Tonight's movie was "Black Angel"(1946), starring Dan Duryea, June Vincent and Peter Lorre, found in a search for "Universal Noir Collection". Universal Studios was not known for their Noirs, and this was an unusual one compared to what we've seen recently, soft boiled rather than hard and with elements of music and romance to go along with the crime. Duryea plays "Martin Blair", a talented songwriter and pianist who's been driven to drink by his scheming wife "Mavis Marlowe" (Constance Dowling), a cheater who is blackmailing the man she sleeps with (John Phillips). Marlowe is a singer, she and Blair had a top nightclub act before their marriage ran aground. The movie opens with a fantastic shot of Duryea looking up at her apartment window, several floors above in a Wilshire Boulevard high rise. The camera then zooms via his eyesight all the way up the side of the building and through the window and into her living room, stopping to frame an ornate chandelier. Watching it, I thought "Man, this is how they did it before CGI" - long before in fact - and it looks incredible. A great shot to open the movie.
Now, with the way Mavis Marlowe is behaving, i.e. cheating and blackmailing, and the fact that this is a Noir, you know it won't be long before she turns up dead, and she does, shortly after Duryea attempts to pay her a visit. He's hoping to reconcile but is drunk as usual. Mavis has the doorman bar him from the building. Duryea is thrown out but as he is leaving he sees another man enter and head for Mavis's apartment. This is the guy Mavis is blackmailing. Duryea doesn't know this but we do. Sometime in between Duryea's confrontation with the doorman and the entrance of the Other Man, Mavis Marlowe is murdered. Who done it? - ahh, the question and point of all Noir films.
All evidence points to the blackmailed man (Phillips). Mavis was hard up for money and had turned to blackmail, threatening to tell Phillip's wife she was sleeping with him. He was tired of paying her off and was seen by two people - Dan Duryea and the doorman - entering the building just before Mavis was murdered. He's gotta be the killer, right? Broderick Crawford sure thinks so. He's the lead detective on the case and has Phillips dead to rights. In sticking with Noir formula, it's not long before Phillips is facing a jury verdict : guilty, and is then sentenced to die in the electric chair. Seems to be the theme this week, lol.
Phillips swears that Mavis was already dead when he entered her apartment. He also described a black pearl brooch that was on her blouse but was gone when the police arrived. He believes that if the brooch can be located it will prove his innocence, but the cops don't believe it ever existed. June Vincent does, however. She is Phillips' beautiful wife, who remains loyal even though he was cheating on her with the dead woman. Vincent sets out to find the missing brooch. On that score, the first person she turns to for help is the alcoholic Duryea, who sobers up in a hurry when he sees that Vincent is a stunner and is available due to the circumstances. He doesn't try to horn in on her right away, as she tells him she's faithful to her husband - the whole reason she's trying to find the brooch in order to exonerate him. So Duryea's not really a bad guy, and he agrees to help, but he makes it clear he's interested in case Vincent changes her mind.
Broderick Crawford, younger and hipper, more "jazzy" (if that makes sense) than he was on "Highway Patrol", is sympathetic to Vincent's search, even if he feels it's pointless. He has a piece of evidence, a matchbook with a handwritten phone number, that was found inside Mavis' apartment. He shows this to June Vincent, who calls the number to find out it's for a nightclub owned by the shady Peter Lorre (here we go again with the crooked nightclub owner!). It turns out that Mavis was a singer there. The joint was also frequented by Vincent's husband Phillips. That's where he met Mavis. Were they perhaps involved in some shady dealings with Peter Lorre? Isn't everything shady that involves Lorre? Well, maybe except for "Mr. Moto", but I disgress....
The story will now switch gears into musical/romance, as Dan Duryea (a pianist, remember) and June Vincent (like Mavis, a singer) team up to form a duo. They audition under false names for a gig at Lorre's club. He likes them, they get the job, and soon they're a hit, packing the house night after night. During this period (thirty minutes in the film), they grow closer. Duryea is hoping Vincent will forget about her husband on death row, who's to be executed within days (here we go again). "It's time you faced facts", he tells her. "I'm sorry to say it, but your husband is guilty. We'll never find that brooch because it doesn't exist". But Vincent is sure that it does, and in fact, she thinks Peter Lorre the club owner has it locked up in his wall safe that he seems so ultra-paranoid about.
Vincent plans out a scheme to get close to Lorre, to find out the combination to his safe. Then, when he is away, she will open it and see what's in there - possibly the brooch! Duryea agrees to help with her deception, but only because he hopes - when the brooch isn't found as he believes it won't be - that Vincent will finally give up, let her husband go, and marry him.
That's all I can tell you about this stylish and romantic gem, or mini-gem I should say, because it's not perfect. There is a possible red herring or two, depending on how you look at certain plot twists, but in all it's a nice little discovery from director Roy Wiliam Neill, who made his name (it says on IMDB) helming Sherlock Holmes films, where the emphasis was on deduction rather than rousing action. The same is true here in "Black Angel", where most of the criminal activity takes place in the first few minutes, followed by the lengthy quest to locate the brooch. Duryea and Vincent share good chemistry as the musical detective duo.
There isn't the violence or tough-talk that we see in a lot of Noirs. The main threat comes from Lorre's broad shouldered bouncer (real life middleweight champ Tommy Steele), but he's thankfully not a complete savage as was William Bendix in last night's flick. Universal and director Neill seem to be going for Suave rather than Psychotic. There is a velvety texture to the photography as well as the story. I'll be looking for more Universal Noir as well as for more movies with June Vincent, who we've never seen before but who is very good. Dan Duryea was great in everything he ever did, but you already knew that. Two Big Thumbs Up, then, for "Black Angel". This completes our little Noir Fest of the last few nights. I hit a gold mine there with my recent searches and will be on the lookout for more, because as with Westerns, Horror and Sci-Fi, you can never have too much Noir. //////
Elizabeth, I am glad to see your post from a little while ago. That's great that you will be filming the show tonight, and that you've been on such a steady run creatively and professionally. Have fun (I just now see you're in the Green Room enjoying the snacks, haha). I've got just enough daylight left to head up to Aliso for a quick one, so here I go......
See you tonight at the Usual Time!
Tons of love. xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo :):)
Saturday, February 29, 2020
Friday, February 28, 2020
"The Glass Key" starring Alan Ladd, Veronica Lake and Brian Donlevy + Elizabeth (congrats!)
Tonight we were back in the company of Alan Ladd and Veronica Lake, this time in "The Glass Key"(1942), another Noir discovered through my "TCM Vault" search. The Ladd/Lake team is a good one, but they don't share as much screen time as they did in "This Gun For Hire", which we saw and raved about several nights ago. Both are again in top form, however - if separately - and there is a lot to like about "Glass Key", even if it doesn't rise overall to the previous film's level of excellence.
The script is from a story by famed crime novelist Dashiell Hammett (or Hashiell Dammett if you prefer). I haven't read any of his books, but if this movie is any indication, they must be jam packed with plot and characters, so much so that it must've been hard for the screenwriter to squeeze it all into his adaptation. I'll preface my review, therefore, by saying that there are so many cross references among the characters, i.e. so many intertwined relationships, that it will get extremely confusing if you are not paying attention. That goes for reading this review as well as for watching the movie. Thus I will do the best I can, but don't be surprised if I ditch the description at some point and just start jabbering instead.
Brian Donlevy, he of the square build and well-trimmed moustachio, plays "Paul Madvig", a rough and tumble political boss in an unnamed second tier city. It's unclear whether Madvig is an elected official. We do see that he's able to sway blocks of voters, unions, etc. and that his backing will have a decisive effect on the outcome of the upcoming Senatorial election. Madvig grew up poor, using his fists to get his way, and he's not above intimidation to get what he wants in the political sphere. His opponents view him as an outright crook. He needs legitimacy, so he decides to throw his weight behind a surging Reform candidate, "Ralph Henry" (Moroni Olsen). The deal is cinched when, at a party, he meets Henry's comely daughter Janet (Veronica Lake). He falls hard for her and decides he's gonna marry her, as soon as the election is over. And what Madvig wants, he usually gets.
The trouble is, Lake isn't much interested in him. He's a brute and much older than her. She's got eyes instead for Alan Ladd, Madvig's cool enforcer. Ladd is his usual quiet self here, but badass, exuding confidence. Lake makes no secret she'd rather be with him, but Ladd doesn't trust her. He tells her she's slumming : "You think you're better than we are", meaning himself and Madvig, to whom he is fiercely loyal.
Lake has a brother, Taylor (Richard Denning of "Creature From The Black Lagoon" fame), who is the black sheep of the family. He's got a gambling problem and owes big money to a Mobster (Joseph Calleia) who owns the casino Taylor frequents. He asks Lake for a loan to pay off the debt and she complies, but only partially. He still owes the Mobster half the dough. Now, Taylor has a girlfriend named "Opal" (Bonita Granville) who just so happens to be Paul Madvig's little sister. She's only 18, and Madvig doesn't want her running around with a loser like Taylor Henry. But, he can't risk alienating Taylor's father the Senator, who he hopes to back in the election, nor Taylor's sister Veronica Lake, whom he plans to marry.
Now you can see what I mean about the convoluted relationships!
Madvig takes a half-measure solution to the problem, telling little sister Opal to stay away from Taylor. She of course ignores this advice. Madvig sends Alan Ladd out to follow them around, and lo and behold, Ladd finds Taylor Henry dead in the gutter outside his father's mansion.
He's been murdered, but who could've done it? The prime suspects are obviously the Mobster Casino Owner, to whom Taylor owed money, and Paul Madvig, who didn't want Taylor dating his sister. Ladd is gonna protect Madvig first and foremost, so he goes back immediately to tell him of Taylor's death. Madvig swears he had nothing to do with it. Ladd believes him, but sister Opal does not. Now the plot is gonna go into convoluted overdrive. I'm just gonna give you the main details and let you work out the rest, hopefully by seeing the movie for yourself!
While the bought-and-paid-for district attorney sorts out the evidence in Taylor's murder (including some anonymous letters that are being mailed around), Paul Madvig goes on the offensive. He suspects the Mobster of killing Taylor, and sets out to tighten the noose around him. The first thing he does is use his political clout to have the Mobster's casino shut down, a move that makes him look good to Reform voters. Then he sends Alan Ladd out once again to snoop, this time on the Mobster's hideout. This doesn't turn out well for Ladd, who gets caught and is subsequently beaten to a pulp by the Mobster's thug (William Bendix) in one of the most horribly violent scenes I've ever witnessed in a Noir film. You may wanna close your eyes during this sequence; it's not for the squeamish.
The Mobster, in turn, is certain that Paul Madvig is Taylor Henry's killer. He has no evidence to prove it, but in addition to the district attorney, he's also got the local newspaper editor in his pocket. He plans to get the editor to run a headline story, based merely on hearsay evidence from Opal, Madvig's sister and Taylor's girlfriend, that will convict Madvig in the court of public opinion. Then he can get the crooked D.A. to sign on, and put Madvig in the electric chair.
What the Mobster hasn't counted on, though, is Alan Ladd. He managed to escape while Bendix was beating him up, spent a couple weeks in the hospital recovering, and now he's out - and out for revenge. I think Ladd is possibly the toughest guy I've seen in the Noir genre. Even Richard Widmark would be scared of him. But he's also very smart, and he thinks he's figured out who the killer is. He sets out to prove it, first by paying a return visit to William Bendix (to even their score), then to Veronica Lake, and finally to the mountain retreat of the newspaper publisher, who plans to run the incriminating headline on Madvig.
Did I mention this was a complicated plot? There was one subtheme so obscure that I couldn't figure it out even after a couple of rewinds, but it was very brief so I finally let it go. It was a case of the screenwriter suddenly throwing a character at you that the director had barely introduced, way back at the beginning of the movie, so when this person's name comes back up over an hour later, you're going "who's that"? It doesn't detract, however, from what is mostly an expert script.
The acting is fine all around. I wish William Bendix hadn't been so believable as the thug, but he delivered the intended effect, no doubt. Veronica Lake's sleek sophistication is present as always, and Brian Donlevy is right in his element as the political bully Madvig. He's a bull in a china shop, but not entirely without finesse as we shall see.
"The Glass Key" was excellent in most ways - the acting, photography, even the convoluted storyline. It could've done without the one minor subtheme I mentioned, and they maybe could've ditched a character or two, but I'm still gonna give it Two Big Thumbs Up, especially because of Alan Ladd, who is so great that now we've gotta find every single Noir he was ever in. I'll be looking. /////
Hey Elizabeth! That is beyond cool, that Neige sent you that message! He called it a "special memory", and boy is he ever right. That was when he was just gaining a fanbase in America, so for you to cover his song - and do such an amazing and original job of it - must have blown him away and also been very gratifying. And it was, enough so that he cherishes the memory to this day!
And so do I, of course. Me & Neige, "the two April 16th guys", remember? I had been a fan since Summer 2011, when I discovered "The Secret" on Youtube. I remember being so excited when "Les Voyages" came out, and then just a few weeks later seeing that post from Neige, featuring your cover. I watched and was as impressed as he was, so then I watched it again.......and again. :):)
A few days went by, and something hit me. "Who was that girl"?, I wondered. I had to find out, so I went back to Alcest's page, hoping the post would still be there. I scrolled down, found it and watched again.
I listened, and I thought, "that's ingenious, to do it on piano". Your entire video was such a great concept, with the shot of you walking through the Thai Pavillion. An American girl, singing in French.
Another week went by, and again I thought, "Who is this girl"? And I had to find out. So I searched FB to see if you had a page. You did; I sent a friend request, and the rest is history! This is part of what I was talking about when I said yesterday that I miss the Old Days. That sure was an exciting time. :):)
Well, huge congratulations for the message from Neige! You knocked it out of the park with your version of "Autre Temps" and you continue to do so to this day.
As I've been saying for a long time, "You rule, Elizabeth"!
That's all for now. I'm gonna head out for a hike. Back tonight at the Usual Time.
Tons of love! xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo :):)
The script is from a story by famed crime novelist Dashiell Hammett (or Hashiell Dammett if you prefer). I haven't read any of his books, but if this movie is any indication, they must be jam packed with plot and characters, so much so that it must've been hard for the screenwriter to squeeze it all into his adaptation. I'll preface my review, therefore, by saying that there are so many cross references among the characters, i.e. so many intertwined relationships, that it will get extremely confusing if you are not paying attention. That goes for reading this review as well as for watching the movie. Thus I will do the best I can, but don't be surprised if I ditch the description at some point and just start jabbering instead.
Brian Donlevy, he of the square build and well-trimmed moustachio, plays "Paul Madvig", a rough and tumble political boss in an unnamed second tier city. It's unclear whether Madvig is an elected official. We do see that he's able to sway blocks of voters, unions, etc. and that his backing will have a decisive effect on the outcome of the upcoming Senatorial election. Madvig grew up poor, using his fists to get his way, and he's not above intimidation to get what he wants in the political sphere. His opponents view him as an outright crook. He needs legitimacy, so he decides to throw his weight behind a surging Reform candidate, "Ralph Henry" (Moroni Olsen). The deal is cinched when, at a party, he meets Henry's comely daughter Janet (Veronica Lake). He falls hard for her and decides he's gonna marry her, as soon as the election is over. And what Madvig wants, he usually gets.
The trouble is, Lake isn't much interested in him. He's a brute and much older than her. She's got eyes instead for Alan Ladd, Madvig's cool enforcer. Ladd is his usual quiet self here, but badass, exuding confidence. Lake makes no secret she'd rather be with him, but Ladd doesn't trust her. He tells her she's slumming : "You think you're better than we are", meaning himself and Madvig, to whom he is fiercely loyal.
Lake has a brother, Taylor (Richard Denning of "Creature From The Black Lagoon" fame), who is the black sheep of the family. He's got a gambling problem and owes big money to a Mobster (Joseph Calleia) who owns the casino Taylor frequents. He asks Lake for a loan to pay off the debt and she complies, but only partially. He still owes the Mobster half the dough. Now, Taylor has a girlfriend named "Opal" (Bonita Granville) who just so happens to be Paul Madvig's little sister. She's only 18, and Madvig doesn't want her running around with a loser like Taylor Henry. But, he can't risk alienating Taylor's father the Senator, who he hopes to back in the election, nor Taylor's sister Veronica Lake, whom he plans to marry.
Now you can see what I mean about the convoluted relationships!
Madvig takes a half-measure solution to the problem, telling little sister Opal to stay away from Taylor. She of course ignores this advice. Madvig sends Alan Ladd out to follow them around, and lo and behold, Ladd finds Taylor Henry dead in the gutter outside his father's mansion.
He's been murdered, but who could've done it? The prime suspects are obviously the Mobster Casino Owner, to whom Taylor owed money, and Paul Madvig, who didn't want Taylor dating his sister. Ladd is gonna protect Madvig first and foremost, so he goes back immediately to tell him of Taylor's death. Madvig swears he had nothing to do with it. Ladd believes him, but sister Opal does not. Now the plot is gonna go into convoluted overdrive. I'm just gonna give you the main details and let you work out the rest, hopefully by seeing the movie for yourself!
While the bought-and-paid-for district attorney sorts out the evidence in Taylor's murder (including some anonymous letters that are being mailed around), Paul Madvig goes on the offensive. He suspects the Mobster of killing Taylor, and sets out to tighten the noose around him. The first thing he does is use his political clout to have the Mobster's casino shut down, a move that makes him look good to Reform voters. Then he sends Alan Ladd out once again to snoop, this time on the Mobster's hideout. This doesn't turn out well for Ladd, who gets caught and is subsequently beaten to a pulp by the Mobster's thug (William Bendix) in one of the most horribly violent scenes I've ever witnessed in a Noir film. You may wanna close your eyes during this sequence; it's not for the squeamish.
The Mobster, in turn, is certain that Paul Madvig is Taylor Henry's killer. He has no evidence to prove it, but in addition to the district attorney, he's also got the local newspaper editor in his pocket. He plans to get the editor to run a headline story, based merely on hearsay evidence from Opal, Madvig's sister and Taylor's girlfriend, that will convict Madvig in the court of public opinion. Then he can get the crooked D.A. to sign on, and put Madvig in the electric chair.
What the Mobster hasn't counted on, though, is Alan Ladd. He managed to escape while Bendix was beating him up, spent a couple weeks in the hospital recovering, and now he's out - and out for revenge. I think Ladd is possibly the toughest guy I've seen in the Noir genre. Even Richard Widmark would be scared of him. But he's also very smart, and he thinks he's figured out who the killer is. He sets out to prove it, first by paying a return visit to William Bendix (to even their score), then to Veronica Lake, and finally to the mountain retreat of the newspaper publisher, who plans to run the incriminating headline on Madvig.
