He may look like your typical antique dealer but look again... he deals in more than antiques! Don't let the obvious fool you, this scene may be trickier than you think.
As always, if you are not familiar with the rules to the Impossibly Difficult Name that Movie game or the prize, click here!
Whilst browsing the ever-expanding library of classic films and television shows on Youtube, I came across a wonderful channel called Retrontario that focuses on forgotten programs that once aired on television networks throughout the Ontario area. One of the programs that Retrontario had clips from was Magic Shadows featuring the marvelous Elwy Yost.
Yost was the Canadian edition of Roger Ebert or Robert Osbourne. He was a very personable man with a kindly face, a warm chuckle, and a wealth of knowledge on films and stars of the golden era of Hollywood. Between 1974 and 1987 he was the host of Magic Shadows, a half-hour program that ran weekday evenings at 7:30pm right after Doctor Who. Each Monday, Elwy would introduce a classic film that was serialized in 15-20 minute segments for the rest of the week. Between the commercial breaks and openings and closings, he would share information about the stars, director or making of the film... sometimes he brought in people to interview as well. It was a great idea for an evening series and - if you liked the film - it kept you coming back night after night.
As wonderful as it was tuning into an engrossing film night after night, it was Elwy's down-home personality that made the show so relaxing and appealing to watch. The set of Magic Shadows was a comfy living room/study of a colonial-style house where Elwy could be found sitting in his favorite recliner smoking his pipe and waiting for you, his friend, to come and enjoy a movie with him. Next to him would be an old projector which he always turned on to run the current film. While the screen faded into darkness, "like magic" we would be transported to the land of Hollywood.
"Ride upon a silver screen where pictures seem to flow....like Magic, Magic Shadows"
The opening theme by Harry Forbes and the psychedelic cartoons illustrating it were as memorable as Mr. Yost with squiggly drawings of the Marx Brothers and King Kong playing out slide by slide with strange octopus-headed men and a tiger in a striped suit.
Yost's infectious enthusiasm for old movies made you wish you were a cinephile even if you never saw a movie in your life and his show fostered film appreciation to many a child who watched it with their parents. After the series ended, Yost continued hosting Saturday Night at the Movies on OntarioTV up until 1999.
My sister and I picked up this album at a second-hand store when we were teenagers and loved it instantly. It's been played countless times in our house and it was this album that introduced us to films such as The High and the Mighty, The Sundowners and Francis of Assisi.
The music is arranged and performed by Frank Chacksfield and his Orchestra and he does a "spectacular" job as usual. Chacksfield was the Mantovani of Great Britain and released a large number of albums throughout the 1950s-1970s. His film theme albums are the best and the sound on these London Records LPs are marvelous. This one is "LL3275" and it was issued in several variations in 1962 and 1963.
Chacksfield and his orchestra implemented instruments that brought the ancient eras alive in this album, such as timpanis, tambourines, piccolos, and French horns. Not to miss themes include the scrumptious Song of Delilah from Cecil B. DeMille's epic "Samson and Delilah" (1949), the melancholy love song to "The Robe", the lovely "Francis of Assisi" theme played with piano and strings, and of course, the love theme to "Ben-Hur".
Click here to listen to the full album on Youtube.
Track Listing:
Side One
Theme from "King of Kings"
The Song of Delilah from "Samson and Delilah"
Love Theme from "The Robe"
Love Theme from "Quo Vadis"
The Green Leaves of Summer ("The Alamo")
Theme from "Exodus"
Side Two
Parade of the Charioteers ("Ben-Hur")
Theme from "Francis of Assisi"
Love Theme from "Ben-Hur"
The High and the Mighty
Love Theme from "The Prodigal"
Theme from "The Sundowners"
Top Picks: King of Kings, The Song of Delilah, Love Theme from The Robe, Theme from Francis of Assisi, Love Theme from Ben-Hur
These two wide-eyed youngsters are runaways from a Swiss boarding school, both of whom are trying to get to Paris to reunite with their father and mother in the delightful comedy "The Happy Road". Bobby Clark, the little brown-haired boy, plays the son of Gene Kelly while Brigitte Fossey plays the daughter of Barbara Laage.
