So I fell out of the loop on movie-related books. Amazon sent me an email this morning that included the one called West Side Story as Cinema: The Making and Impact of an American Masterpiece. Can anyone tell me if there's any information in it regarding Simon Oakland being cast/his performance as Lieutenant Schrank/etc.? Or if any of the books touch on that, like the one told by many of the surviving cast members? I own two other books, Something's Coming, Something Good, which ended up being more about the play than the film, and the one from the Music on Film series, which, while about the film, wasn't helpful towards the angle I was after.
I did find the snippet about the "As Cinema" book in the Book tag here about Schrank being supposed to "song-talk" during the Tonight ensemble, which was very interesting! I saw the notation of Schrank's part in the song in the copy of the script that came with the DVD, but I don't recall it mentioning he would have talked rather than sung. (Simon Oakland could sing, incidentally. I know from a brief snippet in a Bonanza episode, of all things.)
I did find the snippet about the "As Cinema" book in the Book tag here about Schrank being supposed to "song-talk" during the Tonight ensemble, which was very interesting! I saw the notation of Schrank's part in the song in the copy of the script that came with the DVD, but I don't recall it mentioning he would have talked rather than sung. (Simon Oakland could sing, incidentally. I know from a brief snippet in a Bonanza episode, of all things.)
- Current Mood:
curious
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westsidestory- West Side Story
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Clearly you need to write it.
I don't own that one, I got a copy from the Library.
Edited at 2015-07-22 09:01 am (UTC)
It would be epic if there was a book on Simon. I would love to write it, if I could gather enough material for one! ;)
Robert Wise on his films, The films of Robert Wise & Self and society in the films of Robert Wise.
No mention of either Simon Oakland or Lt. Shrank whatsoever other than the last book which calls him a "thug".
Hope you're having better luck.
I've pretty much given up on there being anything, but I do plan to look at the one you recommended if I can find it!
I'll get back to you when it comes in for me.
Edited at 2015-08-06 07:29 am (UTC)
I need to get cracking on updating the website and the blog.... At the end of the month, it's Simon's 100th birthday and the tribute material must be prepared to celebrate. :) At least we can discuss some of the other roles we've seen Simon in throughout the year.... We have quite a lot of those backlogged.
At the end of the month, it's Simon's 100th birthday
Yup, I plan to post on the 28th.
And I noticed a DVD called The Making of West Side Story. I wonder if that's just the same as the special feature on the DVD of the movie. I already went through that, if so.
Awesome.