Song of the Day: Sister Morphine by Marianne Faithfull

Posted on by Lisa Marie Bowman

Today’s song of the day comes to us, like our music video of the day, from the late Marianne Faithfull.

Co-written with Keith Richards and Mick Jagger, Sister Morphine was originally recorded by Faithfull in 1969 but her recording was initially banned in the United Kingdom due to the song’s drug-related content.  The Rolling Stones would go on to release a version of the song in 1971 and Faithfull would record and release the song a second time in 1979.

Here I lie in my hospital bed
Tell me, Sister Morphine
When are you coming around again?
Oh I don’t think I can wait that long
Oh you see that my pain is so strong

All the other patients say
They’ve never seen a man with such pain
Tell me, Sister Morphine
When are you coming round again?
Oh I don’t think I can wait that long
Oh you see that I’m not that strong

The scream of the ambulance
Is sounding in my ear
So tell me, Sister Morphine
How long have I been lying here?
What am I doing in this place?
Why does the doctor have no face?
Oh I can’t crawl across the floor
Can’t you see, Sister Morphine?
Just tryin’ to score

Well the actions go to show
Things are not what they seem
Please, Sister Morphine
Turn my nightmare into dream
Oh can’t you see that I’m fading fast?
And this shot will be the last

Please, cousin Cocaine
Lay your cool hands on my head
Hey, Sister Morphine
You better make up the black bed
‘Cause you know and I know
That you want me, I’ll be dead
You sit around and watch
The clean white sheets stained red

songwriters: Marianne Faithfull/Mick Jagger/Keith Richards

Put A Pep In Your Step With The Covers of Pep!

Posted on by Dazzling Erin

Pep Stories was an “adult” magazine that was irregularly published from 1926 to 1938.  Because no one is really sure of who published the magazine or even how many issues there were, Pep Stories is now a highly sought collectible.  Here’s a sampling of the covers of Pep!

Artist Unknown

Artist Unknown

Artist Unknown

by Raymond Albert Burley

by Enoch Bolles

by Earle Bergey

by Frank Dorias

by Enoch Bolles

by Earle Bergey

by Enoch Bolles

 

THE SEA WOLF (1993) – Charles Bronson vs. Superman!

Posted on by Bradley Crain

Back in the early 90’s, I was finishing up my high school years and starting up my college years, but I was still paying attention to every move my movie hero Charles Bronson was making. Bronson was at a very difficult place personally during those years as he was continuing to mourn the passing of his wife, Jill Ireland, and it really shows in his choice of roles. His first two films of the 90’s, THE INDIAN RUNNER and YES VIRGINIA, THERE IS A SANTA CLAUS, featured the aging star in the roles of a man dealing with great suffering and loss. Bronson’s third role, as Captain Wolf Larsen in the made for cable TV film, THE SEA WOLF (1993), featured him as the “thinking man’s megalomaniac” from Jack London’s work of classical literature. I couldn’t wait to see the film, but I had just one small problem. We didn’t have cable-TV in Toad Suck, Arkansas, so I would not be able to watch it on the night of its April 18th, 1993 premiere on the TNT channel. It was tough waiting a few months for that VHS release, but it was worth it! 

In a nutshell, Charles Bronson plays Wolf Larsen, the captain of the ship The Ghost, who saves shipwrecked aristocrat Humphrey Van Weyden (Christopher Reeve) and con woman Flaxen Brewster (Mary Catherine Stewart). He saves them, but once they’re on board his boat, they find out that Larsen rules over the crew with an iron fist. They also find out that he’s on a life or death mission to find his brother, Death Larsen, and exact revenge for past conflicts. Will they be able to survive this voyage?

Charles Bronson had mostly steered clear of roles that could be described as “villainous” later in his career, but it must have felt great to take on one of Jack London’s most famous characters. I remember the advertising would show him maniacally spouting lines like, “It’s better to reign in hell than serve in heaven!” Wolf Larsen is a man of contradictions. He’s ruthless and mad with power when it comes to the men and his boat, but he also appreciates great works of literature and philosophy. Even at 71 years of age, the icon is able to project arrogant menace and brute strength. Charles Bronson and Wolf Larsen almost seem made for each other, and he’s fantastic in the role. It’s his strongest performance of the 1990’s. 

