Tag: Tony Curtis

Classic Films · Comedies

40 Pounds of Trouble

LizLockeLeave a comment
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

Some Like it Hot

LizLocke3 Comments

Image credit MGM 1959
Image credit MGM 1959

What do you get when you cross two burly jazz musicians in drag, a blonde ukulele-playing starlet, a hot water bottle full of whiskey, and a room full of tommy-gun toting gangsters? A heck of a good time, that’s what. This week’s film selection is the 1959 Billy Wilder classic  Some Like it Hot. Set against the backdrop of the roaring 20’s, this film features Jack Lemmon and Tony Curtis as two Chicago jazz musicians down on their luck and on the run from the mob. They hear of a female band in need of new members, so these two bosom buddies trade in their overcoats for dresses and wigs, and hop a train to Florida. On board, they meet Marilyn Monroe’s character Sugar Kane, and the rest of Sweet Sue’s Society Syncopators. These ladies like to party, and pretty soon the drunken shenanigans are off and running.

Probably my favorite scene in the film is one that lends itself well to this week’s cocktail selection. During the train ride down to Florida, Sugar Kane gets the party started in Jack Lemmon (aka Daphne)’s bunk. He provides the whiskey, she chips some ice off an ENORMOUS block (did all trains carry polar ice down to Florida back then?), and pretty soon the rest of the Syncopators have gathered in his bunk with a bottle of Vermouth and a pretty ingenious hot water bottle/cocktail shaker-thing. Manhattans are served in Dixie cups, and someone manages to produce some Saltine crackers (I don’t think I want to know from where). It becomes kind of a naughty sorority party, with Jack Lemmon in the center as the ugliest sorority sister I have ever seen.  Zowie!

While I’m watching this scene, of course all I want is a Manhattan so I can join in the party too. While I’ve typically posted cutesy variations on classic cocktails thus far, this week I’m going with something more traditional since this is such a classic comedic film. This week’s cocktail: The Classic Manhattan.

Classic Manhattan

2 oz Bourbon Whiskey

1 oz Sweet Vermouth

2 dashes Angostura bitters

1 maraschino cherry

Combine the rye, vermouth, and bitters in a mixing glass, fill with ice, and stir until cold. Strain into a chilled glass, garnish with the cherry or orange twist.

classic-manhattan

If you’re like me, one of these is all you need for sipping during the movie. But of course it’s more fun to invite some friends over, make a big batch, and laugh at Tony Curtis’ faux-Cary Grant accent midway through the film together. This is truly a film that encourages celebrating music, friendship, cocktails and womanhood. And if you’re not a woman, well, nobody’s perfect. Cheers!