Wonderland Burlesque: August 2023

Thursday, August 31, 2023

Wonderland Burlesque's Let's All Go To The Movies: NURSE! Edition Part 4 of 7

Wonderland Burlesque's

Let's All Go To The Movies

NURSE! Edition

Part 4 of 7

Today, we have the fourth of a seven-part series of posts having all to do with films featuring nurses.

Nurses, those vital, in the trenches Florence Nightingales of the silver screen. Where would we be without them? Our bed pans full? Our elderly in need of a turn? Our temperatures taken and, at times, risen? Our Jello delivered?

Be they sexy, or conniving, whimsical or earnest, humanitarian or pure evil, candy striper or stripper... these nurses are there, in or out of uniform servicing their clientele with the best or worst of intentions.

So, let's sit back and take a look at these visions in white, these caregivers and occasional life takers as enshrined for all eternity Hollywood-style.

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Registered Nurse

(1934)

(A nurse with a secret is pursued romantically by two rival doctors. Her secret? She's married to a mad man shut away in an asylum. To save her husband, she must reach out and trust the doctors - who are the only ones who can save her husbands sanity.)

(This pre-code drama was produced by First National Pictures, a subsidiary of Warner Bros. Directed by Robert Florey, it stars Bebe Daniels, Lyle Talbot, and John Halliday.)

(This marked the first feature film appearance for Swedish born professional wrestler Tor Johnson, later of Plan 9 From Outer Space fame.)

(This was Bebe Daniels final role for Warner Bros.)

(At the age of 14, Daniels was hired by comedy producer Hal Roach to star opposite Harold Lloyd in a series of one-reel comedies, Lloyd and Daniels eventually developed a romantic relationship which was well-publicized; they were known in Hollywood as 'The Boy' and 'The Girl.')

(Daniels successfully made the transition from child to adult star in 1922, under contract with Paramount Pictures. In 1924, she played opposite Rudolph Valentino in Monsieur Beaucaire. She went on to become an established musical star; turned out she could sing! In addition to her screen work, she recorded a number of records for the RCA Victor label.)

Bebe Daniels

(By the end of the 1920's, musicals had fallen out of favor with the public. Daniels had become so associated with them, that her studio, Radio Pictures, did not renew her contract. Warner Bros., sensing an opportunity, felt she still possessed a great deal of box office appeal. They offered her a contract, recasting her as a dramatic leading lady. She did a total of six films for the studio. In 1935, she retired from Hollywood and moved to London where she enjoyed a successful radio, stage, and television career.)

Lyle Talbot

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Wife, Doctor and Nurse

(1937)

(A social butterfly marries a Park Avenue doctor and quickly comes to realize that her husband's nurse is in love with him. She understands that a physician is on call 24 hours a day, but given the number o hours he spends with his nurse, she begins to worry. In order to put an end to her fears, she takes his nurse to lunch. And while the nurse claims that love has never entered her mind and the doctor's wife is satisfied, it turns out all the wife has truly accomplished is putting the thought of love in the head of someone who'd never considered it. It's then that the nurse realizes that she is, indeed, in love with the doctor! Complications and hilarity ensue.)

(This romantic comedy was directed by Walter Lang and stars Loretta Young, Warner Baxter, Virginia Bruce, Jane Darwell and Sydney Blackmer.)

(Two years later, Young and Baxter would reteam for a sequel of sorts covering similar territory: 1939's Wife, Doctor And Friend.)

(Virginia Bruce was born in Minneapolis, MN. Early in her film career, she hastily married her co-star, actor John Gilbert. It was her first marriage, his fourth and baby soon followed. After divorcing him due to his alcoholism, Bruce went back to work, becoming a musical star. She introduced the Irving Berlin standard I've Got You Under My Skin in 1936's Born To Dance.)

(In the early sixties, Bruce retired from films, only to emerge from retirement in 1981 for a bizarre final screen appearance in an Andy Warhol production, portraying the title character in director Paul Morrissey's Madame Wang's.)

Virginia Bruce

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From Nurse To Worse

(1940)

(After a friend concocts a scheme where the Stooges to take out insurance on Curly and then Curly acts insane in order to collect, Moe and Larry put Curly on a leash and tell him to act like a dog. But their plan goes awry when the insurance doctor wants to perform a brain operation called a Cerebrum decapitation! The boys try to escaping - twice - leading to episode after episode of the Stooge's trademark brand of physical comedy.)

