Back from the TCM festival and too pooped to pop but I had to update the Ben page...! By the way, they had four John Wayne pics at the festival and I got to see three (The Longest Day, How the West Was Won -- at the Cinerama Dome -- and Rio Bravo... sadly, had to miss The Searchers because it was scheduled at the same time as Wings. GRRRR).
Keep scrolling down, I have several things to mention. ;)
In getting ready for the trip, I completely forgot to post on April 10 that it was the 40th anniversary of Ben's winning his Oscar! Quel embarrassment! -- but better late than never, here's a pic to celebrate. Then scroll down below the pic for some DVD news.
DVD news... they're releasing the third season of Bonanza on DVD on July 17, in two volumes. Ben's first Bonanza episode, "The Gamble" should be on vol. 2. Unfortunately his second and third Bonanza episodes weren't until seasons 10 and 12, so who knows when we'll see those on DVD! Also, a confirmed release date for War Drums. The date is April 24. Unfortunately once again MGM is just putting an old master onto DVD so it will be open matte, i.e., 4:3 fullscreen rather than the 1:85 aspect ratio used in theaters when the movie was released in 1957. A situation where beggars can't be choosers but jeez, it just drives me nuts that MGM just doesn't seem to care, when Warners and Sony are so meticulous about remastering to make sure the film is presented properly on their MOD discs. No art work yet for War Drums.
Finally, I can't resist typing up this from an article about Ben by Gregory Walcott, an actor who worked with him on The Sugarland Express. This was in the Summer 1996 issue of Films of the Golden Age. (Eventually I will scan in the entire article.) As a dog lover, all I can say is... the prime purpose of a bed is to let a doggie sleep with his mommy and daddy!
"During the filming of Sugarland Express, the company stayed at the Holiday Inn in San Antonio. Usually after supper, I would see Ben walking a white, meticulously trimmed poodle around the parking lot. One day I said to him, 'Ben, that's a mighty pretty dog.'
"Ben winched [sic], then chuckled, 'Years ago, I thought only sissies had dogs like these, and I wouldn't be seen near one of 'em. But my wife talked me into gettin' one -- much to my objections. But the little rascal kinda grows on you, and now he sleeps in bed with us!' "
LOL -- of course, where else would one's doggie baby sleep? :) :) :) :) :) :) :)
P.S. I got kissed by a French bulldog in the Atlanta airport today. :) I stopped in at the Ladies' after deplaning and found a woman there with a French bulldog on a pink leash. The French bulldog had been shipped to her on a flight and she had just picked her up. I bent down to say hello to the little Frenchie and she immediately jumped up on my leg and gave me a nice big Frenchie (not "French"!) kiss. Made me even more anxious to get home to my English bulldog Charlie -- who did plant plenty of kisses on my kisser after I walked in the door. Sheer bliss! (If you're not a dog lover, you may not understand the appeal of a doggie kiss.) ;)