Did I mention this was a complicated plot? There was one subtheme so obscure that I couldn't figure it out even after a couple of rewinds, but it was very brief so I finally let it go. It was a case of the screenwriter suddenly throwing a character at you that the director had barely introduced, way back at the beginning of the movie, so when this person's name comes back up over an hour later, you're going "who's that"? It doesn't detract, however, from what is mostly an expert script.
The acting is fine all around. I wish William Bendix hadn't been so believable as the thug, but he delivered the intended effect, no doubt. Veronica Lake's sleek sophistication is present as always, and Brian Donlevy is right in his element as the political bully Madvig. He's a bull in a china shop, but not entirely without finesse as we shall see.
"The Glass Key" was excellent in most ways - the acting, photography, even the convoluted storyline. It could've done without the one minor subtheme I mentioned, and they maybe could've ditched a character or two, but I'm still gonna give it Two Big Thumbs Up, especially because of Alan Ladd, who is so great that now we've gotta find every single Noir he was ever in. I'll be looking. /////
Hey Elizabeth! That is beyond cool, that Neige sent you that message! He called it a "special memory", and boy is he ever right. That was when he was just gaining a fanbase in America, so for you to cover his song - and do such an amazing and original job of it - must have blown him away and also been very gratifying. And it was, enough so that he cherishes the memory to this day!
And so do I, of course. Me & Neige, "the two April 16th guys", remember? I had been a fan since Summer 2011, when I discovered "The Secret" on Youtube. I remember being so excited when "Les Voyages" came out, and then just a few weeks later seeing that post from Neige, featuring your cover. I watched and was as impressed as he was, so then I watched it again.......and again. :):)
A few days went by, and something hit me. "Who was that girl"?, I wondered. I had to find out, so I went back to Alcest's page, hoping the post would still be there. I scrolled down, found it and watched again.
I listened, and I thought, "that's ingenious, to do it on piano". Your entire video was such a great concept, with the shot of you walking through the Thai Pavillion. An American girl, singing in French.
Another week went by, and again I thought, "Who is this girl"? And I had to find out. So I searched FB to see if you had a page. You did; I sent a friend request, and the rest is history! This is part of what I was talking about when I said yesterday that I miss the Old Days. That sure was an exciting time. :):)
Well, huge congratulations for the message from Neige! You knocked it out of the park with your version of "Autre Temps" and you continue to do so to this day.
As I've been saying for a long time, "You rule, Elizabeth"!
That's all for now. I'm gonna head out for a hike. Back tonight at the Usual Time.
Tons of love! xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo :):)
Thursday, February 27, 2020
"Phantom Lady" starring Ella Raines, Alan Curtis and Franchot Tone + Elizabeth
Tonight we watched a stunner of a Noir, "Phantom Lady"(1944) starring Ella Raines, Franchot Tone and Alan Curtis. I found it in a search for "TCM Vault" pictures. Man, I'm tellin' ya, this one starts right off and never lets up. The opening scene could be the first line of a joke: "A man walks into a bar".....
The man is the handsome Alan Curtis. He walks in (it'a actually a bar & grill) and takes a seat at the counter, next to a lady wearing a stylish but rather ostentatious hat. Curtis says hello and tries to strike up a conversation, but the lady is as quiet as her hat is loud. She's upset about something and wants to keep to herself. Curtis is feeling down too, and after a drink he pulls two tickets from his pocket for a Broadway show (parallels to last night's "Manhandled"). "I know you don't know me", he says, "but I'd hate for these tickets to go to waste. Would you consider going with me"? Unlike the men in "Manhandled", Curtis is a gentleman. He just wants some company for the night. The woman agrees to go with him, on the condition that he not ask her name, or any probing questions. She generally doesn't want anything but superficial conversation. This is fine with Curtis, so they head to the show and have a good time.
While they are there, however, a coincidence takes place. The Cuban dance star they are watching (played by the singularly named "Aurora") just so happens to be wearing the exact same hat as the quiet and mysterious lady accompanying Curtis. Aurora also has a creepy looking drummer (Elisha Cook Jr., who specialised in playing creeps) who keeps making eyes at the mystery lady. She and Curtis don't take these things much into account, though. After the show ends, Curtis drops the lady off at her apartment. He makes a half hearted attempt to get her name, to ask her for a nightcap, all to no avail. So he says goodbye and heads home.
Only to find the police waiting for him because his wife has been murdered.
I told you this movie wasn't fooling around. Curtis swears he didn't do it, and to us it's obvious he's telling the truth. But the lead detective (played by Thomas Gomez, a great character actor) isn't so sure. He puts the screws on Curtis, gets him to admit he was in a bad marriage. Before too long, Curtis is in a courtroom charged with murder, and by the half hour mark he's on Death Row, awaiting the Electric Chair. Now it's time for the picture to really start. Did I mention they weren't fooling around?
Enter Ella Raines, a stone cold knockout of an actress who plays Curtis' secretary "Kansas". Curtis is an engineer by trade. Prior to his arrest he had a professional relationship to Kansas, his nickname for her because it's her home state. She's as forthright as he is, young though totally pro and very loyal to her boss. She knows he isn't capable of murder, so right then and there she takes it upon herself to prove his innocence. Now we are off to the races. Raines begins by stalking the bartender at the joint where Curtis met the Hat Woman on the night of the murder. The bartender has told the cops that he saw Curtis that night, but doesn't remember any woman. Ella Raines knows he is lying, so she sits at the bar and stares him down, then follows him home to try and get the truth out of him. I can't reveal if she is successful or not, but after dealing with the bartender, she heads over to the theater where Aurora the Cuban dancer is playing to another packed house. Raines goes to her dressing room to ask if she remembers the Hat Lady, who was sitting in the front row with Curtis on the night in question. Even though it was a couple of months ago by this time, Aurora should remember because she had quite a fit that the lady was wearing a hat identical to hers. Aurora is a prima donna who takes pride in the uniqueness of her style. On that night, she'd excoriated her designer for making a duplicate of the hat, and had asked for the woman and Curtis to be removed from the theater (they were not).
But now, when confronted by Ella Raines about her memory of the Hat Woman and Curtis, Aurora denies ever seeing her, denies knowing anything about another hat. Raines is getting frustrated by now, so she bursts in to the dressing room of the creepy drummer. He was leering at the Hat Lady all night, but now he claims he never saw her either.
What's going on here? How could none of these people remember a lady who's hat caused such a commotion and who stood out like a peacock on that night? Raines knows something is up. They're all lying, but why? She has eighteen days to save Curtis before he goes to the Chair. Justice was swift in those days, even if they had the wrong guy. Probably especially if they had the wrong guy!
Raines knows it's a long shot, but she isn't gonna give up the quest, because not only is she loyal to Curtis, she's in love with him. Luckily for her, by the halfway mark, she has an ally in Gomez the detective. Though he arrested Curtis he's had a change of heart about his guilt. It's just a hunch, but he thinks someone else is responsible. He agrees to help Ella Raines find the real killer.
No sooner do they team up than the creepy drummer is murdered, in the same way as Curtis' wife. Now they know for certain Curtis is innocent, but they need proof, and time is running out. Enter a third ally : Franchot Tone, a great early actor. He plays a sculptor, a longtime friend of Alan Curtis. Side note - here we have another parallel to "Manhandled", the wealthy sculptor character. Anyhow, Tone has been in South America, working on a piece. When he got the news about Curtis, he flew to New York immediately. He too is intent on proving his old friend's innocence. Tone has money and means. When he arrives the investigation moves into high gear. That's all I can tell you because anything else I might say would be a potential spoiler. But run don't walk to Netflix or your local Libe to check out "Phantom Lady", one of the best Noirs I've ever seen! It's got twists and turns galore, a great performance from Ella Raines (who should've become a big star) and fantastic support from Tone, Curtis and Gomez, as well as the always reliable (and always creepy!) Elisha Cook Jr. The black and white photography is dark and menacing, and there are even a couple of spectacular sets, such as the train depot that looks like something out of "Metropolis". I had never heard of this film, nor Ella Raines, but I'm gonna give 'em both my highest rating : Two Gigantic Thumbs Up. This is one you can't miss, so see it, see it, see it. ////
Elizabeth, I saw your post a little while ago and was reminded of what a great series the Red Dress photos were, and are. Also such a great idea on your part. But really, each photo has a different feel, and you did such a perfect job with the compositions. Sometimes it's good to go back and look at a project after some time has passed, to see how it affects you after the immediacy wears off. In this case, the effect has gotten even stronger I think. I've never seen another series quite like it. I like the poetry you added to the picture you posted a little while ago. It's quite beautiful and adds to the feeling generated by the photograph. I have to ask......did you write it? :):)
I ask because it reminds me of the old days, and for me the feeling is still the same. oxoxoxoxoxoxo :):)
That's all I know for today. I'm gonna head up to Aliso for a quick hike. I'll see you tonight at the Usual Time.
Tons of love! xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo :):)
The man is the handsome Alan Curtis. He walks in (it'a actually a bar & grill) and takes a seat at the counter, next to a lady wearing a stylish but rather ostentatious hat. Curtis says hello and tries to strike up a conversation, but the lady is as quiet as her hat is loud. She's upset about something and wants to keep to herself. Curtis is feeling down too, and after a drink he pulls two tickets from his pocket for a Broadway show (parallels to last night's "Manhandled"). "I know you don't know me", he says, "but I'd hate for these tickets to go to waste. Would you consider going with me"? Unlike the men in "Manhandled", Curtis is a gentleman. He just wants some company for the night. The woman agrees to go with him, on the condition that he not ask her name, or any probing questions. She generally doesn't want anything but superficial conversation. This is fine with Curtis, so they head to the show and have a good time.
While they are there, however, a coincidence takes place. The Cuban dance star they are watching (played by the singularly named "Aurora") just so happens to be wearing the exact same hat as the quiet and mysterious lady accompanying Curtis. Aurora also has a creepy looking drummer (Elisha Cook Jr., who specialised in playing creeps) who keeps making eyes at the mystery lady. She and Curtis don't take these things much into account, though. After the show ends, Curtis drops the lady off at her apartment. He makes a half hearted attempt to get her name, to ask her for a nightcap, all to no avail. So he says goodbye and heads home.
Only to find the police waiting for him because his wife has been murdered.
I told you this movie wasn't fooling around. Curtis swears he didn't do it, and to us it's obvious he's telling the truth. But the lead detective (played by Thomas Gomez, a great character actor) isn't so sure. He puts the screws on Curtis, gets him to admit he was in a bad marriage. Before too long, Curtis is in a courtroom charged with murder, and by the half hour mark he's on Death Row, awaiting the Electric Chair. Now it's time for the picture to really start. Did I mention they weren't fooling around?
Enter Ella Raines, a stone cold knockout of an actress who plays Curtis' secretary "Kansas". Curtis is an engineer by trade. Prior to his arrest he had a professional relationship to Kansas, his nickname for her because it's her home state. She's as forthright as he is, young though totally pro and very loyal to her boss. She knows he isn't capable of murder, so right then and there she takes it upon herself to prove his innocence. Now we are off to the races. Raines begins by stalking the bartender at the joint where Curtis met the Hat Woman on the night of the murder. The bartender has told the cops that he saw Curtis that night, but doesn't remember any woman. Ella Raines knows he is lying, so she sits at the bar and stares him down, then follows him home to try and get the truth out of him. I can't reveal if she is successful or not, but after dealing with the bartender, she heads over to the theater where Aurora the Cuban dancer is playing to another packed house. Raines goes to her dressing room to ask if she remembers the Hat Lady, who was sitting in the front row with Curtis on the night in question. Even though it was a couple of months ago by this time, Aurora should remember because she had quite a fit that the lady was wearing a hat identical to hers. Aurora is a prima donna who takes pride in the uniqueness of her style. On that night, she'd excoriated her designer for making a duplicate of the hat, and had asked for the woman and Curtis to be removed from the theater (they were not).
But now, when confronted by Ella Raines about her memory of the Hat Woman and Curtis, Aurora denies ever seeing her, denies knowing anything about another hat. Raines is getting frustrated by now, so she bursts in to the dressing room of the creepy drummer. He was leering at the Hat Lady all night, but now he claims he never saw her either.
What's going on here? How could none of these people remember a lady who's hat caused such a commotion and who stood out like a peacock on that night? Raines knows something is up. They're all lying, but why? She has eighteen days to save Curtis before he goes to the Chair. Justice was swift in those days, even if they had the wrong guy. Probably especially if they had the wrong guy!
Raines knows it's a long shot, but she isn't gonna give up the quest, because not only is she loyal to Curtis, she's in love with him. Luckily for her, by the halfway mark, she has an ally in Gomez the detective. Though he arrested Curtis he's had a change of heart about his guilt. It's just a hunch, but he thinks someone else is responsible. He agrees to help Ella Raines find the real killer.
No sooner do they team up than the creepy drummer is murdered, in the same way as Curtis' wife. Now they know for certain Curtis is innocent, but they need proof, and time is running out. Enter a third ally : Franchot Tone, a great early actor. He plays a sculptor, a longtime friend of Alan Curtis. Side note - here we have another parallel to "Manhandled", the wealthy sculptor character. Anyhow, Tone has been in South America, working on a piece. When he got the news about Curtis, he flew to New York immediately. He too is intent on proving his old friend's innocence. Tone has money and means. When he arrives the investigation moves into high gear. That's all I can tell you because anything else I might say would be a potential spoiler. But run don't walk to Netflix or your local Libe to check out "Phantom Lady", one of the best Noirs I've ever seen! It's got twists and turns galore, a great performance from Ella Raines (who should've become a big star) and fantastic support from Tone, Curtis and Gomez, as well as the always reliable (and always creepy!) Elisha Cook Jr. The black and white photography is dark and menacing, and there are even a couple of spectacular sets, such as the train depot that looks like something out of "Metropolis". I had never heard of this film, nor Ella Raines, but I'm gonna give 'em both my highest rating : Two Gigantic Thumbs Up. This is one you can't miss, so see it, see it, see it. ////
Elizabeth, I saw your post a little while ago and was reminded of what a great series the Red Dress photos were, and are. Also such a great idea on your part. But really, each photo has a different feel, and you did such a perfect job with the compositions. Sometimes it's good to go back and look at a project after some time has passed, to see how it affects you after the immediacy wears off. In this case, the effect has gotten even stronger I think. I've never seen another series quite like it. I like the poetry you added to the picture you posted a little while ago. It's quite beautiful and adds to the feeling generated by the photograph. I have to ask......did you write it? :):)
I ask because it reminds me of the old days, and for me the feeling is still the same. oxoxoxoxoxoxo :):)
That's all I know for today. I'm gonna head up to Aliso for a quick hike. I'll see you tonight at the Usual Time.
Tons of love! xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo :):)
Wednesday, February 26, 2020
"Manhandled" starring Gloria Swanson
Tonight we went back to the Silent Era to watch one of it's greatest stars, Gloria Swanson, in "Manhandled"(1924). Now there's a provocative title for you. I found the movie in a database search for Alan Dwan, who directed "The Good Bad Man", which we saw and reviewed a few weeks ago. Speaking of searches, I can't believe I've never done one on Swanson, a true Hollywood legend. Prior to tonight, I'd only ever seen her in the classic "Sunset Boulevard", and while she was fantastic as Norma Desmond (one of the all time female protagonists in motion picture history), the movie was made long after her heyday. She really was the Queen of the Silents. I had never seen her in her youth until tonight. And boy is she ever a character!
Swanson plays "Tessie", a department store employee working down in the basement, in women's garments. Her job is a drag - mobs of pushy broads surround her at all times during the day, looking to get their hands on the latest discounts. She feels like the dresses she sells; pulled on and pawed over. As the movie opens, we see her getting on the subway and it's more of the same, a sardine can full of rude, impatient people. One of Tessie's trademarks is her chewing gum, which gives her a rebellious appeal. As Dwan's camera shows her getting sandwiched and squashed, she casually chews away. She's annoyed but the sparkle never leaves her eye, as if she's thinking, "that's all ya got"?
The first thing you notice about Swanson is how modern she looks in movement and expression. She's got a bob haircut, but it's messy enough that - with her dark eyeliner, lipstick and second hand clothes - she could be considered a prototype for the Riot Grrrls of the 1990s. That's what I noticed: how punk she looks, but in a cute way. It's natural, she's not forcing it.
Swanson is 24 here, she hates her job and just wants to have some fun once in a while. To that end, when she gets home she asks her boyfriend Jimmy (Tom Moore) to take her out to dinner. All she wants is some escape, and to wear her new dress. Jimmy, though, is too busy. He's holding down two jobs - mechanic by day, cabbie at night - and he's also working on an invention, a gas saving device for automobiles that he wants to pitch to industry bigwigs in Detroit. He's apologetic to Tessie about having no time to go out, but swears he will make it up to her the following night: "We'll go to that Chinese joint you like. And just think, Tessie.....when I sell this thing to Detroit I'll be a millionaire. Then we can go out every night of the week"! That cheers Tessie up somewhat, and the next day she goes back to work. While there, she is invited to a party by the store's owner, at his house. She forgets all about her rescheduled dinner with Jimmy and attends. The owner has all sorts of wealthy and sophisticated friends. Tessie is introduced to one of them, a sculptor. He admires her beauty and sartorial style and asks her right away to pose for him. He asks her what she earns at her job (a pittance) and offers to pay her four times that much for her time. Tessie agrees to pose, and goes to the man's studio later that night.
Of course, you can guess what the sculptor really wants, and what he feels entitled to, given the amount of money he's paid Tessie to model for him. Tessie manages to escape his clutches and run home, but when Jimmy - who lives in the apartment next door - comes calling to ask what happened to their date, he notices Tessie's torn skirt. She breaks down and tells him everything; about the party, the invitation by the sculptor, and his subsequent attack. Jimmy is horrified and angry, naturally by what's happened to his girlfriend, but also by the fact that she ran off to the party instead of going out to dinner with him, as they'd scheduled. He's insulted by being stood up. "What? I'm not good enough for you now? I'm not as exciting as these people"? Tessie is crying, saying she's sorry, that she made a mistake, so Jimmy reconsiders and his feelings are assuaged. They make up, and Jimmy says he'll buy them tickets for a hit play later in the week. All is well.
