This year, there are not as many lectures and courses, since I am a Part-Time Adult Reference Librarian at two libraries. However, I am constantly adding new lecture and course dates to my intinerary. Thus, you will find that this schedule will constantly change. This is my course and lecture itinerary as of Janaury 18th, 2020.

Philip Harwood Film Historian

516-428-7724/  PGHarwood@aol.com

Lectures and Courses-

                        2020 Itinerary-And Library Schedule

                                Updated January 18th, 2020

 

January

3rd: East Meadow Public Library: Hitchcock In The 1950’s: Stage Fright, 1PM

10^th: Hutton House: Robin Williams: The Interviews, 1PM

13^th: Barry and Florence Friedberg JCC: Naughty, But Nice: Pre-Code Hollywood, 1PM

14^th:  Elmont Memorial Library:    Naughty, But Nice: Pre-Code Hollywood, 12PM-2PM

17^th: Hutton House: Mel Brooks: It’s Good To Be The King: Blazing Saddles, 1PM

24^th:  Hutton House: Mel Brooks: It’s Good To Be The King: Young Frankenstein, 1PM

27^th:  Elmont Memorial Library: Me: Stories Of My Life Book Discussion, 2PM

North Shore Towers Country Club: Judy Garland at MGM, 8PM

31^st:  Hutton House: Mel Brooks:  It’s Good To Be The King: History Of The World, Part I, 1PM

February

7th: Syosset Library: All About Eve 70^th anniversary, 2PM

13^th: East Meadow Public Library: Hitchcock In The 1950’s: Strangers On A Train, 1PM

14^th:  Hutton House: Doris Day In The 1950’s: Love Me Or Leave Me, 1PM

18^th:  Elmont Memorial Library: Beethoven and Bernstein, 12PM-2PM

21^st:  Hutton House: Doris Day In The 1950’s: The Man Who Knew Too Much, 1PM

27^th: JCC Manhattan: Live And Love Tonight: Pre-Code Musicals-Madam Satan, 12:30PM

28^th:  Hutton House: Doris Day In The 1950’s: Pillow Talk, 1PM

March

1^st:  Hewlett-Woodmere Public Library: Robin Hood, with Ben Model, 2PM

2^nd: Port Washington Public Library: Rod Serling: The Early Years-Patterns, 7PM

5^th:  JCC Manhattan: Live And Love Tonight: Pre-Code Musicals-Love Me Tonight, 12:30PM

Temple Beth-El: Katharine Hepburn, 7:30PM

6^th:  East Meadow Public Library: Hitchcock In The 1950’s: I Confess, 1PM

8^th:  Magnolia Center: Norma Rae, 10:30AM

9^th:  Port Washington Public Library: Rod Serling: The Early Years-Requiem For A Heavyweight, 7PM

12^th:  JCC Manhattan: Live And Love Tonight: Pre-Code Musicals-Footlight Parade, 12:30PM

15^th: Magnolia Community Center: Erin Brokovitch, 10:30AM

16^th:  Port Washington Public  Library: Rod Serling: The Early Years-The Comedian, 7PM

19^th:  JCC Manhattan: Live And Love Tonight: Pre-Code Musicals-I’m No Angel, 12:30PM

24^th:    Elmont Memorial Library:The Hindenburg, 2:30PM

Great Neck Community Activities: The Beethoven Symphonies: Symphony No. 1, 7:30PM

26^th:  JCC Manahttan: Live And Love Tonight: Pre-Code Musicals-flying Down To Rio, 12:30PM

Temple Beth-El: Pre-Code Hollywood, 7:30PM

31^st: Great Neck Community Activities: The Beethoven Symphonies: Symphony No. 2, 7:30PM

 

April

2^nd:  JCC Manhattan: Live And Love Tonight: Pre-Code Musicals-Murder At The Vanities, 12:30PM

3^rd: East Meadow Public Library: Hitchcock In The 1950’s: Dial M For Murder, 1PM

7th: Great Neck Community Activities: The Beethoven Symphonies: Symphony No. 3, Eroica, 7:30PM

17^th:  Hutton House Lectures: Fonda and Ford at Fox: Young Mr. Lincoln, 1PM

21^st:  Great Neck Community Activities: The Beethoven Symphonies: Symphony No. 4, 7:30PM

24^th:  Hutton House Lectures: Fonda and Ford at Fox: My Darling Clementine, 1PM

28^th:  Great Neck Community Activities: The Beethoven Symphonies: Symphony No. 5, 7:30PM

