Happy Anniversary/Catherine Curtis reviews and first impressions

[Neil]

Watched "Catherin Curtis" again last night and....

it's better the 2nd time around (actually the 3rd counting the original airing).

Just watched it for Lucy's performance and she is stunning. You wouldn't believe this is the same woman who just a few years ago was performing with chimps and people in a gorilla or bear costumes.

She is so controlled and nuanced. As i said in my original review, I can't be completely objective about her unsung performances anymore.

She looks GREAT. Lighting and make-up are superb. One only has to compare this to "Phones the President" the next year to see the difference film makes over unforgiving videotape.

The only flaw in her performance is that her voice has dropped so far, it's on the verge of losing its femininity, but it's much more suited to a role like this when she doesn't have to PROJECT.

But WHY couldn't the Emmy board awarded her with a nomination for this??

The nominees that for Actress in a Drama Special for 75-76 were:

Susan Clark in Babe (winner)

Jane Alexander, Eleanor and Franklin

Sada Thompson, The Entertainer

and (the winner of the Lucille Ball Sound-alike contest)

Colleen Dewhurst, Moon for the Misbegotten.

(I'd love to hear Colleen's Mai Oui jingle. Better yet, the two of THEM singing Bosom Buddies)

 

I can't say anything about 3 of these nominees because the only one of these I remember seeing was Entertainer which starred Jack Lemmon and Ray Bolger (I think). Sada was the wife and since I don't remember her at all, it was probably more of a supporting role.

 

I think Lucy was STILL suffering from the backlash of her 2nd win in a row in 68, because there's NO reason Lucy should not have gotten a nomination for Catherine. (As I stated before) there was a lot of complaints from critics that 67-68 were repeat wins for the actors from 66-67, but Lucy was singled out because of her win over much younger actresses including the critic's favorite Paula Prentiss.

 

In Emmy history, has there EVER been a star who won two in a row and was never nominated again despite continuing to churn out product for another 10 years, 6 of them as (virtually) the same character?

Or even winning ONE and never being nominated again despite continuing as described?

 

I also think she should have gotten a nomination for "Stone Pillow" if for nothing else, her true GRIT and the fact that she allowed herself to look so disheveled.

 

I wonder if Lucy had some expectation, very realistic, that she would get a nomination for either of these two....and if there was some subsequent disappointment that she was overlooked.

 

And one more thing: I do admire Joseph Bologna's memories, but he refers to the age gap as paralleling Lucy and Gary. While the 14 year difference in close to real life, Lucy and Gary never looked like an age-inappropriate couple.

 

Also re-watched the Nannette and Peter Marshall interviews:

Peter wasn't particularly good in "Happy" or his "Lucy Show" appearance. I wonder WHY they would want him for this special, other than his new-found fame as game show host. And they offered him 4 more guest shots on LS as Lucy's brother in law and he turned it DOWN?? Somehow I doubt both.

Nannette is not clear about her suspicions as to why they had to reshoot her scenes in "Happy". There's an implication there that she was TOO good and Lucy didn't want her to shine so much, but it's never actually stated.

I think Nan is just OK, but a bit too broad in "Happy". Don't know when this was shot. As of 2012, Nan is 92...assuming she's still with us.

[C L A U D E]

Watched "Catherin Curtis" again last night and....

it's better the 2nd time around (actually the 3rd counting the original airing).

Just watched it for Lucy's performance and she is stunning. You wouldn't believe this is the same woman who just a few years ago was performing with chimps and people in a gorilla or bear costumes.

She is so controlled and nuanced. As i said in my original review, I can't be completely objective about her unsung performances anymore.

She looks GREAT. Lighting and make-up are superb. One only has to compare this to "Phones the President" the next year to see the difference film makes over unforgiving videotape.

The only flaw in her performance is that her voice has dropped so far, it's on the verge of losing its femininity, but it's much more suited to a role like this when she doesn't have to PROJECT.

But WHY couldn't the Emmy board awarded her with a nomination for this??

The nominees that for Actress in a Drama Special for 75-76 were:

Susan Clark in Babe (winner)

Jane Alexander, Eleanor and Franklin

Sada Thompson, The Entertainer

and (the winner of the Lucille Ball Sound-alike contest)

Colleen Dewhurst, Moon for the Misbegotten.

(I'd love to hear Colleen's Mai Oui jingle. Better yet, the two of THEM singing Bosom Buddies)

 

I can't say anything about 3 of these nominees because the only one of these I remember seeing was Entertainer which starred Jack Lemmon and Ray Bolger (I think). Sada was the wife and since I don't remember her at all, it was probably more of a supporting role.

 

I think Lucy was STILL suffering from the backlash of her 2nd win in a row in 68, because there's NO reason Lucy should not have gotten a nomination for Catherine. (As I stated before) there was a lot of complaints from critics that 67-68 were repeat wins for the actors from 66-67, but Lucy was singled out because of her win over much younger actresses including the critic's favorite Paula Prentiss.

 

In Emmy history, has there EVER been a star who won two in a row and was never nominated again despite continuing to churn out product for another 10 years, 6 of them as (virtually) the same character?

Or even winning ONE and never being nominated again despite continuing as described?

 

I also think she should have gotten a nomination for "Stone Pillow" if for nothing else, her true GRIT and the fact that she allowed herself to look so disheveled.

