HERBIE THE LOVE BUG (1968)

 THE BUG AGAINST FERRARI 250 GTO, ITS LIKE FERRARI FIGHTING PORSCHE.

 THE BUG WITH ONE OSCA ON HIS SIDE AND A PORSCHE 550 FOLLOWING BEHIND

 THE FIGHTING WITH AC COBRA.

 ONE OF THE BEAUTIFULL MAT-PAINTING FROM DISNEY STUDIO

MICHELE LEE, BUDY HACKETT, DEAN JONES

WHO IS IN LOVE WITH MICHELE LEE ?

HELLZAPOPPIN 1941

HELLZAPOPPIN    1941

This movie, based on a hit Broadway play, showcases Whitey's Lindy Hoppers dancing the most famous and most spectacular Lindy Hop scene ever preserved on film. The dancing was choreographed by Frankie Manning. 

The scene starts when musicians Slim Galliard and Slam Stewart, in workmen's garb, discover some musical instruments while supposedly delivering a package backstage. They play a few tentative notes, and a spontaneous, swinging jam starts cooking .  More backstage "workers" join the jam, including  Rex Stuart on trumpet and  C.C. Johnson on the ''Bongo drums''. The music builds in excitement until, as if out of nowhere, four Lindy Hopping couples, dressed in overalls and uniforms, swing out into the cameras at a frenetic tempo. Each couple executes amazing acrobatic shines. Then the group unites for precision ensemble work filmed at an angle that emphasizes legwork and speed. 

The choreography and the dancing are as near to perfect Lindy Hop as you can see anywhere! The scene will take your breath away no matter how many times you see it. It is no wonder that this film was responsible for the simultaneous revival of Lindy Hop in Sweden and Britain in the 1980's. 

There is also a short scene with Dean Collins and Martha Raye dancing Lindy Hop to the tune Watch The Birdie. 

An interesting sidenote: Whitey's Lindy Hoppers' routine in Hellzapoppin' was originally danced and choreographed to different music, namely "Jumping at the Woodside". Universal Studios had a composer who was on staff write new music for the routine. Seen here is a reconstruction of the routine with the original music: Thanks to Dmitry Smolin.

Hellzapoppin' was a musical revue which was a Broadway hit, running from 22 September 1938 to 17 December 1941, and was at the time the longest-running Broadway musical with 1,404 performances—one of only three plays to run more than 500 performances in the 1930s.

A comedy hodgepodge full of sight gags and slapstick, the show was continually rewritten throughout its run to remain topical (its opening scene was Hitler speaking in a Yiddish accent). 



A circus atmosphere prevailed, with midgets, clowns, trained pigeons and audience participation adding
to the merriment. The book was by Olsen & Johnson, a comedy team consisting of John "Ole" Olsen and Harold "Chic" Johnson, the music and
lyrics were by Sammy Fain and Charles Tobias. It featured such performers as Chic Johnson, Ole Olsen, Billy Adams, Ray Kinney and the
Aloha Maids, the comedy team Barto & Mann (Dewey Barto and George Mann), Bergh and Moore, The Charioteers, Bettymae and Beverly Crane,
Ray Kinney, Walter Nilsson, J. C. Olsen, The Radio Rogues, Reed, Dean and Reed (Bonnie Reed, Syd Dean, and Mel Reed), Roberta and Ray,
Hal Sherman, The Starlings, Dorothy Thomas, Shirley Wayne, June Winters, and Whitey's Steppers (also known as Whitey's Lindy Hoppers).

The songs (decidedly less a factor for the show's success than its comedy), included:

"Blow a Balloon Up to the Moon"
"Fuddle-Dee-Duddle"
"It's Time To Say Aloha"
"When McGregor Sings Off Key"
"Boomps-a-Daisy"
"We Won't Let It Happen Here"
"When You Look in Your Looking Glass"

Songs and lyrics featured during the run include work by Don George, Teddy Hall, Annette Mills, Gonzalo Curiel, and Oscar Hammerstein II.

The show opened at the original 46th Street Theatre, and moved later in its run to the Winter Garden Theatre and the Majestic Theatre, and spawned several successful sequels.

