Weekend treats ..... six from that fab year 1962

It should be in widescreen reallv....

Sixties rarities: bawdy fun with Kim, Susannah etc.

It’s a return to that bawdy, lusty 18th century with LOCK UP YOUR DAUGHTERS, Peter Coe’s 1969 film of a stage show with songs, though the songs are gone here, as this vainly follows THE ADVENTURES OF MOLL FLANDERS in trying to capture the success of TOM JONES. It ramps up the squalor of the era and plays like a CARRY ON on speed – all it has going for it really is that cast. It basically follows the misadventures of three sailors on shore leave: Lusty (Jim Dale), Shaftoe (Tom Bell) and Ramble (Ian Bannen) who are all looking for some action – willing to provide it are Susannah York (Hilaret) who is rather underused here, Vanessa Howard (Hoyden) and Glynis Johns (Mrs Squeezum). Fabulous Fenella Fielding has the Joan Greenwood role as Lady Eager, allowing herself to be seduced at the theatre and ensuring her seducer has the correct window to call on later – Kathleen Harrison and Roy Kinnear are also funny as Lord and Lady Clumsey, and Roy Dotrice is the Gossip. Other familiar faces include Arthur Mullard, Peter Bull, Fred Emney and its good to see Georgia Brown (the original Nancy in the original OLIVER) as the local strumpet. Top billed though is another extraordinary performance by Christopher Plummer as Lord Fopington with a grotesque wig and what looks like a false nose and who can barely walk he is so effete - he is as stunning as his Inca king Atahualpa in the film of THE ROYAL HUNT OF THE SUN, also that year.. Shot in Kilkenny, Ireland it is an amusing trifle to see at this remove.

THE AMOROUS ADVENTURES OF MOLL FLANDERS in 1965 was obviously following in TOM JONES' footsteps with Kim Novak in the lead as amorous Moll, but is good-humoured fun as Terence Young directs a good cast and practically every British comedian and character actor of the era. There is that terrific star quartet of Angela Lansbury and Vittorio De Sica having fun as impoverished aristocrats, Lilli Palmer as leader of the criminal underworld, and George Sanders as Moll's first husband. Kim was so iconic in the '50s [PICNIC, EDDIE DUCHIN STORY, VERTIGO, BELL BOOK AND CANDLE, STRANGERS WHEN WE MEET etc] but - rather like Carroll Baker - she seems diminished in the '60s as items like BOYS NIGHT OUT, OF HUMAN BONDAGE etc did her no favours. She plays along gamely here ... its still a laugh.

Fun out west with Anne, Jeff, Rory, Randolph & Angela

I have not seen the 1942 western THE SPOILERS - but it should be fun, with John Wayne, Marlene Dietrich and Randolph Scott heading this western set in Alaska in those gold-rush days. It was remade though in 1955, with a more 50s cast: Jeff Chandler, Anne Baxter and Rory Calhoun, with some grizzled veterans like Wallace Ford and John McIntyre. 

Like Wayne's 1960 comedy western by Henry Hathaway NORTH TO ALASKA we are back in those muddy streets of Nome, Alaska, where everyone is looking for gold or trying to get their hands on others' claims. 

Anne is vamping in high style, and some eye-popping costumes, as saloon owner Cherry Malotte, the guys are merely adequate around her scheming minx, Cue lots of fighting in the mud, and much amusement as Jeff and Rory demolish the saloon bar during their extended fight at the climax. She seems to be having as much fun as she does in her next, Cecil's THE TEN COMMANDMENTS. Below: the 1942 trio.

A lot of Randolph Scott's westerns are being aired here just now too, usually those lean Budd Boetticher revenge dramas with Randolph as a man alone seeking those who did him wrong, as in BUCHANAN RIDES ALONE, COMMANCE STATION, THE TALL T, SIX MEN FROM NOW etc 
One I had not seen before is A LAWLESS STREET from 1955 - usual story, he is the weary Sheriff of a lawless town, who wants to hand in his badge. The interest in this run of the mill one is that Angela L|ansbury plays his ex-wife who returns to town as a singer and dancer and does a rather risque musical number. Rest assured Randolph and Angela ride off in a wagon once he has dished out justice to the lawbreakers .... a pleasant timewaster then, as indeed is THE SPOILERS, I imagine Marlene and Wayne would be fun too, with Randy too of course. 

