Author: thehorsesheadblog

#306) Mabel’s Blunder (1914)

OR “Ready, Willing, and Mabel”

Directed & Written by Mabel Normand

Class of 2009

The Plot: Mabel (Mabel Normand) is a stenographer whose boss (Charles Bennett) has a thing for her. What the boss doesn’t know is that Mabel is secretly engaged to his son Harry (Harry McCoy). When a mysterious woman (Eva Nelson) catches Harry’s eye, Mabel becomes jealous. She switches clothes with her brother (Al St. John) and poses as Harry’s chauffeur. There’s mistaken identities and hilarious misunderstandings when Mabel Normand takes the wheel and directs her own Keystone comedy.

Why It Matters: The NFR praises Normand’s “spontaneous and intuitive playfulness” as well as her ability to be “romantically appealing and boisterously funny”. An essay by Mack Sennett expert Brent E. Walker puts the film and Normand into their historical context.

But Does It Really?:This film is definitely on the list for what it represents rather than for what it is. On its own “Mabel’s Blunder” is a decently paced comedy whose jokes are very tame by today’s standards, but it’s directed and written by silent film legend Mabel Normand, and that’s all you really need. As we in the Time’s Up/Me Too era are finally starting to let women hold the reins again, it’s nice to look back over 100 years ago and see a woman who had creative control over a movie because she was, ya know, funny and talented. The NFR wouldn’t be complete without Mabel Normand, and “Mabel’s Blunder” is an excellent choice to represent her.

Everybody Gets One: After a brief stint as a Gibson Girl model, Mabel Normand found herself acting in films for the likes of D.W. Griffith. One of these early film appearances caught the eye of producer-director Mack Sennett, who persuaded Mabel to make the move with him from New York to Hollywood. Sennett founded Keystone Studios, the two started their professional and personal relationship, and Hollywood lore was made. When Keystone became a runaway success, Sennett added extra film units to the roster, and gave one to Mabel. She directed 14 shorts for Keystone, as well as co-writing several of them.

Wow, That’s Dated: I want to say the plot is dated, but then again, maybe it’s not? One thing I will ask: when did cars start getting roofs? All of these silent films have open-air cars, but convertibles existed back then. Was it still considered a bonus feature for a car to be protected from the elements? Or was this a coalition with the scarf-cap-and-goggles people?

Other notes

• As with many a silent comedy, I suspect this plot line was recycled as an episode of “Three’s Company”. It may even be one of those plots that they did once in the Roper-era and again in the Furley-era.
• I applaud this film’s very limited use of intertitles. It’s still mostly people talking and gesturing, but Mabel and the other performers get the story across with their performances.
• The majority of “Mabel’s Blunder” hinges on your belief that the mere concept of cross-dressing is hilarious. “Some Like It Hot” this ain’t.
• Side note: Mabel Normand is allegedly the first movie star to take a pie to the face. That’s still up for debate, but hey, someone had to be, so why not Mabel?

Legacy

• Mabel Normand’s directing career was sadly short-lived. Mack Sennett agreed she was talented, but unfortunately some of her male co-workers refused to take orders from her. And there’s the start of your inherently sexist studio system.
• Normand and Sennett created their own studio company for Mabel in 1916. The Mabel Normand Feature Film Company folded in 1918 along with Keystone after their parent studio Triangle Film started faltering. With their personal relationship also ending, Mack and Mabel went their separate ways.
• Mabel’s life post-Sennett has a few grey areas (her Wikipedia page has a lot of “Citation Needed” caveats), but we know that her career started to wane in the early ‘20s while working with Samuel Goldwyn. Her association with the murder of director William Desmond Taylor further damaged her reputation – Normand was the last person to see Taylor alive, but was quickly ruled out as a suspect by the LAPD. Mabel worked with Hal Roach Studios, and married her old co-star Lew Cody, before her death in 1930 of tuberculosis at 37 years old.
• Among the up-and-coming talent Mabel worked with were Roscoe “Fatty” Arbuckle and Charlie Chaplin. In fact, it was in one of Mabel Normand’s other 1914 films, “Mabel’s Strange Predicament”, that Chaplin first played his iconic Tramp character. The Tramp’s creation is re-enacted in the 1992 film “Chaplin”, with Robert Downey Jr. as Chaplin and Marisa Tomei as Normand.

