With so much adoration and an entire generation of fans who worshiped the wide eyed crooner, it's no wonder Dean Martin became the first triple threat in modern entertainment.....

Hey pallies, likes youse just never ever know where Dino-homagin' will turn up next.  From "Free Rupublic" self-tagged as  "The Premier Conservative Site on the Net," comes a well-scribed and extemely heart-felt piece of Dino-prose shared by a pallie who tags themself, " nickcarraway."

Dino-devoted "nickcarraway" has put the accent on the early days of our great man's great career...'specially his decade of success with Mr. Jerry Lewis.  Trustin' that this Dino-holic likes will be sharin' more and more of the life and times of our King of Cool, but in this first Dino-reflection, the dude likes speaks volumes and volumes of Dino-truth when likes he sez,

"That man's name was Dean Martin, and to this day his songs are still on the radio like his heart had never missed a beat. With so much adoration and an entire generation of fans who worshiped the wide eyed crooner, it's no wonder Dean Martin became the first triple threat in modern entertainment by becoming a hit on television, radio and even major motion pictures."

And, likes tons and tons and tons of pallies are still lost in total Dino-wonder even likes years and years after our Dino's departure from our planet!  ilovedinomartin salutes pallie " nickcarraway" for so so freely freely sharin' on the " Free Republic" pad is deepest of deep admiration for our most admired Dino!  To checks this out in it's original format, likes simply clicks on the tag of this here Dino-gram.  Dino-always, ever, and only, DMP


Dean Martin's Early Career And His Rise To The Summit!

Posted on Friday, March 08, 2013 8:16:39 PM by nickcarraway

Las Vegas is home to some of the most exciting entertainment in the country; no other place in America rivals the rich history and variety of thrills located within the limits of Sin City. But just as much as people love to come and lose themselves in this modern adult wonderland, they owe the good time to a few key players in the entertainment industry who helped immortalize the city.

From singers, producers, club-owners and showgirls, talented people from all walks of life helped to establish Las Vegas as the party capital of America. While you could make a list all day long of those who contributed to the city we have today, we are going to feature one of the men who helped bring a little humility and even a little love to an industry known for being morally cut-throat!

That man's name was Dean Martin, and to this day his songs are still on the radio like his heart had never missed a beat. With so much adoration and an entire generation of fans who worshiped the wide eyed crooner, it's no wonder Dean Martin became the first triple threat in modern entertainment by becoming a hit on television, radio and even major motion pictures.

Dean's movie career was first centered on comedy, and that was all because of the man who helped Dean rise to fame and sat right alongside him enjoying the ride the entire time, Jerry Lewis! It was said the duo first began when they landed a gig together in Atlantic City, now it's said they got this job due to Jerry and Dean's expansive amateur careers: Dean had played a number of local dive bars and small clubs in Chicago due to his mafia connections, and Jerry was a comedian following suite except he happened to be in New York instead of Chicago.

One day they both would catch each other performing on the same night at a popular club in New York City, and from there it was history as the two immediately began talking about putting on a show featuring the both of them. It was only a matter of time until somebody noticed what these two had, so they were given a shot at a small casino showroom in Atlantic City.

Signed to perform every night, the two put together a routine they were sure was going to be a hit. Their very first performance they were nearly booed off the stage and the producer told them if they did not come up with another act by the end of the night they were fired and done in the world of Showbiz! In one of those historic moments of things just "working out," the two would together make a vow outside behind the casino to "Go for Broke!" They did just that, improvising a routine they had no forethought about. Dean simply started singing on stage while Jerry pretended to be a clumsy bus boy running around the showroom. The show ended with Dean pelting Jerry with dinner rolls whilst chasing him out of the showroom.

The audience couldn't get enough, and it was said no showroom had heard so much laughter until the fateful night those two "went for broke!" After that Dean and Jerry would manage to get signed into a contract doing two movies together while being in charge of all their touring.

The movies didn't pay too much yet, but their tours are where the two raked in their millions and became national sensations. In 1956 the two went their own separate ways after Dean told Jerry "All you are to me is a money sign!"

