One of my heroes turned NINETY-SEVEN this week, the wonderful and multi-talented Dick Van Dyke!
Naturally, I grew up loving his myriad television and movie appearances. As a matter of fact, when I played one of the trolls in a high school production of "The Hobbit" in 1974 (I was also Gollum and Smaug the dragon) I did a bad copy of Mr. Van Dyke's bad Cockney accent. Truthfully, I didn't know it was bad then.
A brief summary: this picture, written and directed by Garson Kanin, is a satire about conformity. When Van Dyke's character can't shave after a bee stings his chin while he's fooling around in the park with his lover, he grows a beard, contrary to the strict and straight-laced rules of his bank employer. He refuses to shave it off, is branded a rebel and fired, starting a groundswell of support and protest from his fellow employees.
Honestly, I pretty much lost interest in the flick after the initial scene, which is Old Time Burlesque, Sexy Silent Movie Comedy stuff with literal slapstick!!
Dick and his lover, the beautiful and enticing Rosemary Forsyth, try unsuccessfully to fight off the bee, rolling and falling over each other, him reaching up her skirt to try to catch it (the bee) (yeah, right), soundly slapping her fanny a couple of times, and, at the climax of this ruckus, which has attracted the attention of everyone in the park, including the cops, Rosemary has wound up draped over Dick, her skirt well up, and her pretty, round bottom in yellow panties (great shades of Tinker Bell!) in fine position for a good spanking!
Naturally, I was rather disappointed that there actually wasn't a real spanking, beyond the two gee-I-missed-the bee smacks, but that was part of the flick's intended humor.
So Hurrah for such fare, and for the amazing Dick Van Dyke and all he's given us!
