So tired I can barely keep my eyes open, but I'll try to jabber away in a semi-coherent fashion until I finish the blog. My eyes are burning from all the smoke in the air, and my nose is stuffy and throat a little raw for the same reason, but at least we had good singing in church this morning. We got to sing a hymn called "Be Still, My Soul" with music by Sibelius. I had never sung it before but I recognised the melody, which is from "Finlandia". The Christian Hymn just has different words put to it that were written in the 18th century. It's one of the most beautiful pieces of music I've ever heard and I really enjoyed singing it with the choir.
After church I drove out to Burbank to take my sister Sophie shopping. Her local Ralphs was jam-packed. Burbank is funny because the streets are quiet compared to my end of the Valley. You don't see anywhere near the traffic we have in Northridge. But go into a store - grocery or otherwise (like Target) - and you discover where all the people are. In Burbank, they're all in the stores, and there's a million of them. :)
I didn't do any walking for the second day in a row. My legs will sure be rested when the smoke eventually clears, and they'll be so rarin' to go that my walk will turn into a run.
Wait a minute. Scratch that; I hate running. :)
I don't mind walking rapidly, though, and sometimes when Grimsley comes with me on my CSUN walks he complains that I keep getting ahead of him. I reply that I can only walk just so slowly, and that I am going as slow as I can, and then at a certain point I will just turn around and walk backwards while going forward, so we can continue our conversation with me in the lead but facing him.
I can't walk slow, sorry. It comes from trying to keep up with my parents when I was little. Dad used to talk about "30 mile marches" in the military, and he had that March Stride down pat, at least until he got older. When they were younger, Mom would match his pace, and little kid me would try to keep up. That's why I walk so fast. Plus, I'm hyper to begin with (holy moly, Ad, you've gotta slow down sometimes). And I do that too. I try to have at least 20-30 minutes of meditation every afternoon. Not the "official" kind of meditation, more like just the quiet kind, lying down with no external stimuli, quieting the mind and concentrating on breathing. Try it, it's a stress reducer.
Tonight's movie was a mega-epic, "The King Of Kings" (1927). We were back with Cecil B. DeMille once again to finally watch his Silent masterpiece, which was also the movie that premiered on the opening night of Grauman's Chinese Theater. "King Of Kings" is another of those movies that you'd have thought I'd have seen but actually hadn't, and since we broke the DeMille ice with "The Sign Of The Cross" last week, I figured we might as well keep going. Now, "King Of Kings" is about the Passion and has all the traditional story elements in it's script, so it's really more of a movie for Easter, but I found a copy of it at Chatsworth Libe yesterday afternoon and thought of DeMille, and tonight was the perfect night to watch because it is a long movie (155 minutes) that I normally would not have time to watch, but I wasn't gonna go on my walk because of the fire smoke, so I did have time. All the stars aligned.
"The King Of Kings" is thee Biblical Epic of the Passion as far as I am concerned. The Jeffery Hunter version is very good, but this one is the best. Now that I've seen his performance, there is no substitute for H.B. Warner as Jesus. He holds the center of the entire film with a measured, serene performance that has almost none of the Silent film facial gesturing usually seen by actors of that era. Playing Jesus Christ with manic expression wouldn't be appropriate, so Warner leaves the emoting to his disciples and to Mary Magdalene. As an aside, it is interesting to note how different the acting styles are in two DeMille films just five years apart. "The Sign Of The Cross" plays like a full-fledged modern sound film, in fact a blockbuster that would hold up today. But a mere five years earlier, in "The King Of Kings", the acting is purely from the Silent era, with the accompanied gesturing and body language.
It strikes me how specific the direction must have been for Silent pictures, in order to get the plot across. There was no sound and no dialogue, so the director had to make sure the actors were conveying the story with their faces and bodies. And they had title cards to fill in the gaps.
But just five years later, DeMille has seemingly mastered the sound format, and so have his actors, and they make another Biblical Epic ("Sign Of The Cross") that seems light years ahead technologically. So I guess the kicker (if I've made any sense) is that not only DeMille but his actors too, were practised and ready to jump into the Sound Era, and were ready to use their voices to speak dialogue, to tell the story with words instead of facial expressions. It had to be a sea change, and yet in this case, with the two movies mentioned, the actors seem to have jumped right into it. I would love to know a little bit more about the transition from Silent to Sound, and how - if at all - the actors and directors were prepped for it.
But yeah, make sure you watch "The King Of Kings" at some point, maybe next Easter. The cinematography is very advanced for 1927, and the sets are magnificent. The budget for "Kings" was 2.5 million. You surely see every dollar of that budget on the screen, in the sets, costumes, and......special effects! Yes, you get some magical lighting wizardry and double exposure manipulation near the end of the film that is astonishing for 1927. I watched these scenes with an eye toward the history of film, this time very impressed with what DeMille was able to achieve in order to present the full supernatural aspects of the life of Jesus Christ.
Two Thumbs Up, one of the greatest Silent Films ever made and perhaps it shoutld be considered one of the greatest films of any kind ever made. I cannot recommend it highly enough, not only for it's content but also because of it's history as one of the first truly epic movies. See it to continue your education in film.
That's all I know for tonight. I will now hopefully get some sleep unless I start thinking about that Tremblay book....... ;)
See you in the morning. xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo :):)
Monday, November 12, 2018
Sunday, November 11, 2018
The Fire Began At The Field Lab + The Books I Am Reading + "MIdnight" with Claudette Colbert
The air was filled with smoke today, the Woolsey fire still raging. Fortunately the wind had died down so they were able to get 5% containment. Yesterday I speculated on the reason for Woolsey as a designation; I was worried about the Santa Susana Field Laboratory which is situated at the top of Woolsey Canyon. In my blog, I guessed that it had nothing to do with why the fire was named Woolsey, but I was wrong. As it turns out, the fire started on the Field Lab's property, in some brush located near the old Sodium Reactor building where the nuclear meltdown happened in 1959.
Needless to say, this has not been mentioned on the news. I discovered it by Googling "Santa Susana Field Lab" + "Woolsey Fire" this morning, and I found a small online article about local Chatsworth residents who have been involved in a legal battle with Boeing, the current owner of the Field Lab property, over the decades-long cleanup of chemical waste in the soil there. That story is a long one and i won't get into it (you can Google if you want), but I have taken several tours of SSFL since 2010, and I believe the Boeing spokespeople who say that the 1959 meltdown posed no toxic threat to the community, and I also believe that their efforts to remediate the soil have been ongoing and productive, though it is true that that soil was highly contaminated during the 1950s and 60s by rocket fuel and other chemicals, which no doubt washed into the groundwater during that time.
They are not to blame for the fire, though, and I am glad (or at least I hope) that the Field Lab property was not heavily damaged, though I believe one of the rocket test stands may have been burned.
