Happy New Years’ Eve!

The post is said to be two years old, but it’s new to me — a link from Joe Dante directs us to a YouTube item by Dalibor Truhlar called 10 Funny James Bond Commercials.

Some are indeed really funny, others are pleasantly amusing, and a bunch look very expensive. The first one up is a knockout. Lots of inside jokes and some vintage 007 cameos. Daniel Craig comes off as a real sport.

John Steed!  Emma Peel!  This wonder disc showed up a couple of days ago from [Imprint], cheering up our New Years’ weekend. It is such a huge box, we just asked for a couple of check discs to review from. Instead the whole thing arrived, with its fancy insert book, etc.. The The Avengers Emma Peel Collection 1965-1967 is a pricey item, but it contains 16 discs with I don’t know how many episodes, all remastered from original 35mm. Half are B&W and half are in color.

As we didn’t have a color TV back then I quickly checked out the opening of a color episode. The quality looks excellent. Then we watched an entire B&W show. What got me was the overall stylishness plus the precision of direction and cinematography. The show still looks special, unique.

I just handed off the fancy box to Charlie Largent to review. He told me Christopher Lee has an episode as some kind of mechanical man, and Peter Cushing is in a couple of them too. The one episode I saw had two English actors I recognized from other Hammer films. Now I can’t wait to get the box back.

Thanks for reading! — Glenn Erickson

Hello!

For New Yorkers familiar adjacent to Westchester County, here’s a Sci-fi alert for January 15. Film restorer (and excellent public speaker) Scott MacQueen will be at the Bedford Playhouse screening the newly rejuvenated classic Invaders from Mars in 4K.  Jimmy Hunt is Our Guy for battling Martians.

The show always played extremely well with an audience. Full information on the presentation is available at the Bedford Playhouse  Invaders from Mars  page.

Bedford comes first in our hearts, of course, but the film and MacQueen’s lecture play separately at NYC’s Museum of Modern Art the day before, on January 14: Martians and Devils: Searching for Souls in the Cinema.

This link from Eric Wilson re-immerses us in the early live TV delights of Kukla, Fran and Ollie, the unscripted puppet show with Burr Tillstrom and Fran Allison that started in Chicago in 1947 and moved to the NBC network in 1949. The rediscovery this time is a particular episode inspired by a popular Sci-fi movie of 1950: Kukla, Fran and Ollie do “Destination Moon”. Note the nifty space helmets.

Do any CineSavant readers remember these shows live?  Ms. Allison’s bright personality is infectiously endearing, no question. Being a little younger, she was a few seasons before my time. I suspect that I only think I remember Howdy Doody, but I was definitely in love with Shari Lewis at a tender age.

Eric Wilson reminds me that the Kukla, Fran and Ollie shows are still being remastered from old kinescopes, a project headed by Mark Milano. They’re halfway through 700 shows, and a GoFundMe page remains active. A Facebook page has some nice images and discussion of the restoration activity.

And it’s been a week or so since Joe Dante circulated this ‘Center for the Study of the Public Domain’ link titled Public Domain Day 2023. Let the Joyous news be spread: January 1, 2023 is Public Domain Day . . . Works from 1927 are open to all!

The list of newly liberated creations includes a lot of music, but we immediately note the presence of Fritz Lang’s legendary epic Metropolis. I’m assuming that ‘Public Domain’ doesn’t mean we can start duplicating existing discs and selling them — the Giorgio Moroder music score is surely not PD, and even if the original Gottfried Huppertz score is PD, its 2009 recording is surely not. On the other hand, clips from Metropolis have been used everywhere, for ages . . . do you think music videos bothered to pay royalties?  And who to?

As a fan of Fan Cuts, I know my kids would like to see the Moroder version ‘revised’ with improved video. I showed it to them so many times when they were kids, that they need the disco music.

I’d like to know if some enterprising video wrangler has found a way to slow the show down to 20 or even just 22 frames per second, to restore its ‘heavy’ impact.  Gee, all this thought just makes me want to see it again.

Thanks for reading! — Glenn Erickson

Hello!

Call it brain fog, call it taking it easy — but no reviews for this Christmas Eve. Instead we get to play Blogger and just forward some humble Xmas-themed photos … just what’s on my mind — mostly decorations, pastry goodies and nonsense. It’ll definitely get me in the mood. My family has a social media pact not to post People Pictures, so you miss out on the cute babies, etc. However, I always have permission to post pics of my daughter’s doggie.

This is an older photo. We’re still Pandemically Aligned, so our visitors are limited. Luckily, #1 son swept through for a few days and helped me reorganize my work area, set up a nice microphone, recycle some ancient computers, etc..  So no sad stories here.

Christmas is a time to remember all the fabulous
baked goodies of previous years, even if we can’t eat the way we once did.

The daughter is the artistic baker — that’s a killer
carrot cake just below, and I know I’ve
posted the images of the cute dino cookies.

These projects end up being so elaborate that it
seems wrong to eat the things, for a minute anyway.

I didn’t want to make the images too big, but most of
them enlarge or zoom, like the gingerbread house on the right.

I like what we end up with for a mantel display. The ‘Fozzie’ head is part of a homemade kid costume from long ago; Santa Gorgo is on the right and many of the little Spanish figurines were inherited from a dear friend, a language teacher.

Most of the Spanish figurines are just little citizens, with the clump of Peruvian musicians in the manger as a centerpiece. The little fútbol player has a special place this year, for the World Cup.