May

1^st:  East Meadow Public Library: Hitchcock In the 1950’s: Rear Window, 1PM

4^th:  Oceanside Community Activities: Let’s Face The Music And Dance: Astaire and Rogers, 7:30PM

5^th:  Great Neck Community Activities: The Beethoven Symphonies: Symphony No. 6, Pastorale, 7:30PM

12^th:  Great Neck Community Activities: The Beethoven Symphonies: Symphony No. 7, 7:30PM

14^th:  Long Island Library Conference at Melvile Mariott, 8:30AM

15^th: Hutton House Lectures: Betty Grable and Alice Faye Film Noir at Fox: I Wake Up Screaming, 1PM

19^th:  Great Neck Community Activities: The Beethoven Symphonies: Symphony No. 8, 7:30PM

22^nd: Hutton House Lectures: Betty Grable and Alice Faye Film Noir at Fox: Fallen Angel, 1PM

26^th:  Great Neck Community Activities: The Beethoven Symphonies: Symphony No. 9, 7:30PM

June

5^th:  East Meadow Public Library: Hitchcock In The 1950’s: To Catch A Thief, 1PM

11^th: Temple Hillel, Valley Stream: The Comedy of Mel Brooks, Woody Allen, and Neil Simon, 7PM

23^rd:  Suffolk Y JCC Couples Club: MGM Musical Outtakes

 

July
3^rd: East Meadow Public Library: Hitchcock In The 1950’s: The Trouble With Harry, 1PM

10^th:  Hutton House: Musicals of the 1920s On Film At MGM: New Moon, 1PM

17^th:  Hutton House: Musicals of the 1920s On Film At MGM: Good News, 1PM

24^th: Hutton House: Musicals Of the 1920s On Film At MGM: Show Boat, 1PM

31^st: Hutton House: Say It With Music: Music of the 1920’s, 1PM

August

7^th:  East Meadow Public Library: Hitchcock In The 1950’s: The Man Who Knew Too Much, 1PM

14^th:  Hutton House: The Twilight Zone: Rod Serling’s Favorite Episodes, 1PM

September

4^th:  East Meadow Public Library: Hitchcock In The 1950’s: The Wrong Man, 1PM

October

2^nd: East Meadow Public Library: Hitchcock In The 1950’s: Vertigo, 1PM

 

November

6^th: East Meadow Public Library: Hitchcock In The 1950’s: North By Northwest 1PM

December

4^th: East Meadow Public Library: Hitchcock In The 1950’s: Psycho (1960), 1PM

 

IMPORTANT CONTACT INFORMATION

Cinema Arts Centre: (631) 423-3456

East Meadow Public Library: 516-794-2570

Elmont Memorial Library: 516-354-5280, Ext.1002

Hewlett-Woodmere Public Library: 516-374-1667, www.hwpl.org

Hutton House: LIU: C.W. Post-516-299-2580

JCC In Manhattan: 646-5050-4444

Magnolia Senior Community Center, Long Beach: 516-431-3510

Port Washington Public Library: 516-883-4400, www,pwpl.org

 

Here is my 2019 lecture and teaching schedule for 2019.  It is not as lengthy as it once was, since I am now a New York State Librarian at two public Libraries.  However, when I am not at either libraries, you can find me discussing the past, and how we learn from it, at these locations, on these dates. Hope to see you all soon!

Philip Harwood Film Historian

516-428-7724

PGHarwood@aol.com

Lectures and Courses-2019 Itinerary

                                  Updated January 28^th, 2019

 

JANUARY

4^th:  East Meadow Public Library: That’s Entertainment!-Meet Me In St. Louis, 1PM

10^th: Friedberg JCC: Jews and Jazz , 12PJM

11^th: Chappaqua Library: The Gershwins and the Hollywood Musical, 7PM

14^th: Cinema Arts Centre: Sky Room Talk: Rod Serling’s In The Presence Of Mine Enemies, 7:30PM

15^th:  Bethpage Public Library: Screwball Comedies, 2PM

17^th: Temple Beth-El: Rod Serling-The Early Years: The Comedian, 7:30PM

18^th:  Hutton House Lectures: Lighter Side of Olivia De Havilland: It’s Love I’m After, 1PM

25^th:  Hutton House Lectures:  Lighter Side of Olivia De Havilland: Four’s A Crowd, 1PM

Chappaqua Library: Screwball Comedies, 7PM

 

FEBRUARY

1^st:  Hutton House Lectures: Lighter Side of Olivia DeHavilland: The Male Animal, 1PM

