Masked Marvel: The 40th Anniversary of "Halloween III: Season of the Witch"

 

by Michael Lyons

From divisive to beloved.  That's the journey that Halloween III: Season of the Witch has taken in the forty years since its initial release.

When it first came out in 1982, audiences expected another entry in the Michael Myers storyline (and little did they think that would still be going on today), which this film wasn't, and critics were savage (Roger Ebert awarded the film *and 1/2 out of four and called it "...a low rent thriller from the first frame").

With this, Halloween III sank at the box office, becoming the lowest-grossing Halloween film up to that point.  But, as it can be, time has been kind to this weird, mostly ridiculous, 80s time capsule of a movie, and Halloween III: Season of the Witch has gained its audience, and its place as a seasonal favorite, in the past four decades.

With the first two Halloween films centering on Michael Myers and Laurie Strode, director John Carpenter and Debra Hill wanted to create an anthology series of films, each with a Halloween theme and containing their distinct storyline.

The first of these was  Halloween III: Season of the Witch, directed by Tommy Lee Wallace, in which Dr. Daniel Challis (Tom Atkins) seeks to uncover a mystery surrounding the death of one of his patients.  He is joined by the deceased patient's daughter, Ellie (Stacey Nelkin), and they travel to the strange small town of Santa Mira, California, and discover a plot by Conal Cochran (Dan O'Herlihy), owner of Silver Shamrock Novelties, to use Halloween masks to take over the world.

It seems that on Halloween night, there will be a "big giveaway" broadcast on TV, and as kids sit near the television with their masks on, the broadcast will interact with a computer chip on the mask, which will initiate the takeover of the world.

There are also bugs and snakes that come out of people's mouths when this happens; robot henchmen who work for Mr. Cochran; something about the legacy of witchcraft and, oh yeah, Stonehenge is somehow involved.  

The plot doesn't matter; the fun of Halloween III is how off-the-wall and far-fetched the plot is, in a B-Movie way.  Audiences shouldn't look for logic but, instead, enjoy how illogical the film really is.

This is probably part of the reason why the cult status of the film has grown into something more through the years.  That, and the incredible earworm of the countdown theme song that appears in the Silver Shamrock commercials: "Eight more 'til Hall-o-ween, Hall-o-ween, Hall-o-ween..." sung to the tune of London Bridge is Falling Down.

Looking back on the film, recently on the website,  From the Front Row , Mattie Lucas wrote: "No one will ever mistake Halloween III for a great film, but it is a misunderstood one, a curious experiment in franchise filmmaking that was bold as it was ultimately foolish.  Taken apart from the Halloween franchise and evaluated as a stand-alone film, it's a solid piece of 80s horror and a fascinating 'what-if' that offers a window into an alternate universe where the series took a vastly different direction."

And, so, as Halloween III celebrates its 40th anniversary this October, all that's left to say, in the ominous tone of Conal Cochran himself: "Happy...Halloween."

This Halloween, don't be scared that you don't have the perfect gift for that movie-lover in your life for the upcoming Holiday Season! My book, Drawn to Greatness: Disney's Animation Renaissance is now available at Amazon .  AND, signed and personalized copies are available on my website, Words From Lyons

Also on my website, this and other fun Halloween-themed podcasts and articles, check them out here:Words from Lyons .

 

Sitcom Scares: Retro TV Haunts for Halloween Season

The "Fright Night" episode of The Brady Bunch

 

by Michael Lyons

"Halloween Adjacent." That’s what my good friends Scott and Andy call any movie or TV show that isn't about Halloween but is perfect within the Halloween season.

And, there are a lot of classic TV sitcoms that fit within the "Halloween Adjacent" mold.  Sure, there are no Jack-o-lanterns or trick-or-treaters, but watching these feels like October.

Here are just four sitcom scares from the 60s and 70s to make your season a little spookier and maybe even a little sillier.

"It May Look Like a Walnut," The Dick Van Dyke Show,  February 6, 1963

A darkly humorous episode of the classic sitcom. Rob (Dick Van Dyke) watches a science fiction horror film and wakes up the next day to find that the film's events have come true: the earth has been invaded by an alien from the planet Twilo (played by comedian Danny Thomas, sporting a British accent).  The aliens are using walnuts to take over the earth to remove everyone's imaginations and thumbs.

