Tribute: Harry Morgan

Posted on December 7, 2011 at 5:48 pm

Harry Morgan, who died today at age 96, is best remembered as the crusty but fair Colonel Potter in the later years of the television series M*A*S*H. But I remember watching him as the next-door neighbor on reruns of the 1950’s sitcom December Bride and as St. Joe Friday’s sidekick Bill Gannon on Dragnet. He had a remarkable career over more than half a century going back to The Shores of Tripoli. He appeared in musicals — he was a carny outsmarted by a farm boy in “State Fair” and co-starred with Elvis Presley on the riverboat saga, “Frankie and Johnny.” He was in westerns, including the classics High Noon and The Ox-Bow Incident. He was the judge in the Scopes trial story Inherit the Wind. He appeared in war stories, comedies, and costume dramas, opposite stars like James Garner, Henry Fonda, Gary Cooper, James Stewart, Spencer Tracy, Marlon Brando, Debbie Reynolds, and Janet Leigh.

In the M*A*S*H series, Colonel Potter had a picture of his wife on his desk. That photo was of Morgan’s wife of 45 years. The drawing of a horse that hung on the wall behind his desk was drawn by Morgan’s son. May his memory be a blessing.

Related Tags:

Pearl Harbor Day

Posted on December 7, 2011 at 2:34 pm

Skip the Ben Affleck movie and watch these to commemorate the anniversary of the day the Japanese bombed the US Naval base in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii.

As news of the attack reached the world, everyone waited to hear what the President would say. Franklin Roosevelt’s stirring response is still remembered:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3VqQAf74fsE

Attack on Pearl Harbor: A Day of Infamy Japanese pilots and American sailors, eyewitnesses and participants comment on the events of the attack accompanied by newsreel footage, and analysis by military historians.

The History Channel’s Pearl Harbor The History channel provides background to understand what led to the attack and information about the military tactics. The documentary includes coverage of the Harvard-educated Japanese Admiral who planned the attack and interviews with both Japanese and American survivors.

Pearl Harbor: Legacy of Attack This National Geographic documentary follows Robert Ballard, the man who discovered the remains of the Titanic, as he explores the first casualty of the attack, a Japanese midget submarine that was sunk by an American destroyer an hour before the Japanese airplanes made their appearance.

Related Tags:

War

Why Fox is Wrong About the Muppets

Posted on December 7, 2011 at 8:00 am

Fox news caused a stir when Eric Bolling accused the new Muppet movie of promoting a left-wing agenda because the villain in the movie, played by Chris Cooper, is in the oil business.

Nonsense. There’s no agenda here. This charge shows a stunning ignorance (or intentional disregard) of the basic facts of film-making — and of capitalism. The budget for this movie was around $50 million, which could only be undertaken as a matter of pure business. The movie was made by Disney, one of the biggest corporations in the world. They made the film for the most capitalistic of reasons: to sell tickets, DVDs, MP3s, and Muppet toys, lunchboxes, toothbrushes, and anything else they can associate with Kermit, Miss Piggy, and their friends. They don’t want to offend anyone.

But it’s true that a lot of movie bad guys are corporate. As I wrote earlier, corporations are convenient bad guys for movies because they are big, faceless, institutional, and offend no cultural sensibilities. I explained on the Ebert show that is not because of any political agenda, however. Most movies are made by corporations. Corporations want to make money, and if that means making a corporation the bad guy, that is what they will put in movies. It’s been going on since the silent movie days through films like “The Apartment” and “Resident Evil.” That same capitalistic zeal just might just be why Fox, a part of News Corp., decided to try to make Muppets the villains, too; taking on the universally beloved Jim Henson creations attracts attention. But it’s worth noting that another portion of News Corp., is in the movie business. Bolling might want to check out the portrayal of the corporate world in films like “Shame,” “I (Heart) Huckabees,” “Fast Food Nation,” and “Rise of Planet of the Apes.”

Be sure to check out the Twitterverse response on this issue, with the hashtag #GOPMuppethearings. I like this one from dvnix:

“Mr. Grover, can you tell me WHICH one of these things is not like the other and why? Please remember you’re under oath.” #GOPMuppetHearings

Related Tags:

Understanding Media and Pop Culture

Pete Docter’s New Pixar Project

Posted on December 6, 2011 at 3:57 pm

Pete Docter is the guy behind some of Pixar’s best films. He wrote and directed “Up” and “Monsters, Inc.” and provided the story for “Wall•E.” Any time there’s an announcement about a new Docter project it is exciting but this one sounds especially good. Collider reports that in an interview with Pixar founder and now Disney animation head John Lasseter last night with Charlie Rose, Docter’s new project will take us inside the mind of a young girl. It sounds a little like the adorable “Cranium Command” show at Epcot.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PMFJKjGBgOs

It’s great news that Pixar is working on another story about a girl (their first, “Brave,” is due out next year), but we won’t see it for a while, probably not until 2014. Before that, we have the prequel to “Monsters, Inc.,” “Monsters University” and then an untitled movie about dinosaurs to look forward to.

Related Tags:

Trailers, Previews, and Clips

Live Chat with ANTM All-Stars

Posted on December 6, 2011 at 1:21 pm

The season finale of America’s Next Top Model All Stars is tomorrow night. Who will she be? The contestants have faced complicated catwalks and ambitious fashion photo shoots. They’ve been asked to carefully craft their public personas, all under 24-hour-a-day surveillance of the cameras. This round, not only will the winner receive fame and fortune, but she will also be featured in a national marketing campaign shoot for Express!

After the much anticipated finale, Express will run a live chat on their Facebook page on Thursday, December 8^,from 8:00PM-9:00PM (EST). All fans of the Express Facebook page are encouraged to join in on the hour long live chat. Fans will have the opportunity to post questions both before and during the live chat for the winner to answer in real time. All Express and ANTM fans will also have a chance to win a trip to NYC to shop with an ANTM at an Express store! Thursday, December 8, is the last day to enter.