The ACME Eagle Hand Soap Radio Hour (214)

ACME is proud (and we weren't forced to by a court ordered mandate) to share this PSA -



I'm not sure even death himself will be able to take out Jimmy. He's got houses to build.


Before our feature presentation, ACME would like to start the evening with another Looney Tunes Bugs Bunny cartoon, the 1955 Rabbit Rampage (with a cameo by Elmer Fudd,) directed by Chuck Jones.



This short's plot is similar to Duck Amuck which both involves a character being annoyed by an animator. Bugs breaks the fourth wall in this cartoon much the same way that Daffy did in Duck Amuck, though, unlike Daffy, Bugs seems to know who's the animator in the short. This is one of three cartoons Bugs Bunny and Elmer Fudd appear in where Elmer gets the upper hand at the end.


Before the start of our feature presentation, ACME Eagle Hand Soap would like you to remember the past year we all spent in quarantine -



I know Mr. DeSparc seems late to the game of with this Billy Joel song to comment of our situation, but as we all approach the one anniversary of what seems like the never ending pandemic, it seems like the perfect time for the song.


We've picked another entry from the excellent reference book, 1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die by Steven Jay Schneider for today's feature. Today's choice is another Ealing Studio film, the 1951 comedy, The Lavender Hill Mob, directed by Charles Crichton, starring Alec Guinness and Stanley Holloway. For once, the film was considered a success when released and has been recognized as one of the best British comedies ever made. Former policeman Tibby Clarke won an Oscar for his screenplay. He consulted the Bank of England on the project and it set up a special committee to advise on how best the robbery could take place. In 1995 the Vatican recognized the film as one of 15 films that rise to the level of 'art'.

The Lavender Hill Mob was shot on location in postwar London, and you can still see the damage. Rationing was still in effect in 1951, and the smog hung heavy over the city. (Keep your eyes open for a walk-on early in the film by then-unknown Audrey Hepburn.) So we would like you to relax (quick, find the most comfortable seat on the sofa,) get a snack (perhaps, some crisps,) and a beverage (a can of lager,) and join The ACME Eagle Hand Soap Radio Hour in watching this very funny film, The Lavender Hill Mob.



During the filming of the scene where Holland and Pendlebury are pursuing the Eiffel tower paper weights in Paris, Alec Guinness and Stanley Holloway both nearly fell off the real Eiffel tower. Guinness recalled his memoirs. “Rehearsing a scene in which Stanley (Holloway) and I were required to escape from the top of the Eiffel Tower, [Crichton] said, ‘Alec, there is a trap door over there - where it says “Workmen Only” - I'd like you to run to it, open it and start running down the spiral staircase. Stanley will follow.’ So I did as asked. A very dizzying sight to the ground greeted me. But I completed half a spiral before I noticed that three feet in front of me the steps suddenly ceased - broken off. I sat down promptly where I was and cautiously started to shift myself back to the top, warning Stanley to get out of the way. ‘What the hell are you doing?’ the director yelled. ‘Down! Further down!!’ ‘Further down is eternity,’ I called back. Apparently, no one on the production had checked up on the staircase."



Demand Euphoria!