Summer re-views, briefly

WOMEN HE'S UNDRESSED. Gilliam Armstrong's 2014 documentary on Hollywood costume designer Orry-Kelly, which we have mentioned here a few times before (Costumes label). The documentary, based on Orry's lush memoir which I enjoyed a lot, has taken its time appearing here, in fact in has not yet, but I got the Australian (Region 4) dvd, which plays perfectly on multichannel players. 

Its a fanciful conceit, with an actor playing Orry, who seems to be rowing a boat a lot of the time, but then we get all the clips: Orry's costumes for CASABLANCA, GYPSY and his three Oscar-winners: AN AMERICAN IN PARIS, LES GIRLS (where Kay, Mitzi and Taina look divine in his creations), and of course Marilyn's still daring costumes for SOME LIKE IT HOT. Orry continued up to 1964, so we get Jane Fonda and Angela Lansbury talking about his costumes for their 1963 IN THE COOL OF THE DAY - one I have never seen and can't get now, so thanks for the clips. 

Bette Davis also reigns supreme here, with those costumes Orry did for JEZEBEL, MR SKEFFINGTON, NOW VOYAGER, THE LETTER etc. 

Other talking heads include the notorious Scotty Bowers, and it rehashes all the Cary Grant and Randy Scott gossip and pictures. In fact, Orry gets sidelined for a while while the documentary focuses on Cary, who "roomed" with Orry when they were both young and starting out. But then legendary tightwad Cary always needed someone to pay the rent, hence all those years sharing houses with Randolph .... between their many marriages.

JANE EYRE - the Franco Zeffirelli 1996 version. There have been a lot of Janes around, the 1944 one with Orson and Joan Fontaine is still the one to beat for me, with delicious roles for Agnes Moorehead and Henry Daniell - but this Zeffirelli one is a nicely paced (if rather hurried at the end) version, with Charlotte Gainsbourg a suitably very plain Jane indeed (unlike Janes Joan Fontaine or Susannah York)  but William Hurt (so ideal in films like BODY HEAT or KISS OF THE SPIDER WOMAN) all wrong here and hardly making any impression, 

It is all grimly Victorian and Franco as usual ramps up the supporting players: a very severe Geraldine Chaplin and Amanda Root (PERSUASION) at the Lowood Orphanage; Fiona Shaw as Aunt Reed, Billie Whitelaw as Grace Poole, Joan Plowright as Mrs Fairfax, Samuel West, and two sadder appearances: Richard Warwick (whom I knew slightly) silent here in his last role as the manservant, the year before he died (he also pops up in Zeffirelli's ROMEO AND JULIET and HAMLET); and poor Maria Schneider as the madwoman in the attic ..... a worthwhile but low-key JANE then.  

JOE MACBETH, 1955. This re-view goes way back to the Fifties, as I first saw this when I was a kid in Ireland, but it made a vivid impression - though I would not have the got Shakespeare part then. It is a modern gangster version of MACBETH, by Ken Hughes, almost impossible to see now, (so thanks Jerry.) Paul Douglas is impressive as usual, and one of our Projector favourites, Ruth Roman, is as ever terrific as Lady M. Its a British production, so supporting cast includes Bonar Colleano, Gregoire Aslan and Sid James. I was pleased to see it again, and to get it on a flash drive. Its more entertaining than that dreadful recent Michael Fassbender version which nearly drove me screaming from the practically empty multiplex ...

