sixties

Just received my second royalty statement this year and sales of Gail Gerber’s memoir Trippin’ with Terry Southern are very disappointing.  It is a critical hit, everybody who reads it loves it, but not attracting buyers.  And of all my books it has been the least reviewed in print or online.  I thought for sure winning an IPPY Award would help especially since we got extra marketing coverage from it but alas it has not.

Not sure what the problem is but it has me re-thinking going with McFarland and Co.  with my next book.

Seeing how popular the Warner Bros. Archive has been releasing the studio’s classic movies on demand either as DVD or download, Columbia Pictures is getting in on the act and has just launched their Columbia Classics site with previous unavailable  films now available on DVD on Demand.

Among the titles that caught my eye: The Buttercup Chain; the TV-movie Detour to Terror starring Fantasy Femme Chris Noel as a high class hooker, OJ Simpson as a heroic bus driver, and in a small role his future wife Nicole; The Love-Ins with Book’em Danno James MacArthur and Susan Oliver as college radicals; Jacqueline Susann’s tawdry trashy The Love Machine; and the beach party in the snow classic Winter a-Go-Go with William Wellman, Jr., James Stacy, Fantasy Femme Julie Parrish, Glamour Girl Linda Rogers, and Nancy Czar.

Below is a link to the site:

http://www.sonypictures.com/homevideo/columbiaclassics/the-films/

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AhliOnW2-eI

In the interest in fair play, below is a clip of Carroll Baker as Jean Harlow in Joseph E. Levine’s Harlow for Paramount. With a budget of close to $4 million compared to $800,000 for the Electronovision Harlow with Carol Lynley, the sumptuousness of the sets and costumes really stand out.

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S4InFxoQ3DU

Just as I thought I was finished with my upcoming book Dueling Harlow’s: Race to the Silver Screen, actress BarBara Luna got me in contact prolific casting director  Marvin Paige who worked on the Electronovision Harlow.  He dialed up Carol Lynley for me and within an hour I was interviewing her on the phone about Harlow!  She was pleasant, witty, and open about her dislike of the movie.

Will be interviewing Mr. Paige soon who also has other contacts for me from both movies.  So much for thinking I am done!

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O3RbEtlJWlk