovico Barbizon de Belgiojoso describes his experience.
<blockquote><i>Every evening, after the noise that a hundred people can make when cramming into bunk beds, swearing and cursing in twenty languages, the order for silence was given and the lights turned off. […] Later, when the people finally started falling asleep, the concert of wheezing and hissing, coughing fits, belching and farting, snoring in several pitches, soft moaning, sobbing and cursing began. […] These noises emerged from a hundred bodies and fused into a single, terrible sound, produced as if by a giant, monstrous being that had holder itself up in the dark.</i></blockquote>
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<center><a href="https://www.dropbox.com/s/ija4hbgf0bisdu7/toiletsPrisoner.png?raw=1"><img src="https://www.dropbox.com/s/ija4hbgf0bisdu7/toiletsPrisoner.png?raw=1" height="600" width="450" /></a></center>
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Toilets. Stand to your right. Sit to your left.
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<center><a href="https://www.dropbox.com/s/1vmh1n0m54rve4y/waterPrisoner.png?raw=1"><img src="https://www.dropbox.com/s/1vmh1n0m54rve4y/waterPrisoner.png?raw=1" height="600" width="450" /></a></center>
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Water ... for all your needs. Roman Foster describes his experience.
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<blockquote><i>In Mauthausen I stopped washing myself […]. I simply could no longer find the strength to get up early […] and pour icy water over myself. […] The time had come to ask if there was still any purpose in continuing the hard struggle for this wretched existence.</i></blockquote>
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<center><a href="https://www.dropbox.com/s/14vx7erdxy8igp0/guardTowerElectric.png?raw=1"><img src="https://www.dropbox.com/s/14vx7erdxy8igp0/guardTowerElectric.png?raw=1" height="600" width="450" /></a></center>
<p></p>
Guard tower and electric fence.
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<center><a href="https://www.dropbox.com/s/r92w5ioav1jdrcx/cemetery.png?raw=1"><img src="https://www.dropbox.com/s/r92w5ioav1jdrcx/cemetery.png?raw=1" height="600" width="450" /></a></center>
<p></p>
These stone walls contained the barracks in which quarantined prisoners were kept. After United States troops liberated the prisoners in 1945, the land became a cemetery. Prisoners continued to die for weeks after the liberation.
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<center><a href="https://www.dropbox.com/s/1q6ul9b1bosd4lw/theWall.png?raw=1"><img src="https://www.dropbox.com/s/1q6ul9b1bosd4lw/theWall.png?raw=1" height="600" width="450" /></a></center>
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The electrified wall.
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<center><a href="https://www.dropbox.com/s/urrxfyw6g84rsez/jewishHeadstone.png?raw=1"><img src="https://www.dropbox.com/s/urrxfyw6g84rsez/jewishHeadstone.png?raw=1" height="600" width="450" /></a></center>
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A headstone.
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<center><a href="https://www.dropbox.com/s/aokoqjm1r74e6d6/guardTower.png?raw=1"><img src="https://www.dropbox.com/s/aokoqjm1r74e6d6/guardTower.png?raw=1" height="600" width="450" /></a></center>
<p></p>
Guard tower.
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<center><a href="https://www.dropbox.com/s/15atus6kiagmpwm/backOfCamp.png?raw=1"><img src="https://www.dropbox.com/s/15atus6kiagmpwm/backOfCamp.png?raw=1" height="600" width="450" /></a></center>
<p></p>
From the far end of the prisoners area with the cemetery on your right and the infirmary/museum on the left.
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<center><a href="https://www.dropbox.com/s/t38o7a67a581if8/back.png?raw=1"><img src="https://www.dropbox.com/s/t38o7a67a581if8/back.png?raw=1" height="600" width="450" /></a></center>
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Behind the infirmary with memorial plaques on the stone wall. On the other side of this stone wall was the town of Mauthausen.
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<center><a href="https://www.dropbox.com/s/1wqjd821q9tuh3x/trainingGuide.png?raw=1"><img src="https://www.dropbox.com/s/1wqjd821q9tuh3x/trainingGuide.png?raw=1" height="600" width="450" /></a></center>
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A page from the graphic training guide given to all Nazi guards.
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<center><a href="https://www.dropbox.com/s/hblt5svw4f55wfx/trainingGuide2.png?raw=1"><img src="https://www.dropbox.com/s/hblt5svw4f55wfx/trainingGuide2.png?raw=1" height="600" width="450" /></a></center>
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Another page from the graphic training guide given to all Nazi guards.
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<center><a href="https://www.dropbox.com/s/283ou6aoc6qhlkc/stoneWallAndFence.png?raw=1"><img src="https://www.dropbox.com/s/283ou6aoc6qhlkc/stoneWallAndFence.png?raw=1" height="600" width="450" /></a></center>
<p></p>
Stone wall and electric fence.
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<center><a href="https://www.dropbox.com/s/mqbdr4s4xk45pma/shower.png?raw=1"><img src="https://www.dropbox.com/s/mqbdr4s4xk45pma/shower.png?raw=1" height="600" width="450" /></a></center>
<p></p>
Disinfectant shower room for new arrivals.
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<center><a href="https://www.dropbox.com/s/kgpbpox47s7s1u2/gasChamber.png?raw=1"><img src="https://www.dropbox.com/s/kgpbpox47s7s1u2/gasChamber.png?raw=1" height="600" width="450" /></a></center>
<p></p>
<i>In 1941 the SS construct a gas chamber and other installations at Mauthausen for the systematic murder of large groups of people.</i>
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<center><a href="https://www.dropbox.com/s/000cpdzmgvvwwf5/gasChamber2.png?raw=1"><img src="https://www.dropbox.com/s/000cpdzmgvvwwf5/gasChamber2.png?raw=1" height="600" width="450" /></a></center>
<p></p>
Gas chamber.
