Monday Musings: Hitchcock and 🍷 , Who Was Billie Burke? ’The Exorcist’ Is The Scariest Film Of All Time, Babs Does Broadway, Three Cheers For ‘Special Ops: Lioness’

Just another a’musing Monday…

The spookiest thing about this post today is how some of my random thoughts seem to connect 🔮

Remembering William Friedkin and The Scariest Movie of All Time 😱

Today it’s been announced that filmmaker William Friedkin has passed. If the name doesn’t ring any church bells, then maybe his films will. He was the Oscar-winning director of The French Connection starring Gene Hackman and the director of (in my opinion) the scariest movie of all time — The Exorcist. I will forever be traumatized by 360 degree rotating heads, backwards crab crawls, and the latin language. However, split pea soup is still my favorite soup.  Friedkin was born in Chicago on August 29, 1935 to a mom who was an operating room nurse and a father who was a merchant seaman and semi-pro softball player. His father lived and died poor, never earning more than $50 per week. William Friedkin, at a young age, became obsessed with Orson Welles and immediately started working for WGN-TV in the mail room after barely graduating from high school. He began making documentaries, won a filmmaker award from the San Francisco Film Festival, and even directed an episode of The Alfred Hitchcock Hour in 1962. He was berated by Hitchcock for never wearing a tie.

William Peter Blatty, the writer behind The Exorcist, actually approached Friedkin to direct the adaptation of his book. The studios pressured Blatty to consider someone else, but he loved the energy Friedkin brought to The French Connection and wanted that same energy infused into his movie. The film went onto become the highest grossing film for Warner Bros. at that time, and continues (when adjusted for inflation) to be one of the most successful films for Warner Bros. 

Did You Know These Random Facts About William Friedkin?

• He was married until death to his wife Sherry Lansing, former head of Paramount Pictures

• He cites the scariest film he’s ever seen is The Babadook (2014)

• His favorite film that he directed is Jade 

• Both The French Connection and The Exorcist have been registered with the Library of Congress as films being culturally, historically or aesthetically significant 

Where Can I Stream William Friedkin Films? 

• The Exorcist - rent or buy on Apple TV+ or Amazon Prime 

• To Live and Die in LA - buy on Amazon Prime

• The French Connection - rent or buy on Apple TV+ or Amazon Prime

• Jade - stream on Showtime

Don’t Mess With The Lioness 🦁

I’m four episodes in (all caught up for now!) on Taylor Sheridan’s (he’s the dude behind Yellowstone) new series Special Ops: Lioness on Paramount+ with Showtime. The latest episode really raised the stakes of the series and picked up the emotional impact. The highlight of the episode was when a stereotypical Hamptons finance bro spiked a CIA operative’s drink and carried her into the woods to take advantage of her. Her team got his location in time and just gave it to him. I mean really gave it to him (when you hear a woman say, “Stretch him!” be very afraid!). The feminist urge not to jump up and cheer at my television screen could not be resisted. The balance between the action scenes and the more personal and emotional scenes of Joe’s (Zoe Saldana) neglected family life are starting to create some memorable moments. The series is, in general, a generic Homeland, but honestly the entertainment value is better than any other new spy show streaming new, IMO - (p.s. have not watched Jack Ryan yet). 

Yes, I Once Thought 🎶 ‘Somewhere’ 🎵 From West Side Story Was Actually A Barbra Streisand Song

I grew up in a household where both parents were obsessed with Barbra Streisand. My mom wanted to be her and my dad secretly wanted to divorce my mom and marry her. We had framed pictures on our walls of Barbra and we rented The Star is Born starring her and Kris Kristofferson from the local video store and purposely never returned it. My mom gladly payed the $120 late/lost fee. You can only imagine that my childhood was filled with Barbra music everywhere and it was already a prerequisite to love her music and films. It was on this day in 1985 that Barbra Streisand released her Broadway Album, showcasing the greatest Broadway show tunes of all time (sorry, this was pre-Hamilton) in her spectacular voice. I listened to that album over and over again and my favorite song was “Somewhere”. I seriously couldn’t believe when I finally saw West Side Story (1961) and heard the song that it wasn’t actually a Barbra Streisand song to begin with. Who was this Stephen Sondheim fellow trying to steal Barbra’s great work? P.S. William Friedkin actually directed the “Somewhere” music video for Barbra Streisand. 

Here’s Where You Can Stream Some Babs: 

• A Star is Born: stream on Hulu

• Funny Girl: Stream on Prime Video

• Hello Dolly: rent or buy on Apple TV+ or Amazon Prime

• Yentl: stream on Prime Video, MAX, or Hulu 

• The Way We Were: rent or stream on Apple TV+ or Amazon Prime

• Meet the Fockers: stream on Peacock 

Born on this Day: The Good Witch — Billie Burke 🥳

Made famous as the Good Witch in The Wizard of Oz (1939), Billie Burke had a colorful life full of intrigue. She was born in 1884 in Washington D.C. to a father who was a circus clown for P.T. Barnum and she spent her childhood touring the United States and Europe in what was the greatest show on earth (this was before motion pictures). The family finally settled in London where she became entranced by the city’s West End theater scene and decided early on that she wanted to be a stage actress.

