Well, since the other day I posted the classic Berlin Wall hand ballet from Burr Tillstrom, the creator of Kukla, Fran and Ollie, I thought it only right to post some holiday videos and songs from KF&O themselves. Here then is Fran singing to Kukla and Ollie, "Christmas is a Time." It's not my favorite of holiday songs, though has a sweetness that's the hallmark of the show. What I like most about this clip is something that occurred often in the show -- Kukla just flopping on Ollie's head and laying there in adoring friendship. And as a holiday bonus, here's a medley of Christmas songs that the Kuklapolitans sing. (With a little help from Burr Tillstrom, of course...) Most of this is not TV footage, but comes from an album they put out, but it's wonderfully edited with appropriate photos. And then it does end with color footage of them that comes from a Carpenters Holiday Special. This last footage is the special treat, since the song they sing is what I was specifically looking for. It's their version of "Deck the Halls." (Deck the halls with boughs of holly. Hang the mistletoe for Ollie..) And of course you get to see them in color. (They did do the last few years of the show in color, by the way. I just haven't shown any of that footage.) But why it's a particular joy for me is that the sequence includes a rare appearance by my favorite Kuklapolitan (who I talked about in the original article), Cecil Bill -- pronounced Sess-uhl. He's the one third from the left. Cecil Bill is a bit lunatic and speaks in a language unknown to man, but which the others all understand perfectly, merely different incarnations of "toi ta toi toi toi." And yes, as a results, it's perfect that he's the one who gets to sing the fa-la-las... And...y'know, we're going to throw in one more bonus video - because this is the 50th anniversary to the day when it aired on ABC's The Hollywood Palace on December 20, 1969!! It's Kukla and Ollie on the Christmas Show with Perry Como hosting. Alas, there's no Fran (she was still around, and would be for another 20 years, but for whatever reason she was unavailable) but instead guest Diahann Carroll (then starring in the TV series Julia) briefly fills in, of a sort. The sketch leads into one of the Kuklapolitan's traditional oddity songs, "Ril-tilly-bill-bob" and at the end you get to see Burr Tillstrom step out for a bow.
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Whenever the latest Republican Talking Point (tm) -- it was a perfect call, it wasn't quid pro quo, it wasn't improper, it wasn't illegal, the hearings are in secret, we can't call witnesses, we didn't get all the transcripts, we only got the transcripts yesterday, the process is bad, this is a sham -- gets refuted or isn't working, it changes to a new one. The latest seems to be, "When Bill Clinton was impeached it was because he committed a crime, but Trump hasn't." Well, if Republicans want to play these word games, I am happy to play along. Two things: First, committing a crime is not a prerequisite of getting impeached. Abuse of power isn't against the law. It is impeachable though. But even more to the point, there's a very good reason that committing a crime isn't in the Constitution as a requirement to be an impeachable offense -- when the Constitution was written, there was no U.S. Criminal Code yet. (Fun Fact: the official Revised Statutes of the United States wasn't approved until June 22, 1874. The U.S. Constitution was written in 1787.) This isn't to say that there weren't federal laws in the United States for 100 years -- of course there were. They just weren't officially codified yet. And most certainly weren't codified at the time the clause on impeachment was written. But the other point is equally important, if not even more valid. To say that Bill Clinton committed a crime, which is why he was impeached requires one very important thing -- the commission of a crime. And a person hasn't committed a crime until they've been charged and convicted of one. After all, and this is the cool part, as pretty much everyone has known since their schooldays -- say it all together -- "A man is innocent until proven guilty." Bill Clinton may well have been impeached for the charge of lying under oath, but as much as everyone may believe he did so, and insist he did so, and even did so -- he was never convicted of perjury, let alone tried or even charged. So, by law -- despite Republican insistence to the contrary -- Bill Clinton never committed a crime. One can insist he lied under oath and show how he did so and say that that act is a crime. But without a conviction, Bill Clinton legally is innocent of committing a crime. The same as if one is arrested for some action, charged, tried and found not guilty Not even the same, more so, since none of that even occurred. It is fair to say that you believe Bill Clinton committed perjury. It is fair to say you believe Bill Clinton should have been impeached. It is fair to say that you believe Bill Clinton should have been convicted -- or acquitted. It is not fair to play word games and say Bill Clinton got impeached because he committed a crime and Trump didn't. Because committing a crime isn't a requirement of the impeachment clause, there was no U.S. Criminal Code at the time the Constitution was written, and because...well, he didn't. Trump likewise did not commit a crime. He only tried to extort and bribe a foreign leader, put U.S. national security at risk and abused power. And though I know all this is very serious, sometimes life needs a little song and dance to keep one's enthusiasm and attention up. So, here's Judy Holliday from the musical Bells are Ringing with a song from the Broadway show that was filmed for the movie, but cut -- "Is It a Crime?" (The footage happily was saved, but never fully edited which is why this is a single master shot, with the color shifting a bit.) Falling under the "Fest" part of the gala, this is a video I always enjoy for the season from the Conan show. It's about his effort to come up with a Secret Santa gift for one of his staff members. Not much to add to what's been reported relentlessly. Trump became the third president in U.S. history to be impeached.
