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1st. Quartile
APRIL
AD 2008
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1st. Quartile
APRIL
AD 2008
MONDAY 07th
Registration: 7.00 - 7.30 pm
Screening: >>>>> 7.30 (*SEVEN THIRTY*!!!! ) pm <<<<<
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TONIGHT! -
SMOKE & MIRRORS!!!
• GILLIGAN'S ISLAND:
WRONG WAY FELDMAN,
Famed aviator WrongWay Feldman, a kind of Charles Lindburgh type, is discovered living on the island. The castaways help him fix his plane so he can fly off for help.
WrongWay gets back to civilization after nearly 30 years, but his directions are so inexact that "Gilligan's Island" could be located anywhere from the North Pole to the Adriatic Sea!
The great HANS CONRIED was the first guest star on GILLIGAN'S ISLAND, - a real pro, who was also a true gentleman. Hans loved playing Wrongway and felt there should be more "Gilligan"-type comedy on TV. BOB DENVER loved working with Hans, and found him so funny that 'takes' were sometimes difficult to get through.
Another feature of the Wrongway Feldman episode was IDA LUPINO as director. A huge talent in her own right, Miss LUPINO's acting credits went all the way back to her childhood, and included both stage and screen. She was the first director BOB DENVER ever worked with who had an actor's experience - a real bonus! In Episode 24, Wrong Way Feldman returned, in - you guessed it - THE RETURN OF WRONG WAY FELDMAN! Episode Number: 5; Season Num: 1; First Aired: October 24, 1964; Prod Code: 1005. Writer: Lawrence J. Cohen, Fred Freeman. Director: IDA LUPINO. Cast:: BOB DENVER (Gilligan), JIM BACKUS (Thurston Howell III), TINA LOUISE (Ginger Grant), ALAN HALE Jr. (Jonas Grumby (The Skipper)), NATALIE SCHAFER (Eunice Wentworth 'Lovey' Howell), DAWN WELLS (Mary Ann Summers), RUSSELL JOHNSON (Professor Roy Hinkley, Jr.). Guest Star: HANS CONRIED (Wrongway Feldman). 25 mins. RM
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TONIGHT! -
SMOKE & MIRRORS!!!
• GILLIGAN'S ISLAND:
WRONG WAY FELDMAN,
(1964)
Famed aviator WrongWay Feldman, a kind of Charles Lindburgh type, is discovered living on the island. The castaways help him fix his plane so he can fly off for help.
WrongWay gets back to civilization after nearly 30 years, but his directions are so inexact that "Gilligan's Island" could be located anywhere from the North Pole to the Adriatic Sea!
The great HANS CONRIED was the first guest star on GILLIGAN'S ISLAND, - a real pro, who was also a true gentleman. Hans loved playing Wrongway and felt there should be more "Gilligan"-type comedy on TV. BOB DENVER loved working with Hans, and found him so funny that 'takes' were sometimes difficult to get through.
Another feature of the Wrongway Feldman episode was IDA LUPINO as director. A huge talent in her own right, Miss LUPINO's acting credits went all the way back to her childhood, and included both stage and screen. She was the first director BOB DENVER ever worked with who had an actor's experience - a real bonus! In Episode 24, Wrong Way Feldman returned, in - you guessed it - THE RETURN OF WRONG WAY FELDMAN! Episode Number: 5; Season Num: 1; First Aired: October 24, 1964; Prod Code: 1005. Writer: Lawrence J. Cohen, Fred Freeman. Director: IDA LUPINO. Cast:: BOB DENVER (Gilligan), JIM BACKUS (Thurston Howell III), TINA LOUISE (Ginger Grant), ALAN HALE Jr. (Jonas Grumby (The Skipper)), NATALIE SCHAFER (Eunice Wentworth 'Lovey' Howell), DAWN WELLS (Mary Ann Summers), RUSSELL JOHNSON (Professor Roy Hinkley, Jr.). Guest Star: HANS CONRIED (Wrongway Feldman). 25 mins. RM
• SUPERMAN:
THE MECHANICAL MONSTERS,
THE MECHANICAL MONSTERS,
(1941)
THE MECHANICAL MONSTERS is the second of the seventeen animated Technicolor™ short films - based upon the DC Comics character Superman. Produced by Fleischer Studios, the story features Superman battling a mad scientist with a small army of robots at his command. It was originally released by Paramount Pictures on November 21, 1941.
The story starts as one of the robots flies into a scientist's secret lair and unloads a pile of loot into a vault. The robot is controlled completely from the scientist's command centre, and we see that he is one of many robots all identical in type, lined up along the walls of the lair. Next, we see the front page of the Daily Planet, reporting the "mechanical monster's" robbery, right alongside an announcement of the display of 50 million dollars of the world's rarest gems at the Metropolis jewelery emporium, The House of Gems.
Later, as Lois and Clark are covering the exhibit for the Planet, a robot lands in the street outside. (Incidentally, when the flying robot lands at The House of Gems, the number "5" is clearly visible, painted on his back. In all subsequent shots, however, the robot is labeled as #13! Talk about unlucky!)
