With Easter only a few days away I thought I'd share my absolute favourite Easter film that has now become a yearly watching ritual, the fantastic 'Easter Parade'(1948). This wonderful film see's the pairing of musical legends Fred Astaire and Judy Garland, as broadway star Don Hewes and bumbling chorus girl Hannah Brown. Don attempts to turn Hannah into his new musical partner after being jilted by his previous companion. Drama and unrequited love ensues, whilst knocking out great Irving Berlin numbers.
One of my favourites musical gals Anne Miller also stars as Don's former partner, performing "Shakin' The Blues Away" with classic tap groove and sex appeal. Astaire performs with his usual suave and rhythmic flair, flaunting his tap style in the spectacular "Drum Crazy". It's also great to see Garland in a more comedic light as she humorously performs " A Couple of Swells" with Astaire, in ridiculous vagabond garb.
I remember when watching the film for the first time many years ago I nearly had a heart attack when Peter Lawford's character surprises Ann Miller, by drawing a pug puppy from his top hat as a gift. As a pug lover this was pretty much a dream! Suave guys handing you pug puppies from their top hats. How perfect!
As Allison from Cry-Baby said "I'm so tired of being good", so let's get bad with these 5 juvenile delinquent films of 50's. From James Dean to Mamie Van Doren, motorbike gangs to reform school, this is a genre I adore!
Rebel Without A Cause (1955)
The epitome of classic 50’s delinquent film, ‘Rebel Without A
Cause’ is full of angst, teenage love, generational conflict and James Dean. Starting
in a police station, new kid in town Jim Stark is picked up for public drunkenness.
While at the station he meets fellow troubled teenagers, Judy played by Natalie
Woods who was mistaken for being a prostitute and Plato played by Sal Mineo who shot
a litter of puppies. The three exhibit a
variety of teenage issues, but Deen leads the pack by getting involved in risky
games of Chickie Run, knife fights, breaking and entering and other rebellious
behaviour. Unlike the other films I've listed, ‘Rebel Without A Cause’ is a
real drama with an unbelievably raw and spectacular performance from Dean. This
is one you definitely have to watch!
Kitten with a Whip (1964)
I absolutely love Ann-Margaret and this is a stellar teenage delinquent
film. It’s sensational and ridiculous plot makes it a film to love as it’s so
absurd. Bad girl Jody played by Ann-Margaret is on the run after breaking out
of reform school, stabbing the matron and attempting to burn down the place. In
comes John Forsythe as David Straton, an up and coming politician whose wife has
recently left him. Jody breaks into his home, holds him captive with a gang of
juvenile delinquents, threatens to ruin his political career and forces him to
drive them to Mexico. It’s absolutely a ridiculous and bizarre film but I love
it!
The Wild One (1953)
Nothing quite says juvenile delinquent like being in a leather clad motorcycle gang. ‘The Wild One’ follows Marlon Brando as Johnny Strabler, leader of The Black Rebels Motorcycle Club as he fights their rivalry gang, falls in love with the policeman’s daughter and causes ruckus in a Californian town. As well as being a great film I can pretty sum up the best bit in three words. Young Marlon Brando. Mmmm, what a handsome man! Check out a young Mr Brando in a screen test for Rebel Without A Cause below. He was offered the part but turned it down for unknown reasons. James Dean or Marlon Brando it was no lost for us. Absolutely charming!
Untamed Youth (1957)
Untamed Youth follows blonde bombshells sister Mamie Van Doren and Lori Nelson as Penny and Jane Lowe, who after scandalous teenage behaviour are arrested and sent to work in the cotton fields for a corrupt farmer. Drama and rock ‘n’ roll are ensued as the two sisters go wild! Mamie was the first actress to sing rock ‘n’ roll numbers on film and although she’s not the songbird you’d hope for, her gorgeous looks and hip swaying make up for it. Jeanne Carmen and Eddie Cochran also star in the film, with Eddie performing ‘Cotton Picker’ as well as co-writing many of the other songs in the film. If you like this one, you should watch 'Girl Town' which is a very similar Mamie Van Doren and Mel Torme teen film.
High School Hellcats (1958)
I had to add this one to the list as it’s a classic teen girl gang exploitation film, although to be honest it’s not the best. It sounds really cool and I wish it was better than it was but I remember skipping through half of the film. It follows Yvonne Lime as Joyce, a new girl at school who get’s targeted by the High School Hellcats to join their gang. Ruling the school, disrespecting parents and teachers, drinking, and flirting with boys are all part of the Hellcat lifestyle, however Joyce in unsure of how far she will go to fit in and if her parents will stop her.
