ABC MOVIE OF THE WEEK 1972 WHEN MICHAEL CALLS

   

"I am like a small creature swallowed whole bu a monster, she thought,
 and the monster feels my tiny little movements inside."

~Shirley Jackson

The Haunting Of Hill House

Well, I said I might be showing a movie or two this year, and it seemed like a good day to do just that, especially in that Blogger isn't allowing me to upload the picture I would have been posting. Shrug. It happens. I don't know, maybe it's a good thing. Movies are a big part of my interests, especially horror movies, and this one is definitely one of my favorites, since childhood.

It first aired as the, Saturday Movie Of The Week, on February 5th, 1972, although this recording is the, Tuesday Movie Of The Week. I suppose it was a repeat of the original broadcast. But that's fine, because I remember loving it so much, that I am pretty sure I would have watched the rebroadcast, and I am fairly sure dad was sitting on the couch right next to me. Watching scary movies with my father, are some of the most rewarding memories I have of being a little girl. Dad and I had a difficult relationship, but he and I shared a lot too. We had the same sense of humor. We both loved horror movies, and we both enjoyed cooking. He loved autumn as much as I did. His birthday was in early autumn, and always included the first pies of the year.

My father passed away, August 29th, 1995, and while I don't watch for the date on the calendar, I do tend to miss him a bit more. He loved the color of the early autumn sun, and I finally saw that autumn light coming through the bedroom window yesterday. It's here. Autumn is here, and it's just a matter of the official hand-off from summer to autumn in a few weeks! I just wish dad was here to enjoy it with me.

 Dad would be the first to say, don't look back, just enjoy where you are, right this moment, so I am excited to immerse myself into the season, and vacation this year, and look for as much beauty as can be found. I feel a bit more optimistic, but I am not being naive, I know that positive outlook will probably come and go. So, for right now, I am going to roll with all the happiness a favorite old movie or book can bring. I have never read the book, so maybe I will do some looking around, perhaps I can find a copy of it at a used bookstore.

When Michael Calls, is based on the 1967 book of the same name, by John Farris. It's equal parts ghost story, and detective story, but more than anything else it's just good all around storytelling. A few twists, that might be a bit predictable, and would otherwise leave me cold, is negated by the excellent acting of Michael Douglas, Elizabeth Ashley, and Ben Gazzara. The story was sufficiently spooky, but not so much that it would have given me nightmares as a child. Of course I learned at an early age to see the story through, so I could arrive at the explanation of what was actually going on, because, after all, there are no such things as ghosts, right?

Having watched the film, I know whether or not there was a ghost, but you don't, so you will just have to sit back, hit the play, and enjoy a really good film that will put you in the mood for autumn. 2020 has been a truly dreadful year so far, so it owes us all one. I am hoping that autumn, as it leads us into the last couple weeks of the year, will have gently corrected everything that has gone wrong, or caused pain. Perhaps I am pinning to much on autumn, but I think it's okay to embrace a little hope.

Now, go watch the movie, and if you feel like it,

 tell me what you think of it in the comments.

Enjoy

~Carly

Stockton, California

September 1st 2020

Round Robin Challenge: Fun, Fun, Fun + APAD: Day~10

“Give them pleasure. The same pleasure they have when they wake up from a nightmare."


~Alfred Hitchcock

Killing two projects with one photo...


Round Robin Challenge, and Day 10 of APAD For 6 Months


Movie Review: Dark Shadows (Spoiler Alert)

The new Tim Burton film, Dark Shadows is finally here. Yes, I know it came out a week ago, and if I could have gone to see it sooner I would have, as I have been eagerly awaiting the movie's release for a long time. 40 years to be exact. So when Hollywood began doing do-overs of old movies and TV, I knew it was just a matter of time before I got to see my old friend Barnabus Collins, and the whole crazy Collins clan once again. When I was a kid, I ran home from school every day to watch Dark Shadows... who didn't? And when it was cancelled it left a huge hole in my afternoons. It was a delicious distraction from the craziness of my own family, and a nice escape from the deep heartache of watching my big brother go off to Vietnam.

Rather than thinking about my brother's absence, I plunged into all the wonderful characters of Dark Shadows. My favorite character was the witch Angelique Bouchard. Actress Lara Parker was so beautiful and glamorous to me, and her portrayal of Angelique gave me nightmares. Delicious, scary, creepy nightmares, but I always preferred them to the nightmares of my family's constant fighting, and my brother's absence. My mother fell into a deep depression after he left, and my father became quiet distant, and at times downright hostile. My sister being 10 years older than I, had her own interests, which is normal, but it left me lonely. Dark Shadows was there every day to keep me not just entertained, but served to stimulate and inspire my imagination as well. I used to wonder what it would be like to walk through the town of Collinsport, Maine. What would it be like to actually talk to Barnabus Collins. Scary? Nah... he was a good guy deep down, but he was also a tortured soul to be sure.

When I found out that Johnny Depp was to play Barnabus, I thought it was strange casting. Barnabus was a bit older, and Johnny Depp is usually a bit... well... goofy. Could he do the part justice? You bet he did! He bought a dimension to Barnabus that hadn't occurred to me before. Depp's Barnabus was indeed a bit goofy, but frankly, it was the part of Barnabus should have been there from the start. A bit of a fish out of water, his transition into modern times was a wonderful flight of fancy. The original Barnabus seemed to fit in rather easily, in fact a bit too easily. I enjoyed watching Depp's Barnabus become accustomed to life in 1972. Everything was different, music, fashion, culture, values, mode of transportation, even food had changed, but what was a vampire to do? It was time to sink or swim. And swim he did!

I kinda had to admire the modern day Barnabus for his courage. He was a man...a vampire with a mission. The marvelous choices of music from the time, kept the movie funky, while we watched Barnabus strive to fit into the new world he had found himself in. I loved the use of every piece of music, and cultural references were spot on. So, while I really thoroughly enjoyed the movie, there were things it lacked. While it did deliver some wonderfully campy thrills, and stuck fairly close to the original story, I missed some of the most quaint elements of the original. Where was Josette's theme? Her music box was a HUGE part of the original storytelling. And I would have loved to have seen the movie do more flashbacks in time, to show the great romance that was Barnabus and Josette. I think it would have been good to have seen Barnabus's dalliance with Angelique, and the heartbreak his rejection brought her. She was a woman scorned, and it would have been good to have seen why. Angelique had cursed Barnabus for a reason, and it was an all too common reason, good old fashioned heartbreak. And that is what made the whole situation so relatable. Who can't identify with heartbreak?

The rest of the movie was well cast, especially Michelle Pfeiffer as Elizabeth Collins Stoddard, but over all the actors and the characters seemed to lack the same amazing chemistry of the original cast.

So, while I enjoyed the new movie, which completely stands on it's own, I will always love the original more.

I give it **** kernels of popcorn out of ***** Seriously... go see it!

Me :)

Okie Doke, That's my posting for both the Round Robin Photo Challenge and my new project APAD For 6 Months. If you would like to join in either meme, you are more than welcome to do so. Click here to be redirected to the official Round Robin blog where you will find all you need to know about playing along. As for my project, just post a photo and come back to the comment thread of this entry with the direct link back to it. I will post your link with tomorrow's posting.


 See you tomorrow!