Robot #5 - or is it #13? - terrorizes Metropolis.
The police pelt it with machine-gun fire, as it marches towards the museum, but the bullets harmlessly bounce off. Museum visitors, including Clark and Lois, flee as the monster marches towards the jewels and begins loading them into a drawer in its back.
While Clark phones the Planet from the nearest phone booth, Lois climbs into the drawer on the monster's back, just as the monster leaves the museum and takes off into the sky. Clark emerges from the booth, notices Lois gone, and speaks that immortal line - "This looks like a job for Superman." He changes his clothes and emerges in his classic red cape.
Flying high above the city, Superman spots the robot and uses his x-ray vision to see Lois inside with the jewels. (This is the only time he uses his x-ray vision in the Fleischer shorts, and given the way it is done, perhaps this is a mercy - the actual X-rays well up in the Man of Steel's unnervingly rather "dead"-looking, pupil-less eyeballs before bursting out to scope the scene.)
- See? It's #13!
He lands on it and struggles to open the door in its back, only to have the scientist maneuver the robot upside down and throw him off into a power line, tangling him in the wires. As the robot is upside down, the door flies open and all the jewels fall out, with Lois surviving only by hanging on for dear life until the robot flips back over. Sheesh!
As Superman struggles to free himself from the wires, the robot arrives at the secret hideout, but instead of jewels, the scientist finds only Lois is the payload. Infuriated, he demands that she tell him where the jewels are. The next time we see her, she is bound and gagged on a platform held over a pot of molten metal. The scientist pulls a lever which starts some machinery gradually lowering her closer and closer to the liquid.
Meanwhile, Superman frees himself from the power lines and knocks down the door to the scientist's lair, only to meet the army of robots (numbers 1 through 27 are seen). Under the scientist's control, the robots emit fire from their eyes, encircle Superman, and pound him with their fists.
But Superman defeats them, sending the scientist running. When Superman catches up with him, he is holding a knife to the rope holding Lois' platform above the crucible, and threatens to cut it if he takes another step. Superman makes a move, the rope is cut, and Superman speeds across the room to catch Lois just in time. The scientist then pulls a lever to dump the hot liquid on them, but Superman shields Lois with his cape, then grabs the scientist and leaps into the sky to take him and Lois back to the city.
The film ends with a shot of the next issue of the Planet, describing the latest adventure. In the office, Clark says "That's a wonderful story, Lois." Lois replies, "Thanks Clark, but I owe it all to Superman." Clark smiles.
THE MECHANICAL MONSTERS is homaged in works such as Hayao Miyazaki's animated film CASTLE IN THE SKY (1986), and the more modern short WORLD OF TOMORROW (2005) by director Kerry Conran, a prequel to his SKY CAPTAIN AND THE WORLD OF TOMORROW (2004), in which an army of suspiciously familiar-looking robots similarly attack New York City.
From SKY CAPTAIN AND THE WORLD OF TOMORROW (2004)
Film historians also point out the similarity between the robots in the LUPIN III (1979) - Episode 155: Farewell My Beloved Lupin - television series and the ones in THE MECHANICAL MONSTERS.
A mechanical monster is shown on display in Superman's Fortress of Solitude in SUPERMAN: DOOMSDAY (2007) - the direct-to-video animated film adaptation of the popular DC Comics storyline The Death of Superman. Prod Co: Fleischer Studios. Distr: Paramount Pictures. Prod: Max Fleischer. Dir: Dave Fleischer. Wr: Seymour Kneitel, I. Sparber. Voice Artists: Bud Collyer, Joan Alexander, Julian Noa. Mus: Sammy Timberg. Anim: Steve Muffati, George Germanetti. Technicolor™ . 9 mins. RM
THE MECHANICAL MONSTERS is the second of the seventeen animated Technicolor™ short films - based upon the DC Comics character Superman. Produced by Fleischer Studios, the story features Superman battling a mad scientist with a small army of robots at his command. It was originally released by Paramount Pictures on November 21, 1941.
The story starts as one of the robots flies into a scientist's secret lair and unloads a pile of loot into a vault. The robot is controlled completely from the scientist's command centre, and we see that he is one of many robots all identical in type, lined up along the walls of the lair. Next, we see the front page of the Daily Planet, reporting the "mechanical monster's" robbery, right alongside an announcement of the display of 50 million dollars of the world's rarest gems at the Metropolis jewelery emporium, The House of Gems.
Later, as Lois and Clark are covering the exhibit for the Planet, a robot lands in the street outside. (Incidentally, when the flying robot lands at The House of Gems, the number "5" is clearly visible, painted on his back. In all subsequent shots, however, the robot is labeled as #13! Talk about unlucky!)
Robot #5 - or is it #13? - terrorizes Metropolis.
The police pelt it with machine-gun fire, as it marches towards the museum, but the bullets harmlessly bounce off. Museum visitors, including Clark and Lois, flee as the monster marches towards the jewels and begins loading them into a drawer in its back.
