Happy Valentine's Day (4 of 4): Cute Annoying Young Couples

Happy Valentine's Day (2 of 4): Love Stinks.........

For Valentine's Day (1 of 4): Love Around the World

Quote of the Week- Jessica Tandy

Today, we are continuing our series within a series featuring quotes from past Oscar winners as the Oscar season is upon us. Our quote for today comes from the late Jessica Tandy (1909-1994) who was the oldest woman ever to win a Best Actress Oscar when she won the award in 1989.

It is fitting perhaps that Tandy won an Oscar for the film "Driving Miss Daisy," which was originally a hit stage play, since she was known primarily as a stage actress for much of her career.

In fact, she won the Lead Actress Tony for her performance as Blanche DuBois in the original Broadway run of the Tennessee Williams play "A Streetcar Named Desire" in 1947.

Tandy also starred in the famous Alfred Hitchock film "The Birds" (1963) which is still known to make one wary of pigeons.

Here is the quote from Tandy, which seems appropriate given that today is Valentine's Day, and the man buying his wife two dozen roses may have alterior motives:

"When he's late for dinner, I know he's either having an affair or lying dead in the street. I always hope it's the street."

Interesting Programming Choice for Valentine's Day

The Independent Film Channel (IFC) is actually going to broadcast the ground-breaking, controversial 1970 film "The Honeymoon Killers" about a real-life couple who went on a spree-killing rampage in the 1950s (didn't have time to Wiki that, so I could be off on the decade!) at 10:05 a.m. on Valentine's Day.

The documentary-style black and white film is also available on dvd through the Criterion Collection.

"The Honeymoon Killers" was initially supposed to be directed by a young Martin Scorsese but creative differences with the producer lead to Leonard Kastle directing the film which is his best known film.

The story involves Martha Beck and Ray Fernandez, both of whom were executed by an electric chair at Sing Sing Prison in New York (I have publicly disclosed that I am opposed to capital punishment, but this is not a political entry, but there might very well be one on this subject here soon!).

It has actually been re-filmed twice since 1970, including an odd Mexican remake entitled "Deep Crimson" (1996) which is the most graphic of the three films as it features an on-screen murder of a child- something that is considered to be a virtual taboo in American cinema.

There is also the more widely-known, fairly recent American film "Lonely Hearts" (2006) with Jared Leto and Salma Hayek playing the killers. The lead actor though is John Travolta who plays a detective in the case, which makes the film considerably different in pov than "The Honeymoon Killers."

In the original film, Beck is played Shirley Stoler who resembles the actual killer who weighed over 200 pounds at the time of her execution. Due to her excessive weight, Beck could not fit into the electric chair so she was secured on the arm rests when the fatal shock was delivered.

The story unfolds as Beck takes care of her invalid mother in Mobile, Ala. As she craves affection, Beck decides to place an ad in a lonely hearts column which is responded to by Fernandez (Tony LoBianco).

They become a couple and run off to New York, leaving Beck's mom to be tended to in a nursing home. Gradually, they begin to fleece vulnerable women. This causes Beck to become jealous, so she starts killing each of the women and in one instance she murders a victim's child by drowning him in a washing machine.

"The Honeymoon Killers" was actually released almost exactly 40 years as it premiered on American screens on Feb. 4, 1970- a full month before I was born!

The film will re-air on IFC (their web site is ifc.com) on Friday, Feb. 26 at 9:05 a.m. and 2:15 p.m.

I consider the film to be a vintage classic and it would probably be on my Top Ten list for the best films of 1970- a year which also saw the release of the film version of "MASH," "Five Easy Pieces" and "Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid."

Silly Photo to Fill Space- Kissing Kids

Yes, of course, we are doing this for Valentine's Day. I am particularly looking foward to this year's Valentine's Day as I plan to have dinner with Uma Thurman at an Applebee's in Niagara Falls, Ontario (Canada). I just hope the paparazzi doesn't intrude on us:)