Tuesday, October 8, 2024

Our 1,000th Post! - A Few of My Favorite Things

Wow. Who'da thunk it? When I ventured into blogland a little over 15 years ago, the mere idea of ever reaching 1,000 posts here wasn't even a notion, much less a goal. I just wanted to get my feet wet in the sharing of people, projects, ideas and information that had long appealed to me personally. I didn't even know if anyone would even visit the dang place! The very first post (pic to follow) demonstrated not only my unawareness of who might visit here, but also consisted of a brevity which would soon fall (WAY) to the wayside! Ha ha! Considering I have SO much difficulty finding the opportunity to build posts here these days, I am very likely going to return to briefer, less exhaustive posts in the future. This being a milestone one, I was trying to come up with something a little special to mark the occasion.

Just about one year prior to starting up, I'd worked on a rather monumental production of the musical "Children of Eden." So the use of "In the Beginning" as a title still had a certain resonance to it for me as a title. (And you know I was going to toss in a nude Michael Parks as Adam for the photo! Even then I had intended to put some men on display! Ha ha!) Those early posts were brief and to the point, proclaiming my love for this and that. And I have to say that, lo these years later, I still adore the same things today...
 
Almost needless to say, I've had a lifelong affection for the very first movie I ever saw in a theater, The Sound of Music (1965) - on re-release in 1972, lest you think I was there the first time out! LOL I was reared on the soundtrack album, knew every word and note in every song and never really got over my obsession with both its stars, Miss Julie Andrews and Mr. Christopher Plummer.

What was firmly in place by 2009 was a sea change in my appreciation of Eleanor Parker, seen here on location in an intimate moment with Plummer while surrounded by teeming hordes of crew members. (Never let it be said that immense concentration isn't needed to block out all the distractions during motion picture filming...!) As a kid I don't think I could have hated her any more. As an adult, thanks to her knowing, sly and, ultimately, sympathetic performance, I became enraptured by her!

Oh, she misbehaved to be sure, but in the end she knew when she was licked and bowed out gracefully, handing over her fiance to the competition like a relay race baton. Maybe I forgave her  it's because I'd have done all she did and more in order to snare Georg myself! Ha ha! 

Anyway... Eleanor Parker's Baroness Elsa Schraeder remains the standard for high-toned elegance and regal sophistication that all others have to strive towards. That's my opinion and I'm sticking to it.


It was The Sound of Music that drew me towards singing in general and it was an early highlight of my stage experience to get to play Captain Von Trapp.

Ten years (and a number of pounds and wrinkles!) later I essayed the part of Uncle Max, one of my most favorite assignments. If I were still on the boards, I'd probably be earmarked for Admiral Von Schreiber now!

The other life-changing example of serene glamour for me will come as no surprise to longtime readers. Over and over I've brought up the chiffon-billowing sensation that is Faye Dunaway in The Towering Inferno (1974.) Dunaway, who'd already blown my 6 year-old mind in The Three Musketeers (1973) is the first movie star I ever saw in more than one part. (I thought people in movies only appeared that one time! Ha ha!)

Dunaway's role in Inferno is barely a part at all... especially in the release print. (The extended TV version restores quite a bit of her deleted dialogue, though it's still certainly not a character of much consequence.) None of this matters in the slightest, though, because throughout the entire film she is acting, acting, acting with every cell of her being and every expression. I mean, we're talking Lillian Gish silent movie level emoting here, people!

...You thought I was kidding. Ha ha ha!

This blog is titled Poseidon's Underworld because a hundred years ago, when we paid for every minute of Internet time individually through AOL, I adopted the handle of Poseidon-3 in tribute to my beloved disaster movie The Poseidon Adventure (1972), first seen on TV after having been taken to Inferno at the theater. I posted on countless message boards (you see, I was always a blabbermouth, even online) and at imdb.com and it just stuck. However, over time I've grown to love Poseidon and Inferno almost equally. It would be so, so difficult to rank one above the other.  

The two are melded in my mind as the greatest achievements from the 1970s cycle of disaster flicks. I love all of them, though, even the most horrible ones imaginable such as Avalanche (1978), Beyond the Poseidon Adventure (1979), Meteor (1979) or The Concorde... Airport '79 (1979.)

Always crazy over "Box" style movie posters and ads with all the stars aligned in boxes across the sides, top or bottom, I made my own Facebook cover photos in tribute to some of these films. You're welcome to pilfer them if you please. I don't mind anything that keeps these movies alive in the hearts of viewers. (And, God knows, people nab things from P.U. anyway!)

An example of what I'm referring to. This TV broadcast of Airport (1970) was a record-breaking ratings event.