While Clark phones the Planet from the nearest phone booth, Lois climbs into the drawer on the monster's back, just as the monster leaves the museum and takes off into the sky. Clark emerges from the booth, notices Lois gone, and speaks that immortal line - "This looks like a job for Superman." He changes his clothes and emerges in his classic red cape.
Flying high above the city, Superman spots the robot and uses his x-ray vision to see Lois inside with the jewels. (This is the only time he uses his x-ray vision in the Fleischer shorts, and given the way it is done, perhaps this is a mercy - the actual X-rays well up in the Man of Steel's unnervingly rather "dead"-looking, pupil-less eyeballs before bursting out to scope the scene.)
- See? It's #13!He lands on it and struggles to open the door in its back, only to have the scientist maneuver the robot upside down and throw him off into a power line, tangling him in the wires. As the robot is upside down, the door flies open and all the jewels fall out, with Lois surviving only by hanging on for dear life until the robot flips back over. Sheesh!
As Superman struggles to free himself from the wires, the robot arrives at the secret hideout, but instead of jewels, the scientist finds only Lois is the payload. Infuriated, he demands that she tell him where the jewels are. The next time we see her, she is bound and gagged on a platform held over a pot of molten metal. The scientist pulls a lever which starts some machinery gradually lowering her closer and closer to the liquid.
Meanwhile, Superman frees himself from the power lines and knocks down the door to the scientist's lair, only to meet the army of robots (numbers 1 through 27 are seen). Under the scientist's control, the robots emit fire from their eyes, encircle Superman, and pound him with their fists.
But Superman defeats them, sending the scientist running. When Superman catches up with him, he is holding a knife to the rope holding Lois' platform above the crucible, and threatens to cut it if he takes another step. Superman makes a move, the rope is cut, and Superman speeds across the room to catch Lois just in time. The scientist then pulls a lever to dump the hot liquid on them, but Superman shields Lois with his cape, then grabs the scientist and leaps into the sky to take him and Lois back to the city.
The film ends with a shot of the next issue of the Planet, describing the latest adventure. In the office, Clark says "That's a wonderful story, Lois." Lois replies, "Thanks Clark, but I owe it all to Superman." Clark smiles.
THE MECHANICAL MONSTERS is homaged in works such as Hayao Miyazaki's animated film CASTLE IN THE SKY (1986), and the more modern short WORLD OF TOMORROW (2005) by director Kerry Conran, a prequel to his SKY CAPTAIN AND THE WORLD OF TOMORROW (2004), in which an army of suspiciously familiar-looking robots similarly attack New York City.
From SKY CAPTAIN AND THE WORLD OF TOMORROW (2004)
Film historians also point out the similarity between the robots in the LUPIN III (1979) - Episode 155: Farewell My Beloved Lupin - television series and the ones in THE MECHANICAL MONSTERS.
A mechanical monster is shown on display in Superman's Fortress of Solitude in SUPERMAN: DOOMSDAY (2007) - the direct-to-video animated film adaptation of the popular DC Comics storyline The Death of Superman. Prod Co: Fleischer Studios. Distr: Paramount Pictures. Prod: Max Fleischer. Dir: Dave Fleischer. Wr: Seymour Kneitel, I. Sparber. Voice Artists: Bud Collyer, Joan Alexander, Julian Noa. Mus: Sammy Timberg. Anim: Steve Muffati, George Germanetti. Technicolor™ . 9 mins. RM
• VENTRILOQUIST CAT,
(1950)
An alley cat gets caught painting "I hate dogs!" on a wall by Spike, an angry bulldog. The cat jumps in a storage crate to escape, only to discover a trick "be a Ventriloquist!!" device that can "throw the voice". The cat uses it to make the dog think that he's justabout everywhere on the planet, and, so, the chase is on. However, the dog wins the day. Truly hilarious - classic Tex Avery!
Prod Co: MGM. Prod: Fred Quimby. Dir: Fred 'Tex' Avery. Wr: Rich Hogan. Anim: Walter Clinton, Michael Lah, Grant Simmons. Distr: Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. Cartoon Character Cast: Spike, Alley Cat. TechniColor™. 7 mins. RM
An alley cat gets caught painting "I hate dogs!" on a wall by Spike, an angry bulldog. The cat jumps in a storage crate to escape, only to discover a trick "be a Ventriloquist!!" device that can "throw the voice". The cat uses it to make the dog think that he's justabout everywhere on the planet, and, so, the chase is on. However, the dog wins the day. Truly hilarious - classic Tex Avery!
Prod Co: MGM. Prod: Fred Quimby. Dir: Fred 'Tex' Avery. Wr: Rich Hogan. Anim: Walter Clinton, Michael Lah, Grant Simmons. Distr: Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. Cartoon Character Cast: Spike, Alley Cat. TechniColor™. 7 mins. RM
• THE SUNSHINE MAKERS,
(1935)
In a pre-Prozac world, relentlessly cheerful gnomes bottle sunshine (and, apparently, happiness) to distribute throughout the countryside, like little psychotropic milkmen.