......as I continue my Dino-fication

Hey pallies, likes we 'gain return this Dino-day to our Dino-holic pallie Ryan Ebelt for 'nother outstandin' review of a truly truly classic Dino-flick.  From his self-tagged blog, "RJE FRIENDS OF JUNIOR," comes
Ry's likes totally totally rad reflections on that for-it's-day totally totally radical big screen effort, "Kiss Me, Stupid."

Gotta tells you dudes that I loves how our pallie Ry has picked up a bit on the Dino-lingo, when he pontificates in his opennin' remarks, "Another round of marital infidelity as I continue my Dino-fication while taking in Billy Wilder's 1964 effort, Kiss Me, Stupid.  Dino-fication, that is such a great Dino-term that I am gonna surely have to add to my Dino-vocabulary!

Anyway, dudes, per usual, our dude Ry has come through with some excellent reflections on this much overlooked and much under rated Dino-classic.  Be sure to read each and every word from this knower and lover of our most beloved Dino.

ilovedinomartin 'gain salutes renaissance man Ry Ebelt for continuin' to devote much space at his amazin blog to our amazin' man...and likes  hopes that next time Ry runs a Dino-essay this Dino-holic will be much much quicker on the Dino-uptake.  To checks this out in it's original format, simply clicks on the tag of this here Dino-report.  Dino-always, DMP

WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 19, 2012

"What's a Joint Like This Doing on a Girl Like You?"

Another round of marital infidelity as I continue my Dino-fication while taking in Billy Wilder's 1964 effort, Kiss Me, Stupid.

The sequel happened in Intercourse, Pennsylvania...

Generally left out of the majors of Wilder's considerable canon (Double Indemnity, Sunset Boulevard, Some Like It Hot, among many other greats), Kiss Me Stupid was condemned by the Catholic Legion of decency and was largely considered vulgar by reviewers.  Time, however, has done its usual work at toning down what might have ruffled feathers in 1964.  To me, it stood up well, and was an enjoyable, if farcical, concocted comedy of errors.

In the film, a small town duo of songwriters, Orville Spooner (Ray Walston) and Barney Millsap (Cliff Osmond), luck into their first contact with a big star when Vegas sensation, Dino (Dean Martin) rolls through their town on his way to Los Angeles. Barney, who runs the filling station, sabotages Dino's car to keep him around while they pitch the singer their horde of near-miss songs. Orville, an insanely jealous husband, fears having his wife anywhere near the famous lothario, so Barney cooks up a plan to get Zelda (Felicia Farr) out of the house and substitute another woman for her, the pretty barmaid, Polly the Pistol (Kim Novak). Despite his best efforts, Orville barely gets his wife out the door before Polly turns up. Of course, hijinks have already ensued from the word go, but at this point they're merely knocked up another dozen notches as Polly ends up falling for Orville rather than Dino, and Zelda ends up passed out in Polly's trailer behind the roadhouse.

Walston's in Nevada after leaving Roswell...but before moving in with Bill Bixby...(look it up)

At this point, I don't want to give too much more away though I've already hinted at the problems the public had with it above. It's sort of hilarious to me that five years before, the public and critics had far less trouble with a pair of musicians going in drag to chase girls...and escape the mob...in Some Like it Hot. Naturally, fifty years and movies like Indecent Proposal, have made the elements of Kiss Me, Stupid ludicrously tame. In fact, I'll go so far as to say that this movie does a fine job of making marital infidelity quite touching considering the scenario involved.

Wilder is a master, and not just because film history books tell us so. The Austrian-born filmmaker first escaped to France as the Nazis came to power to start making pictures before continuing on to Hollywood. His films have both the meticulous feeling of a powerful hand in charge while still managing to be light and often wildly inventive (I recommend reading about some of the crazier things he wanted to do with Sunset Boulevard, a film that still ended up pretty damned inventive with what he did do with it). And while this one lacks some of the flair and zany fun of a Some Like it Hot, it's still firmly in the master's hands.