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<center><a href="https://www.dropbox.com/s/08q772xlruceoy5/messagesOfLove.png?raw=1"><img src="https://www.dropbox.com/s/08q772xlruceoy5/messagesOfLove.png?raw=1" height="600" width="450" /></a></center>
<p></p>
People leave messages of peace, hope and love on the window sills of the gas chamber.
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<center><a href="https://www.dropbox.com/s/v9l7nmxymzuzfil/crematorium.png?raw=1"><img src="https://www.dropbox.com/s/v9l7nmxymzuzfil/crematorium.png?raw=1" height="600" width="450" /></a></center>
<p></p>
The first oven in the camp.
<p></p>
<center><a href="https://www.dropbox.com/s/x10r50k5bau0j87/oven2.png?raw=1"><img src="https://www.dropbox.com/s/x10r50k5bau0j87/oven2.png?raw=1" height="600" width="450" /></a></center>
<p></p>
Building a <i>better</i> oven.
<p></p>
<center><a href="https://www.dropbox.com/s/338cbilzzor8a8a/oven.png?raw=1"><img src="https://www.dropbox.com/s/338cbilzzor8a8a/oven.png?raw=1" height="600" width="450" /></a></center>
<p></p>
The Nazis would shove as many bodies as they could into an oven. It's not like bodies were cremated with respect.
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<center><a href="https://www.dropbox.com/s/av3l9uqt2b9jsiu/outsideBarbedWire.png?raw=1"><img src="https://www.dropbox.com/s/av3l9uqt2b9jsiu/outsideBarbedWire.png?raw=1" height="600" width="450" /></a></center>
<p></p>
I left the prisoners quarters and walked deeper into the surrounding woods (which are, ironically, quite beautiful). I walk around the outside of the chain link fence and came upon Aschen Friedhof where the Nazis dumped the ashes of those who were cremated.
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<center><a href="https://www.dropbox.com/s/dfciwaoi8b2visb/ash.png?raw=1"><img src="https://www.dropbox.com/s/dfciwaoi8b2visb/ash.png?raw=1" height="600" width="450" /></a></center>
<p></p>
Makeshift chapel above Aschen Friedhof. (Ash Cemetery)
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<center><a href="https://www.dropbox.com/s/9x6l5bhq2k496c3/ashCemetery.png?raw=1"><img src="https://www.dropbox.com/s/9x6l5bhq2k496c3/ashCemetery.png?raw=1" height="450" width="600" /></a></center>
<p></p>
Aschen Friedhof. (Ash Cemetery)
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<center><a href="https://www.dropbox.com/s/ji29et0lzl19mr1/guardTowerOutside.png?raw=1"><img src="https://www.dropbox.com/s/ji29et0lzl19mr1/guardTowerOutside.png?raw=1" height="600" width="450" /></a></center>
<p></p>
Guard tower and barbed wire.
<p></p>
<center><a href="https://www.dropbox.com/s/4x7hjwx0ib7sx3t/rockQuarry.png?raw=1"><img src="https://www.dropbox.com/s/4x7hjwx0ib7sx3t/rockQuarry.png?raw=1" height="450" width="600" /></a></center>
<p></p>
The rock quarry.
<p></p>
<center><a href="https://www.dropbox.com/s/zh200fxhjepdomk/stairsQuarry.png?raw=1"><img src="https://www.dropbox.com/s/zh200fxhjepdomk/stairsQuarry.png?raw=1" height="450" width="600" /></a></center>
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The <i>Stairs of Death</i> lead from the rock quarry floor up to the camp. <i>Prisoners were forced to carry roughly-hewn blocks of stone – often weighing as much as 100 pounds - up the 186 stairs, one prisoner behind the other. As a result, many exhausted prisoners collapsed in front of the other prisoners in the line, and then fell on top of the other prisoners, creating a domino effect; the first prisoner falling onto the next, and so on, all the way down the stairs.</i>
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<center><a href="https://www.dropbox.com/s/pd42jeyrn32hhrp/stairwayOfDeath.png?raw=1"><img src="https://www.dropbox.com/s/pd42jeyrn32hhrp/stairwayOfDeath.png?raw=1" height="600" width="450" /></a></center>
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The Stairs of Death.
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<center><a href="https://www.dropbox.com/s/2hcy0cifjuxq8n8/guardTowerQuarry.png?raw=1"><img src="https://www.dropbox.com/s/2hcy0cifjuxq8n8/guardTowerQuarry.png?raw=1" height="600" width="450" /></a></center>
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Guard tower above the quarry.
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<center><a href="https://www.dropbox.com/s/aix6ely3nw9gv5m/quarryMemorial.png?raw=1"><img src="https://www.dropbox.com/s/aix6ely3nw9gv5m/quarryMemorial.png?raw=1" height="600" width="450" /></a></center>
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Memorial Park is visible from the quarry floor.
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<center><a href="https://www.dropbox.com/s/yo59vg61v2ghnid/grotto.png?raw=1"><img src="https://www.dropbox.com/s/yo59vg61v2ghnid/grotto.png?raw=1" height="600" width="450" /></a></center>
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A grotto has emerged in the rock quarry.
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<center><a href="https://www.dropbox.com/s/56anqgv81rur5lf/memorialQuarry.png?raw=1"><img src="https://www.dropbox.com/s/56anqgv81rur5lf/memorialQuarry.png?raw=1" height="600" width="450" /></a></center>
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Memorials have been constructed by different countries in Memorial Park, the area above the quarry. There is no memorial from the United States although...
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<center><a href="https://www.dropbox.com/s/t88ng07x5lpg7bx/armyCommendation.png?raw=1"><img src="https://www.dropbox.com/s/t88ng07x5lpg7bx/armyCommendation.png?raw=1" height="600" width="450" /></a></center>
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... the United States army liberated Mauthausen on May 5, 1945 and this plaque commemorates it.