From the Archives is our latest series of posts where we share photos from the Silverbanks Pictures collection. Some of these may have been sold in the past, and others may still be available for purchase at our eBay store: http://stores.ebay.com/Silverbanks-Pictures
Mardi Gras, released in 1958, is a Cinderella story aimed at a teenage audience. It is a little-seen color romance-musical starring Pat Boone and, honestly, it is not half-bad. It doesn't quite rank up there with April Love, but it has its moments. Pat stars as a Virginia Military Institute cadet who gets roped into participating in a raffle to win a date with a movie star - Michelle Marton (played by French import Christine Carere). Being the clean-cut country boy that he is, he never even heard of her before the raffle but ends up winning. After a few failed attempts to see her at her hotel, he gives up and instead asks a pretty young woman in the lobby for a date. Surprise! This happens to be Michelle herself.... she decided to don a Mardi Gras mask and enjoy a few hours vacation from the press. Naturally, they fall in love but then her publicity agent (Fred Clark) gets in the way and sees their romance as "great publicity" which causes a number of complications for both of them.
Mardi Gras was a surprising hit upon its release and stayed at the top of the box-office charts for a number of weeks where it easily recouped its initial investment. Robert Wagner, Jeffrey Hunter and Tony Randall were initially set to star as the three cadets from VMI with Mitzi Gaynor playing the Hollywood actress. Later, Boone was cast with Shirley Jones as his co-star but then Shirley had to drop out due to being pregnant with her first son, Shaun Cassidy. Christine Carere had recently made a splash with her first American picture - A Certain Smile - so she was then cast and did a good job. She is like a French edition of Sonja Henie and is quite charming.
Jerry Wald produced the film, which was directed by Edmund Goulding (Dark Victory, The Razor's Edge). The bare stone walls of the Virginia Military Institute didn't make the most colorful setting so the New Orleans shots had to make up for it...and those didn't seem all too good either. Nevertheless, Pat Boone's handsome looks and charisma and Carere's cuteness made up for the lack of scenery. The musical numbers throughout the film are quite good but, unfortunately, there were one or two too many and they stretch the picture to nearly two hours. The best of the songs was "I'll Remember Tonight" which became a hit for Pat Boone in 1958.
Mardi Gras is currently available on DVD as well as through Youtube.
The setting is Scotland in the 18th century. A German has inherited the throne of England and Scotland and will rule as king. The appointment of King George I upsets many of the Scottish people and the highlanders especially who gather their clans together and rise up against the English troops occupying Scotland. The Duke of Argyll has quenched most of these rebel uprisings, except for a small but stubborn band of highlanders of the McGregor clan led by Rob Roy "the Highland rogue".His fight for Scottish independence leads him on a road to the gallows in London... and eventually, face to face with King George I himself. Walt Disney made a number of excellent adventure films in the 1950s and Rob Roy ranks as one of the best. It has all of the sweet ingredients for a rousing good adventure: highland rebels, romance, swordplay, beautiful locations, stirring music, and a grrraaand story. Technicolor filming and a cast of seasoned actors bake the cake.
Richard Todd, who starred as the heroic Rob Roy, had just completed two period costume adventure films for Walt Disney Studios - The Story of Robin Hood and his Merrie Men and The Sword and the Rose - both of which were popular with UK audiences and Rob Roy proved to be a box-office hit as well. Unfortunately, these films did not do as well stateside and Disney decided not to pursue more costume films. This was also the last picture Disney released through RKO for shortly afterwards all of his productions were released through his own distribution company, Buena Vista.
Rob Roy gathered together some excellent actors from throughout the United Kingdom including Irish-born (!) Richard Todd, Welsh actress Glynis Johns, James Robertson Justice of Scottish ancestry (who looked especially handsome donning long blonde hair), English character actors Michael Gough and Geoffrey Keen, and one of the most famous Scottish film actors to have ever lived: Finlay Currie.
