#the matchmaker (1958)

[cornaby]

I love you anthony perkins

[ennaih]

Every Film I Watch In 2023:

140. The Matchmaker (1958)

[normanbased]

headcanons for cornelius hackl running his own business !!

(I’m including Ermengarde and Ambrose because they’re in the original play, and I love/miss them so much that I’d like to pretend they were in the movie <3 under a cut Cus I wrote a lot)

Cornelius would be super nervous running a business by himself at first. When he was still head clerk at the hay & feed store, he always had a boss above him who he could take orders from, and an apprentice below him who he could dish orders out to. Having all the responsibility of running a business thrown in his lap at once was a little overwhelming.

Sometimes the anxiety of not knowing what to do or how to increase revenue would overwhelm him so bad that he’d just close the store without warning just to catch a break. Obviously, that didn’t help with profits.

His first venture was a small general store. It got some pretty regular patronage from locals, but because he didn’t specialise in stocking materials for any trades he struggled to get consistent profits.

He didn’t really have the funds to start investing in hay and feed stock, one of the few trades he really understood. It felt a little scummy to try and weasel into Mr Vandergelder’s trade too, especially when he was right down the street.

It was only after a passing comment from Ambrose one afternoon about the store being as quiet as a library that Cornelius had the idea to start stocking books. After the first wave of inventory sold out in under a week, he knew he’d found a potential foothold and committed to changing trajectory.

He was able to convince Ambrose to help him paint new signs and posters (for a fee of course) and Ermengarde was actually the one who approached Cornelius to ask if she could help to organise the catalogue. She took really naturally to archiving, and the job was worth taking considering Ambrose’s commission orders were still rather inconsistent. It took a big weight off Cornelius’ shoulders and let him focus more on rotating orders and working on finances.

The store mostly made its gains in reader’s digests and novels, but books about travel, warfare, and romance were also big sellers. Cornelius started sending Ermengarde and Barnaby off into New York regularly to bring in requested orders, which boosted popularity even more. People really appreciated being able to order in books instead of needing to take trips to New York themselves.

The store got a lot more clientele once they started specialising in books, and even more so when the non-fiction options were expanded. Cornelius had real-life scientists coming into his store looking for the latest textbooks. Even budding local authors and poets started poking their heads in to see what new publications from New York were available. Eventually he realised that he could coax even more patronage by offering more practical services.

Barnaby would always be on call to run over and help out if things got busy. The little guy would run himself dizzy between the hay & feed store and Cornelius’ place, and eventually when Mr Vandergelder took on a few more apprentices, he let Barnaby split his hours between the two stores more fairly.

Cornelius formulated a really good plan for expanding the bookstore’s horizons, so he recruited Barnaby onto his planning team (who was always eager to do weekend work) and the two of them got busy studying the art of bookbinding. Once they’d cracked the trade, Cornelius took a big risk and splashed a lot of revenue on some rather expensive Caligraph typewriters - five or six of them :]

Soon enough, the bookbinding gig developed into an independent publishing outlet where people could pay an hourly rate to use the typewriters, and a service fee for optional bookbinding. When the option opened up for customers to stock their own books on a “local publications” shelf, the store’s popularity absolutely skyrocketed.

Cornelius’ confidence got a lot better once the store found its niche, and it gave him time to even whittle away at some mediocre poetry. He put it on the shelf under different pseudonyms and freaked OUT when people actually started buying it.

He enjoys doing the practical work of bookbinding and copying a lot more than the finance side of things, so I think after a while he brings someone in to be his accountant. Before then though I can just imagine him sat at a desk calculating taxes by candle light with his glasses on <3 trying and failing not to fall asleep.

It really helps that his gaggle of friends were eager to work for/with him too, so he isn’t lugging equipment and leather sheets and massive hardback volumes around all by himself. He has Barnaby carry most of it for him, obviously.

Oh, and on lunch hour? All of them head over to the hay & feed store for snacks and sandwiches with Horace and Dolly :]] Horace shares his autobiography drafts with Cornelius all the time as well and keeps talking about buying shares in the business.

[payidaresque]

SHIRLEY MACLAINE as Irene Molloy ⭑ The Matchmaker (1958, dir. Joseph Anthony)

[citizenscreen]

Shirley Booth and Anthony Perkins for Joseph Anthony’s THE MATCHMAKER (1958)

[byneddiedingo]

Shirley MacLaine and Anthony Perkins in The Matchmaker (Joseph Anthony, 1958)

Cast: Shirley Booth, Anthony Perkins, Shirley MacLaine, Paul Ford, Robert Morse, Perry Wilson, Wallace Ford, Russell Collins. Screenplay: John Michael Hayes, based on a play by Thornton Wilder. Cinematography: Charles Lang. Art direction: Roland Anderson, Hal Pereira. Film editing: Howard A. Smith. Music: Adolph Deutsch. 