(This short subject comedy was directed by Jules White and stars The Three Stooges - Moe Howard, Larry Fine and Curly Howard. It's the 49th entry in the series released by Columbia Pictures, who released 190 shorts starring the delightful trio between 1934 and 1959.)

(The second escape from the hospital is primarily made with borrowed footage from the trio's 1937 offering, Dizzy Doctors.)

(The voice of the radio announcer, as heard by the dog catchers in their truck, was done by Moe Howard, using his natural voice, while the song on the dog-catcher's radio is the same one Curly Howard yodels to in 1940's Nutty But Nice.)

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What's Up Nurse!

(1977)

(When Dr. Robert 'Sweeney' Todd arrives for his first day at a new hospital, he's shocked to see the lengths the nurses go in order to 'care' for their patients. Fortunately, the good doc isn't a prude, and it isn't long before he's joining in on all the lusty, after-hours fun.)

(This British sex comedy was directed by Derek Ford and stars Nicholas Field, Felicity Devonshire and John Le Mesurier.)

(Felicity Devonshire was four months pregnant in the scene where she is thrown into the ice-cold North Sea, encased in concrete from the waist down!)

(A sequel, What's Up Superdoc!, was released the following year, with Christopher Mitchell replacing Nicholas Field as the infamous Doctor Todd.)

(Can be viewed on YouTube for free in it's entirety.)

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Death Nurse

I and II

(1987, 1988)

(Part one: a heavy-set nurse and her brother run a medical clinic out of their suburban home. They've a bit of a scam going, taking in patients, murdering them, and continuing to bill the state for their care. But the jig is up when a nosy county inspector grows wise to the pair's scheme and threatens to ruin this foul family business.)

(Part two, our favorite crazy killer nurse is at it again, as she continues to slay more and more of her clueless patients, turning them into rat food!)

(These budget slasher flicks were directed by Nick Millard and stars Priscilla Alden.)

(Millard got the idea for the story from a real-life incident in which a woman murdered pensioners, while continuing to collect and cash their checks at a boarding house she ran.)

(Both films feature the exact same Pepto Bismol-colored San Francisco house - director Millard's own home - most of the same actors from his previous films and the same aluminum foil-covered weapons for the close-up hacking/stabbing scenes.)

(Both films recycle scenes from the director's previous films: 1973's Criminally Insane and 1974's Satan's Black Wedding, passing the segments off as the title character's nightmares.)

(The second film contains very little new footage and runs at just under the 60 minute mark, while the first film is a little over 57 minutes long. Both can be viewed for free in their entirety on YouTube!)

(The title role was specifically written for Priscilla Alden to play. She can also be seen in the Criminally Insane films and was a popular stage actress on the San Francisco theatre scene.)

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And that's all for now.

Tune in next time...

Same place, same channel!

You're Getting To Be A Habit With Me - Bebe Daniels

from the 1933 musical motion picture 42nd Street

I've Got You Under My Skin - Virginia Bruce

from the 1936 musical motion picture Born To Dance

Wednesday, August 30, 2023

Who Did It Better? I Won't Last A Day Without You

Who Did It Better?

I Won't Last A Day Without You

Sometimes a song sure can take its sweet time finding its way up the charts. And sometimes the one who records it first turns out to be the one with the goods. That is certainly the case with today's Who Did It Better? selection, an odd example of a song taking a full two years to find its way to the top of the charts in the US, despite being sung by some true pop powerhouses.

I Won't Last a Day Without You is a song with lyrics written by Paul Williams and music composed by Roger Nichols.

In 1972, Richard Carpenter had learned of a new song by Williams and Nichols, who had already contributed We've Only Just Begun and Rainy Days and Mondays to the Carpenters hits catalog. It was included as a track on the duo's 1972 album A Song for You.

While it was released in the UK in September of 1972 as a double-A side with Goodbye to Love, it was not released as a single in the US until 1974. In the UK, the double-A side single reached #9, spending 14 weeks on the chart.

In the interim between the Carpenters UK and US release of the song as a single, I Won't Last a Day Without You did not go unnoticed by other artists.

The song's lyricist, Paul Williams included it on his 1972 album Life Goes On, and issued it as a single in 1973, though it only bubbled under the Hot 100 at #106.

