Comments on: On the Avenue, Madison Avenue…

By: cam

cam — Fri, 08 Aug 2008 23:54:18 +0000

Nice article ill be checking back hopeing to see an update to this :)

By: Al Lowe

Al Lowe — Tue, 29 Jul 2008 14:31:19 +0000

I thought of three movie characters involved in the advertising world:
1) Dan Dailey, a Madison Avenue heel who does a drunken dance at a party in It’s Always Fair Weather;
2) Cary Grant struggling to come up with a slogan to promote ham in Mr. Blandings Builds His Dream House; (Advertising is a perfect occupation for Grant.)
3) and Judy Holliday promoting herself on billboards for no good reason in It Could Happen to You.
Garson Kanin thought of Danny Kaye while he was writing It Could Happen to You but his wife Ruth Gordon insisted the project would star Holliday.
And Kaye was considered for Marjorie Morningstar. That makes three movies – including the unfilmed Huckleberry Finn that was to star Gene Kelly and Kaye – that Kaye didn’t get to make.
But as you pointed out in another blog, he was a last minute substitute in White Christmas because Fred Astaire and Donald O’Connor were unavailable. Who would they have turned to next for White Christmas if Kaye had refused? Red Skelton? Gene Kelly?

By: medusamorlock

medusamorlock — Mon, 28 Jul 2008 01:05:42 +0000

See, I knew there were so many other great ad movies that I didn’t mention. It’s a fascinating subject! And yes, that Pete is such a weird and unpleasant androgynous fellow, and he DOES look just like the character in “Homicidal” now that you mention of it. What a little slime Pete is! I also particularly noticed the great Yma Sumac song. It’s about an hour till the new season and I’m watching the last ep of season one as I write this — I’ll just about make it!

By: morlockjeff

morlockjeff — Sun, 27 Jul 2008 22:45:07 +0000

And of course the series references THE BEST OF EVERYTHING with Joan Crawford whose eyelashes look like “caterpillers” according to Don’s wife in MAD MEN. It’s an excellent series, great writing with fascinating and ambivalent characters and I love all of the period references to Ayn Rand, Exodus, Nixon/Kennedy and Yma Sumac (played in the background of a party scene). We just finished watching the entire first season too and anyone who loves classic movies will love this season. Really looking forward to tonight’s second season premiere. Don’t you think the slimy Pete character looks like Emily/Warren in William Castle’s HOMICIDAL? Love the other ad film references and you can add GOOD NEIGHBOR SAM and HOW TO GET AHEAD IN ADVERTISING too.