I went to vote just now but I guess I picked the wrong venue, or maybe the wrong time of day. I figured I'd use the voting station at the CSUN gym because it's just down the street, a ten minute walk from my place. When I arrived there was a line of about 40 people, but no biggie, I could wait. It was moving pretty slowly, though. Finally after about twenty minutes, I'd moved forward to where the line made a right turn into what I'd thought was the voting room. But it wasn't. It was another hallway, a very long hallway, lined with students ahead of me. There were at least 100 of 'em, and probably more (and probably all Bernie voters, too). I was looking at another hour's wait, minimum, so I bailed. Later when I go on my hike, I'll stop at either Dearborn Elementary School near Vons or The Moose Lodge in Reseda. Both are voting stations and the lines should be shorter. Oh well.....at least I got to look at the Western scupltures of Harry Jackson while I waited. It's the last place you'd expect to see an art exhibit, inside a college gymnasium, but there it was......
Last night I watched another stylish entry from the Universal Noir Collection : "The Big Clock"(1948) starring Ray Milland, Charles Laughton and Maureen O'Sullivan. The director was John Farrow, who was not only O'Sullivan's husband but also Mia's father. In our review of "Black Angel", we remarked that it looked like Universal was trying a different formula for their Noirs, emphasizing style over action, a velvet touch over hard boiled grit. "The Big Clock" follows the template and has added light comedy to the mix, adding just a dash here and there to take the edge off when the mood grows dark. Make no mistake, however - it's still a Noir, and an excellent one at that. If you like complex plots, get ready because this one is the Saturday New York Times Crossword Puzzle equivalent in terms of solving!
Milland is an executive at a top New York publishing firm run by heartless mogul Charles Laughton. He's the kind of CEO who dock's a man's pay because he forgot to turn a light off in a storage closet. Most of the junior execs are terrified of Laughton, who plays his role to the hilt, but not Milland. He plays things straight with Laughton, tells him why circulation is dropping at the firm's main newspaper and suggests ways to fix it. Laughton actually appreciates Milland's straightforwardness and takes him up on his suggestions. To reward him, Laughton puts Milland in charge of a crime magazine that also needs a circulation boost.
Milland celebrates that night at a local bar, and while there he meets a dame (Rita Johnson) who just so happens to be Laughton's mistress. We know this but he doesn't. Laughton treats her as he does everyone else - i.e. with contempt - and she's had enough. Like Milland, she's there to get drunk but for a different reason. Well, whataya know.......they end up going back to her place. You didn't see that coming, now did you? The only problem is that Ray Milland is married, to a very devoted woman (O'Sullivan) who's been preparing to go on a long-awaited honeymoon with Milland. They've had to postpone it for five years (!) while Milland worked his tail off for Laughton, who never gave him a vacation in all this time, until Milland finally demanded one. It was supposed to be spent honeymooning. O'Sullivan is all packed for the trip and ready to head for the train station, but Milland still hasn't returned home. He's been out all night at Rita Johnson's pad, and when he wakes up he's got a hell of a hangover. Then he remembers his honeymoon! Holy moley! But he's late for the train, he never went home last night, his wife's gonna kill him. For her part, Johnson assures him "nothing happened" during the night. They didn't sleep together. We believe her because she's no tramp, and Milland awakens still dressed in his suit.
Anyway, Milland is in a hurry to get out of there, and while he is making a hasty exit, who should get out of the elevator but Charles Laughton, come to pay his mistress a surprise visit! Oh my God, what is Milland gonna do now? He's gonna hide, is what. And he does so, just in the nick of time, behind a potted plant. It's not all good, though, because Laughton saw somebody leave Johnson's apartment. He knows it was a man, he just didn't see his face. You can guess what happens next : he barges into Johnson's apartment, demands to know who the man was, and when Johnson denies it he kills her in a fit of rage.
Next we see him, he's back inside his luxurious office downtown, talking to his right-hand man, the fiercely loyal George Macready (that's another theme we've seen repeated lately - the "fiercely loyal" assistant). Being a ruthless man of means, Laughton tells Macready exactly what has happened and orders him to go back to Johnson's apartment, to "clean things up, make it look like I was never there". Macready does this. He goes back, wipes the whole joint down, and even resets the hands of a broken clock that had stopped when Johnson threw it at Laughton in self-defense. Clocks are a hobby of Laughton's. He collects them and has even built the world's biggest clock in his office tower, the "Big Clock" of the title. Macready resets the broken clock in an attempt to change the time of the murder, which will give Laughton an alibi.
The crime scene is now devoid of any trace of Laughton. Still, the police aren't stupid. They will figure out that Johnson was his girlfriend. What Laughton and Macready need now is a patsy. Someone to blame the murder on. Laughton has a great idea : "How about that person I saw leaving her apartment, that tall man in the grey suit and hat"? Macready agrees that it's an ingenious idea. "But who was he? Do we know his name"?
"No, I'm afraid we don't", replies Laughton, and he's telling the truth. He really didn't see Ray Milland's face, only his clothing as he rushed by. "But I'm sure we can find out", Laughton continues. "After that, it's only a matter of turning him over to the police". So begins the last hour of the movie, which will take us through so many plot twists that we'll turn into contortionists by the time the movie is over. One of these subthemes will involve the search, by Laughton and Macready, for a certain painting. In a wonderful comedic turn, the great actress Elsa Lanchester ("Bride of Frankenstein"), plays an eccentric artist who will ultimately help Milland avoid scrutiny in Laughton's railroading scheme. In real life she was married to Laughton, giving us two husband and wife teams in the making of this picture.
So much is gonna happen in this movie that you'll need to see it twice to take it all in. Or just keep hitting rewind, as I did. But don't do that, it spoils the flow. Just watch it twice, it's worth it. There's even a subtheme involving a Harry Morgan, who plays a mute masseur. Now, you know, from previous experience, that any time Harry Morgan is onscreen it means trouble, and this time is no different, except that he doesn't even have to say anything - he just stares, but it's enough to give us the willies all the same!
I know I've only given you about half the details, less description than I normally provide, but I've gotta go vote, and believe me - if I gave you more of the movie as I usually do, we'd be here all day. Trust me on that one, but watch "The Big Clock" for yourself and then watch it again, as recommended. It's positively Hitchcockian with style galore, but it's also noirish.....and funny. It's really in it's own category, a near classic in my opinion.
I'm gonna give it Two Huge Thumbs Up. Man, it's just great. Waiter, bring us another helping of Universal Noir, please! /////
That's all I know for the moment. Time to head back out to another voting station. I'm voting for Joe Biden and I hope you'll do the same. Bernie Sanders must be stopped, lest Election 2020 become a disaster. Can you imagine a contest between Trump and Bernie? America would be the loser. So go Joe!
Keep your fingers crossed and I'll see you tonight at the Usual Time.
Tons of love! xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo :):)
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