movies | dual personalities

July 28, 2014

“You mistake my choice not to feel as a reflection of my not caring, while I assure you the truth is precisely the opposite.”*

by chuckofish

Edward Potthast “At the Seaside”

The woman in this painting looks comfortable, doesn’t she? Reading under an umbrella at the beach. Lovely. It was very hot this weekend in my flyover town and I could have used a beach, but there is no beach nearby. I had to make do with an air conditioned house. Not complaining.

I was working on my DIY project anyway. I developed blisters on my hand and had to stop. You might think this is because I was working so hard, but really I am just a wimp.

I finished the Robert Galbraith (J.K. Rowling) mystery which I enjoyed. I hope she writes more with Private Detective Cormoran Strike. I started in on John Cheever stories. I am not a big fan of short stories. They are always a little too creepy and clever. Cheever’s are no exception, but he is a good writer.

I went to evensong with the boy to see his old pal Michael preach–his first homily since getting the green light for divinity school.

The boy and his old chorister buddies (head proctor, middle, and chaplain, right, at the RSCM camp)

The chaplain’s grandmother told me that she thinks we should all rent a bus and travel to NYC together when he is ordained. I was like, for sure, great idea! I can picture it now: the bus pulls up in front of St. Bart’s and all Michael’s flyover friends and family spill out on to Park Avenue! I am so ready.

I watched several movies including Star Trek Into Darkness (2013) wherein Captain Kirk (Chris Pine) et al go on “a manhunt to a war-zone world to capture a one-man weapon of mass destruction.”

My expectations were low, so I enjoyed it. Personally I think they should make a whole movie about Dr. McCoy (Karl Urban) who definitely did not get enough face time in this voyage of the starship Enterprise.

I also watched an old favorite of mine, Proud Rebel (1958), which deeply affected me as child.

Alan Ladd plays a former Confederate who is searching for a doctor who can help his son who is mute as a result of a traumatic event during the Civil War. His son is played by his real-life son David Ladd and they make a likable and attractive duo. Wonderful Olivia de Haviland plays the woman who helps them and gives them a place to live and falls in love with both of them. The supporting players are good and it is well directed by the great Michael Curtiz. The music is even by Jerome Moross! It is a good movie that has a lot going for it. If only Alan Ladd weren’t as stiff as a board! If only he could muster an iota of romantic interest in Olivia’s character! If only he could act! It has everything going for it–even a smart and loyal dog–except for a leading man who is up to the part. There are many reminders of Shane in this film–from the boy to the bad guys–but one of the reasons I suppose Shane works is that the title character (as played by Ladd) endeavors heroically not to show his feelings for Mrs. Starrett. Alan Ladd is good at not showing his feelings.

And what did we learn here? That Alan Ladd could have played Spock? Discuss among yourselves.

*Mr. Spock

11 Comments

July 23, 2014

Are you washed in the blood of the lamb?

by chuckofish

On this day in 1865 British revivalist preacher William Booth founded the Salvation Army.

Originally a prominent Methodist evangelist, Booth felt constrained by the need to have a pastorate. Eventually he resigned from the ministry and began preaching to crowds of people in the streets of the East End of London. Soon he and his wife opened ‘The Christian Revival Society’ (later renamed The Christian Mission) where they held meetings every evening and on Sundays.

The Salvation Army, as the mission became known, was modeled after the military, with its own flag (or colors) and its own music, often with Christian words put to popular and folk tunes sung in the pubs. Booth and the other soldiers in “God’s Army” wore the Army’s own uniform, ‘putting on the armor’ for meetings and ministry work. He became the General and his other ministers were given appropriate ranks as officers. Other members became soldiers. During his lifetime, William Booth established Army work in 58 countries and colonies, traveling extensively and holding salvation meetings.

Today the Salvation Army is one of the largest and most popular charitable organizations in the world.

George Bernard Shaw wrote a three-act play Major Barbara about a Salvation Army member who becomes disillusioned when the charity accepts money from a arms maker and a whiskey distiller. In the preface to the play, however, Shaw derided the idea that charities should only take money from “morally pure” sources. He points out that donations can always be used for good, whatever their provenance, and he quotes a Salvation Army officer, “they would take money from the devil himself and be only too glad to get it out of his hands and into God’s”.

Vachel Lindsay wrote a poem about General Booth, General William Booth Enters Into Heaven. (You can read the whole poem here. )

And when Booth halted at the curb for prayer

He saw his Master thro’ the flag-filled air.

Christ came gently with a robe and crown

For Booth the soldier, while the throng knelt down.

He saw King Jesus. They were face to face,

And he knelt a-weeping in that holy place.

Are you washed in the blood of the Lamb?

On a lighter note, while toasting the Army tonight, we could all watch Guys and Dolls (1955).

