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Thursday, October 27, 2022

Bing, the Headless Horseman, and Halloween...


Have a listen to this favorite at my house -- Bing Crosby's rendition of "The Headless Horseman" from the Disney cartoon The Legend of Sleepy Hollow, which is the second half of The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad (1949).  Here Bing performs it on his radio show on 
October 26, 1949, ably assisted by John Scott Trotter directing the orchestra and The Rhythmaires on background vocals. 

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Next Thursday, we move abruptly to another holiday -- when my book, Christmas in Classic Films is published.  More on that next week.  Until then, enjoy your Halloween treats and, hopefully, no tricks.

Thursday, October 13, 2022

Angela Lansbury -- Requiescat in Pace


While we mourn the passing of Angela Lansbury, we also are moved to celebrate her long, loving, generous life and an extraordinary career of some 80 years.

Some of her film work has been mentioned on this blog previously, such as roles in The Dark at the Top of the Stairs (1960), her debut role in Gaslight (1944), as well as two episodes of her beloved television series Murder She Wrote"Reflections of the Mind" with Ann Blyth, and a mention of her clever "sequel" as Jessica Fletcher sorts out the solution from a 1949 movie Strange Bargain.

As a theatre fan, I always looked forward to her appearances at the Tony Awards (she won 5 Tonys).  Here's a reunion of Miss Angela and Bea Arthur reprising their roles from Mame.

She did it all.  She adapted to each era and each new audience.  Had there never been a 12-year run of Murder She Wrote on TV, or her voice work in animated features such as Beauty and the Beast where her rendition of the title song still charms and breaks the heart -- she would still have had a prestigious place in the history of film.  But she just didn't stop there, and there was no reason to.  She embraced all opportunities.  We should all be so lucky as to carry her sense of purpose and enjoyment of life.

She was just five days shy of her 97th birthday.  I wish there could have been at least one more adventure with Jessica Fletcher, but I'm glad I have some DVDs to visit my old friend from time to time.

Angela Lansbury doesn't require mourning from us; she deserves, rather, a standing ovation.

Thursday, October 6, 2022

FREE -- HOLLYWOOD FIGHTS FASCISM

 


Hollywood Fights Fascism, selected essays on classic films from this blog, is now available for the next four days for FREE in eBook form.  Get your copy from Amazon here.


Our greatest gift from the Greatest Generation was freedom from fascism. Relive, and celebrate, how evil was faced, discussed, dramatized...and fought. Classic films were the weapon.

The Greatest Generation received instruction, inspiration, and, of course, entertainment from a source that affected them perhaps even more than the greater technology of generations to follow: the movies.

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Jacqueline T. Lynch is the author of Ann Blyth: Actress. Singer. Star. and Memories in Our Time - Hollywood Mirrors and Mimics the Twentieth Century. Her newspaper column on classic films, Silver Screen, Golden Memories is syndicated nationally.  Her new book, a collection of posts from this blog - Hollywood Fights Fascism - is available here on Amazon.