davergod
Joined Aug 2003
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davergod's rating
Fun and surprisingly long-lasting series (8 years on the air), hanging in there despite all kinds of problems. Cast members became ill, or even died, but no problem--- the character would simply be played by someone else! It's amazing now to think of the show getting away with this to such an extent; even the male LEAD was played by two different actors.
"Bewitched" was the story of beautiful suburban housewife Samantha--- who just happens to be a witch with magic powers--- being married to Darrin, a hapless advertising-executive mortal. Although both Samatha and Darrin were white, this was the mixed marriage to end all mixed marriages. Her relatives (and there were a lot of them) all had magic powers, and most of them thought of themselves as being quite superior to Darrin, in fact, superior to all mere mortals. They also had a hilarious tendency to pop in---literally, appearing out of thin air--- on Samantha and Darrin at most inconvenient times.
It was understood by all the "witchy" characters (Samantha and her relatives) that, even though they mixed and mingled with ordinary humans, their magic powers were not--- for the most part--- supposed to be witnessed by the general public. Nobody believe in witchcraft, and the witches liked to keep it that way. This made for some of the series' funniest moments; on the occasions when it was simply unavoidable to display a magic act in public, great pains were taken to cover it up or confuse the witnesses so that they wouldn't quite believe what they'd just seen. Darrin was the only mortal who knew about all the magic going on.
Samantha was played by the beautiful and talented Elizabeth Montgomery. It's interesting to see how Montgomery's appearance, and her acting style in general, loosened up so much as the series went on. In the early episodes, she was very prim and proper, controlled, dressy/"elegant", her hair stiffly coiffed, you just knew she'd been to finishing school or something. She had "debutante" written all over her. But by the end of the series, she was much looser in style and action, often seen wearing jeans and stylin' sweaters, her hair long and straight.... she looked a lot younger (and better) at the end of the series than she had eight years earlier at the beginning!
Darrin was played by two actors, Dick York (from 1964 to 1969) and Dick Sargent (1969 to 1972). Thankfully they did vaguely resemble each other, both being tall, slender, dark-haired guys about the same age. Otherwise all credibility would have gone out the window.
Dick York was far more tense, nervous about his wife's witchcraft. When he got frustrated or exasperated, you could just about see his blood pressure rising! But he did seem to be warm and loving, and even funny underneath his neuroses.
Dick Sargent, the second Darrin, was more "cool and collected"--- and this seems to be why a lot of people didn't like him the part; I think he came off as being downright cold at times. He was more stiff-upper-lipped, and didn't seem to be quite as affectionate towards Samantha. I don't know..... both styles have their good points, and actually there were a few times when I thought Dick York's popped-eye anxiety and strangled-voice nervousness got a little bit over-the-top.
The chief supporting character, almost a third lead, was Samantha's mother Endora, played by the great Agnes Moorehead. She was heavily made-up and always looked just a bit exotic in her flowing, colorful robes and caftans. She wasn't really a mean, wicked witch, but she couldn't stand Darrin, and felt that he was FAR beneath her daughter. Endora had no hesitation about turning him into a frog or some such thing if he got in her way. She and Darrin were always at each other's throats, with often hilarious consequences, and with an exasperated Samantha always being caught square in the middle of it.
There was a long list of other supporting characters and recurring roles--- the nosy neighbor Gladys Kravitz (played by two actresses) who knew there was SOMETHING fishy about Samantha, but who never quite figured out the "witch" angle; Darrin's parents; his boss Larry Tate; Larry's wife Louise (also played by two actresses); Samantha's father (Shakespearean actor Maurice Evans); Dr. Bombay (whose one-liners were hysterical, along with the fact that he bellowed with laughter at his own jokes); Samatha's wild, swingin'/60s cousin Serena (played by Elizabeth Montgomery--- Samantha herself--- in a clever dual role); befuddled but kindly Aunt Clara (Marion Lorne, who died during series production--- thankfully, at least HER character was not reprised by someone else); the flamboyant Uncle Arthur, played by the late Paul Lynde; and Samatha's well-meaning witch friend Esmerelda (Alice Ghostley), who wanted to please everybody but who always managed to screw things up.
"Bewitched" occasionally touched on serious issues of the day--- there was one rather heavy-handed episode about race relations--- and there were some genuinely touching moments (I think in one episode, Darrin had been transported back to the 1600s and was going to be tried--- and, it was implied, executed--- as a witch himself. But Samantha came to his rescue with an impassioned and clever plea on his behalf.) For the most part, though, this show was light-hearted escapism, and it worked.
The series faltered a bit towards the end, with several of the "Darrin"-related episodes (with Dick Sargent) being almost word-for-word remakes of earlier Dick York episodes. Maybe they thought the audience wouldn't remember! But still.... the acting and character interplay were always top-notch, and the series at its best WAS very funny.
By the way, in case you didn't notice, Serena--- always played by Elizabeth Montgomery--- was credited to "Pandora Spocks" ("Pandora's Box", get it?) in several episodes.