Modestly described as the greatest, smash-bang, eye-filling, tune filled musical comedy ever to play the Broadway stage, Hellzapoppin is a glorious surrealistic and provocative motion picture. 


Hellzapoppin' (***1/2)
review by Jon Waterman
How do I describe this one? Okay, the vaudeville team of (Ole) Olsen and (Chic) Johnson are trying to adapt their hit Broadway show for the silver screen. The director gets fed up with its madcap, anarchistic styling and brings in a writer to give it a plot. The plot involves a love triangle, and it’s O & J’s job to get the right guy paired up with the girl. At the same time, they have to coordinate and put on a different stage play for all the wealthy guests that will be attending. Did you get all that? I’m sure you think you did, but you don’t know the half of it, my friend.
In all honesty, you should forget the plot. There’s no real reason for it to be there, except to provide the running gag of trying to implement a straightforward plot inside an obviously surrealist, madcap motion picture. Honestly, I was disappointed they kept the joke going as long as they did. I wanted the film to return to the magic of the first fifteen-twenty minutes where anything could happen and it certainly could. After all, they do warn us from the start, “Any similarity between Hellzapoppin' and a motion picture is purely coincidental.”
I don’t know what the original stage production was like, but it certainly couldn’t be the same as this. The movie makes the most of it’s format of presentation, by playing around with editing, composites – shots where Ole and Chic are standing in front of a screen that’s projecting an image of Ole and Chic, title cards, special effects, and big, extravagant sets. This is the best early example I know of (so far) that fully utilizes the medium as part of the art.
“Hellzapoppin’” is full of every kind of humor imaginable. There’s plenty of physical comedy, tons of parody and satire, self-referential, surrealistic, musical and straight-up jokes. It all culminates near the end as they try to sabotage the play they’ve been setting up. Expect to see a little bit of everything. One of the best aspects is their frequent willingness to break the fourth wall and remind everyone it’s a movie. This is one key reason why the plot is so inconsequential. From the beginning, they’ll turn to the audience and speak to them. They’ll also call on the projectionist to rewind the picture or to adjust the framing.
This film also contains a great dance number performed by the Harlem Congeroos. Fans of swing dancing should watch the movie just for this sequence. But mostly, you should watch it for the comedy, supported by a great cast. Of course there’s Olsen and Johnson, but you also get Martha Raye as the horny city girl chasing after the wealthy prince; Hugh Herbert as the master of disguise (although, what he’s dressing up for is beyond us); and Shemp Howard as the slightly sadistic, misogynistic projectionist.
Everyone really came together to create a great, influential piece of comedy. I give great credit to director H. C. Potter for showing off the immense preparation and coordination that obviously went into this production, and to writers Nat Perrin and Warren Wilson for not fully submitting to the studio norms. Not every joke works, but many hold up surprisingly well. You don’t see movies like this anymore. Even the contemporary genre parodies don’t quite capture this type of atmosphere and this level of playfulness.

L"INSURECTION MALGACHE DE 1947

L'INSURRECTION MALGACHE DE 1947

L'insurrection malgache de 1947 est une insurection qui eut lieu en 1947 et 1948 sur l'île de madagascar, alors colonie francaise. Elle est souvent considérée comme l'un des signes avant-coureurs de la decolonization en Afrique francophone.

Le soulèvement fut suivi d'une terrible repression conduite par l'armée française qui fit plusieurs milliers de morts. Le nombre de victimes de cette répression fait encore débat parmi les historiens, le chiffre variant de 11 000 à 100 000 morts et fait considérer ces évènements comme les plus sombres de l'histoire coloniale francaise.

Cette insurrection est commémorée par un jour férié à Madagascar chaque 29 mars depuis 1967.

