Batman (TV Series): Why It's Friggin' Awesome, despite what comic book purists would have you believe.

I think for most people from my generation (and my parents) their first exposure to Batman was the campy 1960s television show starring Adam West. It was a show that I watched religiously when I was a kid, to the point that when it was taken off syndication I was absolutely devastated. I sat in my room for days and sulked about it. How could I live without my daily dose of The Dynamic Duo? It also meant that I would deprived of the greatest TV theme song in history.

The highlight of each episode was the fight scenes, whenever Batman and Robin would punch villain, words like, POW, BAM, BOOF, would appear on the screen. It was away to emphasize the very comic book nature of the television show.
The Batman in the TV show was an upstanding citizen who apparently had no vices, he didn't drink, didn't smoke and was able to keep his sexual urges in check, despite the fact that beautiful women were constantly throwing themselves at him. He was a goody two shoes who packed a mean wallop.

As a kid, Adam West was the DEFINITIVE Batman, until 1989, when the Tim Burton/Michael Keaton movie was released. The Tim Burton film went back to Batman's roots and made him a dark, brooding character haunted by the death of his parents, as opposed to the rather whimsical, benevolent authority figure of the old Adam West series. It was the DEFINITIVE Batman movie, until 2005 when Batman Begins was released to the cinemas.  Christopher Nolan's version was more grittier and less stylized than Burton's interpretation, and more importantly, Bruce Wayne was the central figure in the story, rather than a supporting player. Tim Burton's films, Batman and Batman Returns, were more interested in the plight of the villains and often pushed Batman/Bruce Wayne to the sidelines. Last year, Nolan finally completed his trilogy with The Dark Knight Rises, so it's only inevitable that in a few years time another reboot of the Batman franchise will be commissioned. Whether or not it will replace Nolan's Dark Knight trilogy as the DEFINITIVE Batman remains to be see.

I have done a complete 360 on the 1960s television series: I loved it as a kid, was embarrassed by it as a teen (especially after seeing the "serious" Burton films), and now love it as an adult. The television series may be a complete bastardization the original character, but it makes for some rather enjoyable (and funny) television. Of course, it's often overlooked that throughout the 1950s and most of the 1960s (the Silver Age) the Batman comic books themselves had devolved into rather silly children's stories. The villains weren't so much evil geniuses as they were merry pranksters with too much time on their hands. A typical story line from this era might involve the Joker trying to rob a pie factory in Gotham so he could stage the biggest pie fight in history. These comic books were aimed solely at kids and the TV show, for the most part, followed suit. It was also the campy TV show that brought Batman back into the spotlight after years of dwindling comic book sales.

What makes the TV show entertaining is Adam West's ability to deliver his lines in a straight manner, regardless as to how ridiculous they might sound. Oddly enough, when I was a kid, the campy humor went above my head, and I took the show absolutely seriously. When I watch the 1966 feature length film, I couldn't comprehend why my dad was laughing hysterically during the scene where Batman is punching a rubber shark that latched on his leg. This scene features the immortal line, "Hand me down the shark repellent bat spray." It is a moment that makes serious comic book fans cringe, but it is absolutely hilarious, especially with West's dry delivery.

I never liked character of Robin, even in the comic books and cartoons, and Burt Ward's take on the character can be extremely grating at times; to the point where one wishes Batman would give the Boy Wonder a nice crack in the jaw after his latest outburst of "HOLY______, Batman!"  Robin in the TV series main function was to get caught so Batman would have an excuse to fight the villains. Every once in a blue moon the writers would give him something useful to do, but otherwise he was a complete hindrance to the Caped Crusader's war on crime.  Robin in the TV series was essentially a boy scout in tights. 

Then there was the rogues gallery of villains, some of the most colorful characters in television (and comic book) history:

Catwoman: Three actresses played Catwoman during the show's run (well, two played the role on the television, one played the character in the movie), Julie Newmar, Eartha Kitt, and Lee Meriwether. 

Julie Newmar's interpretation is probably the most famous and best loved out of three, partly due to the fact that she had a wonderful chemistry with Adam West, but mostly because she was.....extremely... hot. 

Newmar's Catwoman was flirtatious with Batman and had a soft spot for him, to the point where she even contemplated giving up crime to be with him. In one of my favorite exchanges from the TV series, Catwoman offers turn a new leaf:

Batman: I'll do everything I can to rehabilitate you.

Catwoman:  Marry me!

Batman: Everything, except that! A wife, no matter how beauteous or affectionate, would severely impair my crime fighting.

Catwoman: But I can help you with your work. As a former criminal, I would be invaluable. I can reform. Honestly I can! 

Batman: What about Robin?

Catwoman: Robin?! Oh, I've got it. We'll kill him!

As a kid (and still as an adult) I was absolutely irate that Batman turned down her offer. Sure, killing Robin is excessive, but Catwoman would certainly be a more apt crime fighting partner than Robin, the Boy Blunder. She even tells him as much, but Batman turns her down. IDIOT! For my money, Newmar's portrayal is still the best (and yes that includes Michelle Pfeiffer and Anne Hathaway). 

Lee Meriwether (Miss America 1955) take on the character was much different, she had an icy cold exterior and didn't get all starry eyed when she encountered Batman. She took her role as a criminal very seriously and used her pretty looks (and sexuality) to lure Bruce Wayne into a trap. 

Catwoman and her cohorts (The Joker, Penguin, The Riddler), came up with an elaborate scheme to kidnap Bruce Wayne, so they could trap Batman when he came to rescue the famous millionaire. They wanted to lure Batman into a giant spring that would send him soaring into the arms of the Joker's exploding octopus. Needless to say, it didn't go according to plan. 

Meriwether was the first Catwoman I ever saw, so I will always I have a soft spot for her portrayal. 

When Earth Kitt inherited the role in the show's final season, the sexual tension between Batman and Catwoman was nonexistent, instead she purred her way through the scenery. Earth Kitt was by no means a bad Catwoman, but the dynamic between the two characters was far less interesting; she lacked Newmar's sex appeal and didn't quite possess Meriwether's cold hearted villainy, either. Though, Kitt's distinctive voice was a lot of fun to listen to.  

The Joker (Cesar Romero): It's common to disparage Caesar Romero's portrayal of the Joker, especially when compared to the much darker interpretations that Jack Nicholson (an multiple Oscar Winner) and Heath Ledger (the role he won the Oscar for) gave to the character.  Romero's Joker is a jovial prankster whose main goal in life is to embarrass Batman on a national stage. His schemes are completely impractical and, as a result, there is often no collateral damage involved when his plan is inevitably foiled. The Joker doesn't wish anyone (except for Batman) harm, he's mainly a criminal for his own amusement. 

While the Nicholson/Ledger incarnations are more truer to the comics, they would be completely out of place in the television series. The TV show was meant to be fun for the family, so the sight of the Joker smashing a guy's skull into a pencil would probably not go over well with parents.  Nor would him hand buzzing a gangster to death. Romero brought a lot of energy to the role, so even though his Joker may not be remotely like the one in the comics, he was still a lot of fun to watch. 

The Riddler (Frank Gorshin): Frank Gorshin's manic portrayal of the Riddler is vastly superior to any of the actors that followed in his footsteps; Jim Carrey's take on the character in Batman Forever is a piss poor imitation of Gorshin. The Riddler absolutely enjoyed toying with the Caped Crusader, his main down fall was his over confidence. He was so certain that he would succeed that he would give Batman and Robin clues to those crimes in the form of riddles, thinking that they wouldn't be able to figure them out, or that he and his cronies would be ready for the dynamic duo when they showed their faces. He always failed, but it never dissuaded him (then again, that applies to all the Batman villains).  The less I say about John Astin's brief stint as the Riddler, the better. 

The Penguin (Burgess Meredith): The Penguin was always a silly character, not even a gritty reboot would be able to disguise just what a ridiculous villain he truly was. He walked like a penguin, had an extremely long nose, wore a monocle, and always had a cigarette holder protruding from his mouth. While he is extremely out of place in the dark, gritty Batman comics, he is a perfect fit for the campy TV show. 

The Penguin's crimes were always bird related and always chose extremely transparent bird themed aliases to throw the law off his track. In Batman: The Movie, he buys a pre-atomic submarine under the pseudonym P. N. Guin.  He labeled himself as being a SUPER GENIUS criminal mastermind, but was always bested by Batman. Whenever the Penguin disapproved of something he would let out a "Quack" sound. 

There were other colorful villains in the shows run as well: Egghead, King Tut, The Book Worm, False Face,The Minstrel, Mr. Freeze, but it's the four highlighted above that were, and still are, the most popular.

