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Jan 20, 2023

Our January Special Subject is Part 2 of our look at the films of Ginger Rogers and Fred Astaire, for which we watched Follow the Fleet (1936), Shall We Dance (1937), Carefree (1938), and The Story of Vernon and Irene Castle (1939). Fred and Ginger's popularity was on the decline in his period, but these movies include some of Dave's favourites. We discuss the ways in which these films adhere to and depart from the formula established in their earlier films, for better and worse, then turn our attention to Carefree's curious portrayal of the insanity of psychiatry and Vernon and Irene Castle's unusual romanticization of marital love and its basis in shared work. And in Fear and Moviegoing in Toronto, the TIFF Lightbox Delphine Seyrig festival continues with cult horror movie Daughters of Darkness, the greatest movie of all time, Jeanne Dielman 23 Quai du Commerce 1080 Bruxelles, and two feminist activist videos co-directed by Seyrig, S.C.U.M. Manifesto (in which Seyrig reads an excerpt from Valeria Solanas' book) and Maso and Miso Go Boating. We confess to a shared blind spot in our ability to appreciate 1970s sex thriller aesthetics and explore the implications of the "orgasm interpretation" of Jeanne Dielman, before too much second-wave feminism causes Elise to leave her body and despair of humanity. Dave, however, is on board. We've got something for everyone (except for people who do not want to be on spoiled on the ending of Daughters of Darkness) in this episode!

 

Time Codes:

0h 1m 00s:        FOLLOW THE FLEET (1936) [dir. Mark Sandrich]          

0h 18m 16s:      SHALL WE DANCE (1937) [dir. Mark Sandrich]

0h 26m 35s:      CAREFREE (1938) [dir. Mark Sandrich]

0h 38m 18s:      THE STORY OF VERNON & IRENE CASTLE (1939) [dir. H.C. Potter]

0h 54m 01s:      Fear and Moviegoing in Toronto: DAUGHTERS OF DARKNESS (1971), JEANNE DIELMAN 23 QUAI DU COMMERCE, 1080 BRUXELLES (1975), SCUM MANIFESTO (1976), and MASO & MISO VONT EN BATEAU (1975)

 

+++

* Listen to our guest episode on The Criterion Project – a discussion of Late Spring

* Marvel at our meticulously ridiculous Complete Viewing Schedule for the 2020s

* Intro Song: “Sunday” by Jean Goldkette Orchestra with the Keller Sisters (courtesy of The Internet Archive)

* Read Elise’s piece on Gangs of New York “Making America Strange Again”

* Check out Dave’s Robert Benchley blog – an attempt to annotate and reflect upon as many of the master humorist’s 2000+ pieces as he can locate – Benchley Data: A Wayward Annotation Project! 

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