Christmas Ghosts

 

 

 

 

Yes, folks! I'm back to my old Christmas in November tricks. Although, really, Christmas only figures in to about the first 15 minutes or so of this film, so it might be more of just a sentimental romance than anything. But, if you know me, you KNOW there has to be more than just that angle or it wouldn't be showing at The Midnite Drive-In... The ghost angle, of course, is what attracted me, even though the ghost angle was essentially played for laughs and sentimentality... 

Between the start of the cinema age and, roughly. the mid-50's the "ghost" theme seemed to crop up more for laughs and romance than actual "scare the pants off" trope. After all, one of the first films that portrayed a ghost, the 1898 The Haunted Castle, used the the ghost for "amusement, rather than fear". And over the years well into the 50's, comedy and romance were more central to ghost movies. Witness such films as Topper (1937), The Ghost Breakers (1940), Hold That Ghost (1941),   The Canterville Ghost (1944) or The Ghost and Mrs. Muir (1947).

To be sure, there WERE a smattering of seriously horror entries during that period. The Uninvited (1944) and Dead of Night (1945) are two examples of English language films that were released. But many of the more eerie films involving ghosts were usually of foreign (non-English) variety. The Phantom Carriage (1921; Sweden), La Llorona (1933; Mexico)  and Ghosts of Yotsuya (1949; Japan) were some of the creepier ones.

OK, so this film falls firmly into the category of "ghosts that aren't scary" line of movies. But even that is not what attracted me to this film. No, one of the draws for me was to see an early role by Richard Carlson, an actor who was in a few of my favorite science fiction films such as Creature from the Black Lagoon, The Magnetic Monster and It Came from Outer Space.

The rest of the cast consists mainly of character actors. The more well-known of these would probably have been Harry Carey, who had been a regular in many of the Poverty Row westerns of the silent and early sound westerns, as well as a frequent co-star with John Wayne. Also on that familiar name list would be Maria Ouspenskaya, who often played women of foreign nationalities, including a couple of times as a Gypsy woman Maleva in the Universal horror films, The Wolf Man and Frankenstein Meets the Wolf Man. Prior to this film she had been nominated for Oscars.

Rounding out the character actor troupe were Charles Winninger and C. Aubrey Smith. As well, Jean Parker and Helen Vinson both had significant female roles. Neither of those names were familiar to me, nor were they familiar to my sister, who has watched many more of those old mainsteam movies than I have.

 

 

 

Beyond Tomorrow (1940):

The film opens on Christmas Eve as three old bachelor entrepreneurs work on a project for the coming year. At least, two of them are anyway.  George Melton (Harry Carey) and Allen Chadwick (C. Aubrey Smith) have the bottom line foremost in their mind. Their third partner, Michael O'Brien (Charles Winninger) is much more of a free spirit, arriving with presents for everyone, and chides his partners for making everyone work through Christmas Eve.

 

When a telegram arrives that gives some bad news, that some expected guests for dinner will not be showing, both George and Allen become even more down on the holiday and the good will spirit of humanity, but Michael, ever the optimist, thinks they are both wrong. To prove his point he suggests that each of them throw out of the window a wallet with $10 and their cards and sees who will return the wallets. Both George and Allen are absolutely sure none of the wallets will be returned, but Michael insists they will, and that those good souls who return the wallets can be invited to Christmas Eve dinner to replace the missing guests.

 

One of the wallets is indeed kept by the person finding it, but two of them are returned. One is returned by a Texan who stayed after his rodeo left town, James Houston (Richard Carlson) and another is returned by a local schoolteacher, Jean Lawrence (Jean Parker). The two are invited to stay, and as could be expected in such fantasy worlds as movies like this, the two hit it off. Over the course of a few weeks, a love blossoms and there is talk of even marriage.

 

It turns out that James can sing. (and it also turns out, to my surprise, that it really is Carlson who is singing in those musical numbers...) He plans to get work as a singer, the better to help him make enough to be a good and productive husband. 

 

The three benefactors make plans to fly to Philadelphia. Their housekeeper, Madame Tanya (Maria Ouspenskaya), begs them to take the train instead but they insist she is overreacting. But as often is the case, these Eastern European women seem to have a sixth sense about the future, because the three do end up dying, and returning to the mansion where they had lived. Thus we get our three ghosts.