L'insurrection éclate à la suite de réquisitions durant la Seconde Guerre mondiale. La lutte pour l'indépendance est active à travers le Mouvement Democratique de la Renovation Malgache (MDRM) et des sociétés secrètes de libération. Elle débute dans le quart sud de l'île et sur la côte-sud-est. Elle s'étend jusqu'à la région de Tananarive dans le centre et à toute la région des hautes terres, de Fianarantsoa au lac Alaotra, au nord de Tananarive en avril 1947. Les insurgés initialement au nombre de 2 000 voient rapidement leur nombre augmenter. Les paysans du sud de l'île les rejoignent. Les insurgés s'en prennent aux Français mais aussi aux Malgaches travaillant pour l'administration coloniale. Ainsi environ 1 900 partisans du PADESM sont tués

La Repression

Les troupes françaises sont environ 8 000 dans l'île au début de l'insurrection. En un an, le contingent est porté à 18 000 hommes. L'insurrection recule dès mai 1947 devant l'armée française. La répression est telle que certains historiens la qualifie de guerre coloniale. Les massacres sont nombreux, touchant largement la population civile dont les femmes et les enfants. Un haut fonctionnaire évoque un «Oradour malgache » à propos du massacre commis dans le village de Moramanga.

Les troupes coloniales, renforcées notamment par des tirailleurs sénégalais, mettent un an pour venir à bout de la guérilla. Des élus du MDRM, parti pourtant hostile à l'insurrection, députés malgaches à L'assemblee Nationale, Joseph Roahongy et Joseph Raseta sont arrêtés, déchus de leur immunité parlementaire et condamnés à mort. Peine commuée par la suite en prison à vie.

L'ordre colonial règne de nouveau à Madagascar. En janvier 1951 Francois Mitterand, alors ministre de la France d'outre-mer indique dans un discours que l'« avenir de Madagascar est indéfectiblement lié à la république française». Madagascar n'accède à l'indépendance qu'après la fin de IVe Republique et la création de la Communaute francaise en 1960.

L'évaluation officielle des victimes de la "pacification" continue à faire débat. Une mission d'information de l'Assemblée de l'Union francaise fin 1948 établit un premier bilan à 89 000 morts (plus de 2 % de la population malgache de l'époque). Ce bilan sera ensuite révisé à la baisse et fixé "officiellement" par le pouvoir colonial en 1950 à 11 342 morts. Mais à l'époque, personne ne remet en question la terrible violence de la répression infligée par l'armée française au peuple malgache. Certains analystes malgaches et étrangers avancent le chiffre de 100 à 200 000 morts. Pour l'historien Jean Fremigacci, de tels chiffres sont loin de la réalité : « Il a pu y avoir jusqu’à 40 000 morts à Madagascar en 1947-1948. Mais plus des trois-quarts sont imputables à la maladie et à la malnutrition qui ont frappé des populations en fuite, le plus souvent sous la contrainte des insurgés. »

Ce nombre de victimes comprend une grande majorité de Malgaches, tués lors des affrontements, fusillés avec ou sans procès, morts dans les camps d'internement, d'épuisement ou de faim, dont beaucoup de femmes et d'enfants, après avoir fui leur village pour se réfugier en forêt. Parmi ces morts malgaches, quelques milliers ont été tués par les insurgés, faisant partie des forces de l'ordre ou de l'administration coloniale. Plusieurs centaines de tirailleurs sénégalais périrent aussi, souvent envoyés en première ligne, ainsi que des colons français.

THE BANANA SPLITS and FRIENDS SHOW

THE BANANA SPLITS AND FRIENDS SHOW

The Banana Splits were a bunch of furry, zany creatures (actors inside costumes - in case anyone didn't know) whose presence on Television (French Tv , for one season we seem to remember) made Saturday mornings (and then again in the School Summer Holidays) in the 1970s extra special. Fleegle, Bingo, Drooper and Snorky were the names of the Banana Splits and they lived in what looked like a basement apartment although it did have a back door.

Fleegle was voiced by Paul Winchell who also did the voices for Dick Dastardly, Gargamel and Tigger. Sadly Paul died a short time ago.

At the start of each show all the banana splits would arrive via unexpected routes such as down the fire pole, down a slide shoot etc. They would then spend a few minutes bumping into each other and objects before Fleegle (the leader) would bring everything to order by bashing a huge Mallet causing everyone to fall over.

