Đến ngồi xuống, mới sực nhớ ra, đúng rồi đó là bộ phim Chốn mùa hè (A Summer Place), một bộ phim năm 1959 của Mĩ. Đại loại, hai nhân vật chính trong phim yêu nhau nhưng vì địa vị xã hội họ không thể đến bên nhau được. Có vậy thôi, nhưng khi nhạc phim, bản phối không lời bài“Theme from the summer place” cất lên, một cảm giác rùng mình từ đâu tới. Cảm giác đó giống như lúc nhân vật chính Toru trong “Rừng Na Uy” hồi tưởng ký ức khi anh vô tình nghe bài hát Norgewan Wood ở đầu cuốn tiểu thuyết.

Bài hát đó, vô tình, khơi gợi một dòng hồi tưởng của những ngày xưa lắc xưa lơ. Cái thưở DVD vẫn còn xa xỉ, bố mua một cái máy cát-xét radio với lúc nhúc một đống băng bố hay khuân về mỗi khi tiệm đĩa giảm giá. Còn nhớ, hồi đó cứ thấy trên tay bố có cái băng nào mới về là mừng còn hơn bắt được vàng. Một lần trong số đó, mình được cho một cái băng cát xét nhạc ngoại xưa. Mà “Theme from the summer place”  là một trong số đó. Cái băng cát xét đấy hoá ra lại gây một ảnh hưởng ghê gớm cho một thằng nhóc trước giờ chả biết tiếng Anh là gì. Ấy vậy mà không hiểu vì sao, mình say mê nó ghê gớm. Khi những bạn khác thời ấy vẫn còn mải mê Ưng hoàng phúc; mình chỉ muốn mỗi chiều, bật máy cát xét lên, nghe bài này đầu tiên. Nối tiếp sau đó là Sealed with a kiss, happy together và Aubrey của nhóm Bread. Vừa nghe, vừa lẩm nhẩm hát theo dù chả hiểu lúc ấy, với cái vốn tiếng Anh “ngắn hạn” sao mình vẫn say sưa ngân nga theo vậy. Có lần, thằng bạn thân tới nhà, nghe cái bản nhạc của mình mà mặt nhăn nhó cứ như thể mình đang sống ở xứ sở quái gỡ nào chứ chả phải xứ này.

Thời niên thiếu lúc đó là một chuỗi ngày mơ mộng, buồn vì chả biết vì sao mình buồn, nghe một bài hát mà cảm xúc trào dâng phải viết thành cái gì  để cất vào ngăn tủ. Có lẽ cũng nhờ cái băng cát xét này, từ đó, căn phòng chỉ tầm 10 mét vuông của mình lấp đầy dần bằng những bản phim cũ của Mĩ, Anh và Pháp. Những đĩa CD cũ giờ vẫn còn album của The Carpenters, The Turtles và The Beatles. Và trên hết, là nung nấu khao khác một lần đến với một nơi xa vời vợi được nhìn ngắm những con người không cùng màu da, ăn mặc lịch lãm, ngồi trên những chiếc xe đắt tiền và lâu lâu hát lên như trong phim vậy

Mới đó mà mười mấy năm rồi. Cái đứa trẻ con ấy giờ cũng đã hai mấy. Ước muốn lúc xưa nay đã thành.Thế nhưng, (đành phải đổ lỗi cho) bận rộn với những dự tính cho tương lai, cho những chuyến đi, cho học tập lẫn việc làm; đầu óc chẳng còn thời gian thả trôi cho những mơ mộng như ngày xưa nữa. Chỉ buồn một cái là quá khứ chẳng thể nào quay về được. Những con người trong các bộ phim xưa cũ đó, những bài hát đó, họ vẫn vậy chỉ còn mình như đứa trẻ đã lớn lần lượt rời bỏ cái đồ chơi mà trước kia từng là thế giới của nó.