7^th:  Wyandanch Senior Center: Paul Robeson, 1PM

8^th:        Chappaqua Library: I Wanna Be A Dancin’ Man: Fred Astaire Solo, 7PM

15^th: Hutton House: Chaplin-Behind The Scenes, 1PM

22^nd: Hutton House: Orson Welles Behind The Camera

Chappaqua Library: Mel Brooks: It’s Good To Be The King, 7PM

25^th:  Wyandanch Senior Center: Sidney Poitier: A Life On Film, 1PM

 

MARCH

1^st:  Hutton House Lectures: A Jennifer Jones Centennial: The Song of Bernadette, 1PM

3^rd: JASA On Sundays: Bernstein at 100:  The Early Years 1918-1945, 2PM

7^th: JCC Manhattan: Hitchcock In the 1940’s: Rebecca, 1PM

8^th:  Hutton House Lectures: A Jennifer Jones Centennial: Portrait of Jennie, 1PM

10th: JASA On Sundays: Bernstein at 100: Wunderkind On Tour and Broadway

14^th: JCC Manhattan: Hitchcock In The 1940’s: Suspicion, 1PM

15^th: Hutton House Lectures: A Jennifer Jones Centennial:  Madame Bovary, 1PM

17^th:  JASA On Sundays: Bernstein at 100: Omnibus, On The Waterfront, and Age of Anxiety, 2PM

18^th:  JCC Friedberg : Katharine Hepburn On Film-for REAP Group, 1PM

21^st: JCC Manhattan: Hitchcock In The 1940’s: Saboteur, 1PM

22^nd: Chappaqua Library:  Best Actress, 7PM

24^th: Hewlett-Woodmere Public Library: Steamboat Bill, Jr. 2PM

28th: JCC Manhattan: Hitchcock In The 1940’s: Shadow of A Doubt, 1PM

29^th: East Meadow Public Library: That’s Entertainment!: Easter Parade, 1PM

31^st:  JASA On Sundays: Bernstein at 100:  West Side Story and New York Philharmonic

APRIL

4^th: JCC Manhattan: Hitchcock In the 1940’s: Spellbound, 1PM

5^th: East Meadow Public Library: That’s Entertainment!: The Barkley’s of Broadway, 1PM

7^th:  JASA On Sundays: Bernstein At 100: Trouble In Tahiti, 2PM

11^th: JCC Manhattan: Hitchcock In The 1940’s: Notorious, 1PM

12^th: Hutton House: Ben-Hur: 60^th Anniversary, 1PM

14^th:  JASA On Sundays: Bernstein at 100: Bernstein and Copland: Young People’s Concerts, 2PM

26^th:  Chappaqua Library: Laurel and Hardy, 7PM

28^th:  JASA On Sundays: Bernstein at 100: Reaching for the Note Part 1, 2PM

 

 

MAY

3^rd: East Meadow Public Library: That’s Entertainment!: On The Town, 1PM

5^th:  JASA On Sundays: Bernstein at 100: Reaching For the Note: Part 2, 2PM

10^th: Hutton House: Social Issues in Post-War Hollywood: Lost Weekend, 1PM

12^th: JASA On Sundays: Bernstein At 100: Bernstein’s New York, 2PM

17^th: Hutton House: Social Issues In Post-War Hollywood: Gentlemen’s Agreement, 1PM

24^th: Hutton House: Social Issues In Post War Hollywood: Pinky, 1PM

JUNE

7^th: East Meadow Public Library: That’s Entertainment!: Annie Get Your Gun, 1PM

14^th:  Hutton House: Jolson Sings Again: A 70^th Anniversary Appreciation, 1PM

28^th:  Hutton House: Robert Redford: The Television Work, 1PM

JULY

5^th: East Meadow Public Library: That’s Entertainment!: Show Boat, 1PM

12^th:  Hutton House: Hutton At Hutton: Miracle of Morgan’s Creek, 1PM

19^th:  Hutton House: Hutton At Hutton: Annie Get Your Gun, 1PM

26^th:  Hutton House: Hutton At Hutton: The Greatest Show On Earth, 1PM

AUGUST

2^nd: East Meadow Public Library: That’s Entertainment!: An American In Paris, 1PM

9^th:  Hutton House: 1939: 20^th Century Novels On Film: In Name Only, 1PM

16^th:  Hutton House: 1939: 20^th Century Novels On Film: Destry Ride Again, 1PM

23^rd:  Hutton House: 1939: 20^th Century Novels On Film: The Rains Came, 1PM

 