Other juvenile delinquent films to check out are Girl Town, Daddy'O, Blackboard Jungle, So Young So Bad and The Cool & The Crazy.
Wattstax, the 1972 concert put together by Stax Records in Watts,
California was an event where politics and music collided into one groovy
festival. With the top funk and soul acts of the time performing, it was a concert
that you will have wished you were at. Luckily for us though, some folks
decided to film the event and put together an epic documentary on it a year
later.
And what a film it is! A complete audio, visual and cultural
feast!
With a line up of incredible performers such as The Staple
Singers, Rufus Thomas, Little Milton, Kim Weston, Carla Thomas, Luther Ingram
and more, it’s a pleasure to just enjoy the music and watch such talented
musicians take to the stage in their prime.
Carla Thomas and Freddy Robinson
The documentary is filled with great short interviews of people from
around Watts, discussing topics of race, love and letting your hair go. Richard
Pryor also appears throughout providing sly comic and social observations to the
film.
And the fashions! Oh my! There are some
groovy getups to be seen. So many amazing matching couples outfits,
unbelievably short miniskirts, chain vests, flares, and stylish fros. I don't
know what was better, seeing Rufus Thomas in a flamingo pink shorts suit and
matching cape or The Bar-Keys in white flares, fringe and fros.
I love it when Johnnie Taylor sings
'Jody's Got Your Girl' at the nightclub and all the men are dressed to the
nines in their platforms, long fur coats, fedoras, silks and jewels. They wear
brooches that were probably their grandma's but it somehow looks cool. Seeing
them rock up to the club in their flash cars with personalised license plates
('Flavor ' anyone?) also adds to the whole panache of the scene, in that you
know they don't just look stylish they live it.
Rufus Thomas works the crowd with humour
and style. I could watch that man dance all day long! He's definitely got the
groove.
It’s also great when you see Isaac Hayes. He walks onto the stage
like he's God, doing the whole James Brown cape scene, before bursting into
'Theme from Shaft' and making the crowd go wild.
The Bar-Keys
The documentary’s best quality besides the great music and style is the fact that it does not look back or try to unveil some significant kind of discovery.
It was merely an observation of the culture and music, in a certain place, at a
certain time. For the audience this then results in a purer reflection of the
period then what would happen if someone decided to make a documentary on
Wattstax now. There is no “I remember this”; it is simply as it was and that’s
what makes it great. It also makes it interesting as a viewer in the 21st
century to see how many of the problems that were prevalent then are still troubling
us now.
So if you haven't seen it, watch it now! and if you have seen it watch it again, cause this film shows that groovy music is timeless!
A very fitting opening to one hell of a bad-ass film!
Faster, Pussycat! Kill! Kill! is an epic exploitation film full of speed, sex and violence. Meet Rosie, Billie and the incredible Tura Santana as Varla, a gang of busty go-go dancers as they drag race through the Californian desert, attempt to steal a family fortune, and fight like animals.
Even if exploitation films aren't your cup of tea, don’t even
think for a second that this is some flick full of crass acting and zero plotline.
Faster, Pussycat! Kill! Kill! is an absolute gem of a film, even the ‘Pope of Trash’
John Waters himself said that it is "beyond a doubt, the best movie ever
made. It is possibly better than any film that will be made in the
future."With such high regard it can seem bizarre to see a film of
scantily clad, ass-kickin gogo dancers as being high cinema but Russ
Meyer drops his signature cartoonish sex-crazed satirical focus for this film
(The busty woman are still there!) and instead draws upon vicious action, slick
dialogue and a stellar performance from Santana.
What a vixen of a woman!
Santana contributed largely to the film by making her own costume, drawing
upon her own expertise in martial arts and knocking out sassy one-liners to create an unforgettable performance. It's also just wonderful to see such active bad-ass women in an exploitation film as so often they just eye-candy, or if they are assertive they are often stereotyped as men-hating witches.
Lori Williams as Billie, has great acidic tension with Varla and together their sharp tongued jabs show that although they are can be seen as men-beating vixens, that doesn't mean they are anything sisterly either. So catch up pussycat! and check out the trailer here, or catch the whole film over on the Internet Archive. You can find many other Russ Meyer films there as well.