 

The three men, while still living, had bequeathed a series of bonds to the couple so they could afford to get married. This sets off a sequence of events where the story is picked up by the newspapers and James is offered a tryout for a radio program. At the tryout he meets Arlene Terry (Helen Vinson) an established singer who invites him to meet her manager. (BTW, I found out later that the woman in the beginning of the film who keeps the money and ditches the wallet instead of returning it was this same woman... Sort of hints at just what kind of woman she is, given that.)

 

The three ghosts watch on in dismay as it looks like James might be going down the wrong path. He becomes more involved with trying to advance his career (and in the process alienating Jean). He also seems to be developing an infatuation for his singing partner. Arlene, however, has her own past to deal with, including an alcoholic ex-husband who is unwilling to let bygones be bygones.   

You can see it coming from a mile away. As James and Arlene's relationship advances Jean becomes more and more convinced she is losing him. And the ex-husband is determined that if he can't have Arlene, by gum, no one can. 

In between all this the archangels in Heaven keep returning for the lost souls of the three men. Ultimately both Charles and Allen are taken, but when the Heavenly hosts finally return for Michael, he insists that he can't go until the situation between James and Jean is resolved. And things look bleak for that when the ex-husband shows up where James and Arlene are meeting and shoots them both.

But remember, folks, this is not only 1940, but it's also supposed to be a feel good movie. So don't start crying yet.

Beyond Tomorrow has it's flaws. For one thing, James is a rather shallow character, played rather shallowly by Carlson. Just when you start to feel good about a guy who seems to really want to find his place in life, complete with the requisite girl of his dreams, he goes off on a jaunt to find fame and fortune, neglecting said girl of his dreams. He is easily distracted by cute girl of the moment. It appears at the outset that this might be just a part of the part she can play in helping his career, but then the character of James is tarnished by the fact that he can't seem to differentiate between what is good for his career and what is good for his home life. Although he initially still has his devotion to Jean, he seems to be unable to resist the wiles of the bad girl, Arlene.

One can easily see why Arlene's first marriage did not work out. I'm not entirely sure that her ex-husband didn't become an alcoholic after the fact, rather than, as she says, the alcoholism was part and parcel of what led her down the road to divorce. In that instance, even though she is a cardboard cutout character of a "bad woman" I think that Helen Vinson imbues her with just enough subtlety to give her some dimension. 

The three main characters of the men/ghosts are much better. Especially Winninger has the ever optimistic Michael.  The sad part is that they don't seem to have much to do in the story after the transformation from living to deceased. Mostly they seem to just stand around and shake their heads in despair at how James is ruining his chances for true love. But Ouspenskaya has some bright spots as the intuitive Madame Terry, and even though she can't see he ghosts, she knows they are there and has a rapport with them.

Calling this a Christmas movie is not quite right, but the feelings and it's overall message is something akin to A Christmas Carol, because the character of Allen does eventually transition from the curmudgeonly Scrooge-like man while still alive to a change of heart at the end. And the final realization of James that the life he really wants is the one he already has can be something like Jimmy Stewart's George Bailey's transformation in It's A Wonderful Life. 

 So, is this a good movie? Overall, I would say yes. 

Good tidings for the coming season.

Quiggy 

Green Holidaze

 

Yes, folks it's yet another Christmas entry (And you say: "Bah! Humbug! It's not even Halloween yet!").

 

OK, I'll concede to the Scrooge-y outcry. You want Halloween, you say? Bet you weren't expecting this...

 

In 1977 the television animation studios at ABC presented the world with what amounts to a prequel to the classic 1966 Christmas tradition of How the Grinch Stole Christmas. Titled Halloween is Grinch Night, it was presented to the public on October 28 of that year, and quickly became a Halloween holiday tradition, much in the same way that it's predecessor did as a Christmas tradition.

 

What's that, you say? This never became a Halloween tradition? Hmm... What a shame! Maybe the ill sweet sour winds were blowing in the wrong direction. 

 

OK, I'll be honest. Although I was alive, and in my late teens, when this cartoon hit the airwaves, I don't recall having ever seen it. In fact, until I ran across a DVD collection called Dr. Suess's Holidays on the Loose, I wasn't even aware that it even existed. (Just a note: You never know what you'll find in those garage sales and resale barns. I paid $2 for this, but I would have never even thought to look for it...)

