Full of Whimsy

I'm not sure why New Year's Eve seems so perfect for Marx Brothers and Three Stooges. Possibly because, in this time outside of the calendar, between the years, misrule and anarchy is meant to prevail. Possibly just because they are so much fun.

For New Year's day, we watched Horse Feathers: Groucho as president of Huxley College. Contains the swordfish sketch and Kalmar and Ruby's "Whatever It Is, I'm Against It" and "Everyone Says I Love You." That's all the review you need, I guess.

Keeping in the 1930's whimsical vein, last night we saw A Midsummer Night's Dream. Austrian ex-pat Max Reinhardt directs a cast of Warner Studio stars to Mendelssohn's score. The look is literally fantastic - amazing moon-lighting effects, crowds of choreographic fairies, an enchanted forest. It was like a b&w live-action Fantasia.

Dick Powell plays a smirky Lysander, Olivia DeHaviland his wet Hermia. The rustic players include Frank McHugh and Hugh Herbert (the "woo-woo" guy) and has James Cagney as Pyramus wooing Joe E. Brown as Thisby ("No one's perfect").

Child actor Mickey Rooney plays a shrill but bouncy Puck. Sometimes he was irritating, but sometimes he could be downright scary, as could Victor Jory, as king of the fairies.

I last saw this on tv in nineteen-sixty-mumble, at my uncle's. I was old enough to get Shakespeare, and young enough to feel the enchantment. We drove home through the start of a series of blizzards that kept us out of school almost the entire month of February. I've associated snowfall and fairies ever since.