Category: Classic Films

Classic Films

Captain Blood

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Image: Captain Blood, 1935

From the title alone, it may seem like this week’s film Captain Blood (Disc/Download) is a perfect Scary Movie watch. Turns out, this is not a tale of vampire seamen. Rather, it’s the swashbuckling adventure flick starring Errol Flynn and Olivia DeHavilland, and it’s the perfect way to celebrate the release of A Star is Scorned, the terrific Classic Hollywood-era romance from one of my favorite authors, Maureen Lee Lenker!

If you think classic film stars cosplaying the 1600s can’t be sexy, think again. Captain Blood enters the movie as Dr. Peter Blood, making him not just a Hot Pirate, but also a Hot Doctor. He gets sold into white slavery after being convicted of treason, all for the crime of treating an injured man who rebelled against the petulant, cruel King James II. As he explains so perfectly, his loyalty is to his fellow man, not his king.

Same, Dr. Capt. Blood, same.

Once his slave ship lands in the West Indies, he begins an enemies-to-lovers romance with Arabella (Olivia DeHavilland) that spans several islands and regime changes. Blood finally manages to escape his bondage when Spanish pirates attack and leave their boats unattended for a night a drunken revelry. After this, the doctor goes full-on buccaneer, amassing doubloons and flying the Jolly Roger. There are sword fights, cannon blasts, and even a peg leg or two, as his path leads him toward new enemies, and old loves.

I use blood orange cordial in a lot of drinks this time of year, and it’s a great option when fresh blood oranges are out of season. This cocktail uses rums from some of the places Capt. Blood sails to during the course of the movie, which really makes the settings come alive. While watching Captain Blood, I recommend drinking a Bloody Grog cocktail.

Bloody Grog

½ oz grenadine

½ oz blood orange cordial (I use Liber & Co.)

2 oz Jamaican pot-still rum

½ oz Overproof 151 rum

½ oz Allspice Dram

1 oz lime juice

1 dash Peychaud’s bitters

Garnish: blood orange wheel and fresh mint

Combine all ingredients in a shaker with ice. Shake to chill, and strain into a glass filled with fresh ice. Garnish with a blood orange wheel and fresh mint.

In Lenker’s latest novel, the main character Flynn Banks is just as dreamy as Errol Flynn, and comes complete with a trained monkey named Rallo (if you were a Marcel fan during the heyday of Friends, then you’ll be as excited as I am about this detail!). The scenes of sword fighting are super fun, and Flynn’s California beach house is giving big Mildred Pierce vibes. If you watch Captain Blood and need more classic Hollywood romance and adventure in your life, definitely give this book a read. Cheers!

Classic Films · Uncategorized

The Night of the Hunter

LizLocke2 Comments
Image credit: The Night of the Hunter, 1955

Happy Scary Movie Season to all you brave cinemagoers! I like to do a month of spooky, supernatural, and chilling features every October, and this week, we’re starting with a truly nightmarish classic film. Pull the covers all the way up to your chin and leave a light on for this week’s pick, The Night of the Hunter (Disc/Download).

In Charles Laughton’s single, brilliant directorial outing, Robert Mitchum stars as a murderous preacher who targets women in rural communities. After getting locked up and hearing his cellmate talk about some stolen money, he makes his way to the death-row inmate’s family under the guise of spiritual counsel. Shelley Winters plays yet another gullible lady taken in by a handsome face (see also: A Place in the Sun), while her two kids remain more suspicious of the charismatic preacher.  They alone hold the knowledge of where their father hid the money, and after their new stepdad disposes of their mom with a knife to the throat, they must outrun this psycho before he kills them next. The children set off down the Ohio river in an old rowboat, barely eating or sleeping as they try to stay one step ahead of Mitchum. Finally, they wash up on Lillian Gish’s property, and she takes the orphans in, protecting them as only a feisty old woman with a shotgun can do. Mitchum’s tattooed hands spell the words “Love” and “Hate”, and the movie’s suspense builds as we wait to see which one will triumph. Will it be the monster in the basement, clawing at their ankles, or will it be the strong maternal figure who walks with them in the sunlight?

