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dovebuffy92 · 2 years

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Spoilers Below

INTRODUCTION

In Julia‘s eighth episode, “Chocolate Souffle,” directed by Scott Ellis, Julia Child (Sarah Lancashire) almost decides to cancel The French Chef because of her disagreeable encounter with Betty Friedan (Tracee Chimo Pallero). WGBH President Hunter Fox (Robert Joy) starts the episode feeling invigorated by the cooking program’s fame. He hands the reign of WGBH’S flagship program to Alice Naman (Brittany Bradford). WGBH’s President promises to hire another female producer to help her with The French Chef. Hunter tells Russ Morash (Fran Kranz) that The French Chef earned the public television channel enough money to finance him producing and directing social justice documentaries. Julia decides to drop out of The French Chef’s second season because she is worried that the program traps women in the kitchen. Julia also hates that she deceived her husband, Paul Cushing Child (David Hyde Pierce), about how she launched the cooking program.

Julia’s decision to cancel The French Chef creates problems for her “chosen” family. Russ and Alice are forced to go back to producing P. Albert Duhamel’s (Jefferson Mays) I’ve Been Reading. Alice feels betrayed by Julia quitting because she thought they were one big family. She leans on her new long-distance boyfriend for support. Alice decides to visit him in New York because of her unhappiness at work. Avis DeVoto (Bebe Neuwirth) plans to wring Betty’s neck because The French Chef gives her purpose. The television program helps keep Avis active rather than spending all day depressed sitting on her couch sipping wine.

Meanwhile, in New York, Judith Jones (Fiona Glascott) confronts her boss Blanche Knopf (Judith Light), over sucking the joy out of the big gala. Unfortunately, Blanche is too preoccupied to make even one jab about cookbooks. Eventually, the company president confesses to Judith that her eyes are deteriorating. Blanche will soon be blind. Judith promises to be Blanche’s eyes, meaning that she will now have double the workload.

Paul talks Julia into not giving up on The French Chef because the cooking program plants smile on the audience’s faces. Everybody in Julia’s chosen family rejoices over her signing a contract for the second season of the cooking program. She plans to spend a couple of months in France working on the second cookbook with her collaborator Simone Beck (Isabella Rossellini) but will be back in time to start shooting the new season. Sadly, Alice cuts off her relationship with her boyfriend because she plans on focusing all her attention on being the lead producer of The French Chef. Julia Season One ends with the main cast watching the “Chocolate Souffle” episode of their cooking program while dreaming about the future.

MARRIAGE BETRAYAL

The Child’s marriage is based on a true partnership that Julia fractures by not trusting her husband from the jump. Paul crawls into bed dressed in his paisley pajamas. He notices that Julia, clad in floral pajamas, is reading The Feminine Mystique. He calls her a “masochist.” Julia sighs dramatically. She admits that The French Chef was all her idea. In the pilot episode, Julia had told Paul that the cooking program was all WGBH’s idea because they loved her I’ve Been Reading interview when she cooked an omelet for Albert. Paul sits there, puzzled. Finally, Julia states clearly that she lied to her husband to get him on board. She feels relieved that the whole thing will be over tomorrow when they tape the last episode.

Julia continues to reveal everything to Paul, perhaps to convince him to support her leaving The French Chef. She tells her husband that she has been paying for significant portions of the television program through cookbook royalties and checks from her late father, John McWilliams (James Cromwell). Julia did all this behind Paul’s back because she didn’t think he would support her creating The French Chef under these conditions. Paul seems more and more heartbroken as she explains further.

Paul’s upset because he can’t understand why Julia wouldn’t be honest with him. He has been her number one cheerleader from the start of their relationship. More than that, Paul believes they are partners who take on the world together. He feels embarrassed by learning that their The French Chef partnership has been a lie. Paul sees Julia’s deception similar to how the embassy forced him to retire after the years of service he dedicated them. He is not angry that Julia came up with the idea for the cooking program or partly financed it. Instead, Paul feels betrayed because Julia lied to him. She didn’t trust him to be her true partner. Paul feels duped by the person he loves and respects the most.

JULIA’S INSPIRATION

Paul forgives Julia, then inspires her to keep creating what brings her and others joy instead of listening to the naysayers. Throughout this episode, Julia is obsessed with the fact that The French Chef upsets feminists. One conversation with Paul turns everything around. Simone calls Julia in the evening to invite her and Paul to live at the co-author’s home in France for an indefinite period of time. This way, they could cook together until they finish their cookbook. Later in the night, Julia senses that Paul doesn’t want to move to France. He tells his wife that he doesn’t want to run away from The French Chef. Julia argues that the television program has been “poisoned” by her lies. However, Paul doesn’t let her take the easy way out.

The husband tells Julia that he still says yes to The French Chef even after learning the truth. As Julia’s true partner, Paul embraces the cooking program despite the financial risks. The only problem is that Julia still believes that Betty might be right. She doesn’t want to destroy any woman’s life. Paul bluntly argues that The French Chef is not that important in the grand scheme of things. The television program means next to nothing compared to their roles in fighting the Nazis during World War Two. Julia won’t save or ruin the United States by continuing to shoot episodes of The French Chef.

More than that, Paul points out that perhaps The French Chef harms or upsets some housewives like Betty argues, but the cooking program is not for them. The series is for the creative team behind The French Chef and for audiences who find joy in being in Julia’s company for half an hour. There is no reason to destroy something that audiences enjoy because it’s not one demographics cup of tea. Finally, Paul states that the world would be dull if criticisms could silence all the artists. Thankfully he breaks through Julia’s protective shell. Once again, she signs up for The French Chef Season Two the next day.

LAST THOUGHTS

“Chocolate Souffle” reminds us that art doesn’t need to be loved by all to be vital. If even one person finds joy in a painting or cooking program, its existence means something. Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.

#tv recap #julia season 1 #julia hbo #julia child #hbo max #julia hbo max #sarah lancashire #david hyde pierce #paul cushing child #paul child #alice naman #russ morash #bebe neuwirth #avis devoto #brittany bradford #awards radar #tv blogger #fran kranz

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magical-grrrl-mavis · 4 months

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There have been 82 Doctors at this point!

Keep reading line because the list is so damn long.

Main Continuum

(In order of appearance)

Classic Who

First Doctor (William Hartnell 1963 – 1966, Richard Hurdnall 1983, David Bradley 2017, 2022)

Second Doctor (Patrick Troughton 1966 – 1969)

Third Doctor (John Pertwee 1970 – 1974)

Fourth Doctor (Tom Baker 1974 – 1981)

Fifth Doctor (Peter Davidson 1981 – 1984)

Sixth Doctor (Colin Baker 1984 – 1986)

Seventh Doctor (Sylvester McCoy 1987 – 1989)

Eighth Doctor (Paul McGann 1996 movie)

Nu Who

Ninth Doctor (Christopher Eccleston 2005)

Tenth Doctor (David Tennant 2005 – 2010)

Eleventh Doctor (Matt Smith 2010 – 2013)

The War Doctor (John Hurt 2013)

Twelfth Doctor (Peter Capaldi 2013 – 2017)

Thirteenth Doctor (Jodie Whittaker 2017 – 2022)

Fourteenth Doctor (David Tennant 2023)

Fifteenth Doctor (Ncutu Gatwa 2023 - ?)