As you know, this is how my mind works…

7 Comments

July 22, 2014

“This is Jim Rockford. At the tone, leave your name and message, I’ll get back to you.”

by chuckofish

When I talked to daughter #1 on Sunday, she told me that James Garner had died.

“You’ll have to break it to dad gently,” she said. Then we chuckled because it has been a family joke for years that the OM has a bit of a thing for old James Garner. I always thought this man-crush was odd because JG always reminded me a lot of the OM’s pater and their relationship was, shall we say, less than familial. But let’s not get too Freudian about it all…

James Garner, you will recall, was the star of the hit TV series The Rockford Files and Maverick and some good films including The Great Escape (1963), The Thrill of it All (1963) and The Children’s Hour (1961). He was only nominated once for an Oscar–for Murphy’s Romance (1985)–and, of course, he didn’t win. (William Hurt won that year for Kiss of the Spider Woman! Remember that one? Me neither.) He was miscast a lot–he played Philip Marlowe in Marlowe (1965) and Ira Moran in Breathing Lessons (1994). Frequently you had the feeling he was the second or third choice for a role.

But you had to hand it to him for being a working actor for all those years–1956-2010–that’s impressive. He didn’t seem to care if he had top billing; he just wanted the work. He gave the impression that he didn’t take his profession too seriously–he knew he was no Olivier–but it paid well and, despite the physical trauma of stunt-work, it wasn’t too hard.

“I’m a Methodist but not as an actor,” he wrote in his autobiography The Garner Files. “I’m from the Spencer Tracy school: Be on time, know your words, hit your marks, and tell the truth. I don’t have any theories about acting, and I don’t think about how to do it, except that an actor shouldn’t take himself too seriously, and shouldn’t try to make acting something it isn’t. Acting is just common sense. It isn’t hard if you put yourself aside and just do what the writer wrote.”

A refreshing attitude, to be sure. He had “exasperated” down to a “T”. You can read all about his career here.

My mother was a fan of those Polaroid commercials he did with Mariette Hartley in the ’70s. Remember those classic commercials? (Remember those cameras?!) She thought they were great and I’m sure she bought at least one Polaroid because of them.

Anyway, I settled in and watched several episodes of The Rockford Files–Season One on Sunday night.

140720-jim-rockford-james-garner-600-1405872962

Rockford in all his Sansabelt, poly-wool glory

I find it very comforting to watch The Rockford Files with its car chases through the banal southern California scenery and the really bad ’70s apparel, home decor and hairdos, because I can imagine my parents watching it. It was one of their favorite shows. The 1970s (worst decade ever!) was the decade of my youth after all–when I graduated from high school and went to college. So The Rockford Files is nothing if not familiar.

So rest in peace, James Garner. We’ll miss you. And the walk down memory lane with the The Rockford Files just may continue tonight…I highly recommend it.

Into paradise may the angels lead thee; and at thy coming may the martyrs receive thee, and bring thee into the holy city Jerusalem.
–BCP, Burial of the Dead, Rite I

6 Comments

July 21, 2014

We are climbing Jacob’s Ladder

by chuckofish

Lovebirds circa 1988

Since my dual personality already posted about her silver anniversary and the wonderful wedding in England that started it all, I will refrain from doing so. My pictures from the big event are pretty much the same.

I will limit myself to this one of daughter #1 (almost 5) and the boy (2 1/2).

The boy, as previously noted, was coming down with chicken pox, but he was enough on the ball to be quite taken with the wedding. It was in the fall, after all, that he came home one day from pre-school and announced that he “had decided.” “Decided what?” I gamely asked. “I’ve decided to marry Lauren B.”

And, reader, he did. Just about twenty-three years later, he did–and in July as well!

I don’t think he would have been contemplating wedlock if he had not attended this great wedding in England. You just never know what your younguns are thinking.

What a bud.

Anyway, how was your weekend? I estate-saled, ran errands, tore wallpaper off the walls of an upstairs bathroom (you gotta have a project), attended church, and planted a rose bush.

As I noted on Friday, I planned to watch Road to Perdition, but I could not find my copy! Can you believe it? Curses again. Instead I watched The Naked Jungle (1954) with Charlton Heston, Eleanor Parker and William Conrad with a really bad French (?) accent.

You remember–it’s the one about the plantation in South America that is in the path of a 2-mile-wide, 20-mile-long column of army ants! It was clearly shot on a soundstage, but it is better than it sounds. Charlton is always worth watching.

On Saturday night I watched The Grand Budapest Hotel (2014).

