St. Patrick's Day with Maureen

In honor of St. Patrick’s Day, I am repeating the celebration of Irish actress Maureen O’Hara as I did nine(!) years ago with some photos I recently acquired from “The Parent Trap” (1961). This wardrobe test shows the original concept of how Maureen was to look when she arrived at her ex-husband’s ranch to be reunited with her daughters. A turban? Who had the brain fart of covering up her gorgeous Irish red locks with a freaking turban?!?



Fortunately for the final movie, cooler heads prevailed and the turban was ditched. Placement of the brooch also switched from right to left side of Ms. O’Hara.



Note how she fluffs her hair in this shot: “Take that, turban!”



With Una Merkel, who played Verbena the housekeeper (“It’s none of my nevermind. I don't say a word”).



Director David Swift and Walt surround O’Hara; obviously, this was before the actress threatened to sue Disney over the billing of the film.



Papers regarding the suit came up for auction after O’Hara died in 2015, selling for $375.



From the auction description:

Comprising 28 pp of paperwork related to The Parent Trap, mainly correspondence, typed, and typed carbons, including a 2 pp typed letter signed ("Jack") from agent Jack Bolton, dated June 17, 1960, on MCA stationery, breaking down the terms of O'Hara's contract, annotated, and 6 call sheets for the film under the title We Belong Together, with an April 19, 1961, Variety clipping featuring a full-page ad for The Parent Trap and 2 other Variety clippings related to the film. For Walt Disney's The Parent Trap, Maureen O'Hara claimed that she was contractually guaranteed top billing, but during the film's release, costar Hayley Mills got top billing playing up her gimmick casting as twins.



Incensed, O'Hara took the matter to her agents. These letters and contracts document her complaints against the studio. However, it appears that O'Hara may have been in error: agent Jack Bolton's June 17, 1960, letter to O'Hara about her contract clearly states that Mills' name "will follow immediately after 'Walt Disney Presents' and be above the title. Your name on the screen and in paid advertising will be in first position below the title." In 2 Thermofax copies of a March 16, 1961, letter, Walt Disney Productions assures O'Hara that the smaller billing was an accident due to haste. O'Hara took her grievance to the Screen Actors Guild and threatened to sue Disney. Realizing that, even if she won, Disney could wreck her career, O'Hara relented. O'Hara writes in her autobiography that, despite The Parent Trap's immense popularity, she never worked for Disney again.



On the other hand, Joanna Barnes DID appear in a Disney movie again, playing the mother of her character from the original for the 1998 Lindsay Lohan remake. Don’t mess with Walt!

See more “Parent Trap” photos at my main website.

Let's Get Together: A Parent Trap Thanksgiving

On this holiday where we celebrate gratitude and friends/family, what better way to do this than singing the Sherman Brothers’ song, “Let’s Get Together” from the 1961 Disney classic “The Parent Trap”?!?

Let’s get together, yeah yeah yeah
Think of all that we could sha-are



Let’s get together everyday
Every way and everywhere



And though we haven’t got a lot
We could be sharin’ all we’ve got
Together




Yeah yeah yeah is right! I hope you and yours have an incredible day and take some time to relax, rejuvenate, and reflect.

See more “Parent Trap” photos at my main website.

Transformation Friday!

In the 1961 Disney classic, “The Parent Trap,” Maureen O’Hara begins the movie as a dowdy (well, as dowdy as Maureen O’Hara can be, which is still better than the best for the rest of the competition!) Boston divorcée who must reunite her twin daughters at the California home of her ex-husband (Brian Keith). He first spots her after she has taken a shower and is wearing his robe:



Having been encouraged by her wily father (Charles Ruggles) to get some new clothes and a less matronly hairdo, she stops in New York City on the way to California for a makeover. After seeing her ex in a robe, she goes upstairs to get cleaned up and makes a grand entrance down the staircase wearing this outfit:



Even in a basic wardrobe test shot, Maureen wows ’em! Note the tape mark on the floor so that the actress knows where to pose?



