Son of Photos from Jerry Lewis’ THE NUTTY PROFESSOR (1963)

August 30th, 2008 by Scott Marks

Jerry Lewis, September 1, 2008 at 6:01 p.m. Las Vegas time

It’s Telethon Weekend and mein schatz puppe Lilo over at The Celebrity City was thoughtful enough to send an additional 17 Nutty Professor stills our way. That brings this year’s marvelous final tote to 8 Lobby Cards, 19 Color Stills, 14 Black-And-Whites and 3 Vintage Ads. That’s one still more than I raised last year.

Confetti! Timpani! Oh, Yeah!

Links:
See Julie and the New Additions here.
Jerry Lewis Photos
MDA Telethon Photos

Tags: buddy love, del moore. stella stevens, Images, Jerry Lewis, Jerry Lewis Labor Day Telethon, Jerry Lewis Telethon, Jerry Lewis. MDA Telethon, Julius Kelp, MDA Telethon, paramount, Photos, Pics, Pix, prof. kelp, Stills, Technicolor, The Jerry Lewis MDA Telethon, THE NUTTY PROFESSOR

Filed Under Image Blog

A Memorial Day Movie: Otto Preminger’s IN HARM’S WAY (1965)

May 26th, 2008 by Scott Marks

In honor of Memorial Day I spent the morning scanning my vast collection of stills from Otto Preminger’s austere war epic In Harm’s Way (1965).

Not only is it Otto’s personal best, it ranks in my top twenty all-time favorites. The fluid shot of a bruised and demoralized Rockwell P. Torry descending the gangplank while behind him sparks fly as seamen repair his equally battle-worn cruiser was burned is a perfect marriage of meaning and movement. As if Loyal Griggs’ stunning camera work isn’t enough there’s the added thrill when screenwriter Wendell Mayes smuggles the film’s title into a line of dialog. Rock turns to Paul and with a voice burdened by despair says, “A fast ship moving in harm’s way. A lousy situation, Commander Eddington.” I live for moments like this.

You also get to enjoy a Dana Andrews cameo (Otto took pity on Laura’s fallen star) and Kirk Douglas’ sublime slapdown of Patrick O’Neal in the latrine.

And don’t forget to stick around for Saul Bass’ astounding closing credit sequence. Though set on Pearl Harbor day, Bass consciously plays upon 1965 America’s fear of nuclear annihilation by adding a mushroom cloud to his punctuational epilogue.

One day I’ll pull out my copy and write at length about the film and all it’s cinematic glory. Until then, enjoy the pictures and the trailer.

Photos here.

Tags: IN HARM'S WAY, John Wayne, Kirk Douglas, Memorial Day, Movie, Navy, Otto Preminger, Pearl Harbor, Photos, Pics, Pictures, Stills, Trailer, Video

Filed Under Image Blog

New Photos Added: THE BLUES BROTHERS, Cary Grant, MR. HOBBS TAKES A VACATION, Jacqueline Bisset, TAXI DRIVER, Evan Rachel Wood, etc.

May 25th, 2008 by Scott Marks

Cary Grant & Deborah Kerr in Leo McCarey’s An Affair to Remember - 3 New Photos Added

Fritz Lang’s The Big Heat (1953) - 1 New Photo Added (It needed a little Lee Marvin)

Jacqueline Bisset - Gallery with 10 Vintage Photos Added

Dan Aykroyd & John Belushi in John Landis’ The Blues Brothers (1980) - 16 New Photos Added

Ad for Jan Murray & Toni Arden at The Copacabana

Alfred Hitchcock & Cary Grant on the set of “Notorious” (1946)

Cary Grant - 14 New Photos Added

Barely any thought went into the CinemaScope compositions…

…did you really think they were going to crop the Special Effects guy from a promo still?

A childhood guilty pleasure: James Stewart & Maureen O’Hara in Henry Koster’s Mr. Hobbs Takes a Vacation (1962) - Gallery with 11 Photos Added

British quad from Mel Brooks’ The Producers (1968) *

Nicholas Ray - 3 New Photos Added

Smoking is Sexy
Gloria G-r-r-r-r-ahame

One graven image from Martin Scorsese’s Taxi Driver (1976)

Cecil B. DeMille’s The Ten Commandments (1956) - Lobby Card Set Added

Evan Rachel Wood - 14 New Photos Added

Thanks to Lilo, Chaplin & Rob Colonna for their contributions!