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<center><a href="https://www.dropbox.com/s/qumqmqx33j5t9e8/map.png?raw=1"><img src="https://www.dropbox.com/s/qumqmqx33j5t9e8/map.png?raw=1" height="450" width="600" /></a></center>
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A map of Mauthausen. The red buildings still stand and the pictures here are from that area. The quarry with its circular Stairs of Death is on the your left. The area between the two is Memorial Park. To the left of the circle in the top right corner is the approximate location of Aschen Friedhof (Ash Cemetery).
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<center><a href="https://www.dropbox.com/s/liaa0hjo6rg8dlx/chapelFront.png?raw=1"><img src="https://www.dropbox.com/s/liaa0hjo6rg8dlx/chapelFront.png?raw=1" height="450" width="600" /></a></center>
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A chapel has been built in the room above the disinfectant shower.
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<center><a href="https://www.dropbox.com/s/rllg3o2ijia4a0y/chapel.png?raw=1"><img src="https://www.dropbox.com/s/rllg3o2ijia4a0y/chapel.png?raw=1" height="450" width="600" /></a></center>
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The back wall of the chapel is decorated with these paintings.
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<center><a href="https://www.dropbox.com/s/uegipry85z9apsl/flags.png?raw=1"><img src="https://www.dropbox.com/s/uegipry85z9apsl/flags.png?raw=1" height="600" width="450" /></a></center>
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The room next to the chapel has flags of all the countries that helped in the liberation of Mauthausen.
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<center><a href="https://www.dropbox.com/s/rd1gr0rf0pus7se/roadMemorial.PNG?raw=1"><img src="https://www.dropbox.com/s/rd1gr0rf0pus7se/roadMemorial.PNG?raw=1" height="600" width="450" /></a></center>
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On the side of the road that leads to (and from) the Mauthausen camp is <b>Der Weg (The Way)</b>, a memorial art piece by Ewe Kaja. It consists of rows of stone skulls embedded in the dirt. The skulls are progressively buried deeper until the last row in which the skulls are buried to the top.
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<center><a href="https://www.dropbox.com/s/w2s2sdvurpj163e/creek.png?raw=1"><img src="https://www.dropbox.com/s/w2s2sdvurpj163e/creek.png?raw=1" height="600" width="450" /></a></center>
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Opposite <b>Der Weg (The Way)</b>, this lovely creek continues to flow despite the atrocities it has flowed past. It amazes that people could live in the town of Mauthausen while this was happening. I learned in the museum that there were people who hid escapees from the camp so maybe it's the mob mentality - when you can get one person away from the mob, you find humanity. Well, back then anyway but there's always hope for tomorrow.
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<center><a href="https://www.dropbox.com/s/q953a0uyc5z7swn/prisonersQuartersWithText.png?raw=1"><img src="https://www.dropbox.com/s/q953a0uyc5z7swn/prisonersQuartersWithText.png?raw=1" height="450" width="600" /></a></center>
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<HR>A Man and A Mousehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14293145068448926466noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1193350251627318318.post-72116549179054605792019-08-10T12:04:00.004-04:002019-08-10T12:06:20.850-04:00Ode to Billie Joe Goes DISCO!WORLD INTERNET PREMIERE: Sweet Potato Pie recorded one song although its two members, Laurin Rinder and Michael Lewis, were the creatives behind a multitude of disco groups including El Coco (Cocomotion), Le Pamplemousse (Le Spank), Saint Tropez (One More Minute) and Tuxedo Junction. The song, Ode To Billy (sic) Joe, is a northern soul disco version of Bobbie Gentry’s Ode To Billie Joe - and it's really very good. The single was released in 1976. I have no idea why people misspell the name 'Billie' though; the movie also uses the misspelled 'Billy'. Is it more masculine?
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A Man and A Mousehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14293145068448926466noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1193350251627318318.post-80889968756901038352017-12-08T21:57:00.002-05:002020-05-09T13:19:22.236-04:00How Joan Crawford Broke Into The MoviesJoan Crawford. The very whisper of her name sends shivers down the roots of rose bushes everywhere.
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<blockquote><i><b>How I Broke Into The Movies</b> is a book published in 1930. It contains 60 articles on the title theme, written by movie stars of the day. Each star has a portrait on the left page and text they've (purportedly) written on the right page with the star's hand-written signature at the bottom for validity. The previous articles I've published are:
<UL><LI><a href="http://amanandamouse.blogspot.com/2014/10/how-marion-davies-broke-into-movies.html" target="_blank">How Marion Davies Broke Into The Movies</a></LI>
<LI><a href="https://amanandamouse.blogspot.com/2015/12/how-gloria-swanson-broke-into-movies.html" target="_blank">How Gloria Swanson Broke Into The Movies</a></LI>
<LI><a href="http://amanandamouse.blogspot.com/2014/12/how-colleen-moore-broke-into-movies.html" target="_blank">How Colleen Moore Broke Into The Movies</a> (also announced the WORLD INTERNET PREMIERE of the Moore's 1925 silent film <b>Ella Cinders</b> newly scored by me with jazz music of the 1920s)</LI>
<LI><a href="http://amanandamouse.blogspot.com/2015/04/how-clara-bow-broke-into-movies.html" target="_blank">How Clara Bow Broke Into The Movies</a></LI></UL></i></blockquote>
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I will continue publishing articles until the book is digitized. Here is the WORLD INTERNET PREMIERE of <i>How I Broke Into The Movies</i> written (in her own words) by Joan Crawford.