In the show's final season the character of Barbara Gordon/Batgirl was introduced. She was portrayed by beach movie regular (and frequent Elvis co-star) Yvonne Craig. Her character served dual purposes, it offered the girls a positive role model and it gave the boys more eye candy to look at. 

Batgirl's identity was a completely mystery to Batman and Robin, and she would often slip away before the Dynamic Duo had a chance to ask her any questions. She was a certainly more competent hero than Robin (and all the Gotham police force, but that goes without saying). Her alter ego, Barbara Gordon, was an extremely intelligent woman and could often figure out the criminals schemes/ where abouts before Batman and without the aid of a computer. She was also fairly adept at handling herself in fights, often holding her own with Batman and Robin (well, maybe not Batman, but she often bested Robin in terms of knock outs). Unfortunately, for all her toughness, she also had a tendency to get herself captured by the villains, then Batman would come along to save the day. Still, she was infinitely better than Robin. Yvonne Craig is leagues better than Alicia Silverstone, who stuttered her way through the role in 1997's Batman & Robin. 

As I mentioned before, Batman purists absolutely loathe the 60s TV show, because in their minds it makes a complete mockery out of the character. It wouldn't be until the 1989 Tim Burton film that the character would be a given a more serious minded treatment and since then the dark, troubled Batman of the Burton/Nolan films have supplanted the warm, whimsical Batman of the 60s. When Joel Schumacher went back to the camp format in Batman & Robin the movie going public rejected it, to the point where it's regarded as one of the worst movies ever made. In all fairness, it is a fairly dreadful film. It successfully killed the first Batman movie series but made way for the Christopher Nolan reboot. It's easy to rag on the Batman show for its camp aesthetics, but let's not forget that the comic book itself was extremely silly at the time. The 1960s Batman TV show is just one of the many faces the Caped Crusader has donned over the last eighty plus years, rather than being disgusted by it, Batman fans should embrace it. There's more than enough for room for two different interpretations of the same character (and in the comic book's case there's been 

more than that), so LIGHTEN UP PEOPLE! 

Besides, nothing in the Nolan films can top the sight of Batman running through this streets with a bomb over his head, looking for a place to dispose of it. (NOTE: This clip has been replaced with music from Benny Hill, as I could't find a decent clip with the original score.) 

Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein (1948)

Depending on who you talk to, Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein is either one of the best horror comedy films ever made, or the absolute the nadir in Universal's monster series of the 40s. To many horror aficionados it is a depressing sight to see three great horror icons (Dracula, The Wolf Man, The Frankenstein Monster) playing second fiddle to the comedy stylings of Abbott and Costello. In their mind, it's on par with shouting "HAIL SATAN!" in the middle of a Sunday church service, ABSOLUTE BLASPHEMY! I am part of the former camp that claim it at as one of the best, if not the best, horror comedy ever made.
 Of course, I'm absolutely biased as I first saw it when I was nine and watched it obsessively throughout the course of my youth. Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein was also my first exposure to both Dracula and the Frankenstein Monster (I saw The Wolf Man before hand). I own it in two different formats (VHS and DVD). I remember seeing the VHS on the shelf at Suncoast video, beckoning me to buy it for the low price of $19.99 and I obeyed, spending two weeks worth of allowance money on it in the process. A few months ago I spotted it on the DVD rack at Wal-Mart for $7.50 and needless to say bought it (especially after learning that it had a Greg Mank commentary on it).

The films of Abbott and Costello are fairly hit or miss, their best films include: Pardon My Sarong, Hold That Ghost, Who Done It, The Time of Their Lives, Buck Privates, Buck Privates Come Home, Africa Screams, and, of course, Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein. Their other films range from being tolerable, but mediocre to downright painful; the 50s, in particular, was not a kind decade for the comedy duo. Though, I have a soft spot from the absolute dreadful Abbott and Costello Go Mars, mainly because it borders on the surreal at times (the boys bump into a civilization of attractive warrior women that inhabit Venus). Costello's childish antics can be funny, especially when paired with the supernatural, but can be irritating as well. Bud Abbott was the perfect straight man and brought balance to the proceedings, often to the point of being able to offset Costello's mugging.
Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein would be the swan song for Universal's classic monsters, they would be replaced in the following decade by giant insects, alien invaders, dinosaurs, and most famously, the Gill Man from The Creature From the Black Lagoon. The plot is fairly simple: Dracula (Bela Lugosi) wants to put the brain of the dimwitted Wilbur (Costello) in the body of the Frankenstein Monster (Glenn Strange) so it will be obedient to his commands. Enter Larry Talbot (Lon Chaney, Jr.) whose top priority is stop Dracula, when he isn't turning into a werewolf and tearing up hotel rooms. While many horror fans complain about the monsters being relegated to supporting roles to a "second rate" comedy team, the truth is that Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein is far more respectful to the classic horror icons than the two previous films in the Universal series, House of Frankenstein and House of Dracula. The Wolf Man comes off rather well in these two pictures, but that's largely because he's central to the plot of both films. Dracula, wonderfully played by John Carradine, gets killed off midway through both films and the Frankenstein Monster is essentially a walking prop. In House of Dracula, the Frankenstein Monster spends most of the film strapped to an operating table, then in the finally closing minutes (the last two to be exact) he stumbles around inside a burning castle, only to have the roof come crashing down on him. To add insult to injury, the shot of the roof caving in on the Monster is lifted from The Ghost of Frankenstein. 
The reason Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein is a success is that it takes the horror elements seriously; never once are the monsters made to look silly. There's no scene in which Dracula's trousers fall down, or the Wolf Man taking a pie in the face. Dracula poses a very serious threat to our protagonists and Lugosi gives a very commanding performance (in the role he made famous seventeen years earlier). The humor comes from the characters reactions to the supernatural elements, or them being completely oblivious to them. In one funny/scary scene, Larry Talbot begs the boys to lock him in his hotel room and they reluctantly comply. However, Wilbur notices that Talbot left his suitcase in the hallway and brings it in, unaware that Talbot has just changed into the Wolf Man. The scene is filled with near misses and in one particularly moment Wilbur sits down to write Talbot a note, letting him know where the suitcase is, ignorant to the fact that the Wolf Man is lurking right behind him. Modern days audiences will probably find the scene more amusing than scary, but I'm sure it was an absolute scream fest in 1948.

The film is loaded with horror film iconography:
1) A creepy wax museum. The owner of the wax museum, Mr. McDougal, has purchased what he thinks are the "remains" of Dracula and the Frankenstein Monster, unaware both are fully intact and very much alive. This is where Wilbur first encounters Dracula and the Frankenstein Monster.
2) The shot of the full moon. In the opening sequence, Larry Talbot is on the phone in his London hotel room, trying to convince Wilbur, a baggage clerk at a railway station, not to deliver the crates that contain Dracula and the Frankenstein Monster to McDougal's House of Horrors. However, before he can finish his sentence, he notices the full moon and transforms into a werewolf and proceeds to tear apart his room.
3) A dilapidated, old castle. Dracula lives inside the castle under the pseudonym Dr. Leighos. It's also where he keeps his laboratory is located.
4) Secret passages. Chick and Wilbur, while searching the castle, stumble upon a underground passageway. Wilbur leans against a brick wall, which turns out to be a revolving panel that leads to a secret room where the Frankenstein Monster is being kept. Wilbur experiences a few close calls with both Dracula and the Monster. When Wilbur goes to get Chick, they have both seemingly vanished into thin air.
5) Hypnotism. Dracula is able to hypnotize Sandra (Lenore Aubert) and Wilbur into obeying his will.
6) The bat on the string effect. We get plenty of shots of Dracula, in bat form, flapping about the countryside.   It's also one of the few horror films of the decade in which the audience gets to see Dracula transform into a bat and vice versa. This is achieved through animation and, while not entirely convincing, is a rather neat effect to watch.
7) The laboratory scene. At the end of the film, Dracula has both Wilbur and the Frankenstein monster strapped to operating tables inside his laboratory. However, before he can begin his operation Chick and Larry come bursting into the save the day. Just when it seems Wilbur is finally safe from all harm, Larry turns into the Wolf Man.

The only real flaw of the film is the character of Dr. Stevens (Charles Bradstreet), whose main function is to serve as a love interest to Joan Raymond (Jane Randolph), an insurance investigator working for McDougal.
He is a rather uninvolving character and nearly drains the fun out of every scene he is in, which, thankfully, isn't too many. He does destroy the Frankenstein Monster at the film's end (by setting it on fire), but even that is a bit anti-climatic, considering Chick and Wilbur are rowing to safety in a row boat, while the Wolf Man and the Dracula have plummeted to their supposed deaths.

