Tuesday, July 31, 2012

Dino-truth Airport Style



Hey pallies, likes we all knows that our most beloved Dino, our King of Cool, is likes the greatest entertainer to ever ever grace the face of the earth, but in addition to all his amazin' talents as singer, actor, comedian extraordinare, our Dino is also the wisest of the wise worldly philisophers. 'though our Dino never gots him much of a formal book-learnin' education, he became the deepest, truest, and purest knower of worldly ways.

And thus, in addition to his amazin' enterainin' abilities, our Dino has left us with a huge huge set of teachin's to instruct us his devotees in the ways of livin' the Dino-life. Sometimes these teachin's have come in the form of what woulda first appear to be simply a funny joke. Sometimes our Dino's oh so wise words woulda comes as the lyrics to a tune he was croonin'. And often, these Dino-truths came simply as our great man was livin' his great life.

Today, we share worldly wise Dino-instruction as related by fellow actor Mr. Anthony Hopkins. As shared by Hopkins this very very teachable Dino-moment occured on the set of the flick "Airport" when one of the actresses was becomin' very "method" 'bout it and our great man simply wanted to gets on with it. Truly truly all of us Dino-holics would be wise to follow our Dino's instruction in times likes these.

Our Dino-hearted pallie Mr. Finn Tellefsen, over at his facebook pad, has created one of those amazin' photo/word pixs that totally totally captures this Dino-teachin' for all his Dino-philes. Loves the pix of our Dino behind the scenes of the Dino-show that Finn has chosen to accent this extremely extremely worldly wise wisdom of our King of Cool.

Hats off to our fellow pallie Finn for creatin' this special homagin' of our Dino...may we ever grow in learnin' the Dino-way by studyin' more and more of our great man's great thoughts. If you clicks on the tag of this Dino-report, it is supposed to goes to this pix essay that Mr. Tellefsen has placed on facebook page.
Dino-always, only, and ever, DMP

Monday, July 30, 2012

Looks like Jax loves Dean Martin too. :)



Hey pallies, her tag is Jackie and she blogs at her space "The Uneventful Life." From her recent post it is so so clear that Miss Jackie is not only a devotee of our Dino, but her wee boypallie Jax, a mere babe in arms, is already groovin' on our main man.

Miss Jackie's post, "Just like mom" features the caption, "Looks like Jax loves Dean Martin too. :)." What follows are two very short vid clips of baby Jax gooin and cooin' to the sounds of our Dino's croonin' "Ain't That A Kick In The Head." Likes wasn't able to transfer the clips to this post, but as usual, if you clicks on the tag of this Dino-report, you will be transported to the original site where you can dig baby Jax diggin' our Dino!

How great to find this young mother sharin' your deep, pure, and true devotion to our Dino with her little boy pallie....provin' that you can never start to early in gettin' the next gen invested in our most beloved Dino! Kudos to Miss Jackie for passin' on her Dino-appreciato with little Jax. Dino-awed, DMP



Just like mom

Looks like Jax loves Dean Martin too. :)

Sunday, July 29, 2012

Danny G's Sunday Serenade with Dino: "Manana"

Hey pals...what do ya' say we get this week's Serenade a' sizzlin'... Latin style?! Now we all know, that for some hot, summery, spanish-type tunes, there's absolutely NO better al b um to turn to than our very own pal of pal's 1963, "Dino Latino".


I thinks that "Manana" should do just the trick to put us in the right frame of mind pallies! Man o man...this tune REALLY gets me groovin'!!! I might even head over to my local Mexicana cantina & keep the salsa spirit flowin'!


Nuthin' goes better with some hot & spicy Dino than some chilled shots of your fave tequila served straight up! I won't keep ya' from the fiesta pallies...let's get out there & soak up the Latino heat! Salute!   






