Showbiz History: Gattaca, Trog, and the King and Queen of Pop
Saturday, October 24, 2020 at 9:00AM Five random things that happened on this day, October 24th, in showbiz history
50th anniversary today for TROG
1941 Spooks Run Wild, starring Bela Lugosi and part of the film franchise "East Side Kids" opens in theaters.
1970 50TH ANNIVERSARY. Trog, infamous Joan Crawford's last film, hits theaters...
She may have been a diva but she was not above any job as long as it kept her on camera. Meanwhile, Broadway's awesome leading man Raúl Esparza was born in Wilmington Delaware. And "I'll Be There" by the Jackson 5 was the #1 hit in the land.
1987 "Bad" by Michael Jackson hits #1 blocking Madonna from having yet another #1 hit with "Causing a Commotion" which stalls at #2 on the Billboard Hot 100. The King and Queen of Pop.
1997 Under the radar sci-fi classic Gattaca opened, starring new couple Uma Thurman and Ethan Hawke. Their daughter Maya (now starring on Stranger Things) was literally born nine months later.
2003 It was a less than stellar box office weekend. Opening were Jane Campion's In the Cut, Gus Van Sant's Elephant, the Angelina Jolie doctor romance drama Beyond Borders, the Cuba Gooding Jr vehicle Radio, and the musical curio The Singing Detective with Robert Downey Jr. Scary Movie 3, also a newbie, easily trounced the competition.
Today's Birthday Suit
A very happy 60th birthday today to eternally youthful stage, tv, and big screen actor B.D. Wong who we've been watching for as long as we can remember. He's a Tony winner and Emmy nominee. Adore this photo of him from a handful of years ago as Chaplin by David Spagnolo.
Actors celebrating birthdays today: Dawson Shea (22), Kendall Ryan Sanders (23), Ashton Sanders (25), Oliver Jackson-Cohen (34), Jemima Rooper (39), Casey Wilson (40), Amy Bailey (45), Raúl Esparza (50), B.D. Wong (60), Kevin Kline (73), and F Murray Abraham (81); Other showbiz people celebrating birthdays today: Singer Drake (34), fashion designer Zac Posen (40), singer Monica (40), cinematographer Roman Vasyanov (40), franchise screenwriter Dave Callaham (43), Director Matthew Warchus (54), underrated production designer Kristi Zea (72), Director Martin Campbell (77), Production designer Tony Walton (86)
Gone but not forgotten: Prince & the Showgirls queen dowager Sybil Thorndike born on this day in 1882 (remember when Judi Dench played her in My Week with Marilyn?), Oscar nominated cinematographer Arthur Edeson (Casablanca, All Quiet on the Western Front) born on this day in 1891, producer Merian C Cooper (King Kong, The Quiet Man) born on this day in 1893, and Batman creator Bob Kane who was born on this day in 1915.
Reader Comments (16)
Poor Joan all those years of toil and striving to have Trog be the wrap up of her career is just a so sad. A shame she was too ill to accept the Olivia de Havilland role in Airport '77. It might not have been a classic but certainly would have been a better finale than that piece of junk. Say what you will about her but even in utter dreck like that she never allowed herself be anything less than totally professional.
Joan sure did,She would have probably played it similar to Olivia in Airport 77 and Lee Grant and her jewllery own that camp piece anyhow.
I found Trog a guilty delight. Especially those hot men who were exploring the caves early in the movie that no one told me about.
Also really fun was seeing D'Arcy Drollinger's live production of Trog Live! at the Oasis a few years ago. Matthew Martin does a mean Crawford:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RvCEGC2cunY
Trog is on criterion FYI. Those late Joan Crawford movies are kind of like accidents you can't look away from. She's so diminished but no less committed than she ever was and it's truly like watching someone essentially invent acting rules for themselves.
I think Raul Esparza set a record getting nominated for every male acting category at the Tonys but he never won. Hopefully when the lights come back on and the curtain rises again he gets a chance earn one.
Between the art direction, the cinematography, Ethan, Uma, and Jude Law, Gattaca may well have been the most beautiful film of 1997.
Trog - Absurd and fun.
Sybil Thorndike - Judi Dench narrowly missed a nomination for Supporting in My Week With Marilyn.
I too see Trog as more tragic than funny. Joan deserved so much better. But check out her segment in the 1969 omnibus TV movie that was the pilot for Rod Serling's Night Gallery series. She plays a villainous blind woman and she's fantastic in it. That would have been a much better swan song for her than Trog.
@ Rob
The Night Gallery segment was directed by Steven Spielberg (his first TV gig). Scary show, scary episode.
Uma & Ethan in 1997 ... is there anything more gorgeous?
Wow, of all of those movies that came out that weekend in 2003. Elephant was the best of them all. Everything that came out that weekend was shit. I think I saw Lost in Translation the 2nd time that weekend. I would see it in the theaters one more time on Xmas eve. What can I say? It's THE BEST FILM EVER MADE!
@Working stiff: that's right, Spielberg's film debut, I believe. He did a swell job as well.
More fun Joan Crawford trivia from 1970. She appeared in an interview on The David Frost Show on January 16, 1970. A few weeks later, she received the Cecil B. DeMille Award at the Golden Globe ceremony held February 2, 1970. Clips of the Frost interview can be found online.
It's comforting to know that, just before her abysmal final film, Hollywood was celebrating Joan's career just as we continue to do today. Another comfort for Crawford fans is that Trog is at least watchable dreck. Poor Veronica Lake also appeared in her final film Flesh Feast, which is embarrassing and appallingly worse by comparison.
@ Patrick T
I have seen the horrendous Flesh Feast and agree that it is far worse than Trog, probably the saddest send off for any once great star but having just finally caught up with Miriam Hopkins's final film Savage Intruder (also released in 1970!! What the hell was going on?!) last weekend I have to say it runs a close second.
Of course that doesn't turn Trog into anything approaching quality. I think it is a clear snapshot of the lack of parity between the female and male stars of the Golden Age as they aged that those three ladies were reduced to appearing in this sort of trash while their counterparts like Fredric March, Henry Fonda, Jimmy Stewart and John Wayne were all still gainfully employed in either prestige (Too Late the Hero for Fonda), decently budgeted comedies (Cheyenne Social Club for both Stewart & Fonda) or populist successes (Chisum for The Duke).
As for March his final film came a few years later in 1973. Was it Swamp Monster or Scrapping the Bottom of the Barrel? Nope. It was The Iceman Cometh! Which also served as Robert Ryan's swan song. They were both great actors who gave beautiful performances in the film but it just doesn't seem fair.
@joel6
Thank you for the Savage Intruder recommendation! haha! And terrific point about the lack of parity between female and male stars of the Golden Age.
The best thing about the ridiculous "Trog" is when Dr Crwaford hooks him up to that machine and we see his prehistoric memories- Ray Harryhausen's dinosaur sequence from Irwin Allen's "The Animal World" (1956)