Nat King Cole was indeed one of the greats!! And this haunting song has a place in movie history: "Nature Boy" is from the soundtrack of the 1948 film "The Boy with Green Hair" which was directed by Joseph Losey and starred the young Dean Stockwell, Pat O'Brien, Robert Ryan and Barbara Rush. It was the first film I saw at age 5. I never forgot it. The film's haunting imagery affected me and when I saw it again on TV 40 years later, scenes that had stuck in my memory were played out once again exactly as I remembered. So much for the power of film on young minds. The picture had sort of "disappeared" for all that time due to the controversy surrounding it Losey was blacklisted of course. Stockwell is a young boy whose parents are killed in World War II. He goes to live with his uncle and, after seeing at school a presentation on "war orphans," his hair turns green overnight. He soon learns that he has become "different" so he can deliver the important message: "War is bad for children." Hopefully the message will be taken to heart and war will disappear. We all know the outcome. Of course, this "insidious" message had to be supressed in cold-war-scare America and the picture soon disappeared into the vaults, not to be seen until almost half a century later. Joe Losey went to England where his career continued with such wonderful British-made films as "The Servant" and "Far From the Madding Crowd." Dean Stockwell has stated on more than one occasion that he was proud of his participation in "The Boy with Green Hair" when he made it and continued his pride in the film and its message down the years. A DVD has been available for a long time but the film can now be ordered through the Warner Bros movie-on-demand service. I highly recommend it. It's an interesting fantasy and its message speaks loudly some 62 years after its release! And "Nature Boy," the song, will haunt you.....as it is obviously doing now. http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0040185/ Joe B PS-- I noted when checking the IMDB listing that a commentator said she saw the film in the 1960s on tv. She remarked on the black and white photography. However, "The Boy with Green Hair" is in Technicolor, though it certainly would have been seen in B&W on tv then as one saw "color" only on network specials and a few shows like "Bonanza." I stand corrected by her that it was unseen altogether until the 1980s.
--- On Sun, 2/21/10, Tom Martin <[email protected]> wrote: From: Tom Martin <[email protected]> Subject: Re: [MOPO] OT RE: THE WRITER OF "NATURE BOY" To: [email protected] Date: Sunday, February 21, 2010, 10:55 AM excellent article and review... also the linked site for him is cool.... Thanks Rick ! There are like 20 verisons of Nature boy on Lala [email protected] wrote: Thanks, Tom, for bringing "Nature Boy" to our attention. What a trip it is to check out the bio of the song's writer. He was a "hippie" twenty years before being a hippie was cool. Anyone who has an extra minute should check this out....the bio...and the Google images of this guy. Amazing. Rick http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eden_ahbez Visit the MoPo Mailing List Web Site at www.filmfan.com ___________________________________________________________________ How to UNSUBSCRIBE from the MoPo Mailing List Send a message addressed to: [email protected] In the BODY of your message type: SIGNOFF MOPO-L The author of this message is solely responsible for its content. Visit the MoPo Mailing List Web Site at www.filmfan.com ___________________________________________________________________ How to UNSUBSCRIBE from the MoPo Mailing List Send a message addressed to: [email protected] In the BODY of your message type: SIGNOFF MOPO-L The author of this message is solely responsible for its content. Visit the MoPo Mailing List Web Site at www.filmfan.com ___________________________________________________________________ How to UNSUBSCRIBE from the MoPo Mailing List Send a message addressed to: [email protected] In the BODY of your message type: SIGNOFF MOPO-L The author of this message is solely responsible for its content.