All of this is nothing compared the people who have lost their homes and belongings, and in some cases their animals. Watching their devastation on the news is sad beyond belief. The Woolsey Fire will probably rival the horrific Bel Air of November 1961 as one of the most destructive as far as homes as concerned. The Bel Air was legendary when I was a kid, almost 500 homes were burned to the ground, many belonging to movie stars and other celebs. Woolsey is in the same general area, but closer to the beach. The whole thing is horrible, but thank God we have some of the best firefighters in the world working around the clock to knock it down. /////
I didn't do much today but read my books. The air quality was too hazardous to take Pearl out, or to go on my usual walks.
I have finished "Energy From The Vacuum" by Thom Bearden, a 900 page text that I began in early July. It was a highly technical work that was not an easy read, but I feel as if I got a real education on electrodynamics and the nature of the spacetime vacuum, and how energy is transduced between the time domain and three dimensional space. It took me four months to get through but was well worth it, one of the greatest and most important books I have ever read. Beyond highly recommended for anyone so inclined.
My current daytime book is Michael Cremo's "Human Devolution", which proposes a Vedic alternative to the Theory Of Evolution, which you know I do not believe in. I do not know if I will believe the Vedic alternative either, because my take on the subject is that no one really knows the true story of human origins (not even scientists nor anthropologists), but it is an interesting read so far, and I trust Cremo to at least be thorough. He is the guy who wrote "Forbidden Archaeology", another major tome I read this year, which relates a truckload of evidence for ancient human ancestry here on Planet Earth. That book is also highly recommended.
My nighttime "page turner" book, that I read here at Pearl's when I have time, is Paul Tremblay's "Disappearance At Devil's Rock", which tonight has gotten so scary that I may have trouble getting to sleep. I had never heard of Tremblay before August, when Stephen King recommended his latest book "Cabin At The End Of The World". Now I have read two of his horror novels and have almost finished the third, and after tonight, I think he is the scariest horror writer since King. Tremblay is major league; it's so rare to find a writer this good (if you can handle the subject matter). But yeah, he scared me silly tonight, and as Stephen King himself said about Tremblay : "I don't scare easily".
Paul Tremblay is very highly recommended as well. That's all my books for the moment. ///
Tonight I watched a classic screwball comedy called "Midnight" (1939). It's a bit late for me to give a full review, but it stars Claudette Colbert (rapidly becoming a favorite) as a dancer just arrived in Paris, broke and out of luck. All she owns is the gold lame dress on her back. She runs from handsome Don Ameche, the taxi driver who is pursuing her for love, because he is nearly broke as well, though he does earn a steady living. She has her sights set on the Paris Wealthy, and ends up impersonating a Countess at a high society party that she happens upon one rainy night.
From there, she meets the inimitable John Barrymore, a megarich baron who needs help getting rid of a suitor toward his wife.
As you can imagine, the hijinx flow from there, and all the way through the film. I wish I had more time to tell you about it, but I must sleep because of church tomorrow. The script by Billy Wilder is one of the best I have seen in screwball comedy, and everyone involved in the production, from the cast to the crew, is a Ten. This movie is so good that it should be known in the same company as "Dinner At Eight" and "The Awful Truth" and other classics of the era.
Man, you had to have a great cast and director to pull off a movie like this. Every single person had to be top notch, no weak or even "moderate level" contributors were permissible. This is why Hollywood ruled the movie world in the 30s and 40s, and why these films will hold interest indefinitely, because these people were so talented and had so much charisma.
Long live the legacy of Studio-era Hollywood. That's all I know for tonight, I will see you in church in the morn.
xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo :):)
Needless to say, this has not been mentioned on the news. I discovered it by Googling "Santa Susana Field Lab" + "Woolsey Fire" this morning, and I found a small online article about local Chatsworth residents who have been involved in a legal battle with Boeing, the current owner of the Field Lab property, over the decades-long cleanup of chemical waste in the soil there. That story is a long one and i won't get into it (you can Google if you want), but I have taken several tours of SSFL since 2010, and I believe the Boeing spokespeople who say that the 1959 meltdown posed no toxic threat to the community, and I also believe that their efforts to remediate the soil have been ongoing and productive, though it is true that that soil was highly contaminated during the 1950s and 60s by rocket fuel and other chemicals, which no doubt washed into the groundwater during that time.
They are not to blame for the fire, though, and I am glad (or at least I hope) that the Field Lab property was not heavily damaged, though I believe one of the rocket test stands may have been burned.
All of this is nothing compared the people who have lost their homes and belongings, and in some cases their animals. Watching their devastation on the news is sad beyond belief. The Woolsey Fire will probably rival the horrific Bel Air of November 1961 as one of the most destructive as far as homes as concerned. The Bel Air was legendary when I was a kid, almost 500 homes were burned to the ground, many belonging to movie stars and other celebs. Woolsey is in the same general area, but closer to the beach. The whole thing is horrible, but thank God we have some of the best firefighters in the world working around the clock to knock it down. /////
I didn't do much today but read my books. The air quality was too hazardous to take Pearl out, or to go on my usual walks.
I have finished "Energy From The Vacuum" by Thom Bearden, a 900 page text that I began in early July. It was a highly technical work that was not an easy read, but I feel as if I got a real education on electrodynamics and the nature of the spacetime vacuum, and how energy is transduced between the time domain and three dimensional space. It took me four months to get through but was well worth it, one of the greatest and most important books I have ever read. Beyond highly recommended for anyone so inclined.
My current daytime book is Michael Cremo's "Human Devolution", which proposes a Vedic alternative to the Theory Of Evolution, which you know I do not believe in. I do not know if I will believe the Vedic alternative either, because my take on the subject is that no one really knows the true story of human origins (not even scientists nor anthropologists), but it is an interesting read so far, and I trust Cremo to at least be thorough. He is the guy who wrote "Forbidden Archaeology", another major tome I read this year, which relates a truckload of evidence for ancient human ancestry here on Planet Earth. That book is also highly recommended.
My nighttime "page turner" book, that I read here at Pearl's when I have time, is Paul Tremblay's "Disappearance At Devil's Rock", which tonight has gotten so scary that I may have trouble getting to sleep. I had never heard of Tremblay before August, when Stephen King recommended his latest book "Cabin At The End Of The World". Now I have read two of his horror novels and have almost finished the third, and after tonight, I think he is the scariest horror writer since King. Tremblay is major league; it's so rare to find a writer this good (if you can handle the subject matter). But yeah, he scared me silly tonight, and as Stephen King himself said about Tremblay : "I don't scare easily".
Paul Tremblay is very highly recommended as well. That's all my books for the moment. ///
Tonight I watched a classic screwball comedy called "Midnight" (1939). It's a bit late for me to give a full review, but it stars Claudette Colbert (rapidly becoming a favorite) as a dancer just arrived in Paris, broke and out of luck. All she owns is the gold lame dress on her back. She runs from handsome Don Ameche, the taxi driver who is pursuing her for love, because he is nearly broke as well, though he does earn a steady living. She has her sights set on the Paris Wealthy, and ends up impersonating a Countess at a high society party that she happens upon one rainy night.
