FRIDAY NIGHT MOVIE: NATIONAL LAMPOON LEMMINGS (1973) John Belushi Chevy Chase Christopher Guest

National Lampoon's Lemmings, a spinoff of the humor magazine National Lampoon, was a 1973 stage show which helped launch the performing careers of John Belushi, Christopher Guest, and Chevy Chase. The show was co-directed by Tony Hendra and Paul Jacobs. The show opened at the Village Gate on January 25, 1973, and ran for 350 performances.

The first half of the show was sketch comedy; the second half was a mock rock festival

Welcome to the Woodchuck Festival: Three Days of Peace, Love, and Death; plus band introductions throughout- John Belushi

Freud, Marx, Engels, and Jung, performing Lemmings Lament - a parody of Crosby, Stills, Nash, and Young (referred to in performance as Freud, Pavlov, Adler, and Jung); as well as the songs Woodstock, Long Time Gone, among others

Bob Dylan, performing "Positively Wall Street," a parody of several of his styles, with the title taken from "Positively 4th Street"- Christopher Guest

Goldie Oldie, a parody of old, 1950s-style performers, performing "Pizza Man," a parody of the teen tragedy songs- Alice Playten

John Denver, performing "Colorado"- Chevy Chase

Joan Baez, performing "Pull the Triggers, Niggers," a parody of her protest songs and of Dylan's song George Jackson, in particular- Mary Jenifer Mitchell (later replaced by Rhonda Coullet)

Joe Cocker, "Lonely at the Bottom"- Belushi as Cocker, Paul Jacobs as Leon Russell on piano.

James Taylor, "Highway Toes"- Christopher Guest

The Motown Manifestos singing "Papa was a Running Dog Lackey of the Bourgeoisie," with most of its lines taken from The Communist Manifesto

Donovan, "Nirvana Banana"- Peter Elbling (later addition to the show)

Joni Mitchell, "I Do For You"- Alice Playten (replaced by Rhonda Coullet)

Farmer Yassir (parody of Max Yasgur, owner of the land on which Woodstock was held), greeting the audience - Gary Goodrow

Megadeath, a parody of heavy metal groups, who end their act by turning the amps so loud that the audience dies

"Jackie Christ, Superstar," a parody of Jesus Christ, Superstar. Jesus is a stand up comedian, with John Belushi playing King Herod

"Deteriorata" a Tony Hendra parody of Les Crane's recording of Desiderata

"Defeat Day" - a parody of America's first military defeat in the Vietnam War. "Put all your troubles in a nickle bag and smile, smile, smile."

The Rolling Stones Parody, which Alice Playten playing "Mick Jagger"

Cast included: John Belushi, Chevy Chase, Garry Goodrow (from The Commitee), Christopher Guest, Paul Jacobs, Mary-Jenifer Mitchell, Alice Playten

 Playwrights: P. J. O'Rourke, David Axelrod, Douglas Kenney, Anne Beatts, Tony Hendra, John Boni, Henry Beard

Composers: Paul Jacobs, Christopher Guest

Lyricists: P. J. O'Rourke, David Axelrod, Doug Kenney, Anne Beatts, Tony Hendra, John Boni, Henry Beard, Sean Kelly

THE NATIONAL LAMPOON'S LEMMINGS: DEAD IN CONCERT

FULL SHOW

COPYRIGHT 2007-2014 OH BOY! 3LAWNVIEWAGOGO / ALL RIGHTS RESERVED MR.E.

ED SPRINGSTEAD, JR.

FREQUENTLY SLURRED BY THE INEBRIATED

"Hey honey- how much?"

"Did you know cows sleep standing up?"

"Check this out- it's from my father's gun collection!"

"Shut up you dumb whore!"

"Of course I'm okay to drive."

"Look! A tattoo parlor!"

"You don't really mean 'no.'"

"I can beat that train!"

"See that woman waaaay out of my league? I fucked her."

"I'm going to kick your ass!"

"Let's drive to Reno!"

"Your daughter's got quite a little body on her!"

"No, who's Joe Francis and what're you doing with that video camera and those cheap Mardi Gras beads?"

"Did I ever tell you about the time I ...."

(Christina Aguilera; Andy Dick; Christina Ricci; Kiefer Sutherland; Lindsay Lohan; Mickey Rourke; Paris Hilton)

COPYRIGHT 2007-2014 OH BOY! 3LAWNVIEWAGOGO / ALL RIGHTS RESERVED MR.E.

ED SPRINGSTEAD, JR.

FRIDAY NIGHT MOVIE: FROM BEIJING WITH LOVE (1994) Stephen Chow Sing Chi

From Beijing With Love (1994; Chinese: 國產凌凌漆 "Gwok chaan Ling Ling Chi;" literal translation: "Made in China [Domestic Produced] 007"; 凌凌漆 is a homophone for the numbers "007" in Chinese) is a Hong Kong made action comedy that spoofs James Bond movies. It grossed $37,523,850 in Hong Kong alone.