The faucet it is dripping and the fence is falling down
My pocket needs some money so I can't go in to town
My brother he ain't working and my sister doesn't care
The car it needs a motor so I can't go anywhere
Manana
Manana is soon enough for me
Once I had some money but I gave it to a friend
He said he'd pay me double he was only for a lend
But he said a little later that the horse it was so slow
Why he gave the horse my money is something I don't know
Manana
Manana is good enough for me
My brother took his suitcase and he went away to school
My father said he only learned to be a silly fool
My father said that I should learn to make a chili pot
But then I burned the house down the chili was too hot
Manana
Manana is soon enough for me
The window it is busted and the rain is coming in
If someone doesn't fix it I'll be soaking to my skin
But if we wait a day or two the rain may go away
And we don't need a window on such a lovely day
Manana manana is soon enough for me
Manana manana is soon enough for me

Friday, July 27, 2012

Martin is excellent as well and it is a performance that improves as the film goes along.

Hey pallies, likes today's Dino-post just goes to serve as proof positive that no matter how long and hard this pallie searches for the coolest and best Dino-info to serve up here at ilovedinomartin, there always always are goin' to be splendid Dino-devotion that is goin' to get passed by. Just the other day our most Dino-devoted pallie likes put us on to a simply simply fab review of one of our most beloved Dino's lesser known western epics. And, so today, courtesy of DeansPally we turn our attention to the superior blog, "Moon In The Gutter," where ultra-Dino-phile Mr. Jeremy Richey holds forth.

Jeremy is the kind of dude who totally totally "gets Martin" and is devoted to doin' his very best to shows it. His post, "Brother, You Are Going Down: George Seaton's Showdown (1973)" is a shinin' example of that Dino-point. As you will discover below, Richey's prosed is powerfully pointed in all the right Dino-directions and parcel of pixs from the film are absolutely absolutely amazin'!

Jeremy posted this wonderfully wise review likes a bit over a year ago, and the one thin' that has changed since he scribed it is the fab news that finally, at last, just a few months ago "Show Down" became available on DVD...so that all us Dino-holics at least for now have access to this Dino-masterpiece. But, likes knowin' how fickle the DVD industry is, I woulda strongly encourage all you dudes not to tarry in gettin' your copy.

Thanks much to our pallie DeansPally for puttin' us on to this great look at one of our Dino's last big screen efforts...and most of all to our pallie Mr. Jeremy Richey for pourin' his heart and soul into this amazin' homagin' of our Dino in this western way. To view this in it's original format, as usual, just clicks on the tag of this here Dino-gram. Dino-always, ever, and only, DMP btw pallies, likes please please feel Dino-free to lets ilovedinomartin know of Dino-devotion that has been missed from the Dino-action here.

Brother, You Are Going Down: George Seaton's Showdown (1973)



A unfairly overlooked work from director George Seaton, Showdown (1973) is an elegiac and moving Western starring two of American film's greatest icons, Rock Hudson and Dean Martin. Opening and closing quite quickly in 1973, Showdown would turn out to be the last feature directed by the talented Seaton, an Academy Award winning filmmaker whose career stretched across four decades.



Billy Massey and Chuck Jarvis have been best friends for as long as they can remember. They played together as children and it seemed like nothing in the world could ever come between them. A splinter occurred when Chuck married Kate, a woman Billy had always been in love with. As they grew further and further apart with age, Chuck became a respected lawman while Billy turned to a life of robbing banks. After being apart for years, Billy and Chuck’s lives intersect again with tragic results.



George Seaton was born in South Bend, Indiana in the spring of 1911. His initial interest in film lay in acting but Seaton discovered fairly early on that his real talent was with the pen. After years of writing films for 20th Century Fox (including A Day at the Races and A Song for Bernadette) Seaton turned his attentions to filmmaking and he made his debut as a director with Diamond Horseshoe (1945). A talented, if undervalued director, Seaton is probably most famous for the original version of Miracle on 34th Street. Other credits include the searing Clifford Odets adaptation, The Country Girl, the charming Teacher’s Pet and the best picture winning Airport. A two time Oscar winner, Seaton would sadly die of cancer just a few years after finishing Showdown.





