"The Best of the Dean Martin Variety Show" - (2001)

Sit back and get ready to enjoy the shortest hour ever in front of your television. Dean Martin was a very unusual guy, with very unusual demands to be met if he were to even do the show that the network pitched at him. He was not expected to rehearse, could choose his guests, and not even sing if he felt so inclined. You would've expected the network to turn him down, and you would have been wrong.

This was 1965, the year after Dino had boasted to his son that “I’m gonna knock the Beatles off the charts” in the summer of 1964, as the country; indeed the world; was in the throes of Beatlemania. And guess what? Not only did he make good on that promise; with the smash recording “Everybody Loves Somebody Sometime”; but The Dean Martin Show was still on the air 5 years after the Beatles had released their last album in 1970.

In this fast paced collection of some of the finest moments from the show Dean performs with old pal Frank Sinatra, Ann Margaret, Jack Benny and more. But the best bit on here is the lesson provided by Victor Borge on how to sing musical notations, using sounds for commas, colons, and quotation marks to name a few. Now, this was Mr. Borge's  original skit, and it's really fantastic how quickly Dino adapts to the routine, even adding a few “notations” of his own in the bargain.

If you are a Dean Martin fan; or even if you have never seen him perform before; this will be one of the fastest hours you have ever spent in front of your television. And, whether you are young or old, this will have you longing for the return of the old variety shows which used to dominate TV land.

"Moby Dick" with Gregory Peck (1956)

Many people over the years have asked why Moby Dick is an essential part of American literature. I’m always amazed at the question, since the story is not only a biblical analogy of good versus evil in the most classic sense; but also a uniquely American story; written by Herman Melville, one of our nation’s first native born authors of note, and a former sailor to boot.

In addition it is also a thinly disguised political tale which centers about the killing of a white whale. This whale represents the evil of the white race. Indeed that evil, embodied by the whale, had already cost Ahab a portion of his body, just as the coming Civil War would cost the nation a portion of its own. The righteousness of the Abolitionist Movement; when juxtaposed against the evil restrictions of slavery; both resemble the destruction wrought by Moby Dick, as Ahab and his fellow human beings attempt to destroy an evil which they themselves have created.

I’m not the biggest fan of any film version of this classic novel, as nothing could ever live up to the imagery and tension of the book. And, I’m not a snob in that respect. I do believe some books are better presented as movies; not often; but sometimes. A good example would be Hemingway’s “To Have and Have Not”, which sucked in book form, but when re-written for the screen, shone like the sun. But, if you have to watch any version of Moby Dick, then this is the one which I recommend the most.

From the acting to the direction, and the short appearance by Orson Welles as the Preacher, this movie does the novel some justice. Although it appears to have been made cheaply, if you ignore the sets and concentrate on the acting, then you will be quite satisfied with this screen adaptation.

A few of the original monologues have been excised, or altered in some form, but that does not really hurt the overall message which Melville was trying to impart. Basically, good; when taken too far; can become as evil as that which you are trying to destroy; and in the end, you wind up destroying only yourself. That’s heavy stuff, but true. And, by the way, I still don’t know what it is about this book that turns people off. 

Anton Karas - "The Third Man Theme"

I was looking to download the audio from the 78 RPM recording of "The Third Man Theme", from the movie of the same name, when I ran into this on the first shot. It runs about 1 minute longer than the commercially recorded version, but that's just a bonus as far as I'm concerned.

Not only does this song represent one of my favorite movies, it also reminds me of how I felt the first time I heard this record. And I heard it long before I saw the movie. My Mom and Dad had a lot of records. This was one of them; I can still see the blue label spinning at 78 RPM's and I remember the day my brother, or I, broke it.

Watching this little film of Mr. Karas playing sent me to Wikipedia, where I found the following information about him. He was always somewhat more of a mystery to me than "The Third Man" film itself, so I don't want to know too much about him. It would take away from the exotic sound of his zither playing, perhaps forever altering the way I view the film! I can't take that chance. So, I'll stick to basics.

He was born in Vienna of Hungarian and Czechoslovakian background and had 4 siblings.His father was a factory worker. Anton, his two brothers and sisters, all learned to play music, in spite of their relative poverty. At age 12 Anton found a zither in his grandmother's attic, and learned to play that. Through this humble beginning a legendary piece of music would someday emerge.

He began his apprenticeship as a tool and die maker at age of 14, but never stopped taking music lessons. From 1924 until 1925 he worked in a car factory, but economic conditions soon put an end to that, which drove him back to the University, and a career which would eventually lead to "The Third Man Theme."

From 1939–1945 he was employed by the Nazi's German Wehrmacht, working in anti-aircraft warfare, for a while stationed in Russia. But he never left his zither behind, taking it with him when he went to war. He reportedly went through several zithers during this period.

