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Friday, October 28, 2011

TGIF: 21 Facts About The Munsters Behind The Scenes

Two Fridays ago, I talked about the classic television program, The Addams Family. The program ran on television from 1964-1966 and managed to earn an audience during its two season run. For those of you who have not yet read the entry, you can click on this link to revisit it, but for those of you who have, you may have been entertained by some of the background information behind the show's creation, as well as some trivia bits about the actors playing the characters, as well as the characters themselves.


Now, what if I told you that The Addams Family wasn't the only family sitcom that dealt with an eccentric family that lived in a house that looked as if it were Halloween every day? What if I told you that the sitcom aired in black-and-white just like The Addams Family? What if I told you that this sitcom debuted the same year as The Addams Family, and actually had the same two season run that The Addams Family enjoyed?

Really, the similarities between the two sitcoms are more than I initially thought when I began the research for today's blog subject. But, there are main differences as well.

So, why don't we just get into the nitty-gritty?



Today's blog topic is all about The Munsters, a television sitcom that aired on CBS from September 24, 1964 to May 12, 1966. Seventy episodes were produced. The show starred the late actors Fred Gwynne and Yvonne DeCarlo as Herman and Lily Munster, and the program dealt with the day-to-day hassles that the Munsters had to endure while raising their only child, Eddie (Butch Patrick) at their home on 1313 Mockingbird Lane.



Oh, did I mention that the Munsters were a family of monsters, and that some of their house pets included a bat, a dragon, and a cat that roared like a lion?

In many aspects, there are quite a few similarities between The Addams Family, and The Munsters. As explained earlier, both were in black-and-white, both families were designed with a spooky edge, and both series ran from 1964-1966.

But here's the kicker. Although The Addams Family debuted six days before The Munsters did, and although the concept for The Addams Family was developed long before The Munsters ever came along, The Munsters always seemed to rank higher on the Nielsen ratings scale than The Addams Family, and ran about one month longer than The Addams Family had. Had it not been for the success of the full-color Batman television series which debuted in 1966, it's entirely possible that The Munsters could have been greenlighted for a third season.

And there were major differences between the two families. While the Addams Family were more gothic, and enjoyed a wealthy lifestyle, the Munsters seemed to live a more working-class lifestyle, with Herman being the sole wage-earner of the family. Also, unlike the Addams Family, who mostly stayed at their home to entertain guests, the Munsters were more outgoing, and had just as many adventures outside the family home as they did within. Now, this is only speculation, of course, but my theory as to why the Munsters seemed to do better in the ratings is because their family structure was one that more people could relate to. The family dynamic in the Munsters family was one that was not uncommon with the average family of the 1960s where the dad was the main breadwinner, and the woman stayed home to take care of the children and the house.

Keep in mind that I said 1960s, and not 2010s.

Where The Addams Family began as a cartoon featured in The New Yorker, the idea for the creation of the Munsters began as an idea by animator Bob Clampett. In the late 1940s, Clampett pitched the idea to Universal Studios initially as a cartoon series, but it wasn't until the 1960s that these plans started to be developed. By then, a format for a similar idea that Clampett presented was submitted to Universal Studios by Allan Burns and Chris Hayward (who worked as writers for the classic cartoon Rocky & Bullwinkle). The format was then handed to writers Norm Liebman and Ed Haas, who immediately penned a pilot script, entitled Love Thy Monster.

Many network executives believed that the show would work best as a cartoon series, while several others argued that the show would be better presented in the live-action format. Eventually though, a live-action presentation was made to CBS, courtesy of MCA Television. This presentation only lasted about fifteen minutes, and unlike the television series, this pitch episode was filmed entirely in colour. The executives seemed to like the idea of the series through the episode, but several changes were soon made (which you'll read about further down in the trivia portion), and while the necessary parts were recast, CBS officially greenlighted the production for The Munsters on February 18, 1964. The pitch episode would eventually be expanded and used as the basis for the Munsters episode 'My Fair Munster'.

So, what sorts of trivia, behind-the-scenes action, and miscellaneous tidbits can I share with all of you for this television series? Oh, lots of things! Let's start off with the patriarch of the series, Herman Munster, and go from there.



#1 – Herman Munster was played by Fred Gwynne (1926-1993). Although Gwynne would go on to say that he loved playing Herman Munster, he grew frustrated after the show was cancelled because he kept on getting typecast as a result of his role.

#2 – Part of the reason Gwynne was cast as Herman Munster was because of his size. At 6'5”, he easily could step into the role of what was designed as a 'goofy parody of Frankenstein's monster'. Although, you may not know that he actually wore elevator shoes that made him an additional four inches taller.

#3 – Since the show was filmed with black-and-white film, the crew had to improvise with make-up to capture the light of the character faces on the film. They managed to find a way to do this with Herman Munster by covering Fred Gwynne's face with bright violet face paint. So, the next time you watch an episode of The Munsters, know that in each episode, Herman Munster had a purple coloured face! Kind of ironic, given that in the television show, Herman Munster is actually supposed to be green!

#4 – Fred Gwynne's costume was incredibly heavy to wear. The entire costume forced Gwynne to wear 40-50 pounds of padding. The costume, combined with the heat from the studio lights caused Gwynne to perspire heavily to the point where he actually lost weight! Gwynne attempted to cool down by downing glasses of lemonade, ingesting salt tablets, and having an air hose inside his costume.