Bộ phim kết thúc, credit của phim chạy lên, đèn bật sáng. Một đứa sinh viên đứng dậy nói lời cảm ơn. Hoá ra đây là buổi sinh hoạt định kỳ nhóm điện ảnh của Hội sinh viên. Mấy đứa ở lại bắt đầu nạp tiền cho kỳ tới, mình lúc này mới giật mình đứng dậy, xấu hổ quá đành lủi đi cho nhanh. Trên tàu điện ngầm về nhà, nghe lại bài “Theme from the summer place”, thấy cuộc sống vẫn đẹp lạ kỳ. Hồi đó ước ao sao có một tình yêu trong sáng, đẹp như trong phim. Bây giờ thì mình đã có một con người sớm tối kề bên rồi (dù chẳng có bi kịch nào như trong phim, âu cũng là điều may mắn). Thế nên, chắc hẳn sẽ lại quên ký ức này một lần nữa nhường bước cho những ký ức của ngày mai. Đành viết lại vài dòng để nhắc mình rằng, để có những ngày hôm nay, đã có những ngày xưa như thế. Và một bản thể khác của mình mười năm nữa chẳng hạn sẽ nhìn lại mình của ngày hôm nay để thả trôi vào dòng ký ức, và mỉm cười.

Luân Đôn

Một đêm không ngủ

Thursday, April 9^th  

9:30PM (ET)

“Stretch the paint, Todd. All we wish to do is put up a good front.”

In his youth Ken Jorgenson (Richard Egan) had been a lifeguard and a tutor during the summer at the inn on the prestigious Pine Island.  During that summer he dated Sylvia (Dorothy McGuire) she is now married Bart Hunter (Arthur Kennedy) whose family owned The Pine Island Inn.  Now a research chemist (i.e. he has money now, lots of it) Ken is returning to the Island with his family for the summer.  In tow are his beautiful teenage daughter Molly (Sandra Dee), and his neurotic and prudish wife Helen (Constance Ford).  Ken and Helen’s marriage is an unhappy one with Ken and Molly constantly living under the demanding and demeaning direction of Helen.  Sylvia’s marriage is equally unpleasant with Bart being lazy, near bankrupt, alcoholic.  Initially, things are awkward between Sylvia and Ken; however, with rekindled interest they begin an affair.  But, theirs is not the only romance blooming on the island, Molly and Johnny (Troy Donahue), Sylvia and Bart’s s son, begin a fling of their own.  While on a boating excursion Johnny and Molly become stranded when the boat capsizes in rough water.  They are missing until the Coast Guard locates them and returns them to Pine Island.  This sets off a chain of events that changes both families forever.

Don’t think Beach Blanket Bingo, this story is more Peyton Place.

Frank Lloyd Wright house in Carmel often called “the cabin on the rocks”

For its time A Summer Place was one of the definitive Hollywood movies about teenage love.  However, now it comes across as camp with its melodramatic plot, coy dialogue about sex, and over the top characters.  By the 1950’s the production code had been loosening its grip on the Hollywood film industry.  With its salacious plot, Warner Brothers had to promise that the intent of the film would be moral, showing the pitfalls of love.

Another star of the film is the home featured as Ken and Sylvia’s beachfront house was designed by architect Frank Lloyd Wright.  Built in 1951 for $125,000, the house still stands in Carmel, California.  The house features a large stone chimney, blue metal roof, and vast windows.  Wright often referred to this house as one of his favorites he designed.

One final note, I must at least mention the sun hat/sunglass combo

A Summer Place will be shown on Thursday as part of an evening featuring 1950’s families:
There’s Always Tomorrow (1956) 8:00PM (ET)
A Summer Place (1959) 9:30PM (ET)
Our Very Own (1950) 11:45PM (ET)
A Hatful of Rain (1957) 1:30AM (ET)
Man on Fire (1957) 3:30AM (ET)

]]> http://allaretha.wordpress.com/2013/03/15/a-summer-place-fashion-on-ice-2011/ Thu, 14 Mar 2013 22:30:20 +0000 allaretha http://allaretha.wordpress.com/2013/03/15/a-summer-place-fashion-on-ice-2011/

Title  A Summer Place
Composer  Mack Discant, Max Steiner
Live at  Fashion On Ice, Sears Centre Arena, Hoffman Estates, Illinois
Year  2011 (September 24)
Country  USA

Life can be traumatic and daunting even on Nantucket Island, the idyllic summer vacation destination for generations of families, including the wealthy and famous like Martha Stewart.   These are the summer people who see the island as an escape from reality.   Of course on Nantucket, like any resort, there must be the year-round residents who live their lives in full on the island 30 miles from the mainland.