 

 

 

 

The DVD also includes another Grinch cartoon that I never heard of, this one brought out in 1982. It's called The Grinch Grinches the Cat in the Hat. But in the case of that one, I have an excuse for not even noticing it. It first aired in May of 1982. At that time I was in college and wouldn't have been caught dead watching a kiddie cartoon show.  Besides, at that time I had a job throwing a newspaper route, and was probably asleep so I could be prepared for my job at midnight.

 

Of course, nowadays I wouldn't be so dismissive of children's fare. Possibly because at my age I am looking back at a long life, and regretting that period of my life when I didn't have a childlike innocence and missed out on some fairly good stuff in retrospect. Just for instance: In my 20's, an animated film would have been the LAST choice I would make in picking my weekly theater experience. But just look at what I missed out on during that period: The Black Cauldron, Labyrinth, The Last Unicorn, The Never-Ending Story, The Secret of N.I.M.H., every Muppet movie until  The Muppet Christmas Carol (and I only went to that one because the Dickens story is one of my favorite stories). All of those I have since watched and found entertaining.

 

Dr. Suess had been around for decades prior to the first television cartoon adaptation of his work, the now famous How the Grinch Stole Christmas, but with the exception of a few Private Snafu animated shorts released in theaters during WWII, his work was hardly every translated to film. But after the Grinch a succession of Suess inspired cartoons were made for TV, including Horton Hears a Who, The Cat in the Hat and The Lorax. And you are probably already aware of the full length movies released in theaters in recent years that include the Jim Carrey version of the Grinch story and the Mike Myers version of the Cat in the Hat. (I'm still waiting for a film version of "The 500 Hats of Bartholomew Cubbins", BTW, if anyone in Hollywood is checking out this blog...) 

 

Firstly, just to appease the Grinchier crowd who might be objecting to an early Christmas entry...

 

 

 

Halloween is Grinch Night (1977):

 

 

 

 

Things look pleasant in Whoville, But Josiah (Hal Smith; "Otis" from The Andy Griffith Show) smells a "sweet sour wind" in the air. He gets his wife, Mariah (Irene Tedrow; Mrs. Elkins on Dennis the Menace) to double check, and sure enough, the wind has that sweet sour smell.  That means the local Grunker's Pond will be disturbed, awakening the gree-grumps, who will begin to howl. That will make the hakken-krakks star to yowl.

 

 

 

That can only mean one thing. The villainous Grinch (Hans Conried), who lives on the nearby Mount Crumpit will be lurking about, because it is now Grinch night. The Whos in Whoville scurry inside and lock the doors and windows, and they won't go outside... not even for $1.50... The whole town keeps an ear to the radio for the coming on the Grinch, as posted by Sgt, MacPherson (Jack DeLeon; who was memorable as one of the first openly gay characters on TV, Marty in Barney Miller ), who acts a weather broadcaster, only in this case, the watchful eye of the ill wind of the Grinch.

 

 

 

The Grinch, on the other hand, is ecstatic because it's his night to howl. He loads up his wagon, puts his poor dog Max on the reigns, and begins his descent on Whoville where he plans to have a big party in the Whoville town hall.  He will be the guest attendee.  Really, he will be the ONLY attendee...

 

 

 

Poor Max bemoans the lost childhood he had and his fate at being a slave to the Grinch, but he really has no choice.   As the Grinch begins his ascent to Whoville, Euchariah (Gary Shapiro), the young son of Josiah and Mariah, suddenly realizes he needs to go to the "euphemism" (Really. That's what they call it. Cover your eyes, ye easily shocked readers, because it means he needs to go to the...  outhouse...)

 

 

 

The wind, however, is really strong, and despite his struggle to get there he is blown off course, and ends up om Mount Crumpit, the home of the Grinch.  Euchariah runs into the Grinch and bravely stands up to him, but the Grinch is dismissive of such a small foe. He gives Euchariah the discount store scare and figures that is that.

 

 

 

But Euchariah decides that the only way to save the town from the Grinch is by his own work.  He stands up to the Grinch and basically dares the Grinch to do his best at scaring him.  The Grinch, who is not one to back down from a challenge, proceeds to throw everything he can at young Euchariah. 

 

 

 

Unfortunately for the Grinch, young Euchariah is determined, and despite all the spooks and monsters the Grinch throws at him, he bravely endures. And just long enough, too, because the sweet sour wind of Grinch night dies down, which is basically the death knell on the Grinch's activities for the night. He turns his cart around to make the trek back up the mountain, promising he will be even worse on the next Grinch Night. But his dog, Max, deserts him and becomes the dog of his new master, Euchariah.

