Watch the Monitor

Is it just me, or has the TV news gotten ridiculous once again. Such a hyperactive sense of uber drama, and at every turn there's a snub or a hint to incite anger. What to do you say.. well, turn off the TV and Watch The Monitor. Recently a movie starring O.J. Simpson, Richard Burton, Lee Marvin and Linda Evans has gotten popular. The Klansman, created in 1974 is not what I'd call great cinema, but it is quite interesting from a historical perspective. The film also has some bizarre ironies with today's news cycle, most are disturbing but a bunch of these synchronous snippets are just funny. By the way - Linda Evans filmed the famous Evel Knievel wipe-out at Caesar's palace. You see, John Derek got the nod to film the jump, and at the time Linda Evans was Derek's girlfriend (or wife.. not sure)... and she did the camera work on this job for John Derek. You can watch that jump if like, it's in part 4 of the Evel Knievel movie.

I recently felt compelled to watch a few more Renoir movies - after noting the similarities between Bergman's Smiles of a Summer Night and Renoir's Rules of the Game. Jean Renoir was one of the greats in early film, yet unfortunately, most Americans are clueless to his genius. He was the son of Auguste Renoir, the impressionist painter whose works sell at auction for millions and millions of dollars. Well, Jean Renoir his son was also brilliant. I bet that was interesting, being the son of a reknowned painter. But Jean chose a new medium to excel in - film. Another Jean Renoir gem is titled Grand Illusion - a wonderful film about the bitter futility of war and its effect on population, especially families. Finally, you can also check out Boudu Saved from Drowning, a terrific film about class, conformity, freedom and loving. Boudu is played by Michel Simon, who at the time was called the French Charlie Chaplin.

My Favorite Bergman Film

Ingmar Bergman, one a the greatest directors of film died in late July after a remarkable career. For most cocktail party film buffs, the Bergman films they might mention are Wild Strawberries or The Seventh Seal. While both of these are amazing films, Bergman made so many films (he directed over 60 - via IMDB) that you really need to see his top 10 or 20 before deciding which is your favorite Bergman film. For me, his best was Sommarnattens leende, or Smiles of a Summer Night released in 1955. The movie is very reminiscent of a 1939 Jean Renoir film called Rules of The Game (rated #3 in the BFI Sight & Sound top 10 films of all time). Both movies offer a funny and thought provoking look at love, and how it changes in the course of one's journey through life. Young lovers who are foolish and naive, middle aged lovers who are bored with their spouses and end up being unfaithful. And older, wiser folks who see love like a child, but also take with them the wisdom gleaned from those more carnal years. It is really hard to say which film is better - both are very funny and entertaining, but I laughed so hard during the final scenes of Bergamn's Smiles of Summer Night, I'd have to give the nod to Bergman. But decide for yourself - which love satire did you like better - Rules of the Game or Bergman's Smiles of a Summer Night.

Tonight Show, Presidential Politics

Last night, Fred Thompson former Senator from Tennessee, and TV star of Law & Order announced he was running for President on the Tonight Show with Jay Leno. I didn't see it live, but saw some streams of the 2 segments this morning. He seems like a nice guy. I'd have a beer with him. And then I remembered a post I read a week or two earlier from Mark Evanier at Newsfromme, where he discussed the Richard Nixon appearance on the tonight show with Johnny Carson, saying that Nixon was given the humor lines so he could be more entertaining. I have no idea if this is true, don't care that much either since it happened when I was 2 years old, but I thought it was ironic, a weird synchronous - everything old is new again moment. Check it out and watch Richard Nixon on the Tonight Show when he is running against Lyndon B. Johnson for President.

