The Reader's Page

Arabella Speaks out…..

"The Wind" 1928

Disaster movies …….

……. those movies portraying the cataclysmic results brought about when Mother Nature or human nature runs amok.

There is no other form of theater that can capture the spectacle and horror of these events as well as the motion picture. Earth, wind, water, fire and pestilence become the superstars almost overshadowing the star-studded cast. These films can rivet the audience to their seats while, at the same time, catapulting them into the very midst of the experience.

The Last Days of Pompeii 1935

San Francisco" 1936

Disaster movies began in the silent era with films like “The Wind” (1928). But until the 1970s, the disaster was added to advance the story, not the story itself. In the 1930s, “The Last Days of Pompeii” (1935) and “San Francisco” (1936) lifted their subject matter from history and added created scenes so realistic that the audience felt they were really there. James Basevi’s special effects in “San Francisco” were later used in documentaries about the actual event, the devastating 1906 earthquake.. And, in 1939 “The Rains Came” won the first Oscar for special effects (E. H. Hansen and Fred Sanson) in a scene about a flood that almost washed away a town in India.

"The High and the Mighty" 1954

"The Birds" 1963

The taste for disaster films increased in the 1950s with “The High and the Mighty” in 1954 (the prototype for the 1970 “Airport” movies) and two versions of the sinking of the Titanic (“Titanic” 1953 and “A Night to Remember” 1958). And, while the 1960s used mostly nuclear testing and radiation to create the disaster films of that decade, we did have “The Birds” in 1963!

 

"The Poseidon Adventure" 1972

"The Towering Inferno" 1974

Then in the 1970s Mother Nature came into prominence again along with the frailty of the human condition. “The Poseidon Adventure” (1972) turned shipping upside down, “The Towering Inferno” (1974) put building codes into focus, “Earthquake” (1974) shook things up and there were at least 4 “Airport” pictures that kept us up in the air. The 1980s and the 1990s followed up with a volcano, a tornado and, darned if they didn’t sink the Titanic again.

 

"Twister" 1996	"Volcano" 1997
"Titanic" 1997	"The Day After Tomorrow" 2004

In my opinion, the most compelling disaster movies are rooted in realism…..no alien hordes, no scientific experiments gone awry or confrontations with the walking dead. Just events that could really happen when nature or humans spin out of control, leaving the audience with the chilling sensation that tomorrow or next week… it could happen to them!

 

"When Time Ran Out" 1980

 

A little mouse told me...

 

….David Niven was so upset that Sam Goldwyn took half of his radio paychecks that, when his sponsor for Kraft Music Hall gave him a gift David knew just what to do. He took the basket of cheeses and crackers, cut everything in half (including the basket) and sent Goldwyn his half.

….When Tay Garnett was about to direct “Trade Winds” he decided his star, Joan Bennett should become a brunette for the role. People had been remarking how much blonde Joan looked like dark-haired Hedy Lamarr and he wondered what the result would be if Joan went brunette, too. Here it is…! (By the way, Joan stayed brunette for the rest of her career).

 

The blonde Joan...

The brunette Joan...

And Hedy Lamarr!

…. Bing Crosby made sure someone was always co-starred with him, sharing the space above the title. He felt that if the picture was a dud he didn’t want all the blame.

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Ask Arabella...

From Dennis Hanrahan, Chicago, Illinois…. “In many of the old movies and Hollywood documentaries I have seen on TCM, the name Central Casting has come up. What was Central Casting?”

Well, back in Hollywood’s heyday of the ‘20s, thousands of applicants would descend on the studios looking for work as soon as an announcement was made that a picture was being cast. It became evident that a central bureau was needed to set standards and keep an adequate record of talent available. So, the Central Casting Corporation was created in 1926 to do just that. That way, if a director needed 2000 Orientals for a crowd scene, 100 field workers or just a couple of dancers he could place an order to Central Casting and get the order filled from a list of available extras signed up and ready. However, the life of an extra or bit player looking for a steady flow of work was still hit or miss. It didn’t improve until unions and guilds (the Screen Extra Guild and Screen Actors Guild) came along to take up the cause. Arabella

From Susan Reckner, Lancaster. Pennsylvania….. “ I just watched an old movie from the 1940 period called “Hitler’s Children”. It starred Bonita Granville. Was that the one that produced “Lassie” as Bonita Granville Wrather?”

Yep. That’s the same gal! Bonita was a child star of the 30s and 40s at RKO and Warner Bros. (where she played “Nancy Drew” in the detective series). But ironically she had played so many “brat” roles that during a showing of “Mortal Storm” (1940) some in the audience applauded when the Nazis beat her. She married Texas multimillionaire Jack Wrather in 1947 and left her film career behind for television. The Wrathers owned the rights to “Lassie”, “The Green Hornet” and “The Lone Ranger” and from 1958 to 1972 Bonita was associate producer and occasional director of the “Lassie” series. She passed away on October 11 th, 1988, a victim of cancer at 65. Arabella

Arabella asks…

…that you don’t forget the victims of the December earthquake and tsunami. They are still in desperate need of your help.

www.usafreedomcorps.gov