CINAMAGIC - April/May '15

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inamagic

April-May

Tribute to:

Photographers:

Rich Sepcic, Faith McGary & David Bolduc

Leonard Nimoy

Our Feature Story:

Southern Warrior Sister Tribe

APRIL - MAY 2015 Photography: Richard Sepcic/Photo Stylist: Holly Qualman Photo Retouch: Salleh Sparrow Model: Jessica Lucido/Designer: Faith McGary Hair: Gregory Rodriguez/Make-UP: Damien Vasquez Stylist: Magan Ashleigh Brown/Location: Ikonik Studio’s

Photography and Designers; Richard Sepcic & Faith McGary-Sepcic Photo Stylist: Holly Qualman Retouched: Studio Tekstil Model: Alisa Matthews HMUA: Damien Vasquez & Ernesto Tepox Tapia Location: Ikonik Studio, Houston, TX

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Spring Love

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Hopping Down The

BunnyTrail

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hite W Dress

Photo by: Beth Roose MUA: Beth Roose Designer: Faith McGary Models Tori Brazier, Kelsey Elliott, Reagan Thompson, Ginny Posey, Lauren Lee

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April-May

2015

Cover Stories: Photographers: rich sepcic, faith McGary, p. 92-104 david bolduc, p. 168 southern warrior sister tribe

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leonard nimoy

Photo by: Beth Roose

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Cars, Fashion & Beauty Photos by: Beth Roose Desginer: Faith Mcgary Models: Ginny Posey, Alisha Baldwin, Anjelica Ridings,Caia England, Crystal Butterfly, Kelsey Elliott and Tori Brazier

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April - May 2015

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ARTICLES 138 Southern Warrior Sister Tribe 146 Horse Mania

174 28 HOLLYWOOD

SPOTLIGHTS

25 Kentucky Derby Top Movies

Photographers: 92 Rich Sepcic & Faith McGary

52 Classic Movies for Mother’s Day!

104 Rich Sepcic 112 D.G. Bolduc

54 Classic Movies 168 Hollywood

PARTY IDEAS/ RECIPES 260 Kentucky Derby Party Ideas 262 Recipes

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From the Editor’s Desk

“I think we need to do some deep soul searching about what’s important in our lives and renew our spirit and our spiritual thinking, whether it’s through faith-based religion or just through loving nature or helping your fellow man.”

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-Louis Schwartzberg

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ooks truly can be deceiving. Joy, love, energy, and vitality don’t end when your body gets old, but can continue until your last breath and beyond. Fame, fortune, and material things may look nice on the surface, but they don’t bring your heart and soul any lasting peace or happiness. This natural world we live in is both blessed and beautiful, but beyond it there is another world that is even more blessed and more beautiful.

We are only here for a short time. Let’s not be deceived by appearances then. Look at things with your eyes, but feel them with your heart and see them with your soul. Take care of your body, but know that you are much more. Work in this world, but always live in the Kingdom of Heaven. Do all the good you can, share all the love you can, and choose all the joy you can in this life. But know that an even greater life full of God’s love and light awaits you.■

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inamagic President Beth Roose

Editor Fina Florez Graphic Designer Fina Florez Contributing Writers & Photographers: Beth Roose Richard Sepcic & Faith McGary-Sepcic D.G. Bolduc Photography Address: 22777 Franz Rd, Suite 4212 Katy, Texas 77449 We are accepting images for the June/July editions of CinaMagic Magazine.. Picnics, State Fairs, Carnivals, Hot Air Balloons, Classic Cars and Pin Ups. All images are due by June 4th 2015. You must provide images that are 8.5x11 and 300 DPI.. In addition, all model releases must be included in the submission folder you provide via dropbox or wet transfer. I look forward to reviewing your images for consideration in CinaMagic Magazine.

Please send them to nationalpark4u@yahoo.com

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It is Kentucky Derby Time.... so in Honor of the Derby... top 10 horse movies

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Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron

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The Silver Stallion: King of the Wild

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Flicka

Black Beauty

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Hidalgo

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Seabiscuit

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Secretariat

Dreamer

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The Black Stallion

10 Phar Lap

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Derby Hats

Heads of Distinction

What sets the Kentucky Derby and Kentucky Oaks apart from other sports and entertainment events? Is it the world-class horses?

The Hollywood stars? The romantic Twin Spires? Well, first and foremost, it’s the hats!!

Part Southern tradition, part spectacle, the Kentucky Derby hat parade is much of what makes “The Greatest Two Minutes in Sports” one of the greatest people-watching events in the world!

From the fantastic to the sublime, there are no rules or limits when it comes to choosing your Derby hat.■

Model: Crystal Ellis Photographer: Wendy Bertagnolli Vizion Photography Photo Editor: Beth Roose

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A pril showers

Photo by: Beth Roose MUA: Beth Roose Designer: Faith McGary Models: Tori Brazier, Kelsey Elliott, Reagan Thompson, Crystal Butterfly, Ginny Posey, Anjelica Ridings, Lauren Lee, La Toya Moses

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childhood

Fairies

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Top

10 Mother’s Day Films

1.- Steel Magnolias As a tear-jerking chick flick that celebrates the relationships between a mother, daughter and friends in a small Southern town, this movie succeeded in portraying female characters, who, as its title suggests, are not only as delicate as magnolias but also as tough as steel, making you appreciate your mother and life. Definitely, it can be one of the perfect Mother’s Day movies to watch with your mommy. (By the way, for DVD owners who want to get these movies out of plastic discs and put to iPad, iPhone for watching on Mother’s Day conveniently, a DVD ripper software is must-have.)

2.-Terms of Endearment Terms of Endearment depicts a comedic yet weepy story between formidable mother (Shirley MacLaine) and daughter (Debra Winger). Nabbing five Oscars including Best Picture and Best Actress, this weepie will surely the way to go if you’d like to show your appreciation and love to your mom on Mother’s Day.

3.- Mamma Mia! If you want to a top notch Mother’s day with your mother, go to see this flick. Serving as a background for a wealth of ABBA songs, this story told us a bride-to-be trying to find her real father. So if your mom love ABBA and want to have a good laugh, why not watch this film for Mother’s day with your mom as the gift of relaxation.

4.- The blind side As an inspiring true story about a mom who forms a bond with a young homeless man bound for athletic stardom, The blind side will have you cheering with its mix of gridiron action and heartwarming emotion. So if you are going to give thanks to your mom’s unselfishness and greatness, I can say this is one of the best mother’s day movies to convey your appreciation.

5.- Stepmom Another tearjerker that stars Ed Harris, Julia Robert and Susan Sarandon. This movie revolves around a terminally-ill mother has to settle on the new woman in her ex-husband’s life, who will be their new stepmother. Well, don’t forget to prepare a box of facial tissue while enjoying the movie on Mother’s day with your mommy.

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Spend Mother’s Day cuddling up on the couch, enjoying one of the following 10 movies in your DVD player.

6.- Little Women Having been filmed several times, this American classic includes the highly acclaimed 1994 version with Winona Ryder, Susan Sarandon and Kirsten Dunst. I can say without reservation this is one of the most suitable movies for mother’s day to watch on the special day.

And you’ll appreciate both your mom and your sisters after watching it.

7.- August Rush A fairy tale based drama in which a mother, father and their orphaned musical prodigy son search to find one another. This heart-warming film does a great job of establishing the connection between Evan and his mother. August Rush is a wonderful classic that everybody must see at least once in their lifetime. To me, this is one of my all time favorite movies on Mother’s day to watch with my Mom.

8.- Changeling Another story about a persistent and devotional mother (Angelina Jolie) who fights to find her missing 9-year old son. This film is a solid, interesting story with great performances that deserve to be seen with your mom on this Mother’s day.

9.- The Sound of Music Revolving around a woman leaves an Austrian convent to become a governess to the children of a Naval officer widower, this flick won a total of five Academy Awards including Best Picture and displaced Gone with the Wind as the highest-grossing film of all-time. So if you want to experience a fairly good family entertainment with lots of warmth and great musicianship, this movie is the one you cannot miss on Mother’s day.

10.- Dumbo This is a timelessly classic family film, with the gorgeous handcrafted animation that’s a hallmark of early Disney films. Dumbo’s mom is really protective and loving to her son and is an important part of why Dumbo is the way he is. Actually, watching this movie on Mother’s day can be something of meaningful as it gives your mom a couple topics like racism and cruelty to the elephants to discuss with older children.■

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Classic Movies

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he only movie match-up of screen legends Katharine Hepburn and Humphrey Bogart, The African Queen is a classic adventure movie and a grown-up love story, with a little bit of travelogue and a dollop of wartime propaganda.

“A story of two old people going up and down an African river... Who’s going to be interested in that? You’ll be bankrupt.”

So spoke British producer Alexander Korda to American producer Sam Spiegel upon learning that Spiegel wanted to film The African Queen. Korda wasn’t alone in his skepticism. The novel by C.S. Forester had been making the Hollywood rounds since its 1935 publication. Columbia originally bought it as a vehicle for Charles Laughton and his wife Elsa Lanchester. When that duo instead made The Beachcomber (1938), a similar story, the deal fell through.

Warner Bros. then bought it for Bette Davis and David Niven, but that deal also unraveled before the property ultimately found its way to Spiegel. “It will give John [Huston] the kind of commercial hit he had when he made The Maltese Falcon [1941],” Spiegel boasted to The New Yorker before shooting even began. But Spiegel would turn out to be right: the roughly $1.3 million gamble turned out to be not only a critical success, earning four Oscar nominations, but a huge commercial hit, pulling in $4.3 million in its first release.

The African Queen (1951) is set at the beginning of WWI. German troops set fire to an African village, resulting in the death of an English missionary. His straightlaced sister Rose (Katharine Hepburn), now alone, is taken aboard a riverboat, the African Queen, by its gin-soaked Canadian skipper, Charlie Allnut (Humphrey Bogart). Allnut would love to sit out the war just drinking and smoking, but Rose convinces him otherwise; newly invigorated and desiring revenge, she persuades him to take her downriver where they will try to destroy a German U-boat using homemade torpedoes. Along the way, the unlikely pair falls in love.

The location shoot in the African Congo turned out to be one of the most difficult, most legendary, and most recounted in Hollywood history. To start, the company arrived in Africa without a finished script. James Agee had collaborated with Huston on the screenplay, but a heart attack kept Agee from flying to Africa for the shoot and from writing the film’s ending. Instead, Peter Viertel came in to help, and he later related his run-ins with Huston in his novel White Hunter, Black Heart, a thinly disguised expose of the making of The African Queen and its director who would rather hunt elephants than shoot film. (Clint Eastwood directed a film version of that book in 1990, playing the Huston character himself.) Hepburn’s entertaining 1987 book The Making of the African Queen also details Huston’s obsession with hunting. One day he even convinced Hepburn to join him, and he inadvertently led her into the middle of a herd of wild animals from which they were lucky to escape alive.

Other location problems included sun, rain, snakes, scorpions, crocodiles, tsetse flies, hornets, huge biting black

ants, and constant humidity which created mildew everywhere. Further, the African Queen’s engine had problems, rope would get tangled in its propellers, sound from the generator would interfere with shots. One night the Queen sank, and it took three days to raise the boat and get it ready again. There also were no toilets except the outhouse back at camp. The food was OK but the dishes were washed in infected river water, and virtually everyone in the cast and crew got sick - except for Bogart and Huston, which they attributed to the fact that they basically lived on imported Scotch. Bogart later said, “All I ate was baked beans, canned asparagus and Scotch whiskey. Whenever a fly bit Huston or me, it dropped dead.”

But in Hepburn’s memoir, the shoot nonetheless comes off as a grand adventure, led by John Huston, a man with a strong but odd personality. Hepburn was frustrated with Huston’s lack of interest in discussing the script - which Hepburn thought had major problems - before leaving for Africa. Finally he “ambled” up to her hut one morning and began to talk the script over with her. “We had long and amiable arguments,” wrote Hepburn. “Nothing much was done, really, and I seemed to be happy. I found that I could be quite honest with John about what I thought, and I also found that where I had good ideas he would take them. Where I was just worrying and confusing the issue, he would say, ‘Let it alone.’”

As Hepburn found out from Bogart, Huston’s nickname was “the Monster” for the way he tended to treat people around him. He enjoyed seeing his actors suffer, it seemed. Simply deciding to shoot in the Congo was one way of torturing everybody. Another example was the scene in which Bogart finds his body entirely covered with leeches (This was actually shot in the studio in London).

Bogart insisted on using rubber leeches. Huston refused, and brought a leech-breeder to the studio with a tank full of them. This made Bogart queasy and nervous - qualities Huston wanted for his close-ups. Ultimately, rubber leeches were placed on Bogart, and a close-up of a real leech was shot on the breeder’s chest. Hepburn observed these kinds of incidents, and later wrote of Huston, “I never did see him go to the outhouse. Maybe he never did. Wouldn’t surprise me a bit. Would explain a great deal.”

Still, for all Huston’s oddities and the pranks that he and Bogart pulled on Hepburn (such as writing dirty words in soap on her mirror), she came to respect his talent deeply. One episode in particular won her over for good. The director had been dissatisfied with Hepburn’s performance, finding it too serious-minded. He came calling at her hut one day and suggested that she model her performance on Eleanor Roosevelt - to put on her “society smile” in the face of all adversity. Huston left the hut, and Hepburn sat for a moment before deciding, “that is the goddamnedest best piece of direction I have ever heard.” Hepburn, Bogart, Huston and Agee went on to earn Oscar® nominations, and Bogart won the Best Actor Academy Award® for the first and only time in his career.■ cinamagic APRIL - MAY 2015

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he imposing Victorian house on San Francisco’s Telegraph Hill, where Victoria Kowelska once thought she would find peace, is now up for sale. Victoria remembers how her story began, eleven years earlier in 1939, when the German army left her home near Warsaw, Poland in ruins: Her husband died in the siege, and Vicky became one of thousands herded into concentration camps. At the camp at Belsen, Germany, Vicky becomes friends with another Pole, Karin Dernakova, a sickly, frail woman, who shares her life story with Vicky. Karin doubts that she will ever again see her son Christopher, whom she smuggled out of Poland to the United States just before the war began. After Vicky protects Karin from another prisoner’s attempted theft, Karin invites her to San Francisco to live with her and Chris in the big house belonging to her aunt Sophie, a Polish noble who emigrated to the United States in 1904. Karin dies three days before the camp is liberated, however, and because Karin had not seen her aunt since she was a little girl, Vicky decides to impersonate her. At a displaced persons camp, Vicky sends a cable to Sophie, but receives a reply from Joseph C. Callahan, an attorney in New York, informing her that Sophie is dead. Although her hopes are diminished, Vicky perseveres, and in 1950 reaches New York on a United Nations refugee ship. At Callahan’s office, she meets Alan Spender, a relative of Aunt Sophie by marriage, who adopted Chris after her death, believing that Chris’s parents also had died. Callahan reveals that Sophie left her valuable estate to Chris, with Alan as guardian, and says he has doubts concerning Vicky’s claim to be Karin.

When Vicky vows to fight, Alan, admiring her resolve, invites her to dinner and during the next two weeks, woos her. Feeling that her best chance for safety is to be married to an American, Vicky accepts Alan’s proposal and goes to San Francisco as his wife. Vicky soon suspects that something is wrong in the house, although she is comforted by the friendship of estate lawyer Marc Bennett, who recognizes Vicky as a refugee he questioned years earlier when he was in the army. While playing catch with Chris one day, Vicky discovers an abandoned, damaged playhouse. Vicky then searches for Margaret, Chris’s governess, to ask about the playhouse and, not finding her in her room, is examining a locked album when Margaret enters. Margaret states that Aunt Sophie gave her the album and calls Vicky an intruder. Vicky gives Margaret notice to leave, but when Alan returns home, he refuses to fire her. At the playhouse, Vicky discovers an

extremely dangerous hole in the floor leading to a steep drop to a street below. When Alan enters and chillingly questions her, she backs up in fear and falls through the hole, but he rescues her. Although he tries to comfort her, her suspicions about him increase. One day, as Vicky prepares to go out with Chris, Margaret stops them, saying that Chris has not cleaned his room. Vicky drives off by herself, and when she steps on the brake while on a steep hill, she discovers she cannot stop her car. Vicky barely manages to save herself, then calls Marc and tells him that Alan tried to kill her and Chris in order to get control of the estate. Marc doubts her, but promises to investigate, and after he confesses his love for her, she reveals her real identity. Having seen Belsen himself, Marc understands her attempt to seek a better life, but feels that her guilty conscience has led her to distort events into unwarranted suspicions about Alan. Later, while home alone, Vicky pries open the album in Margaret’s room and finds Aunt Sophie’s obituary, stating that her death occurred a few days after the date of the cable sent to her in 1945. Alan surprises her, and later that night, takes the phone off the hook in the library, then fixes a glass of orange juice for Vicky in the bedroom. When she starts to go to the library for a book, he goes instead, and upon returning, encourages her to drink the juice. When she says that earlier it tasted bitter, he pours himself a glass from the pitcher and drinks it, then says it tastes fine and she drinks hers. After Vicky accuses him of killing Aunt Sophie, in addition to trying to kill her and Chris, Alan reveals he has put a large dose of a sedative into her glass of juice.