Maureen McGovern, flush with success after her hit The Morning After, released it as a single in 1973. Her version managed to reach #89 on Billboard's Hot 100 and #14 on the Adult Contemporary chart in the US, while in Canada, her version made it to #12 on the Adult Contemporary. chart.

Diana Ross recorded it for her 1973 album Touch Me in the Morning, but it was designated as the B-side of the album's title track - which went on to became a #1 hit.

Barbra Streisand, who'd made the move to pop music in 1972, included a version on her 1974 album, Butterfly.

By the time the Carpenters got around to finally releasing the song as a single in the US, their 1972 album, A Song For You, had already spun off five successful singles, the last of which Top Of The World, was released in September of 1973. Their belated release of I Won't Last a Day Without You as a single in March of 1974, almost seems like an after thought - but a very successful one.

It ended up being the Carpenters' ninth #1 on Billboard's Adult Contemporary chart and did likewise in Canada. On the Hot 100 in the US, it managed to reach #11, while hitting #7 on Canada's pop chart. In addition, it also snagged the #1 spot in Japan.

And that's the whole story.

Now? On to the competition!

The Song: I Won't Last A Day Without You

The Competitors: Williams vs. McGovern vs. Ross vs. Streisand vs. Carpenters

I Won't Last A Day Without You - Paul Williams

I Won't Last A Day Without You - Maureen McGovern

I Won't Last A Day Without You - Diana Ross

I Won't Last A Day Without You - Barbra Streisand

I Won't Last A Day Without You - Carpenters

Paul Williams

Very pristine acoustic guitar intro. What's not to love? Along with the skeletal acoustic piano, it helps create an atmosphere not meant to overpower the singer. Smart move. Especially when that singer is Paul Williams.

I'm not saying his elfin vocals are without charm - there's something spry and lyrical to his voice. But he's not a showstopper. He's an acquired taste. Thankfully, he's just quirky enough for me to appreciate.

His vocals are right on top of the mix, keeping him in focus. If the powers that be are wise - they won't push it.

Unfortunately... those strings - which should ride beneath all - come in on the chorus at a level which competes with Williams. The then treat his vocals with a kind of reverb before doubling for the emotional punch of "I can take all the madness...".

After that? We evolve into elevator music. Oh, dear.... a damn flute. And... by the 1:48 mark, I am done. This is variety show schlock of the highest order.

And a damn trumpet. I don't even recognize the C-section, as they try to make it... what? Funky? Two things that exist in polar opposite dimensions? Funky and Paul Williams.

That said... it's a lovely, well-written song. Had the producers been smart, they would have kept things simple and allowed Williams to work his elfin magic.

As is? Both singer and song are overwhelmed a bit. Like many an ABC TV Movie of The Week - this has not aged well.

Treacly piano, over-brushed percussion, canned trumpet... and it just goes on and on.

Mr. Williams is right... there is no getting over.

Maureen McGovern

A very sophisticated string-driven opening. But McGovern has chops... she can handle it.

She has a lovely tone and is, technically, a fine singer... the type vocal coaches point to as hallmarks. Her articulation is exquisite - sometimes to the detriment of whatever emotional message she may be delivering.

Her weakness is on display, almost instantly. Listen to the coned manner in which she intones "long". The carry through, vocally, is admirable, but it lacks color, it lacks emotional motivation to even do so. In pop songs? There are words, phrases even, which are meant to be thrown away. Proper emphasis on each syllable? Not necessary. This is pop... not Broadway.

That said, the bed of strings she rides upon is a lovely compliment to her overall sound.

And she simply slips right into that chorus with the brightest sound possible, opening up those notes big time. Talented? No argument, here. That's a gift. Even saddled with this cozy Ramada Inn-style arrangement, she's spinning gold.

I don't like what she does with the word "true". It's one syllable, dear, not two. And she oddly coddles the word 'world', in an effort to avoid singing that 'r', calling more attention to it than she should.

Is that an oboe? Such a lovely sound. Very 'Carpenters'.

Now... I do love a singer who can play with an 's', which she handily does on "face" and "place". It's just enough of a give, that I can put up with her overly-mannered style of singing. Case in point? "Smah-iiiile." What is that? 'Smile' is also only one syllable, dear, not two.

