Attending TCM University

This year's 31 Days of Oscars, the festival hosted by Turner Classic Movies, is by far the best they've done. The clever folks at TCM came up with a University theme in which they grouped movies into courses and those courses into departments. Wonderful! This suits me quite perfectly. When I graduated with my Master's last year, I felt as though there was a big void left in my life. No more night classes, no more homework, no more bonding with other students, no more learning. I have since filled the void by watching, studying and writing about classic films, all of which has translated into putting more of an effort into this little blog of mine. So I think I may be the perfect candidate to study at TCM University.

You may not know this about me, but before I went into book publishing I wanted to become a zoologist! So I would love to go back to my roots and take this course:

Wednesday February 11th

Department: Zoology

Course Offering: Principles of Animal Behavior

• 8:00 PM Never Cry Wolf (1983)
• 10:00 PM Lassie Come Home (1943)
• 11:45 PM National Velvet (1944)
• 2:00 AM The Jungle Book (1942)
• 3:45 AM The Day of the Dolphin (1973)
• 5:30 AM Mighty Joe Young (1949)

So please do me a favor and attend at least one of these year's courses in TCM University. Click on the banner below to go to the official TCMU website. Also take the opportunity to sign up for the TCM Fan Community which is currently in the works. Besides, there are lots of fun things to do on this site, it's very interactive. So check it out!

I Heart Bobby Darin ~ Captain Newman, MD (1963) and the Academy Award Nomination

It's that time of year. The 81st Academy Awards are in a few short weeks and everyone is a buzz with Oscar fever. To honor the Oscars I wanted to talk about something very few people know about. Bobby Darin's Academy Award nomination. Yes, Bobby Darin, singer of classics such as Splish, Splash, Mack the Knife and Artificial Flowers, was nominated for his role in Captain Newman, MD (1963). This was the line-up:

1964 ~ Best Actor in a Supporting Role

• Bobby Darin in Captain Newman, MD
• Hugh Griffith in Tom Jones
• John Huston in The Cardinal
• Melvyn Douglas in Hud
• Nick Adams in Twilight of Honor

Bobby Darin would lose to Melvyn Douglas to that year, but I believe that being recognized by the Academy for his performance solidified him as a talented actor. Most people think of Bobby Darin as a singer or the other half of the Bobby Darin & Sandra Dee marriage. Some might even think of him as a TV personality who had a knack for entertaining. I think of him as an actor.

I was already impressed with his performances in Pressure Point (1962), State Fair (1962) and Come September (1961) . I watch If a Man Answers (1962) several times a year! He could play a loveable cad or a Nazi sympathizer. He could be funny and charming or he could be angry and disturbed. So I was really happy when Captain Newman, MD (1963) came out on DVD. I got a chance to watch what was honored to be his best performance on screen.

Captain Newman, MD is a wonderful little film. It's not driven by one plot, rather several smaller plots that involve the various characters. Gregory Peck starts as Captain Newman, head of Ward 7, a psychiatric ward at an army hospital. Captain Newman is kind and genuinely cares for his patients, who are all WWII soldiers deeply disturbed by what they've seen and experienced on the battlefield. Newman gathers the best staff to take care of his patients including Corporal Laibowitz (Tony Curtis) and Lieutenant Corum (Angie Dickinson). We follow them as they deal with three of the worst cases. There is Colonel Bliss (Eddie Albert) whose seen all his men die and becomes withdrawn and violent, Captian Paul Cabot Winston (Robert Duvall!) who feels shame for his cowardice as a POW, and Corporal Jim Tompkins (Bobby Darin) who survives a harrowing plane crash only to see his best buddy die.

The scene that got Bobby Darin his nomination was done in one take (according to David Evanier's book Roman Candle). Captain Newman gives Tompkins flak juice (sodium pentothal) which puts Tompkins in a subconscious state where he reveals the details of his last mission. Darin throws his whole body into the scene. He's lying there, eyes closed, his body writhing as he goes from happy moments to harrowing ones. It's amazing and heart-wrenching to watch (although my pictures look a little silly).

I highly admire Bobby Darin. He did so much with his short life. Knowing he didn't have long to live, he lived life to the absolute fullest and wasted no time pursuing his dreams!

I recommend that you watch Captain Newman, MD (1963). Below is the trailer of the movie from the TCM Media room. It gives you a little taste of the mixture of drama and comedy that make up this film.

And remember, that Turner Classic Movies is in the midst of their 31 Days of Oscars Festival. More on that to come! In the meantime, visit the TCM University for more details (click on the banner below).

Why I'm Not Participating in the Blog Appreciation Awards...

Premio Dardos, Superior Scribbler Award, I Heart Your Blog Award, etc. All of these awards are spreading through the blogging world like wildfire. I've gotten a couple of recognitions. A Premio Dardos from All Talking! All Singing! All Dancing!, another one from Here's Looking Like You, Kid and a Superior Scribbler Award from Robert Frost's Banjo. I'm very honored that these fellow bloggers chose to recognize me and I would recognize them right back if I were to participate.

So why am I being such a shmuck and not participating?

It's like if you were to ask a mother who had 20 children to chose 5 of her favorites. Impossible! I really have a passion for blogs. I love them and I read many. Most of what I read are classic film blogs, but I also read general film blogs, vintage blogs, cooking blogs and craft blogs. I get so excited in the mornings when I have 30 blog posts to read and I enjoy savoring them along with my morning coffee or breakfast. There are so many great blogs. Even the bad blogs are good. My friends on Google Reader are probably cursing the day they let me start sharing posts with them!

So although these awards seem like they would be including, I would feel like I would be excluding. I already feel like I exclude with the memes. If I say "tag yourselves", others may not feel like they are being tagged. But if I tag specific people, others may be offended that they weren't included. If I were to buckle down and chose 5 blogs for whichever award, in a sense I'd be forming a clique. It's sort of a message to others that you don't belong. Or what if that blog already has received that award once or twice, or was the blog to give me the award in the first place? Should I award that blog for the recognition they have given me or should I exclude them because they have that recognition already?

I think, that if you really want to recognize someone's blogging achievements, you can do it without a forwarded blog appreciation award. So in lieu of awarding 5 blogs, I'm providing you with a list of 5 things to do to give props to those blogs which you truly believe have merit.

1. Read that blog faithfully
2. Comment thoughtfully and regularly
3. Post a link to that blog on your blog if it's relevant
4. Tell others about the blog
5. Give a shout out to that blog in a post or in some other way.

I'm going out on a limb here. I'm sure I'll get some backlash. So please be kind and respect my opinion. And don't take any of this as judgement on anyone else's actions.

My last thought to share with you is that blogging is wonderful. There is a freedom in blogging that you won't find anywhere else. You can write what you want, when you what, how often you want and others will read it. You are your own editor. That kind of freedom can't be bought in the publishing world and in the blogging world it's free! And bloggers love to read other blogs and what results from that is a wonderful sense of community that we should cherish and enjoy.

[UPDATE]: I've received so much positive feedback from this post, I decided to leave it up after all. I almost didn't post this but I'm glad I did. Erica from Erica's Blog really enjoyed it and mentioned this in one of her posts! Thank you Erica!