THE HONEYMOON KILLERS. For real horror you can hardly beat Leonard Kastle's 1969 chiller, which I first saw as a supporting feature back then. My pal Stan and I were both gobsmacked by it, I can't even remember what the main feature was. 
I had not seen it since then but it lingered in the memory. so its good to see it again now on dvd.  Seems this could have been Scorsese's first feature,but he was replaced. It is a bleak tale of a murderous rampage by two seedy killers: the obese nurse and her scuzzy boyfriend (Tony Lo Bianco) as they plot to fleece lonely widows whom he romances and lets them think he is going to marry them, while she, posing as his sister, tags along in the background. Once seen, it is not easily forgotten. The film is made by the marvellous Shirley Stoler (1929-1999) as the malevolent Martha - she also pops up in KLUTE and is terrifying again as that Nazi concentration camp commandant in SEVEN BEAUTIES in 1975 .... (whom prisoner Giancarlo Giannini has to romance in order to survive - we raved about it, at Italian label). Her 40+ credits also include THE DEER HUNTER.  
It is not violent by today's torture porn standards, but once seen it is not easily forgotten as we enter than downbeat world of cheap motels and diners. It is Kastle's only credit. 

People we like: Glenn or Gilda ?

I had Glenn Ford pegged as one of those new post-war guys who came along after World War II - like Peck, Lancaster, Douglas, Mitchum - but, like his pal William Holden, Ford stole a march on them as he and Holden were in movies by the late 1930s - by 1946 Ford, after a busy time in genre movies, had worked his way up to co-starring with not one but two Bette Davis sisters in A STOLEN LIFE - then, came GILDA !

GILDA is a noir riot now - a fusion of sexual heat, jealousy, fear and hatred - terrific stuff!
Johnny Farrell is a gambling cheat who turns straight to work for sinister casino owner Ballin Mundson. But things take a turn for Johnny as his alluring ex-lover Gilda, whom he has come to hate, appears as Mundson's wife, and Mundson's machinations begin to unravel.

Ford's Johnny Farrell comes over like a sleazy punk on the make, down Argentina way, as he falls in with nightclub owner and racketeer George Macready - the two men seem to have an odd almost homoerotic relationship, and then Mundsen returns from a trip with his new wife: Gilda, an old flame of Farrell's and the sexual tensions build up, to that delirious climax. Rita is in her element here, and Glenn matches her all the way. It remains a key film noir set in that mythical 1940s world of nighclubs and casinos.

Ford has always been a person we like here, amiable (usually), unassuming, keeping busy shifting effortlessly between dramas, westerns, comedies - looking equally at home in a suit, military outfits or cowboy gear - but not in a toga or tights, like Bogart he just looked too modern for period films.  He seems curiously under-appreciated now, usually ignored by the fan mags, but was a busy actor right through the Fifties and into the mid-Sixties - and was effective as an ordindary, everyday hero.

Lang's THE  BIG HEAT in '53 and Brooks' THE BLACKBOARD JUNGLE in 1955 were two of the major dramas of the era, as well as more routine items like TRIAL, RANSOM, and the romantic INTERRUPTED MELODY. He and Gloria Graham were also back with Fritz Lang for HUMAN DESIRE in '54. His westerns included THE AMERICANO, JUBAL, THE VIOLENT MEN, 3.10 TO YUMA, COWBOY, THE SHEEPMAN, CIMARRON in 1960, and then there were comedies like TEAHOUSE OF THE AUGUST MOON (with Brando playing Japanese), two with Debbie Reynolds: THE GAZEBO and I remember IT STARTED WITH A KISS  being very funny.  He continued into the Sixties with two for Minnelli: the 1962 odd re-working of THE FOUR HORSEMEN OF THE APOCALYPSE and the charming THE COURTSHIP OF EDDIE'S FATHER in 1963. He was effective as the FBI agent in Blake Edwards' EXPERIMENT IN TERROR with Lee Remick, also 1962 - see Ford label, and the 1964 airline crash drama FATE IS THE HUNTER.  He was re-united with Bette Davis too (in a supporting role this time) in Capra's schmaltz-fest A POCKETFUL OF MIRACLES in 1961, before BABY JANE revived her career.  
I did not get a chance to see Delbert Mann's DEAR HEART in 1964, it played the lower half of double bills here, but it seems well regarded, with Geraldine Page and Angela Lansbury. (I've just had to order it ....). Ford's later westerns like THE ROUNDERS also ended up as the lower part of double features.  There were also several more with Rita Hayworth, though not quite in the GILDA class: AFFAIR IN TRINIDAD, THE LOVES OF CARMEN, and THE MONEY TRAP in 1965 - poor Rita did not last long in that one.  

