Today’s journey of the Mission at San Juan Capistrano begins with an establishing shot (so cinematic) of the entrance, circa 1957. Love the vintage auto in the middle! Looks like someone drove all the way from Virginia to see the Mission.
The next few shots came from a batch of vintage images where the family actually wrote on the cardboard mount with dates and other helpful info. My kind of peeps!
This one is “Mom and Sis, 1954.”
From May 26, 1955: “Sis and May in the Courtyard of the Mission.”
Same date: “Sis and Her Friends.” Sis doesn’t look to comfortable.
This one is labeled, “Sis feeding the Swallows, May 26, 1955.” Someone should tell Sis that these aren’t swallows. They look more like pigeons or doves. Bird experts?
This one is “Sis and Her ‘Burds.’” Apparently, “Burd” is a slang word meaning a female woman or girl. The things I learn here…incredible.
Same day, a different pose. This one is Six and Moxie .
From another batch of vintage images comes this shot of two maidens at the Mission from 1952.
Zooming in for a closer view:
In case you were wondering, the statue of St. Junipero Serra is still there:
But…it has been moved inside to the Sala Building in June 2020 as a precaution to prevent vandalism. How sad that after eighty years in the same place, the statue is no longer safe from stupidity.
See more San Juan Capistrano photos at my main website.
I’ve lost a few San Diego restaurants to the pandemic, including a favorite Mexican restaurant down the street (Willis loved their chips, too). Fortunately, one of my favorite eateries is back and completely remodeled. The interior looks completely different now and includes a giant “Wizard of Oz” mural. Huh?
The recently hired waiter I had wasn’t sure of the connection, but thought it might have to do with the original owner’s name being Dorothy. Works for me.
The first owners, Harold and Dorothy Hoersch, opened the place in 1944 and called it Juniper Café. Moving to its present location in 1946 (Juniper and First Avenue), the name changed to Melody Grill, then Dorothy’s Oven, and finally Hob Nob Hill.
The menu has changed somewhat, but the high quality and excellent service have not. For a delicious Sunday brunch, how about the Bananas Foster pancakes?
Or the Strawberry Cheesecake pancakes?
The thing I was most excited about was the addition of Cincinnati Chili to the menu, which tastes EXACTLY like the famous Skyline Chili I used to eat back in college days in Indiana.
Check out Hob Nob Hill for yourself next time you’re in San Diego.
WARNING: PLOT SPOILERS! “Cinderfella” (1960), a gender reversal version of the classic fairytale, has the distinction of being the only Jerry Lewis film I’ve seen. As a child, I thought the movie was a lot of fun; as an adult, I notice the lows more than the highs. Dealing with the positives first: Judith Anderson. From her first scene to the last, she is a model of controlled acting and a welcome contrast to Lewis, whose constant mugging and spastic movements are all over the board.
Her slight redemption at the end is touching and one of my favorite moments of the movie.
The gorgeous Anna Maria Alberghetti. She is luminous and yet completely natural as the Princess. I found myself wanting to know more about her character and what would make her choose a complete goofball like Lewis. Even though he is obnoxious as hell, she makes you believe that she has fallen for him.
What can be said about Count Basie?
As the bandstand set rotates, it is hard not be impressed by its size AND the incredible music that Basie bestows upon the production. I give credit to Lewis on the selection of music for the film, as it truly elevates the entertainment value.
On the negative side, we are forced to endure watching Lewis’ overdone mugging to enjoy many of these musical gems.
Lewis attempts throughout to make us believe he is unintentionally hilarious AND a tragic melancholy victim. He fails at both.
Comic bits that start out as amusing quickly descend into a journey of boredom, continuing on way too long.
As the Producer, it seems like Lewis couldn’t make the tough decision of editing down his own performance into something that would have held the patron’s attention better.
Because he plays a blundering fool for the majority of the movie, his sudden change into a quiet and brooding romantic lead at the picture’s end is extremely jarring.
What makes it so sad is that there is so much to love here. Visually, it is a feast of color and composition. Lewis’ entrance to the ball, which is the perfect pairing of comedy and dance:
Anna Maria’s dance with Lewis; she is so good in this number that I am able to ignore Lewis, as he shamelessly attempts to steal the scene from her with his momentary body spasms that he felt added comic value.
The famous clock at midnight:
The race to get home before the transformation is completed:
I am not sure that the kids of today would be able to enjoy this movie as much as I did in my childhood, since their attention spans seem to be even shorter. As an adult, it falls into the “almost” category for me.
Interesting trivia about the film; this movie used the Chartwell Mansion in Bel-Air two years before it become famous as the Clampett residence in “The Beverly Hillbillies”:
Norman Rockwell created the art for the film’s publicity:
The art shows Ed Wynn as the Fairy Godfather (another gender reversal). On one hand, it feels like there is too little of Wynn, On the other, his style and Lewis’ feels like overload to me. Not a good pairing. The three-sheet poster which used Rockwell’s illustration:
See more vintage movie and television photos at my main website.