Directed by Lee Lik-Chi and Stephen Chow; it stars Chow as Ling Ling Chat, Anita as Sui Kam, Law Kar-Ying as Dat Man Xi (Leonardo da Vinci), category III porn star Pauline Chan as Mystery Woman, and Joe Cheng as Metal Mouth. Yu Rong Guang appears as the super agent 002 in the opening sequence.

Chow with Anita Yuen

Joe Cheng and Pauline Chan

After graduating in an artist training course of TVB, Stephen Chow Sing-Chi starred in TV series such as "The Justice of Life", and "The Final Combat." In 1988, his performance in Danny Lee's "Final Justice" he was received Best Supporting Actor at the 25th Golden Horse Awards. Chow is known for his unique type of "non-sensible humor" (mo lei tau); and is frequently supported by slapstick sidekick Ng Man Tat.

Chow's 60+ filmography includes such blockbusters as Dragon Fight (1989) with Jet Lee (and filmed in San Francisco), buddy cops Curry and Pepper (1990) with Jackie Cheung, All for the Winner (1990) with Sharla Cheung, God of Gamblers II (1991) with Andy Lau,  the Fight Back to School trilogy with Cheung Man, Anita Mui, and Anthony Wong, Tricky Brains (1991) with Rosamund Kwan, Royal Tramp and its sequel (both 1992) with Brigitte Lin and Chingmy Yau, The Mad Monk (1993) with Maggie Chung, Flirting Scholar (1993) with Gong Li, Love on Delivery (1994) with Christy Chung, A Chinese Odyssey Parts One and Two (both 1995; for part Two: Cinderella, Chow won best actor from the Hong Kong Critics' Society), Sixty Million Dollar Man (also 1995), Forbidden City Cop and The God of Cookery (both 1996), Lawyer, Lawyer (1997) with Karen Mok, The Lucky Guy (1998) with Shu Qi. Chow produced, wrote, directed, and starred in Shaolin Soccer (2001)- which broke all box office records, and won the Hong Kong film awards for Best Film, and for Chow Best Director and Best Actor.  His following film, Kung Fu Hustle (2004), which he also produced, wrote,directed, and starred,  surpassed his previous box office records.  Both films crossed over to the United States. He last appeared on screen in 2008's CJ7, a children's film which he again produced, wrote, directed (he also appeared in the film, but his character was killed early on).

In From Beijing With Love, Chow plays dumb but cool as pork vendor/secret agent Ling Ling Chat, a forgotten Mainland agent called into action when Golden Gun steals the cranium of China's only dinosaur fossil. Sent to Hong Kong by a high-ranking government official to recover it; he contacts Siu Kam- however she turns out to be a double-agent working for Golden Gun (who is actuality the government official who sent him in the first place). Golden Gun instructs Siu Kam to send 007 on a false leads and to assassinate him.

Must be seen to be believed: the film is filled with wild sight gags, physical and verbal humor; exciting action; out of place extreme violence; and heart-touching romance.

COPYRIGHT 2007-2014 OH BOY! 3LAWNVIEWAGOGO / ALL RIGHTS RESERVED MR.E.

ED SPRINGSTEAD, JR.

TURN ONS / TURN OFFS

amphetamines / barbiturates

bondage / knots

candle lit dinners / candle lit vigils

double clap / double clap again

18 year old girls / 18 year old porn

ejaculating on lover / ejaculating on keyboard

fishnet stockings / fish

girls who wear gingham / girls who wear strap-ons

high heels and short skirts / high cousins short on cash

Hilary Duff / Hillary Clinton

multiple orgasms / multiple contusions

LAWRENCE TIERNEY

nursing students / nursing mothers

Riunite on ice / Smuckers on Ice featuring Brian Boitano

stimulants / depressants

underage girls / undecover cops

walking barefoot on the beach / walking barefoot through sewage

watching tv / everything else

 

COPYRIGHT 2007-2014 OH BOY! 3LAWNVIEWAGOGO / ALL RIGHTS RESERVED MR.E.

ED SPRINGSTEAD, JR.

FRIDAY NIGHT MOVIE: NIGHT TRAIN TO MURDER (1983) Eric MORECAMBE & Ernie WISE

Eric Morecambe (John Eric Bartholomew; May 14, 1926 –  May 28, 1984) and Ernie Wise (Ernest Wiseman; November 27, 1925 –  March 21, 1999), were a British comic double act, working in variety, radio, film and most successfully in television. Their partnership lasted from 1941 until Morecambe's death in 1984. They have been described as "the most illustrious, and the best-loved, double-act that Britain has ever produced."

