Bye Bye Birdie & Ann-Margrock
Ann-Margret's opening salvo to 'young boys and dirty old men' in 'Bye-BYE Bir-DEE!'
There are probably a few million kids (all now adults) who tend to have an internal chuckle whenever they hear the name Ann-Margret, because Ann-Margrock had already solidified the image of a provocative singing, dancing, acting babe via the actress’ animated appearance on The Flinstones in 1963.
A-M had appeared in three films prior to meeting Fred Flintstone on the Idiot Box, and it was Columbia Pictures’ Bye Bye Birdie [M] – the film adaptation of the hit 1960 Broadway musical – that established her aggressive sex kitten screen persona. No wonder Universal exploited her in their own 1964 A-M production with the saucily titled Kitten with a Whip.
(The fifties & sixties were filled with naughty little movies, such as the cult sexploitation films Satan in High Heels in 1962, and Albert Zugsmith’s Sex Kittens go to College in 1960.)
Either way, BBB is very much a production tailored to exploit the assets of the young actress, leaving all the veteran co-stars and supporting thespians in the dust. Director George Sidney recognized her power, and made a personal effort to tweak the film prior to its release by shooting an audacious set of main and end title bookends so audiences (er, men and boys) were teased at high decibels – the better to prepare them for the show and leave them hungry for more (which MGM soon gave in the form of Viva Las Vegas, a year later).
Twilight Time’s Blu-ray features a striking transfer with great sound, and should perk new interest in the a multi-talented A-M whose career went from jiggling hottie in 1963 to Serious Actress in Carnal Knowledge (1971). She somewhat spoofed her screen persona in Ken Russell’s Tommy (1975), for which she earned a Best Actress Oscar Nomination after massaging a giant phallic tube-pillow with turd-brown peas.
A-M seemed to average about a film a year before a cluster of productions during the 1980s, including a TV version of A Streetcar Named Desire (1984) and John Frankenheimer’s utterly trashy 52 Pick-Up (1986) – a film bathed in bright pastel filth – after which her TV and film roles were less starry. Most of her recent work has been in small parts, but her filmography’s filled with a really interesting mix of work under the duress of studios, more independent-minded and risk-taking directors, and conventional work.
So, before you check out the review, perhaps you too should familiarize yourself with Ann-Margrock via Google / YouTube.
Coming next: The Collapsed and Exit Humanity from Anchor Bay Canada.
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Mark R. Hasan, Editor
KQEK.com ( Main Site / Mobile Site )
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