Until Tessie's next day at work. This time, she is seen by another man (Frank Morgan aka "The Wizard of Oz") while doing one of her impersonations. Tessie is an extrovert, always acting. On one of her breaks,in front of other salesgirls, she is pretending to be a Russian Countess, right down to the cigarette holder and the sashay walk. She's got the accent, too. Frank Morgan is another friend of the store owner. He owns a high fashion boutique, and seeing Tessie he gets an idea which he then presents to her : "How'd you like to do that act and get paid for it? Just think of the business I could drum up with a 'Russian Countess' in my shop! These ladies (pointing to the customers) would eat it up"!
Once again, Tessie is offered a large sum of money, this time to play act. Morgan seems harmless enough and Tessie trusts him. After all, he's a businessman, not a flamboyant artist. She takes the job and during her off hours she appears at his boutique, playing the Countess, fawning over Morgan's stock of expensive clothes. His sales skyrocket as other female customers arrive, wanting to emulate the exotic "Russian" beauty. Morgan is so happy with Tessie's performance that he invites her to dinner at an exclusive restaurant, where they drink champagne and end up back at Morgan's estate.
You can guess what happens next. I guess Morgan wasn't so "harmless" after all.
Fortunately, Tessie is an Escape Artist (another one of her many talents), and she manages to free herself from Morgan's grip before any real damage is done. Once again, she runs home with her dress askew and her hair in her eyes. Boyfriend Jimmy is waiting in the hall, brandishing the tickets he'd bought for the Broadway show. "So what happened this time, Tessie"?
She tells him the truth, and Jimmy is understandably unhappy. But instead of crying and apologising this time, Tessie stands up for herself. "I'm just trying to earn some money for myself, Jimmy! I hate my job and it pays nothing. How are we gonna get married if we're always broke"? Jimmy reconsiders again, but then makes a fateful decision (I should note that all my dialogue quotations are paraphrased from the title cards. Remember that this is a Silent film).
"I can't stand this anymore Tessie! I'm working as hard as I can for us. I'm also gonna sell my invention and we'll have all the money we need. But I can't have you hanging around these men night after night. We both know what they want from you. I need some time to think things over".
Tessie responds : "Does this mean you're breaking off our engagement"?
"Yes, for now".
Tessie is crushed, for she really does love Jimmy. But her independent streak wins out, and instead of promising to stay home nights and let Jimmy earn the money, she says "okay, fine" about the breakup and continues to attend the parties at her boss's house.
And she continues to get "Manhandled", again and again. So far, she's always gotten away relatively unscathed. But why does she keep going back? Does she secretly like the attention, the excitement, the thrill of running right up to the edge? Good thing none of these men is Harvey Weinstein, but they aren't much better. What will happen to Tessie in the end? Will she go back to Jimmy? It looks like he might be selling his invention after all, at which point he'll be richer than any of Tessie's fancy suitors. Will Jimmy take her back if she does ask his forgiveness? It's clear that she truly loves him. Maybe she's just working out some issues......
I loved "Manhandled", in which the conflict is played "light". It would've been a mistake to make it overly tragic because Gloria Swanson has too much charm. As Tessie she's irresistible. She never comes across as trampy, just as a fun-loving but naive girl who has difficulty learning her lesson about men. Director Dwan works everything around her, as if she's got the world wrapped around her finger. But really, you can guess how everything is gonna turn out because Tessie is such a sweetheart. Kino Lorber has done a fantastic job with the restoration of this 96 year old film, which features a jaunty piano soundtrack.
I give it Two Big Thumbs Up, and recommend it for fans of Silent Film and pre-code. If you aren't yet a fan of Silent, a movie like this is a great place to start, it's short (61 minutes), entertaining from start to finish, and very modern as noted earlier. I am now an instant Gloria Swanson fan and will be looking for more of her work. ////
It's now Wednesday at dusk. No time for a hike today, but I'm gonna walk down to the Libe in a few minutes in search of more motion pictures. See you tonight at the Usual Time.
Tons of love! xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo :):)
Swanson plays "Tessie", a department store employee working down in the basement, in women's garments. Her job is a drag - mobs of pushy broads surround her at all times during the day, looking to get their hands on the latest discounts. She feels like the dresses she sells; pulled on and pawed over. As the movie opens, we see her getting on the subway and it's more of the same, a sardine can full of rude, impatient people. One of Tessie's trademarks is her chewing gum, which gives her a rebellious appeal. As Dwan's camera shows her getting sandwiched and squashed, she casually chews away. She's annoyed but the sparkle never leaves her eye, as if she's thinking, "that's all ya got"?
The first thing you notice about Swanson is how modern she looks in movement and expression. She's got a bob haircut, but it's messy enough that - with her dark eyeliner, lipstick and second hand clothes - she could be considered a prototype for the Riot Grrrls of the 1990s. That's what I noticed: how punk she looks, but in a cute way. It's natural, she's not forcing it.
Swanson is 24 here, she hates her job and just wants to have some fun once in a while. To that end, when she gets home she asks her boyfriend Jimmy (Tom Moore) to take her out to dinner. All she wants is some escape, and to wear her new dress. Jimmy, though, is too busy. He's holding down two jobs - mechanic by day, cabbie at night - and he's also working on an invention, a gas saving device for automobiles that he wants to pitch to industry bigwigs in Detroit. He's apologetic to Tessie about having no time to go out, but swears he will make it up to her the following night: "We'll go to that Chinese joint you like. And just think, Tessie.....when I sell this thing to Detroit I'll be a millionaire. Then we can go out every night of the week"! That cheers Tessie up somewhat, and the next day she goes back to work. While there, she is invited to a party by the store's owner, at his house. She forgets all about her rescheduled dinner with Jimmy and attends. The owner has all sorts of wealthy and sophisticated friends. Tessie is introduced to one of them, a sculptor. He admires her beauty and sartorial style and asks her right away to pose for him. He asks her what she earns at her job (a pittance) and offers to pay her four times that much for her time. Tessie agrees to pose, and goes to the man's studio later that night.
Of course, you can guess what the sculptor really wants, and what he feels entitled to, given the amount of money he's paid Tessie to model for him. Tessie manages to escape his clutches and run home, but when Jimmy - who lives in the apartment next door - comes calling to ask what happened to their date, he notices Tessie's torn skirt. She breaks down and tells him everything; about the party, the invitation by the sculptor, and his subsequent attack. Jimmy is horrified and angry, naturally by what's happened to his girlfriend, but also by the fact that she ran off to the party instead of going out to dinner with him, as they'd scheduled. He's insulted by being stood up. "What? I'm not good enough for you now? I'm not as exciting as these people"? Tessie is crying, saying she's sorry, that she made a mistake, so Jimmy reconsiders and his feelings are assuaged. They make up, and Jimmy says he'll buy them tickets for a hit play later in the week. All is well.
Until Tessie's next day at work. This time, she is seen by another man (Frank Morgan aka "The Wizard of Oz") while doing one of her impersonations. Tessie is an extrovert, always acting. On one of her breaks,in front of other salesgirls, she is pretending to be a Russian Countess, right down to the cigarette holder and the sashay walk. She's got the accent, too. Frank Morgan is another friend of the store owner. He owns a high fashion boutique, and seeing Tessie he gets an idea which he then presents to her : "How'd you like to do that act and get paid for it? Just think of the business I could drum up with a 'Russian Countess' in my shop! These ladies (pointing to the customers) would eat it up"!
Once again, Tessie is offered a large sum of money, this time to play act. Morgan seems harmless enough and Tessie trusts him. After all, he's a businessman, not a flamboyant artist. She takes the job and during her off hours she appears at his boutique, playing the Countess, fawning over Morgan's stock of expensive clothes. His sales skyrocket as other female customers arrive, wanting to emulate the exotic "Russian" beauty. Morgan is so happy with Tessie's performance that he invites her to dinner at an exclusive restaurant, where they drink champagne and end up back at Morgan's estate.
You can guess what happens next. I guess Morgan wasn't so "harmless" after all.
Fortunately, Tessie is an Escape Artist (another one of her many talents), and she manages to free herself from Morgan's grip before any real damage is done. Once again, she runs home with her dress askew and her hair in her eyes. Boyfriend Jimmy is waiting in the hall, brandishing the tickets he'd bought for the Broadway show. "So what happened this time, Tessie"?
She tells him the truth, and Jimmy is understandably unhappy. But instead of crying and apologising this time, Tessie stands up for herself. "I'm just trying to earn some money for myself, Jimmy! I hate my job and it pays nothing. How are we gonna get married if we're always broke"? Jimmy reconsiders again, but then makes a fateful decision (I should note that all my dialogue quotations are paraphrased from the title cards. Remember that this is a Silent film).
"I can't stand this anymore Tessie! I'm working as hard as I can for us. I'm also gonna sell my invention and we'll have all the money we need. But I can't have you hanging around these men night after night. We both know what they want from you. I need some time to think things over".
Tessie responds : "Does this mean you're breaking off our engagement"?
"Yes, for now".
Tessie is crushed, for she really does love Jimmy. But her independent streak wins out, and instead of promising to stay home nights and let Jimmy earn the money, she says "okay, fine" about the breakup and continues to attend the parties at her boss's house.
And she continues to get "Manhandled", again and again. So far, she's always gotten away relatively unscathed. But why does she keep going back? Does she secretly like the attention, the excitement, the thrill of running right up to the edge? Good thing none of these men is Harvey Weinstein, but they aren't much better. What will happen to Tessie in the end? Will she go back to Jimmy? It looks like he might be selling his invention after all, at which point he'll be richer than any of Tessie's fancy suitors. Will Jimmy take her back if she does ask his forgiveness? It's clear that she truly loves him. Maybe she's just working out some issues......
I loved "Manhandled", in which the conflict is played "light". It would've been a mistake to make it overly tragic because Gloria Swanson has too much charm. As Tessie she's irresistible. She never comes across as trampy, just as a fun-loving but naive girl who has difficulty learning her lesson about men. Director Dwan works everything around her, as if she's got the world wrapped around her finger. But really, you can guess how everything is gonna turn out because Tessie is such a sweetheart. Kino Lorber has done a fantastic job with the restoration of this 96 year old film, which features a jaunty piano soundtrack.
I give it Two Big Thumbs Up, and recommend it for fans of Silent Film and pre-code. If you aren't yet a fan of Silent, a movie like this is a great place to start, it's short (61 minutes), entertaining from start to finish, and very modern as noted earlier. I am now an instant Gloria Swanson fan and will be looking for more of her work. ////
It's now Wednesday at dusk. No time for a hike today, but I'm gonna walk down to the Libe in a few minutes in search of more motion pictures. See you tonight at the Usual Time.
Tons of love! xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo :):)
Tuesday, February 25, 2020
"Roma" by Alfonso Cuaron + Elizabeth
This part of the blog was written Monday night, February 24th :
Tonight I finally saw "Roma"(2018), the semi-autobiographical tale of Alfonso Cuaron's childhood in Mexico City, which won him a Best Director Oscar last year. You'd think a film as highly lauded as this one would've had a swift release on dvd, but that was not the case. It only came out this week, over a year later! I reserved it a while back, though, so I was among the first in line for a library copy, and this evening I walked down to Northridge Libe to pick it up.
I'm guessing you've seen it? Well, I start describing it anyway, and you can tell me if I should stop. Actually, maybe I'll just give some of my general impressions of the film instead, as I did recently with "1917" or some other picture I assumed you'd seen. Firstly, as I started watching and got about thirty minutes in, I thought "oh wow......this is gonna be yet another slice-of-life movie about a family, our third in a row"! I was enjoying it, but there didn't seem to be much happening for a while. What kept me hooked was the wide screen black and white photography, which was spectacular and (nearly) on the level of Antonioni.
I have to step in here to inform you that we still haven't been given an answer as to why he needed the extra "oni" in his name. I mean, we asked this question quite a while ago now, so I think it's only fair to expect a response. I've no idea why the delay, and I'm only wondering why "Antoni" would not have sufficed for a last name, and why he (or his parents) felt compelled to repeat the final syllable. It would be similar to a fictional "Mr. Johnson", say, calling himself "Mr. Johnsononson". And hey! Wait a minute. Wasn't this practice mocked in "A Fish Called Wanda"? Ahh yes, when Kevin Kline introduced himself as "Mr. Manfrengensen".
I'll drop the matter, for the moment at least, but in bringing up Antonioni as the yardstick by which all black and white art photography should be measured, I was reminded about the unanswered question surrounding his name. I assure you that we'll keep working to clarify the situation. Simply remind me if I lapse in that regard.
Returning to the movie, as the story began to pick up steam, I thought that Cleo the maid represented Cuaron's mother, to whom the movie was said to be a tribute. Especially when Cleo became pregnant I thought it would result in the birth of little Alfonso the future Oscar winner. I was massively wrong on that front, but I'd just figured that since Cleo was the protaginist, that she must represent his mother. I guess I should've noticed the hint in the inclusion of the space film "Marooned", which the sons of Cleo's employer go to see at the theater. "Kids" of my age, haha, will remember "Marooned" as a take off on the expulsion scene in "2001". That movie is not well known now, but was remarked upon at the time for it's technical excellence. I remember that my parents saw it. Young Alfonso Cuaron did too, and it made enough of an impression on him that he made "Gravity" 42 years later. This should have alerted me that he was Sophia's child and not Cleo's, but I was too wrapped up in the developing story to notice.
Once the story started moving forward, I was riveted. I remembered the Mexico City riots being in the news at that time. The scene in the department store is terrifying. Cuaron captures the street scene in the city in grand detail, there are so many little actions happening in every frame. It's exactly as your eyes would capture the view if you were there yourself, scanning back and forth, seeing things on the periphery. Cuaron is so good at tracking shots. Another scene that was very effective was Cleo's walk into the ocean near the end. I'll omit further description in case you haven't seen the movie, but the way her tracks her, as the waves crash against her from the opposite direction, was ingenious and "pulled you in" as she is being pulled by the rip tide. His bio says that young Cuaron was given a camera at age 12 and began filming everything in sight, and it shows. I know he's not the actual cameraman on the picture, but you can bet he helped create every last shot, and it's the photography above all that makes "Roma" a near masterpiece. I say "near" because, again, it does take a little long for things to develop, but once they do, it's as great an art film as you'll ever see (right down to the ever shifting but endless supply of dog doo in the parkway, lol). Gross, but funny.
Two Huge Thumbs Up for "Roma", therefore. Cuaron may be my favorite among The Three Amigos, who have made an astonishing number of great films in the last 15 years. ////
It is now Tuesday Afternoon, which is appropriate because I am on a big Moody Blues kick. My album for last night was "A Question Of Balance", which is every bit as good as "Children's Children".
Elizabeth, I love Sophie the dog! Is she yours, or does she belong to someone from the oil change shop? Oh man.....she reminds me of my Alice, who we were blessed to have (along with her daughter Trixie) back in the 1990s. Labs rule! I sure hope I'll be in a position to have another one, one of these days. Well, on the off chance that Sophie is yours, give her a hug from me, and a pat on the head. Or, if she belongs to the shop, you can just wait until your next oil change. :)
I am gonna head out now, first to Rite Aid to pick up a prescription for Pearl, then up to Aliso for a quick hike. I'll see you tonight at the Usual Time!
Tons of love. xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo :):)
Tonight I finally saw "Roma"(2018), the semi-autobiographical tale of Alfonso Cuaron's childhood in Mexico City, which won him a Best Director Oscar last year. You'd think a film as highly lauded as this one would've had a swift release on dvd, but that was not the case. It only came out this week, over a year later! I reserved it a while back, though, so I was among the first in line for a library copy, and this evening I walked down to Northridge Libe to pick it up.
I'm guessing you've seen it? Well, I start describing it anyway, and you can tell me if I should stop. Actually, maybe I'll just give some of my general impressions of the film instead, as I did recently with "1917" or some other picture I assumed you'd seen. Firstly, as I started watching and got about thirty minutes in, I thought "oh wow......this is gonna be yet another slice-of-life movie about a family, our third in a row"! I was enjoying it, but there didn't seem to be much happening for a while. What kept me hooked was the wide screen black and white photography, which was spectacular and (nearly) on the level of Antonioni.
I have to step in here to inform you that we still haven't been given an answer as to why he needed the extra "oni" in his name. I mean, we asked this question quite a while ago now, so I think it's only fair to expect a response. I've no idea why the delay, and I'm only wondering why "Antoni" would not have sufficed for a last name, and why he (or his parents) felt compelled to repeat the final syllable. It would be similar to a fictional "Mr. Johnson", say, calling himself "Mr. Johnsononson". And hey! Wait a minute. Wasn't this practice mocked in "A Fish Called Wanda"? Ahh yes, when Kevin Kline introduced himself as "Mr. Manfrengensen".
I'll drop the matter, for the moment at least, but in bringing up Antonioni as the yardstick by which all black and white art photography should be measured, I was reminded about the unanswered question surrounding his name. I assure you that we'll keep working to clarify the situation. Simply remind me if I lapse in that regard.
Returning to the movie, as the story began to pick up steam, I thought that Cleo the maid represented Cuaron's mother, to whom the movie was said to be a tribute. Especially when Cleo became pregnant I thought it would result in the birth of little Alfonso the future Oscar winner. I was massively wrong on that front, but I'd just figured that since Cleo was the protaginist, that she must represent his mother. I guess I should've noticed the hint in the inclusion of the space film "Marooned", which the sons of Cleo's employer go to see at the theater. "Kids" of my age, haha, will remember "Marooned" as a take off on the expulsion scene in "2001". That movie is not well known now, but was remarked upon at the time for it's technical excellence. I remember that my parents saw it. Young Alfonso Cuaron did too, and it made enough of an impression on him that he made "Gravity" 42 years later. This should have alerted me that he was Sophia's child and not Cleo's, but I was too wrapped up in the developing story to notice.
Once the story started moving forward, I was riveted. I remembered the Mexico City riots being in the news at that time. The scene in the department store is terrifying. Cuaron captures the street scene in the city in grand detail, there are so many little actions happening in every frame. It's exactly as your eyes would capture the view if you were there yourself, scanning back and forth, seeing things on the periphery. Cuaron is so good at tracking shots. Another scene that was very effective was Cleo's walk into the ocean near the end. I'll omit further description in case you haven't seen the movie, but the way her tracks her, as the waves crash against her from the opposite direction, was ingenious and "pulled you in" as she is being pulled by the rip tide. His bio says that young Cuaron was given a camera at age 12 and began filming everything in sight, and it shows. I know he's not the actual cameraman on the picture, but you can bet he helped create every last shot, and it's the photography above all that makes "Roma" a near masterpiece. I say "near" because, again, it does take a little long for things to develop, but once they do, it's as great an art film as you'll ever see (right down to the ever shifting but endless supply of dog doo in the parkway, lol). Gross, but funny.