Meanwhile, goblins - dressed like goths - seem to have the misery franchise all sown up - they spend most of their day skulking around, singing about how great it is to feel rotten -
"We're happy when we're sad. We're always feelin' bad.
How are ya?
Terrible.
That's fine."
Pretty soon it's attitude-adjustment warfare, with the sunshine makers forcing everyone to get happy, WHETHER THEY WANT TO OR NOT!
These happy, identical little gnomes operate the solar technology which distills sunshine into a bottled elixir. Anyone consuming this liquid immediately begins singing and inanely capering about, albeit in perfect bliss ( - despite the obviously radioactive nature of the stuff - it causes an x-ray effect on anyone who drinks it or bathes in it!).
In the nearby gloomy forest, live this bunch of pointy-nosed, misery-loving goblins who only feel good when they feel bad. Seeing the sunshine gnomes as a threat to their way of life, they mount a rather lame attack on the gnome village.
The gnomes fight back by bombarding the goblins with bottles of the sunshine elixir. Soon, the goblins are thoroughly assimilated and everyone is happy.
Favorite part: when the happy dwarf prepares to pour a bottle of sunshine down one of the nasties' gullets and the unhappy creature resists. "I don't want to be happy! I want to be sad!" Even so, he is compulsorily medicated and rises with a smile, clicking his heels.
This is a pretty notorious cult classic, theatrically released in 1935, but also used as an advertisement for Borden Dairy (check out the title screen-shot above), used, apparently in the early days of television in the US.
Ted Eshbaugh, who directed this one for the Van Beuren cartoon studio had a habit of producing happy, jolly cartoons, all featuring a rather dark Totalitarian subtext if you happen to think about it too hard, so let's not. 'Least, not right now.
This is actually a GREAT cartoon! Produced in 1935 by Van Beuren Studios, who produced cartoons for distribution through RKO theatres until 1936, whereapon RKO signed with some upstart named WALT DISNEY.
Van Beuren cartoons were produced in New York, at a time when DISNEY would periodically "raid" other animation studios of their most promising talent. Consequently, most of their work is of questionable quality. But this one is a real gem, believe you me!
Van Beuren closed up shop in 1937, and their film library was scattered to the four winds (all of it is now in the public domain).
Too bad that 'happiness juice' has that unfortunate x-ray side effect, 'tho!
Prod Co: Van Beuren Studios. Prod: Amadee J. Van Beuren. Dir: Ted Eshbaugh. Mus: Winston Sharples. Distr: RKO Radio Pictures. 7 mins. RM
In a pre-Prozac world, relentlessly cheerful gnomes bottle sunshine (and, apparently, happiness) to distribute throughout the countryside, like little psychotropic milkmen.
Meanwhile, goblins - dressed like goths - seem to have the misery franchise all sown up - they spend most of their day skulking around, singing about how great it is to feel rotten -
"We're happy when we're sad. We're always feelin' bad.
How are ya?
Terrible.
That's fine."
Pretty soon it's attitude-adjustment warfare, with the sunshine makers forcing everyone to get happy, WHETHER THEY WANT TO OR NOT!
These happy, identical little gnomes operate the solar technology which distills sunshine into a bottled elixir. Anyone consuming this liquid immediately begins singing and inanely capering about, albeit in perfect bliss ( - despite the obviously radioactive nature of the stuff - it causes an x-ray effect on anyone who drinks it or bathes in it!).
In the nearby gloomy forest, live this bunch of pointy-nosed, misery-loving goblins who only feel good when they feel bad. Seeing the sunshine gnomes as a threat to their way of life, they mount a rather lame attack on the gnome village.
The gnomes fight back by bombarding the goblins with bottles of the sunshine elixir. Soon, the goblins are thoroughly assimilated and everyone is happy.
Favorite part: when the happy dwarf prepares to pour a bottle of sunshine down one of the nasties' gullets and the unhappy creature resists. "I don't want to be happy! I want to be sad!" Even so, he is compulsorily medicated and rises with a smile, clicking his heels.
This is a pretty notorious cult classic, theatrically released in 1935, but also used as an advertisement for Borden Dairy (check out the title screen-shot above), used, apparently in the early days of television in the US.
Ted Eshbaugh, who directed this one for the Van Beuren cartoon studio had a habit of producing happy, jolly cartoons, all featuring a rather dark Totalitarian subtext if you happen to think about it too hard, so let's not. 'Least, not right now.
This is actually a GREAT cartoon! Produced in 1935 by Van Beuren Studios, who produced cartoons for distribution through RKO theatres until 1936, whereapon RKO signed with some upstart named WALT DISNEY.
Van Beuren cartoons were produced in New York, at a time when DISNEY would periodically "raid" other animation studios of their most promising talent. Consequently, most of their work is of questionable quality. But this one is a real gem, believe you me!
Van Beuren closed up shop in 1937, and their film library was scattered to the four winds (all of it is now in the public domain).
Too bad that 'happiness juice' has that unfortunate x-ray side effect, 'tho!