Okay... so I could go on and on ripping on her odd vocal tics. Fact is... she has a lovely voice. The arrangement allows her to shine. It's treacly, homogenized, and a bit mundane, but that smile in her voice, that light she brings to it, saves the day.

That said - it's a very professional reading of the piece... but rather impersonal and non-reflective.

The weird xylophone stuff during chorus #2? Meh.

The C-section strikes me as overly busy, sort of early disco-like.

Third verse - listen to that articulation. That is amazing. It's like Julie Andrews - and that's who she reminds me of!

A brief aside - when it came time to find a replacement for Julie Andrews in the Broadway production of Victor/Victoria - guess who they tapped on the shoulder? Hmmm!

Okay... I'm done with this.

She's lovely. This is a nice piece of work, but not her best, but pleasant all the same.

The disconnect here is due to a lack of emotional connection and personal reflection. She's doing a bang up job of singing a great pop song. But she hasn't digested it enough to actually interpret the words she's delivering in such a professional manner.

Maybe she simply wasn't allowed enough time with the material.

Diana Ross

Huh. Rather upbeat and uptown. I keep expecting more cowbell.

I like how that guitar (?) sort of snakes around her syncopated vocals. It's fun.

Oh, I adore how she pulls notes like they are taffy. So smart. Sugar don't melt in that mouth.

She gets a bit swamped by the arrangement, which had been playing along with the lady's coy act up until then... suddenly they are a solid unit and while Ms. Ross is up to the task, the magic that existed up until then evaporates almost immediately. Still, she acquits herself quite nicely. Love her turtle-doving the word "true".

But then they double her vocals??? Why? It comes off so shrill.

This lady is all about charm and that sunshine that beams when she opens her mouth. She doesn't need to be doubled in this manner in order to deliver an emotional wallop.

There's something rathe Eastern Asian-sounding with the arrangement on the verses. I wish they'd found a way to carry it over to the chorus, because Ms. Ross knows how to toy with it perfectly. Unfortunately, they mess with the one thing that was working. We don't need heavy horns beneath. We don't need a back-up vocal echoing what she just sang. Dumb.

Motown. Full of dumb, sometimes. Here you have a unique, marvelous talent who sparkles effortlessly - simply let her! Don't make her compete with stale musical ideas. Dumb. Just dumb. It get's so shrill. And the strings are so hackneyed and unnecessary.

I like the C-section. Could do without the backing vocals, though. She carries it just fine. She is simply so damn charming!

Oh, my... third voice. Waterworks. There is so much vulnerability on display with this performer. I get verklempt.

I would love to strip out the arrangement and just listen to her sing. Sigh. The way she leans in to a phrase or a word. Magic.

She's brilliant. And at the top of her game.

The arrangement and production work? Uh-uh.

Leave that crap at the curb.

Barbra Streisand

This is from one of Streisand's most overlooked gems of an album. She was still coming to terms with modern pop and on this album, she pretty much tried to sample a little of everything. Her take on Bowie's Life On Mars - truly must be heard to be appreciated.

I don't remember this being a highlight of the album, but I sure like that intro. Very understated and warm.

In she wafts, effortlessly, butter melting from note one. Listen to how she caresses "long" and "strong" - pulling back just the slightest.

So far the arrangement is a nice bed of strings shored up with a rather by-the-numbers rhythm section... which she rides on top of easily. You almost don't notice them because her voice is so focused and clean.

The bell tones in the keyboard are nice. Everything compliments her tone. Like McGovern, strings and Streisand? A perfect match.

And like McGovern, she knows the power of that 's' on "face" and "place". The big difference? The tempo. This is so much more laid back. It allows the singer the opportunity to interpret and imbue. Had McGovern adopted a similar tactic, her version would have come off much less workmanlike.

Those strings sure come one strong. Fortunately, they've met their match. Going into chorus #2, I have to say... this is the one to beat.

Things, unfortunately, go a bit awry with the C-section, as she falls back on what she - at the time - knew best - and that's to rely on a sort of standard presentation which is entertaining - but not musically in keeping with this particular song. Maybe she reverts to what she knows because the arrangement is suddenly competing far to much - the way a full orchestra can when doing a Broadway ballad.

All the sincerity seems to have been sucked out of this. We move into verse three and - well, she's doing a very professional job of it. But all the emotional investment we gained in the first half has been lost.