Dino's commentary on chianti or lady's footwear?

Ray Walston does a wonderful, if occasionally over-the-top job as Orville. He's a little too archetypal jealous husband, constantly chasing away anything with a Y chromosome, but is still entertaining to watch as he's able to pivot emotional direction on a dime. Felicia Farr as Zelda is very obviously desirable both in terms of looks and personality, but gets a little less of a chance to shine as character in comparison to Kim Novak as Polly. Polly, like Orville, is again a touch too archetypal in the "hooker with a heart of gold vein," but still managed to tug at a few heart strings as the story progressed. The biggest surprise is Dino, who in many respects is presented as playing himself, and it's none too flattering. The film opens with him charming a crowd with song and jokes from the stage, but once in Orville's house he's all "Roman Hands and Russian Fingers" as the saying goes. He comes off as a first class heel, but at least he does it well.

Sexier to Billy: being on set with Kim Novak or writing with Raymond Chandler?

Kiss Me, Stupid may not be the one you choose to show if only allowed to present one Billy Wilder vehicle, but I admit to having a soft spot for interesting if lesser-known works. After all, I'd probably show The Wild Bunch if I could only show one Peckinpah, but I savor the flawed and highly personal Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid on a more personal level.  As I mentioned in my review of Who's Been Sleeping in My Bed?, I do love the movie world created especially well in older movies, and while Kiss Me, Stupid delivers on that, it's also nice that it has just the right amount of real world honesty.

Danny G's Sunday Serenade with Dino: "C'est Si Bon"

Welcome back, pallies! Man, what a bea u ti ful Spring day here in bea u ti ful Ol' Massachusetts! No where I'd rather be pals! I am simply BUSTIN' at the seams for some fun... light hearted... Springtime jams!


I wanted somethin' a little EXTRA juicy for today's Serenade... Somethin' a little EXTRA carefree... I thinks I found us just the right tune on Dean's "French Style" al b um, pallies...A juicy little plum called "C'est Si Bon". Def i nate ly the PERFECT tune to get that "sunny weather" vibe flowin' & Def i nate ly the PERFECT guy to get the job done right!!!


 Now hold on pals...it get's better!!! I Found Dino singin' it LIVE on his show & Man O Man...NUTHIN' can compare to THAT!!! Watchin' & Listenin' to Dean playfully performin' & add-libbin' would even gets my grouchy Ol' Uncle to crack a smile...& THAT AIN'T EASY pals!!! Hahaha!!! Don't tell him I said that! Well, that's enough patter outta me...let's get it crackin'! Happy Spring pals! Enjoy!!!  

 

(Si bon si bon)
C'est si bon (Si bon si bon)
Lovers say that in France (Si bon si bon)
When they thrill to romance (Si bon si bon)
It means that it's so good

Ah c'est si bon (Si bon si bon)
So I say it to you (Si bon si bon)
Like the French people do (Si bon si bon)
Because it's oh so good

Every word every sigh every kiss dear
Leads to only one thought and it's this dear
Oh it's on so good (Si bon si bon)
Nothing else can replace (Si bon si bon)
Just your slightest embrace (Si bon si bon)
And if you only would
Would be my own for the rest of my days
I would whisper this phrase
C'est si bon (Si bon si bon)
The river Seine (Si bon si bon)
The Left Bank (Si bon si bon)
The Eiffel Tower (Si bon si bon)
Meatballs, pizzas, now that's pretty good stuff too
(En voyant notre mine ravie) Hey watch your language
I have only one thought and it's this dear
Oh it's so good (Si bon si bon)
Nothing else can replace (Si bon si bon)
Just your slightest embrace (Si bon si bon)
And if you only would
Be my own for the rest of my days
I would whisper this phrase
My darling c'est si bon (Si bon si bon)
Gigi si bon (Si bon si bon)
Mimi si bon (Si bon si bon)
And all those mademoiselles that are si bon
In fact you'd be surprised how much good stuff there is around here Frank (Si bon si bon)

Dean's perfectly cast here.

