Before our feature presentation, ACME would like to start the evening with another Daffy Duck Merrie Melodies cartoon, the 1948 Daffy Duck Slept Here , (co-starring Porky Pig,) directed by Robert McKimson.
The three cities "conductor" Daffy names are a reference to the Jack Benny radio show. A running joke involved the Los Angeles Union Station conductor (played by Mel Blanc) announcing to Benny's entourage heading for New York: "Train leaving on Track five for Anaheim, Azusa and Cuc----amonga!"
Before the start of our feature presentation, the staff of ACME Eagle Hand Soap Radio Hour would like to share with you how one of the favorite Easter candies are made: Peeps -
But bunkies remember the pink- and purple-colored one may cause cancer. Enjoy!
We've picked another entry from the excellent reference book, 1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die by Steven Jay Schneider. Today's film is the 1962 cult horror classic, What Ever Happened To Baby Jane?, directed by Robert Aldrich, and starring Bette Davis, Joan Crawford, and Victor Buono. The film was supposed to be a low budget horror film that the two star could make a quick buck. The backstage tension between Davis and Crawford pushed the film to become a surprise blockbuster and earned five Academy Award nominations. From the moment What Ever Happened to Baby Jane? was released, it was a box office smash. People lined up around the block to see two of Hollywood's finest go head-to-head on the big screen and make mincemeat out of their former screen images. Davis and Crawford worked hard to promote the film, both knowing that their profit percentage points would pay off in spades with the film's success. Davis traveled to seventeen New York State theaters in three days for personal appearances and helped give away promotional "Baby Jane" dolls to patrons with a "lucky envelope" under his or her seat. As always, The ACME Eagle Hand Soap Radio Hour would like you to join us in watching What Ever Happened To Baby Jane?. So push away from the table, get comfortable and enjoy the film.
Early on, Bette Davis made the decision to create her own makeup for Jane. "What I had in mind no professional makeup man would have dared to put on me," said Davis. "One told me he was afraid that if he did what I wanted, he might never work again. Jane looked like many women one sees on Hollywood Boulevard. In fact author Henry Farrell patterned the character of Jane after these women. One would presume by the way they looked that they once were actresses, and were now unemployed. I felt Jane never washed her face, just added another layer of makeup each day." Davis' garish makeup made her look something akin to a grotesque version of an aging Mary Pickford gone to seed, and she loved it. She took pride when Farrell visited the set one day and exclaimed, "My God, you look just exactly as I pictured Baby Jane." The outrageousness of Davis' appearance caused some concern for Aldrich and the producers, who feared it might be too over-the-top. However, as time went on, they came to see that Davis' instincts for the character were right.
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