Aghast, Vicky informs Alan that he has drunk the contaminated juice himself, for when he left to get her book, she poured herself a different glass and poured the juice from the first glass back into the pitcher. Now sweating profusely, Alan tells Margaret that Vicky has poisoned him and asks her to call a doctor, explaining that the receiver in the library is off the hook. When Alan confesses to trying to kill Chris, but says he did it so they could be together again, Margaret, who loves the boy, informs him the line is dead. The police arrive and find Alan dead, and although Vicky tries to defend Margaret for not calling a doctor, the police take her away for questioning. Marc takes Vicky and Chris from the house to his mother’s home, but before leaving, Vicky stands in front of Aunt Sophie’s portrait.

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n overlooked charmer of a comedy, 20th-Century-Fox’s It Happens Every Spring (1949) opens with a mock-sappy duet of the title song played over credits and a series of well-executed cartoony drawings of animals frolicking amorously in the springtime (boy sheep chases girl sheep, boy bunny chases girl bunny, etc.). The movie proper opens on a college campus accompanied by sprightly, silly music and a printed quote by Albert Einstein! This winking juxtaposition is a clear indication that the viewer is in for something different. For the record, the Einstein quote is as follows: “The results of scientific research very often force a change in the philosophical view of problems which extend far beyond the restricted domain of science itself.”

The man conducting scientific research in this case is Prof. Vernon K. Simpson (Ray Milland), a chemistry professor at a Midwestern college. Serious and energetic, Simpson knows that he must finish his doctorate and earn more money so that he can marry Debbie Greenleaf (the beautiful Jean Peters), a senior at the school who also happens to be the daughter of the college president, Prof. Alfred Greenleaf (Ray Collins). Prof. Simpson is somewhat older than Debbie he has been delayed in his studies by war service and by a string of “bad luck” but he is on the verge of discovering an important new compound a “biophobic” that will keep insects away from wood. A contract with a biochemical company will be financially rewarding enough that he could ask for Debbie’s hand in marriage. The many months of his carefully crafted experiments are literally shattered, though, when a baseball slams through the window into his elaborate setup of beakers and Bunsen burners. A hodgepodge of mystery components collect in the lab sink, and when Simpson retrieves the soaked baseball, he discovers that it is repelled by wooden objects! He conducts a practical experiment on the school’s diamond with jock students Schmidt (Alan Hale, Jr.) and Isabell (Bill Murphy) and discovers that, indeed, a dab of the solution hidden in his glove turns him into an unhitable big league pitcher! Simpson takes a leave of absence, travels to the training camp of the St. Louis ball club and convinces team owner Edgar Stone (Ed Begley) and manager Jimmy Dolan (Ted de Corsia) that he can win the Pennant for them.

Under the name “Kelly” Simpson becomes their star rookie, but Stone and Dolan assign catcher Monk Lanigan (Paul Douglas) to keep his eye on the new pitching phenomenon.

It Happens Every Spring is a one-note trick film, to be sure, but the trick is a very good one, and the playing by the leads is winning and the situations feel genuine and are varied enough to maintain one’s interest throughout. Several convincing, human details also make for a believable show.

For example, when rookie Simpson is put into his first real game, a wild pitch lets the opposing team score a run. His nervousness continues as he throws several balls before he finally finds the plate. The always-interesting Ray Milland plays the baseball-loving professor as an earnest, determined character rather than a cartoon or an absent-minded cliché.

Told he is thought of as a “screwball” by the ball club’s front office, he insists that he is “quite the opposite everything I do is perfectly logical.”

The laughs then proceed in a similarly natural fashion; catcher Monk is obviously rooting for the rookie he has been assigned to room with, and he has many of the best lines as he affectionately looks out for the new pitcher against opposing teams and the press. Monk also has his own run-ins with the solution; told by Simpson that the stuff is hair tonic, Monk uses it on his head and watches his hair dance a jig on its own to avoid a wooden brush!

The critic for Time magazine felt that the premise of the film was slight, although the movie ultimately worked for him: “Making baseball history is a cinch with the help of a moist pad concealed in the hollow of his pitcher’s mitt. Every time his wood-repellent ball comes steaming across the plate, it takes a neat little hop over the advancing bat. ...With remarkable skill, this single-cylinder fantasy has somehow been kept in motion by director Lloyd Bacon (Mother Is a Freshman, 1949) and writer Valentine Davies (Miracle on 34th Street, 1947), who apparently have a gift for making a fairly funny movie out of a downright silly idea. Even so, without the sly comedy sense of veteran Milland and the pug-faced antics of Paul Douglas, Every Spring could easily have struck out in the second reel.”

Bosley Crowther in The New York Times likewise finds the setup for the film to be one-note in nature, writing that “like a pitcher who has but one fast ball or one curve in his pitching repertoire, It Happens Every Spring... has but one cute idea. ...Somehow or other, [screenwriter Valentine] Davies and the people at Twentieth Century-Fox, which produced this hopeful little picture, made a woeful mistake. They assumed that the ludicrous spectacle of a batter swinging wildly at a ball which trickily dodges his bludgeon is funny innumerable times. They also assumed that a dumb catcher who doesn’t comprehend the pitcher’s trick can keep on killing an audience just by acting dumb. As a matter of fact, if anybody could make such a catcher bearable, that somebody is Paul Douglas and, fortunately, he plays the role. Mr. Douglas, who will long be remembered as the lummox in A Letter to Three Wives [1949], is delightfully droll for a short while, playing dubious, baffled and dumb. But finally the very dullness and monotony of the script puts even him in a bad light.”

Critics aside, It Happens Every Spring performed fairly well at the box-office. The Variety year-end wrap issue of January 4, 1950 published a list of the top-grossing films of 1949. Of the 92 films that promised to gross $1,500,000 or more in domestic (including Canadian) film rentals, It Happens Every Spring ranked at number 58, with an estimated gross of $1,800,000. (For comparison’s sake, the number 57 film on the list was White Heat, now one of the most highly regarded pictures from that year).

A little over a decade after It Happens Every Spring was released, Walt Disney Productions got into the habit of turning out shrill fantasy comedies with a sports angle, such as The Absent-Minded Professor (1961 basketball), Son of Flubber (1963 - football), and The Love Bug (1968 auto racing), but the slapstick in these films was broad and characters like Fred MacMurray’s Prof. Brainard were gratingly absent-minded. Disney would have done better to try and emulate the more naturalistic charms of Prof. Simpson and his “baseball with a hop.”■ cinamagic APRIL - MAY 2015

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he fanciful writings of Jules Verne have been a wellspring of inspiration for filmmakers from the earliest days of the cinema (i.e., the always celebrated works of Georges Melies) up through the present. Adaptations can be found in every decade movies have been made, but during the 1950s boom in American science fiction movies, several works of Verne received the high-budget treatment from major studios. Some of these were highly touted events, such as Walt Disney’s opulent and expensive 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea (1954), and Mike Todd’s all-star, epic treatment of Around the World in 80 Days (1956).

Bringing up the rear in the decade was 20th Century Fox’s Journey to the Center of the Earth (1959), a big-budget, family-friendly film with “something for everyone” and a generous helping of visual treats. As with the best adaptations of Verne, Journey to the Center of the Earth embraces the whimsy inherent in a period-style treatment and plays the situations with tongue slightly in cheek.

The film opens in Edinburgh, Scotland, in 1880, where geology professor Oliver Lindenbrook (James Mason) is congratulated by peers and students for his recent knighthood. One of the professor’s prize pupils, Alec McKuen (Pat Boone) gives Lindenbrook an interesting piece of lava. When the professor examines the sample, he discovers that it contains an Icelandic rock, despite the fact that the lava is Mediterranean. When he tries to melt the lava, it explodes and reveals a plumbbob which contains an etched message from Swedish explorer Arne Saknussem, who years earlier had sought the center of the Earth and disappeared. Lindenbrook sends the inscription to Swedish geologist Goetaborg for the translation, but Goetaborg travels to Iceland with the information. Lindenbrook and Alec also head to Iceland, leaving Alec’s fiancée Jenny (Diane Baker) behind. In Iceland they find Goetaborg dead, but recover instructions for passage within a volcano crevice to the center of the Earth. Goetaborg’s widow Carla (Arlene Dahl) will give the explorers her husband’s supplies only if they take her along. Husky Icelandic jack-of-all-trades Hans Belker (Peter Ronson) is enlisted to help the team; Belker also brings Gertrude, his pet duck. The team descends deep into the Earth, initially not knowing that they are being tailed by the evil Count Saknussem (Thayer David), a descendant of the original explorer.

Lindenbrook and his friends encounter a wild variety of danger and wonder in their quest, including flooding chambers of rock, a forest of giant mushrooms, a tumbling boulder chasing them through a narrow crevice, a spinning vortex of salt, enormous and angry prehistoric reptiles, a vast underground ocean, and much more, including nothing less than the lost city of Atlantis.

The producer and co-screenwriter of Journey to the Center of the Earth was the witty and talented Charles Brackett, best known for his long collaboration with writer-director Billy Wilder which resulted in such classics as Ninotchka (1939), Ball of Fire (1941), The Major and the Minor (1942), The Lost Weekend (1945), A Foreign Affair (1948), Sunset Blvd (1950), and many others. As a producer and sometimes writer for non-Wilder projects, Brackett had scored with releases like Niagara (1953), Titanic (1953), The Girl in the Red Velvet Swing (1955), and The King and I (1956).

Although it does not have the Intermission-demanding epic length of Around the World in 80 Days, Journey to the Center of the Earth stills clocks in at a longish 132 minutes. Even so, it is full of unexpected twists, interesting visuals, and incidents that lend color to the characters. Pop crooner Pat Boone does an adequate job as the juvenile lead and manages a few harmless songs which do not seem out-of-place; his presence adds to the “something for everyone in the family” vibe of the picture. The always-interesting James Mason adds distinction and gravitas by his presence; perfectly believable as the enthusiastic scientist Lindenbrook, Mason’s performance also often adds to the film’s light touch. As the determined Captain Nemo in 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, Mason was a no-nonsense, villainous instigator of mayhem in the cause of science (and revenge), but here he drives the plot in a different way, reacting to situations with an infectious sense of wonder and delight.

Make no mistake; some of the situations encountered by the band of adventurers in Journey to the Center of the Earth are quite ridiculous. The prehistoric dimetrodons on view are merely iguanas with fins attached to their backs, enlarged by high-speed photography and rear-projection screens. This method of creating “dinosaurs” had appeared in Hal Roach’s One Million B.C. (1940), and that black-and-white footage was subsequently reused as stock footage by legions of low-budget filmmakers needing a quick view of prehistoric animals. Requiring color and scene-specific battle footage, the producers of Journey to the Center of the Earth at least improved greatly on the look of the earlier Roach lizards. There are several other perils and wonders encountered that defy logical science, such as the vortexes of salt and the convenient “luminous rocks,” which light the way for the underground journey just as the lamps our heroes are using die out. These situations never feel like lapses in logic, however, thanks to the sly, whimsical tone established early on. After all, any story in which a duck becomes one of the supporting characters is, by definition, lighthearted in tone.

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scenes of characters climbing down treacherous pathways during their journey) is the evocative score by Bernard Herrmann. Celebrated for his music for the films of Orson Welles, Alfred Hitchcock, and the fantasy works of special effects maestro Ray Harryhausen, Herrmann wrote a superlative score for Journey to the Center of the Earth, and it remains one of his most underrated.

Herrmann wrote in the liner notes of an album (The Fantasy Film World of Bernard Herrmann, Phase 4, 1974) containing a suite from the film, “I decided to evoke the mood and feeling of inner Earth by using only instruments played in low registers. Eliminating all strings, I utilized an orchestra of woodwinds and brass, with a large percussion section and many harps.

But the truly unique feature of this score is the inclusion of five organs, one large Cathedral and four electronic. These organs were used in many adroit ways to suggest ascent and descent, as well as the mystery of Atlantis.”

In his exhaustive genre survey Keep Watching the Skies! American Science Fiction Movies of the Fifties (McFarland, 1986), Bill Warren praises the film for the most part, writing, “Journey to the Center of the Earth is one of the best SF movies of the declining 1950s. It isn’t so much of its era as just in it. It’s the kind of film that could easily have been produced, even on this scale, if the 50s SF boom had never existed.” Warren notes some of the movie’s flaws as well: “...Its delights are best appreciated on one viewing. The overall buoyancy of the film deflates when it is watched again and again. There’s a certain plodding quality to the picture, perhaps inherent in the plot, and some elements seem overly farcical. The mismatch between the constructed sets and the few scenes actually shot underground in Carlsbad Caverns becomes apparent on repeated viewings.”

Reviews at the time of release were mostly good, although a few critics, such as Bosley Crowther of the New York Times, panned it. Crowther wrote, “It’s really not very striking make-believe, when all is said and done...even those horrible giant

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lizards are grotesque without being good.

Their only service is to frighten little children who should be the best customers for this foolish film.” The critic for Variety was confused by the tone, writing that it “...takes a tongue-in-cheek approach to the Jules Verne story, but there are times when it is difficult to determine whether the filmmakers are kidding or playing it straight... If one is willing to accept the film as one big spoof, it can turn out to be a fairly amusing entry.” Jack Harrison raved in the Hollywood Reporter, “Juveniles of all ages and all lands will be fascinated and thrilled, their elders and caretakers will be entertained and amused... Many of the titillations bear a sharp resemblance to those in the classic cliffhangers.”

20th Century Fox must have found Journey to the Center of the Earth to be a big success for them, because they went on to partner with producer Irwin Allen to turn out other science-fiction and fantasy films that mimicked its basic structure, such as The Lost World (1960, based on the book by Arthur Conan Doyle), Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea (1961) and Five Weeks in a Balloon (1962, based on another Verne novel). Irwin Allen never displayed much good taste or subtlety though, so these films are markedly inferior to the Charles Brackett-produced movie they are patterned after.

Cast Producer: Charles Brackett Director: Henry Levin Screenplay: Walter Reisch, Charles Brackett (screenplay); Jules Verne (novel) Cinematography: Leo Tover Art Direction: Franz Bachelin, Herman A. Blumenthal, Lyle R. Wheeler Music: Bernard Herrmann Film Editing: Stuart Gilmore, Jack W. Holmes Cast: Pat Boone (Alexander ‘Alec’ McKuen), James Mason (Sir Oliver S. Lindenbrook), Arlene Dahl (Carla Göteborg), Diane Baker (Jenny Lindenbrook), Thayer David (Count Saknussem), Peter Ronson (Hans Belker), Robert Adler (Groom), Alan Napier (Dean) C-132m.■

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orth by Northwest (1959) is a suspenseful, classic Alfred Hitchcock caper thriller. The box-office hit film is one of the most entertaining movies ever made and one of Hitchcock’s most famous suspense/mystery stories in his entire career. One of the film’s posters advertised: “Only Cary Grant and Alfred Hitchcock ever gave you so much suspense in so many directions.” The film paired debonair Cary Grant with director Hitchcock for the fourth and last time: their earlier collaborations were in Suspicion (1941), Notorious (1946), and To Catch a Thief (1955). And Hitchcock also chose Oscar-winning Eva Marie Saint as the blonde heroine (to the studio’s and Grant’s surprise) - one of many such female characters in his film repertoire.

The film’s themes include many plot devices and elements typical of Hitchcock films (especially The 39 Steps (1935) and Saboteur (1942)) - predominantly the themes of mistaken identity for the innocent, ordinary, ‘Wrong Man’ hero. Another of its themes is false pretenses and survival in 20th Century America during the Cold War. [The Leo G. Carroll character in the film - the head of the American Intelligence Agency, was possibly modeled after two 1950s real-life figures: Secretary of State John Foster Dulles and his brother Allen W. Dulles, head of the CIA.] Arthur Hiller’s Hitchcockian Silver Streak (1976) paid homage to this film, with a similar train ride, dangerous circumstances, pursuit by police, and a mysterious woman.

The quick-paced, glamorous espionage thriller includes a tongue-in-cheek odyssey away from the city - a perilous adventure for a man who is normally sheltered by his wealth and prestige. A light-hearted and complacent hero/bystander (a successful Manhattan advertising executive in a corporate Brooks Brothers suit) is suddenly totally vulnerable, isolated, and caught up in an unexplainable series of events - after being accustomed to making up ‘the truth’ with slick ad copy for marketing purposes. After an abduction, he is victimized (mistaken for a government undercover Federal agent by a group of foreign spies), and then on-the-run as an implicated murder suspect (after being framed for a UN official’s murder). He is pursued (cross-country across part of the US) by a seeming conspiratorial group of spies, the police, and the FBI. The American is eventually forced to assume another man’s identity (George Kaplan, a non-existent US agent), while confronted with murder, mayhem, a world of spies and counterspies, a domineering and unbelieving mother, and an untrustworthy, mysterious blonde, femme fatale lover.

His final salvation occurs on the Presidential faces carved on Mount Rushmore - the most modern American image of all.

As with many of Hitchcock’s films, there were Academy Award nominations, but no Oscars. This film was nominated for three awards: Best Story and Screenplay (Ernest Lehman), Best Color Art Direction/Set Decora-

tion, and Best Film Editing (George Tomasini). [Some believe that the film’s premise was based on the famous 1956 international espionage case titled: “The Galindez Affair.”] The film also included a superb score by Bernard Herrmann. However, there were no nominations for Best Picture, Best Director, or Best Score, to name only a few.