I am not a fan of Wes Anderson–he is highly over-rated, if you ask me–so my expectations were low. I enjoyed it, however, mostly because I am a minor fan of Ralph Fiennes. He is wonderful (who knew he could be funny?) and elevates the material. There are the usual cameo appearances by Wes’s hipster friends (Bill Murray, Owen Wilson, Ed Norton, Bob Balaban, etc.) and inappropriate (and an inordinate) use of the F-word, but it is worth watching for Ralph and his sidekick played by the very funny teenager Tony Revolori.

I was a reader once again at church (substituting for vacationing lay readers) and I read the story of Jacob’s dream of the angels ascending and descending the ladder (Genesis 28:10-19a). I also read Romans 8:12-25, which includes “you did not receive a spirit of slavery to fall back into fear” and also “I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory about to be revealed to us.” Good stuff.

Here is a terrific rendition of the old negro spiritual “We are climbing Jacob’s ladder” sung by a Dutch men’s chorus. (I love that they pronounce Jacob as “Yacob.”) We don’t hear this one much anymore–probably because of the refrain: “Soldiers of the cross.” Listen to the whole thing–it’ll rev your engines to start the week off right!

If you love Him, why not serve Him?

(Here are all the words.)

10 Comments

July 18, 2014

Darn, darn, darn, darny-darn! or What was I thinking?

by chuckofish

So we watched The Lego Movie (2014) the other night. One of my nephews reviewed it here back when it came out in February–you can read all about the plot etc. there. He thought it was “perfect” and I will not dispute that. I just think I am getting too old for this kind of movie. There were too many distracting cameos–I spent a lot of mental energy trying to hear whose voice was who–and too much whiz bang action.

I mean I get what the movie is about. We had lots of Lego when my children were growing up and we were not the kind of parents who insisted on keeping the sets whole and “glued,” as it were, together. We got that it’s about the child being creative and making its own world, usually after the Lego world has been mastered. I’m glad they made that clear in the movie. And I like that they made a point of using Lego-friendly language, i.e darn, dang and oh my g.o.s.h. Isn’t it ironic, however, that it has a PG rating for “cartoon violence” and tense situations?

Anyway, it poked fun at the right things: terrible, mind-numbing theme songs, vulgar one-joke TV shows that are not funny, sports bars, and people who are known for just one thing. It is nice to know that there are still people (in Hollywood especially) who understand that our culture is all about being banal while asserting that everyone is “special.”

I think it is sad, however, that no one can make a movie this good for adults. Or is it that the adults, including the makers of this movie, don’t really want to be grown ups? They just want to be kids forever, making childish inside jokes about imaginary people and super heroes. When was the last time you saw a “new” movie about real people–not make-believe James Bond or Captain America people?

You haven’t, right? I thought so.

Yeah, I know, I’m turning into an old coot. Well, so be it.

Just for laughs I looked at a list on IMDB.com of the “Top 100 Movies of the Decade 2000-2010”. I found six movies that I liked: Gladiator (2000), Black Hawk Down (2001), Road to Perdition (2002), Million Dollar Baby (2004), Crash (2004), and The Hurt Locker (2008). I only own one of those movies–Road to Perdition. So I guess that’s my movie pick for this Friday!

I will refrain from making a joke about the title.

7 Comments

July 17, 2014

Happy birthday to some real yankee doodle dandies

by chuckofish

Today is the OM’s birthday so let’s all sing a rousing chorus of “For He’s a Jolly Good Fellow”!

Gee, this is real keen!

And here’s a special rendition of “Shine On August Moon” just for you:

It should be noted that July 17 is also the birthday of the great James Cagney (July 17, 1899 – March 30, 1986). I must say I was not a fan of his as a child/young adult. He is an acquired taste, but I have grown to appreciate him over the years. For years he was type-cast as a gangster, but he won an Oscar for playing a song-and-dance man in Yankee Doodle Dandy (1942). He is sensational in White Heat (1949) as the devoted son and psychopathic killer. It was his portrayal of Lon Chaney in Man of a Thousand Faces (1957) that made me an admirer.

I remember watching this melodramatic movie with the boy when he was a small child. He was quite struck by the story and I think he actually wept during the scene when Lon’s young son Creighton is taken away from him. It prompted me to take a deeper look at Cagney who is indeed impressive in the film.

He was also quite a hoofer and his distinctive dance style was admired by the likes of Barishnikov, who was actually a pall bearer at his funeral. Check it out here–he’s like a marionette!

By the way, Ronald Reagan (U.S. President at the time) gave the eulogy at his funeral. Now that’s impressive.

So hats off to the OM and to James Cagney–let’s toast them both tonight!

Bonus picture for a Thursday Throwback: Our brother and one dual personality salute the flag in a festive mood in 1980. (My apologies for the ink stain on our poor brother’s face.)