Hey pallies, likes I gotta 'fess up dudes that I never ever gets 'nough time on the ol' net to keeps up with the amazin'ly massive efforts of Dino-devotion bein' shared 'round the Dino-world.  Case in point dudes:  last year in October and early November, ilovedinomartin had the extreme pleasure of sharin' reviews of the four Helmer capers as well as "Rio Bravo" scribed by the very talented modern renaissance man Mr. Ryan Ebelt who hangs his hat at his fab self-tagged blog, " RJE'S FRIENDS OF JUNIOR."

Well, it's been months since I have checked in with our Dino-devoted pallie Ry and feelin' prompted by our great man  to return to Elbelt's pad, likes I discovered that Ry, last December,  had done two absolutely fab reviews  of two more of our great man's great big screen efforts.  Today we are delighted to share Ry's reflections on our Dino in that lesser known comedy, "Who's Been Sleeping In My Bed"....which is yet to find release on DVD.

Ry who has an amazin' way with words, writes magically 'bout this early sixties sex farce sayin' "1963's Who's Been Sleeping in My Bed? allowed me to slip right into that movie world of glamorous people in an impossible situation, a heightened reality."  And what a grand pleasure it is to digest Ry's grand Dino-thoughts.

ilovedinomartin is thrilled to be able to feature 'nother rad review of a Dino-flick from our remarkably Dino-devoted pallie Mr. Ryan Ebelt.  To checks this out in it's original format, simply clicks on the tag of this here Dino-gram.  And in the not to distant Dino-future, ilovedinomartin will 'gain return to pallie Ry's blog for his insightful look that that more rad of rad Dino-comedies...."Kiss Me Stupid."  Dino-gratefully, DMP

 RJE'S FRIENDS OF JUNIOR

TUESDAY, DECEMBER 11, 2012

"You Never Really Get to Know a Person Until They Put Their Clothes On."

In the last decade or so, the obsession with "reality" has infiltrated everything, and has made me all the more conscious of why everyone in the world should now be required to take a media studies class.  After all, the documentary has rarely been as popular on a mass scale, and yet, one has to realize that even a Ken Burns' ten hour series on PBS still can't show every facet of any subject.  And because there's a filmmaker, there's a point of view, and an opinion on the subject. "Reality"shows have come a long way since the obviously contrived excuse to put a bunch or strangers together and see what happens. Now we watch with baited breath, not only for some person that does some dangerous job in some remote region, but we'll watch a bunch of guys buy storage lockers.  I had an uncle who did that...I never found it that fascinating, though, I'll admit that the thought of a surprise inside was alluring.

Even in movies that bring the modern mythos of superheroes to the big screen is still often tethered to reality.  Rather than exist in a sort of alternate world where super-powers are just the norm, we've tried to ground them in the same world we live in.  It's a fool's errand. As comedian Pete Holmes so expertly put it when an audience member decried the unrealistic CGI of the Hulk as being fake, "The Hulk is fake, buddy."

It's where the whole idea of a "movie world" comes in. It's why we love Quentin Tarantino. His movies have increasingly ceased to exist in the world we occupy and have more and more showed that this would be the world QT would create were he God. And it's why I find myself running back to older films: you know it's a set, you know it's too elegant and glamourous, you know everyone's not that quippy, and coincidences just don't happen like that...and those are all the reasons you love it.

This poster fails to feature the requisite innuendo of the Matt Helm Poster Act....

1963's Who's Been Sleeping in My Bed? allowed me to slip right into that movie world of glamorous people in an impossible situation, a heightened reality. Also, I wouldn't have thought I'd be able to segue a review of a Dean Martin vehicle with Russ Meyer, but I'll have to get back to that.

