Tag: 1960s

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 · Comedies

Please Don’t Eat the Daisies

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Image credit: Please Don’t Eat the Daisies, 1960

In the wake of last week’s Ishtar revelation, I’ve been thinking more about professional criticism and its impact on the arts. I’m also two-thirds of the way through my Doris Day complete filmography watch, and happily, these two things converge with Doris’s follow-up film to Pillow Talk, Please Don’t Eat the Daisies (Disc/Download).

Starring David Niven as a New York theater critic and Doris Day as his long-suffering wife (boy does she suffer…), this film is part social satire and part retro HGTV makeover show. As Niv takes a slow trip on the “downalator” toward negativity and pithy quips in his column, Doris is left to raise their four rambunctious sons- one of whom she keeps in a literal cage (not that I blame her). She is also tasked with smoothing over disagreements between critic/playwrights, moving the household from the city to the suburbs, renovating a mansion that looks like a former residence of The Munsters, looking the other way when a floozy actress tries to seduce her husband, putting on a charity play for her new town, and doing it all while looking like Doris-freaking-Day. Perfectly tailored outfits, perfect hair, perfect makeup, and perfect hats. Always, the hats. When her husband admonishes her for calling herself a housewife, saying she’s so much more than that, she replies, “So is every other housewife.”  Even her dialogue is perfect. Part of me wishes she’d just leave the husband, leave the kids, and run off with the local non-binary veterinarian.

This is a great movie to watch with a cocktail because there are plenty of Sardi’s scenes, plenty of cocktail parties, and plenty of times when I want to throw a drink at David Niven. While watching Please Don’t Eat the Daisies, I recommend drinking this Gin Daisy.

Gin Daisy

2 oz Gin

¾ oz Cointreau

¾ oz Lemon Juice

¼ oz Grenadine

Splash of Soda Water

Lemon twist and fresh mint (garnish)

Combine gin, Cointreau, lemon juice, and grenadine in a shaker with ice. Shake until chilled, then strain into a glass filled with fresh ice. Top with a splash of soda water, and stir gently to combine. Garnish with a lemon twist, fresh mint, and a daisy (optional).

Eventually, Niv realizes he’s being an ass both in his column and in his personal life and goes crawling back home, where Doris is waiting with open arms. I will say, as much as I have my reservations about this couple on paper, on film the pairing is electric. The two actors have terrific chemistry, and it’s a joy to see Doris in a sexier role than she’d typically played before her breakthrough in Pillow Talk. Although the critical mass at the time gave this film a tepid response, this modern critic enjoyed it more than I expected to. I’d even go so far as to call it a “Hooten Holler”-in’ good time (see, you can still make jokes and be nice). Cheers!

Classic Films · Dramas

Romeo and Juliet

LizLocke2 Comments
Image credit: Romeo and Juliet, 1968

Picture the scene: it’s the mid-90s, you’re in middle school English class, and the teacher has just wheeled in the bulky cart with the huge TV and VCR. She fiddles with the input, frantically pressing buttons, until finally, miraculously, that swooping Nino Rota score fills the air. Lord, was there anything better than a movie day in school?? Franco Zeffirelli’s Romeo and Juliet (Disc/Download) will always be a fond English class memory for me, even though I happened to watch it the same year Baz Luhrmann’s fantastic fever dream came out. I love both versions, but if you’re looking for true authenticity of time period and setting, you can’t beat this 1960s classic.

Starring Leonard Whiting and Olivia Hussey as our titular star-cross’d lovers, this adaptation is like a sumptuous trip to Renaissance Italy. Shot on location in Tuscan villages, watching it makes you feel like you just stepped into a Botticelli painting. The costumes are incredible, with expertly tailored velvets, brocades, and silks, in addition to sculptural headpieces and masks at the Capulet ball. I also love the “cat-like” hat Michael York wears as Tybalt “Prince of Cats”, in addition to the mere casting of York, who’s always struck me as having a particularly feline face. It’s the visual details that make this movie special, in addition to the theme popularized by Mancini. When that tenor comes out to sing “A Time for Us”, I still get goosebumps. Sure, Luhrmann’s version made the text more accessible to modern audiences, but there’s something to be said for watching this production of Shakespeare’s play the way he probably envisioned it while writing. In fair Verona, where he laid his scene.