Tags: 8 x 10, AN AFFAIR TO REMEMBER, Cary Grant, Cecil B. DeMille, Copacabana, Dan Aykroyd, Evan Rachel Wood, Gloria Grahame, Images, Jacqueline Bisset, James Stewart, Jan Murray, John Belushi, Lee Marvin, MR. HOBBS TAKES A VACATION, Nicholas Ray, Photos, Pics, Pix, Stills, TAXI DRIVER, THE BIG HEAT, THE BLUES BROTHERS, The Copa, THE PRODUCERS, THE TEN COMMANDMENTS, Travis Bickle, Vintage

Filed Under Image Blog, News

Remembering Frank Sinatra on the ten year anniversary of his death

May 14th, 2008 by Scott Marks

The last time I saw Frank Sinatra was when he opened Chicago’s United Center in October of 1994 and just about everyone was preparing for the worst. It had been six years since Frank brought the ill-fated Rat Pack reunion to Chicago and many were saying that this would be The Voice’s last groan.

Dean was not functioning in top form and by the time the reunion tour reached the Windy City, he was replaced by Judy Garland’s daughter Liza Minnelli. Liza was so much younger and more energetic than Frank and Sam that at times she appeared to be more their floor nurse than a co-headliner. Dean would have herniated a disc were he to have attempted to hoist Sammy and “accept” him on behalf of the N.A.A.C.P. Liza didn’t even try.

Frank was out of it, Sammy unduly effusive (even for a performer who put the sincere in insincerity), and Liza made Sammy appear modest by comparison. It made for a fascinating evening, but not for any of the reasons you’d have wanted. The unintentional laughs soon eclipsed any chances of witnessing awe-inspiring artistry that only the biggest of stages could hold.

That’s were my mind was when Charlie Flashback invited me to join him for Frank’s inaugural appearance at Chicago’s brand new United Center. Only a Sinatra (or the store) could get Charlie to leave his house and I lucked out because his girlfriend Nasus (they are still together) didn’t want to be bored by the Chairman and refused to go.

It was my third and final time seeing Frank perform live. My choice viewing was obviously the earliest, at Caesar’s Palace in the early 80s. While a far cry from his ring-a-ding early 60s prime, the voice was strong and his phrasing a work of art. Frank’s between-songs patter was thick-tongued Hoboken served haphazardly to the audience whether they wanted it or not. Of course they wanted it. Even Frank’s stalest “fag” joke, and there were several, drew grateful howls from the adoring assemblage.

My first inkling that Sinatra was slipping came during the 1984 Academy Awards when he presented the Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award to Mike J. Frankovich, or as the confused Sinatra started to say, “Frank Mikeovich.” Vanity forbade Frank from wearing his glasses that evening and when an anxious cue card boy started flipping them too fast, the result was sixty seconds of non-stop hilarious blunders. At times he drifts into Jerry Lewis territory with sentences trailing off into nice and good nice things like that too. Other time he simply can’t keep up.

As the closed captioning proves, it was all written out ahead of time. If Frank put as much time into memorizing the brief speech as he did adjusting the schmate on his head he’d have been in and out, no embarrassment noted. Or God forbid try something spontaneous. I am constantly amazed that this man, who was capable of such eloquent phrasing, couldn’t wrap his tongue around a few simple words unless there was a band backing him up.

Later that same year, Frank was the premiere guest on the first The Jerry Lewis Show, a one week pilot for Fox. I have studied these things in such detail that the oxides have separated from the magnetic stock. Until tape of Sammy and Company surfaces, this is the closest we’ll get to a real-life Sammy Maudlin Show. Everyone and every thing was marvelous and lovely and when it came to puffing, Frank was no slouch. To further underscore his slow slide into dementia, while trying to assure Jerry that he had a hit on his hands, Frank points a thumb in Charlie Callas’ direction and says, “How can you miss with a crazy nut like this?”

The answer is, by a mile.

