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You are here: AirBeagle » StevePollock.Org » screen

∞ Cary Grant Does Acid

Via «MetaFilter» comes this excerpt from «Cary Grant’s autobiography» … all about his experiments with LSD:

‘… together with a group of other interested Californians — doctors, writers, scientists and artists — and the encouragement of Betsy [Drake], who was interested herself, I underwent a series of controlled experiments with Lysergic Acid, a hallucinogenic chemical or drug known as LSD 25. Experiment is perhaps a misleading word; to most people it signifies patronization and objectivity. For my part I anxiously awaited their personal benefits that could be derived from the experiences, and was quite willing to be less than objective. …
‘LSD 25 is a psychic energizer and the exact opposite in reaction to the addictive drugs and opiates. Indeed, Seconal, or similar sedative, is usually given as an antidote, to quell and offset the effects of LSD 25, if necessary. The action of the chemical releases the subconscious so that it becomes apparent to yourself. So that you can see what transpires in the depth of you mind — and what goes on there you wouldn’t believe, ladies and gentlemen — and learn which misconceptions, guilts and fears, with their resultant repressions, inhibitions and insecurities, have formed the pattern for your past behavior. A successively recurring pattern since childhood.
‘The feeling is that of an unmarshaling of the thoughts as you’ve customarily associated them. The lessening of conscious control, similar to the mental process which takes place when we dream. For example, when you’re asleep and your mind no longer concerned with matters and activities of the day, your subconscious often brings itself to your attention by dreaming. With conscious controls relaxed, those thoughts buried deep inside begin to come to the surface in the form of dreams. These dreams, since they appear to us in symbolic guise, are fantasies and, if you will accept the reasoning, could be classified as hallucinations. Such fantasies, or hallucinations, are inside every one of us, waiting to be released, aired and understood. Dreams are really the emotions that we find ourselves reluctant to examine, think about, or meditate upon, while conscious.’
—FutureHi.Net

Interesting stuff. ★

∞ Passings

Celebre-deaths since I last updated the site:

2007

Werner Hollweg, 1-Jan
Yvonne De Carlo, 8-Jan
Carlo Ponti, 10-Jan
Art Buchwald, 17-Jan
Bob Carroll Jr., 27-Jan
Sidney Sheldon, 30-Jan
Molly Ivins, 31-Jan
Frankie Laine, 6-Feb
Fred Mustard Stewart, 7-Feb
Bernd Freytag von Loringhoven, 27-Feb
Arthur Schlesinger Jr., 28-Feb
John Inman, 8-Mar
Richard Jeni, 10-Mar
Betty Hutton, 11-Mar
Calvert DeForest, 19-Mar
Johnny Hart, 7-Apr
Roscoe Lee Browne, 11-Apr
Kurt Vonnegut, Jr., 11-Apr
Don Ho, 14-Apr
Brant Parker, 15-Apr
Kitty Carlisle, 17-Apr
David Halberstam, 23-Apr
Jack Valenti, 26-Apr
Tom Poston, 30-Apr
Wally Schirra, 3-May
Charles Nelson Reilly, 25-May
Kurt Waldheim, 14-Jun
Gianfranco Ferre, 17-Jun
Beverly Sills, 2-Jul
Boots Randolph, 30Jul
Charles Lane, 9-Jul
Doug Marlette, 10-Jul
Lady Bird Johnson, 11-Jul
Tammy Faye Bakker, 20-Jul
Tom Snyder, 29-Jul
Michelangelo Antonioni, 30-Jul
Ingmar Bergman, 30-Jul
Lee Hazlewood, 4-Aug
Merv Griffin, 12-Aug
Madeleine L’Engle, 6-Sep
Luciano Pavarotti, 6-Sep
Jane Wyman, 10-Sep
Brett Somers, 15-Sep
Alice Ghostley, 21-Sep
Marcel Marceau, 22-Sep
Lois Maxwell, 29-Sep
Deborah Kerr, 16-Oct
Joey Bishop, 17-Oct
Chef Tell, 26-Oct
Porter Wagoner, 28-Oct
Robert Goulet, 30-Oct
Paul Tibbets, 1-Nov
Laraine Day, 10-Nov
Norman Mailer, 10-Nov
Delbert Mann, 11-Nov
Ira Levin, 12-Nov
Evel Knievel, 30-Nov
Ike Turner, 12-Dec
Floyd ‘Red Crow’ Westerman, 13-Dec
Dan Fogelberg, 16-Dec
Frank Capra Jr., 19-Dec ★

∞ Screening Room — 8-Dec-07

Cast & Crew — Bette Davis, Ann Sheridan, Monty Woolley, Richard Travis, Jimmy Durante, Billie Burke. Director: William Keighley

Synopsis — ‘Lecturer Sheridan Whiteside slips on the ice on his way into the home of a prominent Ohio family. The Dr. says Whiteside must remain confined having broken his leg. He begins to meddle with the lives of everyone in the household and, once his plots are underway, learns there is nothing wrong with his leg. He bribes the doctor. The owner discovers the fraud, but Whiteside blackmails him (he finds out that the owner’s sister is an axe murderer) and resumes control.‘ — IMDb.com

Runtime — 112 minutes

Release — 1942

Rating — Four Stars

Format — TCM via DVR

Quote — ‘Is there a man in the world who suffers as I do from the gross inadequacies of the human race?‘ — Sheridan Whiteside (Monty Woolley)

