TIKI CULTURE

Picnic, 1955: Mod Movie Monday for Memorial Day

Memorial Day is about remembering the brave men and women who fought and died for our freedom and for the our wonderful country. It’s also about the start of summer, and barbecues, and picnics. So for this Monday I though, what better movie to feature than

Picnic, 1955

starring Kim Novak, William Holden, Cliff Robertson, Rosalind Russel, Betty Field and Susan Strasberg. (Ok, this flick takes place on Labor Day weekend, but we’ll pretend it’s Memorial Day) Drifter Hal Carter (Holden) blows into town to visit his old frat buddy Alan (Robertson). Alan’s old man is the town’s rich guy, by the way. So Carter, one of those guys who is really full of himself but doesn’t have dime or a donut to show for it, charms his way into talking the old man into a job…but of course, he doesn’t want to start at the bottom, he wants to run the place from the start. Meanwhile, Carter meets Alan’s squeeze, the incomparable Madge (Kim Novak). Madge’s old lady has been poor all her life and insists Madge marry into money…but of course, Carter sweet talks her until…well, you get the basic picture. There are some great scenes in this flick, ranging from full drama to silly comedy. But the scene that it’s best known for is the dance between Kim Novak and William Holden, late night at the Picnic. The tension between the two characters has been building throughout the film, and finally comes to a head during one of the most impressive “fall in love during a two minute dance” scenes in film history. From way it’s filmed with the colored party lights in the background, to the “take me now” look on Novak’s face, the one of the greatest songs ever played in a movie, the scene is just perfect. Two songs, by the way…the dixieland party band playing throughout the picnic suddenly switches to a west-coast jazz version of the old standard “Moonglow”, then magically adds a string section when it sweeps in with “Picnic” to lay down the music bed for “The Theme From Picnic”, played in real life by Morris Stoloff, and written by George Duning and Steve Allan (Allan is credited for combining the two melodies into a perfectly-synced medley).

As far as this jazz kat is concerned, there are three defining versions of Moonglow: Goodman’s quartet version, Shaw’s orchestra version, and Stoloff’s jazz version. This was a pretty steamy scene for 1955, by the way…back in the days when open-mouthed kissing wasn’t allowed in movies, people could get excited over just the idea that two characters might be even thinking of sex…and that’s what this scene produces. The way Novak barely moves, the way Holden melts at the sight of her. And something uncommon in non-musical movies of the era…they are actually dancing to the song being played, choreographed (lightly) to fit with the tune. Dig it, I think you’ll agree…

Happy Memorial Day, kids. And thanks again to all the troops…remember the fallen, appreciate the active, respect the retired. -Tiki Chris reporting from the poolside BBQ at Tiki Lounge Talk, the B-Lounge for hep cats and swingers.

Jive Turkey, 1974 - Your Mod Movie Monday at the Tiki Bar

Jive Turkey Poster

Not all old movies are great. Many aren’t even good. Some are so incredibly bad, they’re actually fun to watch and make fun of. Such is the case of everyone’s favorite, Plan 9 From Outer Space. Well kids, without trying, the producers of this next turkey surpassed the benchmark for bad quality films when they released

Jive Turkey, 1974

starring Paul Harris and Frank DeKova.

Jive Turkey Was Such A Turkey They Had To Put Turkey In The Name

Ah, where do I begin? This film was such a turkey that it started out with a different name - Baby Needs a New Pair of Shoes - and got changed to Jive Turkey, presumably because that’s what the public thought of the producer. The budget for this film must have been somewhere in the fifteen to twenty dollar range, including thirty-five cents for special effects.

The Main Man...at least he could act.

Why, do you ask, am I being so cruel?

You’ve got a movie here that, to begin with, was an attempt at Blaxsploitation. It’s all down hill from there. I can’t…I can’t even say it…I’ll have to put it in bullet points..

• The opening screen says “This is a True Story”. The second screen says “Only the Names, Places, and Events have been changed to Protect the Innocent.” So, in other words, everything.

• The story takes place in 1956. We know this because several characters throughout the movie say it’s 1956, while wearing digital watches and polyester suits. There are also a few close-ups of 1956 license plates on the 1958 Cadillac that the gangsters drive.

Serene. Yes, the chick is really a kat.

• Speaking of cars…there are a few 1950’s cars in the movie for the close-ups. However…any scene shot on the streets…plenty of 1970s cars everywhere. It’s as if they didn’t even bother to film early in the morning before the traffic hit. In one scene, an early 70’s pickup with a camper-cap blows out the whole scene. It reminded me of doing our 1930’s murder mystery dinner show back in Atlantic City, trying to convince the audience it was 80 years ago while the big-screen TV in the bar played ET.

The story takes place in 1956. You can tell from this scene with a brand new 1973 Caddy in it.

• There is, for no apparent reason, a drag queen in the movie. No idea why. Not that having a drag queen around is a bad thing…after all, we had one at our wedding. Just not sure what was going on here. Maybe she put up some of the money to make the flick in exchange for a part.