Prod Co: Van Beuren Studios. Prod: Amadee J. Van Beuren. Dir: Ted Eshbaugh. Mus: Winston Sharples. Distr: RKO Radio Pictures. 7 mins. RM
• TV ADS:
VICTORIA BITTER, MARLBORO, TAREYTON CIGARETTES, VICEROY CIGARETTES, DOLE BANANAS,
VICTORIA BITTER, MARLBORO, TAREYTON CIGARETTES, VICEROY CIGARETTES, DOLE BANANAS,
(1950s, 60s & '70s)
Johnny ( - Where's the tinnie? )
3 Cigarette TV Commercials - Marlboro, Tareyton, Viceroy. 90 secs. RM
DOLE BANANAS (1977) Astonishing - this commercial uses overt sexual imagery (and seductive music from PINK FLOYD's DARK SIDE OF THE MOON) to sell Dole brand bananas! Not a particularly original concept - any twelve-year old could have / would have come up with it - but this 'Seventies spot takes the notion to the extreme. On the one hand, this ad is soooo blatant, it would never run on TV today - no agency would even dare pitch it - they could be sued for sexual harrassment for even discussing the premise! On the other hand, maybe next year... ? 30 secs. RM
followed by:The Victoria Bitter TV commercial from the 1960s - voice-over by the great JOHN MELLION!
Johnny ( - Where's the tinnie? ) VB was introduced in the mid 1960s with an innovative television advertising campaign featuring an orchestral score, images of working-class Australians at work and play, and a voice-over by notable Aussie actor JOHN MELLION. The campaign is still used to this day.
"You can get it rollin’, you can get it goalin’, you can get it feedin’ a fire. A hard earned thirst needs a big cold beer, and the best cold beer is Vic – Vic Bitter.
It can come at any time, dishin’ up chow, or showin’ ‘em how, shearin' a sheep or milkin' a cow. Matter of fact I got it now. Vic Bitter." 30 secs. RM.
3 Cigarette TV Commercials - Marlboro, Tareyton, Viceroy. 90 secs. RM
DOLE BANANAS (1977) Astonishing - this commercial uses overt sexual imagery (and seductive music from PINK FLOYD's DARK SIDE OF THE MOON) to sell Dole brand bananas! Not a particularly original concept - any twelve-year old could have / would have come up with it - but this 'Seventies spot takes the notion to the extreme. On the one hand, this ad is soooo blatant, it would never run on TV today - no agency would even dare pitch it - they could be sued for sexual harrassment for even discussing the premise! On the other hand, maybe next year... ? 30 secs. RM
• COLD TURKEY,
“Stop smoking? You might as well ask me to stop breathing!”
When the Valiant Tobacco Company offers $25 million to any town willing to stop smoking for 30 days, the economically depressed burg of Eagle Rock (pop: 4,006) - led by Reverend Clayton Brooks (DICK VAN DYKE) - takes on the challenge!
This all-star comedy — directed and co-written by NORMAN LEAR of ALL IN THE FAMILY (1968 -1979) fame - is a rare treat: an unapologetic spoof with more chuckles than groans, and plenty of incisive commentary on subjects as diverse as corporate corruption, nicotine addiction, personal will versus collective imposition, and the mass media.
When you hear the name of NORMAN LEAR, most likely you will immediately think of the famous TV shows he's produced over the years - big hits like ALL IN THE FAMILY (1968 -1979) and MAUDE (1972). Least likely, what you'll think of are the motion pictures he's produced during his career. Oddly - despite a couple of exceptions, like THE PRINCESS BRIDE (1987) and FRIED GREEN TOMATOES (1981) - these movies he produced remain more or less "unknown" to this very day.
One of these is COLD TURKEY. Made in 1969, it gathered dust on the distributor's shelf for two years before it was released - coincidently, around the time ALL IN THE FAMILY became an instant hit and it - and LEAR - became hot properties around Hollywood.
There are many noteworthy performances throughout the film, and it’s fun to see so many familiar TV faces together in one flick. DICK VAN DYKE is perfectly cast as Reverend Clayton Brooks, the self-serving pastor who engineers the entire project.
In addition, his interactions with his cowed wife ( PIPPA SCOTT, reminiscent of Carrie Snodgress in DIARY OF A MAD HOUSEWIFE (1970) ) are quite amusing.
My two favourite performances, however, are BARBARA CASON as a schoolteacher whose patience towards her students is immediately thinned once she stops smoking, and TOM POSTON as a wealthy lush who recognizes that the only option he has is to skip town for the month (his explanatory monologue is priceless).
Despite the passage of more than 30 years, CT still has an undercurrent of near-nastiness that raises the eyebrow slightly... though much of what is portrayed has actually come true to a certain extent, so your eyebrow might not actually have moved altogether that much. Though by no means perfect, you can't deny that - to a degree - it proved to be quite prophetic.
Around the time it was made, some serious measures against the cigarette industry had already been put into effect. Several years earlier, manufacturers had been forced to put warning labels on cigarette packages, and, later on, plans for keeping cigarette advertising away from radio and television had just started. So it's no wonder that when the movie begins, the Valiant Tobacco Company is experiencing internal chaos, knowing that anti-smoking members of the government and the public are not going to let go of the issue.
