Musical Comedy Tonight II (1981) - Star of the month... Juliet Prowse

'Sylvia Fine's A Musical Comedy Tonight II' is a 1981 musical TV special hosted by Sylvia Fine Kaye, and starring Juliet Prowse, Danny Kaye, Jack Lemmon, Lynn Redgrave, Annette Charles, Burton Lane, Richard Crenna, Nancy Dussault, Sergio Franchi, Bonnie Franklin, Joshua Logan and Larry Storch.

The special recreates musical numbers from "Finian's Rainbow", "South Pacific", "Sweet Charity" and "Lady in the Dark". There is also discussion of the various creative aspects of the plays.

Musical program

• "Overture"
• "This Time of the Year" (from 'Finian's Rainbow') - Sylvia Fine
• "How Are Things In Glocca Mora" (from 'Finian's Rainbow') - Nancy Dussault
• "When I'm Not Near the Girl I Love" (from 'Finian's Rainbow') - Jack Lemmon (with Nancy Dussault)
• "The Begat" (from 'Finian's Rainbow) - Burton Lane
• "Some Enchanted Evening" (from 'South Pacific') - Sergio Franchi & Bonnie Franklin
• "There Is Nothing Like a Dame" (from 'South Pacific')
• "A Wonderful Guy" (from 'South Pacific') - Bonnie Franklin
• A conversation with Joshua Logan
• "Honey Bun" (from 'South Pacific') - Bonnie Franklin
• "The Greatest Show on Earth" (from 'Lady in the Dark') - Danny Kaye
• "The Best Years of His Life" (from 'Lady in the Dark') - Danny Kaye
• "Tschaikowsky (and Other Russians)" (from 'Lady in the Dark') - Danny Kaye
• "The Saga of Jenny" (from 'Lady in the Dark') - Lynn Redgrave
• A conversation with Danny Kaye
• "Intermission"
• "Hey, Big Spender" (from 'Sweet Charity') - Annette Charles
• "If They Could See Me Now" (from 'Sweet Charity') - Juliet Prowse
• "There's Gotta Be Something Better Than This" (from 'Sweet Charity') - Juliet Prowse & Annette Charles
• "If They Could See Me Now" (Finale) - Entire Company

Watch the entire special here...

Did you know...

• Host Sylvia Fine Kaye was the wife of Hollywood legend Danny Kaye, who appeared in the 'Lady in the Dark' sequence from this special

Musical Comedy Tonight II (1981) - Star of the month... Danny Kaye

'Sylvia Fine's A Musical Comedy Tonight II' is a 1981 musical TV special hosted by Sylvia Fine Kaye, and starring Juliet Prowse, Danny Kaye, Jack Lemmon, Lynn Redgrave, Annette Charles, Burton Lane, Richard Crenna, Nancy Dussault, Sergio Franchi, Bonnie Franklin, Joshua Logan and Larry Storch.

The special recreates musical numbers from "Finian's Rainbow", "South Pacific", "Sweet Charity" and "Lady in the Dark". There is also discussion of the various creative aspects of the plays.

Musical program

• "Overture"
• "This Time of the Year" (from 'Finian's Rainbow') - Sylvia Fine
• "How Are Things In Glocca Mora" (from 'Finian's Rainbow') - Nancy Dussault
• "When I'm Not Near the Girl I Love" (from 'Finian's Rainbow') - Jack Lemmon (with Nancy Dussault)
• "The Begat" (from 'Finian's Rainbow) - Burton Lane
• "Some Enchanted Evening" (from 'South Pacific') - Sergio Franchi & Bonnie Franklin
• "There Is Nothing Like a Dame" (from 'South Pacific')
• "A Wonderful Guy" (from 'South Pacific') - Bonnie Franklin
• A conversation with Joshua Logan
• "Honey Bun" (from 'South Pacific') - Bonnie Franklin
• "The Greatest Show on Earth" (from 'Lady in the Dark') - Danny Kaye
• "The Best Years of His Life" (from 'Lady in the Dark') - Danny Kaye
• "Tschaikowsky (and Other Russians)" (from 'Lady in the Dark') - Danny Kaye
• "The Saga of Jenny" (from 'Lady in the Dark') - Lynn Redgrave
• A conversation with Danny Kaye
• "Intermission"
• "Hey, Big Spender" (from 'Sweet Charity') - Annette Charles
• "If They Could See Me Now" (from 'Sweet Charity') - Juliet Prowse
• "There's Gotta Be Something Better Than This" (from 'Sweet Charity') - Juliet Prowse & Annette Charles
• "If They Could See Me Now" (Finale) - Entire Company

Watch the entire special here...

Did you know...

• Host Sylvia Fine Kaye was the wife of Hollywood legend Danny Kaye, who appeared in the 'Lady in the Dark' sequence from this special

The China Syndrome - Spotlight on...Trailblazers

"It's my story! It's my exclusive! I want to do it!"  - Jane Fonda (as Kimberly Welles in 'The China Syndrome')


'The China Syndrome' is the 1979 drama/thriller directed by James Bridges and starring Jane Fonda, Michael Douglas and Jack Lemmon.