• There’s a great shot of the Mafia jumping out of a Cadillac with machine guns. The Caddy is a brand new 1973 Fleetwood limousine. (see photo)

• Since it was 1974, I mean 1956, I mean…anyway, there are some completely unnecessary nude scenes. So at least it’s got that going for it.

I must say, to me it looked like the lead actors were working their asses off to try to make something decent out of this muddled wreck of bad, racist writing and cheap sets. Paul Harris stayed level and believable throughout the movie. The other guy, Frank DeKova, whose claim to fame was playing Chief Wild Eagle on F Troop, also looks like he’s in pain as he forces his way through the script. It doesn’t matter. When it’s 1956 and the 1956 Chevy wagon looks like a 20-year-old beater, when the guys walking down the street have afros and are wearing polyester jogging suits, when the politicians keep repeating in scene after scene “After all, it’s 1956″ while drinking out of plastic Dixie cups, and while the black actors’ dialog sounds a lot like a white guy from Boca Raton wrote the script without ever meeting an African American, well, you get the picture…

So I highly recommend this flick, if you can get it like I did…in a $9.00 box set with 49 other movies from the plastic era of the silver screen! Just don’t expect a lot.

Food & Booze: huh, what can I say? TURKEY! of course. Lots of it. Maybe a side of Spam and cheese. And corn. Booze? Buy a bottle of the cheapest whiskey you can find and paste a label over it that says “This whiskey is worth a lot of money”. Or just have some Wild Turkey.

What? What’s it about? I dunno. Something about numbers runners and the Mafia. If you want a good story, watch The Cotton Club.

Here’s the trailer…

-Tiki Chris P Reporting From The Time Warp Where 1970’s Cars Drove Down The Street In 1956

The Raven, 1963 with Vincent Price for Mod Movie Monday!

When you think Vincent Price, you usually think of dark, black and white horror films or technicolor flicks that were made especially to show the deepness of the reds of freshly-spilled blood. Not this time, kids. Teaming up with Price, Peter Lorre, Boris Karloff, Hazel Court, and a very young Jack Nicholson, Roger Corman leads the way for this very loosely-based version of Edgar Allen Poe’s The Raven to a kookie, campy, very-often silly spoof of the horror genre, 1963-style.

The Raven, 1963

As I said, this flick is very loosely based on Poe’s masterpiece. There is a raven. There’s a Lenore, who’s been lost, sort of. There’s a bust of Pallas, and knocking at the chamber door. It pretty much skews away from that point on. Vincent Price is a magician (sorcerer, I suppose) who only practices his magic for his own amusement. Peter Lorre runs into some…eh…trouble, with another sorcerer, and comes to Price for help. Silliness ensues.

Shot in beautiful technicolor in front of elaborate, Middle-Age (I guess) style sets, the movie is fun to watch and fun to make fun of. The acting isn’t so great, and it seems as if the actors were having way too much fun spoofing themselves to take anything seriously. Price, in more than on scene looks like he’s going to burst into evil laughter at the ridiculousness of the whole thing. Highly recommended.

Food & Booze: Movies like this always make me think of mutton. Since I’m not even sure what the hell mutton is (lamb? goat? Should I bother to google it? nah), maybe some of those giant turkey legs you find at the Renaissance fair will work, or a roast chicken on a spit. Big, chunky vegetables for sides, you know, like hunks of potato, carrots and celery. Lots of thick gravy. Maybe a mince pie. Be creative. Serve with a flagon of mead. Or a cheap bottle of wine.

Believe it or not, there actually is a Raven cocktail. No, you’re right, I wasn’t surprised either. Here it is, from drinksmixer.com:
1 oz vodka
1 oz white rum
1 oz Blue Curacao
3 oz 7-Up
2 oz peach schnapps
1 dash Vimto® blackcurrant squash concentrate or any dark fruit concentrate
1 chopped lime (optional)

Mix ice, vodka, rum and the blue curacao together and shake, pour all of it into into a tall glass and add 7up and peach schnapps. Add a dash of vimto concentrate to the top which will settle to the bottom of the glass giving a Ravens wing effect, add the lime to the top and DO NOT STIR. Looks great with a black straw.

My Take: Somehow, this movie escaped my line of sight until last week. My mother was a huge horror movie fan, with Vincent Price being one of her idols. She made it a point to expose me to just about every Price movie ever made, but for some reason I don’t think I ever saw this one. Although it is possible I saw it when I was, say, three, about the same time she tried to get me to watch Dark Shadows. Yeah, that screwed me up for a lot of years. But I’m fine now, teh-he teh-he teh-he.

Here’s the trailer…you’ll see here where Lucas got the idea for The Emperor in Star Wars…

-Tiki Chris Pinto reporting from the dungeon below the Tiki Bar at Tiki Lounge Talk!

PS: There’s a new movie due out this year entitled “The Raven”. It’s a fictionalized account of the last days of Edgar Allen Poe’s life starring John Cusack. It seems to be a murder mystery…nothing at all like the poem or the original movie. FYI, I hate it when Hollywood reuses movie titles. All it does is diminish the significance of the original film and confuse people, especially when it has nothing to do with the original. So, Hollywood, knock it the hell off. -CP

In Honor of Tura Satana…The Astro Zombies for Mod Movie Monday

With the passing of another of Hollywood’s icons, Tura Satana, I thought it fitting to feature her this week. I already featured Faster Pussycat, KILL! KILL! in an early MMM (here), so from 1968, here’s the cult sci-fi classic

The Astro Zombies

starring Tura Satana, Wendell Corey, and John Carradine.

This is certainly one of those flicks that’s so incredibly bad, it’s incredibly good. Real, old-fashioned monster & mayhem stuff from the swingin’ 60s, complete with Tura who absolutely had one of the best racks in the biz, with an exotic, tough-lookin’ face to match. (My old man would have described her as “one tough broad”).

I’ve seen the movie, but really still am not sure what the hell it’s about. Something about killing people and using their parts to build a super-human or something or other. Who cares, with a chick like Satana in it, and Carradine acting like a nut, you don’t need much of a plot.

There are also some kool cars in the flick, plus very fun little windup robots. And the CIA. And NASA. Just see it.

Food & booze: I can’t even imagine what would go with this movie. Just order a pizza and beer.

Something very kool: Through the magic of Teh Interwebs I’ve met a lot of interesting kats and kittens. One such kat hails by the name of Will The Thrill, and he was the host of Thrillville, a west-coast vintage movie-show phenomenon that I wish I’d had the chance to catch in person. This kat had the honor of knowing Ms. Satana in person, and has a very nice tribute to her with a story and photos here at Thrillville.net.

Sayonara, Tura, and thanks for the memories. - Tiki Chris

Mod (Retro) Movie Monday: Speed Racer, 2008. Wait, what?

2008? Ain’t that too new to be played at the Tiki Bar?

Well kids, this flick is actually bursting with nostalgia, retro-ness, and mod-a-ramic moods. It’s not just a kid’s flick based on the cartoon we all loved once upon a time - it’s a sort of a time capsule, throwing period stuff at us that will have you saying, “I remember that! We had one of those!” Here’s

Speed Racer, 2008

Let’s start, of course, with the car. A full-scale, drivable model of the original Mach 5 from the cartoon is featured in scene after scene. It’s unbelievable. It even has the push-buttons in the steering wheel, and the shark fins on the back fenders. Then there’s Speed’s family’s house. A cartoon-stylized mid-century modern-palooza, the interior of the house crams in everything from big flower patterns to bamboo to star clocks and bright, mod colors. And the outside - well, it looks like it would be on a 1950’s Plasticville train platform, for real. It’s a dream house for kats like us.

Tell me you wouldn't live here if you could?

Then there are the race tracks that Speed Racer flies around on. It didn’t take me long to realize these CGI tracks and cars are, in fact, based on the slotless slot-car tracks from the late 70s-80s (also incorporated into the video game).  You remember, the ones where you could cross lanes and knock other cars off the track…yeah, the do that in the movie.

The clothes are kind of kookie too, reminding me of the Roaring 20’s revival of the late 60s-early 70s (I still have a few suits from that era that belonged to my Uncle in Philly). Sure, the movie is all CGI backgrounds and most was filmed on a green screen, but let me tell you the effect is A-OK.

I always wanted a Mach 5. Maybe I'll build one myself.

But what about the movie? Is it any good? Well, that’s going to have to be for you to decide. I dug it, a lot. To see that car and those characters come to life was enough for me. I don’t even know if the acting and writing was any good or not, honestly. The visuals had me from the minute it started. The visuals, and the theme song, of course. Some people dig it. Some think it’s stupid. Some think it’s ok. Whatever, it’s worth $3 to rent it just to see that car come to life.

Food & Booze: There is a big to-do about pancakes, and of course Spridel & Chim Chim eat as much candy as they can get their hands on. So pancakes and candy for dinner. No? Hmmm. Well, since the original cartoon was from Japan, how about some Japanese food? You’re right, I don’t eat sushi. Ok, then let’s go with something sort of in between. A California Salad with bright, red cherry tomatoes and yellow peppers, chicken satay over white rice, and blueberry pie for dessert. At least the colors will match the movie. For booze - How about a

Mach 5 Shooter

1/2 oz. 151 Proof Rum
1/2 oz. Crown Royal
1/2 oz. Goldschlager
1/2 oz. Jagermeister
1/2 oz. RumpleMinze

Layer and drink it down fast. This doesn’t sound like the tastiest drink, but I’ll bet it will knock you on your ass faster than five times the speed of sound!

One more thing: I think Racer X might secretly be Speed Racer’s older brother. But I’m not sure. Maybe you can solve the mystery.

-Tiki Chris P reporting from the garage next to the Tiki Bar at Tiki Lounge Talk, the swingin’ pad for mod-men and kookie kitties.

Hey! Since you’ve come this far, here’s a couple’a video for you…

The Movie Trailer…

And the original opening from the Cartoon…