The montage I made in tribute.


I also did this one in tribute to my all-time favorite comedy series, The Golden Girls.

And we all know what a game show nut I am. So there's this one for Match Game.

Classic stars from To Tell the Truth.

Incidentally, when I'm hankering for a taste of what the S.S. Poseidon's dining room had to offer in the way of grandeur, I don't have to go very far.

Right here in good ol' Cincinnati is the Palm Court restaurant and bar, part of the Netherland Plaza Hotel. I think it's glorious architecture and decor outdoes even my much-adored movie and if there's ever an effort made to demolish it, you'll find me chained to one of the permanent fixtures!

One of my first posts concerned these people, the cast of The Big Valley, which was and is my very favorite TV western. To me, this was THE perfect television family with the iron-solid Barbara Stanwyck presiding over her morally-upright clan of good looking offspring. 

I loved every member of the cast, but felt that Linda Evans and Lee Majors (as half-brother and sister) were remarkably beautiful in particular. I faithfully watched The Six Million Dollar Man and Dynasty, but it was certainly a little odd seeing them paired romantically later on an extended episode of The Love Boat!

Another of my utter obsessions, one which has only grown over the years, is Miss Joan Crawford. (Do check out the most unusual and I daresay suggestive pleating on this gown!)

That FACE at any era of her unbelievable career will never fail to hold my attention.

That said, it's the late-career work which grabs hold of me the most. I can't deny I have a thing for female stars in their declining years. 'Course JC is hardly in decline here, showing off her fit physique in a judo lesson with Constance Ford during The Caretakers (1963.)

I LOVED the salt 'n pepper look on Joan, though she discarded it before very long, claiming it made her feel too old.

Some day, before I depart this earth, I hope I get to see the long-missing footage from Hush, Hush... Sweet Charlotte (1964) which Joan filmed prior to departing the angst-ridden production.

Was she sick? Was she faking? I really think her spirit was broken after some of the treatment she'd endured on location from her costar and that it was a little bit of both. True sickness, both emotional and physical, without the ability to face more of the same on set. It's a shame because that movie would have been next-level iconic had she been able to stick it out.

I loved her look in the stills from location on this film more than practically any other way she looked beyond the mid-1940s. It just clicks with me for whatever reason.

I came to know JC through a certain movie, based on a certain book, and had to work backwards from there to discover the real person. She remains a polarizing figure even now thanks to the notorious projects that have been manufactured. However (and I am FAR from alone in this - there are people out there who have slaved like dogs to unearth the real facts about her) I am fully in her camp. Do I think she was an ideal mother? Nope. Do I think she was relentlessly smeared and defamed by a jealous, selfish family member? Absolutely.

Trivia Tidbit: Did you know that Joan Crawford was Johnny Carson's first guest on The Tonight Show when he took it over? The video of the event is long gone, though audio remains. She was a HUGE star with legions of fans and graciously helped young Johnny get started on the right foot.

Another Joan, named after Crawford as a matter of fact, is Dame Joan Collins. This Joan has been an all-time favorite of mine since childhood when she appeared alongside Christopher Plummer in The Moneychangers, a star-packed miniseries.

As someone who has actually visited and enjoyed pages of this blog, Collins is practically a patron saint of the place. Staggeringly beloved by virtually everyone in her home country of England, she never stops going and doing, leaving the rest of us to marvel at her energy and enthusiasm.

Not satisfied with having graced, literally, hundreds - if not thousands - of magazine covers over the course of her remarkable career, she just landed another one when she was selected for the Arabian Harper's Bazaar for September 2024.

In the deliberately campy photo shoot (which included clothing solely from Arabian designers), she spoofed her gitzy diva image in a variety of ways.

Granted, these photos have been retouched (they do it for the 20-somethings, too, darling...!), but pray that you look this amazing when/if you are half her age.

If I didn't know whether, or for how long, this blog would continue to exist when I began it, I sure as hell never dreamed that a personage I have practically worshiped since childhood would someday look at it and eventually even know who I am...! It's all thanks to a mutual friend who came here first, then shared it with her. That action has led to a wealth of enrichment for me beyond anything I might have ever anticipated.

Here we have a very healthy-looking William Holden, later the costar of various Underworld faves such as the aforementioned The Towering Inferno as well as Damian: Omen II (1978) and the laughably bad, but nonetheless beloved When Time Ran Out... (1980) among others. While there are exceptions every now and again, we like our men with hairy chests. Many a post has seen its way to light here on the topic.

We like this shot a little bit less as we do not endorse cigarettes here, but again he's looking great, trim and nicely slunk into those abbreviated trunks.