Pre - Memory Doctors

(Timeless child my beloathed)

Morbius Doctors (Robert Holmes, Graeme Harper, Douglas Camfield, Philip Hinchcliffe, Christopher Baker, Robert Banks Stewart, George Gallaccio and Christopher Barry 1976)

The Other (Sylvester McCoy, 1990)

The Fugitive Doctor (Jo Martin 2020)

The Timeless Child(ren) (TBA, Grace Nettle, Leo Tang, Jac Jones, TBA, Jesse Deyi 2020)

Brendan (Evan McCabe 2020)

Possible Future Doctors

(italicized parts of names are the title of that Doctor's first appearance, if I can't find a better name)

Father of Time (No Actor, 1987)

"Merlin" or The Battlefield Doctor (No actor, 1991)

The Army of Shadows Doctor (No actor, 1991)

"Fred" (No actor, 1993)

The Relic (no actor 1997, 2002)

The Storytelling Doctor (Tom Baker 1999)

The Web of Caves Future Doctor (Mark Gatiss, 1999)

The Blue Angel Future Doctor (No Actor, 1999)

The Curator 1 (Tom Baker, 2013)

The Curator 2 (Collin Baker, 2022)

Pseudo-Doctors

The Watcher (Adrian Gibbs 1981)

The Valyard (Michael Jayston 1986)

The Obverse Eight Doctor (No actor, 1999)

The Metacrisis Doctor (David Tennant 2008)

The DoctorDonna (Catherine Tait 2008)

The Dream Lord (Tony Jones 2010)

The Ganger Doctor (Matt Smith 2011)

The Spriggan (David Tennant 2022)

Alternate Realities

Dalek Films

Dr. Who (Peter Cushing 1965, 1966)

The Inferno Universe

The Leader (Jack Kine, 1970)

Doctor Who and the Daleks in Seven Keys to Doomsday

The Doctor (Trevor Martin 1974)

Previous Doctor (Nocholas Briggs 2008)

The Lenny Henry Show

The Seventh Doctor (Lenny Henry 1986)

What If?

The Eighth Doctor (No actor, 1997)

The Infinity Doctors

The Infinity Doctor (No actor, 1998)

The Curse of Fatal Death

The Doctor (Rowan Atkinsen 1999)

The Quite Handsom Doctor (Richard E Grant 1999)

The Shy Doctor (Jim Briadbent 1999)

The Handsom Doctor (Hugh Grant 1999)

The Female Doctor (Joanna Lumley 1999)

The Chronicles of Doctor Who?

The Doctor (no actor, 2000)

Klein's Story

Johann Schmidt (Paul McGann, 2010)

Father Time

The Emperor (No actor, 2001)

Scream of the Shalka

The 9th Doctor (Richard E Grant 2003)

Doctor Who Unbound

The Doctor (Geoffrey Bayldon 2003)

The Unbound Doctor (David Warner 2003)

The Heartless Doctor (David Collings 2003)

The New Heartless Doctor (Ian Brooker 2003)

Martin Bannister (Derek Jacobi 2003)

The Victorious Valyard (Michael Jayston 2003)

The Previous Doctor (Nicholas Briggs 2003)

The Exile Doctor (Arabella Weir 2003)

The Warrior (Collin Baker 2022)

Gallifrey - Disassembled

Lord Burner (Collin Baker 2011)

Gallifrey - Regenerators

Commentater Theta Sigma (Collin Baker, 2011)

False Negative

The Doctor (No actor, 2017)

The People Made of Smoke

The Sixth Doctor (Dan Starkey, 2020)

Unspecified Doctors

Yeah sometimes they just say "The Doctor" and don't bother specifying...

The Cabinet of Light Doctor (No Actor, 2003)

The Dalek Factor Doctor (No actor, 2004)

#doctor who #dr. who #the doctor #the war doctor #the fugitive doctor #the valyard #the morbius doctors

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cinema-tv-etc · 2 years

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"Julia" star David Hyde Pierce calls gay icon Julia Child’s homophobia ‘confusing’ By Nicki Gostin March 30, 2022

David Hyde Pierce knew all about Julia Child’s homophobia going into HBO Max’s “Julia,” but he still calls it “confusing.”

The “Frasier” alum plays the world-famous cook’s deeply devoted husband, Paul Cushing Child, in the upcoming mini-series, which does not shy away from portraying the couple’s well-documented discriminatory attitudes.

“It’s confusing because in so many ways she’s an icon, or was an icon, to the gay community,” he tells Page Six in a new interview. “And it’s also important to note that, in my opinion, that is something that she was part of, the culture they both grew up in, in spite of their being also involved in artistic pursuits.”

That said, Pierce 62, notes that he is sure both Julia and Paul had “plenty of gay and lesbian people in their lives, both in Paris [where they lived for five years] and in the States,” adding, “So those instances are just, you know, a sort of unconscious prejudice.”

Pierce explains that he was not surprised by the Childs’ homophobia when he joined “Julia” because a “dear friend who is gay” worked with the late “French Chef” host and allegedly “experienced that” firsthand.

He also makes sure to stress that Julia changed her views during the AIDS crisis of the 1980s and became a passionate activist after losing a close friend to the disease.

“The fact that she had the ability to change and see us as human beings is important,” the openly gay actor says, noting he does not know if Paul ever changed his views, too.

In one scene of the new show, Paul derisively refers to gay men as “fairies,” a line that Pierce says he felt “was very important” to be included.

“It’s important for me that hopefully people are watching and loving this relationship, and then that’s a speed bump because that’s what we’re all like,” he explains. “People all have these, you know, warts and bumps, and sometimes we change and sometimes we don’t. But if we were going to demand that people be accepting, we have to be accepting, and say, ‘OK, I understand that’s where you were coming from.'”

Julia was a beloved cooking teacher and television personality who is recognized for bringing French cuisine to the American public with her monumental cookbook “Mastering the Art of French Cooking,” which she co-wrote with Simone Beck and Louisette Bertholle.

She is firmly enmeshed in popular culture, with parodies on “Saturday Night Live,” impersonations on “RuPaul’s Drag Race,” the Meryl Streep-led 2009 movie “Julie & Julia” and now the HBO series, which explores the genesis of her long-running TV show, her marriage and the rise of feminism.

“Julia” also stars Bebe Neuwirth as devoted friend Avis DeVoto. Neuwirth, 63, previously played Dr. Lilith Sternin on “Frasier” and had a testy relationship with Pierce on screen.

When Page Six asks the reunited co-stars whether they bicker in real life, Neuwirth warns, “Don’t listen to a word he says,” while Pierce cheekily intones, “Shut up!”

“No, no, we’re not,” he clarifies. “In fact, I would say that about the most fun you can have performing is to be working with someone you love and then go, go at it, hammer and tongs because you trust each other and you know each other. And so I think that’s what we did.”

