Monday, December 13, 2010

Madeline Kahn in The Dove 1968

Do you stay up late to watch the TCM Underground films? Are you always looking for something new from the past? Then we'd probably get along just fine. This is the blog for you. Here you'll find all sorts of unexpected films, the ones that slipped through the cracks of history and are now laying forgotten, under the floorboards of fandom. Subscribe and discover the wonders of Ingrid Bergman in The Visit, Joan Crawford in Della and Rosalind Russell in Rosie. I'm sure many of you will know more about the films than I do, but I'll try and provide some new and unexpected information to keep you entertained.

To begin with let's talk about Madeline Kahn. Oh, how I wish she was still alive! She was one of those actresses that I wished I could have worked with in some capacity. Her light touch was tempered with an off beat sense of humor that was just a few steps down from Andy Kaufman's. She went to Hofstra University, on Long Island, graduating in 1964 with a degree in speech therapy. Her first major film role was Eunice in What's Up Doc, which is one of my favorite films, and hardly obscure to anyone who has a modicum of film knowledge. However, two years before that she was part of an obscure short film parodying the work of legendary Swedish film maker, Ingmar Bergman called De DΓΌva or The Dove. Ms. Kahn plays a lesbian with designs on the young ingenue. The film was produced by George Coe, Sidney Davis and Anthony Lover. You may remember Coe from the film Kramer vs Kramer as the head of Dustin Hoffman's agency. I was so pleased to finally get a chance to see the film when Tbirdsof1965 uploaded it to YouTube earlier this year. Watch for Madeline Kahn calling a cigar a "phalika symbol" as if that's what the Swedish translation of the word was.





Obscurity factor: 8 (not available on DVD or VHS, never shown on television, full version available on YouTube)

Look for more posts soon on the best films you never saw!

2 comments:

  1. I originally saw this short at one of the art house theaters, the Nuart or the Royal. I had gone to see something more intense (the Last Metro comes to mind, but I think it was earlier). Needless to say DE DUVA truly set a tone. It's been fun to see it again.

    This is a great idea for a blog.

    DB

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  2. Hi Donald. Thanks! Glad you like the concept. It was fun to see the short after hearing so much about it. I was glad to find it. It must have been an interesting short to see before a heavier film.

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