David Lynch left this world on Jan. 16, 2025 at a time when we were all coping with way too much tragedy. While Lynch's drugs of choice were coffee and cigarettes (along with griddle cakes drenched in maple syrup), we pay tribute to him by pairing weed with a selection of his short films and THE WIZARD OF OZ (1939), a movie he was so obsessed with that there's a whole documentary about it. For Lynch's short films, we mostly focus on THE GRANDMOTHER (1970), a 33-minute student film where an abused boy cultivates his own grandma out of a disgusting tree he grows in his bedroom, kind of like using hydroponics to grow weed in your closet. How we didn't make this joke during the episode, we'll never know, but we're doing it now--kinda. Philena was way into both versions of THE AMPUTEE (1974), where Catherine Coulson (the Log Lady from TWIN PEAKS) writes angry breakup letters while a nurse dresses the gushing wound from her severed leg. Because Lynch never gave up on the short film as a means of expression, Bob brings up the more recent WHAT DID JACK DO? (2017) where Lynch trades cliches with a tormented monkey who has the hots for a chicken named Toototabon. THE GRANDMOTHER and THE AMPUTEE are streaming on Criterion Channel, and WHAT DID JACK DO? is streaming on Netflix. And for the WIZARD OF OZ (1939), Greg goes that extra dad rock mile by muting the volume and playing Pink Floyd's DARK SIDE OF THE MOOON over it because somebody had to do it, and that somebody is GREG FRANKLIN. Greg had to leave a little early, so there's a lot of him at the front of this discussion for all you Franklin fanatics out there. We do talk about Alexandre O. Philippe's documentary LYNCH/OZ (2022), but THE WIZARD OF OZ is too big a phenomenon to see it only through that prism. So we discuss the movie's tortured production, the Culver City little person fuck fest that was the Munchkin Land shoot, and the sheer artistry of the MGM musical fantasy classic. From the makeup to the music, where do you begin? Where do you stop? Well, Cory, Bob and Philena stopped by marveling at the tremendous acting ability of Terry, the Cairn Terrier who played Toto. Man, that dog was amazing. THE WIZARD OF OZ is streaming on Max. It's not HBO. It's just Max. Since this is our last episode before the 97th Academy Awards on March 2nd, we offer our Oscar gripes more than our predictions. Bob watched "Emilia Pérez" so you don't have to. There's also much praise for The Substance and three out of four of our intrepid hosts call out the Academy for not nominating the best movie of the year, HUNDREDS OF BEAVERS. What gives Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences??? Be back next month when cannabis comic and regular guest Ngaio Bealum joins of for TAMPOPO (1985) and THE INCREDIBLE MR. LIMPET (1964). Don't miss it. Subscribe. Hosts: Philena Franklin, Bob Calhoun, Cory Sklar, Greg Franklin Old Movies for Young Stoners Theme by Chaki the Funk Wizard. Used with permission. "Colony" by TrackTribe and "Searching" by Nat Keefe courtesy of YouTube Audio Library Movie trailer and archival audio and audio from "TSCR: An Evening with David Lynch" courtesy of Archive.org. Web: www.oldmoviesforyoungstoners.com Bluesky: @oldmoviesystoners.bsky.social Instagram/Facebook (Meta): oldmoviesforyoungstoners TikTok: @oldmoviesforyoungstoners Contact: oldmoviesforyoungstoners AT gmail DOT com