For all the cries by Republicans about "process," he is impeached. For all the cries by Republicans of this being a "sham," he was impeached. For all the cries by Republicans that this has all been partisan, ignoring that that holds even more on their end, since at least a few Democrats voted against impeachment, he is impeached. For all the insistence by Republicans that no evidence was presented, despite all the evidence presented, he was impeached. For all the cries by Republicans about how fast this has been, while themselves preparing a much-faster trial, he is impeached. For all the cries by Republicans that only hearsay evidence was used, despite first-person evidence entered of Trump's words in public and his words on the summary memo of the call, and that the White House blocked first-hand evidence from being entered, and the reality that hearsay evidence is actually permissible in many cased even in court trials, he is impeached. For all the insistence by Republicans that Trump didn't have a chance to defend himself, despite the fact that he was and refused it, he is impeached. For all the avoidance by Republicans never attempting to defend Trump's actions and explain why what Trump did wasn't improper, he is impeached. For all the insistence by Republicans that Democrats have wanted to impeach Trump for three years for all his many impeachable acts, this was actually just the first time they tried, and he is impeached, For all the arm-waving, and body shaking and shouting by Republicans, he is impeached. For whatever Republicans do in the Senate, whether or not they call any witnesses or cover the whole thing up, he is impeached. And for all the people who long-insisted that Trump was cleverly maneuvering Democrats to impeach him because it's what he wanted, he is impeached and it's clearly driving him up the maniacal wall, leaving over 100 tweets a day now, writing angry TWEETS IN ALL CAPS, writing a rambling 6-page manifesto against impeachment, and sending a beautifully-packaged Christmas card envelope to members of Congress that also included his rambling 6-page manifesto against impeachment for the holidays. Trump always loves being the first at whatever he does. Well, he became the first president in U.S. history to be impeached during his first term in office. Before even completing his third year. But this is not about Trump, who was impeached. This is about the elected members of the Republican Party who enable him, protect him, fall on the sword for him, and are complicit in it all. This is the man who Republican officials have chosen to walk off the edge of the earth for and fall into the abyss over. The man they most-likely know is crazy, incompetent and criminal. And impeached. This past weekend I saw the movie 1917 directed by Sam Mendes that he co-wrote with Krysty Wilson-Cairns. It’s breathtaking. Just remarkably done. A friend who's an Academy voter described it as "Magnificent." We're both right. If you've seen the TV ads and find it interesting -- the story (based on a range of true events, many told to Mendes by his grandfather) is about two British soldiers sent off to warn a battalion of 1,600 not to attack the next day since they would be walking into a trap where they'll be massacred -- I can only say that it is far, far, far better than the ads. Mostly, that's for a technical reason. I sat their in awe, since it appears that the movie is made with only only three or four shots, each in one very long take. (The opening shot seeming to be 26 minutes long, with the second shot 40 minutes.) That turns out not to be the case, and actually is many more shots that are somehow, almost invisibly edited together seamlessly (which is a remarkable feat until itself), though most shots are still very long compared to a normal movie, ranging from a couple minutes up to nine minutes. It grabs your interest and flows beautifully, unrelentingly. What this does is put you emotionally inside the story. It's not told from a first-person viewpoint, but it forces you to see everything from those two soldier's perspective, not cutting to long shots or from the angle of others, or back to other action. It makes everything incredibly visceral, and -- with one obvious cut "to black" for a few hours to pass -- it's all done in real time. And keep in mind that the intricacy of the undertaking isn't for a "drawing room" story, but a massive WWI outdoor adventure. There is one sequence with a dogfight that's utterly stunning. (The trailer includes a part of it, but only part.) 