“Julia,” starring British actress Sarah Lancashire in the title role, premieres March 31 on HBO Max.

https://pagesix.com/2022/03/30/david-hyde-pierce-calls-julia-childs-homophobia-confusing/

#TV

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1000leaps · 7 months

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#74 | It took me 40 years to find my passion

“The more you know, the more you can create. There’s no end to imagination in the kitchen.”—Julia Child. Before becoming a beloved culinary arts figure, Julia Child met her future husband, Paul Cushing Child, who worked in the U.S. intelligence services during World War II. In 1948, Paul moved to Paris, France, for an assignment, and Julia moved along with him—a decision that would change the…

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#Career change #Commitment #Cooking #Create what you want to see #Do what you love #Julia Child

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againarchive-part6 · 1 year

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Chet lo fw23 / Julia Child by Paul Cushing Child

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pottersofthefuture · 1 year

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Round 1 Scores:

Theta Sigma vs Dr Who (Peter Cushing) - THETA SIGMA WINS with 63%

The First Doctor (William Hartnell) vs The Second Doctor (Patrick Troughton) - THE SECOND DOCTOR WINS with 71%

The Third Doctor (Jon Pertwee) vs Brain of Morbius Doctor (Robert Stewart Banks) - THE THIRD DOCTOR WINS with 100% of votes

The Fourth Doctor (Tom Baker) vs Brain of Morbius Doctor (Christopher Barry) - FOURTH DOCTOR WINS with 90%

Brain of Morbius Doctors (Christopher Baker vs Graeme Harper) - DRAW - GRAEME HARPER GOES THROUGH WHEN MY VOTE IS EXCLUDED

Brain of Morbius Doctors (Peter Hinchcliffe vs Douglas Canfield) - PETER HINCHCLIFFE WINS with 67% of votes

Brain of Morbius (Robert Holmes) vs Fifth Doctor (Peter Davidson) - FIFTH DOCTOR WINS with 92%

Brain of Morbius Doctor (Robert Holmes) vs Watcher! Doctor (Adrian Gibbs) - BoM DOCTOR WINS with 56% of votes

The First Doctor (Richard Hurdnall) vs The Valeyard (Michael Jayston) - THE VALEYARD WINS with 67%

The Sixth Doctor (Colin Baker) vs Mr Popplewick (Geoffrey Hughes) - SIXTH DOCTOR WINS with 100%

The Seventh Doctor (Sylvester McCoy) vs CoFD Doctor (Rowan Atkinson) - THE SEVENTH DOCTOR WINS with 87% of votes

The Eighth Doctor (Paul McGann) vs CoFD The Quite Handsome Doctor (Richard E Grant) - THE EIGHTH DOCTOR WINS with 95% of votes

CoFD Shy Doctor (Jim Broadbent) vs Shalka!Doctor - SHY DOCTOR WINS with 56% of votes

CoFD! Female Doctor (Joanna Lumley) vs CoFD! The Handsome Doctor (Hugh Grant) - FEMALE DOCTOR WINS with 62% of votes

The Ninth Doctor (Christopher Eccleston) vs TenToo (David Tennant) - NINTH DOCTOR WINS with 79% of votes

Web of Caves Doctor (Mark Gatiss) vs Tenth Doctor (David Tennant) - TENTH DOCTOR WINS with 84% of votes

Doctor! Donna (Catherine Tate) vs The Dream Lord (Toby Jones) - DOCTOR DONNA WINS with 92%

The Eleventh Doctor (Matt Smith) vs The War Doctor (John Hurt) - THE ELEVENTH DOCTOR WINS with 75%

Twelfth Doctor (Peter Capaldi) vs First Doctor (David Bradley) - TWELFTH DOCTOR WINS with 92% of votes

Thirteenth Doctor (Jodie Whittaker) vs Child! Doctor (Michael Jones) - THIRTEENTH DOCTOR WINS with 84% of votes

The Fugitive Doctor (Jo Martin) vs Timeless Child (Grace Nettle) - THE FUGITIVE DOCTOR WINS with 95%

Brendan! Timeless Child (Evan McCabe) vs Timeless Child (Leo Tang) - TIMELESS CHILD (LEO TANG) WINS with 54% of votes

Timeless Child (Jesse Dey) vs Fourteenth Doctor/FourTen (David Tennant again) FOURTEN WINS with 62%

The Fifteenth Doctor/The Real Fourteen (Ncuti Gatwa) vs Master! Doctor (Sacha Dhawan) - FIFTEENTH DOCTOR WINS with 53%

AND ONTO ROUND TWO

#doctor who #the ultimate doctor tournament

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bitterduck · 1 year

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Julia Child

📸Paul Cushing Child

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famouszoom · 2 years

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raiyine · 2 years

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AUTHOR INTERVIEW: Paul Flewitt

Meghan: Hey Paul. Welcome to this year’s Halloween Extravaganza. Thanks so much for coming back again this year. What is your favorite part of Halloween? Paul: I love the atmosphere around Halloween. The misty nights, the weather getting cooler and the leaves falling … it’s the stuff horror movies and books are made from. Here in the UK, it’s the beginning of a pretty fun couple of weeks: we…

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lukewholey-blog · 3 years

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This was originally made back in 2013 (and updated recently) to celebrate 50 years of Doctor Who, one of my favourite TV programmes. This shows all the Doctors up to Jodie Whittaker ( as well as a few non-canon Doctors).

The Time-Travelling Grandpa- William Hartnell (1963-1966)

The Cosmic Hobo - Patrick Troughton (1966-1969)

The Action Hero- Jon Pertwee (1970-1974)

That Guy with the Scarf- Tom Baker (1974-1981)

The Charming Cricketer- Peter Davison (1982-1984)

The Fashion Disaster- Colin Baker (1984-1986)

The Wizard- Sylvester Mccoy (1987-1989/1996)

The Half-Human- Paul Mcgann (1996-2013)

Doctor Fantastic- Christopher Eccleston (2005)

The Dramatic One- David Tennant (2005-2009)

Mr. Cool- Matt Smith (2010-2013)

The Warrior- John Hurt (2013)

The Old Rocker - Peter Capaldi (2014-2017)

The 'Other' Doctors- Peter Cushing (1965-1966) Rowan Atkinson (1999) Richard E. Grant (2003)

The Timeless Child-Jodie Whittaker (2018-)

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dovebuffy92 · 2 years

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Spoilers Below

INTRODUCTION

In Julia Season One Episode Four, directed by Erica Dunton, Julia Child (Sarah Lancashire) struggles to figure out how to deal with fame as a woman in the early 1960s. At the same time, associate producer Alice Naman (Brittany Bradford) attempts to broadcast The French Chef in markets outside of Boston. The Boston Globe publishes a piece praising Julia’s The French Chef but ignoring all the other WGBH public television shows, including I’ve Been Reading. Host P. Albert Duhamel’s (Jefferson Mays) feathers are ruffled because a silly cooking show hosted by a woman receives all the praise. Julia decides to speak as an honored guest at her Smith College reunion to avoid the naysayers.

Julia feels pleasure and discomfort with all the praise she hears at Smith College because of her newfound fame. The chef yearns for a simpler time before all these fans wanted a piece of her. As the now sole producer of I’ve Been Reading, Alice struggles to acquire famous authors for the show. The producer wishes to be back working on The French Chef leading to her cold call public television channels all over the United States. Alice wants them to air The French Chef. She finally convinces San Francisco to pick up the cooking show on their public television channel.

