In this era of HD TV screens and surround sound systems, it's difficult to explain to people why seeing movies on a big theatre screen is worthwhile. Movies like the immersive "Lost City Of Z," or the intimate "Moonlight," for example, play differently, and much better, on enormous theatre screens. Yet as much as I think I know this, me and my Cuban Luvuh were flat-out stunned when we saw Hitchcock's "To Catch A Thief" in a movie theater a few years back.
It was at a film festival for wide-screen movies and "To Catch A Thief" was shot and screened in VistaVision, a now defunct wide-screen format. It was like seeing a brand new movie. No, really. What had seemed like a throwaway riff on even the largest TV screen was now the ultimate bonbon of a movie - as only Hitchcock knew how to make. Scenes that took place on the French Riviera were suddenly eye-popping, even gripping; the deep-focus photography made everything crystal-clear, almost touchable. And the close-ups of Grace Kelly? Impossibly dreamy.
All of which is to say, if a movie you're interested in is playing on a big theatre screen, don't wait for DVD or Netflix. Kick up your cha-cha heels and see it on the biggest theatre screen you can find. And when you get home, listen to the movie's soundtrack, because some of them are really good!
Case in point? The score for "To Catch A Thief" by Lyn Murray (this 2014 release also includes Murray's score for 1954's "The Bridges At Tokyo-Ri"). Get this: it was Murray who suggested to Hitchcock that he hire Bernard Herrmann to score his next movie, "The Trouble With Harry," as Murray was busy on another project. From that point, Hitchcock-Herrmann became all but synonymous. In the meantime, swoon to Murray's "To Catch A Thief," especially "Fascinating Fireworks." 'Cause we all knew what those fireworks meant, amirite?
Let's time travel back to the 1930s, shall we? Hold tight. Wheeeee! Phew, that was fast (I think I hurt my coccyx!). But here we are - and there she is. The lovely and talented Miss Midge Williams.
"Midge whooooooo?" you may ask. I did, too, but she looked so fetching on CD covers and in photos that I decided to find out what her deal was.
What I discovered is a largely unheralded jazz singer who really ought to be in every jazz lovers library. Why? Start with her creamy-smooth vocals which curl flirtatiously around the lyrics in songs like "It All Begins And Ends With You" or "I'm With You Right Or Wrong." Then try her version of "Organ Grinder's Swing" and try, just try, to resist her buoyant delivery. You won't be able to.
If you haven't heard of her before, it might be because her largest audience during her heyday was in jazz clubs in Japan and China, though she also toured extensively in the U.S. This included a lengthy, nationwide gig with Louis Armstrong, though tragically, there are no recordings of them together.
What we have today - and, yes, it's a Marvelous Midge Cheerful Exclusive! just for you - is the first disc in a three-disc Midge collection. We'll have to enjoy what little there is of Midge, because her life was sadly cut short by tuberculosis in 1952. She was only thirty-six years old.
Let's go from jazz to swing, or rather, to "The Queen of Swing," as she was known. I'm talking Miss Mildred Bailey. She even had a stamp issued in her honor in 1994. And really, who among us can say that we get licked from behind and pressed down hard? (don't answer that!).
I j'adore her LP "Me And The Blues," a Magnificent Millie Exclusive! for you and yours. Did you know? She grew up on an Indian reservation in Washington State in the early 1900s - with a fiddle-playing father and a piano-playing mother - then married at 17, divorced that same year, and went on to became a popular singer in almost no time at all, kicking it with the likes of Bing Crosby, Count Basie and Benny Goodman.
Don't be fooled by the film noir-looking LP cover "Me And The Blues," since it's probably the happiest blues LP around. The best track? It's gotta be "Born To Be Blue." Her voice may sound straight-forward, but listen; her alternately sweet, bouncy and slightly melancholy, delivery finds every emotional nuance and groove.
A question for you: our friends below, who were originally called "Li'l Folks" ("Peanuts was a last-second title change ) are wearing little moustaches in honor of who...?
If you guessed Vince Guaraldi, aren't you a smartypants? You can never have too much Guaraldi, and in this Cheerfully Guaraldi Exclusive, Vince and his quartet have arrived to give your day a li'l hepcat beat. This live, previously unreleased, 1967 concert represents Vince and his quartet at the height of their powers. Yes, "Linus and Lucy" in played, but the set also includes fantastic versions of "Eleanor Rigby" and "Autumn Leaves," amongst others. You really can't go wrong with this one.
The Secret Song File doesn't like most movie remakes. Sometimes they make her gag, even when they mean to make her go gaga. But let's just say that this latest remake has the good sense to allow a certain star favored by paparazzo to sing and sing often. Because otherwise, this remake's still the best (obvi).
The soundtrack is much the same. When the star is singing, it's aces. When that other star is singing? Let's just say that separated from the movie and its images, his voice is less than meh. So it's a mixed bag, but still worth a listen. Every generation gets the remake they deserve, dont'cha think? Which begs the question, what on earth did the 1970s do to deserve this?
The 70s also gave us liposuction, so there's that...?
Birth a li'l star in the comments, if you like!