It all culminates in Rob coming home to find a closet full of walnuts, with his wife, Laura (Mary Tyler Moore) floating on top.  Is it all a dream?  No spoilers here.

No wonder this episode is one of the series' most famous and iconic. It's very clever and just plain...well...nuts!

 

"Up at Bat," Gilligan's Island, September 12, 1966

Gilligan (Bob Denver) is bitten on the neck by a bat and becomes convinced he will transform into a vampire.

He is so convinced this will happen that he dreams he is Count Dracula, with the other castaways also appearing in his dream, playing such roles as Nina Harker and Sherlock Holmes.

It's the usual cartoony comedy that was the cornerstone of Gilligan's Island, but, who cares, it's so much fun, and the cast seems to be having a great time re-creating the Hammer horror films in Gilligan's dream.  And, keeping with the theme, there's even a parody of Batman!

 "Fright Night," The Brady Bunch, October 27, 1972

Gilligan's Island creator Sherwood Schwartz also brought The Brady Bunch to TV, and brought some scary fun to one of this show's episodes, as well.

"Fright Night" debuted in late October and is probably the closest to a Halloween episode of the bunch, even though Halloween is never mentioned.  The Brady kids attempt to scare each other in elaborate ways, using projections, cellophane for ghosts, and scary voices on a cassette recorder (ah, the 70s).

However, things get out of hand when they attempt to frighten Alice (Ann B. Davis), resulting in a usual Brady punishment - revoking the allowance.

The fun of this episode is the creative ways the kids try to scare each other.  Their "home-spun" pranks could have only been pulled off with the assistance of a special effects artist, but we don't come to The Brady Bunch for realism; we come for comfort-food TV, and this episode delivers. 

 "The Exorcists," The Odd Couple, December 7, 1973

Unlikely roommates Felix (Tony Randall) and Oscar (Jack Klugman) believe that a ghost is living in their window unit air conditioner.  After Felix's seance fails, they go to an exorcist - the very funny Victor Buono, most famous as the villain King Tut from TV's Batman.

Felix's gullibility and enthusiasm, coupled with Oscar's cynicism, are in full comic effect.  And how Oscar finally removes the ghost is a funny capper to the episode.  Plus, stay tuned for the "special chant" that Oscar teaches Felix at the conclusion.

 

And, there they are, just a few flashbacks from TV past, to help you get prepped this Spooky Season and stay very adjacent to Halloween!

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Falling Star: The 40th Anniversary of "My Favorite Year"

 by Michael Lyons    

 

"I'm not an actor. I'm a movie star!"

Just one of the many clever, insightful, and funny lines of dialogue from one of the best comedies of the 80s, My Favorite Year.

And that year in the film is 1954.  It's New York City during the Golden Age of Television.  Young Benjy Stone (played by Mark Linn-Baker, later of Perfect Strangers, here in his first major role) is an up-and-coming writer on Comedy Cavalcade, a fictional comedy-variety show based on the real Your Show of Shows. 

The guest on the show that week is Alan Swann, played by Peter O'Toole, a swashbuckling movie star in the mold of Eroll Flynn.  Swann's carer is on a downslide and has developed a terrible reputation for carousing, womanizing, and drinking.

Benjy, who idolizes Swann, is given the responsibility to keep Swann on track, off of alcohol, away from women, and on time for the show.  Not an easy task.

What follows in the week leading up to the show is that Benjy realizes celebrities are just as human as anyone else; Swann realizes the responsibility that comes with being a celebrity.

Written by Norman Steinberg and Dennis Palumbo, My Favorite Year sparkles with sharp dialogue that feels like it was written by the team of Comedy Calvacade writers.  In addition to O'Toole's "movie star” line above, a classic exchange between the actor and legendary comedienne Selma Diamond defines comedy gold.

O'Toole rightfully received an Oscar nomination for his performance, constantly walking a tightrope of comedy and tragedy throughout the film.  Linn-Baker has the thankless task of being O'Toole's straight-man but brings to it such emotion and empathy as the wide-eyed surrogate for all star-struck movie fans.