Two Huge Thumbs Up for "Roma", therefore. Cuaron may be my favorite among The Three Amigos, who have made an astonishing number of great films in the last 15 years. ////
It is now Tuesday Afternoon, which is appropriate because I am on a big Moody Blues kick. My album for last night was "A Question Of Balance", which is every bit as good as "Children's Children".
Elizabeth, I love Sophie the dog! Is she yours, or does she belong to someone from the oil change shop? Oh man.....she reminds me of my Alice, who we were blessed to have (along with her daughter Trixie) back in the 1990s. Labs rule! I sure hope I'll be in a position to have another one, one of these days. Well, on the off chance that Sophie is yours, give her a hug from me, and a pat on the head. Or, if she belongs to the shop, you can just wait until your next oil change. :)
I am gonna head out now, first to Rite Aid to pick up a prescription for Pearl, then up to Aliso for a quick hike. I'll see you tonight at the Usual Time!
Tons of love. xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo :):)
Monday, February 24, 2020
"Still Walking" by director Hirokazu Kareeda
Tonight's film was "Still Walking"(2008), directed by Hirokazu Kareeda, released on Criterion and discovered in the same library search that turned up "Meantime", which we saw and reviewed last night. Interestingly, there are parallels between the two movies. Like "Meantime", "Still Walking" is a slice-of-life family drama. Both films are based on observational insights rather than plot and both feature a strained father/son relationship. From there the similarities end, more or less, because the family in "Meantime" is British and boisterous while the family in "Walking" is Japanese and more sedate. Actually, they have the same gripes about one another that the "Meantime" family has, but they keep it more polite because they're Japanese. And they aren't as poverty stricken and ill-educated, which I suppose has more to do with it, because if the English family had been upper class, they'd have been polite about their resentments, too.
The story begins with Ryo (the son) and his family en route to visit his parents for an annual get together. Ryo is 40ish and semi-estranged from his folks. He just wants to get the visit overwith, not least because he knows his Mom and Dad won't approve of his new wife, a widow whose son Ryo has adopted and who is accompanying them on the trip.
When they arrive, Ryo's younger sister is already there with her husband and kids. She is more at ease with the parents because she knows no questions will be asked of her. So there we have another parallel to "Meantime" - if only slightly - where one sibling is favored over another, or at least that is the perception. The father is a doctor, 72 years old now and taciturn. He's near retirement because the big health corporation in Japan has put up a hospital nearby with modern facilities and a full compliment of physicians. He is bitter about his displacement, feeling no longer being needed, and subtly projects this onto Ryo by quizzing him on his own employment prospects (another "Meantime" similarity). Ryo has an unusual profession. He is a restoration artist, kind of like the painting equivalent to Criteron. He gets hired by museums and collectors to restore valuable works of art, sometimes even a Chagall. But he doesn't get paid much. He can't even afford a car. Dad doesn't call him out directly on his career choice, but his disapproval is apparent in other things he says, as when he tells Ryo's adopted son that he should become a doctor.
As noted, Ryo doesn't really want to be here at this family gathering, but he feels obligated because it's a tradition the family has observed for some years. I am debating whether or not to reveal the nature of the gathering, and I have decided not to, as it will add to your involvement in the story if you don't know it going in.
In reading some of the comments about "Still Walking", on Amazon and IMDB, I see that several viewers have compared Kareeda's story and directorial style to that of Yasujiro Ozu, the legendary Japanese filmmaker who specialised in family dramas. I disagree with these assessments. While Kareeda may have intended to emulate Ozu, if anything he's only come away with an "Ozu Lite", the difference being that there was always, always great tension present in Ozu's familial conflicts, created by the lack of self-expression, a communication barrier, brought about by Japanese cultural tradition. What's more, in Ozu's films, this tension and it's resultant retention by the protagonist, often the adult daughter of an older couple, would sometimes lead her to contemplate suicide. Ozu's great leading lady Setsuko Hara excelled in playing these daughters in various films, torn between acceding to her parents solemn demands and going her own way. She was such a great actress that you suffered along with her through her trials. This is not to say that the acting (and directing) in "Still Walking" isn't first rate, because it certainly it. It just isn't Ozu-ish, to coin a word. The characters in this movie are gonna do as they damn well please, tradition or no tradition. Of course, we are in a more modern Japan now, too, so that has something to do with it. At any rate, while "Still Walking" is quite good and very moving in places, it doesn't have the "grip" of a classic Ozu like "Late Spring", simply because of the lack of strong tension. There is conflict, but it never reaches a simmer let alone a boiling point.
Still, it was a very good film, if overlong, and I'm gonna give it Two Solid Thumbs Up and recommend you see it for it's overall watchability, which it shares (on a lesser scale) with the magnificent "Meantime". By the way, I have devised an Official Ratings System for my Thumbs. There will be five levels of positivity, the most basic being Two Thumbs Up which indicates a good movie. The next will be Two Solid Thumbs Up, which means a little better than just "good". After that you get Two Big Thumbs Up, which means it's really good and I recommend it, sometimes for a specified crowd (like horror fans, western fans, etc). Next would be Two Huge Thumbs Up, meaning the film in excellent in all respects and highly recommended. And finally, we have Two Gigantic Thumbs Up, which means an All Time Classic and a Must See, you will love it no matter the genre.
So there you go. I've been using these various levels of Thumbs for a while now, but I figured I oughta make 'em official. On the other end, regarding bad movies, we get so few of them because we make our own selections (meaning we bypass the Adam Sandler section, haha) and thus we rarely check out a rotten tomato, so we don't need a set of Thumbs Down variations I don't think. On the rare occasion when we do get a crummy one, I'll just tell you in so many words how bad it was and give it Two Thumbs Down, which will cover the gamut of crumminess.
I am now writing from home on Monday afternoon, my Pearl shift being over for the day. My album of the day yesterday was "To Our Children's Children's Children" by The Moody Blues, another one that I hadn't heard in quite a while. Man, it's a great album and I've gotta say - I think that Justin Hayward should be considered up there with the great musicians and writers of rock n' roll. I mean, he wrote "Nights In White Satin" when he was 21. And he's got so many more classic songs, including "Gypsy" off of "Children's Children". Go back and listen to what are known as the Core Seven, the seven classic Moodies albums made from 1967-74, and see if you don't agree.
I'm gonna head out in a little while, to O'Melveny or Santa Su, can't make up my mind. But for sure I will see you tonight at the Usual Time.
And for sure I send you Tons Of Love, as always. xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo :):)
The story begins with Ryo (the son) and his family en route to visit his parents for an annual get together. Ryo is 40ish and semi-estranged from his folks. He just wants to get the visit overwith, not least because he knows his Mom and Dad won't approve of his new wife, a widow whose son Ryo has adopted and who is accompanying them on the trip.
When they arrive, Ryo's younger sister is already there with her husband and kids. She is more at ease with the parents because she knows no questions will be asked of her. So there we have another parallel to "Meantime" - if only slightly - where one sibling is favored over another, or at least that is the perception. The father is a doctor, 72 years old now and taciturn. He's near retirement because the big health corporation in Japan has put up a hospital nearby with modern facilities and a full compliment of physicians. He is bitter about his displacement, feeling no longer being needed, and subtly projects this onto Ryo by quizzing him on his own employment prospects (another "Meantime" similarity). Ryo has an unusual profession. He is a restoration artist, kind of like the painting equivalent to Criteron. He gets hired by museums and collectors to restore valuable works of art, sometimes even a Chagall. But he doesn't get paid much. He can't even afford a car. Dad doesn't call him out directly on his career choice, but his disapproval is apparent in other things he says, as when he tells Ryo's adopted son that he should become a doctor.
As noted, Ryo doesn't really want to be here at this family gathering, but he feels obligated because it's a tradition the family has observed for some years. I am debating whether or not to reveal the nature of the gathering, and I have decided not to, as it will add to your involvement in the story if you don't know it going in.
In reading some of the comments about "Still Walking", on Amazon and IMDB, I see that several viewers have compared Kareeda's story and directorial style to that of Yasujiro Ozu, the legendary Japanese filmmaker who specialised in family dramas. I disagree with these assessments. While Kareeda may have intended to emulate Ozu, if anything he's only come away with an "Ozu Lite", the difference being that there was always, always great tension present in Ozu's familial conflicts, created by the lack of self-expression, a communication barrier, brought about by Japanese cultural tradition. What's more, in Ozu's films, this tension and it's resultant retention by the protagonist, often the adult daughter of an older couple, would sometimes lead her to contemplate suicide. Ozu's great leading lady Setsuko Hara excelled in playing these daughters in various films, torn between acceding to her parents solemn demands and going her own way. She was such a great actress that you suffered along with her through her trials. This is not to say that the acting (and directing) in "Still Walking" isn't first rate, because it certainly it. It just isn't Ozu-ish, to coin a word. The characters in this movie are gonna do as they damn well please, tradition or no tradition. Of course, we are in a more modern Japan now, too, so that has something to do with it. At any rate, while "Still Walking" is quite good and very moving in places, it doesn't have the "grip" of a classic Ozu like "Late Spring", simply because of the lack of strong tension. There is conflict, but it never reaches a simmer let alone a boiling point.
Still, it was a very good film, if overlong, and I'm gonna give it Two Solid Thumbs Up and recommend you see it for it's overall watchability, which it shares (on a lesser scale) with the magnificent "Meantime". By the way, I have devised an Official Ratings System for my Thumbs. There will be five levels of positivity, the most basic being Two Thumbs Up which indicates a good movie. The next will be Two Solid Thumbs Up, which means a little better than just "good". After that you get Two Big Thumbs Up, which means it's really good and I recommend it, sometimes for a specified crowd (like horror fans, western fans, etc). Next would be Two Huge Thumbs Up, meaning the film in excellent in all respects and highly recommended. And finally, we have Two Gigantic Thumbs Up, which means an All Time Classic and a Must See, you will love it no matter the genre.
So there you go. I've been using these various levels of Thumbs for a while now, but I figured I oughta make 'em official. On the other end, regarding bad movies, we get so few of them because we make our own selections (meaning we bypass the Adam Sandler section, haha) and thus we rarely check out a rotten tomato, so we don't need a set of Thumbs Down variations I don't think. On the rare occasion when we do get a crummy one, I'll just tell you in so many words how bad it was and give it Two Thumbs Down, which will cover the gamut of crumminess.
I am now writing from home on Monday afternoon, my Pearl shift being over for the day. My album of the day yesterday was "To Our Children's Children's Children" by The Moody Blues, another one that I hadn't heard in quite a while. Man, it's a great album and I've gotta say - I think that Justin Hayward should be considered up there with the great musicians and writers of rock n' roll. I mean, he wrote "Nights In White Satin" when he was 21. And he's got so many more classic songs, including "Gypsy" off of "Children's Children". Go back and listen to what are known as the Core Seven, the seven classic Moodies albums made from 1967-74, and see if you don't agree.
I'm gonna head out in a little while, to O'Melveny or Santa Su, can't make up my mind. But for sure I will see you tonight at the Usual Time.
And for sure I send you Tons Of Love, as always. xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo :):)
Sunday, February 23, 2020
"Meantime" by director Mike Leigh + Elizabeth
Tonight I watched a small gem from director Mike Leigh called "Meantime"(1983). You'll remember Leigh from last week; we mentioned him in our review for "The Tree of Wooden Clogs", for which he did an introduction. Leigh is known for his light, observational comedies, his heyday as a filmmaker was in the 80s and 90s. I hadn't heard of "Meantime", which was made for BBC Television, but it's been restored by Criterion and I found it in a search of same.
One thing that's notable is that it marks only the second screen appearance of two famous actors : Tim Roth and Gary Oldman, both of whom are very young here. This is likely the first starring role for Roth, who plays a mentally challenged youth from a lower class London family. Oldman has a substantial supporting role, probably his breakout performance as well, as an agitated Skinhead.
Roth lives with his parents and brother in a large apartment complex in a decrepit part of London. Their building resembles the concrete behemoths you'd see in the old Soviet Bloc, with enough units to house an entire town. It's a depressing place to live and the family members' attitudes reflect this. His older brother Mark (Phil Daniels, in an excellent performance) challenges his unemployed father at every turn. Mark is unemployed himself, but doesn't see the hypocrisy in his verbal parrying with Dad. He seems protective of his slow witted brother Colin (played by Roth), and doesn't want him hanging around the dangerous Coxy (Oldman), but he also exhibits jealousy toward Colin, who has no expectations placed on him due to his disability. In reality, Mark's parents expect little of him either. The only time his father tells him to get a job is when Mark ridicules him for his own unemployment. Dad's become accustomed to life on the dole, but knows what it meant to work and support a family. Mark on the other hand fancies himself a know-it-all but has never had a job. His parents have written him off because of his snotty attitude. He's really just rebelling against his lot in life, a situation his folks have long since given up on. They bicker all day long, but never really fight, and more or less accept that this is all they will ever have - a dreary apartment, two unemployed sons (one inconsiderate, one incapable), and a government check that pays for the basics and nothing else. It is really Mom (Pam Ferris) who runs the household. She has no job or income but refers to the apartment as "her" house, simply because she does all the work, cooking & cleaning etc.
Mom has a sister, though, whose station is quite different. Aunt Barbara (Marion Bailey) lives in a two story home in a nice suburb of London, with her judgemental husband (Alfred Molina). Aunt Barbara has been to college and has a degree in economics. Unlike her distant hubby, she does not comment on her sister's family. Instead, she tries to help by offering Colin a job helping her to paint her house. Now, Colin can barely function on his own. He may be autistic, though the movie was made before that term was fully understood. So Aunt Barbara's offer may be wishful thinking, however, Colin accepts the job if for no other reason than he feels pressure to do so. But then, in what amounts to the only real plotline in the film, his brother Mark shows up at the house in an attempt to derail Colin's opportunity. This sabotage on Mark's part will stem from an amalgamation of all his feelings toward his brother, the protectiveness and the jealousy, and also his ongoing need to show up his parents, who put a roof over his head but embarrass him by their poverty.
What is genius about this film is that it's never for a moment heavy handed. Leigh has his actors speak in lower-class slang, which comes of a teasing rather than confrontational, so even when you think their remarks would lead to punch outs, they never do. Everyone mouths off, but they all tolerate each other, which I think is the message of the film. It's supposed to show the effects of an economic crisis (which England was going through in the late 70s and which resulted in Punk Rock) on the working classes - what happens when the workers can't get jobs? Well, their children grow up to resent society, first in the form of their parents.
It's a brilliant movie, full of great acting and dialogue. You get used to the slang after awhile (though I had to use subtitles for the first half hour, haha), and the writing is so good that it doesn't matter there is little in the way of plot. "Meantime" is a "slice of life" movie, where we watch the characters act out their neuroses. Watching along with us is Colin, the dimwitted son. He is mostly silent, soaking up what goes on around him. If he has an example to follow it is likely to be Coxy the Skinhead, for at least he projects something resembling strength, at least in Colin's eyes.
I absolutely loved "Meantime". It runs 107 minutes, and at the end I was wishing it could keep going, a rare instance for me where I wanted a picture to be longer. In fact, I could've watched this group for three hours, so well developed were the characters. Their lives may be dull as dishwater, but they themselves are not.
I will be looking for more of Mike Leigh's work, and I give "Meantime" Two Huge Thumbs Up. It's highly recommended for anyone who appreciates the English sense of humor and way of speaking. Also, you get to take a time machine back to the days of punk, which - even if you weren't a punk rock fan (and I was not) - was an interesting time in English cultural history. /////
Elizabeth, I enjoyed your photos from the Mines of Spain. I had to Google it, because I thought, "wait a minute.....she can't actually be in Spain, can she"? I mean, I know you could be in Spain because you are quite the World Traveler, but you hadn't mentioned anything about it, lol, so I Googled "Mines of Spain" and saw that it is a state park in Iowa, about 90 miles from you. That was a nice picture of you and your Mom. I also liked the clip of the train going by. I'm glad you are getting out on some awesome hikes (including the ice caves last week), and I also liked your post late last night in FB Stories, of the impromptu concert with your neighbors. That was really cool, and I'm glad they like Bad Company. :)
I wish my neighbors liked Bad Company, or any classic rock n' roll instead of disco!
But yeah, that's great that you have musically talented neighbors, and they can say the same thing about you, in spades. :):)
It's Sunday afternoon and I am writing from home. We had good singin' in church. I got to do a mini-solo during our anthem, just a couple of lines but it was fun. Now I'm getting ready to head up to Aliso or maybe Chatsworth Park. I'll see you tonight at the Usual Time.
Tons and tons of love! xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo :):)
One thing that's notable is that it marks only the second screen appearance of two famous actors : Tim Roth and Gary Oldman, both of whom are very young here. This is likely the first starring role for Roth, who plays a mentally challenged youth from a lower class London family. Oldman has a substantial supporting role, probably his breakout performance as well, as an agitated Skinhead.
Roth lives with his parents and brother in a large apartment complex in a decrepit part of London. Their building resembles the concrete behemoths you'd see in the old Soviet Bloc, with enough units to house an entire town. It's a depressing place to live and the family members' attitudes reflect this. His older brother Mark (Phil Daniels, in an excellent performance) challenges his unemployed father at every turn. Mark is unemployed himself, but doesn't see the hypocrisy in his verbal parrying with Dad. He seems protective of his slow witted brother Colin (played by Roth), and doesn't want him hanging around the dangerous Coxy (Oldman), but he also exhibits jealousy toward Colin, who has no expectations placed on him due to his disability. In reality, Mark's parents expect little of him either. The only time his father tells him to get a job is when Mark ridicules him for his own unemployment. Dad's become accustomed to life on the dole, but knows what it meant to work and support a family. Mark on the other hand fancies himself a know-it-all but has never had a job. His parents have written him off because of his snotty attitude. He's really just rebelling against his lot in life, a situation his folks have long since given up on. They bicker all day long, but never really fight, and more or less accept that this is all they will ever have - a dreary apartment, two unemployed sons (one inconsiderate, one incapable), and a government check that pays for the basics and nothing else. It is really Mom (Pam Ferris) who runs the household. She has no job or income but refers to the apartment as "her" house, simply because she does all the work, cooking & cleaning etc.