Showdown didn’t just mark the end of the road for George Seaton, as it would also feature one of the last major appearances by Dean Martin, who was said to be unhappy during the shoot due to the death of his favorite horse. As if that wasn’t enough, Showdown also also marked an end to the great Rock Hudson's prolific run of films that had started in the fifties and he would just work sporadically after 1973. Showdown stands a real symbolic end to a particular period in American filmmaking and at times it does feel like a nostalgic tip of the hat to the traditional Westerns that were all but dead by 1973. After all this was the period that saw directors like Sam Peckinpah and Monte Hellman totally transform the American Western and the fairly subdued Showdown must have seemed quite out of step to the few folks who saw it upon its initial release. Pity, as Seaton’s film is actually much closer in spirit to a film like Peckinpah’s Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid more than most would have recognized at the time.





With it lovely, and at times, haunting score by David Shire, Showdown is a very effective film throughout it's fairly short running time of 99 minutes. There is something positively epic in this little film about two friends who chose the most different of lives but never stopped caring for each other or forgot where they came from.









The acting is fine throughout with Martin and Hudson surrounded by many top tier character actors including Donald Moffat and Ed Begley, Jr. in a smaller role. Susan Clark does a good job as Chuck's wife Kate, but I always think of Tuesday Weld when I watch the film and can only imagine the multi-layered performance she would have given in the part. Hudson is at the top of his game here, middle aged and exhausted looking but still beautiful. He does a brilliant job at playing a man who has a job to do that he knows will ultimately ask him to make the hardest decision of his life. Martin is excellent as well and it is a performance that improves as the film goes along. At first it appears Dean will be giving one of his patented comic and winking performances but he does some really remarkable heavy dramatic work here as a man who knows what his destiny holds and that there isn't any escape from it.





Shot by prolific cinematographer, Ernest Laszlo, Showdown is gorgeous to look at and his photography is particularly good, although the video and TV versions in circulation ruin the film’s striking 2.35 visual design.









Showdown isn't perfect, I don't think that anyone working on it realized that they had what was close to being a really great film on their hands. It could do with being about thirty minutes longer as more characterization is needed, especially with Kate and Chuck. It feels edited a bit tight also, although the cutting by Diamonds are Forever editor John W. Holmes is mostly well done throughout. Showdown feels like a film that the studio expected to fail but that somewhere along the way Seaton and crew realized they might have a winner on their hands. I think had that thought been there at the beginning, Showdown would have turned out to be a small masterpiece. As it is a very good film with more great moments than anyone might expect.











Showdown does indeed reach greatness in its final few minutes where we see both men reaching their individual destinies. The ending of the film is particularly devastating and the look on Rock Hudson's face as the film closes is powerful, powerful stuff. Showdown shows off Rock Hudson as a master giving one of his last truly great performances.











Showdown would open and close quickly with very little critical or popular attention given to it. For most in the Summer of 1973, it was a product of a time that had slipped away. Ironically it was about two men who themselves were living in a world that had passed them by. Showdown would appear briefly on VHS in the mid nineties but has never been released on DVD. It is currently missing in action and is rarely mentioned in film circles, although it does pop up occasionally on Encore’s Western Channel.













Late in his life, Dean Martin was said to get great pleasure from watching old westerns on TV. I often think about the lovely man, sitting in his chair smoking, with perhaps a drink, and watching the flickering memories of his youth. I sometimes wonder if he ever happened to stumble across Showdown during one of those Western marathons he so enjoyed. Would he have flipped quickly by or would he have stopped, if only for a brief moment, and smiled at a film that is a lot better than anybody has ever given it credit for? There is no telling as we lost Dean, as well as Rock, years ago and I suppose in a way it is fitting, even if it is unjust, that Showdown has in its own way all but been lost to time also.

***This is a massively revised piece that I first posted several years ago here...the screenshots are new, as is much of my text. I just can't seem to shake this film...

Wednesday, July 25, 2012

Photos: On this day – July 25, 1946 – The Dean Martin /Jerry Lewis comedy team is born

Hey pallies, likes man-o-man pallies lets the Dino and Jerry homagin' continue! Likes from the 'net pad of the "New Haven Register" comes this likes totally totally AMAZIN' PHOTO ESSAY of our most beloved Dino and partner Jerry on the occasion of rememberin' and honorin' that historic day, July 25, 1946 that the amazin' duo shared the stage for the very first time at Club 500 in Alantic City.