• Mabel Normand (and her association with Mack Sennett) has been immortalized many times over the years, most famously in the cult Broadway musical “Mack & Mabel”. Despite the pedigree of Jerry Herman, Robert Preston and Bernadette Peters, the show didn’t run long, but man alive what a score that is.

#305) In Cold Blood (1967)

OR “Fun With Dick and Perry”

Directed & Written by Richard Brooks. Based on the non-fiction novel by Truman Capote.

Class of 2008

The Plot: “In Cold Blood” is a detailed account of the crimes, arrest and execution of real-life criminals Dick Hickock & Perry Smith (Scott Wilson & Robert Blake). After Perry breaks his parole by travelling to Kansas, he and Dick murder Herbert Clutter (John McLiam) and his family on their farm in Holcomb. The two killers drive across the country evading the law, with Kansas Detective Alvin Dewey (John Forsythe) left to solve a murder with no witnesses, suspects, or motivations. What follows is a true-crime story heightened by cinematic expression, and brutally realized by post-code Hollywood.

Why It Matters: The NFR praises the film’s “unsparing neo-realism”, singling out Brooks, Robert Blake, and cinematographer Conrad L. Hall.

But Does It Really?: It’s easy to forget “In Cold Blood” amidst all the landmark 1967 taboo-busting films, as well as Richard Brooks amidst the great writer/directors, but both are deserving of a place on the Registry. Brooks uses his efficient storytelling sensibilities and the freedom of New Hollywood to tell a bold, startling, compelling look at one of the most publicized crimes of the 20^th century. The documentary-style aesthetic lends itself well to Smith and Hickock’s story; the movie neither glorifies nor sympathizes with these two, we’re just along for the ride. Perhaps Brooks is telling us that there is no such thing as “in cold blood”, and there is a complexity of emotions going on inside the head of every killer. Kudos to Richard Brooks and “In Cold Blood” for more-or-less inventing the true crime film genre.

Shout Outs: An unintentional meta-reference: Perry Smith’s favorite movie was “The Treasure of the Sierra Madre”, which gets referenced in the film by Robert Blake…who was in “The Treasure of the Sierra Madre”!

Everybody Gets One: TV’s Bachelor Father/Charlie/Blake Carrington: John Forsythe, giving a wonderfully subtle performance in a rare film role. And special mention to John McLiam, Ruth Storey, Brenda C. Curran and Paul Hough as the Clutters, aka “the vics”.

Wow, That’s Dated: One of Smith and Hickock’s criminal charges was passing bad personal checks. Is that even possible anymore?

Seriously, Oscars?: A critical and commercial hit, “In Cold Blood” managed four Oscar nominations. The film faced some remarkably stiff competition, losing Director, Adapted Screenplay and Cinematography to, respectively, “The Graduate”, “In the Heat of the Night”, and “Bonnie and Clyde”. Composer Quincy Jones was still a newcomer to the Hollywood scene, and his jazzy-counterpoint score lost to overdue veteran Elmer Bernstein for “Thoroughly Modern Millie”.