<HR size="10" color="purple" width="60%">
<center><img src="https://www.amanandamouse.com/blogspot/BrokeIntoMovies/JoanCrawford/joanHowIBroke.png" width="350" /><br><i><b>How I Broke Into The Movies</b> Joan Crawford picture<br>Right click to view the full-size image.</i></center>
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<center><img src="https://www.amanandamouse.com/blogspot/BrokeIntoMovies/JoanCrawford/joanHowIBrokeText.png" width="350" /><br><i><b>How I Broke Into The Movies</b> by Joan Crawford<br>Right click to view the full-size image.</i></center>
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<center><b>Some interesting Joan links</b></center>
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<dl>
<dt><a href="https://archive.org/details/Half-Hours_With_Joan" target="_blank">Joan does radio</a></dt>
<dd>Hollywood Star Playhouse: January 15, 1951 "Statement In Full"</dd>
<dd>Screen Directors' Playhouse: May 26, 1950 "Flamingo Road"</dd>
<dd>Screen Guild Theatre: October 15, 1939 "None Shall Part Us"</dd>
<dd>Silver Theatre: May 7, 1939 "The Train Ride" </dd>
<dd>Suspense: June 2, 1949 "The Ten Years" </dd>
<dd>Suspense: March 22, 1951 "Three Lethal Words"</dd>
<dd>Stars Over Hollywood: October 6, 1951 "I Knew This Woman"</dd>
<dd>Stars Over Hollywood: March 1, 1952 "When The Police Arrive"</dd>
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<dt>Joan plays Password</dt>
<dd><center><iframe width="400" height="225" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/ZsYnCptaQm4?rel=0" frameborder="0" gesture="media" allow="encrypted-media" allowfullscreen></iframe><br><i>Late 1962, Post Baby Jane<br>Pre The Caretakers release</i></center></dd>
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<dt>Joan in Rain, 1932</dt>
<dd><center><iframe src="https://archive.org/embed/LewisMilestonesRain1932" width="400" height="225" frameborder="0" webkitallowfullscreen="true" mozallowfullscreen="true" allowfullscreen></iframe><br><i>Joan Crawford is Sadie Thomson in Rain 1932</i></center></dd>
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<dt>Joan speaks German</dt>
<dd><center><iframe width="400" height="225" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/-MNoXrIh1eE?rel=0" frameborder="0" gesture="media" allow="encrypted-media" allowfullscreen></iframe><br><i>Joan Crawford's scene from <b>Wir schalten um auf Hollywood</b><br>an MGM promotional film in German from 1931</i></center></dd>
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<dt>Joan on Pinterest</dt>
<dd><center><a data-pin-do="embedBoard" data-pin-board-width="400" data-pin-scale-height="240" data-pin-scale-width="80" href="https://www.pinterest.com/amanandamouse/joan-crawford/"></a><!-- Please call pinit.js only once per page --><script type="text/javascript" async src="//assets.pinterest.com/js/pinit.js"></script></center></dd>
</dl>
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<hr>A Man and A Mousehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14293145068448926466noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1193350251627318318.post-91118095538632332212017-10-28T00:01:00.002-04:002017-10-29T17:50:47.950-04:00Christina Amphlett 1959-2013<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chrissy_Amphlett" target="_blank">Chrissie Amphlett</a> was the lead singer and, with Mark McEntee, the driving force behind Divinyls, the Australian band behind many new wave classics including <i>Boys In Town</i>, <i>Pleasure and Pain</i>, and <i>I Touch Myself</i>. They stopped recording in 1997 and, I recently found out, Chrissie took on the iconic role of Judy Garland in the 1998 Australian production of The Boy From Oz. I found this tender and loving performance of Peter Allen's <i>All I Wanted Was The Dream</i> from the cast recording of <b>The Boy From Oz</b>.
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As the song played I was reading that Chrissie had passed away from breast cancer in 2013. I hadn't heard this. We were both born in 1959.
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So I bookend the subtlety of this moving performance with the pure rock and roll of the first Divinyls I heard. Thanks for Siren Song and all the rest, Chrissie. Peace out.
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A Man and A Mousehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14293145068448926466noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1193350251627318318.post-51590425605663343272017-03-22T14:19:00.001-04:002017-03-22T14:21:19.646-04:00Rachael Lily Rosenbloom Lives!With all the <a href="http://amanandamouse.blogspot.com/2017/03/bette-midler-in-hello-dolly.html" target="_blank"><b>Hello, Dolly</b>-baloo</a> last week, another small yet pivotal performance (in the annals of musical theatre history) took place on Monday March 13, 2017: the first performance in 44 years of Paul Jabara's self-proclaimed disco musical <b>Rachael Lily Rosenbloom ... And Don't You Ever Forget It</b>.
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Written almost entirely by Jabara (with book help from Tom Eyen), <b>Rachael...</b> never made it to Broadway despite seven previews at the Broadhurst Theatre. Since the musical <b>Carrie</b> has been revamped and is now produced often, <b>Rachael...</b> captures the crown as the most notorious flop in Broadway history. Unfortunately, even with the tweaks afforded the show for this concert staging, one can see why. The book is a pastiche of musical theatre references and campy laughs that don't really gel as a compelling story. And the characterization of Rachael makes no sense within the context of, for example, the title - Rachael changes her name to Raquel halfway through the show. In other words, we've forgotten it.
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The songs are fun but then Paul Jabara writes fun songs. Remember <i>It's Raining Men</i>, <i>The Main Event</i>, <i>No More Tears (Enough Is Enough)</i> and his Oscar-winning <i>Last Dance</i>? The latter was appended to this concert as a finale but none of <b>Rachael...</b>'s score is as memorable as the aforementioned pop hits although <i>Dear Miss Streisand</i> and <i>Broadway Rhythm</i> immediately come to mind as standouts. (Jabara did record a revision of the musical's <i>Ocho Rios</i> on his 1986 album <b>De La Noche: The True Story (A Poperetta)</b>.)
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Interestingly, on my very rare audience recording (puff, puff) of one of the 1973 previews (starring Ellen Greene and Anita Morris), the audience is quite receptive to the performance - as was the audience last week at Feinstein’s/54 Below. In my opinion, it had more to do with the performers and audience than the material being performed. Bonnie Milligan (as Rachael), Julia Mattison (as Stella Starfuckoff, the role originated by Morris) and Anastasia McClesky had the showiest roles but all the performers and the band made the hour and 15 minute concert quite enjoyable. My conclusion though is <b>Rachael...</b> will now be forgotten for another 44 years.