"Bewitched" was the story of beautiful suburban housewife Samantha--- who just happens to be a witch with magic powers--- being married to Darrin, a hapless advertising-executive mortal. Although both Samatha and Darrin were white, this was the mixed marriage to end all mixed marriages. Her relatives (and there were a lot of them) all had magic powers, and most of them thought of themselves as being quite superior to Darrin, in fact, superior to all mere mortals. They also had a hilarious tendency to pop in---literally, appearing out of thin air--- on Samantha and Darrin at most inconvenient times.
It was understood by all the "witchy" characters (Samantha and her relatives) that, even though they mixed and mingled with ordinary humans, their magic powers were not--- for the most part--- supposed to be witnessed by the general public. Nobody believe in witchcraft, and the witches liked to keep it that way. This made for some of the series' funniest moments; on the occasions when it was simply unavoidable to display a magic act in public, great pains were taken to cover it up or confuse the witnesses so that they wouldn't quite believe what they'd just seen. Darrin was the only mortal who knew about all the magic going on.
Samantha was played by the beautiful and talented Elizabeth Montgomery. It's interesting to see how Montgomery's appearance, and her acting style in general, loosened up so much as the series went on. In the early episodes, she was very prim and proper, controlled, dressy/"elegant", her hair stiffly coiffed, you just knew she'd been to finishing school or something. She had "debutante" written all over her. But by the end of the series, she was much looser in style and action, often seen wearing jeans and stylin' sweaters, her hair long and straight.... she looked a lot younger (and better) at the end of the series than she had eight years earlier at the beginning!
Darrin was played by two actors, Dick York (from 1964 to 1969) and Dick Sargent (1969 to 1972). Thankfully they did vaguely resemble each other, both being tall, slender, dark-haired guys about the same age. Otherwise all credibility would have gone out the window.
Dick York was far more tense, nervous about his wife's witchcraft. When he got frustrated or exasperated, you could just about see his blood pressure rising! But he did seem to be warm and loving, and even funny underneath his neuroses.
Dick Sargent, the second Darrin, was more "cool and collected"--- and this seems to be why a lot of people didn't like him the part; I think he came off as being downright cold at times. He was more stiff-upper-lipped, and didn't seem to be quite as affectionate towards Samantha. I don't know..... both styles have their good points, and actually there were a few times when I thought Dick York's popped-eye anxiety and strangled-voice nervousness got a little bit over-the-top.
The chief supporting character, almost a third lead, was Samantha's mother Endora, played by the great Agnes Moorehead. She was heavily made-up and always looked just a bit exotic in her flowing, colorful robes and caftans. She wasn't really a mean, wicked witch, but she couldn't stand Darrin, and felt that he was FAR beneath her daughter. Endora had no hesitation about turning him into a frog or some such thing if he got in her way. She and Darrin were always at each other's throats, with often hilarious consequences, and with an exasperated Samantha always being caught square in the middle of it.
There was a long list of other supporting characters and recurring roles--- the nosy neighbor Gladys Kravitz (played by two actresses) who knew there was SOMETHING fishy about Samantha, but who never quite figured out the "witch" angle; Darrin's parents; his boss Larry Tate; Larry's wife Louise (also played by two actresses); Samantha's father (Shakespearean actor Maurice Evans); Dr. Bombay (whose one-liners were hysterical, along with the fact that he bellowed with laughter at his own jokes); Samatha's wild, swingin'/60s cousin Serena (played by Elizabeth Montgomery--- Samantha herself--- in a clever dual role); befuddled but kindly Aunt Clara (Marion Lorne, who died during series production--- thankfully, at least HER character was not reprised by someone else); the flamboyant Uncle Arthur, played by the late Paul Lynde; and Samatha's well-meaning witch friend Esmerelda (Alice Ghostley), who wanted to please everybody but who always managed to screw things up.
"Bewitched" occasionally touched on serious issues of the day--- there was one rather heavy-handed episode about race relations--- and there were some genuinely touching moments (I think in one episode, Darrin had been transported back to the 1600s and was going to be tried--- and, it was implied, executed--- as a witch himself. But Samantha came to his rescue with an impassioned and clever plea on his behalf.) For the most part, though, this show was light-hearted escapism, and it worked.
The series faltered a bit towards the end, with several of the "Darrin"-related episodes (with Dick Sargent) being almost word-for-word remakes of earlier Dick York episodes. Maybe they thought the audience wouldn't remember! But still.... the acting and character interplay were always top-notch, and the series at its best WAS very funny.
By the way, in case you didn't notice, Serena--- always played by Elizabeth Montgomery--- was credited to "Pandora Spocks" ("Pandora's Box", get it?) in several episodes.
I'm a big fan of Mae West, and I waited for years to see this insignificant, forgettable little movie. Although I knew it had gotten bad reviews at the time of its release--- and West herself didn't like it any more than the critics did--- I thought there still might be something in it worth seeing, since it holds such an important place in her career: this was the final movie of her 1930s/1940s "movie star" period. After it was done, West returned to live stage work, recording sessions, and of course her famous nightclub act of the 1950s. She was not to make another film for 27 years (at which time she did the rather infamous "Myra Breckinredge" in 1970).