The movie’s river journey is incredibly haunting, due to the scale of the woodland creatures in the foreground of the frame, and the melancholy song sung by the little girl, Pearl. This variation on a French Pearl cocktail evokes the American South through its inclusion of Herbsaint, an anise-flavored New Orleans liqueur popular in many spooky cocktails. While watching The Night of the Hunter, I recommend drinking a Pearl River.

Pearl River

2 oz Gin

¼ oz Herbsaint

¾ oz Lime Juice

¾ oz Simple Syrup

Fresh Mint

Lime and mint sprig (garnish)

Muddle a few leaves of mint with lime juice and simple syrup in the bottom of a shaker. Add Herbsaint, Gin, and ice to the shaker, and shake to chill and combine. Double strain into a coupe glass and garnish with a lime wheel and mint sprig.

The reason this film feels so powerful to me is that we all remember the feeling of being kid, and realizing the adults couldn’t always protect you. I’ve relived it again this year, as those I once turned to for comfort have fallen prey to the fearmongering, false prophecy, and grift of a dangerous charlatan. I want to scream, and cry, and ask:

“Why don’t you believe he’s hurting me?”

“Why won’t you protect me?”

“Why can’t you see through the lies?”

But the scary thing is (and this is really scary): I don’t think anyone is coming to save me. I don’t know if there’s a Lillian Gish out there, pure of heart and brave beyond measure, waiting at the end of the river. I’m starting to feel like the one of the kids in the rowboat, tired and afraid.

Classic Films · Musicals

Cabaret

LizLockeLeave a comment
Image: Cabaret, 1972

Every June, July, and August, The Paramount Theatre in Austin, TX does three months of revival programming and cranks their air conditioning down. Waaaaaaay down. Just like a rouged Joel Grey and his beautiful orchestra, my Summer Classic Film Series went out on a high note with 1972’s Cabaret (Disc/Download). A perfect finale to a season of stellar cinema, this musical masterpiece mirrors the joy and inclusivity of my favorite movie theater, as well as the frighting world outside its doors.

I’m a big fan of Bob Fosse as film director, and his trademark elements of sexy dance numbers, quick editing, and dreamy cinematography are a perfect match for this tale of the final hedonistic days of the Weimar Republic. Part of what makes Cabaret so emotionally engaging is that the audience understands what’s coming, even when the characters don’t. We know the slow creep of fascism is headed for Berlin, just as we know the days of public and private freedoms are numbered. Cabaret is proof that there have always been people who don’t conform to the traditional ideas of gender and sexuality, there have always been artists and intellectuals who push boundaries, and they will continue to exist, no matter how hard the intolerant try to erase them.

In the care of Fosse, this film often feels like a hallucination. Joel Grey floats through Berlin’s Kit Kat Klub like a nimble sprite welcoming us to the land of “anything goes”. Liza Minnelli as Sally Bowles sings her heart out, staring off into her own version of Oz, allowing the audience to feel like part of this hopeful dream. Let’s toast this magical place with a cocktail similar to one I enjoyed at the Paramount, the Poet’s Dream.

Poet’s Dream

1 oz Gin

1 oz Dry Vermouth

½ oz Bénédictine

2 dashes Orange Bitters

Lemon twist

Combine gin, vermouth, Bénédictine, and bitters in a shaker with ice. Stir to chill, then strain into a Nick & Nora glass. Garnish with a lemon twist.

Like its twenty-first century audience, the characters of Cabaret all seem to be hurtling toward a violent, uncertain end. We don’t know what will become of Sally, the Master of Ceremonies, and the Kit Kat Klub. We don’t know if Brian will be safe in England once the bombing starts. We don’t know if Fritz and Natalia will be sent to a concentration camp. And maybe that’s why Cabaret feels like such an essential film for these times. It’s a rallying cry to live it up while we can because nobody knows what the future holds. Cheers!

Classic Films · Comedies

Beach Blanket Bingo

LizLocke1 Comment
Image: Beach Blanket Bingo, 1965

Despite an enduring love of Gidget, 1960s swimwear, and rear projection scenes, the Frankie Avalon/Annette Funicello beach movies somehow never made it to the top of my watch list. Luckily, this cinema oversight has been corrected this week with the fifth “Beach” movie in the series, Beach Blanket Bingo (Disc/Download).