And please note the perfectly turned heel!



In the final movie, Maureen looks even more ravishing in color, as you can see from this screenshot:



It’s no wonder she got her ex back!



See more “Parent Trap” photos at my main website.

RIP Maureen O'Hara and a Full Moon

Just a quickie today, as I show a photo I captured late Saturday night/early Sunday morning from my balcony. I love the color blue, so sue me…but the rest is for real! I love my new 600mm lens!



With great sadness, I read about the passing of actress Maureen O'Hara. The redheaded legend was a favorite of mine. Here she is in "The Parent Trap" with Brian Keith.



I get all teary eyed every time I see the scene where they finally reconcile.



All kinds of stuff at my main website. Check it out!.

A Shamrock Chiffon Pie Celebration!

In honor of St. Patrick's Day, today's post features two of my favorite things that are Irish: actress Maureen O'Hara (still kicking' at 93!) and Shamrock Chiffon Pie. First photo shows this stunningly gorgeous raven-haired thespian with director David Swift and Walt Disney during filming of "The Parent Trap" (1961). Below, she gives co-star Hayley Mills a hug in a scene from the same movie. Born in Ireland, O'Hara came to Hollywood in 1939 for "The Hunchback of Notre Dame." She became a naturalized U.S. Citizen seven years later. What an import!



When my family lived in San Diego, my mom used to shop at the local Food Basket grocery store in Lemon Grove. As a promotion, the store gave recipe cards from Mary Morgan, who was a Betty Crocker knock-off. I don't know squat about Mary, but I know that a number of her recipes were childhood favorites. They may not have been the most nutritious meals, but boy did they taste good. Shamrock Chiffon Pie holds many a fond memory for me; it made the annual suffering of corn beef and cabbage worth it! Here's the recipe, copied from the original card:

Shamrock Chiffon Pie

In Leprechaun language, here's a dessert to do St. Patrick proud, and sure and begorra, it is good! Our Shamrock Creme Chiffon, a light froth of a refrigerator dessert with a flavor lilt as Irish as the field of shamrocks from which it gets its name, makes a delightful finish for any March meal. Piled into a chocolate cookie crumb crust, the rich pastel green filling is high and handsome! To make it more picture-pretty, sprinkle a "shamrock" of chocolate curls over the top!

For the crust you'll need:
1 cup chocolate cookie crumbs, crushed fine (16-2.5" plain chocolate wafer cookies)
1/4 cup melted butter

Blend until moist, then pat the mixture into an 8" square pan. Chill while ingredients for filling are blended, in the top of a double boiler or small saucepan soften:
1 envelope unflavored gelatin.
in
1/2 cup cold water
Allow to stand 5 minutes, then add
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt

Place over hot water, on medium heat, and stir until all ingredients blend and gelatin dissolves completely. Remove from heat and stir in
5 tablespoons green creme de menthe
1 cup heavy cream (you'll need most of 2 half pints in all)
1 or 2 drops green food coloring

Pour into the small bowl of mixer and place in refrigerator to chill. When mixture becomes firm, remove from refrigerator and beat on low speed of mixer to break up the gelatin mixture. Now blend in another
2/3 cup heavy cream

Set mixer speed on high and continue beating until mixture becomes very light and fills the bowl to the top. Pour over the chilled crumb crust. Top with a shamrock design made of chocolate curls grated from
1 — 1 ounce square unsweetened chocolate

Return to refrigerator and chill until firm. Cut in squares to serve. Makes 9 portions.

Let me know how you like it!

See more Daveland photos from my collection on my main website.

Belated Walt Birthday Tribute

Last Thursday, December 5, marked what would have been the 112th birthday of creative genius Walt Disney. Today's belated tribute celebrates that momentous day with a recently acquired assortment of photos featuring Walt himself. The first one from August 1954 shows him with a model train, inside of what I believe to be the machine shop at the Disney Studios in Burbank. It is easy to attempt to interpret Walt's thoughts, especially since he isn't around anymore, but this particular quote on Disneyland is about as clear as it gets:

“I just want it to look like nothing else in the world. And it should be surrounded by a train.”

