Cocoanuts and the Marx Brothers

Cocoanuts was the first feature film starring the four Marx Brothers: Groucho, Chico, Harpo and Zeppo.  It may also have the distinction of being the first true movie musical, that is, a movie where the musical numbers were meant to be part of the story telling process rather than a performance for audience within the movie. It wasn’t that the studio didn’t plan to have a band playing with the musical scenes.  A “band” was hired for the first day of shooting.  Apparently they were to follow the actors around ready to play whenever someone was tempted to burst into song, but the director soon realized there was no reason to have them around and that they would distract from the plot of the movie; something that the Marx Brothers were already managing to do pretty well on their own.

Joan Rivers 1933 - 2014

Joan Rivers passed away Thursday  September 4, 2014 after suffering complications from surgery.  Rivers was perhaps best known for her standup comedy and somewhat caustic wit.  In addition to her standup work she has been featured in a number of movies and authored a number of books.   The link below will produce a list of the many items in the MCPL collection that highlight her accomplishments

 

                   Joan Rivers

Babylon 5

Babylon 5 castOpening - Season One: It was the dawn of the third age of mankind, ten years after the Earth-Minbari War. The Babylon Project was a dream given form. Its goal: to prevent another war by creating a place where humans and aliens could work out their differences peacefully. It's a port of call, home away from home for diplomats, hustlers, entrepreneurs, and wanderers. Humans and aliens wrapped in two million, five hundred thousand tons of spinning metal, all alone in the night. It can be a dangerous place, but it's our last, best hope for peace. This is the story of the last of the Babylon stations. The year is 2258. The name of the place is Babylon 5.

 

Babylon 5, created by J. Michael Straczynski, came to our Televisions in the early 1990’s, about the same time as Star Trek’s Deep Space Nine.  The two are often compared.  Fans of each have called one a “rip-off” of the other.  The truth is they were both developed and planned independently of each other.  Babylon 5 did something that was amazing at the time; it got Trekkers and Trekkies alike talking about a new show.  Some of them even thought this new series was better than Star Trek. 

Richard Attenborough: 1923 – 2014

Richard AttenboroughThis last Sunday brought us the passing of actor, producer and director Richard Attenborough.  He is perhaps most recently remembered today as John Hammond, the eccentric founder of Jurassic Park.    However, he has been involved in the movies since 1942.  Besides being on screen as an actor he has produced thirteen films, including Gandhi and Cry Freedom. He directed twelve films including Gandhi, A Chorus Line and A Bridge Too Far. The library has a nice collection of his films.  We hope you enjoy them.

 

     Richard Attenborough

Safety Not Guaranteed

“Wanted:  Someone to go back in time with me.  This is not a joke.  You’ll get paid after we get back.  Must bring your own weapons.  I have only done this once before.  SAFTEY NOT GUARANTEED.” 

The above classified advertisement along with a contact PO Box address that appeared in a local paper near Seattle Washington sets the stage for Safety Not Guaranteed.  The ad intrigues a reporter for a Seattle based magazine. Is the man who placed it crazy, disturbed or legit? For reasons of his own he sells his editor on the idea of checking it out as a human interest story.   He takes along two interns: one of whom, Darius, ends up applying for the position in order to get the story behind the ad.

Lauren Bacall 1924 - 2014

Yesterday we lost one of the most memorial actresses of classic film, Lauren Bacall. She exploded on to the silver screen in 1944 in the film To Have and Have Not as Marie “Slim” Browning opposite Humphry Bogart.  Few could forget the sultry look and delivery of one her most famous lines, “You know how to whistle, don’t you?  You just put your lips together and blow.”   This film also introduced her to Humphry Bogart the man who would later become her husband, in a life imitates art moment.  They were together until his passing in 1957.

Robin Williams 1951 - 2014

Robin WilliamsLast night I read that we had lost one of the greats; Robin Williams was no longer with us.  When we think of him we most often think of his almost manic comedy.  He was one of the best, and perhaps one of the few that could go one on one with the late great Johnathan Winters in comedy improvisation.   We know however that Robin Williams was also a great actor.  Like many comedians his view of life gave him great insight into the human condition and he was able to bring this to his more serious roles.  He will be missed.  

          Books and Films by Robin Williams

The Lone Ranger (2013)

“Narrator: A fiery horse with the speed of light, a cloud of dust and a hearty "Hi-yo Silver" - the Lone Ranger!  With his faithful Native American companion, Tonto, the daring and resourceful masked rider of …..

Wait, wait, wait, wait! – this is not THAT Lone Ranger and perhaps this is one reason why Walt Disney’s reboot of the iconographic persona of this legendary western hero did not do as well as expected at the box office.  From the moment this new production of The Lone Ranger was announced it was compared with the 1950s television show starring Clayton Moore (and for a short while John Hart) and Jay Silverheels.  It seemed it was destined to be a train wreck from the beginning. However, I love trains and as much as I hate to admit it, I’m always willing to look at a train wreck, no matter how much it pains me.   So I dutifully checked out this new version of The Lone Ranger and watched it, knowing from the start that it wasn’t going to be my Lone Ranger and Tonto

Eddie and the Cruisers

Eddie and the Cruisers is the story of a fictional band from the early ‘60s, their rise to fame and the death of their leader and chief wordsmith, Eddie Wilson.  The story itself seems to be inspired by two real life events; the death of Doors lead singer Jim Morrison and the sudden decision by Brian Wilson of The Beach Boys to shelve the band’s album Smile.  Like singer Jim Morrison, Eddie Wilson is a master in putting words and music together in ways that convey feeling while still containing the drive and energy to make a great song.  Like Brian Wilson, Eddie is forward thinking in his writing style and wants to produce a piece that is not simply rock and roll, but something that will be remembered for all time even if it is vastly different than anything he has done before. 

The 10th Kingdom

10th Kingdom graphicThe 10th Kingdom is another in my list of movies and shows that I try to watch every year.  I have a lot of those and honestly I don’t succeed in watching more than one or two of them over again each year.  The 10th Kingdom is partially why this happens.  Being a three part mini-series, it takes up much of the time I would use to watch some of my other favorites.

The 10th Kingdom takes place mainly in the magical land of the Nine Kingdoms or as we would call it, the fairy tale worlds of old.  Rebellion and war are afoot.  Prince Wendell is soon to be crowned king of Snow White’s former Kingdom; however his wicked step mother, the Queen, has escaped her prison and joined with the leader of the Troll Kingdom who wants to expand his territory. 

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