In 1941 they were each booked separately to appear in Jack Hylton's revue, Youth Takes a Bow at the Nottingham Empire Theatre. War service broke up the act but they reunited by chance at the Swansea Empire Theatre in 1946. They made their name in variety, appearing in a variety circus, the Windmill Theatre, the Glasgow Empire and many venues around Britain. After this they also made their name in radio, transferring to television in 1954. Their show, Running Wild, was not well received and led to a damning newspaper review: "Definition of the week: TV set – the box in which they buried Morecambe and Wise." Eric apparently carried this review around with him ever after and from then on Eric and Ernie kept a tight control over their material. In 1956 they were offered a spot in the Winifred Atwell show with material written by Johnny Speight and this was a success.

ERIC MORECAMBE

ERNIE WISE

They had a series of shows that spanned over twenty years (Running Wild, BBC, 1954; writers Leonard Fincham, Lawrie Wyman.  Two of a Kind, ATV, 1961–1968; writers: Dick Hills and Sid Green.  The Morecambe & Wise Show, BBC, 1968–1977; writers: Hills and Green for one series, and thereafter Eddie Braben.  The Eric Morecambe and Ernie Wise Show, BBC Radio 2, 1975-1978; writer: Eddie Braben.  The Morecambe & Wise Show, Thames Television, 1978 until their final show together at Christmas 1983; writers: themselves, Barry Cryer, John Junkin, and from 1980, Eddie Braben.) during which time they developed and honed their act, most notably after moving to the BBC in 1968, where they were to be teamed with their long-term writer Eddie Braben. It is this period of their careers that is widely regarded as their "glory days."

The pair starred in three feature films during the 1960s—The Intelligence Men (1965), That Riviera Touch (1966), and The Magnificent Two (1967). In 1983 they made their last film, Night Train To Murder.

Night Train to Murder is a 1984 British comedy film directed by Joseph McGrath and starring Morecambe and Wise. It was the last work that Eric Morecambe and Ernie Wise worked on together before Eric's death in 1984, Morecambe being in poor health at the time of filming. It was written as a pastiche of the works of various writers including Agatha Christie and Edgar Wallace and is set in 1946, featuring Morecambe and Wise ostensibly as 1940s versions of themselves.

The duo's move from the BBC to Thames in 1978 was a much publicised media event, and one of the main reasons for their move was to make films and move away from the format of the Morecambe & Wise Show that had proved so popular in the last decade. The film was completed in late 1983 but not shown until after Morecambe's death the following year. It was originally made with a laughter track but when shown, and later released on both VHS and DVD this was absent.

The film features a plot of family members dying in strange circumstances and the two leads are drawn into this when Eric's niece Kathy (Lysette Anthony) is visited by the family's lawyer, played by Fulton Mackay. It was made largely on location and produced on video tape. The closing moments of the film see Eric and Ernie walking off together, onto the next gig, making it their final screen image together.

Also appearing: Lysette Anthony, Edward Judd, Margaret Courtenay, and Kenneth Haigh.

 

COPYRIGHT 2007-2014 OH BOY! 3LAWNVIEWAGOGO / ALL RIGHTS RESERVED MR.E.

ED SPRINGSTEAD, JR.

WINTER BIRD WATCHING IN UPSTATE NEW YORK

As Fall carries on in upstate New York, the leafs inevitably change color then float to the ground covering the lawn (new homeowners and city refugees need not worry, they do grow back in the Spring- unlike those fingertips you lost clearing that obstruction in the mulcher); and most birds will fly south for the coming Winter and the hot Latin music.

Those avian remaining behind- perched frozen to bare branches and telephone wires- were the subjects of our northern expedition- and not surprisingly the object of concealed ridicule by the more affluent members of their flocks.

Treking into the deep forest, Kelly, our guide, raised high hopes of sighting a Frigid Twitch chattering away with icicles affixed to its beak or a Redheaded Doxy sucking a stiff worm; but, alas, the outing was abruptly halted after accidentally traipsing into a frosty creek- we were soaked up to the ankles (why did I leave the house wearing bunny slippers?)!

It came to pass that only a Blue-Faced Screamer was observed: attempting to land on an icy birdbath, it skidded off and embedded in a snow bank- leaving a deep imprint in its exact shape much like the Coyote in a Road Runner cartoon.

Later, sipping hot cocoa in a cozy Mom & Pop hospital emergency room somewhere in Togatoga, our sniffles were quelled, but not our dream of someday hearing the mournful call of a Canadian Loon: "Coo- roo- coo- coo, Coo- roo-" aak-choo! (those last two notes were de trop- somebody "geshundteit" me- and toot sweet!).

Perhaps one will fly down for the Fountainbleu's Salsa Weekend May 6, 7 and 8!  Hot-cha cha-cha!

COPYRIGHT 2007-2016 OH BOY! 3LAWNVIEWAGOGO / ALL RIGHTS RESERVED MR.E.

ED SPRINGSTEAD, JR.