SEPTEMBER

6^th: East Meadow Public Library: That’s Entertainment!: Singin’ In The Rain, 1PM

OCTOBER

4^th: East Meadow Public Library: That’s Entertainment!: The Band Wagon, 1PM

NOVEMBER

1st: East Meadow Public Library: That’s Entertainment!: Silk Stockings, 1PM

DECEMBER

6^th: East Meadow Public Library: That’s Entertainment!: Gigi, 1PM

 

IMPORTANT CONTACT INFORMATION

Barry and Florence Friedberg Jewish Community Center: 516-766-4341, FriedbergJCC.org

Chappaqua Library: 914-238-4779, www.Chappaqualibrary.org

Cinema Arts Centre: (631) 423-3456

East Meadow Public Library: 516-794-2570

Hewlett-Woodmere Public Library: 516-374-1667, www.hwpl.org

Hutton House: LIU: C.W. Post-516-299-2580

JASA On Sundays 212.273.5304 or Sundays@jasa.org

JCC In Manhattan: 646-5050-4444

Magnolia Senior Community Center, Long Beach: 516-431-3510

Port Washington Public Library: 516-883-4400, www,pwpl.org

 

Just renewed my annual blog fee for 2019.  Maybe I should actually write something on here in 2019.  As I look back on previous entries, dating back to 2014, I realize that so much has changed. I recall first logging on and developing this blog, and showing it to my late brother Bob, who seemed to be impressed. He was still with us.

So much has changed in such a short half a decade: lost a brother, gained a new sister-in-law and a new family. Speaking of family, finally, after 54 years, met my brother and sister from my father’s first marriage (I’m from the second of three marriages).  Oh, and I went back to school, and earned a M.L.S. in Library  Science and Technology. So, I am now a New York State Librarian.

The past is still a passion: Teaching film studies at St. Francis College, LIU Post, and JCC Manhattan, in addition to libraries and other Jewish community center. Still have the published chapter on Jack Benny’s film career, but now I need to write THAT book.

There was a slight interruption in the PGH busy schedule with a cist removal for biopsy. Sign of age.

So, where am I at, and where am I going? The future knows-and working towards that goal.

It’s 2018, and time to announce where I will be lecturing and teaching in 2018. More dates will be added. Please watch for these dates.

January

6^th:  Chappaqua Library: New Films Now: The Glass Castle, 2PM

16th: UFT Retiree Program: Remembering Marilyn: Don’t Bother To Knock, , 10am

19^th: East  Meadow Library: Screwball Comedy: It Happened One Night, 1PM

23rd: UFT Retiree Program: Remembering Marilyn: Gentlemen Prefer Blondes, 10am

25^th: Friedberg JCC: Golden Age of Broadway Musicals on Film, 7PM

26thL Hutton House: Dvorak In America, 1PM

30th: UFT Retiree Program: Remembering Marilyn: Bus Stop, 10am

February         

2nd: Hutton House: Katharine Hepburn Oscar Roles: Morning Glory, 1PM

3^rd: Chappaqua Library: New Films Now: Victoria and Abdul, 2PM

5th: UFT Retiree Program: Remembering Marilyn: Some Like It Hot, 10am

9th: Hutton House: Katharine Hepburn Oscar Roles: Guess Who’s  Coming To Dinner, 1PM

12^th: 92^nd Street Y: Rita Hayworth Centennial: Blood And Sand, 6:30PM,

16th: Hutton House: Katharine Hepburn Oscar Roles: The Lion In Winter, 1PM

18^th:  Magnolia Community Center: Dave, 10:30am

22n: JCC Manhattan: Cole Porter &The Hollywood Musical: Dubarry Was A Lady, 1PM

23rd: Hutton HOuse: Kathairne Hepburn Oscar Roles: On Golden Pond, 1PM

26thL 92^nd Street Y: Rita Hayworth Centennial: You Were Never Lovelier, 6:30PM

 