When he opened the United Center ten years later reports of flubbed lyrics and cumulus-sized cue cards were making headlines. Many wished that Frank would avoid further embarrassment by putting an “amen” on his career.

Eight months earlier the Grammys showed great disrespect by cutting off Frank’s rambling acceptance speech. For once it wasn’t the case of “It’s Frank’s World and We Just Live In It.” The mellow crooner loosened up and actually tried to fit it. Frank Sinatra was moved to tears, for Christ’s sake! Zoom in, don’t cut away! The powers that be interpreted it as the incoherent ramblings of an old man, sensed a ratings drop and pulled the plug on Old Blue Eyes.

I entered the United Center expecting a train wreck and left a bigger fan than ever. My effervescence had nothing to do with opening act Don Rickles. I saw Rickles with Bob Newhart at the Riviera in 1977 and later at Chicago’s Mill Run Theatre where Vic Damone opened for him. Oooohhh! I love Rickles and always have. I could watch him work up a sweat for hours, but that night in 1994 he simply wasn’t funny. There was nothing fresh about his material; the “black guy” was still in the back row singing Zip-A-Dee-Do-Dah and everything appeared forced and predictable.

I’ll tell you what did make me howl, but if you join in the laughter I can ensure you a spot in hell next to me. Come close and let me warm you with this hopelessly tasteless remembrance.

It was not only the last time I saw Sinatra, it was also the last time I saw Irv Kupcinet in person. When Charlie did leave the house he went first cabin and the seats, while not on the main floor, were damn good. Good enough to have Mr. Chicago seated a few rows down from us. Charlie brought binoculars and I spent as much time time spying on Kup and Essee as I did studying Sinatra. 90% of the time Rickles was on my eyes were glued to the Kups.

Here’s where the road to hell begins. How did I know that Kup was going to be there? I didn’t, and when he appeared as if from the heavens, my brain started doing flip-flops. Kup was as big as the Statue of Liberty and twice as weathered. He was fairly frail and the sight of an old, disoriented Kup trying to descend the narrow steps in the dark was a real pisser. He looked like a marionette whose puppeteer suddenly had a coughing seizure. At one point his handler had to wrap his arms around Kup’s waist and guide him down the stairs. (Charlie probably still has bruises from where I elbowed him.) Essee, following closely behind and in heels no less, was almost as funny.

I had my fill of old age humor by the time Frank took to the stage and was bracing myself for another hour’s worth. It turned out to be about a fifty minute set and while Frank’s blue eyes were indeed old, he was hitting the high notes and didn’t fumble a lyric. How could he have? The teleprompter was almost as big as the electronic billboard that announced Charles Foster Kane’s death.

He must have sensed that this would be his last string of public appearances as the generally arrogant patter quickly made way for sentimental effusion. There were a couple of complaints concerning song choices. With Halloween a week away, he failed to deliver any Witchcraft and even more surprising, the evening’s playlist didn’t include either Chicago or My Kind of Town.

Twenty years earlier and Frank would have exited the stage to a limo waiting to whisk him to booth #1 at the Pump Room where Kup and Essee would regale in his presence till the wee small hours. With the top of the hourglass almost empty, Frank was lucky to sneak a nip from one of the hotel’s bellboys and the strongest thing Essee and Kup would drink that night was a glass of Metamucil.

It was one of those nights where I literally watched an era draw to a close before my eyes. As we exited the United Center that evening one could swear that even the wind was crying.

Links:
Frank Sinatra photos

Tags: 8 x 10, Anniversary, Charlie Flashback, Chicago, Dean Martin, Essee Kupcinet, Flashback Collectibles, Frank Sinatra, Images, Irv Kupcinet, Liza Minnelli, Photos, Pics, Sammy Davis Jr., Stills, United Center

Filed Under Rants

Martin Scorsese to direct Frank Sinatra biopic?

May 11th, 2008 by Scott Marks

Will Tina Sinatra force Marty to sleep with the fishes?

Don’t hold your breath.

May 14th marks the ten year anniversary of Frank Sinatra’s death and his kids are out making noise to peddle repackaged CDs.

My guess is that Tina Sinatra is hoping that fairy tales can come true when she proclaimed Marty the Chosen One. In an interview with the Winnipeg Sun, Mr. Sinatra’s daughter let slip that Scorsese is going to direct a major theatrical bio of the The Voice for Universal.

