The pretty ghastly, but interesting and rarely seen Once More, With Feeling!, directed by the highly unpleasant Stanley Donen, costarring Yul Brynner. The always wonderful Kay was dying of leukemia when it was filmed in Paris in the summer of 1959 (she died in Sept. of that year). It’s painful to watch the slapstick comedy she went through: she almost didn’t make it through the shoot; her husband Rex Harrison had to rush her to England for hospitalization halfway through. But she really puts on a show: that harp scene is worthy of Harpo, and doesn’t she look fab in those Jackie Kennedy-tailored suits and pouffy Mr. Kenneth hair?
Thanks for the note, Eve. Will watch it on your reccomendation.
Have a Damn Bright Holiday; Sleep Late, and Stay Warm!
One of two allowable bumps for those of you just back from days off . . . Again, it’s really not all that good a film. Kay usually had to rise above her material. Of all her movies, only Genevieve, Doctor in the House, and Simon and Laura are much good on their own. But Kay always makes a film worth seeing . . . Well, okay, nothing would make Wings of Danger or Abdulla the Great worth sitting through again, I’ll admit.
But do catch at least a few minutes of Once More, With Feeling! to see Kay gamely “show must go on!”-ing it on her deathbed.
One final bump, for the one or two of you who might want to catch the movie tonight.