The pallies at the Register have assembled 24---count-'em---24 fabulous snapshots of Martin and Lewis over the course of their decade of comedy reign as well as beyond. And what is likes so so cool pallies, is that these folks have not only shared this motherload of awesome poses, but likes they have shared detailed info 'bout each pix as well....now how amazin' is that!

ilovedinomartin can not express 'nough our deepest of deep Dino-appreciato to the pallies at the "New Haven Register" for doin' such a massive 'mount of deep, pure, and true Dino-devotion in honorin' this day of days in the life and times of our King of Cool. As usual, to view this in it's original format, please clicks on the tag of this here Dino-gram. Keeps lovin' our most beloved Dino! Dino-awestruck, DMP
btw pallies, likes I found at least one error in one of the pix descriptions..sees if you can locate it!

Photos: On this day – July 25, 1946 – The Dean Martin /Jerry Lewis comedy team is born

Posted Jul 25, 2012


On this day – July 25,1946 – At Club 500 in Atlantic City, New Jersey, Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis stage their first show as a comedy team.


Some Hollywood press agent must have wracked his brains to come up with this version of an old Chinese proverb for a publicity stunt. The actors from left to right are Jerry Lewis, Pierre, and Dean Martin shown July 13, 1950. (AP Photo/Paramount)


American entertainers Dean Martin, left, and Jerry Lewis pretend to be overwhelmed by the crowd in London, England, June 9, 1953. The comedy duo will appear at the Glasgow Empire and at the London Palladium. (AP Photo)


Entertainers Dean Martin, left, and Jerry Lewis appear together on Lewis's annual telethon for the Muscular Dystrophy Association in Las Vegas, Nev., Sept. 7, 1976. Martin's surprise appearance reunites the comedy duo after 20 years. (AP Photo)


A group of pretty dancers relax after a tryout for a part in the club act of Dean Martin, second from right, and Jerry Lewis, right, Jan. 1954, New York. Dancers wear out their nylons even more quickly than secretaries or debutantes, say the girls. They are, from left to right: Cynthia Dalle, Eileen Lawrence, Barbara Nichols, Joan Durelle and Wendy Waldron (who got the job). (AP Photo)


On a visit to Slapsy Maxie's Hollywood night club, actress Ann Sothern chats with two of the club's performers, Dean Martin, left, singer and comedian, and Jerry Lewis, comedian, Aug. 14, 1948. (AP Photo/Ed Widdis)


Jerry Lewis (left) whips through his portion of the famous Lewis-Martin comic routine, while Margaret Whiting and Dean Martin look on at the Hollywood Brown Derby on Jan. 21, 1949 in Los Angeles. Martin and Lewis soon will make their film debut in "My Friend Irma." (AP Photo)


This bit of action shows how Gorgeous Pierre, wrestling chimp and movie actor, won a match from jolting Jerry Lewis, on Feb. 20, 1950 in Hollywood, Calif. The blond wig which Lewis is wearing started out on Pierre's head. Dean Martin, Lewis's acting partner, is the referee. "Second" in corner unidentified. Gorgeous Pierre, whose real name is Tamba, and Lewis became friends while working together in the film, "My Friend Irma Goes West", in which Martin also appears. (AP Photo/Paramount)


Actor-comedian Dean Martin, left, and his wife, Jeanne, are shown with actor-comedian Jerry Lewis, far right, and his wife, singer Patti, as they arrive at the Academy Awards presentations at the RKO Pantages Theatre in Los Angeles, Ca., March 29, 1951. (AP Photo)


Jerry Lewis, zany half of the comedy team of Dean Martin & Jerry Lewis, kisses his wife, Patti, for the benefit of photographers at the Hollywood premiere of "Father's Little Dividend" on April 5, 1951 in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/ Harold Matosian)


Jerry Lewis talks with producer Ernie Glucksman, right, at rehearsal for NBC TV 's "The Dean Martin - Jerry Lewis Show" on May 15, 1951in New York. (AP Photo)


