CBS: The Alfred Hitchcock Hour- The Lonely Hours, From 1963

Source: CBS- Gena Rowlands-

Source: This piece was originally posted at The New Democrat Plus

The Lonely Hours is about a couple that has a spare room to rent. Even though we never see the husband in this show. But this couple with Gena Rowlands playing the wife have three kids together. A women who sees their ad in the paper I guess played by Nancy Kelly, stops by to rent the room at the Henderson’s house. She also ends up becoming the kids babysitter even though Mrs. Henderson has done no research on the women who is renting her bedroom. And has no idea who she is, about her history and what she’s doing there.

Nancy Kelly plays a very lonely women who almost falls in love with the Henderson baby. Sounds strange but loves this baby so much that she now believes the baby is actually hers and even kidnaps the baby. And that is what Mrs. Henderson finally wakes up and realizes that the new women is not right and something really bad is going and sets out find her and get her baby back. Gena Rowlands not only looks like a goddess on this show with her hot baby-face looks and tall sexy body. But she’s also a hell of an actress and does a great job of playing the loving mother protecting her family from a sick dangerous women.
Stina Drabowski: Gena Rowlands Interview

Lenny Kravitz: Video: Dream, Martin Luther King Day

This post was originally posted at The New Democrat on WordPress

I think it is pretty clear that within the last few weeks, months if not year of Dr. King’s life that he knew his time was coming to an end and it was just a matter of time. That he already had been sentenced to death by Anglo racists and if wasn’t James Ray that assassinated him, some other racist asshole to put it frankly was going to nail him. And that Dr. King wasn’t going to do whatever possible to simply stay alive, because he wanted to use his time to get his message out as much as possible. He made that clear in his last speech the night before he was killed about he’s seen the promise land and that he might not get there with you. But his dream is still alive thanks to him and over forty-five years later we’re closer to racial quality and racial tolerance than we ever have been as a country.

Julie Skyhigh: ‘Smokin in Met Skinny Jeans in Skyhigh Suede Boots’

Source:Lucina Rochelle- Julie Skyhigh, smokin in Met skinny jeans in boots.

Source:The New Democrat

“Woman Smoking Cigar skyhigh smoking in suede boots and fitted MET jeans” 

From Lucina Rochelle 

Interesting video. Beautiful woman in skinny Met denim jeans, in suede boots, with a beautiful jacket, smoking a cigar. I understand the skinny jeans in suede boots look. I’m one of the biggest fans of that and one of the earliest fans of that when it came back into style in 2005. After disappearing when it came into style originally in the late 1970s as part of the designer jeans revolution.

It’s the smoking with a cigar and the need that some women seem to have to show themselves smoking in skinny jeans. I’m not a fan of smoking and I’m not a smoker, but that’s not what I don’t understand about that. It’s the fact that this is no longer the 1960s or 1970s, 1980s even. When you almost had to smoke at least in celebrity and entertainment culture to be considered cool.

Smoking has been going out of style since the 1990s or so with all the bad information that we have about the dangers of tobacco. And yet some women seem to think it’s cool to be seen smoking with jeans and smoking with jeans and boots. If you want to continue to look sexy in skinny jeans and boots, then give up the tobacco and you’ll make that easier, because you’ll age slower. Along with staying in shape.

Jim Morrison Project: Jim Morrison's 1967 Shelby Mustang- 'Best Quality'

Source:The Free State MD Plus- The Lizard King Jim Morrison. 

Source:The New Democrat 

“Jim Morrison driving his 1967 Shelby G.T. 500. The clip is from the film “When You’re Strange” (directed by Tom DiCillo) which is in turn borrowed from the movie “HWY: An American Pastoral” which Jim made in 1969 with some friends (Paul Ferrara, Babe Hill, and Frank Lisciandro). This footage is considerably clearer than my previous post of Jim driving the car. Go full screen with this clip, the resolution is killer. You can even see dust on the car it’s so crisp and clear.

I did a lot of research on the Shelby and all indications are it was trashed after Jim hit a telephone pole when he was drunk. He had clipped it before, but on that occasion he bent the frame, ending his time with The Blue Lady (his name for the car). Jim met the same fate as the Shelby two years later, though some think he’s still alive. It’s kind of fitting as some people are convinced this car still exists. Maybe he’s still driving it?