 

Hans Conried had to fill in for Boris Karloff as the voice of the Grinch, since Karloff had passed away by the time this prequel was made. He does a passable job of it, but it's not quite the sinister twang that the legendary icon put on the original. But hey, nobody lives forever. It was bound to happen. Fortunately the fantastic deep bass singer, Thurl Ravenscroft, was still around to do the musical parts of the Grinch story.  

 

Just one note here, story-wise: This is supposed to be taking place before the events of How the Grinch Stole Christmas. Yet in that later story the Grinch has Max back in his lair. Did the dog decide that life in Whoville was too sedate and return to the Grinch? Or maybe sometime in between the Grinch managed to rope in another dog...  

 

Halloween is Grinch Night won the 1978 Primetime Emmy for Outstanding Children's Program, beating out, among others, The Fat Albert Christmas Special. 

 

OK, you Ebenezers... happy now? 

 

What? Still not ready for cheer and eggnog? OK. I'll play along for now. The second feature on this DVD is:

 

 

 

 

The Grinch Grinches The Cat in the Hat (1982):

 

 

 

This piece (probably) comes after the transformation of the Grinch into a happy carefree figure he became at the end of How the Grinch Stole Christmas, because the sun rises and the Grinch (Bob Holt) is smiling and laughing. Even Max is a little wary, but apparently the afterglow of the events in How the Grinch Stole Christmas (see below) he is a new character.

 

The first thing that comes into play in this piece by the way is the fact that the narrator is none other than Mason Adams. (Adams may not have been a dynamic actor on screen (IMDb only credits him with 77 appearances), but as a voice actor, for me, it's always a treat to hear him. He did narration and voice over credits throughout his career.)  

 

But' in the Grinch's lair, his reflection in the mirror is not so ready and willing to accept this transformation. The mirror image reminds the Grinch of his venomous nature and makes him repeat the "Grinch Oath". With the Grinch apparently saved from a life of charity and goodwill, he leaves the house to find something dastardly to do to prove his Grinch-i-ness.

 

 

 

On the other side of town, the Cat in the Hat (also voiced by Mason Adams) has decided it's such a nice day he is going on a picnic. Unfortunately for him however, he fails to pull his car completely off the road. And the Grinch comes along and hits it.  Of course, the Grinch blames the Cat in the Hat and has a few choice words for him. But the Cat in the Hat, if anything, is accommodating and apologizes.

 

 

But the Grinch isn't going to let it go with just some wimpy apology. Can you say "road rage"? Eventually the Cat in the Hat arrives safely at his own home, but that's not the end of it. In a series of illustrations as to how letting it go and getting over it is the right way of reacting and an endless series of attempts to get revenge is the wrong way, the Grinch errs of the wrong side several times.

 

One way is he has developed a device which distorts sound within a radius, and pointing it at the Cat in the Hat and his surroundings causes confusion. In essence, whenever anyone or anything makes any kind of noise within it's radius, it comes out as gobbledygook. But it doesn't stop there. Because the Cat in the Hat is not turning into the raging antagonist that the Grinch seems to expect.

 

So the Grinch amps it up. He has a device he calls a "darkhouse". It's like a lighthouse, except in reverse.  It casts a shadow of darkness wherever it is pointed. 

 

 

 

This still isn't getting the results so the Grinch casts a pink glow which causes, among other things, to make food look really unappetizing.

 

The Cat in the Hat has an imaginary thought bubble psychiatric session with the Grinch, trying to figure out what makes him tick and why he's so mean-spirited. 

 

 

 

And during this imaginary session a thread of hope comes out. The Grinch really loves his mother, which eventually leads to the denouement. as patrons at the restaurant where the Cat in the Hat was dining when the Grinch used his pink ray all band together to go to the Grinch's house and serenade him with a song about Mom.

 

 

 

The Grinch becomes teary-eyed and sentimental once again. And when the mirror refection tries to entice him back to his Grinch side, Max points the noise disrupting ray at it and it starts spouting gobbledygook.

 

This production was also awarded a Primetime Emmy award, beating out not just one, but two each, of Charlie Brown and the Smurfs cartoon specials. 

 

OK. Now can I do my Christmas theme?  