Like Lynn Riggs's Green Grow the Lilacs and Ferenc Molnár's Liliom, Thornton Wilder's play The Matchmaker is not performed much these days. The chief reason is probably that they were all made into hugely successful musicals: respectively, Oklahoma!, Carousel, and Hello, Dolly! And unlike George Bernard Shaw's Pygmalion or William Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet, which weren't superseded by their musical incarnations My Fair Lady and West Side Story, they seem somewhat naked without their musical adornments. Still, the film version of The Matchmaker, made three years after the play became a Broadway success but six years before the musical smash, retains a great deal of charm. Much of it comes from its cast: Shirley Booth as Dolly Gallagher Levi, Paul Ford as Horace Vandergelder, Shirley MacLaine as Irene Molloy, Anthony Perkins as Cornelius Hackl, and in his first substantial screen role, an impish Robert Morse as Barnaby Tucker. Shorn of its musical trimmings, the movie depends largely on the farce-timing of the cast, who frequently break the fourth wall to talk directly to the audience. For some viewers, a little whimsy goes a long way, and The Matchmaker has an awful lot of it. Its "opening up" from the stage version by screenwriter John Michael Hayes sometimes feels forced, and the ending depends too heavily on an unconvincingly complete about-face by Vandergelder. But director Anthony, who did most of his work in the theater and had only one previous screen directing credit for The Rainmaker (1956), keeps things moving nicely.

[perfectlullabies]

The Matchmaker (1958)

[papermoonloveslucy]

HELLS LUCY!

Lucy & Motorcycles

Lucille Ball was a motorcyle fan. She owned Hondas, Suzukis, and a Harley Davidson. In her personal ife, she rode on the back of Clark Gable's motorcycle. Lucy reluctantly gave up motorcycling after she hit a curb and her bike fell on her.

A GIrl, a Guy, and a Gob (1941) ~ Dot (Lucille Ball) disapproves of ‘Coffee Cup’ (George Murphy) riding a motorcyle. 

DOT: That’s how angels are made. 

“Liz the Matchmaker” (1949) ~ In this episode of Lucille Ball’s radio series “My Favorite Husband” Liz (Lucille Ball) is worried about her maid Katie’s romance with Mr. Negley, the postman (Jay Novello), because he always takes her to a drive-in theater on a motorcycle.

“The Sleigh Ride” (1949) ~ Mr. Negley decides to use his motorcycle to pull the holiday sleigh, but the load proves to much and the milkman’s old horse is pressed into service. 

“Safe Driving Week” (1950) ~ Liz and Marge (Elvia Allman) are pulled over by a motorcycle cop for driving too close to the curb. The policeman insists on driving their car away from the curb, but runs over his own motorcycle in the process!  Marge and Liz drive away, leaving the motorcycle cop in tears, clutching only his handlebars. 

This visual gag was brought to life on “I Love Lucy” in....

“Ricky Sells the Car” (1955) ~ Doubtful that Ricky will spring for their train fare home, Fred purchases an antique motorcycle. He weighs it down with all their belongings, just like the Pontiac in “California, Here We Come!”  The Mertzes are even attired in vintage leather riding outfits!  Viewers who know their motorbikes guess that it is a Harley-Davidson Model DL 750cc from about 1929.

LUCY: Ethel, are you seriously considering going all the way to New York on a motorcycle?  ETHEL: Well, Fred gave me a choice and this beats hitchhiking.

Oops! The sound of the motorcycle crashing happens before it is even off the screen. Also, Fred’s dialogue in this scene has been noticeably re-recorded because of the noise from the crash. In the above screen shot you can see the wire that pulled the motorcycle backward.  

“Lucy Hunts Uranium” (1958) ~ The Ricardos and Fred MacMurray get pulled over for speeding by a morotcycle cop. 

“Lucy Drives a Dump Truck” (1963) ~ And this policeman (Richard Reeves) drives a three-wheeled motorbike. 

“Lucy the Meter Maid” (1964) ~ A hybrid vehicle, Lucy drives a Cushman Minute Miser Truckster. These vehicles were especially created for traffic police who checked meters. 

“Mr. and Mrs. aka The Lucille Ball Comedy Hour” (1964) ~ Lucille Ball and Gale Gordon travel across the German border driving a Vespa motor scooter searching for Bob Hope. 

“Lucy in the Music World” (1965) ~ Lucy’s neighbor Mel Tinker (Mel Torme) keeps his 1962 Honda Dream motorcycle indoors. The question is - how did he get it up the stairs?

“Lucy Goes to a Hollywood Premiere” (1966) ~  A motorcycle zooms by Lucy Carmichael selling maps to the movie stars homes. This time it is the driver who is old, not the motorcycle.  As the old lady races off, Lucy shouts “Say hello to Steve McQueen!”  Two of McQueen’s favorite things were racing and motorcycles. He famously rode a motorcycle in 1963’s The Great Escape.