#5 – In the pitch episode, the characters of Lily Munster and Eddie Munster were played by different actors. Lily was initially named Phoebe Munster, and was originally played by actress Joan Marshall. Eddie was initially played by Nate “Happy” Derman. Unfortunately, Happy's...um...happiness came to an end, when he was recast because he had made Eddie's character bratty and nasty, and just plain unlikeable. As for Joan Marshall being replaced by Yvonne DeCarlo, it was because producers believed that Marshall looked too much like Morticia Addams, and that they needed an actress that had her own individual look.



#6 – Yvonne DeCarlo's casting as Lily Munster initially wasn't well-received by Fred Gwynne and Al Lewis (who played Grandpa). Both actors had said that because of DeCarlo's lengthy film career, they felt that she may not fit in on the set of a television sitcom. Fortunately, after filming a few episodes, both Gwynne and Lewis admitted that they were wrong in their opinions, and all three actors got along throughout the duration of the series.

#7 - For Yvonne DeCarlo, the role could not have come at a better time. 1964 was a rather difficult year for her, as her work in Hollywood had dried up, she was deep in debt and was showing signs of depression. By getting the role in the series (she was producers first choice to fill in after Joan Marshall was let go), her career continued on.

#8 – Yvonne DeCarlo loved playing the role of Lily Munster. She said about the role that “it meant security. It gave me a new, young audience I wouldn't have had otherwise. It made me 'hot' again, which I wasn't for a while.” As well, when asked by people how a glamourous actress such as herself could play such a ghoulish matriarch of a haunted house, she simply replied that “I follow the directions I received on the first day of shooting...play her just like Donna Reed.”

#9 – The car that Grandpa drove on The Munsters was built from an actual coffin that was purchased from a real Hollywood funeral home, and was dubbed the DRAG-U-LA. This car inspired a Rob Zombie single, released in 1998.



#10 – Take a close look at the headstone on the front of Grandpa's DRAG-U-LA. It reads (Born 1367, Died ?). 1367 is the birth year given for Grandpa.



#11 – Grandpa is designed to look like Dracula. In fact, his name is later given in the series as Sam Dracula. He is Lily Munster's father.

#12 – The role of Marilyn Munster was recast during the filming of the series. For the first thirteen episodes of the series, the role was played by Beverley Owen. From episode 14 to 70, Pat Priest took over the role of Marilyn.

#13 – The role was recast a third time for the feature film Munster, Go Home. In that movie, the role was played by Debbie Watson. Reportedly, Pat Priest was devastated at not being included in the film.



#14 – The reason why Beverley Owen was replaced as Marilyn Munster was so she could get married to her boyfriend Jon Stone (who directed and wrote many episodes of the children's television program Sesame Street). But the lead-up to her leaving the show was quite emotional. Because the television show filmed in California, Owen was forced to leave New York City to commit to the role, which meant that she and Stone had to endure a long-distance relationship. This caused Owen to become very unhappy, and it was reported that she broke down in tears quite often on the studio. It was later revealled that the only reason why she took on the role was because she didn't think the show would last.



#15 – When Pat Priest was brought on board to replace the departing Owen, the costume department didn't need to take in or create new outfits, as Owen and Priest had almost exactly the same build. With Priest even resembling Owen physically, when the switch was made in episode 14, many viewers didn't even know that the switch had even happened!

#16 – Somehow, despite the fact that his father looked like Frankenstein's monster, and his mother was a vampire, Eddie Munster ended up becoming a were-boy. Though on the series, Eddie Munster did display signs of being part vampire.



#17 - Butch Patrick was the second actor to play Eddie Munster, after Happy Derman was recast after the pitch episode. He would later spoof his role on a 1999 episode of The Simpsons.

#18 – In real life, actress Yvonne DeCarlo drove a Jaguar sedan that was custom-fitted with spooky ornaments, but had to give it up after repeated vandalism by fans who were seeking souvenirs from the actress.

#19 – A couple in Waxahachie, Texas, built a fully liveable recreation of 1313 Mockingbird Lane, the home that the Munsters lived in on the series.

#20 – The exterior shots of 1313 Mockingbird Lane have also been reused for other television and film productions. It was initially built in 1946 for the movie “So Goes My Love”, and put into storage until the 1950s where it could be seen as a backdrop for other sitcoms such as Leave It To Beaver. The house was remodeled in the mid-2000s and has been featured in the ABC dramatic series, Desperate Housewives.

#21 – Contrary to popular belief, Lily and Herman Munster were NOT the first television couple to be seen sharing the same bed.

And, there you have it. Twenty-one things you may or may not have known about The Munsters. I hope you enjoyed this look back on this classic sitcom. I know I had a blast remembering it.



Thursday, October 27, 2011

Thursday Night At The Arcade: Plants Vs. Zombies

A few months ago, I celebrated a bit of a milestone birthday. I recently turned the big three-oh. A lot of people say that turning 30 can be the best thing that ever happened to them. Then there are some who say that turning 30 was the worst birthday ever.


As far as my own experience goes, turning 30 wasn't really all that memorable for me. It wasn't absolutely the best birthday I have ever had, but it's not exactly what I would consider to be the worst.

Looking back on it, I think that I do have a few things going for me as I enter this decade. For one, I have been told that I don't really look my age. And believe me, this is good, because I've been told I look younger than I really am. Personally, I don't see it myself, but again, we are our own worst critics when it comes to how we look and how we present ourselves to other people, so I suppose that may explain it. Of course, the fact that I still get carded at certain watering holes does give me a bit of a chuckle.

