It's January...

 ... for just one more day. 

 

Well, Lois January will still be January come tomorrow. She hopes!

Musical Monday with Maggie Reilly

"Everytime We Touch" is a beautiful song with a trippy, mildly creepy video. When I first heard the song, I thought it was another team-up of Reilly and the great Mike Oldfield. When I saw the video a short time later, I WAS certain it was another team-up between Oldfield and Reilly... why else would that guitarist be in shadow like thet? I took it as confirmation of my assumption, because it felt obvious that Oldfield didn't want to steal the spotlight from her. Additionally, I made up a story about the weirdness going on in the video; maybe I'll relay it some day.

Of course, I was WRONG about this song being a team-up between Reilly and Oldfield. That's NOT him on guitar, and this is not a song from his pen, which became obvious to me as I grew up and my ear became more refined. I still like my little fantasy about Oldfield making an anonymous cameo appearance this video.

If you've never heard this song (which was a huge hit across Europe in 1992 and 1993), I hope you'll fall in love with it as I did and that you, too, will come to think of it as "the greatest Mike Oldfield song he never wrote".

By the way, I'm not the only person who made wrong assumptions about this song and who performed it. Adults and even musicians have made the same mistake, as you'll learn from looking at the comments on this video... or from just watching this really well-done cover of "Everytime we Touch" at YouTube.

It's a Mohammed Monday!

We continue our bi-weekly celebration of freedom of expression and our opposition to anyone who would threaten artists and creative people with violence.

THIS WEEK WITH JESUS AND MO

How are the dancers doing?

On International Dance Day 2022, the ballerinas ran off into the wild. We're trying to keep track of them, and we'll try to bring you updates on the last Wednesday of each month until International Dance Day 2023.

As you may recall, we were worried for the ballerinas as winter arrived. But, as it turns out, they're still doing fine! 

Some are just ignoring the cold and snow...

... and others have come back indoors...

... where most are staying close to the windows, so they know as soon as the weather's fit for them to run outside again!

Although maybe they share more in common with cats than grace and the ability to land on their feet?

Musical Monday with Zella Day

A good cover tune is one where the performer captures the essence of the song. A great cover tune is one where the artist captures the essence of the song and makes it their own in every way.

Singer Zella Day has recorded a cover of Ozzy Osbourne's "Crazy Train" that is not only great, it's FANTASTIC. What's more, it is supported by a great video that is equally effective in capturing the essence of "Crazy Train." (The only, very nitpicky complaint that I can even think to mount is that maybe it should have taken place in a train car rather than the back of an open-topped car.)

Crazy Train (2020)

Starring: Zella Day

Director: Cameron McCool

Rating: Nine of Ten Stars

Click here for a post where you can enjoy Ozzy's original "Crazy Train" song. (Scroll to the bottom.)

It's the Year of the Rabbit!

It's the start of a new week on my calendar, and it's the start of a new year on traditional Chinese calendar. Welcome to the Year of the Rabbit, everyone! We're kicking it off with some photos of the first Chinese-American movie star, Anna May Wong (a third-generation American who was born and raised in California).

 

'Troublesome Secretaries' is a goofy romantic comedy

Troublesome Secretaries (1911)
Starring: John Bunny, Mabel Normand, and Ralph Ince
Director: Ralph Ince

Rating: Seven of Ten Stars

An overprotective father (Bunny) fires his personal secretary (Ince) after he becomes romantically involved with his teenaged daughter (Normand). The girl then launches several schemes to get around her father and be reunited with her heart's desire.

"Troublesome Secretaries" is one of the few surviving films (and film fragments) featuring cinema's first international superstar, John Bunny. He was among a handful of established, well-regarded stage actors who understood and fully embraced the potential of film, and he was as important to building the emerging industry as it was to elevating his star beyond all others. 

By the time of Bunny's death in 1915, it was predicted by film fans and professional critics alike that his name and image would continue on forever in human memory thanks to film. As it turned out, Bunny and his early contribution to the art and business of filmmaking would be all but forgotten by the public at large by the dawn of the 1920s. Barely a decade after is death, most of the films in which he appeared were no longer available, because studios habitually destroyed used film prints and original negatives rather than go through the trouble and expense of storing them.

This film is typical of Bunny's emphasis on films that relied more on character interaction than slapstick, and, despite the films lightning-fast pace, viewers still get a good sense of the father's overbearing and persnickety nature, as well as his daughter's capricious and independent ways. Her boyfriend is the sort of bland male romantic lead that will dominate romantic comedies and mystery films for the next thirty years... or maybe the character got a little more personality in the missing third act of the film.

Contrary to my usual habit, I am reviewing a film that has survived to the present day without it's story intact. I have reviewed other films of which no complete copy exists (this Bessie Love vehicle comes to mind immediately), but I don't typically try to evaluate a film that's missing major chunks of important plot material... and no version of "Troublesome Secretaries" that I've seen appears to have an actual ending. But what we have of this film is still so much fun and so well-made (and even a little modern feeling) is that I still felt it's worth calling attention to. I think even viewers who typically don't like silent movies (but who enjoy sit-coms or absurd comedies) will like this one.