“Lucy in London” (1966) ~ Lucy Carmichael and Anthony Newley get around mod London any way they can - including motorcycle and rocket-shaped side-car.

The special was shot on location in London. Ball and Newley did the driving themselves! 

“Viv Visits Lucy” (1967) ~ Trying to track down a Danfield boy, they go down to the Sunset Strip dressed as ‘hippies’ and go into a biker bar.  The Police Officer’s motorcycle is a 1958 Harley-Davidson Duo Glide. 

Several other motorcycles are also parked on the street during the scene. Hamburger Hovel is home of the ‘Biker Burger’!  

“Lucy Gets Involved” (1968) ~ Tommy Watkins (Phil Vandervoort) rides a white 1962 Honda Dream motorcycle. It was previously seen parked inside Mel Tinker’s apartment in “Lucy in the Music World”.  

Yours, Mine & Ours (1968) ~ In the Lucille Ball / Henry Fonda film, the neighbor boy’s motorcycle is run over by the Beardsley’s station wagon.  

“Lucy and the Diamond Cutter” (1970) ~ Craig talks to Steve on the telephone about a part for his motorcycle. It turns out to be an air horn. Motorcycles don’t usually have air horns! Oops!

“Lucy the Skydiver” (1970) ~ Craig takes up spear fishing while Kim joins a motorcycle club. When Lucy sees her daughter in a motorcycle helmet she asks if she’s playing for the Rams football team. Lucy says she doesn’t want Kim to be another Steve McQueen.

“Circus of the Stars II” (1977) ~ Lucille Ball is the ringmaster and Peter Fonda performs a daredevil motorcycle stunt on a high wire. 

In a taped segment singer / songwriter Paul Williams goes skydiving. Once he alights (just outside his circus ring target) Williams and a dozen men waiting for him on the ground mount motorbikes and zoom away through the desert.

“Lucy Moves to NBC” (1980) ~ Scotty Plummer (Scotty Coogan) wants a motorcycle for his 18th birthday. He even tries to pawn his prized banjo to buy one. 

1999 ~ Postage stamps from Republic of Turkmenistan feature Lucille Ball in a diner with Carmen Miranda and Humphrey Bogart, looking at Marilyn Monroe standing outside next to a motorcycle. 

2020 ~ A Lucille Ball impersonator at Universal Studios Hollywood poses in the sidecar of a Royal Enfield motorcycle. The Royal Enfield brandis the oldest global motorcycle brand in continuous production.

[0zzysaurus]

how does one go about making gifs? ive always wanted to try but i have no idea where to start.

Well the way I do them is super basic. I make no-nonsense gifs with minimal to no editing - but I suppose that’s helpful if you just want to get into making simple ones!

I do all of it on iPhone, so it’s gonna be iOS specific, but as long as you have a decent screen recorder on whatever device you’re using, you shouldn’t need to download any videos.

Downloading videos is mostly done to avoid quality drops if your wifi isn’t very good. I personally screen record all my clips because cannot tell the difference between gifs made from screen recorded videos versus downloaded videos, and I just don’t have the time/space to be downloading full videos that can be potentially two hours or more. Screen recording also helps you get around copyright problems if you’re trying to download videos from YouTube. It’s a personal preference thing and if people shit on you for screen recording then they need to get a life.

The first thing I do is find a movie/show that I want to select clips from. I’ll do a quick example with a shot from The Matchmaker (1958) because I could do with some gifs of that movie.

First thing I do is find it in the highest quality I can, put my phone on horizontal & full screen (so you can get the biggest resolution you possibly can) and record a reasonable sized segment I want to make gifs of. Have some buffer space so you’re not fiddling with pauses, and record long enough to maybe get one or two good gifs out of a few minutes of recording.

Once I’ve done that, I trim the video to just be the parts I want to make into a gif. Usually something between 2 and 7 seconds helps to keep the upload size for Tumblr below 10MB, but the more colours/higher the definition the bigger the file will be regardless of runtime, so be aware. Always save as a new clip so you can keep reusing your initial screen recording.

I’ve got three clips here I wanna make into gifs.

Now I go to the best website ever, ezgif to actually rotate (crop sometimes) and convert video into gifs. It’s 100% safe and a shit load better than the native iOS gif making tools.

I’m sure there are better ways of doing this with editing software on your computer, but a) I’m too lazy for that and this works just fine for making gifs for your blog, and b) you wanted a beginner tutorial and this is something fun you can play around with if shit like Adobe AE is too daunting/expensive.

You wanna click this option:

And then use the following settings (the seconds are just the maximum length of the clip I chose, feel free to play around with those to shorten your clip more if you didn’t quite get it accurate the first time.)