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<HR>A Man and A Mousehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14293145068448926466noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1193350251627318318.post-55997832391571783802017-03-19T11:13:00.002-04:002017-03-19T11:32:14.362-04:00Divine Hello, Dolly!<center><a data-pin-do="embedPin" href="https://www.pinterest.com/pin/548876273322069259/"></a></center>
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In the new revival of Jerry Herman's <b>Hello, Dolly!</b>, Bette Midler doesn’t so much inhabit the character of Dolly Gallagher Levi as allow Dolly to inhabit her own divinity. With double takes and side eyes, Bette's Dolly breaks the fourth wall while mining all the laughs from Michael Stewart’s classic book. (Breaking the fourth wall is a typical conceit of original playwright Thornton Wilder.) Midler is ably aided by David Hyde Pierce, a perfect foil as Horace Vandergelder and someone who the producers felt worthy enough to add the previously cut Vandergelder solo, <i>Penny In My Pocket</i>, as the second act opener. The rest of the supporting cast sing and dance joyfully in the ageless musical: Gavin Creel as Cornelius Hackl is adorable, Kate Baldwin as Irene Molloy is resplendent, Taylor Trensch as Barnaby Tucker is a mensch and Beanie Feldstein as Minnie Fay is a revelation. The sets are darling, dances energetic throwbacks, costumes colorfully vintage and Herman’s songs tuneful as ever.
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Undoubtedly though everyone in the house for this first (March 15) preview was there for Midler’s return to the musical theatre. Exhilaration was in the air as we braved the 20 degree weather for the 8:00 PM curtain. (No late seating EVER … for this engagement.) When Bette finally enters on a trolley, there’s a standing ovation. Bette lifts her skirts to dance at Irene Molloy’s, there’s a standing ovation. She sings the act one closer <i>Before The Parade Passes By</i>, there’s a standing ovation. And following the always entertaining <i>Waiters’ Gallop</i>, when the Harmonia Gardens curtains part and Bette descends the stairs to the strains of the classic title tune, the roar of approval is deafening. Bette’s Dolly is, at once, boisterous, reflective, quirky … and quite hungry. This role would be her star-making turn - if she hadn’t already been a star for almost fifty years! Bette Midler in <b>Hello, Dolly!</b> is an event that comes along once in a lifetime and lucky me I have tickets for two more events. How lucky can you get!
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(How lucky can you get! See what I did there?)
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Click the link for a NSFW throwback on Bette called <a href="http://AManAndAMouse.blogspot.com/2013/05/its-not-porn-its-bette-midler.html" target="_blank"><b>It's Not Porn. It's Bette Midler!</b></a>.
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<HR>A Man and A Mousehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14293145068448926466noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1193350251627318318.post-30780683778300179362017-02-18T11:47:00.002-05:002017-02-18T12:36:55.397-05:00Spring Awakening and Pandora's BoxI just uploaded to <a href="http://archive.org">archive.org</a> the complete English text, in PDF, of four plays by German playwright Frank Wedekind!
<UL><LI>Spring Awakening</LI>
<LI>The Lulu Plays is comprised of:
<UL><LI>Earth Spirit</LI>
<LI>Pandora's Box</LI>
<LI>Death and the Devil</LI></UL></LI></UL>
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<center><iframe src="https://archive.org/stream/FrankWedekindPlays?ui=embed" width="400" height="358" frameborder="0" webkitallowfullscreen="true" mozallowfullscreen="true" allowfullscreen></iframe></center>
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<b>Spring Awakening</b> is known today as the basis of the musical <b>Spring Awakening</b> with book and lyrics by Steven Sater and music by Duncan Sheik. The musical opened on Broadway in 2006 and played for a little over two years. This original production won several Tony awards including Best Musical, Best Book of a Musical and Best Original Score. It has been revived a number of times since then - most recently on Broadway in 2015.
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<b>Earth Spirit</b> and <b>Pandora's Box</b>, the first two in <i>The Lulu Plays</i> trilogy, are the basis of the 1929 silent film <b>Pandora's Box</b> starring Louise Brooks and directed by G.W. Pabst.
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Samuel A. Eliot, Jr. wrote the introduction to the collection in 1923, presumably the year it was published in the United Kingdom under the title <b>Tragedies Of Sex</b>. What a find!
