Happy New Year From Budapest!

Happy New Year to one and all from Losh-Man’s Hollywood Classics! I actually meant to post this prior to Christmas 2018 but just never got around to it. And while the title may say Happy New Year from Budapest, it is only because of the movie I am bringing you today as I am posting from Kansas City, Missouri as usual.

Not a lot of romances come out of rivalry, distaste and conflict especially in a business setting but our feature today is one of the exceptions.

And it’s no secret that my all-time favorite actor is James Stewart, so tonight I’m covering another of his movies.

That is the plot of The Shop Around The Corner the January, 1940 Ernst Lubitsch directed classic.

You have to wonder if Alfred Kralik (James Stewart) and Klara Novak (Margaret Sullivan) who end up uncomfortably as co-workers at the leather goods store called Matuschek & Company in Budapest, Hungary at Christmas time knew that in the internet age there would be so many sites out there with tips, rules, etc about office romances.

They are employed by Hugo Matuschek (Frank Morgan) who was not planning to hire more help in the shop until he sees Klara, who was looking for a job sell one of his new musical cigarette boxes that plays “Oh, Chichonia” to a customer, telling her it is a candy box that by playing the song each time the owner takes a piece of candy, they are reminded not to over-indulge by the song playing.

Alfred Kralik (Stewart) was against her being hired and they become instant rivals and  as her manager, he tries to make her work environment difficult.

But we also see Alfred confiding in co-worker Mr Pirovitch (Felix Brassart) about his by-mail correspondence with a woman that he plans to meet soon and from the depth of their letters, he hopes will develop into an in-person courtship and future marriage.

Little do Alfred and Klara know they are actually falling in love with each other as they are the ones exchanging these letters.  They also initially believe that their separate pen pals have such depth that Klara’ s couldn’t possibly be Alfred and vice-versa.

Alfred’s treatment of Klara causes her so much stress that she eventually becomes ill. But Alfred soon becomes Manager of the store after Mr Matuschek attempts suicide and is temporarily committed after the Private Investigator he hired to find out who which of his employees was having an affair with Mrs Matuschek reveals that it was not Alfred (who despite being like a son to him, he had recently terminated under the suspicion) but it was Mr Vadas (Joseph Shildkraut).

After Alfred is brought back into the employ with the promotion and a raise, he feels bad about his treatment of Klara, and goes to visit her at home and they soon realize who their pen pals are.

So check out The Shop Around The Corner! You’ll Be Glad Ya’ Did! I’ll see you next time here on Losh-Man’s Hollywood Classics!

 

The Wizard Of Oz Highlights Munchkin Monday

It’s November, and along with this being the month that we celebrate the blessings that God has and continues to bestow upon our lives (as some are already posting on Social Media what they are thankful for throughout the month) officially on the 24th,that slso soon kicks off the Christmas season, it is also the month that brings back a classic that I, like many of you grew up anticipating this part of the year for.

That is of course, the 1939 Victor Fleming directed and Mervyn Leroy produced timeless production of The Wizard Of Oz. This delightful tale that taught us “There’s no place like home”, stars Judy Garland as Dorothy,and several actors in multiple roles. They include Frank Morgan as Professor Marvel, The Wizard, Doorman, Cabbie, Guard, Doctor. Ray Bolger as Hunk and The Scarecrow, Jack Haley as Hickory and The Tin Man, Bert Lahr as Zeke and The Cowardly Lion, Margaret Hamilton as Miss Almira Gulch and The Wicked Witch Of The West.

It also stars Billie Burke as Glinda The Good Witch of the North, Clara Blandick as Aunt Em,  and Charley Grapewin as Uncle Henry.

I always loved how our journey to the land of Oz where we meet the lovable Little People that live just outside of it, the Munchkins, started out in black and white and later switches to color. I own it on both VHS and DVD, and also enjoy the radio version.

I don’t know anyone that ever tires of Dorothy signing “Over The Rainbow“, or hearing the Munckins serenade Dorothy as they welcome her to Munchkin Land, and eventually give her a musical send-off as they encourage her to “Follow The Yellow Brick Road“.

I also am unaware of there ever being another film that on such a large scale gives such a prominent roles to Little People and I think it was and still is a wonderful way to share the talent that so many of them, just like any other screen performers possess.

