"Red Hot Riding Hood"

Betty Grable

Red Hot Riding Hood

Red Hot Riding Hood is an animated cartoon short, directed by Tex Avery and released on May 8, 1943 by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. In 1994 it was voted #7 of The 50 Greatest Cartoons of all time by members of the animation field, making it the highest ranked MGM cartoon on the list. 

Made in the middle of WWII, Red Hot Riding Hood was the cartoon embodiment of the GIs’ favorite pinup, Betty Grable. Despite her flashy costume and vamping, Red speaks in the cultured voice of Katharine Hepburn, and the manic Wolf in the suave tones of Charles Boyer.

Aspects of the cartoon were borrowed for later movies, notably Who Framed Roger Rabbit? (1988) and The Mask (1994).

The Mask

Who Framed Roger Rabbit?

Here is a cut-down version of the original. (Best I could do. Sorry.)

First posted:3 December 2012

Spielberg's Ten Rules for Success

Steven Spielberg and his Top Ten Rules for Success.

Interview

Here's a link to an interview with me, just published by Pete Richmond at Zealot Script.

Irish Medley

Chris Thile and The First-Call Radio Players (Rich Dworsky, Chris Eldridge, Brittany Haas, Sarah Jarosz, Paul Kowert, and Ted Poor) perform a medley of Irish tunes — "The Kid on the Mountain," "The Frost is All Over," and "Cunla".

Heat: The Perfect Blend of Realism and Style

A fascinating revisit with Michael Mann’s film Heat.

Tricks of the Trade, by Nia Vardalos

Nia Vardalos is a Greek/Canadian/naturalized American who wrote and starred in My Big Fat Greek Wedding, what?, wow, sixteen years ago. Time flies.

In this video she talks about how she got started, getting an agent, being Greek, the history of Wedding, and her writing process.



First published: 2 December 2012
 

The schoolboy forger

As a teenager, Adolfo Kaminsky saved thousands of lives by forging passports to help children flee the Nazis. He spent his life helping others escape atrocities around the world.