Robert Conrad and Connie Stevens in Palm Springs Weekend, aka Troy Donahue Takes The Stairs, Taurog, 1963
Remember when cinematic treatments of the romantic travails of 20-somethings looked like this? Whoa. I'll have to ask my mom about the whole verisimilitude factor here...
Polemicizing is fun, but it can be exhausting, too. While I'm happy to pick up whatever threads continue to require tending in some of the below posts, I believe I'll devote most of this week's postings to fluffy puppies and stuff, in anticipation of Valentine's Day, and what not. Keep the blood pressure down and all.
Although now that I think of it, I wonder what a Swanberg-directed Buddies movie would look like?...
"Although now that I think of it, I wonder what a Swanberg-directed Buddies movie would look like?..."
The dogs would probably keep licking their balls.
Posted by: bill | February 09, 2009 at 11:01 AM
Those are terribly directed films - the lady dog is looking at something off camera in that shot! Most likely the director holding a bowl of dog biscuits!
:D
Posted by: colinr | February 09, 2009 at 01:23 PM
Personally, as I watched SPACE BUDDIES, I said to myself, "This is almost as good as Vigo's L'ATALANTE!"
Posted by: Bill C | February 09, 2009 at 05:11 PM
"You know, these movies are supposed to be about a bunch of talking dogs who do cute stuff in space," My Lovely WIfe observed as I was getting the above screen grab this morning, "but once you isolate a frame like that, it's clear that they're just about putting small dogs in stupid costumes and making them feel really uncomfortable."
Posted by: Glenn Kenny | February 09, 2009 at 07:59 PM
Now that Warners has seen fit to release Palm Springs Weekend on DVD, I can only hope that it's a short wait for William Conrad's two horror films starring Troy and Connie. For myself, the best reason to see Two on a Guilotine is because it's the film that caused Max Steiner to quit scoring movies.
Posted by: Peter Nellhaus | February 09, 2009 at 09:36 PM
Yes Peter, Bill Conrad rules! Hopefully the box set will include his two directorial efforts with Jeffrey Hunter, Brainstorm and The Man From Galveston. I'm even more eager for a DVD of Jack Webb's -30- wherein The Big Guy plays the definitive night city editor -- this coming from someone who worked many midnight shifts on newspapers -- and Richard Deacon is a disgruntled cartoonist. Plus David Nelson as a bongo-playing copyboy! The storyline is pure soap opera, but it captures the ambiance of a midcentury city room as well as any movie I can think of. Only Teacher's Pet comes close.
Posted by: Lou Lumenick | February 09, 2009 at 10:49 PM
The dogs probably know more tricks than Swanberg.
Oh, I kid! I kid! It just seemed like the joke to make.
Posted by: James Rocchi | February 11, 2009 at 12:29 PM
Lou: I'd LOVE to see -30-. I'm something of a Jack Webb fanboy, and I was able to track down The D.I. and The Last Time I Saw Archie, but haven't come across -30- yet. I caught the Dragnet feature on premium cable, and saw Pete Kelly's Blues years ago (reminds me -- got to pick up that DVD). I've managed to find a couple of dozen episodes of the 50s incarnation of the Dragnet series, too, and occasionally check out the 60s version on hulu.com. Fascinating filmmaker.
Posted by: jbryant | February 13, 2009 at 02:59 PM