Movies | dual personalities

Curse you, Red Baron!

by chuckofish

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Today is the birthday of Manfred Albrecht Freiherr von Richthofen (May 2, 1892 – April 21, 1918), also known as the “Red Baron” and Snoopy’s nemesis.

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A fighter pilot with the German Air Force during WWI, he was considered the ace-of-aces of WWI, being officially credited with 80 air combat victories.

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The Red Baron’s all-red Fokker

Charles Schulz introduced Snoopy as the WWI Flying Ace in 1965, and over the decades the Flying Ace became one of Snoopy’s most recognizable personas.

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He was even on a stamp!

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I was always a Peanuts fan and I loved Snoopy as the WWI flyer. Our pater, whose own father had been a pilot in WWI, was also a fan. His father had been shot down and pulled from the wreckage of his plane by members of the Royal Tank Corps. Our father corresponded with one of them for many years.

Well, FYI, there is actually a new traveling exhibit called “Snoopy and the Red Baron” from the Charles M. Schulz Museum and Research Center in Santa Rosa, CA. It made it’s national debut at the Elmhurst History Museum–that’s in Elmhurst, Illinois in flyover country. It moves on to Virginia Beach, VA. in July. So if you’re interested, start planning your road trip!

Screen Shot 2018-05-01 at 11.35.43 AM.png I think this calls for root beer and a viewing of Dawn Patrol (1938), don’t you?

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6 Comments

April 23, 2018

Where’s the action? Where’s the game?*

by chuckofish

My birthday weekend (shared with daughter #2 who turned 28 last weekend) was so fun, starting with our traditional margaritas on the way home from the airport.

Over the three day weekend we managed to fit in trips to the botanical garden and Grant’s Farm, lunch out and Ted Drewe’s, a night at the Sheldon with a red hot bluegrass band, plus three visits with the wee babes. We also watched Guys and Dolls (1955)! I even managed to squeeze in church–albeit the 8:00 a.m. service where I saw people I hadn’t seen in years!

This toy is too darn fun

Not to mention we enjoyed our first barbeque of the season, with cake and lots of presents!

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The OM joined the TCM wine club on my behalf–It’s official: I am a total nerd.

My cup runneth over.

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*It’s the oldest established, permanent floating
Crap game in New York!

Have a good week!

5 Comments

April 18, 2018

No atheists in this foxhole

by chuckofish

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Today is the anniversary of the day in 1945 when journalist Ernie Pyle was killed by enemy fire on Iejima during the Battle of Okinawa, the very last pitched battle of World War Two.

A roving correspondent for the Scripps-Howard newspaper chain, he earned wide acclaim (and a Pulitzer Prize) for his accounts of ordinary American soldiers.

Now I feel like watching The Story of G.I. Joe (1945)

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which stars Burgess Meredith as Ernie Pyle and Robert Mitchum at the very beginning of his career.

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The movie premiered two months to the day after Pyle was killed in action and was very popular.

Burgess Meredith with Ernie Pyle

According to TCM, William Wellman, who was a fighter pilot in World War I, hated the infantry and had no interest in making a film about them. Wellman finally agreed to take the job only after meeting and spending several days with Ernie Pyle at Pyle’s home in New Mexico, where he saw how much former infantrymen revered him.

Wellman describes one of his evenings with Pyle in his memoirs, A Short Time for Insanity (1974): “During the meal, I saw two G.I.’s who had recognized Ernie, though his back was to them. I could tell they were talking about him by their frequent glances in his direction. Unknowingly, this was to be my first baptism of the greatness of this little giant of the G.I.’s. When we were halfway through our dinner, the two G.I.’s got up and left. Just before they passed through the door, they took a last look at Ernie, said a few words to each other. I felt that they wanted to come over and talk to him but thought that perhaps this wasn’t the time or the place. Not right in the middle of a man’s dinner. I’ll never forget the expression on their faces when they looked at Ernie.”

After doing a little search, it doesn’t look like I’ll be able to find the movie to watch, but I’ll keep looking! In the meantime we can read some of his wartime columns here in the Indiana University archive. (Yes, he was a hoosier hero.)

Join me in a toast to Ernie Pyle!