Mom has a sister, though, whose station is quite different. Aunt Barbara (Marion Bailey) lives in a two story home in a nice suburb of London, with her judgemental husband (Alfred Molina). Aunt Barbara has been to college and has a degree in economics. Unlike her distant hubby, she does not comment on her sister's family. Instead, she tries to help by offering Colin a job helping her to paint her house. Now, Colin can barely function on his own. He may be autistic, though the movie was made before that term was fully understood. So Aunt Barbara's offer may be wishful thinking, however, Colin accepts the job if for no other reason than he feels pressure to do so. But then, in what amounts to the only real plotline in the film, his brother Mark shows up at the house in an attempt to derail Colin's opportunity. This sabotage on Mark's part will stem from an amalgamation of all his feelings toward his brother, the protectiveness and the jealousy, and also his ongoing need to show up his parents, who put a roof over his head but embarrass him by their poverty.
What is genius about this film is that it's never for a moment heavy handed. Leigh has his actors speak in lower-class slang, which comes of a teasing rather than confrontational, so even when you think their remarks would lead to punch outs, they never do. Everyone mouths off, but they all tolerate each other, which I think is the message of the film. It's supposed to show the effects of an economic crisis (which England was going through in the late 70s and which resulted in Punk Rock) on the working classes - what happens when the workers can't get jobs? Well, their children grow up to resent society, first in the form of their parents.
It's a brilliant movie, full of great acting and dialogue. You get used to the slang after awhile (though I had to use subtitles for the first half hour, haha), and the writing is so good that it doesn't matter there is little in the way of plot. "Meantime" is a "slice of life" movie, where we watch the characters act out their neuroses. Watching along with us is Colin, the dimwitted son. He is mostly silent, soaking up what goes on around him. If he has an example to follow it is likely to be Coxy the Skinhead, for at least he projects something resembling strength, at least in Colin's eyes.
I absolutely loved "Meantime". It runs 107 minutes, and at the end I was wishing it could keep going, a rare instance for me where I wanted a picture to be longer. In fact, I could've watched this group for three hours, so well developed were the characters. Their lives may be dull as dishwater, but they themselves are not.
I will be looking for more of Mike Leigh's work, and I give "Meantime" Two Huge Thumbs Up. It's highly recommended for anyone who appreciates the English sense of humor and way of speaking. Also, you get to take a time machine back to the days of punk, which - even if you weren't a punk rock fan (and I was not) - was an interesting time in English cultural history. /////
Elizabeth, I enjoyed your photos from the Mines of Spain. I had to Google it, because I thought, "wait a minute.....she can't actually be in Spain, can she"? I mean, I know you could be in Spain because you are quite the World Traveler, but you hadn't mentioned anything about it, lol, so I Googled "Mines of Spain" and saw that it is a state park in Iowa, about 90 miles from you. That was a nice picture of you and your Mom. I also liked the clip of the train going by. I'm glad you are getting out on some awesome hikes (including the ice caves last week), and I also liked your post late last night in FB Stories, of the impromptu concert with your neighbors. That was really cool, and I'm glad they like Bad Company. :)
I wish my neighbors liked Bad Company, or any classic rock n' roll instead of disco!
But yeah, that's great that you have musically talented neighbors, and they can say the same thing about you, in spades. :):)
It's Sunday afternoon and I am writing from home. We had good singin' in church. I got to do a mini-solo during our anthem, just a couple of lines but it was fun. Now I'm getting ready to head up to Aliso or maybe Chatsworth Park. I'll see you tonight at the Usual Time.
Tons and tons of love! xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo :):)
Friday, February 21, 2020
"This Gun For Hire" starring Alan Ladd, Veronica Lake and Robert Preston + Elizabeth
Tonight I saw a fantastic Noir called "This Gun For Hire"(1942) starring Alan Ladd, Veronica Lake and Robert Preston. Man, was it ever Hard Boiled! I can't believe I'd never heard of it before, but anyway, Ladd - in his motion picture debut - stars as a tougher-than-nails hitman who's been contracted to take out a blackmailer on behalf of Laird Cregar, the suave, plus size villain in such classics as "The Lodger" and "Hangover Square". Cregar was a great actor and original screen presence who unfortunately only lived to be 30. He is 28 in this movie, a year younger than Alan Ladd, but he looks much older. Cregar is terrific as the middleman in the payoff scheme. After Ladd shoots the blackmailer, Cregar double-crosses him by paying him in marked bills, then reporting him to the police as a thief who has stolen the money from the payroll department where Cregar works : a chemical factory that makes poison gas for the Defense Department.
You're gonna hafta pay attention here, because this is One Convoluted Plot.
Cregar works as an executive at the chemical factory, second in charge to the owner, a Snivelling Old Fogey in a space age wheelchair played by actor Tully Marshall, whom we've mentioned before as possibly The Oldest Actor We've Encountered (born in 1864). In fact it was Tully Marshall who was actually the target of the blackmailer; Laird Cregar was merely his go-between, the guy who hired Alan Ladd to get rid of him. Laird Cregar also has a side business. He owns a fancy nightclub, which is his real enjoyment in life. He makes enough dough as a chemical exec to pursue his nightclub interest almost full time, and in that pursuit he meets Veronica Lake, a talented magician with a dazzling act. She also sings and is quite beautiful, so Cregar hires her on the spot to perform at his club. What he doesn't know is that Lake - a sharp cookie - has been recruited by a U.S. Senator to spy on Cregar and Marshall, who the government suspects of a treasonous plot involving their chemical products. Keep in mind that a war is on (WW2), and that there were US companies in real life that were investigated for "trading with the enemy". In the movie, what Cregar and Marshall are doing is even worse. Veronica Lake will use her charm and magic skills to get close to Cregar, but by sheer screenwriter's chance, she also winds up next to Alan Ladd. They meet on a train (where else), and each discovers the other is connected to Cregar. Besides being a hitman, Ladd is basically a sociopath who talks with his mouth closed - probably because he gargles with razor blades - and is on a mission to "pay back" Laird Cregar for framing him with the marked bills. He also wants to find the man Cregar has been working for, which is of course the senile Tully Marshall in a great role near the end of his long career.
So, if you've been following so far, you now have Veronica Lake and Alan Ladd teaming up, for different reasons, to shut down the treasonous chemical operation of Marshall and Cregar. In addition to all of this, there is a police detective on the case (Robert Preston), whose involvement was instigated by Cregar, when he tried to frame Alan Ladd for the payroll robbery. Preston is now on the case, trying to track down Ladd while at the same time discovering that Lake - his girlfriend! - is involved with the hitman.
Man, I hope you can follow all of this. Better you should just see the movie. When we talk about jam packed scripts of 90 minutes or less, this is a prime example. "This Gun For Hire" runs 81 minutes, and there are characters and subthemes I haven't had time to mention. Holy smokes was this ever the watershed era of screenwriting.
Alan Ladd is terrifying as the cold blooded killer "Raven", who we find out was horribly abused as a child, adding some psychodrama to the story. Ladd had a very hard life in reality, and died at 50 of a drug overdose, after a successful career playing remote tough guys in Noirs and Westerns. His son Alan Ladd Jr. became one of the greatest executives and producers in motion picture history, heading up 20th Century Fox and MGM for a time, and having a hand in gigantic movies from the first "Star Wars" to "Alien" and "Braveheart".
Veronica Lake, a great actress who we loved in such varied fare as "I Married A Witch" and "So Proudly We Hail" was - like Alan Ladd (and so many others) - a tragic figure in real life. Like Ladd, she also died at 50, from alcoholism. But she's perfect here as the classy magician who just happens to be a spy. And, she is only twenty years old! Lake was one of the true greats, as intelligent as she was beautiful.
Robert Preston could do it all, from comedy to musicals to Noir. With his Tailored Moustache, he looks tougher here than we're used to seeing him, but then he is playing a gumshoe. And he has to deal with Ladd, a total psycho.
So you've got a great cast, you've got a very complex story, you've got extra characters I haven't mentioned, you've got some dark-cornered b&w photography, and, as a special bonus, you've got some very cool location photography in Downtown Los Angeles in 1942, mostly near the trainyards and also inside an old factory that is spectacularly lit up.
"This Gun For Hire" is one of the best Noirs I've seen. I can't recommend it highly enough, therefore it gets my highest rating : Two Gigantic Thumbs Up. ////
Speaking of intelligence and beauty, Elizabeth, are you there? Even though the clip was brief, I was glad to see you playing your guitar on FB yesterday. I'm referring to your post in the "story" section. Am I to assume it means you are writing more songs? I hope so, of course. That is a very nice guitar you have. I want to eventually acquire a nylon string acoustic for myself. I've gotten pretty good at adjusting to the Dupuytren's condition in my hands, and in some respects I can play better than before believe it or not. I can't play barre chords anymore, but it's forced me to focus on smaller voicings and two or three string combinations, so I've gotten to know the neck a lot better as a result. And like you, I enjoy fingerpicking. If you are working on a batch of songs, I definitely can't wait to hear 'em! I liked your picture with the Civil War piano, too, taken by your brother. I seem to recall a similar photo that you posted a few years ago, maybe it was the same one, but I think it had that piano in it. :):)
I am glad as always to see all of the awesome things you are doing and/or working on. I've gotta start posting some pictures, too; I haven't even started a 2020 photo album yet on FB. The year started off on the wrong foot, you might say, and things were pretty hectic there for a while, but I hope to get out on some Santa Clarita hikes soon, where the scenery is more abundant (and less photographed by me, haha).
Well, that's all for now. I'm gonna head out to the store for chips, salsa (the necessities, lol) and other supplies, and then maybe to Aliso. See you tonight at the Usual Time.
Tons of love! xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo :):)
You're gonna hafta pay attention here, because this is One Convoluted Plot.
Cregar works as an executive at the chemical factory, second in charge to the owner, a Snivelling Old Fogey in a space age wheelchair played by actor Tully Marshall, whom we've mentioned before as possibly The Oldest Actor We've Encountered (born in 1864). In fact it was Tully Marshall who was actually the target of the blackmailer; Laird Cregar was merely his go-between, the guy who hired Alan Ladd to get rid of him. Laird Cregar also has a side business. He owns a fancy nightclub, which is his real enjoyment in life. He makes enough dough as a chemical exec to pursue his nightclub interest almost full time, and in that pursuit he meets Veronica Lake, a talented magician with a dazzling act. She also sings and is quite beautiful, so Cregar hires her on the spot to perform at his club. What he doesn't know is that Lake - a sharp cookie - has been recruited by a U.S. Senator to spy on Cregar and Marshall, who the government suspects of a treasonous plot involving their chemical products. Keep in mind that a war is on (WW2), and that there were US companies in real life that were investigated for "trading with the enemy". In the movie, what Cregar and Marshall are doing is even worse. Veronica Lake will use her charm and magic skills to get close to Cregar, but by sheer screenwriter's chance, she also winds up next to Alan Ladd. They meet on a train (where else), and each discovers the other is connected to Cregar. Besides being a hitman, Ladd is basically a sociopath who talks with his mouth closed - probably because he gargles with razor blades - and is on a mission to "pay back" Laird Cregar for framing him with the marked bills. He also wants to find the man Cregar has been working for, which is of course the senile Tully Marshall in a great role near the end of his long career.
So, if you've been following so far, you now have Veronica Lake and Alan Ladd teaming up, for different reasons, to shut down the treasonous chemical operation of Marshall and Cregar. In addition to all of this, there is a police detective on the case (Robert Preston), whose involvement was instigated by Cregar, when he tried to frame Alan Ladd for the payroll robbery. Preston is now on the case, trying to track down Ladd while at the same time discovering that Lake - his girlfriend! - is involved with the hitman.
Man, I hope you can follow all of this. Better you should just see the movie. When we talk about jam packed scripts of 90 minutes or less, this is a prime example. "This Gun For Hire" runs 81 minutes, and there are characters and subthemes I haven't had time to mention. Holy smokes was this ever the watershed era of screenwriting.
Alan Ladd is terrifying as the cold blooded killer "Raven", who we find out was horribly abused as a child, adding some psychodrama to the story. Ladd had a very hard life in reality, and died at 50 of a drug overdose, after a successful career playing remote tough guys in Noirs and Westerns. His son Alan Ladd Jr. became one of the greatest executives and producers in motion picture history, heading up 20th Century Fox and MGM for a time, and having a hand in gigantic movies from the first "Star Wars" to "Alien" and "Braveheart".
Veronica Lake, a great actress who we loved in such varied fare as "I Married A Witch" and "So Proudly We Hail" was - like Alan Ladd (and so many others) - a tragic figure in real life. Like Ladd, she also died at 50, from alcoholism. But she's perfect here as the classy magician who just happens to be a spy. And, she is only twenty years old! Lake was one of the true greats, as intelligent as she was beautiful.
Robert Preston could do it all, from comedy to musicals to Noir. With his Tailored Moustache, he looks tougher here than we're used to seeing him, but then he is playing a gumshoe. And he has to deal with Ladd, a total psycho.
So you've got a great cast, you've got a very complex story, you've got extra characters I haven't mentioned, you've got some dark-cornered b&w photography, and, as a special bonus, you've got some very cool location photography in Downtown Los Angeles in 1942, mostly near the trainyards and also inside an old factory that is spectacularly lit up.
"This Gun For Hire" is one of the best Noirs I've seen. I can't recommend it highly enough, therefore it gets my highest rating : Two Gigantic Thumbs Up. ////
Speaking of intelligence and beauty, Elizabeth, are you there? Even though the clip was brief, I was glad to see you playing your guitar on FB yesterday. I'm referring to your post in the "story" section. Am I to assume it means you are writing more songs? I hope so, of course. That is a very nice guitar you have. I want to eventually acquire a nylon string acoustic for myself. I've gotten pretty good at adjusting to the Dupuytren's condition in my hands, and in some respects I can play better than before believe it or not. I can't play barre chords anymore, but it's forced me to focus on smaller voicings and two or three string combinations, so I've gotten to know the neck a lot better as a result. And like you, I enjoy fingerpicking. If you are working on a batch of songs, I definitely can't wait to hear 'em! I liked your picture with the Civil War piano, too, taken by your brother. I seem to recall a similar photo that you posted a few years ago, maybe it was the same one, but I think it had that piano in it. :):)
I am glad as always to see all of the awesome things you are doing and/or working on. I've gotta start posting some pictures, too; I haven't even started a 2020 photo album yet on FB. The year started off on the wrong foot, you might say, and things were pretty hectic there for a while, but I hope to get out on some Santa Clarita hikes soon, where the scenery is more abundant (and less photographed by me, haha).
Well, that's all for now. I'm gonna head out to the store for chips, salsa (the necessities, lol) and other supplies, and then maybe to Aliso. See you tonight at the Usual Time.
Tons of love! xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo :):)
Thursday, February 20, 2020
Bits & Pieces : "1917", "M.A.S.H.", Music, Bernie
This afternoon I went to the Granada Hills theater to see "1917". Have you seen it? I'm guessing you have. I thought it was tremendous in every respect, one of the greatest war movies I've ever seen. I also thought it should've won Best Picture, and that George MacKay, who played Lance Corporal Schofield, should've gotten a Best Actor nomination. He was brilliant, and his run across the battlefield at the picture's end will go down as one of the great scenes in movie history. I was speechless at the end, and would've been even if I hadn't been by myself, haha.
This evening Grimsley came over with another war movie : "M.A.S.H."(1970), also a classic but in an entirely different way. You've probably seen it, too, and if not you've certainly seen the tv series, so you know it's a farce, and with Robert Altman at the helm you know it's gonna be ad-libbed to a certain extent. Altman is kinda hit-or-miss with me because of his freewheeling style. I actually prefer his television work where he had to be more focused. He directed several episodes of "Combat", for instance, that are all excellent. So he was capable of good work, no doubt, and technically he was an expert filmmaker. I hadn't previously seen "M.A.S.H." the movie, and I did enjoy it overall, but I felt there were certain aspects of it that could've been reigned in, such as the overlong football game at the end, which feels like it's in a different movie. I also thought that Altman could've sharpened Donald Sutherland's performance. Sutherland is a good actor, but here it just feels like he's goofing off a lot of the time. I know his character Hawkeye is supposed to be irreverant, but I think Sutherland overdid it. Altman should've pulled him back, but he's known for letting his actors have free reign, one of the reasons why he is not my favorite director. All in all, though, I liked the movie. It was inventive of Altman to intercut the very bloody and chaotic operating scenes with the general comedic mayhem that was taking place in the camp. It showed, very dramatically, the deadly serious nature of the M.A.S.H. surgeons' work. Altman cuts to it without any warning, which dovetails with the real life situation of the war; the doctors never know when a new batch of casualties is coming in.
Two Thumbs Up, therefore, for "M.A.S.H." the movie. Flawed or not, it's a revered comedy classic. Make sure to see it if you haven't. ////
I've been trying to listen to more music now that I'm having extra time off. Right now, I'm trying to concentrate on an album a day. So far, on successive days, I've listened to each of the three CDs in the King Crimson live album, "Radical Action To Unseat The Hold Of Monkey Mind". I can't believe how great the playing is on this set, which includes every song KC played live on their 2015 tour. The sound is as phenomenal as you'd expect, you can hear every instrument separately. I'd put it up there with "Live Dates" by Wishbone Ash, "Unleashed In The East" by Judas Priest and "Made In Japan" by Deep Purple as one of the greatest live albums of all time. I've also listened to "From The Trees" by Peter Hammill, a masterpiece of a solo album by him, released in 2017. Then yesterday I listened to "Shiny Reflector" by Bill Nelson, chock full of lovely guitar-based music. I have so many CDs that I bought and then only listened to once or twice, because I've been so busy with my job for the last ten years, so right now I'm looking through my collection and trying to catch up.
Finally, I hate to get political but I'm very dismayed by what looks like the Democrats' headlong plunge into disaster, by allowing Bernie Sanders to run away with the nomination. I'm sorry, folks, but Bernie is all hot air and anger. America is never gonna elect a Socialist, and he will get creamed by Trump in the general election. I know the Bernie Bros don't care about this. They are the flip side of the Trump base, in that they will stick with their guy no matter how big an a-hole he is. But the thing with the Trumpers is that he's proven he can win. Bernie can't. A vote for him now is a guarantee of four more years of Trump. Here is an article (from 2017) on The Bern that is right on the money. Again, sorry if you're a fan of his, but I don't like the guy, so read it and weep for 2020. You might have to copy and paste the link because I don't think it will be clickable when it appears on the blog.
https://democracyguardian.com/bernie-sanders-the-useless-politician-ba3d895a0572
Anyway, that's all for now. I will see you tonight at The Usual Time.