Shelby fans, note the car has no front grille emblem, no trunk emblem, small lettered Speedway 350 tires, uneven, hammered rear exhaust outlets, comfortweave seats, fender mounted antenna, and half the molding on the driver’s side taillight is missing. LOL. Best of all, it’s a 4-speed nightmist blue car with parchment interior and 10-spoke wheels. He knew how to pick ’em, huh? That’s the way I would have ordered it. If only you could go back in time!

I posted an almost identical clip about 4 years ago but something eventually happened with the formatting and as a result it looked like garbage. I deleted it after posting this newer, better, and even clearer clip even though the old one had about 225,000 views and 300 comments. This clip should be formatted correctly and in HD and will undoubtedly be ripped off by others just as my previous post was. So much for ingenuity. I’ve kept another post up which also features the car and includes the stock audio from “HWY” but the video quality lacks. Regardless, a nightmist blue parchment interior ’67 G.T. 500 4-speed car just like Jim’s sold at Barrett-Jackson auctions for $440,000 in January, 2015. Who would have ever believed it?” 

Source:Toodlem- Jim Morrison in his 1967 Shelby Ford Mustang.

From Toodlem

This video was part of a 2010 PBS film about The Doors, really about Jim Morrison and The Doors, which what really drew my interest to the film that I have on dvd. And this is how the film starts off, with The Lizard King taking to the highway I believe in Southern California desert. And he starts off hitchhiking and someone in a Shelby Mustang, great car by the way, picks him up and somehow which is not shown in film, The Lizard King ends up with the car and driving the car.

Only The Lizard King would wear skin-tight black leather jeans in the California desert, but that is one thing that made him The Lizard King. And the original film I believe from 1969 I believe was part of Morrison needing a break from the music business and perhaps The Doors as a whole. And that is what they show with Lizard King hitting the road and seeing what life if like outside of his world. And its a good little film, the 1969 version and the 2010 PBS version Strange Days is even better and it shows this part in that film.

HD Retro Trailers: ‘Tony Rome (1967) Original Trailer’- Featuring Frank Sinatra, Jill St. John, Gena Rowlands, Sue Lyon

Source:HD Retro Trailers- Frank Sinatra and Jill St. John, starring in Tomy Rome.

Source:The New Democrat 

“The original trailer in high definition of Tony Rome directed by Gordon Douglas and starring Frank Sinatra, Jill St. John, Richard Conte, Gena Rowlands, Simon Oakland and Jeffrey Lynn.”

From HD Retro Trailers

Source:The Daily Journal- Tony Rome & Fat Candy, LOL! 

Wow! Jill St. John, Gena Rowlands, Sue Lyon, I mean this movie is a freakin baby-face fest. Three hot sexy baby-face goddess’ in the same movie. This movie could’ve been, well garbage ( to keep it clean ) but as long as Jill, Gena and Sue looked the way that they did and were as good as they were in the movie, I would’ve still watched and recorded and seen it over and over as much as I have already have. But take the baby-face goddess’ out of this movie and you still have one hell of a detective moving involving pi’s and the police.

Tony Rome plays a former cop now turned private detective now living in Miami, who is somewhat of a underachiever and lazy as a detective. And when not working cases prefers to make his money the easy way. I mean the man lives on a boat that he won in a card game, for crying out loud. He’s a gambler and a bit of a hustler, but people around him respect him and know how good of a detective he is. And that’s how he gets his latest client, well really clients, the Klosterman’s.

This movie starts with Rome played by Frank Sinatra getting a call from Ralph Turpin his ex-partner ( played by Robert Wilkie ) who is now the house detective at a Miami hotel. Turpin finds a young hot baby-face adorable woman Diana Pines. ( pPayed by Sue Lyon ) As drunk as Jim Morrison on a four-week binge lying dead asleep in bed. Turpin also discovers who she is by going through her identification. The daughter of the biggest real estate developer in South Florida Rudy Klosterman. ( played by Simon Oakland ) Turpin doesn’t want to drive Diana home and deal with Klosterman, because Turpin is a bit of a crook and doesn’t want any further trouble.