Other notes

• In terms of historical accuracy, both the novel and film of “In Cold Blood” are Sergeant York Accurate: the tree is the same, they just changed a few leaves. Capote’s reportage was called into question from the beginning, and Richard Brooks made it a point not to reference the novel during production. A former journalist, Brooks opted to do his own research, and filmed many of the reenactments at their actual locations.
• Both Robert Blake and Scott Wilson were cast based on their physical resemblance to the real Smith and Hickock. Wilson was playing a supporting part in “In the Heat of the Night” when star Sidney Poitier got in contact with Richard Brooks (Poitier’s breakthrough performance was in Brooks’ “Blackboard Jungle”) and suggested Wilson for the role of Hickock. Wilson did not know Poitier was responsible for his casting until years later.
• Right out the gate, this film astonishes in its presentation, thanks to the cinematography of Conrad L. Hall, the score of Quincy Jones, and the editing of Peter Zinner. 1967 moviegoers could not have been ready for this movie’s rapid-fire intro.
• The first part of the film follows the novel in its juxtaposition from Smith and Hickock to the Clutter family. Without anything too monumental occurring, there’s a lot of suspense waiting for these two paths to collide.
• It’s a shame Scott Wilson’s career never took off the same way Robert Blake’s did. Wilson is very good playing the less showy of the two parts. His on-screen charm reminds me of Owen Wilson (no relation).
• Also getting their due is character actor Charles McGraw. Known for his bit roles in films such as “The Birds” and “Spartacus”, McGraw finally gets a chance to shine in the pivotal role of Tex, Perry’s abusive father.
• When do Dick and Perry run into Kit and Holly from “Badlands”? I’ll take “‘50s Serial Killers” for $400, Alex.
• Maybe it’s the simple aesthetics or the black and white cinematography, but this whole film looks like it could have been made yesterday. Not bad for a 52-year-old movie.
• The Clutter murder was filmed at the actual Clutter residence. How bizarre must that have been? I’m getting chills just thinking about it.

• That’s Will Geer (aka Grandpa Walton) as the prosecutor, having fun chewing the scenery in his brief cameo. Makes you wonder what the defense attorneys’ argument sounded like. Were Twinkies a thing back then?

• The only real-life location that denied permission to the film production was the Kansas State Penitentiary. The film’s final sequences were filmed on soundstages at the Columbia lot. Several items from the prison were purchased for authenticity, including the actual toilets from Hickock and Smith’s cells!

Legacy

• Richard Brooks’ career hit its apex with “In Cold Blood”, but he did follow-up this film with “The Happy Ending”, starring John Forsythe and an Oscar-nominated turn by Jean Simmons, aka Mrs. Richard Brooks.

• “In Cold Blood” made an unexpected star out of Robert Blake. He was eight years away from playing Detective Tony Baretta, and 34 years away from being accused of murdering his wife, Bonnie Lee Bakely (he was acquitted, but was fined $30 million for liability over Bonnie’s wrongful death).

• Scott Wilson eventually found notoriety as Hershel Greene in “The Walking Dead”.

• “In Cold Blood” was remade as a TV miniseries in 1996 with Eric Roberts and Anthony Edwards taking on Smith and Hickock. It’s…longer than the original, I give it that.

Further Viewing: The great Parallel Thinking Double Feature of the mid-2000s: we got TWO movies about Truman Capote and Harper Lee travelling to Kansas to research “In Cold Blood”. 2005’s “Capote” stars Philip Seymour Hoffman and Catherine Keener, while 2006’s “Infamous” stars Toby Jones and Sandra Bullock. “Capote” came first, so naturally that’s the one everyone assumes is better.

#304) Dance, Girl, Dance (1940)

OR “What’s Up, Tiger Lily?”

Directed by Dorothy Arzner

Written by Tess Slesinger and Frank Davis. Story by Vicki Baum.

Class of 2007

No trailer, so here’s Maureen O’Hara and Lucille Ball dancing the hula!

The Plot: Judy and Bubbles (Maureen O’Hara and Lucille Ball) are two chorus girls with aspirations of making it as dancers. Judy is studying to be a ballerina with the esteemed Madame Basilova (Maria Ouspenskaya), but blows a chance to audition for the renowned dance producer Steve Adams (Ralph Bellamy). Bubbles finds success as a burlesque stripper with the stage name “Tiger Lily”, and procures work for Judy. The catch: Judy’s ballet will serve as a stooge for Tiger Lily, with a male audience that will objectify her as she dances. There’s also a subplot about Jimmy (Louis Hayward), a potential suitor for both women, because ‘40s audiences weren’t ready for this much emotional complexity and female empowerment.

Why It Matters: The NFR gives the film (and director Dorothy Arzner) its proper historical context, and calls the film “a meditation on the disparity between art and commerce.” There’s also a thoughtful essay by film critic Carrie Rickey.

