Althouse: "My father... really wanted me to be a boy"/"Too bad, you'd have made a wonderful girl."

January 5, 2024

"My father... really wanted me to be a boy"/"Too bad, you'd have made a wonderful girl."

I'm watching that this morning because I'm watching a lot of Glynis Johns clips because Glynis Johns — who lived to be 100 — has died: "Glynis Johns, Who Played Mrs. Banks in ‘Mary Poppins,’ Dies at 100/The actress also received an Oscar nomination for 'The Sundowners' and won a Tony for Sondheim’s 'A Little Night Music,' where she sang 'Send in the Clowns'" (Hollywood Reporter).

Bonus:

48 comments:

William said...: She's was like Celeste Holm. She was a welcome presence whenever she popped up in a movie, but I don't think anyone ever went to a movie because she was in it.....I like her rendition of Send in the Clowns. She delivers it with conviction and regret. She was married and divorced four times so maybe she knew whereof she sang.....She lived to a hundred. That doesn't seem so long after one has turned eighty and when you compare that lifespan to that of the average redwood tree. Maybe by the turn of the next century we'll have made some strides in the longevity department. It does seem cruel for someone to pass away at one hundred just when they're beginning to understand what it all means.; 1/5/24, 7:20 AM
Mr. O. Possum said...: She's great in a suporting role in Perfect Strangers a 1945 UK movie known in the US as "Vacation from Marriage. It's about a British husband and wife separated by three years of military service to have to put their marriage back together. Stars Deborah Kerr.; 1/5/24, 7:29 AM
john said...: According to my recollection of a Seth Rudetski telling, when in rehearsal of LNM's second act, Sondheim had still not composed signature songs for the leads. Overnight and under great pressure, Sondheim dashed off a short number that accommodated Johns' limited vocal range yet encapsulated Bergman's Desiree. That was Send in the Clowns.; 1/5/24, 7:39 AM
The Crack Emcee said...: Her voice, in that clip with Danny Kaye, made ME want to kiss her. I miss women sounding like that. They sound like truck drivers now.; 1/5/24, 7:39 AM
Kai Akker said...: That voice of hers, so beguiling. Glynis had the TV show, just for one season I see now, but I watched it when I could. She was a part of the mystery of the female to this young boy, and somehow she made that mystery seem benign. When, in reality, all men know -- or find out -- that there are multiple outcomes that can emerge from the female. And all our logic cannot stay the hand, whether it holds a chocolate, or a dagger. But Glynis always seemed to be on the sunny side, in the end. A nice illusion.; 1/5/24, 7:55 AM
Tina Trent said...: The queen of singing to oboes. Props.; 1/5/24, 7:55 AM
Jaq said...: "She was married and divorced four times"

Men often think that the perception of beauty means that they are in love, and this is a burden that beautiful women must bear. It works for women too, look at how many times Cary Grant tied the knot only to find out that there was nothing there.; 1/5/24, 7:56 AM
Lexington Green said...: I want Danny Kaye’s job.; 1/5/24, 7:57 AM
MadisonMan said...: Watched the Court Jester many times as a teen -- it was a staple on Channel 5 out of NYC that we got via cable.
Living to be 100 is a feat. She outlived her only child.; 1/5/24, 8:07 AM
Enigma said...: Four divorces? Add her to the long list of identity-free, mentally-unstable but physically attractive Hollywood stars. This list includes Marilyn Monroe, Elizabeth Taylor, power-pooper Amber Heard, and many more. What made them good at acting made them terrible at real relationships...they can fully slip into the moment...and slip out of their own heads...

These women were the role models for young girls before the rise of vacuous social media personalities and leaked sex tapes (Hilton, Kardashian, Jenner), so with hindsight they were likely better than what came later.; 1/5/24, 8:15 AM
Original Mike said...: Oh, The Sundowners. A movie I've actually seen! I've seen so few.; 1/5/24, 8:20 AM
The Crack Emcee said...: Excluded again. This is ridiculous.; 1/5/24, 8:21 AM
Chris said...: Great clip from The Court Jester. Wonderful film!; 1/5/24, 8:24 AM
Original Mike said...: "Excluded again. This is ridiculous."