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<HR>A Man and A Mousehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14293145068448926466noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1193350251627318318.post-53836735402737215842016-12-24T09:14:00.000-05:002016-12-24T09:14:31.796-05:00Happy Holidays from Edna St. Vincent Millay<center><img src="http://www.amanandamouse.com/blogspot/celebrate.jpg" width="405"></center><br>
<b>The Ballad of the Harp-Weaver</b> by Edna St. Vincent Millay, although set during Christmas time, is more about the love between and parent and a child than the holidays. I've been thinking a lot about love this week as my Pop-pop sits in a hospital waiting for the go-ahead to fix his fractured hip. He will miss the holiday celebration I flew down to enjoy with family and we will miss him being there terribly. <b>The Ballad of the Harp-Weaver</b> has been recorded by the likes of <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CXW7v0ab_18" target="_blank">Johnny Cash</a> and its author, the <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e6Og6p_XC5w" target="_blank">aforementioned Millay</a>, but my favorite version has to be the recording by Mabel Mercer<br>
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<center><iframe width="400" height="225" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/gOu37VY59HE" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe></center>
<br>
“Son,” said my mother,<br>
When I was knee-high,<br>
“You’ve need of clothes to cover you,<br>
And not a rag have I.<br>
<br>
“There’s nothing in the house<br>
To make a boy breeches,<br>
Nor shears to cut a cloth with<br>
Nor thread to take stitches.<br>
<br>
“There’s nothing in the house<br>
But a loaf-end of rye,<br>
And a harp with a woman’s head<br>
Nobody will buy,” <br>
And she began to cry.<br>
<br>
That was in the early fall.<br>
When came the late fall, <br>
“Son,” she said, “the sight of you <br>
Makes your mother’s blood crawl,—<br>
“Little skinny shoulder-blades<br>
Sticking through your clothes!<br>
And where you’ll get a jacket from<br>
God above knows.<br>
<br>
“It’s lucky for me, lad,<br>
Your daddy’s in the ground,<br>
And can’t see the way I let<br>
His son go around!”<br>
And she made a queer sound.<br>
<br>
That was in the late fall.<br>
When the winter came,<br>
I’d not a pair of breeches<br>
Nor a shirt to my name.<br>
<br>
I couldn’t go to school,<br>
Or out of doors to play.<br>
And all the other little boys<br>
Passed our way.<br>
<br>
“Son,” said my mother,<br>
“Come, climb into my lap,<br>
And I’ll chafe your little bones<br>
While you take a nap.”<br>
<br>
And, oh, but we were silly<br>
For half an hour or more,<br>
Me with my long legs<br>
Dragging on the floor,<br>
<br>
A-rock-rock-rocking<br>
To a mother-goose rhyme!<br>
Oh, but we were happy<br>
For half an hour’s time!<br>
<br>
But there was I, a great boy,<br>
And what would folks say<br>
To hear my mother singing me<br>
To sleep all day,<br>
In such a daft way?<br>
<br>
Men say the winter<br>
Was bad that year;<br>
Fuel was scarce,<br>
And food was dear.<br>
<br>
A wind with a wolf’s head<br>
Howled about our door,<br>
And we burned up the chairs<br>
And sat on the floor.<br>
<br>
All that was left us<br>
Was a chair we couldn’t break,<br>
And the harp with a woman’s head<br>
Nobody would take,<br>
For song or pity’s sake.<br>
<br>
The night before Christmas<br>
I cried with the cold,<br>
I cried myself to sleep<br>
Like a two-year-old.<br>
<br>
And in the deep night<br>
I felt my mother rise,<br>
And stare down upon me<br>
With love in her eyes.<br>
<br>
I saw my mother sitting<br>
On the one good chair,<br>
A light falling on her<br>
From I couldn’t tell where,<br>
<br>
Looking nineteen,<br>
And not a day older,<br>
And the harp with a woman’s head<br>
Leaned against her shoulder.<br>
<br>
Her thin fingers, moving<br>
In the thin, tall strings,<br>
Were weav-weav-weaving<br>
Wonderful things.<br>
<br>
Many bright threads,<br>
From where I couldn’t see,<br>
Were running through the harp-strings<br>
Rapidly,<br>
<br>
And gold threads whistling<br>
Through my mother’s hand.<br>
I saw the web grow,<br>
And the pattern expand.<br>
<br>
She wove a child’s jacket,<br>
And when it was done<br>
She laid it on the floor<br>
And wove another one.<br>
<br>
She wove a red cloak<br>
So regal to see, <br>
“She’s made it for a king’s son,”<br>
I said, “and not for me.”<br>
But I knew it was for me.<br>
<br>
She wove a pair of breeches<br>
Quicker than that!<br>
She wove a pair of boots<br>
And a little cocked hat.<br>
<br>
She wove a pair of mittens,<br>
She wove a little blouse,<br>
She wove all night<br>
In the still, cold house.<br>
<br>
She sang as she worked,<br>
And the harp-strings spoke;<br>
Her voice never faltered,<br>
And the thread never broke.<br>
And when I awoke,—<br>
<br>
There sat my mother<br>
With the harp against her shoulder<br>
Looking nineteen<br>
And not a day older,<br>
<br>
A smile about her lips,<br>
And a light about her head,<br>
And her hands in the harp-strings<br>
Frozen dead.<br>
<br>
And piled up beside her<br>
And toppling to the skies,<br>
Were the clothes of a king’s son,<br>
Just my size.<br>
<HR>A Man and A Mousehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14293145068448926466noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1193350251627318318.post-76783590957712750202016-10-30T22:55:00.001-04:002017-03-22T14:22:04.005-04:00Juzo Itami & Nobuko Miyamoto 1987 & 2016Juzo Itami is a Japanese actor and film director. His most internationally famous film is his second, the 1985 <i>noodle Western</i> <b><i>Tampopo</i></b>. In October, 2016 Nobuko Miyamototo, the late director's wife and actress in most of his films, travelled to New York City for the premiere of the restoration of <b><i>Tampopo</i></b> (<i>Dandelion</i>) at the Film Forum. Following are pictures from that question and answer session which was filmed for inclusion on the upcoming Criterion release of the film. Until then, it can be heard <a href="http://filmforum.org/do-not-enter-or-modify-or-erase/client-uploads/audio/TampopoOct212016_1.mp3" target="_blank"><b>here</b></a>.
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Participants in the Q&A included Ms. Miyamoto, moderator Bilge Ebire and Chairman of the <a href="http://itami-kinenkan.jp/about/about03.html" target="_blank"><i>Itami Juzo Museum (web site in Japanese)</i></a>, Yasushi Tamaki, a translator and me - the only audience member to ask a question at 27 minutes and 3 seconds.
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In 1987, Itami's third film <i><b>Marusa no Onna</b></i> (<i>A Taxing Woman</i>) would have an American run. In anticipation of its theatrical run, the film was premiered on the campus of the University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA). Itami and Miyamoto came to the United States for a question and answer session following the screening. I took these pictures at the question and answer.
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On December 20, 1997, Itami killed himself by leaping from the building in Azabu, Tokyo in which the offices of Itami Productions were located. News of an extra-marital affair in which he was allegedly involved was to be published that week. He left a suicide note which read "Death will prove my innocence." In my opinion, it has; why would anyone cheat on the magnificent Nobuko Miyamoto?
<HR>A Man and A Mousehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14293145068448926466noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1193350251627318318.post-77911320254343668402016-07-10T15:19:00.000-04:002016-07-11T10:41:46.045-04:00The Ramones at the Queens MuseumHere are some pictures of pieces on exhibit (until July 31, 2016) at the Queens Museum. The exhibit is named Hey! Ho! Let's Go! Ramones and the Birth of Punk and it's a wow!