But Does It Really?: “Dance, Girl, Dance” is exactly the kind of movie I’m looking for while working on this blog. There are always the indisputable classics, but I love when the NFR makes room for a well-made movie that was ignored in its day. In addition, the film’s NFR induction is a representation of Dorthy Arzner, the only female director in the Hollywood studio system. “Dance, Girl, Dance” is the kind of female-driven character study that was common in the ‘70s and ‘80s, trapped in the cookie cutter production line of a ‘40s studio film. I thoroughly enjoyed discovering this movie, and I’m delighted “Dance, Girl, Dance” has found a place on the list.

Shout Outs: Be on the lookout for a quick shot of “Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs” playing at a Times Square movie house.

Everybody Gets One: Raised in Los Angeles, Dorothy Arzner was familiar with the film industry (her parents’ restaurant was frequented by the likes of Mary Pickford and Mack Sennett), but her career goal was to become a doctor. After a disheartening experience working in an ambulance unit during WWI, Arzner changed course and found a job at the Paramount script department. She worked her way to editor and eventually director with 1927’s “Fashions for Women”. Her being the only female director in a sexist system didn’t seem to matter as long as her films did well at the box office.

Wow, That’s Dated: We have a BLACKFACE WARNING, this is not a drill!  Two of the ballet dancers appear in blackface during the troupe’s first number.

Seriously, Oscars?: Nothing. Not a single nomination. RKO’s big Oscar contender that year was Ginger Rogers’ post-Fred vehicle “Kitty Foyle”. Dorothy Arzner never received an Oscar nomination during her career, but did receive her share of awards and tributes when her work was rediscovered in the ‘70s.

Other notes

• First things first: that is one misleading title. I went into “Dance, Girl, Dance” assuming it would be a frivolous musical comedy. I’m delighted I was wrong, but still, I can only imagine how misled 1940 audiences must have felt. The film’s working title was the slightly better “Have It Your Own Way”, which I’m claiming for my script about the founding of Burger King.
• Both of the film’s leading ladies were not the icons they are known as today. Maureen O’Hara had just moved to Hollywood following her breakthrough performance in “The Hunchback of Notre Dame”, and Lucille Ball was an RKO contract player/radio performer trying to catch a break.
• Lucy’s a natural blonde!? What else from my pop culture knowledge is a lie?
• Jimmy says Judy looks “like a star. The one that’s shining when the others have all quit.” That may be the best description of Maureen O’Hara.
• Shoutout to children’s book character/effeminate Disney cartoon Ferdinand the Bull. At the time, Disney features were distributed by RKO, so the plush Ferdinand is nice little piece of synergy.
• Maureen O’Hara confessed years later that she wasn’t much of a dancer, and it’s pretty obvious that she’s doubled in the wide shots.
• Dorothy Arzner’s partner Marion Morgan choreographed the dance routines in this film. In an era when homosexuality was never discussed or acknowledged, Dorothy and Marion maintained a 40-year partnership.
• Lucille Ball is being sexy and I don’t know how I feel about it. Is this why Ricky never let her be in the show?

• Unsurprisingly, “Dance, Girl, Dance” passes the Bechdel test left, right, and center.
• American burlesque was on its way out by 1940, “Dance, Girl, Dance” may be its dying breath.
• Is this what made Lucy think she could do “Wildcat” and “Mame”?
• Like many proto-feminist films, our two female leads fight over a man. It does take some of the bite out of the film’s proceedings.
• Jimmy says multiple times that he is enamored by Judy’s blue eyes. Good thing this is a black and white movie: Maureen O’Hara’s eyes are green.
• For those curious about the film’s progressive viewpoints, look no further than the scene where Judy scolds the primarily male audience for objectifying her. Right on, Maureen!

Legacy

• “Dance, Girl, Dance” was a critical and commercial flop, and Dorothy Arzner only made one more film, 1943’s “First Comes Courage” before leaving the studio system for good. She divided her time between directing commercials and other short films, and teaching film at UCLA.

• Fortunately, Dorothy Arzner lived long enough for “Dance, Girl, Dance” to be reappraised by film students during the feminist movement of the early ‘70s.

• Perhaps the film’s most impactful legacy: it was during production that Lucille Ball met her future husband Desi Arnaz on the RKO lot. Years later, when RKO folded, the sound stages were sold to Lucy and Desi’s production company: Desilu.