The size and frame rate options here WILL make the largest file option available, but it will look the best. Lower them if you are okay compromising quality for file size, or shorten your gif if you are okay compromising length for quality.

The fire size here is JUST under Tumblr’s file limit. 10.00MiB will always be too big for Tumblr. I find optimising a gif often makes the file size BIGGER 🙄 but try it if you want. There are a lot of decent options here for a simple gif tool :]] I’m just gonna quickly crop the black bars out.

To download it, I always hit the save button and open it in View so it’s in its own tab. Then I just save it from there.

And that’s how I do it :]]

[semyazzayee]

Me trying to Decide if I Should Watch firts Hello Dolly Completed Because I LOVE Wall-e and The Scenes Where Hello Dolly Appears as a Metaphor for Wall-e and Eva Relationship or The humanity Before and I Have a Strong Feeling of Nostalgia with "Put on Your Sunday Clothes" Every Time it Appears on my random Playlist... Or if I should Watch instead firts The Matchmaker (1958) Because has Anthony Perkins on it and I'm Going to Have A strong Feeling of Nostalgia just by Seeing 1 second of Frame with him HOW CAN I SAY NO FOR ANTHONY PERKINS???

[nickyandmikey]

girl you’re gonna shit yourself

[normanbased]

hiiiii anthony perkins enjoyer, just out of curiosity what are ur next top films with him in it for mfers who watched psycho and are foaming at the mouth now- thanks in advance <33

I’ve answered similar questions before :]] but if I had to give my next top films I would say:

- The Matchmaker (1958) with Robert Morse also :]] very silly, very cute, quite gay, very funny

- Catch-22 (1970) he isn’t a main character but his role as the Chaplain is brilliant and I would also highly recommend the book because his character is far more important in it

- The Trial (1961) also a bit gay, he plays this role just brilliantly, deffo a strong favourite

- Psycho II (1983) not a joke, go watch it, it’s better than you’d expect

- The Tin Star (1957) Tony always wanted to be in westerns and he does a great job in this one, he’s quite silly and incompetent as the new sheriff that no one believes in

These are my top 5 aside from Psycho I’d say — let me know what you think of them if you watch them!! :]] and if you want more, I have more

[cornaby]

Anthony Perkins: Get yourself a man who can do both

:)

[angelstills]

The Matchmaker (1958)

[byneddiedingo]

Walter Matthau and Audrey Hepburn in Charade (Stanley Donen, 1963) Cast: Cary Grant, Audrey Hepburn, Walter Matthau, James Coburn, George Kennedy, Ned Glass, Dominique Minot, Jacques Marin. Screenplay: Peter Stone, Marc Behm. Cinematography: Charles Lang. Art direction: Jean d'Eaubonne. Music: Henry Mancini. Charade was dismissed in its day as a pleasant but derivative entertainment, with touches of Hitchcock and a bit of James Bond in the mix, a film that would be nothing without its star teaming of Audrey Hepburn and Cary Grant. It would also inspire other star-teamed romantic adventures with one-word titles, like Warren Beatty and Susannah York in Kaleidoscope (Jack Smight, 1966) and Shirley MacLaine and Michael Caine in Gambit (Ronald Neame, 1966), and Charade's director, Stanley Donen, would even repeat the formula with Gregory Peck and Sophia Loren in Arabesque (1966). But Charade has survived today as a classic when the others have mostly been forgotten. The star teaming has a lot to do with it, of course: Who doesn't want to see the two most charming people in the world together? Owing to Grant's genetic gift for looking much younger than he was, even the 25-year age difference between Grant and Hepburn only slightly tests the limits of what one can accept in a romantic pairing.* But the film also makes sly references to the difference in their ages, and wisely makes Hepburn's character into the more active one in initiating a relationship. Charade also has an exceptionally witty screenplay, with Peter Stone largely responsible for the final script from the story he and Mark Behm had been unable to sell to the studios until they turned it into a novel that was serialized in Redbook magazine. And it has a near-perfect supporting cast, including three actors at turning points in their careers: Walter Matthau, James Coburn, and George Kennedy. All of them would move out of television and into the movies after Charade, and all three would win Oscars for their work. And in Stanley Donen it had a director whose lightness of touch had been honed in MGM musicals, including the greatest of them all, Singin' in the Rain (1952). *Compare, for example, the similar age gap between James Stewart and Kim Novak in Bell, Book and Candle (Richard Quine, 1958). After that film, Stewart gave up playing romantic leads. Grant made much the same choice: Charade was his antepenultimate film: Although he would make one more, Father Goose (Ralph Nelson, 1964), that paired him with a younger actress, Leslie Caron, in his final film, Walk, Don't Run (Charles Walters, 1966), he was the older man who serves as matchmaker to young lovers -- a role that was based on the part played by Charles Coburn in The More the Merrier (George Stevens, 1943).