A COUPLE OF THINGS NO ONE EVER TOLD YOU

 

HOLY TURN DOWN, BATMAN!

The camp 1960s BATMAN television series was known for casting famous movie actors (and actresses), often from an earlier generation, as the weekly villain.  The list included Cesar Romero, Vincent Price, Eli Wallach, Van Johnson, Michael Rennie, George Sanders, Walter Slezak, Cliff Robertson, and Howard Duff (with wife Ida Lupino), and Talluluah Bankhead, Shelly Winters and Anne Baxter.

Iconic movie star Spencer Tracy was originally approached by the show’s producer to play Penguin, but he turned the role down.

Spencer explained in an interview how he responded to the request -

“My reply cited what Maggie Sullivan said when she was offered an Andy Hardy family picture. She said, 'I'll do it when it is titled 'Death Comes to Andy Hardy.' I'll do a Batman when it's called 'Death Comes to Batman.'" 

I guess he was not a fan of the show.

SCHOOL DAYS

Over the years the success of the iconic 1955 movie THE BLACKBOARD JUNGLE, adapted from the semi-autographical novel by Evan Hunter (perhaps better known as Ed McBain, author of the 87^th Precinct police procedural series of novels), has inspired a genre of classroom-based movies about sensitive and sympathetic teachers dealing with the problems of teen-aged urban youth – up to my generation’s TO SIR WITH LOVE (Sidney Poitier was a student in THE BLACKBOARD JUNGLE and the teacher in TO SIR WITH LOVE) and UP THE DOWN STAIRCASE.

{Aside – I met Evan Hunter, and his beautiful wife, twice.  Once on a murder mystery themed cruise on the QE II and later at a murder mystery week-end at the Mohonk Mountain House resort hotel in New Paltz, NY.}

Three little known movies from the early 1960’s set in classrooms, two in high school and one in college, that I came across a few years ago on the TURNER CLASSIC MOVIES (TCM) cable station had some interesting choices cast in the role of the teacher – the equivalent of Glenn Ford in TBJ.

BECAUSE THEY’RE YOUNG, released in April of 1960, starred Dick Clark as a High School history teacher who becomes involved with the lives of his students (among them Tuesday Weld, Doug McClure and Michael Callan).

COLLEGE CONFIDENTIAL, released in August of 1960, cast Steve Allen as a college Sociology professor who conducts a survey about the lifestyles and sexual urges of the younger generation.  The cast also included Allen’s wife Jayne Meadows, Mamie Van Doren and rockabilly singer Conway Twitty (whose name inspired that of BYE BYE BIRDIE’s Conrad Birdie).

THE EXPLOSIVE GENERATION, released in October of 1961, was William Shatner’s first starring movie role – a High School teacher who assigns his students to write anonymous essays about sex.  The students include Billy Gray (Bud on FATHER KNOWS BEST) and Beau Bridges.

TAFN