#parker fennelly

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The Trouble with Harry (1955) Alfred Hitchcock

December 30th 2022

[oldshowbiz]

Mr. Feathers starring Parker Fennelly: None Too Bright, Not Too Much Comedy.

[therileyandkimmyshow]

Podcast Actor Parker Fennelly Golden Age of Radio Tribute

[byneddiedingo]

Jerry Mathers in The Trouble With Harry (Alfred Hitchcock, 1955) Cast: John Forsythe, Shirley MacLaine, Edmund Gwenn, Mildred Natwick, Mildred Dunnock, Jerry Mathers, Royal Dano, Parker Fennelly, Dwight Marfield, Barry Macollum, Philip Truex. Screenplay: John Michael Hayes, based on a novel by Jack Trevor Story. Cinematography: Robert Burks. Music: Bernard Herrmann. The Trouble With Harry, which many people remember as "the one in which Beaver Cleaver finds a corpse," needs to be thought of in connection with Alfred Hitchcock's other films about small towns, such as Santa Rosa in Shadow of a Doubt (1943) and Bodega Bay in The Birds (1963). Like the Vermont village of The Trouble With Harry, these are places where anomalous events, like the return of a native son turned serial killer or a disruption in the natural order or just a mysterious dead body, can be viewed through a privileged, if somewhat cracked, lens. Cities can take serial killers, birds behaving badly, and the occasional unidentified corpse in stride, but they're a big deal in small towns. For an urbanite like Hitchcock, the small town settings are themselves anomalous, which is why he treats them to varying degrees with condescending whimsy. Of those films, The Trouble With Harry is the most whimsical, which may have something to do with its source novel, which was set in one of those cozy English villages so beloved of mystery readers. There are some who think Hitchcock should have left it in that setting, but I don't think much harm was done by the change. For one thing, it gives us a chance to look at New England fall foliage unblocked by tour buses full of leaf-peepers. Even though it was hindered by an unexpected storm that caused many of the leaves to fall prematurely, Robert Burks's achingly lovely cinematography combines well with Bernard Herrmann's score -- his first for Hitchcock -- to meld whimsy with an autumnal wistfulness. It helps, too, that we have actors skilled at sprinkling a little salt and vinegar on the whimsy, particularly Edmund Gwenn and the two great Mildreds, Natwick and Dunnock. Shirley MacLaine's debut film went a long way toward establishing her as a specialist in quirky, but it would take a more charismatic actor than John Forsythe to bring off his role: With his disregard for convention and monetary reward, Sam Marlowe seems to have wandered in from a Frank Capra film like Mr. Deeds Goes to Town (1936), which needed Gary Cooper -- though James Stewart could have handled it equally well -- to pull it off. I think in the end, your reaction to The Trouble With Harry mostly depends on your tolerance for twee, and if it's low you may not want to stay much past the opening credits designed by Saul Steinberg.

[genevieveetguy]

- When I saw him, he was dead. - He looked exactly the same when he was alive, only he was vertical.

The Trouble with Harry, Alfred Hitchcock (1955)

[kwebtv]

Headmaster  -  CBS  -  September 18, 1970  -  January 1, 1971

Comedy / Drama (14 episodes)

Running Time:  30 minutes

Stars:

Andy Griffith as Andy Thompson

Claudette Nevins as Margaret Thompson

Jerry Van Dyke as Coach Jerry Brownell

Parker Fennelly as Mr. Purdy, the caretaker

[moviemosaics]

The Trouble with Harry

directed by Alfred Hitchcock, 1955

[frankenpagie]

2.25.20

[citizenscreen]

Parker Fennelly sleeps as Marjorie Main holds an alarm clock to his head in a scene from THE KETTLES ON OLD MACDONALD'S FARM (1957)

[of-foolish-and-wise]

Been reading a lot of contemporary poetry lately so here’s a list of some of my favorites with links to poems from each:

