The Entertainers ( 1964-1965 ) - Television Series

Youtube always puts the most unusual clips on their homepage when I log in. They claim the clips are suggested based on what I previously viewed but I rarely see the connection. Anyway, a few weeks ago there was a black-and-white thumbnail for a clip that I simply couldn't resist clicking on - Carol Burnett, Chita Rivera, and Caterina Valente dolled up like Morticia Addams singing "I Enjoy Being a Girl" in a fog entrenched graveyard. It's the funkiest version of the song I've ever heard and quite catchy. Boris Karloff introduces the ladies and afterwards performs a wonderful version of "Chim Chim Cher-ee" along with the Lee Hale Singers. Mary Poppins premiered in 1964 and that was the year of the clip. 

As interesting as it was watching these ghouls perform, what I found even more exciting was learning that it came from a television series I never heard of before - The Entertainers. This one-hour variety show premiered September 25, 1964, and lasted only one season ( it was canceled March 27, 1965 ). The show was produced by Carol Burnett's husband Joe Hamilton ( The Garry Moore Show ) and Bob Banner ( The Carol Burnett Show ) with hosting duties rotating between Carol Burnett, Caterina Valente, and Bob Newhart. Quite a lineup! 

The Entertainers had a great assortment of, well, entertainers, that ranged from singers and dancers to comedians, magicians, and actors. Some of the guest stars who appeared on the show were Phil Silvers, Peter Lawford, Imogene Coca, Buddy Ebsen, Chad and Jeremy, The Dave Clark Five, Vivian Vance, John Davidson, Thelma Ritter, Dom DeLuise, Rosemary Clooney, and Craig Stevens. 

The Entertainers has not yet been released on DVD and it is rare to find even a clip from the show online making me wonder whether whole episodes of the series even exist. Still, it is fun to discover something "new", especially with such great hosts as Bob Newhart, Carol Burnett and Caterina Valente ( if you are not familiar with this talented singer, look up some of her performances on Youtube ). 

The Impossibly Difficult Name that Movie Game

 
The Way of an Eagle by Ethel M. Dell.....hmmm, now what could this be? We've got a really tricky screenshot for this month's Impossibly Difficult puzzle, so we will be kind and offer a hint: it is from a British film. Now you'll have to put on your thinking caps and see if you can remember which British film you saw this scene in!

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

Come Fly With Me ( 1963 )

"A Romantic Round the World Manhunt!" 

Three airline hostesses jet-set across Europe searching for handsome rich men to marry in the engaging 1963 MGM romantic comedy Come Fly With Me. Like How to Marry a Millionaire, all three women find themselves attached to men who are very much different than what they had in mind but they nevertheless have fun hunting and the audience has fun watching them on the prowl. 

Dolores Hart stars as pretty Donna Stuart, a cynical girl who has her heart set on wearing sable. She meets the dashing Baron Franz von Elzingen ( Karl Boehm ) and believes she found her Prince Charming....until she realizes that he is using her to smuggle stolen diamonds between Paris and Vienna. 

Carol Brewster ( Pamela Tiffin ) is more sensible and sets her eyes on the pilot ( Hugh O'Brian ). She thinks he is her knight in shining armor until she discovers he is having an affair with a married woman ( Dawn Addams ). 

It's the lovely Hilda Bergstrom ( Lois Nettleton ) who ends up with the cream of the crop: Texas millionaire Walter Lucas ( Karl Malden ). She's a thrifty girl who wants her man to be saving his pennies as well, little does she know that he has $40 million dollars to spare. Like most good comedies of the 1960s, the film ends with each of the girls happy with their romantic choices. 

Come Fly With Me is light-hearted entertainment that will take you back to an era when jet travel was oh-so-glamorous ( and when airlines gave you room to stretch your legs ). The script seems like it was penned directly for the film but it was actually based on a chick-lit novel called "Girl on a Wing" by Bernard Glemser. The working title was The Friendliest Girls in the World but was later changed to Come Fly With Me to capitalize on the popularity of the Frank Sinatra hit. In the opening of the film, the song is swingingly rendered by Frankie Avalon.

Director Henry Levin keeps the pace of the film moving swiftly and the location scenery throughout Paris and Vienna is beautifully filmed by cinematographer Oswald Morris ( Moby Dick, Scrooge ). Interiors were shot at the Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios in Boreham Wood, England. 

The movie is notable for being Dolores Hart's final picture before she retired from acting and entered the Abbey of Regina Laudis. She looks particularly beautiful in this film and gives a wonderful farewell performance. Lois Nettleton also gives a good performance as the level-headed "Bergie" and Karl Malden is excellent as usual. Richard Wattis, James Dobson and Lois Maxwell, who was filming Dr. No in England that same year, are also in the cast. 

TCM Big Screen Classics - 2022 Schedule

Every year, 12 classic films are chosen by TCM to be brought back to theaters across the nation as part of the TCM Big Screen Classics series. Some years the selection of films is better than others and, for 2022, the line-up is particularly good with a nice mixture of genres. Lately, they have been playing films that mark an anniversary of so many decades and next year is no exception. 

Please note, most of these films play on two dates each but, at the moment, we are only aware of one release date, so circle your calendar if something catches your fancy. 

January 23rd - Casablanca - 80th Anniversary ( 1942 )

February 20th  - Lady Sings the Blues 50th Anniversary ( 1972 ) 

March 13th - The Quiet Man 70th Anniversary ( 1952 ) 

April 10th - Singin' in the Rain 70th Anniversary ( 1952 ) 

May 29th - Smokey and the Bandit ( 1977 ) 

June 12 - Whatever Happened to Baby Jane? 60th Anniversary ( 1962 )

July 17th - Cabaret 50th Anniversary ( 1972 ) 

September 4th - Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan ( 1982 ) 

September 25th - Poltergeist 40th Anniversary ( 1982 ) 

October 16th - In the Heat of the Night ( 1967 ) 

November 13th - To Kill a Mockingbird 60th Anniversary ( 1962 )

December 18th - It's A Wonderful Life 75th Anniversary ( 1947 ) 

Check it Out! - Chita Rivera on The Hollywood Palace

The lovely and leggy Chita Rivera made a marvelous guest appearance on The Hollywood Palace in November 1965 performing a peppy showstopper titled "Blue". I wasn't able to find out who wrote this piece but it certainly sounds like something penned from the hands of Jules Styne. Just a few months earlier, Chita had finished her run in the stage musical Bajour and would soon go on to play Jenny in the Threepenny Opera. 

Chita returned to The Hollywood Palace in 1968 with a go-go dance but that performance did not suit her as well as this classy dance. Check it out for yourself right here!

From the Archives: Until They Sail ( 1957 )

 

Jean Simmons and Paul Newman are enjoying the first blossoms of love in this beautiful photo from Until They Sail ( 1957 ), Robert Wise's disjointed adaptation of James Michener's novel of the same name about three sisters who fall in love with American soldiers in New Zealand. 

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