It’s the two-year anniversary of The Horse’s Head! I’m celebrating with a classic film that, despite being ineligible for the National Film Registry, has somehow made it on to various American Film Institute Top 100 lists. And it’s appropriate that a film with this mystery hanging over it should itself be one of the best mysteries ever made. 

Oh, and spoilers ahead.

The Third Man (1949)

OR “I’m Just Wild About Harry”

Directed by Carol Reed

Written by Graham Greene. Based on his novella.

The Plot: American pulp novelist Holly Martins (Joseph Cotten) arrives in Allied-occupied Vienna to meet childhood friend Harry Lime (Orson Welles) for a job. No sooner does he arrive that Holly learns Harry has been killed in a car accident. Disappointed with the response of British Police Major Calloway (Trevor Howard), Holly decides to investigate Harry’s death himself. He meets Harry’s girlfriend Anna (Alida Valli) and several other associates, all of whom have differing accounts of Harry’s death. The official version has Harry’s body being carried away by two friends, but once Holly learns that there was an unidentified third man at the scene, the mystery begins to unravel. Come for the international intrigue, stay for the zither music.

The mystery of “The Third Man” is so wonderfully atmospheric that I genuinely didn’t know where the film was going. Greene creates an endlessly fascinating mystery, and Carol Reed (along with cinematographer Robert Krasker) adds additional layers that result in a dizzying viewing experience. This attention to detail makes the film endlessly re-watchable, and therefore destined to endure. “The Third Man” is definitely more British than American, but unquestionably a classic.

Everybody Gets One (Even If They’re Not On The List): Carol Reed started in film as a second-unit director for Associated Talking Pictures (now Ealing Studios). One of Reed’s earliest fans was then-film critic/future legendary novelist Grahame Greene, with whom Reed collaborated with on 1948’s “The Fallen Idol”. The film was a hit, and producer Alexander Korda immediately put them to work on what would eventually become “The Third Man”.

Seriously, Oscars?: Academy members were fans of “The Fallen Idol”, and nominated “The Third Man” for three Oscars at the 1951 ceremony. Carol Reed lost Best Director to Joseph L. Mankiewicz for “All About Eve”, while the Editing prize went to “King Solomon’s Mines”, but “Third Man” took home Best Cinematography for Robert Krasker, the first Australian to win in that category. Surprisingly, Anton Karas’ zither score didn’t make the cut.

Other notes

• A quick word on the nationality of “The Third Man”: It’s a British film, made by a British company, directed and written by Brits. The AFI’s qualifier is that one of the producers was American David O. Selznick, who was responsible for the casting of Cotten and Welles. The NFR will usually give a pass to a movie if an American studio was a co-producer (see David Lean’s entries), but even by that standard, this would be a stretch. Nice try, AFI, but we can’t claim this one.
• That’s Carol Reed in a voiceover as perhaps filmdom’s most unreliable narrator. Not only does he never show up again, he’s not even in every version of the movie (Joseph Cotten re-recorded the narration for the American release).
• The zither is an interesting choice for the score. I’m not sure it works for the more dramatic moments, but overall its jauntiness is an excellent counterpoint to the film’s darkness.

• In addition to the score, Krasker’s cinematography aids in the film’s overall disorienting feeling. Many of the dialogue scenes are filmed with Dutch angles, leaving everything off-center and tilted. Amazingly, it’s never too distracting from the story. Well done Krasker.
• Pickering! M! This film is a plethora of British character actors!
• Maybe it’s just the international setting, but Joseph Cotten seems even more American than usual in this film.
• Alida Valli was cast as Anna at the insistence of Selznick, who thought he had found the next Ingrid Bergman. Valli left Selznick’s domineering grasp shortly after “The Third Man”, and was a successful film star in her native Italy.
• If nothing else, this film should be all the encouragement you need to learn a second language. How much easier would Martins’ life had been if he spoke German?
• And then arrives Orson Welles, and one of the best damn introductions in any movie. Welles’ Harry immediately takes over the film – as if he was the main character this whole time – and Welles’ star power carries the limited role’s dramatic weight with ease.

• The scene on board the Wiener Riesenrad is iconic I’ll grant you that, but for the record, Ferris wheels are the worst.