Night Sky with Exit Wounds - Ocean Vuong

Postcolonial Love Poem - Natalie Diaz

A Fortune for Your Disaster - Hanif Abdurraqib

Brute: Poems - Emily Skaja

Good Bones - Maggie Smith

The Year of Blue Water - Yanyi

I Wore My Blackest Hair - Carlina Duan

I Can’t Talk About the Trees Without the Blood - Tiana Clark

Motherland Fatherland Homelandsexuals - Patricia Lockwood

Voyage of the Sable Genius - Robin Coste Lewis

The Tradition - Jericho Brown

Dunce - Mary Ruefle

Second Empire - Richie Hoffmann

Don’t Call Us Dead - Danez Smith

Homie - Danez Smith

Bright Dead Things - Ada Limon

Incendiary Art - Patricia Smith

Oculus - Sally Wen Mao

Deaf Republic - Ilya Kaminsky

American Sonnets for My Past and Future Assassin - Terrance Hayes

Hard Child - Natalie Shapero

Tender Hooks - Beth Ann Fennelly

Incarnadine: Poems - Mary Szybist

There are More Beautiful Things than Beyonce - Morgan Parker

Citizen: An American Lyric - Claudia Rankine

Don’t Let Me Be Lonely - Claudia Rankine

[anintelligentoctopus]

In discoveries from this week:

An episode of I’ve Got a Secret from 1957 where:

Henry Morgan stands in for a vacationing Garry Moore

It’s a tribute to old time radio, and Parker Fennelly from Fred Allen’s show makes a brief appearance

On the What’s My Line? channel, audio from 1952 of Groucho and Fred ad-libbing at each other

[twittercomfrnklin2001-blog]

The Russians Are Coming the Russians Are Coming

When I was growing up, some of my favorite actors in films and on TV were the character players. Maybe I felt a sense of kinship, even then knowing I was never leading man material. So one of the joys of Norman Jewison’s THE RUSSIANS ARE COMING THE RUSSIANS ARE COMING (1966) was seeing comic work from people I grew up with like Theodore Bikel, Tessie O’Shea, Ben Blue, Cliff Norton, Doro Merande, Parker Fennelly, Michael J. Pollard and, best of all, Paul Ford. William Rose’s adaptation of the Nathaniel Benchley novel (“The Off-Islanders”) about the chaos that ensues when a Russian submarine runs aground off the coast of an isolated New England island has a strong comic sense, with some great running gags and an underlying realism. Jewison’s direction could be more pixilated. It doesn’t reach the heights of his later MOONSTRUCK (1987). But it features wonderful work from Alan Arkin as head of the Russian landing party (his line readings are inspired), Carl Reiner and Eva Marie Saint as a married couple briefly held hostage and Brian Keith as the town sheriff. It also has the very pretty and sometimes touching John Phillip Law and Andrea Fromm as a Russian sailor and American girl who achieve their own version of peaceful coexistence. Joanthan Winters is on hand as Keith’s deputy, but the film feels too carefully put together to accommodate his comic gifts. He feels stifled by the character and only has a few moments that are genuinely funny. It’s sad to think you couldn’t do this story believably today, not just because audiences would have a hard time accepting benevolent Russians but also because the image of an American community coming together seems a quaint anachronism. There is one prescient moment, however. As the instigator of a civilian militia out to fight off the imagined Russian invasion, Ford says they need a leader picked by democratic process. Someone in the crowd shouts out, “Why not a Republican process?” It was funnier then.

[oldshowbiz]

howdy bub

[myoldtimeradio]

Today is Memorial Day and in honor of the day, as a tribute to all our brave soldiers who have fought for peace and liberty, we are recommending an episode of Columbia Workshop entitled Private Throgg. It was originally aired on the 29th May 1939. This short play was written by Parker Fennelly - who also played the leading role - to commemorate Memorial Day and is a dramatized character study of Elias Throgg who fought in the Union Army. It also includes a specially prepared program from Richmond Virginia with the story of the founding of the first Memorial Day and an interview with several honored veterans of the confederate ranks. Listen on RUSC.com today

[idahobob]

“WHY CAN’T WE GET ALONG” (2018) - a rag & bone films production from marissa velez on Vimeo.

rag & bone presents “Why Can’t We Get Along”, a ‘rag & bone Films’ Production starring Kate Mara and Ansel Elgort.

The new short film, which was shot in one day, features an eclectic mix of talent from the worlds of cinematography, music, choreography, dance, and film. Alongside Elgort and Mara, rag & bone tapped eight members of the American Ballet Theater, three HipLet Ballerinas, YouTube sensation Kandi Reign, and three members of Bulletrun Parkour.

Benjamin Millepied co-directed the new rag & bone Films production alongside Aaron Duffy and Bob Partington as well as celebrated cinematographer Darius Khondji to explore the medium of film while shifting perspectives for the viewer.

The track overlay, produced exclusively for rag & bone by Thom Yorke creates a feeling of friction, which is paralleled by the movement of the cast of characters.

Khondji worked closely with camera rig veteran, Tony Hill to deliver a film which seamlessly choreographs not only the dancers and actors featured, but also the cameras used.