From there, she meets the inimitable John Barrymore, a megarich baron who needs help getting rid of a suitor toward his wife.
As you can imagine, the hijinx flow from there, and all the way through the film. I wish I had more time to tell you about it, but I must sleep because of church tomorrow. The script by Billy Wilder is one of the best I have seen in screwball comedy, and everyone involved in the production, from the cast to the crew, is a Ten. This movie is so good that it should be known in the same company as "Dinner At Eight" and "The Awful Truth" and other classics of the era.
Man, you had to have a great cast and director to pull off a movie like this. Every single person had to be top notch, no weak or even "moderate level" contributors were permissible. This is why Hollywood ruled the movie world in the 30s and 40s, and why these films will hold interest indefinitely, because these people were so talented and had so much charisma.
Long live the legacy of Studio-era Hollywood. That's all I know for tonight, I will see you in church in the morn.
xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo :):)
Saturday, November 10, 2018
The Fire + Trump Is Toast + "Klondike Kate" by William Castle
It's been a couple of very rough days, not for me personally but for folks in the towns of of Thousand Oaks, Calabasas and Malibu, which lie just west of the Valley. This afternoon you could see an enormous cloud of smoke building from the Woolsey fire that has devastated the area. When I awoke to the news I feared that Woolsey Canyon was involved. That's the canyon in Chatsworth that leads up to the Santa Susana Field Laboratory. It turned out the fire was a few miles further west. Maybe it began in Woolsey Canyon, I don't know. The whole thing is pretty horrible, coming as it did just a day after the shootings in Thousand Oaks just a few miles down the freeway. The winds have died down a bit tonight, so maybe the firefighters can get some containment on the blaze by tomorrow morning.
We in California have been getting beat by major fires in the last few years, and up in Northern Cal it is just as bad if not worse. Another thing is these winds. We used to get a few days of Santa Anas in October, then maybe again in March. But last year, once October rolled around the wind started blowing and basically didn't stop - except for a few days here and there - until March. You may recall me complaining about it because I hate wind more than anything. And it just blew and blew for weeks and months.
So this is all part of Global Warming, which is producing extreme weather phenomena all over the world. For us, it's drought accompanied by wind and fire. ///
In better news, it is beginning to look like it was indeed a Blue Wave that swept across the country on Election Day. We are seeing several races that were thought to be decided in favor of a Republican candidate now being recounted, with Democrats taking the lead in many cases. Overall, in total votes cast for Congress members throughout America, Democratic candidates got six million more votes than did Republicans.
Trump is toast, folks. Today the Wall Street Journal, hardly a liberal newspaper, reported that Mueller's team has proof that Trump used campaign funds to pay off Stormy Daniels and Karen McDougal, and that he personally directed the payoff.
He's all done as president, and his lackey Matt Whitaker, the buffoon I wrote about last night, is now being rejected by the very Justice Department he was supposed to helm. He may be too big an a-hole to step aside immediately (see former Trump a-hole Scott Pruitt as an example), but his tenure as Attorney General will be hampered by legal troubles if he doesn't leave on his own.
Lord, help us to save our country and our ecosphere. ////
I am a big fan of radio station KUSC, and normally I try to follow their lead and not mention any news items whatsoever here at the blog. They see their mission as one of being an oasis of classical music in the midst of constant tumult, and me, I like to do the same and just write about movies, or art, or just the details of my day (even if boring, haha), and I generally try to stay away from news events and especially politics. But these past few days, I felt the need to say something.
Always remember that most of the world is good, and most people are good. You know this is true because if most people were bad, we wouldn't have a world anymore. Even in Hitler's time, the Good Guys won, and they always do. That's the way it happens in Western movies, too....
Tonight's movie was "Klondike Kate" (1943), the earliest of the films from my William Castle Collection. Ann Savage stars as a young woman who has traveled from San Francisco all the way to Alaska in order to claim ownership of a profitable casino, left to her in a deed by her late father, the original owner. Upon arriving in Alaska, she discovers it to be a lawless place. The local "judge", a phoney baloney, informs her that her legally processed deed is worthless, just because a local mover and shaker (played by Tom Neal) has appropriated the casino for himself.
I must interject to note that Ann Savage and Tom Neal went on to appear together again, in the classic Film Noir "Detour", in which Miss Savage played a very famous role as a villain. Tom Neal was an actor who left an impression as well. He was dashingly handsome and equally troubled. He was from a wealthy family and had been a boxer in college. He had a bad temper and wound up killing his wife in a case that was ruled as manslaughter but was very likely first degree murder. Tom Neal, who was great in "Klondike Kate", and who had Clark Gable looks and was just as suave, wound up spending six years in State Prison for the death of his wife. His career, of course, was over and he died at 58 years of age.
Ann Savage, on the other hand, lived a full life. She never achieved stardom but you can see what great talent she had just by contrasting her performances in "Klondike Kate" and "Detour". She was a stylish and versatile actress of the type Hollywood could use more of.
We talked last night about the mechanics of a William Castle film. I just now IMDB'ed him and discovered that "Klondike Kate" was his debut feature. It runs a mere 64 minutes, but packs more action and story than many present day films that are twice it's length. Much of the movie takes place in the casino and features several song and dance numbers by dance hall girls who provided live entertainment during that era. The black and white photography is excellent and the print superb.
"Klondike Kate" may be the best Castle Western I have seen yet. The reason is Ann Savage and Tom Neal. See them in this movie and then watch them in "Detour", a 180 turn.
That's acting. See you in the morning. No wind please, and no fire. xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo :):)
We in California have been getting beat by major fires in the last few years, and up in Northern Cal it is just as bad if not worse. Another thing is these winds. We used to get a few days of Santa Anas in October, then maybe again in March. But last year, once October rolled around the wind started blowing and basically didn't stop - except for a few days here and there - until March. You may recall me complaining about it because I hate wind more than anything. And it just blew and blew for weeks and months.
So this is all part of Global Warming, which is producing extreme weather phenomena all over the world. For us, it's drought accompanied by wind and fire. ///
In better news, it is beginning to look like it was indeed a Blue Wave that swept across the country on Election Day. We are seeing several races that were thought to be decided in favor of a Republican candidate now being recounted, with Democrats taking the lead in many cases. Overall, in total votes cast for Congress members throughout America, Democratic candidates got six million more votes than did Republicans.
Trump is toast, folks. Today the Wall Street Journal, hardly a liberal newspaper, reported that Mueller's team has proof that Trump used campaign funds to pay off Stormy Daniels and Karen McDougal, and that he personally directed the payoff.
He's all done as president, and his lackey Matt Whitaker, the buffoon I wrote about last night, is now being rejected by the very Justice Department he was supposed to helm. He may be too big an a-hole to step aside immediately (see former Trump a-hole Scott Pruitt as an example), but his tenure as Attorney General will be hampered by legal troubles if he doesn't leave on his own.