6 Comments

April 3, 2018

“I had a vague idea that I’d like to see the Pacific Ocean and perhaps drown in it…”*

by chuckofish

Well, today happens to be the birthday of two of my favorite actors: Leslie Howard (1893-1943)

and Doris Day (b. 1922).

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What a quandary this puts me in! TCM is showing Doris Day films all day:

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(so set your DVR)…

but I think I will opt for an evening of Leslie Howard. The Petrified Forest (1936) was the movie that made me a lifetime fan. I was in the tenth grade and was just dumbstruck by how great he was. I still think so.

Add Humphrey Bogart, a young and appealing Bette Davis, funny, old Charlie Grapewin and you have a stellar cast in a really good play by Robert Emmett Sherwood, who was one of the original members of the Algonquin Round Table and won four Pulitzer Prizes and an Academy Award (for the screenplay of The Best Years of Our Lives.) You can’t go wrong.

Anyway, a toast tonight to Leslie Howard AND Doris Day!

P.S. I will also toast Stephen Bochco, who died on Sunday. You remember, he was the producer behind such groundbreaking series as Hill Street Blues, NYPD Blue, and L.A. Law. He enjoyed pushing boundaries and challenging the status quo. Those shows (especially NYPD Blue) were terrific, and so much better than anything on television today. With large ensemble casts supported by great writing, these shows were character-driven and real. Andy Sipowicz is, in my humble opinion, one of (if not) the all-time best characters in TV history.

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*Alan Squier in The Petrified Forest

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April 2, 2018

“Jesus paid it all, All to him I owe”*

by chuckofish

It was a busy weekend and I feel like the wee laddie (above) at church–overstimulated and worn out.

I don’t want to give you the wrong idea though–It was a joyful and fun weekend. Daughter #1 and I managed to fit in an estate sale, margaritas, and watching Ben-Hur (1959) in its entirety. We enjoyed Ben-Hur immensely as always. Traditions are a great thing and I encourage you to start your own movie-watching ones. Teach your children (and grandchildren) to sit and pay attention to movies–I fear this is fast becoming a lost art.

We toasted Yakima Canutt, did you?

I made Episcopal Soufflé, a family favorite, for Easter brunch (because that’s what the boy always requests) and it was a crowd pleaser. The wee babes liked it too. They are little Episcopalians in the making, I tell you.

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Now it is back to the salt mines and the start of a busy week. And, oh yes, did I mention a winter weather advisory?

*Elvina M. Hall (1865)

2 Comments

March 28, 2018

Random thoughts

by chuckofish

“A Robin said: The Spring will never come,
And I shall never care to build again.
A Rosebush said: These frosts are wearisome,
My sap will never stir for sun or rain.
The half Moon said: These nights are fogged and slow,
I neither care to wax nor care to wane.
The Ocean said: I thirst from long ago,
Because earth’s rivers cannot fill the main. —
When Springtime came, red Robin built a nest,
And trilled a lover’s song in sheer delight.
Grey hoarfrost vanished, and the Rose with might
Clothed her in leaves and buds of crimson core.
The dim Moon brightened. Ocean sunned his crest,
Dimpled his blue, yet thirsted evermore.”
―Christina Rossetti

Never fear: spring is on the way. How do I know?

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The start of baseball season is just around the corner! I am no die-hard fan, but I welcome the distraction of Redbird Nation…

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…although I don’t look forward to the inevitable snarkiness regarding Big Mike.

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To the haters I say, ‘Hate stirs up trouble, but love overlooks all offenses.’ (Proverbs 10:12)

On another note, I recently watched two movies that were coincidentally both nominated for Best Picture and Best Actor in the same year–1966. This, you will recall, is the same year that Steve McQueen was robbed. But also robbed was Richard Burton for Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? and Alan Arkin for The Russians Are Coming, The Russians Are Coming.

That year there was a lot of solid competition for Best Actor:

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and, of course, the worst performance in the worst movie won. Ye gods! Alan Arkin gave a performance of comic genius–all that fake Russian and broken English:

Very clever little boy. Very, very clever, to see that my friend and I are foreigners here, but of course not Russian, naturally. What would the Russians be doing on United States of America island, with so many animosities and hatreds between these two countries? It is too funny an idea, is it not? No, we… we are of course… Norweegans.