?; 1/5/24, 8:31 AM
The Crack Emcee said...: Original Mike said...
"Excluded again. This is ridiculous."

?

On almost every thread, my comments are not showing up. My previous comment, specifically about Glynis Johns, has still not appeared.

This has been going on for a while now. Ann once said my comments were going to a spam folder.; 1/5/24, 8:47 AM
rcocean said...: I liked her in a lot of Anglo-American films like: An Ideal Husband, No highway in the sky, Miranda, and the Sundowners. As someone said above, she was a welcome addition to any film.

I don't hold it against her that she said "Send in the Clowns". No one's perfect.

Glad she lived to be 100.

PS - a little bit of danny kaye goes a long way. He never could act.; 1/5/24, 8:48 AM
Birches said...: I had no idea the same actress was in The Court Jester and the mom in Mary Poppins. Now that I know the voice is obvious.

We love The Court Jester at our house.; 1/5/24, 9:09 AM
Original Mike said...: "Ann once said my comments were going to a spam folder."

Interesting. From time to time I have what I assumed to be inoffensive comments go missing. I just figured they fell through the moderation cracks.; 1/5/24, 9:24 AM
Darkisland said...: Thanks for reminding me of the sundowner. It's been a few years since I. Last saw it but I remember it as being pretty good.

Available on YouTube.

Re Cary grant:there is a pretty good mini-series on prime about him.

Archie

John Henry; 1/5/24, 9:26 AM
Ice Nine said...: Always loved the cute girl; always hated the distracting mole.

Yeah, I know, it's a "beauty mark"...not. Of course it became kind of a trademark for her so, even though easily removed, it was never going to go.; 1/5/24, 9:26 AM
BudBrown said...: This comment has been removed by the author.; 1/5/24, 9:35 AM
gilbar said...: Serious Question:
How come women USED TO BE so good looking? (i'm assuming diet?)
Is the reason that SO MANY girls today are giving up on being women, is that they JUST AREN'T PRETTY?

I watch you tubes with gen Z'ers.. nearly ALL the girls SAY that they are 10's, and they ALL say they are "above average"; I see VERY few that would be 8's in the 1940's. HELL! i see VERY few that would be 5's in the 1940's; 1/5/24, 9:39 AM
Darkisland said...: No highway in the sky is also on youtube. Another great movie with Jimmie Stewart and Marlene Dietrich.

Gonna have to watch that again too

From the Nevil Shute novel.

Stewart is an aircraft engineer who discovers that the new passenger jet is prone to metal fatigue causing crashes.

A few years later, boac's first passenger jets started falling out of the sky. It turned out to be metal fatigue

In the novel the fatigue was in the tail. In real life it was the windows. But Shute got most everthing else right.

Professionally Shute was an aeronautical engineer who wrote bestsellers as a hobby.

Www.nevilshute.org for more.

John Henry; 1/5/24, 9:40 AM
Ann Althouse said...: "Excluded again. This is ridiculous."

I asked A.I. to write a song in the Sondheim style with that lyric

ChatGPT
(Verse 1)
In the shadows of the city, where the neon lights grow dim,
A tale of exclusion, a melancholy hymn.
The streets are paved with whispers, as the night begins to fall,
A solitary figure, feeling small.

(Pre-Chorus)
Excluded again, in this tangled masquerade,
A solitary dancer, lost in the charade.
Faces in the crowd, but they don't see the pain,
Invisible to all, like tears in the rain.

(Chorus)
This is ridiculous, this lonely masquerade,
Where the heart is a castaway, lost in the cascade.
Excluded again, from the dance of life,
A silent symphony, in the city's strife.