Although much of the film was made in the studio, Hitchcock chose three prominent locales for brief segments of the photogenic film [Other Hitchcock films have included such famous locales as The British Museum, Albert Hall, and The Statue of Liberty.]: • The United Nations Building (New York City) (a hidden camera filmed the hero’s entrance up the steps into the building, but the UN lobby was a recreation) • Grand Central Station (New York City) • Mount Rushmore (in South Dakota) (there are shots of the exterior of the park’s monument, but the actors crawled next to a reproduction of the Presidential faces) Exciting set-pieces include the seduction scenes with steamy double entendres during a cross-country train ride, the seven-minute bi-plane crop-duster attack scene near a Midwest cornfield, the auction scene, and the dangling finale at Mount Rushmore, heralded in another film poster: From the killer plane in the cornfield to the cliff-hanger on George Washington’s nose, it’s suspense in every direction!

The director’s familiar MacGuffin in this film (the device or plot element that catches the viewer’s attention or drives the logic of the plot) is the secret information sought by the spies, and secondarily, the mistaken identity at the film’s start. Hitchcock’s classic is filmed mostly in brilliant sunlight (especially in the famous crop-dusting scene) in glorious Technicolor, unlike so many other thrillers or dark film noirs, and the film takes full advantage of the wide-screen VistaVision process.

The title of the film is an anomaly and a clue to the absurd, confused plot in which no one is what he/she appears to be - there is no sharply delineated N by NW on a compass - it is an improbable direction. Apparently, it refers in part to the directionless, surrealistic search of the befuddled hero/common man around the country for a fictional character. [In Shakespeare’s tragedy Hamlet (Act II, Scene II), Hamlet is quoted as saying: “I am but mad north-north-west: when the wind is southerly, I know a hawk from a handsaw.”] The archetypal hero only finds a resolution to his disorientation and troubles by traveling from New York to Chicago by train and then flying north

by Northwest (Airlines) to South Dakota and Mount Rushmore, a northwesterly trajectory. The allusion to traveling ‘North’ by Northwest (airlines) seems to be the most probable explanation for the film’s title. [At various stages of the script, the original working titles were Breathless, In a Northwesterly Direction, and The Man on Lincoln’s Nose.]■ cinamagic APRIL - MAY 2015

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merican moviegoers shifted their anxieties with relative ease from feared Axis attacks during WWII to the Cold War expectation of balls-out thermonuclear war with the Soviet Union. Financed by American International Pictures, Panic in Year Zero! (1962) came at the tail end of a vivid corpus of Truman/Eisenhower era fear films inspired by the detonation of the A-bomb and subsequent reports of its horrific radioactive consequences. Like the atom itself, this science fiction subgenre split into wildly divergent schools of thought.

While one imagined atomic radiation breeding monsters of sufficient scale to smash our comparatively puny metropolis to crumbs think The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms (1953), Them! (1954), Tarantula (1955) the other eschewed a big canvas to etch portraits of regular folk sitting out Armageddon’s cool-down.

Produced just a tick of the clock past Trinity, Arch Oboler’s Five (1951) stamped a template to which filmmakers would return for decades: a small group of strangers thrown by circumstance into a common cause to mourn the end of days and build a new tomorrow.

Roger Corman’s Day the World Ended (1955, remade in 1967 as In the Year 2889) added a monster to Oboler’s mix but changed little else while his Last Woman on Earth (1960) winnowed the number of survivors to a crowded three. By the end of the 1950s, the major studios got in on the act with Stanley Kramer’s all star On the Beach and Ranald MacDougall’s arty but thoughtful The World, the Flesh and the Devil (both 1959) as atomic fear films refocused from big bugs to the plight of the little guy.

Although they didn’t come much smaller than Jack Arnold’s The Incredible Shrinking Man (1957), in which the “monster” of the piece is an irradiated average Joe (Grant Williams) who reduces in size to a pinpoint to illustrate the individual’s diminished stature in the ever more depersonalized modern world, Panic in Year Zero’s Harry Baldwin (Ray Milland) is more illustrative of the typical pre-Road Warrior (1982) post-apocalyptic protagonist. Unpleasantly surprised by the appearance of a mushroom cloud over Los Angeles while on a fishing trip with his wife (The Asphalt Jungle’s [1950] Jean Hagen) and teenage son (a pre-Beach Party [1963] Frankie cinamagic APRIL - MAY 2015

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Avalon) and daughter (Spider Baby’s [1968] Mary Mitchel), Harry is spared instant death but finds himself cruelly cut off from the things that make him a man of importance and influence.

By 1962, Milland could no doubt relate to Harry’s feelings of isolation and helplessness. The Wales-born actor was by then thirty years out from his 1929 film debut and two decades past his Best Actor Oscar® for The Lost Weekend (1945). In his heyday a leading man of considerable charm but easy irritability, Milland suffered from baldness that would knock him back to second lead status by the 1950s. Deciding to become a film director and give himself roles the studios wouldn’t, Milland helmed five movies between 1955 and 1968, with Panic in Year Zero! likely being the only one that even most cinephiles can name-check. Harry’s intractability, misanthropy (“Idiots... fools...”) and resilience make the character a good fit for Milland, who knew all too well at this point in his career that when the going gets tough the tough get going.

However titanic their stakes may have been, post-apocalypse scenarios were a boon for indie filmmakers, who could decamp to the desert with a handful of actors and a skeleton crew and let dread of the unknown (“man’s greatest demoralizer”) be the special effect. Exteriors for Panic in Year Zero! were filmed at Chatsworth, California’s Iverson Ranch. Located twenty miles northwest of most of the studios, the ranch was a popular location for feature films and serials from the silent era through the 1960s, its rolling hills and unusual rock formations forming the backdrop for such TV series as Gunsmoke, The Virginian and Bonanza. (Not long after its use in Panic in Year Zero!, the ranch was bisected by the Simi Valley Freeway and has since been subdivided for condominiums and gated communities.)

Milland and director of photography Gilbert Warrenton (who had shot Paul Leni’s Expressionistic The Man Who Laughs in 1928) get good mileage out of their obviously limited budget, relying on simple opticals to communicate the destruction of Los Angeles and letting their actors carry the rest. In its depiction of a quasi-Biblical exodus fraught with peril, Panic in Year Zero! points ahead to such later doomsday scenarios as Cornel Wilde’s No Blade of Grass (1970), Wes Craven’s The Hills Have Eyes (1977, remade in 2006) and Danny Boyle’s 28 Days Later (2002), as well as to several novels by British writer J. G. Ballard, namely The Wind from Nowhere, The Drowned World and The Burning World.

The relaxation of censorious standards in Hollywood allowed the film a particularly lurid advertising campaign, which foregrounded the specter of rape in Panic’s “orgy of looting and lust.”

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Working titles for Panic in Year Zero! included the terse Survival and the pessimistic The End of the World (under which the film was re-released in 1965).

Although scenarists Jay Simms (whose The Creation of the Humanoids [1962] was an unlikely mix of post-nuke fantasy and Sirkian melodrama) and John Morton receive sole screenplay credit, the team borrowed heavily from two obscure but well-regarded short stories written by novelist Ward Moore. In Lot (1953) and Lot’s Daughter (1954), Moore repurposed the Biblical tale of Sodom and Gomorrah for the atomic age but the particulars were far from heavenly. Simms and Morton made use of Moore’s eye-opening first act, a snaking motorcade of automobiles fleeing a devastated City of Angels, but shied away from the author’s galloping cynicism and contention that family values would be thermonuclear war’s first casualty.

While Panic in Year Zero! not only dilutes and denies Moore’s thesis, Simms and Morton’s script is not without interest. Harry Baldwin’s argument that the particulars of polite society (from maintaining personal hygiene to giving thanks to “the Almighty”) continue to matter even as he compromises these principals to protect his family makes for potent, thought-provoking drama even half a century after the fact. The addition of a gang of toughs spewing antiestablishment invective through a filter of beatnik rebop adds an unfortunate kitsch factor that has made Panic in Year Zero! something of a Psychotronic whipping boy (the jazzy Les Baxter score doesn’t help either) but the sincerity and seriousness of the filmmakers is clear. To his credit, Milland doesn’t soft pedal Harry Baldwin’s innate contradictions and failings, nor does he offer his sympathetic but conflicted characters an easy out. In Panic in Year Zero!, the fact that the world ends is only the beginning.

Cast Producers: Arnold Houghland, Lou Rusoff Director: Ray Milland Screenplay: John Morton, Jay Simms; Ward Moore (stories “Lot and Lot’s Daughter”, uncredited) Cinematography: Gilbert Warrenton Music: Les Baxter Film Editing: William Austin Cast: Ray Milland (Harry Baldwin), Jean Hagen (Ann Baldwin), Frankie Avalon (Rick Baldwin), Mary Mitchel (Karen Baldwin), Joan Freeman (Marilyn Hayes), Richard Bakalyan (Carl), Rex Holman (Mickey), Richard Garland (Ed Johnson), Willis Bouchet (Dr. Powell Strong), Neil Nephew(Andy), O.Z. Whitehead (Hogan), Russ Bender (Harkness).

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he phenomenal success of the television series I Love Lucy had convinced MGM to star Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz in a feature film, The Long, Long Trailer (1954). It was also a hit, one of the biggest of the year. Studio head Dore Schary then offered the couple a two-picture deal, with terms highly favorable to Arnaz and Ball. The first film would be shot at the Motion Picture Center, Desilu’s studios, which would increase their profit participation, and establish the company as a feature film producer. In addition, Arnaz would produce the film, which would be a joint production of MGM, Desilu, and the Ball-Arnaz company, Zanra. In exchange, MGM would receive big plugs in the forthcoming I Love Lucy episodes in which the Ricardos go to Hollywood. In the show, “Ricky Ricardo” would be signed to star in an MGM film.

For the first film in the deal, Schary suggested a property the studio had bought in the 1940’s as a vehicle for Spencer Tracy and Katharine Hepburn -- about as far from Lucy and Ricky’s personas as MGM was from TV sitcom. Extensive revisions would be necessary. In Forever, Darling (1955), Arnaz plays a research scientist so involved in his work that he neglects his wife, Ball. Her guardian angel, who happens to look like her favorite movie star, intervenes to save the marriage. The

couple wanted Cary Grant to play the angel, but he was too expensive. The suave James Mason got the role, and played it elegantly. Two decades later, Mason would play a similar celestial creature in Warren Beatty’s Heaven Can Wait (1978).

Lucille Ball was well known for her loyalty to old friends and colleagues, and she hired one of them to direct Forever, Darling. Alexander Hall was an old boyfriend and mentor of Lucy’s from her starlet days in the 1930’s. In fact, she’d dumped Hall when she met Arnaz, but they’d remained friends. Hall had not worked much recently, and was happy to get the job. But one Desilu executive recalled that “they hired Al Hall, but wouldn’t let him direct.” As they were used to doing, Ball and Arnaz ran the show, and brought in I Love Lucy writers Madelyn Pugh and Bob Carroll for some uncredited script doctoring. All their efforts, however, didn’t help the film. Officials at Radio City Music Hall called Forever, Darling “substandard,” and refused to premiere the film there.

Instead, it opened at Loew’s State, where the newlywed couple had performed their first vaudeville act in 1941.

Reviews were not good, and Forever, Darling was a disappointment at the box office, barely returning its production cost of $1.4 million. By mutual agreement, Ball, Arnaz and MGM cancelled the second picture in their deal. Plans for Desilu to move into feature film production were dropped as well, and the couple went back to doing what they did best, I Love Lucy.

In spite of Forever, Darling’s failure, it left a lasting legacy to the Arnaz family - the tender title song, with music by Bronislau Kaper and lyrics by Sammy Cahn.

It became a family tradition, sung by Desi at anniversaries and other events, a tradition that endured long after the marriage ended. When he sang it at daughter Lucie’s wedding to actor Laurence Luckinbill, his ex-wife wept, and they hugged and kissed after the song.

Cast Director: Alexander Hall Producer: Desi Arnaz Screenplay: Helen Deutsch Editor: Dann Cahn, Bud Molin Cinematography: Harold Lipstein Costume Design: Eloise Jensson Art Direction: Ralph Berger, Albert M. Pyke Music: Bronislau Kaper Principal Cast: Lucille Ball (Susan Vega), Desi Arnaz (Lorenzo Xavier Vega), James Mason (Guardian Angel), Louis Calhern (Charles Y. Bewell), John Emery (Dr. Winter), John Hoyt (Bill Finlay), Natalie Schafer (Millie Opdyke).

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C ircus Models: Crystal Butterfly, James Dunn, Kelsey Elliott, Lauren Lee,Reagan Stevenson, Tori Brazier Designer: Faith McGary MUA: Beth Roose Photo by: Beth Roose

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C arnival

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PHOTOGRAPHER SPOTLIGHT: Richard Sepcic & Faith McGary-Sepcic

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fashion meets rescue

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Photography and Designers: Richard Sepcic & Faith McGary-Sepcic Photo Stylist: Holly Qualman Retouched: Methyss Design Model: Asia Brown HMUA: Damien Vasquez & Ernesto Tepox Tapia Location: Ikonik Studio, Houston, TX

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Photography and Designers: Richard Sepcic & Faith McGary-Sepcic Retouched: Methyss Design Model: Holly Savage HMUA: Amburlee Price Location: The Houston Studio

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Photography and Designers: Richard Sepcic & Faith McGary-Sepcic Retouched: Methyss Design Model: Magan Ashleigh Brown Location: Katy, Texas Rice Dryers

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Photography and Designers: Richard Sepcic & Faith McGary-Sepcic Photo Stylist: Holly Qualman Retouched: Methyss Design Model: Deanna Naveson HMUA: Damien Vasquez & Ernesto Tepox Tapia Location: Ikonik Studio, Houston, TX

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Photography and Designers: Richard Sepcic & Faith McGary-Sepcic Retouched: Methyss Design Model: Holly Savage HMUA: Amburlee Price Location: The Houston Studio

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Photographer: Richard E. Sepcic Photo Stylist: Faith McGary-Sepcic Photo Retocher: ST Retouch Fashion Stylist: Feyi Omodele HMUA: Amburlee Price Models: Holly Savage, Texas Inked, Collin Nelson, Neal Hamil Agency, Chase Patton, Neal Hamil Agency, Trey Lenzo

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esigning clothing is not about one person, rather about a group of individuals who become the “Village” to move mountains to help the Abandoned, Abused, and Surrendered animals that reside in Animal Rescues around the Globe. Designing garments has become an educational process for other emerging designers… the designs represents community based Philanthropic endeavors. The gowns shown in

this editorial are designed, and made with the intent to be featured at events that raise the needed support for Rescues. Other gowns are sent to Rescues directly for online auctions that are held at most rescues. Couture Poetry is the Brand Name for Faith’s designs.

They support animal rescues that are IRS 501 (3) C Organization’s. This year Couture Poetry will reach out on a Global Level.■

We support: Lone Star Bulldog Club Rescue: www.DFWBulldogRescue.org The Great Dane Rescue of Southeast Texas: www.saveadane.org The Afghan Hound Rescue of Greater Houston: www.houstonafghanhound.net/ St Tiggywinkles Wildlife Hospital: http://www.sttiggywinkles.org.uk/

PHOTOGRAPHER SPOTLIGHT: Richard Sepcic

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Photographer: D.G. Bolduc Photography Hair/MUA: Gabriella Bolduc/D.G. BolducPhotography Models: Colten Menninger, Dalton Menninger, Carter Walston, Jaxon fowler, Dominic meadows, Sidney Vaughn, Jesse L. Green as Captain Hook

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Southern Warrior Sister Tribe

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ne Event Can Change Your Life Forever! ~The Genesis of the Southern Warrior Sister-Tribe

By Princess Fumi S. Hancock, RN, MA, Ph.D., DNP August 9th, 2014 was an incredible day… a day when Princess Fumi Hancock’s dream of becoming a filmmaker came true… it was a day filled with so much love and joy in the air… a day when she waltzed into Celebrity Center in Nashville, TN, alongside her royal family, looked around and saw a plethora of beautiful people, particularly the women who were dressed in stunning, colorful robes… All dressed to celebrate Princess Fumi’s efforts as an African Oscar Winning Screenwriter and an Indiefest / Accolade Award Winning filmmaker.

What was most incredible about the day was that, as she walked around to acknowledge the women, many kept stopping her and saying, ‘I have a story to tell!”

Out of all those who stopped her after screening the movie, Of Sentimental Value” was Award Winning, a true country gal at heart ~ Singer, Songwriter, now a Vogue Model is Laura Evangeline Dodd. She was sitting, so I did not pay much attention to her stance. But our eyes connected and I felt an instant draw to her.

The Genesis: After the event, I began meditating to understand why the push towards these sisters. Marlas Triplett Sells I had known prior

The Southern Warrior Sisters

and was in attendance; Dawn T. Totty, I had equally known and was in attendance; Maxine Holt Donaldson came in with her family, and that was my first time of meeting with her.