The movie tells the story of Jason Steel (Dean Martin), a TV actor who plays a doctor who is much beloved to the ladies, but in Jason's real life, he's getting tired of his job and cold feet about his impending nuptials to girlfriend Melissa (Elizabeth Montgomery) because of his poker buddies' varying shaky relationships with their own wives. Now here's where the contrived part comes in: Because Jason seems so much the perfect man, his friends' wives begin setting up rendez-vous with him to help them with their marital problems, which usually leads to their trying to get cozy with him. Only problem is they're all lovely ladies, and it's making it even harder for Jason to commit to his own relationship.  Meanwhile, Melissa to is tiring of Jason's hot then cold routine, while her friend Stella (Carol Burnett) strives to keep them on their way to the altar.

Here you go, ladies: Mr. Right in his jammies.

Naturally, all this leads to Dino slowly cracking up as he has to keep shuffling all these dames around to keep from getting into trouble with their husbands, his friends. Dean's perfectly cast here. His charm and easy-going attitude make it easy to understand why the ladies love him, although his purposely stiff demeanor in the opening scenes on the set of his show had me laughing from the get go. It was 60's TV acting par excellence. But the situation is, of course, patently absurd, but that's exactly what makes it fun. You never doubt why Dino would be both driven crazy by, and yet totally desire to keep playing the field in the spot he's in. It's not reality. I've never seen any extramarital affairs go like this, but that's exactly the fun of it.

Director Daniel Mann keeps the movie at a brisk, but not labored clip, while orchestrating some great comic sequences.  Elizabeth Montgomery was only a year away from becoming "Samantha Stevens" of Bewitched fame, and she's every part the desirable girlfriend that would make the perfect wife. Dino's buddies' wives are played by a fun group of actress and his buddies by a solid crew of familiar character actors. But the show is nearly completely stolen by Carol Burnett in her debut film performance. She is an absolute joy to watch as the oversexed but gawky Stella...which oddly enough brings me back to my Russ Meyer point from earlier.

I'm not sure what Russ saw in her....

Though the movie had several sequences that had me roaring, there's a late scene in a Mexican nightclub that made the whole movie worth while.  Dino and the girls arrive for a celebration when who should they find entertaining the bars patrons but an oddly uncredited burlesque legend, Tura Satana. Tura actually played a showgirl in two of director Daniel Mann's movies (the other being Our Man Flint!  I managed to tie in that as well!), but she's perhaps best known for playing the busty and booted, go-go dancing killer, Varla, from Russ Meyer's immortal Faster Pussycat! Kill! Kill!  In any event, after her show, Jason has an argument with Melissa and storms out on her and Stella, which leads to the most uproarious segment in the movie as Stella ends up performing her own striptease to pay off the bill!

I only wish I had been on a set that was this fun.

Peeking about the internet, I've seen some reference to the film's "misogyny." Now while it's true that it seems like every woman in the film is a crazy shrew, save Melissa, in the opening minutes of the story, eventually, according to Jason's speech to his therapist friend, they're the most desirable women in the world. The point of the story seems to be that one has to appreciate their spouse and not let their relationship dwindle into the constant fight/ignore territory where the men are all selfish jerks and the women shrieking shrews. And as I mentioned before, this movie obviously represents no reality that I or anyone else has ever lived in.  I don't even have to offer the "it was a different time" defense on this one (ok, maybe a little for some of the somewhat racist moments). Instead, I just wonder whether anyone who honestly thinks that this movie is misogynist enough to comment on it actually enjoys life at all when viewing it through that jaded lens.

Who's Been Sleeping in My Bed? is simply a delight, which left me with a smile on my face from the time I finished watching it until it was time for me to climb between my own sheets wishing I had some of Dino's problems!

Yesterday In Dino-history: April 25, 1973

Hey pallies, likes so so sorry to be late with this Dino-date.  I does my best to memorize all these very very important days in the life and times of our Dino, but somehow I had memorized the wrong date (thinkin' it was April 29th instead of April 25)  Any way, it was 40 years ago yesterday that  our Dino made his vows to love, honour, and cherish Miss Catherine Mae Hawn.