The supporting cast of My Favorite Year is full of MVPs.  Joseph Bologna is pompously perfect as King Kaiser, the show's star, and Bill Macy, Anne DeSalvo, and Basil Hoffman add a great backdrop as a trio of disparate writers on Comedy Calvacade.

But, stealing the show is Lanie Kazan as Benjy's mom, Belle, and Lou Jacobi as his Uncle Morty.  The scene in My Favorite Year, where Benjy takes Swann to Brooklyn to meet his family, ranks as one of film's greatest and most hysterical "clash of cultures" scenes.  Belle calls Allan "Swanee," to which Benjy declares, "Ma! He's an actor, not a river!"  

Actor Richard Benjamin made his directorial debut with My Favorite Year. As a great comic himself, he shows a deft hand with the film's funnier scenes and allows the film its quieter moments of character development and even pathos.

Debuting on October 8, 1982, My Favorite Year was a big enough of a hit and long remembered enough to inspire a popular Broadway musical version that debuted in 1992.

It's no wonder that My Favorite Year was able to provide such rich inspiration.  The film is that rare comedy that allows us to see a little bit of ourselves and our world and delivers an insightful message.

As Alan develops a case of stage fright around live TV, Benjy pleads with him: "...don't tell me this is you life-size!  I can't use you life-size!  I need Alan Swanns as big as I can get them!"

My Favorite Year speaks to the frailty of our celebrities and how much we all “need” our celebrities.

True in 1954.  True today.

 

 

Setting the Bar High: The 40th Anniversary of "Cheers"

by Michael Lyons

 

"Every day, during happy hour, they sit and drink and solve problems - their own, the world's - it doesn't matter much.  And while they're at it, they come up with some of the funniest lines to hit the small screen this season." - The Hollywood Reporter review of Cheers, October 19, 1982.

 

It seems that the staff of The Hollywood Reporter knew at the outset what we all know now about Cheers. The bar "where everybody knows your name" made its TV debut forty years ago this fall and has earned its rightful place as one of television's most beloved and classic sitcoms.

The show was the brainchild of Glen and Les Charles and James Burrows, who sought to create an ensemble show around a workplace, a la The Mary Tyler Moore Show.  A tavern was chosen as the setting, using the real Bull & Finch Pub in Boston as the inspiration (and used the bar for the exterior shots).  The pub eventually was re-named Cheers, becoming a tremendous tourist attraction to this day.

It's more evidence of the popularity of Cheers and how audiences could relate to the characters on the show.  From recovering alcoholic, womanizing, former Red Sox pitcher Sam Malone (Ted Danson) to wanna-be intellectual waitress Diane Chambers (Shelley Long) and from innocent philosopher Coach (Nicholas Colasanto) to tough-as-nails veteran waitress Carla (Rhea Perlman), the personalities of the bar staff ran the gamut.  And, with the regulars like the accountant Norm (George Wendt), mailman and know-it-all Cliff (John Ratzenberger), and snobbish psychiatrist Frasier (Kelsey Grammer), we could see ourselves or someone we knew.

Cheers managed to do what few sitcoms could, becoming better and funnier as cast members changed. After Calasanto sadly passed away in 1985, Woody Harrelson joined the cast as Woody, segueing nicely with the other characters.  Long eventually left the show in 1987, replaced by Kirstie Alley as Rebecca, a hilariously opportunistic manager of Cheers. She proved a nice alternative to Long's prim turn as Diane.

From 1982-1993, Cheers would dominate ratings, eventually becoming the cornerstone of NBC's "Must See TV" line-up on Thursday nights.  For those ten seasons, audiences soaked up Diane and Sam's on again/off again-will they/won't they relationship, the entire bar shouting "Norm!" as he would enter, as well as his sharp responses ("What would you say to a beer, Norm?" Coach asked him.  "Going down?" was his response), and, of course, both Coach and Woody's earnest personalities.

The theme song, performed by Gary Portnoy, became a Top 40 hit and an anthem to make anyone feel welcome.