Tons and tons of love! xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo :):)
This evening Grimsley came over with another war movie : "M.A.S.H."(1970), also a classic but in an entirely different way. You've probably seen it, too, and if not you've certainly seen the tv series, so you know it's a farce, and with Robert Altman at the helm you know it's gonna be ad-libbed to a certain extent. Altman is kinda hit-or-miss with me because of his freewheeling style. I actually prefer his television work where he had to be more focused. He directed several episodes of "Combat", for instance, that are all excellent. So he was capable of good work, no doubt, and technically he was an expert filmmaker. I hadn't previously seen "M.A.S.H." the movie, and I did enjoy it overall, but I felt there were certain aspects of it that could've been reigned in, such as the overlong football game at the end, which feels like it's in a different movie. I also thought that Altman could've sharpened Donald Sutherland's performance. Sutherland is a good actor, but here it just feels like he's goofing off a lot of the time. I know his character Hawkeye is supposed to be irreverant, but I think Sutherland overdid it. Altman should've pulled him back, but he's known for letting his actors have free reign, one of the reasons why he is not my favorite director. All in all, though, I liked the movie. It was inventive of Altman to intercut the very bloody and chaotic operating scenes with the general comedic mayhem that was taking place in the camp. It showed, very dramatically, the deadly serious nature of the M.A.S.H. surgeons' work. Altman cuts to it without any warning, which dovetails with the real life situation of the war; the doctors never know when a new batch of casualties is coming in.
Two Thumbs Up, therefore, for "M.A.S.H." the movie. Flawed or not, it's a revered comedy classic. Make sure to see it if you haven't. ////
I've been trying to listen to more music now that I'm having extra time off. Right now, I'm trying to concentrate on an album a day. So far, on successive days, I've listened to each of the three CDs in the King Crimson live album, "Radical Action To Unseat The Hold Of Monkey Mind". I can't believe how great the playing is on this set, which includes every song KC played live on their 2015 tour. The sound is as phenomenal as you'd expect, you can hear every instrument separately. I'd put it up there with "Live Dates" by Wishbone Ash, "Unleashed In The East" by Judas Priest and "Made In Japan" by Deep Purple as one of the greatest live albums of all time. I've also listened to "From The Trees" by Peter Hammill, a masterpiece of a solo album by him, released in 2017. Then yesterday I listened to "Shiny Reflector" by Bill Nelson, chock full of lovely guitar-based music. I have so many CDs that I bought and then only listened to once or twice, because I've been so busy with my job for the last ten years, so right now I'm looking through my collection and trying to catch up.
Finally, I hate to get political but I'm very dismayed by what looks like the Democrats' headlong plunge into disaster, by allowing Bernie Sanders to run away with the nomination. I'm sorry, folks, but Bernie is all hot air and anger. America is never gonna elect a Socialist, and he will get creamed by Trump in the general election. I know the Bernie Bros don't care about this. They are the flip side of the Trump base, in that they will stick with their guy no matter how big an a-hole he is. But the thing with the Trumpers is that he's proven he can win. Bernie can't. A vote for him now is a guarantee of four more years of Trump. Here is an article (from 2017) on The Bern that is right on the money. Again, sorry if you're a fan of his, but I don't like the guy, so read it and weep for 2020. You might have to copy and paste the link because I don't think it will be clickable when it appears on the blog.
https://democracyguardian.com/bernie-sanders-the-useless-politician-ba3d895a0572
Anyway, that's all for now. I will see you tonight at The Usual Time.
Tons and tons of love! xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo :):)
Wednesday, February 19, 2020
"Woman Walks Ahead" starring Jessica Chastain, Michael Greyeyes and Sam Rockwell
Tonight's movie was "Woman Walks Ahead"(2017), a historical Western/biopic about a painter from New York named Catherine Weldon who went to South Dakota in 1890, in search of the legendary Lakota Chief Sitting Bull. Weldon had made a name for herself painting portraits of politicians. She was also an admirer of Western Landscape artist George Catlin, and it was his work that inspired her to travel by herself, at a time when women never did so, to Sioux country, in order to meet the famous Chief and ask him to sit for her. Jessica Chastain stars as Weldon, and as the movie opens we see her riding a train to South Dakota. A tough looking soldier (Sam Rockwell) notices she is alone and quizzes her on why she is out in the middle of nowhere. "The only stop out this way is the Standing Rock Reservation. You wouldn't be headed there, now would you"? She tells him the truth, that she is an artist looking to paint Sitting Bull, but Rockwell doesn't believe her. He accuses her of being an agitator, a New York liberal who is out to stir up trouble among the Indians.
Rockwell is an agent for the U.S. Army who is trying to broker a land swap treaty with the various Lakota tribes. He is the spokesman for Washington DC. They want the Lakota people to agree to give up their land in the Dakota Territory in exchange for money and supplies. Rockwell is hoping to seal the deal at an upcoming meeting with the tribes, so he is not happy to see this East Coast woman trying to gain access to the ex-warrior Sitting Bull, who had fought General Custer so furiously at Little Big Horn, but who is now in seclusion at Standing Rock, raising potatoes in the dirt. "The Bull" has been subdued; Rockwell doesn't want this woman trying to reawaken him. He convinces the Colonel headquartered at the reservation to have her kicked out, however, she finds an ally in the Colonel's adjutant, an Americanized Indian in an Army uniform. This soldier, named Chaska, just so happens to be the nephew of Sitting Bull. He secretly wants the treaty to fail, so he takes Weldon out to meet the great man, when he's supposed to be running her off the reservation.
From there the plot takes off, only it's not a plot but a historical tale. At least it's supposed to be. Weldon meets Sitting Bull, who demands a thousand bucks for his portrait. Bull has been schooled in the ways of capitalism and has even done a tour in New York with Buffalo Bill's Wild West Show. He's also a macho Indian chief who at first wants to show the white woman her proper place, which is in deference to him. But as he gets to know her, he's impressed with Weldon's independent streak and begins to treat her as an equal. In fact, they form a friendship bordering on love.
During all of this, the Army is still trying to push their treaty through. They need enough Indian votes for ratification (as an aside, this detail is said to be historically inaccurate). Weldon has so far stayed out of the politics of the matter, but when Washington announces that the Indians' monthly rations of food are to be cut in half, in order to force them to sign the treaty, her blood boils. She goes to the bank and withdraws enough money to pay for the food by herself. This enrages the local townsfolk, who are bitter about their losses in the Indian Wars and want the Sioux off the land. This is to be a turning point in the film, and I really shouldn't tell you any more.
There are two factions on the Army side, however. One is represented by Rockwell the agent from Washington, which wants the treaty signed as soon as possible to serve two purposes: getting the Lakota off the property and avoiding another war. The other faction is headed up by one man, General Crook (a real life person), who has actually fought Sitting Bull in the wars of the past and has great respect for him, and for the Indian way of life. General Crook won't commit his position, but he seems to be against the treaty and in favor of allowing the Lakota tribes to continue to live in peace at their ancestral home. General Crook has seen the worst violence both sides are capable of, and wants peace.
At least he seems to.
Sitting Bull is against assimilation also, but wants peace. And, he has a fateful vision of the future.
I enjoyed "Woman Walks Ahead", though it wasn't what I was expecting. I thought I was getting more of an adventure film, an "out on the dusty trail" type of Western, but for the most part it was very much a political/ideological dialogue instead. It's really Sitting Bull's film, and should've been titled after him I think. Michael Greyeyes shines as the Chief. Jessica Chastain is quite good as always, but doesn't have much to do except react to what is going on around her. All of the decisions are controlled by the men, except when she purchases the food. That one choice, however, greatly impacts the plot, so I suppose she does "walk ahead" in that sense. Some of the story seems a little heavy handed or over dramatised, a minor complaint on my part, but you know what I'm talking about - this is a very liberal film with it's heart on it's sleeve. To be fair, however, the director Susanna White doesn't demonise the Army as you might expect. She presents the atrocities on both sides, and she gives us what was said to be the real Sitting Bull, a leader of high integrity who nonetheless had come to like money and a little bit of celebrity.
The film is beautifully shot on location in New Mexico, standing in for South Dakota. It's a little slow in places and overly talky, but all in all it tells the story of the Dawes Treaty from all sides. The treaty attempt led up to something historic, which you will discover for yourself at the film's powerful conclusion.
Two Solid Thumbs Up for "Woman Walks Ahead", with a great performance by Michael Greyeyes as noted. Sam Rockwell too, is good as always. ////
That's all for now. It's Wednesday morning, an early writing time for me. I am just about to head over to Pearl's for my new afternoon shift. I'll be back around 6pm and I'll see you back here later tonight at the Usual Time. Have a great day!
Tons of love. xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo :):)
Rockwell is an agent for the U.S. Army who is trying to broker a land swap treaty with the various Lakota tribes. He is the spokesman for Washington DC. They want the Lakota people to agree to give up their land in the Dakota Territory in exchange for money and supplies. Rockwell is hoping to seal the deal at an upcoming meeting with the tribes, so he is not happy to see this East Coast woman trying to gain access to the ex-warrior Sitting Bull, who had fought General Custer so furiously at Little Big Horn, but who is now in seclusion at Standing Rock, raising potatoes in the dirt. "The Bull" has been subdued; Rockwell doesn't want this woman trying to reawaken him. He convinces the Colonel headquartered at the reservation to have her kicked out, however, she finds an ally in the Colonel's adjutant, an Americanized Indian in an Army uniform. This soldier, named Chaska, just so happens to be the nephew of Sitting Bull. He secretly wants the treaty to fail, so he takes Weldon out to meet the great man, when he's supposed to be running her off the reservation.
From there the plot takes off, only it's not a plot but a historical tale. At least it's supposed to be. Weldon meets Sitting Bull, who demands a thousand bucks for his portrait. Bull has been schooled in the ways of capitalism and has even done a tour in New York with Buffalo Bill's Wild West Show. He's also a macho Indian chief who at first wants to show the white woman her proper place, which is in deference to him. But as he gets to know her, he's impressed with Weldon's independent streak and begins to treat her as an equal. In fact, they form a friendship bordering on love.
During all of this, the Army is still trying to push their treaty through. They need enough Indian votes for ratification (as an aside, this detail is said to be historically inaccurate). Weldon has so far stayed out of the politics of the matter, but when Washington announces that the Indians' monthly rations of food are to be cut in half, in order to force them to sign the treaty, her blood boils. She goes to the bank and withdraws enough money to pay for the food by herself. This enrages the local townsfolk, who are bitter about their losses in the Indian Wars and want the Sioux off the land. This is to be a turning point in the film, and I really shouldn't tell you any more.
There are two factions on the Army side, however. One is represented by Rockwell the agent from Washington, which wants the treaty signed as soon as possible to serve two purposes: getting the Lakota off the property and avoiding another war. The other faction is headed up by one man, General Crook (a real life person), who has actually fought Sitting Bull in the wars of the past and has great respect for him, and for the Indian way of life. General Crook won't commit his position, but he seems to be against the treaty and in favor of allowing the Lakota tribes to continue to live in peace at their ancestral home. General Crook has seen the worst violence both sides are capable of, and wants peace.
At least he seems to.
Sitting Bull is against assimilation also, but wants peace. And, he has a fateful vision of the future.
I enjoyed "Woman Walks Ahead", though it wasn't what I was expecting. I thought I was getting more of an adventure film, an "out on the dusty trail" type of Western, but for the most part it was very much a political/ideological dialogue instead. It's really Sitting Bull's film, and should've been titled after him I think. Michael Greyeyes shines as the Chief. Jessica Chastain is quite good as always, but doesn't have much to do except react to what is going on around her. All of the decisions are controlled by the men, except when she purchases the food. That one choice, however, greatly impacts the plot, so I suppose she does "walk ahead" in that sense. Some of the story seems a little heavy handed or over dramatised, a minor complaint on my part, but you know what I'm talking about - this is a very liberal film with it's heart on it's sleeve. To be fair, however, the director Susanna White doesn't demonise the Army as you might expect. She presents the atrocities on both sides, and she gives us what was said to be the real Sitting Bull, a leader of high integrity who nonetheless had come to like money and a little bit of celebrity.
The film is beautifully shot on location in New Mexico, standing in for South Dakota. It's a little slow in places and overly talky, but all in all it tells the story of the Dawes Treaty from all sides. The treaty attempt led up to something historic, which you will discover for yourself at the film's powerful conclusion.
Two Solid Thumbs Up for "Woman Walks Ahead", with a great performance by Michael Greyeyes as noted. Sam Rockwell too, is good as always. ////
That's all for now. It's Wednesday morning, an early writing time for me. I am just about to head over to Pearl's for my new afternoon shift. I'll be back around 6pm and I'll see you back here later tonight at the Usual Time. Have a great day!
Tons of love. xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo :):)
Tuesday, February 18, 2020
"Black Girl" by director Ousmane Sembene
Tonight I watched a movie called "Black Girl"(1966), made by Senegalese director Ousmane Sembene. Now there's a first - we haven't had a movie from Senegal before. I found it on the Foreign Films rack at Northridge Libe. It was released by Criterion, so I decided to check it out. "Black Girl" is the story of a young woman from Dakar named Diouana (played by Mbissine Therese Diop). Diouana lives in a slum on the outskirts of the city, which is modern due to French colonization. A high rise apartment complex houses mostly French expats. Diouana is looking for a job as a maid, so she goes to the building and eventually is hired by a 30ish white woman (Anne Marie Jelinek) who hails from Antibes on the French Riviera. The woman wants Diouana to be a nanny to her three children, which she does for a while while the woman and her husband are based in Dakar. There is no mention of the occupations of the French couple, but it is likely they are related somehow to the former colonial government. Neither seems to work, so perhaps they are second generation heirs living in Senegal on a stipend. But they plan to move back to France, and Diouana is exited because she will be going with them. This is where the movie starts, actually, when the husband meets Diouana at the Nice airport. All the Dakar stuff is told in flashback.
Diouana is thrilled to be in France. She's heard all about the Riviera and can't wait to visit Cannes and the beaches, to shop at French boutiques with the money she will earn. She cuts a striking figure upon her arrival at the airport, dressed as fashionably as any Parisian woman in in clothing given to her by her new boss, whom she calls "Madame". She will continue to care for Madame's children, which she is good at, and in her off hours she will explore and soak up French culture. She was raised to respect it, after all. As a child, her country was still under French rule.
Diouana's expectations are high, but as soon as she get to Antibes, and the home of the French couple, Madame changes her duties. Now she wants Diouana to be her maid, to cook and clean. The children are nowhere in sight, having been shipped off to stay with a relative. Madame works Diouana's fingers to the bone every day, and scolds her for sleeping late, even though she's exhausted. She orders Diouana not to wear her nice dresses and high heel shoes, even though it was Madame herself who gave her the clothes. "You're a maid! Dress like one"! she yells at Diouana, who is getting a whole new impression of Madame. Before, when they were in Senegal, Madame was kind and generous, but now Diouana sees that was just a ploy to lure her back to France. Now that she's there, in the couple's home and in a foreign country, she's trapped. Madame has shown her true colors, which are those of a World Class Bitch who treats Diouana like a slave. She won't let her leave the house except to go to the market, and she calls Diouana "lazy", with all the racial implications that go with it. Madame's husband is nice enough, but he's an alcoholic who won't intervene on Diouana's behalf. Madame's friends come over for dinner and compliment Diouana's cooking, but in a backhanded way, as if she isn't there. They see her as a curiosity, something exotic to be remarked upon and critiqued. Madame smiles in front of them, as if she is proud of herself for showing Diouana how white people live.
Eventually, Diouana will tire of Madame's treatment of her, and will resolve to get out from under the woman's thumb. The husband pays her full wages in a lump sum, so she's got the money to return to Senegal if she chooses. But will she?
You'll have to see for yourself, of course.
"Black Girl" runs a mere 59 minutes (which we love because Short Movies Rule), but in this case, as opposed to the 60-75 minute Hollywood films we've watched and reviewed, there isn't much happening in the script. Other than the flashbacks from Dakar, we basically see Diouana doing her household chores while Madame sits around smoking cigarettes and complaining. Also - and this is important - while Madame is indeed a bitch, she's not entirely unfair with Diouana, who does have a bit of an attitude right off the bat. Madame does make the occasional attempt to communicate with Diouana, even if it's insincere. I mention this because a) there's not much else happening in this movie, and b) because the director paints the issue of "Madame vs. Diouana" in black & white, both literally and figuratively, when a few shades of grey would've made things more realistic in my opinion.
Still, it's an involving story, and the photography is fantastic, as is Sembene's choice of imagery. He has a unique sense of what to show us at any given moment, which gives his movie an abstract quality. Most of the time, however, he is focused on Miss Diop as Diouana. With her angular face and lithe body, she has the look of a Nubian Princess who should be no one's doormat, and she knows it too. If only Sembene could have explored her feelings more deeply, or developed her relationship with Madame beyond a basic level, he might've had a classic movie on his hands. Instead, he's got an interesting art film that feels unfinished.
Still, I give it Two Solid Thumbs Up, for the photography and Miss Diop's performance, and I also recommend you see it. It is a unique little film, that's for sure. ////
It's now Tuesday evening and I'm at home, so I'll be watching another film in just a little while. Right now I'm gonna read for a bit. I'm still working on my 9/11 book by David Icke, and also a new one by Dr. Farrell called "McCarthy, Marshall and The Other International", which is about corruption and Communism in the Roosevelt Administration, and the probability that Pearl Harbor was a LIHOP situation (meaning they "Let It Happen On Purpose"), just like 9/11.
That's all for the moment. See you later tonight at the Usual Time.
Tons of love! xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo :):)
Diouana is thrilled to be in France. She's heard all about the Riviera and can't wait to visit Cannes and the beaches, to shop at French boutiques with the money she will earn. She cuts a striking figure upon her arrival at the airport, dressed as fashionably as any Parisian woman in in clothing given to her by her new boss, whom she calls "Madame". She will continue to care for Madame's children, which she is good at, and in her off hours she will explore and soak up French culture. She was raised to respect it, after all. As a child, her country was still under French rule.