And at least I still have my health...well, despite a brief health scare earlier in the year which has left me with a rather groovy (in a grotesque way) scar across my mid-section, so that's cool.

Of course, the number 30 represents an age that is kind of in the crosshairs of adulthood. On one hand, it's supposed to represent responsibility and maturity, but on the other hand, it is a number that some people can't take seriously, or a number where people sometimes still look at you as if a decimal point exists between the three and the zero.

In my case, the number 30 is kind of represented by the Britney Spears song 'I'm Not A Girl, Not Yet A Woman'...only, in the masculine sense.

30 for me means that I'm not a boy, not yet a man. At least that's the way I see it.

I certainly feel as though sometimes I feel like I'm walking that tightrope between childhood and adulthood quite often, unsure of where the final fall will take me. Turning thirty only seemed to make that rope even more tougher to balance on, because of all the mixed signals surrounding it.

I mean, as I said before, I'm old enough to drink at a bar, but sometimes still feel as though I'm a lost seventeen year old unsure of how to hang with the other adults in the room. There's a part of me that wants to mingle with them and act all adult like and sophisticated, but there's another part that kind of wants to take that sophistication and toss it right out the window.

In almost every aspect of my life, the line between childhood and adulthood is constantly blurred, right down to the methods of entertainment that I prefer.

And, in a way, that's what this edition of Thursday Night At The Arcade is all about. Blurring the lines between childhood and adulthood.

Video games and I have always seemed to have a relationship that few understood. I reckon that in my childhood, I played almost every video game ever released for the Nintendo Entertainment System, and even sustained some video game related injuries as a result of this.

(And, yes, I see your snickering and guffawing out there, and all I have to say to that is that it is the truth. I think I actually may have had the only case of 'Nintendo Neck' diagnosed during 1992.)

The point is that as a child, my video game addiction was at its peak.

Nowadays, it seems as though it is very rare for me to find a video game that holds my interest enough to continue playing it. A lot of the video games that are out now seem to deal with how many things can you blow up with a gun, or how many cars can you steal, or how many innocent people can you run over with said stolen cars.

Some of those games are the most boring video games that I have ever played.

I see many of you Call of Duty, Grand Theft Auto, and Halo fans beginning to swarm this blog, ready to 'PWN the n00b', but cease your flames. I'm just stating that those games are not for me. I don't care if you think they are the greatest video games ever invented, they just aren't my cup of tea.

Actually, my tastes towards video games are beginning to become quite adult like in a sense. Granted, I do play Mario, Spyro, and Final Fantasy style games whenever I have the time to play them, but lately I've been playing more puzzle style games. Games such as Sudoku, The Price Is Right, Wheel Of Fortune, and Jeopardy. Games that the average ten year old boy probably doesn't play on their home gaming systems or portable hand held game players.

As a 30-year-old man though, I can't get enough of puzzle games. And the subject of today's blog entry ironically happens to be a birthday gift that I received for my 30th birthday by my 15-year-old niece.



The popular video game Plants Vs. Zombies was first released on May 5, 2009 by PopCap Games, the same company responsible for such other puzzle game hits as Bejeweled, Bookworm, and Chuzzle. Since 2009, the game has been ported to various gaming systems and technology devices including the Xbox 360, iPad, iPhone, and the version I have, the one for the Nintendo DS.



The game is your standard run of the mill 'get them before they get you' strategy game, albeit with a twist. Your job is to plant a smorgasbord of seeds in the backyard of your house, where over time they will grow to become various types of flowers, vines, fungi, and roots. And it's important that you make sure that your gardening skills are at their peak for you will need every green thumb to make it through the game alive.



For some inexplicable reason, the streets of the neighbourhood have been taken over by brain-eating zombies, and their next meal out just happens to be at YOUR house!

Now here's the clincher. Apparently, zombies have a weak spot in this game. Zombies do not like being attacked by seeds and pollen that is given off by plants (which had the people known that in the movie Dawn of the Dead, all they needed to do was take refuge inside a place that specialized in pot-pourri, and they would have been set for life). So, part of the strategy of winning the game is to plant your seeds as quickly as possible so that your defense can overpower the zombie offense at all times.



There's just a couple of things that one needs to consider. One, zombies don't just have an appetite for brains...they also seem to have a vegetarian side, and they can devour some of the weaker plants, mushrooms, vegetables, and nuts before you get a chance to plant some more, so take that into consideration.

The second thing that one has to be aware of is the fact that in order to grow plants, you need an adequate amount of sunlight to make it happen. No sunlight, no plant. And considering that a couple of the Plants Vs. Zombies stages can occur at night, finding a decent supply of natural light can become a challenge.

Oh, and some levels can involve having zombies diving in a swimming pool to get to the people inside the house, and bungee jumping on the roof to destroy the rooftop plants placed there to protect the chimney entranceway.

So, you can see that the road to protecting your home from the zombies is not going to be an easy one. Fortunately, you have tools at your disposal that will make even more deader meat out of the zombies.



For instance, sunflower plants can help you get as much sunlight as you want to grow various species of plants, and in later levels where the sun sets, you're going to need every single sunflower to survive. You have dozens of plants that can do a number of things from shooting seeds, to blowing flames, to creating barricades, and even blowing up on contact. All of these plants are necessary to keep the zombies at bay.

At the end of each level, once the last zombie is killed, they can leave behind seed packets that will allow you the ability to grow even more plants.