However, this is an extremely minor flaw in an otherwise great film. Abbott and Costello would bump into other monsters (The Invisible Man, Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, the Mummy) in the next decade, but none of those films come close to capturing the magic of Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein. It was lightning in a bottle that would also signal the end for the classic Universal Monsters.

Credits:
Cast: Bud Abbott (Chick Young), Lou Costello (Wilbur Grey), Bela Lugosi (Dracula), Lon Chaney,Jr. (Larry Talbot/The Wolf Man), Glenn Strange (Frankenstein Monster), Lenore Aubert (Sandra Morney), Jane Randolph (Joan Raymond), Frank Ferguson (Mr. McDougal), Charles Bradstreet (Dr. Stevens).

Director: Charles Barton
Screenplay: Robert Lees, Frederic I. Rinaldo, John Grant.
Running Time: 83 min.

The Hobbit: The Unexpected Journey, Or, The Bad Assification of J.R.R. Tolkien

In the past few months we have bombarded with cinematic re-imaginings of children's stories: Hansel and Gretel: Witch Hunters, Jack the Giant Slayer, Oz: The Great and Powerful, and The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey. The thing these films have in common (other than being adaptations of children's stories) is that they focus more on action and spectacle (to the 3D format) than telling an actual story. Hence, the bad ass factor is ratcheted up several notches, while characters and narrative get lost in the mix. It is only a matter of time before we are treated to a re-imagining of The Tortoise and the Hare (in 3D), which will end in a huge slug fest between the two characters and the tortoise coming out triumphant after he beheads the evil hare. 

Everything in today’s commercial cinema must be cool and bad ass otherwise, in the mind of Hollywood execs, the audience might have no interest in seeing it. So, not only do modern fight scenes defy the laws of physics, but they are now tailored to fit the needs of 3D as well. Therefore, when some bad ass warrior gets into a long elaborate duel with a baddie, there’s got to be a few shots in which he lunges directly at the camera.
Unfortunately, once the gimmick begins to wear thin, the easier it becomes to spot the flaws in the storytelling. Directors are sold on the idea that the audience will be in complete awe of the 3D effects that they will overlook the film’s many shortcomings. Consequently, the best 3D films tend to be the ones that are rather conservative with the 3D gimmick, while focusing more on the actual story line  They don’t “WOW” audiences in the movie theaters,  but they hold up a lot better after multiple viewings than their more flamboyant counterparts. 

Which brings me to The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey, or as I like to call Lord of the Rings, Episode I: The Unexpected Journey. When it was announced that Peter Jackson was going to adapt J.R.R. Tolkien’s classic CHILDREN’s story into a three part movie, it left a good many people (Internet message boards) dumbfounded.  “How in the hell is Peter Jackson going to adapt a 300 page novel into a nine hour epic?” they asked.  After viewing the film, the answer become obvious: by adding as many subplots as humanly possible and shoehorning as many Lord of the Rings references in as possible…ALL IN GLORIOUS 3D. 

 Normally, I don’t have anything objections to when a filmmaker makes changes to the novel; after all, these changes are often necessary, ideas and characters that read well on the printed page don’t necessarily translate well onto the big screen.  When Jackson adapted The Fellowship of the Ring, I, for one, did not miss the character of Tom Bombadil. He would have been absolutely insufferable to watch (“Hey dol! merry dol! ring a dong dillo! Ring a dong! hop along! fal lal the willow! Tom Bom, jolly Tom, Tom Bombadillo!").  He was also fairly extraneous to the plot. He’s main function is to add a little color to the narrative.

However, Peter Jackson’s adaptation of The Hobbit maybe the rare example where it will take more time to watch the movies (all three of them) than read the actual novel. Whereas most adaptations omit characters/subplots from the novels to make them more streamlined for the cinema, Jackson actually adds characters/subplots to his cinematic rendering of the The Hobbit.  Fans may argue that it adds to depth to the overall proceedings and nicely ties it in with the Lord of the Rings trilogy, but it also has the unfortunate effect of making Bilbo (Martin Freeman) a supporting character in his own story. 

Peter Jackson’s often seems more invested in the character of Thorin Oakenshield than he is in Bilbo Baggins, the titular character.  Thorin is given not one, BUT TWO BACK STORIES. The first tells about how the dwarves were driven from Lonely Mountain by the dragon Smaug, the other is a lengthy flashback that details Thorin’s epic battle with the White Orc, Azog, (a character that is only mentioned in passing in the book).  Thorin mistakenly believes that he killed the White Orc a long time ago, but the bugger is still alive and seeks vengeance.  This, of course, leads to a show down at the film’s climax where Thorin and the White Orc duke it out. Thorin is thoroughly beaten, but Bilbo saves the day. Yup! Jackson finally remembers that Bilbo is the actual protagonist of the story and has him dabble in an act of heroism that wasn't in the book. In the novel, the dwarves are being chased by the Orcs and take refuge in the trees. The Orcs set the trees on fire and it looks like the Dwarves are cooked, when all of a sudden eagles swoop down and fly them to safety.
However, this resolution is not nearly bad ass enough for today’s audience, not to mention it wouldn't make for exciting 3D. So Jackson adds a small battle to the proceedings, after a horribly drawn out scene in which the trees tumble over like dominoes, forcing the Dwarves to hop from tree to tree until finally there is only one left and it’s hanging over the edge of a cliff. The tree slowly begins to uproot and leans at such an angle that Thorin is able to walk straight off it and face his tormentor face to face. The two duke it out, then Bilbo comes to save the day. The other Dwarves join in (the ones not hanging for their dear lives on the branches of the hanging tree) and it becomes a big free for all. When everything seems lost, the eagles come and save the day. BAD ASS! Go easy on the high fives, dude, you might spill the Mountain Dew.

The problem with this sequence, other then being horribly long, is that it resolves Bilbo's character arc much too early in the story; there's no reason to doubt his heroism after this scene, because he bravely risked his life to save Thorin's. In the book, the turning point for Bilbo is when the dwarves are captured by the giant spiders, he is on his own (Gandalf has left) and is essentially forced into an act of heroism. Up until this point in the book, Bilbo is a fairly timid character who is often more of a hindrance than actual help. After he slews the spiders and saves the Dwarves, Bilbo grows increasingly more confident in himself to the point that doesn't hesitate in facing Smaug. Of course, because Jackson decided to stretch the story out over the course of three movies, there needs to be some resolution at the end of the first film, hence, Bilbo's heroism and Thorin's new found respect for him.
It's also for this reason that the White Orc is such a prominent character throughout the film; without him there would be no clear antagonist. Smaug isn't set to make his appearance until the next film, the Necromancer is still in the shadows, and all the other baddies they encounter (Trolls, Goblin King) are stumbling blocks at best. Had Jackson just adapted The Hobbit into one film, there would absolutely  be no need for the White Orc, as Smaug would be more than enough to suffice. It's ironic that the 1977 Rankin/Bass version, despite being only 80 minutes in length, is far more faithful in tone to the novel than Peter Jackson's EPIC film. Of course, the Rankin/Bass was more in tune with their intended audience (children) than Jackson, who seemingly doesn't know who this movie is for; it seems like he's aiming for a children's movie that is frat boy approved. It ranges from being fairly whimsical at times (Bilbo's first encounter with Gandalf, the scenes with the wizard Radagast) to down right violent at others (practically all the fight scenes). It doesn't help that many of the scenes (especially the escape from Goblin Town) have the feel of Playstation video game. Like video games, their fun for the person that's playing it, but get fairly boring to the person who has to watch.

The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey often seems less like an adaptation of Tolkien's novel and more of a rehash Jackson's version of The Fellowship of the Ring. In fact, The Hobbit follows The Fellowship of the Ring almost beat for beat.

1. In The Fellowship of the Ring we are shown a prelude that involves the War of the Ring. In The Hobbit we are shown a prelude of Smaug attacking Lonely Mountain and driving the Dwarves away from their homeland.

2. After the prelude, we go back to aged Bilbo (Ian Holm) writing his memories down in a journal. Frodo makes a brief appearance by getting the mail, while looking completely confused.

3. Thorin is essentially the stand in for Aragorn; a king without a kingdom. Of course, the difference is that Aragorn dodged his responsibility because of his inner doubts, Thorin has been waiting for the right moment to return. However, both are exceptional warriors and have an air of mystery about them that slowly gets revealed as the film progresses.

4. In The Fellowship of the Ring, Frodo and company are being stalked by the Black Riders. In The Hobbit, Bilbo and friends are being stalked by the Orcs, led by the extremely evil Azog.