Ford (1916-2006) lived to be 90, had a long career, with over 100 credits - his last major role being Superman's earth father in SUPERMAN in '78. His first wife was dancer Eleanor Powell and it seems he romanced a lot of hollywood ladies .... and was a decorated war hero too - receiving the French Legion of Honour medal.
Next: The Hardy boy .... and then "Mitchell Leisen - Hollywood Director"

Christmas treats

TV is awash at the moment with Christmas movies - glutinous, sentimental TV movies - there are even whole channels devoted to them. I ignore all these -we will always want to see IT'S A WONDERFUL LIFE or MIRACLE ON 34TH STREET or even WHITE CHRISTMAS or MEET ME IN ST LOUIS (not a Christmas movie as such, as it covers all 4 seasons, but it does have that great Christmas song sung by Judy...). There are though one or two movies I discovered that are worth seeing, and starring some of our favourites here at The Projector.

I nominate CHRISTMAS EVE, starring Loretta Young and Trevor Howard, and THE GIFT OF LOVE: A CHRISTMAS STORY with Lee Remick and Angela Lansbury. And for a real movie, Spence and Kate in DESK SET (above) - which has a great long Christmas party scene. Roll them ...

Loretta was the great depression waif back in the 1930s and very prolific - 7 or 8 movies in 1933 alone. I love her in those Pre-Codes like MIDNIGHT MARY or the 1936 LADIES IN LOVE - as per revews at Loretta label. (The later Loretta became an Iron Butterfly and was less interesting). Here she is Amanda, a beautiful old lady in CHRISTMAS EVE, in 1986. Amanda is a wealthy widow at loggerheads with her banker son who is trying to remove her from control of the family firm as she persists in using real money to give to the poor and not tax-deducting it. Then it turns out Amada has a fatal illness [no sniggering at the back Martin Bradley!] with not much time left. When her doctor tells her, her reaction is "Well I never thought I was immortal". 
Her faithful butler is none other than Trevor Howard, also touching and frail here after his hell-raiser days. When she tells him of her condition and how he has to help her, as they go out every night helping the poor and homeless, is perfectly played by the two veterans. She decides to use her remaining time to re-unite her grandchildren with their father and bring the whole family together for Christmas Eve. Does it happen? It may sound gruesomely sentimental but it is anything but in the seasoned hands of veterans like Young and Howard and a good supporting cast. Directed by Stuart Cooper. Howard died 2 years later in 1988, aged 74 Young died aged 87 in 2000. 

Lee Remick and Angela Lansbury are paired again in the 1983 telefilm THE GIFT OF LOVE. (They were previously in THE LONG HOT SUMMER in 1958, and that 1964 Sondheim musical ANYONE CAN WHISTLE). 

After experiencing several stressful situations within a short time --including the failure of the family business and the loss of her mother-- Janet Broderick becomes ill. Falling into a deep sleep, she dreams of returning to her hometown, taking her children with her to meet her deceased loved ones. Perhaps, during a Christmas reunion with her beloved family, she will find the answer to coping with her troubles.

This is a glutinously sentimental story mainly in soft focus about a family facing hard times and the intervention perhaps of family ghosts... Lee is wonderfully attractive and fascinating as usual as the disillusioned wife whose mother Angela Lansbury dies after two scenes, but returns as Lee dreams most of the following with a visit to her old family home where mother and father and spinster aunt are all present. Its nicely resolved with her children and husband, and expertly put together by old hand Delbert Mann (MARTY, SEPARATE TABLES etc). It remains a superior telemovie though, we can watch Lee and Angela in anything. 