And, oh gee whiz, how could you give the Best Actress to Elizabeth Taylor and not the Best Actor Oscar to Richard Burton? They were both at their dramatic best as the drunken married couple, George and Martha. She was no better than he, but her competition was nowhere near as stiff. This truly was a travesty of justice.

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I watched this movie because I had not seen it for a very long time and because I wanted to see how much of Smith College they actually show. (They filmed the outside scenes there in 1966, eight years before I was there.)

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The swing was still there in 1974. I wonder if it still is?

Well, anyway, Richard Burton was certainly at the top of his game. Once again, we are reminded that awards mean nothing.

I guess I should watch Alfie–I have no doubt that Michael Caine was robbed as well.

However, there was one Academy Award given that year that was highly deserved: an honorary Oscar to the peerless Yakima Canutt for achievements as a stunt man and for “developing safety devices to protect all stunt men everywhere”. He was an amazing guy! You can read about him here. I will toast him in a few days when we watch Ben-Hur (1959)!

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Horse trainer Glenn Randall, stunt coordinator Yakima Canutt (standing in chariot) & Charlton Heston on the set in Rome.

Well, just another reminder, as I said, that:

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(photo credit of MM, the Boston Globe; painted stones by rhunt60)

7 Comments

March 26, 2018

“Let thy blood in mercy poured, let thy gracious body broken, be to me, O gracious Lord, of thy boundless love the token”*

by chuckofish

Our bride-to-be seemed pleased with her shower and I think everyone had fun. The champagne punch was a hit.

It was a busy Saturday, but daughter #1 and I still managed to go out to breakfast and hit a couple of estate sales prior to the festivities.

We also watched two great movies over the weekend: The Russians Are Coming, The Russians Are Coming (1966)

which is a really funny movie. The screenplay is hilarious; it was even nominated for an Oscar. The movie was also nominated for Best Picture, Best Actor and Best Film Editing. If you have not seen it lately, treat yourself. Jonathan Winters repeatedly saying, “We have… GOT… to get organized!” is worth the price of admission alone. Also, I think I am becoming Muriel Everett.

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The other movie we watched was The Quiet Man (1952)–the classic John Ford/John Wayne fantasy about Ireland–also very enjoyable.

As usual this poster shows a lot more cleavage/bosom than ever would have been appropriate in the actual film. Zut alors!

We went to the Palm Sunday service at Grace.

All went well with the Passion story as read by the lay reader stars. I was the Narrator again, which I enjoyed. But, you know, “Let the one who boasts boast in the Lord.” (I Cor. 1:31)

Afterwards we went over to see the wee babes at their house before daughter #1 had to hit the road and head home to Mid-MO. It is always a joy to see the wee babes in their natural habitat.

And now it is back to the salt mine. Let’s try to keep our focus where it belongs during Holy Week!

*Episcopal hymnal

3 Comments

March 1, 2018

A hoot and a holler

by chuckofish

The Oscars are coming up this Sunday, but, as you know, I no longer watch them. Self-aggrandizing rich people–phooey!

Instead I will watch one of my five favorite films, four of which were nominated for Best Picture (but, of course, did not win.) These five films are, in my humble opinion, as close to perfect as movies get. They won’t surprise you. I list them in no particular order.

Shane (1953): “Know what you want to stay for? Something that means more to you than anything else – your families – your wives and kids. Like you, Lewis, your girls. Shipstead with his boys. They’ve got a right to stay here and grow up and be happy. That’s up to you people to have – nerve enough to not give it up.”

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2. The Adventures of Robin Hood (1938): “Why, you speak treason!”/”Fluently!”

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3. The Wizard of Oz (1939): “Back where I come from, we have universities, seats of great learning, where men go to become great thinkers. And when they come out, they think deep thoughts and with no more brains than you have.”

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4. Breakfast at Tiffany’s (1961): “You know what’s wrong with you, Miss Whoever-you-are? You’re chicken, you’ve got no guts. You’re afraid to stick out your chin and say, “Okay, life’s a fact, people do fall in love, people do belong to each other, because that’s the only chance anybody’s got for real happiness.” You call yourself a free spirit, a “wild thing,” and you’re terrified somebody’s gonna stick you in a cage. Well baby, you’re already in that cage. You built it yourself. And it’s not bounded in the west by Tulip, Texas, or in the east by Somali-land. It’s wherever you go. Because no matter where you run, you just end up running into yourself.”