March

1^st: JCC Manhattan: Cole Porter & The Hollywood Musical: The Pirate, 1PM

2^nd: East Meadow Library: Screwball Comedies: The Awful Truth, 1PM

Port Washington Public Library: The Jazz Singer, 7:15PM

4^th: Hewlett-Woodmere Library: Show People, with Ben Model  2PM

5^th: Suffolk Y JCC: Katharine Hepburn on Film, 12PM

92^nd Street Y: Rita Hayworth Centennial: Cover Girl, 6:30PM

6^th:  Cinema Arts Centre: Pre-Code Women: The Divorcee, 7PM

8^th: JCC Manhattan: Cole Porter & The Hollywood Musical: Kiss Me Kate, 1PM

12^th: 92^nd Street Y: Rita Hayworth Centennial: Gilda, 6:30PM

13^th:  Cinema Arts Centre: Pre-Code Women:  Three On A Match, 7PM

15^th: JCC Manhattan: Cole Porter & The Hollywood Musical: High Society, 1PM

16th: Hutton House: Bette Davis: The Television Work, 1PM

19^th: 92^nd Street Y: Rita Hayworth Centennial: The Lady From Shanghai, 6:30PM

20^th: Cinema Arts Centre: Pre-Code Women:  Female, 7PM

22^nd: JCC Manhattan: Cole Porter & The Hollywood Musical: Silk Stockings, 1PM

24^th: Chappaqua Library: Star-Driven Films: Gilda, 2PM

27th: UFT Retiree Group: Hollywood Song Book: Irving Berlin-12:30-2:30

Cinema Arts Centre: Pre-Code Women:  Baby Face, 7PM

29^th: JCC Manhattan: Cole Porter & The Hollywood Musical: Les Girls, 1PM

 

April

2^nd:  Port Washington Public Library: Cinema of Edna Ferber: Dinner at Eight, 7:15pm

5^th: Syosset Public Library: Rita Hayworth Centennial: Blood and Sand, 2PM

6^th: Hutton House: Bette Davis Oscar Milestones: Dangerous 1PM

9^th: Port Washington Public Library: Cinema of Edna Ferber: Show Boat, 7:15PM

10th: UFT Retiree Group: Hollywood Song Book: Jerome Kern, 12:30-2:30PM

Suffolk Y JCC: Couples Club: Gene Kelly, 6PM

13^th: Hutton House: Bette Davis Oscar Milestones: Jezebel, 1PM

14^th: Chappaqua Library: Star-Driven Films: All About Eve, 2PM

23^rd:  Port Washington Public Library: Cinema of Edna Ferber: Come And Get It, 7:15pm

24th: UFT Retiree Group: Hollywood Song Book: The Gershwins, 12:30-2:30PM

26^th: Friedberg JCC: Barbara Streisand: Funny Girl, 7PM

30^th: Port Washington Public Library: Cinema of Edna Ferber: Stage Door, 7:15PM

 

May

4^th: Hutton House: Bette Davis Milestones: The Little Foxes, 1PM

7^th: Oceanside Community Education: Katherine Hepburn on Film, 7:30PM

15^th: Great Neck Community Education: Best Actress, 7:30PM

17^th: Syosset Public Library: Rita Hayworth Centennial: Cover Girl, 2PM

18^th: Hutton House: Bette Davis Milestones: All About Eve, 1PM

31^st: Friedberg JCC: Barbara Streisand: What’s Up Doc, 7PM

 

June

7^th: Syosset Public Library: Rita Hayworth Centennial: Gilda, 2PM

11^th: Friedberg JCC: I Wanna Be A Dancin Man: Fred Astaire Solo 12PM

12^th: Great Neck Community Education: Gene Kelly, 7:30PM

28^th: Friedberg JCC: Barbara Streisand: The Way We Were, 7PM

July

24^th: Great Neck Public Library: Films of Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers, 2PM

 

August

September

October

November

December

 

IMPORTANT CONTACT INFORMATION

Barry and Florence Friedberg Jewish Community Center: 516-766-4341, FriedbergJCC.org

Chappaqua Library: 914-238-4779, www.Chappaqualibrary.org

Cinema Arts Centre: (631) 423-3456

Great Neck Community Education 516-441-4946

Hewlett-Woodmere Public Library: 516-374-1667, www.hwpl.org

Hutton House: LIU: C.W. Post-516-299-2580

JCC In Manhattan: 646-5050-4444

Magnolia Senior Community Center, Long Beach: 516-431-3510

92^nd Street Y: 212-415-5500, 92y.org

Oceanside Department of Community Activities: 516-594-2336

Port Washington Public Library: 516-883-4400, www,pwpl.org

                   

 

Many film and musical enthusiasts know who wrote what score to each of the Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers films. But what about classic lines of dialogue. Try to guess in which  film a specific line is spoken. Extra points if you can identify who said the line in the film.

