I very much enjoyed the CBS special tributing Dick Van Dyke…and like you, I didn't know who some of those performers were, either. The best part of it was how utterly delighted the Birthday Boy was with every moment of it. I've been around the man enough to know that that was in no way feigned; that he really was overwhelmed and surprised by so much of it.
If you missed it, it's rerunning tonight on CBS and it's also available for viewing on the CBS website.
Last Friday night, I went to the newly-refurbished Egyptian Theater in Hollywood for a screening of my favorite movie, It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World offered by the American Cinematheque. The film — which I have now seen more times than I've seen my next door neighbors — never fails to make me feel good…even when, as was the case here, it was not the best print and there was an unscheduled intermission when the sound went out during the third reel.
I am going to greatly upset certain movie buff friends of mine with the next part of this post…
I understand the loyalty to seeing movies actually projected on film rather than by digital means but it's starting to remind me of my friend who insists on only listening to recorded music on vinyl. It may be a noble battle in some ways but it's also a losing one. Film prints of great movies on film are becoming scarcer and scarcer and as those prints wear out, it is increasingly not cost-effective (and in some cases, not possible) to generate new ones.
DCP — Digital Cinema Package — is the standard and will be until someone comes up, as is inevitable, with something better. I understand there are only two 70mm prints of Mad World in existence, at least in English. The Cinematheque ran one of them and it had a lot of dirt and scratches and uneven sound, whereas the DCP version I saw a few years ago at the Cinerama Dome was flawless. It will always be that flawless.
The notion that a movie that was shot on film should stay on film — or is at least best viewed on film — is arguable. And if we're arguing, I could argue that a good DCP version of a movie yields a viewing experience closer to how the movie looked at its premiere than most film prints around. If that's not the case now, it will be.
Anyway, I still enjoyed seeing my fave film again the way it's best seen: On a big screen with a big, appreciative audience. But it was also a long night. We got in line at 6 PM, the speeches started at 7 PM, and then the film was followed by a Q-and-A session with Karen Sharpe-Kramer (widow of director Stanley Kramer), Kat Kramer (daughter of Stanley and Karen), Sandy Hackett (son of Buddy), Barrie Chase and our host, screenwriter Scott Alexander. We didn't get out of there until Midnight.
Barrie Chase is the answer to the question, "Who's still alive who was in this movie?" She's not only alive but she's gorgeous even at the age of 90 (as is Karen) and Ms. Chase had wonderful stories about dancing with Dick Shawn…
She seemed to not be able to explain why they'd picked her for the role. I think I know. There were hundreds of attractive women around who could have danced and looked good…but put most of them in a scene with Dick Shawn and they'd have largely disappeared. Shawn was so magnetic and fascinating with every word he said and every move he made. Most dance partners would simply have vanished from the screen.
Dancing is not just about moving. It's about acting with your body, exuding personality, saying things with your hips…and being a presence. At the time this movie was made, Barrie Chase was probably best known for being Fred Astaire's dance partner in a series of TV specials (like this one). My guess is that someone said, "If she can hold her own on a stage with Fred Astaire, she can hold her own on a stage with Dick Shawn."
She did. And now she's The Last Cast Member Standing.