All My Children Tribute Thread

[j swift]

What I think is so nuts about the summer of Silver, Erica, and Jenny modeling in New York was how much of the plot was directly lifted from classic films.  The iconic images of Erica modeling are directly influenced by images of Audrey Hepburn in Funny Face

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Silver's story is obviously cribbed from All about Eve

and there are shades of A Place in the Sun in Jenny's story, and the shady photog who tried to take topless pics was taken directly from the movie Fame.

Copying classic films was a "thing"  on soaps at the time, and at ABC in particular, but I wonder if today's audience would tolerate such direct plagiarism?

Edited January 8, 2022 by j swift

[Lust4Life76]

Hmmm... the Hollywood "Golden Era" classics that "AMC" decided to emulate in my opinion actually complimented those storylines - given that most of them orbited around Erica's character, whom if I recall LOVED celebrity and yearned to be in the movies. But not in a way that "GL"'s Nola Reardon, or "LOVING"'s Ava Rescott fantasized. For Erica, her life was the movies? But going back to your original question, as soaps advanced into the 90's, I feel like each show still tried to emulate pop culture in a sense but maybe in the vein of what was popular and not a total crib - say a movie like "Basic Instinct" became the rage - you almost saw some kind of film noir/diabolical plot on "Y&R"; or wasn't the affair Duke had on Anna with Olivia on "GH" based on the popularity of "Fatal Attraction"? I do remember one homage, was given the popularity of "The Fabulous Baker Boys" Leanna on "Y&R" got on top of a piano and crooned like she was Michelle Pfeiffer. And who could forget "Ryan's Hope" attempt at "King Kong" with an escaped gorilla coming for antagonist Delia Reid Ryan Coleridge :)

[j swift]

For me, the difference is that Nola, Ava, and later Sara on Sunset Beach, fantasized about "Old Hollywood", whereas these plots were directly cribbed from movies, not a one episode lark.

I actually think the less iconic but more amusing example was when Siobhan had a "Jaws" sighting in Montauk.

[FrenchBug82]

As @Kane @Khan and @amybrickwallace were recently discussing on the Loving thread, the look of one of Tricia's weddings on Loving was directly lifted from the Greta Garbo movie Camille.
I don't know how the timing matches with the Summer of Silver but clearly explicit direct visual references to old movies was a thing in 80s ABC soaps.

[Khan]

Another example: Karen Wolek's descent into prostitution on OLTL was inspired by Luis Bunuel's 1967 film, "Belle de Jour."

Someone (forget who) once said that there are only so many plots, and that everything written was inspired by something else.  So, you know, it doesn't surprise me that soap scribes have cribbed from books, movies, other TV shows, etc., or that they will continue to do so so long as there's a God in Heaven.  All's I ask is that they don't bore the audience.

Edited January 9, 2022 by Khan

[FrenchBug82]

And they were also plenty explicit, much later, that the Al/Michael/Marcie plot on OLTL - shudder - was directly lifted out of Heaven Can Wait.

What you said is exactly right but I think what is interesting about what j swift pointed out and the Tricia wedding is that it is not so much plot than visual references. 
Movie directors love to do that and reference each other; it is inexistent in soaps today as it requires some preparation and artistry that is not available to soap directors who work industrially.
It is interesting that they invested the time and money for obscure references back then. I wonder how many directors inserted "shot compositions" meant to mimic something in a more famous piece and that went right over everyone's head.

[Khan]

True.  If I were a filmmaker today, I'd be doing sort of the opposite, inserting all sorts of soaps references into my work.

Interviewer: "That sequence in the hall of mirrors was fantastic.  Was that a direct reference to 'The Lady from Shanghai'?"

Me: "No, that was inspired by Roger Thorpe chasing Rita through the hall of mirrors on 'Guiding Light'."

Interviewer: "Really?  You got your inspiration from a soap opera?"

Me: "Hey, we can't ALL be Hitchcock fans!"

Edited January 9, 2022 by Khan

[DemetriKane]

@Khan Agreed!!! I would definitely be that filmmaker lol. And if I was an Actor, when I won awards I would give shoutouts to all the greats in daytime. 
 

 

[Jonathan]

I think you'd forget all the "little people" who helped you along the way and only thank your agent. 

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[DemetriKane]

[Jonathan]

I posted this in another thread. In case you're missing Debbi and Darnell, they will reunite on an episode of Debbi's FOX show, "Our Kind of People."

 

https://tvline.com/2022/01/17/our-kind-of-people-preview-all-my-children-reunion-debbi-morgan-darnell-williams/

[DemetriKane]

Thanks for posting.  Imma catch it tonight. 

[DRW50]

https://archive.org/details/all-my-children-december-5-1986

https://archive.org/details/all-my-children-december-8-1986

https://archive.org/details/all-my-children-december-13-1990

 

[Faulkner]

Darnell Williams spotting in this vintage clip.

[victoria foxton]