Elin Hilderbrand knows of what she writes.   As a resident, she knows the year-around version of island life.   Summerland is the eleventh novel based in her neck of the woods.   Two of her most recent past novels, Silver Girl and The Island have been reviewed on this site.   Both of these reviews were based on the audio versions of the books.   Each was superb; however, the magic of seeing the story in hard copy was most evident for this book.

The narrative is written from the perspective of each of the main characters, including Nantucket.   There are two generations represented here, teenagers and their parents.   This time around the human experiences up for exploration are death, loss, parenting and children.   Both generations are subjected to the fallout effects when the golden girl of her class, Penny Alistair, dies in a horrific auto crash on high school graduation night.   Her twin brother Hobby, short for Hobson, is mangled and left in a coma.   Two other juniors, Jake and Demeter escape unscathed.

The story line is believable and somewhat predictable but it is the way the characters are developed that makes this a compelling read.   Regardless of the reader’s age, adult or young adult, the very poignant lessons learned are delivered in a manner that’s achievable only by a master story teller. 

Highly recommended.

Ruta Arellano

A review copy was provided by the publisher.   Summerland was released on June 26, 2012.

There was a period, for instance, when I heard the Bono-Mary J. Blige duet version of “One” every single time I went into the store.

I also hear a fair amount of that dreadful Southern-accented pop-country that goes on nowadays. I would cite examples if I cared to look up the names of the performers or the titles of the songs.

I was wicked surprised, then, to hear Percy Faith’s “Theme from ‘A Summer Place’ ” the other day while I was comparing the virtues of various avocados.

I didn’t think this song ever really got played anywhere nowadays. I thought it was just sort of a cultural earworm — a song we’ve all heard at some point in the past, and that we all know the name of, but that we don’t ever actually hear unless we happen to catch the movie of the same name on the late show.

(Maybe someday I will Google the lyrics, just to know what they are. I have a sense that the first line is “Theeeeeeeeere’s a sum-mer plaaaaace.” The rest of it could be the Bar Harbor phone book as far as I know.)

To people who know the movie or are of a certain generation (my folks’), the song is probably evocative of love and longing and salty sea breezes.

To me, it is the veritable National Anthem of those dull dead polite years around 1959-60 when good energetic rock n’ roll was harder to find than rocking-horse shit.

Ol’ Percy redeemed himself 15 years later, though, when he leaped on the emerging disco train and cut a funked-up version called “Summer Place ’76.” (The effort apparently exhausted him, as he passed away in February of 1976.)

This is what an earworm should be — replete with big strings and dramatic horns and conga players and waka-jawaka. Now this is what I call easy listening:

The only radio station on record with the good taste to play “Summer Place ’76″ was KVSL in Show Low, Arizona. The ARSA database of local radio play surveys has “Summer Place ’76″ showing up on two KVSL surveys from December 1975.

KVSL’s Dec. 15, 1975, survey — the last to include “Summer Place ’76″ — suggests a certain schizophrenia in the station’s format. Dig the top two tunes on the countdown: Simon and Garfunkel’s mellow “My Little Town,” followed by a cold shot of British heavy metal in Rainbow’s “Man In The Silver Mountain.”

There’s some weird business going on on that countdown. I’d say more about it if I didn’t have this … this thing in my head.

“Theeeeeeere’s …. a sum-mer plaaaaaaace….”

How about that spiffy logo I came up for this?  Anyway, another month and a new TCM Top 12.  In terms of the twelve I mentioned watching for May, I have almost all of them taped and waiting for me.  Somehow I missed taping Waterloo Bridge (I don’t actually remember seeing it played despite the schedule) and Baby Face ended up conflicting with something else so I’ll be sure to get them as soon as they air again.  I’ll be reviewing the movies of May as soon as I can but either way…here’s what I’ll be seeking out in June!