DESK SET is a pleasure now, as I posted here a year or so ago.. I like it a lot, maybe the best of the Tracy-Hepburns after WOMAN OF THE YEAR, ADAMS RIB, PAT & MIKE .... its from a talky play (by Phoebe and Henry Ephron) and the subject must have been topical back in the 50s - those new big computers coming in taking over office jobs. Like Fox's WOMAN'S WORLD it is also another great New York movie, and Kate and her office girls, led by Joan Blondell, are a great gang. Spence is amusing and droll too as they suspect he (and his new computer) is going to make them all redundant. Theres reams of dialogue, including that nice long scene on the cold office roof, and that one at Kate's apartment - another Apartment We Love - with its cosy fire, chairs and bookshelves. We want to live there!

Gig Young is Kate's on-off boyfriend - a task he previously played for Bette and Joan. There is a great long Christmas scene as the office party gets underway and Kate plays drunk nicely - she and Joan Blondell get nicely tipsy together, and Kate even sings "Night and Day". She is for once given a decent wardrobe of nice dresses and coats and looks great, particularly in that red coat and gloves.. DESK SET, directed by Fox regular Walter Lang, is a pleasure any time, and Leon Shamroy makes it look good. (As I mentioned before, the young Lee Remick was up for the small part played by Dina Merrill, as her first movie role, but she wisely opted for A FACE IN THE CROWD instead, making a sensational debut there). Its a Christmas treat, put it on. 

Loretta's Beauty Shop .......... (for M.B.)

Loretta's Beauty Shop is open again today - it is of course located at Cabot Cove somewhere in New England - Maine, perhaps? - where that amazing sleuth and thriller writer Jessica Fletcher resides - when she is not globe-trotting around the world solving murders where-ever she goes .... Jessica of course is the tireless Angela Lansbury (still working in her late 80s - she was back on the London stage earlier this year) - while her MURDER SHE WROTE TV series are replayed endlessly - there is at least one a day on here. 

I never bothered with the series back when first shown - being younger and out a lot and it was not my sort of TV, but hey 30 or so years later, its amusing to check them out now and then, if only for the great guest stars - we have seen Jean Simmons, Janet Leigh, Carroll Baker, Rod Taylor, David Hemmings and lots more including Angela's old pals from her MGM days. Some episodes are set in a make-believe Ireland (where Angela lived for some years) and its fun seeing their recreations of Paris, Hong Kong, Cairo and others.

A particular favourite of mine, Ruth Roman, wound down her career here, doing three episodes set in Cabot Cove where she plays Loretta who runs the local beauty parlour (where everything is pink), its where Angela and her gossipy neighbours hang out: Julia Adams still looking terrific, a rather portly Kathryn Grayson, and Gloria De Haven, This particular episode I saw the other day "The Sins of Castle Cove" (Season 5, episode 17, 1989) concerns a PEYTON PLACE type novel written by a local girl, using all the local scandals, which becomes a best seller and, yes, inevitably leads to murder. But fear not, Jessica will soon unravel it, meanwhile relax with the girls at the parlour presided over by the good-natured, jovial Loretta, a vision in pink - go Ruth, a good final role for her.

Gypsy - stomping at The Savoy !

Two Roses & Mrs Lovetts: 
Angela & Imelda

Its a blast. A day later we are still on that high one gets from being blown away by a super show that exceeds one's expectations. I only knew GYPSY from the 1962 film so seeing it on stage was an eye-opener yesterday. It follows the film exactly, or I should say the film follows the original show, but the current stage show in London is fast paced, zippy, very cinematic and works on every level. The star of the show of course is that bundle of dynamite Imelda Staunton who pulls all the stops out. The audience rises as one to give her a standing ovation after "Rose's Turn" - its a huge role, with lots of business - she probably has a sit-down and a cup of tea while the Three Strippers do their "You Gotta Have A Gimmick" - they are dynamite too - and then Louise "entertains" us. Lara Pulver (whom I saw last in SHERLOCK) scores too as Gypsy and her transition during "Let Me Entertain You" is also expertly done.

