Sunday Drive: Belle Nuit

The beloved aria, sung by Marilyn Horne and Montserrat Caballé in Munich, 1990:

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Beach Weather

It's August.  Time to head for the coast, strip down, and cool off!  Or is it?  Don't worry - a lifeguard is always handy.

Click the captions to see full-size photos at Shorpy.com

Ocean Grove, New Jersey, 1905

Atlantic City, New Jersey, 1904

"Been expecting you."

Brighton Beach, New York, circa 1905

 

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Just for Laughs: Jack Benny at the Supermarket

We all love Lucy, of course, and her comic genius will live on as long as there is some kind of machinery to play her reruns.  But it seems to me that a number of other great comedians are most undeservedly forgotten in the modern world, and Jack Benny is one of the all-time funniest.  If you are in need of a laugh or two, this should do the trick; the best part is the second half, where Jack runs afoul of sarcastic store clerk Frank Nelson.

 

For the record, this episode of the Jack Benny Program was broadcast on January 22, 1961. 

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Sunday Drive: Sweet Marie

The Andrews Sisters put some swing into the 1893 song, featured in Life with Father.  Famed bandleader Carmen Cavallaro is at the piano for this 1948 recording.

 

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Russ Recommends: Life with Father (1947)

What may be the beginning of a semi-regular series, featuring lighthearted movies from the golden era of Hollywood, without even a hint of the ugly, vulgar modern world to be seen or heard. We often watch such things while eating our weeknight dinners.

Trailer:

 

Life with Father is based on the memoirs of Clarence Day, Jr., published in 1936,  The book was turned into a smash hit play that ran for more than seven years on Broadway.  The movie was a big hit with critics and at the box office, and was nominated for four Academy Awards.

Directed by Michael Curtiz, who also directed Casablanca (1943).

The players include William Powell, perfectly irascible in the title role;

The beautiful, always delightful Irene Dunne as the long-suffering Mrs. Day;

Jimmy Lydon, who was also the teenage star of the Henry Aldrich series (still alive and living in New Jersey at 98 years old);

Edmund Gwenn as the Reverend Dr. Lloyd - also known as Kris Kringle;

Veteran comedienne ZaSu Pitts, always amusing; and

15-year-old Elizabeth Taylor, already gorgeous (when was she not?).

Music by the brilliant Max Steiner, who also scored Gone with the Wind, Casablanca, and A Summer Place, to name but a few of his film credits.

Full movie (public domain):

 

Sidelights:  

Mr. Day's frequent expostulation in the play, "Oh, God!" was changed to "Oh, Gad!" for the movie version.  

Actor Edmund Gwenn shared his Beverly Hills home with a former Olympic silver medalist, Rodney Soher.

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Sunday Drive: Dream

Roy Orbison recorded his version of this lovely tune in 1963.

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What I'm Watching: This Is My Railroad

1950 advertisement for the all-new Sunset Limited

 A 1947 company film that pays tribute to the dedicated work of the men and women of the friendly Southern Pacific Railroad.

 

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Sunday Drive: I'll Be Seeing You

The 1944 hit record by Tommy Dorsey and his orchestra, featuring Frank Sinatra:

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Weekend Getaway: Greek Islands

Rick Steves shows us the highlights of Santorini, Mykonos, and Rhodes.

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Independence Day, 2021: My Country, 'Tis of Thee

 

Below is a reminiscence of the famous concert by Marian Anderson on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial in 1939:  a thrilling moment in our history that united Americans of all kinds instead of driving them apart.  That is what the American dream is, really:  E pluribus unum.

Diversity is a very popular word these days.  But I say, diversity without unity will destroy us.  And sooner rather than later.  

 

A prayer for this 4th of July:

O God, please bless our country,

for all we like sheep have gone astray,

and turned each to his own way. 

For Thy mercy's sake, 

heal us, mend us, reform us, and restore us;

unite us again as one people in justice and truth

to do Thy will on earth; and grant us Thy peace,

for we surely do need it. 

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What I'm Watching: Jane Austen's House

Your Head Trucker remembers fondly the delicious pleasure of reading Pride and Prejudice some forty-odd years ago.  Here is a short tour through the home of the beloved author in Hampshire, England, about fifty miles southwest of London:

Bonus:  The nearby Chawton House, one of the homes owned by Jane's wealthy brother Edward.

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