 

1. “ Chance is the fool’s name for fate.”
2. “All’s fair in love and war, and this is revolution!”
3. “I told you, I haven’t even met her. But I’d kinda like to marry her… I think I will.”
4. “The trick is to keep your mind a blank.”
5. “Aunt Cora, were you ever anxious to dance with a man you dreamed you danced with?”
6. “Well, you won it for me. How did you get all those men from the overalls factory to vote for me?”
7. “Listen. No one could teach you to dance in a million years. Take my advice and save your money!”
8. “Thank you. I’m touched, the piano’s touched, and Tchaikovsky’s touched.”
9. Tell me, little boy, did you get a whistle or baseball bat with that suit”? “
10. “You can’t see any further than your funny nose!”

 

 

I was asked by the Chappaqua Public Library Program Coordinator to compile a small collection of quotations on the subject of the Eclipse. In honor of today’s solar eclipse, here is that requested collection for your reading pleasure.

Quotations On The Eclipse Through The Ages
Compiled by Philip Harwood

“On that day, says the Lord God,
I will make the sun go down at noon
and darken the earth in broad daylight.”
Said to refer to the solar eclipse of 15 June 763 BC.
From: Amos, Chapter 8, verse 9 (Old Testament)

“Here lie the bodies of Ho and Hi,
Whose fate, though sad, is risible;
Being slain because they could not spy
Th’ eclipse which was invisible.”
Author unknown
Said to refer to the Chinese eclipse of 2136 BC or 2159 BC.

“. . . and the Sun has perished
out of heaven,
and an evil mist hovers over all.”
Said to refer to a total solar eclipse of 16 April 1178 BC.
From: Homer (Greek), The Odyssey (8th century BC).

“Zeus, the father of the
Olympic Gods, turned
mid-day into night, hiding the light
of the dazzling Sun;
and sore fear came upon men.”
Archilochus (c680-c640 BC), Greek poet
Refers to the total solar eclipse of 6 April 648 BC.

“God can cause unsullied light to spring out of black night. He can also shroud in a dark cloud of gloom the pure light of day”
Refers to the solar eclipse of 30 April 463 BC, which was nearly total at Thebes.
Pinder (Greek poet) Ninth Paean, addressed to the Thebans.

“They call it a great wonder
That the Sun would not
though the sky was cloudless
Shine warm upon the men.”
Sighvald, Icelandic poet.
Said to refer to a solar eclipse of AD 1030, during a battle near Trondheim.

“And now the house of York, thrust from the crown
By shameful murder of a guiltless king
And lofty proud encroaching tyranny,
Burns with revenging fire; whose hopeful colours
Advance our half-faced sun, striving to shine,
Under the which is writ ‘Invitis nubibus.’
The commons here in Kent are up in arms:
And, to conclude, reproach and beggary
Is crept into the palace of our king.
And all by thee. Away! convey him hence.”
William Shakespeare King Henry VI, Part 2, Act 4, Scene 1 (Late 1580s).

“No more be grieved at that which thou hast done:
Roses have thorns, and silver fountains mud;
Clouds and eclipses stain both moon and sun…..
From William Shakespeare Sonnet 35 XXXV. (Mid-1590s)

“It was that fatall and perfidious Bark
Built in th’ eclipse, and rigg’d with curses dark,
That sunk so low that sacred head of thine.”
John Milton Lycidas, Line 100 (1637)

“High on her speculative tower
Stood Science waiting for the hour
When Sol was destined to endure
That darkening of his radiant face
Which Superstition strove to chase,
Erewhile, with rites impure.”
William Wordsworth The Eclipse of the Sun, 1820

“The Star of Night [the Moon], by its comparative proximity and the rapidly recurring spectacle of its various phases, was with the Sun one of the first to attract the attention of the dwellers on Earth. But the Sun is tiring to the eyes, and the brightness of its light forced the observers to turn aside their prying glances.
Jules Verne (1828-1905) From Earth to Moon

For an hour or more we journeyed on, till at length the eclipse began to pass, and that edge of the sun which had disappeared the first became again visible. In another five minutes there was sufficient light to see our whereabouts . . .”
H Rider Haggard, King Soloman’s Mines (1886).

“I knew that the only total eclipse of the sun in the first half of the sixth century occurred on the twenty-first of June, A.D. 528 o.s., and began at three minutes after twelve noon. I knew also that no total eclipse of the sun was due in what to me was the present year – i.e., 1879.
From: Mark Twain, A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur’s Court (1889).