Movie comedians Dean Martin, left, and Jerry Lewis, assisted by actress Elaine Stewart, are collecting prints footprints in Hollywood, Sept. 24, 1951. As part of the clothing drive for American Relief for Korea, they are planning to immortalize 10 movie fans' footprints in cement outside the Gar-Ron noncommercial theater, built by Lewis to show 16-millimeter movies he produces. The footprints to be imbedded in the cement, before the theater's premier on October 1, will be chosen from among pairs sent to Jerry Lewis in Hollywood for the relief drive. (AP Photo)


In case you're not familiar with zombies (reanimated corpses, it says here,) that's one in the center. He's supposed to scare people, but Jerry Lewis, who was scared to the point of almost losing his life, has twisted his twistable face into a zombie-scaring shape. So the creep creeps against Dean Martin for protection. It's all part of a movie, "Scared Still," being made on March 26, 1953 in Hollywood, Calif. Zombi is unidentified. (AP Photo)


Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis ride down Main Street of Las Vegas, Nev. on April 5, 1953, enroute to theatre for premiere of latest film. Parts of the picture were made in the gambling-resort city and a parade and celebration held for the showing of the picture, the first premiere ever held in Las Vegas. (AP Photo)Frank Filan)


Comedians Jerry Lewis, center, and Dean Martin, right, illustrate the U.S. Air Force's latest swept-wing jet fighter to Sgt. Johnny Edenfield, of New York, at Orly Field in Paris, France, July 7, 1953. The comedy duo is on the first leg of a five-day tour of France bases in Allied Air Forces Central Europe. (AP Photo)


Comedy duo Dean Martin, left, and Jerry Lewis rehearse at the Nola Studios in New York City for their opening at the Copacabana, Jan. 20, 1954. (AP Photo/Dan Grossi)


Dean Martin, left, and Jerry Lewis pose for the "Colgate Comedy Hour" Aug. 27, 1954. (AP Photo)


Dean Martin, Debbie Reynolds and Jerry Lewis, left to right, embrace each other upon acknowledging the news that they were voted the "Most Cooperative Stars of 1954" by the Hollywood Women's Press Club, Dec. 28, 1954. (AP Photo)


Dean Martin, Debbie Reynolds and Jerry Lewis embrace each other upon acknowledging the news on Dec. 28, 1954, that they were voted the ?Most Cooperative Stars of 1954? by the Hollywood, Women?s Press Club. Location unknown. (AP Photo)


Dean Martin, left, and Jerry Lewis meet in September 1955 in Hollywood to make arrangements for the beginning of rehearsals for the "Colgate Variety Hour." (AP Photo)


Comedian-actors Jerry Lewis, left, and Dean Martin are shown wearing their costume for the film "Pardners" as they examine the VistaVision movie camera on location near Phoenix, Ariz., Dec. 1955. (AP Photo)


Dean Martin, left, and Jerry Lewis are wrestling for a gag shot, May 29, 1956. (AP Photo)


The comedy team of Dean Martin, left center, and Jerry Lewis, right center, often rumored to be separating, get together with these foreign beauties during a swimsuit fashion show in a department store, July 9, 1956, New York. From left are: Maria Cordoso, Miss Brazil; Martin; Rosanna Galli, Miss Italy; Lewis; and Iris Waller, Miss England. The girls will compete for Miss Universe in the international beauty contest in Long Beach, Calif., starting on July 12. (AP Photo/John Lindsay)


Frank Sinatra, center, appearing as a performer on the annual Muscular Dystrophy telethon hosted by Jerry Lewis, right, brings on Dean Martin, Lewis old partner, to the surprise of Lewis, Sunday, Sept. 6, 1976, Las Vegas, Nev. It was the first time Martin and Lewis had appeared together since their comedy team broke up 20 years ago. A spokesman said the surprised Lewis was really genuinely touched. (AP Photo)


Looks like a split between Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis, long-time movie partners, and all over a woman --actress Denise Darcel-- on the golf course on May 25, 1953 at the Vernon Hills Country Club in Eastchester, N.Y. That's Martin on the winning end of a kiss from Denise, and Lewis on the chawed end of Dean's collar. Denise was caddie for Perry Como, who was paired with Sid Caesar in a charity golf match against Martin and Lewis. The Martin Lewis team came out winner. (AP Photo)