Speaking of Verona, I decided to make a cocktail of the same name because it fits quite well with the tone of this movie. Strong, a little sweet, and perfect for sipping slowly. While watching Zeffirelli’s Romeo and Juliet, I recommend drinking a Verona cocktail.

Verona

2 oz Gin

1 oz Amaretto

1/2 oz Sweet Vermouth

1/4 tsp Lemon Juice

Orange slice for garnish

Combine gin, amaretto, sweet vermouth, and lemon juice in a mixing tin with ice. Stir until chilled, then strain into an old-fashioned glass filled with one large ice cube. Garnish with an orange slice.

I love that Zeffirelli cast relatively unknown actors for these roles, and I’m not going to lie- my Jordan Catalano-loving heart definitely swooned over Leonard Whiting the first time I saw him, with his tights and eyelashes-for-days. This movie has a timeless quality to it because these actors will always be impossibly gorgeous, the sets and costumes will always look authentic, and the words of Shakespeare will always be immortal. I’m forever grateful for those English class “movie days”, and only hope that future generations get to experience the thrill of a good adaptation like I did. Cheers!

Classic Films · Comedies

A New Kind of Love

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Image credit: A New Kind of Love, 1963

It’s such a delight when, after nearly forty years on this planet, and thousands of movies watched, you find a new-to-you classic that features everything you happen to adore. A New Kind of Love (Disc/Download) was a delightful discovery for me this week, for it contains literally all my favorites: 1960s fashion, gorgeous people jetting off to Europe, copious amounts of alcohol, witty dialogue, and Thelma Ritter.

Starring Paul Newman as a womanizing reporter and Joanne Woodward as a “tomboy” department store buyer who makes her living knocking off the top couturiers, this delightful comedy skewers the business of high fashion while still celebrating its glamour. This movie must have been an absolute ball for costume designer Edith Head, particularly in the scene where designer looks are translated into burlesque costumes. You haven’t lived until you’ve seen Paul Newman slowly unraveling a pearl onesie off a stripper. The plot is a little less progressive than I’d like (Woodward feels she has to doll herself up at the Elizabeth Arden salon in order to attract a man, Paul Newman mistakes the “new-and-improved” version for a high-class prostitute, chaos ensues…), but it’s still fun to watch this madly-in-love couple pretend that they’re not madly-in-love for a couple of hours. We know what’s behind all those winks and smirks.

As part of Woodward’s glow-up, she takes part in the St. Catherine’s Day celebration where unwed maidens parade through the streets of Paris. Let’s join in this party (it actually looks like a lot of fun!) with my sparkling version of the classic Maiden’s Prayer cocktail, featuring a splash of pink champagne. Zsa Zsa would approve!

Maiden’s Prayer

1 oz Gin

½ oz Cointreau

½ oz Orange Juice

¼ oz Lemon Juice

2 oz Pink Champagne

Orange Twist

Combine gin, Cointreau, orange, and lemon juices in a shaker with ice. Shake until chilled, then strain into a coupe glass. Top with pink champagne, and a twist of orange.

The true MVP of this movie (and pretty much every movie on her resume) is Thelma Ritter. All this woman wants is to eat some onion soup with the boss she’s had a crush on for years, in a dress that doesn’t cut off her oxygen supply. She shouldn’t have to rely on sponge rubber to get the job done—Thelma is fabulous in any city, in any decade, in any outfit. Cheers! 

Classic Films · Comedies

Come September

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Image credit: Come September, 1961

If you’re looking for a 1960s romp through Italy, look no further than the Rock Hudson/Gina Lollobrigida classic Come September (Disc/Download). It may be about thirty minutes too long, it may operate on a premise that makes no sense, but in terms of adorable dresses, catchy songs, and Rock looking quite dashing on a Vespa, this is a fun cinema vacation.