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5. Stagecoach (1939): “Now folks, if we push on we can be in Apache Wells by sundown. Soldiers there will give us an escort as far as the ferry. Then it’s only a hoot and a holler into Lordsburg. We got four men who can handle firearms – five with you, Ringo. Doc can shoot if sober.” [or The Searchers (1956)/She Wore a Yellow Ribbon (1947)/The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance (1962)–the best of the John Wayne/John Ford oeuvre.]

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In case you were wondering, Shane, The Wizard of Oz, The Adventures of Robin Hood, and Stagecoach were nominated for Best Picture. It is interesting to look at the list of Oscar winners for Best Picture. It ranges from the (not quite) sublime to the (truly) ridiculous. Some of my favorite winners are: The Best Years of Our Lives (1946), Ben Hur (1959), Tom Jones (1963), The Sting (1974), Chariots of Fire (1981), and The Last Emperor (1987).

But you will find me watching one of these non-winners, one of these five great films on Sunday night.

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February 26, 2018

“Leave the gun. Take the cannoli.”*

by chuckofish

After raining all week, it rained all day Saturday and our front yard was literally a lake. On Sunday morning, however, a great bright orb appeared in the sky, and proceeded to dry everything up. It was nice to see the sun after such a long time. Of course, there are now signs of spring everywhere.

But we mustn’t get ahead of ourselves.

I re-read The Last Kind Words Saloon by Larry McMurtry. It is a very short novell(a) about Charles Goodnight, Wyatt Earp, Doc Holiday, Buffalo Bill, various women and Indians. McMurtry is long past his Lonesome Dove powers, but there is something about his books that soothes my soul. When I finished that, I started Goodbye My Lovely by my hero, Raymond Chandler. I have a whole pile of current novels to read, but I just can’t seem to want to read them.

A couple of weeks ago, I gave my Valentine the DVD set of the three Godfather movies, because it had occurred to me that I had never actually seen The Godfather (1972) in its entirety. We watched it Saturday night. I remember when my parents went to see it. (I was deemed too young.) They didn’t love it, but they were somewhat impressed I think. It was new and different and shocking for the time.

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It holds up after all these years, but I can’t say I loved it or anything. I guess I just do not understand gangster movies or their appeal. They are about criminals, violent sick criminals. With whom am I supposed to identify? Much less care about? The OM says their appeal has to do with people’s vicarious desire to kill/do violence to their enemies without consequences. Really? Yikes. And why did Marlon Brando win an Oscar for that role? If anyone deserved an Oscar it was Al Pacino who was the center of the film. He is really good–you can follow the arc of his character, how he changes, how his eyes deaden, how he becomes a criminal. [According to IMDB, Pacino did not attend the Oscar ceremony in protest of perceived category fraud. As his performance reflected greater screen time than that of his co-star Marlon Brando, Pacino believed he should have received a nomination for Best Actor in a Leading Role. Well, welcome to Hollywood, Al. You were robbed.] The movie has a very good cast–James Caan, Robert Duvall, Diane Keaton. Well, now I’ve seen it.

I went to church on Sunday–rite I for Lent–and enjoyed the service except for an overabundance of virtue-signaling in the sermon by our associate rector. Saints preserve me. The ushers were also annoyingly loud out in the narthex during the sermon, and I was seriously contemplating going out to tell them to please shut the heck up, but was saved from having to do so when my friend Carla got up and went and did it first! You go, girl. We all know that guys want to usher so they don’t have to sit through the service, but gabbing in the narthex is not okay.

While I was sitting in church during this penitential season, I couldn’t help but think some more about The Godfather, especially the sickening baptism scene, the climax of the film. You remember: while the baptism of Michael Corleone’s goddaughter is being enacted in some ornate Catholic church, the elaborate murders of the heads of the five New York mafia families are simultaneously going on, orchestrated by Michael. In essence, he is being baptized twice: once as he renews his own baptismal vows, and secondly as he is “baptized” into organized crime as the new don.

This is all very well and brilliant film-making, blah, blah, blah, oh the irony. But no thank you. Just not my cup of tea I guess.