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<center><b>Check out some 70s and 80s themed music tees at <a href="http://skreened.com/crewdtees/category/music" target="_blank">crewdtees.com</a></b></center>.
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<HR>A Man and A Mousehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14293145068448926466noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1193350251627318318.post-40775100643889461982016-04-10T23:39:00.001-04:002019-02-12T20:19:25.218-05:00Sophie Tucker & Josephine Baker<P></P>
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Sophie Tucker was an American vaudeville singer whose meteoric career lasted the 80 years of her life. In 1910, after years of amateur performances Tucker was given the opportunity to perform on a legitimate vaudeville stage. The theater owner though said she could only perform in blackface. Much to her chagrin but needing to make a living, she did it. Over the ten years she performed in blackface her color went from 'burnt cork' to 'high yellow'. Once 'high yellow' she then ended her performances by removing her wig to reveal blonde hair, and her gloves to reveal white skin. One day in Chicago, she 'forgot' her makeup and went on as herself. She never used the makeup again.
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<center><a data-pin-do="embedPin" href="https://www.pinterest.com/pin/548876273317020573/"></a><br><a href="http://amanandamouse.blogspot.com/2013/07/sophie-tuckers-autograph.html" target="_blank">Click here</a> for information about Sophie's autobiography.</center>
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Josephine Baker was an American vaudeville performer who also performed in the legitimate theater in New York City. Her most famous theatrical performance was in the chorus of 1922's Shuffle Along (currently being revived on Broadway) but it was her blackface performances that were noticed and landed her the opportunity to open in La Revue Negre in Paris, France where Baker's erotic performances and infamous banana skirt earned her notoriety and money. Ultimately she gave up her American citizenship and became a French citizen.
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In 1951, Baker was invited back to the US for an engagement in Copa City, a nightclub in Miami, Florida. She agreed to the run only if the audience would not be segregated. Baker received death threats and bricks were thrown at the club. Tucker, who was booked to play Copa City following Baker, heard this and called a press conference in which she announced she would introduce Josephine Baker so if anyone wanted to do bodily harm to Ms. Baker they'd have to go through Sophie first. Opening night went off without a scuffle, the show received rave reviews, was standing room only and Baker was named the NAACP's Woman Of The Year.
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The two icons became friends for life.
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<center><blockquote><b>For more pictures, see Sophie Tucker & Josephine Baker on Pinterest.</b></blockquote></center>
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<center><a data-pin-do="embedBoard" href="https://www.pinterest.com/amanandamouse/sophie-tucker-josephine-baker/"data-pin-scale-width="80" data-pin-scale-height="200" data-pin-board-width="400"> Follow Michael,'s board Sophie Tucker & Josephine Baker on Pinterest.</a><!-- Please call pinit.js only once per page --><script type="text/javascript" async src="//assets.pinterest.com/js/pinit.js"></script></center>
<HR>A Man and A Mousehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14293145068448926466noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1193350251627318318.post-61840167400940933812016-01-21T21:38:00.005-05:002016-01-23T10:26:34.820-05:00Elizabeth Taylor in The Little Foxes<center><a data-pin-do="embedPin" href="https://www.pinterest.com/pin/548876273315950934/"></a></center>
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On May 7, 1981, Elizabeth Taylor made her Broadway debut when she opened in Lillian Hellman's classic play <b>The Little Foxes</b> at the Martin Beck Theatre. The role of Regina Giddons, originally played on Broadway by Tallullah Bankhead and in the 1941 film by Bette Davis, was (again) perfectly cast and Taylor received nominations for both the Tony Award for Best Performance by a Leading Actress in a Play and the Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Actress in a Play.
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Nearly $1 million worth of ticket sales were realized during the week after advertisements announced Taylor's theatrical run. The cast also included Tom Aldredge as her husband Horace, Dennis Christopher as Leo, Maureen Stapleton as Birdie, and Anthony Zerbe as Benjamin. Tony nominations also went to Austin Pendleton for Best Direction of a Play, Aldredge for Best Featured Actor in a Play, Stapleton for Best Featured Actress in a Play, and the play itself for Best Reproduction. I fortunately was enthralled by this production and this WORLD INTERNET PREMIERE is a scan of the program that was sold during the theatrical engagement. I don't remember what the program cost but I still have it so I think the money was well spent.
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Here are some interesting links with more information on <b>The Little Foxes</b> and <b>Regina</b>, the opera created from the play by Marc Blitzstein.
<UL><LI><a href="http://www.theartsjournal.org/index.php/site/article/viewFile/643/343" target="_blank"><i>Tallulah Bankhead, Bette Davis, and Marc Blitzstein: Lillian Hellman’s The Little Foxes as Play, Film, and Opera</i></a> by Bernard F. Dick</LI>
<LI><a href="http://www.marcblitzstein.com/pages/biblio/articles/regina.htm" target="_blank"><i>The Roots Of Regina</i></a> by Eric A. Gordon</LI>
<LI><a href="https://www.musicalamerica.com/news/newsstory.cfm?storyid=35298&categoryid=5&archived=0" target="_blank"><i>Bronx Opera To Revive Blitzstein's 'Regina'</i></a> December, 2015 press release</LI></UL>
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<hr>A Man and A Mousehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14293145068448926466noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1193350251627318318.post-49231861127262396552015-12-31T22:03:00.001-05:002016-01-03T17:27:40.759-05:00How Gloria Swanson Broke Into The MoviesThe first time I took notice of Gloria Swanson she was playing a version of herself in <b>Airport '75</b>. I recognized her as the actress that Carol Burnett lampooned on her eponymous television variety show. A few years later when I became vegan I read how Ms. Swanson had been a vegetarian since 1928 and helped to promote her husband's book <b>Sugar Blues</b> (William Dufty). But it wasn't until I moved to Los Angeles that I became familiar with her career as an actress - first in silent films and then in her iconic role as Norma Desmond in Billy Wilder's <b>Sunset Boulevard</b>.