When the final episode, entitled "One for the Road," aired on May 20, 1993, it was watched by 42.4 million viewers, making it the most watched show of the year.

Seinfeld and Friends would pick up the mantle of "Must See" on NBC for the remainder of the 90s. Still, Cheers would remain the last show of the pre-VCR generation, when popular shows were "appointment TV," where viewers cleared the calendars to watch the first-run show and didn't dare risk the chance of having to wait for a summer rerun.

Writing about the Cheers finale in Entertainment Weekly, writer A.J. Jacobs called it "classy as a flute of Cristal."

The same could be said of the entire series.

Happy 40th anniversary, and cheers to Cheers!

 

Sources:

hollywoodreporter.com

wikipedia.com

Looking for a good book to read, to beat the post-summer blues?  My book Drawn to Greatness: Disney's Animation Renaissance is now available on Amazon!

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A Job Well Done: Movie Quotes About Work, In Honor of Labor Day

 by Michael Lyons    

Oh sure, it's "summer's last gasp."  That's what Labor Day weekend has come to be known as.  That last chance to head to the beach, jump into the pool and fire up the bar-b-que before the leaves start falling and Mariah Carey's "All I Want For Christmas" plays on repeat.

However, with all this, we may forget that Labor Day was initiated, as Wikipedia tells us, "...to honor and recognize the American labor movement and the works and contributions of laborers to the development and achievements of the United States."

As this day is all about celebrating the hard work done each day and also a time to relax, it's the perfect opportunity to celebrate movies that have celebrated this work.

What follows are just some of the many quotes from some of the many movies that have shed light on our workplace and workforce.  Here they are in all of their humor, cynicism, and inspiration:

 "I am your employee, and, as such, I expect to be treated equally, with a little dignity and a little respect!"

 - Violet (Lily Tomlin), 9 to 5 (1980).

"First rule of leadership: everything is your fault."

 - Hopper (Kevin Spacey), A Bug's Life (1998).

"Normally, it takes years to work your way up to the twenty-seventh floor.  But it only takes thirty seconds to be out on the street again."

 - J.D. Sheldrake (Fred MacMurray), The Apartment (1960).

"Never burn bridges.  Today's junior prick, tomorrow's senior partner."

 - Katherine (Sigourney Weaver), Working Girl, 1988.

"Human beings were not meant to sit in little cubicles staring at computer screens all day, filling out useless forms and listening to eight different bosses drone on about mission statements."

 - Peter (Ron Livingston), Office Space, 1999.

"So you got a job, where you play with all of these toys?"

"Yup!"

"And, they're gonna pay you for that?"!?"

"Yup!"

"SUCKERS!"

 - Josh (Tom Hanks) and Billy (Jared Ruston), Big, 1988.

"Just remember this, Mr. Potter, that this rabble you're talking about...they do most of the working and paying and living in this community.  Well, is it too much to have them work and pay and live and die in a couple of decent rooms and a bath?"

 - George (Jimmy Stewart), It's a Wonderful Life, 1946.

"Hey, I don't have all of the answers.  In life, to be honest, I failed as much as I have succeeded.  But I love my wife.  I love my life.  And I wish you my kind of success."

 - Dicky Fox (Jared Jussim), Jerry Maguire, 1996.

 

So, this weekend, as the sun sets on another summer, take the time to enjoy one of these, or one of the many other, films that celebrate our jobs, our dreams, and our hard work.

Happy Labor Day Weekend!

 

 

Sources:

IMDb

Wikipedia

Looking for that great Labor Day weekend book to read?  My book Drawn to Greatness: Disney's Animation Renaissance is now available on Amazon!

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Happy Endings: Late Summer Movie Season Entries that Helped Make the Dog Days Just a Little Cooler

 by Michael Lyons     

 

I guess we can avoid the inevitable no longer.  Soon, all the kids will head back to school, the bathing suits will be packed away, and pumpkin spice will be added to everything from a cappuccino to marinara sauce.

Summer, that glorious season of fair weather days and endless nights, is ending.  Sure, the summer of 2022 wasn't perfect, as it was filled with travel woes that made vacation almost seem like a four-letter word and weather so intense that it seemed as if the Heat Miser was real.  