Credits

Co-Directors: Benjamin Millepied, Aaron Duffy and Bob Partington Director of Photography: Darius Khondji Choreography: Benjamin Millepied Music: Thom Yorke Lead Cast Kate Mara Ansel Elgort Supporting Cast Shane "Sage" Samuels Donielle "D Bigga Swindles" Cheatham Kareem "Reaper" Small Alexandre Hammoudi April Giangeruso Betsy McBride Breanne Granlund Elina Miettinen Patrick Frenette Nia Parker Camryn Taylor Kandi Reign Executive Producer: Marcus Wainwright Executive Creative Producer: Marissa Kraxberger Producers: Candice Hernstad, Garrett Fennelly and Taryn Nagle Editor: Will Towne at Modern Post Color: Tim Masick at Co3 Music Director: Kris Bones 1st Assistant Director: Brennan Brooks 2nd Assistant Director: Antonio Dunston Concept: Aaron Duffy Creative Partner: SpecialGuest (Aaron Duffy, Cedric Gairard, Tazri Afrin, Eddy Choi, Lauren Moroz, and Danielle Duclos) Rig Master: Tony Hill Production company: 1stAveMachine Shot on location at Greenpoint Terminal, Brooklyn NY Special Thanks to: Peter Hess at CAA Katie Krell Slater at WME Thomas Marquardt at ICM Christopher D. Macdougall American Ballet Theater Thom Yorke Kris Bones Cheryl Taylor AT CMDC School Tony Hill Nadia Lesy at Bullettrun Eryka Clayton Emma Polgar at Hand & Associates

[sinceileftyoublog]

Live Picks: 8/30-9/2

L.A. Witch

BY JORDAN MAINZER

We got ya covered through Sunday!

8/30: Set It Off, Subterranean

We previewed Tampa symphonic rock band Set It Off’s set at The Forge earlier this year, describing them as “a Warped Tour-approved band who has released three albums, the most prominent 2016′s Upside Down but the best 2014′s sickly sweet Duality, which found success in the grand condition of cheesy concept records, its theatrical, sweeping melodies and instrumentation overcoming its less palatable pop rock aspects.”

Since then, the band has signed to Fearless Records and released a new song, the faux-industrial emo, overproduced “Killer in the Mirror”.

Indie pop duo Chapel and rapper De’Wayne Jackson open.

8/30: Round Robin, Thalia Hall

We don’t know much about this performance other than that it’s a night of improvisation by people who live in, are from, or are rooted in Chicago music. Judging by the lineup, it’s a must-see. It includes Roscoe Mitchell, Akenya, DJ The Twilite Tone, poet Kevin Coval, Tortoise’s Jeff Parker, and SILY favorites like Matana Roberts, Haley Fohr of Circuit des Yeux, Mind Over Mirrors’ Jamie Fennelly, Chicago Symphony Orchestra cellist Katinka Kleijn, Matchess, and Makaya McCraven.

8/30: L.A. Witch, Beat Kitchen

Drawling psychedelic band L.A. Witch released their self-titled debut last year and have been touring strong off of it ever since. Expect to hear lots from the record and hopefully some new material.

Spacey band Moonwalks and local sludgy post-punk duo Pussyfoot open.

8/31: Miguel, Union Park

We previewed Miguel’s show at the Riviera earlier this year:

“War & Leisure, the latest album from Miguel, is, as its title suggests, simultaneously political and personal, the former somewhat new territory for him. The songs are varied as usual; he’s sultry on “Wolf”, funky on the synth-addled “Told You So”, and ready for the radio on the Travis Scott-featuring “Sky Walker”. Stylistically, it’s sort of a combination of his previous two albums, the drug-induced Kaleidoscope Dream and guitar-oriented Wildheart. And while it’s not as earth-shattering and trendsetting as those two, it’s perhaps his most cohesive and fully realized effort.”

Since then, he’s performed “Remember Me” from Coco at the Oscars and shared a new song, “Python”, among other things. At his headlining North Coast Music Festival slot, he should mix it up between his last three albums live, concentrating on War & Leisure.

8/31 & 9/1: Kidd Jordan and Friends, Constellation

Dog/Days is a week of free performances at Constellation, Links Hall, and Hungry Brain. This Friday at Constellation, jazz saxophonist Kidd Jordan plays with pianist Matthew Shipp, bassist William Parker, and drummer Alvin Fielder.

8/31 & 9/1: B-52′s, Ravinia

The Athens, Georgia freak new wave band’s got a decade worth of untouchable material, and they play almost all the highlights during their live set, plus the goofy as hell title track to Funplex. What’s not to love?

