Bing Crosby Message Boards

High Tor

NAME	MESSAGE
Lee	posted 05/31/05 10:59 AM Central Time (US) contact the author directly I watched this month's movie of the month for May, "High Tor" over the weekend. I watched it late at night and began to nod off. The movie is perfect for sleeping to as it is very very laid back and Bing acts as if he's about to nod off during the whole show. At one point he actually does go to sleep and we sit there watching Bing snooze as Julie Andrews acts as his pillow. (Not a bad pillow at that.) It was a very odd non-sensical story, I guess you'd call it a fantasy, but the whole story seems to take place on Mount Weirdsville. The songs are not catchy, the only really good song is sung(?) by Everett Sloane, Bing would have been ideal to sing this song. Bing looked good in this TV movie, he just seemed very sleepy. Maybe I should watch this program during the day when I'm wide awake, it just about put me to sleep. But I'd still say it was an enjoyable Bing time, certainly a more unusual type of Bing movie. For all the negative talk though, I still would be happy to watch or snooze through it again as I found it to be a most pleasant if odd movie. This was originally broadcast as a TV special Ford Jubilee program. So it's not an official Bing movie, but really a TV movie, I've heard it said this was the first TV movie. But I make no such bold claim. Watch it, you'll like it, or at least you'll get a nice nap.
Malcolm Macfarlane, BING magazine	posted 06/01/05 03:08 AM Central Time (US) contact the author directly Don't know whether you like to see the original reviews but this is what Variety said: "Bing Crosby's entry into the 90-minute spectacular on CBS-TV's 'Ford Star Jubilee', Saturday night (10th) was hardly as rewarding as the auspicious occasion warranted. Out of Maxwell Anderson's 'High Tor' fancy, originally presented on Broadway 20 years ago as a straight play, the network fashioned a filmusical version, the joint effort of Arthur Schwartz and Anderson (with Schwartz also doubling as producer). "The songs were good, at least a couple of them way up on the potential list of solid clicks. There was a stunning performance from Julie Andrews, the ex-ingenue of 'The Boy Friend', as the ephemeral Dutch phantom walking the 'High Tor' mountain for 300 years. But basically, what evolved was a flimsy, 'boy meets ghost, loses girl, boy loses ghost, gets girl' vehicle that would find it tough going as the bottom half of a theatrical double feature. Through it all, Crosby was lost. True, his ballading was good. Crosby and his bouncy 'John Barleycorn' rendition was one of the show's high spots but his love-making had just about as much substance as the Dutch ghosts on High Tor. His poetic meanderings were neither fanciful nor symbolic. It just wasn't in the film clips for a placid and, let's face it, not-so-young contented guy in a comfortable jacket to project himself as an escapist from a material world through the flights of Anderson's dream on the Tappan Zee. "When he came upstage to do his songs (four in all) with all his muted charm and affability, it was strictly Crosby and not Van Dorn, the man in love with his mountain. For that matter the entire Dutch crew, from the captain down, had little understanding or feeling for what Anderson was trying to say. "Strange were many things about the production. Why, for example, Crosby wasn't even given a nibble at the best of the Schwartz tunes, 'When You're In Love', to which, non-singer, Everett Sloane fell heir. Or why the camera transitions were so awkward, considering the scope that the filmization afforded. Or why Ford permitted an invitation to a tune-out even before the film got started with an elongated commercial that must have consumed five minutes. "This musical version of bank robbers scheming to buy High Tor…..also enlisted the services of Nancy Olsen, who, at least, had a comprehensible role and therefore rang true to her performance…. It remained for Miss Andrews to really capture Anderson's elusive fantasy on life and love. "The film was made for CBS in 12 days. It cost about $450,000. The network reserves the right to give it a couple more screenings, then it reverts to Crosby and Schwartz for any possible residual values. These are doubtful assets." -- (Variety, March 14, 1956)
Lee	posted 06/01/05 10:19 AM Central Time (US) contact the author directly Interesting review. It's true the best song in the TV movie was "When You're In Love". It's completely baffling why Bing didn't sing this song. And how they could give it to Everett Sloane to basically talk his way through the song is crazy. The Barley Corn song I was familiar with from the Harry Lillis CD set, but other than that I didn't find it particularly great. In fact all the songs in this show (except "When You're In Love") sounded forced and totally uninspired. Sounded like the kind of songs you think of that sort of sound like other good songs but don't have any style or originality about them, songs that sound like they were forced and tried to sound like something good but never make the mark. Meandering and forced would be how I'd describe the lyrics of all the songs and derivative would be how I'd describe the melodies. Music was disappointing to say the least, esp. when the best song, one that did sound good, went to Sloane and not Bing. As for Julie Andrews, she was OK, but I can't rave about her like the article did. I did however like Nancy Olson, she did a great job, and seemed a believable character, as opposed to all other characters in the show. Bing needed to take a No-Doze before he started filming this one.
Leah Yolo	posted 06/02/05 01:51 PM Central Time (US) contact the author directly I like High Tor. I liked Julie Andrews, never cared much for Nancy Olson (Lee and I seem to always disagree on female leads), but she is OK. I liked the ghosts, and I liked all the songs. Believe it or not, I am quite discerning about what movies I do like, I just happen to like everything Bing is in. I thought the whole thing was imaginative and cute, cute, cute, and pretty relaxing to watch. I didn't fall asleep though.
Lars	posted 06/03/05 02:56 AM Central Time (US) no email address given Yesterday we watched High Tor - in fact Maria insisted we should watch it while I wasn't sure I really wanted to. I felt sleepy enough already and needed something with more of a laugh. The copy we've got is pretty dark and it makes it even more obvious that everybody seems to be running around and into each other on that mountain one dark evening, a bit confusing if you nod off or as we did just left the room a couple of times to bring in some food and beverage... Maria thought that Nancy Olson was quite mean to Bing when she tried to force Bing into either selling the mountain or lose the girl. We own a small mountain ourselves so I can understand the feeling of a mountain of your own. It's quite nice... We certainly wouldn't sell. It's great with all the wild animals you might see standing outside your window early mornings deer’s and even a elk sometime (even though I yesterday was upset when a roe deer had eaten all the flowers we had planted only a couple of days earlier. For the first time I felt like Bambi might risk ending up on a dinner plate after all). It's great to climb up the mountain to just enjoy the view and stillness. Anyway, why shouldn't he keep his mountain - silly woman! We both felt for Bing and understood how he felt about it. We both felt High Tor was kind of boring and the set, the little we could see through the darkness, didn't do much to help. But it at least featured quite a few nice character actors. I enjoyed the songs as much as I usually enjoy his other movie songs (my favorite song of the piece is "Living one day at the time") i.e. good enough songs if nothing extraordinary though. But next time I'll show Maria some of Bing's really good movies. It might be time for one of the road movies - we are still reminded about the camel who spit Hope in his face (road to Morocco) every time we see a camel somewhere (not on the streets, but on TV-commercials for example). Maria insisted that the Dutch ghosts gave her a feeling of Shakespeare. I don't know about that myself but we agree that we don't appreciate Shakespeare very much... Without Bing the movie would be hardly watchable, but as it's a Crosby movie I will watch it every once in a while but certainly not every year.