Upon watching Holiday Inn...

[ceebeegee]

...Bing Crosby and Marjorie Reynolds have absolutely NO chemistry whatsoever in the scenes after they first meet. They're cute enough when she comes to the Inn and they do the "I'm Linda Mason!" "Alright, you're a fake and I'm a phony" exchange. But once they sing "White Christmas" in the first reel, they're just not interesting together. But she's great with Fred Astaire (who, for a dancer, is a damn good character actor). I love his delivery on this:

Lila Dixon: [about Jim] He gets a look.
Ted Hanover: He always has that look! It's nothing. It has something to do with his...liver.

And this:

Ted Hanover: I like it here...with you and Linda.

He just sounds so deliciously smarmy on something on the last phrase.

I'm surprised they didn't do St. Patrick's Day--they do three February holdiays but nothing for March. I'd've traded Washington's Birthday out for that one--they could've had a theme of "I Just Got Lucky" or something.

*Sigh* What a great movie (minus the, uh, unfortunate staging of the first February holiday which is usually cut when it airs on TV). So cozily perfect for the holidays.

Comments

[dry-2olives.livejournal.com]

I may have told you this before, but one time I was on a flight and they showed Holiday Inn with the blackface number included. It was a red-eye so hopefully there were few people watching.

[wonderpanther.livejournal.com]

When I saw Holiday Inn for the first time I was so confused by the blackface number. I was really little and my Dad had to explain to me what it was and why it was offensive. I remember being confused about why people would do that for entertainment.

[ceebeegee.livejournal.com]

I saw it the first time on TBS (?--I think) in the '90s and my jaw literally dropped open. My mother said even at the time the movie was made, it was a little off--it certainly was not common practice then.

Blackface and the art of racist f*ckwads...

[neoscribe.livejournal.com]

There is also a very off putting blackface number in the Marx Brothers "A Day At The Races". AH, that crazy early 20th century! Sometimes (even today) I think human beings aren't happy as a whole unless they are singling out and making fun of some race, culture or religious belief. To quote Cornelius from the original Planet Of The Apes, "Beware the beast man, for he is the devils pawn"
But back to Holiday Inn, Fred Astaire's drunk dancing is my favorite part. You can see where John Ritter got all his moves. ;-)

Re: Blackface and the art of racist f*ckwads...

[ceebeegee.livejournal.com]

He was terrific in that scene. I love it when he's walking through the crowd and that guys's hand keeps flying out and he is waving at it and finally grabs it to shake it. I also love his Firecracker dance.

[king-duncan.livejournal.com]

I remember being confused about the lack of St. Patrick's, too- but then that was subsumed in my mind still being boggled by OMG BLACKFACE!

[dry-2olives.livejournal.com]

This thread got me wondering if TV stations still broadcast the famous I Love Lucy episode where Little Ricky is born. In the show, Ricky gets word that Lucy is in labor while he's at the club performing an "African Revue." He arrives at the hospital in blackface and an elaborate native costume and has trouble convincing hospital staff that he's the father.

All in the Family paid homage to this episode when Gloria gave birth. Archie's lodge was putting on a minstrel show (he called it a menstrual show) and when he arrived at the hospital he was in blackface wearing a Mr. Tambo type outfit.

[ceebeegee.livejournal.com]

Oh my Lord. *forehead hits palm of hand* In the '50s? They aired that in the '50s?

[dry-2olives.livejournal.com]

The All in the Family episode was in the 70's.

[ceebeegee.livejournal.com]

No, I meant the ILL episode.

[dry-2olives.livejournal.com]

Yes, but what I meant was that if it was unbelieveable to have an episode like that in the 50's it was even more so to have one in the 70's.

When the Lucy episode first aired it was seen on 72% of all television sets in the country.

[ceebeegee.livejournal.com]

Actually you got away with a LOT more in the '70s because almost always it was spoofing or implicitly criticizing that attitude. Remember the Chevy Chase/Richard Pryor SNL skit (http://snltranscripts.jt.org/75/75ginterview.phtml) where they threw out not only the N-word but a bunch of others? You could *never* get away with that today, even if it was meant as parody or criticism. And what about Blazing Saddles? The '70s were just different.

If Archie was dressed that way, then it was seen as bigoted, because Archie had been established as a bigoted character. But Ricky was a much more sympathetic character, so it's worse that he's dressed like that--they really did know better in the '50s.

[dry-2olives.livejournal.com]

Yes, you're absolutely right. I think the late 60's/early 70's was a zenith time for American comedy. People were more willing to look for the meaning behind words and actions rather than to just condemn them in any context. People began understanding what Lenny Bruce was saying about not giving words the power to hurt us.