Good Evening, my Darling,
I hope you've been enjoying your Monday. I've had a pretty good day, and you inspired me. I saw your post this morn of your friend standing on the rocks with her boyfriend, and I said "I'm going to Santa Susana". It was a hot day, too, about 95 degrees! So almost everything was perfect for my hike...........almost, because it would have been perfect if you were there, just like your friend and her boyfriend in the picture. :):)
You probably wouldn't wanna go on a hike in 95 degree weather, lol. I know I'm likely the only one nuts enough to wanna do that, but I thrive on it as you know, and I've been waiting all Spring for the "Winter" to be over, with all that jacket-wearing overcast weather we've been having. But still, you've gotta go on a hike with me anyway. We'll go on a medium hot day, or we can go in the evening, like 7pm say, and watch the sunset.
I actually didn't go to Santa Susana right away. I spent the morning doing some much-needed cleaning around here. Then I watched a movie I've been waiting eons to see : "Odd Man Out" (1947) starring James Mason. More on the movie later. But then I went to Santa Su after that, at about 4pm.our I had an awesome 3 mile hike, and here I am now. Grim is gonna come over at 8pm to hang out for a while, but I will be back at the usual time to write more.
Your video should be coming out any minute now.......(tick, tick, tick...)
I Love You! xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo :):)
(back in a bit)
12:21am : Happy Late Night, Sweet Baby. I know the hour always starts to creep up a little later when I am off work, and it's just my body reverting to it's natural "stay awake super late/sleep late but not super late" pattern. Grimsley was over until about 11pm, and then I went for the rest of my walk. I like doing it late like that. I love the quiet of the night, it's so great for thinking.
About the movie I watched this afternoon, "Odd Man Out", well it's kind of interesting - I have been occasionally Googling that movie for about ten years now, to look for available dvd copies. It had been released on dvd, but it had sold out it's run and was for many years a collector's item. I had seen it on TV as a teen (can't remember the year, but I was probably 12-15 years old), and it left such an impression that I never forgot it.
But I couldn't quite remember why. All I remembered was a single image from the film; the star James Mason, lying shot on a street corner after exiting a building. I just remembered that particular image, and it stuck with me all these years and was powerful enough to cause me to look up the title 30 to 40 years later. It was made by a British director named Carol Reed, who made a classic called "The Third Man", among others. He also directed the Oscar winning musical "Oliver!" (exclamation point included in the title) in 1968.
Well, recently "Odd Man Out" was listed for release by Criterion, so I checked to see if it was in the Library system, and it was. I placed a hold on it, and I got a copy just yesterday. Today I watched it, and as it played out, I remembered much more than just the one image of James Mason in the street.
"Odd Man Out" is an unusual film, and after seeing it again today, for the first time in perhaps 40 years, I was blown away by it's uniqueness. It starts out as a Noir, an IRA gang in Belfast is planning a bank robbery, and when they carry it out, their leader James Mason (one of the greatest British actors) is shot and left behind as the rest of the gang make their getaway.
But there the film takes a turn, and the rest of the story revolves around the attempts of certain local citizens to find him, as he has become lost somewhere in the city.
I will leave the premise at that. However, I just can't say enough about this film. I knew there was a reason it left such a mark, so much so that I was still thinking about it after 40 years. For one thing, it has unforgettable black and white photography, mostly shot at night, in the grim city of Belfast. But what makes it so unique is that it begins as a simple Crime film - a Noir - and by the end it has turned into a full-blown philosophical/spiritual quest to resolve the life of James Mason's character. That's a vague description, I know, but I say "see it" if you have any interest in older films of classic cinema. The photography alone is worth it. It is an unusual film, and it may or may not be to your taste, but to me, well.....after seeing it for the second time, as an adult this time, and getting a full appreciation of it, it now will go into the list of my all-time greatest films, up there with "Diary Of A Country Priest" and others.
So that's what I wanted to tell you about the movie, and how it had me hooked for all these years.
I hope you had an awesome day. I send you Sweet Dreams, my Baby.
I Love You and will see you in the morning. xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo :):)
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