There’s another great performance in the film, and it comes from Christopher Reeve as Humphrey Van Weyden. Most famous as Superman, Reeve was not having a lot of success at this point in his film career and was wanting meatier roles when he accepted this part. I was blown away with his performance as the intelligent and bullied aristocrat-turned-cabin boy who is forced to resort to some level of savage and barbaric behavior in order to survive Larsen’s boat! Christopher Reeve had really become a good actor at this point in his career, and he handles the role expertly. You believe his transformation throughout the course of the film as he adapts to the brutal conditions aboard the ship yet still retains his humanity. Reeve himself has been quoted as saying that THE SEA WOLF was a project “I really believed in and still think of as some of my best work.” I couldn’t agree more, Mr. Reeve. 

THE SEA WOLF was directed by veteran filmmaker Michael Anderson who had been working since the 1940’s with credits like AROUND THE WORLD IN 80 DAYS (1956) and LOGAN’S RUN (1976) to his name. He and Bronson were roughly the same age, and they’re both in fine form. In order for these types of films to work, you need a good director who can deliver a solid finished project and Anderson brings his A-game to this production. 

I’ve included the trailer for THE SEA WOLF below:

Live Tweet Alert: Join #FridayNightFlix For The Sword and the Sorcerer!

Posted on by Lisa Marie Bowman

As some of our regular readers undoubtedly know, I am involved in a few weekly live tweets on Twitter and Mastodon.  I host #FridayNightFlix every Friday, I co-host #ScarySocial on Saturday, and I am one of the five hosts of #MondayActionMovie!  Every week, we get together.  We watch a movie.  We tweet our way through it.

Tonight, at 10 pm et, #FridayNightFlix presents one of my Arleigh’s favorite movies, The Sword and the Sorcerer!

If you want to join us this Friday, just hop onto twitter, start the movie at 10 pm et, and use the #FridayNightFlix hashtag!  It’s a friendly group and welcoming of newcomers so don’t be shy.

The Sword and the Sorcerer is available on Prime!  See you there!

Scenes That I Love: That Iconic Moment From Tough Guys Don’t Dance

Posted on by Lisa Marie Bowman

Norman Mailer was better-known as a writer than a filmmaker but, over the course of his limited directorial career, he did come up with one scene that will never be forgotten.  That scene is a scene that I love from 1987’s Tough Guys Don’t Dance.

Take it away, O’Neal!

4 Shots From 4 Films: Special Norman Mailer Edition

Posted on by Lisa Marie Bowman

Norman Mailer, running for mayor of New York City in 1969

4 (or more) Shots From 4 (or more) Films is just what it says it is, 4 (or more) shots from 4 (or more) of our favorite films. As opposed to the reviews and recaps that we usually post, 4 (or more) Shots From 4 (or more) Films lets the visuals do the talking.

Norman Mailer wasn’t just a writer and symbol of New York City.  He was also an aspiring filmmaker, a director who made three experimental films in the 60s and one studio film in the 80s.  And while none of his films could really be described as being a hit with either audiences or critics, they do — to a certain extent — epitomize an era.  Plus, the story of Rip Torn hitting Mailer with a hammer during the filming of Maidstone will live forever.

In honor of Norman Mailer the director, here are….

4 Shots From 4 Norma Mailer Films

Wild 90 (1968, dir by Norman Mailer, DP: D.A. Pennebaker)

Beyond The Law (1968, dir by Norman Mailer, DP: D.A. Pennebaker)

Maidstone (1970, dir by Norman Mailer, DP: D.A. Pennebaker)

Tough Guys Don’t Dance (1987, dir by Norman Mailer, DP: Mike Moyer and John Bailey)

Late Night Retro Television Review: Highway to Heaven 3.11 “Jonathan Smith Goes To Washington”

Posted on by Lisa Marie Bowman

Welcome to Late Night Retro Television Reviews, a feature where we review some of our favorite and least favorite shows of the past!  On Thursdays, I will be reviewing Highway to Heaven, which aired on NBC from 1984 to 1989.  The entire show is currently streaming on Tubi and several other services!

This week, Jonathan invades the Senate.

