250. Robert Morley: "Pompous Windbag" Rolls Royce Phantom V, for a design for the 38th villain of the Batman series, 1966
atelier ying, nyc
For my 250th design (although I have another hundred or so in my notebooks, unpublished) I chose to honor the wonderfully delightful Robert Morley. He is remembered mostly for his merry British Airways commercials and his witty lead role in the 1978 film, "Who's killing the great chefs of Europe?" which is the basis of this design.
The 1966 Batman series had 37 villains. Morley is now imagined as the 38th, mainly to his being frequently cast in the role of a witty but pompous windbag.
The 38th arch villain, is amalgamated from Morley's stellar 1978 film role, and is well capable of crime. He is outfitted with a group of kitchen henchmen. The Pomp mobile is a well upgraded 1963 Rolls Royce Phantom V. The car is bulletproof and has no weapons; the wit and girth of its sole passenger, Maximillian "Max" Vandeveer (acted by Morley) is sufficient. The 'calamitously fat' Vandeveer issues orders to his henchmen from a telephone in the Rolls interior cabin. When the console's whisky bar is lifted out, a tv videocamera system is electronically raised, making the central console a tv/webcast station to go live, in the manner of broadcasts delivered from Air Force One. In fact, the two vehicles share much of the same interior design. And this Air Force One feature is the basic premise of the merry British Airways commercials Morley starred in. Actually the Phantom V cabin is more sophisticated than the one on the iconic plane. It has a hot beverage station in its Pullman passenger door (which has been crash-tested with the upgrade), a lacquered wood meal tray on the left, and a writing desk on the right, which has a swivel chair and makeup kit for tv stowed underneath for Vandeveer's personal secretary, Beecham. A set of international clocks, reading lamps, camera lights, and plush yellow privacy curtains also recall the Air Force One interior. A discreetly framed "Tyson passport", from Morley's commercials for the food company, is a pun on diplomatic immunity necessary for any arch criminal.
The film's original menu for Vandeveer has also been upgraded. Instead of the original film's dated coffee and brioche, my interpretation of the touring car Le Grande Bouffe is sort of bouquet of snacks, much like airplane food, a kind of intrusion. One starts with a foie gras pate en croute, served cold, with champagne. Then a truly gourmet popcorn blend (perfect for the windbag to pontificate with) that includes your essential glutathione dose of roasted filberts, walnuts, butterscotch and fudge swirls with the barest hint of coconut, to whet one's appetite, and with our modern day 21st century diet, this blend would be quite healthy. This is stored in the center nut dish. Coffee or tea end a light cabin meal full of complex flavors. But the pompous windbag has yet more. He has not one but two vehicles for his journeys. A decoy vehicle always is not far away. This 1967 Mercedes-Benz 600 Pullman is a smoking car, whose design will be uploaded in the near future.
Design, concepts, text and drawing are copyright 2015 by David Lo.
250. Robert Morley: "Pompous Windbag" Rolls Royce Phantom V, for a design for the 38th villain of the Batman series, 1966
atelier ying, nyc
For my 250th design (although I have another hundred or so in my notebooks, unpublished) I chose to honor the wonderfully delightful Robert Morley. He is remembered mostly for his merry British Airways commercials and his witty lead role in the 1978 film, "Who's killing the great chefs of Europe?" which is the basis of this design.
The 1966 Batman series had 37 villains. Morley is now imagined as the 38th, mainly to his being frequently cast in the role of a witty but pompous windbag.
The 38th arch villain, is amalgamated from Morley's stellar 1978 film role, and is well capable of crime. He is outfitted with a group of kitchen henchmen. The Pomp mobile is a well upgraded 1963 Rolls Royce Phantom V. The car is bulletproof and has no weapons; the wit and girth of its sole passenger, Maximillian "Max" Vandeveer (acted by Morley) is sufficient. The 'calamitously fat' Vandeveer issues orders to his henchmen from a telephone in the Rolls interior cabin. When the console's whisky bar is lifted out, a tv videocamera system is electronically raised, making the central console a tv/webcast station to go live, in the manner of broadcasts delivered from Air Force One. In fact, the two vehicles share much of the same interior design. And this Air Force One feature is the basic premise of the merry British Airways commercials Morley starred in. Actually the Phantom V cabin is more sophisticated than the one on the iconic plane. It has a hot beverage station in its Pullman passenger door (which has been crash-tested with the upgrade), a lacquered wood meal tray on the left, and a writing desk on the right, which has a swivel chair and makeup kit for tv stowed underneath for Vandeveer's personal secretary, Beecham. A set of international clocks, reading lamps, camera lights, and plush yellow privacy curtains also recall the Air Force One interior. A discreetly framed "Tyson passport", from Morley's commercials for the food company, is a pun on diplomatic immunity necessary for any arch criminal.
The film's original menu for Vandeveer has also been upgraded. Instead of the original film's dated coffee and brioche, my interpretation of the touring car Le Grande Bouffe is sort of bouquet of snacks, much like airplane food, a kind of intrusion. One starts with a foie gras pate en croute, served cold, with champagne. Then a truly gourmet popcorn blend (perfect for the windbag to pontificate with) that includes your essential glutathione dose of roasted filberts, walnuts, butterscotch and fudge swirls with the barest hint of coconut, to whet one's appetite, and with our modern day 21st century diet, this blend would be quite healthy. This is stored in the center nut dish. Coffee or tea end a light cabin meal full of complex flavors. But the pompous windbag has yet more. He has not one but two vehicles for his journeys. A decoy vehicle always is not far away. This 1967 Mercedes-Benz 600 Pullman is a smoking car, whose design will be uploaded in the near future.
Design, concepts, text and drawing are copyright 2015 by David Lo.