5. The Fellowship of the Ring has the Council of Elrond, while The Hobbit has the White Council (NOT IN THE BOOK).  Both occur in Rivendell. Like Gimli, Thorin has an extreme dislike for Elves.

6. Goblin Town scene in The Hobbit occurs at about the same time as the Mines of Moria sequence from Fellowship of the Ring. The escape from Goblin Town isn't very detailed in the book, because as Gandalf and Dwarves are running away, Bilbo is knocked off the back of the Dwarf that is carrying him and falls down a chasm. It's then he meets Gollum. In the film, Bilbo falls down the chasm while the Dwarves are being captured by the Goblins. The Riddles in the Dark scene happens during the encounter with the Goblin King as opposed to after. This allows for Jackson to show the Dwarves escape in full detail and to take advantage of the 3D effects, hence, lots of shots of collapsing bridges and characters running towards the camera.

You shall not pass!

The pity is that somewhere in the rubble is a potentially great movie. Peter Jackson has assembled one hell of a cast; Martin Freeman is ideally cast as Bilbo and it's always a joy to see Ian McKellan as Gandalf. The Riddles in the Dark scene with Gollum is as good as I could have hoped for and the Goblin King is well realized. Had Jackson been more interested in adapting the story the Tolkien wrote as opposed ladling out subplots and ties in, he could have had a genuine classic on his hands. The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey is not bad movie, but it's a disappointment nonetheless.

Credits:

Cast: Ian McKellan (Gandalf), Richard Armitage (Thorin), Martin Freeman (Bilbo Baggins), Andy Serkis (Gollum), Sylvester McCoy (Radagast),  Hugo Weaving (Elrond),Christopher Lee (Sauron), Cate Blanchett (Galadriel), Ken Stott (Balin), Graham McTavish (Dwalin), William Kircher (Bifus/Tom Troll), James Nesbitt (Bofur), Stephen Hunter (Bombur), Dean O' Gorman (Fili), Aidan Turner (Kili), John Callen (Oin), Peter Hambleton (Gloin/William Troll), Jed Brophy (Nori), Mark Hadlow (Dori/Bert Troll), Adam Brown (Ori), Barry Humphreys (The Great Goblin), Ian Holm (Old Bilbo), Elijah Wood (Frodo).

Director: Peter Jackson
Screenplay: Peter Jackson, Philippa Boyens, Fran Walsh, Guillermo del Toro.

Running Time: 166 min.

Atom Man Vs. Superman (1950)

There have been many Lex Luthor's in cinema/television history, but for my money Lyle Talbot was the absolute best! Gene Hackman was great, but tended to overdo the wisecracks. Ditto Kevin Spacey. Whereas the other actors who portrayed the role never really left much an impression on me. Of course, Lyle Talbot has a distinct advantage over the others, in that he was the first actor to portray Lex Luthor on the big screen. Interestingly, he was also the first actor to portray Commissioner Gordon (another DC character) on the big screen in the 1949 serial Batman and Robin, made by the same team. Talbot is probably best known for his association with the the infamous movie director Edward D. Wood, Jr. Talbot co-starred in three of Woods films: Glen or Glenda?, Jail Bait, and Plan Nine From Outer Space. 
Talbot's Luthor is downright sinister, yet has an air of dignity about him. Clark Kent sums up best when he proclaims, "Luthor has a strange evil genius. Far above any scientist I've ever known."

 In Atom Man vs. Superman, Luthor is released from prison and vows to change his ways; he does so by becoming a respected television producer. This, not surprisingly, turns out to be a front for his criminal deeds. He has television trucks stationed all across the cities and each truck has a secret compartment in which his thugs can hide out after having robbed a jewelry store or some other establishment. He even manages to get the lovely Lois Lane (Noel Neill) to work for him, so she can can do puff pieces about the city. This is just one of many phases in Lex Luthor's agenda; the other is to rid the world of Superman by transporting the Man of Steel into a parallel dimension (The Empty Doom as he calls it) via his teleportation machine. To get Superman into the machine, Luthor creates a synthetic form of Kryponite, which weakens the Superman while he is at a public ceremony. Luthor's henchmen (disguised as ambulance drivers) steal away the Man of Steel to his apparent doom. Will Luthor succeed? Of course not!

Atom Man Vs. Superman was one of the few times (if not the only time) that a movie serial actually used a villain from the comic book it was adapted from. It was common for serial adaptations to invent their own villain. The villains in  serials tended to be masked scientists/criminals out for world conquest; in the first Superman serial, the Man of Steel faced a masked villainess called the Spider Lady. In Batman and  Robin, the villain was a masked scientist called the Wizard. Even Atom Man Vs. Superman follows the masked villain format by having Lex Luthor don the disguise of Atom Man to throw the law and Superman off his scent. Granted, Superman from the get go is convinced that the Atom Man is really Lex Luthor, but everyone else is convinced that Luthor has gone straight.
Despite a few changes the Superman serials remained fairly faithful to the comic book, which was fairly rare for a movie serial. The most famous case of a serial being drastically different from it's comic book source was 1944's Captain America, starring Dick Purcell in the title role. In the comic books, U.S. Army Private Steve Rogers became Captain American after being injected with a super serum that gave him great strength. Most of this adventures happened overseas as he fought Nazis and, most famously, the Red Skull. In the serial adaptation, Captain America's secret identity is Grant Gardner, who is not an army soldier, but a district attorney. His nemesis is a masked villain known as the Scarab, who turns out to museum curator Dr. Cyrus Maldor.  Most adaptations didn't take as many liberties with the source material like Captain America, but often, due to budgetary problems, a lot of compromises had to be made. In Batman and Robin there is no Batmobile, instead the dynamic duo drive around in a 1949 Mercury.
Atom Man Vs. Superman is a fairly ambitious serial, but the problem is that it doesn't have the budget nor the resources to match its scope. In chapter one, Luthor builds a sound ray and threatens to destroy the Metropolis River Bridge if his demands are not met. The authorities scoff at Luthor's demand, so he turns his ray towards the bridge and it begins to sway back and forth. This is achieved through the use of stock footage.....well known stock footage I might add; the collapse of the Tacoma Narrows Bridge (or the Galloping Gertie as it was called). Much to the horror of the Daily Planet Staff and police there is a woman on the bridge passed out in her car. Just when everything seems lost, Superman flies into frame to save the damsel in distress. Initially, I thought Superman would grab the woman and fly her to safety.......NOPE! Instead he stops the bridge from swaying by grabbing hold of its suspension cable and then calls for the cops to rescue the woman. The cops run in, grab the lady, and then run to safety. Superman lets go of the suspension cable and we then cut to footage of the Galloping Gertie collapsing. After the woman is taken to safety, Lois Lane coos, "Superman saved her! I knew he would do it!"

Chapter seven is a re-cap of Superman's origin, narrated by Luthor, with footage lifted from the first Superman serial. Jor-El (Superman's Krypton father) managed to send out radio waves in his Kryton language and Luthor was some how able to translate them, thus making him an expert on everything Superman - with the exception of Superman's secret identity.
When Superman flies he turns into an animated figure and then will land behind a landmark, where Kirk Alyn will then emerge from. This was done because the wire work on Kirk Alyn was so bad that the footage had to be scrapped and the producers, rather hastily, decided to settle on animation. Of course, the problem with the animation is that not only is it jarring at times, but it often kills the urgency that is required in the scene. Superman will often land behind a huge boulder, or some other landmark, and then run the rest of the way to his destination, hence wasting precious time.