Lord, help us to save our country and our ecosphere. ////
I am a big fan of radio station KUSC, and normally I try to follow their lead and not mention any news items whatsoever here at the blog. They see their mission as one of being an oasis of classical music in the midst of constant tumult, and me, I like to do the same and just write about movies, or art, or just the details of my day (even if boring, haha), and I generally try to stay away from news events and especially politics. But these past few days, I felt the need to say something.
Always remember that most of the world is good, and most people are good. You know this is true because if most people were bad, we wouldn't have a world anymore. Even in Hitler's time, the Good Guys won, and they always do. That's the way it happens in Western movies, too....
Tonight's movie was "Klondike Kate" (1943), the earliest of the films from my William Castle Collection. Ann Savage stars as a young woman who has traveled from San Francisco all the way to Alaska in order to claim ownership of a profitable casino, left to her in a deed by her late father, the original owner. Upon arriving in Alaska, she discovers it to be a lawless place. The local "judge", a phoney baloney, informs her that her legally processed deed is worthless, just because a local mover and shaker (played by Tom Neal) has appropriated the casino for himself.
I must interject to note that Ann Savage and Tom Neal went on to appear together again, in the classic Film Noir "Detour", in which Miss Savage played a very famous role as a villain. Tom Neal was an actor who left an impression as well. He was dashingly handsome and equally troubled. He was from a wealthy family and had been a boxer in college. He had a bad temper and wound up killing his wife in a case that was ruled as manslaughter but was very likely first degree murder. Tom Neal, who was great in "Klondike Kate", and who had Clark Gable looks and was just as suave, wound up spending six years in State Prison for the death of his wife. His career, of course, was over and he died at 58 years of age.
Ann Savage, on the other hand, lived a full life. She never achieved stardom but you can see what great talent she had just by contrasting her performances in "Klondike Kate" and "Detour". She was a stylish and versatile actress of the type Hollywood could use more of.
We talked last night about the mechanics of a William Castle film. I just now IMDB'ed him and discovered that "Klondike Kate" was his debut feature. It runs a mere 64 minutes, but packs more action and story than many present day films that are twice it's length. Much of the movie takes place in the casino and features several song and dance numbers by dance hall girls who provided live entertainment during that era. The black and white photography is excellent and the print superb.
"Klondike Kate" may be the best Castle Western I have seen yet. The reason is Ann Savage and Tom Neal. See them in this movie and then watch them in "Detour", a 180 turn.
That's acting. See you in the morning. No wind please, and no fire. xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo :):)
Friday, November 9, 2018
"The Gun That Won The West" by William Castle + Two Brain Cells
Tonight I watched another Western from my 8-movie William Castle Collection, entitled "The Gun That Won The West". The gun in question is the fast loading Springfield rifle, which gave the U.S. Cavalry a distinct advantage in frontier outposts, where they were otherwise vastly outnumbered by Sioux Indians. Like all the Castle Westerns, this one is low budget but well-crafted with no frills. It plays almost like a history lesson. The real-life character of scout Jim Bridger is brought back. We saw him in another Western a few months ago (can't recall which at the moment), but he was involved in trying to negotiate a treaty with Red Cloud, the Sioux Chief, to allow the Cavalry to build forts along the proposed railroad lines going through Sioux Territory. Red Cloud trusted Bridger (at least according to the movies), and was always willing to listen to him. In this film, however, Red Cloud has a younger lieutenant who has nothing but hatred and distrust of white men, including Bridger. This younger warrior encourages war with the Cavalry.
Bridger's partner Jack Gaines, an alcoholic trying to win back his wife's love, puts his own life on the line by volunteering to ride out to the Sioux village, alone, to demonstrate the deadly efficiency of the new Springfield rifle to Chief Red Cloud, in the hope that he will see sense, not make war, and agree to the treaty.
The details of the history between the men are related through expository dialogue, to fill in the gaps in a 71 minute film. Castle has to keep things moving and he does so at a brisk pace, never lingering on a shot or extending a scene. If you are my age and remember "study films" from elementary school, it's almost like that, a low-budget Hollywood version of a study film. You kind of go, "well, everything seems a little wooden, but it's still an entertaining movie".
Dennis Morgan stars as Jim Bridger. He was a reliable pro who was known for film noir, but also had a fine voice that he put to use in musicals.
William Castle made competent, short length Westerns (most run about 71 minutes) that look good but have minimal camera work and no cinematic frills. What you see is what you get, but Castle pulls it off because he knows to hire a good team. Actors like Morgan, who was in bigger budgeted films for most of his career, know how to make the most of a brief scene and give it gravitas. Ditto Castle's cinematographer, who captures the Sandstone landscape effectively in the short bursts he is allowed.
I give it Two Thumbs Up, even though by comparison a movie like "The Gun That Won The West" is decidedly small-scale when compared to a Megawork like last night's DeMille Epic, "Sign Of The Cross". Not everything has to be gigantic, though, or even tortured and artistic. Sometimes being just plain competent is enough, and William Castle was always that.
If you love short movies (I sure do) and if you love straightforward Westerns, you can't go wrong with this Castle Collection. ///
Well, what do you think of Whitaker? I mean, you don't have to answer that because I know what you think of him. I only asked you so that I could tell you my opinion.
He looks like he doesn't have more than two brain cells to rub together. He reminds me of the high school jock who can get good grades and even go to law school, but who you know deep down is as dumb as dirt. You know what I mean? He's that kind of guy, with the bodybuilding and the fraudulent business front that he was part of that was fined 26 million bucks a year or two ago.
He's all shine and no substance, and from what I am seeing and hearing on MSNBC, his appointment by Trump is unconstitutional and will be fought by the new House Committee. I am feeling more confident in the new Democratic House than I was last night, especially because their potential foil, this guy Matt Whitaker, is every bit as big a buffoon as the guy who hired him.
I predict his appointment will go down in flames very shortly.
I can't wait until I don't feel the need to talk about politics, but right now I put my two cents in, because I have never seen a situation this bad, where the so-called president is basically saying, "yeah, I'm a crook and I don't give a f**k. Just try and get rid of me". He will go down hard, Trump will, and when he goes down, we will never hear from him again. And that will be a great day indeed.
That's all for tonight. Listening to Bill Nelson in the afternoon. See you in the morning.
xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo :):)
Bridger's partner Jack Gaines, an alcoholic trying to win back his wife's love, puts his own life on the line by volunteering to ride out to the Sioux village, alone, to demonstrate the deadly efficiency of the new Springfield rifle to Chief Red Cloud, in the hope that he will see sense, not make war, and agree to the treaty.
The details of the history between the men are related through expository dialogue, to fill in the gaps in a 71 minute film. Castle has to keep things moving and he does so at a brisk pace, never lingering on a shot or extending a scene. If you are my age and remember "study films" from elementary school, it's almost like that, a low-budget Hollywood version of a study film. You kind of go, "well, everything seems a little wooden, but it's still an entertaining movie".