I began thinking back to my own life story~ one of shame, guilt, depression, suicide attempt, eating disorder, bitter divorce, and financial ruin. Then it was time to hear the ladies stories. As I heard their stories, I knew there was a commonality~ that we were all strong women who after incredible hard times are still standing! Not only were we standing, we were standing with our heads up, and helping other women to do the same. But more so, we were individually praying for authentic friends… friends who are true sisters…those who will have our backs regardless, ones who can tell us when we are going wrong and applaud us genuinely

when great things are happening in our lives. All of our stories needed to be told but more importantly, we believed as we unveiled our own vulnerability to other women all over the world, we would be healing ourselves as well as others. This is the genesis of the Southern Warrior Sister-Tribe. A tribe dedicated to changing the world, One Woman at a Time, with One Story at a Time.

Who are the Southern Warrior Sisters?

Inspired by the award winning movie, Of Sentimental Value (scheduled for release 2015) and the novel (www.ofsentimentalvaluenovel.com) , five warrior women embark on a discovery & inspiring journey. With determination, dedication, persistence and tenacity to change their world one woman at a time. cinamagic APRIL - MAY 2015

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How are we accomplishing our goal?

These warriors are tearing down their personal veils and revealing their most vulnerable assets…inviting other women to do same, by taking the healing journey with them. Collectively, we have overcome obstacles in life, domestic violence, incest, abuse, divorce, mental illness, disabilities, lack of confidence, being the other woman in a man’s life, suicide ideation and so much more. Each story is unique but the common denominator in our lives is GOD. What is our hope and desire for women?

As our warrior sister Dawn Totty puts it: For women to welcome and allow healing in their lives; to be open & honest with their painful experiences or past and to know that they do not have to live in their own personal prison cell. But most importantly, women are to allow and pray for good quality relationships with women.

This is what the 5 sisters have found a tribe who lives each other dearly; who supports each other with any squirms; who are there for each other and allow each other be just who they are called to be, without judgment. This is the essence of an authentic “tribe” and the core of The Southern Warrior Sister-Tribe.

Our Southern Songbird Laura Dodd says this: That there is strength in numbers; we’ve all had challenges to overcome. Therefore, we should all strive to guide our audience to never give up.

Solidarity and authenticity is the fabric of our tribe and one we are teaching others to strive for.

Here is our preacher-Teacher-sister, Marlas Triplett Sells in her own very unique voice: I pray that the women (and men) who listen to the Southern Warrior Sister Tribe

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Show take away freedom. I hope they see that we are 5 women who through our own trials, tribulations, mistakes and falls have found freedom in Jesus Christ and that allows us to be free from our pasts. My life has been enriched by these ladies in more ways than words can even express. We all bring something different to the table. We all have something to give the other.

As for our sister, Maxine Holt Donaldson, she is finding our way to taking great care of herself. Our warrior sister has spent most of her life taking care of others and this year, she breaks out by first being a part of a pageant event for plus size woman. TO TOP IT ALL, SHE CAN NOW CALL HERSELF A VOGUE MODEL AS SHE IS BEING FEATURED IN THEIR GALLERY. As for me, Princess Fumi Hancock_ born in the southern western region of Nigeria, West-Africa where my family has ruled since the 1200’s ~ my desire is to see WOMEN SEE THEMSELVES the way they were created: Powerful, Resilient, Overcomer, Strong, Bold, and Successful. And that they have the power to be successful in whatever they desire to be but more importantly, to seek their dream makers to make things happen. That is, women must begin to position themselves now for great success.

They cannot do it alone… They need a tribe to help them push their delivery of their destinies.

This is the reason why The Southern Warrior Sister-Tribe was created and the reason why all of my beautiful warrior sisters are striving to change their world, One Woman at a Time.

• Marlas Triplett Sells, “a Strong, Invincible, and God Fearing Woman” • Maxine Holt Donaldson, “a Phenomenal and Superwoman”

• Dawn T. Totty “Passionate and loads of Mischiefs” • Laura Evangeline Dodd, “is Drive, Perseverance, and Determination” • Princess Fumi Hancock, “Bold, Fierce, and Authentic” What I Believe to be True?

That the Southern warrior Sister –Tribe is an EPIC EVENT in history: • ONE EVENT Elects Who We Are; • ONE EVENT Molds Our Values & Beliefs; • ONE EVENT Charts the Course of Our Life Journey….

Good, Bad, or Indifferent…

• ONE EVENT Determines Our Destiny • ONE EVENT Can Change Our Lives FOREVER! The Southern Warrior Sister-trine is one event, which has changed all of our lives forever and are doing the same for those we come in contact with, through our radio show and our daily blogs.

Our Mission: As we share our life stories, we also remind other women that they are of Sentimental Value.

What Are We Up to?

OUR DAILY BLOG WEBSITE: www.southernwarriorsistertribe.com FACEBOOK: www.facebook. com/SouthernWarriorSisterTribe TWITTER: www.sistertribe.com OUR RADIO SHOW: Princess Fumi & Her Southern Warrior Sister Talk Radio: Every Saturday @ 9 AM CST – 10 AM CST THE TV SHOW: The Princess in Suburbia Lifestyle TV Show debuts mainstream (in 6 markets: Nashville, TN, Indiana, Michigan, Houston Texas, Philadelphia, Florida and will be featuring segments hosted by The Southern Warrior Sisters: www.princessinsuburbia. com for details.■

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Healed by the love of a horse: The inspiring story of a couple who set up a refuge for abandoned racehorses - and transformed the lives of troubled children by Helen Yeadon

Horse ania M

Model: Erica Corona (wearing yellow dress) Horse Farm: NAS Oceana Stables Horse Name/Breed: Emma Darling / quarter horse Photo by: Darwin Alberto

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W

e were feeding, grooming and exercising the horses on our farm one hectic Saturday morning when a car pulled into the yard. A woman wound down the window to talk to my husband, Michael.

‘We heard that you have children here to help on Saturday mornings,’ she said. ‘We wondered if you would have our daughter Sophie?

‘Her father and I are very worried. She’s 13 and has stopped talking — she hasn’t spoken a word for two years. She likes reading books about horses and we heard about you.’

Love and affection: The bond that develops between a horse and its carer can reap benefits for both parties Sophie stepped out of the car. She was sullen and overweight, with baggy, ill-fitting clothes and lanky, unwashed hair. She was hunched, as if there was a heavy weight pressing down on her.

Something inside me knew exactly where to take her. ‘Come with me to change the dressings on a horse called Darcy,’ I told her.

Darcy Day was one of 30 or so retired racehorses we had rescued and given a home to. She had come to us in a terrible state a few days earlier, saved from a neglectful owner.

Bony and with her head hanging low, Darcy’s coat was matted and discoloured. Her eyes were dull and streaming, her bones protruding through her coat, her hind legs swollen and oozing a dreadful yellow discharge.

Her tail was a tangled mass of wet hair and manure, her hooves long and overgrown.

Sophie started coming every Saturday and slipped into the rhythm of work on the farm, devoting herself to Darcy, laughing and smiling with the other children, but never joining in their conversations.

Darcy was clearly very distressed and had broken out in a heavy sweat. Her temperature was above normal, her hind legs were hot and swollen, and her skin had split in several places.

The vet gave her painkillers, antibiotics and anti-inflammatories, and Michael cleaned and bandaged Darcy’s hind legs as best he could, then bathed her eyes and put in eyedrops. But the poor horse seemed to have lost the will to live.

However, as Sophie walked into the barn, Darcy astonished me by going straight over to her and lowering her head to be petted.

‘She never comes over to me — and I feed her,’ I complained gently. I could tell Sophie was pleased. She held out her hands and Darcy put her nose into them.

Despite how ill Darcy was, she was able to make a connection with this silent child.

As I changed the dressings, I asked Sophie to help.

She seemed bright enough, finding the correct bandages or tubes of ointment, but however much I chatted, she never spoke.

When her parents came to collect her, she didn’t even wave goodbye.

Poetry in motion: Through caring for horses, children can develop responsibility and confidence The following Saturday, I was surprised to see her parents’ car pulling into the yard. This time Sophie followed me eagerly, and again Darcy came over as soon as she entered the barn, making a gentle whickering sound.

She didn’t do this with any of the other children.

I showed Sophie how to groom Darcy by feeling the horse all over with her hands, smoothing down in the direction of the hair.

Sophie began grooming and Darcy was enjoying it so much that her eyelids began to droop. She almost nodded off on her feet.

That’s a huge compliment from a horse, implying absolute trust, and it was yet another sign of the growing bond between them.

Sophie started coming every Saturday and slipped into the rhythm of work on the farm, devoting herself to Darcy, laughing and smiling with the other children, but never joining in their conversations.

Meanwhile, Darcy continued to recover. Her legs healed, her coat improved, and she started to take an interest in life. They were getting better together.

Something must have happened to Sophie two years ago that made her lose her confidence, and she got it back through her relationship with Darcy. Horses are powerful therapy.

Then, one day towards the end of the summer, Michael put his finger to his ear, indicating that I should listen to something. Sophie, who was around the corner from us, was speaking to someone on her mobile phone.

‘I was just walking across the yard,’ she said, ‘which is a long way from the stable, but Darcy knew straight away I was there and she started to whinny. She always knows when I’m coming.’

We were both amazed. Her voice was perfectly clear.

When her parents arrived, I called out: ‘Bye, Sophie. See you next week!’ and to my astonishment, she called back: ‘Bye!’ Her mother phoned us later.

‘What on earth did you do?’ she asked. ‘She’s talking again completely normally, as if she had never stopped.’

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and she got it back through her relationship with Darcy.

Horses are powerful therapy.’

This gave Michael an idea. We knew of a couple of organisations that used horses to help adults with mental health issues. We wondered if we could offer the same kind of experience to children with emotional, social or behavioural issues.

It was a far cry from our original life plan. We had moved to Devon, helped by a legacy from Michael’s aunt, because we were worn out from running a hotel in the Cotswolds.

The idea was to take time out, write a book and decide where our future lay.

Michael and I are animal lovers. I grew up on a farm in Wiltshire and Michael had previously owned racehorses. So once we found ourselves in a country setting with barns and fields, it was only a matter of time before we started filling them.

We began with a goat, then chickens, then a chestnut filly called Poppy who rekindled our love of horses.

On my father’s farm, we had taken in retired racehorses, so Michael and I agreed to give it a go ourselves.

Our outbuildings quickly filled with homeless horses, and we relied on local children to help us at weekends. Our money was dwindling fast, so we became a registered charity which allowed us to fundraise and move to bigger premises at Greatwood Farm in Wiltshire.

We recruited some fantastic staff who helped develop our Horse Power programme for children, inspired by that amazing experience with Sophie.

Children were awarded a certificate if they completed the course. They learned about animals and responsibility and, we hoped, gained confidence and skills as a result. They couldn’t ride the horses for safety reasons, but they could take care of them.

Some of the terribly disadvantaged children we were to meet hadn’t been able to express affection for anyone before and hadn’t had anyone to show them love either.

Sunny was the perfect horse for our plans. Slightly arthritic, he moved slowly but was placid and gentle. He transformed the life of a little autistic girl called Zoe who came on a school visit when she was 11, but at first was too scared to leave the mini-bus.

She shook with fear and wore huge ear defenders to protect her from unfamiliar sounds — some autistic children become distressed by new noises. She clung to her teacher and would speak only through her, hanging back when the other children came into the stables.

On her second visit, she was taken to see Sunny.

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stiff and can’t run well any more, but he likes nothing more than being stroked.’

She spoke to all the children but was watching Zoe, drawing her in until the girl shot out her hand and touched Sunny’s fur. This was real progress.

The following week, Zoe stroked him down his rump then nervously picked up a brush and began the sweep down his sides. Never was a horse quite so thoroughly groomed as Sunny was that day.

Week after week, Zoe came back and groomed Sunny. She also learned to deal with her fear of dogs, even reaching out to stroke Bessie, our old farm dog.

More remarkably, she began to answer questions in an audible voice instead of whispering to her teacher, and made eye contact with those of us she grew to know and trust.

Zoe no longer wore her ear defenders and, on her last visit, we watched as she skipped around the yard with the other children.

‘Before we came here it would have been unheard of for Zoe to answer questions,’ her teacher said. ‘Now she puts up her hand in class and volunteers information.’

We were still fighting a daily battle with finances, but word was beginning to spread about what we were doing at Greatwood.

We don’t work miracles, but we hear from parents and children of the enormous difference Greatwood has made to their lives. One mother told us it was like watching a light being switched on inside her son.

She said: ‘We’ve finally found something we can do as a family. When he comes home from school at the weekend, we can all go to the local riding school.’

Even in the few short weeks they came to us, we witnessed some wonderful transformations. We saw children like Bobby who had been abused in a foster home. He had attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and swaggered around swearing, but underneath he was sad and frightened.

He learned to stand still and calmly groom horses.

We were delighted when Edward, a young man with Down’s syndrome, came to us. He was such a hard worker and so naturally intuitive with the animals that we offered him a part-time job. Anna came to us after years of being abused as a child by a series of different men.

Understandably, she couldn’t bear to be near males, especially ones she didn’t know.

Helping hand: Legendary jockey Willie Carson presented a certificate to troubled teenager Amy With her brightly painted, manicured fingernails, she seemed an unlikely candidate for bonding with horses. But as she groomed and mucked out, cleaned out hen houses and swept up, she began to relax. With small steps, such as being in the same stable as one of the male

grooms, she was gradually able to chat and laugh with the different men who worked on our farm.

We know we can’t repair years of damage, but making any sort of difference to these children is why we keep going.

One of our biggest success stories concerns a girl called Amy, who first came to us three years ago when she was 14. I still have a vivid picture of her creeping out of the car, so terrified she was unable even to say ‘hello’.

Amy had had a difficult childhood, moving schools and being badly bullied. She slipped behind in the basics of reading, writing and maths, and when her family moved to Wiltshire, she was taken into care and separated from her siblings.

She was just seven. She was at a good school and had wonderful foster parents, but she was crippled by shyness and had developed a fear of strangers. She couldn’t buy things in a shop or ask for a bus ticket, and was behind at school.

Her only passion in life was horses, but she couldn’t go to riding school because she was scared of meeting people. Her teacher suggested she did our ten-week Horse Power course, so she plucked up the courage to come and meet our horses.

She was particularly taken by one of our elder horses, old Monty, and the stories of how he would protect vulnerable horses when they first arrived by putting himself between them and the others.

Sometimes children can see a mirror of their own vulnerability in an animal’s behaviour. Amy learned how to groom Monty and was convinced he liked music, so she would turn on a radio and sing to him as she brushed his coat.

Week by week she blossomed and was able to talk to Hilary, Michael, me and the rest of the staff.

At the end of her course, she was awarded a certificate by former jockey Willie Carson, and went back to school emboldened by the knowledge she had succeeded at something.

The following year, she came back and did some work experience before applying for a specialist horse care training programme. She needed a stable job for a year so she came back here, and it’s given us all enormous pleasure to see this girl flourish and find a proper place in the world because of her experience with our horses.

Of course it’s changed us, too. What started as a bit of time-out has taken over our lives. We have plans to extend the Horse Power programme throughout the country and, who knows, possibly overseas as well.

For retired racehorses to find a second life helping children who need another chance, that’s a winning ticket all round.■ cinamagic APRIL - MAY 2015

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Models: Kelsey Elliott and Tori Brazier Designer: Faith McGary MUA: Beth Roose Photo by: Beth Roose

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Elliott arm F spring on the

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S weet escapes

Photo by: Richard Sepcic Photo Stylist: Faith Sepcic Photo Retouch: Patrick Willem Model: Magan Ashleigh Brown Location: Blue Ribbon Meadows Farm, Katy, TX

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Hollywood

Leonard our feature actor:

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Nimoy

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A

fter roles on Dragnet and The Twilight Zone, Leonard Nimoy earned the attention of producer and writer Gene Roddenberry and was cast on Star Trek as Mr. Spock. Star Trek premiered in 1966 and turned Nimoy into a legitimate star. Nimoy always stayed active as an actor with other projects, working as a photographer and director as well, while his role as Spock on the television show and Star Trek movies over the years dominated his reputation. Nimoy died on February 27, 2015 at the age of 83.

Aspiring Young Actor Leonard Simon Nimoy was born on March 26, 1931, in Boston, Massachusetts. Nimoy was the youngest child of Max and Dora, Yiddish-speaking Jewish immigrants who had escaped from Stalinist Russia. The family settled in the West End of Boston, where Max was a popular local figure and enjoyed his life as a barber. The young Nimoy brothers — Leonard and older brother Melvin — were neighborhood fixtures, and sold newspapers in Boston Common.

The acting bug bit Nimoy early on, and he was just 8 years old when he appeared in his first play. He performed throughout his teen years at Boston’s English High School, and after his graduation in 1949, he attended Boston College. While playing the role of Ralphie in a collegiate production of Clifford Odets’ Awake and Sing, Nimoy noticed that another Odets play was making a professional, pre-Broadway debut in Boston. After seeking career advice from one of the play’s established cast members, Nimoy submitted an application to California’s Pasadena Playhouse. He made his way out to the West Coast using money he earned by selling vacuum cleaners.

Big Break: ‘Star Trek’ By the early 1950s, Nimoy was appearing in bit parts in feature films, and his first title role came with 1952’s boxing-themed Kid Monk Baroni. After a two-year stretch in the U.S. Army Reserve beginning in 1953, and marrying Sandra Zober in 1954, Nimoy resumed his acting career in 1955.