Like Ryan Gosling’s Ken, as far as I can determine, Frankie Avalon’s job in the 1960s was “beach”. What a gig! There were many gorgeous girls prancing around him in bikinis, but none as charming as Annette. She had oodles of charisma, along with an unflappable comb-over hairstyle that could survive wind, waves, and even a skydiving helmet. I love the mermaid side character in BBB, with Lorelai acting as a precursor to Daryl Hannah’s “Madison” in Splash. It’s a shame the romance between the mermaid and her beachbum lover Bonehead gets interrupted time and again with the antics of a middle-aged motorcycle gang masquerading as adolescents. Honestly, if this movie had been nothing more than mermaid rescues and drinks at the local bar with Frankie and Annette singing their hits, I would have been a happy viewer. Who needs skydiving and lame kidnapping plots when you have “beach”???

Although the sexcapades of these teenagers seem pretty chaste by today’s standards, there’s a surprising amount of double entendre and suggested nudity. We’re left to imagine what may have happened during Bonehead’s date with the mermaid, which results in the loss of her dress by the end of the night. For this reason, it seems like a great time to mix up the classic eighties resort drink, a Sex on the Beach.

Sex on the Beach

1 ½ oz Vodka

½ oz Peach Schnapps

½ oz Chambord

1 ½ oz Orange Juice

1 ½ oz Cranberry Juice

Add the vodka, peach schnapps, Chambord, and cranberry juice to a hurricane glass. Fill with ice. Top with orange juice, and garnish with a cherry and cocktail umbrella.

Like other 1960s teen movies, the cameos in this are incredible. Paul Lynde as the scheming music manager, Don Rickles as the nightclub owner, and even Buster Keaton as an aging pervert! The plot doesn’t make sense, but it doesn’t need to. As long as you’re okay with a film based entirely around shimmying teens and retro bikinis, you’ll do just fine. Cheers!

Classic Films · Dramas

The Sandpiper

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Image: The Sandpiper, 1965

Summer is in full swing, which means I’m in the mood for for melodrama at the beach. Vincente Minnelli’s The Sandpiper (Disc/Download) is a perfect choice because it features two people who defined the word “drama” in the 1960s: Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton.

Having abandoned their spouses to hook up with one another during the filming of Cleopatra, Burton and Taylor were already a married couple by the time they made The Sandpiper. However, that didn’t stop them from capitalizing on their reputation as scandal-plagued adulterers. They were among the most photographed celebrities of the 1960s, so whether The Sandpiper was a good movie or a bad one was of no consequence; it was always going to make money. Thankfully, the film has a lot to offer, such as beautiful Big Sur scenery, Elizabeth Taylor’s enviable beach house, forbidden love, and even Charles Bronson playing a hippie sculptor. Taylor’s character of a single mom who is single by choice was a bold stance for the time period, and even though her son is included in a long list of movie children I loathe, I enjoy the film’s feminist leanings. Liz can be an artist or a mother or whatever the hell she wants to be; men are of no consequence to her ambitions.

For all you lovers of melodrama, rest assured there is a wonderfully taboo romance between this bohemian mom and the married Episcopalian priest in charge of her son’s new boarding school. Richard Burton was the quintessential “Hot Priest” before Fleabag coined the term, so let’s celebrate him with this spicy spritz perfect for summer on the California coast. While watching The Sandpiper, I recommend drinking a Hot Priest cocktail.

Hot Priest

1 Jalapeño pepper, sliced into rounds

4 oz Rosé wine

½ oz Lime juice

2 oz Sparkling Water

In the bottom of a wine glass, muddle 1 jalapeño slice (omit if you don’t want it extra-spicy). Add ice, then pour in the Rosé and lime juice. Top with sparkling water, and garnish with 2-3 jalapeno slices.

