misswonderly3 Posted June 23, 2012 Author Share Posted June 23, 2012 slayton, I love Jacques Tati's films. Thank you for reminding us about them. If anyone appeared to have the innocence of a child in an adult body, it was Tati. And in most of his films, he identifies with and is better friends with the children in the story than the adults. So it's very fitting that he would feature a carousel in his work. Now here's a coincidence: last night I stayed up very late,I usually don't do this, and I watched TCM's presentation of an odd 1969 movie called *Last Summer.* I don't want to go into the film here, that's a topic for another thread, but I did notice something: there's a scene where the teens ( the only characters in the movie) are hanging out in one of their lavish summer "cottages" ( or condos, more like) and one of the items in the setting is a carousel horse ! Nobody says anything about it, it's just there, in the living room along with the couch, table, etc. Another coincidental thing, only indirectly related to the film: I looked up the girl who played "Rhoda" in the film, an actress I'd never heard of. Her name is Catherine Burns. There's not much about her on wikipaedia, but it did say that one of her accomplishments was the writing of a children's book. Which is all about carousel horses ! Here's the bit from wiki: "Her children's book, The Winter Bird, was published by Windmill Books in 1971. Staying behind when other birds go south for the winter, a little bird discovers a *new way of life in the unusual world of carousel horses."* Coincidence ! Or maybe not, maybe it's just that when you're thinking about something, you notice it more. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DownGoesFrazier Posted June 23, 2012 Share Posted June 23, 2012 "Walking Distance" was one of Serling's own personal favorite episodes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DownGoesFrazier Posted June 23, 2012 Share Posted June 23, 2012 I believe, and it would be logical, that many films had scenes shot at Santa Monica Pier. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FranklinPangborn Posted June 23, 2012 Share Posted June 23, 2012 Was it the Santa Monica pier that was in Spielberg's "1941" where the Ferris wheel comes unhinged and rolls into the ocean? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
filmlover Posted June 23, 2012 Share Posted June 23, 2012 > {quote:title=finance wrote:}{quote}"Walking Distance" was one of Serling's own personal favorite episodes. Actually, he ended up not liking it. In an Q&A that Serling did at a college many years later, which can be heard on the Twilight Zone Definitive Edition Season 1, in discussing "Walking Distance" Serling said how much he disliked his own writing of the episode. I still think the writing shows a great tenderness and sensitivity, but he really turned against it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DownGoesFrazier Posted June 23, 2012 Share Posted June 23, 2012 Really. Maybe the information that I got was based on the fact that INITIALLY it was one of his favorites. I know he also liked the one in which the residents of a street, in panic, turned against one another. (I forget the name. I believe Jack Weston was in it). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
filmlover Posted June 23, 2012 Share Posted June 23, 2012 > {quote:title=finance wrote:}{quote}Really. Maybe the information that I got was based on the fact that INITIALLY it was one of his favorites. I know he also liked the one in which the residents of a street, in panic, turned against one another. (I forget the name. I believe Jack Weston was in it). "The Monsters Are Due On Maple Street" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slaytonf Posted June 23, 2012 Share Posted June 23, 2012 >as misswonderly has it: >I love Jacques Tati's films. Jacques Tati was one of the four great silent film comedians. The only difference is that he did most of his work in the sound era. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
misswonderly3 Posted June 24, 2012 Author Share Posted June 24, 2012 TikiSoo, thank you for posting those beautiful pics and that link to the video about carousels and their restoration. People, have any of you checked out TikiSoo's link here? Not only is it fascinating stuff, but it has an interview with TikiSoo, one of our very own posters here . And an articulate and cinematically-inclined poster she is, too. If anyone wants to see it, just click TikiSoo's name at the top right of this post, and it will take you to the link she sent. Edited by: misswonderly on Jun 24, 2012 1:39 PM Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