In Come September, Rock plays a wealthy businessman who decides to visit his Ligurian coast mansion in September. However, he soon discovers that his butler (Walter Slezak) has secretly turned his house into a hotel during the off-season. Rock arrives to find it full of teenage girls, including the always-delightful Sandra Dee. Rather than kick them out, he… lets them stay? I’m still not sure why, other than to give us lots of “grumpy Rock” scenes, followed by “stern father-figure Rock” scenes, but nevertheless, it’s Rock with a house full of ladies. Then his Italian lover (Gina Lollobrigida) shows up for a roll in the hay, but somehow, she’s stuck rooming with Sandra Dee and subject to bed checks by the girls’ chaperone. Again, no idea why. Bobby Darin then arrives with a car full of guys (including a very young Joel Gray), but Rock makes them sleep on the front lawn in a tent. If you haven’t figured it out yet, this movie is bonkers, but somehow, it works.

There’s one memorable scene where Rock drinks Bobby Darin’s crew under the table, and brandy is the weapon of choice. Let’s pretend we’re sipping a cocktail on the veranda of his mansion, watching the chaos unfold. While viewing Come September, I recommend drinking an Italian Stinger.

Italian Stinger

1 ½ oz Brandy

1 ½ oz Galliano

Orange Twist

Combine brandy and Galliano in a glass filled with ice, stirring gently to combine. Top with a twist of orange.

This would be the movie that introduced Bobby Darin to Sandra Dee, and after marrying in real life, they would go on to make two more equally delightful sixties rom-coms together. Now that’s the kind of “Multiplication” I can get behind. Cheers!

Comedies

Hairspray

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Image credit: Hairspray, 1988

There have been several iterations of John Waters’ tale of racial integration in 1960s Baltimore, but this week I feel like watching the most “Divine” one of them all. That’s right, we’re going back to the original (Disc/Download) in order to learn how to tease our hair, do The Bird, and tell our racist elders to take a hike.

Starring Ricki Lake as iconic plus-sized heroine Tracy Turnblad, Hairspray is one of the many movies of my childhood that got me interested in the sixties. The dresses, the bouffants, the music—I loved it all. As a kid, I was intrigued by the concept of ironing one’s hair (like literally ironing it on a board!), and the confusing ritual of teenagers watching other teenagers dance live on TV. I suppose the concept mostly died out with MTV’s The Grind, but maybe it continues on YouTube? Someone under the age of 35 will have to investigate. For now, I enjoy the retro charm of Tracy and Link on the Corny Collins show, her fashion makeover at the Hefty Hideaway, and the greatest stage mom of them all, Edna Turnblad.

If there’s one thing Mr. Pinky knows how to do, it’s create a haven for full-figured gals. I wish this shop existed in real life- with the same dresses!! Let’s celebrate this dream retail destination with a pastel Pinky’s Margarita.

Pinky’s Margarita

2 oz Silver Tequila

1 oz Cointreau

3/4 oz Lime Juice

3/4 oz Cranberry Juice

Lime Wedge for garnish

Combine all ingredients in a shaker with ice. Shake until chilled, then strain into a glass filled with fresh ice. Garnish with a lime wedge. (Optional: Salt Rim)

This movie makes me nostalgic for one of my all-time favorite shows, American Dreams. It was cancelled too early, but the memories of this gloriously soapy, fictionalized version of Dick Clark’s American Bandstand remain. As we’re celebrating all things 1960s this summer with the release of my upcoming novel Follow the Sun, make a little space for Tracy and her gravity-defying hair. Cheers!

Dramas

Apollo 13

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Image credit: Apollo 13, 1995

If you’ve been looking for an excuse to use up that jar of Tang you’ve had sitting in the back of your pantry, then today’s your lucky day because Cinema Sips is headed to the moon with Apollo 13 (Disc/Download)!  Part disaster flick, part character drama, part ode to late 1960s patterned wallpaper, this movie is about working the problem, one roll of duct tape at a time.