• As the Swiss are quick to point out, cuckoo clocks aren’t from Switzerland, but rather the Black Forest of southern Germany. Oh well, it’s still a great speech, and words with k’s are funny.
• This is another movie that would not hold up well if everyone had cell phones and internet access.
• The climactic chase through the sewers is wonderfully suspenseful, and makes me glad that smellovision isn’t a thing anymore.
• The final shot takes its time, but is worth the wait. Graham Greene objected to Carol Reed altering the novella’s ending, but he relented, and eventually agreed that Reed’s decision was “triumphantly right”.

Legacy

• “The Third Man” was the biggest film of the year in England and a success in the United States as well. Unsurprisingly, Austria didn’t care much for a foreign film that portrays Vienna as a war-torn underworld run by racketeers.
• Just a reminder that Carol Reed, the director of “The Third Man”, directed “Oliver!”. And he won an Oscar for that, and not “The Third Man”.

• Relative unknown Anton Karas became a superstar thanks to “The Third Man”, and his “Third Man Theme” became a chart-topper in both England and America.
• Orson Welles reprised the role of Harry Lime on the radio drama “The Adventures of Harry Lime”. Both this and the subsequent “Third Man” TV series starring Michael Rennie served as prequels to the film.

• Incidentally, Welles used his “Third Man” paycheck to help finance his film adaptation of “Othello”.

• “Pinky and the Brain” put Maurice LaMarche’s go-to Orson Welles impression to work in their parody “The Third Mouse”.

• And of course the film’s greatest cultural impact: Harry Lime is the namesake of Joe Pesci’s character in “Home Alone”.

Two years, over 300 movies, and I’m not even halfway through yet! Here’s to Year Three.

Happy Viewing,

Tony

Further Listening: Ladies and gentlemen, The Beatles!

#303) The T.A.M.I. Show (1964)

OR “American Grandstand”

Directed by Steve Binder

Class of 2006

The Plot: Live on tape from the Santa Monica Civic Auditorium, it’s the biggest concert event of 1964! Filmed with the modern miracle of Electronovision, Teenage Awards Music International presents, in order of appearance: Chuck Berry! Gerry and the Pacemakers! Smokey Robinson and the Miracles! Marvin Gaye! Lesley Gore! Jan and Dean! The Beach Boys! Billy J. Kramer and the Dakotas! The Supremes! The Barbarians! James Brown and the Famous Flames! And The Rolling Stones! It’s the best of the early ‘60s music scene, minus that one band from Liverpool whose asking price is waaaay above this show’s budget!

Why It Matters: The NFR calls it “quite possibly the greatest rock and rhythm-and-blues concert on film”. The essay by rock/film expert David E. James focuses on director Steve Binder and the film’s Civil Rights-era racial unity.

But Does It Really?: “The T.A.M.I. Show” is the rare movie on this list that meets all three NFR criteria: culturally it’s an encapsulation of the Motown/British Invasion/Surf sounds of the ‘60s, historically it’s a representation of Electronovision, and aesthetically it’s just so damn entertaining. In short, “The T.A.M.I. Show” is the greatest American film ever made, and I will fight you on this one.

Everybody Gets One: Ev-er-y-bo-dy. Special Mention goes to future Oscar nominee Diana Ross; though God help us all if “The Wiz” ever makes the NFR cut.

Wow, That’s Dated: Nothing. This ‘60s shindig is as timeless as “Casablanca”.

Seriously, Oscars?: I doubt that “The T.A.M.I. Show” would have been eligible for an Oscar, but coincidentally, the 1964 Oscars were held at the same venue as “T.A.M.I.”: The Santa Monica Civic Auditorium. That’s right, some of these rabid teenagers are sitting in the same seats one day occupied by the likes of Rex Harrison and Julie Andrews.

Other notes

• “The T.A.M.I. Show” was planned to be the first in a series of concert films whose proceeds would go to providing students with music scholarships. Sadly, that never happened, making the “T.A.M.I.” acronym completely irrelevant.
• Executive producer Bill Sargent not only came up with the concept of “T.A.M.I.”, but the process of Electronovision as well. In essence, Electronovision was high-definition video that could be instantly converted to film without losing picture quality. Electronovision didn’t catch on, but the technology it inspired endures.
• Is Chuck Berry up first so that all the other bands know who they’re stealing from? And where’s his cousin Marvin during all of this?

