"Bye Bye Birdie" was my first non-edible obsession. When I initially saw it when it arrived at the Loews Theater in Mount Vernon, I couldn't get enough of it. Because I wound up seeing it six times over the next seven days. I'm not sure why I skipped a day, but it must have been, in the most Biblical of senses, our day to rest.
This movie also probably marked the official grand opening of Len's Hormones. The ribbon cutter was none other than Ann-Margret. The poster to the left gives her limited justice. As a matter of fact, there was a similar pose on the cover of the stereophonic long playing soundtrack record and I will tastefully refuse to tell you what I used to do with that record jacket. And, in an incomprehensible twist, the other thing that made me love this movie was the presence of Paul Lynde as the father. I was, of course, way, way too naive to understand all the sordid details of Mr. Lynde's private life. All I knew was that I thought the guy was a stitch and that I wished secretly my father was just like this guy. Years later, I doubt that I wanted my dad to be cruising Santa Monica Boulevard looking for teenage boys.
I played the "Bye Bye Birdie" soundtrack on my record player constantly. I knew all the words to every song and wanted desperately to be in the show if it ever was done in my school. In retrospect, I creep myself out at how nuts I was about this movie. And now I wonder what the hell drew me to it, beyond Ann-Margret's multiple scenes in Spandex.
Well, the music is quite underrated. There are shows/movie musicals that have been more successful, but I couldn't tell one song from another. Indeed, "Bye Bye Birdie" harkens back to a simpler time. You probably remember the plot. It was a parody of the real life hysteria that happened when Elvis Presley was inducted into the Army. Perhaps it's all this teenage angst that drew me in. It was a harbinger of things to come. Amid all the drama of the world, these kids seemed to be okay and even thriving. Maybe that was the future I was hoping for. That life would be so comfortable that I could sit on the telephone and talk to my friends all day like the kids of Sweet Apple, Ohio did.
And perhaps I would be grown up enough to dance around in a night club just like this.
Admittedly, it's probably a little weird that I would walk to grade school, singing the lyrics to "I"ve Got a Lot of Livin' to Do." I mean, think about it. "There are chicks just right for some kissing and I mean to kiss me a few." I can almost hear the call from my teacher and the school psychologist right now. The express train to puberty making no stops.
So, if I spent a year obsessed with "Bye Bye Birdie," big freakin' deal! I think I turned out okay. What did my parents think? Well, consider the song that could have been their anthem as well.
"Kids, I don't know what's wrong with these kids today."
Even though I pop in the DVD occasionally, I did get to see "Bye Bye Birdie" on a big screen a few years back when the Alex Film Society ran it. It was a true time machine. I felt like I was back in the Loews Mount Vernon, eyes riveted on the screen with a mouthful of Pom Poms. By the end of the night, I could swear that I was developing a new case of acne.
I went home that evening and wondered whatever happened to that record jacket.
And you really, really, really don't want to know what I was doing with it.
But, before you let your dirty minds go too far off course, keep in mind that I wasn't even ten yet.
Dinner last night: BBQ Ribs at Charcoal prior to the Arclight showing of "There Will Be Blood."
4 comments:
I saw this movie only on TV years after it came out (70s or early 80s). Ann-Margret was enough to stir any male's hormones, but the rest of the cast was terrific as wall. I still enjoy seeing the movie.
Len, I remember that album cover very well and will probably be one of the few things I'll recall even when I'm old and losing my marbles. The movie was entertaining and the music catchy but Ann-Margret discretely getting changed on camera was a stirring event. FYI, in September we have tickets to the musical at the SBCLO. It will be interesting to see it presented on stage.
The stage musical is quite different. The Ann-Margret part is much smaller, almost secondary. They beefed it up for the movie. When I once interviewed Paul Lynde, he told me the crew used to say the movie shouldn't have been called "Bye Bye Birdie" but "Hello, Ann-Margret."
Let's not forget the wonderful performances given by Maureen ("Don't bend the fur.") Stapleton and Janet Leigh. Two pros who get somewhat eclipsed by M.A., Van Dyke and scene stealer Paul ("I love ya, Ed.") Lynde.
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