ALL SCI-FI

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"High Time" released on September 16, 1960 was written by Frank & Tom Walden and directed by Blake Edwards.

Bing Crosby plays wealthy restaurateur Harvey Howard who decides at 51 to obtain a college degree.

Harve's adult son & daughter totally disapprove of this decision, but this doesn't stop Howard one little bit. Harvey exudes a breezy confident charm in spite of his fears that he just may not be up to this challenge he has set for himself.

He intends to have the entire college experience; including rooming with young students, pledging a fraternity, and taking all the required classes he needs for a degree.

Along the way Harvey makes friends and meets a new love who is a professor at the college.

And what's a Bing Crosby movie without Der Bingle singing some songs? Here, we are graced with the lovely "Second Time Around" song.

I found this to be a fun and enjoyable film with a charming cast including Tuesday Weld, Yvonne Craig & Nicole Maurey.

Plenty of laughs & schmaltz with a happy ending.

The speech that Harvey gives to his graduating class at the end is poignant and uplifting.

[Bud Brewster]

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I tried to find the full movie (or a least a trailer) to post below, but I struck out. There's no trailer, and even though there is a video of the movie, all the dialog has been over-dubbed with a foreign language.

"Over-dubbed" in this case means that both the English and the foreign language can be heard. Bummer . . .

I saw this movie with my family at a drive-in when I was twelve years old. I don't remember what the second feature was, but I do remember enjoying this movie.

The Henry Mancini title theme stuck and my mind, and I still like it. THAT, by gum, I did find on YouTube!

____________ High Time (1960) Henry Mancini


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Here's a version with slightly better sound quality, but without the credits.

________________ Henry Mancini - High Time


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The Wikipedia article has an item that I found amusing.
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Filming was interrupted by the strike of the Screen Actors Guild on 7 March. Fabian's manager was reported as wanting to buy the film so it could be completed.

"Now I've heard everything," wrote Hedda Hopper. "Fabian, who admits he can't sing and is perfectly honest about it, has been in our business a little more than a year."

The strike ended and filming resumed on 12 April.

Fabian later called Bing Crosby "a great artist, a great actor, and a great musical person" but "not a nice man.”
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Oh boy, is Hedda right about Fabian's lousy "singing"! But the kid was a fairly good actor, and I enjoy his work in Five Weeks in a Balloon.
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Is there no man on Earth who has the wisdom and innocence of a child?
~ The Space Children (1958)

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I've always enjoyed Bing Crosby's singing and acting.

I am curious as to exactly what Fabian meant by his negative comment regarding Crosby?

I've read enough interviews regarding Bing to be aware that his warm and easygoing screen/TV persona was just one side of him and hardly the whole package.

His son Gary Crosby wrote in his autobiography "Going My Own Way'' that his father was a very tough taskmaster and would whip his four sons whenever he felt they needed to be punished.

Others report Crosby as a man with ice water in his veins who could abandon friendships very easily if he was of a mind to do so.

Former child actress Pamelyn Ferdin, who is writing her autobiography, was a guest star on "The Bing Crosby Show'' TV sitcom.

Ferdin generally reports that the majority of folks that she worked with when she was an actress were all pretty decent with three exceptions : Bing, Gene Kelly, Jerry Lewis.

She found Bing very distant and cold.

I'll continue to enjoy the performer Bing Crosby. Not sure I would have ever liked the man Bing Crosby.

[scotpens]

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Wikipedia Trivia:

Original titles for this movie were "Big Daddy", & "Daddy-O.

Sidebar: They definitely were right to drop these lame titles. Bing's character mentions that "It's high time someone in this family gets a college education." So it is appropriate for the movie to use that expression as the film's title.

Gary Cooper was to star in the film until his terminal illness forced him to decline the role. The writers then rewrote the script to fit Crosby and his musical talents.
Sidebar: Crosby & Cooper were good friends in real life. Bing named one of his sons after Cooper.

The movie was filmed at UCLA, Stockton Junior High School, Amos Alonzo Stagg High School, Stockton California.

Richard Beymer & Tuesday Weld had a real life romance while filming the movie.

Sidebar: Lucky devil.

The song "The Second Time Around" was nominated for an Oscar as Best Song in a Movie. It would be the last time Bing would have such an honor.