Time for Movies Right now is a great time for watching movies in Crestline—it’s damp, cold and dreary—perfect movie weather. So I was fortunate that movies have been sort of a theme for me lately. This week I worked on a story about a 10-year Crestline resident (Carol Mueller) who is well-known here in town, but is also known as the little girl who played Janie Bailey—the 10-year-old daughter of George Bailey (James Stewart) in the Christmas classic, “It’s a Wonderful Life.” In doing this story I decided to watch the movie, which I haven’t seen in a few years, to see her parts. I had forgotten how really great this movie is, and I’ll be renting it again soon. I think Carol is excellent in the movie as Janie, especially now that I know more about her part in it. If you haven’t watched “It’s a Wonderful Life” in a while you might not remember this, but the first kiss between George Bailey and his wife-to-be (played by Donna Reed) is one of the most romantic moments in the history of film in my opinion. And they pull it off without pulling off any of their clothes, although, if you recall, George does completely strip off her clothes earlier in the movie. (Yeah—you’ll just have to watch it if you don’t remember.) I can hoist a can of beer and watch a “Die Hard” marathon with the best of them, but I have to admit that most of my favorite flicks are what my non-politically correct guy friends would call, “chick movies.” Perhaps I got my Y chromosome through a freak accident. My favorite movie of all time is the 1990 film, “Ghost,” which is a “chick movie” if there ever was one. I’ve probably watched it a hundred times, and I never get tired of it. It’s not the most highly acclaimed movie, though it did win one Academy Award—Best Supporting Actress for Whoopi Goldberg—but I think it’s just a perfect movie. Getting back to Crestline is where my second favorite movie comes in. I’m also a big fan of the Parent Trap—not the 1961 classic with Hayley Mills, but the 1998 Disney remake, a lot of which is filmed right here in Crestline. As many of us know, the camp scenes were shot at Camp Seeley, which had to be fixed up for weeks before the shooting. Also, the camping scene in which the dad’s sleeping love interest is floated out onto the lake as a prank was shot from the shore of Lake Gregory. About 160 of the 200 girls shown in scenes at the camp are from the local area. We moved here shortly after the filming, but the town was still buzzing about it. This film didn’t get any Academy Award nominations and was a sleeper, but it has a lot of great parts that get the water welling up in your eyeballs if you’re susceptible to that sort of thing. My 11-year-old daughter, who is a huge animal lover, but who probably wouldn’t even sniffle at the end of Old Yellar, likes to watch me during certain parts of the Parent Trap to see if I start to crack, then says things like: “Yeah, uh-huh, look at Dad!” These mountains have seen a lot of movie production work, starting from way back before World War I. Films including “The Squaw Man,” which was directed by Cecil B. DeMille and “Heidi" with Shirley Temple were made in the San Bernardino Mountains. If you’re interested in the history of many of the early movies that were made in our mountains, local historian Lee Cozad has written a book titled, “Those Magnificent Mountain Movies,” and it’s a keeper. The book can be ordered (Honey, are you reading this?) from the Rim of the World Historical Society. Call 336-6666 for information on the book or go to www.rimoftheworldhistory.com and click on the cover of the book at the bottom left of the page. In fact, all of the books on our mountain history you see in bookstores and other shops around the mountain would make great gifts. Don’t drive down the hill to shop—it’s depressing down there—the whole place burned down in the fires! Yes, I’m one of those persistent Shop on Top Crestline boosters. P.S., for you fellow “Ghost” fans. Have you thought about this: the song that lead character Sam Wheat sang to annoy Whoopi Goldberg’s psychic character into helping him was, “I’m Henry the 8th I am” by Herman’s Hermits, which is right up there with “99 Bottles of Beer on the Wall” as one of the most annoying songs ever written. In that song, there are two other names mentioned besides Henry—Willie and Sam. These were also names of two of the major characters in the movie. I wonder if it is just a coincidence or maybe the screenplay writer just got that dumb song stuck in his head. |
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