That is where Rome comes him because Turpin calls his ex-partner Rome down to the hotel to drive her home and not release the name of the hotel and gives him two-hundred bucks for it. Diana’s father is really upset and worried about his daughter and wants to know what is wrong with her. And hires Rome to find out. Turns out Diana is missing a diamond pin that is supposed to be worth a thousand-dollars or something, but the pin is really made of glass and worth twenty-bucks instead. Every person that Rome works for in this movie is somehow either involved in organized crime, or has friends who are.

Every time Rome gets close to something, someone dies and the evidence leads back to him. So he has both organized crime and Miami police after him. Because the mob lets say wants the pin that they believe is worth thousands of dollars, even though it is really worth a couple cheap lunches if that. But Rome keeps getting closer and keeps digging until he finally solves the case. If you like great writing, action, drama, gorgeous, baby-face adorable women and comedy, you’ll love Tony Rome because it has all of that plus a lot more.

Documentaries Forever: Video: PBS's Frontline, Lee Harvey Oswald

This post was originally posted at The New Democrat on WordPress

I think Robert Blakey had the best line about Lee Harvey Oswald in this film. Where he said “Lee Oswald was a mystery inside of a riddle, wrapped around an enigma.” I think he was exactly that, which is why you can see why someone who was pretty intelligent, born growing up in a liberal democracy that America is and yet he decides to defect to Soviet Russia. The largest and worst totalitarian country the world has ever produced. Why would a mentally healthy intelligent person do that. He obviously wasn’t all there upstairs and perhaps saw things that weren’t there.

In his entire twenty-four years on Earth, he had at best a handful of friends, including his wife who was from Russia. He moves to Russia and figures out fairly quickly like any intelligent person would that hadn’t been brainwashed, that Russia and their Soviet system, might not be the best way for him to live. That even a devout Communist or Marxist needed some personal and perhaps even economic autonomy over their own affairs. And comes back to America in the late 1950s early 1960s when Fidel Castro’s Communists had just taken over Cuba. And learns about Castro’s Cuba and decided that maybe the Castro communist system was the way to go.

And this is the time that the Dwight Eisenhower Administration was cracking down on Castro’s Cuba and imposing all sorts of economic sanctions on Cuba. Move into 1961 with Jack Kennedy becoming President of the United States and the Kennedy Administration taking a tough hard-core stance against both Russia and Cuba and now Oswald knows which side he’s on. He likes Cuba’s communist system and doesn’t like America’s liberal democratic system and gets in bed with Communist Cuba. I think its obvious why Oswald assassinated President Kennedy. The question is, was there anyone else involved in the plot to kill Kennedy. Or was Oswald by himself.

Oswald assassinated Kennedy because of the Kennedy Administration’s crackdown on Communist Cuba. Including having the Russian missiles removed from Cuba. Jack Kennedy, Liberal Democrat. Lee Oswald and Fidel Castro Marxist Communists. According to Oswald, they couldn’t live in the same world together for communism to flourish the way he believed it could. Oswald wasn’t going to assassinate Fidel or commit suicide. Which meant that according to him Jack Kennedy had to go. Now the only question is was there anyone else behind the plot.

Sony Pictures: California Suite (1978) A Movie About The Roller Coaster of Life

Source:Sony Pictures- Holy smokes, Batman! The Chevy Caprice overheated! LOL

Source:The New Democrat 

“CALIFORNIA SUITE is the story of five couples who have come to the Beverly Hills Hotel for diverse reasons and who must all confront some rather amusing personal dilemmas. Sidney Cochran (Michael Caine) becomes the victim of wife Diana’s (Maggie Smith) outrage when she misses.” 

From Sony Home Pictures Entertainment

“Four totally different and separate stories of guests staying at the Beverly Hills Hotel. Diane Barrie (Dame Maggie Smith) and Sidney Cochran (Sir Michael Caine) come from England to attend the Oscars; Hannah Warren (Jane Fonda) comes from New York City, Bill Warren (Alan Alda) is her ex who lives in California; in the slapstick part, Dr. Willis Panama (Bill Cosby), Dr. Chauncey Gump (Richard Pryor), and their wives come to the hotel to relax and play tennis, only to find there is only one room vacant; in the fourth segment, Marvin Michaels (Walter Matthau) arrives a day before his wife for his nephew’s Bar Mitzvah, while his brother Harry (Herb Edelman) sends a prostitute to his room. Written by Jonathan (jrd@netvision.net.il)” 

Source:IMDB- the cast from California Suite.