I last saw Imelda on stage, well over a decade ago now, as Miss Adelaide in GUYS AND DOLLS at the National, and an indelible memory is of her dancing alone on the stage, with the audience egging her on. Since then of course she stunned us in VERA DRAKE and so much more, like the recent PRIDE and that lovely tv film last Christmas, THAT DAY WE SANG, and she voices Aunt Lucy in PADDINGTON, and we liked her in SHAKESPEARE IN LOVE, CRANFORD and others. Like Julie Walters, Alison Steadman and Brenda Blethyn, she has worked her way up to becoming one of our senior actresses, and also has that Mike Leigh association.  National Treasure status beckons. 

GYPSY has a great company, the children are all perfect and the transition to adult is marvellously handled, its a long show too as we settle down to the big climax with those three great numbers: "You Gotta Have A Gimmick", "Let Me Entertain You" and "Rose's Turn". What a show but what a pedigree: book by Arthur Laurents, music by Jule Styne, lyrics by Sondheim; this production is expertly directed by Jonathan Kent. Also perfect here is Dan Burton  (right) who lights up the stage as Tulsa, with his great number "All I Need Is The Girl". Dan has been in lots of shows and is simply terrific, shame he is not in the second half.

Dame Angela Lansbury was at the opening night this week too - she also played Mamma Rose, 40 years ago. This GYPSY was already a hit at Chichester Theatre last year, and should play to packed houses here. I hope Imelda is resting up today, after two shows yesterday. She is also on TV here on Tuesday in Paul O'Grady's chatshow - Paul loves GYPSY so that should be a blast. I may even have to put on the movie again before too long ... The essence of musical theatre then, up there with FUNNY GIRL in 1966 or A CHORUS LINE or - even with the cramped leg space at the Savoy, and worth every penny of that very expensive ticket. It follows on nicely too from Sondheim's ASSASSINS seen a month or so ago ... Initially booked till July, it is now going on until November! 

For Stan Rippon who would have loved this (he loved the 1962 film and soundtrack).

Angela !

Dame Angela Lansbury - how does she keep on going? She was very spry and marvellous at those Olivier Awards in London (screened here last night). She is going on 90 - and when you look at her career she must have worked with just about everybody ....

Here, again, she is with the Harrisons - Rex and Kay - back in 1958 as the English society matron in Minnelli's THE RELUCTANT DEBUTANTE, the same year she was that Deep South mistress of Orson in THE LONG HOT SUMMER .... lots more Angela at her label.  Here's an interesting fact: the actress Diane Clare who played her debutante daughter in the 1958 film died a couple of years ago, while Angela just goes on and on. 

It was great to see her on stage acting with Dame Peggy Ashcroft at the Royal Shakespeare Company in Albee's ALL OVER in 1972, and she did a terrific Q&A session at the BFI in 1973, somehow I missed her Gertrude to Albert Finney's HAMLET ...

Night music ....

Finally, the 1977 film of Stephen Sondheim's musical A LITTLE NIGHT MUSIC, and what a laughably awful film it is.- however, I saw three great stage productions of it.  The hit show of course was based on Ingmar Bergman's 1955 classic SMILES OF A SUMMER NIGHT, which is a delightful movie. The broadway show featured a favourite of ours, Glynis Johns (now in her 90s) for whom Sondheim wrote "Send In The Clowns" to suit her voice (I had the original cast album and have just re-ordered it on cd). 

I saw the London production in 1975 with Jean Simmons as Desiree and Hermione Gingold reprising her broadway role as her mother, with her great number "Liaisons". Then I saw a late 80s production with Dorothy Tutin, Peter McEnery, Susan Hampshire and Lila Kedrova as Madame Armfeldt - all people I like and it was a satisfactory version of the original. Then of course came the great National Theatre production in the 90s, with Judi Dench and Sian Phillips and Patrica Hodge. A friend had a friend working there and managed to get preview tickets - the great man, Sondheim, was sitting just one seat away from us, scribbling furiously throughout. 