In 1948 Carol Reed was in Vienna to shoot "The Third Man" and after hearing Karas play at a cafe, he commissioned him to do the title track for the film. This was Karas' first attempt at composing music on his own. He went to London, living with Reed while writing the score. He hated every minute of it.

The success of the film score made Mr. Karas well off and he didn't do too much in the way of touring, beyond a few Command Performances for Royalty around Europe. But again, I don't want to know too much about the man. His fingers are more than capable of communicating all that I ever really need to know.

"He Walked By Night" with Richard Basehart and Jack Webb

This is the film that gave birth to the TV series "Dragnet" with Jack Webb. He even has a small part in this movie. The opening sequence of the TV show, with the Los Angeles Police Station and the voice over, are identical.

The film takes place in Los Angeles, shot on locations around the city, and involves a criminal named Erwin Walker, a brilliant thief and somewhat of a sociopath. The real kicker here is that this is a true story.

At the close of World War Two, Erwin Walker is baffling the police all over Los Angeles as they search for a group of thieves. They are wasting their time. There is only one thief, and that is Mr. Walker, played in the film by Richard Basehart. By altering his modus operandi with each crime, he is able to lead the entire Police Department on a chase that has no apparent conclusion. Until one night, when Mr. Walker makes a mistake, resulting in his fatally shooting a Los Angeles Police Officer.

The investigation becomes a "Dragnet", as the police hunt to find the killer. The investigation leads the two detectives, Sgt. Chuck Jones (Scott Brady) and Marty Brennan (Roy Roberts) to an electronics dealer named Paul Reeves, who is able to put a face to the suspect. With no name to work on, the detectives embark on an exhausting, old fashioned manhunt, knocking on doors and rounding up all the usual suspects.

Released in 1948, only one year after the case was solved, this movie was a real shocker at the time. Richard Basehart, who later on would portray the Captain on "Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea", was never in better form as an actor. His part is played with all the guile and cunning one would expect from the real Mr. Walker.

Mr. Walker's preferred means of escape was through the vast system of Los Angeles' storm drains, which he used to great advantage in alluding the police. The scenes shot inside these tunnels are reminiscent of the sewer scenes in Orson Welles' "The Third Man", which was released the following year, in 1949. One can't help but wonder if Mr. Welles' effort was influenced by the true life crimes of Mr. Walker, or the film about them.

With it's slow moving and methodical pace, this movie is immediately identifiable as the genesis for the later TV show "Dragnet", which first aired in 1952 and made Jack Webb a star.

Mystery Classics

Looking for some old movies to watch? This collection of 50 black and white mysteries from the 1930's through the 1950's contains some of the better Bulldog Drummond series with John Howard, as well as the Sherlock Holmes films, with both Basil Rathbone and Reginald Owen in the lead role. I have always preferred Basil Rathbone.

The collection contains, among others, Peter Lorre as Mr. Moto, John Garfield in "They Made Me a Criminal", Edward G. Robinson in "Scarlett Street", even Orson Welles in "The Stranger." They're all here, nicely packaged and arranged.

Frank Sinatra is taut as a would be assassin in the 1954 film "Suddenly", as he waits to shoot the President. Bela Lugosi is sinister as "The Mysterious Mr. Wong", and of course Nigel Bruce is bemused, as always, while Basil Rathbone takes the measure of the case at hand, solving the seemingly impossible, while making it look so easy!

Even William Powell is here, in the first of the Dashiell Hammett films he would later make so famous with "The Thin Man" series. The film here is one of Mr. Hammett's Philo Vance mysteries.

Looking for a different version of James Cagney? He's here, too, as the only honest Inspector of Weights and Measures in "The Great Guy."

If you like the old black and white mystery films from those rainy afternoons watching TV when you were a bit younger, this collection is made to order for you.

Movie Review- A Man For All Seasons with Paul Scofield and Robert Shaw

I'm not much of a fan of old English Royalty type films. This movie however is an exception. It explores the battle of wills between Sir Thomas Moore and King Henry the Eighth. The battle, of course, stemmed from the King wanting his childless marraige to his wife Anne annulled.

Sir Thomas' silence on the subject was tantamount to a rebuke of the King as well as the hypocrisy of the aristocracy. Retribution was sure to come. And come it does.

With strong performances from Shaw as the King (he positively roars at times)and equally matched by Paul Scofield as his quiet but firmly defiant Royal Adversary,this film will keep you engaged and interested.

The direction keeps the film flowing and the portrayal of Oliver Cromwell by Orson Welles will chill you with it's utter ruthlessness.

This film was first released in 1966 and won the Oscar for Best Picture of the Year. I don't know how I missed this one...

And I hope you don't.