It is these lapses in budget and plotting that prevent Atom Man Vs. Superman from being a classic.  Too often the plot is set up by complete coincidence; Lois and Jimmy have a knack for running into Luthor's henchmen, who then proceed to kidnap them just so Superman can save them at the last second. The perils tend to be a bit redundant as well; twice Jimmy is saved from an exploding car. Granted, these flaws are more apparent to the modern day viewer with a DVD player than a movie goer of the 50s, especially little children.
Yet, there are a couple of genuinely clever ideas scattered throughout the serial, the most compelling being "The Empty Doom." Lex Luthor builds a machine that transports Superman to another dimension  that he christened "The Empty Doom." The ghostly image of Superman often pops into frame and attempts to stop a crime from happening, but is forced into the role of a spectator, helpless to do anything about it. He, through sheer will power, is able to communicate with Lois Lane through her electronic typewriter and sets up a plan that will set him free. It also finally dawns on the Daily Planet staff that Clark Kent and Superman just might be the same person.  Perry White orders Lois Lane to write an article that asks the question, "Is Clark Kent Superman?" Lois is hesitant to do so, but obeys White's orders. However, she conspires with Jimmy Olsen to keep the story from every being printed by having him call White and pretending to be Clark Kent. The fairly convincing imitation fools White and he orders the story to be scrapped. However, once Superman is released from "The Empty Doom" the "Is Clark Kent Superman" subplot is completely discarded; Lois and Jimmy never seem interested in finding out the answer for themselves. Luthor becoming a successful TV producer in many way anticipates DC reboot of Superman in the 80s, in which Lex Luthor went from being mad scientist to a respected multi-millionaire with a sinister side.
Kirk Alyn's Superman is appropriately bland; he's pretty much a boy scout with super hero strength. This was essentially how Superman was depicted in the comics at the time and Alyn plays it to perfection. His Clark Kent is way more interesting character, in that he's not nearly as wimpy and bumbling as Clark was in the comic books. Alyn's Clark Kent is slightly clumsy (or pretending to be clumsy), but he's an excellent reporter and is fairly handy in a fight as well. Lois Lane thinks him a coward for always disappearing when danger is near, but we know better.  In TV Show The Adventures of Superman, starring George Reeves, there were very little difference between the Clark Kent and Superman personas, the only thing that really separated them was that Clark wore glasses and suit, while Superman wore a leotard costume. In the two Superman serials starring Kirk Alyn, there is just enough of difference between the two personas that makes it plausible (if not entirely believable) that no one would suspect Clark Kent of being Superman.
My favorite part of the serial is how it doesn't shy away from showing off Superman's strength; in one of the early chapters Luthor's henchmen fire bullets at Superman and they bounce off him, while he grins off the entire thing like it's nothing. This is done with animation, but it's a neat moment nonetheless  At another point, Superman effortlessly lifts up two henchmen, raises them above his head, and bangs their heads together, knocking them out cold.
I've never been a fan of Noel Neill's "Golly Gee Whiz" approach to the role of Lois Lane, granted, it's not nearly as bad in the movie serials as it was in the television show. In season one of The Adventures of Superman, Lois Lane was played by Phyllis Coates, who's interpretation of the role was far and a way my favorite. Coate's Lois Lane was a no nonsense reporter who took her job seriously and often put it ahead of her own safety. Secondly, she didn't have a school girl crush on Superman, like all the other Lois Lanes, but rather admired him and was grateful for his help. In the first season, there was a sense that Lois and Clark were beginning to bond as friends; initially Lois resented him for joining the Daily Planet, but by season's end she grew to appreciate him. However, when season two began filming Coates was no longer available and was replaced by Noel Neill, because of her appearance in the serials. Lois Lane went from being a professional trying to create her own breaks to being a fairly clueless reporter more interested in swooning over Superman than doing her actual job. In the serial, there's is very little sense of growth between Clark Kent and Lois Lane, even when he keeps constantly bailing her out; she constantly talks about him in a very condescending manner and is fairly resentful of his success. When it is suggested that Clark Kent might be Superman, Lois Lane has this to say, "If Clark Kent is Superman, we have no right in revealing in his secret. If he isn't, then why give a dope such a big build up."  Half the time, I was almost hoping the villains would succeed in bumping off Lois Lane, just so it would finally shut her up. Neill certainly isn't aided by the writing, which often relegates  Lois Lane to a plot device  so Superman has an excuse to fight the villains. Lois gets capture, Superman saves her. Wash. Rinse. Repeat. Not to mention her dialogue is fairly cringe worthy as well, practically ever other sentence has her referencing Superman. "Not even Superman himself could do such a thing."
Tommy Bond as Jimmy Olsen main function is comic relief, but to his credit, he's not nearly as annoying as Jack Larson's portrayal on The Adventures of Superman. At least, Bond's Jimmy Olsen was occasionally useful in capturing the villains, whereas Larson stumbled through the scenery and practically killed every scene he was in.
Atom Man vs. Superman is fairly entertaining serial, despite it's many limitations. However, it's best to view it over the course of a few days (like the audiences of 1950) than in one sitting, otherwise you might go insane.


Cast: Lyle Talbot (Lex Luthor), Kirk Alyn (Clark Kent/Superman), Noel Neill (Lois Lane), Tommy Bond (Jimmy Olsen), Pierre Watkin (Perry White), Jack Ingram (Foster), Don C. Harvey (Albor), Rusty Wescoatt (Carl), Terry Frost (Baer).
Director: Spencer Bennett.
Screenplay: George H. Plympton, Joseph F. Poland, David Mathews.
Running Time: 252 minutes (15 episodes)

Get Yourself a College Girl (1964)

One of the disadvantages about having Turner Classic Movies is that they play so many movies I want to watch that I constantly find myself firing up the VCR, as a consequence I have a huge back log of movies that I have to watch. After nearly two years, I finally got around to watching Get Yourself a College Girl and thought it would serve as an interesting companion piece to my A Hard Day's Night/ Girl Happy review.

Get Yourself a College Girl was made in 1964 and as a result it often gets lumped in with the Beach Party genre that was popular during the period. While the similarities are there, the truth is, it has more in common with films like Rock Around the Clock (1956), and its semi-sequel Don't Knock the Rock (1956), than it does with the Frankie and Annette films that were popular at time. This isn't too surprising considering that not only does Get Yourself a College Girl have the same producer as those two films (Sam Katzman), but the same screenwriter as well (Robert E. Kent). Katzman was a legendary producer of low budget films and most famously brought not one, but two DC comic book heroes to the screen, Batman and Superman, in serial form. Rock Around the Clock and Don't Knock the Rock both would serve as templates for rock n' roll films of the future, including Get Yourself a College Girl.

Rock Around the Clock is officially the first Rock N' Roll film ever produced and it follows band manager, Steve Hollis (Johnny Johnston), as he attempts to bring Bill Haley and the Comets to the mainstream. One day, while driving across country with his musician friend, Steve stumbles upon Bill Haley and the Comets playing a dance in a small town located in the middle of nowhere. Steve his amazed at the amount of excitement Bill Haley and his band are generating among the locals; at point Steve's friend taps a dancing girl on the shoulder and asks, "What do you call that exercise you're getting?" She replies with, "It's rock n' roll, brother. And we're rocking tonight!"

Steve is convinced rock n' roll is the wave of the future and sets about getting Bill Haley national exposure. The only thing standing in his way is a manipulative, domineering music agent named Corinne Talbot (Alix Talton), who also has her heart set on marrying Steve, despite his lack of interest. When she finds Steve has become smitten with the female half of a brother/sister dancing act that accompanies the Comets, she sets about trying to sabotage Steve's chances. First, she books the Comets to play at a high school prom, thinking that the Comets "wild music" will get them booed offstage, but is utterly shocked when the youth respond in a wildly enthusiastic manner. After her first plan has failed, she attempts to have Steve and the Comets blackballed from the music industry by calling up her friends at other agencies. Steve circumvents her by calling upon popular DJ, Alan Freed, who owes Steve a favor. Finally, Corinne concedes defeat and offers the Comets are huge three year contract. A few other contrivances follow, but it ends on a happy note, with the Comets and other rock n' roll acts getting national exposure on a televised musical jamboree.

Two thoughts about Rock Around the Clock:
1) As a movie it is relatively worthless; the characters and acting (with the exception of Talton) are fairly bland. Bill Haley, despite his top billing, is relegated to the sidelines for the most of the film. But as time capsule for the period (mid 1950s) it is absolutely invaluable; it gives modern day viewers an opportunity to see rock n' roll acts of that time in their absolute prime. (Bill Haley, The Platters, The Bellboys, etc). 

2) The character of Corinne; she's a highly successfully, intelligent career woman, yet the filmmakers imply that she can never be happy unless she's married to a man. Throughout the film, she tries hard to break down Steve's will, so he will come crawling back to her, begging her to marry him. At the end, when she has failed, she seems content on settling for the next best thing (her assistant, Mike Dobbs). This theme of the highly successfully but lonely woman gets revived in Get Yourself a College Girl. 

Don't Knock the Rock, the semi-sequel to Rock Around the Clock, takes a defensive stance towards rock n' roll music; in it a successfully rock singer, Arnie Haines, returns to his hometown to find that he has fallen out of the favor with the elders. Their concern is that rock n' roll leads to juvenile delinquency, so he takes it upon himself (with help from Bill Haley and the Comets and other music acts) to put their fears to rest. After a couple of mishaps, he eventually wins over the elders and everything is peachy keen at film's end.

