A classic example of actors being better than their material, “The Misfits” offers a slate of diverse talents who use the force of their respective energies and charismas to give magic to material that, quite frankly, is not very good.
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Last Friday’s feature on 10 great musical numbers from films that never quite achieved classic status but are too much fun was so well received that we’re serving up another 10 under-the radar numbers that deserve some extra attention.
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This year marks the 50th anniversary of the release of “3 AM.” What, you never heard of “3 AM”? Well, if you’re an Orson Welles fan, you’ll recall that film was directed by Gary Graver, the cinematographer on Welles’ “The Other Side of the Wind” – Graver needed to take on the skin flick job to because he couldn’t cover his bills working on Welles’ on-again/off-again project. As a favor to Graver, the Big O did uncredited work in editing a steamy masturbatory shower in “3 AM.”
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Yesterday’s Academy Award nominations generated the annual debate over who was nominated and who was snubbed. But when it comes to Oscar snubs, a surprisingly large number of classic films were ignored by Academy voters.
In my humid opinion – yes, humid, because I don’t do humble – here are my picks for the 10 films that were shockingly denied access to Academy Award nominations. Mercifully, none of these films suffered in reputation for lacking acknowledgement for Oscar consideration.
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BOOTLEG FILES 858: “Gentlemen Marry Brunettes” (1955 musical starring Jane Russell and Jeanne Craig).
LAST SEEN: On YouTube and DailyMotion.com.
AMERICAN HOME VIDEO: None.
REASON FOR BOOTLEG STATUS: Most likely because of music rights clearance problems.
CHANCES OF SEEING A COMMERCIAL DVD RELEASE: Not likely.
Despite its similar title, the vaguely identical plot involving two American showgirls in Paris and the presence of Jane Russell, the 1955 “Gentlemen Marry Brunettes” is not a sequel to the 1953 “Gentlemen Prefer Blondes.” Yes, the source material – Anita Loos’ 1927 novel “But Gentlemen Marry Brunettes” – is a sequel to her 1925 “Gentlemen Prefer Blondes,” but the film does not use the plot of the Loos book.
Indeed, the two films should not be mentioned in the same breath. “Gentlemen Prefer Blondes” is one of the greatest musical comedies of all time – a witty, stylish, rollicking classic that offered Russell and Marilyn Monroe their best screen roles. “Gentlemen Marry Brunettes” doesn’t come close to the first production’s greatness at any level.
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This coming Sunday, movie lovers will be watching the Academy Awards telecast and betting on which films and creative artists will take home the celebrated prize. Oddly, the history of the Oscars is heavy with classic works that failed to snag a single nomination – and the reasons for the omissions are among the great mysteries of movie history.
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What can be said about Marilyn Monroe that hasn’t already been said? In this episode of “The Online Movie Show,” actor/writer Joe Mannetti shares a distinctive view of Marilyn Monroe’s talent and film canon, creating a provocative challenge to the stereotypes associated with her life.