Alfred A. Knopf, Inc book editor Judith Jones (Fiona Glascott) continues to feel split in two. Her boss Blanche Knopf (Judith Light), wants her to drop Julia’s second cooking book. Julia asks Judith to find Alice, a famous author, to interview for I’ve Been Reading to placate Alfred’s ego. Judith impresses John Updike with her notes so much that he agrees to an interview on Alfred’s show. John and Alfred click on I’ve Been Reading while discussing the author’s novel Rabbit, Run.

INNOVATIVE CAMERA TECHINQUES

Daniel Goldfarb and the other writers on Julia Season One effectively reveal the artistic innovation that existed on the sets of early cooking shows like The French Chef. For example, Avis DeVoto (Bebe Neuwirth) stands in for her best friend Julia while director Russ Morash (Fran Kranz) and the camera operators figure out how to film the whisking of eggs. The crewmembers built this special camera rig to capture the whisking, and Avis stands on an apple crate to mimic her best friend’s height. An old television is plugged into the camera to allow Russ to see what is being filmed in real-time. The cameraman operates the custom camera rig as Avis whisks, attempting to film the eggs in the large bowl.

Russ orders Avis around while a fast-moving samba song highlights the fast pace of the television set. The camera operator can’t figure out how to film inside the bowl because Avis’ head is always in the way, no matter how high or low she holds up the bowl. Finally, Avis has enough with cameras in her face and hot stage lights causing her to sweat. She asks for a time-out. The cinematographer explains that they can’t film through somebody’s head. Russ feels discouraged until he sees Avis looking into a pocket mirror as she fixes her makeup. The mirror inspires him to experiment.

The next day, Russ whispers to Avis that he wants to show Julia the “mirror shot.” Avis muses the term sounds “so Hollywood.” After the crew sets up, Russ tells Julia that he has something to show her. He orders Avis to “hit it.”

The three cameras point to the ceiling while Avis whisks the eggs. Julia looks up, spotting a giant mirror reflecting the inside of the bowl where the eggs are being whisked. She grins in awe of the innovation. She jokes that the mirror trick seems like something that Russ came up with based on the honeymoon suite in Niagara Falls. Everybody bursts into laughter. Julia congratulates both Avis and Russ on their invention. These two “Petit Fours” sequences demonstrate how films sets are places of experimentation, especially when figuring out how to shoot something new like a cooking show.

AMBIGUITY AROUND QUEERNESS

“Petit Fours” captures a moment that leaves Julia’s view of queerness ambiguous. Homophobia was quite common in the early 1960s since one could be locked in a mental hospital for being lesbian or gay. As a result, everybody stayed in the closet. This is the historical backdrop for the scene where Julia’s old college basketball friend Iris Wallace (Robin Weigert) comes out to her.

The pair stumble through campus in the dark, totally exhausted by all the hills they walked up. Julia jokes that she could fit the equally tall Iris in her pocket. The two friends share a laugh. Iris talks about how her heart started to palpitate when she saw Julia on The French Chef. The comment makes Julia uncomfortable, perhaps because she remembers a hot summer night that Iris mentions later in the scene. She quickly changes the topic.

Iris tells Julia about her romantic relationship with a woman named Carol, essentially coming out as a lesbian. The camera focuses on Iris walking, so the audience can’t see how the chef feels about her friend’s queerness. She tells Julia that she doesn’t think she would have come to realize her sexuality if not for their friendship. Julia stops walking. She looks genuinely puzzled but not angry or upset. Julia asks Iris about what her comment references. Iris describes their senior year spring break when she and Julia slept under the blankets together naked after skinny dipping. There is some implication that they slept together or at least fooled around.

Julia turns on a poker face, not revealing her feelings at all. The chef says, “Memory can be so fickle,” implying that she doesn’t remember them sleeping together. The two friends stand still for a couple of minutes, not talking to one another. Finally, Iris and Julia continue to walk, wearing confused expressions on their faces.

Julia doesn’t say anything homophobic or dismissive of Iris’ relationship with Carol in the conversation. At the same time, she refuses to recognize that she experimented with Iris. Since Julia only expresses confusion, it’s unclear if she doesn’t remember sleeping with Iris or refuses to admit she may not be entirely heterosexual. When Julia returns to her hotel room, she calls her husband, Paul Cushing Child (David Hyde Pierce), to complain about being famous, implying that she blames her television show for that uncomfortable encounter. The scene makes it unclear if Julia’s viewpoints on queerness align with the times or are at least a little bit progressive. She doesn’t out Iris to anybody else, but that doesn’t clarify her view of lesbians. Either view would be understandable, but the sequence leaves one confused, as Julia seems to be. Though based on the site SFist, the real Julia Child was homophobic. In 1992, she blocked “gay San Franciscan … Daniel Coulter” from the executive director position at an organization she founded called the American Institute of Wine and Food. Throughout Julia’s documented life, she referred to gay men as “fags.” Perhaps the writers made Julia’s thoughts on queerness ambiguous to make her more palatable to modern television viewers without pretending she was an outright ally.

LAST THOUGHTS

“Petit Fours” is a story about accomplished intelligent women figuring out how to function in inherently sexist workplaces that lead them to appease men who feel threatened by their success. Let us know your thoughts on Julia Season One Episode Four in the comments below.

#tv recap #tv blogger #julia 2022 #julia season 1 #julia hbo #hbo max #julia child #sarah lancashire #paul cushing child #david hyde pierce #judith jones #alice naman #russ morash

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archive-archives · 3 years

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DECEMBER 2020 RELEASES - Coming soon to Warner Archive!

TEX AVERY SCREWBALL CLASSICS - VOLUME 2 New 2020 1080p HD Masters from 4k Scans of Preservation Elements Run Time: 149:00 Subtitles: English SDH Audio Specs: DTS HD-Master Audio 2.0 - English Aspect Ratio: 4x3, 1.37:1 Full Frame Product Color: COLOR Disc Configuration: BD 50 Special Feature: Documentary "Tex Avery: King of Cartoons"

Welcome back for another three-ring circus of animated comedy from the legendary leader of cartoon fun – director Tex Avery. In the first ring, Avery serves up some of his finest one-shot creations: cartoons featuring cats who hate people, wacky cuckoo clocks, kooky cavemen and lovelorn French fleas. We also meet up again with Avery's attractive Red Riding Hood, a pair of amorous wolves and his durable all-around fall guy, Spike. The second ring is a showcase for Avery's ironically deadpan "Happy Hound": Droopy. This time, Droopy appears in a number of guises – each one funnier than the last. As bandleader "John Pettybone," he leads his jazz-playing fleas to the heights of canine stardom. Out West, as a homesteader and a sheepherder, he has his final showdowns with the Wolf. The third ring offers a whimsical glimpse into the future – or at least a future from the POV of the mid-20th century – with a plethora of zany postwar inventions. While none of the cartoons "of tomorrow" foresaw smartphones or Blu-ray players, these far-fetched contraptions, gadgets, houses and farms, televisions, and various modes of transportation could only come from the madcap mind of Avery and his MGM crew. Uncut, restored and remastered in High Definition for the first time, Tex Avery Screwball Classics Collection Volume 2 is another must-own collection from the master of hand-drawn mayhem.