He began studying with Jeff Corey, a highly respected acting coach, and continued to land bit parts on television series and B-movies. During this time, he became a father of two; daughter Julie was born in 1955 and son Adam followed in 1956.

After carving out a niche with day-player roles on shows that included Dragnet, The Rough Riders, Sea Hunt, Bonanza, The Twilight Zone, Dr. Kildaire and Perry Mason, Nimoy’s featured role on a 1965 episode of The Lieutenant earned the attention of producer and writer Gene Roddenberry. At the time, Roddenberry was casting for the upcoming sci-fi series Star Trek, and thought Nimoy would be ideal for the role of the stoic, logical and brilliant science officer known as Mr. Spock. Roddenberry even allowed Nimoy to contribute his own elements to the character. Nimoy developed both the pacifistic Vulcan nerve pinch and the two-fingered Vulcan salute; the latter is reportedly based on a Jewish blessing. cinamagic APRIL - MAY 2015

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“Live Long and Prosper” Star Trek premiered in 1966 and turned both Nimoy and co-star William Shatner into legitimate stars. The groundbreaking show garnered a steady following (and earned Nimoy three Emmy nominations), but forged an active rivalry between its two competitive leading men.

“The truth is, every good actor has an ego,” Shatner said in his book, Up Till Now: An Autobiography. “I was supposed to be the star, but Leonard was getting more attention than I was. It bothered me.” Despite the show’s cult popularity, Star Trek closed down production and was taken off the air by 1969.

Branching Out After the series ended, Nimoy was snapped up as a series regular on the show Mission: Impossible. He spent the next two years playing the role of The Great Paris, a master of disguise and illusion. He left the show in 1971.

After recovering from a stomach ulcer, Nimoy resumed an intensive acting schedule, touring as Tevye in Fiddler on the Roof and adding made-for-TV movies to his usual roster of work. During this time, he began to explore other pursuits as well. Nimoy stepped behind the camera and established a reputation as a competent television director. Throughout the ’70s, he issued several volumes of poetry, and in 1975, he released his self-penned (and fan-offending) autobiography, I Am Not Spock, which featured a series of imagined discussions between himself and his most famous character. However, he never strayed far from on-screen work, and in 1976, he began hosting the long-running series, In Search Of…, a show devoted to investigations of the unusual and the paranormal. And in 1978, he starred in the hit big-screen remake of Invasion of the Body Snatchers.

‘Star Trek’ Films With the blockbuster success of George Lucas’ 1977 blockbuster Star Wars, America confirmed its love of big-budget sci-fi. At the same time, audiences showed a renewed interested in Star Trek as a result of re-run syndication. Paramount Pictures, determined to stay competitive with Lucas’ high-grossing creation, decided to capitalize on the Star Trek series, giving the green light to a big-screen version of Star Trek. After settling some longstanding financial issues with the studio, Nimoy signed on to reprise his role as Mr. Spock.

The film, Star Trek: The Motion Picture, was released in December of 1979. It was a box-office smash, and was nominated for three Oscars. Nimoy returned for 1982’s sequel, Star Trek: The Wrath of Khan, and even directed the third and fourth installments in the series — 1984’s Star Trek III: The Search for Spock and 1986’s Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home.

He had also co-starred in the 1982 TV film A Woman Called Golda, about Israeli prime minister Golda Meir

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(played by Ingrid Bergman), with Nimoy earning another Emmy nod for his efforts.

After Mr. Spock The following year, Nimoy used his brief time away from the franchise to focus on directing, and in 1987 he helmed the enormously successful Three Men and a Baby, starring Ted Danson, Steve Guttenberg and Tom Selleck. That same year, he and wife Sandra divorced. In 1989, he wed actress Susan Bay. As the Star Trek film series continued on, Nimoy and Shatner began to feel the strain. The two had put their contentiousness aside for the sake of the movies, but by the time 1989’s Star Trek V: The Final Frontier and 1991’sStar Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country hit movie theaters, Nimoy said his goodbyes to the franchise. The following year, he showcased his first screenwriting effort with Vincent, an adaptation of a former work that he directed and starred in based on Vincent Van Gogh.

Nimoy spent the rest of the ’90s honing his directing chops, voicing animated projects and appearing in the occasional acting role. In 1995, he released his second biography, I Am Spock.

Largely retired from acting, Nimoy embraced a new career as a photographer and a philanthropist. He also mended fences with his former Star Trek co-star, serving as best man in Shatner’s 1997 wedding to Nerine Kidd.

His 2002 photography book The Shekhina Project drew controversy for its depiction of Jewish themes, and his equally provocative 2007 work, The Full Body Project, toyed with the idea of physical size and beauty. He and wife Susan also continued to support the arts with generous financial gifts from the Nimoy Foundation. The actor returned to acting to reprise his most famous role inJ.J. Abrams’ reimagining of Star Trek in 2009 and Star Trek Into Darkness in 2013.

Death In February 2014, Leonard Nimoy revealed he was suffering from chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). The progressive lung disease makes it increasingly difficult to breathe and is primarily caused by smoking. “I quit smoking 30 years ago. Not soon enough. I have COPD. Grandpa says, quit now!! LLAP,” Nimoy tweeted, using the acronym LLAP for Spock’s famous line “Live long and prosper.”

In February 2015, the actor was treated at the UCLA Medical Center for intense chest pains and was released.

Later that same week, Nimoy died at his home in Los Angeles on February 27 at the age of 83. His wife confirmed that the cause was COPD. Even during his last days, Nimoy endeared himself to fans when he wrote in his last tweet on February 22: “A life is like a garden.

Perfect moments can be had, but not preserved, except in memory. LLAP”■

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eatrice Arthur, is an American actress and comedienne with a distinctive deep voice, acid wit, and height, standing almost 5 ft 10 in.

Her notable television roles include the title role on the popular sitcom Maude in the 1970s and a starring role on The Golden Girls in the 1980s.

In the former she played Maude Findlay, an outspoken “limousine” liberal living in Tuckahoe, Westchester County, New York; the show was a spinoff from All in the Family, on which Arthur had appeared in the same role, playing Edith Bunker’s cousin, whom Archie couldn’t stand.

In the latter she played the character Dorothy Zbornak, a middle-aged woman who lived in a Florida house with two room mates (Betty White and Rue McClanahan) and Dorothy’s short-tempered yet hip old mother, played by Estelle Getty. One of the most ironic things about casting Getty in this role was that she is actually two months younger than Arthur, so Getty was heavily made-up to seem significantly older.

On stage, her roles include as “Lucy Brown” in the 1954 Off-Broadway premiere of Kurt Weill’s Threepenny Opera, “Yente the Matchmaker” in the 1964 premiere of Fiddler on the Roof on Broadway, and a 1966 Tony Award-winning portrayal of “Vera Charles” in Mame. In 1981, she appeared in Woody Allen’s The Floating Lightbulb; two decades later she toured the U.S. in a one-woman show which opened in Broadway in 2002 as Bea Arthur on Broadway: Just Between Friends. In real life, Arthur is good friends with legendary actress and former costar Angela Lansbury, and in real life Arthur did not get along with Betty White for most of the time that they worked together on Golden Girls, but possibly they have since mellowed out, especially in light of their mutual friend, Estelle Getty’s health woes.

Arthur was born in New York City, but she grew up in Maryland. She became a medical technologist before World War II, when she volunteered for the U.S. Marine Corps, becoming one of its first female recruits.

She was married for many years to her second husband, director Gene Saks, with whom she adopted two sons, but the marriage ended in divorce.■ cinamagic APRIL - MAY 2015

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hild star who charmed audiences in Charlie Chaplin’s 1921 classic “The Kid”. By the mid-1930s, his career had slowed considerably and in 1938 he attempted to win back his $4 million childhood earnings from his mother and stepfather. By the time the case was settled the amount had dropped to approximately $250,000, of which Coogan received only a portion. The case resulted in the Coogan Act, or Child Actors Bill, set up to protect the assets of child stars. Coogan became, in many ways, the patron saint -- of sorts -- of child actors because of the law, although the legislation only covers actors working in California and, in reality, applies to income from TV series and motion pictures and not TV commercials. After WWII, most of his work came from TV where he gained success as Uncle Fester on “The Addams Family,” which ran on ABC from 1964-66. Coogan began his career at 18 months, in “Skinner’s Baby” (1917). He played the title role in a silent version of “Oliver Twist” in 1922. He switched studios from First National to Metro for a contract which guaranteed him $1 over two years, although his personal allowance remained at $6.25 per week. By 1927, Coogan’s popularity had begun to wane, and his bob hair was cut in a much-publicized ceremony, which was filmed for theatrical release. MGM decided to capitalize on the event by producing the film, “Johnny Get Your Hair Cut”. But, his career was still dwindling. He made a comeback in the title role of “Tom Sawyer” (1930), also his first talkie, and repeated that role in “Huckleberry Finn” (1931), but Jackie Cooper was now the kid star of the MGM lot and in America’s heart.

It was in 1935 when returning from a fishing trip that the car, driven by Coogan’s father, went off the road, killing all (including child actor Junior Curkin) except Coogan, who had been in the rumple seat. Coogan was off the screen until 1938, trying to make another come-back in young adult roles in “College Swing”. By this time he had married Starlet Betty Grable, but with his earnings lost by his mother and stepfather and few film roles available, the stress over financial matters contributed to the couple divorcing in 1939. Coogan did not appear in a film from 1939 until after World War II service. His first film after the war was “Kilroy was Here” (1947), which also starred, perhaps ironically, Jackie Cooper, also struggling after child stardom. But feature film roles were few and far between, and by the late 40s, Coogan was mostly working on TV. He was a regular on Benny Rubin’s 1949 NBC series, and a panelist on Mike Storey’s “Pantomime Quiz” from 1950-55. He was a third banana -- aide the colonel on his sitcom debut, “McKeever and the Colonel” (NBC, 1962-63). He was the first choice of the executive producer to play Uncle Fester on “The Addams Family” for ABC in 1964, but not of the network. Maurice Gosfield played the role in the original pilot, but died soon after production and Coogan stepped into the role which would give him lasting visibility as an adult. After the series’ demise, Coogan did the voice of Fester for the 1973-74 animated version of “The Addams Family,” and appeared often in episodic dramas. He made his TV movie debut with “Cool Million” (NBC, 1972). His last TV appearance was in an episode of “Sweepstake$” on NBC in 1979. It is said he appeared in 1400 TV shows and episodes combined. Coogan’s grandson, Keith Coogan, born in 1970, appeared in “Tin Soldiers,” “Don’t Tell Mom The Babysitter’s Dead” and numerous other films in the 80s and 90s. Keith was born Keith Mitchell, but took the last name “Coogan” as his professional name after his grandfather’s 1984 death as an homage.■ cinamagic APRIL - MAY 2015

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he younger sister of actress Olivia de Havilland, Joan Fontaine is known for her exceptionally poised performances in Hollywood films of the 1940s and 1950s, including Alfred Hitchcock’s “Rebecca” (1940), and “Suspicion” (1941) which earned her an Academy Award, as well as collaborations with Orson Welles in “Jane Eyre” (1944) and “Othello” (1952). Her career trajectory took her from romantic female leads in “The Constant Nymph” (1943) to formidable older women in “Serenade” (1953) and “Island in the Sun” (1957) before winding down in the late sixties. Fontaine later brought Golden Age Hollywood glamour to Broadway and television, and excelled at a variety of non-acting endeavors, including cooking, golf and aviation.

Born Joan de Beauvoir de Havilland in Tokyo, Japan on Oct. 22, 1917, she was the daughter of British patent attorney Walter de Havilland and Lillian Augusta Ruse, a former stage actress; as both she and her father would often recount, the family counted two English kings in their lineage. Plagued by illness as a child, including bouts with anemia and measles, Fontaine was sent with her sister and mother to live in Saratoga, CA, while her father remained in Japan. Her parents’ marriage was already in trouble prior to the move to the States, and the separation preceded a divorce, which became final when Fontaine was two. Academic tests proved Joan to be an exceptionally bright child with an IQ of 160, and she excelled at school. Home life, however, was a different story; she had an uneasy relationship with de Havilland, who was reportedly favored by her mother. The feud eventually became the stuff of Hollywood legend, and by all accounts, was alive and well when both sisters had entered their ninth decades.

Fontaine left Los Angeles in 1932 to live with her father in Japan. She returned a year later and began to develop an interest in acting like her sister, who was making a name for herself on

stage. Fontaine adopted the surname “Burfield” for her stage debut opposite May Robson in a 1935 production of “Kind Lady.” The story surrounding her stage name was part of the legend of the feud; allegedly, Fontaine’s mother refused to allow her to bill herself as “de Havilland” because it would interfere with her sister’s career, although other sources stated that Fontaine adopted the name without any prompting. Whatever the case, she soon found herself signed to RKO and made her screen debut with a small role in George Cukor’s “No More Ladies” (1935), starring Joan Crawford. By 1937, she had changed her name again, this time using her stepfather’s surname of Fontaine for a string of minor dramas and musicals. A break came with a major role opposite Fred Astaire in the George Gershwin musical “A Damsel in Distress” (1937), but the picture was a failure at the box office.

Her fortunes began to change in 1939 when she received excellent notices for her performance in “Gunga Din” as the love interest of British soldier Douglas Fairbanks, Jr., and later as a naïve newlywed caught in the midst of Joan Crawford, Norma Shearer, Rosalind Russell and Paulette Godard in Cukor’s film adaptation of “The Women” (1939). That same year, she married her first husband, British actor Brian Aherne, which ended unhappily in divorce in 1945.

A chance seating next to producer David O. Selznick at a dinner party paved the way for her to audition for Alfred Hitchcock’s “Rebecca” (1940), which became one of her greatest screen triumphs. The auditions were reportedly a grueling experience for all involved, and Hitchcock exploited her weariness for the film’s unnamed narrator, who struggles with the adulation felt for the late title character, who is still worshipped by her new husband (Laurence Olivier) and his malevolent housekeeper (Judith Anderson). The film was a box office success, and made Fontaine both a Hollywood star and an cinamagic APRIL - MAY 2015

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Oscar nominee. However, she lost the trophy to Ginger Rogers in “Kitty Foyle” (1940).

The following year, she reunited with Hitchcock and her “Gunga Din” co-star Cary Grant for “Suspicion” (1941), a crackling psychological thriller about a young woman who discovers that the man she has married Grant, in a decidedly uncharacteristic turn - is a compulsive liar, thief, and burgeoning murderer. The Academy nominated her again for Best Actress - opposite her sister, who had become a star in her own right thanks to “The Adventures of Robin Hood” (1938) and “Gone With the Wind” (1939), and was nominated for “Hold Back the Dawn” (1941). Fontaine took home the Oscar that evening, and according to legend, she snubbed de Havilland’s attempts to congratulate her as she walked to the podium. Years later, de Havilland would do the same to Fontaine when she accepted her award for “To Each His Own” (1946).

Fontaine soon settled into a series of romantic films which capitalized on her emotional turns in “Rebecca” and “Suspicion.” Most were high quality efforts - she earned her third Oscar nomination as a naïve Belgian girl who falls for a self-absorbed composer (Charles Boyer) in Edmund Goulding’s 1943 adaptation of Margaret Kennedy’s novel “The Constant Nymph,” and played Charlotte Bronte’s eponymous heroine in “Jane Eyre” (1944) opposite Orson Welles as Rochester. “Frenchman’s Creek” (1944) found her English noblewoman romanced by dashing pirate Arturo de Cordova, while “The Affairs of Susan” (1945), “From This Day Forward” (1945) and “Ivy” (1947) found her entangled in one or more love affairs, occasionally with unhappy results. Fontaine also found time to become an American citizen in 1943.

In 1946, she married actor/producer William Dozier - later the man responsible for the TV version of “Batman” (ABC, 1966-68) - with whom she had a daughter, Deborah, in 1948. She also formed a production company with Dozier, called Rampart Productions, which oversaw her 1948 film “Letter from an Unknown Woman” for director Max Ophuls. A heady romance in the style of her collaborations with Hitchcock, it preceded several more hits, including the Billy Wilder musical comedy “The Emperor Waltz” (1948) with Bing Crosby, and a gritty 1948 film noir, “Kiss the Blood Off My Hands,” with Burt Lancaster.

Fontaine was absent from productions from 1949 but returned in 1950 for a string of sudsy melodramas, including “September Affair” (1950) and “Born to Be Bad” (1950). High emotion was not relegated to Fontaine’s on-screen appearances; she divorced Dozier in 1951, and adopted a Peruvian orphan, Martita, in 1952, before marring screenwriter Collier Young that same year. Her film career continued on a largely positive if

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unremarkable path for the next decade or so. There were hits like “Ivanhoe” (1952) with Robert Taylor, and the Bob Hope comedy “Casanova’s Big Night” (1954).

She also had an unbilled cameo in Welles’ film version of “Othello” in 1952. She tried her hand at stage work, appearing on Broadway opposite Anthony Perkins in “Tea and Sympathy” in 1954. By the mid-1950s, though, Fontaine was slowly moving out of the leading lady realm and into more mature character parts - “Serenade” (1955) found her a wealthy art patron whose snobbish attitude encourages Mario Lanza to pass her over in favor of poor but kindly Sara Montiel, while Robert Rossen’s class drama “Island in the Sun” (1957) cast her as a high society matron in love with Harry Belafonte’s up-andcoming politician. By the early 1960s, she was appearing more on television as a guest panelist on talk shows and quiz shows than in features. She brought her film career to a close with “The Witches” (1966), a horror film about modern-day black magic which she co-produced with England’s legendary Hammer Films.

