A Southern Christmas List
by
Gail Jarvis
by
Gail Jarvis
I
realize you’re probably being bombarded with suggestions for Christmas
gifts – the hottest books, videos, and CD‘s. But let me suggest
a few other choices. My taste may seem to be a little antiquated
as my recommendations are from the past and possibly unfamiliar.
So I will supply a little blurb with each to help you decide if
you have any interest.
 A
video that always makes me happy is the 1939 musical comedy version
of The
Three Musketeers starring Don Ameche and the Ritz Brothers.
Today, the three Ritz Brothers are practically forgotten compared
to the Marx Brothers but during their heyday they were big time
"box office." Their outrageous humor is definitely not
sophisticated. In fact, they made slapstick an art form. Ameche
plays a tongue-in-cheek D’Artagnan who mistakes three bumbling cooks
for fellow musketeers and uses them is his attempt to reclaim the
Queen’s most valuable jewel. In the process, Ameche falls in love
with the Queen’s lady-in-waiting. Humor, singing and swashbuckling
abound.
 Another
type of humor is offered by The
Bobo, a film from 1967 and, believe me, it is vintage 1960’s.
The film was not well received when released but has become a cult
favorite. A beautiful gold digging courtesan, Olympia, (Britt Eckland)
is sought after by a bevy of discouraged suitors, the most bitter
being the powerful impresario, Carbonell, whom she had previously
rejected. A cluster of these men sit in an outdoor café across
from the gold digger’s apartment, lecherously watching her comings
and goings. One day a penniless gypsy, Juan Bautista, (Peter Sellers)
drifts into town and begs Carbonell to book his act which involves
singing while fighting a bull. Unable to get rid of the persistent
Bautista, Carbonell finally makes him an offer. Carbonell will book
him for a week at a prestigious location if, within three days,
Bautista is able to bed the aptly named Olympia. The plot thickens
and, in the end, like a tale by Chaucer, everyone gets their comeuppance.
From
1954 comes Pushover, a reworking of the 1944 film noir classic
Double
Indemnity, starring Fred MacMurray and Barbara Stanwyck.
MacMurray is back again as the man on the inside, this time a detective
trying to outwit his associates and make off with $200,000 of stolen
money. This film introduced two screen lovelies, Kim Novak and Dorothy
Malone. MacMurray might be a little long in the tooth as the love
interest of the young Novak who was still in her teens when the
film was made. But the chemistry between the two works and so the
film works. The tension begins early and remains taut throughout.
 Videos
of the1935 film The
Littlest Rebel can still be found. Shirley Temple is Virgie
Cary, the daughter of a imprisoned Confederate officer. A Union
Colonel is charmed by the little girl and helps her father escape
and return to his plantation. But the two men are caught and scheduled
for execution. The spirited little girl, in true Shirley Temple
fashion, convinces President Lincoln to spare the two men. The film
is corny and Shirley Temple is pure confection. But children (of
all ages) like it and it worth the price just to hear Shirley Temple
sing "Dixie" to the Union Colonel.
One
of the finest animated films in America was made in 1946, the Walt
Disney classic, Song of the South. The film, with music,
is based on the famous Uncle Remus stories by Eatonton, Georgia’s
Joel Chandler Harris. Unfortunately, the Walt Disney Company capitulated
to intimidation from politically correct types, objecting to the
film’s portrayal of slaves and plantation life, and has refused
to allow their best animation film to be distributed in the United
States. But the film was not censored in other countries including
England so now VHS and DVD copies, compatible with American equipment,
can be found in the U.S. The story‘s hero, Uncle Remus, is the wise
man, whom all turn to for advice. Sometimes Uncle Remus’ most meaningful
interactions are with children and he dispenses his philosophic
lessons in the form of stories of Brer Rabbit, Brer Fox and Brer
Bear. The film contains the wonderful song "Zip-A-Dee-Do-Dah."
 Music
with a Southern flavor can also be found on the CD, Hoagy
sings Carmichael. With a backup band of outstanding musicians,
including the late Art Pepper, Hoagy Carmichael puts his gravelly
voice to his own compositions, songs with either Southern subjects
or a Southern flavor; Georgia on My Mind; New Orleans,
Baltimore Oriole ( yes, Baltimore is a Southern city) and,
my favorite, Memphis in June. The CD also contains Lazy
River, Two Sleepy People and Ballad in Blue.
 The
most Southern of all songs is, of course, Dixie and there
are a number of outstanding versions available. For the standard
marching band rendition I recommend the version by Erich Kunzel
and the Cincinnati Pops. This CD, American
Jubilee, also includes many other favorites such as Yankee
Doodle, The Stars and Stripes Forever and Battle Hymn
of the Republic.
For
a New Orleans Jazz interpretation of Dixie, there is the
one and only Louis Armstrong playing with the Dukes of Dixieland;
Satchmo
and the Dukes of Dixieland. The CD also includes the Mardi
Gras standard Bourbon Street Parade as well as Washington
& Lee Swing, South, Lime House Blues and
Sweet Georgia Brown.
 My
favorite version of Dixie is by a vocal quartet known as
The Hi-Lo’s whose style is best described as "a cappella."
This group exemplifies fine musicianship and their version is unusually
slow, almost mournful. A muted trumpet and a muffled drum roll sound
as though they are coming from a distance as they set the stage
for the voices. The muted trumpet, reminiscent of Taps, bridges
the verses of the song and is used at the end to fade the piece
out. I have seen grown Southern men get teary eyed listening to
this version – especially after they have had a taste of the
grape. The CD is called, Together
Wherever We Go and includes terrific renditions of classics
such as Laura, Wait Till You See Her and I Married
An Angel.
 Finally,
a novel from the past, controversial for its time and now largely
forgotten but still available. Françoise Sagan’s book Bonjour
Tristesse was published in Paris in1958 while that city’s
intellectuals were still in the thralls of existentialism. The heroine,
Cecile, is a young girl in her late teens as was Sagan when she
wrote the book. Cecile lives with her divorced father, a serial
womanizer. But the young girl is content with her unconventional
life ; her father’s wealth allows the two of them to divide their
time between Paris and the French Riviera. However, when her father
falls for one of his mistresses and considers marriage, the young
girl fears for her idyllic lifestyle and begins an intricate scheme
to end her father’s relationship with the woman. The law of unintended
consequences causes her scheme to go awry and end tragically. Hence
the title, which loosely translates as ‘Good Morning Sadness.’ Although
the book is written from the perspective of an unorthodox young
girl who is coming of age, it should appeal to anyone who enjoys
fine writing.
I
hope that one of my suggestions might be appropriate for someone
on your gift list. In any event, I wish you and your family Happy
Holidays!
December
2, 2003
Gail
Jarvis [send
him mail], a CPA living in
Beaufort, SC, is an advocate of the voluntary union of states established
by the founders.
Copyright
© 2003 LewRockwell.com
Gail
Jarvis Archives
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