Dennis Morgan stars as Jim Bridger. He was a reliable pro who was known for film noir, but also had a fine voice that he put to use in musicals.
William Castle made competent, short length Westerns (most run about 71 minutes) that look good but have minimal camera work and no cinematic frills. What you see is what you get, but Castle pulls it off because he knows to hire a good team. Actors like Morgan, who was in bigger budgeted films for most of his career, know how to make the most of a brief scene and give it gravitas. Ditto Castle's cinematographer, who captures the Sandstone landscape effectively in the short bursts he is allowed.
I give it Two Thumbs Up, even though by comparison a movie like "The Gun That Won The West" is decidedly small-scale when compared to a Megawork like last night's DeMille Epic, "Sign Of The Cross". Not everything has to be gigantic, though, or even tortured and artistic. Sometimes being just plain competent is enough, and William Castle was always that.
If you love short movies (I sure do) and if you love straightforward Westerns, you can't go wrong with this Castle Collection. ///
Well, what do you think of Whitaker? I mean, you don't have to answer that because I know what you think of him. I only asked you so that I could tell you my opinion.
He looks like he doesn't have more than two brain cells to rub together. He reminds me of the high school jock who can get good grades and even go to law school, but who you know deep down is as dumb as dirt. You know what I mean? He's that kind of guy, with the bodybuilding and the fraudulent business front that he was part of that was fined 26 million bucks a year or two ago.
He's all shine and no substance, and from what I am seeing and hearing on MSNBC, his appointment by Trump is unconstitutional and will be fought by the new House Committee. I am feeling more confident in the new Democratic House than I was last night, especially because their potential foil, this guy Matt Whitaker, is every bit as big a buffoon as the guy who hired him.
I predict his appointment will go down in flames very shortly.
I can't wait until I don't feel the need to talk about politics, but right now I put my two cents in, because I have never seen a situation this bad, where the so-called president is basically saying, "yeah, I'm a crook and I don't give a f**k. Just try and get rid of me". He will go down hard, Trump will, and when he goes down, we will never hear from him again. And that will be a great day indeed.
That's all for tonight. Listening to Bill Nelson in the afternoon. See you in the morning.
xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo :):)
Thursday, November 8, 2018
Will The Dems Stand Up To Trump? + "The Sign Of The Cross" by DeMille + Elizabeth
Having chickened out last night and gone to bed unaware of the election results, I was pleasantly surprised to discover this morning that the Democrats had taken back the House. Of course, Trump made his chess move immediately by firing Sessions and installing a major-league right-winger as his replacement. As I've said before, you know something is wrong when you are rooting for Jeff Sessions and when he is the lesser of all the bad guys in the equation. Trump is gonna push this thing all the way and attempt to stop the Mueller investigation. We will see if the Dems have the guts to stand up to him. I was not thrilled with Nancy Pelosi's "make nice" speech this morning. Other Democrats on MSNBC took a much tougher stance this evening on the news programs, but we will see if they actually do anything when push comes to shove, because it will come to that. Trump is not gonna go down without a fight, and his Republican Senate has shown that they do not care what crimes he has committed.
They know that their Hard Right White Man brand of politics is on the way out. Witness all the women of color who were elected, and even a Native American woman, which I thought was great.
But the staunch Repubs in the Senate who have sided with Trump are making their last stand, and they will look the other way at anything Mueller presents them with. They won't care if Trump is proven to have collaborated with Putin and the Russians to steal the Presidency. He's their guy and they are gonna go down to the mat with him, win or lose.
So it will be up to the Democrats to show some mettle, and I must say that I'm not holding my breath. Nancy Pelosi, despite being from San Francisco, is not as left wing as you might think. She is a career politician who will play the Washington game. I mean, I'm not left wing either. I am slightly to the left, and I hate all of this terminology anyway, because it reduces people to one of two things : right or left. I am really not very political, but you might say I am right down the center. Still, I despise Trump, and I am strongly in the corner of any politician who will stand up to him and kick his ass out. If it were me, I would not stop until he was in prison, because he is indeed an organised crime figure masquerading as president, and prison is exactly where he belongs. Anyhow, sorry to be cynical but as far as the Dems standing up to Trump, I will believe it when I see it. They have the House now; let's see some action. ////
I did watch a movie tonight, "The Sign Of The Cross" (1932), directed by the legendary Cecil B. DeMille. I am pretty sure it was my first DeMille film, so once again it was a case of "what?! You mean you've never seen this before"!, only this time it was about a director instead of s specific movie. Yeah, I can't believe that I'd never seen a Cecile B. DeMille film either, though I have seen parts of the 1956 version of "The Ten Commandments" on tv over the years. I just never watched it all the way through.
But I had searched for movies with Frederic March in the library database, after seeing his performance in "Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde" last week, and "The Sign Of The Cross" came back. Watching it tonight, I can see why Cecil B. DeMille is synonymous with Epic. Everything about this movie was huge; the sets, the cast, the "cast of thousands" (extras filling the Roman Colosseum), and the Epic story. I will be brief cause I have already written a lot in this blog, but March stars as "Marcus Superbus", the prefect (i.e police chief) of Rome. He is under orders from Emperor Nero (the great Charles Laughton) to round up and kill all Christians in the city. As the movie opens, Nero is shown "fiddling" (actually playing a Lyre) while Rome burns. The citizens think that Nero ordered the fires himself. During his patrols March becomes acquainted with a Christian girl named Mercia. She is part of a group of underground Christians who meet in secret to further the Word of Christ. March (as "Marcus") falls in love with her, putting himself in jeopardy with Emperor Nero, and even moreso with the Empress Poppea, played by Claudette Colbert, in a very seductive role, uncharacteristic for her and so all the more surprising. There is a scene in which she takes a milk bath that is very risque, and once again we see how uninhibited Hollywood was in pre-Code times.
The Empress is in love with Marcus Superbus, and continually presses him for a tryst. He will not give in, though, because he is loyal to the Emperor and more importantly because he is in love with Mercia, who is played by an actress named Elissa Landi. In committing himself to her, - a Christian - Marcus places his life at risk.
So there you have the main plot.
The thing that strikes you about this movie is that it so well made, and filmed, and directed, and expensively budgeted, that you think that DeMille was way ahead of his time. His name became a cliche in the 70s, for excess. But judging from this one movie, the only one I have seen, he was also a masterful director. The professionalism of "The Sign Of The Cross" is evident in every technical aspect of the production, and it could be seen as a template or precursor to what would become the blockbuster productions of the modern era, and it would hold up against those films and surpass many of them.
That's how accomplished this movie is.
