Wednesday, September 2, 2009

Ablaze With Thrills!




How cool, in my dream last night I found myself in possession of a colorful flying carpet, which I kept secret and hidden and only brought out when I was all alone. When I was a kid I saw many Aladdin-inspired Saturday matinees, and fell in love with the concept of magic lamps and flying carpets, but worried about whether or not I would be able to keep hold when the possessed rug took off like a bat outta hell. But, I did imagine that it would be great fun to ride one. Well, last night I discovered that I didn’t have to worry about falling off. Turns out that the flying carpet, (the one that exists in my subconscious anyway), came equipped with a nifty invisible sticky substance that enabled me to stay put as I zoomed across the heavens, or merely cruised above town and country.

I went in search of a suitable picture of a magic carpet this afternoon, just imagine how excited I was when I came across this movie poster instead. Lucille Ball was a favorite from my youth, and here she is, pictured in a belly dancer’s outfit! Ablaze with thrills! Aglow with delight! In CineSineColor too! Turns out the movie, The Magic Carpet, was made in 1951, and from what I gather, the film sucked pretty bad. Still, how can you resist a movie that features Lucille Ball as an opportunistic Iraqi princess—such perfect (NOT) casting—right up there with John Wayne playing Genghis Khan in The Conqueror in 1956, or Mickey Rooney playing Holly Golightly’s Japanese neighbor, the ridiculously buck-toothed Mr. Yunioshi in Breakfast at Tiffany's back in 1961? Good grief, makes you realize that we’ve come a long way. Well, perhaps in some respects. Surely, no filmmaker would ever cast a white guy to play an Asian, especially with fake bucked teeth, not in this day and age. How unthinkable.

I got to thinking, what a great idea for a coffee table book—Notable Actors in Bad Roles. What’s up with Sean Connery in Zardoz back in 1974? Okay, granted; HUBBA HUBBA, (he’s a fine example of man flesh), but please, those boots, that diaper, the hair? What in the world was that man thinking? How does he feel about this picture? Not his proudest moment. That’s for sure.

Here’s a quote about the movie, The Magic Carpet, which sparked this post in the first place: Hoping to force Lucille Ball into breaking her contract, Columbia Pictures chieftain Harry Cohn assigned her to the low-budget Arabian Nights escapade The Magic Carpet. Much to Cohn's amazement, the plucky Ball agreed to appear in the film, forcing Columbia to pay her salary until her option ran out. Contrary to popular belief, Ball is not the heroine of the film; in fact, she's the villainess, an opportunistic Iraqi princess named Narah. She aligns herself with the usurping Caliph of Baghdad (Gregory Gay) and his chief henchman Boreg (Raymond Burr), while the true caliph Ramoth (John Agar), unaware of his birthright, performs acts of derring-do as "The Scarlet Falcon." Patricia Medina co-stars as Ramoth's impulsive love interest, who proves to be quite a nuisance for everyone involved and is obliged to spend a good portion of the film in chains and ropes. While Lucille Ball is quite attractive in her harem duds, the viewer cannot help but notice that her bare midriff is often obscured by props and furniture; that's because she was pregnant with her daughter Lucie Arnaz during the filming of The Magic Carpet. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide




All Rights Reserved. © 2009 by Elizabeth Bradley.

18 comments:

Jinksy said...

And where is the dream story of your carpet powered flight?

The Victorian Parlor said...

Elizabeth,

How funny! I think this would make a great coffee table book:). I love the old movies! I agree that sometimes one must wonder who did the casting. I was shocked when I learned that Lucille Ball had been considered to play Scarlett O'Hara in Gone With the Wind. Can you imagine a red headed, funny Scarlett? That would have been interesting:).

Blessings,

Kim

Miss Footloose said...

Oh, thank you for giving me my first laugh of the day!

" . . .but please, those boots, that diaper, the hair? "

What a picture! Now I have to find me some of these movies!

I'd like a flying carpet instead of all those boring planes I take. Then again, I don't want anything but boring when I fly! Just get me there.

Miss Footloose
www.lifeintheexpatlane.blogspot.com
Tales of the Globetrotting Life without a magic carpet

Tabitha Bird said...

Um...is that first picture disturbing on a quite a few levels or is that just me... no, I think it might be disturbing. LOL. ;)

CiCi said...

The magic carpet in my dreams had a way of "hugging" me, the front would roll up and fold over me in the front and the back end would do the same from the back, so I was like a taco on the carpet! Hubby and I check old movies out at the library. He is enchanted with some of them and is thanking me for introducing him to these older wonders. I like your post today, sistah!!!

Carol Murdock said...

Well that destroyed my image of Sean as a man's man! :)

Michelle H. said...

I've had some strange dreams, but never one involving a magic carpet ride.

OMG! That's Sean Connery! I would have never guessed. I love him, but NOT in that picture. *shiver* That would give me nightmares.

Nancy said...

LOL That diaper!

Those old movies would make a great coffee table book, for sure. I grew up on those movies.

I hope all is well with your home and the fire, Elizabeth. You have a great attitude. An inspiring attitude.

Cloudia said...

yes, not-that-old movies DO show a lot of change!

I love this dream post and am very glad not to have missed it.

See you in dream land!

Aloha-
Comfort Spiral

Unknown said...

You gotta just love where dreams take you! I can't believe that's actually Sean Connery. OMG! As you say, it surely can't be his proudest moment! LOL!

Cheffie-Mom said...

LOL! How fun!

Rosaria Williams said...

This is funny trivia; you must redream the dream with the magic carpet and get those dreams fulfilled. You only live once.

Kim said...

Great topic. I agree, thank goodness we've come a long way from casting Mickey Rooney as a Japanese guy. Sometimes you still see casting prejudices. Like when the black woman on a show is always someone that looks like Halle Berry or is Halle Berry - can we please see a fully black woman that represents what real black women look like????

CSD Faux Finishing said...

Oh my. Wow. Um, that's Sean Connery? Really? I imagined it must be a photoshoot from an Adam Sandler movie or some other comedic effort.

Enjoy your carpet ride but skip picking up the red diapered man in the desert lol!

K. said...

Wow, fascinating post...I just love old movies! I like your coffee table book idea--I would love to see all those old movie posters and read the background stuff like you mentioned here...

♥ Braja said...

It's the first pic of Sean that knocked me for six :)))

Elizabeth Bradley said...

I'm so glad that the pic of Sean Connery in a red diaper didn't drive you all away. Sorry I haven't posted, I'm busy working on the book. Will post Monday or Tuesday!

Anne Spollen said...

The diaper, Sean...lol.

On an entirely random note, I just noticed the picture of yr writing loft -- it's wonderful!