Now, suppose you don't get your plants planted fast enough, and the zombies manage to make it to the front door, back door, and chimney of your house, there is one last line of defense that one can still use. By having lawnmowers placed at the end of each lane of the area, if a zombie manages to trigger the power cord of the lawnmower, the lawnmower will start up and take out every zombie in the lane. But be warned...once the lawnmowers are released, you can't get them back again until the level is completed. And as the game continues, you can make upgrades to these lawnmowers as well.

The game also has a ton of minigames included that the player can play to add to all the zombie busting fun, some of which contain more strategy than others, but all of them worth playing at least once.

And, really, that's all that matters to me. As long as a game is fun, enjoyable and challenging, it really can be fun for people of all ages.

Because sometimes, the lines that separate childhood from adulthood don't necessarily need to be drawn.


Wednesday, October 26, 2011

Across The Pond and Beyond: The Genius Of Alfred Hitchcock



I'm certain that just by the video of the theme song that I have posted above, you can guess just who the subject for today's Across The Pond and Beyond blog post is.

Keeping in tradition with posting spooky, scary, and macabre topics from now until Halloween, I figure what better way to do this than making legendary director Alfred Hitchcock as the subject. After all, Alfred Hitchcock has been known to make some of the most frightening, scary movies of all time, and has been cited as an influential figure to such directors as Steven Spielberg, Brian DePalma, Robert Zemeckis, Tim Burton, Martin Scorcese, and Stanley Kubrick.



Alfred Hitchcock was born on August 13, 1899 in Leytonstone, London, England. His childhood was reported to be very lonely and isolated, compounded by the fact that he was an obese child (which, come to think of it I can sympathize with, as I was in a similar situation). His parents were rather strict with the boy as he grew older, and some of the punishments that they would dole on young Alfred were certainly harsh. Hitchcock admitted in an interview that when he was ten years old, his father had sent him to the local police station with a note asking them to lock him up in a jail cell for ten minutes as a punishment for misbehaving. He would also talk about how his mother would also often force him to address her while standing at the foot of her bed, especially if he was misbehaving. Sometimes, Hitchcock would have to stay standing there for hours.

Who knew that these experiences with his parents would end up influencing Alfred Hitchcock's career? But, let's hold on to that thought and put it on the backburner for a few minutes.

When Alfred was 14, his father passed away, and the same year, he began to study at the London County Council School of Engineering and Navigation in Poplar, London. When he graduated, he started working as a draftsman and advertising designer with a cable company called Henley's.

It was during his time at Henley's that Hitchcock's creativity began to awaken. When the company formed an in-house publication called The Henley Telegraph in 1919, Hitchcock decided to submit a few short articles for the publication. Shortly after writing his first article, a story entitled Gas, was about a woman who imagined that she was assaulted one night in Paris, which ended up being merely a hallucination that she experienced in a dentist's chair while undergoing anesthetic. His next piece, The Woman's Part, was told through the point of view of a husband having conflicting emotions over watching his wife performing on stage in a play. Other stories he wrote for the publication included Sordid (1920), What's Who? (1920), The History Of Pea Eating (1920), and a rather controversial story for the time called And There Was No Rainbow, which depicted a young man wanting to have an adventure at a brothel only to end up at the doorstep of his best friend's girlfriend instead.



It was taboo stories and his shocking twist endings for his stories that really began to shape what would inevitably become his career choice even after Hitchcock submitted his final piece Fedora to the publication in 1921. By 1921, Hitchcock started to develop a love for photography, and this new interest helped him get into wanting to work in the film industry. He began his career as a title-card designer for the London branch of a movie studio (which would later become Paramount Pictures), and soon earned a full-time position at Islington Studios designing the titles for silent movies. His hard work would pay off just five years later when he made the transition from title designer to film director.

Granted, when Hitchcock first got interested in wanting to direct films, his luck didn't start off being all that good. His first film project was supposed to have been The Number 13, slated for release in 1922, but due to financial problems, production for the film grinded to a halt, and the project was scrapped. A 1925 film known as The Pleasure Garden was a huge flop to the audience. A third film, 1926's The Mountain Eagle was also left unreleased.

But 1926 would also net Hitchcock his very first success with The Lodger: A Story Of The London Fog. Hitchcock directed the film throughout 1926, and the film premiered in January 1927, and was a huge hit. That film is also cited as being the first example of what would soon be known as a “Hitchcockian film”, with such themes as the 'wrong man' and 'unfair punishment' being present. By 1929, Hitchcock already had nine films under his belt in his native England, and by the time his tenth film, Blackmail, was being completed, the decision was made by British International Pictures to bring sound to the film. The film was released in 1929, and is widely regarded by many to be one of the first and finest examples of a 'talkie'. The film's climax took place on the dome of the British Museum, which kicked off another Hitchcock tradition of using famous landmarks as a backdrop for suspense scenes.

Another concept that Hitchcock relished using, especially in his later films, is the 'MacGuffin device'. It was first used in his 1935 film, The 39 Steps, and was used as a plot device in which the movie is supposed to revolve around, but ultimately has nothing to do with the real meaning of the film.

Certainly, Hitchcock's early career wasn't all stellar. There were some incidents in his early career that would later come back to haunt him. Take a quotation that Hitchcock was heard to have made about how actors were 'cattle'. He said this in connection to stage actors who were snobbish about motion pictures. That quotation caused a bit of a scandal back in the day, and in 1941, his words would come back to haunt him on the set of a film production. During the filming of Mr. and Mrs. Smith, actress Carole Lombard had brought a few cows onto the soundstage with the name tags of each of the actors and actresses starring in the film attached to them. Hitchcock was surprised by this action, and he later claimed that he was misquoted, stating that he had meant to say 'actors should be treated like cattle'.