Face it...the main loved trains. If you do, too, you might enjoy this clip of Walt's backyard train setup. It's a wonderful glimpse of him having a ball and enjoying life:



The Lilly Belle, Walt's beloved miniature train that is featured in the video, can now be seen at the Walt Disney Family Museum in San Francsicso:



Moving forward to 1961, this onset photo from the film "The Parent Trap" shows Walt with director David Swift and stunning leading lady Maureen O'Hara. The film was nominated for two Academy Awards: one for Sound by Robert O. Cook, and the other for Film Editing by Philip W. Anderson.



O'Hara was a knockout as Maggie, the spunky ex-wife of her soon-to-be-remarried ex-hubby, Mitch (Brian Keith). Here they are during a dinner cleverly arranged by their twin daughters (played by Hayley Mills) who would like nothing more than to have their parents reunited. The black eye on Keith's character was courtesy of his feisty ex, who had no interest in being told what to do.



I defy anyone with a pulse to have a dry eye during this little romantic reunion scene from the finale of the film. The chemistry between Keith and O'Hara is supreme.



OK, this is about Walt, not Maureen O'Hara. Pardon me for the interuption.

For the Pepsi-Cola small world exhibit entrance at the 1964 World's Fair in New York, Walt wanted a "wow." He spent $200,000 on 100 ton Wally Crump creation that was 120'/12 stories high and 46' wide at the base. This creative medley of mobiles was called The Tower of the Four Winds and required a 60' deep foundation to keep it from blowing over. Opening Day for the fair was April 22, 1964; the Disney press release for the occasion described the Tower in this way:

"Attached to three primary columns and four slender buttresses will be more than 100 spinning, swiveling, oscillating elements of as many colors and shapes. Propellers of every description and size, a miniature, purely decorative carousel with animals from several countries (a giraffe, camel, reindeer, llama, horse, elephant and donkey), a stylized representation of the sun; figures of birds, flying fish, winged dragon, butterflies, bees and other creatures—all will be in perpetual motion."



Although it was well received and "Meet me at the Tower of the Four Winds" became a catch-phrase for the fair, the Tower was basically dismantled and dumped. I am not sure if the model on display in the Contemporary Hotel at Walt Disney World is the same one from the photo with Walt, but for sentimental reasons, I'd like to think so.



However, zooming in to the descriptive display material, it would appear that this is most likely a modern-day recreation.



Last one for today is a Bob Taylor cartoon this was the most fitting of tributes to Walt when he passed away.



The quote sums it up perfectly:

"Laughter and Happiness for children of all ages."

See more "Mary Poppins" photos on my Disney movie web page.

Screen Gem Saturdays: Maureen O'Hara & The Parent Trap

Although released 50 years ago, the original "The Parent Trap" is still one of the most beloved Disney films of all time. I still have not seen the Lindsay Lohan remake; I've been told it's good too, but sorry...if I'm going to watch "The Parent Trap," it will be the original. Hayley Mills is double dynamite, playing both twins. If you can get past her unexplained British accent (mom is a strict Bostonian and dad is a carefree golfer in Monterey), you'll be bowled over by her performance. When it was released, divorce was a taboo subject. The film is very frank in its depiction of the heart-wrenching effects a divorce can have on the kids, but have no fear...a happy ending prevails as true love conquer alls...at least until the credits begin to roll.



Besides Mills, Maureen O'Hara is also a crucial piece of the success puzzle for "The Parent Trap." Her transformation from strait-laced Bostonian to…



the modern California woman is still fresh today. She lights up each scene with her auburn beauty and natural acting style.



From the moment she flirts with the minister to the heartbreaking scene where she reunites with her ex Mitch (Brian Keith) in the kitchen while preparing dinner, it is difficult to take your eyes off of her.





Here's to Maureen O'Hara - a legendary actress of the Silver Screen!



See more Disney movie photos on my Disney movie web page.