But the other thing is......and this is the reason you have got to see it.....is the outrageousness of some of the scenes, and especially the 25 minute finale, where DeMille stages a recreation of one of Nero's Roman Circuses at the Colosseum, replete with Gladiator battles and all kinds of lurid and deadly spectacles. There are fights between midgets and Amazonian women. There is a naked woman about to be eaten by crocodiles. There are lions attacking Christians, And there are desensitized Roman audience members lining up to watch all the carnage, feeding their faces as they enter the stadium, beset with bloodlust. DeMille shows the orgiastic response of the audience to the spectacle, exactly as it must have happened, and to see it put to film in such blatant detail is shocking, and it would still be shocking today. Remember, this is pre-Code, when Hollywood was brand new and the sound era had just come into being.
I was blown away by "The Sign Of The Cross", and not just because of it's subject matter but because of how Grand it all is. I was thinking "how could you make a movie this epic and this technically great" in 1932, and on top of that, make it so sexually risque and so graphic - yet real and non-exploitative - in the closing Roman Circus finale.
Trust me, you've never seen a movie like this one, and you've gotta see it. I was pinned to my seat, and I immediately vowed to look for more early DeMille films (not to mention the films of Claudette Colbert).
"The Sign Of The Cross" would be larger than life in any era, and still holds up today with fantastic period acting from everyone involved, and some pre-Code scenes that will suprise even the most jaded viewer, precisely because they are suggestive rather than grossly overdone, and are therefore more effective.
Two Gigantic Thumbs Up. A Must See. ////
Lastly, I must say to Elizabeth that I am very happy to see you on an airplane! I am guessing that you are off to begin another project. I figure it's gotta be that, unless your work sent you out of town, but really I think it's gotta be for a new film project, and if that is true than I am super happy for you!
That is awesome, and please post if I have got it right, because I have been rooting for you to have something new come your way so that you could Do What You Really Do, which is Art.
I hope I am right, but even if it is a job-related trip, then that will be fun too. But post if you can, just to be certain. :)
That's all I know for tonight. See you in the morning. xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo :):)
They know that their Hard Right White Man brand of politics is on the way out. Witness all the women of color who were elected, and even a Native American woman, which I thought was great.
But the staunch Repubs in the Senate who have sided with Trump are making their last stand, and they will look the other way at anything Mueller presents them with. They won't care if Trump is proven to have collaborated with Putin and the Russians to steal the Presidency. He's their guy and they are gonna go down to the mat with him, win or lose.
So it will be up to the Democrats to show some mettle, and I must say that I'm not holding my breath. Nancy Pelosi, despite being from San Francisco, is not as left wing as you might think. She is a career politician who will play the Washington game. I mean, I'm not left wing either. I am slightly to the left, and I hate all of this terminology anyway, because it reduces people to one of two things : right or left. I am really not very political, but you might say I am right down the center. Still, I despise Trump, and I am strongly in the corner of any politician who will stand up to him and kick his ass out. If it were me, I would not stop until he was in prison, because he is indeed an organised crime figure masquerading as president, and prison is exactly where he belongs. Anyhow, sorry to be cynical but as far as the Dems standing up to Trump, I will believe it when I see it. They have the House now; let's see some action. ////
I did watch a movie tonight, "The Sign Of The Cross" (1932), directed by the legendary Cecil B. DeMille. I am pretty sure it was my first DeMille film, so once again it was a case of "what?! You mean you've never seen this before"!, only this time it was about a director instead of s specific movie. Yeah, I can't believe that I'd never seen a Cecile B. DeMille film either, though I have seen parts of the 1956 version of "The Ten Commandments" on tv over the years. I just never watched it all the way through.
But I had searched for movies with Frederic March in the library database, after seeing his performance in "Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde" last week, and "The Sign Of The Cross" came back. Watching it tonight, I can see why Cecil B. DeMille is synonymous with Epic. Everything about this movie was huge; the sets, the cast, the "cast of thousands" (extras filling the Roman Colosseum), and the Epic story. I will be brief cause I have already written a lot in this blog, but March stars as "Marcus Superbus", the prefect (i.e police chief) of Rome. He is under orders from Emperor Nero (the great Charles Laughton) to round up and kill all Christians in the city. As the movie opens, Nero is shown "fiddling" (actually playing a Lyre) while Rome burns. The citizens think that Nero ordered the fires himself. During his patrols March becomes acquainted with a Christian girl named Mercia. She is part of a group of underground Christians who meet in secret to further the Word of Christ. March (as "Marcus") falls in love with her, putting himself in jeopardy with Emperor Nero, and even moreso with the Empress Poppea, played by Claudette Colbert, in a very seductive role, uncharacteristic for her and so all the more surprising. There is a scene in which she takes a milk bath that is very risque, and once again we see how uninhibited Hollywood was in pre-Code times.
The Empress is in love with Marcus Superbus, and continually presses him for a tryst. He will not give in, though, because he is loyal to the Emperor and more importantly because he is in love with Mercia, who is played by an actress named Elissa Landi. In committing himself to her, - a Christian - Marcus places his life at risk.
So there you have the main plot.
The thing that strikes you about this movie is that it so well made, and filmed, and directed, and expensively budgeted, that you think that DeMille was way ahead of his time. His name became a cliche in the 70s, for excess. But judging from this one movie, the only one I have seen, he was also a masterful director. The professionalism of "The Sign Of The Cross" is evident in every technical aspect of the production, and it could be seen as a template or precursor to what would become the blockbuster productions of the modern era, and it would hold up against those films and surpass many of them.
That's how accomplished this movie is.
But the other thing is......and this is the reason you have got to see it.....is the outrageousness of some of the scenes, and especially the 25 minute finale, where DeMille stages a recreation of one of Nero's Roman Circuses at the Colosseum, replete with Gladiator battles and all kinds of lurid and deadly spectacles. There are fights between midgets and Amazonian women. There is a naked woman about to be eaten by crocodiles. There are lions attacking Christians, And there are desensitized Roman audience members lining up to watch all the carnage, feeding their faces as they enter the stadium, beset with bloodlust. DeMille shows the orgiastic response of the audience to the spectacle, exactly as it must have happened, and to see it put to film in such blatant detail is shocking, and it would still be shocking today. Remember, this is pre-Code, when Hollywood was brand new and the sound era had just come into being.
I was blown away by "The Sign Of The Cross", and not just because of it's subject matter but because of how Grand it all is. I was thinking "how could you make a movie this epic and this technically great" in 1932, and on top of that, make it so sexually risque and so graphic - yet real and non-exploitative - in the closing Roman Circus finale.
Trust me, you've never seen a movie like this one, and you've gotta see it. I was pinned to my seat, and I immediately vowed to look for more early DeMille films (not to mention the films of Claudette Colbert).
"The Sign Of The Cross" would be larger than life in any era, and still holds up today with fantastic period acting from everyone involved, and some pre-Code scenes that will suprise even the most jaded viewer, precisely because they are suggestive rather than grossly overdone, and are therefore more effective.
Two Gigantic Thumbs Up. A Must See. ////
Lastly, I must say to Elizabeth that I am very happy to see you on an airplane! I am guessing that you are off to begin another project. I figure it's gotta be that, unless your work sent you out of town, but really I think it's gotta be for a new film project, and if that is true than I am super happy for you!