(Verse 2)
In the echoes of the alleyways, where dreams are left to fade,
A soliloquy of sorrow, in the serenade.
The city's heartbeat pulses, but it doesn't beat for me,
Excluded again, lost in obscurity.

(Pre-Chorus)
A solitary echo in the vast expanse,
A plea for connection, a desperate dance.
Invisible threads, woven through the air,
Excluded again, in this solitaire.

(Chorus)
This is ridiculous, this lonely masquerade,
Where the heart is a castaway, lost in the cascade.
Excluded again, from the dance of life,
A silent symphony, in the city's strife.

(Bridge)
Through the neon glow, and the city's haze,
A yearning for belonging, in a lonely daze.
The spotlight fades, as the curtain falls,
A solitary heart, in these deserted halls.

(Verse 3)
In the labyrinth of alleys, where the shadows intertwine,
A search for acceptance, a journey to define.
Excluded again, like a note unsung,
In the melody of life, where I'm the only one.

(Pre-Chorus)
A solitary voice, in the midnight air,
A plea for inclusion, a silent prayer.
Invisible boundaries, that I can't break,
Excluded again, for my own sake.

(Chorus)
This is ridiculous, this lonely masquerade,
Where the heart is a castaway, lost in the cascade.
Excluded again, from the dance of life,
A silent symphony, in the city's strife.

(Outro)
As the city sleeps, and the stars above,
A yearning soul, searching for love.
Excluded again, in the quiet night,
But still, I'll keep on dancing, in the fading light.; 1/5/24, 9:42 AM
Darkisland said...: Crack,

I see a lot of comments from you.

No idea if I am seeing all your comments, of course. Just a lot of them

John Henry; 1/5/24, 9:43 AM
Ann Althouse said...: I gave Grok the same task:

(Verse 1)
In the corner, all alone,
Feeling like a castaway,
On this island of stone,
Excluded again, this is ridiculous.

(Pre-Chorus)
I've been searching for a way,
To find my place in this world,
But it seems I'm just a stray,
Lost in the games that they've hurled.

(Chorus)
Excluded again, this is ridiculous,
A never-ending game of hide and seek,
Left in the cold, with no chance to be seen,
I'll find my way out, just you wait and see.

(Verse 2)
Through the shadows, I will creep,
Finding a way to be free,
From the chains that they keep,
Excluded again, this is ridiculous.

(Pre-Chorus)
I've been searching for a way,
To find my place in this world,
But it seems I'm just a stray,
Lost in the games that they've hurled.

(Chorus)
Excluded again, this is ridiculous,
A never-ending game of hide and seek,
Left in the cold, with no chance to be seen,
I'll find my way out, just you wait and see.

(Bridge)
All my life, I've been on the outside,
Looking in, but never quite fitting in,
But I won't give up, I'll keep on trying,
To find a place where I can finally begin.

(Chorus)
Excluded again, this is ridiculous,
A never-ending game of hide and seek,
Left in the cold, with no chance to be seen,
I'll find my way out, just you wait and see.

(Outro)
Excluded again, this is ridiculous,
But I won't let it get to me,
I'll rise above, and be victorious,
In this game of life, I'll finally be free.; 1/5/24, 9:45 AM
Clark said...: I will remember her as Elsie (the Grandmother) in While You Were Sleeping. 100 Years. Good for her.; 1/5/24, 9:48 AM
Chuck said...: The New York Times is of course the gold standard for obituaries.

A close second is the Althouse blog.

Actually, that's not quite right. (But I like the simplicity of my declarattion in this regard.) Better said; the Althouse blog is the best adjunct to the best (generally New York Times) obituaries.; 1/5/24, 9:51 AM
Enigma said...: @Crack: "Ann once said my comments were going to a spam folder."

Ask yourself why. The answer is there.; 1/5/24, 9:53 AM
The Crack Emcee said...: Ann,

Like Sondheim, the first one is the shit. Grok's is poor to mediocre.