But public-relations man Merwin Wren (BOB NEWHART) comes up with a bold plan, inspired by famous scientist Alfred Nobel and his Nobel Prize. Sure, Nobel came up with the deadly concoction of dynamite, but isn't he now better known today for his philanthropy?
Wren suggests to Valiant president Hiram Grayson (EDWARD EVERET HORTON, in his last screen role) that they make a similar kind of gesture to show everyone that Valiant Tobacco has the public's best interests at heart. Namely, by making the claim that they are encouraging people to not smoke, and offering in proof $25 million to any town that has all its citizens quit smoking for one month.
Of course, they don't really expect any town to be able to get every citizen to agree to these conditions, let alone manage to go thirty days without a cigarette. (As is pointed out, just getting everyone in your typical office to quit smoking for thirty days would be difficult enough.) But Wren and Grayson haven't heard of Eagle Rock, Iowa and its 4006 residents.
Since the local military base closed down in Eagle Rock, the town had been slowly dying, and everyone from the mayor (Vincent Gardenia) to Reverend Clayton Brooks, the community's religious leader, are desperately trying to get the military to come back and bring industry - though, ironically, the military won't come to the party until the town undergoes serious renovations, which it doesn't have the money to pay for.
So when Rev. Brooks hears about Valiant's offer, he sees it as the salvation which he's been telling his parishioners has been coming all along. What's equally miraculous is that Brooks - along with the other town councilmen and women - manages by hook and by crook to sign up every citizen, just before the deadline... barely. Though even before the smoke-free month begins, it's clear that a number of Eagle Rock residents are going to have a difficult time. And even with that problem inevitably arising , the Valiant Tobacco people - after recovering from their initial disbelief - are clearly not going to sit back with the knowledge that there's even a (Virginia-)slim chance that the Eagle Rock residents could pull it off.
When Eagle Rock's struggle becomes national news, sure enough, the army comes knocking again, suggesting a factory could be built there - though, would the town be open to the President dropping by for a televised appearance? Not that long before, the local church heirarchy suddenly happened to be in the neighbourhood, telling the (now-famous) Reverend Brooks that they wanted him to accept a high-profile post, which would give him that transfer he had asked for earlier. Though when Reverend Brooks had asked for that transfer (early on in the film), it was right after he delivered a sermon for the destitute townsfolk, telling them that God was "preparing" them for salvation, so they needed to hang on. When he subsequently learned of the Valiant tobacco offer, he suddenly seemed more than happy to stay - because he was also one of the members of the town council, and could help decide how and where the money should be spent. Brooks is understandably so determined to get everyone signed up that he'll not only end up threatening someone with physical violence if they don't sign the pledge, he convinces reluctant smokers who think he won't understand their pain by purposely taking up smoking and getting addicted just before the pledge starts. His actions aren't the only ones of the townspeople's that provide hilarity.
The local right-wing community - similar to the John Birch society - eagerly volunteer to be 'search-and-seizure' guards at the entrance of town ( - "Can we wear armbands?"), a nicotine-withdrawn JEAN STAPLETON (ALL IN THE FAMILY) goes into an insane rant at the breakfast table when she's interrupted while stuffing her face, and a dog gets kicked six feet into the air by a frustrated passerby.
When word starts to spread across the country about Eagle Rock, it results in the townspeople getting into even more funny situations, from Zen Buddhists setting up shop to a female "massage" professional offering the citizens various methods to curb their obsession with cigarettes. Later on, with the numerous television crews hovering around and freely manipulating the eager-to-be-famous residents, various consumer businesses figure out Eagle Rock will be just as eager to make some extra money with advertising, which adds even more funny situations.
What is surprising to find in COLD TURKEY is how the tobacco industry ends up being portrayed. Certainly, it's not a very flattering portrait. The executives at Valiant are shown to be heartless money-loving sleazebags who consider the American public to be a bunch of morons. But when you look at the citizens of Eagle Rock - as well as the various outsiders who happen into the town during the course of the movie - you have to wonder if those Valiant executives don't have a point!