This 21 cartoon collection includes:

1 LITTLE RURAL RIDING HOOD 2 THE CUCKOO CLOCK 3 MAGICAL MAESTRO 4 ONE CAB'S FAMILY 5 CAT THAT HATED PEOPLE 6 DOGGONE TIRED 7 THE FLEA CIRCUS 8 FIELD AND SCREAM 9 THE FIRST BAD MAN 10 OUT FOXED 11 DROOPY'S DOUBLE TROUBLE 12 THREE LITTLE PUPS 13 DRAGALONG DROOPY 14 HOMESTEADER DROOPY 15 DIXIELAND DROOPY 16 COUNTERFEIT CAT 17 VENTRILOQUIST CAT 18 HOUSE OF TOMORROW 19 CAR OF TOMORROW 20 TV OF TOMORROW 21 FARM OF TOMORROW

THE CURSE OF FRANKENSTEIN (1957) - 2 DISC SPECIAL EDITION New 2020 1080p HD Restoration Masters from 4K Scans of Preservation Separation Elements Run Time: 83:00 Subtitles: English SDH Audio Specs: DTS HD-Master Audio 2.0 - English Aspect Ratio: Disc One-1.85:1-16x9 Widescreen and 1.66:1-16x9 Widescreen Product Color: COLOR Disc Configuration: 2-BD 50 Special Features: New feature commentary by Screenwriter/Film Historian Steve Haberman and Filmmaker/Film Historian Constantine Nasr, Newly Remastered 1.37:1 Open Matte version of feature. New Featurettes include: The Resurrection Men: Hammer, Frankenstein and the Rebirth of the Horror Film, Hideous Progeny: The Curse of Frankenstein and the English Gothic Tradition, Torrents of Light: The Art of Jack Asher, Diabolus in Musica: James Bernard and the Sound of Hammer Horror, Original Theatrical Trailer (HD)

The first, and perhaps the best of the long-running series of horror films from the house of Hammer, Peter Cushing and Christopher Lee star in this landmark interpretation based on the famous Mary Shelley story. Baron Victor Frankenstein becomes friends with one of his teachers, Paul Krempe. At first, both men are fascinated by the potential of their re-animating experiments. Eventually, though, Krempe refuses to help with Frankenstein's human experiments. However, he is drawn back into the plot when Frankenstein's creature kills a member of the house staff. For its U.S. Blu-ray debut, Warner Archive is proud to present this deluxe 2 Disc Special Edition, featuring two theatrical aspect ratio presentations, meticulously remastered and restored from preservation separations, as well as bonus disc with the restoration presented in "open-matte" format, as was seen for years on television, plus four exciting new retrospective featurettes, an expert commentary, and the original theatrical trailer.

THE HARVEY GIRLS (1946) New 2020 1080p HD Restoration from 4K Scan of the Original Nitrate Technicolor Negatives Run Time: 102:00 Subtitles: English SDH Audio Specs: DTS HD-Master Audio 2.0 - English Aspect Ratio: 1.37:1 4x3 Full Frame Product Color: COLOR Disc Configuration: BD 50 Special Features: Feature-length audio commentary by Director George Sidney, Three Deleted Musical sequences: March of the Doagies, March of the Doagies (reprise), and My Intuition. Scoring stage sessions (audio only) featuring pre-recordings made for the film including the unused "Hayride". "On the Atchison, Topeka and the Santa Fe" Remixed in Stereo (HD), Original Theatrical Trailer (HD).

Judy Garland headlines The Harvey Girls, a joyous slice of Americana celebrating the "Harvey House" restaurants that brought extra helpings of civilization to the Old West. Famed M-G-M musical producer Arthur Freed brought together an impressive cast of talents for this box-office hit which features a delightful original score by composer Harry Warren and lyricist Johnny Mercer, who earned an Oscar for their On the Atchison, Topeka, and the Santa Fe as the Best Song of 1946. Garland once again shares the screen with her "Oz" co-star Ray Bolger, clowns with Virginia O'Brien, falls in love with leading man John Hodiak, and faces off against wicked saloon gal Angela Lansbury in one of the most entertaining and enduring musical classics to come from Metro's golden age, now fully restored to its original Technicolor luster for its Blu-ray debut.

HOLIDAY AFFAIR (1949) New 2020 1080p HD Master Run Time: 87:00 Subtitles: English SDH Audio Specs: DTS HD-Master Audio 2.0 - English Aspect Ratio: 1.37:1, 4x3 Full Frame Product Color: B&W Disc Configuration BD 25 Special Feature: Lux Radio Theater broadcast (12/18/50) with Robert Mitchum and Laraine Day, Original Theatrical Trailer

RKO's resident "bad boy" Robert Mitchum (Out of the Past) surprised audiences with his softer side in this classic Yule-themed romantic comedy. Mitchum portrays Steve Mason, a department-store clerk who loses his job, yet buys an electric train set for a child he scarcely knows. It must be Christmastime. Robert Mitchum and Janet Leigh are warmly matched in Holiday Affair, a seasonal favorite scripted by Isobel Lennart (later to adapt Mitchum's The Sundowners) and directed by Hope/Crosby "road movies" veteran Don Hartman.

MISTER ROBERTS (1955) New 2020 1080p HD Remaster from 4K Scan of Original Negative Run Time: 121:00 Subtitles: English SDH Audio Specs: DTS HD-Master Audio 5.1 – English Aspect Ratio: 2.55:1-16x9 LETTERBOX Product Color: COLOR Disc Configuration: BD 50 Special Features: Commentary by Jack Lemmon, Original Theatrical Trailer (HD)

The USS Reluctant carries cargo along World War II's forgotten Pacific seaways. Beyond the horizon, the real war passes its stir-crazy crew by. Mister Roberts, directed by John Ford and Mervyn LeRoy, is the classic story of men fighting to survive – not war's dangers, but its indignities. Henry Fonda's reprise of his Tony®-winning Broadway role returned him to movies after seven years away. Jack Lemmon won his first Academy Award® as hapless, lecherous Ensign Pulver. James Cagney's petty, scrappy Captain makes a fierce adversary. In his final film, William Powell makes world-weary Doc a sage for the ages. Mister Roberts has moments of unforgettable humor. But sadness tempers the comedy. No shot is fired. No blood is spilled. Yet Mister Roberts endures as one of our most truthful war sagas.

YOUNG MAN WITH A HORN (1950) New 2020 1080p HD Remaster from 4K Scan of Original Nitrate Elements Run Time: 112:00 Subtitles: English SDH Audio Specs: DTS HD-Master Audio 2.0 – English Aspect Ratio: 1.37:1 4x3 Full Frame Product Color: B&W Disc Configuration: BD 50 Special Features: Lux Radio Theater broadcast (3/3/52) with Kirk Douglas and Jo Stafford; Vintage WB Cartoons: HILLBLLY HARE (HD); HOMELESS HARE (HD) and HURDY GURDY HARE (HD); Original Theatrical Trailer (HD)

With a secondhand trumpet and the loving guidance of a brilliant bluesman, a lonely boy grows into manhood as a superb musician whose talent carries him from honky-tonks to posh supper clubs. But his desperate search for an elusive high note – trapped in his mind but impossible to play – starts him on a boozy downward slide. Charged with dynamic performances by Kirk Douglas (the title role), Doris Day, Lauren Bacall and Hoagy Carmichael, and pitch-perfect direction by Michael Curtiz (Casablanca), the film is a feast of hot, cool, moody jazz. Legendary Harry James dubbed Douglas' hornwork. Day brings another fine instrument – her voice – to four standards. Movie and music lovers will be glad to meet this Man.