I wrote a post about wanting to kiss Glynis that still hasn't appeared.; 1/5/24, 10:14 AM
Mr. O. Possum said...: She's also great in the obscure 1951 British movie "No Highway in the Sky" which is mentioned above. She plays a stewardess who falls in love with the seemingly-addled aerospace engineer Jimmy Stewart who thinks his company's new airliner has a fatal flaw. Marlene Dietrich plays herself, sort of, as a passenger on the doomed flight that Stewart and Johns are aboard.; 1/5/24, 10:35 AM
Quaestor said...: ChatGPT's song is Sondheim on a good day. Grok failed to capture his dark ennui. Sondheim was seldom that upbeat. However, if someone wants to produce a musical comedy based on the life and achievements of Al Gore -- well, here's your hit tune.; 1/5/24, 10:54 AM
Quaestor said...: Glynis Johns had the good fortune to be cast in some brilliant films which she enhanced. Unfortunately, her charm couldn't rescue the stinkers. The Court Jester just might be the most talent-equipped movie in Hollywood history, both in front of and behind the camera. (Imagine being smart enough to concoct the magnetized armor sight gag!) Just to co-star with Danny Kaye was a signal accomplishment for her.

On the downside, there's No Highway in the Sky. Good grief, you've got Jimmy Stewart, Jack Hawkins, Marlene Dietrich, and Glynis Johns, yet you can't make a movie from those ingredients -- not even soup? It's high time you took up another calling, the law perhaps?

The Sundowners is a wonderful show that needs to be seen by everyone. Watching and studying that film could go a long way toward curing what ails Gen Z, that much I'm sure of. Johns did fine work there, but it's Robert Mitchum who captures your imagination. In 1960 everybody who made a living bleating about movies thought Marlon Brando was the star par excellence and were entirely mistaken. That laurel belonged to humble, workaday Robert Mitchum, the guy who even freshly scrubbed, looked like he could use a shower and a shave. Mitchum had the generosity and grace to make "chemistry" with his co-star. (I'm sure Fred Zinnemann took many cues from Heaven Knows Mr. Allison) Brando never did. All his leading ladies were mere floorboards for Brando's stage.; 1/5/24, 11:38 AM
Shane said...: Lennon repeatedly refers to engineer/producer Glyn Johns as "Glynis" during the "Get Back" sessions.; 1/5/24, 11:49 AM
Quaestor said...: "[Althouse] once said my comments were going to a spam folder."

Cheer up! Spam is an acceptably funny food-like eating material.; 1/5/24, 11:51 AM
rcocean said...: I appreciated Chat AI and Grok's efforts, but I was hoping for something more comic. Y'know the kind of song that would end with Jimmy Durante saying in mock despair:

Excluded again.

This is Ridiculous!; 1/5/24, 11:56 AM
rcocean said...: Chat AI has some poetic lines, but i doubt its "singability".; 1/5/24, 11:56 AM
The Crack Emcee said...: I reacted to Ann's lyrics but it hasn't appeared.; 1/5/24, 12:42 PM
Stv30 said...: That’s a Danny Kaye / Aubrey Plaza deepfake.; 1/5/24, 1:19 PM
Aggie said...: Now as I read the article, I learned two other tidbits:

1. Her dad was Mervyn Johns, who played the Bob Cratchit in the 1951, Alistair Sims version of 'Scrooge' (the best version IMO).

2. Also, that David Soul - of 'Starsky & Hutch', 'Magnum Force', and 'Salem's Lot' fame, has also passed, at 80.; 1/5/24, 1:56 PM
Joe Smith said...: 'I want Danny Kaye’s job.'

Danny Kaye was gay.

Even he didn't want his job in this scene, but they paid him and he acted...; 1/5/24, 5:51 PM
Joe Smith said...: 'I asked A.I. to write a song in the Sondheim style with that lyric'

Sondheim was shit at rhyming which neither AI seems to know...; 1/5/24, 5:55 PM
Kurt Schuler said...: Remember, the pellet with the poison's in the vessel with the pestle.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TJ9f2rnjB84; 1/5/24, 6:05 PM
Hey Skipper said...: @crack: “ This has been going on for a while now. Ann once said my comments were going to a spam folder.”

