#fricking gays glued to each others

[sweeteastart]

Inktober

Day 3 Vampire

Vampire au Vanven here we go again ! I've had to rush this one but that's okay I like it this way

[dark-eyed-devastating-hoofer]

Okay...

Let’s talk “The Cinematic Voyage of The Pirate” by Earl J. Hess and Pratibha A. Dabholkar.

This husband and wife duo both specialize in different fields, but each loves the Hollywood musical. As such, they have written several books about musicals, specifically about Gene Kelly and his musicals. They wrote a making of Singing in the Rain Book & Gene Kelly: The Making of a Creative Legend in addition to their book on the Pirate.

Easily, their books on Gene Kelly are the best. They leave NO STONE unturned in their research. Myths that have been turned into fact are refuted, more on that later...basically, if you want to know all you can know about Gene Kelly, given his final wife, (~shudder~ I hate even TYPING THAT) PWK still hasn’t released the autobiography he wanted written for the world, Hess & Dabholkar’s books are the next best thing.

They’re pricey, NO LIE. The cinematic voyage of the Pirate will set you back around $25.00 on Amazon. Gene Kelly the creative legend? $35.00 on Amazon. The making of Singing in the Rain? $20.00 on Amazon for the paperback. And this is with ONLY black and white photos used, normally not on glossy paper, except in the making of SitR. As for finding a Hardcover of the making of SitR...good luck. I tried. Used copies in decent condition were in the $75+ range on eBay and used book sites. Acceptable condition was still hitting at $40-50 for a hardcover. First editions? I couldn’t even find one, but I’m confident if I did, the price would likely be in the $150-200 range. So I bought the paperback in the making of SitR.

The books are well made, yes even the making of SitR one I purchased. The details on Hess and Dabholkar books are why they are more pricey even on Amazon. They don’t use glossy paper for pictures or much, if any color photos, but the paper is lovely and thick, smooth and creamy. Nice type face, sewn binding, not just glued in & the cover is fabric, not a heavy colored paper cover. Gene Kelly: The Making of a Creative Legend” arrived in a box, wrapped in bubble wrap & the book still shrink wrapped in cellophane. Amazon rarely takes such time, but with the cost of the book, at least you know it will arrive in pristine condition.

These books are detail heavy & quite possibly hold every detail you wish to know. From his career to his childhood home, down to a map of the neighborhood he lived in and a picture of the house that still stands. Now...onto The Cinematic Voyage of the Pirate...

This book covers the movie and play in depth. They cover the original play by Ludwig Fulda, it’s translation and first life as a play under Behrman, Lunt and Fontaine. Nathaniel Behrman being the playwright who helped Lunt and Fontaine spice up The Pirate for the stage. Lunt recalled the translated Fulda version (it was originally in German) as “no great shakes as a play, but it did have a vastly amusing idea.” The play also gave Lunt the chance to eat a raw onion on stage, which he viewed as a highlight of his career.

All told, from Fulda to MGM’s film version, there were 8 different versions of stage plays and screenplays for the Pirate. Look below for a picture of the chart from the book about each.

There is a LOT of discussion in the book about each stage play and screenplay, especially in regards to their differences. Like...A LOT. If this type of stuff doesn’t interest you, maybe pass on this volume.

There was one item of interest though...namely the dance number that was supposedly so hot Mayer wanted it cut from the film and burned...yes, we are going to delve into VOODOO territory. According to Hess & Dabholkar, it wasn’t Voodoo that was too hot for Mayer, it was a take on the scene of Love of my Life...& they maintain that John Fricke’s comments on the DVD version of the Pirate, as well as Mark Griffith’s book on Minnelli as erroneously putting this forward. The page stating as such, is below. I marked the start of the passage. Crudely yes, but you get the idea😂

There is a lot in the book about the making of, but this was the newest information I saw. There’s tons of critical reviews and talk of how The Pirate found new life in later years becoming a cult classic and so on. There’s discussion about Gene Kelly becoming an object of desire for the gay community because of his Pirate ballet in tiny pants...which is understandable, he looks HOT.

All in all, the book has some black and white pics, all that I have seen online and a few interesting tidbits. The book is 258 pages and the final 71 are devoted to lines spoken in other stage play versions of the Pirate, discarded screenplays, crew and cast notes, an index, and more notes. It’s a nice book to have if you just HAVE TO HAVE all the books about Gene Kelly, as for new and interesting information? Not much. If you’re looking for stuff like that, I highly recommend Hess and Dabholkar’s “Gene Kelly: The making of a creative legend”, it’s great. Below I included a few pics of some of the images in the book. Sorry for the angle, my cat is asleep in my lap and I don’t want to wake him by moving. ❤️😂😂