But, admit it, you'll miss summer.  The carefree-no-school-flip-flop-wearing time of year brings a unique sense of relaxation.  And it's own form of movies, too.

After two years dormant, Hollywood's all-important summer movie season made a tremendous comeback this year, thanks to hits like Top Gun: Maverick.  The record-breaking Tom Cruise "legacy sequel" was an excellent "flashback" to summer movie seasons that brought us some of the movie industry's most famous films.

And during those past summer movie seasons, some late entries hit theaters just before summer took its final bow and provided one last blast for movie fans.

As "Screen Saver" did in 2018, here's another look at some late entries in past summer movie seasons:

 

Cop Land (1997)

A Western-style story set in contemporary New Jersey, this was an "Eastern" and a compelling, well-crafted one.  Sylvester Stallone plays Freddy Heflin, a quiet, mild-mannered Sherrif of a small Jersey suburb, where a number of New York City cops live.

When an internal affairs officer (Robert DeNiro) begins investigating corruption among the residents, Freddy has to decide between his loyalty to the cops who live in the town and doing what's right.

Written and directed by James Mangold, Cop Land  (released twenty-five years ago) is one of the most underrated movies of the 90s, expertly made, with echoes of the best of Martin Scorsese and Sidney Lumet.

With a supporting cast that includes Harvey Keitel, Ray Liotta, Cathy Moriarity, Janeane Garofalo, and Michael Rapaport, Cop Land is bristling with talent and features Stallone in one of the best performances of his career (and one for which he was robbed of an Oscar nomination).

 Single White Female (1992)

Thirty years ago, the movie thriller was still "a thing." Audiences flocked to films that showed how evil could lurk in our everyday lives, including a new roommate.  This is the premise of Single White Female, in which New Yorker Allison Jones (Bridget Fonda) places an ad looking for a roommate, and she gets Hedra Carson (Jennifer Jason Leigh) answering it.

It turns out that Hedra, who has a disturbing history, wants more than just a room; she wants Allison's life.

Single White Female had shades of the classic Rosemary's Baby, as it creates an eerie atmosphere out of an old Manhattan apartment.  While it may not bring with it too many surprises, it's still an effective thriller, thanks to compelling performances by Fonda and Jason Leigh.

 Stakeout (1987) 

This is a complete and utter '80s audience pleaser.  Released thirty-five years ago this month, Richard Dreyfuss and Emilio Estevez have great chemistry as police detective partners forced to go on the graveyard shift of a stakeout.  Dreyfuss' character then finds himself falling for the woman (Madeline Stowe) that they're watching.

Directed by John Badham (WarGames), Stakeout is the perfect comedy-action-thriller that seems to be a genre that's disappeared. Estevez showed nice comedic skills, and Dreyfuss was at his manic best.

Stakeout was a surprise, late-summer box-office hit, and deservedly so.

 

The Kentucky Fried Movie (1977)

Want to see the trailers for "Catholic High School Girls in Trouble?"  or "A Fistful of Yen?"  How about a movie that's advertised in the immersive "Feel-a-Round?"

They're all in this irreverent sketch comedy that plays like Saturday Night Live: The Movie. Still funny and fun to watch, this unique comedy is most notable for the careers it launched.

Director John Landis would go on to helm Animal House and Trading Places, among others, and writers Jim Abrahams and David & Jerry Zucker would later bring us Airplane! And the Naked Gun movies. Forty-five years ago, at the end of "Star Wars Summer," they all cut their comedic teeth on The Kentucky Fried Movie. 

 

And so, as we cling to every last sun-drenched day of August and hurtle headfirst into Labor Day, let's remember these films that gave the Summer Movie season its last-minute due.

Soon, those leaves will be changing.  And, remember, they're only pretty to look at when you don't have to rake them! 

Looking for a good Labor Day Weekend "beach read?"  Check out my book Drawn to Greatness: Disney's Animation Renaissance now available on Amazon.