Yes, this does drift into movie references. There are ‘local lights’ in Hollywood that seem to shine with the holidays. This Paramount doorway decoration is on Gower Street a few blocks from CineSavant Central. When they last fixed it up I took photos. Sixty years or so ago, it was the main doorway for RKO studios; photos are easy to find online.

I think that this image of a Godzilla Christmas lights display was forwarded by Gary Teetzel a few years back.

Here’s a better shot of Santa Gorgo, no apologies.

And as promised, here’s the new press release photo of the daughter’s aforementioned beloved doggie, this year’s official holiday pose. Never was a more pleasant pooch.

Why is this foolish picture here?  I’ve been a little concerned about Earthquakes this week, after reading reports of small tremors all around the Pacific Rim, and then after Northern California was hit by that big one a few days back. I was a witness to the ’71 and ’94 quakes, both of which were serious tragedies for Los Angeles. 28 years of relative calm later, it really feels like we’re due for a big one, maybe even The Big One.

But optimism reigns. Dagwood Bumstead substitute Ward Douglas nails a Christmas wreath on the door of his beach house, knowing that all will be well. California houses never fall into the ocean. But just try getting fire insurance if you live up in the hills somewhere .

Thanks for your patience & Happy Holidays!  I heard that some people have already received their Invaders from Mars discs. I should have a new review or two on Tuesday — Glenn Erickson

Hello!

Some of my mail this week is from correspondents eager to see the new Invaders from Mars disc. I’m of course a booster and would likely say it’s great even if the restoration wasn’t as good as it is. But you don’t have to take my word for it — luminaries like Alan K. Rode and Steve De Jarnatt saw the restoration projected at Cinecon and the TCMFest, and have attested to its quality on our Facebook posts.

We still cringe at the knowledge that the film’s optical negative hadn’t been lost or thrown out — they’re still blaming that on the re-cut done for England. We wish that the full original negative from which the opticals were made had been retained … wouldn’t that be marvelous?  Again, it’s gratifying that Ignite Films didn’t take any shortcuts — this looks and sounds great.

I hope the product ships sooner than later — I’ll be returning with another annoying review addendum when the 4K disc arrives.

Everybody’s gearing up for Holiday activities here.  ↑  The snapshot above is courtesy of helpful correspondent Edward Sullivan, who apparently went nuts and sent me
1) an ‘atomic’ shower curtain, and
2) a museum-approved figurine of a Yeti that apparently has spent time on our Muscle Beach.
The shower curtain is crazy — too good to hide in a bathroom. The Yeti will hopefully soon be playing with my granddaughter’s Peppa Pig dolls. Heck, I  want to play with my granddaughter’s Peppa Pig dolls.

This year’s Turner Classic Movies TCM Remembers montage is a real heartbreaker — it really seems like all the actors that moved us or made a personal connection are fast disappearing. TCM’s editors do this so well.

CineSavant advisor/contributor “B” wrote this with his link to the Memoriam montage:

“This In Memoriam” video is very finely done, unexpectedly moving, even for a year like this one. I give high marks to TCM when it does something like this; unlike the Academy’s annual video, TCM’s montage includes many lesser known but still worthy and recognizable performers and artists — and resists (for the most part) honoring executives, publicists and other tertiary folk.

Yes, we’re happiest when we connect with a face we know and love, even if the name isn’t 100% familiar. We were unaware that Maureen Arthur of How to Succeed in Business … had passed away this year; the loss of some others featured in the video was also sad news. The parting nod is polite and respectful.

And because I get the benefit of the talented Charlie Largent here at CineSavant, I jump to mention his Etsy page, where he’s selling digital copies of some of his clever graphic artworks. They’re downloadable digital files that can be printed on cards, stickers, etc.

I’ve never seen an Etsy Store page before. This is Charlie’s — Jest In Time. When I revisit old issues of Video Watchdog, Charlie’s work is often what I notice first.

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This Saturday is Christmas Eve — I don’t think I’ll have any new reviews on Saturday but I will try to put up the usual holiday pictures and whatever personal thoughts I can muster. Till then . . . . thanks for reading — Glenn Erickson

Hello!

Hope you’re lucky enough to have an enjoyable holiday plan in store!  We have one family member flying in this year for a few days so it’ll be big fun here. We even decorated. My daughter’s ‘Gort Christmas’ decoration is up, this six-foot felt-and-jingle-bells banner.

Don’t know if I’ll be skipping a post this week or not … I am very lucky to have the personal time to do this website. Maybe I’ll just repeat my usual collage of holiday images in the Erickson Burrow. (A reference from an old Gary Larson The Far Side cartoon.)

And what kind of holiday could it be without Glass Wax?   Partner in quality reviewing Charlie Largent brings us this great moment from the sterling career of George Fenneman, to brighten our lives with a special product: Glass Wax Winter Wonderland.

Actually, the product doesn’t sound like a bad idea at all. Although I knew kids who would take advantage of it for ‘holiday graffiti.’

Thanks for reading! — Glenn Erickson

Hello!

Now that there’s a streaming show called Wednesday, I am a soft touch for old episodes of The Addams Family. The only drawback is the episodes’ canned laughter tracks, which give me a pain. This compilation of Morticia / Gomez moments helps us recall why we loved the show: Mon cherie, Gomez.

Which reminds me, a couple weeks back Joe Dante linked to a good article by Paul Karasic in a 2018 issue of New Yorker, about a peculiar piece of Charles Addams art: The Addams Family Secret. We definitely love the giant mural-cartoon, “An Addams Family Holiday.”

Thanks for reading! — Glenn Erickson