Here's a snippet from Peggy Noonan's op-ed piece in today's NY Post. I love how it humanizes the players: "In the commercial break the candidates thirstily gulp down water and then go straight to family and friends in the crowd for hugs and handshakes. Wives and grown children whisper advice. Supriya Jindal repeatedly huddled with her husband. Throughout the debate Ted Cruz kept his eyes on his wife, Heidi, in the audience. She gave him thumbs-up and mouthed advice. It was like seeing Burgess Meredith call to Rocky in the ring. On TV the candidates seem bold and composed, but when you’re in the room you see how needful of support and encouragement they are."
Last night Movies!, channel 113 on Cablevision in NYC, ran a musical I'd never seen: The Girl Can't Help It (1956). It stars Edmund O'Brien as a down and out gangster who hires an agent, Tom Ewell, who has fallen on hard times, to promote his beautiful but untalented girlfriend, Jayne Mansfield, who would rather be the mom of a big family similar to the one from which she comes. The slim, wacky story is padded by appearances by Little Richard, Gene Vincent, Eddie Cochran, Fats Domino, the Platters and others. The best of these is by Julie Wilson, who was supposedly represented and loved by Ewell's character, a novel idea. Drunk, Ewell puts one of Wilson's albums on his turntable, and her image haunts him wherever he turns as Cry Me a River, Wilson's most enduring track, plays. O'Brien seems to be having a great time in his over the top performance, singing and dancing during the final number. The film has echoes of The Seven-Year Itch (1955), which also starred Ewell, and Marilyn Monroe, who was regarded as Mansfield's natural rival; and Born Yesterday (1950), the classic starring Broderick Crawford, Judy Holliday and William Holden. It was directed by Frank Tashlin, who, writing and directing, had great success with Bob Hope, Martin and Lewis, and Jerry Lewis' solo flicks. The color by Deluxe is appropriately lush. Mansfield, whose singing was dubbed by Eileen Wilson, acquitted herself well and looked scrumptious. I don't know that I'd ever seen more than a few minutes of her work prior to this. I was surprised by her smoothness, as it had always seemed she was a Hollywood creation rather than a bonafide talent. Unfortunately, she didn't have the time to prove herself, as she was killed in a car accident in 1967 at 34. I wouldn't say the flick is good, but it has charm.
My thanks to the gentleman who grew up in Salt Lake City, who asked which of my books was the best and, warned of its politically incorrect nature, still bought Killing. Thanks also to the gentleman who purchased the book on 88 great jazz pianists.
Vic's 5th Novel: http://tinyurl.com/okxkwh5Vic's 4th novel: tinyurl.com/bszwlxh
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Vic's Short Story Collection: http://www.tiny.cc/Oycgb
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Vic's 1st Novel: http://tinyurl.com/l84h63j
Vic's Rom-Com Screenplay: http://tinyurl.com/kny5llp
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