Episode 3.11 “Jonathan Smith Goes To Washington”

(Dir by Michael Landon, originally aired on December 3rd, 1986)

Mark’s sister is getting married but her future stepdaughter desperately needs an experimental drug to survive a rare illness.  Unfortunately, the Senate is voting on a budget that will cut funding for experimental drugs.  So, Jonathan appears to Sen. Fritz McCorkindale (Eddie Albert) and pressures him to rewrite the budget.  Senator McCorkindale is reluctant until he learns that his grandson will also need an experimental drug.  So, it’s time to redo the end of Mr. Smith Goes To Washington, just with Jonathan providing advice to the Senator in his effort to keep the budget he wrote from being put to a vote.  This is one of those episodes where no one else can see Jonathan but they can see the Senator talking to Jonathan and, for some reason, no one wonders why the Senator is talking to himself.

This episode was sincere, earnest, heartfelt, well-intentioned, and ultimately very, very cringey.  Michael Landon’s heart was undoubtedly in the right place but, and this might just be my civil libertarian side coming out, I’m not really comfortable with the idea of an angel telling a senator how to vote on legislation.  This was kind of like that episode where Mark inspires the President to sign an arms treaty.  It was just too naive to be effective.

On another note, Mark refers to his sister as being his only relative but it seems like Mark visits a new relative nearly every episode.  That type of sloppy writing didn’t occur often on Highway to Heaven so I’m going to guess this episode was written and filmed quickly, so deeply did Landon believe in the episode’s message.  Again, you can’t fault Landon for caring and trying to do good but this episode just felt rushed.

Caddyshack (1980, directed by Harold Ramis)

Posted on by Jedadiah Leland

Whenever I think about Caddyshack, which is one of the funniest moves ever made, I think first of the Gopher, burrowing across the course and dancing to the music.

I then think about Bill Murray, playing the demented groundskeeper and growing his own special grass that you can both play golf on and smoke afterwards.

I remember Rodney Dangerfield dancing on the green while Ted Knight throws a fit.  This was the first film that I ever saw Rodney Dangerfield in.  “It looks good on you, though,” was one of those simple lines that Rodney could turn into a classic.

I remember Ted Knight, appearing in one of his few film roles, and saying, “Well, we’re waiting!” and drawing out every single word.

I remember the scene in the pool.  You know which one I’m talking about.

I remember Chevy Chase, back when he was still funny.

Then I remember how Rodney Dangerfield’s classic last line, “We’re all going to get laid,” was changed to “We’re all going to take a shower!” for television.  Why the censors thought that sounded less dirty than the original, I’ll never know.

I remember the Bishop getting struck by lightning while playing the best game of his life.

And, of course, I remember Cindy Morgan as Lacy Underall.

I remember so many classic moments and funny lines that I’m always surprised when I rewatch the movie and discover that it’s not really about the Gopher, Bill Murray, Rodney Dangerfield, Chevy Chase, or even Lacy Underall.  Instead, the main character in the movie is Danny Noonan (Michael O’Keefe), a teenage caddy at Bushwood Country Club who wants to win a scholarship so he can go to college and avoid having to work in the lumber yard with his father (Albert Salmi).  Danny has a friendly rivalry with caddy Tony D’Annuzio (Scott Colomby) and is dating Maggie (Sarah Holcomb).  Danny has to decide whether to ally himself with the snobs (led by Ted Knight) or the slobs (led by Rodney Dangerfield).

Caddyshack was originally envisioned as being Danny’s story but, once filming started, Harold Ramis (making his directorial debut) realized that the comedic characters were actually more interesting.  The movie went from being a straight-forward coming-of-age story to an almost plotless collection of gags and jokes, with both Bill Murray and Rodney Dangerfield improvising the majority of their dialogue and the Gopher emerging as the film’s true star.  That was bad news for the younger actors playing the caddies, who all found their roles greatly reduced in the film’s final cut but that was good news for audiences.  Caddyshack may not have much of a narrative structure but it does have some of the funniest people who ever lived at the peak of their powers.

Despite a legendarily troubled production, Caddyshack was a huge success with audiences and eventually, the critics came around as well.  Harold Ramis always said that he had a hard time watching it because all he could see were the mistakes that he made.  All audiences could see, though, was a hilariously funny movie that continues to bring people joy to this day.