THE SHOP AROUND THE CORNER (1940) New 2020 1080p HD Remaster Run Time: 99:00 Subtitles: English SDH Audio Specs: DTS HD-Master Audio 2.0 – English Aspect Ratio: 1.37:1. 4x3 Full Frame Product Color: B&W Disc Configuration: BD 50 Special Features: Vintage MGM promotional film: "The Miracle Of Sound"; Screen Guild Theater radio broadcast (9/29/40) with Margaret Sullavan, James Stewart and Frank Morgan; Lux Radio Theater broadcast (6/23/41) with Claudette Colbert and Don Ameche.

Ernst Lubitsch adds his unique style of directorial aplomb to this timeless love story that marked the third of Margaret Sullavan and James Stewart's four film appearances together. A 1936 play by Nikolaus Laszlo called "Perfumerie" was the basis for this timeless love story set in a Budapest shop. With a witty screenplay adaptation by Samson Raphaelson, Stewart and Sullavan play bickering gift-shop workers Alfred and Klara, unaware that they have fallen in love with each other as secret pen pals who only know their respective correspondents as "Dear Friend". The charm of the stars ably supported by a sterling supporting cast headed by Frank Morgan make this timeless classic one to enjoy over and over again. The story was later filmed as "In The Good Old Summertime" with Judy Garland and Van Johnson in 1949, and as "You've Got Mail" in 1998. It was also the basis of the 1963 Broadway musical favorite "She Loves Me". Beautifully remastered from protection film elements made right from the original nitrate negative, this new Blu-ray presentation of the original 1940 classic is a joy to behold

IT HAPPENED ON 5TH AVENUE (1947) New 2020 1080p HD Remaster from 4K Scan of Best Surviving Nitrate Elements Run Time: 115:00 Subtitles: English SDH Audio Specs: DTS HD-Master Audio 2.0 – English Aspect Ratio: 1.37:1. 4x3 Full Frame Product Color: B&W Disc Configuration: BD 50 Special Feature: Lux Radio Theater Broadcast (5/19/1947)

As he does every winter, hobo Aloysius T. McKeever (Victor Moore) moves in to a mansion on New York City's 5th Avenue while its owners are away for the winter and invites all his hobo friends in from the cold. But this Christmas, Mary O'Connor (Ann Harding) comes home unexpectedly after a quarrel with her boyfriend to find her house occupied by jovial street dwellers. To make matters even worse, her father (Charles Ruggles) disguises himself as a hobo to get an invitation to stay in his own home -- and keeps his identity secret in this perennial Christmas favorite about rediscovering family and the joy of being together. Don DeFore (Romance on the High Seas) and Gale Storm (My Little Margie) co-star as the young love interests in this first release from Allied Artists Productions.

THE 100: THE SEVENTH AND FINAL SEASON (2020) Run Time: 672 Minutes Subtitles: English SDH Audio Specs: TS HD-Master Audio 5.1 – English Aspect Ratio: 1.78:1. 16x9 Widescreen Product Color: COLOR Disc Configuration: 3 BD 50

The seventh and final season opens with our heroes picking up the pieces of the society they destroyed on Sanctum. Still reeling from her mother's death, Clarke (series star Eliza Taylor), perhaps more than anyone, feels the toll of years upon years of fighting and loss. The group soon finds that maintaining order among the competing factions is no easy feat, and one that has them questioning whether their commitment to doing better was worth the price. At the same time, our heroes must contend with new obstacles on a scale beyond any that they previously experienced as they unravel the mysteries of the Anomaly. What they encounter on this epic journey pushes them to their limits both physically and emotionally, challenging their long-held conceptions of family, love, and sacrifice. Ultimately, our heroes must answer for themselves what it means to truly live, and not just survive.

#Warner archive #Warner archive collection #blu-ray #physical media #December releases

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egyptroyal · 3 years

Text

updated muse list

will be updated for future additions and/or regenerations. [if having this emoji 🔴 beside it, these are comic relief events and i count them as such]

Timeless Child 0 TBA Actress

Timeless Child 1 TBA Actress.

Timeless Child 2 TBA Actress

Timeless Child 3 Grace Nettle.

Timeless Child 4 Leo Tang.

Timeless Child 5 Jac Jones.

Timeless Child 6 TBA Actress.

Timeless Child 7 Jess Deyi.

Theta Sigma Michael Jones

Doctor Mobius 1 Christopher Barry

Doctor Mobius 2 Robert Banks Stewart

Doctor Mobius 3 Christopher Baker

Doctor Mobius 4 Philip Hinchcliffe

Doctor Mobius 5 Douglas Camfield

Doctor Mobius 6 Graeme Harper

Doctor Mobius 7 Robert Holmes

Doctor Mobius 8 George Gallacci

First Doctor William Hartnell

First Doctor Richard Hurndall

First Doctor Peter Cushing

First Doctor David Bradley

Second Doctor Patrick Troughton

Renegade Doctor Jo Martin

Third Doctor Jon Pertwee

Fourth Doctor Tom Baker

The Watcher Adrian Gibbs

Fifth Doctor Peter Davison

Sixth Doctor Colin Baker

Seventh Doctor Lenny Henry 🔴

Seventh Doctor Sylvester McCoy

Eighth Doctor Paul McGann

Eighth Doctor David Tennant 🔴

War Doctor John Hurt

Ninth Doctor Richard E. Grant

Ninth Doctor Christopher Eccleston

Tenth Doctor David Tennant

Tentoo David Tennant

DoctorDonna Catherine Tate

Eleventh Doctor Matt Smith

Mr. Clever Matt Smith

Twelfth Doctor Peter Capaldi

Thirteenth Doctor Jodie Whittaker 🛸

Master Doctor Sacha Dhawan

Fourteenth Doctor David Tennant

Fifteenth Doctor Ncuti Gatwa

The Valeyard Michael Jayson

The Curator Tom Baker

The Other Matt Smith

The Dream Lord Toby Jones

The Emperor Paul McGann

Ninth Doctor Rowan Atkinson 🔴

Tenth Doctor Richard E. Grant 🔴

Eleventh Doctor Jim Broadbent 🔴

Twelfth Doctor Hugh Grant 🔴

Thirteenth Doctor Joanna Lumley 🔴

Time Lord Victorious David Tennant

Tenth Doctor (RMT) David Tennant

The Herald Jodie Whittaker

The Moment Billie Piper (et. al.)