Included in the show were songs, advice, jokes and guests such as the Sour Grape Bunch, the Cuckoo Clock etc. It also had several spots which were shown on many episodes, including Dear Drooper, Secret Password, Drooper take out the Trash, Now it's Riddle Time and Hold the Bus. There were probably many more but our source material does not have them and our memories are getting very poor. 

Season 1

During the first season, the Banana Splits segments often concerned the group's confrontations with a rival club, The Sour Grapes Bunch. The Sour Grapes were not seen on camera, but would send notes (usually a challenge or some other kind of threat) delivered by one of the "Sour Grapes messenger girls", who would dance into the Splits' clubhouse wearing purple minidresses, matched with pink leotards, tights and black go-go boots. They would normally intimidate or frighten the Splits until they gave the note to Fleegle. They would then dance out and take a bow before leaving. Five young actresses appeared as the messenger girls: Debra Thibodeaux, Colette Chenault, Julie Graham, Kathy O'Dare, and Shirley Hillstrom; only one would appear at a time, always called "Charlie" in the context of the show, except for the performance of the song "Doin' The Banana Split" (the segment first appeared in show #5, originally telecast October 5, 1968) which featured all five girls dancing with The Banana Splits. Their dance instructor was Byron Gilliam.Both Julie Graham and Kathy O'Dare would later appear in the 1970s TV series Happy Days.

The Splits were also occasionally visited by the Mariachi-tuned Dilly Sisters (an actual musical act from Mexico), who would appear at their door playing guitars and singing "The Mexican Hat Dance" or "Ta-ra-ra Boom-de-ay". In other recurring features during the first season, Drooper and Bingo offered advice to viewers in the "Dear Drooper" segment, while Fleegle served as the reporter for Banana Splits News. Other running gags included Fleegle repeatedly hitting himself by accident with his oversized gavel. The show introduced some catch phrases: the line, "That's An Ooch", would be said every time a member was hit or injured (sometimes, it would be a double or triple-ooch depending on the extent of the injury). Other memorable sayings included "Hold the bus!" and "Uh-oh, Chongo!" (the latter from the serialized Danger Island segment).

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CITFzaQbjV0

Season 2

For the new season, the set was slightly modified, and the Splits' recurring routines were all new: Fleegle attempted (quite unsuccessfully) to perform magic tricks as alter ego The Great Fleegali, while Super Drooper fought crime and Coach Bingo kept the rest of the group active in sports competitions. Other new elements included School Time,Nursery Rhymes and a Gag Wall segment (reminiscent of Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In), as well as Fan Club meetings where the Banana Splits would read viewer mail. Goofy Gopher (voiced by Paul Winchell) would pop out from a flower pot to deliver the occasional one-liner, joining Cuckoo, who popped out of the Cuckoo Clock, and Banana Vac (an electric talking moose head) as secondary characters. The characters' costume designs also received an overhaul (introduced in the next-to-last Season 1 episode, The Great Banana Splits Buggy Race), with Snorky, who was originally covered in hair, now clean-shaven and sporting a yellow and blue striped vest.

MOEBIUS PARAPSY.

MOEBIUS ILLUSTRE LE LIVRE "LA PARAPSYCHOLOGIE ET VOUS" ,de PAULE SALOMON
ET CHARLIE COOPER, Editions ALBIN MICHEL 1980.

La parapsychologie, etude scientifique des phenomenes psychiques, remet en question bien des conceptions, bouleverse bien des habitudes de pensee. Elle souleve encore controverses et passions, car les bastions d'un rationnalisme etroit resistent farouchement, refusent ce facteur qui echappe a l'analyse sinon a l'observation.

Le parapsychologue est un scientifique nouvelle formule, pour qui la qualite d'un moment unique prime souvent sur la repetition quantitative. Il s'interesse principalement a deux categories de phenomenes: d'une part ceux concernant la communication ( le vaste domaine de de la telepathie , puisque tout ce qui est vivant, communique...); d'autre part ceux consistant en une action de la pensee sur la matiere (deplacement d;objets, torsion de metal,et de  materialisation et dematarialisation ,

que ce soit volontairement_ telekinesie, ou involotairement_Poltergeist). Il faut ajouter la guerison psychique, qui offre des perspectives radicalement differentes de la medecine orthodoxe.