I would have thought it unpossible: you have made me feel sorry for the spam folder.; 1/5/24, 6:20 PM
Birches said...: There's no proof Kaye was gay. Modern sensibilities just tell us someone who acts like that must be gay. I don't think that's true.; 1/5/24, 6:40 PM
Ann Althouse said...: Grok at least followed the instructions. I used quotes to indicate I wanted the 2 sentences to be treated as a single unit. But I'm not going to say that makes Grok better. I'll just ask again and specify that all 5 words need to be kept together. Here's the result:

(Verse 1)
Excluded again, this is ridiculous,
In the shadows of solitude, feeling so meticulous.
City lights dim, a lonely masquerade,
Echoes of exclusion in the serenade.

(Pre-Chorus)
Invisible threads weave silent pain,
Faces in the crowd, nothing to gain.
A soliloquy of sorrow, a silent plea,
Excluded again, lost in the debris.

(Chorus)
Excluded again, this is ridiculous,
In the dance of life, feeling meticulous.
A solitary figure, seeking connection,
Lost in the city's symphonic reflection.

(Verse 2)
In the labyrinth of alleys, echoes unheard,
A solitary heart, like a caged bird.
Invisible boundaries, a castaway's plea,
Excluded again, in the tapestry.

(Pre-Chorus)
City's heartbeat pulses, but not for me,
In the neon glow, where shadows flee.
This is ridiculous, the silent cry,
A solitary dancer, asking why.

(Chorus)
Excluded again, this is ridiculous,
In the dance of life, feeling meticulous.
A solitary figure, seeking connection,
Lost in the city's symphonic reflection.

(Bridge)
The city sleeps, stars above,
Yearning soul, searching for love.
Excluded again, in the quiet night,
But still, dancing in the fading light.

(Verse 3)
A plea for inclusion, a silent prayer,
Invisible boundaries, too much to bear.
Excluded again, in the quiet strife,
This is ridiculous, the dance of life.

(Pre-Chorus)
In the echoes of the alleyways, dreams fade,
A solitary echo, in the city's cascade.
City lights dim, a lonely masquerade,
Excluded again, feeling meticulous, betrayed.

(Chorus)
Excluded again, this is ridiculous,
In the dance of life, feeling meticulous.
A solitary figure, seeking connection,
Lost in the city's symphonic reflection.

(Outro)
As the city sleeps, and stars above,
A yearning soul, searching for love.
Excluded again, in the quiet night,
But still, dancing in the fading light.; 1/6/24, 5:17 AM
Ann Althouse said...: I asked ChatGPT "In a Broadway musical, what sort of character would sing a song like that?"

ChatGPT answered:

"The character singing a song like this would likely be a poignant and introspective figure, experiencing a sense of isolation and exclusion within the larger context of a Broadway musical. This character could be a complex and nuanced individual who struggles with a deep-seated need for acceptance and connection. Their journey might involve navigating the challenges of city life, facing societal expectations, and dealing with personal insecurities.

"This character could be portrayed as someone who, despite their talents and aspirations, finds themselves on the fringes of society, yearning for genuine connections in the bustling and often impersonal urban environment. The song might serve as a pivotal moment in the character's arc, revealing their vulnerability, resilience, and a determination to keep going despite the challenges.

"In terms of the musical's narrative, the song could come at a point where the character is reflecting on their experiences, questioning their place in the world, and expressing a desire for understanding and acceptance. The emotional depth and introspection in the song could make it a standout moment in the show, allowing the audience to connect with the character on a more profound level."; 1/6/24, 5:20 AM
Old and slow said...: Good lord... ChatGPT might be more insightful than I imagined, or at least it fakes it well. How would the character feel about Zionism I wonder?; 1/6/24, 10:44 AM