Which didn't sound much better, but there it is.

By the end of the 1930's, American film producer David O. Selznick signed Hitchcock to a seven year contract, and when Hitchcock and his wife Alma moved to the United States in early 1939, his work in the United States had officially begun.



In 1940, Hitchcock had made his American film debut with the film Rebecca, a movie starring Laurence Olivier and Joan Fontaine. The movie dealt with the subject of fear. A young bride moves into an English country home and must adapt to the extreme formality and coldness she faces each day she stays there. The movie won the Academy Award for Best Picture that year, which Selznick accepted, but by the end of the film's completion, reports were that the working relationship between Hitchcock and Selznick was strained, with Hitchcock being displeased with Selznick's creative control over his films, and Selznick's constant money problems being an issue. Selznick in turn complained that Hitchcock's method of editing was so jigsaw puzzle like that he felt as though his own creative control was being diminished in a sense.

In 1941, Hitchcock directed and produced the film Suspicion, starring Fontaine, and Cary Grant in one of his few villainous roles. The film is mostly remembered for the classic scene in which Hitchcock uses a light bulb to illuminate a glass of milk that Grant's character brings to his wife, implying that the milk might be poisonous. The ending was also changed as well. Initially, because the film was based on a book, the ending was supposed to have had Grant's character exposed as the killer, but because the studio did not want to tarnish Grant's image to the public, the ending was made more ambiguous.

Other films that netted Hitchcock some much deserved success included 1943's Shadow Of A Doubt (Hitchcock's personal favourite film he directed), 1945's Spellbound, and 1951's Strangers On A Train.

I could go on and on describing each and every single one of Hitchcock's many films, as all of them really did have an impact on pop culture and the cinema world, but I would be here forever if I did. So, what I'll do to give this blog a bit of a personal touch is to list my top three Hitchcock films of all time, and then talk a little bit about the plots, actors, and other bits of trivia.



My third favourite Hitchcock film is the 1963 film 'The Birds', which starred Tippi Hedren (whose daughter Melanie Griffith is also an actress) in the leading role. The film was originally inspired by a short story written by Daphne Du Maurier, but was also inspired by a news story coming out of California about an infestation of birds in a seaside town.

The film takes place in Bodega Bay, California which has been the location of several severe unexplained bird attacks. The film begins as we meet socialite Melanie Daniels (Hedren) who makes the acquaintance of a lawyer, Mitch Brenner (Rod Taylor) at a San Francisco pet shop. He mistakes her to be a salesperson, as he is there to purchase a set of lovebirds for a present for his sister's birthday. Intrigued by him, Melanie decides to find out where the man lived. After finding an address for him in Bodega Bay, she decides to purchase the lovebirds, and decides to leave the birds at his house along with a note. But on her way back home, she gets attacked by a seagull, leaving her with a gash on her forehead.



As a relationship develops between Mitch and Melanie, the bird attacks continue. A gull smashes into the front door of Annie Hayworth's (Suzanne Pleshette) home, and the next day, a group of birds swarm the birthday party of Mitch's sister. That evening, sparrows manage to fly inside the Brenner home.

Over the course of the next few days, the bird attacks escalate. A man is knocked unconscious after getting swarmed with birds at a gas station, and as the gas keeps pumping, another man carelessly throws a lit cigar on the ground, igniting the gasoline and causing an explosion. Melanie is forced to hide inside a telephone booth as thousands of birds attack the townspeople. The film leads to one final confrontation against the birds in the boarded up Brenner residence.

The reason I like this movie so much is because it was based on a real life news story (though exaggerated), and because it really had some awesome special effects for its time. Tippi Hedren did a great job in her role as well, even though Hedren said that her career reportedly stalled after filming the movie as she claimed that she refused Hitchcock's reported sexual advances. Initially, the film was written with Cary Grant and Grace Kelly in mind for the lead roles. However, my second favourite Hitchcock film starred Grace Kelly.

Before Grace Kelly became the Princess of Monaco, she starred in three of Hitchcock's most successful films. Dial M For Murder and To Catch A Thief were both huge successes at the box office, but my own personal favourite of hers was one that I happened to see during a college film studies class.



Rear Window was released in 1954, and starred Grace Kelly, James Stewart, and Raymond Burr, and the movie dealt with the subject of what neighbours really did behind closed doors. After sustaining an accident which leaves L.B. “Jeff” Jeffries (Stewart) wheelchair bound with a broken leg, he is confined to his Greenwich Village apartment. The rear window of his apartment offers a good view of the courtyard in front of his apartment building, along with a view at the apartment building across the way. To alleviate his boredom during a heat wave, he stares outside the rear window at the tenants over at the other building.

At first, nothing out of the ordinary happens, but soon, Jeff notices something peculiar happening with one of the tenants, Lars Thorwald (Burr), a wholesale jewelry salesman who has a bedridden wife at home. Jeff is used to seeing Thorwald making late-night trips up and down the stairs with his sample filled briefcase, but one night, he notices that the briefcase, as well as his wife are not visible. Instead, he gazes at the rather chilling image of Thorwald carrying a large knife and handsaw. Later, Jeff spies Thorwald tying up a large wooden crate with a thick rope and having moving men remove it. He talks about what he has seen with his girlfriend Lisa Fremont (Kelly), and suspects that Thorwald has murdered his wife. Of course with no physical evidence proving that this is true, and police unable to find anything suspicious, the theory seems to be one that is simply that. A theory.

