West Side Story: A Film At Fifty

Hard to believe, my friends, that this film has reached the milestone of fifty years since its release in late October 1961. West Side Story followed the Broadway production by about four years and possessed all the groundbreaking elements in story, sound, and dance that would make it an enduring work.  It won ten Academy Awards, including Best Picture. Here's a trailer to enjoy:

What would Will Shakespeare think!

Could It Replace Waterboarding?

The film, Che, was released last December. Its production and marketing costs were between $40 million and $60 million. To date, it has earned slightly more than $1 million. At this rate, it will soon be known as Hollywood's biggest all-time box office bomb. Henry Louis Gomez, at Babalu, provides some commentary and a link to the story here.

Mel Brooks or Woody Allen could have turned a big profit on this subject as a mockumentary musical comedy. Perhaps we should simply thank the director, Steven Soderbergh, for creating a remarkably effective interrogation technique at no cost to the government. As for that bottom line, I hope he lost only his money in this disaster. Also like to think he learned a lesson or two.

Entertainment News for Center-Right Americans

Several news sources are reporting on the debut of Big Hollywood, the brainchild of Andrew Breitbart, a right-minded thinker and founder of the news portal bearing his surname. This should be great news for those who are saddened by the malaise that has descended over Hollywood, and the entertainment industry in general, at the hands of the moonbat Left. The great movie producer, Samuel Goldwyn, would have been so proud to hear about Big Hollywood, and eager to contribute more gems like these:

A wide screen just makes a bad film twice as bad.

Television has raised writing to a new low.

Pictures are for entertainment, messages should be delivered by Western Union

Goldwyn's wisdom is hard to find these days. Let's hope Big Hollywood can make that search an easy one.

What Did You Do In The Great Depression?

A huge chunk of my 401k evaporated last week while I endured the roller coaster stock market along with millions of other happy retirees. Now I'm haunted by the growing awareness that my country could be managed by a messianic Marxist come January. These thoughts merged yesterday evening into several games of "Cat Bowling." My highest score was 158. Given that it's cool and damp, my arthritis is kicking in a bit, so my top score seems quite acceptable. After all, it only took eight games to reach it. By then, my thoughts had wandered elsewhere, including into a deep exploration of some political blogs. That led to an examination of some historic ups and downs in the nation's economy. For me, it means I end up somewhere in the Great Depression. That period is interesting for another reason: the marriage that produced me - in 1946 - took place in 1933, about the time that "hope and change" entered the White House in the form of Franklin Delano Roosevelt. My parents were never Roosevelt fans. They had to cope with hard times and political uncertainties, but I don't think "Cat Bowling" was an alternative.

Although my parents have long departed this world, I can still hear them talking about two of their favorite things: movies and dancing. I'm sure they weren't alone as millions who came of age in the 20s and 30s were value programmed, in part, by silver screens and dance bands found across America. So what did Mom and Dad do in 1933 to cope with the national uncertainties swirling around them? They probably saw this pre-code classic with its girls, airplanes, and a wedding:



Earlier in the same film, Ginger Rogers and Fred Astaire paired up on the dance floor for the first time. Watch them in this clip, and take a second, closer look, at those girls on the airplanes.



So much for "Cat Bowling." They had a much better time.