Top Twelve Movies (in order of air date; note that schedule is subject to change at discretion of TCM)

I probably shouldn’t admit this but a few months back I saw the Adam Sandler/Jennifer Aniston film Just Go With It.  It was okay, nothing special, but I read later on it was based on this 1969 film.  Starring Walter Matthau, Goldie Hawn, and Ingrid Bergman of all people, the movie tells of a dentist trying to impress his young girlfriend by having his dental assistant impersonate his non-existent wife.  The premise of both movies appeals to me and I love young Goldie Hawn and Ingrid Bergman!  It airs early tomorrow morning so be sure to set your recording devices.

I’m sad I haven’t seen this classic film.  I take that back, I’ve seen about ten minutes and unfortunately the copy I had really muffled sound and I couldn’t watch it (it was legal I swear!).  Either way I’ve seen clips of some of the snarky one-liners in this movie, pretty racy stuff, and I’ll be interested in seeing a Norma Shearer film as I haven’t seen any yet and I’ve only seen Rosalind Russell in her older years…be nice to see her young.  This is supposedly a seminal film for those looking at women in film so that’s another boost in my book.  This airs early in the morning on June 4th!

As mentioned in the Leading Man post on Errol Flynn, and a few other places on this blog, I love stories about the Tudors (the family, although the show was great)!  I saw The Private Lives of Elizabeth and Essex with Errol Flynn and Bette Davis but it seems Davis played Queen Elizabeth after that.  The Virgin Queen tells of her relationship with Sir Walter Raleigh which, according to history, was just as tempestuous as the one with the Earl of Essex (Flynn).  I’m on the fence about Davis as Elizabeth, I remember her being a bit too over-the-top, but I’m all for a good period drama.  It airs as part of the amazing Essentials Jr. series (and right after The Private Lives of Elizabeth and Essex!) with the night devoted to Robert Osborne’s picks on June 4th.

It seems June 4th is where to be on TCM!  Right after The Virgin Queen is the 1973 film The Sting.  A long-time fan of my now defunct podcast asked that I review this and I’m hoping to pay him back.  I know that this movie was a controversial Best Picture winner and it stars Robert Redford and Paul Newman as con-men.  Either way I’ll be seeing a classic piece of Hollywood history!  It airs, again, on the Essentials Jr. on June 4th.

I’m interested in seeing work from director Edgar G. Ulmer (specifically his film noir masterpiece Detour).  Ulmer’s filmography is diverse, to say the least, and The Black Cat intrigues me simply because I originally thought it was connected to Cat People (an AMAZING film in its own right).  Instead this is the film that boasts two horror titans, Dracula and Frankenstein  Bela Lugosi and Boris Karloff!  The film is also based on an Edgar Allan Poe story and tells of a Satanist going after a man whose kidnapped his wife and daughter.  You had me at Satanist…you know I love crazy plot summaries!  The Black Cat will air on a great night to stay in, June 8th during an evening devoted to creepy old mansion movies.

The Wonderful Wizard of Oz: 50 Years of Magic

In honor of Judy Garland‘s 90th birthday TCM is devoting the Essentials Jr. on June 10th to her!  The odd thing is I didn’t put down any of her movies to watch but a documentary about the making-of her most iconic role.  Apparently this documentary, The Wonderful Wizard of Oz: 50 Years of Magic, is on one of the DVDs but who wants to go searching their DVD copy (although it is worth it).  I’ve decided I want to include one documentary a month (people should watch them more!) and this is it.  A documentary focused on an amazing film that will hopefully dispel some of those pesky urban legends (hanging Munchkin anyone?).

As with Edgar G. Ulmer I’m slowly working through the films of director Sidney Lumet.  This is one of his earlier ones detailing the lives of eight friends from a women’s college living through the Great Depression.  I’ve heard it’s a great movie with a strong female cast and by the looks of it, it delivers on that front.  The movie stars Candice Bergen and Elizabeth Hartman who I didn’t know did any other films aside from A Patch of Blue (the film I first saw her in).  It looks like a solid ensemble film and I’m all for feminist movies…and being set during the Great Depression should present some feminist urges!  The Group will air during a look at the films of Larry Hagman on June 11th.

