Tag: vintage Disney

Classic Films · Comedies

Blackbeard’s Ghost

LizLockeLeave a comment
Image: Blackbeard’s Ghost, 1968

Leave it to Walt Disney to predict the pirate Tiki bar craze way back in the 1960s. Sixty years later, Polynesian carvings and Japanese fishing lanterns are out; cobwebs and Jolly Rogers are in. Let’s lean into the swashbuckling trend with this week’s pick Blackbeard’s Ghost (Disc/Download).

Starring Peter Ustinov as the cursed pirate Blackbeard, and Dean Jones as the only person who can see his spirit in a haunted New England inn, Blackbeard’s Ghost was the last live action film Walt Disney personally oversaw before his death in 1966. I love that Dean Jones is paired again with Suzanne Pleshette (the two having previously worked together on another favorite The Ugly Dachshund), and even Elsa “The Bride” Lanchester appears as an elderly spinster trying to save the struggling inn. Beyond the stacked cast, the fantastic production design features a hotel made out of cobbled-together pirate ships, and it makes me wonder if the folks behind the Magic Kingdom’s Beak and Barrel lounge looked to this classic film when designing the space. Who wouldn’t want to drink rum with a bawdy pirate ghost before hitting up the Jungle Cruise?

As the characters of this movie quickly discover, if you can’t stop Captain Blackbeard’s morally and legally questionable hijinks, you may as well join him. To me, this means drinking all the rum via a Tiki cocktail that is perfectly pirate-themed and incredibly potent. While watching Blackbeard’s Ghost, I recommend making a Skull & Bones.

Skull & Bones

1 ½ oz 151-proof demerara rum

½ oz aged gold rum

¾ oz lime juice

½ oz passion fruit syrup

½ oz grenadine

6 drops Pernod

1 dash Angostura bitters

1 cup crushed ice

Pineapple leaf and cherry (garnish)

Combine liquid ingredients in a blender with ice. Blend at high speed for about five seconds. Pour into a mug or glass. Add more crushed ice to fill, and garnish with a pineapple leaf and cherry.

Blackbeard’s Ghost is such a fun movie, and it’s a great choice if you want to escape into a world of non-frightening spirits, witches, and fortune tellers. Cheers to making it through another October, and to all the cinematic ghosts that kept us laughing and imbibing.

Children's · Classic Films

Freaky Friday

LizLockeLeave a comment

Freaky Friday
Image credit: Freaky Friday, 1976

Kids month concludes with yet another Disney gem later remade with Lindsay Lohan. Once again (though not surprisingly), I prefer the original. Freaky Friday (DVD/Download) started out a fantastic novel that I stumbled onto in the public library as a child, and happily the movie adaptation does not disappoint. Starring Jodie Foster and Barbara Harris as a mother and daughter who switch bodies for the day, this film is a wonderful 1970’s time capsule full of bad special effects, bell bottom pants, and synchronized water skiing.

It’s shocking that Jodie Foster made Freaky Friday the same year as Taxi Driver, because the roles couldn’t be more different. Field hockey playing tomboy Annabelle Andrews is a far cry from child prostitute Iris, and it just illustrates the talent she had at such a young age. The one thing I always related to was Annabelle’s preference for junk food. Banana splits for breakfast?  Sign me up! As an adult she switches to cold macaroni and cheese- another stellar choice. I never wanted to switch places with my working mother, but had she been a housewife like the elder Mrs. Andrews, I might have been tempted. Sure laundry and grocery shopping are drags, but it’s not like those have to be done every day. There would have been plenty of time left over for soap operas and raw cookie dough binges.

One thing about Mrs. Andrews that I can relate to is the pressure of throwing a dinner party. If I were cooking, I’m pretty sure limp parsley and burnt turkey would end up on my menu too. But dang that chocolate mousse looks good, even on the walls. Therefore this week, while watching Freaky Friday, I recommend making a Grown-Up Chocolate Mousse.

Grown-Up Chocolate Mousse

1/4 cup instant chocolate mousse mix (I used Dr. Oetker brand)

2/3 cup cold milk

2 Tablespoons Amaretto

2 Tablespoons Baileys irish crème liqueur

Whipped Cream and chocolate chips for garnish

Combine mousse mix, milk, Amaretto, and Baileys in a bowl.  Beat on high with electric mixer for 3-5 minutes, or until thickened.  Refrigerate for at least an hour, then top with whipped cream and chocolate chips.

grown up mousse

Although this dessert isn’t technically a cocktail, it’s got booze and lots of chocolate. Teenage me AND adult me thoroughly approves. Would I ever want to switch places with another person I know? No, probably not. However every morning when I look longingly at my napping dog and head out to the office, the thought does cross my mind. But then I think of Freaky Friday and remember- nobody wants to eat kibble. Not even on a smorgasbord. Cheers!