misswonderly3 Posted June 24, 2012 Author Share Posted June 24, 2012 > {quote:title=filmlover wrote:}{quote}You just reminded me of the Carousel song from "Jacques Brel Is Alive And Well And Living In Paris." I couldn't find a clip from the movie but did come across this interesting real-life amusement park footage that someone placed with that Carousel song. > > http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d56R7EnBP3E > filmlover, I'd meant to respond to this sooner. I was waiting until I had the time to search for the original Jacques Brel version on youtube. So I found a live performance of Jacques Brel performing this song, which is called "Valse a Mille Temps." Rougly translated it means "Waltz a thousand times ( faster)". There are lyrics translated on the screen, but unfortunately they are in Dutch ( I think.) Anyway, I must admit the original lyrics aren't about a carousel per sec, but they do capture that dizzying sense of going faster and faster, as the Englsih version about carousels does. Oh what the hell, it's a great song , and I just wanted to post a little Jacques Brel music on this website. By the way, I had the good fortune to see a live performance of "Jacques Brel is Alive and Well and Living in Paris" a few years ago, in Stratford, Ontario. It was first-rate, a wonderful production. Here's the song: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lSSp6DyTFW|http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lSSp6DyTFW4 By the way, that's a great little clip, the Coney Island one. I really enjoyed it. Whoever made it is quite clever. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TikiSoo Posted June 25, 2012 Share Posted June 25, 2012 Thanks for the plug MW. I was just reminded of the silly '67 Sonny & Cher movie Good Times, where Cher sings a merry-go-round song (Merry-Go-Runaround?) and rides a kiddie carousel. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
willbefree25 Posted June 25, 2012 Share Posted June 25, 2012 Very interesting indeed, thank you. These are the two magnificent carousels from my youth: http://www.agilitynut.com/carousels/ny.html Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ValentineXavier Posted June 25, 2012 Share Posted June 25, 2012 Geeze... all these posts, and no one has yet mentioned the 1935 classic *Dante's Inferno*, starring: Spencer Tracy ... Jim Carter Claire Trevor ... Betty McWade Henry B. Walthall ... Pop McWade Alan Dinehart ... Jonesy Scotty Beckett ... Alexander Carter (as Scott Beckett) Robert Gleckler ... Dean Rita Hayworth ... Dancer (as Rita Cansino) Gary Leon ... Dancer Willard Robertson ... Building Inspector Harris Morgan Wallace ... Captain Morgan http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0026262/ You folks otta be ashamed of yourselves! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
misswonderly3 Posted June 26, 2012 Author Share Posted June 26, 2012 I've never even heard of *Dante's Inferno*. The movie, that is...Of course I'm familiar with the book(s). (Nobody could imagine hell like old Dante could.) It sounds pretty interesting, and judging by the plot description on that link you provided, like it would fit into the "seedy underworld dark side" of the whole "fair" experience. Two others I've thought of : Woody Allen's *Shadows and Fog*, and Charles Walters' *Lily*. *Lily* is a film I remember seeing as a child on television; I was utterly charmed by it then; I saw it not too long ago on TCM, and I was still charmed by it. Anyway, almost the entire setting of *Lily* is a carnival, again, a slightly off-kilter world with strange and perhaps even dangerous characters. But it combines that with a truly good-hearted story and the sweetness and innocence of LIly's character. (Without being "sickeningly sweet".) Puppets and their use in cinema could occupy a whole thread in themselves. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ValentineXavier Posted June 26, 2012 Share Posted June 26, 2012 *Dante's Inferno* is a great film, very noirish, beautifully shot. Or, perhaps I should say frighteningly shot. TCM has shown it before, but not for a couple of years, IIRC. Wish they'd show it again! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TikiSoo Posted June 27, 2012 Share Posted June 27, 2012 Wow I just stumbled upon this while looking at next month's Eastman House schedule: Man In The Dark Lew Landers, US 1953, 70 min. In 3-D! A lean thriller about lobotomized amnesia and tough-guy gangsters, Man in the Dark was the first major studio picture released in 3-D. Starring noir standbys Edmond O?Brien and Audrey Totter, Man in the Dark is a beguiling blend of medical drama, fever dream, and crime saga. The rollicking climax shows both 3-D and Ocean Park?s seedy Sea Serpent roller coaster to their best effects. It's a Looff made carousel and I see a goat's tail peeking out at the far right. The only Looff carousel with a goat on my census list is now operating at Media City Center in Burbank. It's history states it ran at Pacific Ocean Park in Santa Monica from 1958 to 1967, not quite jibing with a 1953 made movie. Most likely this ride, though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