From IMDB 

I’m sorry, I wish I could’ve found a better video that would’ve shown all three couples, or groups in this movie that would’ve given you a better idea about what this great romantic comedy is about. But I guess you’re going to have to take my word for it, or see the movie yourself.

This is one my favorite comedies of all-time that I saw again on Friday in preparation to write this piece. This is one of the smartest written and funniest written comedies of all-time, with one of the funniest casts that you could put in a movie. People who should all be in the Comedy Hall of Fame, when you’re talking about Bill Cosby, Richard Pryor, Walter Matthau, Alan Alda, Michael Caine, and Jane Fonda.

California Suite is about four out-of-town couples coming to Los Angeles. There, should I go on, is there really anything else you need to know about this movie, I mean isn’t that enough, can I retire now? Fine, I’ll go on, but it is about three out-of-town couples coming to Los Angeles for sort of a little vacation.

You have an African-American foursome coming to LA from Chicago. A Jewish-American couple from Philadelphia to attend a, well Bar Mitzvah. (What else) And then there’s a divorced couple. The woman coming from New York and the man coming from the San Francisco area. And they are meeting in Los Angeles for some reason and they are meeting to talk about their daughter’s future. Apparently little Sally doesn’t like living with Mom and wants to live with Dad instead.

The divorced couple played by Alan Alda and Jane Fonda is interesting to me for several reasons and I will give you a few of them. One, the humor in the movie matches Al and Jane, (let’s call them) very well. It is as if the humor in this movie was written for them as far as all the sarcasm and quick-witted jabs and one-liners they deliver in the movie.

Alda and Fonda have a very similar sense of humor in real life, if not the exact same humor and they are both great comedic actors. It’s as if Alda is doing this movie on M*A*S*H as far as the humor between him and Jane. Jane Fonda has a great line in this movie where she tells Bill her ex-husband: “Billy you’re not a hopeless romantic. You’re even worst: you’re a hopeful one.” Sounds like a line she could’ve come up with on her own.

Then there’s the Chicago couple where Bill Cosby and Richard Pryor, well their characters that is take their wives out to Los Angeles from Chicago on vacation. They are both doctors and best friends and yet they try to kill each other in this movie.

If you are familiar with the movie Planes, Trains and Automobiles, you’ll love this part of California Suite as well. But this time the two men don’t just know each other, but they are best friends and have their wives with them. It is was one disaster after another for them in LA. Starting first in a rental car coming from the airport to their Beverly Hills hotel. The car overheats and they have to pull over and they all get out, but lock the keys in the car. And it just gets worst for them after that.

Then the couple from Philadelphia played by Walter Matthau and Elaine May. For some reason they fly to Los Angeles separately and the Matthau character meets up with his brother who he hasn’t seen in like forever. His brother played by Herb Edelman, I guess is single and perhaps coming off his fifth divorce and is a playboy. And gets his brother drunk at dinner and sets him up with a hooker to be there for his brother when he gets back to his hotel room. They get drunk together again and do God knows what. The next morning he can’t wake his hooker up and wife is on the way and you can imagine the type of problems he’s now dealing with. And it is really Walter Matthau at his funniest.

This is not a movie for people who only like cookie-cutter humor and need to of heard a joke like ten times from late night TV or their favorite comedians or sitcoms, or whatever before they can understand the one-liner and smart ass cracks in the movie.

And the humor in this movie also moves very fast with one great one-liner after another. So you not only need to pay attention to what you’re hearing, but do it quickly, because another quick joke is on the way. Played with I’m sure a lot of comedic improv in it as well, especially in a comedy that has Walter Matthau, Bill Cosby and Richard Pryor in it. And I believe is one of the best comedies of all-time.

Lyndon B. Johnson: The Accidental President

Source:The New Democrat

The Accidental President, I think I would find that insulting if I was Lyndon Johnson with all of his experience and qualifications to be President of the United States. And even though Vice President Johnson wasn’t a very active Vice President, because the Jack Kennedy White House kept him in hiding with very little if any responsibility as the 2nd Ranking Officer in the U.S. Government, he was still Vice President of the United States.