“Marty has always wanted to do this,” Ms. Sinatra told Sun Media during a phone interview from Los Angeles.

Years ago there was talk of Marty bringing Nick Tosches’ astounding biography Dino to the screen. If memory serves, the “dream” cast went something like this: Tom Hanks as Dean Martin, John Travolta as Frank Sinatra, Wesley Snipes as Sammy Davis, Jr. and Adam Sandler as Joey Bishop.

Forrest Gump as the swinginest borracho ever to swizzle a stick? Better Tony Danza or Eddie Mecca. With plenty of makeup and a camera placed at a safe distance, bloated Travolta could probably have doubled Frank’s later years, but the singer’s rawboned beginnings would have been a stretch. Tommy Davidson is the only man alive capable of doing Sammy justice, not the musclebound Snipes who’ll probably be finishing his jail sentence right around the time shooting commences. The only preordained bit of casting was Happy Gilmore as the Rat’s Pack’s resident nebbish. He has the hair for it, and for once Sandler would have found a part worthy of his limited talent.

This will mark daughter Tina’s third big screen attempt to cash in on her father’s legacy. She produced Sinatra, a 1992 mini-series, as well as Jonathan Demme’s ill-fated (and underrated) remake of The Manchurian Candidate.

Ms. Sinatra admitted that it might be somewhat premature to announce that Marty has signed on for the biopic. When she dubbed her choice for director, “the most prominent Italian-American filmmaker” working today, Sun Media instantly guessed Francis Ford Coppola.

“We adore him,” she said, “but he didn’t step up to it.”

She later confirmed it was Scorsese. “You’ll be reading about it very soon … oh, go ahead and print it, I don’t care!”

With Ashecliffe in production, Marty has four upcoming features on his plate that should take him through 2011: A pair of musical documentaries on the lives and careers of George Harrison and Bob Marley, The Rise of Theodore Roosevelt, and Silence, a Bergmanesque sounding tale of two Jesuit priests questioning the death of God in seventeenth century Japan.

Will the Sinatra estate allow Marty to paint a “warts and all” portrait? Borrowing a metaphor from her father’s own words, Sinatra said, “He never drove the getaway car” and in the forthcoming picture, “I don’t want him to be driving the getaway car. That would not be fair. But I trust Him (Scorsese) implicitly.”

In God we Trust!

***UPDATE***

In a interview in today’s Los Angeles Times, Tina Sinatra appears “particularly enthusiastic” about Marty’s chances of directing. It’s not a lock. There is also disharmony between Tina and Nancy. The paper reports, “Nancy Sinatra, 67, is against a feature film, even if Oscar-winner Scorsese fulfills his longtime goal of directing it. She fears it would dwell on the negative and ugly moments of her father’s complicated life. She prefers an eight- to 10-hour documentary, which needs to be ‘very, very precise.’”

Links:
Martin Scorsese photos
Frank Sinatra photos
Dean Martin photos
Martin Scorsese Reviews and Articles

Tags: Biopic, Dean Martin, Dino, Francis Ford Coppola, Frank Sinatra, Images, Joey Bishop, Martin Scorcese, Martin Scorsese, martinscorsese, Photos, Pics, Pictures, Sammy Davis Jr., Scorcese, Stills, The Rat Pack, Tina Sinatra

Filed Under News

New Photos Added: Woodstock Jewelry, CRIMES AND MISDEMEANORS, Mattel Hot Wheels, THE LONG GOODBYE, Godard’s CONTEMPT, Toys, Cindy Crawford and Aurora models

May 10th, 2008 by Scott Marks

The curse of “Adventure Comics”: First Marilyn, then JFK. Will Jerry be next?

Cartoon All-Stars
Let’s Rap With Superman! Take this groovy 2 page survey and see if you and the Man of Steel agree on everything from astrology and pollution to “black people” and “other problems.” Part 1 and Part 2

Celebrity Endorsements
Pat Boone for Pat Boone Magazine, 1959

Woody Allen’s Crimes and Misdemeanors (1989) - 5 Lobby Cards & 6 Photo