Another of our little "likes" is the prospect of actors in towels. Seen here is Richard Johnson in Some Girls Do (1969), a spy flick updating the old hero Bulldog Drummond in a second outing (now called Hugh!)

Johnson, once the husband of Kim Novak for a little over a year, was reportedly offered the role of James Bond in Dr. No (1962), but declined. In the wake of that movie's success, he clearly regretted passing it up, but had to settle for this less-electrifying turn.

Sorry, but there's literally no comparison between this and what Sean Connery was bringing to the table as 007...!

Oh, and FYI... That is NOT me, blurred in the background waiting in the sauna for someone interesting to arrive. Ha ha ha!!!

Another screen trope which we always enjoy highlighting is the TV or movie bath. Here we see Anthony Zerbe on an episode of The F.B.I.

Rare is the instance when an on-screen bath is permitted to remain private...! In this case, John Marley has entered and pulled a gun.





Zerbe is ordered to make a certain phone call, against his will.

For all intents and purposes, if I see a movie or television bath by an actor, it's going to surface on this site.

The same can be said about the immortal Speedo. If I see one in action in a movie or TV show, I'm apt to share it at some point.

This example, modeled by actor William Zabka, is from - of all places - the 1986 Rodney Dangerfield comedy Back to School!

Sometimes the background players give better than the stars!

Dangerfield's son in the movie, Keith Gordon, donned a navy blue one in his diving scenes.

On a different installment of the aforementioned series The F.B.I., we find Scott Marlowe (playing - as was customary at the time -- don't send letters! -- a native American.)

Marlowe provides in this particular sequence what has become something of a hallmark of Poseidon's Underworld. The "bulge."

Sometimes certain people have difficulty grasping it, as evidence in the comments, but bulges on this site are not about finding gargantuan penises among vintage films and programs. Things like that are always available elsewhere with the click of a mouse or the touch of a link. It's about managing to see something that perhaps we were never intended to see or notice.

Sometimes they're everyday, sometimes not. What gets my attention is that in the majority of cases, we're seeing something we probably weren't supposed to notice.

It really was never a deliberate intention of mine to make bulges a significant part of this blog. What happened was that I did a series of posts on various exposures from TV stars of the 1970s & early 80s (chest hair, Speedos, bulges) and that one really took off in terms of visits/clicks. So, you know, give the people what they want. Ha ha! Come for the bulges, stay for the fun.


I haven't gone into ALL of my favorite things here, but it's a sampling. And there is more to come in the near future. As I say, I'm going to attempt briefer, more frequent posts instead of leaving so much time in-between. I was recently pleased to be able to revisit a site that had been blocked for me at work. I won't say that I slept with the IT Department, but I did turn on some Blanche Devereaux charm in order to have it freed up. The effort was about 75% successful (certain videos still won't play, but quite a few do, so I'll have greater access to things than I was having over the last several months.) Thanks for your continued support! Speaking of support, I close with Rock Hudson accidentally allowing us to see a glimpse of his own supporter. Till next time!

15 comments:

  1. Congratulations, and thank you for years of enjoyment, tawdry and otherwise. I’m lucky to have seen many of these epic films on my long gone home town’s classic big screen, supposedly one of the biggest in the state. GWTW, Airport, Poseidon Adventure, Inferno, and later Jurassic Park and Star Wars. Watching them on TV just ain’t the same.
    Love that first pic of Holden, he looks so fit and hunky, but in that second one he looks like your sleazy uncle.
    Joan Collins has such a sense of humor about herself that makes her even more endearing. How lucky to have her in the world!
    Nothing like a Speedo buffet to brighten the day. Multiple trips encouraged.
    Never heard of Scott Marlowe, but he has that not pretty, somewhat craggy, thoroughly masculine look that really does it for me. Wonder if that hair is from the William Shatner Collection?
    Looking forward to the next thousand posts, which I will probably be enjoying from Shady Acres High Security Senior Home.

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  2. Congrats on your 1000th post "anniversary," Poseidon!

    This retrospective explaining your various inspirations and obsessions was both informative-- man, do we *ever* think alike!-- and highly enjoyable.

    After reading about the whole HUSH, HUSH, SWEET CHARLOTTE mess throughout the years, it was awesome to finally see those shots of Crawford in character-- I'd only ever seen those fake-smiles production photos with Davis and Aldrich. And like you, I'd love to be able to see whatever footage exists of Crawford's performance.