A few days later, the discovery of a deceased dog by its owner sends everyone running to the poor woman's apartment...all except Thorwald, who stays behind in his apartment, lighting up a cigar casually. This incident just confirms Jeff's belief that Thorwald was the one who not only killed the dog, but his still missing wife as well. He has Lisa slip a note, accusing him of the crime, underneath Thorwald's door, just so he can gauge his reaction to the note. Jeff soon realizes that he has to get proof that Thorwald really did commit murder, and in order to do this, he has to get him to leave the apartment. When Jeff calls Thorwald under the guise of a friend wanting to meet him at a bar. Jeff's theory is that he buried either the murder weapon or even the body of Mrs. Thorwald in the flower bed by the apartment, and that maybe he killed the dog because the dog was getting too close. 



When Mr. Thorwald leaves the apartment, Lisa and Jeff's home-care nurse Stella (Thelma Ritter) start digging up the flower bed, but are unable to find anything. Lisa attempts to then sneak into Thorwald's apartment to find evidence, and manages to get in through the fire escape. But when Jeff stares in horror as Thorwald returns, he realizes that Lisa is in danger. Will Lisa get out before Thorwald comes back? And is Thorwald really guilty?

This film was a fantastic movie, and I loved every minute of it. Great acting, humongous star power, and a storyline that kept you on the edge of your seat. Plus it offered a rather blunt social commentary on how our society was becoming more voyeuristic. A point that was effectively proven through the eyes of L.B. “Jeff” Jeffries.

And finally, my all time favourite Hitchcock film. A film that was made over fifty years ago, but still sends shivers down the spines of moviegoers past and present.



When the film Psycho was released on June 16, 1960, nobody knew just how much of an impact the film would have. The film spawned many recreations and spoofs on various television programs, inspired a rather dull 1998 remake starring Anne Heche, and shades of the plot even made its way to the soap opera Guiding Light, as a male rapist took on the persona of an elderly female named Marion Crane to conceal his identity.

Marion Crane, of course, being the name of one of the main characters of the movie.

Janet Leigh played Marion Crane, a secretary who had done some very bad things. She was a common criminal, embezzling thousands of dollars from her employer and fleeing town in a dash to avoid being caught. She needed the money to marry her lover, Sam Loomis, and believes that if she can just make it to his California home, she will be free and clear. Fate however would prevent her from reaching her destination. In this case, fate took the patronus of a heavy rainfall, which forced her to stop driving for her own safety. As a result, she eventually ends up arriving at the secluded Bates Motel where she is immediately greeted by the motel's manager and owner, Norman Bates (played by Anthony Perkins).

Norman Bates is an odd duck, to put it lightly. As Marion checks into the hotel, Bates explains that he very rarely has any customers, given the location, and he tells Marion that he lives in the house that overlooks the motel with his mother. He decides to invite Marion to have dinner with him. She accepts the offer, but upon meeting Norman on the date, she overhears Norman and his mother getting into a heated argument, which makes Marion feel uncomfortable. When Norman rejoins Marion, he is angered when Marion suggests that he institutionalize his mother, and Norman tries to explain to Marion that while he feels such a move would be best, he cannot bring himself to abandon her.

After thinking about it for some time, Marion begins to realize that she made a mistake in hastily robbing her employer blind, and makes the choice to drive back to Phoenix to return the money. But first, she has to make herself look presentable. She starts to get ready for a shower, unaware that Norman is watching her through the keyhole in her room (another voyeuristic film, what do you know?) getting undressed.

It is when Marion steps into the shower that the viewer is treated to one of the most goriest, scariest, shocking scenes that has ever graced the world of horror films.



Now, here's a little bit of trivia for the shower scene. Contrary to popular belief, Janet Leigh DID use a body double for the shower scene. In shots where her face is not shown, you're actually watching body double Marli Renfro stand in. The sound of a blade piercing human flesh was simulated using a knife stabbing a melon repeatedly. The blood used in the shower scene was actually Bosco brand chocolate syrup, and Janet Leigh reportedly could not get into a shower for years after the film was released.

So now that Marion was dead, we all know that the culprit HAD to have been Norman Bates, as he was the only other one at the Bates Motel. Right? Not according to Bates. Bates blamed his mother for the crime. Things get even more complicated when Marion's sister, Lila (Vera Miles) arrives on the scene, along with a private investigator (Martin Balsam), wanting to know what happened to Marion and the money that she had stolen. The whole film comes to a conclusion that left viewers stunned. And I'm sure you all know what that surprise ending is, but in case some of you haven't seen the movie, I won't spill any secrets.

But let this be another life lesson for you. Eventually, bad deeds do come back to haunt you, and karma can be a real bitch when she needs to be. For poor Marion Crane, her crimes were punished in the most severe way, though not even she knew what she was in for.

Alfred Hitchcock certainly knew how to create a suspenseful, powerful, edge of your seat movie. During his entire career, he released over fifty feature films, and had a career that lasted almost six decades total. He directed his final feature film, Family Plot, in 1976. Four years later, on April 29, 1980, Alfred Hitchcock passed away at the age of 80, survived by his wife Alma, and only daughter Patricia.

But even though Hitchcock has been dead for over thirty years now, his legacy continues to live on. With several of his classic films being remade (though not nearly having the same success as the original versions), and his two television series (one running from 1955-1965, the second one airing after his death from 1987-1989), millions of people watched and were influenced by his one-of-a-kind movie ideas, and his endings with a twist.