Believe it or not, the movie is in no way designed to contain any serious indictment of the cigarette industry - it is, after all, only the end of the 1960s, for heaven's sake; such bashing only takes a couple of minutes of the running time. Instead, the movie turns out to be a savage look at every imaginable "all-American" society outside of big business, revealing that even what's considered to be spotless and dependable Mom & Apple Pie - including (once) "sacred" institutions, like the government and the church - can, in fact, be hiding a diseased core, or can be thoroughly twisted, in the worst way, by just the right conditions. Based on the novel I'M GIVING THEM UP FOR GOOD by Neil and Margaret Rau. Prod Co: DFI, Tandem Productions. Prod: NORMAN LEAR, Edward Stephenson, Bud Yorkin. Dir: NORMAN LEAR. Wr: NORMAN LEAR, William Price Fox Jr. Music: RANDY NEWMAN. Phot: Charles F. Wheeler. Ed: John C. Horger. Cast: DICK VAN DYKE (Rev. Clayton Brooks), Pippa Scott (Natalie Brooks), TOM POSTON (Mr. Stopworth), EDWARD EVERETT HORTON (Hiram C. Grayson), Bob Elliott (Hugh Upson / David Chetley / Sandy Van Andy (as Bob and Ray), Ray Goulding (Walter Chronic / Paul Hardly / Arthur Lordly (as Bob and Ray), Vincent Gardenia (Mayor Wappler), BARNARD HUGHES (Dr. Proctor), Graham Jarvis (Amos Bush), JEAN STAPLETON (Mrs. Wappler), BARBARA CASON (Letitia Hornsby), M. EMMET WALSH (Art), BOB NEWHART (Merwin Wren), RICHARD NIXON (Himself) (President of the United States) (archive footage), RONALD REAGAN (Himself) (archive footage). 99 mins. RM
Minor programme changes may occur due to unforseen circumstances.
Feature runs last; shorts order may vary from listing.
* Acknowledging ACMI Inc. & ScreenSound Australia ;) *
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ADMISSION IS RESTRICTED TO MEMBERS FOR THIS PROGRAMME
(1971)
“Stop smoking? You might as well ask me to stop breathing!”
When the Valiant Tobacco Company offers $25 million to any town willing to stop smoking for 30 days, the economically depressed burg of Eagle Rock (pop: 4,006) - led by Reverend Clayton Brooks (DICK VAN DYKE) - takes on the challenge!
This all-star comedy — directed and co-written by NORMAN LEAR of ALL IN THE FAMILY (1968 -1979) fame - is a rare treat: an unapologetic spoof with more chuckles than groans, and plenty of incisive commentary on subjects as diverse as corporate corruption, nicotine addiction, personal will versus collective imposition, and the mass media.
When you hear the name of NORMAN LEAR, most likely you will immediately think of the famous TV shows he's produced over the years - big hits like ALL IN THE FAMILY (1968 -1979) and MAUDE (1972). Least likely, what you'll think of are the motion pictures he's produced during his career. Oddly - despite a couple of exceptions, like THE PRINCESS BRIDE (1987) and FRIED GREEN TOMATOES (1981) - these movies he produced remain more or less "unknown" to this very day.
One of these is COLD TURKEY. Made in 1969, it gathered dust on the distributor's shelf for two years before it was released - coincidently, around the time ALL IN THE FAMILY became an instant hit and it - and LEAR - became hot properties around Hollywood.
There are many noteworthy performances throughout the film, and it’s fun to see so many familiar TV faces together in one flick. DICK VAN DYKE is perfectly cast as Reverend Clayton Brooks, the self-serving pastor who engineers the entire project.
In addition, his interactions with his cowed wife ( PIPPA SCOTT, reminiscent of Carrie Snodgress in DIARY OF A MAD HOUSEWIFE (1970) ) are quite amusing.
My two favourite performances, however, are BARBARA CASON as a schoolteacher whose patience towards her students is immediately thinned once she stops smoking, and TOM POSTON as a wealthy lush who recognizes that the only option he has is to skip town for the month (his explanatory monologue is priceless).
Despite the passage of more than 30 years, CT still has an undercurrent of near-nastiness that raises the eyebrow slightly... though much of what is portrayed has actually come true to a certain extent, so your eyebrow might not actually have moved altogether that much. Though by no means perfect, you can't deny that - to a degree - it proved to be quite prophetic.
Around the time it was made, some serious measures against the cigarette industry had already been put into effect. Several years earlier, manufacturers had been forced to put warning labels on cigarette packages, and, later on, plans for keeping cigarette advertising away from radio and television had just started. So it's no wonder that when the movie begins, the Valiant Tobacco Company is experiencing internal chaos, knowing that anti-smoking members of the government and the public are not going to let go of the issue.
But public-relations man Merwin Wren (BOB NEWHART) comes up with a bold plan, inspired by famous scientist Alfred Nobel and his Nobel Prize. Sure, Nobel came up with the deadly concoction of dynamite, but isn't he now better known today for his philanthropy?
Wren suggests to Valiant president Hiram Grayson (EDWARD EVERET HORTON, in his last screen role) that they make a similar kind of gesture to show everyone that Valiant Tobacco has the public's best interests at heart. Namely, by making the claim that they are encouraging people to not smoke, and offering in proof $25 million to any town that has all its citizens quit smoking for one month.
Of course, they don't really expect any town to be able to get every citizen to agree to these conditions, let alone manage to go thirty days without a cigarette. (As is pointed out, just getting everyone in your typical office to quit smoking for thirty days would be difficult enough.) But Wren and Grayson haven't heard of Eagle Rock, Iowa and its 4006 residents.
Since the local military base closed down in Eagle Rock, the town had been slowly dying, and everyone from the mayor (Vincent Gardenia) to Reverend Clayton Brooks, the community's religious leader, are desperately trying to get the military to come back and bring industry - though, ironically, the military won't come to the party until the town undergoes serious renovations, which it doesn't have the money to pay for.