 One of the cool details 'bout the event is that the flowers alone for this gala event cost $85,000.
'Nother cool Dino-fact is that our ever generious Dino gifted his best man, Frank Sinatra with a very very expensive gold cigarette lighter studded in diamonds and scribed  "FUCK YOU VERY MUCH."  This detail comes from the pages of our Dino's girlpallie Deana's Dino-bio.

As you look at the stellar weddin' poses 'bove and below, you can certainly see the wonderous amore between our Dino and Miss Cathy.   Unfortunately our Dino's marriage to wife numero 3 lasted less then 3 years. More details of the weddin' are scribed below.  Dino-rememberin', DMP



Entertainer Dean Martin married his girlfriend of two years, Cathy Hawn, 25, in a small ceremony at his Hollywood home,Wednesday evening. Frank Sinatra was his best man. It was the third marriage for Martin, 55. It was Miss Hawn's second marriage, and her 6-year old daughter, Sasha, was the flower girl. The bride word a peach champaign French chiffon satin bias-cut gown with a high draped neck and a long train for the ceremony at Martin's home in the Bel Air area.

Mostly she spends her time developing a crush on a writer-client with writer's block named Jeff Moss (Dean Martin).

Hey  pallies, likes as faithful readers of ilovedinomartin knows one of my fav of fav flicks is our Dino's only big screen Broadway musical to film...."Bells Are Ringing." I loves this particular film so much 'cause of course it stars our most beloved Dino, but also as I have mentioned before, I am a great fan of the great Miss Judy Holiday. So, I was very pysched,  to find that our new pallie Miss Mallory over at the pad "Gems," where we just shared her post on "Some Came Running," had  created a massive post accentin' "Bells Are Ringing."

Why I tag Mallory's post "massive" is 'cause while her prose is quite short, she has assembled a ton of pixs from the flick, likes over 40, includin' quite a number of Dino-poses that are visually very very stunnin'.

Kudos to Miss Mallory for such a huge effort of creativity for this great great Dino-flick.  Likes I hope she still will continue to do photo essays of more and more of our Dino's great big screen efforts.  To view her work in it's original format, likes clicks on the tag of this here Dino-gram. Dino-always, ever, and only, DMP

10.10.2012

Bells Are Ringing

Bells Are Ringing - a musical starring Dean Martin and Judy Holliday, directed by Vincente Minnelli (1960).

The main character of Bells Are Ringing is named Ella (played by Judy Holliday). She works at a phone answering service called Susanswerphone. Oh the wit.

The commercial for Susanswerphone is hilarious.

The one in the blue? That's Ella. The other woman is standing over a fan to cool herself off. Even though this post is being published in October, I'm writing it in August and I definitely feel like standing over a fan. But I have no fan to stand over. Woe.

This is her boss - played by Jean Stapleton from All in the Family. I kept expecting her to say "Archie!"

Ella goes on a date and the peacock-y back of her dress catches on fire. THE WORST.

She uses the info she gets from being an answering service girl to help other clients. SHE ISN'T SUPPOSED TO DO THAT. But she does. Mostly she spends her time developing a crush on a writer-client with writer's block named Jeff Moss (Dean Martin). The only issue is that when she talks to him, she puts on the voice of an old lady and he calls her "mom". It's rather strange.

She's all moony and swoony about him - EVEN BEFORE THEY MEET.

Here he is.

In some movies Dean tends to be super orange and scary, but he's pretty naturally tinted in this.

I liked his office.

There's another plot line where this dude is using Susanswerphone as a cover for his gambling business.

Oh, musicals. How I love you.

She sneaks into his apartment to make sure he wakes up in time for an appointment about a movie he's writing. When he wakes up she pretends she was in there accidentally (riiiiiiiigghhhhhht) and then ends up becoming his muse - BUT - he has no idea that she's really "mom" from Susanswerphone.

Obviously complications ensue, but it all ends romantically and happily.

Oh yeah, there's ANOTHER plot where the police think Susanswerphone is actually an escort service.

The fake name she uses is Melisande, which is almost like Melisandre (you know, Stannis's pal).