• From “Maybelline” to Vaseline: what’s with the fuzzy camera lens on Gerry Marsden?
• Smokey Robinson and the Miracles were famous for a reason. Even in this brief appearance, they know how to put on a show.

• Among the background dancers are Teri Garr (another future Oscar nominee) and Toni Basil (this show’s assistant choreographer).
• Marvin Gaye’s post-Motown work is better, but “Can I Get a Witness” is pretty damn flawless.

• How much hairspray was used in this concert? Lesley Gore alone is probably the reason we’re all doomed.
• If all of Lesley Gore’s songs are about the same guy, I am very concerned for her well-being. “Maybe I know that he’s been untrue/but what can I do?” Leave his ass, girl!

• “Sidewalk Surfin’” is about that brand new phenomenon called skateboarding! And yes, it’s “Catch a Wave” with re-written lyrics, but Jan and Dean did so with Brian Wilson’s permission.

• Speaking of, I appreciate that The Beach Boys didn’t play “Catch a Wave” during their set. This could have been a very awkward “Mighty Wind” situation.

• Of the British groups on the roster, Billy J. Kramer and the Dakotas are the most obvious Beatles copycats. Case in point: Lennon & McCartney wrote three of the songs on their set list.

• The screaming teenage girls in this audience are experiencing Beatlemania-mania: Not Beatlemania, but an incredible simulation.
• You can definitely see Diana Ross emerging as the Supremes’ breakout star. There’s even an extended close-up of her during “Where Did Our Love Go”. Did Berry Gordy sneak into the control booth?

• The Barbarians were the shortest-lived of the groups featured in “T.A.M.I.”, lasting from 1964 to 1967. I guess we weren’t ready to revisit the Dark Ages back then.

• James Brown’s performance is all the proof you need that he was indeed “The Hardest Working Man in Show Business”. The volcanic energy he possesses in his performance is unparalleled. Plus we get “Please, Please, Please” and his legendary cape routine!

• The Rolling Stones did not want to follow James Brown, but they make a satisfying conclusion to “T.A.M.I.” nonetheless. You can see Mick and Keith’s appeal from the start: they’re the only Brits on the program not mimicking the Beatles. And 55 years later, time is truly on their side.

Legacy

• “The T.A.M.I. Show” more or less disappeared after its theatrical run, partly due to copyright issues with the music (notably the Beach Boys). Bootleg copies kept the film’s legacy going, and “The T.A.M.I. Show” finally got a proper DVD release in 2010, four years after its NFR induction.
• Director Steve Binder became the undisputed king of filmed concerts thanks in part to “T.A.M.I.”. Follow-up specials included “The Elvis ‘68 Comeback Special”, “Diana Ross Live in Central Park” and…“The Star Wars Holiday Special”?

• American International Pictures made an unrelated follow-up concert film: 1965’s “The Big T.N.T. Show”, featuring an equally impressive line-up of talent. Footage from both films was combined for the 1984 retrospective “That Was Rock”.

• Every live HD event owes a debt of gratitude to Electronovision. Bill Sargent tinkered with adding color to the process during the ‘70s, and gave us “Richard Pryor: Live in Concert”.

• I am not chronicling the post-“T.A.M.I.” careers of every performer in this film. Suffice it to say that between them all, these people/groups have broken up, are still touring, died, become international superstars, found Jesus, left the business entirely, and consumed an unfathomable amount of drugs.

Listen to This: I’ve previously covered the Beach Boys’ and Rolling Stones’ NRR entries, but now we can add to that list Chuck Berry’s “Roll Over Beethoven”, James Brown and the Famous Flames’ “Live at the Apollo”, Marvin Gaye’s “What’s Going On”, Smokey Robinson and the Miracles’ “The Tracks of My Tears”, and The Supremes’ “Where Did Our Love Go”. Still suspiciously absent from the Registry is anything by Lesley Gore.