'The cinematography by Oscar-winner Roger Deakins is brilliant, and the two young actors are superb. One of them in particular, George MacKay, deserves consideration for Best Actor, if only for the shear technical challenge of continual long, intricate takes, though he's excellent on all levels, though I'm sure he'll get overlooked largely for being little known, and there are so many others to choose from. Here's the trailer. You'll see the quality of the filmmaking, but other than that it doesn't even begin to do the movie justice. It's all a collection of short shots edited together. But as I said, the movie is not that. It's done in what looks like a fluid three or four shots without cutting. Better perhaps is this four-minute "behind-the-scenes" featurette on how they made the thing. Just from this small bit, you'll get at least a sense of the undertaking and how richer the film is than it appears in the ads or trailer. The next day, I saw A Hidden Life, written and directed by Terrence Mallick. It's really loooooong. Probably too long (just under three hours), but absolutely gorgeous, beautifully done, very moving and (being Mallick) elegiac. It probably plays best on a big screen since there’s scope to it, despite being such a personal story, though I think if given a choice and I had the DVD I’d watch it at home so that I could split it over two nights. Also based on true events, it tells the story of an Austrian farmer who is a conscientious objector, refusing to fight for the Nazis in World War II, and how that all impacts his life and family, in his neighborhood and prison. And also the importance that such hidden lives by unknown people help create in the fabric of life. How long ago Mallick began planning the film, I don't know, so it's hard to tell how much of it might have been inspired by the resistance to Trump, or if that's an overlay that audiences may bring to it. The film really is beautifully done, though, and I enjoyed it, just…loooooooooong. This is a Christmas recording that blends two worlds -- totally unknown, yet hugely-well-known and wonderful. How can that be, you ask??! I'll explain.
The song from the musical, Here's Love, by Meredith Willson, who of course wrote The Music Man. It's based on the classic film, Miracle on 34th Street. The show wasn't terribly successful, though didn't flop and had a respectable run of 334 performances -- just under a year -- in 1964. The score is inconsistent, but half of it is quite wonderful. (I've actually tried, half-heartedly, I must admit, to get a TV production of it made for several years. I think it would be a terrific Christmas special. Hey, who knows, maybe next year NBC will do it live... I was going to play a couple of other songs, but then I realized that this one would be a far better place to start. The song is called "Pine Cones and Holly Berries," sung by Laurence Naismith who plays Kris Kringle. It's very charming and is make a lovely Christmas holiday song, though is unknown. Now, as you may recall, Meredith Willson likes counterpoint. He used it a great deal, to much good effect in The Music Man, most notably with "Lida Rose" sung counter to "Will I Ever Tell You?", but also famously with "Pick-a-Little, Talk-a Little," sung in counterpoint with an already-existing song, "Goodnight, Ladies." Well, he used the technique again in Here's Love. He created "Pine Cones and Holly Berries" to be sung counter to an already existed, very famous Christmas song -- one which (I think most people will be shocked to learn) he himself wrote. When I say it's very famous and completely well-known -- trust me on this. And yes, it's written by, of all people, Meredith Willson. I won't tell you want it is, but let you have the fun of discovering it when it comes in halfway through. The counterpoint, famous song is performed by Janis Paige and -- are you ready? -- Fred Gwynne! Though he utterly hated being typecast in the role, since it almost ruined his career (I worked with him on the movie, Pet Sematary, and we briefly talked about), I feel compelled to identify him in this context for the sheer incongruity of it, as yes, 'Herman Munster,' whose TV series came along soon thereafter. He comes in at the 1:15 mark. So, here then is a lovely, sweet Christmas song you don't know, sung in counterpoint to a famous one you do, both by Meredith Willson. |
AuthorRobert J. Elisberg is a political commentator, screenwriter, novelist, tech writer and also some other things that I just tend to keep forgetting. Feedspot Badge of Honor
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