It’s hard to imagine any movie couple surpassing the unique chemistry of Liz and Dick in The Sandpiper, not only because of their physical attractiveness, but because the audience gets to feel like they’re witnessing something secret. We’re brought into their relationship for the length of two hours, and it’s gorgeous and complicated and doomed. But oh, when it was good, it was amazing. Cheers!

Classic Films · Comedies

The Girl Can’t Help It

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Image: The Girl Can’t Help It, 1956

If you haven’t watched My Mom Jayne yet, STOP what you’re doing and go watch Mariska Hargitay’s stunning documentary right now!!! Then, after you’ve finished crying a river, check out one of Jayne Mansfield’s best performances in Frank Tashlin’s The Girl Can’t Help It (Disc).

Taken as a whole, the movie feels like a parody of itself. The producers knew Jayne was constantly compared to Marilyn Monroe in the press, so they got The Seven Year Itch’s Tom Ewell to play yet another schlub who miraculously catches the eye of a woman waaaaaay out of his league. The movie uses Jayne’s physique and exaggerated costumes to hilarious effect, with big chunks of ice melting as she walks down the street, and milk boiling over in the milkman’s hands. She swings those hips like Jessica Rabbit, as though her upper and lower halves aren’t even connected to the same body. Mansfield’s mob girlfriend character Jerri Jordan is reluctantly trying to break into the music business, which gives Tashlin an excuse to feature a ton of R&B artists from the time period. Acts such as Little Richard, Fats Domino, The Platters, and Eddie Cochran pop up in nightclubs and on television, and it’s wild to see the real people behind the voices I’ve come to know so well in my vinyl collection. But the greatest treat of all is Julie London, who plays “the one who got away”, appearing like a ghost to Tom Ewell’s agent character. Having owned Julie is her Name for many years, losing it, then somehow gaining it back from my deceased uncle’s estate, I feel like Julie’s ghost won’t leave me alone either.

Because boobs (and milk) are such a running gag in this movie, I had to do a cream-based drink. The cherry flavor is sweet like Jerri, and it feels like a frothy confection in a glass—a cocktail version of Jayne’s final pastel evening gown. While watching The Girl Can’t Help It, I recommend drinking a Cherry Jordan.

Cherry Jordan

1 oz Vodka

1 oz Cherry Heering

½ oz White Crème de Cacao

1 oz Heavy Cream

Maraschino cherry

Combine vodka, Cherry Heering, crème de cacao, and cream in a shaker with ice. Shake to chill, then strain into a Nick & Nora glass. Garnish with a maraschino cherry.

Shot in glorious DeLuxe Color, The Girl Can’t Help It is a true feast for the eyes. The costumes and sets pop like a Powell & Pressburger picture, as if The Red Shoes had been directed by the guy who drew Looney Tunes. This movie is campy, fun, and surprisingly clever, and it’s the perfect way to celebrate a woman who was all these things, and more. Cheers!

Action/Adventure/Heist · Classic Films

Mutiny on the Bounty

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Image credit: Mutiny on the Bounty, 1935

For swashbuckling fun and a trip to Hollywood’s version of the South Seas, you can’t beat 1935’s Mutiny on the Bounty (Disc/Download). Pair it with a coconut-laced Tiki beverage and make believe you’re on the bow of a ship with the wind in your hair…or is that the hurricane gale of a revolution?

Starring Clark Gable as compassionate seaman Fletcher Christian, and Charles Laughton as corrupt bully Captain Bligh, this is a terrific adventure film full of high-stakes drama and ocean vistas. For me, the main selling point is Clark Gable in a low-cut blouse (the way it sets his shoulders off… oof), but it’s also super satisfying to watch a man with morals defeat someone rotten to the core. Christian’s mad as hell and he’s not going take it anymore!! The ultimate reward here is freedom from tyrannical dictators, and with any luck, this seaman and his blouses can retire in peace to a thatched hut and an endless supply of coconuts. Would that we all could.

Although this movie was made during the start of the Polynesian craze (both in Hollywood films as well as nearby Don the Beachcomber’s), this week’s drink hails from the 1970s. My version, while not 100% authentic, includes some of the flavors mentioned in the movie, such as Brandy and coconut, so I have to believe Donn Beach would approve. After all, it sells the fantasy! While watching Mutiny on the Bounty, I recommend drinking a classic Tradewinds cocktail.