I remember watching this as a tween, right around the time that our school took a field trip to the National Air and Space Museum. Very quickly, I became obsessed with all things astronaut. The freeze-dried ice cream! The Corvette Stingrays! The crew cuts! The tape decks populated by Norman Greenbaum and Jefferson Airplane! What a time to be alive. Modern spaceflight feels almost dull; a status symbol for aging bald men and their billions of dollars. But back in the sixties, it was brave test pilots up above the atmosphere, trying to stay alive in broken down hunks of metal with heat shields held on by an old belt. The Apollo 13 disaster will always be a riveting story because it’s about humans trying to stay alive under impossible conditions. Everything that could have gone wrong did go wrong, but somehow, this ship made it home. We didn’t have the internet, we didn’t have fancy gadgets, and back then, computers took up an entire room. But we didn’t need any of that- all it took was good old engineering and a whole lot of courage.

Although it existed before the Gemini missions, Tang became popular after it was marketed as the astronaut’s drink-of-choice. A powdered mix, it gave a semblance of orange juice up in space where supplies (and fresh produce stands) were limited. I think it works quite well in a margarita, so while you’re watching Apollo 13, I recommend drinking a Moonshot Margarita.

Moonshot Margarita

2 oz Reposado Tequila

1 oz Cointreau

1 oz Lime Juice

1 Tsp Tang

Orange garnish

Combine all ingredients in a shaker with ice. Shake to chill, then strain into a glass filled with ice. Garnish with a dehydrated orange.

The cast of this movie is great, and it certainly cemented Tom Hanks as the actor you’d most like to have with you in a crisis. But for me, the unsung hero of Apollo 13 is Bill Paxton as Fred Haise. Suffering from a UTI, eating frozen hot dogs, listening to his Hank Williams tape slowly die—you really feel the misery of space travel through his performance. I shall think of him every time I gaze upon the constellation Urinus. Cheers!

Classic Films · Musicals

Fun in Acapulco

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Image credit: Fun in Acapulco, 1963

Cinema Sips is traveling this week, to 1960s Acapulco! If the question ever arises of where and when I would go if I had a time machine, at the top of the list would be this glittering resort town in the era of movie stars, margaritas, and luxury hotels. And no film makes it look as glamorous as the Elvis Presley classic Fun in Acapulco (Disc/Download).

As with most Elvis movies, we’re given a fairly thin plot and almost zero character development. However, there are beaches! And Edith Head dresses! And a charming song “Margarita” that I would love to play on a vinyl record during my next cocktail hour. But back to the clothes. Ursula Andress’s costumes are a technicolor feast for the eyes, and I wish I could find even one or two of these ensembles in current retail shops. Elvis does a decent job of playing a PTSD-suffering former circus performer, whose only solution to overcoming his fear of heights is to dive from the famous Acapulco cliffs. He also gets a gig singing in a hotel nightclub, along with a daytime job as their lifeguard. I’m not even complaining about this paper-thin excuse to show Bond Girl Andress in a bikini again because I enjoy nothing more than a good swimming pool scene, and this movie is full of them.

Something else this movie is full of is margaritas! Frankly, I don’t think the prop guy had ever seen a margarita before making this because the ones in the movie look like salt-rimmed coupes of water. Loyal readers of Cinema Sips (or literally, anyone who’s ever been to a Mexican restaurant) know better. So this week, let’s make a cocktail worthy of The King- the Cadillac Margarita.

Cadillac Margarita

1 ½ oz Anejo Tequila

¾ oz Fresh Lime Juice

¾ oz Agave Nectar

½ oz Grand Marnier

Lime Twist

Combine tequila, lime juice, and agave nectar in a shaker with ice. Shake until chilled, then strain into a glass filled with fresh ice. Slowly float the Grand Marnier over the top. Garnish with a lime twist.

I find that this movie only improves with repeat viewings, especially once you stop trying to make sense of the plot and just enjoy the pretty scenery and hilarious songs. “No Room to Rhumba in a Sports Car” is a personal favorite, as Elvis laments the difficulties of getting it on with a female matador in her tiny vehicle. Viva el amor, indeed. Cheers!