Happy Birthday - Raquel Welch

On September 5, 1940, Jo Raquel Tejada was born in Chicago, Illinois. The family loaded up the truck and moved to California (a precursor to the Clampetts perhaps?) when Raquel was just 2. She studied dance, aspired to be an actress someday and each and every day, grew more and more beautiful. Raquel Welch got instant stardom as a cave woman (pre-Geico) in this really campy film called One Million Years B.C. where she had this furry bikini on. She liked to swim and she sweated a lot too. The world didn't have their Marilyn Monroe (videos, images) sex goddess figure after the lovely & charming Norma Jeane died in 1962. When audiences saw Raquel Welch - we all shouted together, WOW, you are it! As such, her skills as an actress were always downplayed, though she was indeed a hard working and talented woman. Tant Pis, or too bad, she deserved better. But in all honesty, she was so attractive, it was distracting. She handled this gift & curse with style and grace. Happy Birthday Raquel Welch.

Here's a few choice clips from the LikeTelevision(TM) video library. A short 30 sec bio clip from This Day in Hollywood. And a very funny moment with Raquel Welch from the Johnny Carson Show.

You can get more bio information on Raquel Welch at IMDB or Wikipedia.

Jeep, Popeye's Alien Pal

One of my favorite Popeye cartoons in the cartoon library at LikeTelevision is titled Eugene The Jeep. In case you are a babe in the woods - Eugene the Jeep was some kind of sweet alien creature who appeared on Popeye's front porch one day, arriving in a package with the Jeep inside. Lots of folks felt this was Popeye's dog or something... but Eugene was much cooler than that... he was able to appear, re-appear... and bi-locate.... a very cool alien lifeform indeed. This toon was created during WWII (1940)... so we are not sure that the Jeep name was some kind of tribute to the funky new army vehicle introduced during the war.... called a Willy, now better known as a Jeep. We'll let you make the call... do a search on google.

Max Kolby - August 14, 1941

Max Kolbe died today on August 14, 1941. While most people are remembered for their life, Max Kolbe is remembered mostly for the heroic nature of his death. He was a Polish Catholic priest sent to Auschwitz by the Nazis for trying to secretly hide several thousand Jews. Back in those dark days, just being a Catholic priest was reason enough to get sent to the camps - so Max's "crime" was even more severe. A Catholic priest trying to harbor Jews made him a huge target.

In late July 1941 Max Kolbe asked to take the place of a man with a family who had been condemned to death. A prisoner had escaped in his cell block and so, people were randomly chosen to die by starvation for this transgression. Max said - take me instead. His story is quite remarkable and I suggest you learn more about Maximilian Kolbe if you are unfamiliar with the man.

In honor of Max Kolbe, we recommend two movies. First - Escape from Sobibor starring Alan Arkin and Rutger Hauer. Sobibor was a concentration camp in Poland and unfortunately, not enough people have ever heard of what transpired there. It is an amazing movie about one of the greatest prisoner escapes in WWII. Just watch it. It's an A+ film of a heroic story, just like Max Kolbe's life. Second - we suggest Roberto Rossellini's Open City, which is another powerful World War II story, this time set in Rome. In this movie, Aldo Fabrizi plays a heroic Catholic priest. It also Anna Magnani.

Alfred Hitchcock's Cameo Appearances

On the anniversary of Alfred Hitchcock's birthday (born August 13,1899), I thought of an interesting exercise for all you film lover's out there in net land. Similar to Where's Waldo... the test is to find Sir Alfred where no man has found him before. Hitchcock was known for his many cameo appearances in his films, and yes indeed - these cameos are explored in some depth on the net. (try here for almost a google of pages on the subject). But to find Alfred where he has already been found, is easy. Fun yes.. but easy. Want something harder? Find him in films where he has not been found. As far as i know... he has not been found in a few dozen of his films. And guess what... you can find a bunch of those films right here at LikeTelevision. The original Man Who Knew Too Much(1936), Sabotage(1936), The Secret Agent(1936) or Number Seventeen(1932). Can you find Sir Alfred where no man has found him before?

Have fun... if you can find Sir Alfred in the films listed above, send us an email and we'll post it in our blog. (the story will get picked up by AP and we'll make you a star - a virtual guarantee of your 15 minutes of fame. (please provide a time and a sceen grab for verification). Or - you can also rediscover Hitch in The Lady Vanishes. Need a hint?