That Funny Feeling (1965)

Sandra Dee is just too cute... and how adorable was it that she found a sweetheart just as cute as she was - Bobby Darin! The twosome met while making Come September in Italy in 1960 and after a whirlwind courtship by Darin (who sent Dee 18 yellow roses every day), they married in December 1960. They remained married for seven years and in that time made two more romantic-comedy films together where they played the junior-set version of Rock Hudson and Doris Day: If a Man Answers (1962) and That Funny Feeling (1965).

That Funny Feeling is about swinger Tom Milford (Darin) who uses a maid service to clean his apartment after his nightly parties. He has never seen this maid and she (Dee) thinks the playboy that she cleans after is a horrible man judging from the aftermath of his messy wingdings. He is about to be sent on an assignment in California so he leaves a note for his maid telling her she doesn't have to come by for 10 days. That same day he meets Joan Howell (Dee) and when he offers to take her home she gives the cab driver Milford's address since she is embarrassed of her tiny one-room apartment. When Milford insists taking her to her door, he is naturally surprised when she opens up his apartment with a key! He is even more surprised when she tells him her name is Joan Milford!

The story to That Funny Feeling is about a simple mix-up like this and that's all it takes to make a very amusing comedy. Of course, having two cute stars with a natural acting flair helps make the film so entertaining. This could easily have been a script written for a Rock Hudson and Doris Day comedy but one can't picture Doris Day living in such a tiny apartment with a roommate, nor being a maid. That's why a college-aged actress was needed and Sandra Dee was perfect for the part. Playing her roommate Audrey is Nita Talbot who is best known for portraying Russian spy Marya on the television series Hogan's Heroes. She's the younger version of Thelma Ritter, complete with the snarky remarks and New York accent. 

Also co-starring in the film is Donald O'Connor as a Tony Randall-ish boss to Tom Milford. He is all in a tither about his valuable paintings (which are being stored in Tom's apartment) being in danger of getting damaged. Donald is always good to watch and his character adds a nice addition to the chaos Tom is already experiencing. Also in the cast is Larry Storch as another roommate and Leo G. Carroll as a nosy pawnbroker. 

Bobby Darin sings the title song "That Funny Feeling" (which he also wrote) but, other than that, we don't get to hear him croon any tunes in this picture - darn. Aside from that minor disappointment, there's not much to dislike about That Funny Feeling, it's genuinely funny and delightful to watch - especially for Valentine's Day. 💗

From the Archives: Third Man on the Mountain (1959)

It looks like Rudi (James MacArthur) has a sweetheart! Who can resist the charms of cute Janet Munro? You just know she'll snag him by the end of the picture. This lobby card features a scene from the entertaining Third Man on the Mountain (1959), a Walt Disney film based on the Newbury Honor book "Banner in the Sky" by James Ramsey Ullman. Click here to read our full review of the film. 

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 

Ice Palace (1960)

Warner Brothers studio had a hit on their hands with Giant back in 1956. It was a dynastic epic of Texan cattle barons and oil tycoons that was adapted from Edna Ferber's best-selling novel of 1952. Since they struck black gold with that film, they instantly snatched up her latest creation "Ice Palace", which was penned in 1958. 

Ferber had spent four years researching and writing about Alaska, the salmon fishing industry, and the land's ongoing struggle for statehood in the legislature. The novel quickly became another best-seller for the author and some thought it helped contribute to Alaska becoming a state in 1959. 

Warner Brothers caught wind back in 1957 that Ferber had another sweeping novel in the works, so they quickly signed a deal for the film rights to it. Two years later, they announced that Richard Burton and Robert Ryan were to star in the upcoming film Ice Palace. One can only imagine the excitement an actor must feel when they sign on to a film expecting it to be another box-office hit, an Academy Award winner, or possibly the role they may become associated with as "their greatest screen performance". If Richard Burton or Robert Ryan had any such thoughts, they were sadly mistaken... as was the studio for investing $3.5 million into what would become a huge loss for them. 

Ice Palace in itself is not that bad of a film, especially if it were only an hour and half long, but it stretches for 2 hours and 23 minutes (yaaawn!) and one feels like the characters you are supposed to care about (Zeb Kennedy and Thor Storm) were not developed enough to begin with. By the time the story reaches into drama dealing with their children, it was already tiresome. Sadly, when granddaughter Diane McBain made her entrance, I would imagine most of the audience had already fallen asleep. 