 

 

How the Grinch Stole Christmas  (1966):

 

 

 

This is the one cartoon that I will make a point to watch every year. I was a wee lad, not even yet 5 when I first saw it. I probably watched it every year until I was well into my 20's, after which it was only if the broadcast was convenient for my work schedule, since I often had a night time job. But somewhere in my late 30's I was able to jump back on board with making it an annual tradition.

 

"Fa-who for-aze! Da-who dor-aze!  Welcome Christmas bring your light!

Fa-who for-aze! Da-who dor-aze!  Welcome in the cold, dark night!

Welcome Christmas, fa-who ra-mooze!  Welcome Christmas, da-who da-mooze!

Welcome Christmas, while we stand, heart to heart, and hand in hand!

Trim up the tree with Christmas stuff, like bingle balls and whofoo fluff!

Trim up the tree with goowho gums, and bizelbix and wums!

Trim every blessed window, and trim every blessed door!

Hang up who boo hoo bricks, then run out and get some more!

Hang pantookas on the ceiling. pile panfoolas on the floor!

Trim every blessed needle on the blessed Christmas tree!

Christmas comes tomorrow! Trim you! Trim me!

Trim up the tree with fuzzle fuzz and blipper bloos and wuzzle wuzz!

Trim up your uncle and your aunt with yards of who faunt flant!!!"

 

 

 

The Whos down in Whoville absolutely love Christmas. What joy! What fun! Singing an dancing and Christmas fun! And then there's the toys! All the kids get to enjoy their new found toys and make such noise!

 

Noise! Noise! Noise! That's the one thing that the Grinch, who lives just north of Whoville hates the most. (And just out of curiosity, what is it about the "north" that causes such animosity in these tales. It seems to me that every villainous sort of character in these tales happens to live in the north part of the region...)

 

 

 

Anyway, the Grinch hates all the goody good Whos down in Whoville and their overbearing happiness and good cheer. And most annoying is the Christmas season, when that "good nature attitude" comes out in waves of cheer and good will. But what can he do, it's just going to happen, and that's a part of life.

 

But maybe  not this year.  Maybe, just maybe, the Grinch can pull off a feat of such transcending evil that the Whos will transform from their happy-go-lucky selves into wailing and bemoaning spirits, and that would please the Grinch to no end. 

 

 

 

So what is his plan? He will dress up as Santa Claus and sneak into town while all the Whos in Whoville are asleep and steal every present, every tree, every decoration, and even all the Christmas dinner and just sit back and watch the fun as the Whos discover that there won't be a Christmas in Whoville this year after all.

 

 

 

"You're a mean one, Mr. Grinch, you really are a heel!
You're as cuddly as a cactus, you're as charming as an eel! 

Mr. Grinch!
You're a bad banana with a greasy black peel!

You're a monster, Mr. Grinch, your heart's an empty hole!
Your brain is full of spiders, you've got garlic in your soul! 

Mr. Grinch!
I wouldn't touch you with a thirty-nine-and-a-half foot pole!

You're a vile one, Mr. Grinch, you have termites in your smile!
You have all the tender sweetness of a seasick crocodile! 

Mr. Grinch!
Given the choice between the two of you, I'd take the seasick crocodile!

You're a foul one, Mr. Grinch, you're a nasty wasty skunk!
Your heart is full of unwashed socks, your soul is full of gunk!

Mr. Grinch.
The three words that best describe you are as follows, and I quote: "Stink! Stank! Stunk!"

You're a rotter, Mr. Grinch, you're the king of sinful sots!
Your heart's a dead tomato splotched with moldy purple spots!

Mr. Grinch.
Your soul is an appalling dump heap, overflowing with the most disgraceful assortment of deplorable rubbish imaginable... mangled up in tangled up knots!

You nauseate me, Mr. Grinch, with a nauseous super "naus!"
You're a crooked dirty jockey, and you drive a crooked hoss! 

Mr. Grinch!
You're a three decker sauerkraut and toadstool sandwich, with arsenic sauce!"

 

Note: I really don't understand why the Grinch had to dress up as Santa if he expected to be able to get in and out of Whoville undetected. Of course, as we will see, that Santa outfit did come in handy after all. For, while he is busy trying to stuff a Christmas tree up the chimney, a little who, Cindy Lou Who, who was no more than two, wakes up and catches him in the act, and he has to pretend he is Santa and that he is taking the tree back to his workshop to fix a glitch with the Christmas lights on it.