‘I am not only walking out on this case, Mr. Whiteside, I am leaving the nursing profession. I became a nurse because all my life, ever since I was a little girl, I was filled with the idea of serving a suffering humanity. After one month with you , Mr. Whiteside, I am going to work in a munitions factory. From now on , anything I can do to help exterminate the human race will fill me with the greatest of pleasure. If Florence Nightingale had ever nursed YOU, Mr. Whiteside, she would have married Jack the Ripper instead of founding the Red Cross!‘ —Nurse Preen (Mary Wickes)

Links — «IMDb» | «Rotten Tomatoes»

Why — Because I’m recovering from surgery. Too bad, because this was so funny, but it hurt to laugh. Superb. Monty Woolley calling Bette Davis a ‘simpering Sappho’ and telling her to ‘stop acting like Zasu Pitts’ was priceless. ★

∞ Screening Room — 28-Nov-07

Cast & Crew — Lew Ayres, Lionel Barrymore, Laraine Day, Shepperd Strudwick, Alma Kruger. Director: Harold S. Bucquet

Synopsis — ‘Young Dr. Kildare is still being trained at General Hospital by old, crusty Dr. Gillespie. This time, he tries to rehabilitate Gregory Lane, a brain surgeon depressed over losing too many patients (and incidentally Kildare’s romantic rival for nurse Mary Lamont). Lane’s losing streak takes a new turn when one of his patients survives…but seems to be insane. Or is the man’s strange obsession with Friday the clue to a mystery? To find out, Kildare must take a terrible risk.‘ — IMDb.com

Runtime — 77 minutes

Release — 1940

Rating — Three Stars

Format — TCM

Quote — ‘Nurses are just like husbands. You can abuse them, insult them, work ‘em to death, jump all over ‘em. They’ll take it. But give ‘em a bad cup of coffee and you got a revolution on your hands.‘ — Nurse Molly Byrd (Alma Kruger)

Links — «IMDb» | «Rotten Tomatoes»

Why — Because there wasn’t anything else on TV this morning. Because I like old hospital dramas and had never seen any of the Dr. Kildare movies. Interesting injection of medical fact into melodrama, much like M*A*S*H would do later. This was a reasonably enjoyable way to spend breakfast time. ★

∞ Screening Room — 27-Nov-07

Cast & Crew — Jane Horrocks, Brenda Blethyn, Michael Caine, Ewan McGregor, Jim Broadbent, Annette Badland, Philip Jackson. Director: Mark Herman

Synopsis — ‘In a dreary English seaside town, one of its timid inhabitants, known as LV (Little Voice), mourns over her dead father and obsesses over his record collection by singing along to his favorite performers. Her rare talents for emulating the dulcet tones of Judy Garland, Marilyn Monroe and Shirley Bassey are soon discovered by her dominant mother’s boyfriend, a small-time showbiz agent. Their attempts to propel her to stardom are at first successful when the local town gets to see her perform. However, LV is soon wise to their selfish intentions and withdraws from performing again, thus forcing an emotional showdown between the three.‘ — RottenTomatoes.com

Runtime — 96 minutes

Release — 1998

Rating — Four Stars

Format — DVR from the Retro Channel

Quote — ‘What’s up with you lots, never had a shag in a Chevy?‘ — Mari Hoff (Brenda Blethyn)

Links — «IMDb» | «Review» | «Rotten Tomatoes»

Why — Because every once in awhile I like to revisit that innocent time period called the 90s. And because Jane Horrocks (Bubble from Absolutely Fabulous) is simply amazing in this, as is Brenda Blethyn. It’s a little British gem that I hadn’t ever heard of until a friend bought the DVD. We need to see more of Jane! ★

∞ Screening Room — 16-Nov-07

«How to Frame a Figg» (1971).

Cast & Crew — Don Knotts, Joe Flynn, Elaine Joyce, Edward Andrews, Yvonne Craig. Director: Alan Rafkin

Synopsis — ‘A naive stooge becomes a dupe for a bunch of crooked small-town politicians. Although Hollis Figg claims to have a lot of influence at city hall, he is actually nothing more than an assistant bookkeeper. He dreams of getting Ema Letha Kusic, a pretty waitress, to go out with him, but has been unable to find the courage to actually ask her out for a date.‘ — RottenTomatoes.com

Runtime — 1 hour, 43 minutes

Rating — Three Stars

Format — DVD

Why — I needed some background noise. And a fix from my 60s comedies stash. And Don Knotts is underrated. ★

∞ Fresh Start

I have apparently lost all entries in the old Screen blog (with one or two exceptions), so have to start afresh. Sigh. ★

∞ Robert Altman Passes

In Celebre-Death news, «Robert Altman passes on»:

‘Robert Altman, the caustic and irreverent satirist behind “M-A-S-H,”“Nashville” and “The Player” who made a career out of bucking Hollywood management and story conventions, died at a Los Angeles Hospital, his Sandcastle 5 Productions Company said Tuesday. He was 81. The director died Monday night, Joshua Astrachan, a producer at Altman’s Sandcastle 5 Productions in New York City, told The Associated Press. The cause of death wasn’t disclosed. A news release was expected later in the day, Astrachan said. A five-time Academy Award nominee for best director, most recently for 2001’s “Gosford Park,” he finally won a lifetime achievement Oscar in 2006.’
—SFGate.com

Hotlips O’Houlihan: ‘This isn’t a hospital. It’s an insane asylum. And it’s your fault!’

Sayonara, Bob! ★

∞ Project

I spent the weekend building a 12-foot-tall bookshelf to hold all the DVDs. It’s over 2/3 full. Something like 650 DVDs.

Yeesh. ★

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