Tag: Medjool date

Classic Films · horror

The Bride of Frankenstein

LizLockeLeave a comment
Image: The Bride of Frankenstein, 1935

Well, it’s here: my least favorite movie season. October is always a fraught time for someone who doesn’t like horror, and I often have difficulty finding seasonal movies that won’t keep me up at night. If you’re in a similar situation, don’t fret—I’ve found some delightful spooky flicks that are far more campy than creepy. Kicking things off is the James Whale 1935 classic, The Bride of Frankenstein (Disc/Download).

I came to this film thanks to a recent episode I recorded for Hollywood Kitchen about Elsa Lanchester. Playing both Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley and The Bride, Lanchester is the perfect bookend to this story about a creature looking for a mate. As Frankenstein’s monster lumbers about the countryside, evading angry villagers, enacting revenge on the ones who hurt and betrayed him in the first movie, he is also searching for connection. He finds it in the form of a blind hermit who invites him in for a drink, a smoke, and a meal. Turns out, the Monster likes to party! He realizes he needs a more permanent companion and eventually partners with the evil Dr. Pretorious, who has his own plans to create new life. Dr. Frankenstein gets roped in once again, like an aging cop who’s “gettin’ too old for this shit”, and together, they rig up the lightning bolt lab to bring life to a mishmash of artificial organs and cadaver parts. The result? A bandaged Elsa Lanchester emerging off the operating room table, all wild hair and angry hissing. As all those Las Vegas Bride-themed slot machines now proclaim: she’s alive!!!!!

I enjoy this sequel even more than the 1931 original Frankenstein, mainly because it deals with the complexities of connection. The Monster doesn’t want to be alone anymore, but what is the true cost of a relationship? While watching The Bride of Frankenstein, I recommend drinking this Date with Death.

Date with Death

2 oz gin

1 oz lemon juice

1 oz Medjool date syrup

2 dashes walnut bitters

Dash of egg white

Combine gin, lemon juice, date syrup, bitters, and egg white in a shaker. Shake vigorously for about thirty seconds, then add ice. Shake for another thirty seconds, then strain into a coupe glass. Garnish with a twist of lemon.

This cocktail is inspired by Elsa Lanchester’s Date Torte recipe, as prepared for Hollywood Kitchen. It combines all the flavors from the dessert, plus a splash of Pretorious’s favorite tipple: gin. As the Monster proclaims, “Drink… goooood!” Cheers, to a new world of gods and monsters.

Action/Adventure/Heist · Classic Films

The Flight of the Phoenix

LizLockeLeave a comment
Image credit: The Flight of the Phoenix 1965

Completing my month of “Desert Movies” (a theme I never imagined I’d tackle, but stumbled into and embraced): a Jimmy Stewart classic that was new to me, The Flight of the Phoenix (Disc/Download). Featuring a terrific opening credits sequence that’s equal parts cheesy and thrilling, this movie’s tone is all over the place. But like that busted old plane, it comes together in the end.

Serving as a bridge between ensemble war dramas of the 1950s and the disaster flicks of the 1970s, The Flight of the Phoenix features a seemingly incongruous cast but takes itself seriously enough that you wouldn’t put it in the same category as say, The Towering Inferno. It’s Classic Hollywood (Jimmy Stewart, Ernest Borgnine, Richard Attenborough)-meets-New Hollywood (Peter Finch, Ian Bannen, etc.). It’s a pilot from an analog era crash-landing with an engineer from the emerging digital age. Through these contradictions, the film stays interesting and engaging, even when the scenery doesn’t change a whole lot. We’re there for the acting and the script, not the desert vistas and sunburns. Admittedly, things drag a bit in the middle as the crash survivors attempt to turn the scraps of their old plane into something flyable (before dying of dehydration or getting killed by Libyans), but the exciting climax makes the wait worthwhile. That, and the terrific Connie Francis song “Senza Fine” that’s so out of place, yet incredibly welcome.

Before the plane crashes, the passengers and crew are both getting a little wild with the booze. Ouzo is the drink of choice in the main cabin, while Dickie Attenborough is imbibing something else on the flight deck. I found a great recipe for a classic cocktail that uses Old Tom gin, which very well could have been in his bottle, and my garnish is a Medjool date because that’s all the food these poor men had. Just… dates. While watching The Flight of the Phoenix, I recommend drinking a Phoenix cocktail.

Phoenix

1 1/2 oz Old Tom Gin

1/8 oz Bénédictine

2-3 dashes Orange Bitters

Orange Twist

Medjool Date

Combine gin, Bénédictine, and bitters in a shaker filled with ice. Stir to combine and chill, then strain into a Nick & Nora glass. Garnish with a twist of orange, and a skewered date.

It’s thrilling to watch Jimmy Stewart in the cockpit, given his decorated career as a military pilot during WWII. You get the sense that he truly loved filming these scenes, and he looks totally at home even when flying a scabbed together piece of fuselage. Yes, Jimmy’s a great actor, but he’s even better when the real hero inside of him shines through. Cheers!