Jane Fonda as TV news reporter Kimberly Welles &
Michael Douglas as photographer Richard Adams

The title refers to the China Syndrome, which describes a worst-case scenario in a nuclear meltdown, where components melt their containment structures, through the floor of the plant, and into the earth travelling all the way to China.


Jane Fonda stars as Kimberly Welles, a determined and driven TV reporter who is visiting a nuclear power plant in California with her cameraman Richard Adams (played by Douglas). During their visit, they witness an emergency shutdown, due to an incident, which the power plant attempts to cover up. Richard secretly films the shutdown, despite being asked not to, and shows it to an expert who claims the power plant were close reaching the China Syndrome. The rest of the film involves the plants attempt to cover up the event, with Kimberly and Richard determined to uncover the truth with the help of shift supervisor Jack Godell (played by Lemmon).




Watch the trailer:

Release controversy

The release of 'The China Syndrome' sparked some controversy when a real life nuclear accident occurred 12 days after its release at Three Mile Island in Dauphin County, Pennsylvania. What's even more ironic is in the film, physicist Dr. Elliott Lowell (played by Donald Hotton) says the China Syndrome would make "an area the size of Pennsylvania" permanently uninhabitable.

Absence of a music soundtrack

Something I really like about this film is there is no traditional music soundtrack which the audience hears, and the characters do not.  Although there is some music heard at different points, the music originates from sources within the film, which the characters can hear, such as music playing on car radios, bar jukeboxes, TV commercials, etc.  Even the end credits roll in complete silence.

Did you know...

• Michael Douglas also produced this film
• Richard Dreyfuss was originally meant to play Richard Adams

Awards nominations...

• Academy Award nomination for Best Actor (Jack Lemmon)
• Academy Award nomination for Best Actress (Jane Fonda)
• Academy Award nomination for Best Art Direction-Set Decoration
• Academy Award nomination for Best Writing; Original Screenplay
• Cannes Film Festival Palme d'Or (Golden Palm) nomination
• Cannes Film Festival winner Best Actor (Jack Lemmon)

Closing remarks

'The China Syndrome' is a wonderful film. I find it distorts your perception around big business corruption and makes you wonder how many incidents like this may really occur, and are kept quiet and covered up by those with money and power.  Heart pounding suspense and superb performances by Fonda, Douglas and Lemmon make 'The China Syndrome' compelling and engaging viewing.

Some Like it Hot (1959)

Star of the Month... Marilyn Monroe

"I wanna be loved by you alone... boop-boop-bee-doop!"

Marilyn Monroe is held by co-stars
Tony Curtis and Jack Lemmon

'Some Like It Hot' is the 1959 romantic screwball comedy starring Marilyn Monroe, Tony Curtis and Jack Lemmon, and directed by Billy Wilder.  The supporting cast includes Joe E. Brown, George Raft, Pat O'Brien,  Joan Shawlee and Nehemiah Persoff.

The film was named the funniest movie of all time by the American Film Institute, and also the 14th best film ever made. 

In 1989, the film was selected for preservation by the Library of Congress National Film Registry as being "culturally, historically or aesthetically significant."

'Some Like It Hot' is set in 1929 and begins as musicians Joe and Jerry (played by Curtis & Lemmon) witness a murder and they flee for their lives. To avoid being found by the murdering gangsters,  Joe and Jerry disguise themselves as women, and call themselves Josephine and Daphne. Josephine and Daphne join an all-girl band, with vocalist Sugar Kane Kowalczyk (played by Monroe). To complicate things, a millionaire Osgood Fielding III (played by Brown) falls in love with Daphne, and proposes. Meanwhile Joe (as Josephine) falls for Sugar.

Marilyn Monroe as Sugar Caine

Musical program

The film is semi-musical with Marilyn singing three songs from the 1920s hit parade: "I Wanna Be Loved By You", "Runnin' Wild" and "I''m Through with Love".

Song - "I Wanna Be Loved You"

Song - "Runnin' Wild"

Song - "I'm Through With Love"

Did you know...

• The film was originally meant to be filmed in colour, but was changed to black and white due to a green tint in the make up worn by Tony Curtis and Jack Lemmon
• Some of the working titles for the film include 'Fanfares of Love' and 'Not Tonight, Josephine'

Awards and nominations

• Academy Award winner for Best Costume Design - Black & White
• Golden Globe winner for Best Motion Picture - Comedy
• Golden Globe winner for Best Actress in Musical or Comedy (Marilyn Monroe)
• Golden Globe winner for Best Actor in Musical or Comedy (Jack Lemmon)
• Academy Award nomination for Best Director
• Academy Award nomination for Best Actor (Jack Lemmon)
• Academy Award nomination for Best Art Direction - Black & White
• Academy Award nomination for Best Cinematography - Black & White 
• Academy Award nomination for Best Screenplay based on material from another medium

Closing remarks

I strongly recommend 'Some Like It Hot' to virtually everyone. It is especially a good film to show if you are trying to introduce someone to classic film.

It is by far one of the funniest movies I have ever seen, though I'm not convinced it is "the funniest". Other films from memory which I personally funnier are 'Clue' (1985) and 'What's Up Doc?' (1972). Ironically both these two films star Madeline Kahn, who also happens to be one of my favourite comedians.