Ice Palace tells the story of Zeb Kennedy (Richard Burton), a cannery worker who falls into the waters off Seattle after a brawl and gets pulled into a fishing boat by Thor Storm (Robert Ryan). Kennedy makes friends with Thor who teaches him salmon fishing. Later, when they arrive in Alaska, they agree to become partners and open up their own cannery.... that is, until Zeb sees Bridie Ballantyne (Carolyn Jones), Thor's fiancée, and falls in love with her. She loves him, too, so when he goes back to Seattle to obtain financing for their new venture, she expects that they will both tell Thor about their feelings for each other and get married. Wrong! Zeb instead finds out that his former employer's daughter Dorothy (Martha Hyer) has always had a soft-spot for him and he sees this as a great way to get the financing he needs from her father. So when Zeb returns to Alaska, he brings his bride Dorothy with him. Bridie confesses her shock to Thor and that's what starts a 40-year battle between Zeb Kennedy and his soon-to-be cannery empire and Thor Storm and the fishermen and Alaskan rights that he represents. 

The story to Ice Palace is enthralling and the novel is probably enjoyable but this film version just comes off as flat. The drama the characters get involved in escalate to such proportions that the film becomes a farce. I almost bust out laughing when Shirley Knight almost had her baby in a dogsled in a snowstorm in the middle of nowhere - at the same time a bear was about to attack! Robert Ryan, Carolyn Jones, and Martha Hyer all do a great job with their parts but they aren't "heavy weight" entertainers who could pull off such dramatics as their roles called for. Perhaps Liz Taylor and Rock Hudson could have made this another Giant, but even with their talent I doubt it. 

Nevertheless, when you watch Ice Palace in small parts (as I did), it becomes an engrossing soap opera... even with its improbable plot. The film was shot on location in Alaska and the snow scenes are beautiful. If you can stand the dramatics, then you might enjoy watching Ice Palace on a snowy Sunday afternoon but don't go out of your way to track it down. 

"Mayday, Mayday - We're ditching this film!"

Ski Party (1965)

American International Pictures must have thought that if teenagers would flock to theaters to see Frankie Avalon at the beach, they’d happily watch him having fun in the mountains, and they weren’t wrong. Ski Party, released in 1965, was the snow-covered sibling of the sun-drenched Beach Party films. The Malibu shoreline was replaced with the frosty slopes of Sun Valley but, other than that, every zany ounce of the AIP teen-movie formula was kept intact from the jealous misunderstandings to the pop tune interludes to the inevitable “boys learn their lesson” finale. Like the Beach Party films, it's an unabashedly corny teen romp, but Ski Party is so dyed‑in‑the‑wool goofy that resisting its charm becomes downright impossible after a viewing or two. Or three. Or five. Honestly, this film gets more amusing each time we watch it!

Todd (Frankie Avalon) and his best pal Craig (Dwayne Hickman) are baffled by the eternal mystery of what girls want. Their girlfriends, the bubbly Linda (Deborah Walley) and the stylish Barbara (Yvonne Craig), seem to fall for the charms of the swaggering jock Freddie (Aron Kincaid). When Freddie's ski club and the girls all head to Sun Valley for the weekend, Todd and Craig decide to trade the sand for snow to make sure Freddie doesn't steal their sweethearts and to study the mysterious ways of the opposite sex. 

At the resort, Freddie swooshes down the slopes with the grace of a snowbound Apollo, so Todd and Craig decide that if they master the rudiments of skiing, it's a cinch that the girls will flock around them, just like they do with Freddie. Their plan? To disguise themselves as girls to infiltrate the female ski class. Donning floppy wigs and falsetto voices, they become British co-eds "Jane" and "Nora". Naturally, no one questions why Frankie Avalon in a wig still looks exactly like Frankie Avalon in a wig. Complications arise for the two Casanova wannabes when Freddie falls for "Nora" and Barbara gets jealous of Craig's attention to "Jane". 

Ski Party was allotted a larger budget than the Beach Party films and the usual director William Asher (known for his TV work) was replaced with Alan Rafkin (The Ghost and Mr. Chicken), an experienced comedy film director. His direction - and the better script - made Ski Party one of the most entertaining entries in the series. Plus, there was the added bonus of the beautiful location filming at Sawtooth National Forest and the Sun Valley Resort in Sun Valley, Idaho. 