 

 

 

Once the Grinch succeeds in his nefarious plan he heads back to his cave on Mount Crumpit and deliciously anticipates the cries and wails of the lost season down in Whoville. But to his amazement the Whos come out singing and generally expressing joy. Without presents. Without decorations. Without even the Christmas feast. And the Grinch realizes that the Christmas spirit comes from somewhere else, not the things that can be had by the physical realm, but from somewhere deep in the heart. And the Grinch himself has a change of heart, and returns the gifts, and becomes the leader of all the good will that Whoville has to offer.

 

 

 

Outside of Boris Karloff as the narrator and the voice of the Grinch, no one received any credit for their role. Specifically, the classic "You're a Mean One, Mr. Grinch" was actually sung by Thurl Ravenscroft, who's big claim to fame at the time was as the voice of Tony the Tiger in Frosted Flakes commercials. ("They're GREEEAT!") Also missing was the credit for the one vocal that was NOT Karloff, that of Cindy Lou Who, who was actually voiced by June Foray.

 

How the Grinch Stole Christmas is the only one of these three that was not in the running for an Emmy for children's program the following awards year. Just to clarify, a 1966 filming of the Jack in the Beanstalk was the winner, beating out, among others, It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown. But in retrospect, in later years it has been awarded it's own heritage in standing. In 2004 a list by TV Guide named it #1 out of the 10 Best Holiday Specials.  (A Charlie Brown Christmas came in second.)

 

Rejoice, ye Ebenezers. It will be after Halloween before the next Christmas themed entry comes your way. Still before Thanksgiving, true, but you gotta take your pleasures where you can find them... (And since today is Halloween, theoretically the next one could be tomorrow...)

 

Quiggy 

 

 

 

 

  

Merry Christmas, Ya Filthy Animals!

.... and a Happy New Year!

 

 

Note: This will be the first of a planned series of Christmas entries I will be making over the next couple of months. If you're saying to yourself "But, Quiggy, it's not even Halloween yet", I say "Get over yourself, Ebenezer!"

 

 

So, what if you had that fantasy come true, that of most young kids, that you could be on your own and do what you want, without  the interference of those pesky adults and older siblings?  That is the setup here, and that's all we really need. Other than that, there really is no plot. Sure, there is that threat of having your home invaded by would-be thieves, but even that is just a setup for the layout of what is essentially a live-action version of a Looney Tunes cartoon.

I mean, think about it. In both of these movies, the bad guys could be substituted with Elmer Fudd and Yosemite Sam, with the character of Kevin being Bugs Bunny. No matter what happens to the bad guys, they aren't really damaged much more than if a 100 lb. anvil was dropped on Elmer Fudd's head. Just a quick "Ow! That hurt!" and then back to trying to capture that "wascally wabbit" (I mean, bratty kid).

 

 

 Home Alone (1990):

The McAllisters are going on vacation for Christmas. Rather than spend it in boring old Chicago, they are going to Paris. And life at the McAllister household is hectic as a result. Not just Peter (John Heard) and his wife, Kate (Catherine O'Hara) and their 5 kids, but also a perennial hanger own and total mooch of an older brother, Frank (Gary Bamman) and his wife and five kids are all running around like chickens with their heads cut off, trying to get ready to catch the plane early the next morning.

Our hero, Kevin (Macauley Culkin), is frustrated because, being the self-centered type, he thinks everybody is out to get him. To his credit he does get treated a bit like an unruly child, but then basically he IS an unruly child. However, the only one who really seems to have it in for Kevin is his older brother, Buzz (Devin Ratray) who, in typical movie older brother fashion, does everything he can to make Kevin's life hell.

The setup begins when dad Peter unplugs the clock to check on a charger and plugs it back in without resetting the clock. This in effect sets up the next morning when the entire house awakes to realize they overslept and the shuttle service they hired to take them to the airport is waiting outside. Long story, short, they rush to the airport and just manage to make it on the plane before its departure.

Except a foul up in the process occurs when Kevin is left behind.  And in typical fashion, mom is the first to realize that Kevin didn't make it with them and is still home alone. 

 

Kevin wakes up to discover his whole family is gone. Shock eventually segues into elation that his dream of being able to do what he wants without interference is a dream now come true. As any 8 year old would do he initially starts doing things he had previously not been allowed to do, like jumping on the bed and pillaging his older brother's room.

