Tag Archives: Gossip

Newsies (1992)

Musicals used to be all the thing, but we didn’t see too many come out of Hollywood there for a while. When Disney produced “Newsies” in 1992, it was a great reminder of a time gone by when all the best stories were told in song. It didn’t do so well in the box office when it was first released, but it has since become a cult favorite. I personally liked it for its own merits, cult notwithstanding. Christian Bale stars as Jack Kelly, a homeless boy who supports himself as a newspaper boy in New York City. He’s considered … Continue reading →

My Fair Lady (1964)

An adaptation of the 1913 play “Pygmalion,” “My Fair Lady” was one of the vehicles that propelled Audrey Hepburn into super-stardom. We were used to seeing her as an elegant, refined lady, and in the first scenes of this film, we see her as Eliza Doolittle, the crass, dirty flower peddler who hangs out at the opera house to hit up the patrons for a few coins in exchange for her floral bundles. Her accent is the broadest form of cockney in the land, and when Professor Henry Higgins lays ears on her, he knows he must study her for … Continue reading →

Love’s Labour’s Lost (2000)

I’m so confused! I don’t know if I just saw a corny musical, a Shakespeare play, a strip club dance number, or a war film. I just finished watching “Love’s Labour’s Lost,” which is a Kenneth Branagh film, a remake of the Shakespeare play. I really was not expecting what I got. The basic story is that the King of Navarre and his three best friends make a vow that they will stay in college for three years and devote themselves entirely to study, and that no woman will enter the court until those three years are up. There are … Continue reading →

The Music Man (1962)

Seventy-six trombones led the big parade, and I think that’s how many times I’ve seen this classic Meredith Wilson movie. Robert Preston stars as Professor Harold Hill, a traveling salesman who is also a traveling swindler. With a new gimmick every month and thousands of unsuspecting “customers” to approach, he keeps himself busy traveling from town to town, fleecing the populace. But he’s never been anywhere like River City, Iowa, a town where the people are prejudiced against anyone who’s not just like them. His job may be a little more tricky than usual. His line this time around is … Continue reading →

Guys and Dolls (1955)

They say you haven’t lived until you’ve seen “Guys and Dolls.” They say you’re uneducated and sheltered. So I decided to come out of my shell and see it. I guess I’m now educated, but I confess, I’m not sure what all the hubbub’s about. Frank Sinatra is Nathan Detroit, a professional gambler who runs a floating crap game. The police are on to him and he’s got to find a new location. He’s found a place that will work, but he’s got to come up with some cash. Running into an old friend, Sky Masterson (Marlon Brando) he bets … Continue reading →

The King and I (1956)

“The King and I” began as the true story of Anna Leonowens, a widow who went to Siam to teach English to the children of the King. She first wrote “The English Governess at the Court of Siam” in 1870, three years after she left Thailand. In 1872, she wrote “The Romance of the Harem”. These two books were the inspiration for Margaret Landon’s 1943 book “Anna and the King of Siam,” after which the 1946 Rex Harrison movie was patterned. Then another movie was made, a musical which starred Deborah Kerr and Yul Brynner. This movie so insulted the … Continue reading →

Roberta (1935)

Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers star as chums from back in Indiana in this adaptation of an old novel, “Gowns by Roberta” by Alice Duer Miller. Huck Haines (Astaire) has taken his band, the Wabash Indianians, on an engagement at a café in Paris, only to find that the owner thought he was hiring a band of Indians and doesn’t want them anymore. Stranded with only seventeen dollars, the band doesn’t know what to do until Huck’s friend John (Randolph Scott) tells them that he has an aunt who lives in Paris and designs women’s dresses under the brand name … Continue reading →

Hello, Dolly! (1969)

Barbra Streisand took a lot of guff when she auditioned for “Hello, Dolly!” a classic musical set at the turn of the century. The Broadway role of Dolly Levi is traditionally played by an older woman, and Barbra was only twenty-seven at the time the film was made. However, she made the part her own, and I’d have to look a long way to find someone to disagree with me. Dolly Levi is a lot of things – a dance instructor, a dispenser of advice, but most of all, she’s a matchmaker. Having spent most of her time since her … Continue reading →

Cover Girl (1944)

Gene Kelly and Rita Hayworth co-star in “Cover Girl,” a song-and-dance movie about a night club owner named Danny McGuire (Kelly) and his main attraction/girlfriend Rusty (Hayworth.) Danny’s club is limping along with a crowd of regulars, but Rusty wants just a little bit more. When a local magazine announces a search for a new cover girl, Rusty goes in to apply, and through a comical series of events, manages to get the job. She hesitates to tell Danny, though – it’s the old “don’t want to injure his pride” storyline. When Danny does find out, he tells her she … Continue reading →

How to Deal with Office Politics 101

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I just lived through an experience I have never had to live through before, and hope to never have to live through again. I worked for a small company (there were only six of us in the office, including the two part timers) with big drama. In case you were wondering, unlike Broadway, big drama is not such a great thing in an office. Everything was intrigue: “I’m going to tell you something, but you can’t tell anyone else.” “I shouldn’t tell you this, but I am going to anyway.” “The boss said this about you today while you were … Continue reading →