Oct 02, 2005 04:50 PM
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(Updated Oct 03, 2005 04:20 PM)
Light Hilarious Ones
- The Party
The Party a very hilarious 1968 movie in which Peter Sellers plays an Indian actor who gets invited by mistake to a Hollywood dinner party held by the movie's producer. The Indian, name Bakshi, is aspiring to become an actor accidentally blows up the whole set in a movie and is fired by the studio. Peter Sellers is at his best in imitating the Indian. He plays with innocence and confidence unaware of how strange he might be appearing to the other sophisticated guests in the dinner party. He speaks in Indian Style. His dialogue delivery and facial expressions are authentic and very interesting.
Several scenes in the movie are unforgettable. Two scenes are particularly worth recalling. One happens to be in the bath room. The scene in the bath room where rolls of toilet paper are opened and mess created also with the faucet flush., In another scene at the party he is trying to use a knife to cut the chicken but the chicken ‘flies’ and lodges into the elaborate feathery headgear of a lady guest. Not only these Bakshi not used to those kind of parties has other embarrassments too like spill something, tip over and damage something. Under the circumstances he fumbles and makes some funny social faux-pas at the dinner table.
- The Russians Are Coming the Russians Are Coming
This movie was very popular on its first release and one laughed all through. The film was based on a novel by Nathaniel Benchley and was directed by Norman Jewison. The Americans were obsessed with communism and communists. This was during the days of the cold war and the iron curtain- a la Winston Churchill. Even if you uttered jest fully the words, I like communists or communism; you will be looked at suspiciously. This very hilarious 1966 movie was a play on those sentiments.
A Soviet submarine, which comes to have a look at America, gets accidentally gets grounded on the coast of a New England town Maine. The submarine has a rather not so small crew. Luckily for the captain two of the crew members are English speaking. He sends these two to the town to procure a large power boat to tug the submarine out and rescue them. It was a fit situation for an International uproar. So the captain was in a hurry to get out of the mire. The Russian speaking sailors too follow. The small town’s people are curious and soon ‘realize’ that they are being invaded. They pose as Europeans. When they fail to get any response the second in command of the sub. threatens with his pistol a TV writer to get his boat and leaves another soldier to guard his wife and his neighbor. Word spreads that Russians have invaded their small community. But then both sides come togaether to save a falling man.
- Roman Holday
Audrey Hepburn and Gregory Peck team together in this fabulous, delightful, and romantic movie. William Wyler the very eminent Hollywood director produced and directed the film. Audrey Hepburn is a princess who is tired of her royal duties, all the extra attention, care, confinement and security she is subjected to. She wants some free air. She runs away from home to be a commoner in Rome and find her prince charming. The film was reportedly based on the real life experience of British Princess Margaret. A royal group was on tour of Rome at that time. The journalist covering the visit was American reporter (Gregory Peck). The princess escapes the royal confines one early morning in a supply truck and jumps out when the truck stops somewhere in the market and falls asleep near a park. The American reporter walks by the sleeping beauty that is by now singing, so happy. He finds it intriguing that a well-dressed lady like her is sleeping on the pavement. He takes pity on her because she has no money the journalist becomes protective, signals a taxi and takes the taxi to his own apartment where she must spend the night.
Musicals
- Come September
Rock Hudson ( as Robert Talbot) teams up with the vivacious and beautiful Gina Lollobrigida in this romantic comedy. He is a wealthy man and has a luxurious Italian villa for enjoying a months vacation every September. He has kept one major domo, a business associate to take care of his villa for eleven months. One year he decides to spend vacation in July instead of September. On arrival he finds that his greedy associate has turned the villa into a posh hotel for the eleven months of his care and thus makes easy money. When he arrives he encounters the guests of the ''hotel'' who are a group of young American girls. The girls are being chased by a gang of oversexed boys, led by one Tony, who are 'laying siege' at the outer walls of the villa and the girls are trying hard to fend off the gang. Talbot has, perforce to become an overprotective chaperone. To his own surprise, finds himself in this situation. But then there is the lady Gina
5. Sound of Music
Sound of Music had a heart warming story of the captain von Trapp family fleeing in a most dramatic way to avoid the Nazi police and their atrocities. It was based on the real life of Maria von Trapp and her family.
The Musical was produced by Michael Matissno and had Julie Andrews and Chirstopher Plummer as the main characters. Christopher Plummer is an army captain, who is not with the Nazi’s, has seven children from his previous marriage.
He is a widower and is autocratic with very strict household rules which the children have to obey; no music and no merriment for the children including for the grown up daughter. Maria leaves her convent to become the governess of the children. She teaches the children music, takes them outdoors for picnic and so on. The captain and the governess are also drawn close.
or music and merriment
It was a very popular film and an excellent musical with great singing and very fine music. The songs are superb.
6. My fair Lady
The musical, 'My Fair Lady, ' is an adaptation of the book ‘Pygmalion' written by George Bernard Shaw in 1914. This was bing performed in theater and was then made into a film by Frederick Loewe and Alan Jay Learner. It showed the differences between class, materialism and power and leisure of the upper classes.
The whole drama is presented through Eliza Doolittle (Audrey Haepburn). She is a poor cockney flower girl from Covent Garden. Henry Higgins (Rex Harrison) who is a phonetician takes her to give speech lessons and she agrees in order to fulfill her dream of working in a flower shop and to increase her standard of life. The clever Henry Higgins makes a bet with a fellow phonetic expert Colonel Pickering that he will train Eliza to see whether she could pass as a Duchess at the Embassy Ball. Eliza succeeds so well that she outgrows her social status and is left with no skills of old work. But Henry Higgins starts liking her and she forgets her past to live with Henri. It was a very fine musical and the movie was very popular.
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