TRADEWINDS

1 oz Black Spiced Rum

1 oz Brandy

1 oz Apricot Liqueur

1 ½ oz Coconut Cream

1 oz Lemon Juice

2 cups Crushed Ice

Combine all ingredients into a blender. Blend for about 5-10 seconds, then pour entire contents into a Pilsner glass. Garnish with a lemon wheel and inside-out cocktail umbrella to signal a strong wind!

After filming on Catalina wrapped, the sets were turned into a Tiki bar named Christian’s Hut, bringing the magic of the movie to life, one drink at a time. I like to imagine Clark Gable would have enjoyed a highball or two, while wearing one of those low-cut blouses. Cheers!

Classic Films · Dramas

A Place in the Sun

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Image credit: A Place in the Sun, 1951

This week, I’m in the mood for beautiful gowns, retro bathing suits, a Tiki dinner party at the lake, and maybe a little murder. A Place in the Sun (Disc/Download) satisfies all these cravings, making it my perfect summer watch.

You’ve probably seen the dress designed by Edith Head and worn by Elizabeth Taylor—the one with the dozens of tiny white flowers covering the bust.

You may have also seen the funny gif of Elizabeth collapsing into a heap on her bedroom floor (director George Stevens must have had a thing about her suddenly fainting because he made her do it again in Giant). But what you might not already be familiar with is the nuanced performance turned in by Montgomery Clift, who makes us question our own ideas of right and wrong; of guilt and innocence.

George Eastman starts out with a menial job at his uncle’s bathing suit factory, determined to work hard and earn a promotion one day. But when he begins an empty affair with his poor, vulnerable co-worker (Shelley Winters) while secretly pining for wealthy socialite Angela Vickers (Elizabeth Taylor), he loses a bit of our sympathy. And yet… there’s a part of me that just wants Shelley to go away so he can be with the dazzling one. And boy, does Elizabeth dazzle, with her eyelashes and her gowns and her speedboats. The director often shoots her in close-up, and it has a hypnotizing effect on the audience. We would do anything to see more of her; of course George would feel the same.

I knew this was probably a champagne movie, and definitely a martini movie, but I didn’t realize it’s also a Tiki movie! It makes perfect sense the wealthy family in this would throw a Polynesian-inspired dinner party, as the film was made during the height of the South Seas craze. Complete with leis and pineapple serving bowls and a live steel guitar player, it’s like the characters all decamped to Trader Vic’s for the night. Let’s celebrate this fabulous turn with a Tiki variation on the Vesper martini. While watching A Place in the Sun, I recommend drinking a Loon.

Loon

2 oz London Dry Gin

¼ oz Cocchi Americano

¼ oz PAMA Pomegranate Liqueur

Stir all ingredients together in a shaker with ice, and strain into a coupe glass. Garnish with a twist of lemon and a flower.

The novel this film is based on is titled An American Tragedy, and indeed the film is a tragedy, despite its wistful title change. It declares that the one making the bathing suits will never be the one wearing the bathing suits; that the American Dream is a myth for so many. Seventy-four years later, we’re still following the same old script.

Classic Films · Comedies

40 Pounds of Trouble

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Image credit: 40 Pounds of Trouble, 1962

If you’re a Disney Adult who geeks out over the history of the parks, then you’ll definitely want to check out this week’s pick 40 Pounds of Trouble (Disc). With location shooting in both Lake Tahoe and Disneyland, it’s like someone said, “Let’s pick Liz Locke’s two favorite vacation spots and film a movie there!”

 Marking the directorial debut of Norman Jewison, this was the first movie granted permission to film in the park by Walt Disney. Unfortunately, The Enchanted Tiki Room was still a year out from opening, but we still get to see some of the greatest hits like the Storybook Land Canal Boats, the sadly defunct Skyway gondola, and a thrilling ride down the Matterhorn (or as I call it, the Tailbone Destroyer). The plot is thin but sweet, with a Tahoe casino manager (Tony Curtis) thrust into sudden fatherhood after a gambler abandons his little girl at the hotel. When the girl’s dad is found dead in a car crash, Tony knows there’s only one thing to do: give her the most magical day of her life at Disneyland before her world gets destroyed. If there’s one thing everyone knows about Disneyland, it’s this: in the park, the real world and all its problems cease to exist.