While Annette Funicello's presence is missed (she has a brief cameo in the film), Dwayne Hickman more than makes up for her absence. Television's "Dobie Gillis" was a natural comic and he should have appeared in more of the Beach films in place of the wacky Harvey Lembeck. 

"And so we see the male becomes the most romantic between the ages of 17 and 19." - Professor Sonya Roberts (Annette)

[Sound of chalk on a chalkboard] "It sounds like my mating call." - Todd

"Mine's much noisier." - Craig

Ski Party also boasts some good musical breaks including Leslie Gore singing the catchy "Sunshine, Lollipops and Rainbows" on the bus enroute to the lodge, James Brown and the Famous Flames appearing as a ski patrol and singing "I Feel Good" and Frankie Avalon bopping with "Lots More Where That Came From" and "Painting the Town". 

Ski Party is definitely juvenile fare with lots of teenage hijinks but it's a fun winter romp so brightly colored and so shamelessly goofy that it becomes more endearing with each viewing.

Dell Movie Classics: Master of the World (1961)

Dell comics were best known for their TV series tie-ins (click here to read an older post about them) but they gave Gold Key some competition in the 1960s with movie tie-ins as well. This series was known as the Dell Movie Classics and there were quite a few titles in their line-up, all of them featuring juicy painted illustrations or photo covers. 

This one - Master of the World (#1157) - was released in conjunction with the American International adventure film of the same name starring Vincent Price, Charles Bronson, and Henry Hull. The film tried trying to capture the grandeur of Walt Disney's 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea and Around the World in 80 Days but since the studio had a smaller budget and the sets were limited, it came off as more of a B+ adventure flick....but an enjoyable one, nonetheless. Since I revisited it a few days ago, it seemed only fitting to feature its comic connection in our Dell series. 

The "madman" referred to on the cover is Robur the Conquerer, a Captain Nemo of the air. Jules Verne liked powerful men who destroyed warships and while Captain Nemo was busy sinking them with his submarine, Robur blasted them from above in his flying airship. 

This entry in the series features a fantastic painted cover by Don Spaulding depicting one of these warships being destroyed by the airship. Inside, the artwork and inking is very nice, too. Of course, the characters don't resemble the actors exactly but I do not think they were permitted to copy their likenesses. 

Today, this comic sells for $10-20 for a decent copy. If you want to read more about this fun flick, check out our review here. 

The Impossibly Difficult Name that Movie Game

 
It's a new year and a new round of Impossibly Difficult Name that Movie game puzzles begins with this juicy entry. There are some small clues in this screenshot to help you identify the film but really not enough to make this anything less than impossibly difficult! 

As always, if you are not familiar with the rules to the Impossibly Difficult Name that Movie game or the prize, click here.

Good luck! 

Film Albums: Pepe at the Movies (1965)

This is a wonderful album. Pepe Jaramillo was a fantastic pianist and the arrangements of these popular film themes are lovely. In an era when all of these songs appeared on countless instrumental albums, it seems impossible to create a new and unique arrangement for each and yet Ken Thome, the musical director of this album, did just that. If you can picture Ferrante and Teicher mixed with Xavier Cugat's orchestra, you can imagine how Pepe Jaramillo's music sounds like... but don't take my word for it, listen to it yourself. The link is down below. 

The album begins with the exciting theme from Charade which is infused with a Latin touch, followed by the lush The Singer Not the Song. This was the theme to one of Britain's few western productions. A Certain Smile is one of the best songs on this album. It's a slow rather melancholy love song as performed by Johnny Mathis in the film of the same name, but Pepe turns it into a lively Latin jungle-sounding dance tune. The album closes with the lovely Moon River. 

Pepe at the Movies was released in 1965 by Parlaphone records, a British label. The Mexican-born Jaramillo didn't have much success in the United States but he found a large audience in the UK so most of his albums from the 1960s were British labels. 

Listen to the full album here on Youtube. 

Track List

Side One: 

Charade 

The Singer Not the Song 

A Certain Smile 

I Will Wait for You 

Gigi 

Forget Domani 

Side Two:

Lawrence Of Arabia 

Days Of Wine & Roses 

Call Me Irresponsible 

Exodus 

The Green Leaves of Summer 

Moon River

Top Picks: Charade, The Singer Not the Song, A Certain Smile, Gigi, Forget Domani