Fontaine remained active on stage throughout the sixties, most notably in “Forty Carats,” which brought her to Broadway in 1968. She divorced Young in 1961 and married her fourth husband, journalist Alfred Wright Jr., in 1964 (they would later divorce in 1969).

In the 1970s, Fontaine made infrequent returns to acting in television movies and miniseries like “The Users” (1978) and the sudsy Danielle Steele adaptation “Crossings” (1986). She earned a Daytime Emmy nomination in 1980 for appearances on the soap opera “Ryan’s Hope” (ABC, 1975-1989). In 1986, she stepped in for Loretta Young when the actress departed the Aaron Spelling-produced “Dark Mansions” (ABC), a Gothic-styled primetime soap that failed to earn a spot on the schedule. Her last appearance was for the Family Channel’s Christmas-themed TV movie “Good King Wenceslas” (1994), where she lent her poise and dignity to Queen Ludmilla, grandmother to the title character.

In addition to her acting and producing careers, Fontaine excelled at numerous hobbies and pursuits in her private life. She studied cooking at the Cordon Bleu School, earned her pilot’s license, was an expert golfer and fisherman, and won a championship as a member of a hot air ballooning team. In 1978, she published her autobiography, titled No Bed of Roses which detailed the infamous de Havilland blood feud that had lasted their entire lives.

She studied cooking at the Cordon Bleu School, earned her pilot’s license, was an expert golfer and fisherman, and won a championship as a member of a hot air ballooning team. In 1978, she published her autobiography, titled No Bed of Roses which detailed the infamous de Havilland blood feud that had lasted their entire lives.■

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audeville Performer, Playwright, Broadway Sensation, Movie Star, Sex Goddess…

Mae West was each of these things, but first and foremost she was an independent woman who became an icon simply by being herself.

Early Years Mae started performing at an early age and never looked back. She took advantage of the Roaring Twenties and society’s less constricted view of what a woman was allowed to be. Naturally, she pushed the envelope farther than anyone else by calling the first play she wrote “Sex” and causing a sensation in the leading role. Arrest and conviction on a morals charge didn’t slow her one bit—the publicity was fantastic!—and she followed up with success after success on the Great White Way. In 1928 her fourth full-length Broadway play, “Diamond Lil” drew rave reviews, lines around the block, and made Mae a full-fledged Broadway star. But Hollywood didn’t roll out the red carpet for Mae as it had for other Broadway sensations. The film companies’ self-regulatory body, the Motion Picture Producers and Distributors of America (commonly known as the Hays Office) banned the play as unsuitable for the screen.

The Big Screen It took a nudge from her old pal, matinee idol George Raft to get her into pictures. On his recommendation, Paramount offered Mae a two-week contract for a small part in Raft’s nightclub melodrama “Night After Night”. Mae, of course, rewrote her part to fit her style and practically directed her own scenes.

She stole the show with the line she wrote in response to the comment, “Goodness, what beautiful diamonds.” “Goodness,” she replied, “had nothing to do with it, dearie.”

Her obvious talents won her the studio’s respect and convinced Paramount to take a chance on her recent hit, the controversial “Diamond Lil”. They changed the plot to placate the censors, changed the title to “I’m No Angel” and introduced Mae West to the world. It was

a triumph that quickly led to the production of “She Done Him Wrong”. Together they saved Paramount from bankruptcy and made Mae the most famous woman in America. But at the same time, her name became a byword for sex—a situation the censors simply could not allow to continue.

Her next film, based on the play “It Ain’t No Sin” was released under the title “Belle of the Nineties” only after it was cleaned up by the Production Code Administration and then again by the New York State Board of Motion Picture Censorship. The radical changes in the picture had dire consequences. Audience reaction was lukewarm and her next four films suffered the same whitewashing. The true Mae West, the blunt, forthright, independent woman was too much for Hollywood in the 1930s. One of her last films of the era “My Little Chickadee” with W.C. Fields was well-received, but she was frustrated by the restrictions and the meddling coming from the powers that be.

Later Years Years later she would retake control of her image by producing another stage show—this time in Las Vegas! The show featured West’s familiar delivery, fabulous costumes, favorite songs, and a chorus of eight weightlifters dressed only in loincloths. The show was a sensation and reminded audiences of her unique talents and star quality.

In the 1960s and ‘70s the world finally caught up with Mae as the sexual revolution picked up the banner she had carried fifty years before. Her films were rediscovered and showcased at new independent film houses. Mae suddenly had a new career as the “queen of camp”. Two final films resulted: “Myra Breckinridge” and “Sextette”.

Although changing times made Mae’s risqué humor seem more old-fashioned than trend-setting, her style and her inimitable delivery of a delicious double-entendre have remained instantly identifiable even today. As critic Kevin Thomas said in the eulogy delivered at the actress’s funeral in 1980, “the woman and the legend had long since become one.”■ cinamagic APRIL - MAY 2015

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James Arness

tanding 6’7” and casting a shadow every bit as impressive as his mentor John ‘Duke’ Wayne, James Arness burned himself indelibly into the American psyche as Marshall Matt Dillon, Dodge City’s straight-shootin’ sheriff on the long-running CBS series “Gunsmoke” (1955-1975). Born James Aurness, this older brother of actor Peter Graves was recovering from WWII wounds suffered during the Anzio invasion when he joined a little-theater group, supporting himself as a real estate agent and advertising man. He made his screen debut in 1947’s “The Farmer’s Daughter” and appeared as GI Garby in William Wellman’s WWII drama “Battleground” (1949) before working his way up to a supporting role in John Ford’s “Wagon Master” (1950). That same year, he played to fearsome effect the vegetable monster of the Howard Hawks-produced “The Thing”, but his size which made him perfect for the scifi classic’s 8’ cognitive carrot precluded him from working with most leading men. After six years in pictures, he still took a job credited as ‘Mutant crouching by Raygunner’ in “Invaders from Mars” (1953). One actor Arness did not dwarf was ‘The Duke’, and he supported Wayne in four pictures, beginning with Edward Ludwig’s “Big Jim McClain” (1952). When CBS approached Wayne about playing the Matt Dillon role, he suggested the 32-year-old Minnesotan. The rest is history. As Marshall Dillon, Arness became a towering figure of rectitude presiding over the weekly rawhide morality play. The sad eyes had seen too much, but the voice remained gentle. Slow to provoke, implacable in pursuit, he gunned down evil and kept his town safe. When the longest-running drama in TV history finally fell, there wasn’t much left for Arness to do. Although he would star in two short-lived series, ABC’s “How the West Was Won” (1978-79) and NBC’s “McClain’s Law” (1981-82), his Matt Dillon character was just too huge a presence to forget, and he reprised the role in five TV-movies into the 90s. Arness also portrayed the larger-than-life character Jim Bowie in “The Alamo: Thirteen Days to Glory” (NBC, 1987) and starred in the 1987 CBS-TV remake of Howard Hawks’ “Red River” (1948), playing Wayne’s part, Tom Dunson.■ cinamagic APRIL - MAY 2015

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any people know Beulah Bondi from her portrayal of Ma Baily, Jimmy Stewart’s mother in “It’s a Wonderful Life.” Fewer people know that she played Stewart’s mother on four other occasions. Soft-hearted or hardnosed, serious or comic, she specialized in the portrayal of older women, and for much of her life played characters who were further along in years then she was in real life.

Her first role, however, was as curly-headed “Little Lord Fauntleroy”. This was in her hometown, Valparaiso, Indiana. The seven-year-old child was chosen for the part when a touring company needed a replacement for the lead. Until then, Beulah’s only acting experience had been Delsarte mime exercises -- similar to charades -- that her mother had taught her to perform for the entertainment of friends. Despite this “silent” background, she learned her “Little Lord Fauntleroy” part so well that she did not have to rely on cue cards. In fact, it is said that she prompted any actor who wasn’t up on his lines.

Beulah’s father and mother took an interest in the theater and brought their daughter with them to performances. But when in her teens she began to express interest in acting as a profession, her father tried to dissuade her from this course. Her mother, on the other hand, constantly encouraged her. Eva Marble Bondy was a progressive woman who was graduated from college and gained a reputation as a poet. (“Bondy” is the actual spelling of the family name. One account claims that Beulah changed the “y” to an “i” because she thought it looked more theatrical, possibly because the “i” did not drop below the line on a marquee. Another version states that she changed it out of respect for her family, since acting was not seen as a respectable profession.)

Beulah did not leap onto the stage. She, too, went to college.

She received her first degree from Frances Shimer Academy and then earned a Masters in oratory from Valparaiso University. (Many years later she would receive an honorary doctorate from this institution.) In 1916, twenty-eight-year-old Bondi played her first role as an amateur member of Chicago’s Little Theater. The part was that of a sixty-year-old woman in a play titled “Cranford.” “When we tried out for parts,” Bondi stated, “I had expected to be given one of the young girl roles. Until I was handed the part of Miss Matilda Jenkins, a woman of sixty-odd years, it never occurred to me that I, being a young girl, could play anything else. Up till that time my idea of the stage had been romantic. I had thought of it chiefly as a place where I could wear sumptuous clothes.”

Nevertheless, she threw all her energy into the part. She studied the movements of older people and probed the soul of her character, imagining a life’s story for her. Of course, she also learned about the proper use of greasepaint. Her performance made a big impression.

Even back then BondiÕs narrow features and creaky voice must have suggested mothers, grandmothers, farm-wives, dowagers and other character roles.

Though many of her roles belonged to a relatively small category, Bondi’s great achievement was to endow each character with a soul of its own. “Perhaps some day I shall play heroines and attractive young women -- I hope to add that experience to my career -- but cinamagic APRIL - MAY 2015

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for the present I am well satisfied with doing old women and eccentrics. And I live entirely in the present.”

After two years with the Little Theater, Bondi joined the Stewart Walker stock company in Indianapolis and Cincinnati. In her own words, the director put an “elephant’s hide” on the her. Walker’s criticism came in powerful doses. His tutelage was so fiercely direct that she decided to take a year off. “He was a very good director,” Bondi would state many years later, “a fine director.” After working with him, “I could meet any director, I could meet any producer, in New York or anyplace else, with a very calm interior and exterior.”

(DB) In 1925 the thirty-seven-year old unmarried actress made it to Broadway. Her first years in New York were financially trying, and sometimes discouraging, but after awhile she could claim appearances in over a half dozen productions. On one occasion, she acted in two plays that were running at the same time. After her first-act role as pleasant choir-singer in “Mariners”, she would dash next door to play the unpleasant landlady in “Saturday’s Children,” which featured Ruth Gordon.

Bondi finally came to prominence in 1929 when, with some finagling, she landed the part of the hard-bitten neighborhood gossip in Elmer Rice’s Pulitzer-Prize-winning “Street Scene.” It is a tale of love, hatred and desperation in a squalid New York tenement. The play ran for more than 600 performances and caught the eye of movie director King Vidor. He brought forty-one-yearold Bondi to Hollywood to recreate her role as bitter-tongued Emma Jones.

“When I came to Hollywood,” Bondi said, “the microphone was completely new to me. I didn’t know anything about the lenses; I didnÕt know what a medium close-up or long shot was. But I was interested enough to learn quickly.” “Street Scene” was the perfect vehicle for Bondi’s extraordinary talent for character. Adding to the heart of conflicting passions, her shabby Emma Jones spikes the sidewalk with tacks of malice; her acerbic one-liners carry the undertones of a woman made rough by her past. For all that, it is Emma Jones who we look to for humor. Her barbs and attitudes make us chuckle even as we wish to deplore. Bondi’s presentation of reality seduces us.

Following “Street Scene”, MGM tried to put her under a seven-year contract, a coveted opportunity for many actors. Bondi, however, refused. She wanted to remain free to choose her own roles. Her distrust of contracts stayed with her throughout her life. (During her long career she was under contract for only one year, with Paramount). It is a testament to her skill and professionalism that despite her “maverick” nature she was always in demand for roles.

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After a one-scene part as Helen Hayes’ mother in “Arrowsmith”, Bondi played Mrs. Davison in “Rain,” the steamy and cynical Somerset Maugham story set on a South Sea Island. In this film (which starred Joan Crawford as Sadie Thomson), she played the wife of the emotionally twisted religious reformer, played by John Huston. Her character is as annoyingly meddlesome in a straight-laced way as Emma Jones of “Street Scene” is in draggle-tailed way.

In 1933 Bondi made two more films, both with Lionel Barrymore -- “Christopher Bean”, directed by Sam Wood, and “The StrangerÕs Return,” directed by King Vidor. In the latter film she and Barrymore played elderly siblings. She found Barrymore grouchy, difficult to get along with. She understood that his arthritis and the drugs he took for this ailment were probably the cause of his short temper. But she knew how to deal with his irascible moods -- she flung his bad humor right back at him. Later when Barrymore was off drugs, she found him to be a changed man. The two became good friends.

They would do five films together.

In 1934 the actress worked in five movies. Perhaps the most significant of these was “the Painted Veil,” starring Greta Garbo. But last minute revisions in the film found her small part on the cutting room floor. Inexplicably, her scenes were re-done by another actress. Many filmographies of Bondi incorrectly credit her with an appearance in this movie.

1936 was a good year for Bondi. She appeared in six films, including “The Gorgeous Hussy,” starring Joan Crawford. This film is about romantic and political ambitions in Washington of the 1820s. Bondi played the pipe-puffing wife of Andrew Jackson, again opposite Lionel Barrymore. Among her several strong scenes with the actor is the one in which she regrets that her “backwoods” identity has provided malicious material for her husband’s political opponents. “For months now,” she laments, “they’ve been pokin’ fun at me just to make you look ridiculous. They’ve been usin’ all the filth they could make up about me just to make you look dirty.

They been usin’ me to drag you downÉ” When her husband tells her how important she is to his well-being, she admits to a bit of shrewdness: “That’s what I wanted you to say,” she tenderly replies, stroking his cheek.

This role brought Bondi her first of two Academy Award nominations. (She lost to Gale Sondergaard of “Anthony Adverse.”)

In a 1975 article, Bondi told an amusing anecdote about an experience in “The Gorgeous Hussy.” “[My] mother arrived to visit her first Hollywood set,”Bondi explained. “She found me getting into a huge double bed with Lionel. She didn’t say anything but she was surprised, I think. ... That was 1936 and the last time

a double bed was allowed in a film for many years. We laughed at the rule during the years I played an old woman getting into a single bed. Now in films they can do anything in any kind of bed.” (LAHE) In 1937 Bondi played her first and only starring role.

The film is “Make Way for Tomorrow,” directed by Leo McCarey. It is a drama about Bark and Lucy Cooper (Victor Moore and Beulah Bondi), an elderly husband and wife who no longer fit into the lives of their children.

When the couple is unable to keep possession of their house, their married children reluctantly take them in, with Moore going with one family and Bondi with another, three hundred miles apart. The two accept their situation with stoicism all the more poignant for their being very much in love after fifty years of marriage. The film follows their separate lives and dramatizes the disruption of their children’s world. It details their unrealistic hopes, their regrets and, most of all, the loneliness they experience in the latter portion of life. Having worn out their welcome, Lucy and Bark (without admitting it to each other) accept the fact that now they will be separated even further -- and for good. Bark will be sent to live with a daughter in California (ostensibly for his health) and Lucy will go to an old age home. Before sending them off, and as a final reunion, their children invite their parents to dinner at one of their homes. Lucy and Bark never get there, however. They meet on their way and go off on one last adventure in the city. They visit the hotel they stayed at on their honeymoon; they drink (appropriately) old fashioneds and dance and recall their life together. Their children become concerned about their whereabouts, but Lucy and Bark care little about their childrenÕs worries on this evening of renewed independence.

With the passage of time this highly rated, enjoyable film has lost none of its power to rend the heart and capivate. It may well be even more affecting with the passing of years. It was a remarkable oversight that the film did not receive even one academy award nomination. (Victor Moore won an Oscar that year for his performance in the comedy “The Awful Truth”.) Without hyperbole, it can be said that Bondi’s performance is as close to flawless as any can be; and anyone who wants an instant appreciation of this actress’ talent and commitment to her roles could do no better than to see this film. It is the more impressive for having been sustained by for woman in her late forties. “I felt it was quite a challenge, “Bondi stated, “I think that Lucy Cooper is perhaps the oldest character I had ever played. I supposed her to be in her late seventies or early eighties. I thought it was a challenge, but I loved the story.” (DB) “To be a convincing old woman,” Bondi emphasized, “you must be a lover of life and a student of hu-

man nature. You must have a passionate desire to know what’s going on in the heart and head of the character you are portraying. When you really care more about the character you are portraying than you care about yourself or how you look you are no longer just a person who earns a living by actingÉ” (NYTRIB) Nevertheless, regarding her lead in “Make Way for Tomorrow,” Bondi declared, “Give me a good supporting role and that’s all I ask. I never want to be a star again. The life of a star, with few exceptions, is brief. It’s like a merry-go-round, only suddenly the music stops playing.” (CDN) In 1938 the actress portrayed Jimmy Stewart’s upper-class mother in a comedy titled “Vivacious Lady.”