 

Eventually he does settle down somewhat.  He even goes grocery shopping.

 

One of the scenes that gradually makes Kevin grow up a little is when he has an encounter with Old Man Marley (Roberts Blossom). Marley is a recluse in the neighborhood, and as such, is the subject of some pretty sinister rumors from the neighborhood kids, such as the fact that he murdered his whole family with a snow shovel. Kevin is at first scared s**tless of Marley, but he eventually learns that Marley is a nice old man who has had problems of his own with his own family. Both Kevin and Marley eventually learn something from each other and depart as friends.

 

In time Kevin realizes that a pair of suspicious characters he has seen hanging around the neighborhood are in fact home burglars. Harry (Joe Pesci) and Marv (Daniel Stern) have been casing the neighborhood for weeks, figuring out which houses were going to be vacant during the holidays so they can rob them blind.  Of course, one of the houses on their list was the McAllister house, since everyone was supposed to be going to Paris.

 

But when they see little Kevin they become confused and think maybe the family didn't go after all. But it gradually begins to dawn on them that Kevin is all alone, so their plans go back to the original stage. Meanwhile Kevin becomes aware of the pair and determines that he, and he alone, is the only block between a successful robbing of his family home and a defense from the robbers.

This sets up the last third of the movie as Kevin goes from an 8 year old kid to the equivalent of a mix of McGyver and a Rube Goldberg creator. He sets up an elaborate series of blockades, including hot wiring a door knob, painting grease on ladder rungs, and icing up the sidewalk out front. You might get the idea that Kevin watched a hell of a lot of Wile E. Coyote / Roadrunner cartoons and learned how to avoid the mistakes that Herr Coyote made so he could be successful. 

 

Of course, the family eventually returns home just in time on Christmas Day. Mom first, since she refused to wait for a direct flight and had to use all her wiles to get home to her son.  But she only beats the rest of the family by 10 minutes. The rest of the family having waited for the direct flight Mom would not wait for. 

 

One of the better parts of the movie is when Kevin uses a VCR tape of an old (fictional, BTW) film noir film called Angels with Filthy Souls. A tough gangster named Johnny (played by Ralph Foody) has some bad words with another character named Snakes and Kevin uses this film to convince a pizza delivery guy to be satisfied with a 20 cent delivery tip. An interesting tidbit for you if you've seen the fake movie scene: Originally the parts were going to be reversed with the parts of Snakes and Johnny being played by the other actor.

 

Also a great cameo in this movie by John Candy as the leader of a polka band who gives Mom a ride to Chicago. Candy did this movie for almost free as a favor to John Hughes (having previously made Planes, Trains and Automobiles and Uncle Buck with the director).  I read on wikipedia that because Candy came on board for so cheap that Hughes just let him ad-lib his whole role, and his parts are pretty funny.

Robert De Niro turned down the role of Harry, and as a result the part went to Pesci. As good as De Niro is, even in movies where he is required to be comedic, I am thankful he chose to pass. I can't imagine anyone in that role but Pesci.  

So, the movie was pretty successful upon it's release. It raked in $476 million dollars against a budget of on $18 million and was surpassed only by Ghost that year in terms of ticket sales.  It currently has a 66% rating on the Tomato-meter. Among some of the critics who didn't like it was Owen Gleiberman, who apparently missed the homage I saw in it as a tribute to those old Looney Tunes cartoons. He called it a "sadistic festival of adult-bashing". And note: I wrote the comparison of Kevin's blockades above as "a mix of McGyver and a Rube Goldberg creator" before I read it, but apparently me and Roger Ebert were on the same wavelength... A quote from wikipedia article on the movie: He compared the elaborate booby-traps in the film to Rube Goldberg machines, writing "they're the kinds of traps that any 8-year-old could devise, if he had a budget of tens of thousands of dollars and the assistance of a crew of movie special effects people"...

Home Alone was such a huge hit that it inspired a sequel, Home Alone II: Lost in New York.

 

 

Home Alone II: Lost in New York (1992): 

This film segues from the fist movie and pretty much starts out the same way. This time the McAllisters and the rest are on their way to spend Christmas in Florida. I think it is supposed to be taking place the following Christmas after the debacle of a trip the family tried in the first film, so the maturity that Kevin garnered from the first film didn't apparently last long, since he is still being the same rather obnoxious little kid he was being last year.

