'Seven Brides for Seven Brothers': MGM's Month of Musicals

The Criterion Channel on November 1 unveiled a collection nearly two dozen classic MGM musicals for streaming this month. One blogger's mission: To watch each and every one.

My son, during old movies, has gotten in the habit of pointing out problematic gender politics. He was busy during this one.

Let Wikipedia explain why:

The screenplay, by Albert Hackett, Frances Goodrich, and Dorothy Kingsley, is based on the short story "The Sobbin' Women", by Stephen Vincent Benét, which was based in turn on the Ancient Roman legend of The Rape of the Sabine Women.  

Wait. What?

The Rape of the Sabine Women was an incident in Roman mythology in which the men of Rome committed a mass abduction of young women from the other cities in the region. It has been a frequent subject of artists, particularly during the Renaissance and post-Renaissance eras.

The word "rape" is the conventional translation of the Latin word raptio used in the ancient accounts of the incident. Modern scholars tend to interpret the word as "abduction" or "kidnapping" as opposed to a sexual assault. Controversy remains, however, as to how the acts committed against the women should be judged.

It's not that difficult. But it is discomfiting to watch a movie where the last third is dominated by women being kidnapped from their homes -- and then, in the movie's climax, marrying the brothers because each claimed to be the victim of what we would unquestionably view as rape today.

It's played for laughs and joy in the movie.

I don't expect people of the 1950s to make movies from a 2019 moral view. But I can't help but watch a movie in 2019 from that point of view. And that makes Seven Brides a movie I can't really fully enjoy. What's more: I hate to be a killjoy. But I'm glad my son points this stuff out. He's thinking about this stuff already and I'm glad.

Which is too bad about this movie. Because it has Russ Tamblyn, at his most athletic and youthful, dancing in it. And that is, context aside, a joy to behold.

'The Pirate': MGM's Month of Musicals

The Criterion Channel on November 1 unveiled a collection nearly two dozen classic MGM musicals for streaming this month. One blogger's mission: To watch each and every one.

After the sour taste left by the ugly love story of "The Harvey Girls," "The Pirate" is a refresher indeed. Yes, Gene Kelly is a cad chasing Judy Garland, but the framing here is a Shakespearean-style farce, full of hidden identities, disguises, star-crossed romance and Cole Porter rhyme schemes. 

My family loves watching these old movies. But not in an uncomplicated way. We find that -- even after an MGM musical -- we have to pause and talk with our son about the racial attitudes depicted in those old movies. 

Which brings us to the Nicholas Brothers.

Gosh, I hope you know of the Nicholas Brothers. They only starred in one of the greatest dance routines ever put on film. Check this out:

I mean ... holy cow.

Anyway, they make a brief appearance in "The Pirate," along with Gene Kelly, for the movie's real show-stopping number, "Be A Clown," and ... I mean ... holy cow. (They show up about a minute into this clip.)

Amazing, right? And here's why we need to stop the movie and talk with our son:

The film's musical production final sequence, "Be a Clown", composed by Cole Porter, featured the acrobatic and dancing talents of the Nicholas Brothers, with Gene Kelly, who choreographed the dance number. Judy Garland joins Kelly's act and the film ends with the two of them singing a reprise of "Be a Clown." The dance sequence was the first time The Nicholas Brothers had danced onscreen with a Caucasian, while it was Kelly's insistence that they perform with him. The Nicholas Brothers were the ones punished. When released to the feature movie theater circuit distribution, this Nicholas Brothers sequence was deleted by MGM when screened in the Southern States, such as Memphis, because it featured black performers, the result of racial bigotry in the South. Only in the Northern States' movie theaters, were audiences allowed to view the entire end production presentation. Essentially blackballed, Fayard and Harold moved to Europe and did not return until the mid-sixties making a comeback appearance on The Hollywood Palace (1964) hosted by Roy Rogers and Trigger.

And that is why it is difficult to enjoy even the most innocuous of things.

Notable songs: "Be A Clown."