Rose ‘RMT’ Tyler Nia Long 💐

Bill Potts Pearl Mackie 😢

Donna Noble Catherine Tate 🌋

Astrid Peth Kylie Minogue 🌠

Heather Stephanie Hyam 💧

Zezanne Dawkins Zazie Beetz 🧵

Time Jodie Whittaker & Sam Spruell

Oksana Astankova Jodie Comer 🗡

Velma Dinkley Linda Cardinelli 🔎

BAU Chief SSA Emily Prentiss Paget Brewster 💷

Patient 4479/Joker Scott McClure 🃏

Lena Luthor Katie McGrath 💵

Carrietta White Sissy Spacek 🧠

Mercy Louis Garrel 🐕‍🦺

The Government Macaulay Culkin/Thomas Doherty 🕴

Izzy Antonia Thomas 🦇

Aunt Mama Florence Welch/Annalise Van Der Pol

Lymph Tim Minchin 🎹

Eve Daniella Alonso 🔥

Delvin Heath Ledger

Cecil Michael Jackson 📿

Merriben "Jane" Django Ricmod Tatiana Maslany

Wanda Django Maximoff Alina Serban

more to be added.

please specify whom

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forgottenlivesobverse · 3 years

Photo

Today we have a Q&A with Lance Parkin, author of multiple Doctor Who novels and a contributor to Forgotten Lives. Lance’s story ‘Past Lives’ features the Camfield Doctor (who has a guest cameo in his novel Cold Fusion) and begins like this:

‘The Doctor sipped the y’bador, which was too hot, too sweet, left much too much of a sour aftertaste, and which he instantly fell in love with.

‘“Well, everywhere in the galaxy was affected,” the Commissioner replied. “You say ‘untouched’, but everywhere was touched.”

‘He sounded defensive. The Doctor smiled and nodded.’

FL: Tell us a little about yourself.

LP: I have gone from the child prodigy who wrote a Doctor Who novel to someone who needs a stiff upper lip to think that his debut novel is older now that its author was when he wrote it. Went from Doctor Who novels to storyliner on Emmerdale, managed to translate that into a complete lack of further TV career at the exact moment Doctor Who came back to TV. I’ve had a book published at least every year since, including biographies of Alan Moore (which I think is my best book so far, I’m probably not the person to ask) and Gene Roddenberry. Met a lot of very interesting people and had a lot of opportunities as a result.

FL: What attracted you to this project?

LP: Well … a long time ago, I wrote an article for a fanzine called Matrix, ‘Past Lives’, that suggested that if you look at all the evidence, especially The Brain of Morbius, then Hartnell is probably not the ‘first’ Doctor. There’s at least room for incarnations we don’t know about. This was, at the time, delicious heresy. It got a huge reaction, it was reprinted in Licence Denied, the Paul Cornell curated ‘best of the fanzines’ book that Virgin published. The appeal to me wasn’t just finding a loophole that broke the most basic fact of Doctor Who, it was that it opened up huge new vistas for the character, you didn’t have to imagine that everything that had happened in the Doctor’s past had happened to William Hartnell with slightly darker hair. So the appeal of this project is a bunch of people get together and show us some of that huge, hidden universe.

FL: These Doctors only exist in a couple of photos. How did you approach the characterisation of your incarnation?

LP: Mine’s ‘played’ by Douglas Camfield. Some of it is based on Camfield himself – he was notorious for planning everything very carefully, and having binders full of ideas for turning the script into a piece of television. So there’s a nod towards that. I slipped a flashback scene featuring the Camfield incarnation into my now-ancient Doctor Who Missing Adventure novel Cold Fusion, but only really picked Camfield because he had a beard, so I could go ‘the Doctor had a beard’ and everyone would realise it wasn’t one of the TV ones, but I do establish the Doctor’s married in that. I also tried to think about what the show would be like if it was modern Doctor Who but made in 1958 or whenever, I kept coming back to the idea of it being a sort of Graham Greene thing set in a world picking itself up from a devastating war. So what role does the Doctor have in that? I struggled with that at first.

FL: The stories are intended to represent a ‘prehistory’ of Doctor Who before 1963. How did that affect your approach?

LP: That’s the central paradox of this collection – how do you make this character recognisably ‘the Doctor’ but set it before the show starts? How do you have them work for the Time Lords but be a hero, not a lackey? A moral force, and experienced, but clearly not as developed as they become later? How do you fit it in with continuity – continuity that probably doesn’t let you say ‘Time Lord’? – but retain the joy of all this, which is that it’s a whole new space for Doctor Who stories sort of free from all that? How do you tell a short story that stands for and sets up a whole era? I wanted it to be a sort of pilot episode, or a teaser at least. I want people to wish they’d seen all 30 stories with this guy, not just this glimpse. As I was writing it, Paul Hanley put up his notes about his depiction of the Camfield Doctor, and said he saw this one as a sort of monster hunter, and that was sort of what I was doing, but he’d summed it up in two words, so that’s what crystallised it for me. So, to answer your question: he hunts monsters.

FL: What’s your story about?

LP: The Doctor glances across a tea room and sees an irredeemable monster. So what does he do?

FL: Who would be your ideal casting for a pre-Hartnell Doctor?

LP: I spent a lot of time thinking about this, then had a eureka moment and said ‘Peter Cushing!’, and slapped myself on the back, then about two seconds later I remembered that I wasn’t the first person to come up with that answer. Peter Cushing, but with the room to play it for the broader, older audience Doctor Who has now compared with 1965.

FL: What other projects are you working on at present?

LP: My next Doctor Who thing is, um, actually not sure what I can say. It’s a comic strip, but not an official one. Very proud of it. That was the thing I can say most about at the moment, unfortunately. I’m finishing up a novel called The Fourth Person, I have another called Cragside which is now on its fourth total redraft, and I’m working on a non-fiction project. It’s 25 years since my first Who novel was published, and I’m keeping busy as a writer, which is wonderful.

#lance parkin #douglas camfield #douglascamfield #the camfield doctor #forgotten lives #obverse books #doctor who #dr who #doctorwho #drwho #the brain of morbius #paul hanley #morbius doctors

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johnnymundano · 5 years

Text

The House That Dripped Blood (1971)

Directed by Peter Duffell

Screenplay by Robert Bloch

Music by Michael Dress

Country: United Kingdom

Running time: 102 minutes

CAST

"Framework"

John Bennett as Detective Inspector Holloway

John Bryans as A.J. Stoker

John Malcolm as Sergeant Martin

"Method For Murder"

Denholm Elliott as Charles Hillyer

Joanna Dunham as Alice Hillyer

Tom Adams as Richard/Dominic

Robert Lang as Dr. Andrews

"Waxworks"

Peter Cushing as Philip Grayson

Joss Ackland as Neville Rogers

Wolfe Morris as Waxworks Proprietor

"Sweets to the Sweet"

Christopher Lee as John Reid

Nyree Dawn Porter as Ann Norton

Chloe Franks as Jane Reid

Hugh Manning as Mark

Carleton Hobbs as Dr. Bailey

"The Cloak"

Jon Pertwee as Paul Henderson

Ingrid Pitt as Carla Lynde

Geoffrey Bayldon as Theo von Hartmann

Jonathan Lynn as Mr. Petrich

NB: I watched this via the 2019 Second Sight UK Blu-Ray release and the picture is really fantastic (technical term there). So, if you were wondering, now you know; this is the copy to own.

