Ring-A-Ding In the New Year

Known as, "Ring-A-Ding Rhythm" in the US or, "It's Trad, Dad," in the UK, this little picture was directed by Richard Lester in 1962 and was turned on to me by fellow TCM obsessive, Main Line Sportsman sometime last night.  I hate to say, "last night" 'cause it's embarrassing I never heard of it.  Who cares.

It's a funky little film that mixes a fictional "Boy-Girl story with amazing B&W cinema vérité and you can see Lester's, "A Hard Day's Night" coming at you for a country mile.  It's a rough patch at the beginning but it manages to loosen up and the musical numbers are the reason to hang in there.

Bert Stern mentioned in a Lincoln Center viewing of his 1958 documentary, 'Jazz on a Summer's Day,' that it was his original intent to have a "Boy-Girl backstory with actual footage of the festival threaded throughout the film.  He eventually gave up on the idea, in large part, because there was no script and he was winging it without any idea of what to do with the story.  Lester, a sneeze in time later, seemed to pull off what Stern couldn't do with, Ring-A-Ding/It's Trad Dad.



Bizarre minutiae attends this film in spades, which really makes for a deeper appreciation. John Lennon wrote "Misery" for the "Girl" and  co star, Helen Shapiro, a uniquely attractive brunette with an even more unique and beautiful voice.  The Boy, Craig Douglas, is still touring, although in a wheel chair, and his performance, as a "local" introduced by Miss Shapiro in this clip, "Rainbow in Your Tea" is a show stealer. Then there's a bizarre appearance Craig makes in a very rare clip (that's what they say) of Russ Conway's television show, Russ Conway & a Few Friends:



Sweet, Jesus.  If I were a designer, I'd rip off this entire clip, shoot it in B&W at the Oak Room in the Algonquin and use it to feature my new line.  It certainly beats Lincoln Center.  Happy New Year.

At Auction: The Perfect Midlife Crisis Porsche

"Who's the U-Boat Commander?"


"It's what you want. It's what every white boy off the lake wants."


"I'd appreciate it, if you'd stop laying these little judgments on me, while you're leaning on your daddy's $40,000 car."


The lot description for the 928 (known for wild interiors) follows with a link to the auction site. I purchased my midlife crisis Audi TT at the Porsche-Audi Exchange in Highland Park, IL. Same dealership two of the film's four 928s were purchased. So I have that going for me.

The Auction House, Profiles in History, has some interesting curio perfect for a guy having a midlife crisis.

Steve McQueen's Heuer Monaco (est. $200,000 - $300,000)


A crew gift Zippo from John Wayne on The Green Berets (est. $300-$500)


My favorite, Michael Corleone's (size 42 - I'm guessing Short) camel hair polo coat from The Godfather Part II (est. $3,000 - $4,000)


"TOM CRUISE “JOEL GOODSEN” SCREEN-USED 1979 PORSCHE 928 FROM RISKY BUSINESS - (Warner Bros., 1983) This 1979 Porsche 928 VIN: 9289201213 features a 5-speed manual transmission, 16-inch offset 5-hole aluminum alloy wheels, a three-spoke steering wheel and a cork on cork leather interior.

The car’s exterior was originally painted green when it arrived to the set and was then painted gold by the production and pressed into use. In making A-rated films of this caliber, the production company always has more than one car on hand to ensure no time is wasted should one of the vehicles break down, become damaged, etc.

There were three driving cars used in the making of the film (plus a gutted “dump car” that plunged into Lake Michigan):

1) a 1981 automatic transmission car fitted with 15-inch “flat-face” 5-hole wheels, cork and brown interior and 4-spoke steering wheel.

2) a 1978 5-speed, with cork, brown and crème interior, rented only for one interior shot when the car was knocked out of gear by Rebecca DeMornay’s character (VIN of this vehicle is unknown).

3) the 1979 5-speed car being offered which enjoyed considerably more screen time than the 1981 automatic.

This 5-speed was shot primarily in driving scenes with wide shots where the whole car was in view, as well as in some of the chase scene with Guido the pimp. The VIN of this 1979 5-speed being offered appears on the production records for the film and, according to a recent in depth documentary on the subject entitled “The Quest for RB928,” producer of Risky Business, Jon Avnet, goes on record to state that the young Tom Cruise learned how to drive a stick (manual transmission) with this very car.

In addition, there are production photos obtained from Avnet showing this car on set with camera rigging as well as images of it being painted and prepped for filming. Following production the car returned to California and was repainted white before being discovered by the producer of “The Quest for RB928” and since returned to its original screen appearance.

Risky Business went on to become one of the biggest cult classics of the 1980s and helped launch the career of superstar Tom Cruise. In addition, the film exposed the Porsche brand to a whole new generation of future buyers. The lesser-used 1981 with the automatic was shipped to Europe following production and its whereabouts are unknown. This 1979 5-speed remains as the only known surviving documentable car which also happens to have the most screen time in this modern classic film.