For regular viewers of silent movies, this film is interesting, because we get to see Mabel Normand in an early leading role and we get to see that she had radiant screen presence from the beginning. (There's also the bitter-sweet historical fact that Normand--at the beginning of her career--would follow pretty much the same trajectory as John Bunny did: She became a superstar and a household name... and was all-but-forgotten just a few years after her career ended.)

It's a Picture Perfect Wedneday!

And I'm sure there's some context within which this makes sense.

'Requiro' is an impressive first effort

The writer/director of the short film embedded below, Jyotsna Kamath, appears to have spent some time flirting with different creative fields and online "influencing" during the early 2000s (when her profile shots on her various social media pages make her look like she was in her late teens and early 20s. She eventually seems to have mostly given up on those pursuits and taken a job as a flight attendant... but recently returned to the self-employed and more creative realm as a wardrobe consultant (according to her LinkedIn profile).

Based on what you'll see when watching "Requiro", I think you'll agree that it's a shame Kamath was unable to stick with filmmaking. This is a low-key film driven entirely by the emotions of the three very different main characters and how the viewers relate to them. The pacing is near-flawless (with only two minor stumbles that are only noticeable because everything else is so smooth) and every shot is expertly framed. (That last part could be more to the credit of cinematographer Gagan Bains, but Kamath still had the sense to work with him on the project.)

Maybe, someday, we'll get to see more from Kamath. For now, I hope you find "Requiro" as interesting as I did.

Requiro (2014)
Starring: Omkar Ghalsasi, Akshay Deolekar, and Aakash Patil
Director: Jyotsna Kamath
Rating: Seven of Ten Stars

 

Musical Monday with Johnny Cash

Fifty years ago, on January 16, 1973, the celebrated western television series "Bonanza" came to an end after 14 seasons and 432 episodes.

We observe this milestone in broadcast history with this rare clip of Johnny Cash and a back-up band performing the "Theme from Bonanza" with the complete lyrics.

 

It's a Mohammed Monday!

THIS WEEK WITH JESUS & MO

It's National Hat Day!

Alice White is celebrating National Hat Day by wearing a raspberry beret--something a little more subdued than her typical headgear.

 As for the rest of them here at Shades of Gray... well, they're wearing hats!

 

  
 
 

On this Friday the 13th...

... there's something shocking going on at the Shades of Gray Offices!

We're spending this first Friday the 13th of 2023 laughing in the faces of Fate and Bad Luck!

Wonder Woman Wednesday

Our favorite Amazon is aspiring to soar to new heights in the new year. She hopes all her fans and all the visitors to Shades of Gray will be successful right along with her!

 

 
 

Musical Monday with White Town

Every so often, we come across an item that, by itself, encapsulates the spirit of the Shades of Gray blog by seeming to be a manifestation of the mish-mash of content here. From silent movies, through the 1950s, and into the 1980s--you'll find that vibe in this 1990s song and video from White Town. The video looks like it's set in 1960s England but features silent movie tropes and humor, and it supports a electronica that samples a hook from a 1930s song that itself was a cover of a 1920s song.

Your Woman (1997)

Starring: Chloe Treend

Director: Mark Adcock

Rating: Nine of Ten Stars

It's the first full moon of 2023...

 ... and we present a timeless tale of Elmo Aardvark in observance, courtesy of writer/artist/animator Milton Knight!

Like us here at Shades of Gray, Elmo recognizes the true nature of the Moon and that the Moon Girls are the ones running the show up there!

Support Milton Knight by joining his Patreon page (and get previews of what he's working on). Milton tells us that he likes this blog, so we encourage you to support him!

You can also join him in conversation on his Facebook page!

Firearms Friday with Anna May Wong

Born on Jan. 3, 1904, Anna May Wong was a third-generation Chinese-American who began her film acting career at the age of 15. Within a year, her raw talent and charisma was being noticed by directors and fellow actors alike, and she swiftly moved from bit parts, to major supporting roles, and to her first starring role at the age of 17 in "The Toll of the Sea" (1922). 

 
Wong is perhaps best remembered for her major supporting role in "The Thief of Bagdad" (1924) (where she was as captivating and scene-stealing on screen as leading man Douglas Fairbanks). As sound replaced silent movies, Wong made a successful transition into talkies and cemented her legacy as the first Asian-American movie star. Unfortunately, the racism baked into the U.S. film industry--with its regulations that stated actors of different races could not share the screen in romantic scenes, and the habit of casting white actors in "yellow face" in leading parts--stopped her from maintaining her star status, and she went to Europe where such policies and habits did not stand in her way.

As World War II was looming on the horizon, Wong returned tothe U.S. where, after acclaimed leading roles in thrillers "Daughter of Shanghai" (1937) (where she received top billing) and "Dangerous to Know" (1939), she found the old racist blocks were still in her career path and she quickly found herself relegated to choosing to star in Poverty Row films, or take minor parts in major pictures. By 1942, after appearing in 48 American, British, or German pictures, Wong left film behind for the stage.

In 1949, Wong returned briefly to the Big Screen with a supporting role in the fabulous thriller "Impact", and in 1951 she starred as the title character in the short-lived detective TV series
"The Gallery of Madame Liu-Tsong". 

During the 1950s, Wong battled several health issues, but still managed to return to television during the second half of that decade, with small supporting and guest-starring roles in detective shows, drama anthology series, and westerns.

Wong suffered a massive heart attack and passed away in 1961, one month after her 56th birthday.