 

This time the family is going to Florida. As usual, the family wakes up late and has to rush to get to the airport. No, the family does not end up leaving poor Kevin behind this time. Instead a bit of confusion happens as Kevin gets separated and chases after a man he thinks is his dad and ends up on a plane to new York instead of the one the rest of the family is boarded to go to Florida.

Fortunately for Kevin he has his dad's carry on which has his wallet. After wandering around new York for a bit and realizing he has to find some place to stay he books a room at the Plaza Hotel, using his portable recorder to convince the hotel booking agent on the phone that is dad is making the reservation. (Something that can't be encapsulated by writing about it... you have to see it. It probably wouldn't work in real life, but this is the movies).

The hotel concierge, played by Tim Curry, is suspicious and does many attempts to try to catch the non-present father, but of course, since dad is really not there he has no success. Kevin uses the portable recorder, as well as an inflatable Bozo the clown to hide the fact that he is there alone. As well, he has a tape of the film noir sequel to the previous movie, Angels with Filthier Souls. (The title of this blog entry comes from a quote in that faux movie...)

 

While wandering around Central Park Kevin encounters a homeless woman, credited as The Pigeon Lady (Brenda Fricker). Once again circumstances cause Kevin to rethink his initial reaction, which is fear, to finding out that the pigeon lady is really a nice person after all. And both of them, as in the previous movie with Kevin and Marley, come away with a new outlook on life.

 

Meanwhile, it turns out that our bad guys from the previous movie, Harry and Marv, have escaped jail and are planning to hit a local toy store, which has thousands of dollars of it's sales that is going to be donated to the local children's hospital. The two spot Kevin and recognize him, but since they are focused on their crime they mostly just try a half ass attempt at accosting Kevin, but end up just forgetting about him.

 

Not a good idea. Since Kevin has found out about their plan he makes an attempt to foil the robbery. And then, much as in the first movie, he sets up an elaborate trap that plays out much as it did in the first movie: Rube Goldberg traps and Looney Tunes hijinks.

"But wait...!" you are thinking. "He's not at home..." Well, it turns out that dad has a cousin living in New York, one that is conveniently out of town while his house is being renovated. (and, BTW, that house looks like it's been condemned and abandoned to me, so just how much renovation did it need...?)

 

Harry and Marv are looking for revenge. Might have been better if they just hightailed it out of town since they already had a satchel full of loot, but these two mental giants think that getting that kid is a more important goal than anything resembling prudence. And of course, they failed to learn their lesson when dealing with Kevin the first time.

 

Eventually Kevin foils these two geniuses and wins the day, as well as garners the thanks of the toy store owner, Mr. Duncan (Eddie Bracken). And, as they say, all's well that ends well.

Just wondering. Is there anyone besides me that thinks Brenda Fricker (the Pigeon Lady) looks a lot like Susan Boyle? Have to admit I had a little crush on Fricker after that movie. Sure, she's about 15 years older than me, but who says you have to have crushes on younger women?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Home Alone 2 was not the smash that the first one was, but it still managed to come in third in ticket sales behind Aladdin and The Bodyguard. It was made for $28 million and pulled in almost $400 million at the box office.  However, it was not the big favorite among critics... what do they know? It ranks only 35% on the Tomato-meter. Audiences begged to differ, however. It has an average of A- on a scale of A+ to F with those of us who actually paid to see the movie rather than have our tickets bought for us by our employer/newspaper. 

Home Alone 2 also has a phenomenally better musical soundtrack. The first movie had very little Christmas music in it, it was mostly the score of the film with a small number of songs. On this movie you get quite a number of favorite melodies accompanying the film, including "Sleigh Ride" sung by TLC, "Silver Bells" sung by Atlantic Starr, the classic favorite "Jingle Bell Rock" as sung by Bobby Helms and my favorite, "A Holly Jolly Christmas", sung by Alan Jackson.

  

 

Late breaking news! Remember those two film noir movies I mentioned above that Kevin puts to ingenious  use? I just found a clip that includes his first watch of both of those films and the subsequent pranks he plays on various people with them. You don't need to watch the whole movie to understand what's going on, they are self-explanatory. Enjoy!

 

 

Well, folks, Christmas is almost upon us. Have a happy holidays. And be sure ALL your family is present before you start on a journey, even if it's just across town to grandma's house.

Quiggy