Little Jewels of Perfection 3: How to Murder Your Wife: Soundtrack 2


A few months ago we noted that B had very kindly sent me the MGM Soundtrack Treasury box set because it contained one of my favourite scores: Neal Hefti's sublime How to Murder your Wife (1965) (which is also one of my favourite films!).

Well, on our recent visit to Warsaw we met up with B and she presented us with what looked like a single cd of the soundtrack. Very kind but she had already given it to me. We were somewhat puzzled. However, on closer inspection, it proved to be much more than a duplicate.


A record company, Kritzerland, who specialise in rare soundtracks planned to issue a single cd version of the score rather than the very expensive box set. The original album, as issued on vinyl in 1965 and on cd in the boxed set, as was very common at the time, was a re-recording with some added lyrics put to some of the music in a way that Henry Mancini had done with some of his scores. The original soundtrack master had been lost. The record company wanted to get hold of the original album master for thier new release but, much to their surprise they accidentally re-discovered the original soundtrack master. All 55 minutes and 22 tracks of the original soundtrack score which were believed lost. This is the limited edition (1000 copies ) CD that B gave me last week (it was only released on September 2nd). If you want one you can still get them on the internet but they are selling our very fast indeed. Even Kritzerland don't have any any more.

To say we were delighted is an understatement by some degree. This is, in our opinion, the best comedy soundtrack score composed and one of the most enjoyable scores ever. The opening six minutes of the score are backed by no less than six of Hefti's hopelessly catchy melodies as well as showcasing the most desirable home ever seen in cinema!




Opening of How to Murder your Wife


We showed the film to Agent DVD and HMS but they weren't impressed. Films, especially comedies, are a very personal thing. For Triple P the charm of the film is actually rooted in the peripherals. Stanley Ford's (Jack Lemmon) town house being one. The interiors were designed by Richard Sylbert with wonderful sixties set decoration by William Kiernan. The exteriors were actually an amalgamation of two buildings. The exterior onto the street is 174 1/2 East 75th Street New York (you can look at it via Google Maps Street view) and the roof exterior is a now demolished building near the New York Hilton (which can be glimpsed in the background of a few of the scenes).


Cartoonist Mel Keefer supplied the wonderful cartoon strips supposedly drawn by Stanley Ford

As someone who has been known to do the odd bit of drawing a studio like Stanley Ford's with a cast iron spiral staircase would be splendid!

Secondly, of course Neal Hefti's music which perfectly captures a moment in time and place; an urbane New York in the pre-Vietnam mid sixties when America still had the confidence to enjoy its new consumer society without guilt and a world where pop music had yet to conquer all.



Thirdly, Terry-Thomas in his greatest film role as butler Charles; a few facial movements transmitting a myriad of scheming thoughts in a few seconds. It was Thomas' most enjoyable film to make, he later said, and he picked up his biggest pay cheque of £200,000 for it.



Finally, an incandescently beautiful Virna Lisi proving herself to be a wonderful comedienne and making one of the greatest entrances in motion picture history; rising like Venus from a cake, dressed only in a whipped cream bikini.



She should have been a bigger star but was hampered by a violently jealous husband who terrified the rest of the cast and crew during filming.

So, we are most grateful to B once again and have the soundtrack playing as we dress for dinner in Old Montreal!

Back from the dead...


For reasons that are quite beyond me, but no doubt relate to the technology of the blogosphere, The Adventures of Triple P is back now getting over 1,000 visits a day again, having dropped to 7 at one point. This is all, we believe, due to changing the interstercial. So we have decided to reactivate this as our main blog once more. We apologise to any followers who have transited to The Further Adventures of Triple P but hope they will return.
We have put every post from The Further Adventures... onto this one. We are nothing if not a completist!

International Talk like a Pirate Day

pirate girl


Aaargh! Sink me if it ain't Talk Like a Pirate Day today, by the powers, an choke me with a rammer!