“At a Lunar Eclipse
Thy shadow, Earth, from Pole to Central Sea,
Now steals along upon the Moon’s meek shine
In even monochrome and curving line
Of imperturbable serenity.
Thomas Hardy At a Lunar Eclipse (1903)

The moon is dark, and the gods dance in the night; there is terror in the sky, for upon the moon hath sunk an eclipse foretold in no books of men or of earth’s gods.
H.P. Lovecraft

“I looked up, a split-second Prometheus, and looked away. The bitten silhouette of the sun lingered redly on my retinas.”
John Updike, Eclipse (Short Story) 1963

‘Yes! But only one sun lies in its plane of revolution.’ He jerked a thumb at the
shrunken sun above. ‘Beta! And it has been shown that the eclipse will occur
only when the arrangement of the suns is such that Beta is alone in its hemisphere
and at maximum distance, at which time the moon is invariably at minimum
distance. The eclipse that results, with the moon seven times the apparent diameter of Beta, covers all of Lagash and lasts well over half a day, so that no spot on the planet escapes the effects. That eclipse comes once every two thousand and forty nine years.’
Isaac Asimov, Nightfall, 1941

.

On Thursday, June 8th, I will be closing a three-part series of films and discussion at the Syosset Public Library. It is part of a series titled New York In The 1950’s. The film to be shown and discussed on the final day is Billy Wilder’s Sabrina, released by Paramount in 1954.

Sabrina, adapted from the stage play Sabrina Fair, by Samuel Taylor (who also wrote the screenplay, with Ernest Lehman) is the story of a chauffeur’s daughter, Sabrina (Audrey Hepburn) who has always been in love  with the son, David (William Holden) of the master of the estate. Sabrina goes to Paris, and comes back polished and a woman of the world: a princess. Her fairy tale has complications: David has an older brother, Linus (Humphrey Bogart) who tries to break up the romance between David and Sabrina,  but ends up falling in love with Sabrina himself, but all ends well in the end.

Sabrina is a wonderful film, and it received six Academy Award nominations, but only one win (For Best Costume Design). However, there were many complications behind the scenes.

Originally, Billy Wilder wanted Cary Grant for the role of Linus. When Grant wasn’t available, the part was offered to Humphrey Bogart, who had just signed a three-film deal with Paramount. Bogart did not have a good time during the making of Sabinra for numerous reasons:

• Bogart felt that he was the second choice for the role (True)
• Since Bogart and WIlder were both set in their ways, they clashed. Bogart would refer to Wilder as a stupid Nazi (even though Wilder was Jewish).
• Bogart felt Audrey Hepburn was unprofessional, since she kept flubbing her lines.
• Bogart was upset that Hepburn, Wilder and Holden would meet for coctails in Holden’s trailer, and Bogart was not invited (Wilder would later say, “We didn’t think of inviting Boagrt),
• Bogart felt he was miscast in the role of Linus

Wilder was having his own problems. He was suffering from back pain, and screenplay rewrites were not always available in time for shooting. At one point, Wilder asked Hepburn to feign illness, so the day’s shooting could be cancelled, so Wilder could work on screenplay rewrites.

William Holden had just worked on Billy Wilder’s Stalag 17, and receive a Best Actor Academy Award for his performance. So, he and WIlder worked well together. But Holden and Hepburn began an intimate relationship during the making of Sabrina. Holden was married, with two children, but Hepburn was hoping he would leave his wife and kids for her, and start a new family. HOlden had a casectomy, and once Sabrina was completed, the relationship ended.

Edith Head won the only film’s Oscar for Best Costume Design, but she had only created Hepburn’s every-day wardrobe. The elegant costumes that Hepburn wore were actually created by a man who would become a life-long friend of Hepburn’s: Hubert de Givenchny. Hepburn went to meet Givenchney in Paris. The designer thought he was meeting KATHARINE Hepburn. The designer was shocked that it was not Katharine. But this would soon change, and Hepburna and Givenchney became life-long friends.  So, when it came time to design the elegant wardrobe, it was Givenchney who completed task. However, when she accepted the Oscar, Edith Head did not acknowledge Givenchney’s contributions. Hepburn would make it up to Givencheny, by having him become her personal designer for the rest of her life.

With all of the complications behind the scenes, Billy Wilder’s Sabrina is considered to be one of the most romantic comedies of the 1950’s and one of Billy Wilder’s best films.