Does this movie contain one of those weird Gene Kelly dream sequences that his musicals always seemed to have during this era? Yes. 

Any other racist stuff going on? Gene Kelly in brownface.

See it? Yes. The stuff between the musical numbers is actually reasonably entertaining.

'The Harvey Girls': MGM's Month of Musicals

The Criterion Channel on November 1 unveiled a collection nearly two dozen classic MGM musicals for streaming this month. One blogger's mission: To watch each and every one.

The Harvey Girls is a reminder that you don't always -- or ever -- watch musicals for the story. Because this movie has one of the shittiest love stories ever. Judy Garland plays a young woman who heads west, under what turn out to be false pretenses, to get married, only to have her plans fall apart when she arrives in Sandrock, Arizona. She goes to work for the local Harvey House. John Hodiak plays the pencil-mustached pimp with a heart of gold -- he runs the brothel across the street from the Harvey House, but the love of a good woman helps him see the error of his ways.

Yeah, they get together at the end. No, Hodiak's redemption story doesn't earn him Garland's love. But having created these characters, in this era -- 1946 -- of movie musical, it has no choice but to end up with them together anyway.

Ugh.

But like I say, we don't watch musicals for the stories. We watch them for the music! And the dancing. So let's talk about Ray Mothereffing Bolger.

Like me, your main exposure to Bolger may be from him playing the Scarecrow in The Wizard of Oz. In HG, Bolger's character has a lesser role -- but it's made of pure entertainment. It's no surprise to see the same guy who played the Scarecrow offer up the same style of loose-limbed dancing.

It's just a goddamned delight.

That's great. But he's also capable of great grace. (Start about four minutes in.)

The man is a wonder to behold.

Notable songs: "The Atchison, Topeka and the Santa Fe."

Best dance: See Bolger, above. 

Best early youthful performance by Hall of Fame-level star: Cyd Charisse.

See it? Nah. Check out the YouTube clips of the highlights. You'll be happier.

'For Me and My Gal': MGM's Month of Musicals

The Criterion Channel on November 1 unveiled a collection nearly two dozen classic MGM musicals for streaming this month. One blogger's mission: To watch each and every one.

For Me and My Gal is one of those early musicals that collects a bunch of songs not for any particular storytelling reason, but because they were the songs the producer decided to use. In this case, at least, a rationale is offered: We're witnessing a story of love and loss -- lots of loss; everything that can hurt somebody's feelings in this movie ends up happening -- on the World War I vaudeville circuit. George Murphy loves Judy Garland loves Gene Kelly who loves fame so much that he'll betray Garland -- and his country -- to achieve it.

This is Kelly's first film role, and he bursts onto the screen fully formed -- the smile, the charisma, the muscular style of dancing. He's a bit of a cad in this role, but you can't keep Gene Kelly down: His character finds his way to redemption.

Judy Garland is all glistening-eyed melodrama in this one -- her heart gets broken in a half a dozen different ways. And she oozes talent in this role, belting out her songs and dancing up a storm.

George Murphy is the actor whose star has dimmed a bit over time. He went on to be the US Senator from California -- he was elected even before Ronald Reagan -- and you can see why from this film: He doesn't have the talent of Kelly or Garland, but he does have an All-American gee-whiz earnestness that lets him function as the moral center of the picture.

The film was directed by Busby Berkeley, one of the most famous directors of early American musicals, so if you're looking for a first-rate example of the form, this is it.

Notable songs: 'For Me and My Gal,' 'Oh You, Beautiful Doll.'

Best dance: 'Ballin' the Jack.'

Best line of old-timey dialogue: Garland to Kelly: "You'll never be big time because you're small time in your heart."

See it? Yes.

The next election is sacred, too.

The next election is sacred, too.

In recent weeks, Republicans have defended President Trump against the prospect of impeachment by suggesting that Congress would be undoing the results of the 2016 presidential election by removing its winner from office. If Democrats in Congress were acting in the complete absence of wrongdoing by the president, the GOP argument would be powerful. But there is plenty of evidence of wrongdoing, and the Republican argument is misguided.