And, the other friendships that Dorothy makes along the Yellow Brick Road with The Scarecrow (Bolger), The Tin Man (Haley), and The Cowardly Lion (Lahr) teach us a valuable lesson that each of us are uniquely created (and though it may not reference that fact directly, we are just that by our Loving God) and have something to contribute and that we all need each other to encourage us and help bring out our gifts and talents for the benefit of each other and for God’s glory.

And, of course Glinda (Burke) and The Wicked Witch Of The West (Hamilton) depict the classic struggle of good vs evil that has existed since the fall of Satan from Heaven and ultimately in The Garden Of Eden. But it reminds us that in the end, just as in the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ and the eventual eternal victory spoken of in the book of Revelation, that good really does win, despite that fact that evil does play a role for a time.

If you have not seen this incredibly wonderful production, why not gather your family together, as you reflect on the gift from God that they are this month, and take it in together. I’ll just bet that you will all find something you relate to in many of the characters.

And, to help you with that, not only can it be purchased online and in countless stores, but Turner Classic Movies has The Wizard Of Oz showing twice on November 20th, once on November 27th, twice on November 12th, and once on December 14th. Check the TCM schedule for times in your area. I know you will enjoy it as much as I always have!

Welcome To Losh-Man’s Hollywood Classics

Ok, so after a week of consideration I opted to stop my Losh-Man’s Hollywood Classics Radio Show this past Tuesday and turn to the blogosphere instead. And, I’m finally at a point where I can do so consistently a few times a week.  So what day is it? Well, thanks for asking-it’s Jimmy Stewart Monday!! Jimmy is my all-time favorite actor and is where my love for classic movies has grown out of!

 

I wrote about Jimmy for a newsletter called ‘The Inform-All” that I was a monthly contributor to for a year at work starting in 2006 in a feature called “Losh-Man’s Classic Character Of The Month”. Around that same time, I was doing a radio show called “The Best Radio Variety Show….Period” and my sister Veronica (who is also a big Jimmy fan) and I did a show about Jimmy. I was also Judge Omar Gaffney in Fair Based Productions (known as Platte County, Missouri’s Dinner Theater) presentation of “Harvey“, which ranks among my top 10 favorite Jimmy movies. One of my very first Losh-Man’s Hollywood Classics Radio Shows earlier this year was interviewing the Executive Director of the Jimmy Stewart Museum that my family and I visited several years ago.

I love the fact that Jimmy, like me, got his start in community theater, and though I was never able to do that, he rode that train all the way to Hollywood with his best friend Henry Fonda that he was even in a movie with, dated many actresses in common, and worked on model airplanes in their spare time. I’ve done a few of those myself like these two that are dedicated to Jimmy.

Left to right is a B47, that represents the Jimmy movie Strategic Air Command.
Right is the  Spirit Of St Louis that represents Jimmy playing Charles Lindbergh

I own nearly 50 of Jimmy’s movies-many on both VHS and DVD like some of the ones pictured below, as well as the Biography Channel documentary on him, and several episodes of his “Hawkins” television series.

 

My Classic Entertainment wall in my rec-room is adorned with many Jimmy related items , from the planes pictured earlier to these items.

I love the fact that everyone talks about how Jimmy had such integrity of character both on and off the screen. I love his versatility that allowed him to play the guy next door in a small town, husband, father, tough cowboy, FBI Agent, reporter, lawyer, sports figure, aviation legend, singer and dancer and so much more. I love the fact that he was on so many Old-Time Radio shows, like these:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a7kxZsfXjo8 and

I love the great casting match-ups he had on the big and small screen like Donna Reed, Billy Mitchell, Josephine Hull, June Allyson, John Wayne, Cary Grant, Katherine Hepburn, Judy Garland, Frank Morgan, Carol Burnett, Bob Hope, Margaret Sullivan, Bing Crosby, Jack Benny, Ronald Reagan, Johnny Carson, Buddy Ebsen, Lucille Ball, Doris Day, Eleanor Powell, William Powell & Myrna Loy, Harry Morgan, and so many more.

I love that fact that he was a decorated war hero, flying B17’s in World War II

and making recruiting videos like these:

And the movie Strategic Air Command was a great addition as well. It also ranks among my top 10 favorite Jimmy movies. I’ll see you next time, on Losh-Man’s Hollywood Classics!