Tuesday, November 10, 2015

Movies which Inspired Episodes #2 and #46

Here's a two-fer.

I was watching TCM, always a great source of offbeat Hollywood.

Monkee See, Monkee Die, #2, written by Treva Silverman
One movie, based off of Agatha Christie's Ten Little Indians, "And Then There Were None"(1945), is the (semi)classic tale of 10 people being invited to a desert island, by an unknown host.  They are all to be killed, according to a nursery rhyme, and to give full credit to the villain, all are thought to have gotten away with murder in the first place.  Note the mansion on an island setting, mysterious overnighting in a haunted mansion, a record of the departed indicating his will.  And lots of other spookiness besides.
More Monkee-specific trivia can be found at the Tripod site, which did a lot to contribute to the Trivia Screens on the box set DVD release.

Monkees on the Wheel, #46, written by Coslough Johnson
The other, in which Warren Beatty plays a playboy named Barney Lincoln (??), "Kaleidoscope" (1966).  It's not a remarkable film, except for the elements of the zeitgeist it uses. The cute & riveting Susannah York adds to the influence of pretty girls in sparkly outfits and boas, (as well as mod outfits). Clever dialogue (not enough for me), mod clothes, and the suspense of gambling are the lynchpins.  Also some random plot about cheating at cards and getting caught, tables turning, etc.  Also note the corny (almost Batman-like) scene segues, and "60's-Oriental" sound cues. There is a gunshot which richochets off a large globe, making it spin.  It's not a direct influence, and may also be playing off the idea of the fantasy playboy/gambler life which explores all the fun someone can have if you just have the right method (see Peter's sliderule explanation).
The Tripod entry can be found here.
"Will the REAL---- please stand up?" is a phrase taken from "What's My Line?", the format of which would be staged in a Monkees episode and was used in this movie.  Everything was available to be stolen! ;)

No comments:

Post a Comment