The car’s odometer reads 102,755 miles and it is in operating condition. This car was on exhibit at the Forney Museum of Transportation in Denver in 2009 and many Porsche enthusiasts have called this the most famous Porsche 928 in the world." Lot # 742, Profiles in History, Hollywood Auction #49




Wish this Harris Tweed jacket of Joel's were up for auction. Guess I'll just have to be patient.

"Join the fun as the gang tears loose..."

On TCM 4/16/2012

American Film Polski

1947, Eryk Lipinski, Casablanca, 33 x 23in


1948, Henryk Tomaszewski, Citizen Kane, 34x24in Est. $1,200


1957, Waldemar Swierzy, Sunset Boulevard, 33.5 x 22.5in, Est. $4,500


1959, Maria Heidrich, Spellbound, 23 x 31.5in


1959 Franciszek Starowieyski, Satchmo the Great, 33 x 23in


1959, Marian Stachurski, Snows of Kilimanjaro, 34 x 23in


1973, Wiktor Gorka, Cabaret, 33 x 23in


1973, Waldemar Swierzy, Midnight Cowboy, 32 x 23in Est. $1,800


1978, Andrzej Klimowski, Taxi Driver, 38 x 26.5in


1978, Mieczyslaw Wasilewski, Three Women, 32.5 x 22.5in, Est. $90


1980, Marek Ploza-Dolinski, The Dirty Dozen, 27 x 39in, Est. $70


1984, Waldemar Swierzy, The Dogs of War, 38 x 26.5, Est. $132


1988, Mieczyslaw Wasilewski, Untouchables, 26.5 x 38in, Est. $107


2001, Wieslaw Walkuski, Face Off, 38.5 x 27in


2009, Joanna Gorska, Jerzy Sakun, Annie Hall, 27 x 29in, Est. $32

I loved watching foreign movies as a kid. They were my ticket and passport out of whatever crappy Army town I was living in. They were also a chance to share a film with my deaf sister thanks to subtitles. I'm not gonna tell you I was watching Bergman's, The Seventh Seal at 12, but I was a dedicated follower of the CBS Children's Film Festival. Never liked Kukla, Fran and Ollie much, but they were a small price for a ticket to Tokyo, London, Munich or even the Bronx.

Polish American Film Posters are a different point of view on established American ideas. Created a few years after the original release, the artists rarely saw the films but were given a written description. All but two of these (Dirty Dozen, Annie Hall) posters were taken from the 2002 exhibit, American Films in Polish Posters at the Polish Museum of America in Chicago.

If these float your boat, there are a number of dealers on the internet, and prices for all but the earliest works are affordable, if not down right cheap. There's a gap between 1949 and 1957 when American movies were banned by the communists. That really worked.

Compared to the huge American One-Sheets, these posters all run around 33" x 23", give or take. They also don't shout at you like American posters and tweed bicycle rides. There's an understatement that's intelligent, creative and fun. Just like my Polish grandmother.

Posh Nosh

There's something about feeding chocolate to dogs...Forgot it though. Oh well.

Whilst searching for 18th Century erotic snuff boxes I came across this wonderful cooking show, Posh Nosh. Certainly, these people are my sort of people. There are are nine episodes and I couldn't be more delighted. I've been looking for hand-picked sun-blasted crushed chargrilled & minced black olive paste everywhere. That and dried John Dory thins in basil chive ailoi. By the way, did you notice Simon is wearing Edward Greens? Stunning.

Why can't we have telly like this in the states? I'll tell you why, dear reader. Bad taste. And there's nothing worse than people who taste bad. Like turned milk with the dregs of Yellow Tail chardonay whipped into Shed Spread and served on stale Cheez It crackers. One shudders at the thought. But where was I? Chocolate? Dogs? Snuff boxes? I remember. Keep an eye out for shoppes and sources. I found a lovely roasting tin from the TinTin of Brighton shoppe in Episode 7. Always my lucky digit.

The Boys

There's a sneak preview of Making the Boys this Thursday at the Florsheim Pop Up Shop (109 Mercer) from 6 to 8PM. A documentary about the The Boys in the Band, it's not only a look at the play and film but it's impact (or lack thereof) today. When asked if he knew of, Boys in the the Band, Project Runway's Christian Siriano guessed it involved the Jonas Brothers.



This gay cowboy dressed in all white swishes into a saloon and says to the bartender, "Darling, I'd like a tall glass of cold milk." Bartender says sure. Cowboy looks around and asks, "Say, where is everybody?" Bartender says, "They're out back hanging fags." Cowboy says, "No fucking shit. Gimme a whiskey."