Ginger Rogers plays Stewart’s less-than-upper-class love interest, and the great character actor Charles Coburn plays Stewart’s staunch father. Bondi occasionally (and comically) feigns heart trouble to get the upper hand in troublesome situations. One scene finds her about to accept Rogers as her daughter-in-law. The younger woman gives her an impromptu dancing lesson to seal their new friendship. It is a memorable “screwball” scene -- especially when Coburn enters and sees his “frail” wife “cutting the rug” with his sonÕs forbidden sweetheart.

In that same year Bondi played Jimmy Stewart’s mother for the second time. The film is “Of Human Hearts,” a touching drama about the hardships of pioneer life. Mary Wilkins (Bondi) is caught between her son’s rebelliousness and her preacher-husband’s dedication to a life of communal lowliness. (As in “Rain,” John Huston plays her husband.) In the course of the story her character ages a number of years, with Stewart playing her son as an adult. As the young and gentle Mary, Bondi exhibits a youthful, comely beauty that diverges from her appearance as the “older mother” she is noted for. At one with every character she has ever portrayed, Bondi’s performance as the older, widowed Mary locks in the character’s wisdom, patience fortitude as she waits for word of her son, who became a surgeon in Grant’s cavalry. This performance brought her a second Academy Award nomination. (Fay Bainter won for her role in “Jezebel.”)

In 1939 Bondi again played Stewart’s mother, albeit in a very small role. This was in Frank Capra’s popular “Mr. Smith Goes to Washington.”

John Ford, who directed Bondi in “Arrowsmith,” made her his first choice for Ma Joad in Twentieth Century-Fox’s “The Grapes of Wrath” (1940). She did two impressive screen tests for the part. “Well, I canÕt ask for anything better than that,” Ford told her when she finished. Those present at her test gave her a round of applause. To prepare for the role, she spent two days in Bakersfield, CA where she mingled with the “Okies.” cinamagic APRIL - MAY 2015

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Bondi had been told that she was the only actor under consideration for the role, but this claim turned out to be false. The part was given to Jane Darwell, who was under contract to Twentieth Century-Fox. “I can’t say it was a tremendous disappointment because it was such an experience meeting those poor, bewildered, downtrodden Okies...” (DB) Still, Bondi was hurt that she had been lied to. Darwell won an Academy Award for her performance.

The 1940s saw Bondi in a variety of films, “Our Town” (directed by King Vidor), “Penny Serenade” (George Stevens), “Watch on the Rhine” (Herman Shumlim),” “The Very Thought of You” (Delmer Daves), and at least twenty other movies. She was Jimmy Stewart’s mother for the fourth time in the Capra favorite “It’s a Wonderful Life” (1946).

“I knew the stars as the characters they played. I didn’t feel that he was Jimmy Stewart -- he was my son.

And they were all different sons.” ... “Working with the different stars, I’ve enjoyed each and every one, and have always had this great empathy and feeling for them. But I couldn’t socialize with them. Between scenes, I have to be by myself. That way the character stays with me.”

(RC) One of Bondi’s most entertaining short performances was in “Snake Pit” (1948). She plays Mrs. Greer, a mentally (though humorously) disturbed resident of the insane asylum. Her first appearance in this film is played with microscopic precision and is a delightful treat for any Bondi fan.

In the 1950s, Bondi appeared in only nine films.

In 1950, she returned to Broadway in “Hilda Crane,” with Jessica Tandy. In 1953 she brought her film role in “On Borrowed Time” (1939) to the Great White Way. In 1954 she played one of her favorite parts, that of Ma Bridges in “Track of the Cat” with Robert Mitchem as her son. In this William Wellman film, Bondi’s selfish, ever-suffering character endures family jealousy and tragedy, with the hunt for a killer panther providing the symbolic backdrop. This slow-moving western was not well received, but Bondi’s performance was. The “New York Times” reviewer, Bosley Crowther, wrote, “Miss Bondi as the pinched-lipped mother takes command and browbeats her brood of frightened weaklings by the very force of her hard demanding will. Then a feeling of tragic frustration seeps out of the Cinemascope screen, and the shadow of an O’Neill character flickers on the fringe.” (12-2-54, cited in DB, Part 2). The film is worth seeing even if only to enjoy Bondi’s performance.

Among her nine other films of the 1950s are “Lone Star,” “Latin Lovers,” and “A Summer Place.” Her final movie was “Tammy and the Doctor,” 1963, again with Sandra Dee (who worked with her in “A Summer

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Place”). Dee also played with Bondi in “Tammy Tell Me True,” in 1961.

In her sixties and seventies, Bondi continued to pursue her love of travel, taking a major trip and several shorter ones each year. Now the actress was in demand for television appearances (her first TV role was in 1948 in the “Public Protector” series). She appeared in “Wagon Train,” “Zane Grey Theater,” “Alfred Hitchcock Presents,” “Goodyear Playhouse,” “G.E. Theater,” and other shows.

Still full of energy in her eighties, she visited China for the second time, went to see the pipeline country in Alaska, hopped a freighter to Australia, and even took part in a safari in Africa. She found very few worthwhile roles, but the ones she did find were notable. She played Jimmy Stewart’s mother for the final time on “The Jimmy Stewart Show,” in 1971. In 1975 she played Abraham Lincoln’s mother in “Crossing Fox River.” Her final dramatic role was in “The Pony Cart” episode of “The Waltons,” in 1977. For this performance the 89-year-old actress received an Emmy Award On January 2, 1981, Bondi fell and broke her ribs in her home in Whitley Heights neighborhood of the Hollywood Hills (where she had lived quietly for almost 40 years). She was admitted to the Motion Picture Country Hospital and died of pulmonary complications on January 11. She was 92 years old.

Bondi attributed her long life and good health to her mother’s early interest in vitamins and healthful meal-planning. She joked that living in a four-story home provided her wih a lot of exercise.

She was affiliated with several philanthropic organizations, including the Motion Picture Country House and Hospital (where she passed away) and the Merremblum Junior Symphony Orchestra. She never married.

“I am fortunate that I love my work,” she said. “I made a choice against marriage before I really became immersed in the theater. It was the hardest choice I ever made.” (LAHE) “Make up your mind before you take the jump. If you choose a vocation, then set an objective -- a high objective, and don’t deviate.” (NOS) She was not keen on some of the attitudes in modern movies. (She once turned down a role because she did not approve of the language in it.) “We all know what life is, but it is too awful to advertise it in that way. ... It isn’t just the nudity in pictures I abhor, but the action that is suggested. I went to two controversial films, ‘Last Tango in Paris’ and ‘Sunday, Bloody Sunday.’ I found them offensive. On the other hand, I loved the underrated ‘Jeremiah Johnson.’ I go to films to learn.” (LAHE) Beulah Bondi was a performer who will forever hold a favored place in the great “family” of classic Hollywood.■

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Paul

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A

n iconic figure in Hollywood history, Paul Newman was an Academy Award-winning actor, director, and noted philanthropist who helped define the male lead in motion pictures from the mid-1950s through the 21st century.

A background in Method acting helped to deliver his enormous personal charm, intelligence and strength of character to a wide variety of roles - from underdog boxer Rocky Graziano in “Somebody Up There Likes Me” (1955) and the damaged Brick in “Cat on a Hot Tin Roof” (1958), to roguish anti-heroes in “Harper” (1966), “Cool Hand Luke” (1967), and “Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid” (1969). He continued to command audiences and critics in his sixth and seventh decade in films like “The Color of Money” (1986), which earned him an Oscar; “Nobody’s Fool” (1994); and “The Road to Perdition” (2004), while off-screen, he set the standard for celebrity-driven charities with his Newman’s Own brand of foods, which brought $200 million to causes, and the Hole in the Wall Gang camp for seriously ill children.

Born Paul Leonard Newman in the Shaker Heights suburb of Cleveland, OH, on Jan. 26, 1925, he was the son of an affluent Jewish family who owned a sporting goods store. His interest in acting bloomed at an early age, thanks to his mother and uncle. He made his debut in a school production of “Robin Hood” at the age of seven. He graduated from high school in 1943 and spent three years at Ohio University, but was expelled before serving in the Navy during World War II as a radio operator. He returned to civilian life and earned his degree from Kenyon College in Ohio, with his intention being to study economics, but drama exhibited a stronger pull.

In 1949, he married Jackie Witte, with whom he had three children - son Scott and daughters Stephanie and Susan. A brief return to Shaker Heights to run his family’s store after his father’s death in 1950 lend to feelings of discontentment, so he packed up his wife and children and relocated to New Haven, CT, where he enrolled in the Yale Drama School. Agents caught wind of his talent at a production there, and invited him to join the teeming throngs of actors seeking work in New York City.

Supporting roles in live television and plays followed, which eventually led to his Broadway debut in William Inge’s “Picnic” in 1953. While there, he also continued his studies at the acclaimed Actor’s Studio, making the acquaintance of another up-and-coming actor, Joanne Woodward, who was serving as an understudy on “Picnic.” Based on the strength of his performance in the Inge play, he was offered a contract with Warner Bros. and a starring role in a historical epic called “The Silver Chalice” (1955). The picture was critically dismissed.

Newman considered it such a personal embarrassment that he later took out a full page ad in the Hollywood

trades apologizing for his participation. During this period, he also auditioned opposite James Dean for the film “East of Eden” (1955), but the part went to Richard Davalos.

He returned to the stage in “The Desperate Hours,” but earned a reprieve from the movies via “Somebody Up There Likes Me” (1956) - an affecting biopic about fighter Rocky Graziano’s tenacious life and career from director Robert Wise. The film and Newman garnered praise from the press, leading him to launch into a string of commercially and critically successful pictures that highlighted his expansive range of talent. First, in Arthur Penn’s revisionist Western “The Left-Handed Gun” (1958), he was a imbecilic and murderous Billy the Kid, while he held his own as Tennessee Williams’s fallen football hero Brick opposite Elizabeth Taylor and Burl Ives in a somewhat truncated version of “Cat on a Hot Tin Roof” (1958), which earned him his first Academy Award nomination and the admiration of female fans the world over.

In 1958, while shooting “The Long Hot Summer” (1958) - which earned him the Best Actor award at the Cannes Film Festival - in Louisiana, he became re-acquainted with Joanne Woodward, who was the film’s female lead. The two soon fell in love, and after divorcing Jackie, Newman and Woodward were married in Las Vegas in 1958. The couple appeared in numerous films together and had three daughters, which they raised far from Hollywood in the affluent neighborhood of Westport, CT. Newman’s film career continued to burn white-hot throughout the early 1960s - he first landed on Quigley Publications’ list of top grossing stars in 1963 and would appear there 13 more times until 1986. His cheeky charm, good looks and magnetism made him a casting agent’s first choice for flawed heroes in films like “Paris Blues” (1961); “The Hustler” (1961), as pool shark Fast Eddie Felson; “Sweet Bird of Youth” (1962), after Newman had starred in the original Broadway run in 1960; and “Hud” (1963). The latter picture and “The Hustler” earned him two more Academy Award nominations and enduring status as an icon of cool among young acting aspirants and film buffs for decades to follow.

Newman’s star power carried him into the mid- and late 1960s with ease. He worked with Alfred Hitchcock on the thriller “Torn Curtain” (1966) and played some of his most memorable roles - including the detective Lew Archer, who was renamed for “Harper” (1966); an unbreakable Southern convict in “Cool Hand Luke” (1967), which brought him another Oscar nomination; and a charming version of the Western outlaw Butch Cassidy in the box office blockbuster “Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid” (1969), opposite his good friend Robert Redford. Newman also made his debut as a dicinamagic APRIL - MAY 2015

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rector in 1968 with “Rachel, Rachel,” starring Woodward. Both his lead and the film earned Oscar nods, but his directorial effort only yielded a Golden Globe. Newman’s political activism also came to the forefront during the late sixties, through tireless campaigning for Eugene McCarthy’s 1968 presidential campaign. His association with McCarthy led to his being named on future President Richard Nixon’s infamous “Opponents List;” Newman, who ranked #19 out of 20, later commented that his inclusion was among the proudest achievements of his career.

Newman’s superstar status - he was the top-ranking box office star in 1969 and 1970 - allowed him to experiment with film roles during the 1970s, which led to quirky choices like “WUSA” (1970), “Sometimes a Great Notion” (1971), “Pocket Money” (1972), and “The Life and Times of Judge Roy Bean” (1972) - all of which he also produced through First Artists, a company he established with fellow stars Sidney Poitier and Barbra Streisand. Newman also served as producer on the quirky drama “They Might Be Giants” (1969) starring his wife, Woodward, and directed her and their daughter Elinor in the 1972 film version of “The Effect of Gamma Rays on Man-in-the-Moon Marigolds.” He also developed a passion for auto racing after training with professionals for the 1969 drama “Winning.” By 1972, he was racing professionally and completed Le Mans’ 24-hour competition in 1979. The love of the racetrack would never leave him.

The 1970s also yielded two of Newman’s biggest hits - “The Sting” (1973), which reunited him with Redford, and “The Towering Inferno” (1974), which paired him with Steve McQueen for the first and only time. Newman also starred in the outrageous cult hit “Slap Shot” (1976) as an aging hockey star who coaches a farm team of misfits, and made two films with Robert Altman - “Buffalo Bill and the Indians” (1976) and the bizarre apocalyptic drama “Quintet” (1979) - neither of which boosted the director’s fading career.

In 1978, Newman lost his son Scott to drug addiction. Due to his tragic lose, he curtailed his film career for much of the late ‘70s, establishing the Scott Newman Center for Drug Abuse Prevention, while joining Woodward in passionate anti-drug campaigning. But by the early 1980s, Newman returned to filmmaking in several well-chosen projects that showcased his matured but undiminished skills. He was a beat cop caught between street violence and corrupt fellow officers in the violent “Fort Apache The Bronx” (1981); the son of a deceased crime figure who finds himself the focus of a dogged journalist’s investigation in Sydney Pollack’s “Absence of Malice” (1981); and a down-and-out lawyer who earns a chance at redemption in Sidney Lumet’s “The Verdict,”

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which brought another Academy Award nomination.

The Cecil B. DeMille Award for Lifetime Achievement from the Hollywood Foreign Press followed in 1984.

With the help of writer A.E. Hotchner, in 1982, he launched Newman’s Own, a line of food products that donated all proceeds after taxes to charity. The brand bloomed largely with its first release - salad dressing and eventually included everything from salsa and lemonade to popcorn. Four years later, he established the Hole-in-the-Wall Gang Camp -named after Butch and Sundance’s gang in “Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid” - in his home state of Connecticut. The camp, which served as a year-round retreat and center for seriously ill children, operated entirely on outsider contributions and Newman’s own tireless campaigning. Less philanthropic but no less dear to the actor’s heart was the Newman/ Haas/Lanigan Racing auto team, which he co-founded in 1983. For his charitable efforts, Newman was awarded the Jean Hersholt Award in 1994.

In 1986, Newman won a special Oscar for his numerous “compelling screen performances.” That same year, he returned to one of his most famous roles - Fast Eddie Felson from “The Hustler” - in a sequel by Martin Scorsese called “The Color of Money.” Newman’s performance all but eclipsed up-and-comer Tom Cruise, leading him to collect his second Oscar in 1987. A brief return to regular film appearances followed, including turns in the atomic war drama “Fat Man and Little Boy” (1989), as colorful Southern governor Earl Long in “Blaze” (1989), and a pairing with Woodward as the heads of a conservative family in “Mr. and Mrs. Bridge” (1990) for James Ivory and Ismail Merchant.

Newman announced that he would retire from acting in 1995, though that statement proved short-lived. His gruff humor enjoyed a fine spotlight in the Coen Brothers’ quirky ‘50s-era comedy “The Hudsucker Proxy” (1994), and he earned another Oscar nomination as a likable if flawed small town handyman who gets a chance to rebuild a relationship with his son in “Nobody’s Fool” (1995). “Twilight” (1998) surrounded Newman with such stellar peers as Gene Hackman, Susan Sarandon, and James Garner, in a mystery-drama about infidelity and aging, while he provided much needed-gravity to the frothy romance “Message in a Bottle” (1999) and showed he had lost none of his sex appeal opposite Linda Fiorentino in the quirky comedy caper, “Where the Money Is” (2000). Two years later, he earned his first Oscar nomination for Supporting Actor as an Irish crime boss in “The Road to Perdition” (2002). Newman also became the oldest driver on a winning team when he participated in the 24 Hours of Daytona endurance race in 1995.

In 2002, Newman returned to the stage after a 35year absence to play the stage manager in a production of

“Our Town” for the Westport Players (Woodward was the troupe’s artistic director). The show quickly transferred to Broadway, with Newman earning a Tony for his performance, as well as an Emmy for the 2003 broadcast of the show on PBS. Two years later, he took home the trophy - as well as a Golden Globe - for his turn as the cantankerous ne’er-do-well father of Ed Harris in the acclaimed HBO miniseries “Empire Falls” (2005). And he lent his gravely tones to the Pixar-animated feature “Cars” (2006), as Doc Hudson, the former racing champ who helps train Lightning McQueen (voiced by Owen Wilson), as well as the documentary “Dale” (2007), about the late racing champion Dale Earnhardt.

