Lady Gaga Shines in A STAR IS BORN

Film buffs have seen this same story three times before in 1937, 1954 and 1976 -- A country singer at the top of his game has to contend with drugs, alcohol, the price of fame and a medical condition causing him to lose his hearing, but takes time out of his busy tour schedule to launch the career of a young woman with musical talent. She excels quickly, appearing on Saturday Night Live, receiving multiple Grammy nominations and financial freedom... all the while his condition continues to decline. You can surmise the conclusion before the curtain closes but for the younger generation who never saw the prior renditions, this might come as a surprise to them. 

Over the past few weeks there were people who told me they were dead set against this remake; perhaps they lovingly embraced the 1954 Judy Garland rendition or the 1976 Barbara Streisand version. My general rule of thumb with remakes is this -- good or bad, we will always have the original.  

Having watched the prior renditions over the past years I was eager to see an updated take -- and was pleased to see how this film excels on many levels. Bradley Cooper not only plays the male lead, but also directs from behind the camera. As expected, Lady Gaga shines with strong vocals but also with an acting assignment that will no doubt reward her with an Oscar nomination for "Best Actress." She went all-in on this role -- evident when she smashes a glass picture frame with her fist, which break into pieces and falls to the floor and you can tell that was real glass. The chemistry between the two, however, is so evident that it cannot be overlooked -- it has been years since I saw chemistry on the big screen. (For the record, that was four years ago when I watched To Have and Have Not with Bogart and Bacall and could feel the chemistry.) 

Lady Gaga and Bradley Cooper in A STAR IS BORN (2018)

Bradley Cooper gives what is clearly his best performance on the screen and proved that he can also direct as well. In most movies Bradley Cooper plays Bradley Cooper -- much like Tom Cruise is Tom Cruise in every movie he plays -- but in A Star is Born, Cooper plays a role that makes you forget he was Bradley Cooper. This is talent that awards Oscars. 

This may be October but the Oscar race launched this weekend with a film that will no doubt receive Oscar nominations for "Best Director," "Best Screenplay," "Best Actor," "Best Actress," "Best Song" and "Best Picture." I have only seen two movies this year that warrant inclusion on the 2018 "must see" list. Won't You Be My Neighbor?, the documentary about Fred Rogers, was the first and A Star is Born is now the second.

Frances Langford Finally Receives Her Due

To date there has never been a biography about Frances Langford in print form, which makes Ben Ohmart's latest contribution to the reference library all the more valuable. She really was the Sweetheart of the Armed Forces, once quoted of saying "God knows I would gladly give my life to help end this terrible affair and send those boys home to their families and friends where they belong." With her vocal talents as both movie star and radio personality, her career has been immortalized in recorded form. Her personal life restricted to the tabloids and gossip columns of the times, she donated everything she owned -- including letters, scrapbooks and photographs to the Martin County Historical Society in Minnesota. Anyone can visit the Elliott Museum and browse through her collection, but Ben Ohmart saved us an expensive trip across the country with this 333-page book documenting her personal life, her radio career, her screen career and more than any other aspect of her career... what she devoted to troops overseas. 

"Frances cared a lot about her war work," Ohmart explains, "and more than anything, I wanted this book to showcase her amazing patriotism." Chapter three focuses on her tour with Bob Hope for the U.S.O. 

I could go on paragraph after paragraph of what this book contains but if you are seeking a biography that covers all aspects of her life and career, this is the book. The most impressive aspect is the fact that this book features hundreds of never-before-seen photographs from Langford's personal collection and are a rare treat. Most biographies have a handful of rare photographs, sometimes as a centerpiece in the middle of a book. Ben Ohmart gave us not just a slice of the pie, but multiple pies of various flavors. The photos alone are worth the price of this book.

Forever and a Day: The Origin of James Bond

"There is only one recipe for a best seller. You have to get the reader to turn over the page."

-- Ian Fleming

It is not every day that I receive an advance copy of a novel to be published months from now and I have to confess both my sincere appreciation and excitement when I discovered it was a James Bond novel. Not just any novel, but the official prequel to Casino Royale (1953), which provides an origin for James Bond.

Casino Royale was a magnificent read. The prose was fantastic and the story simplistic. Establishing the world of spies and international intrigue the novel described celebrated world cities, beautiful women and his motif for working with them, being captured by the villain, enjoying upscale brands, and a muted violent streak that verges on cruelty. Subsequent novels were enjoyable, but nowhere near the caliber of Casino Royale. In fact, if you are going to read any other Ian Fleming novels, I recommend his third, Moonraker (1955), simply because so many elements in that novel crept into the cinema formula of the Bond movies.

Other authors took over the mantle after the passing of Ian Fleming and dozens and dozens of Bond novels have been published over the past few decades. Of recent, Anthony Horowitz took on the task and with credits to his name (the Alex Rider novels and teleplays for Poirot, Midsomer Murders and Murder Most Horrid) it was a surefire success. His first, Trigger Mortis is enjoyable and one can hear the John Barry 007 theme numerous times during action sequences. His second, due for publication in November, is Forever and a Day.

In this new entry, James Bond has just been promoted to 00 status and is sent to the Riviera (and environs, particularly Marseille) to discover who killed his predecessor and why. There he meets with a woman who may or may not be on the side of the angels, an American industrialist making film stock for Hollywood and a grotesquely fat Corsican syndicate head who deals in drugs and could be straight out of Dick Tracy’s gallery of villains. He also encounters a CIA operative who appears to be a reliable good guy. Throw in some car chases, some great food and drink and you have a classic Bond thriller.

If you are seeking adventure and escapism this holiday season, treat yourself and order a copy of this book.

The Russell Brothers Circus Scrapbook

With the American Circus a dying breed, it warms my heart to see that there are a number of good folks who are taking the time to dig into archives, newspaper files and track down family relatives to compile reference guides documenting and preserving the big top. Keith Webb and Joseph F. Laredo recently published The Russell Brothers Circus Scrapbook with dozens of rare and previously unpublished photographs. 

Little did I know that the circus was featured in the 1942 Alfred Hitchcock suspense classic, Saboteur, the great animal trainer Clyde Beatty would join forces with the Russell Brothers Circus, and that silver screen cowboys made professional appearances over the years: including Hoot Gibson, Reb Russel, and a brief appearance by Ken Maynard.

Hollywood celebrities were also part of the program from time to time, often to promote their motion-pictures. The circus sometimes crept into the participation of film production. The elephants in the circus were transported to the Iverson Movie Ranch for Tarzan's New York Adventure. Johnny Sheffield, known as "Bomba, the Jungle Boy," was among the endless parade of movie personalities dining in the Russell Brothers cook hour on tour, along with Henry Fonda, James Cagney, Tyrone Power, Don Ameche, Betty Grable, Alice Faye, Gene Tierney, and others. Maureen O'Hara apparently possessed a tomboy streak so she took to the animals. There is a story about John Barrymore drinking too much at the circus, and how the circus helped with the war cause during the Second World War.

The book is available at www.russellbrotherscircus.com