At age 18, she entered the world of theater and got glowing reviews for her performances that ultimately took her to New York City which had then turned into the stage capital of the world. She continued to have success, starring in numerous plays. Hollywood then came calling and she starred in several films including her first, Peggy (1916) then Gloria’s Romance(1916). She took to the stage again as that was her first love, but after meeting and marrying Florenz Ziegfeld, Jr. of the infamous Ziegfeld Follies, and her savvy investments in the stock market, she decided to retire as she didn’t need to work. 

But alas, Black October of 1929 hit with a vengeance and the stock market collapsed. Her life savings were wiped out so she returned to the big screen. With 10 years of cinema behind her and the advancements of sound in film, she had to adapt. Her first big role since retirement was David O. Selznick’s Dinner at Eight (1933) co-starring Lionel Barrymore, John Barrymore and Jean Harlow. The movie was a hit and that kicked off her second life as an actress, bringing in more roles including Topper (1937) and Merrily We Live(1938) which earned her an Oscar nomination.

At 54 years of age (omg! what is her skincare secret?) she starred as Glinda The Good Witch of the North in the immortal classic The Wizard of Oz. She went onto star in over thirty films after that with her last film in John Ford’s western Sergeant Rutledge (1960). She passed of natural causes in Los Angeles at age 85. Billie Burke was the founder of The Ziegfeld Club in 1936 which to this day, devotes time and dollars to supporting women in musical theater. 

So what was her skincare secret? ✨

Billie Burke was a proud endorser of Pond’s Vanishing Cream. She also promoted fresh air as a key to good skin, getting a good night’s sleep, consuming a well-balanced diet, and not limiting yourself. 

Where To Stream Billie Burke

• The Wizard of Oz - MAX

• Merrily We Live - Tubi TV

• Topper - Crackle or Plex TV

• Dinner at Eight - rent or buy on Amazon Prime or Apple TV+ 

Hitchcock Had A Bad-Ass Wine Cellar In His Bel Air Home

Did you know that director Alfred Hitchcock had a fascination with wine 🍷 like us? He loved giving people a tour of his wine cellar that he had built within the walls of his mansion in Bel Air. He even purchased a vineyard in the Santa Cruz mountains which could explain why many of his films like The Birds and Vertigo were filmed in the San Francisco-area. He collected many bottles of Champagne and Bordeaux, but was most particular about Burgundy’s Pinot Noir grape.

Actress Tippi Hedren once was schooled by Hitchcock in the fragile grape, “It’s called the heartbreak grape. Do you know why? Of all the grapes used to make wine, these are the most fragile. It has a very thin skin, prone to diseases, mold, every kind of rot and virus known to the vintner’s art. So growing Pinot Noir is a bit like making a movie — heartbreak guaranteed.” 

My 5 favorite Hitchcock Films To Stream (no particular order): 

• Rear Window: rent or buy on Apple TV+ or Amazon Prime

• The Birds: rent or buy on Apple TV+ or Amazon Prime

• Vertigo: rent or buy on Apple TV+ or Amazon Prime

• Strangers on a Train: rent or buy on Apple TV+ or Amazon Prime

• Notorious: stream on Prime Video or Tubi TV

Aah…And Just Like That Aidan Has Saved This Season 💕

This past episode of And Just Like That finally redeemed this season. I love this series, but this season feels Wonky AF and I actually love Carrie with Aidan (again) and Miranda single (again). I love the raw, emotional realness of Seema and Carrie’s friendship and I really hope Charlotte can find her own way (again). They need to shed some of the outside characters who are just not bringing anything to the story, but I love how they kept Che amid her break with Miranda and put her in the role as a friend to Carrie aka Air bnb host and doggy healthcare boss.

The costumers are working overtime (except with Aidan’s black utility jacket when he first meets Carrie). WTF was he wearing? It doesn’t matter much, I’d buy a $46 garlic press to see this relationship through. There’s some cringe dialogue that I can forget with more glasses of wine…And yes, unpopular opinion, but Big was a mistake. 

This Just In: The Little Mermaid Coming Soon To Disney+! 

Announced today that you can stream The Little Mermaid that was recently part of the movie theater world, right from your sofa on Disney+ on September 6. The film will feature bonus content including two featurettes “Passing the Dinglehopper” and “Under the Sea - Song Breakdown” and Javier Bardem as King Triton performing “Impossible Child”.