That is awesome, and please post if I have got it right, because I have been rooting for you to have something new come your way so that you could Do What You Really Do, which is Art.
I hope I am right, but even if it is a job-related trip, then that will be fun too. But post if you can, just to be certain. :)
That's all I know for tonight. See you in the morning. xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo :):)
Wednesday, November 7, 2018
I Was Too Chicken To Watch
I am writing late night, from Pearl's, on the outdated Chromebook Two. The service light remained solid green all day, and I think I figured out how to deal with it. I just refrain from overloading the modem. I don't open more than one tab at a time. I close each tab each time and go back to blue screen before opening another tab for a different website. Still only using Facebook, Blogger and Amazon. Maybe a couple of others like the library or MSNBC, but I don't hang out for long. I check 'em and turn 'em off, close the tab. I do this to avoid ping-ponging the modem and causing a computer version of a Dirac Hole Current.
By taking all of these precautions I was able to use Chromebook Two all day, and even leave it set on Facebook for an hour or so, without crashing the modem. The dreaded Red Service Light was not seen today, and I really do think now that it was my computer that was causing the problem all along. It has no firewall, for reasons having to do with Chrome's five year expiration date as explained in last night's blog. I have stated on many occasions that I know little about computers, and this is true. But I am very intuitive, and I use my intuition combined with logic and common sense to root out the cause of problems - of any kind, computer or otherwise - in order to solve them. This one I think I've solved. I just have to go easy with my use of Chromebook Two, because the combination of no firewall and the very low level of Internet speed here at Pearl's is what I am pretty certain was causing the problems with the modems.
The funny thing is, just when I figured out how to gingerly use Chromebook Two to avoid the red service light, it was the same day I went to Best Buy to pick up my new Acer Chromebook that I purchased last night. So now, my new Acer is sitting in it's box because I discovered how to get continuing mileage out of my old, outdated Chromebook Two (which is so named because the Acer at my apartment is Chromebook One). But I needed the new Acer anyway (we'll dub it Chromebook Three), and I am not sure now if I will use it here at Pearl's or at home. The good thing is that I needed it, I have it, and it didn't cost a lot.
End of story and of boring computer talk. You are probably wondering why I haven't mentioned the election, so I will 'fess up and say that I haven't had the courage to watch the news this evening, because I did not want to experience another soul-crushing disappointment as we collectively felt two years ago. I did vote this afternoon, but I was slightly dismayed that I did not see anything resembling the massive predicted voter turnout. "So much for the 'Blue Wave' ", I thought, even though I knew voters were turning out in droves in other states. At my polling place, I saw five voters, whereas in 2016 during the Presidential election, there was a line across the parking lot.
So I thought, "The Blue Wave isn't gonna happen". I thought, "Republicans stick together on their candidates, even monsters like Trump, and they always vote, every last one of them". But Democrats are lackadaisical. They do not stick together, and many of them just don't bother voting if Bernie isn't running or some such socialist baloney. And that why Democrats lose, again and again. Because they are all over the map with their candidates, from Far Left Communist to Just Plain Left to Centrist.
But the Repubs will back a Fascist like Trump, if he looks like he can win. Even if they don't believe in Fascism, they will stick together and vote for him. Republicans have a hive mentality, because they know they are the minority party as far as registered voters are concerned. Yes, it's true. There are fewer registered Republicans in America than registered Democrats. That's why Hillary won by three million votes in the popular vote in 2016. But the Repubs use every trick in the book to maintain their power. They gerrymander their local districts. They harrass voters in rural areas or cause confusion at polling places by taking names off of registers. The stuff I hear about that happens in Georgia would never happen here in California, and that is because Georgia is still stuck in the Civil War era when it comes to politics. And Trump plays on that.
I am hoping that this man will lose some of his mysterious power after tomorrow morning, "mysterious" because the man is a complete moron, making George W. Bush look like an intellectual by comparison, and because I cannot imagine anyone in their right mind voting for him, or for any candidate who identifies with his fascist politics. But many do, and they all vote (unlike the lazy, divided Democrats), and that is why I am not watching the news tonight. I am figuring that Trumpism is gonna win. I did not see any evidence of a Blue Wave.
I guess I will find out in the morning because there is no way I am gonna check MSNBC before I go to bed, or else I won't be able to sleep.
We really need to rid America of this person and all of the politicians who enable him, and we need to do it immediately. If we didn't get good results tonight, I don't wanna know about it, at least not before morning.
I will deal with it then. But even if we lost, we still need to get Trump out of office asap, because this is not a joke.
See you in the morning, and may we have something that even resembles good news then.
Thank You, Lord. xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo :):)
By taking all of these precautions I was able to use Chromebook Two all day, and even leave it set on Facebook for an hour or so, without crashing the modem. The dreaded Red Service Light was not seen today, and I really do think now that it was my computer that was causing the problem all along. It has no firewall, for reasons having to do with Chrome's five year expiration date as explained in last night's blog. I have stated on many occasions that I know little about computers, and this is true. But I am very intuitive, and I use my intuition combined with logic and common sense to root out the cause of problems - of any kind, computer or otherwise - in order to solve them. This one I think I've solved. I just have to go easy with my use of Chromebook Two, because the combination of no firewall and the very low level of Internet speed here at Pearl's is what I am pretty certain was causing the problems with the modems.
The funny thing is, just when I figured out how to gingerly use Chromebook Two to avoid the red service light, it was the same day I went to Best Buy to pick up my new Acer Chromebook that I purchased last night. So now, my new Acer is sitting in it's box because I discovered how to get continuing mileage out of my old, outdated Chromebook Two (which is so named because the Acer at my apartment is Chromebook One). But I needed the new Acer anyway (we'll dub it Chromebook Three), and I am not sure now if I will use it here at Pearl's or at home. The good thing is that I needed it, I have it, and it didn't cost a lot.
End of story and of boring computer talk. You are probably wondering why I haven't mentioned the election, so I will 'fess up and say that I haven't had the courage to watch the news this evening, because I did not want to experience another soul-crushing disappointment as we collectively felt two years ago. I did vote this afternoon, but I was slightly dismayed that I did not see anything resembling the massive predicted voter turnout. "So much for the 'Blue Wave' ", I thought, even though I knew voters were turning out in droves in other states. At my polling place, I saw five voters, whereas in 2016 during the Presidential election, there was a line across the parking lot.
So I thought, "The Blue Wave isn't gonna happen". I thought, "Republicans stick together on their candidates, even monsters like Trump, and they always vote, every last one of them". But Democrats are lackadaisical. They do not stick together, and many of them just don't bother voting if Bernie isn't running or some such socialist baloney. And that why Democrats lose, again and again. Because they are all over the map with their candidates, from Far Left Communist to Just Plain Left to Centrist.