So when Rev. Brooks hears about Valiant's offer, he sees it as the salvation which he's been telling his parishioners has been coming all along. What's equally miraculous is that Brooks - along with the other town councilmen and women - manages by hook and by crook to sign up every citizen, just before the deadline... barely. Though even before the smoke-free month begins, it's clear that a number of Eagle Rock residents are going to have a difficult time. And even with that problem inevitably arising , the Valiant Tobacco people - after recovering from their initial disbelief - are clearly not going to sit back with the knowledge that there's even a (Virginia-)slim chance that the Eagle Rock residents could pull it off.
When Eagle Rock's struggle becomes national news, sure enough, the army comes knocking again, suggesting a factory could be built there - though, would the town be open to the President dropping by for a televised appearance? Not that long before, the local church heirarchy suddenly happened to be in the neighbourhood, telling the (now-famous) Reverend Brooks that they wanted him to accept a high-profile post, which would give him that transfer he had asked for earlier. Though when Reverend Brooks had asked for that transfer (early on in the film), it was right after he delivered a sermon for the destitute townsfolk, telling them that God was "preparing" them for salvation, so they needed to hang on. When he subsequently learned of the Valiant tobacco offer, he suddenly seemed more than happy to stay - because he was also one of the members of the town council, and could help decide how and where the money should be spent. Brooks is understandably so determined to get everyone signed up that he'll not only end up threatening someone with physical violence if they don't sign the pledge, he convinces reluctant smokers who think he won't understand their pain by purposely taking up smoking and getting addicted just before the pledge starts. His actions aren't the only ones of the townspeople's that provide hilarity.
The local right-wing community - similar to the John Birch society - eagerly volunteer to be 'search-and-seizure' guards at the entrance of town ( - "Can we wear armbands?"), a nicotine-withdrawn JEAN STAPLETON (ALL IN THE FAMILY) goes into an insane rant at the breakfast table when she's interrupted while stuffing her face, and a dog gets kicked six feet into the air by a frustrated passerby.
When word starts to spread across the country about Eagle Rock, it results in the townspeople getting into even more funny situations, from Zen Buddhists setting up shop to a female "massage" professional offering the citizens various methods to curb their obsession with cigarettes. Later on, with the numerous television crews hovering around and freely manipulating the eager-to-be-famous residents, various consumer businesses figure out Eagle Rock will be just as eager to make some extra money with advertising, which adds even more funny situations.
What is surprising to find in COLD TURKEY is how the tobacco industry ends up being portrayed. Certainly, it's not a very flattering portrait. The executives at Valiant are shown to be heartless money-loving sleazebags who consider the American public to be a bunch of morons. But when you look at the citizens of Eagle Rock - as well as the various outsiders who happen into the town during the course of the movie - you have to wonder if those Valiant executives don't have a point!
Believe it or not, the movie is in no way designed to contain any serious indictment of the cigarette industry - it is, after all, only the end of the 1960s, for heaven's sake; such bashing only takes a couple of minutes of the running time. Instead, the movie turns out to be a savage look at every imaginable "all-American" society outside of big business, revealing that even what's considered to be spotless and dependable Mom & Apple Pie - including (once) "sacred" institutions, like the government and the church - can, in fact, be hiding a diseased core, or can be thoroughly twisted, in the worst way, by just the right conditions. Based on the novel I'M GIVING THEM UP FOR GOOD by Neil and Margaret Rau. Prod Co: DFI, Tandem Productions. Prod: NORMAN LEAR, Edward Stephenson, Bud Yorkin. Dir: NORMAN LEAR. Wr: NORMAN LEAR, William Price Fox Jr. Music: RANDY NEWMAN. Phot: Charles F. Wheeler. Ed: John C. Horger. Cast: DICK VAN DYKE (Rev. Clayton Brooks), Pippa Scott (Natalie Brooks), TOM POSTON (Mr. Stopworth), EDWARD EVERETT HORTON (Hiram C. Grayson), Bob Elliott (Hugh Upson / David Chetley / Sandy Van Andy (as Bob and Ray), Ray Goulding (Walter Chronic / Paul Hardly / Arthur Lordly (as Bob and Ray), Vincent Gardenia (Mayor Wappler), BARNARD HUGHES (Dr. Proctor), Graham Jarvis (Amos Bush), JEAN STAPLETON (Mrs. Wappler), BARBARA CASON (Letitia Hornsby), M. EMMET WALSH (Art), BOB NEWHART (Merwin Wren), RICHARD NIXON (Himself) (President of the United States) (archive footage), RONALD REAGAN (Himself) (archive footage). 99 mins. RM
Minor programme changes may occur due to unforseen circumstances.
Feature runs last; shorts order may vary from listing.
* Acknowledging ACMI Inc. & ScreenSound Australia ;) *
************ ********* ********* *********
ADMISSION IS RESTRICTED TO MEMBERS FOR THIS PROGRAMME
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