misswonderly3 Posted June 27, 2012 Author Share Posted June 27, 2012 Sounds like my kind of movie. Carousel scene, film noir, and Edmund O'Brien to boot ! ( not that anybody wants to boot Edmund O'Brien,,,) I looked up *Man in the Dark* ( I even love the title -very noirish) on the TCM database, and it says it's scheduled to air on TCM Monday September 10, at 12:30 p.m. Think I'll request a reminder for it. Here's the link to TCM's database info about it: http://www.tcm.com/tcmdb/title/27655/Man-in-the-Dark/ Reading the synopsis, it sounds a little like *Memento,* a Christopher Nolan film that came out in 2000. No merry-go-rounds in *Memento* though, except maybe a metaphorical one. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
misswonderly3 Posted June 27, 2012 Author Share Posted June 27, 2012 Speaking of metaphors, one of the best metaphors for the cycle of life is Joni Mitchell's peerless song, The Circle Game. The chorus says "We're captive on a carousel of time". I cannot resist posting it here, it's such a beautiful song, and in a way it's all about the biggest carousel of all. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dargo2 Posted June 27, 2012 Share Posted June 27, 2012 Yeah MissW, I've always loved Joni's "The Circle Game" too. And yeah, I suppose it IS a great metaphor for life. However, since I've retired from the airlines a few years ago, I gotta say personally I'm... ...just sitting here watching the wheels go round and round, I really love to watch them roll, No longer riding on the merry-go-round, I just had to let it go. (...with apologies to Mr. Lennon for appropriating his words, of course) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
clore Posted June 27, 2012 Share Posted June 27, 2012 I looked up *Man in the Dark* ( I even love the title -very noirish) on the TCM database, and it says it's scheduled to air on TCM Monday September 10, at 12:30 p.m. I find it interesting that while the "notes" for the film say its working title was THE MAN WHO LIVED TWICE, it does not mention that it was a remake of the earlier Columbia film with that same title. It originally starred Ralph Bellamy, with Marian Marsh and Ward Bond in support. TCM aired it recently. The basic plot also served as the opening chapter of the Crime Doctor series. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DownGoesFrazier Posted June 27, 2012 Share Posted June 27, 2012 Cagney wanted to "boot" him, or shoot him, in WHITE HEAT. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ValentineXavier Posted June 27, 2012 Share Posted June 27, 2012 > {quote:title=misswonderly wrote:}{quote}Sounds like my kind of movie. Carousel scene, film noir, and Edmund O'Brien to boot ! ( not that anybody wants to boot Edmund O'Brien,,,) > > I looked up *Man in the Dark* ( I even love the title -very noirish) on the TCM database, and it says it's scheduled to air on TCM Monday September 10, at 12:30 p.m. Think I'll request a reminder for it. > > Thanks for the info. I don't think I've seen it. I'll be sure to check it out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MaxvonMayerling Posted June 27, 2012 Share Posted June 27, 2012 Much of the cult classic, Carnival of Souls (1962) revolves around a carousel (no pun intended). Beg pardon if this was already listed here. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ugaarte Posted July 1, 2012 Share Posted July 1, 2012 I was trying to Remember this 'eerie' program that used to show a while back, while this 'thread' was up. My son reminded me that it was 'Tales of the Unexpected', which had a Carousel Ride in it's openning credits. The tune wasn't too bad but the Carousel Horses looked 'malevolent' . . . along with a dark background. http://youtu.be/fs0Hr3otf2U !data:image/jpeg;base64,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! Note: I think that a Carousel Ride should go in One Direction . . . Counter Clock Wise. I noticed that some Carousels go in the opposite direction. I've yet to ride on a Carousel going Clock Wise. I'd feel like I was going backwards. Oh, and I'm glad I went back into this thread . . . I don't know how I missed TikiSoo's interview regardng Carousels. Thanks MissWonderly Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
misswonderly3 Posted July 1, 2012 Author Share Posted July 1, 2012 I've never seen an episode of Tales of the Unexpected; I get the impression it was like a latter-day Twilight Zone. Interesting how so many movies and tv shows used carousels and their horses to denote dark magic and malevolence. Even the horse the kid rides in the fine movie version of D.H. Lawrence's *The Rocking Horse Winner* has a definitely sinister look to it. Well, it was a rocking horse, but it's the same idea. I agree with the people who've pointed out the effectiveness of the eerie fair ground scenes in *Carnival of Souls.* A very strange and macabre film; I sometimes watch it at Hallowe'en. Here is a pic of my own personal favourite carousel, one that I rode on myself as a child. It's in Toronto Island's "Centreville" amusement park: Aargh, I can't seem to post pictures here anymore. Oh well, never mind. Edited by: misswonderly on Jul 1, 2012 2:03 PM Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now