 

 

Beginning this Thursday, October 27th, I will be returning to the JCC In Manhattan, where I will begin teaching a six week course on the films directed by the Master of Suspense, Alfred Hitchcock, during what can be considered, his golden period: the 1950’s.
It is the decade when Hitchcock became an director, who while still contracted to Hollywood studios, became more independent in his filmmaking decisions: production, casting, script.
We begin this series with Strangers On A Train, starring Farley Granger and Robert Walker. A story of criss-cross murders. As we continue, we enter the period of Grace Kelly (Hitchcock directed her in three films, including one we will discuss and view, Rear Window. Hitchcock decided to remake The Man Who Knew Too Much-his first version was in 1934-now, he had Technicolor, Vista Vision, James Stewart, Doris Day, and a hit song-Que Sera, Sera. Other films in this course will include The Wrong Man, and two Hitchcock masterpieces, Vertigo (1958) and North By Northwest (1959).
This is a period in Hitchcock’s career, which included many films which are now considered his best work. This is also the period in which he collaborated with the great Bernard Herrmann.
Thus, Hitch will be a temporary inhabitant of the JCC In Manhattan, on Thursdays, during the next six weeks.

On Wednesday, May 27th, I will be kick starting The Orson Welles Centennial Celebration, at Huntington’s Cinema Arts Centre. I will introduce Citizen Kane that evening at 7PM.  The Lady From Shanghai, on June 18th, Magician: The Astonishing Life And Work of Orson Welles, on June 25th, and Othello, on June 30th; Film Noir Historian Foster Hirsch will introduce Touch of Evil, on June 15th, and Royal Brown will introduce The Trial, on July 8th.

When Newsday commented in the May 24th Sunday edition, that Citizen Kane is considered the greatest film ever made, that may not be a complete exageration. This was Welles’ first film as a director, and he broke all the rules. He redefined what film making was all about,. He also created a storm, since the film was discovered to be loosely inspired by William Randolph Hearst.

I like to tell a story about Orson Welles, during  his years as a radio actor and director. He would do radio, because it made money for his Mercury Theatre. He appeared on all the networks, on all types of radio shows. He was Lamont Cranston, better known as THE SHADOW (“The Shadow knows what evil lurks in the hearts of men…..”). He would appear on Columbia Workshop, The March of Time (a dramatized radio newsreel). Welles could read a script cold. His schedule was so hectic, that he would walk into a studio, be handed a script. Welles would ask, “What am I?”. Oh, a chinese man? And immediately, Welles would speak in that dialect that was required.

These were the days before transcribed programs, so most radio shows were broadcast live. Many programs were 30 minutes, to an hour. Many were 15 minutes. There were times when Welles was finished with one program, and had to get to the next studio anywhere from 15 to 30 minutes to do his next show. How to get through traffic and make good time? It was not always easy to get a cab. Welles found a solution: he made an arrangement with an ambulance service, who would whisk him from one studio,,to another, with sirens blaring. According to Welles, there was no law that stated that you had to be ill to ride in an ambulance.

Alice Faye, one of Hollywood’s most celebrated actresses, would have been 100 on May 5th, this year. She did everything at Fox: musicals, drama, co-starring with Tyrone Power, Shirley Temple. She was the darling of such films as Alexander’s Ragtime Band (1938), Tin Pan Alley (1940), The Gang’s All Here (1943), and many others. When she came to 20th Century Fox in 1935, she looked like a Jean Harlow clone. Within the next couple of years, her features softened By the 1940’s, the columnists were trying to create a rivalry between Faye and fellow contract actress Betty Grable. Realistically, Faye and Grable were the best of friends. By 1945, Faye was moving into more gritty film fare. By this time, she was happily married to Bandleader Phil Harris, and had her first daughter (she had been married to Tony Martin, then divorced). Faye was starring in a film, directed by Otto Preminger, called Fallen Angel. A film noir, with Dana Andrews and Linda Darnell. Faye noticed that many of her scenes were being cut, since 20th Century Fox Studio head Daryl Zanuck was focusing more on Darnell. Faye made a deicision: she wanted to focus more on her family, and doing the things she had never done before.  She felt that she was getting the short end of the stick. So, Faye dropped off her dressing room key in her dressing room, left a departing note for Zanuck, and left the studio. She was sued for breach of contract by Zanuck, who would then try to bring her back for a couple of films. Faye was determined to stand by her decision. During this period, Faye and Harris appeared on the radio comedy, The Phil Harris-Alice Faye Show, a situation comedy about the “private” life of Faye and Harris, with their two daughters. On the show, Harris and Faye would poke fun at themselves. The Faye-Fallen Angel incident was the subject of alot of funny jokes. Alice Faye would not return to 20th Century Fox until 1962, when she would be one of the stars of the remake of Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein’s State Fair.