Alfred Hitchcock.  Creative genius of the mysterious and macabre.  Need I say more?



Tuesday, October 25, 2011

It was Colonel Mustard! No, Mrs. White! Augh...Gimme a CLUE, people!

I have always loved a great murder mystery.

It doesn't matter whether it happens to be in the form of a computer game, or a gripping mystery novel, or a spy movie. If there is a murder mystery on the air, I am definitely one to tune in. It's why I loved the reality show Murder In Small Town X, and stayed with the 13-episode run of Harper's Island, and why I have played every possible online murder mystery game out there. Maybe in a way, I'm enacting my fantasy of becoming a private detective, because I know that my queasiness over the sight of blood would make such a career impossible.

Though, I suppose I could always write a gripping murder mystery novel myself at some point. Hmmm...come to think of it, that's not a bad idea.

Truth be told, you know those mystery dinner improv performances and theaters that exist? The one where you get invited to a person's home and eat a fantastic meal only for the festivities to be interrupted by the death of one of the guests? I would so love to be able to go to one of those murder mystery weekends, just for the sheer fun of trying to discover who the murderer is. I would even do it just for fun. I wouldn't even want to play for the prize money or what have you. I just would want to take part in one of those weekends because I think I would really enjoy myself.

So, yeah, if any of you know any places in Canada that specialize in murder mystery weekends, please drop me a line. I really would want to go to one (well, provided that I end up being a mystery solver, and not the subject of the mystery).

I suppose you might be wondering where I developed my love for all things murder mystery. Believe it or not, it was greatly influenced by my childhood. And, no, I didn't watch a lot of violent television shows and movies as a child, because my parents sort of monitored my television viewing as a young child, as parents tend to do.

But I did spend many hours playing a particular board game in my youth. A board game that was created many years ago that dealt with the very subject of trying to find out who the murderer was in a group of six suspects.



That board game of course is the game Clue (or if you happen to live in the UK, Cluedo).

The board game is a basic dice-rolling game that takes place in an extravagant mansion where the murder of Mr. Boddy has taken place (Dr. Black in the UK version). Using clues given by each of the players (through various cards), it is up to the player to figure out who committed the murder, what the murder weapon was, and where the murder took place. The player that can deduce all of the clues given and come up with the right solution will win the game.

What many people might not know is that over the game's sixty plus year history, the game has been redesigned quite a few times. There were playing pieces originally made that never made it into the final product. Some of the characters that did make it into the game had complete personality revamps and sometimes the characters changed hair colour, stature, even skin colour!

But first things first, let's get to how the board game Clue was created, shall we?

The origins for Clue were established in the year 1944. That year, an English solicitor's clerk by the name of Anthony E. Pratt had filed his patent for a murder mystery game which was originally named 'Murder'. The idea for the game was designed as a way for soldiers to play during lengthy air raid drills. Sometime during 1944 and 1945, Pratt and his wife presented the game idea to Norman Watson, an executive for Waddingtons (a toy company that focused on board and card games). The game impressed Watson so much that he wasted no time in purchasing the game, renaming the game Cluedo (a portmanteau of the word clue and the Latin phrase Ludo, meaning 'I play'). The patent for the board game was officially granted in 1947, but because of post-war shortages, it took some time for the game to be made available in stores. The first version of Cluedo was released in 1949. That same year, the American version (renamed Clue) began mass production, courtesy of the Parker Brothers corporation.

Now here's the thing about Clue when it was first released. The game that most of us have grown to love was originally designed to be much larger, and more complex than the version that we all know.



We all know that the current game of clue has six players, six weapons, and nine possible rooms. The version that Pratt came up with had ten players, nine weapons, and eleven possible rooms.

Some of the players that were a part of the original game that never made it to the final cut were Mrs. Silver, Mr. Gold, Miss Grey, and Mr. Brown. There was also a character named Dr. Black (which eventually was phased out to become the murder victim in the Cluedo version). Other characters simply received name changes.

Eliminated rooms on the game board included the gun room and the cellar. Eliminated weapons included a walking stick, syringe, poison, bomb, axe, and fireplace poker. Some were changed into the more contemporary weapons, which now include the standard six pack of weapons (which of course are the candlestick, knife, lead pipe, revolver, rope and wrench).

Some of these characters and weapons would be included in some of the game spinoffs over the years, including an interactive game for VHS, as well as an extended version which contained more rooms and players.

Five of the original ten players ended up making the final cut for the board game. The sixth one was created after the patent had been given. When players play the game, the order of who plays first is set, beginning with the red token, and going clockwise around the board.



Each of the six characters have their own distinctive characteristics and traits, and these traits could vary depending on what version of the game you play. The six suspects of Clue are.



MISS SCARLET: In most variations of the game, Miss Scarlet is portrayed as the femme fatale of the group. She always dresses in red, a colour symbolic with passion and lust. Depending on the game version, Miss Scarlet can be either Caucasian or Asian. In the 1985 Clue movie, she is portrayed by actress Lesley Ann Warren. In some versions of the various games and television series based on the game, Miss Scarlet could be a woman running an escort service, an international spy, a B-movie actress, and even the stepdaughter of Mrs. Peacock!



