R.I.P. Maurice Jarre

There are probably three movie themes that say the 1960s for me -- Goldfinger is one. The other two belong to three-time Academy Award winner Maurice Jarre, who died last week at age 84. Those are Lawrence of Arabia (above) and Doctor Zhivago (below).

Rhapsody of Steel

Once on an old TV sitcom, I saw a bellboy ask for a tip. The cigar-chomping fatcat he was helping told him, "Buy U.S. Steel."

Well, U.S. Steel may have faded from its mid-century prominence, but some of their work endures, and not just in buildings and '57 Chevys. Rhapsody of Steel, was an industrial film like no other.

Not only did the U.S. Steelers hire former Disney staffer John Sutherland to produce the film and Oscar-winning composer Dmitri Tiomkin to score it, they hired legendary stylists Eyvind Earle (Sleeping Beauty, Pigs is Pigs) and Maurice Noble (Duck Dodgers, How The Grinch Stole Christmas) to create the bold, colorful illustrations. To see some of the images from the film, visit the Hollywood Animation Archive.

Moneypenny!

Lois Maxwell has left the building. My heart breaks!

The plucky Canadian said fewer than 200 words and was on screen for under an hour during her 23 years appearing in Bond films, but I couldn't imagine the series without her.

One of her best moments from Dr No in 1962:

Bond: Moneypenny. What gives?

Moneypenny: Me – given an ounce of encouragement. You never take me to dinner looking like this, James. You never take me to dinner, period.

Bond: I would, you know, only M would have me court-martialled for 'illegal use of government property'.

Moneypenny: Flattery will get you nowhere. But don't stop trying.

James Bond Knockoffs

Although James Bond had his own brand of inimitable cool, there were still those who tried. Count Basie ... NOOOOO!


And then there were those who didn't even have the pedigree. This guy makes George Lazenby look like ... well, look like James Bond.

The Man With The Midas Touch

If there is one song that really sounds like the sixties to me, it's Goldfinger. The lush opening orchestration really captures sexiness of the decade. And that's even before Shirley Bassey roars into action.


And as fantastic as this album is, the album below is the exact opposite. I picked this up the other day because how often can you find the Pussy Galore solo album? How bad is it? Unlistenable. But it's hanging on my wall, because Honor Blackman, I'll fly with you anytime. Just don't sing.

James Bond in ... Thunderball!

I started to do a mondo James Bond post, but I decided to break these up over a few days to make it easier to read. I buy alot of records at estate sales, but I don't really start out to collect something. It just happens. Like the day I found the Thunderball soundtrack album.


Is Connery kickin' it here or what? Underwater scuba ninja fu -- awesome. Of course, then a few weeks later I lucked out and found the Esquire magazine below. But that cover is only the beginning.


These days, can you imagine a celeb being pictured on the cover and not even being discussed inside the magazine. Well, that's what happens here. And, once you get a look, you may not even care. Check these out, then stay tuned tomorrow for ... Gold-fing-ah!

The Next Voice You Hear

Generation Exploitation had a great post on the 1950 movie The Next Voice You Hear. The premise James Whitmore) is listening to the radio one evening when his regularly scheduled program is suddenly interrupted by the voice of the Christian God. As Generation Exploitation puts it: "One can't help wondering, given the year and the context in which the film was made, if this was MGM's attempt to get the House of Unamerican activities off their back. As in, 'See, we believe in God and America - we ain't no commies!' "

Of course, the irony of all this is Whitmore is actually an atheist. In a recent interview on XM Radio's Bob Edwards Show, Whitmore told Bob about how he grew up a very pious young man, an altar boy. However, after serving as a Marine officer through some of the worst fighting in the Pacific, Whitmore came home a changed man. He said that after seeing the things he saw in the war, there was no way he could believe in God anymore. Kind of sad, but it makes an interesting story.

Oh, and another piece of Whitmore trivia -- he played football at Yale, where his coach was his future President Gerald Ford. I remember Whitmore saying that they were related somehow, but I can't find any attribution for this.