So feast yer eyes on these fine beauties and raise a flagon o' ale to strappin' pirate girls across the Seven Seas, devil a doubt!

Aar!















Beauty Queen of the Month: Katrina Hodge


There can't be any doubt that the beauty queen of the month has to be Lance Corporal Katrina Hodge, of the Royal Anglian Regiment.


She was runner up in the Miss England competition earlier in the year (having finished fifth last year).

Frankly, we can't see why she didn't win as we think she was much more elegant than the actual winner Rachel Christie who is Olympic Gold medal winning sprinter Linford Christie's cousin.

Although, to be fair, we gather, as she is also a sprinter, that she looks better in full flight down the track. Girls with muscle often look peculiar in frou-frou outfits.

Certainly it's the first time a Miss England contestant has given a demonstration of rifle drill as her competition talent!


This week Canadian based lingerie chain La Senza, (oh, how many hours we have spent hanging around their shops across Canada waiting for certain people to make their minds up) announced that Katrina would be heading up their new advertising campaign. They'll also be offering 15% discount to members of HM Armed forces.


Katrina won a bravery commendation as an 18 year old serving in Basra. She was travelling in vehicle containing an Iraqi insurgent under arrest. The vehicle crashed and, in the confusion, the insurgent grabbed two rifles and attempted to theaten the shaken troops. Katrina wasn't shaken however and knocked the rebel down with a single punch before wrestling the rifles off him. She now goes under the nickname of "Combat Barbie". It must have been particularly humiliating for the Iraqi to be disarmed by a girl!

The disarming Cpl Hodge and her weapons of mass distraction.

Agent Triple P thinks that she is a quite splendid example of a daughter of Albion!




Jade Ewen to join the Sugababes?

Jade: a sweet future?


Well we haven't heard from luscious Eurovision also-ran Jade Ewen since she gallantly sank in Russia earlier in the year. But now it seems that she could be the latest stop-gap in the ever rotating line up of the Sugababes. Amelle Berrabah is the latest Babe to chuck in the towel; no doubt having the usual "artistic differences" with lone original Keisha Buchanan. Keisha denies being "difficult" and no doubt there are perfectly good reasons that a third girl is leaving suddenly.



Frankly, we are very happy for the lovely Jade but whether she can hang on in there any longer than the others is frankly doubtful. Never mind it gives us a welcome opportunity to post more pictures of her.





An excellent busker...


On the whole, Agent Triple P hates buskers but today, en route from Tottenham Court Road to Bank for an excellent lunch of Foie Gras and Aberdeen Angus steak at Sauterelle, we passed a busker in TCR station playing on a Roland keyboard. Blow me down this chap was actually good! Playing the keyboard in a manner that reminded us of Django Reinhardt we would have given him a big donation if we had any money on us. Which of course we didn't. Hope he reappears again soon!

Calendar Girl September: Jessica White

Jessica in her calendar pose

Here is the splendidly sultry Jessica White looking grumpy on a selection of beaches. Photographers are often accused of lightening black girls' skin tones for magazines and looking at these pictures there is a huge variation is skin tone from light caramel to dark chocolate. Agent Triple P does not really care what skin tone Jessica has but he is interested in her really quite superb legs!



Does she look good in a vest? Oh yes!

Jessica hails from chilly Buffalo in New York state so must be very glad to now be spending such a lot of time lounging around on tropical beaches.


She has been a Sports Illustrated regular since 2003 when she was just 19 years old. Here she is in a shot from that shoot with short hair.




She is just short of 5'10" tall and a nicely symmetrical 34-24-34. She has been accused of getting plastic surgery on her nose to make it look less negroid (or at least that is the implication). Can't say that we could tell the difference on the pictures we were looking at but then we weren't really looking at her nose! Whatever, just about every top Hollywood actress or model has had her nose done so who cares?




Can't say that we have ever wanted to be a pineapple before...until now!