Many years after our divorce, Billy would still come to my house for the Christmas singalong and play the piano, and all our friends would come over and sing Christmas carols. Singalongs are one of my favorite things to do. And you know that’s what makes everybody happy.
Helen Mirren in Herostratus – 1967
Mostly understood at its time, this critique of the postwar idealism found in the youth of England is a sharp look at the way that idealism can degenerate into neurotic self-gratification.
Inspired by the story of a man who bored down the Temple of Artemis at Ephesus to achieve immortal fame, Herostratus is the story of Max, a young poet who proposes to a marketing firm that they use his suicide as a marketing spectacle. However his plan to protest modern society goes all wrong and his reactionary gesture is interpreted as a sick way to seek celebrity sugar daddy.
The film’s nihilistic look at the idealism of the ’60s had a notable influence on films like A Clockwork Orange, it’s also notable for featuring one of the earliest performances by Helen Mirren.
In 1975 the people of Wales and the UK were asked to decided whether or not they wanted to remain a member of the European Community (sound familiar?) and a massive ad campaign went out to make sure that England didn’t adopt a separatist and isolationist line of thinking, and instead stuck things out at as a part of the EC.
The Yes campaign made a meal out of their “Europe or Bust” shirts that were definitely pointed at the world’s love of the chest, but there was also a No campaign that had a less sexy slogan, “Out and into the world.”
The sexy Barbi Benton, 1970
After appearing in Playboy at the very young age of 18 Benton had a relationship with the magazine’s scion Hugh Hefner for seven years. Not just another pretty face, Benton went on to pop up on shows like The Love Boat, Fantasy Island, Hollywood Squares, and The Girls Next Door.
In the 1970s she spent four seasons on Her Haw before releasing her first solo album, appropriately titled “Barbi Benton” featuring the Top 5 single “Brass Knuckles.”
After enough television appearances to make a struggling actor have an aneurism, Benton retired from show business to raise her children in Los Angeles and Aspen.
Martial arts expert, Bruce Lee in “Enter The Dragon” 1973
Enter The Dragon is an undeniable achievement in genre filmmaking. Considered to be Bruce Lee’s masterwork, the film almost didn’t happen due to Lee’s disapproval of the script and desire to make it the best film possible. He initially believed that he had creative control over the script, but when it was clear that Warner Bros. was placating the actor he wrote a letter to the company voicing his distaste for the way they did business. Lee wrote:
I am sure you agree with me that quality, extreme hard work, and professionalism is what cinema is all about. My twenty years of experience, both in martial arts and acting has led to the successful harmony of showmanship and genuine, efficient, artful expression. In short, this is it, and ain’t nobody knows it like I know it. Pardon my bluntness, but that is me! You see, my obsession is to make, pardon the expression, the f*ckingest action motion picture that has ever been made. In closing, I will give you my heart, but please do not give me your head only. In return, I, Bruce Lee, will always feel the deepest appreciation for the intensity of your involvement.