I’m not sure if I mentioned this but I read a lot of celebrity biographies.  Sometimes, okay well a lot of times, I’ve never actually seen any films starring the person I’m reading about.  This brings us to Sandra Dee.  I know a lot about Sandra Dee after reading the fantastic biography Dream Lovers about her marriage with Bobby Darin.  I’ve also watched the great biopic Beyond the Sea where Dee was played by Kate Bosworth.  All this and yet I’ve never seen Dee as an actress herself.  A Summer Place is cited as one of her most iconic works and boy does it have a great soapy plot an adulterous couple who discover their children are having sex!  Considering the film was made in 1959…that’s gotta be pretty scandalous!  I’m excited to see Dee in general and the movie seems like good fun.  It airs June 14th as part of TCM’s Star of the Month: Teen Idols series.

Yes Robert Redford makes another appearance on this list!  I know a lot of movies and television shows that reference The Way We Were…and that’s obviously why I never catch them until I go to IMDb or something and read it’s referring to this film!  I refuse to be out of the loop.  I know three things about The Way We Were:  It stars Redford, it stars Barbra Streisand, and it’s sad.  Obviously I need to fix this.  The Way We Were airs June 16th during The Essentials devoted to “Breaking Up is Hard to Do” (did I mention I love they do themes now).

This is the film I’m most wary about watching.  I’ve seen the two big Fellini films, La Dolce Vita and 8 1/2 and honestly…I can’t make heads or tails on whether I liked them or not.  They’re confusing, surreal, and Italian.  I did understand 8 1/2 better having seen the musical Nine but I’m sure someone will tell me that’s the worst way to view a classic.  Either way I’m going to attempt to watch La Strada and hopefully make a decision on Fellini once and for all!  La Strada will air June 24 along with a slate of films devoted to clowns (that’s terrifying).

The Two Mrs. Carrolls took me by surprise because I had no idea Barbara Stanwyck and Humphrey Bogart made a movie together.  Add in to that the idea that a woman believes her husband is a deranged killer.  Is the husband Bogart (I’m assuming so)?  And Bogey as a killer?  Sign me up!  It airs June 29th with a series of films looking at how to murder your wife.

Speaking of Barbara Stanwyck the last film is The Lady Eve!  If you have Netflix Watch Instantly (or Netflix in general) you know all about the recommendations scroll.  Well The Lady Eve is ALWAYS being recommended to me and at this point I think Netflix is getting angry that I haven’t seen it so I’ll watch it just to remove it from my recommendation list.  Haha, it’s also considered a classic piece of screwball comedy and airs June 30th along with several other films directed by Preston Sturges.

I’m cheating a bit but there’s two “honorable mentions” I wanted to include.  These two were thisclose to making the top 12 and I’ll still probably tape them but I wanted to create some priority.  Either way the two honorable mentions are:

I just like the name (seriously).  It airs June 9th.

Another film with a great name this film hits several things I want to see, namely I’d like to see Garbo in a film (yes I know…I’m a terrible film reviewer) and a film directed by Ernst Lubitsch.  Ninotchka airs June 22nd.

began her career as a commercial photographer after attending Rhode Island School of Photography. She continued her education at Rhode Island School of design in order to pursue a more creative side to her work.

Several years later, she made a career change and earned her B.S. in Exercise Physiology at Bridgewater State College. She worked in  cardiology and rehabilitation, works part-time in health and wellness, but she continued to pursue her photographic roots captured memorable images.

Since 2006, she has been treated for physical trauma. It has enabled her to recognize her original passion for photography. She truly believes that the “never give up” attitude is the key to success and her passion for photography will shine in the future.

Some fun facts about Carol:

• She is not fond of chocolate
• She loves to snack on vegetables
• Her favorites songs are Amazing Grace and A Summer Place
• She enjoys watching The Big Bang Theory

Visit more detail about Carol’s work at http://carolwontkowski.com/

Carol is going to be in the Holiday Market with us and we are so happy to share the news. Bring your family and your friends to this big event in November!!! 