It isn’t difficult to understand why. But let’s break down what the president is accused of doing, and why it is impeachable.

The allegation is this:

That President Trump abused his power…

...to pressure Ukraine officials to investigate Joe Biden and his family…

...in order to undermine Biden’s chances of winning the White House in 2020.

Again: President Trump used his official power — the power voters gave him — to put his thumb on the scale for the 2020 election.

The 2016 election was important. It was fought under rules I don’t like or believe to be sufficiently democratic — that’s been the case since before I was born — and, yes, I found the results appalling. But mostly because I fully expected President Trump to abuse his power early and often. Which the evidence suggests is exactly what he has done.

But the 2020 election is important too. And if the will of the people matters as much as Republican say it did in 2016, then the role of the federal government and its officials — including Donald Trump — is not to put their thumb on the scale, but to protect the integrity of that election.

Trump, by trying to get Ukraine to act against Biden, threatened the integrity of that election. He threatened the will of the voters of 2020.

Impeachment, then, is a necessary corrective. Otherwise, I don't know how the American people can trust the election process in the future.

If the next election matters in any democratic sense, then the GOP argument against impeachment makes little sense. If we want the voters to have the final say on who occupies the Oval Office, that must be true in the future as well as the past.

The sailing lifestyle in Kansas (plus, my favorite YouTube sailing channels)

Over the last six months, I've become somewhat addicted to YouTube sailing videos. There are lots of channels created by people who gave up the rat race, bought a boat, and started the "cruising life" full time. I'm not going to abandon my own life for the Bahamas anytime soon, but I've noticed some things about the videos I admire most -- how the people live their lives -- that I can probably duplicate in Kansas.

• They do a lot of yoga. There's not a lot of room on a small boat for a workout program. Lots of the video people do yoga pretty regularly. As I get older, I increasingly realize a stretching routine saves me pain, increases flexibility, and generally gets me through the day with a better attitude. No reason I can't do this on dry land.

• They read a lot. If you're on a long passage, there isn't a lot to do -- most people don't have wifi in the middle of the ocean, only connecting when they get near land in a marina or while at anchor. So. Lots of shots of people reading instead of staring at screens. I've become a little too screen-dependent lately. I need some book time to feel human.

• They spend a lot of time outside. Duh.

• They tend to be active explorers of whatever environment they're in, on land or under water. As a freelancer, it's easy for me to get stuck at home, both working and living. It's time to get out more.

Five of my favorite sailing channels:

Sailing Soulianis: A young Midwestern couple buys a boat, pilots it from the Great Lakes down the river to the Gulf, and begins -- after much work -- cruising.

Sailing Uma: Another young couple, two architects -- one from Canada, the other from Haiti. They spent a couple of years cruising the Bahamas and environs. Now they're about to make the North Atlantic passage to Europe.

Sailing La Vagabonde: Possibly the most famous channel -- they have 1 million subscribers. I didn't get into this for awhile, because it looked like another of the million or so sailing channels that exist to show off young women in bikinis, which I don't find interesting. But then the Australian couple at the center of this channel had a baby and kept cruising. And that made them much more interesting.

The Adventures of Tarka: This one is about to end, because the young man at the center of things has a family to return to. Still. Interesting because he started out as a solo sailor in a relatively small boat. It's charming and I'll miss it.

Sailing Zatara: I have a love-hate relationship with this channel, but it was the first one I started watching with my son. A family of six abandoned their life to cruise around the world, first in a monohull and then a catamaran. There are occasional whiffs of ugly Americanism that sometimes spill over into full-blown MAGAism, so the bloom is off the rose for me, but it's the series that pulled me in.

This is why journalism is necessary, vital and completely doomed as a business model

This is familiar:

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Journalism is the only business in the world that makes its product free just as demand goes through the roof.

There's a reason for that: The public service aspect of journalism outweighs the moneymaking aspect in times of crisis. But it's a reason why purely market-based approaches to saving newspapers probably won't work.