Flash forward to 1964, and the focus gets shifted from successful male rock star to successful female songwriter, Terry Taylor, who is still attending college at Wyndham. It is revealed that Wyndham is a fairly conservative musical college that looks down upon rock n' roll; to keep herself from being expelled, Terry has her songs published under a pseudonym. However, the cat is let out of the bag when her publisher, Gary Underwood, calls the college in regard to ideas he has for promoting her album. This naturally infuriates the Board of Directors, which consists mostly of old men, who demand that Terry be expelled. The student body marches in on the proceedings and objects to Terry's possible suspension, stating that she's been like a "Joan of Arc" to them with her progressive attitude towards women. However, the Dean, being a woman, is sympathetic towards Terry and asks that the Board wait until after Christmas Break to make their final decision.  One of the board members is Senator Hubert Morrison, who is up for reelection and whose grandmother founded the college. He is, at first, appalled by Terry's music, but the Dean tells him he's old fashioned and should try to get to know the girl before he passes judgment on her. Morrison takes this advice to heart and, by sheer coincidence, happens to be vacationing at the same ski resort as Terry and her friends. All sorts of hilarity ensue!

As I mentioned before Robert E. Kent was a screenwriter on all three films and I suspect a good majority of his screenplays contained the phrase, "Insert musical number here." These films are a more or less an excuse to showcase the musical talent of the day while the "story" mainly functions to bridge the musical numbers together. The actual story for Get Yourself a College Girl doesn't begin until nearly twenty minutes into the movie; the beginning has a few bits of exposition (Terry being a songwriter), but the majority of it is musical acts (The Dave Clark Five, The Animals) accompanied with shots of various college students dancing. One of the musical acts is Terry singing her new song, "Get Yourself a College Girl."

What I find interesting about this sequence (and the end as well) is that the two headlining bands (The Animals, The Dave Clark Five) were part of the British invasion. Get Yourself a College Girl maybe the first American film to openly embrace the British invasion, whereas most Beach Party films were either condescending toward it (Bikini Beach, The Girls on the Beach), or didn't bother to acknowledge its existence. Like A Hard Day's Night, I'm sure getting these bands was an attempt by Sam Katzman to cash in on their fame before it waned, but nonetheless, it is interesting that Katzman willingly jumped on this trend, while Samuel Z. Arkoff and other producers thumbed their nose at it. In fact, despite being labeled a "Beach Party Movie," there is absolutely no surf rock to be found in Get Yourself a College Girl. It is also interesting to note that many of the rock n' roll scenes often take a Direct Cinema approach to film making; often there will be shots of college students dancing done with handheld cameras to give it a more immediate look. This was obviously influenced by shots of the screaming audience at the end of A Hard's Day Night. 

Mary Ann Mobley is a far more engaging lead than the two stiffs (Johnny Johnston, Alan Dale) who sleepwalked through Rock Around the Clock and Don't Knock the Rock. Her character, Terry Taylor, is a woman who is trying to get ahead on her terms and takes offense when a man, Gary Underwood (Chad Everett), tries to run her life for her.  When Gary shows up at the ski resort, she is infuriated and threatens to sue him for breaching her contract; it was stipulated that the music publisher would never telephone Terry at Wyndham College. Gary's idea for promoting her new single is a painting of her holding an acoustic guitar and wearing a revealing nightgown; he then plans to have it plastered on billboards across the country. He has brought an artist along with him, Armand, to capture her likeness. Terry naturally takes offense to this and kicks Gary out of her room. Gary isn't defeated yet, he connives to use the body of another woman while painting Terry's face on top. He approaches various shapely woman at the ski resort, tells them his idea, and is met with a slap in the face. However, before the face slapping commences the audience is treated to an "Insert musical number here" moment with Astrud Gilberto singing "Girl From Ipanema."

While Get Yourself a College Girl features a relatively strong, independent woman in the lead, it's feminism is shaky at best. In the beginning, Terry stresses that a woman should be able to chose her path in life, without the interference of men; be it a career or romance. In the Frankie/Annette Beach Party films of the sixties, the main tension between the two of them was in regards to matrimony; Annette wanted to settle down and have a family, while Frankie wanted to have fun and avoid responsibility at all costs. In Get Yourself a College Girl, Terry's education and singing career come first, while a steady relationship is the last thing on her mind; she plays the field (as the lyrics to her songs suggest), but she's not quite ready to fall for any man. Of course, that all changes when Terry meets Gary. It's true that Terry initially resents Gary, but the audience knows that it's only a matter of time before the two fall in love. The romance is handled in an incredibly clumsy and lazy manner; Terry and Gary happen to be skiing on the same slope and Terry gives him the cold shoulder. She skis down the slope with Gary following her, she looks back to see where he is, and crashes into a snowbank. Her arms are stuck inside the snowbank and Gary takes advantage of the situation to kiss Terry on the lips. Rather than protest the situation, Terry gives in and after they are done kissing she comments that his kiss has melted the snow. She then frees her arms from the snow bank and embraces him.

There is a similar moment in Rock Around the Clock in which the band manager Steve Hollis is met with initial resistance by Lisa Johns (Lisa Gaye), the female half of the brother/sister dance act that performs with Bill Haley and the Comets. When Steve offers to manage that band he proposes a 60/40 split, meaning he'll get 40% of the earning. Lisa, acting as the spokes person for the band, insists that he should be only given 10% and tells him to call back later when he's changed his mind. Steve decides he will seduce Lisa into seeing his way. Later, the two of them are on the beach in bathing suits and Steve is about to make his move, but Lisa completely takes him off guard by kissing him first. The two kiss for a few minutes; Lisa tries to use her womanly charms to persuade Steve into taking 10%, while Steve uses his manly swagger into keeping the entire 40%, eventually they settle on 25%.  By the scene's end, they are hopelessly in love with one another. With the whole romantic subplot settled, the film can now focus on Steve's attempt to land the Bill Haley and The Comets a gig.

The most inexplicable moment that happens in Get Yourself a College Girl is when the character of Sue Ann (Chris Noel), the sexpot out of the group, starts to dance around in the girl's hotel room, clad in a bikini. It's real a head scratching moment...hell even Teresa and their friend Madge (Joan O' Brien) are confused by what is going on. This is a moment that is ripped from the many Beach Party films of the decade, except that it takes place at a ski resort in the WINTER! Which leads me to believe that the screenwriter, after having watched a marathon of earlier Beach movies, decided there needed to be at least one scene in which a busty blonde shakes her booty for all the world to see, regardless as to whether or not it made any sense. Granted, Chris Noel looks great in a bikini.

The best thing about Get Yourself a College Girl is the subplot involving Senator Hubert Morrison (Willard Waterman). At the beginning of the film, the Senator is fairly prudish in regards to the younger generation and finds Terry's songs offensive but, after the Dean of Wyndham tells him he's "old fashioned" in his view points and needs to be more open minded, he actually soaks in what she has to say and takes her advice. When he arrives at the ski resort, he makes it a point to introduce himself to Terry, so he can get to know her better. As the film progresses, his attitude begins to soften towards Terry and the younger generation, and they, in turn, begin to warm up towards him, to the point that they are willing to back him in his upcoming election. It's even implied that the Senator and the girl's beautiful dance teacher, Madge (Joan O' Brien), develop romantic feelings toward one another.

The older vs. younger generation is the staple of most rock n' roll pictures, and usually it's resolved in a fairly unconvincing manner (or in the case of A Hard Day's Night, not at all). In most rock n' roll pictures, the older generation remain firm on their preconceived idea that rock n' roll music is bad for society, and then, through some absolute miracle, have a change of heart at the film's end.  Yet, in Get Yourself a College Girl, because the Senator discards his presuppositions about the younger generation, it makes his conversion at the end all the more believable. The Senator is quite possibly the most likable character in the film; this is largely due to Willard Waterman's funny and engaging performance. 

Finally! In an interesting bit of trivia, all four leading actresses (Mary Ann Mobley, Joan O' Brien, Nancy Sinatra, Chris Noel) all co-starred with Elvis Presley at some point in their career.  Mobley would co-star with Elvis in Girl Happy and Harum Scarum. Joan O' Brien was his leading lady in the fairly well done It Happened At the World's Fair. Sinatra wouldn't be so fortunate, as her leading lady gig was in Speedway. And Noel played one of Shelley Fabares spring break friends in Girl Happy. Joan O' Brien was easily the best actress out of the bunch and had a fairly interesting career, co-starring with Cary Grant in Operation Petticoat and John Wayne in The Alamo, but after this film her career came to a complete halt. 

Cast: Mary Ann Mobley (Teresa "Terry" Taylor), Joan O' Brien (Marge Endicott), Chad Everett (Gary Underwood), Willard Waterman (Senator Hubert Morrison), Nancy Sinatra (Lynne), Chris Noel (Sue Ann),
Fabrizio Mioni (Armand), Dorothy Neumann (Martha Stone, Dean of Wyndham College), Astrud Gilberto (Herself), The Dave Clark Five, The Animals, The Standells, The Bell Boys.