Diouana's expectations are high, but as soon as she get to Antibes, and the home of the French couple, Madame changes her duties. Now she wants Diouana to be her maid, to cook and clean. The children are nowhere in sight, having been shipped off to stay with a relative. Madame works Diouana's fingers to the bone every day, and scolds her for sleeping late, even though she's exhausted. She orders Diouana not to wear her nice dresses and high heel shoes, even though it was Madame herself who gave her the clothes. "You're a maid! Dress like one"! she yells at Diouana, who is getting a whole new impression of Madame. Before, when they were in Senegal, Madame was kind and generous, but now Diouana sees that was just a ploy to lure her back to France. Now that she's there, in the couple's home and in a foreign country, she's trapped. Madame has shown her true colors, which are those of a World Class Bitch who treats Diouana like a slave. She won't let her leave the house except to go to the market, and she calls Diouana "lazy", with all the racial implications that go with it. Madame's husband is nice enough, but he's an alcoholic who won't intervene on Diouana's behalf. Madame's friends come over for dinner and compliment Diouana's cooking, but in a backhanded way, as if she isn't there. They see her as a curiosity, something exotic to be remarked upon and critiqued. Madame smiles in front of them, as if she is proud of herself for showing Diouana how white people live.
Eventually, Diouana will tire of Madame's treatment of her, and will resolve to get out from under the woman's thumb. The husband pays her full wages in a lump sum, so she's got the money to return to Senegal if she chooses. But will she?
You'll have to see for yourself, of course.
"Black Girl" runs a mere 59 minutes (which we love because Short Movies Rule), but in this case, as opposed to the 60-75 minute Hollywood films we've watched and reviewed, there isn't much happening in the script. Other than the flashbacks from Dakar, we basically see Diouana doing her household chores while Madame sits around smoking cigarettes and complaining. Also - and this is important - while Madame is indeed a bitch, she's not entirely unfair with Diouana, who does have a bit of an attitude right off the bat. Madame does make the occasional attempt to communicate with Diouana, even if it's insincere. I mention this because a) there's not much else happening in this movie, and b) because the director paints the issue of "Madame vs. Diouana" in black & white, both literally and figuratively, when a few shades of grey would've made things more realistic in my opinion.
Still, it's an involving story, and the photography is fantastic, as is Sembene's choice of imagery. He has a unique sense of what to show us at any given moment, which gives his movie an abstract quality. Most of the time, however, he is focused on Miss Diop as Diouana. With her angular face and lithe body, she has the look of a Nubian Princess who should be no one's doormat, and she knows it too. If only Sembene could have explored her feelings more deeply, or developed her relationship with Madame beyond a basic level, he might've had a classic movie on his hands. Instead, he's got an interesting art film that feels unfinished.
Still, I give it Two Solid Thumbs Up, for the photography and Miss Diop's performance, and I also recommend you see it. It is a unique little film, that's for sure. ////
It's now Tuesday evening and I'm at home, so I'll be watching another film in just a little while. Right now I'm gonna read for a bit. I'm still working on my 9/11 book by David Icke, and also a new one by Dr. Farrell called "McCarthy, Marshall and The Other International", which is about corruption and Communism in the Roosevelt Administration, and the probability that Pearl Harbor was a LIHOP situation (meaning they "Let It Happen On Purpose"), just like 9/11.
That's all for the moment. See you later tonight at the Usual Time.
Tons of love! xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo :):)
Monday, February 17, 2020
"The Story of Temple Drake" starring Miriam Hopkins
Tonight I watched a pre-code shocker entitled "The Story of Temple Drake"(1933), starring Miriam Hopkins in the title role. Temple is the daughter of a judge in the town of Dixon, located somewhere down South. She's a wild child, and man crazy, but has retained enough of her conservative upbringing to know how to say no. In other words, she's a tease. Still, all the guys in town want to date her and she loves the attention, often staying out until four in the morning, much to the chagrin of her father, who wants her to settle down and marry a young lawyer friend of his. Temple rejects this, telling her Dad she finds the man "too serious". Mostly what she wants is to party. Her real best friend (and favorite date) is a non-threatening alcoholic named Toddy Gowan (William Collier Jr.), who has a fast sports car and is always up for a good time.
One night, Temple and Toddy are out driving, in search of a party or speakeasy, anywhere they can get a drink, though both of them have already consumed plenty. As a side note, the movie was made in the year Prohibition was repealed, so it's not made clear whether or not "dry laws" were still in effect. Nevertheless, the partying pair are rarely short of booze, except on this this one night when they hit the road.
They are cruising out in the countryside (which appears to be somewhere near Topanga Canyon), and Toddy swerves off onto a dirt road, intending to take a shortcut. The photography in this scene is very advanced for 1933, giving a driver's eye view of his recklessness. We see the speedometer jump up to 60 as rows of trees rush by on either side, then suddenly the car veers off the track and crashes, as you knew it was gonna do, because Toddy is driving drunk.
Both he and Temple Drake are relatively unhurt, which is a small miracle, but their luck runs out right there on the spot, for a hoodlum is immediately on the scene. This is a short film (71 minutes, which we love) and so things have to happen fast. There's no explanation for why a shiny suited gangster would be out wandering the woods late at night, and come upon the scene of the accident moments after it occurs, but at any rate he's out there. He's wearing a black three piece suit, and he's got a teenaged kid with him who appears to be a country bumpkin. The kid in fact seems mentally retarded as they used to put it, though it's clear he isn't stupid. The gangster allows the kid to carry a rifle, and orders him to take the accident victims back to his hideout, a dilapidated old Southern mansion situated deep in the woods.
By now, Miriam Hopkins is sobering up in a hurry, because this is unknown territory for her. She is used to high society and situations she can control. Out here, she is being led into the middle of nowhere by a backwoodser who looks straight out of "Deliverance". He seems kind, as opposed to his gangster manager, but he will take her into a situation, inside the house, that is only a few steps removed from Texas Chainsaw territory. Suddenly, the racy and sexually confident Temple is at the mercy of a gang of redneck bootleggers, who may be inbred on top of it all. Three of them are big men, all drunk, who set their sights on Temple as soon as she's brought in. The retarded boy tries to protect her, as does the only woman on scene (Florence Eldridge in a picture-stealing role). She is a hard bitten and bitter moll to the head bootlegger (Irving Pichel), who in turn is controlled by the mysterious gangster (Jack LaRue).
This is extremely rough stuff for 1933, far beyond what we've seen even in the most daring of pre-code movies we've viewed to date. The rednecks will remove Toddy from the premises. His fate will be unknown, but more importantly this will leave Temple all alone in the custody of the rednecks and their gangster boss, who will eventually claim Temple for himself. I don't want to give too much away here, but let's say there will be a question of whether or not Temple has become affected by what later came to be called "Stockholm Syndrome, where a kidnap victim comes to empathise with his or her captors. This is what Patty Heart was accused of when she helped the SLA rob a bank.
What happens in the movie is that the gangster commits a crime for which Irving Pichel (the head redneck) is blamed. This leads to Pichel's arrest and trial, at which his lawyer will be, in a scriptwriter's twist, the young lawyer who wanted to marry Temple. Now Temple is in the fix of her life, because she knows the truth about the crime, which Pichel did not commit. But to reveal this truth, if she is called to testify, could cause her entire world to come crashing down, for she too is secretly implicated in something that I cannot reveal.
In fact, I really shouldn't tell you any more about the plot. It's a real potboiler, that's for sure, a Southern Gothic Sinfest adapted from a story by William Faulkner. Early actress Hopkins is exceptional as Temple. Hopkins was adventurous in her roles and showed real emotion onscreen at a time when most acting was affected or stylised due to proximity to the Silent era, when gestures spoke instead of dialogue. Miriam Hopkins hit the ground running in the sound era, and was very popular in the pre-code early 1930s. It is rumored that Bette Davis was jealous of her, and that it developed into a long standing feud between the two. Whatever the case, Miss Hopkins is fantastic as always, but as noted earlier, I think it is Florence Eldridge, as Irving Pichel's "wench", who steals the movie. Eldrige was an accomplished stage actress who was married for almost 50 years to the great Fredric March. Now there's a legendary duo for you.
The Criterion restoration on "The Story of Temple Drake" is one of the best I've seen. They must have had an excellent print or negative to work from, because the picture and sound are both pristine, as if you were watching the movie on opening night in 1933. I give it Two Huge Thumbs Up. It's a must see for pre-code fans, and is thus highly recommended. ////
That's all for now. It's Monday afternoon and I'm at home. Gonna head up to Aliso in a few minutes. I'll see you tonight at the Usual Time.
Tons of love, as always. xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo :):)
One night, Temple and Toddy are out driving, in search of a party or speakeasy, anywhere they can get a drink, though both of them have already consumed plenty. As a side note, the movie was made in the year Prohibition was repealed, so it's not made clear whether or not "dry laws" were still in effect. Nevertheless, the partying pair are rarely short of booze, except on this this one night when they hit the road.
They are cruising out in the countryside (which appears to be somewhere near Topanga Canyon), and Toddy swerves off onto a dirt road, intending to take a shortcut. The photography in this scene is very advanced for 1933, giving a driver's eye view of his recklessness. We see the speedometer jump up to 60 as rows of trees rush by on either side, then suddenly the car veers off the track and crashes, as you knew it was gonna do, because Toddy is driving drunk.
Both he and Temple Drake are relatively unhurt, which is a small miracle, but their luck runs out right there on the spot, for a hoodlum is immediately on the scene. This is a short film (71 minutes, which we love) and so things have to happen fast. There's no explanation for why a shiny suited gangster would be out wandering the woods late at night, and come upon the scene of the accident moments after it occurs, but at any rate he's out there. He's wearing a black three piece suit, and he's got a teenaged kid with him who appears to be a country bumpkin. The kid in fact seems mentally retarded as they used to put it, though it's clear he isn't stupid. The gangster allows the kid to carry a rifle, and orders him to take the accident victims back to his hideout, a dilapidated old Southern mansion situated deep in the woods.
By now, Miriam Hopkins is sobering up in a hurry, because this is unknown territory for her. She is used to high society and situations she can control. Out here, she is being led into the middle of nowhere by a backwoodser who looks straight out of "Deliverance". He seems kind, as opposed to his gangster manager, but he will take her into a situation, inside the house, that is only a few steps removed from Texas Chainsaw territory. Suddenly, the racy and sexually confident Temple is at the mercy of a gang of redneck bootleggers, who may be inbred on top of it all. Three of them are big men, all drunk, who set their sights on Temple as soon as she's brought in. The retarded boy tries to protect her, as does the only woman on scene (Florence Eldridge in a picture-stealing role). She is a hard bitten and bitter moll to the head bootlegger (Irving Pichel), who in turn is controlled by the mysterious gangster (Jack LaRue).
This is extremely rough stuff for 1933, far beyond what we've seen even in the most daring of pre-code movies we've viewed to date. The rednecks will remove Toddy from the premises. His fate will be unknown, but more importantly this will leave Temple all alone in the custody of the rednecks and their gangster boss, who will eventually claim Temple for himself. I don't want to give too much away here, but let's say there will be a question of whether or not Temple has become affected by what later came to be called "Stockholm Syndrome, where a kidnap victim comes to empathise with his or her captors. This is what Patty Heart was accused of when she helped the SLA rob a bank.
What happens in the movie is that the gangster commits a crime for which Irving Pichel (the head redneck) is blamed. This leads to Pichel's arrest and trial, at which his lawyer will be, in a scriptwriter's twist, the young lawyer who wanted to marry Temple. Now Temple is in the fix of her life, because she knows the truth about the crime, which Pichel did not commit. But to reveal this truth, if she is called to testify, could cause her entire world to come crashing down, for she too is secretly implicated in something that I cannot reveal.
In fact, I really shouldn't tell you any more about the plot. It's a real potboiler, that's for sure, a Southern Gothic Sinfest adapted from a story by William Faulkner. Early actress Hopkins is exceptional as Temple. Hopkins was adventurous in her roles and showed real emotion onscreen at a time when most acting was affected or stylised due to proximity to the Silent era, when gestures spoke instead of dialogue. Miriam Hopkins hit the ground running in the sound era, and was very popular in the pre-code early 1930s. It is rumored that Bette Davis was jealous of her, and that it developed into a long standing feud between the two. Whatever the case, Miss Hopkins is fantastic as always, but as noted earlier, I think it is Florence Eldridge, as Irving Pichel's "wench", who steals the movie. Eldrige was an accomplished stage actress who was married for almost 50 years to the great Fredric March. Now there's a legendary duo for you.
The Criterion restoration on "The Story of Temple Drake" is one of the best I've seen. They must have had an excellent print or negative to work from, because the picture and sound are both pristine, as if you were watching the movie on opening night in 1933. I give it Two Huge Thumbs Up. It's a must see for pre-code fans, and is thus highly recommended. ////
That's all for now. It's Monday afternoon and I'm at home. Gonna head up to Aliso in a few minutes. I'll see you tonight at the Usual Time.
Tons of love, as always. xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo :):)
Sunday, February 16, 2020
"The Tree of Wooden Clogs", a masterpiece from director Ernanno Olmi
Tonight I watched a masterpiece from Italian director Ernanno Olmi : "The Tree of Wooden Clogs"(1978), which won the Palme d'Or at Cannes and has been released on dvd by Criterion. I wasn't aware of this film when it came out; it was recommended to me by my sister many years ago, and in fact I saw it about 8-10 years ago (I'm guessing), except that I didn't really see it, because the doggone dvd froze up twenty minutes before the ending, and nothing I did would get it to play again. Now, this is a 3 hour and 7 minute movie, so at the time I'd invested about two hours and forty seven minutes in it, and it's a captivating film in every way, so you can imagine how frustrated I was when the disc froze up with just twenty minutes to go. I was never able to find another copy until today at Northridge Libe, and by serendipity I was also off work tonight, affording me the time to watch such a long picture. So everything worked out, and the dvd was brand new. It played all the way through without a problem.
"Tree" is set in rural Italy at the end of the 19th century. It's about the lives of several peasant families who live and work on a farm run by a wealthy landowner. One thing to be noted right away is that all the actors in the film are non-professional, and are from the village where the movie was made. What is amazing about this, and it was noted by English director Mike Leigh in his introduction, is that you'd never know for a minute that you were watching amateurs. Olmi gets realistic, nuanced performances out of everyone, right down to the smallest child.
These people are poor and can barely make ends meet. The landowner gets two thirds of each year's harvest, leaving the final third to be split between the five families. The feudal system is at work here, but the families have rich lives in spite of their poverty, and this is what the film is all about. We see them going about their business, working the farm by day and getting together at night with their loved ones and friends. Their dwellings are small and in some cases they all sleep in the same room, with several children to a bed. There are three protagonists, the main one being Mr. Batisti, a vibrant man with an Enormous Moustachio whose youngest child (a boy) is about to enter school, a rarity for any of the farm children. Mr. Batisti is a hard worker who loves his family and is also popular with the other children at nighttime gatherings for his expertise at telling ghost stories. These are people who have little of material value but an abundance of soul.
They are also devoutly Catholic, and this is the other theme that powers the film. As they struggle, day after day, just to put food on the table, to devise a way to grow bigger tomatoes to sell, or in one woman's case, to wash laundry for the other peasants, they rely on the Holy Trinity to get them through. Every night, the wives lead the children in the Rosary. One woman saves the life of a sick cow by giving it Holy Water to drink. These are real people who believe in miracles. Because of their belief, miracles happen for them.
There are however, the realities of their situation to deal with. They are at the mercy of the landowner for everything. We rarely see him, his rules are enforced by a gruff foreman who will have a bearing on the single significant plot thread in the picture. Mostly, though, what we see are the peasants living their lives. As Mike Leigh says in his introduction, there is so much stuff going on in this movie, it's impossible to take it all in during one view.
Another protagonist is a handsome young man who desires the beautiful daughter of another farmer. One night when they are alone, he asks her for a kiss, but she refuses, telling him "it must wait for the right time". Thus we will observe, as their thread plays out over the course of the film, the traditions of courtship among the peasants, who observe a strict code of behavior where dating is concerned. They aren't without fun, however. They love to tell jokes at their nightly gatherings and even have a small carnival in the village with rides and games similar to what you'd see at a country fair.
The details and things of importance seem small by modern standards, but everything these people do holds meaning for them, and thus for us as we watch them day by day. Olmi has gotten so close to the peasants that we feel we are living among them, in their time. "The Tree of Wooden Clogs" is so brilliant in every way that as Mike Leigh rightly points out, the three hour running time is not a burden but a blessing. The photography is understated, with no fancy angles or camera techniques, but is beautifully shot in muted, earthen tones. The editing may be the piece de resistance. It makes all the numerous elements of the film blend and flow just like real life, and again, it cannot be overstated that there is a ton of stuff happening, everywhere you look. And there will be that one very important plot point - I just can't tell you what it is.
Simply put, "The Tree of Wooden Clogs" is one of the greatest movies you'll ever see, period. Mike Leigh certainly thinks so, and I agree. None other than Al Pacino has called it his favorite film.
You've probably guessed by now that I'm gonna give it my highest rating, which is Two Gigantic Thumbs Up. See it, see it, see it, it really is tremendous. /////
That's all for the moment. It's now Sunday afternoon and I'm writing from home. We had good singin' in church this morn, and Pearl was back for the whole service this time. She is doing great. For the next three weeks I'll be working days but will be home at night to watch movies with you. Right now we're gonna go on a hike (meaning you and me) so I'll meetcha at Santa Susana in 30 minutes......:):)
And then I'll see you tonight at the Usual Time.
Tons of love! xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo :):)
"Tree" is set in rural Italy at the end of the 19th century. It's about the lives of several peasant families who live and work on a farm run by a wealthy landowner. One thing to be noted right away is that all the actors in the film are non-professional, and are from the village where the movie was made. What is amazing about this, and it was noted by English director Mike Leigh in his introduction, is that you'd never know for a minute that you were watching amateurs. Olmi gets realistic, nuanced performances out of everyone, right down to the smallest child.
These people are poor and can barely make ends meet. The landowner gets two thirds of each year's harvest, leaving the final third to be split between the five families. The feudal system is at work here, but the families have rich lives in spite of their poverty, and this is what the film is all about. We see them going about their business, working the farm by day and getting together at night with their loved ones and friends. Their dwellings are small and in some cases they all sleep in the same room, with several children to a bed. There are three protagonists, the main one being Mr. Batisti, a vibrant man with an Enormous Moustachio whose youngest child (a boy) is about to enter school, a rarity for any of the farm children. Mr. Batisti is a hard worker who loves his family and is also popular with the other children at nighttime gatherings for his expertise at telling ghost stories. These are people who have little of material value but an abundance of soul.
They are also devoutly Catholic, and this is the other theme that powers the film. As they struggle, day after day, just to put food on the table, to devise a way to grow bigger tomatoes to sell, or in one woman's case, to wash laundry for the other peasants, they rely on the Holy Trinity to get them through. Every night, the wives lead the children in the Rosary. One woman saves the life of a sick cow by giving it Holy Water to drink. These are real people who believe in miracles. Because of their belief, miracles happen for them.