And according to the U.S. Constitution if the President can’t or doesn’t full fill their term as President and leaves office voluntarily or involuntarily, as was the case with President Kennedy, the Vice President takes over and becomes President of the United States. There was no accident to LBJ becoming President. He was Vice President at the time when President Kennedy was assassinated and JFK was assassinated as President of the United States. No accident in how LBJ became President of the United States and he was overwhelmingly elected President of the United States in 1964.

TCM: Kelsey Grammer- Tribute to Lauren Bacall

Source:TCM- Bogie and Slim in To Have and Have Not.

Source:The New Democrat 

“TCM Tribute to Lauren Bacall.” 

From TCM

There are Hollywood goddesses, gorgeous sexy women who are also very good entertainers who come around and then burn out and leave town. Marilyn Monroe and Jayne Mansfield unfortunately come to mind real fast.

And then are Hollywood actress’s who at least in my opinion are overrated, both as actress’s, but also how they physically present themselves and how they look. I won’t name anyone right now, but there are several young actress’s that come to mind who fit this category.

And there are also actress’s who have these characteristics who stay around forever and I at least can’t wait till they retire, so I can stop hearing about how great they are, when I know they aren’t.

And then there are actress’s who have the same qualities as the first group of actress’s, but what makes them different? What they have in common is that they are Hollywood goddesses. They are gorgeous, they are sexy, they are incredibly cute, adorable really. But they aren’t good or very good entertainers and they don’t burn out and die young.

They were built to last and did last, because they just don’t look great, but they are great. Their minds and brains matches their physical beauty and they were born to entertain and do it very well for a very long time.

The third group of women that I mentioned, Lauren Bacall could be the president of that class. She is a Hollywood goddess of all-time, because she was a Hollywood goddess for what sixty-five years. From when he was discovered in the mid-1940s or so and managed to stay around racking up one great role and movie one after the other for that entire time.

I believe Liz Taylor is the best actress of all time, at least from what I’ve seen. But the difference between Lauren and Liz might be smaller than my pinky. And I wouldn’t pick anyone else ahead of Lauren.

Kelsey Grammer already nailed this in the video, but Lauren Bacall had this presence, that I believe is unmatched and even as she got older, she still had it. And every time I’ve seen her and those incredible facial expressions or the way she would say certain things with her beautiful New York accent, she’s always made me go, aw! Every time I’ve seen or heard her.

This incredible, intelligent, funny, great gorgeous baby-face goddess that has always put me in aw every time I’ve seen her in everything that she’s ever done. The Hollywood goddess of all-time and it’s just a damn shame she had to pass.

Iron Cup Shrug: Point Blank (1967) Lee Marvin vs. Angie Dickinson

Source: Iron Cup Shrug- Hollywood stud Lee Marvin in Point Blank. 

Source:The New Democrat 

“While physically outmatched, Angie proves to have a canny tactical mind.” 

From Iron Cup Shrug

Source:Alamy Stock Photo- Angie Dickinson vs Lee Marvin in Point Blank.

One of my favorite scenes in this movie and because it was Lee Marvin with Angie Dickinson. And I’m a huge fan of this movie, which I’ve hoped I’ve already made clear by now, otherwise I’ve done a horrible job.

But Angie Dickinson is a big reason why I love this movie and why I saw it in the first place. She’s not just a gorgeous sexy baby-face woman, one of the top Hollywood goddess’ of all-time, but she’s also a hell of an actress with a great sweet sexy voice. That would make reading from a dishwasher manual or a phonebook sound interesting simply because’s she’s reading from it.

And here in this scene Angie is one on one with Lee Marvin. And he brings her up to this place, really for her own security. Probably more likely, because he wants to keep an eye on her. But she thinks he has more honest and romantic intentions and that perhaps this house is their weekend getaway or something. But he makes it clear that is isn’t and she goes ballistic and goes off on him. Well she tries to anyway and slaps the hell out of him on his chest.

But Walker being the stone-cold criminal that he is, isn’t phased in the least by it. And basically just looks at her like, “what the hell is she doing” or something. And this is simply a great scene.