My first fag joke from 9th grade. In the early '90s, my ex-wife worked in a business known for employing gay men. Some were out but many were still in the closet. On our way home from a party I mentioned it was sad they couldn't all be out of the closet. My ex turned to me in surprise, "Really?" she said. Her astonishment short lived when I added, "That way I wouldn't embarrass myself by telling a fag joke."

After the divorce, a good friend who was gay told me he wished his sexuality was a choice. I must have looked confused. "Do you think I'd choose to have my parents disown me? Fear every day I'll lose my job? Fear everyday I could be killed by a mob or from having sex? Do you think I'd choose this life?" And for the first time it all made sense when I said, "As much as I love pussy - you love dick and there's nothing we can do about it." "Exactly!" he said. And then I wondered what my life would be like if I was hated for loving women.

Xmas Pudding

I've said it before and I'll say it again -- Nobody but nobody can do Christmas like the British. I'm not sure if it's something in the water over there or if it just comes natural. Subtle charm is everywhere -- even in Mr Bean.

There are no words for my first plum pudding. Too moist. Too sweet. Too bitter. But eating history is like drinking history.



There are no words, or very few, in the Snowman and Mr. Bean's Christmas. Two favorites. I hope you enjoy them as much as I do. I gotta go find a hard sauce.

Sweet Smell Of Success

Sidney Falco - More twists than a pretzel

Toots Shor Bar

Anyone know this issue?

Loads of NYC locations

JJ Hunsecker - I hope he doesn't look like your brother in law

21, Toots Shor, The Elysian Room...They're all here. Not to mention a New York City of 1957 that's long gone. Everytime I watch this I can't help but be stunned by the images, the words, the actors, the photography...It never lets up and I always want to take a shower afterwards.

I first saw Sweet Smell of Success on video in '89. The next day I had an interview with the head of PR at 20th Century Fox in Chicago. She never heard of it. So I say, "Tony Curtis is this press agent who'll do anything for this Walter Winchell like columnist played by Burt Lancaster. It's based on a short story by Ernest Lehman but the script is by Clifford Odets. You gotta see it." I remember she asked me who Burt Lancaster was.

At 30, I had sympathy for Sidney Falco, the press agent. I also saw nothing wrong in him peeking at JJ's column the day before it was printed and using it in a slightly devious but creative way to sign a new client.

At 40, I saw the connection between sleazy JJ Hunesucker played by Burt Lancaster and the radio show hosts of the 'patriotic' right. Fat white men who managed to avoid any military service but were thumping for war and if you disagreed you were a commie.

Today, I hear the music in the words. "Your dead, son. Get yourself buried." "Hey Lump. I told you I wasn't selling no fish." "Sidney, conjugate me a verb. For instance, to promise." Dated a little but JJ echos Richard III, "I am not in the giving vein today."

It's a movie for the winter. Get far enough away from Christmas before you cue it up and get your shower ready. You'll need to wash these characters off but you're never going to forget them.

The Trad Movie Theatre

The Paris Theatre
Over the weekend I caught the Rolling Stones Docu at the Imax in New York. $16.00 a pop. When my Dad returned from a tour in South Korea, I pestered him to take me to see the Beatle's docu, "Let it Be." Walking out of the theatre he said, "Those guys could shit in a paper bag and people would buy it." I felt the same way about the Stones. I guess I am turning into my father.

The next day I went to the Paris for some contrast. It's a lovely little place tucked between the Plaza Hotel and Berdorf Goodman. Been there for 65 years and has yet to be chopped up into some cash inhaling multi-plex with postage stamp screens, video games and the ever present 16 year old hoovering the carpet. The "Lounge" is downstairs and damned if it ain't a lounge. Plush seating and art decco details everywhere. It really is something from a time long gone. There's even an open balcony. It's civilized and that's Trad.

The Trad DVD

If you like Public Broadcsting (and what Trad doesn't), the BBC, amazing clothes and beautiful location shots, then buy or rent this DVD set of, "Edward and Mrs Simpson" (1978) with Edward Fox and Cynthia Harris. You'll never see wardrobe like this and Fox wears his so well. Smoking jackets galore, brown chalk stripe suits with suede shoes and shirt collars so high it boggles the mind. Double breasted suits fill this TV series to the gunwales.

Mind you...there's a lot of smoking in this. Cigars, cigarettes and pipes are all smoked with an elegance of the time. Americans who whine anout the "image" of smoking should avoid this DVD at all costs. It was shot on video and 35mm (I'm guessing) which gives it a unique look. Video for the interiors and film for the exteriors. And the exteriors are amazing. As are the Art Deco sets. A real mind blower all around. The story? Eh, it's there and you already know the ending anyway. So, check it out. What have you got to lose? Other than six hours...