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Swanson began her career in early Charlie Chaplin and Mack Sennett comedies. By 1919 she was working for Paramount Pictures and with director Cecil B. DeMille. Stardom followed with films such as romantic lead in such films as <b>Don't Change Your Husband</b> (1919), <b>Male and Female</b> (1919) (based on a play by J.M. Barrie), <b>Why Change Your Wife?</b> (1920), <b>Something to Think About</b> (1920), <b>The Affairs of Anatol</b> (1921) and <b>Beyond The Rocks</b> (with Rudolph Valentino). By 1926, she was making independent films as a part owner of United Artists including <b>Sadie Thompson</b> (a huge hit famously remade as <b>Rain</b> starring Joan Crawford) and <b>Queen Kelly</b> (the infamous unfinished film directed by her <b>Sunset Boulevard</b> co-star Eric Von Stroheim).
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<center><b>How Gloria Swanson Broke Into The Movies continues after the<br>WORLD INTERNET PREMIERE of How I Broke Into The Movies by Gloria Swanson.</b></center>
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<center><img src="http://www.amanandamouse.com/blogspot/BrokeIntoMovies/GloriaSwanson/gloriaPic.jpg" width="350" /><br><i><b>How I Broke Into The Movies</b> Gloria Swanson picture<br>Right click to open the image in a new tab.</i></center>
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<center><img src="http://www.amanandamouse.com/blogspot/BrokeIntoMovies/GloriaSwanson/gloriaText.jpg" width="350" /><br><i><b>How I Broke Into The Movies</b> by Gloria Swanson<br>Right click to open the image in a new tab.</i></center>
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Aside from the WORLD INTERNET PREMIERE of Gloria Swanson's essay, I've also uploaded <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Killer_Bees_(1974_film)" target="_blank"><b>Killer Bees</b></a>, a 1974 ABC Movie Of The Week considered her last true acting role. (Despite being touted as her television debut, Ms. Swanson had been working in the medium since 1948 when she hosted <b>The Gloria Swanson Hour</b>.) She stars in <b>Killer Bees</b> (produced by Aaron Spelling) with a pre-<b>Charlie's Angels</b> Kate Jackson and Edward Albert.
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<center><iframe width="400" height="300" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/7APh7ns4S_E" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe><br><i><b>Killer Bees</b> is considered in the public domain.</i></center>
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<center><iframe width="400" height="225" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/hhx9woRaRgE?rel=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe><br><i>In 1957, Swanson performed <b>Those Wonderful People In The Dark</b> written<br>for a musical version of <b>Sunset Boulevard</b> she was shopping around.<br>Swanson held numerous backer auditions and performed the numbers<br>at cocktail parties, but the show didn't progress any further than that.</i></center>
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<center><iframe src="https://archive.org/embed/GloriaSwanson1916" width="400" height="300" frameborder="0" webkitallowfullscreen="true" mozallowfullscreen="true" allowfullscreen></iframe><br><i>A cross-dressing Gloria Swanson in<br>Mack Sennett's The Danger Girl 1916</i></center>
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<center><iframe src="https://archive.org/embed/GloriaSwansonCollection1929-1933&playlist=1" width="500" height="300" frameborder="0" webkitallowfullscreen="true" mozallowfullscreen="true" allowfullscreen></iframe><br><i>These musical tracks are recordings Swanson made for her films<br><b>The Trespasser</b> (1929), <b>Indiscreet</b> (1931) and <b>Perfect Understanding</b> (1933)</i></center>
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<blockquote><i><b>How I Broke Into The Movies</b> was published in 1930 and contains articles on the title theme written by movie stars of the day like John Gilbert, Al Jolson, Greta Nissen, Will Rogers, and 55 other notable actors. The previously published articles are:
<UL><LI><a href="http://amanandamouse.blogspot.com/2014/10/how-marion-davies-broke-into-movies.html" target="_blank">How Marion Davies Broke Into The Movies</a></LI>
<LI><a href="http://amanandamouse.blogspot.com/2014/12/how-colleen-moore-broke-into-movies.html" target="_blank">How Colleen Moore Broke Into The Movies</a> (also announced the WORLD INTERNET PREMIERE of the Moore's 1925 silent film <b>Ella Cinders</b> newly scored with jazz music of the 1920s)</LI>
<LI><a href="http://amanandamouse.blogspot.com/2014/12/how-colleen-moore-broke-into-movies.html" target="_blank">How Clara Bow Broke Into The Movies</a></LI></UL></i></blockquote>
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<center><iframe src="https://archive.org/embed/6149_Dear_Miss_Gloria_01_21_02_07" width="400" height="300" frameborder="0" webkitallowfullscreen="true" mozallowfullscreen="true" allowfullscreen></iframe><br><i>A short film in which Swanson dispenses advice to the lovelorn.<br>Credits imply it was the first of a series that never materialized.</i></center>
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<center><a data-pin-do="embedBoard" href="https://www.pinterest.com/amanandamouse/gloria-swanson/"data-pin-scale-width="80" data-pin-scale-height="200" data-pin-board-width="400"> Follow Michael,'s board Gloria Swanson on Pinterest.</a><!-- Please call pinit.js only once per page --><script type="text/javascript" async src="//assets.pinterest.com/js/pinit.js"></script></center>
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<center><iframe src="https://archive.org/embed/SunsetBoulevardStarringGloriaSwansonAndWilliamHolden&playlist=1" width="500" height="300" frameborder="0" webkitallowfullscreen="true" mozallowfullscreen="true" allowfullscreen></iframe><br><i>The CBS Radio Network broadcast <b>Sunset Boulevard</b> on September 17, 1951<br>with the film's stars recreating their roles.</i></center>
<hr>A Man and A Mousehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14293145068448926466noreply@blogger.com0