Wednesday, October 23, 2024

Daydreamers In the Fall

Began the morning with breakfast and PAW Patrol. The "Pups Save Trick-or-Treaters" when Mayor Humdinger dons a mechanical spider costume to steal all of the kids' candy. He's stopped in his tracks when he gets stuck in a sticky web, then a hungry eagle thinks a giant spider would be a great snack. "Pups Save an Out-of-Control Mini Patrol" when Alex borrows Daring Danny's turbo-charged motorcycle to deliver cow shampoo for Katie and ends up going crazy all over town with it. 

Headed out after that. Work started all right, but I ended up having to mop the men and women's bathrooms three times each. The disinfectant I used was concentrated and made the floor sticky, which I didn't realize until I was angry and already well on my way home. Someone must have forgotten to turn on the water. Otherwise, there were no problems. Between the ongoing warm weather and us being between holidays, the grocery store remains quiet.

Took the long way home down Nicholson Road to enjoy that beautiful day. Nicholson Road was quiet, but Newton Avenue was blocked by trucks working on the electrical wires. Ended up riding down the White Horse Pike instead.

Soon as I got home, I changed, then went straight back out again. I hadn't really brought much for lunch, and I was hungry. The pretzel shop around the corner is open from Wednesday through Sunday mornings. Picked up a stuffed cheese steak pretzel, two regular soft Philly pretzels, and a can of Diet Pepsi.

Watched The Monkees when I got back, beginning with "A Coffin Too Frequent" from the second season. The guys find themselves stuck in a weird seance when a nice, if forceful, older lady (Ruth Buzzi) claims her nephew (George Firth) is going to return her husband Elmer from the dead. Micky's the one who finally comes up with a way to trick him into revealing his real plans. This one ends with the classic video for my favorite Monkees song, "Daydream Believer," with the guys goofing off and Peter playing the piano while Davy dances in his red velvet 8-button shirt.

Jumped back to the first season for the more typical "Don't Look a Gift Horse In the Mouth." In the very first filmed episode, Davy ends up taking care of a horse when a little boy leaves his beloved friend with him on the beach. He takes him home, but their landlord Mr. Babbitt (Henry Corden) doesn't allow pets of any shape or size. They try to earn the money for his care, but they're all city boys and are hopeless as farm hands. Davy ends up racing him with a local farmer in order to win the money.

"The Chaperone" continues the wacky sitcom antics. This time, Davy desperately wants to date pretty Leslie (Sherry Alberoni), but her father General Vandenburg (Arch Johnson) is extremely strict and will only allow her to attend chaperoned parties. They initially recruit their drunk cleaning lady Mrs. Weefers (Diana Chesney) as the chaperone, but she passes out before the party. Micky winds up being the one who dons the dress, and is quite embarrassed when the General and Mr. Babbitt find him very attractive. 

Switched to working on the inventory, watching The Price Is Right, and looking up stuff online after that. Added It's a Bird, It's a Plane, It's Superman, In the Heights, Jersey Boys, and Joseph and His Amazing Technicolor Dream Coat. I've had all of these for a long time. Most of them were yard sale or thrift shop finds, except for Superman, which I picked up on Amazon in 2007. 

Broke for dinner and Match Game '77. They're up to the week with Alabama southern belles Polly Holiday of Alice and Flo and Fannie Flagg. Polly's microphone suddenly dies in the first episode, leading Richard to give it a hilarious eulogy. He and Gene manage to resurrect it in the second, with Fannie's help.

Finished the night at Tubi with the horror drama Whatever Happened to Baby Jane? In this case, vaudeville sensation "Baby" Jane Hudson (Bette Davis) grew up to be a raving lunatic obsessed with her past fame. She's far from the only one in the Hudson family resting on her laurels. Her sister Blanche (Joan Crawford) lives with her in their family home. Blanche once had a major movie career, until she was crippled in a car accident that Jane may have caused. 

Blanche tries to sell the house and get Jane committed, but Jane is having none of that. She locks Blanche in with no outside contact and fires their housekeeper Elvira (Maidie Norman), then hires a pianist (Victor Buono) to help her recreate her old act. Elvira catches on and tries to find out what's going on, but Jane takes her out. Jane thinks she has to run away with Blanche, but Blanche has her own secrets...including what really happened on the night of the car accident that derailed her career.

I saw the similar Hush, Hush Sweet Charlotte as a teen while babysitting, but I never got around to this one until tonight. Davis in particular gives a bravura performance as the aging former child star descending into madness. Buono was so well-received as her portly suitor, he became a popular character actor in the 60's and 70's. Davis and Buono were nominated for Oscars - the gorgeous costumes, with terrific gowns for Crawford and floaty little girl dresses for Davis, won. This is scary enough to be not for kids, but adult fans of vintage horror and the leading ladies will find much to enjoy here. 

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