Thursday, 16 July 2015

BING, BOB & DOROTHY - MOONLIGHT BECOMES YOU...


Okay, you've seen the trailer, now it's time to
see the terrific trio in action.  So here's BING, BOB
& DOROTHY with MOONLIGHT BECOMES YOU.
(It becomes me as well, I'm told.  At least, I think that's
what a former girlfriend meant when she said I look
better at night in the dark.  Sweet of her, eh?)

BATMAN & ROBIN...


Image copyright DC COMICS

I've always loved this CARMINE INFANTINO & MURPHY ANDERSON illustration of BATMAN & ROBIN, so I thought I'd post one of the times it was used as a book cover, though it's also served time as a poster and no doubt been pressed into service in various other incarnations.  Whaddya think?  Nice, innit?

CASINO ROYALE TRAILER...



DANIEL CRAIG's best BOND movie to date
is undoubtedly CASINO ROYALE.  His other two
have been hit-and-miss affairs, being the very oppos-
ite of things better than the sum of their parts.  Parts
of each film were good, it was the whole which
was lacking in both of them.

Let's hope that SPECTRE doesn't disappoint.

BABE Of The DAY - JANE RUSSELL...



Ah, JANE RUSSELL - she's
what I call a babe.  I once knew a gal
who looked a bit like Jane, but she was
uninterested in my rugged, manly-man
charm.  Her loss, as I'm a real prize.
(A booby-prize - in a raffle!)

BING & BOB - ROAD To MOROCCO TRAILER...



The third entry in the 'ROAD' series of films was a staple of Sunday afternoon TV viewing over the course of many years, and I've lost count of the number of times I've now seen this comedy classic.  I'm sure I saw it at my grandparents' house at least once, but the last occasion I recall was on one of the rare times they visited us on a Sunday, rather than us visiting them.

I saw it again after that, of course - several times, but somehow that's the day that seems foremost in my mind, when six of us sat around the TV set and laughed uproariously at BING & BOB's antics, with my father giving a running commentary on what was coming up next.  Not that it mattered much of course, because we'd all seen it before and practically knew it off by heart.

I now have the complete set of 'Road' movies in a gloriously remastered DVD box set and it goes without saying that I have memories associated with all seven films.  However, ROAD To MOROCCO is probably my favourite of them all, which is high praise indeed because the other six are all pretty durn funny.  HOPE & CROSBY were planning an eighth film - ROAD To The FOUNTAIN Of YOUTH - when Bing died suddenly on a golf course in Spain in 1977.  There was talk of Bob doing the film with GEORGE BURNS, but it never happened.

Perhaps it was just as well; good as George Burns was, Bing & Bob had a special chemistry that was difficult to beat.  Altogether now - "Pat-a-cake, pat-a-cake, Baker's man, bake me a cake as fast as you can..."

ABBOTT & COSTELLO MEET FRANKENSTEIN TRAILER...


As related in a previous post, I had to wait around 12 or 13 years to finally see this movie.  It was due to be screened one Saturday morning on BBC TV back in 1973 or '74, but I had a part-time job in a CO-OP store in another neighbourhood and, despite the temptation to 'throw a sickie', chose to show up for work.

So, practically half my life down the line, I finally got to see it on TV one night and immensely enjoyed it - despite DRACULA's reflection being clearly visible in a mirror and one of The MONSTER's electrodes being almost pulled off as he rises from a table he's on.  (It's attached to a clamp and starts to pull away as he gets up .)

Still, despite those minor faults, it's a great little film - and GLENN STRANGE gets far more screen time (and more to do) than his previous two outings as Doctor FRANKENSTEIN's creation.  The film was originally shot in black and white but this trailer has been colourized - enjoy!  Comments welcome.

JACK & THE BEANSTALK - ABBOTT & COSTELLO STYLE...



ABBOTT & COSTELLO aren't everyone's cup of
tea, admittedly - but they did produce their fair share
of laughs during their career and one of my favourites of
the duo's movie output is JACK & The BEANSTALK.
Sure, it's only a 'B' movie, and "one for the kids" (as Bud
described it on their TV show), but I have a nostalgic
affection for it, having seen it three times in a row
back in the '60s.  (1967, '68 & '69.)

After the '69 screening, the BBC didn't renew the
broadcast rights to the film for 20 years, which is when
I next saw it on TV - and for the first time in colour.  The
start and end of the film are in sepia tone, but curiously, on
TV, these sections are shown in black and white.  It wasn't
'til I bought the video release that I saw these parts as they
were meant to be.  I now have the DVD, to watch in
crystal-clear clarity whenever I feel like it.

Anyway, here's the trailer to give you a little
taste of it.  It's better than it looks - honest!