 

I wonder if Lucy had some expectation, very realistic, that she would get a nomination for either of these two....and if there was some subsequent disappointment that she was overlooked.

 

And one more thing: I do admire Joseph Bologna's memories, but he refers to the age gap as paralleling Lucy and Gary. While the 14 year difference in close to real life, Lucy and Gary never looked like an age-inappropriate couple.

 

Also re-watched the Nannette and Peter Marshall interviews:

Peter wasn't particularly good in "Happy" or his "Lucy Show" appearance. I wonder WHY they would want him for this special, other than his new-found fame as game show host. And they offered him 4 more guest shots on LS as Lucy's brother in law and he turned it DOWN?? Somehow I doubt both.

Nannette is not clear about her suspicions as to why they had to reshoot her scenes in "Happy". There's an implication there that she was TOO good and Lucy didn't want her to shine so much, but it's never actually stated.

I think Nan is just OK, but a bit too broad in "Happy". Don't know when this was shot. As of 2012, Nan is 92...assuming she's still with us.

I don't think it was the one two punch of winning two years in a row that did her in, it was those lousy Bob Hope sketches and the unsophisticated way she put herelf out there, diminishing her great star power in the eyes of the critics with old style comedy that was passe by then. Remember that she got those two Emmys when she was at her most sophisticated in Hollywood, running a studio, and recipient of all those titles the business gave her like Queen of this and First Lady of that. Class wins more awards, although you're right about Stone Pillow, usually when an actress goes way to the other end of her real life image, they get awards for that.

[Neil]

I never thought about the fact that her last nomination/win coinciding with her last year running Desilu. Don't know if there's a connection there, but Lucille Ball Productions was not the employer of actors Desilu was. Perhaps many of her votes that second year were from Desilu employees and renters who were voting out of loyalty?

I guess it's an arguable point but I don't think the first season of HL is discernibly better or worse than the last of LS.

 

It's not like the other comedy series actress nominees in the two seasons post-67/68 and pre 70/71 were any great shakes: these were both won by Hope Lange, almost by default, for Ghost and Mrs. Muir, an unmemorable comedy (that was canceled TWICE). The other actresses were nominated by force of habit but the glory years of Bewitched were in the past and That Girl had probably lost a bit of "bizzazz". The wild card was Diahann Carroll who may be very talented but "Julia" was not much of an acting challenge.

 

I don't think it was the one two punch of winning two years in a row that did her in, it was those lousy Bob Hope sketches and the unsophisticated way she put herelf out there, diminishing her great star power in the eyes of the critics with old style comedy that was passe by then. Remember that she got those two Emmys when she was at her most sophisticated in Hollywood, running a studio, and recipient of all those titles the business gave her like Queen of this and First Lady of that. Class wins more awards, although you're right about Stone Pillow, usually when an actress goes way to the other end of her real life image, they get awards for that.

[C L A U D E]

I never thought about the fact that her last nomination/win coinciding with her last year running Desilu. Don't know if there's a connection there, but Lucille Ball Productions was not the employer of actors Desilu was. Perhaps many of her votes that second year were from Desilu employees and renters who were voting out of loyalty?

I guess it's an arguable point but I don't think the first season of HL is discernibly better or worse than the last of LS.

 

It's not like the other comedy series actress nominees in the two seasons post-67/68 and pre 70/71 were any great shakes: these were both won by Hope Lange, almost by default, for Ghost and Mrs. Muir, an unmemorable comedy (that was canceled TWICE). The other actresses were nominated by force of habit but the glory years of Bewitched were in the past and That Girl had probably lost a bit of "bizzazz". The wild card was Diahann Carroll who may be very talented but "Julia" was not much of an acting challenge.

No, i just meant that these voters look at their ballots and they see a NAME first, then an IMAGE. Hence the reason most film actors win Emmys whenever they're nominated. As for the IMAGE, she later became this symbol of old style comedy, sure she was still adored by the public but it surely helped her in the eyes of the Academy voters that in '67 and '68, she ran a studio, employed thousands, was interviewed as this DOYENNE of Television comedy who could do it all, she was one of the most admired women in show business and THE most famous woman from television. A LADY who succeeded in the men's club of comedy. She had a certain image and conducted herself in a very classy manor. Stable second marriage in a town that divorces once a year, great mother, always involved in the business, putting HER money into projects, need we mention Star Trek and Mission Impossible again? She was everywhere and headed the Q rating. Later, she lost that image, did a lot of second rate product. If someone had her on their show, they could give her lousy material, because people would tune in to see her in anything she did. If she hadn't said yes to those lousy cheap sketches with Hope and others, she might have been more Grande Dame than old fashioned symbol of what used to be funny. 66/67 were indeed her best years, and Hollywood rewarded her for them, but later on, it just wasn't the same. By the time her wicked mother phase during the Patty Duke incident and the lack of Emmy nominations, the constant redoing of the same stale situations, and then semi retiring, it was all downhill, till she came back but then failed again with Life with Lucy. Don't get me wrong, i was with her till the end, she never lost any luster for me. BUT, decades later, with all her shows available to the world, people speak of her with only fond memories of a gentler time, when comedy was funny and she was just the best person to make the world laugh. When i look at the crappy shows that dot the medium today, i miss her even more and put on one of her series instead.