"The plot was average; you had to think a lot."

1970's teen show, "Groove-in" reviews Kubricks's "2001: A Space Odyssey". Oh, and there's also a fashion bit...

Tweet's Ladies of Pasadena

The legendary unfinished film by our hero Timothy Carey. Tweet Twig, the only male member of the all-ladies Pasadena knitting club and his mission to clothe all the naked animals in the world. Rumor has it that Carey turned down the role of Luca Brasi in The Godfather to focus on this masterpiece.

Loud and Proud

HBO's "Cinema Verite" offers glimpses of the making of the first "reality" show, "An American Family" from 1973. The Loud family of Santa Barbara was profiled and over the course of the series, the peeling away of their seemingly perfect (boring!) family facade reveals a much more interesting cast of characters.



Perhaps the most interesting was the eldest son, Lance, who moved to New York and took up with the Warhol gang, eventually becoming a writer for "Interview" and lead singer of the Mumps. Lance died of AIDS, at 50.

Morgan Morgan (Minnie & Moskowitz - 1971)

My favorite actor, Timothy Agoglia Carey, in one of his most overlooked performances. Morgan Morgan in John Cassavetes' Minnie and Moskowitz. He was a genius, a sinner and a lunatic.

Everything Sounds Better in French

... like "Starsky and Hutch."

R.I.P. Bea Arthur

As a kid, I wasn't allowed to watch MAUDE because my parents thought it was too controversial, which only made me want to watch it more. I became a big fan of Bea Arthur and even enjoyed her work in GOLDEN GIRLS. In memory of her more scandalous times, here's a video of Bea and the Rock singing about recreational drug use.

IN SEARCH OF -- syndication profits

When the syndicated TV series IN SEARCH OF debuted in 1976, I was spellbound. Leonard Nimoy was host. "He used to be Spock on Star Trek", my cousin told me. With my 9 year old TV-saturated brain I assumed that since Spock was logical and smart (and Nimoy wore a suit jacket and turtleneck and seemed informed) then IN SEARCH OF info must be true. I knew nothing about disclaimers or teleprompters.

The series conducted "investigations" into the pseudoscientific and paranormal (ie: UFOs, Bigfoot, and the Loch Ness Monster). Additionally, it featured episodes about mysterious historical events and personalities such as Anna Anderson/Grand Duchess Anastasia, the Lincoln Assassination, the Jack the Ripper murders, infamous cults (ie. Jim Jones), and missing persons, cities, and ships (ie: Amelia Earhart, Jimmy Hoffa, D. B. Cooper, the Titanic, the lost Roanoke Colony).

Some shows were really creepy and you didn't want to watch them alone. The film reenactments (of hunters terrorized by Bigfoot) could be captivating and terrifying.

Opening verbal disclaimer (by Nimoy): "This series presents information based in part on theory and conjecture. The producer's purpose is to suggest some possible explanations, but not necessarily the only ones, to the mysteries we will examine."

End Credit Narration (by Nimoy): "Lost civilizations, extraterrestrials, myths and monsters, missing persons, magic and witchcraft, unexplained phenomena. 'In Search Of...' cameras are traveling the world, seeking out these great mysteries. This program was the result of the work of scientists, researchers and a group of highly-skilled technicians."

148 half-hour episodes were produced through 1982.

Fun facts:
There was a soundtrack album on AVI Records, released in 1977 and produced by W. Michael Lewis and Laurin Rinder, that featured the In Search Of Orchestra.

A few years later, Series creator Alan Landsburg would give TV audiences THAT'S INCREDIBLE! hosted by John Davidson, Fran Tarkenton and Cathy Lee Crosby (presenting fun factoids and real life freaks).

The "adult" School House Rock medley

Varla Jean Merman (a wonderful performer who says she's the love child of Ethel Merman and Ernie Borgnine) does her adult medley of School House Rock tunes



Varla peforms on the gay cabaret circuit and co-starred in the hysterical movie Girls Will Be Girls (2003) which spoofs several films with Hollywood as a subject, including Sunset Boulevard, All About Eve, What Ever Happened to Baby Jane?, Mommie Dearest and Valley of the Dolls.

VIVA Anna!

How this movie was included in the Critic's Choice catalog, heaven only knows, but I had to look it up once I read the description: "Biller's faithful homage to '60s and '70s sexpolitation-with a feminist twist..."


And then the more I read about her, the more convinced I was that this chick is "one of us"! Hooray!!! It's on Netflix, too!


Now, I have two questions: How did she raise the $$ for this? It doesn't look that cheap! AND: ANNA, will you give ME a job??

Myra Breckenridge

Vintage a'GoGo has a great piece on Myra - check it out!

Too Moorevelous for Words!

Happy Birthday to Sassy Sag, Julianne Moore! What a gorgeous goddess and she's my favorite contemporary actress! I loved her as Cathy Whitaker in Todd Haynes' "Far From Heaven"--a Douglas Sirk-ian technicolor stew of repressed desire:




And who can forget our lady as Amber Waves, tragic porn diva, in "Boogie Nights"?


I think Cathy and Amber have a lot in common...but then the 1950s sure weren't the 1970s! Some days I could be either of them-sigh!

Julianne remains an inspiration: beauty and brains! Bellissima!

The real "Swingtown"

CAUTION: Extreme epidermis exposure and '70s disco music...proceed at your own risk! Kudos to our local film fest, Cucalorus, for airing this selection.

WOMEN IN CAGES (1971)