Book Vs Movie Podcast

It’s December at Book vs Movie and we are excited about covering holiday-themed films including this selection--The Bishop’s Wife. The original novella was written by Robert Nathan in 1928 is the story of a preacher, Henry Boughman, who dreams of building a huge cathedral at the expense of his relationship with his wife Julia. The 1947 film with Cary Grant, Loretta Young, and David Niven is wonderful!

The Margos are closing out our “Month of Disney” with the 50th Anniversary of Bedknobs and Broomsticks a partly animated film that is based on the wonderful stories by Mary Norton. She uses supernatural elements to tell the tale of a trio of British kids during WW2 who are hiding out in the English countryside. They meet a local villager, Miss Price, who turns out to be an apprentice witch.

The Margos are feeling very Italian in this episode devoted to the famous story about a marionette who wishes to be a real boy when he grows up. The Adventures of Pinocchio by Carlo Collodi was originally published in a series of magazine articles in 1881. When it was released as a book, it became a worldwide hit and is one of the most translated books of all time.

The Margos continue our month of Disney films with the 1991 classic Beauty and the Beast which is based on a fairy tale written in 1740 by Gabrielle-Suzanne Barbot de Villenenueva and then later abridged by Jeanne-Marie Leprince de Beaumont in 1756 for a collection of children’s stories.

The Margos are feeling kind of Disney this month so we are dedicating our next few episodes to those animated classics beginning with Sleeping Beauty from 1959. At the time, it received mixed reviews for its obvious comparison to Snow White & the Seven Dwarves which was considered a masterpiece.  (We are Team Maleficent!)

The Margos finish out the month of October with our final scary book & movie for the season--The Bad Seed. Written by William March and published in 1954 shortly before his death by a heart attack at the age of 60. The first adaptation was a play in the same year the book was published and starred Nancy Kelly (who won the Tony in 1955 for Best Actress,) Patty McCormack, and Eileen Heckert who would all go on to play their same parts in the film version in 1956.

This episode focuses on one of writer Oscar Wilde’s biggest commercial and critical successes--The Picture of Dorian Gray. Wilde is one of those intimidating subjects to cover as he is one of the most controversial and celebrated writers & thinkers of the 19th Century. Fans worship his every bon mot and admire his bravery to live his life on his own terms. He died in 1900 at the age of 46 but his legacy looms large to this day.

Invasion of the Body Snatchers, a novel by Jack Finney, and the movie starring Kevin McCarthy. The story of aliens invading earth and creating “pod people” to take over the human race was (probably) an allegory for the House Unamerican Activities that was looking for Communists in the U.S. during the 1930s-1950s.The 1956 movie was directed by Don Siegel (Escape from Alcatraz, Dirty Harry) and produced by Walter Wanger.

This adaptation of the 1897 H.G. Wells novel has Elisabeth Moss playing a woman (Cecilia Kass) trying to escape an abusive relationship when her seemingly late boyfriend attacks her wearing an invisible suit. Her character is gaslit everywhere she goes including at the police station where they decide she is mentally unstable and causing her own problems.

The Margos talk about the 1961 Disney classic film "The Parent Trap" and the fascinating author Erich Kastner who was banned by Nazis in Germany! The 1988 remake is mentioned but our focus is on the Hayley Mills & Maureen O'Hara film. Between book & movie, which did we like better? Have a listen!