New wave legends Culture Club co-headlines. Thompson Twins’ lead vocalist Tom Bailey opens.

9/1: Barrence Whitfield & The Savages, Reggie’s 

Soul Flowers of Titan, the new album from Barrence Whitfield & The Savages, is purportedly inspired by Sun Ra and the King Records/Federal Records Cincinnati sound of the 50′s-60′s. Is the latter noticeable? Definitely. The former? Not sure. Most of the songs, like the chaotically horn-laden “Slowly Losing My Mind” and the garage-meets-soul “Pain”, are in line with tracks from recent efforts Under the Savage Sky and Dig Thy Savage Soul. Though I guess the spirit of blues ditty “Let’s Go to Mars” is closest thematically to “space is the place,” much of Soul Flowers of Titan sounds right at home with the rest of Whitfield’s discography. And that’s a good thing, since Saturday at Reggie’s they’ll play a lot of it, plus some highlights from the band’s pre-Bloodshot Records days.

Garage rockers The Woggles headline. Baby Money & The Down Payments, the project of Chicago based songwriter Pamela Maurer open.

9/1: Sumac, Empty Bottle

Post-metal band Sumac headlines Empty Bottle as part of Scorched Tundra X. Earlier this year, they released a mammoth collaborative album with Keiji Haino, and next month, they follow up 2016′s What One Becomes with a new full-length, Love in Shadow. So far, they’ve released the 15-minute “Attis’ Blade”, which builds and sprawls to a mid-section of noise, quiet strumming, and back before revealing longing growls from Aaron Turner. I’ve heard the rest of the album, too, and it’s a good mix of new territory for the band combined with what they’ve always done well. 21-minute Opener “The Task” starts like a traditional metal song but dissolves into a calm eye before the storm of more brutality and the band’s trademark buzzing dissonance, all before ending with organs and Turner’s guttural moans. “Arcing Silver” is the shortest and most straightforward of the bunch in terms of its arrangements, peaks, and valleys, though it does end with some ambient guitar squalls that introduce more jams. And the introductory guitar tones on closer “Ecstasy of Unbecoming” are more reminiscent of Sufi music than metal, though distorted power riffing kicks the rest of the song into high gear.

Avant-garde metal band Yakuza, doom band In The Company Of Serpents, and hardcore band Couch Slut open.

9/2: Matthew Dear, Estate Ultrabar

We previewed Matthew Dear’s DJ set at smartbar earlier this year:

“Truth is, I have never been a huge fan of Matthew Dear’s original material for whatever reason–but his almost 3-hour entry in the DJ Kicks series from last year shows just how good of a curator he really is, starting with a meditative Nils Frahm track and just exploding into a dance frenzy from there. That’s why his DJ set at smartbar should be one of the best you’ll see all year.”

This time around, he’s headlining a BBQ at Estate. He’s releasing a new album Bunny in October and has revealed two tracks: the hypnotic “Bunny’s Dream” and the repetitive “Echo”.

Remix extraordinaire Josh Wink, Canadian DJ Kenny Glasgow, Fortune, Pershan, and Nick Jannite also spin.

9/2: Rapsody, Union Park

After being prominently featured on Kendrick Lamar’s To Pimp a Butterfly, last year, Rapsody released her own “one of the best of the decade” rap albums. Laila’s Wisdom sees Rapsody proud to be a black woman in the rap game. “Yeah, they call me black and ugly / But I go so hard, make the whole world love me,” she spits. Sure, her features--Lamar, Anderson .Paak, Black Thought, Busta Rhymes, and BJ The Chicago Kid among them--are impressive. But her flow, especially on songs like the unstoppable “You Should Know”, the funky “Pay Up”, and the skronking “Power” (she outshines even Lamar on that one), is the main attraction. She’ll be worth the one day price of admission at North Coast.

9/2: Hannibal Buress, Chicago Theatre

We previewed Hannibal Buress’ set at Arcada Theatre back in March:

“Hannibal Buress is both a comedian for the world and Chicago, so seeing him in the area presents lots of opportunity for in-jokes. (The one about the ridiculousness of being asked for an ID at O’Hare airport from his 2015 special Comedy Camisado comes to mind.) While he’s probably best known these days for his role on Broad City, he’s increasingly building up his filmography and TV appearances and has recently started a podcast, The Handsome Rambler, on which he’s interviewed Open Mike Eagle and Run The Jewels. But he’s funniest on stage.”