    As much as I enjoy Olivia de Havilland, having Crawford in the role would've brought so much more to it, particularly as "subtext" in later viewings. (Although based on a lot of the information about the "lifelong sisterly feud"-- including, wouldja believe, a late-40s *comic book* that made their childhood look like the opening scenes of BABY JANE-- Olivia apparently was a real bitch at times, despite that ladylike appearance.)

    And that early '30s glamour shot of Crawford! Yikes! No wonder she's holding her head and looking dismayed! I can only hope that when she didn't have her leg cocked like that, the pleating just went down the front of the dress to the hem in a wide band.

    And yes, I'll confess that what originally caused me to find this blog was a Google Image search for something beefcake-related, but it's that mixture of eye candy, "camp", and incredible information that's kept me here ever since!

    I'm so glad you were able to resolve one of your problems and can access a blocked source again! Hopefully, this will mean that the blog will continue, even if it's in "short 'n' sweet" form most of the time!


    And again, Poseidon, thank you so much for all you do! This blog is an absolute treasure!

    Love to all, and be safe and well, everyone! Special thoughts for all those affected by the hurricanes!

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  3. 1000 - wonderful! And thank you for your profile of Eleanor Parker! Would still like to collaborate on a "Bracken's World" feature!

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  4. Congrats on your 1,000th, Poseidon! Always a treat to find out you've put up a new post. Regarding any footage on Joan in "Hush, Hush..." Not sure how much was actually filmed, but if they could find MM's "Something's Got to Give" footage, anything is possible! Cheers, Rick

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  5. Dan, I'm way jealous of you having gotten to see so many epic/classic films on the big screen. There was a time not too long ago when Fathom Events was showing various notable movies in contemporary theaters again (and maybe they still do... I rarely go anymore.) I got to see "Psycho," "Planet of the Apes," "What Ever Happened to Baby Jane?" and stalwarts like "The Sound of Music" and "Singin' in the Rain" this way, among others. When "Jurassic Park" came out, I went to see that three times! I did a post here once that may explain part of its appeal (because, generally, I am not a fan of CGI effects.)

    https://neptsdepths.blogspot.com/2018/02/a-jurassic-inferno.html

    Thanks so much!

    hsc, I have to be careful not to become over-fixated on the pics of JC on the set of "Hush..." Somehow the whole look she had going just sends me over the edge. And then there's just the whole feeling of being deprived of something I want. (FOMO? Ha ha!) I see a lot of disappointment online with Olivia in the movie and, because I like her and thought she was interesting casting for that sort of part, I'm not one of those. But... come on... more Bette & Joan together? That's a no brainer for me. I also like Joan Fontaine, too, and even though I've enjoyed Liv in so many things, I suspect a lot of what she relayed in her book is true. I also think that at a certain point, she grew out of her sick waif phase and displayed a strength of character and a backbone which, along the way, made the dynamic between the two worse instead of better. Oh well... Hopefully they made up in the hereafter! LOL. Thanks a lot for all the info you provide.

    David, as I've relayed before, I don't wish to see "BW" until it's available properly without blurry, dark, faded, third-generation images. When the time comes, if it ever does, I want to watch it in its mid-'60s glory. Thanks.

    Rick, JC filmed quite a few location scenes for the movie. The script was meddled with prior to being finalized, then, once she was gone, it was changed again to pare away some of the parts of people not named Bette Davis (though Olivia had also requested some tweaks.) And still it was way overlong! You can read the first draft script here with the differences and also at this same site see more photos. So fascinating. Thank you!

    http://www.theconcludingchapterofcrawford.com/script_hush_march231964

    http://www.theconcludingchapterofcrawford.com/photogallery_1964

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  6. From the minute a friend sent me a link to this site I was hooked. That's like 15 years ago? We share many of the same obsessions here and the comments are always fun. I've learned more campy things than I already knew! Amazing . Love all these greatest hits. Keep it coming in any frequency.

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  7. I am obsessed with JC in HHSC,thanks for the pics,i've never seen them before,I think she would have been supreme as bitch incarnate to crazy Bette.

    Joan should have embraced this sparkling glam school marm look a bit more and kept that hair,it's very 50's Grace Kelly,I always wonder what reaction I would've had to Joan in Airport 77 or as Superman's mother,fainting comes to mind.

    I got into JC when my Mum bought her Christina Crawford's book,mum always liked the glam ladies of the 50's and liked a catty comment and a gossip so that rubbed off on me and my sister,we can get very excited even now about Liz in her George Hamilton dating phase in the 80's when she devoted herself to AIDS awareness when she could easily have done a Colbys or Falcon Crest not knocking Lana and Jane Wyman,they we're my tv sweeties alongside Joan C.