Classic Films · Dramas

Cleopatra

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Image Credit: Cleopatra, 1963

I hope you stocked up on alcohol this week because Cleopatra (Disc/Download) is a real endurance test. It’ll take at least a few refills to carry you through a runtime of over four hours—and this is the short cut! If the director’s cut ever gets released, you’ll need a barge to carry all your liquor home.

Insane length aside, this is actually an incredibly sexy movie. History buffs will enjoy the scenes of Ancient Rome and Egypt, but personally, I’m here for the sizzling chemistry between Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton. “Liz and Dick” caused quite the scandal when their onscreen love story moved off-screen, but having now sat through hours worth of footage, it appears their romance was almost inevitable. How could Burton possibly resist Taylor in those cleavage-baring costumes? How could she not want to climb his muscular legs like a tree? It was always a question of when, not if. The film’s plot is interesting, if a little meandering, but if you enjoy a cornucopia of wigs, pink shag bedrooms, opulent baths, and the haughty attitude of Elizabeth Taylor in glittery eye shadow, you will not be disappointed.

Speaking of Taylor, this gal likes her gold. From boats to drinkware, Miss Cleo doesn’t skimp on the opulence. Celebrate her majesty with this gold-flecked drink, perfect for a Baccus-themed party. While watching Cleopatra, I recommend drinking a Golden Girl cocktail.

Golden Girl

4 oz Dry White Wine

1 oz Gin

½ oz Honey Rosemary Syrup (1/2 cup honey + 1/2 cup water + 3 sprigs rosemary, simmered then cooled)

½ oz Lemon Juice

2 ½ oz Club Soda

Pinch of edible glitter

Sprig of Rosemary for Garnish

Combine wine, gin, honey syrup, and lemon juice in a shaker with ice. Shake until chilled, then strain into a rocks glass filled with ice. Top with club soda, and a pinch of edible glitter. Stir to combine, then garnish with a sprig of rosemary.

I will admit, it took me over two days to get through this movie. I was so alarmed by the sight of Archie Bunker stabbing Ceasar in the back that I needed a break. However, once Antony and Cleopatra began their epic romance, I was officially hooked. This turkey may be all breasts and thighs, but those parts sure are delicious. Cheers!

Dramas

Catch Me If You Can

LizLocke2 Comments
Image Credit: Catch Me If You Can, 2002

Come fly with me, let’s fly, let’s fly away… to the glamorous world of 1960s air travel and check forgery. In this week’s film Catch Me if You Can (Disc/Download), our old pal Leo plays a teenage con artist posing as a Pan Am pilot, a doctor, and a Louisiana attorney, all before his nineteenth birthday. The actor himself was around twenty-seven during the filming of this movie, so I ask you, who’s the biggest con man here?

In this pseudo-biographical tale of Frank Abagnale, Steven Spielberg has crafted a fun cat-and-mouse caper where bedraggled FBI agent (Tom Hanks) must devote hours of time and money toward catching a brilliant young criminal with daddy issues. Ultimately, Frank’s crimes don’t really harm anyone (other than the airline CEOs and bankers, I suppose), but nevertheless, the US Government can’t just let this kid run around, hopping on jets, sleeping with flight attendants, and advising on medical emergencies with whatever training he could glean from a few Dr. Kildaire episodes. I concur—this teenage runaway’s high times should probably come to an end. But boy, it’s a fun ride until that day comes.

If you were lucky enough to travel on PanAm during the 1960s, well then, you were lucky enough. I was unfortunately not born yet, but I can still celebrate the stylish, jet-set era with this tasty cocktail. While watching Catch Me If You Can, I recommend drinking a Paper Plane.

Paper Plane

¾ oz Bourbon

¾ oz Aperol

¾ oz Amaro Nonino

¾ oz Lemon Juice

Lemon Twist

Combine all ingredients in a shaker with ice, and shake until chilled. Strain into a coupe glass. Garnish with a twist of lemon.

An enjoyable movie that never lets itself get overly bogged down with the main character’s psychological trauma, this is a great pick if you just want to watch a smart guy do some mildly bad things, in a world where everyone looked amazing. And let’s not forget Tom Hanks’ Boston accent, the real MVP of this movie. It’s still working hard, long after retirement age. Cheers!