There was also the 1977 film directed by theatre director Harold Prince, and no wonder it was little seen at the time and sank into well-deserved obscurity, as they absolutely ruined it, the film is a clunking piece, set (maybe for financial reasons) in Austria - not Sweden - so the references to long summer nights have no meaning. Two of the best numbers are gone: the lusty maid's song that she is going to marry "The Miller's Son" and Madame Armfeldt's lament "Liaisons", at least the film has Hermione Gingold in the role, but without her main number, precious little to do - though I did like her barbed comment to her daughter Desiree.

Elizabeth Taylor plays Desiree and by 1977 her bruised vulnerability should be ideal for the role of the actress tired of "the glamorous life" and wanting to settle down, but Taylor's looks and weight vary from scene to scene and the minnie mouse singing voice she is dubbed with, are all at sea here. 

Diana Rigg comes off best as Charlottle, while Lesley-Anne Down plays the vapid  virgin young bride vapidly. Len Cariou as Fredrik (he played it on Broadway) and Laurence Guittard as Count Carl-Magnus are equally unimpressive and almost interchangeable here - Guittard played Fredrik in the Old Vic Judi Dench production. 

Fredrik Egerman goes to see his old flame, touring actress Desiree Armfeldt, whose daughter stays with her mother, retired wealthy courtesan Madame Armfeldt. Complications arrive when her other love Count Carl-Magnus arrives. His wife, Charlotte, is trying to make their marriage work despite his indifference to her. Meanwhile Fredrik's young wife Anne is still a virgin and his son from a previous marriage is falling in love her. The mismatched lovers arrive for that "weekend in the country" at Madame Armfeldt's estate, which has been arranged by Desiree, trying to sort out these complications. The old courtesan surveys the tangled relationships and sings that song "Liaisons" about what affairs of the heart were like in her day, while Desiree muses "Send in the clowns" as the long summer night smiles ...

It all works on stage, but this version is a poor substitute. Taylor - so perfect in the 50s and 60s is past her best here and the film is clumsily directed. Prince's other film, the very gay 1970 black comedy SOMETHING FOR EVERYONE (also scripted by Hugh Wheeler) is a cult favourite which we liked at the time (well, there were not many gay black comedies then) with favourites Angela Lansbury and Michael York - see review at Lansbury/York/Gay Interest labels. 

A feast of Sondheim for 2015: INTO THE WOODS is just about to open, I saw the trailer and I am hearing good things about Chris Pine and Billy Magnussen,  and of course Meryl; I am also going to see the current production of ASSASSINS in Feburary when a friend who wants to see it is coming over from Ireland, and I have just got  a pair of tickets (very expensive, but it is a big show) for the highly praised new production of GYPSY coming into London from its initial run at Chichester in April, where Imelda Staunton got rave reviews for her Mamma Rose - I saw her in GUYS AND DOLLS at the National over a decade ago, so I know how great she will be.  So Sondheim continues to be in favour in his eighties, shame about the film of his NIGHT MUSIC ! 

Other Sondheims we loved are the 1962 film of GYPSY, FOLLIES (Eartha Kitt played Carlotta when I saw it, which also had Diana Rigg and Julia McKenzie), the 1985 FOLLIES CONCERT with Lee Remick, Elaine Stritch, Barbara Cook and more; the score for PACIFIC OVERTURES, and of course SIDE BY SIDE BY SONDHEIM which I saw twice,
 and I got taken backstage too to meet Julia McKenzie and Millient Martin in their dressing-gowns, by Pamela, a friend whose mother was Julia McKenzie's agent at the time. Then of course there's COMPANY, SWEENEY TODD in its many incarnations, and the short-lived but cult item ANYONE CAN WHISTLE, the 1964 cast  album with Remick and Lansbury is a must, etc.