    Demi Moore in her current phase Cher hair phase is giving me all the glamour I need at the moment.

    That JC Birthday card is everything,even her cards reek of star quality,I wonder if she designed it herself.

    I'm against smoothies,a man should have some hair at least somewhere and definitley no tattoos,Andy Garcia often gave glimpses in his early 80's 90's roles above t shirts and CK cream jumpers,though it was usually a bed scene with Jeff Colby that got me hooked on that look.

    Congrats on your 1000th post and keep celebrating camp,glamour,ladies not afraid of extra eye liner and shoulderpads,male towel moments,afternoon jewellry,disaster films,catty action,films that are eneterainingly diabolical but we love.

    I watched the remake of Poseidon recently I hadn't seen it 20 rys and it has nothing remotely interesting going on apart from a fey Richard Dreyfuss,the 72 version is the best film ever conjured up compared to this,no swimming Shelley being all jewish mama,Stella haringing for all she's worth in cheap diamonds and a questionable dress shirt combo,Gene sccreaming at the lord and an adorable brother sister duo

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  8. Happy 1000th Poseidon! I have always enjoyed your Underworld. Thanks for the pic of Michael parks and the pic of Rock. And everything else!

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  9. Congratulations!!!! My now husband and I spent our 20th anniversary at The Omni Netherland 18 years ago, had been a dream for a long time. The whole building is so wonderful art deco. Joan Collins never disappoints, I remember the Dynasty days when we were amazed she could be "so old" and so sexy beautiful and still all these years later she still is.

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  10. Congratulations on your thousandth post! And what a treasure trove of images and memories you’ve served up. I particularly like the pic of you, and of course, the Joan Collins autograph and accolade is the crown. All my best, Jon!

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  11. Congratulation on your milestone. I reall dont comment often enough, but I'm not going to let this pass. No blogger ever deserved success more than you and here's to the next 1000!

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  12. Warm congratulations, Poseidon, on your very impressive 1000-post anniversary. Each and every one of your clever posts is such a treat and we are all looking forward the the next 1000. I am personally looking forward to savoring some of the first 1000 posts that I haven't read yet! Many thanks for all of your hard work, quirks, and creativity--you are a true treasure!

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  13. Gingerguy, you are always so supportive and also DILIGENT about commenting, even when it's way, way beyond the call of duty. I appreciate it very much. For those of you reading this who don't know, GG outdid me for sure... He was a guest on TCM!! He was a guest programmer and got to introduce a movie meaningful to him. ("The Shop Around the Corner," if my memory serves... Mine would have been something idiotic like "Parrish" or "Avalanche!" Ha ha ha!!)

    mrripley, you seriously need to visit the site I linked above and revel in the photos and information provided. On FB, too!! That man has practically moved heaven and earth to discover long-buried facts about JC, along with the receipts. Had she been well and all, JC would have been phantasmagorical in "Superman" and the irony of "Airport '77" is that she would have been paired with Joseph Cotten... and who got the part? Olivia de Havilland!!! Wild. I with Jane Wyman had cut Lana a little slack because she was a platinum, shimmering beacon of old-style glamour on FC and needed to be there longer. I can barely speak about "Poseidon." (Oddly enough, it was Jacinda Barrett, of all people, who bother me the least in that!) It was rancid. But the miniseries made not long before that was also horrendous in the extreme (with, I'm not making this up, Steve Guttenberg!)

    A, thanks so much for your continued support here!

    Scott, I will always think of it as the Omni Netherland, but when I looked it up for this post, they'd gone and changed it and put Hilton in there... But I'm always slow to accept change. LOL So glad that item brought up a connection for you. Thanks!!

    Ken Anderson, thank you for stopping in with congratulations and such dandy compliments. I appreciate it (and your own site) a lot!

    Griffin Jenkins, my gosh, what a wonderful thing to say. Made my day, let me tell you! Can't thank you enough for taking time to leave that comment.

    Donald Lam, again... Startling and very much appreciated remarks. Warms my heart to know that my never-ending, rambling, blathering has brought entertainment and amusement to people. Love it. Thank you!

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  14. What a great service you have provided to your fellow man and I don't use that term loosely! I have enjoyed your posts for years and always marvel at the breadth and depth of your research. And we same to be on the same wavelength as far as the topics of our interests: handsome men and notorious women. Thank you for all of the work you have put in here and please know you are greatly appreciated. Wishing you the best in all you do!

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  15. Deets, I truly appreciate your very kind words about this site! It's very satisfying to know that there are people out there who are enjoying the various content here that so many of my own real-life friends couldn't begin to be bothered with! LOL I love it. Thank you.

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