There are however, the realities of their situation to deal with. They are at the mercy of the landowner for everything. We rarely see him, his rules are enforced by a gruff foreman who will have a bearing on the single significant plot thread in the picture. Mostly, though, what we see are the peasants living their lives. As Mike Leigh says in his introduction, there is so much stuff going on in this movie, it's impossible to take it all in during one view.
Another protagonist is a handsome young man who desires the beautiful daughter of another farmer. One night when they are alone, he asks her for a kiss, but she refuses, telling him "it must wait for the right time". Thus we will observe, as their thread plays out over the course of the film, the traditions of courtship among the peasants, who observe a strict code of behavior where dating is concerned. They aren't without fun, however. They love to tell jokes at their nightly gatherings and even have a small carnival in the village with rides and games similar to what you'd see at a country fair.
The details and things of importance seem small by modern standards, but everything these people do holds meaning for them, and thus for us as we watch them day by day. Olmi has gotten so close to the peasants that we feel we are living among them, in their time. "The Tree of Wooden Clogs" is so brilliant in every way that as Mike Leigh rightly points out, the three hour running time is not a burden but a blessing. The photography is understated, with no fancy angles or camera techniques, but is beautifully shot in muted, earthen tones. The editing may be the piece de resistance. It makes all the numerous elements of the film blend and flow just like real life, and again, it cannot be overstated that there is a ton of stuff happening, everywhere you look. And there will be that one very important plot point - I just can't tell you what it is.
Simply put, "The Tree of Wooden Clogs" is one of the greatest movies you'll ever see, period. Mike Leigh certainly thinks so, and I agree. None other than Al Pacino has called it his favorite film.
You've probably guessed by now that I'm gonna give it my highest rating, which is Two Gigantic Thumbs Up. See it, see it, see it, it really is tremendous. /////
That's all for the moment. It's now Sunday afternoon and I'm writing from home. We had good singin' in church this morn, and Pearl was back for the whole service this time. She is doing great. For the next three weeks I'll be working days but will be home at night to watch movies with you. Right now we're gonna go on a hike (meaning you and me) so I'll meetcha at Santa Susana in 30 minutes......:):)
And then I'll see you tonight at the Usual Time.
Tons of love! xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo :):)
Friday, February 14, 2020
Happy Valentine's Day, and Other Stuff
This part of the blog was written on Thursday night, February 13th :
I don't have a movie review tonight because the TCM schedule didn't line up with my available watching hours. They did have a Cary Grant movie called "Night and Day", the life story of Cole Porter, but it was long (128 minutes) and started too late (9:15) to make it feasible. My bedtime is much earlier than it used to be, haha. But on Saturday I'll be back at home for two weeks, at least at night (cause I'll still be on the job during the day), so I'll be watching dvds during that time and won't have to contend with a broadcast schedule.
You'll notice that I've used the word "schedule" twice already, hint hint. I trust you are utilizing your Brrrittish Accent. :)
In book news, I've almost finished Gray Barker's 1956 classic "They Knew Too Much About Flying Saucers", which has been as good as the title sounds. As noted several weeks ago, read it in conjunction with Albert K. Bender's "Flying Saucers and the Three Men", published in '57. Barker and Bender coined the term Men In Black and described government intimidation toward UFO witnesses long before anyone else spoke out. Funny how in a country that promotes it's Freedom of Speech, folks are told to shut up by the FBI in no uncertain terms when they see something unusual. ////
And this part of the blog was written on Friday night, February 14th :
I hope you had a nice Valentine's Day, even if - like me - you don't have a Valentine. My day was pretty similar to the other days I've had since I became "round the clock" at Pearl's. I took her on a long push up to Cantara Street Elementary School and back. Yesterday I mentioned the legendary Newcastle Street directly below the school, where many friends lived, and on the other side of the school is Hesperia Street, where half a block down is the house where Pamela Des Barres grew up, when she was known as Pam Miller. Yes, the most famous rock n' roll groupie of all time is a Reseda girl. She probably went to Cantara Elementary too. I like this area of Reseda, which my parents referred to as "the tract" when I was a kid. It's all single family homes for nearly a square mile, meaning no excessive traffic, so when Pearl and I go on our walks, it's very quiet. Folks are at work, few cars pass by. We walk past the Fickett houses, many of which have been restored (to different extents), and we see doggies behind fences, some of whom have gotten to know us and bark accordingly. There is a section of trees up near Jamieson Parker Stevenson Street that I call "The Aviary". The reason is self explanatory but I'll explain it anyway : you can hear a lot of birds chirping.
And also, the street is really just called Jamieson. I added the "Parker Stevenson" because, as you are fully aware, Jameson Parker and Parker Stevenson may be one and the same person, and at the very least they make up one of the most important Combo Celeb couplings yet uncovered. At any rate, I'm beginning to prefer Reseda over Northridge, which is nothing but an automobile-choked madhouse these days.
I don't have a movie for the second night in a row. Sorry about that. Once again, my schedule did not coincide with that of TCM. They were showing "Brubaker" at 8pm, but I missed the beginning because of my work duties, and I really wasn't in the mood for a prison movie anyway. I love TCM, but I will indeed invest in another dvd player to bring down here so that I can control the motion picture situation.
I don't know if I've mentioned this, but Grimsley is currently reading my book, the one I wrote in 2006-2007 which is entitled "What Happened In Northridge : The Story of Adam and Eve". This is notable because Grim has become the first person to read what I worked so hard to write, all those years ago. I suspect that several more people read it as it was being written, because I wrote it openly on Myspace. But those folks read it in secret and have never acknowledged doing so.
So I finally have my first official reader, fourteen years after the fact. I'm gonna re-write the book eventually, when my caregiving days are over, to take it from 800 pages down to about 350 - 500, and then I may put it out via Lulu or another self publishing company.
I know I've written something Mega. And.....it's the doggone truth.
What could be more important than that, especially in this day and age?
I'll see you in the morning, and then tomorrow night from home, with a movie.
Tons of love. xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo :):)
I don't have a movie review tonight because the TCM schedule didn't line up with my available watching hours. They did have a Cary Grant movie called "Night and Day", the life story of Cole Porter, but it was long (128 minutes) and started too late (9:15) to make it feasible. My bedtime is much earlier than it used to be, haha. But on Saturday I'll be back at home for two weeks, at least at night (cause I'll still be on the job during the day), so I'll be watching dvds during that time and won't have to contend with a broadcast schedule.
You'll notice that I've used the word "schedule" twice already, hint hint. I trust you are utilizing your Brrrittish Accent. :)
In book news, I've almost finished Gray Barker's 1956 classic "They Knew Too Much About Flying Saucers", which has been as good as the title sounds. As noted several weeks ago, read it in conjunction with Albert K. Bender's "Flying Saucers and the Three Men", published in '57. Barker and Bender coined the term Men In Black and described government intimidation toward UFO witnesses long before anyone else spoke out. Funny how in a country that promotes it's Freedom of Speech, folks are told to shut up by the FBI in no uncertain terms when they see something unusual. ////
And this part of the blog was written on Friday night, February 14th :
I hope you had a nice Valentine's Day, even if - like me - you don't have a Valentine. My day was pretty similar to the other days I've had since I became "round the clock" at Pearl's. I took her on a long push up to Cantara Street Elementary School and back. Yesterday I mentioned the legendary Newcastle Street directly below the school, where many friends lived, and on the other side of the school is Hesperia Street, where half a block down is the house where Pamela Des Barres grew up, when she was known as Pam Miller. Yes, the most famous rock n' roll groupie of all time is a Reseda girl. She probably went to Cantara Elementary too. I like this area of Reseda, which my parents referred to as "the tract" when I was a kid. It's all single family homes for nearly a square mile, meaning no excessive traffic, so when Pearl and I go on our walks, it's very quiet. Folks are at work, few cars pass by. We walk past the Fickett houses, many of which have been restored (to different extents), and we see doggies behind fences, some of whom have gotten to know us and bark accordingly. There is a section of trees up near Jamieson Parker Stevenson Street that I call "The Aviary". The reason is self explanatory but I'll explain it anyway : you can hear a lot of birds chirping.
And also, the street is really just called Jamieson. I added the "Parker Stevenson" because, as you are fully aware, Jameson Parker and Parker Stevenson may be one and the same person, and at the very least they make up one of the most important Combo Celeb couplings yet uncovered. At any rate, I'm beginning to prefer Reseda over Northridge, which is nothing but an automobile-choked madhouse these days.
I don't have a movie for the second night in a row. Sorry about that. Once again, my schedule did not coincide with that of TCM. They were showing "Brubaker" at 8pm, but I missed the beginning because of my work duties, and I really wasn't in the mood for a prison movie anyway. I love TCM, but I will indeed invest in another dvd player to bring down here so that I can control the motion picture situation.
I don't know if I've mentioned this, but Grimsley is currently reading my book, the one I wrote in 2006-2007 which is entitled "What Happened In Northridge : The Story of Adam and Eve". This is notable because Grim has become the first person to read what I worked so hard to write, all those years ago. I suspect that several more people read it as it was being written, because I wrote it openly on Myspace. But those folks read it in secret and have never acknowledged doing so.
So I finally have my first official reader, fourteen years after the fact. I'm gonna re-write the book eventually, when my caregiving days are over, to take it from 800 pages down to about 350 - 500, and then I may put it out via Lulu or another self publishing company.
I know I've written something Mega. And.....it's the doggone truth.
What could be more important than that, especially in this day and age?
I'll see you in the morning, and then tomorrow night from home, with a movie.
Tons of love. xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo :):)
Thursday, February 13, 2020
"One Way Passage" starring William Powell and Kay Francis
This blog was written on Wednesday February 12 (and edited the following afternoon) :
Tonight's movie on TCM was "One Way Passage"(1932), a pre-code romantic comedy starring William Powell and Kay Francis, two of our favorite performers. Powell is a fugitive hiding out in Hong Kong, wanted for murder though the victim was a hoodlum who "deserved it". This gives Powell a sympathetic edge, which it turns out he will need, because he's soon arrested by a San Francisco detective (Warren Hymer) who plans to take him back to SF aboard an ocean liner. At first, Hymer has cuffed himself to Powell to prevent an escape, and I have to cut in here to ask a question : did policemen ever actually do that? Did they ever cuff themselves to their prisoners, or is that just the stuff of movie scripts?
Well anyhow, something happens that causes Detective Hymer to cut Powell some slack. He agrees to remove the handcuffs and allow Powell to move freely about the ship, with the tacit understanding that if Powell tries anything funny, he'll be put in the brig (or worse). But if Powell was thinking of jumping ship, he soon gives up that thought upon a chance meeting with the gorgeous Miss Francis, who was known as the Queen of Warner Brothers in the 1930s. In the movie, Francis and Powell both have secrets that they don't want to disclose, for fear of dampening the fire that is building between them. We know Powell's secret; he's been arrested for murder and is on his way to San Quentin. I'll leave you to discover Kay Francis' secret on your own.
There are a pair of con artists aboard the ship : A phony "Russian Countess" (Aline MacMahon) and her partner "Skippy" (Frank McHugh), a pickpocket who steals the wallets and jewelry of the suckers MacMahon scams with her act. McMahon has her sights set on William Powell, who looks debonair as always, and thus wealthy. He looks like a good mark, but when MacMahon sees that he's now in the company of Kay Francis, she switches her target to Detective Hymer. But as she romances him, she begins to fall in love. Suddenly she is no longer interested in robbery but in settling down and going straight. Their budding affair causes the detective to forget about his prisoner William Powell, who is deeply in love with Francis at this point. It is their story that is the focus of the 67 minute film. As long as they are at sea and on board the ocean liner they are safe, because maritime law prevents land based authorities from entering the ship to remove Powell, or the two con artists for that matter. On the ship, only Detective Warren Hymer has any authority over the accused, and by now he is too smitten with "The Countess" to care much about law enforcement. Powell and Francis take advantage of this perceived freedom to make plans for the future, though neither is certain they will be able to carry them out. Francis has no idea Powell is going to be tried for murder, and Powell isn't aware of Francis' secret either. And by the time they arrive in San Francisco, Detective Hymer decides to take his police duties seriously. Does this mean William Powell will be going to the electric chair after all? I can't tell you that, of course. He does promise to meet Kay Francis at a local nightclub on New Year's Eve, and she promises to be there, not knowing if she can make it herself. So the script gives us hope, at least, and you'll have to see the movie for yourself to find out what happens.
I loved "One Way Passage", which is equal parts comedy, romance and drama. If you are not yet a Kay Francis fan, see this film and you will be. She's one of the most charming actresses of any era and besides being beautiful she oozes glamour and onscreen charisma. William Powell, of course, was great in every role he ever played, but the secret weapons here may be the two scammers : MacMahon and McHugh, who add a dash of Screwball into the mix. And Warren Hymer was always superb at playing palookas, be they cops or robbers. So you get a little bit of everything in "One Way Passage", but what holds you is the romance, which has genuine feeling, and in fact the movie won an Oscar for Best Screenplay. I give it Two Very Big Thumbs Up. ////
I had another nice hike today (Wednesday), at Santa Susanna. We are enjoying some beautiful pre-Spring weather, the kind of perfect February we sometimes get when there is no El Nino or excessive wind. I was also able to take Pearl out for a two mile walk, or what I call a "push" because she is is a wheelchair. We went all the way up to Cantara Street School and back, and on our return trip we went down Newcastle Street, the legendary home of several friends in the 1970s and 80s (Pat, Sean & Lys).
It is now Thursday afternoon. I am on my mid-afternoon break and writing from home. I am off until 5pm, so I'll now head out in search of a hike. Gotta stop at the store, too, for cat food. I'm getting the hang of this new version of caregiving, and day by day I'll be adjusting to my new routine. I just hope I'll still be able to go to concerts, but right now it's not looking too good because I'm "locked down" at night. I've got a ticket for Opeth on March 4th, that I bought before Pearl got sick. Man, I hope there's a way I can go. Cross your fingers for me.
Thanks. I'll see you tonight at the Usual Time.
Tons and tons of love! xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo :):)
Tonight's movie on TCM was "One Way Passage"(1932), a pre-code romantic comedy starring William Powell and Kay Francis, two of our favorite performers. Powell is a fugitive hiding out in Hong Kong, wanted for murder though the victim was a hoodlum who "deserved it". This gives Powell a sympathetic edge, which it turns out he will need, because he's soon arrested by a San Francisco detective (Warren Hymer) who plans to take him back to SF aboard an ocean liner. At first, Hymer has cuffed himself to Powell to prevent an escape, and I have to cut in here to ask a question : did policemen ever actually do that? Did they ever cuff themselves to their prisoners, or is that just the stuff of movie scripts?
Well anyhow, something happens that causes Detective Hymer to cut Powell some slack. He agrees to remove the handcuffs and allow Powell to move freely about the ship, with the tacit understanding that if Powell tries anything funny, he'll be put in the brig (or worse). But if Powell was thinking of jumping ship, he soon gives up that thought upon a chance meeting with the gorgeous Miss Francis, who was known as the Queen of Warner Brothers in the 1930s. In the movie, Francis and Powell both have secrets that they don't want to disclose, for fear of dampening the fire that is building between them. We know Powell's secret; he's been arrested for murder and is on his way to San Quentin. I'll leave you to discover Kay Francis' secret on your own.
There are a pair of con artists aboard the ship : A phony "Russian Countess" (Aline MacMahon) and her partner "Skippy" (Frank McHugh), a pickpocket who steals the wallets and jewelry of the suckers MacMahon scams with her act. McMahon has her sights set on William Powell, who looks debonair as always, and thus wealthy. He looks like a good mark, but when MacMahon sees that he's now in the company of Kay Francis, she switches her target to Detective Hymer. But as she romances him, she begins to fall in love. Suddenly she is no longer interested in robbery but in settling down and going straight. Their budding affair causes the detective to forget about his prisoner William Powell, who is deeply in love with Francis at this point. It is their story that is the focus of the 67 minute film. As long as they are at sea and on board the ocean liner they are safe, because maritime law prevents land based authorities from entering the ship to remove Powell, or the two con artists for that matter. On the ship, only Detective Warren Hymer has any authority over the accused, and by now he is too smitten with "The Countess" to care much about law enforcement. Powell and Francis take advantage of this perceived freedom to make plans for the future, though neither is certain they will be able to carry them out. Francis has no idea Powell is going to be tried for murder, and Powell isn't aware of Francis' secret either. And by the time they arrive in San Francisco, Detective Hymer decides to take his police duties seriously. Does this mean William Powell will be going to the electric chair after all? I can't tell you that, of course. He does promise to meet Kay Francis at a local nightclub on New Year's Eve, and she promises to be there, not knowing if she can make it herself. So the script gives us hope, at least, and you'll have to see the movie for yourself to find out what happens.
I loved "One Way Passage", which is equal parts comedy, romance and drama. If you are not yet a Kay Francis fan, see this film and you will be. She's one of the most charming actresses of any era and besides being beautiful she oozes glamour and onscreen charisma. William Powell, of course, was great in every role he ever played, but the secret weapons here may be the two scammers : MacMahon and McHugh, who add a dash of Screwball into the mix. And Warren Hymer was always superb at playing palookas, be they cops or robbers. So you get a little bit of everything in "One Way Passage", but what holds you is the romance, which has genuine feeling, and in fact the movie won an Oscar for Best Screenplay. I give it Two Very Big Thumbs Up. ////
I had another nice hike today (Wednesday), at Santa Susanna. We are enjoying some beautiful pre-Spring weather, the kind of perfect February we sometimes get when there is no El Nino or excessive wind. I was also able to take Pearl out for a two mile walk, or what I call a "push" because she is is a wheelchair. We went all the way up to Cantara Street School and back, and on our return trip we went down Newcastle Street, the legendary home of several friends in the 1970s and 80s (Pat, Sean & Lys).
It is now Thursday afternoon. I am on my mid-afternoon break and writing from home. I am off until 5pm, so I'll now head out in search of a hike. Gotta stop at the store, too, for cat food. I'm getting the hang of this new version of caregiving, and day by day I'll be adjusting to my new routine. I just hope I'll still be able to go to concerts, but right now it's not looking too good because I'm "locked down" at night. I've got a ticket for Opeth on March 4th, that I bought before Pearl got sick. Man, I hope there's a way I can go. Cross your fingers for me.
Thanks. I'll see you tonight at the Usual Time.
Tons and tons of love! xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo :):)
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