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The Next "Wave" in Animation: Classic Cartoons Go to the Beach

 

By Michael Lyons

 

It's August, time to ignore those "Back-to-School" commercials and remember that it's still summer.  Oh sure, everyone wants to start picking out just the right sweater and add pumpkin spice to everything, but it's still sweltering outside, people!

Let's hold on to these glorious warm weather months for as long as possible and head to the beach!  And, to get us in the right mood, like an animation sommelier, what follows is just the right pairing of classic cartoons to accompany your trip to the sea shore.

Here are some brief trips to the beach, featuring iconic characters from the golden age of animation, when litter wasn't allowed on the sand, but good ol' fashioned cartoon sight gags were permitted.

 Beach Picnic (Disney, 1939)

When it comes to classic Disney Donald Duck cartoons, they don't come more iconic than this.

With Pluto in tow, Donald, in his full-piece, old-fashioned bathing suit, and straw hat, embarks on a day at the beach.  They are both met with the standard frustrations, as Donald's inflatable beach toy (a horse he's nicknamed Seabiscuit) misbehaves, and an army of ants make short work of the multi-course spread of picnic food that Donald has displayed on his beach blanket.

Among the richly designed Disney comedic moments, there is an excellent sequence in which Pluto gets stuck to fly paper.  Then, of course, Donald's frustrations and tantrums are relatable to all of us who have embarked on a day at the beach this summer.

 Wackiki Rabbit (Warner Bros, 1943)

As far from Beach Picnic as you can get is this Merrie Melodies outing with Bugs Bunny.

Two castaways (voiced by story artists Michael Maltese and Tedd Pierce) are stranded at sea, floating on a raft, and starving.  They drift onto the shore of a small island with one inhabitant: Bugs Bunny.

The two men then spend the remainder of the cartoon attempting to eat Bugs, and the Bunny uses his smart-aleck wit to get the best of them continually.

Directed by animation icon Chuck Jones (billed here as Charles M. Jones), Wackiki Rabbit features his trademark, perfectly timed comedy (Bugs speaks as an island native in what seems like a long speech but translates to: "What's up, Doc?").  There's also that classic, cannibalistic cartoon gag where characters are so ravenous they begin to imagine each other as food.

Wackiki Rabbit also features beautifully stylized backgrounds by layout and background artists John McGrew, Gene Fleury and Bernyce Polifka which have a Polynesian and breezy summer flair.

 Beach Peach (Famous Studios, 1950)

"Oh, Popeye!  The beach just sands me!" says Olive Oyl at the start of this Popeye cartoon, where the two love birds embark on a day at the beach.  All is serene until the lifeguard (who sounds like Bluto but is blonde and a little more fit than Popeye's usual nemesis) spends the remainder of the cartoon attempting to steal Olive away from Popeye.

Is there the standard finale with Popeye downing his spinach and getting the best of the lifeguard?  There sure is, and here the sailor man even turns himself into a torpedo to do in his enemy.

Some solid gags follow, like Popeye tripping into setting up his place on the sand or a lifeguard having so little to do that he's drinking beer and watching TV.  Beach Peach may be a traditional Popeye outing, but it manages a few nice, satirical jabs at the perfect day at the beach.

 

Muscle Beach Tom (MGM, 1956)

 

In glorious, widescreen Cinemascope comes this Tom & Jerry short, where Tom attempts to impress his girlfriend by taking her to the beach.  However, when he disrupts Jerry's day, the expected fight between the two ensues.

Additionally, one of the weightlifting cats on the muscle beach gets into it with Tom.  There's the usual cartoon violence that follows, but also a good amount of clever sight gags.  The opening shot of a non-stop array of cats attempting to lift weights in several ways is very well done.

The animation here is also fully realized as the gags play out in Muscle Beach Tom against some beautifully rendered beach backgrounds by the studio's masterful artist Robert Gentle.

 

Although these classic shorts may take place in the unrealistic world of cartoons, each has the same to say about how we all revel in the relaxation that comes with a day at the beach.  Let's soak it up while we still can before those Halloween costumes arrive in stores.

 

Happy August to all!

 

 My book, Drawn to Greatness: Disney's Animation Renaissance is now available on Amazon!

Enjoy more of my articles and podcasts at my website, Words From Lyons