"Rainbow-woo"? What? Stop that.

It's standard Streisand after that.

Damn.

Carpenters

So, I need to remind you... while we are listening to them last - because they didn't release the song as a single until almost two years after they'd recorded it - Carpenters got there first - as in, they were the first to sing it.

That piano opening? I half expect Anne Murray to start singing.

A tiny bit of backing vocal and... there's Karen. No voice like it. Yep, she does something really strange with "long" and "strong" - but I don't care. After listening to the other four, with each of them frothing up the meringue just a bit higher, this is like finally being served your entrée - meat and potatoes singing, I guess.

Producers are smart enough to trust Karen to carry it. Her voice is so well-rounded, with an intimacy which comes as part of the package. That ache? Can't be replicated.

Her articulation comes across as so natural.

Do we need her vocals stacked from the get-go of the chorus? Meh. But I guess it's part of the Carpenter sound.

Oh, Richard. Must you. Fluty crap and string segues. Argh.

Huh. This is not my favorite Carpenter song by a long shot.

I like Karen's sunny optimism. But this isn't her best work. She's doing such odd things with the tail ends of words, ones as simple as "you".

I could also do without Richard constantly reminding us that he's part of the duo.

The arrangement strikes me as pre-packaged, as if by formula. It was initially extremely beneficial and responsible for the Carpenter's success, however... later in their career, Richard would cling to it even as pop music evolved in a less homogenized direction.

Of the C-sections, hers is the least jarring. It's very gentle, those strings are beyond elevator music treacly.

And that's my main issue with this. It's not cheap, but it is cheesy.

In the end... their Disneyland sunniness sort of undermines the song itself.

Part of the issue is Karen - in a way her undoing is also her greatest strength. For how can a singer simultaneously sound so upbeat and so sad at the same time? Yet these two opposing sounds reside in a singular voice. Because of that gift, she is never comes across as shrill. Still, she fails to communicate what this song means to her, and, thus, what it should mean to us.

We close out with a lovely piano solo courtesy of Richard. He's an incredible musician, I'll give him that. It's too bad that he became so firmly entrenched in his singular musical vision, taking his sister hostage in the process - but that's hindsight.

At this point in their history, they were on the upswing, although, based on this recording, the cracks were already beginning to show.

The Verdict

My word. This one is indeed difficult. But I'm not going to sleep on it. For there really is only one choice and... it's not the one I originally had in mind!

We'll dismiss Paul William's version right away. I never understood his recording career. It seemed more of a vanity project than anything with real legs. Don't get me wrong - his contribution to the American songbook? Not to be trifled with. Very legitimate. But as a performer? His recording takes the whole singer/songwriter thing a step too far for me. It's a novel notion, and little more than Variety Show fodder.

Maureen's version? Lovely. But too rushed. And not lived in at all. Technically fine, even given her many vocal picadilloes and Broadway tendencies. The arrangement is much too Ramada Inn for my taste and it ends up doing a great disservice to the song.

Ms. Ross had a very credible take on the song and one can't find fault with her performance - she's absolutely charming. But when it comes to the chorus the arrangement and production team cast aside what works about the verses, choosing to fill in all the space beneath her with the most hideous choices. Oddly enough, her C-section remains my favorite, but that's because of what Ms. Ross brings to the table. File this under a lost opportunity.

I really thought the Carpenters had this in the bag. But their version feels a bit rushed. I also can't decide what Karen's intent is with the song. Muddling things even more so, we have Richard tinkering with this and that, threatening to embalm rather than bringing light and breath to the proceedings. In the end, it's simply not their best work. Nice C-section, though.

And that leaves... Barbra. She gets half of it right - so right, that she ends up winning it for me. Hers is the version I want to listen to again. The first and second verse and the first chorus are... sublime. Her voice shimmers and hangs in the air. I want to sprout fairy wings so I can fly and dance between the notes. That she falls back on old schtick? Well, she's still finding her way as a pop vocalist. It does get a bit hammy. But... what can I say?

It's Streisand.

Be sure to check out the rest of her Butterfly album, particularly her work on Life On Mars and Simple Man - both indications that she was headed in the absolute right direction.

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And that's enough of me.

Okay, your turn. Leave your thoughts and choice in the comments section. I do love to hear a differing opinion.

That's all for now.

Until next time...

Thanks for reading... and listening!