COLONEL MUSTARD: A great white hunter and colonial imperialist, Colonel Mustard was originally given the name of Colonel Yellow. In most versions of the game, Mustard sports a signature mustache and monocle, though in some versions, he appears clean shaven. In the 1985 Clue movie, he is played by Martin Mull. Depending on the game version, he can appear as young as a man in his thirties to someone who happens to be in his seventies. In some versions of the various games and television series based on the game, Colonel Mustard can be Miss Scarlet's partner in espionage, a thief of black market radio parts, using them as a way to supplement his income by selling them, a militaristic man, and a man who will always get into a duel at the drop of a hat.



MRS. WHITE: Mrs. White was originally called Nurse White in the original version of the game, but this was changed prior to the game being released. In almost every version of Clue, Mrs. White acts as a servant to Mr. Boddy. She can be a cook, a maid, or a housekeeper depending on the version of the game one plays. In the 1985 Clue movie, she was played by the late Madeline Kahn. Mrs. White probably has the most schizophrenic personalities throughout the Clue series. Sometimes she is seen as being very caring and nurturing towards Mr. Boddy/Dr. Black to the point where she becomes his lover. Other times, she mocks Mr. Boddy as well as the other houseguests.



MR. GREEN: A funny thing about Mr. Green is that prior to 2002, when the game was released, he was known as Reverend Green in the Cluedo version. Depending on the country of origin of the game played, you can have Reverend Green, a hypocritical preacher who apparently is accused of breaking the sixth commandment...thou shalt not kill. Or you could have Mr. Green, a ruthless, white-collar criminal who may or may not have mob ties. In the 1985 Clue movie, he was played by Michael McKean. Depending on the version you play or watch, Mr. Green can be an aristocrat who lost everything in a stock market crash, a greedy and conniving businessman, a closeted gay man who must keep his secret in order to keep his government job, or a village vicar.



MRS. PEACOCK: Mrs. Peacock is the only character to be created after the original patent was issued in 1947. In most cases, she is portrayed as a wealthy, elderly woman who seems to put good manners and dignity above everything else. She was played by Eileen Brennan in the 1985 Clue movie. Depending on the version you play or watch, Mrs. Peacock can be an ornithologist, fascinated by bird watching, a black widow who buried thirteen husbands, a prim and proper lady who makes it a mission to point out the rudeness that other guests exhibit, and a politician's wife who dabbled in taking political bribes on behalf of her husband.



PROFESSOR PLUM: Professor Plum, like Colonel Mustard can be seen in a variety of ages and may or may not have facial hair, depending on the version of the game you play. In most cases, he is portrayed as an absent-minded professor. He is played by Christopher Lloyd in the 1985 Clue movie. Depending on the version you play or watch, Professor Plum can be an archaeologist, a brilliant professor who forgets everything and anything, an absent-minded klutz, and a man who killed his wife out of desperation while trying to perform an experiment.

(Wow...you know, when I play this game, I almost always want to be Professor Plum in the game, as purple is my favourite colour, but after reading that last description, now I'm not so sure...)

At any rate, now that you know who the six suspects are, you have to find out which one did the crime. By rolling the dice and moving from room to room, you can offer theories as to who you think the killer is.

Was it Miss Scarlet with the Candlestick in the Study?
Was it Mrs. Peacock with the Rope in the Billiard Room?
Was it Professor Plum with the Lead Pipe in the Kitchen?

There are many possibilities, 324 different combinations in all. That's a lot of possibilities. Fortunately, after you present your theory, your opponents can disprove your theory by showing you a card that they are holding, eliminating a suspect, a room, or a weapon from your list of possibilities. After all, there can only be one of each used, and those cards are placed in the file envelope located in the middle of the game board.

As the game progresses and more and more suspects, weapons, and potential crime scenes are eliminated from play, a player can issue an accusation against a suspect, and exclaim that 'yes indeed, it WAS Colonel Mustard with the Revolver in the Conservatory'.

One of two things can happen. Either the accusation is correct and you can win, or one of your opponents may end up having an alibi for Colonel Mustard, and you end up losing the game with the false accusation. So you really have to make absolutely sure that you are one hundred per cent correct with your accusation, or else it's curtains for you.

But that's part of the game. Certainly the game mirrors real life murder investigations, as if a detective tried to arrest someone for murder without having the evidence against them, the real criminal would go free, and the detective may or may not be in serious trouble.

Many variations of the game have been released. A version for little kids called Clue Jr. proved to be just as successful as the more mature counterpart when it first hit toy stores in 1989.



In 1985, as explained earlier in this blog, a feature length film was made that was loosely based on the game. The movie also starred Tim Curry as the butler, in addition to the six actors and actresses who played the main suspects. And true to the game, the movie had multiple endings...at least three in total...maybe more.



Beginning in 1992, a series of novels for children were put out by Scholastic books which featured between ten and thirteen mini-mysteries surrounding Mr. Boddy, his maid, Mrs. White, and his five houseguests. Eighteen books were published in the series between 1992 and 1997. In 2003, a second book series called 'The Clue Mysteries' was published by Canadian author, Vicki Cameron. Two VHS interactive games were made and released between 1985 and 1987. The game has been ported to several video game systems including the Super Nintendo and Game Boy Advance.
In 2008, the game was reimagined under the name Cluedo: Discover The Secrets, and there is currently a Clue online game available in online format on the official website for the television channel The Hub. Go on, and try it out! You'll notice that some of the rooms and weapons have become more modernized, but fear not, the original classic game of Clue and Cluedo is still being manufactured as of 2011.

There are many, many versions of Clue out there for people of all ages, and I for one am happy that I had the game of Clue in my life...because if it weren't for that game, perhaps I never would have developed my love for the classic murder mystery.