"Help me bury the monkey."

[Tinker 2000]

What is this from? It was so funny when John said it during the podcast, but I don't know where it came from. Is it a quote from a movie? Also Pete's "We didn't need voices, we had faces." Is that from the same movie? I even tried googling "help me bury the monkey" with no success.

 

[ninecrayons]

It's a quote from Sunset Blvd - both a movie and (later) a Broadway musical!

The gist of the story of Sunset Blvd is that a struggling writer, Joe Gillis (played by William Holden), is trying to escape some loan sharks and pulls into a driveway. The house he pulls up to is that of Norma Desmond (played by Gloria Swanson) who was a famous silent movie star. Once sound became a part of movies, she was unable to get parts and has basically been holed up inside her house with her butler Max.

That's a very tiny summary of the beginning of the story. Rent the movie!

I believe that when Pete was yelling for Max, that's what brought up the quotes from the movie. There is one point when Norma's pet monkey dies and she yells for Max to come help her bury the monkey. Hence Kevin's "Max! Help me bury the monkey!"

Pete's line "We didn't need voices, we had faces!" is a quote from Norma Desmond about how movies have changed.

 

[Tinker 2000]

Thank you!!

 

[OKW Lover]

The line "we didn't need voices, we had faces!" can be heard in the Great Movie Ride.

 

[ninecrayons]

The line "we didn't need voices, we had faces!" can be heard in the Great Movie Ride.

Ahhh. I was trying to remember if it was. It's in the montage at the end, yes?

 

[OKW Lover]

Ahhh. I was trying to remember if it was. It's in the montage at the end, yes?

Either there or in the queue. Pretty sure its at the end though.

 

[mjaclyn]

I LOVE Sunset Boulevard... now every time Pete calls Max I'm thinking Norma!! I would really love to have it come back on Broadway.

 

[DisneyKevin]

Everyone should see Sunset Boulevard at least once.*

It deserves it's status as a "Classic".

*Some of us can repeat it verbatim....but that's another discussion.

 

[mjaclyn]

Has anyone seen it onstage or just the movie? I've seen the movie and also a stage production in a small theater in Maine. DH saw it with Glenn Close and I am SO jealous!! Of course, my favorite cast recording is with Patti though... If they revived it, who do you think would be a good choice for the lead? I was thinking Cate Blanchett (does she sing?) as Norma, not sure about Joe... But I could definitley see Sutton Foster as Betty.. Although I'm not sure she'd accept such a small part now.

I'm just afraid that if it came back they would do it on the cheap and not have such magnificent set pieces. Think revival of Sweeney Todd or Company.

On an unrelated note... Did anyone see that Patti L. And Mandy P. are doing some kind of a concert together? I'd love to see that!

 

[ninecrayons]

Has anyone seen it onstage or just the movie?

I saw the Broadway production twice - once with the original cast of Glenn Close, Alan Campbell, Alice Ripley and Vincent Tumeo and then another with Betty Buckley as Norma Desmond.

As much of a Broadway legend as Betty Buckley is, I enjoyed Glenn Close's performance much more. I found it to be more subtle and faceted which actually really worked for Norma.

 

[DVC Kathy]

On an unrelated note... Did anyone see that Patti L. And Mandy P. are doing some kind of a concert together? I'd love to see that!

DH and I saw their show in Philly a while back. It was a blast! Parts of it were over the top - which you'd expect from those two together.

 

[PeterPan09]

Everyone should see Sunset Boulevard at least once.*

It deserves it's status as a "Classic".

*Some of us can repeat it verbatim....but that's another discussion.

Tragically, it has not yet been released on Blu Ray.

I believe that being able to recite Norma's lines verbatim is a requirement for belonging to certain unions....