Bea Arthur, Rock Hudson & Madame in The Beatrice Arthur Special (1979)

In what amounted to arguably, perhaps the most over the top hour ever on television Bea Arthur starred in this musical review featuring Rock Hudson, Melba Moore and the risque Madame. They performed numbers, like the one below, did some wacky comedy and changed clothes a lot. There are quite a few clips available on YouTube, though the show is obscure enough to have been overlooked by IMDB.

Here, the entire ensemble shares the gospel with an appreciative crowd. This show has never made it to commercial DVD, though you can get unofficial versions on sites like iOffer.com.

Obscurity factor: 10 (not on DVD, available in parts on YouTube, not even on IMDB)

Rock Hudson & Julie Andrews in Darling Lili 1970

I thought it might be fun to contrast yesterday's post with another, very different film also from 1970. In Darling Lili Julie Andrews plays a very unlikely German spy during WWI. She's the darling of Great Britain - a musical hall performer named Lili Smith (nee Schmidt) who has a squeaky clean image. Her controllers are concerned about an Allied squadron that is wreaking havoc on their air craft and give Lili orders to seduce the squadron leader and pump him for information. The squadron leader is, of course, Rock Hudson and they, inevitably fall in love, which compromises Lili's position. The film, directed by Blake Edwards is as much a big budget, glamorous Hollywood production as Alex in Wonderland isn't. The sets, costumes, cinematography and art direction play a huge part in creating the mood of the nineteen-teens as seen through the lens of the late 1960's and the areal segments are spectacular, which is in stark contrast to the catch-as-catch-can settings and photography of Alex in Wonderland. It's a perfect example of the tension that existed between the establishment and the new, rebellious film makers that were starting to make over Hollywood. Aside from all that, the film is charming, especially the original music by Henry Mancini and Johnny Mercer.


This film was a big budget release in 1970 and though it failed to capture the public's imagination and wasn't a financial success, it was a critical success and found its way into several Oscar and Golden Globe nominations. It's rarely on TV, but it is available on DVD and can be watched in its entirety  on YouTube thanks to DrageReborn's upload.

Obscurity factor: 4 (Available on DVD, can be watched on YouTube, rarely screened on TV)