1936’s “Poor Little Rich Girl” had a socko finale musical number, “Military Man” with stars Shirley, Jack Haley, and Alice Faye in military garb performing an intricate synchronized tap dance. According to Haley:
They dubbed in Shirley’s taps but didn’t tell Mrs. Temple. They shot it with her, then told Alice and me to come back later and do it again. At the preview Mrs. Temple was boasting, ‘Did you hear those taps? Could they have been any clearer? And you said Shirley couldn’t do it.’
Haley was known for his bitter recollections, including how much he hated working on “The Wizard of Oz.” While his character might have received a heart in the movie, Haley apparently left it in the prop department.
Shirley had her own recollection of the event in her autobiography Child Star:
Our job as a trio was to match our tap noises in synchrony with a long and athletic filmed segment being projected against a screen. Dancing together, it took only one false tap from any of us to ruin the take. Dance director Jack Haskell was a taskmaster for flawless movement and precise timing.…As we paused to pinpoint some little problem, I stared away, meditatively working my tongue against a precariously loose tooth. Noticing my averted gaze, Haskell brusquely ordered I look at him when he was speaking.…Haley, in particular, had trouble getting synchrony with his filmed image, and seemed annoyed at me because my taps kept matching perfectly. He obviously knew the mechanics cold, but without music and only a projected image to guide him, his timing remained way off. Even Faye grimaced occasionally, while frustration and fatigue gradually began to erode our basic sense of camaraderie. At the time, director Irving Cummings had been observing how each of us was reacting under stress. …The recording session dragged on, and by late afternoon my legally permitted workday was soon ending with the dance still not in order. Frustrated herself, Mother made a cutting observation comparing Haley’s precision and endurance to mine. It was tinder to a powder keg. Instantly he shot back that I was the problem, not him. Jumping into the breach, Haskell ordered another break. “We’re not going to finish. The law says Shirley can’t work at night, so let’s get her taps recorded alone now.”…Sound technicians would then have to match our taps together on one master record. Like anyone else, I eventually get tired, but seldom in the legs. Haley and Faye stood aside. I wiggled at my tooth and smiled to set my mood.…Drawing a deep breath, I began.…Each nerve tap came across crisp and sharp and synchronized on the first try, but I couldn’t smile during the last few stanzas. The loose tooth had finally detached, arriving on my tongue like a cough drop. “Time to go,” said Mother, grabbing my hand and marching past Haley with a long stride I recognized as triumphant.
Take that, Haley.
Who looks alert and ready to outperform her costars?
Here’s Shirley with Director Irving Cummings. You can almost hear him now: “Just ignore that bitter sourpuss. You can dance circles around him!”
In between takes, Shirley poses with Doc Bishop. From the vintage publicity blurb:
An old friend of Shirley’s, Doc Bishop of the Publicity Department of 20th Century-Fox, poses with her during the filming of her picture “Poor Little Rich Girl” in 1936.
Here’s the number in all its colorized glory. Judge for yourself, but Shirley gives no sign of not being completely in charge:
See more Shirley Temple photos at my main website.
Before the San Diego Padres built their “state of the art” ballpark downtown in 2004 (sponsored by Petco), they were located in Mission Valley at Qualcomm Stadium (1969-2003). 1969 was when the team went from the Minors to the Majors. Previously, they got their start in 1936 playing in the Pacific Coast League at Lane Field, located downtown near the water.
Here’s a vintage aerial view showing the field:
What’s there now? A parking lot. What is it about amazing buildings and structures getting replaced by boring asphalt?!?
During her recent visit here, my Mom remembered going to games at Lane Field with the family. Here is what the well-dressed family of 1939 wore for such an occasion:
She also had fond memories of eating dinner at Chadwick’s Restaurant afterwards, run by the family of swimmer Florence Chadwick (the first woman to swim the English Channel in both directions):
A vintage menu:
In driving around town with her, I was shocked to see that the building still stands. Appropriately, it is now called the House of Metamorphosis. It surely has changed!
Sometimes, dinner would be at the U.S. Grant Hotel, just a few blocks up Broadway from Lane Field. This Hotel is still in business today:
While driving up Broadway, Mom also pointed out the former YMCA Building:
…which is now the Guild Hotel. She recalled playing the piano there for sailors at the U.S.O. back in World War II.
A few more blocks up Broadway Street was Thearle Music Company, where my Mom took her piano lessons, riding a rickety elevator up to the second floor:
I was shocked to discover that the building still stands. I have walked by it numerous times, unaware of its significance to my Mom.