Director: Sidney Miller
Screenplay: Robert E. Kent, Robert G. Stone.
Running Time: 86 min.

The Beatles vs. Elvis: A Hard Day's Night (1964), Girl Happy (1965)

In high school, there was a book that I constantly checked out from the library called The Great Movies by William Bayer; it was essentially a greatest movies ever list, but what made Bayer's book so compelling was that instead of choosing 100 movies, he chose 60. He made his selections by choosing 12 genres of film and then choosing five movies from each genre, hence the 60 movies. It was to my utter joy that years later I was able to locate a copy online and purchase it for an extremely low price ($7.99).  What's amazing about Bayer's book is that  he was well ahead of the curve in his selections; the book was published in 1973 and a lot of his selections were from the 60s. Among the films he chose were: 2001: A Space Odyssey, Psycho, Dr. Strangelove, Easy Rider, The Manchurian Candidate, Contempt, and A Hard Day's Night. These films often are found on most critics greatest movies list, but in 1973 these films were fairly recent and it was simply ( at least at the time) unheard to place such current films on a greatest list.  Bayer ranked A Hard Day's Night one of the five greatest Musicals ever made and has this to write:

Like any Astaire-Rogers film, A Hard Day's Night was contrived as a star vehicle. It was commissioned in frantic haste by United Artists as an exploitation film about the Beatles. Executives of the UA were convinced that the group's popularity would crest in 1964 and were most anxious that the film be completed before the bubble burst. (How badly they misunderstood the temper of the times. There is no question that the Beatles' place in musical history is more secure than that, for example, of Julie Andrews, but the film-industry executives, who business is presumably is fantasy fulfillment, rarely have shown much understanding of what the public craves.) 

At the same time the Beatles were making A Hard Day's Night, Elvis Presley was cranking out movies (and high profitably movie soundtracks) for MGM.  Like A Hard Day's Night these films were low risk, high reward ventures; they cost relatively little to make and often made a profit. Unlike the Beatles, Elvis Presley (at this time at least) was not working with a director of the caliber of Richard Lester, though I'm sure most  Superman fans would differ. His films were fairly formulaic and were turned out in an efficient, factory pace. His director on Girl Happy was the workmanlike Boris Sagal, who was more interested in delivering a product than making a genuinely good movie. Elvis films in the 60s all had the same skeletal outline:

1) An attractive leading lady that would serve as a romantic interest for the Elvis character. Often the two got off to a shaky start, but inevitably Elvis' charms and the scenery would win over the lovely lady.
2) A rock n roll number practically every ten minutes, just to remind the audience that this is an Elvis film and the soundtrack was readily available in stores.
3) A misunderstanding that throws a wrench in the romantic works; the leading lady makes a false assumption about Elvis that could easily be settled if they chose to listen what he had to say, as opposed to just brushing him off.
4) An old, respected character actor who brings humor and warmth to the proceedings.
5) Attractive scenery, be it nice summer beaches, palm trees, or beautiful women in bikinis.

Girl Happy is the quintessential Elvis Presley movie, because it has all of these things. In it, Rusty Wells (Elvis Presley) and his band promise a Chicago mobster/club owner that they will look after his daughter, Valerie (Shelley Fabares), who is on spring break in Ft. Lauderdale with her friends. Rusty and his band initially plan on going to Ft. Lauderdale for a week long vacation, but their plans seem dashed when Big Frank tells them that he's going to book them to play his club for the next four, maybe even six weeks. However, when Rusty finds out the Big Frank's daughter is going to Ft. Lauderdale for spring break, he uses Big Frank's fatherly concerns his advantage; he talks Big Franks into letting him and his band go down to Ft. Lauderdale to "protect" Valerie from all the sex maniacs running amok.Big Frank is grateful for Rusty's concerns and offers to pay all the expenses their trip, but he also makes it clear to Rusty that if anything should happen to his daughter, then it will be curtains for him and his band. This is to be done with Valerie being completely ignorant of the arrangement; Big Frank wants to make it appear as if Valerie has complete freedom over the week.  At first this seems like an easy task as Valerie comes off as being something of a nerd, she wears *the horror* GLASSES and dresses in a fairly conservative, drab manner. However, things take a turn for the unexpected when at the poolside, Valerie strips off the conservative wear to reveal a fairly rockin' bikini clad body. This gives Rusty a near heart attack. At first, Rusty finds Valerie to be a complete burden; looking after her has become a near full time job and becomes a wearisome cock block on his budding romance with the curvaceous Deena (Mary Ann Mobley). However, eventually Rusty warms towards Valerie and finds himself falling in love with her, much to the surprise of his band members, but not to the audience. Valerie returns his feelings and all indicators are that this going to be a happy ending. Valerie is so happy that when Big Frank calls her, she tells him the wonderful news about Rusty. Big Franks laughs and spills the beans to Valerie that he is paying Rusty to look after her. This naturally upsets Valerie and she decides to make Rusty's life a living hell, first by calling one of her admirers, the Italian exchange student Romano, and then by getting completely plastered. UH-OH! Will Rusty be able to win her love back? Of course, he will! This is an Elvis movie, not Contempt. 

It's often a misconception that while Elvis was a great singer, he was not a particularly good actor. This conception is largely due to the fact that Elvis movies got progressively worse as the decade wore on and he was, for the most part, never allowed to play an actual character but a rather variation of himself. Yet, when given good material, Elvis was actually quite good. Elvis made 31 feature films and while most of them are rather forgettable, there were a few that were rather good: Jailhouse Rock, It Happened at the World's Fair, Flaming Star, and King Creole. Flaming Star is of interest, because it is not a typical Elvis film, it is in fact a straightforward western with an excellent performance by Elvis. Not surprisingly, it's one of the few times Elvis was paired with a genuinely good director (Don Siegel), resulting in a genuinely good movie.
While Girl Happy is by no means a "good" movie, it definitely benefits greatly from having Elvis as the lead. It could have easily been written for Frankie Avalan, or any other popular croner at the time; with the exception of Elvis, it's fairly indistinguishable from all the other Beach movies of the time. In fact, four of Elvis co-star were beach movie regulars (Fabares, Mary Ann Mobley, Chris Noel, and Gail Gilmore).
The script was essentially dusted off in 2003 and made into the legendary bomb From Justin to Kelly. Girl Happy is a forgettable, yet fairly entertaining movie, while From Justin to Kelly is genuinely awful, despite the complimentary things the cast and director say on the commentary track. Yet, for the most part both screenplays are equally silly and at times cringe worthy, while the soundtracks to both are nothing special. However, the difference between the two is:

1) Elvis is quite possibly the most charismatic singer in modern history and this carries over onto film. Elvis' talent was limitless to the point where he could take a moldy jockstrap and turn it into pure gold. The musical numbers in Girl Happy are forgettable, but Elvis performs them with such energy that they are fun to watch. Justin Guarini and Kelly Clarkson, however, lack Elvis' screen presence and are complete bores, which in turn makes the musical numbers are a complete chore to sit through. From Justin to Kelly is only 80 minutes long, but it feels a lot longer.

2) Elvis and Shelley Fabares actually have onscreen chemistry.It's extremely easy to believe that Valerie would fall for a charismatic singer like Rusty, but it's also not surprising  when Rusty admits his love for Valerie, because she is a likable character. In the film Valerie is an extremely smart, but sheltered woman and Fabares manages to pull this with a simple gesture. When she first meets Rusty, he is serenading her with a guitar, yet rather than falling for him completely, she views him with complete skepticism. She may have lead an overprotected life, but she is not naive to ways of the world.  Incidentally, Fabares would  co-star with Elvis in two more films Clambake and Spinout, and by all accounts, she was his favorite leading actress.
Justin Guarini and Kelly Clarkson on the other hand, look and act as if they would rather be somewhere else.  It's hard to believe that a self absorbed, superficial guy like Justin would obsess over Kelly Clarkson's character. Not to sound superficial and sexist, but the average looking Clarkson wouldn't exactly stand out on a beach that is littered with bikini clad beauties. The budding romance between Justin and Kelly never feels organic to the film, rather it happens, because the script demands it. Hell, the two stars would have been served had they made a film where the played arch rivals out to destroy one another. It would be far more believable than them being lovers. Oddly enough, despite being set in Ft. Lauderdale during spring break and being made in 2003, From Justin to Kelly is so chaste that Girl Happy is a soft core porn by comparison. Justin is looking to get laid, like most college guys during spring break, but is content with just holding hands with the sweet natured Kelly. It sets up a couple of potentially raunchy scenarios (a whip cream bikini contest), but resolves them in the most unoffensive, G-Rated way possible; Kelly sprays Justin with a whip cream aerosol can, while the the female contestants are in the background, out of focus. Whereas in Girl Happy, it is fairly obvious what's on Rusty's mind when he's with the shapely Deena.  In one scene, Rusty and his band are playing a gig at a local bar, while  Valerie, in a skimpy costume, struts around the stage, carrying a sign that reads "I'm Evil." This musical number alone has more of a sexual charge to it than anything that can be found in From Justin To Kelly...yet it's completely tame by today's standards.

