So, in episode 4 of FEUD: Bette & Joan, Pauline sits down for a Pepsi-centric lunch with Mamacita at a Howard Johnson’s.
OK, maybe it wasn’t a Howard Johnson’s. They didn’t serve Pepsi; they had HoJo Cola.
But that is neither here nor there. What does matter is the bit of conversation that goes on between them regarding Mamacita’s in-depth census research at the public library and how women are going to outnumber men by 6 million in 1970. So it is easy to assume that more women would mean higher demand for women’s films, and that demand will force studios to make more films by and for women.
And then I cried a little. I literally cried into my ice cream (I always eat ice cream while watching FEUD) because it never happened–the movies made by and for women. All this time and it still hasn’t happened.
We spend a shit ton of money and we out-live all the men, but women don’t matter as much as they should. Especially when they cross over into “old broad” territory and are no longer “fuckable.”
Men like Mr. Jack Warner did almost everything he could to keep his female employees down. Especially when he said that Bette Davis had Charisma, Uniqueness, Nerve &Talent.
Speaking of which, Alaska showed she had enough Charisma, Uniqueness, Nerve & Talent to win All-Stars 2 with her epic interpretation of Baby Jane Hudson:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Akv_gZTtWk
But back to Jack Warner! Thanks to Johna Blinn and her celebrity cooking column, we have even more reasons to hate Jack Warner after this story:
One of Warner’s corniest jokes happened during a luncheon honoring Madame Chiang Kai-shek. he had just bought the movie right s to Col. Robert Scott’s book, God is My Co-Pilot. “Bob had been with the Flying Tigers and kept telling all these things about Madame Chiang Kai-shek to the point I was disbelieveing. I arrived at the luncheon late and when I saw this sea of inscrutable oriental faces I was immediately overcome by a fiendish impulse. When I met her I said, “Holy Cow! I forgot to pick up my laundry!”
I don’t even know what any of that paragraph even means. But it sounds totally super-racist, right?
But we also a recipe for his broiled salmon!
Easy peasy. I followed the directions and broiled the salmon in my KitchenAid toaster over (which I am in love with, btw).
So in a sauce pan I put in my baby carrots in boiling water at the end I added the frozen peas. Drained them, nuked the beans, tossed together, placed the salmon on top, and drizzled the remaining butter on top.
Voila! Easy cooking. Easy clean up. And a perfect dinner for one.
Warner might have been a huge dick, but you can’t hate on his salmon.
This recipe originally appeared in Blinn’s column in 1972. It was reprinted in 1981 in her book Celebrity Cookbook.
Him being played by Stanley Tucci makes it hard for me to hate him. There is something about that guy that just… as Pam would say splosh. I hop I’m not the only one.
He’s the Tooch! He automatically makes everything better.
Agreed on the Tooch!
Ok so I’m not alone on this. I feel so much better.
Oh! That looks bloody good. What the fuff is a Kitchenaid toaster oven?
You are so right to shed a tear about films made for and by women. You are also so right to always eat ice-cream when Feud is on! Jx
It is a small table top oven that toasts bakes and broils. I love it.
Ooh, now I’ve seen it, I want one!
RE: Jack Warner’s comment–Laundry. Back in the day (early 1900s?) Chinese laborers were needed for railway expansion. You had all these workers, but (obviously) no one would want to clean their clothes, etc. So the Chinese laundry was born.
(Reads over paragraph. Wow, that sounds clunky. Whatever.)
Whenever I read a story like that, I always yell, “Dude! You’re Jewish!” (or black, Asian, gay, etc.) “How can you say such stupid stuff?!” And the “keep the women down” deal? They should’ve worked for Harry Cohn–he kept EVERYBODY down! Rita Hayworth, the Three Stooges, pretty much every and anybody.
Also still waiting on that whole “more women = more movies made by women” thing to come true…1970 was/is ALMOST 50 YEARS AGO! (sighing)
Cohn–an equal-opportunity asshat.