dual personalities

The world is a clown show but that does not mean that we have to be surly. The joy of the Lord is our strength. As a wise man once said, “We are not called simply to fight with the evil around us, but rather we are called to fight this evil with a song in our hearts.”

“Then he said unto them, Go your way, eat the fat, and drink the sweet, and send portions unto them for whom nothing is prepared: for this day is holy unto our Lord: neither be ye sorry; for the joy of the Lord is your strength” (Nehemiah 8:10).

Since we can’t watch the news and the Olympics are another clown show, I have been watching–you guessed it–old movies. Recently I watched Sergeant York (1941), a film I had previously written off as patronizing folksy hocum with Gary Cooper winning an Oscar for perfecting his aw-shucks persona. But this true story of a Tennessee farm boy, who is transformed from a n’er-do-well to a conscientious objector to a hero in WWI, really hit me differently this time around. It was the highest grossing film of 1941 and I can see why now. Of course, it is a Hollywood propaganda film aiming to gain support for America joining the war effort, but they do it well. They also handle York’s Spurgeon-esque conversion experience directly and unapologetically as it is central to the story. I enjoyed it and I recommend it.

I also watched I Know Where I’m Going (1945), a production of The Archers–Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger. The story is about a young Englishwoman (Wendy Hiller) who goes to the Hebrides to marry her older, wealthier fiancé. She thinks she knows what she wants, but when the weather keeps them separated on different islands, she begins to have second thoughts–most of them to do with Torquil MacNeil (Roger Livesey), a dashing local laird home on leave from WWII. It is a very romantic story of the type no one has been able to tell on screen for 50 years. Although Hiller is not a favorite of mine, I enjoyed it very much. The rest of the cast is wonderful.

And here’s good news: it’s time to set your DVRs because TCM’s Summer Under the Stars, where they celebrate a different star each day in August, starts tomorrow! Here’s the schedule. William Powell starts off the month on August 1.

So watch an old movie, keep cool and make lemonade (or a margarita).