While Girl Happy was your standard 60s beach movies, with a great lead, A Hard Day's Night was something completely different; the Beatles played themselves as opposed to a fictional band. This, in itself,  isn't anything new; in the first "official" rock n' roll film Rock Around the Clock, Bill Haley and The Comets played themselves, but were essentially relegated to supporting roles, despite their first billing. Rock Around the Clock is more about their manager trying to promote their music to the record companies and the complications that ensue, rather than the personalities of Bill Haley and the Comets. This was the formula that most rock n' roll musicals from the 50s followed, the rock n' roll acts would show up just long enough to sing a few hit song, take a few bows, and then exit from the film.
It was also common for rock n' roll films at the time to take a defensive stance towards the music, Rock Around the Clock features a subplot in which a parent group protests Bill Haley playing his music in their town, because they are afraid it will lead to juvenile delinquency.  However, by the film's end, Bill Haley has won the parent group over and everyone lives happily ever after. A Hard Day's Night does away with all of this. There is never any attempt by the filmmakers to defend the Beatles music, nor are they ever made out to be "heroes." There's no scene in which John heroically saves a child from the fire. Or where Ringo lectures a children about the importance of the school. The Beatles are presented simply as themselves, vices and all.
A Hard Day's Night is a pseudo-documentary about the day in the life of The Beatles. The first shot says it all; the Beatles are being chased by a mob screaming fans as they try to get aboard a train. The Beatles may dodge a few responsibilities (answering fan mail), but they take their music seriously.
I said A Hard Day's Night is a pseudo-documentary, because despite it's direct cinema approach (hand held camera, improvisation), it often bends the rules of reality. In one scene, John is playing with a toy submarine, while taking a bath. He pretends he has been hit by a torpedo and sinks beneath the soap suds. Meanwhile, George is giving Shake lessons on how to use a safety razor; he demonstrates his technique by using Shake's reflection in a mirror. Just then the manager Norm comes in and tells George that a car is waiting outside to take them to the TV studio. He asks George where John is and George says in the bathtub. Norm yells at John to get out of the bathtub, but gets no response. He then drains the bathtub by pulling out the plug and to his utter shock John is not there. He looks down the drain and screams, "John!" Just then John emerges from the right of frame, in a bathrobe, and berates Norm for standing around.

The humor in A Hard Day's Night is often absurd, extremely nonsensical, it springs from the Beatles personalities rather than from the plot itself. The scene mentioned above really has no function to the overall story line, it's just John being John. In one scene, the Beatles have to mingle with the press and they often give silly answers to rather silly questions. My favorite bit being:

Reporter: What would you call that hair cut?
George: Arthur!

The film in may ways is stolen by Wilfred Brambell, who plays Paul's mischievous grandfather. He always seems to have a scheme up his sleeve; at one point he uses Ringo's invitation to get inside a casino and proceeds to accumulate a huge debt. At the end of the film, he persuades Ringo to quit the band and go parading across the city; this naturally ends with Ringo winding up in jail, as he unintentionally manages to offend the locals with his clumsiness.  Paul's grandfather is essentially the glue that holds the movie together, because he is the center of the story; it's his antics that often lead to crisis-es that the Beatles must overcome.

The humor in Girl Happy is fairly contrived, often something that could be found in a TV sitcom. In Girl Happy, Rusty has just spent the entire day hanging out with Valerie and the two agree to meet in his hotel room for dinner, he goes inside his room and much to his surprise finds Deena waiting for him. Rather than tell Deena the truth, he tells her that he's tired and tries to escort her out the front door, only to find Valerie heading in his direction. He takes Deena and hides her on the back patio, telling her he will be right back. As the scene plays out, Rusty keeps running back and forth, entertaining both women simultaneously, hoping to keep them hidden from one another's sight. This scene mercifully comes to an end when Valerie is called to the telephone. You can find this scene in practically every TV sitcom and it's just as irritating in this film, as it was in Three's Company and other TV shows  At this point in the film Rusty has completely fallen for Valerie and has essentially forgotten about Deena, which makes his dishonesty all the more annoying. You're practically screaming at him to just tell Deena the truth, so she can be on her way and find someone else, but instead he keeps stalling. It's an extremely long and lame scene that exists solely to create tension between our two love birds. It's at this moment that Big Frank reveals to Valerie that he hired Rusty to look after her. Right after hearing this startling revelation, Valerie looks out her window to see Deena leaving Rusty's room with Rusty in tow. UH-OH! It's also the moment where everyone in the theater lets out a collective groan. Really? I know Elvis movies are formulaic, but do they have to be this obvious?

The other main difference between the two films is the way they stage their musical numbers. Girl Happy was shot on a sound stage at MGM, so everything is shot in a conventional manner: An establishing shot of the location, followed by a close up of Elvis singing. The number that stands out is "Spring Fever" in which the film cross cuts between shots of Rusty and his band singing in his car with shots of Valerie and her friends singing in her car. This scene is done with the rear projection effect; in which a mock up of a car is placed in front of a screen, where road footage is being projected on. It's not a convincing effect and is especially clumsy looking in this film, but the song itself is fairly catchy and a lot of fun to listen to.
In A Hard Day's Night, each musical number is shot in a different fashion. The "Can't Buy Me Love" number is done in a non diagetic fashion, in which the music springs from the soundtrack, as opposed from a source within the narrative; The Beatles dance around on a field, while the song blares on the soundtrack. Whereas, "I Should Have Known Better" is interesting, because it often the bends the laws of reality for the sake of the song; the scene cuts between shots of the Beatles playing cards  to shots of the Beatles playing instruments.The number is set in a baggage car on a train, while a bunch of young woman look on from behind a fence; at one point one of the girls sticks her hand through the cage to have a grab at Ringo's hair. In some shots John is seen singing, in others he's fully invested in the card game. It's an extremely unconventional musical number and would serve as a template that music videos would later follow.

The question often asked is: are you a Beatles person or an Elvis person? Well, to be frank..I am both. The Beatles are probably my favorite band of all time, but Elvis is one of the most remarkable talents the world has ever seen. And it's safe to say without Elvis, there might have been no Beatles.While Elvis never came close to making a film as good as A Hard Day's Night, his presence alone was often enough to overcome weak scripts and bad direction. The Beatles managed to capture lighting in the bottle with A Hard Day's Night; they only made two other feature films afterwards, Help! and The Magic Mystery Tour; I don't include Yellow Submarine, because their involvement was fairly minimal and Let It Be is a documentary. Help! is an extremely entertaining film, but it's not on par with A Hard Day's Night, even though it was directed by Richard Lester. Too often the Beatles gets overshadowed by the wacky supporting cast, though Leo McKern is hilarious as a cult leader. The Magical Mystery Tour has a great soundtrack...and that's about it. The film is an incoherent mess and is completely boring to boot; nothing literally happens.

Credits:
 A Hard Day's Night (1964)
Cast:  John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison, Ringo Starr (themselves), Wilfred Brambell (Paul's Grandfather), Norman Rossington (Norm), John Junkin (Shake), Victor Spinetti (T.V. Director), Anna Quayle (Millie), Deryck Guyler (Police Inspector), Richard Vernon (Man On Train).

Director: Richard Lester
Screenplay: Alun Owen
Running Time: 87 min.

Girl Happy (1965)
Cast: Elvis Presley (Rusty Wells), Shelley Fabares (Valerie), Harold J. Stone (Big Frank), Mary Ann Mobley (Deena), Gary Crosby (Andy), Joby Baker (Wilbur), Jimmy Hawkins (Doc),  Nita Talbot (Sunny Daze),Chris Noel (Betsy),  Peter Brooks (Brentwood von Durgenfeld), Fabrizio Mioni (Romano), Jackie Coogan (Sgt. Benson), John Fielder (Mr. Penchill), Gail Gilmore (Nancy).

Director: Boris Sagal
Screenplay: Harvey Bullock, R.S. Allen
Running Time: 96 min.