In 2007, Newman announced that he was retiring in May of that year, citing that he felt he was no longer able to perform at a level that pleased him. However, his charitable work continued unabated that year, with the actor donating $10 million to his alma mater, Kenyon College. It was later revealed that throughout 2005 and 2006, Newman quietly divested himself of his entire ownership in Newman’s Own, donating the money to his foundation, which totaled a whopping $120 million.

Meanwhile, Newman expanded on his retirement when he stepped down as director of John Steinbeck’s “Of Mice and Men” for the Westport Country Playhouse in Westport, CT, citing unspecified health issues.■ cinamagic APRIL - MAY 2015

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Party Time

Kentucky Derby PARTY IDEAS!

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The Derby

is not just about horse racing. It’s about the magic that makes the first Saturday in May unique in sports, fashion and style and how people come together to honor Southern traditions. Whether you prefer a traditional theme...something more modern...or just good friends and family getting together for an afternoon of fun. These ideas will get you started: The Infield Build your Party as if you are inside the track! Set up grillers and slip’n slide for a rip roarin’ good time! The idea is to dress comfortably, party like you are at a tailgate, and play plenty of games throughout the day with your friends!

Elements: • BBQ • Flip Flops • Beaded Necklaces to hand out for the “Greatest Two Minutes in Sports” • Mint Juleps to cheers the Winner’s Circle • Slip N Slide • Beer Pong -Make your own table with a piece of plywood and paint your favorite silks on the table • Corn Hole (Bean Bag Toss) • Dress like a satirist and give an award for funniest costume • Potato Sac Race • Stick Horse Races • Wagering Contest

Sorority / Fraternity Party Much like a mixer you would have in college, this theme can be creative, wild, and fun! Allow your Sorority Sisters to walk down a red carpet into an Infield style party! Everyone wants a glamorous feel and a fun party. So put on your flip flops and gear up for dancing, corn hole, and fun music while the horses Run for the Roses!

Elements: 1. Dress Code: • Brothers: Shorts, Ties, Sunglasses, and Flip Flops • Sisters: Sun Dresses, Hats, Flip Flops, and fun jewelry 2. Beer Pong 3. Corn Hole (Bean Bag Toss) 4. Oyster Roast 5. BBQ 6. Playlists available for your music needs 7. Write a Kentucky Derby Chant with your Sorority/ Fraternity name to celebrate “The Greatest Two Minutes in Sports”

Racing Silks Having a Silks theme at your Party is colorful and exuberant. Show favoritism for your lucky horse or showcase all silk designs for fun! Allure your friends and family to experience the Derby in colorful style. Use the following elements to design your day!

Elements: 1. Dress Codes: • Red Carpet Style: Women with scarves and men with patterned ties • Jockey Club: Require everyone to design their own silk to wear 2. Table Décor with cloths, placemats, and napkins to look like silks • Serving dishes to be colorful and emulate silks • Flavored punch or beverages to be served in color • Bake cookies and design them with icing to look like silks • Hang flags outside or create a strand of silks by using fishing line, construction paper, and tape.

Red Carpet Create an invitation for your friends to arrive in style and walk the red carpet. Whether you want to dress up in costume as a celebrity or simply glam yourself in fashion for fun, this theme is entertaining and all together exciting! Have the red carpet lead into your home, office building, or the country club! Beware, the paparazzi may be watching!

Elements: 1. Contests: • Best Dressed – Male & Female • Celebrity Look Alike • Hat Contest – Best Overall and Most Creative • Derby Winner Contest – “Who’s your pick?”

2. Create a backdrop along the red carpet for commemorative photos 3. Rope off the entrance 4. Present champagne glasses at the door 5. Name that Celebrity as they walk on the Red Carpet with NBC■ cinamagic APRIL - MAY 2015

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Recipes

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Lamb Lollipops with Yuzu Aioli

Ingredients - Serves 6 to 8 people 2 Racks of Lamb (Frenched) 6oz of Wild Game Rub: 1/4 cup kosher salt 1/4 cup freshly ground pepper 1/4 cup pure chile powder, such as guajillo or ancho • 2 tablespoons ground cumin • 2 tablespoons fresh thyme leaves • 2 tablespoons fresh rosemary Yuzu Aioli • 2 eggs • 1 bottle blended oil • 1 bottle Yuzu Juice • Juice of 1/2 lemon • Salt • 1/2 teaspoon white vinegar • 1 teaspoon dijon mustard • 1 metal mixing bowl • 1 large Skillet • • • • •

Preparation Take the two Lamb Racks and cut them into 1” bone chops and set aside. In a metal mixing bowl combine the white vinegar, mustard, lemon juice, and salt.

Whisk all of this together, continue to whisk while incorporating one egg at a time until the mixture begins to thicken, this should double in size. Add salt to taste. Add your yuzu in at the end for desired flavor.

Turn the grill or the skillet on to a medium high heat. Take the Lamb Chops and lay them out on your cutting board and season both sides well with the game rub. Add oil to the hot skillet and place chops in one at a time. Let them cook about 1 1/2 minute per side for a medium rare.

Once cooked take off heart and place on platter and top with the Yuzu Aioli.■ cinamagic APRIL - MAY 2015

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Braised Pork Belly with Muscadine Glaze

Ingredients • 4 pound slab pork belly • Salt and freshly ground black pepper • 1 yellow onion, coarsely chopped • 2 carrots, coarsely chopped • 2 celery ribs, coarsely chopped • 2 cups chicken stock • 1 cup orange juice • ¼ cup brown sugar • ½ cup Thai Sweet Hot Chili Sauce • 2 cloves garlic, crushed • 1 tablespoon dry thyme Glaze • 1 cup orange Juice • ½ cup Muscadine (or raspberry) jelly • ¼ cup sugar • ¼ cup red onion diced • 1 jalapeno, seeded and diced

Preparation Preheat oven to 450°F. Spray a roasting pan with 2” sides (large enough to fit the pork belly in a single layer, or, prepare 2 pans and cut the pork belly in half) with non-stick spray and line with foil. Score the fat sides of the belly in a diamond pattern, just until you hit the muscle/meat. Season the belly on both sides with salt and

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pepper and rub into the cuts. Spread the vegetables on the baking dish and lay the pork belly on top, fat side up.

Bake on top rack of the oven until the fat turns golden brown, about 15 minutes. Turn it over and bake until golden brown another 10 minutes or so. Remove from oven.

Mix together the chicken stock, orange juice, Thai sweet chili sauce, brown sugar, thyme, garlic cloves, and add to the pan. Cover the entire pan tightly with foil and bake at 300 degrees for two hours. Check after 1 hour, add a little water, just to cover the bottom, if the vegetables are looking dry. After adding the water, cover tightly and return to the oven for the final 1 hour of cooking.

Remove the foil and bake uncovered for another 1 ½ hours.

Glaze Combine all ingredients in a heavy bottomed sauce pan. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to an active simmer until the mixture thickens, about 20 minutes.

Cut the pork belly into 3 inch cubes or 1” - 2” thick slices. Brush with the glaze and place on a foil lined baking sheet, fat side up. Brush a final coat of glaze on the fat side and place under the broiler until the top starts to bubble, timing depends on your broiler, probably about 2-4 minutes. Remove and serve over grits, greens or mashed potatoes.■

Pickled Shrimp Serve as hors d’oeuvre with crackers or tooth picks or serves 6 as a salad on top of lettuce.

• • • • • • • •

Ingredients 2 pounds shrimp - boiled and chilled 2 medium onions sliced in rings 1 cup vegetable oil 1 1/2 cup white vinegar 1/2 cup sugar 1 1/2 teaspoons celery seed 4 t capers Sliced Lemon wedges

Preparation Make alternate layers of shrimp and onion slices in bowl. Mix all other ingredients and pour over. Refrigerate 6 or more hours stirring occasionally.■

Louisiana Crawfish And Beet Salad

• • • • • •

Ingredients Serves 10 5 medium sized red beets 1 1/2 cups water 1/4 cup rice vinegar 1 cup olive oil salt pepper

Cut the tops and bottoms off the beets. Place in a roasting pan and add just enough water to come about a quarter inch up the sides of the beets. Cover with foil and bake at 375 until they are fork tender (about 45min to an hour). Remove foil and let cool on the counter top until cool enough to handle. Peel using the pad of your thumbs ( you may want to wear gloves to avoid being caught red handed). The skin should slide right off. Mix the water from the roasted beets with the vinegar and olive oil. Add salt and pepper to taste. Slice the beets and place them in the vinaigrette to “marinate”. Place in the refrigerator and chill.

For the onions: • 4 teaspoons salt • 1 cup water • 1 cup white wine vinegar • 5 slices of orange zest

• 1 teaspoon coriander seeds • 1 teaspoon white peppercorns • 2 pounds onions

Fine Julianne the onions and place in a large bowl.

Add 1 Tbs of salt and toss to coat. Let stand for 30 minutes. Meanwhile, place the remaining ingredients in a medium pot and bring to a boil. Turn off immediately.

Let cool to room temperature. Rinse the salt off the onions and combine with the pickle brine. let sit over night in the refrigerator.

For the Crawfish: • 1 cup of homemade Mayonnaise • 1 cup of creme fraiche • 1/4 cup of minced chives • 1/2 cup fresh horseradish • salt / white pepper • 1 pound of Louisiana crawfish tails Combine mayo, creme fraiche and chives. Add horseradish to taste. Season well with salt and pepper.

Gently fold in the crawfish. The mixture should be wet but not soupy and not dry.

Top with fresh herbs such as chervil tarragon and parsley.■ cinamagic APRIL - MAY 2015

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Dungeness Crab Cakes with Lime Aioli and Mango Salsa

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Yield: 8 first course or 30 appetizer portions Prep Time: 40 minutes / Cook Time: 30 minutes Ingredients 1 lbs Fresh Dungeness Crab meat, picked through to remove bits of shell, and squeeze out excess liquid 1/3 of granny smith or golden delicious apple, finely diced 2 Tbs finely diced red pepper 2 Tbs finely diced yellow pepper 3 Tbs minced red onion 1 Tbs finely diced green onion 1/4 to 1/3 cup mayonnaise ¾ cup plus 2 Tbs bread crumbs 2 tsp fresh lemon or lime juice salt pinch of cayenne pepper pinch of dry mustard 3 Tbs vegetable oil

Preparation Mix the first 6 ingredients together in a small bowl.

Add ¼ cup of the mayonnaise and ¼ cup plus 2 Tbs of the bread crumbs to the crab and mix thoroughly. Add salt if needed (some crab is very salty and may not need salt), cayenne, dry mustard and lemon or lime juice, and mix well. Test the mixture to see if it holds it shape when formed into a patty, add more mayonnaise or bread crumbs if needed. Divide into 8 equal portion and form

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into patties. Chill for at least 30 minutes, then coat with remaining bread crumbs. Heat a non-stick saute pan over medium heat, add the oil, and place the crab cakes in the pan. Cook until golden brown on each side, about 2 minutes. Remove from the pan and place on a serving plate. Top with the lime aioli, and mango salsa.

Lime Aioli • ½ cup mayonnaise • 2 tsp grated lime zest • 2 tsp lime juice • pinch of cayenne pepper • salt to taste Whisk together all ingredients and use to top crab cakes.

Mango Salsa • 1 ¼ cup small diced fresh mango • 2 Tbs small diced red onion (mix with 2 tsp rice vinegar to brighten color) • 2 Tbs small diced red pepper • 2 Tbs chopped cilantro • 2 Tbs lime juice • pinch of brown sugar if needed, depending on ripeness of the mango • pinch of salt Mix the above ingredients together in a small bowl about 4 hours before salsa is needed. Check seasoning just before serving.■

Stella Artois® Tomato, Arugula, & Basil Salad • • • • • • • • • • •

Ingredients Roasted cherry tomatoes 2 tbsp Niçoise olives (chopped) 2 tbsp basil leaves (torn) 4 thick bread slices (torn in bitesized pieces) Olive oil (for bread) 2 oz arugula leaves 3 tbsp olive oil (for dressing) 2 tbsp red wine vinegar 2 tbsp STELLA ARTOIS® Pinenuts Parsley/Coriander -Optional

Preparation Preheat (oven) to 350 degrees.

Toss tornbread in olive oil, sprinkle some parsley and toast for approximately10 minutes or until golden brown. Place all ingredients in salad bowl and gently toss with 3 tablespoons olive oil, 2 tablespoons of red wine vinegar and 2 tablespoons of STELLA ARTOIS®.

Seasonwith salt and pepper and serve.■

The Frozen Mint Julep • 4 mint leaves • 4 oz of Woodford Reserve Bourbon • 4 oz sweet and sour mix Blend with ice until smooth and pour into a tall glass and garnish with mint sprig.

Woodford Reserve Ginger Julep

Woodford Reserve Chocolatini

• 1 1/2 oz. Woodford Reserve® • Juice of 1/2 fresh lime • 1 medium piece of candied ginger • 1/4 tsp. molasses • 3 oz. bitter lemon soda Muddle all ingredients except the soda in the bottom of a cocktail shaker. Transfer to a rocks glass with ice. Fill with bitter lemon soda. Garnish with a lime twist.

• 2 oz. mint-infused Woodford Reserve®* • 2 oz. dark crème de cocoa • 2 oz. Half and Half Add all ingredients to a cocktail shaker filled with ice.

Shake briskly to mix. Strain quickly into a stainless steel (optional) martini glass. Garnish with a mint sprig. *to infuse your Woodford Reserve®, place a large handful of mint leaves into the bottle and let steep overnight.■ cinamagic APRIL - MAY 2015

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Chocolate pudding • • • • • • • •

Ingredients 1/3 cup cocoa powder 1/4 teaspoon salt 1/2 cup sugar 1/3 cup cornstarch, sifted 4 cups half & half 2 ounces Manjari 1 each vanilla bean Whipped Ceam (optional)

Preparation In a pot, sift the first four ingredients together, whisk in the cold half and half. Bring to a simmer, whisk in chocolate and vanilla.

Begin to heat while stirring constantly until it begins to bubble around the edges and has thickened significantly. Pass through strainer and pour directly into dishes. Place plastic wrap directly on surface. Cool immediately in fridge.■ cinamagic APRIL - MAY 2015

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Pumpkin Cheesecake • • • • • • • • • • • •

Ingredients / 12 Servings 12 ounces granulated sugar 2 ½ pounds cream cheese 5 each whole eggs 11 ounces pumpkin puree 1 teaspoon vanilla extract 1 tablespoon lemon juice 1 tablespoon corn starch 4 ounces sour cream 1 teaspoon cinnamon, ground 1 teaspoon ginger, ground ½ teaspoon cloves, ground 1 teaspoon nutmeg, ground

Preparation 1. Place the sugar in a large mixer with paddle attachment. Add cream cheese and mix until smooth, scrape the bowl.

2. Add the eggs slowly with the mixer on the first speed.

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3.

4.

5.

6.

7.

Very important not to over beat the eggs into the mixture because will cause cheesecake to souffle and break.

As the eggs are being incorporated scrape the sides of the bowl to keep mixture very smooth.

Add pumpkin puree, vanilla extract, lemon juice, cornstarch, sour cream, cinnamon, ginger, cloves and nutmeg - scraping the bowl between each addition. Never allow mixture to be beaten.

Pour into prepared pans or molds and bake in 275 degree oven. Use water bath when possible, allow to bake until middle is set and slightly souffled.

Turn the oven off and allow the cheesecake to fall in the oven slowly, then allow to cool to room temperature before placing in the cooler. (Cheesecake will crack if placed in the cooler when too warm) Once chilled thoroughly then can be un-molded.

(Warm sides of the mold with a torch and cake should slide out).■

Devils Food Cake

• • • • • • • • • •

Ingredients 3 each eggs 1 3/4 cup sugar 1 teaspoon vanilla extract 1 cup mayonnaise 2 3/4 cups pastry flour, sifted 1 1/8 teaspoon baking soda, sifted 1/2 teaspoon baking powder, sifted 3/4 cup cocoa powder, sifted 1/2 teaspoon salt, sifted 1 cup water

Preparation In a mixing bowl with the whip, whisk the eggs and sugar until it reaches the ribbon stage. Whisk in the va-

nilla extract and mayonnaise. Add the dry ingredients alternately with the water. Mix only until combined. DO NOT OVER-MIX. Spread onto a quarter size sheet tray with a Pam-sprayed silpat. Bake at 350°F until the cake springs back when touched.■

Candied Rose Petals • • • •

Yields approximately 7 servings Ingredients 10 each rose petals 2 each egg whites 1/2 cup granulated sugar Chocolate nibs for garnish

Preparation Dip petals in egg whites, remove excess white and dredge in granulated sugar. Place on silpats and dry in warm oven until crisp but no color. Break into pieces reserving the best looking ones for garnish.

To assemble, cut the cake in individual circle to match the bottom of a 4 oz. cocktail (rocks) glass. Place the cake at the bottom of the glass. Pipe pudding onto cake, layer on whip cream and finish off with chocolate nibs and candied rose petals.

Garnish with a whole beautiful candied rose petal in the corner with cream.■ cinamagic APRIL - MAY 2015

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Model: Laura Dodd Designer: Faith McGary MUA: Lina Brazie Photo by: Beth Roose Photo Designer: Studio TecStil

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Photographer: D.G. Bolduc Photography Hair/MUA: Gabriella Bolduc/D.G. BolducPhotography