The House That Dripped Blood is a British 1970s anthology horror movie from Amicus, and I make no bones about the fact that I am totally partial to that jam, pal. I grew up watching these movies, from a ridiculously unsuitable age, on Friday and Saturday nights with my mum while dad was down the pub. Their ridiculous delights are fused into my brain by the flame of nostalgia, more thoroughly even than those of ‘70s Jonah Hex comics. (And ‘70s Jonah Hex comics are pretty fused in there too. Tony DeZuniga; he da boy!). You came to the wrong place for impartiality, basically. The House That Dripped Blood is horrortastic.

Putting the lie to the spectacularly enticing title there is no actual blood in The House That Dripped Blood, but there is definitely a house. And it’s around this house that the four fear inducing stories revolve. But every proper portmanteau demands a framing device and so the movie starts with the arrival of uppity Inspector Holloway (John Bennett) who has been dispatched by Scotland Yard to investigate the disappearance of horror movie star Paul Henderson (Jon Pertwee) from The House That Dripped Blood. Obviously the house is never referred to as “The House That Dripped Blood” as that would put prospective tenants off; bit of a real estate tip there for you.

Unlike most police investigations, Bennett’s takes the form of people telling him far-fetched stories about the previous occupants as though this might give him a clue as to Henderson’s fate. It’s an interesting approach to policework. Luckily, Bennett, a copper singularly lacking in ratiocination, at no point even begins to wonder how exactly the people telling him the stories know what happened, since most of the people who could have told them end up dead or insane. The answer would be that these are a bunch of punchy shorts scripted by pulp wonder Robert Bloch and the house is just a big old McGuffin to hang them off. And learning that might be a bit too meta for a common movie plod to handle.

First up is Method for Murder wherein debonair horror author Charles Hillyer (Denholm Elliot) rents the house to get some peace in which to write another of his (apparently terrible) potboilers. Unnervingly Hillyer’s new opus concerning Dominic, a strangler with a bowl haircut and British Teeth©™®, starts to bleed into his reality, and the possibility that he may be losing his mind may not be the worst option on offer. Denholm Elliot (1922 – 1992) was never a star, but he was a fantastic actor all round; his particular forte was a kind of nervy self-assurance constantly on the cusp of crumbling into wild-eyed desperation. The kind of thing it takes a lengthy, poorly constructed sentence to describe in English but in German is probably encompassed by a single word that sounds like someone cheerfully stamping on chicken bones. Elliot’s very good at it, whatever it is, and he gets plenty of chance to demonstrate it here, as Bloch’s plotting turns the screws until he pops. Everyone else is very good, particularly Robert Lang as Dr. Andrews, who is the perfect oily 1970s personification of a psychiatrist. And it would be remiss of me to omit to mention Denholm Elliot’s superb salmon pink shirt. Personally, I find fashion is one of the finest characters in British ‘70s horror movies, and in The House That Dripped Blood fashion is on fine form.

As is soon apparent in Waxworks when Philip Grayson (the always marvellous Peter Cushing) sports a spellbindingly classy cravat and jacket affair. His gobstopper red smoking jacket is also quite special, but it’s the cravat ensemble which carries him through most of the episode and takes the trophy. This eerie creepster is about a retired financier who rents the house to brood while listening to records and looking at a photo of a woman from his past. When he isn’t posing by the weir in a melancholy way Philip walks into town where there are actual shops (this is before the Internet and 10 years of Tory government had reduced the English high street to charity shops, boarded up windows and Gregg’s The Bakers) and finds the world’s most morbid waxworks. Haunted by the display of Salome (who is supposed to look like the lady from his past; you have to take this on trust since the waxwork isn’t exactly life-like) Philip is visited by his old chum Neville (the ever forthright Joss Ackland), who has a penchant for neck scarves that resemble an acid trip made silk. Both men have the woman in common but prefer to elliptically skirt around the troublesome issue and pretend it doesn’t matter anymore; Bloch knows nobody does emotional cowardice quite like the English. Soon Neville meets Salome too and the blokes race each other to the horrific finish. Joss Ackland is great, obviously, but it’s worth noting that, as ever, Cushing puts in a performance far more moving and tragic than the material deserves, and so makes it sting all the more. Fans of ‘70s unconscious misogyny might risk getting all turgid since Waxworks is all about a woman who ruins men’s lives but doesn’t actually feature a real woman. Ultimately though such people will have to go home empty handed as it’s clearly the men doing it to themselves and blaming it on a woman, which is a pretty clever bait and switch by Bloch.

Bloch’s quietly understated intelligence is even better demonstrated by Sweets to the Sweet which looks like it’s about witchcraft but is actually about the damage a lack of love can do to a child. Widower John Reid (Christopher Lee) moves into the house so he can commute to the city and do his business in whatnot and whathaveyou and have his child Jane (Chloe Franks) home-schooled in a controlled environment. Reid is all about control and Christopher Lee is ideally suited to the role, bringing all his not inconsiderable clipped prissiness to bear without totally eliminating Reid’s humanity. Reid loves Jane but he also fears her. But why? (why does he fear her, not why does he love her; c’mon, people, work with me here). It’s a conundrum Jane’s newly appointed teacher Ann Norton (Nyree Dawn Porter) unwisely seeks to solve. Plenty in this one to chew on viz a viz kids, parental responsibility and the need to keep a close eye on candles and razor shavings. Probably enough for a dissertation in fact, but, putting the chalk and elbow patches to one side, it is mostly about witchcraft because that’s spooky fun; no one wants to watch an unvarnished 20 minute segment on the emotional abuse of a child in a horror movie. That’s what Home Alone (1990) is for.

Seeking to send the audience out into the ‘70s night to catch the last bus on a bit of a high, the final terror tale, The Cloak, spoofs about in an enjoyably goofy fashion. Prima-donna horror star Paul Henderson (Jon Pertwee) moves into the house to be near the filming of his new (apparently terrible; probably based on a script by Charles Hillyer) movie. Being a great believer in authenticity and disappointed by the cloak provided by the doddering wardrobe mistress, Henderson sources a suitably eerie item of attire from Theo von Hartmann (Geoffrey Bayldon), a ridiculously freaky tat shop owner with a suspiciously Teutonic moniker. When wearing the cloak Henderson’s portrayal of a vampire becomes a little bit too authentic for comfort and he learns a steep lesson in the Hollywood food chain from his comically pneumatic co-star Carla Lynde (Ingrid Pitt). It’s slight stuff but pretty funny with everyone camping it up like a cub scout sleep out will be arriving imminently (camping; tents; scouts; c’mon, folks). I vaguely recall reading that Pertwee claimed the whole movie was supposed to be in this mirthful mode, and that he based his character on co-star Christopher Lee, but didn’t tell Lee (obviously). If I ever get the time to wade through the multitude of extras on the Blu-ray maybe I’ll find confirmation. As it is, watching the movie was pleasure enough for now. But like I said I’m practically marinated in this stuff. Nevertheless I persist in the belief that people who haven’t been knocking about for half a century would still find something to enjoy in The House That Dripped Blood; even if it’s just that cracking picture quality.

#The House That Dripped Blood #Movies #Horror #Anthology #Amicus #Peter Cushing #Christopher Lee #Denholm Elliot #Nyree Dawn Porter #Robert Bloch #Peter Duffell #1971 #The 1970s #United Kingdom #Ingrid Pitt

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