When I got home from church, I convinced the OM to take a drive down to Ted Drewes–our first of the year.

My mocha concrete hit the spot. The OM did a little advertising for the boy.

I spent quite some time washing some more 30-year old toys I unearthed, but sadly, the wee babes didn’t come over as planned–sad face–so I don’t have any cute pictures. C’est la vie. We roll with the punches.

So it’s back to the salt mine today. Have a good Monday.

*Clemenza in The Godfather

5 Comments

February 16, 2018

“For I acknowledge my faults; and my sin is ever before me.”*

by chuckofish

So how is your Lent going so far?

Screen Shot 2018-02-15 at 4.53.26 PM.png Here’s a little book –“A Few Words About Lent”–that may interest you. It was written in 1861 by Charles Todd Quintard, whose feast day is today on the Episcopal Church calendar. Charles was an American physician and clergyman who became the second bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Tennessee and the first Vice-Chancellor of the University of the South.

Mighty God, we bless thy Name for the example of thy bishop Charles Todd Quintard, who persevered to reconcile the divisions among the people of his time: Grant, we pray, that thy Church may ever be one, that it may be a refuge for all, for the honor of thy Name; through Jesus Christ, who with thee and the Holy Spirit liveth and reigneth, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

Anyway, it is finally Friday. The OM and I are planning to road-trip to Columbia this weekend. On Saturday we will tour our state capitol with daughter #1. We are living in the fast lane, right?

I am pretty excited to see the old river town. I have not been there since I accompanied daughter #2 and her fourth grade class on a field trip to Jefferson City back in the day.

Screen Shot 2018-02-15 at 1.33.26 PM.png Jefferson City is on the northern edge of the Ozark Plateau on the southern side of the Missouri River in a region known as Mid-Missouri. The Jeff City website proudly announces that Jefferson City was chosen by Rand McNally as “America’s Most Beautiful Small Town!” However, it does not say when that was. [I searched around the internet and it was 2013!]

When we get back on Sunday, we’ll hopefully get to see the wee babes. Last weekend little Lottie was sick with an ear infection, so only the wee lad and his dad came over.

Here they are reading quietly together. Such book worms!

Here they are in their Olympics-watching outfits–remember the 1980 Miracle on Ice? Eruzione’s goal against the Soviet Union to clinch the “Miracle on Ice” victory is one of the most iconic sports moments of all time.

But did you know that ESPN officially recognized it as the No. 1 greatest sports highlight of all time and Sports Illustrated has named it the No. 1 sports moment of the 20th century? I did not know that. I remember watching the game in the living room of the St. Catherine’s School in Richmond, VA, when I was on hall monitor duty that night. It was, indeed, rather exciting. I seem to remember a lot of screaming, my own included.

If you need a break from the 2018 Olympics, you might want to watch Miracle (2004), starring Kurt Russell as the U.S. ice hockey coach, Herb Brooks. It is pretty good and worth it to see Kurt Russell rock the (terrible) 1980 fashion and hair.

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Have a good weekend!

*Psalm 51: 3

BTW: the painting at the top is Saint Catherine of Siena besieged by demons (Anonymous). St. Catherine’s School in Richmond, VA, on the other hand, is named after Saint Catherine of Alexandria, the patron saint of young women.

5 Comments

dual personalities

Category: Movies

May 2, 2018

Curse you, Red Baron!

by chuckofish

April 23, 2018

Where’s the action? Where’s the game?*

by chuckofish

April 18, 2018

No atheists in this foxhole

by chuckofish

April 3, 2018

“I had a vague idea that I’d like to see the Pacific Ocean and perhaps drown in it…”*

by chuckofish

April 2, 2018

“Jesus paid it all, All to him I owe”*

by chuckofish

March 28, 2018

Random thoughts

by chuckofish

March 26, 2018

“Let thy blood in mercy poured, let thy gracious body broken, be to me, O gracious Lord, of thy boundless love the token”*

by chuckofish

March 1, 2018

A hoot and a holler

by chuckofish

February 26, 2018

“Leave the gun. Take the cannoli.”*

by chuckofish

February 16, 2018

“For I acknowledge my faults; and my sin is ever before me.”*

by chuckofish