Seeing "The Heat's On" is an exercise in tedium. I had to literally struggle to stay awake during it. It's not that it's all that horrendously "bad"--- heck, even bad movies can be entertaining for the wrong reasons. This one is just....empty. Completely vapid and forgettable. It's easy to understand why Mae West practically disowned this movie.
The main thing wrong with it is that she isn't in it nearly enough. For the entire first hour, I swear that West had about 6 minutes of total screen time, scattered throughout in a series of VERY short "blink and you'll miss it" scenes. She's got more charisma and screen presence, by far, than anybody else in this thing--- when she's on, you can't take your eyes off her. But you hardly get to see her! Giving West more screen time would have improved this movie immensely, and it's a mystery to me why director Gregory Ratoff didn't understand that.
What makes her absence from the screen even more frustrating, if not downright puzzling, is that so much of this movie is a revue/type *musical* (in neon lights), the type of film that could have shown her at her absolute best. But instead you get one lame song after the other filling the screen; there are singers, dancers, production numbers, showgirls, Latin-flavored guitarists, even a boogie-woogie pianist/singer (blues and jazz great Hazel Scott, playing herself). They all come in, do their thing, leave, and it's on to the next song. With the singular exception of Scott, who is wonderful--- all of this is absolutely and completely forgettable. Most of the singers, the dancers, the songs, the movie itself: it's "B"-grade material at best. We aren't talking MGM-quality here, folks.
Watching this parade of musical mediocrities go by, all you can think of the entire time is "Where IS Mae West??! Why don't they bring her on?" But it never happens until the very end, at which time you'll be practically asleep if you've managed to sit through it all up to that point. It's hard to imagine who might be a fan of this picture.
For what it's worth, West does look pretty good. Always proud of her youthful appearance, she was 50 years old here, but she looks maybe 40-ish, and she's dressed in stylish, contemporary clothes for one of the very few times in her screen career. (Well, except for her very first musical number, in which--- amusingly--- she's in her trademark "gay 90s" garb, looking much like she did in her earlier films).
The story--- what flimsy plot there is of it--- has something to do with Broadway musical star Fay Lawrence (West) getting funding for her next show, and having producers fight over her. But the main point of this movie, and the most amount of screen time, is devoted to the endlessly boring musical numbers. Gentle, befuddled Victor Moore is the primary male lead; and a YOUNG Lloyd Bridges--- yes, he was young once!--- has a featured part as a soldier engaged to Moore's niece.
Not a bad movie, just a boring one, and it missed the boat all around. Mae West deserved better.
Seeing "The Heat's On" is an exercise in tedium. I had to literally struggle to stay awake during it. It's not that it's all that horrendously "bad"--- heck, even bad movies can be entertaining for the wrong reasons. This one is just....empty. Completely vapid and forgettable. It's easy to understand why Mae West practically disowned this movie.
The main thing wrong with it is that she isn't in it nearly enough. For the entire first hour, I swear that West had about 6 minutes of total screen time, scattered throughout in a series of VERY short "blink and you'll miss it" scenes. She's got more charisma and screen presence, by far, than anybody else in this thing--- when she's on, you can't take your eyes off her. But you hardly get to see her! Giving West more screen time would have improved this movie immensely, and it's a mystery to me why director Gregory Ratoff didn't understand that.
What makes her absence from the screen even more frustrating, if not downright puzzling, is that so much of this movie is a revue/type *musical* (in neon lights), the type of film that could have shown her at her absolute best. But instead you get one lame song after the other filling the screen; there are singers, dancers, production numbers, showgirls, Latin-flavored guitarists, even a boogie-woogie pianist/singer (blues and jazz great Hazel Scott, playing herself). They all come in, do their thing, leave, and it's on to the next song. With the singular exception of Scott, who is wonderful--- all of this is absolutely and completely forgettable. Most of the singers, the dancers, the songs, the movie itself: it's "B"-grade material at best. We aren't talking MGM-quality here, folks.
Watching this parade of musical mediocrities go by, all you can think of the entire time is "Where IS Mae West??! Why don't they bring her on?" But it never happens until the very end, at which time you'll be practically asleep if you've managed to sit through it all up to that point. It's hard to imagine who might be a fan of this picture.
For what it's worth, West does look pretty good. Always proud of her youthful appearance, she was 50 years old here, but she looks maybe 40-ish, and she's dressed in stylish, contemporary clothes for one of the very few times in her screen career. (Well, except for her very first musical number, in which--- amusingly--- she's in her trademark "gay 90s" garb, looking much like she did in her earlier films).
The story--- what flimsy plot there is of it--- has something to do with Broadway musical star Fay Lawrence (West) getting funding for her next show, and having producers fight over her. But the main point of this movie, and the most amount of screen time, is devoted to the endlessly boring musical numbers. Gentle, befuddled Victor Moore is the primary male lead; and a YOUNG Lloyd Bridges--- yes, he was young once!--- has a featured part as a soldier engaged to Moore's niece.
Not a bad movie, just a boring one, and it missed the boat all around. Mae West deserved better.