Festival Fete would like to thank our sponsor: Cardi’s Furniture

The Holiday Market is proud to be sponsored by Whole Foods Market, Rhode Island Monthly, Natural Awakenings, Cat Country, Yelp,Roger Williams Park Zoo, Cardi’s Furniture, Robin Ivy Photography, and Alex and Ani.

I kinda suspected this. Not. [via Cynical-C]

Percy Faith’s “Theme From A Summer Place” was one of my favorites for reasons I really can’t explain; I just liked it, especially when the french horns kicked in. [via The Chawed Rosin]

Here’s another song that’s way up in my favorites. “Blue Moon” was composed by Rogers and Hart in 1934, and Stephane Grapelli treated it with respect.

Asleep at the Wheel paid homage to Bob Wills & His Texas Playboys. [via Huck Funn]

Don’t know who Bob Wills was? Here’s a video to show you what y’all have been missing. Meanwhile, have a great Independence Day weekend, folks, and don’t forget to put your flag out tomorrow.

Ever wondered what that awkward elevator music was?
Now we know – it’s the theme song from the 1959 film, A Summer Place, appropriately entitled, “Theme from A Summer Place“.
Enjoy

I got the soundtrack for “An Education” a few months ago, and I absolutely love it.  However, one of the songs I always skipped was the theme to “A Summer Place” by Percy Faith.  It’s a nice sounding song, I was just never in much of a mood to listen to it.

However, now the song is lovely background music to a Toyota commercial:

And I suddenly really like the song.  I’ve stopped and listened to it when it has come on shuffle in my car.  Amazing, right?  Just a little television commercial…

Births

 1928 – Shirley Temple Black – The greatest child star of all time and one of the only ones to actually not succumb to all the pitfalls of stardom that we all hear about in the tabloids.  Little Shirley Temple didn’t grow up to freebase crack, rob a video store or sue her parents for swindling her earnings.  Instead, Shirley Temple did what all good child stars should do – she went on to become the US Ambassador to Ghana.

1932 – Halston – Born Roy Halston Frowick, he shortened his name to just Halston and became a world-famous designer.  He was also one of the more prolific regulars at Studio 54 where he hung out with the likes of Elizabeth Taylor and Andy Warhol.  One of his crowning achievements was designing the pillbox hat that was popularized by First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy.  Unfortunately, Halston left us too soon when he passed away from complications of AIDS.

1936 – Estelle Harris – She is best known for playing George Castanza’s mother on Sienfeld.

1936 – Roy Orbison – Blind singer of the monster hit Pretty Woman.

1939 – Lee Majors – The one and only Six Million Dollar Man and later star of The Fall Guy.  His other claim to fame is being the one-time husband of Farrah Fawcett.

1943 – Hervé Villechaize – The diminutive actor was best known for playing Tattoo, the side-kick of Ricardo Montalbon on Fantasy Island and the evil henchman Nick Nack in the James Bond flick, The Man with the Golden Gun. 

1944 – Sandra Dee – The sweetheart of the 1950s and early 1960s.  Best known for her roles in A Summer Place and Imitation of life, and Gidget, Sandra Dee project the image of the squeaky clean girl next door.  Later, she married rock n’ roll crooner Bobby Darin.

1949 – Joyce DeWitt – As Janet Wood, she was one third of Three’s Company.

1960 – Valerie Bertinelli – She was the drug-free daughter on One Day at A Time and later married guitarist Eddie Van Halen and has a son named Wolfgang.

Deaths

1983 – Buster Crabbe – He is best known as an Olympic medalist who later became the star of the Flash Gordon serials of the 1930s.

1986 – Otto Preminger – Austrian director of such famous Hollywood films as Laura, Anatomy of Murder and Carmen Jones. 

1990 – Paulette Goddard – Actress in such notable films as The Women and The Cat and the Canary.  She had marriages both to Charlie Chaplin and Burgess Meredith.

Events

1969 – Sirhan Sirhan sentenced to death for assassinating former Attorney General, Senator and presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy.