Movies Til Dawn

In the late 1940's, Billy Wilder was involved with two projects having to do with Sunset Blvd. Yes, yes, one was the movie--which takes place in a 1920's Spanish Mansion at 10036 Sunset Blvd. (this is the address William Holden gives to Nancy Olsen at the end when he invites her over to witness his real--er--situation). (By the way, the house in the movie was located nowhere near that address--it was, in fact, situated on the unlikely corner of Wilshire Blvd. and Western Ave, and was owned by a former wife of J. Paul Getty--if that's your idea of a good time). The other Wilder/Sunset Blvd. project also involved a house--one that he commissioned Charles and Ray Eames to build for him on a three acre parcel of land located at Sunset and Foothill Drive in Beverly Hills. Exactly when the house was commissioned and for what reason it was never built remain something of a mystery. But read this excellent Architectural Digest piece to know more about the house itself. "A Hou...

Apparently the editorial department at Warner Brothers prepared a blooper reel every year, most likely for showing at the no doubt drunk and disorderly Christmas party. I rather enjoy the 1949 edition (posted below) for the simple fact that it provides an interesting window on slang and sexual innuendo at the time. A large number of the dropped lines are followed by the exclamation "nuts!" as opposed to the usual "Goddam!" Was this the year of "nuts"? Additionally there are a number of jokes (not really bloopers so much as put-on moments) involving actresses aggressively putting the moves on actors--a new sexually liberated/woman on toppish kind of wind in the air following the spirit of post-war hoopla perhaps? David Niven and the baby is pretty good as is crusty old Lionel Barrymore in a bloop from "Key Largo". And I rather enjoy Danny Kaye's intentional cut-ups--he seems, somewhat like Peter Sellers (see previous post) to need to provoke u...