Because this is such a fun, frothy comedy, it seems appropriate to enjoy a frothy cocktail with it. This one invokes the color and “snow capped peaks” of The Matterhorn, minus the spinal injuries. While watching 40 Pounds of Trouble, I recommend drinking this Matterhorn Fizz.

Matterhorn Fizz

1 Egg White

1 ¼ oz Empress Gin

½ oz Grand Marnier

½ oz Fresh Lemon Juice

¼ oz Orgeat

2 Dashes Angostura Bitters

Soda Water

Combine the egg white, gin, Grand Marnier, lemon juice, orgeat, and bitters in a shaker and shake without ice for 30 seconds. Add a mix of crushed and cubed ice, and shake again for another minute. Strain into a highball glass. Wait about 10 seconds, then top with soda water.

*If necessary, add a few drops of Butterfly Pea extract to achieve the right color.

Although I’ve talked a lot about the Disneyland scenes, the shots of Lake Tahoe are fantastic too. It totally takes me back to swimming in Sand Harbor, one of the prettiest spots in the US (in my opinion). If you need a little respite from the real world this week, take a vacation with Tony’s blue eyes, Suzanne’s vintage dresses, and a charming romp through Fantasyland. Cheers!

Classic Films · Comedies

Paper Moon

LizLockeLeave a comment
Image credit: Paper Moon, 1973

If your summer plans include a road trip on a budget, then I’ve got just the movie for you. Paper Moon (Disc/Download) travels a long, hilarious path through the small towns of the American Midwest, fueled by hot dogs, whiskey, and get-rich-quick schemes. Forget baseball; grifting may as well be the national pastime of the good ole’ US-of-A.

Starring real-life father and daughter Ryan and Tatum O’Neal, Paper Moon is yet another Peter Bogdanovich classic that wouldn’t be nearly as special without the input of his ex-wife Polly Platt. Thanks to her, we have the precocious, stunningly good Tatum in the role of newly orphaned Addie, and it’s because of her performance the movie succeeds as well as it does. The way this little girl spars with her off-screen (and maybe onscreen??) dad is electric, and it’s a shame only Tatum won the Academy Award for this because Ryan turned in some amazing work too. If you like road movies set in 1930s rural America, such as O’ Brother Where Art Thou?, Sullivan’s Travels, and It Happened One Night, you’ll find a lot to love about Paper Moon. It’s a portrait of Americana, of people doing whatever they had to do to survive, yet not losing their heart along the way. In fact, I’d go as far as to say that Addie and Moses Pray (that name!!!) find their hearts, and it’s the big payoff neither of them expected.

Tatum O’Neal’s record of being the youngest competitive Oscar winner in history still stands, and if you haven’t seen pictures of this little girl in a mini tuxedo, I urge you to look it up. It’s even more remarkable that she was only eight years old when the movie began filming, especially considering she’d never acted before. She smokes cigarettes and spars with prostitutes like she’d been doing it her whole life (maybe she had… I still need to read her memoir). Anyway, let’s toast young Tatum with this Prohibition-era cocktail, the Ward 8.

Ward 8

2 oz Rye Whiskey

1/2 oz fresh-squeezed Orange Juice

1/2 oz fresh-squeezed Lemon Juice

2 tsp Grenadine

Maraschino cherries (garnish)

Shake whiskey, orange juice, lemon juice, and grenadine in a shaker with ice until chilled. Strain into a coupe or Nick & Nora glass. Garnish with cherries.

The production design, locations, and costumes of the film are all stunning, but of course they were with Polly Platt in charge. The movie is timeless because she made it so, placing it in a very specific era and place that would never show its age. To watch Paper Moon is to feel like you’re watching a movie made in the 1930s, when the scripts were sparkling, the stars were dazzling, and the road of cinema seemed to stretch on forever. Cheers!