(no subject)
Well, Doris Day died a couple days ago at the age of 97, which is sort of odd since I've been binging her movies over the last month. So, yeah, she's been on my mind a lot lately. Weird synchronicity. 97 is a really good run, and I can authoritatively say that she's in a surprisingly large number of great films.
Last night we did we watched ON MOONLIGHT BAY (1951) tonight for the first time, which is set in Indiana in 1915. It's one of Doris' early starring roles where she plays a perky teenage tomboy who starts to find and relish her 'feminine side' after a local college boy spanks her and SHE REALLY DIGS IT. Then they sing some romantic duets together and fall in love and yada yada yada. It was quite fun and light, but it was sort of sad watching it knowing she just passed away.
Watched the 1967 film THE BALLAD OF JOSIE tonight. And as author Tom Santopietro states In 'Considering Doris Day', "The Ballad of Josie is the most overtly feminist film of Day's entire career."
The Ballad Of Josie is a dramady set in rough and tumble 1800's Wyoming, before it achieved statehood. In the opening scene, Josie kills her shitty abusive alcoholic husband, and is almost hung for defending herself, but what follows is quite unusual. Josie the widow, trying to figure how she can raise a little boy all on her own, tries to make a go of it as a single working mother. And I don't mean as a whore or a waitress. No one in her town has ever heard of anything so outlandish.
When Josie wants to wear jeans, carry a gun, and raise cows, Peter Graves' character laughs at the idea, and then gets furious with her, telling her such behaviour is not proper for a female. Josie responds instantly, "I don't want to be taken care of! I am strong and able to do anything." The rest of the men in town are so furious with Josie getting out of line, they basically round up a lynch mob. This in turn galvanizes the local woman to riot -- leading to a full blown women's suffrage movement. Shit gets crazy, and yet it's still played for zany laughs, Doris Day style.
Who knew a critically unrespected Doris Day comedy had more of an overtly feminist statement than what can be found in many of the supposedly radical films of the late 1960's? Even in her lightest fluff films, Doris Day always represented women as confident, strong, intelligent and kind, and in this instance she precedes the feminist revolution that was about to take place in Hollywood. It's not her best film, but def one of historical value and definitely worth seeing.
Last night we did we watched ON MOONLIGHT BAY (1951) tonight for the first time, which is set in Indiana in 1915. It's one of Doris' early starring roles where she plays a perky teenage tomboy who starts to find and relish her 'feminine side' after a local college boy spanks her and SHE REALLY DIGS IT. Then they sing some romantic duets together and fall in love and yada yada yada. It was quite fun and light, but it was sort of sad watching it knowing she just passed away.
Watched the 1967 film THE BALLAD OF JOSIE tonight. And as author Tom Santopietro states In 'Considering Doris Day', "The Ballad of Josie is the most overtly feminist film of Day's entire career."
The Ballad Of Josie is a dramady set in rough and tumble 1800's Wyoming, before it achieved statehood. In the opening scene, Josie kills her shitty abusive alcoholic husband, and is almost hung for defending herself, but what follows is quite unusual. Josie the widow, trying to figure how she can raise a little boy all on her own, tries to make a go of it as a single working mother. And I don't mean as a whore or a waitress. No one in her town has ever heard of anything so outlandish.
When Josie wants to wear jeans, carry a gun, and raise cows, Peter Graves' character laughs at the idea, and then gets furious with her, telling her such behaviour is not proper for a female. Josie responds instantly, "I don't want to be taken care of! I am strong and able to do anything." The rest of the men in town are so furious with Josie getting out of line, they basically round up a lynch mob. This in turn galvanizes the local woman to riot -- leading to a full blown women's suffrage movement. Shit gets crazy, and yet it's still played for zany laughs, Doris Day style.
Who knew a critically unrespected Doris Day comedy had more of an overtly feminist statement than what can be found in many of the supposedly radical films of the late 1960's? Even in her lightest fluff films, Doris Day always represented women as confident, strong, intelligent and kind, and in this instance she precedes the feminist revolution that was about to take place in Hollywood. It's not her best film, but def one of historical value and definitely worth seeing.