I hope you will find things among my random thoughts that resonate with you and yours. I'd love to read your reactions in the Comments, and I'll be sure to visit you in return. Best regards, Mary

Wednesday, April 2, 2014

Brigadoon

B is also for buff, film buff that is. That's me.

The movie Brigadoon came out in 1954 when I was a freshman in college. It was based on the Alan Jay Lerner Broadway musical of the same name and featured a fine cast and many of Lerner & Loew's best songs. Dated as the film is by today's standards I still have fond memories of the story and music.

This is a whimsical love story set in a misty version of a long ago time. It plays to our desire for the unattainable, to remain forever young and in love. No wonder it was so popular in that post-Korea era!

Because I studied German literature I noticed a similarity to the German story Germelshausen by Gerstacker. That, in turn, was based on the ancient tale of a town that falls under an evil enchantment and disappears, reappearing for just one day each century. Like the town, the story keeps resurfacing, so we must be due for a new version. I can't wait to see how it is treated in today's idiom!

The obvious and comforting point here (for some!) is that however much civilization may "improve" us over the centuries, in our hearts we humans remain the same.

Several of the Brigadoon songs were long-runing hits in the day. My favorite is sung here by Frank Sinatra. We girls were all in love with him, and our mothers were convinced that all that "swooning" and screaming was terribly unhealthy for us. (Adolescent females then were pretty much like today's.)





13 comments:

  1. Great 'B' Mary. I myself am also a film buff, especially the old black and whites I watched as a child...maybe they remind me of my late Father, but I love them. I completely agree, in our hearts, we haven't changed one little bit
    I'm afraid I was always a Dean Martin fan, I liked his humour.
    My favourite...Gregory Peck....but I have to mention James Stewart for his incredible acting...I could go on all day.
    Not sure I'm as keen on today's 'Stars', I was maybe born in the wrong era.hahaha
    Maggie@Expatbrazil

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  2. I'm glad you liked it. So - we share a love of BW! For Xmas my granddaughter, a Hollywood film editor, gave me the Centurion special edition of On the Waterfront with tons of great interviews and critiques. I loved it! Wouldn't we have fun watching the oldies together? Thanks for reading & commenting.

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    1. I could sit happily all day watching BW...Bette Davis, Edward G. Robinson, Henry Fonda, David Niven, Cary Grant, Joan Crawford...what movies those guys made...and for peanuts compared to today's 'Stars'. We watched a movie the other night and the violence was so bad, so raw...why does it need to be so bad, Hitchcock didn't need gratuitous violence to scare you. Strange world, strange values. Thanks Mary. :)

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  3. Good reason to swoon. There's something very magical in Frank Sinatra's voice.

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    1. Thanks for stopping in. Any friend of "Old Blue Eyes" is a friend of mine.

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  4. I haven't seen Brigadoon, but I love that song.

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    1. Thanks for visiting!
      I visited your website but can't find where to comment on it. Just want you to know I think it's lovely.
      Mary

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  5. I so rarely watch movies! I can be easier to persuaded to watch an old one as opposed to much of the trash offered today. There's no comparison between the old movies and today's choices!

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  6. I have added another Black and White movie to watch. There is something so charming in the old movies. At one point I had this major crush on Gregory Peck, the years and miles between us notwithstanding :)

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  7. " civilization may "improve" us over the centuries, in our hearts we humans remain the same." ...just loved this line :) and thanks for sharing such a famous movie of those times....

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    1. I'm glad you like that observation. It did not occur to me when I watched it as a girl. We learn a lot as time passes, don't we? Thanks for visiting and for sharing your lovely blog.
      Mary

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  8. Julia Child - I never heard about before the film came out with Meryl Streep - after that I have searched for information about her - some lady and she got it right. Very interesting with Abraham Lincoln in the kitchen and authentic recipes, but I don’t think I will try any of them out *smile

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    1. Wow, something went wrong here .... here is my right comment. _ Frank Sinatra …. The one and only – who I learned to dance to … in my grandma’s kitchen. 8 years old.
      The film I have never heard about before – have to check it out – thanks for Frankie.

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