Althouse: Let's cha cha!

September 14, 2010

Let's cha cha!

"I'm simply appalled by the double standard you men try to impose on us women."

Dialogue written by... Joseph Heller.

25 comments:

ndspinelli said...: "I just met a girl named Maria." Very sad this fine and beautiful actress died under suspicious circumstances off of Catalina Island. I have always suspected Robert Wagner killed her. I had never seen this flick, thanks for the lead.; 9/14/10, 10:34 AM
the gold digger said...: Based on a book by Helen Gurley Brown. It's not a very good movie, despite the title and the cast.; 9/14/10, 11:03 AM
SteveR said...: Natalie Wood, such a lovely woman.; 9/14/10, 11:34 AM
michael o. allen said...: What I cannot figure out is what you think. I know you posted the video but what are you trying to say?; 9/14/10, 12:03 PM
William said...: Maybe that was the original Catch 22: having carnal possession of a chaste woman.; 9/14/10, 12:12 PM
Peter Hoh said...: Natalie Wood was my first movie star crush.; 9/14/10, 12:24 PM
Robert said...: What kind of wood doesn't float?; 9/14/10, 1:10 PM
Famous Original Mike said...: Double standards – like the one about men wearing shorts?; 9/14/10, 1:29 PM
J Lee said...: "Oh boy, Mighty Mouse"

-- Dialogue for Tim Conway as Ensign Charles Parker in "McHale's Navy" (1962) ... written by Joseph Heller

Writers do a lot of things for money (though when I was in high school in the mid-1970s in New York, my English teacher knew Heller and invited him to speak to the class about writing in general at "Catch 22" in particular, and I didn't have the huevos to ask him about this one).; 9/14/10, 1:30 PM
LordSomber said...: Natalie Wood. Hot.; 9/14/10, 1:35 PM
traditionalguy said...: Don't tell C-4, but Joseph Heller is another extremely talented ordinary Jewish man. The insights in Catch 22 are amazing, and the book is worth re-reading for the wit and humor in itself.; 9/14/10, 1:41 PM
traditionalguy said...: This comment has been removed by the author.; 9/14/10, 1:42 PM
Methadras said...: LordSomber said...

Natalie Wood. Hot.

^ This.; 9/14/10, 1:50 PM
Anonymous said...: Natalie Wood. Hot.

Which is the only reason my husband and I kept watching the movie last week. Well, he watched. I read a magazine.; 9/14/10, 2:02 PM
Joe said...: I don't understand the point of the line. Sounds like Heller had a clever line and insisted on it being said.; 9/14/10, 2:53 PM
Ann Althouse said...: "It's not a very good movie, despite the title and the cast."

Yes, but it makes great trashy tv. The opening credits are fabulous. And there's a lot of crazy stuff about coin-operated devices. Edward Everrett Horton is in it. So are Henry Fonda and Lauren Bacall. Bacall is stuck being a shrew, cowing poor Henry. There's a great dance scene with Fonda and Bacall. They do the twist... old people style. But how old was Bacall in 1963.... She always looked old... in a good way.; 9/14/10, 3:05 PM
TWM said...: "But how old was Bacall in 1963.... She always looked old... in a good way."

All those stars looked old back then - even in their 20s. Especially the men. And that's because they dressed like adults.

Now they dress like, well, like this . . .

http://thesartorialist.blogspot.com/2010/09/on-streetwest-63rd-st-new-york.html; 9/14/10, 3:10 PM
Roux said...: She's a beautiful woman. I thought it was a fun movie but I haven't seen it in years. I'll have to see if I can get it on netflix.

A lot of these movies were simple and fun and not very thought provoking at all. But what's wrong with that. Entertainment where you can forget about the world and it's problems is sometimes a relief.; 9/14/10, 3:24 PM
Anonymous said...: crazy stuff about coin-operated devices

I did like the coin-operated bubbler. And mirror.

The set and costume design was fabulous, especially in Natalie Woods' office.; 9/14/10, 4:03 PM
Anonymous said...: What kind of wood doesn't float?

Natalie-Wood.; 9/14/10, 4:18 PM
Irene said...: I love how the actors in old movies intersect. Here's Tony Curtis, who want to be in Breakfast at Tiffany's, and here's Mel Ferrer, who was married to Audrey Hepburn.; 9/14/10, 5:23 PM
Bruce Hayden said...: Well, the double standard is the natural result of males only knowing the paternity of their partner's children through making sure that they are chaste, but females knowing the maternity thereof.

Birth control may help this a bit over time, and ditto for cheap genetic testing.; 9/14/10, 5:32 PM
Fred4Pres said...: I was taking tango lessons with my wife, and told my grandmother. She loved dancing tango with grandpa (who sadly we lost decades ago). She looked at me, shook her head and said:

"Joey, you are not a tango guy, you are a cha cha guy."

Thank you for finding that gem Ann.; 9/14/10, 7:13 PM
Peter Hoh said...: TRO: All those stars looked old back then - even in their 20s. Especially the men. And that's because they dressed like adults.

Curtis, Ferrer, and Fonda were 39, 47, and 57 when this movie was made.

Wood was 26.; 9/14/10, 7:47 PM
Michael said...: It's not much of a movie, particularly the dreary, oddball chase scene toward the end. But Natalie is abolutely beautiful.

I had forgotten that scene of Fonda and Bacall twisting together. It took a lot of effort, but I managed it.; 9/15/10, 10:27 PM