But the Repubs will back a Fascist like Trump, if he looks like he can win. Even if they don't believe in Fascism, they will stick together and vote for him. Republicans have a hive mentality, because they know they are the minority party as far as registered voters are concerned. Yes, it's true. There are fewer registered Republicans in America than registered Democrats. That's why Hillary won by three million votes in the popular vote in 2016. But the Repubs use every trick in the book to maintain their power. They gerrymander their local districts. They harrass voters in rural areas or cause confusion at polling places by taking names off of registers. The stuff I hear about that happens in Georgia would never happen here in California, and that is because Georgia is still stuck in the Civil War era when it comes to politics. And Trump plays on that.
I am hoping that this man will lose some of his mysterious power after tomorrow morning, "mysterious" because the man is a complete moron, making George W. Bush look like an intellectual by comparison, and because I cannot imagine anyone in their right mind voting for him, or for any candidate who identifies with his fascist politics. But many do, and they all vote (unlike the lazy, divided Democrats), and that is why I am not watching the news tonight. I am figuring that Trumpism is gonna win. I did not see any evidence of a Blue Wave.
I guess I will find out in the morning because there is no way I am gonna check MSNBC before I go to bed, or else I won't be able to sleep.
We really need to rid America of this person and all of the politicians who enable him, and we need to do it immediately. If we didn't get good results tonight, I don't wanna know about it, at least not before morning.
I will deal with it then. But even if we lost, we still need to get Trump out of office asap, because this is not a joke.
See you in the morning, and may we have something that even resembles good news then.
Thank You, Lord. xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo :):)
Tuesday, November 6, 2018
Green Light, Late Night + "The Nevadan" w/ Randolph Scott + Let's End This Nightmare
Here I am at Pearl's, writing late night on my untrustworthy computer and cranky modem. Tomorrow, the computer will be new, and maybe the modem will settle down. As for tonight, if for some reason this blog ends unfinished, in mid-sentence, you'll know why.
I suppose I don't have a whole lot to tell you about tonight's movie, mentioned in my earlier blog written this evening at home. It was called "The Nevadan" (1950), taken from my Randolph Scott collection, a two dvd set that includes six films. This time, Scott is an undercover US Marshall, following and then teaming up with jailbreaker Forrest Tucker, who - prior to his incarceration - has hidden a huge cache of stolen gold in an undisclosed location. Only Tucker knows where the gold is.
Scott, pretending to be an outlaw, aims to recover the gold and turn it in to the Feds, but first he has to become Forrest Tucker's partner in crime.
It's your typical Randolph Scott Western, well directed in a craftsman-like way. There was a formula to these star vehicles, and it worked well so they didn't vary it too much, but the scripts always told a Ton Of Story, and the stories always featured at least one Eccentric Western Character, and The Town Boss (who was usually the main Bad Guy), and then a Love Interest, played this time by Dorothy Malone as the daughter of the Town Boss. Her role is central to the plot.
The movie was shot at the Alabama Hills, a location you have heard me mention time and again. "The Nevadan" shows the Hills from the inside and in more close up detail than I have seen in any other Western that was filmed there. The rock formations that make up The Hills are located in a place called Lone Pine, California, and I have been wanting to drive up there for about two years now. It is 200 miles north of me, which is a major drive and will have to wait for the time being. One day, though, you will see pics of the Alabama Hills, taken by me and posted on FB just to show that I finally made it up there. Two Thumbs Up for "The Nevadan", and for any film starring RANN- dah-holff/Scottttt!
There. I got ya to sing the chorus. :)
Well, tomorrow is Election Day. I have no predictions because as we have seen, foreign adversaries and criminal elements here in America can band together to create unexpected results. But I do have a feeling that time is running out for this awful man, who is without doubt the worst person to hold the Presidency since LBJ, and I think it is safe to say that they are and were both megalomaniacs who cared nothing about this country and only coveted the Presidency in order to satisfy their mania, but even when each man achieved this goal, it was not enough. Each sought to destroy. In LBJ's case, to kill, and in Trump's case, to encourage hatred, fear, division and chaos.
Donald Trump is a very bad man, a con man and criminal with no scruples, and it is time for him to be thrown out of office, and to face the charges that are certainly going to be leveled against him. He cannot be allowed to continue to destroy The United States Of America, so let's get rid of him.
As Congressman Adam Schiff said recently, "Let's end this nightmare".
Go Vote Tomorrow!!
See you in the morning and we will watch the results over the course of the evening.
xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo :):)
I suppose I don't have a whole lot to tell you about tonight's movie, mentioned in my earlier blog written this evening at home. It was called "The Nevadan" (1950), taken from my Randolph Scott collection, a two dvd set that includes six films. This time, Scott is an undercover US Marshall, following and then teaming up with jailbreaker Forrest Tucker, who - prior to his incarceration - has hidden a huge cache of stolen gold in an undisclosed location. Only Tucker knows where the gold is.
Scott, pretending to be an outlaw, aims to recover the gold and turn it in to the Feds, but first he has to become Forrest Tucker's partner in crime.
It's your typical Randolph Scott Western, well directed in a craftsman-like way. There was a formula to these star vehicles, and it worked well so they didn't vary it too much, but the scripts always told a Ton Of Story, and the stories always featured at least one Eccentric Western Character, and The Town Boss (who was usually the main Bad Guy), and then a Love Interest, played this time by Dorothy Malone as the daughter of the Town Boss. Her role is central to the plot.
The movie was shot at the Alabama Hills, a location you have heard me mention time and again. "The Nevadan" shows the Hills from the inside and in more close up detail than I have seen in any other Western that was filmed there. The rock formations that make up The Hills are located in a place called Lone Pine, California, and I have been wanting to drive up there for about two years now. It is 200 miles north of me, which is a major drive and will have to wait for the time being. One day, though, you will see pics of the Alabama Hills, taken by me and posted on FB just to show that I finally made it up there. Two Thumbs Up for "The Nevadan", and for any film starring RANN- dah-holff/Scottttt!
There. I got ya to sing the chorus. :)
Well, tomorrow is Election Day. I have no predictions because as we have seen, foreign adversaries and criminal elements here in America can band together to create unexpected results. But I do have a feeling that time is running out for this awful man, who is without doubt the worst person to hold the Presidency since LBJ, and I think it is safe to say that they are and were both megalomaniacs who cared nothing about this country and only coveted the Presidency in order to satisfy their mania, but even when each man achieved this goal, it was not enough. Each sought to destroy. In LBJ's case, to kill, and in Trump's case, to encourage hatred, fear, division and chaos.
Donald Trump is a very bad man, a con man and criminal with no scruples, and it is time for him to be thrown out of office, and to face the charges that are certainly going to be leveled against him. He cannot be allowed to continue to destroy The United States Of America, so let's get rid of him.
As Congressman Adam Schiff said recently, "Let's end this nightmare".
Go Vote Tomorrow!!
See you in the morning and we will watch the results over the course of the evening.
xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo :):)
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