8 Comments

July 11, 2014

“Today’s temperature’s gonna rise up over 100 degrees, so there’s a Jheri curl alert! That’s right, Jheri curl alert.”*

by chuckofish

It is worth living long enough to outlast whatever sense of grievance you may acquire. Another reason why you must be careful of your health.

(Marilynne Robinson, Gilead)

Summer has never been my favorite season. In our flyover state it is HOT and growing up we did not have air conditioning. Yes, you read that correctly.

I was one of those ~~weird~~ kids who actually liked school. And as we did not belong to a country club and I was not sent away to camp, I was bored a lot during the summer. I did not have a friend in the neighborhood. So I read a lot. I watched way too much TV. I went to the grocery store with my mother. A big day was when we went to the movies. Sometimes friends of my parents would give us their box seat tickets to the baseball game. You get the picture. It was a long three months.

Anyway, I have come to appreciate the summer and its slower pace. It helps that we live in an air-conditioned house now. That makes a big difference.

I enjoy all the goings on in my yard. From the day lilies

to the pumpkins

to the critters.

I did not take this photo of a mini-bear, but they are everywhere. There’s a whole chipmunk village underneath our yard.

I appreciate the longer days. For instance yesterday, the boy came by my office at the end of the day and together we trekked down to the new auction house which has replaced the one that was so conveniently located across the street from my office for many years. (Much to my chagrin, some shady dealings forced this 150-plus-year old business to close.) The new auction house has set up in an old church designed by one of our city’s most famous architects and we went down to check out the preview of the inaugural auction which will be this Saturday.

It was great to do that and get home before dark! Summer has its upside.

I tried to think of a good summer movie for my Friday movie pick, but nothing really came to mind. Jaws (1975)? The Parent Trap (1964)? Dirty Dancing (1987)? American Graffiti (1973)? Gotta say, I’m just not in the mood.

Any ideas?

* Do The Right Thing (1989)

11 Comments

July 9, 2014

“Though many brave unwritten tales were simply told in vapour trails”*

by chuckofish

Let’s take a moment to remember that the Battle of Britain began on July 10, 1940 as Nazi forces attacked shipping convoys in the English Channel. It was the first major assault by the Luftwaffe. Although heavily outnumbered, the British fighter pilots put up a fierce fight and succeeded in driving off the attackers.

The Battle of Britain Memorial Window for Rolls-Royce, dedicated in 1947 in the Lady Chapel in Westminster Abbey

“Spitfire” window was created to honour all members of RAF Fighter Command. It’s located at the former RAF Bentley Priory, headquarters of Fighter Command during the Second World War

“Spitfire” window created to honor all members of RAF Fighter Command. It’s located at the former RAF Bentley Priory, headquarters of Fighter Command during the Second World War.

Battle of Britain Memorial in Kent, England

A section of the Battle of Britain Monument in London, England

I might have to dust off my copy of The Battle of Britain (1969), an “historical reenactment of the air war in the early days of World War Two for control of the skies over Britain as the new Luftwaffe and the Royal Air Force determine whether or not an invasion can take place.”

Directed by Guy Hamilton, there is a lot of aerial action by Spitfires and it boasts a who’s who of British actors, including Michael Caine, Trevor Howard, Ian McShane, Laurence Olivier, Michael Redgrave, Kenneth More, Ralph Richardson, and on and on.

If I had not just recently seen Spitfire–The First of Few (1942) starring Leslie Howard and David Niven, I would certainly watch it.

Leslie Howard is great as aircraft designer R.J. Mitchell and, as usual, he is doing his best to support the war effort in the best way he can.

It goes without saying that I will toast those few brave flyers who fought so valiantly to save so many. Will you join me?

* Lines from “Our Wall” by Flight Lieutenant William Walker, 616 Squadron, inscribed on a plaque next to the memorial wall in Kent.

5 Comments

July 2, 2014

I tramp a perpetual journey

by chuckofish

Today I am actually traveling! The OM and I are flying up to Michigan where we are meeting my big brother and heading to his house on Lake St. Clair. My dual personality and her DH (Dear Husband) are driving from the North Country to meet us. We will celebrate the frater’s birthday (and also our country’s) with much toasting and fireworks. Absent friends and all that.

The siblings circa 1967–pretend traveling at the Transportation Museum

And FYI the Star of the Month for July on TCM is the lovely Maureen O’Hara.

Check out the schedule here. They aren’t showing The Quiet Man (1952) or Only the Lonely (1991) where John Candy plays her son–inspired casting! But they are showing Rio Grande (1950), and there are some other good ones on the list.

Enjoy your holiday weekend! Celebrate responsibly!

2 Comments

July 1, 2014

“Gentleman, this is America!”*

by chuckofish

Last Saturday (June 28) was the birthday of Emerson Hough (1857–1923), the author of some 34 books and countless magazine articles and a distant cousin of my great-grandmother. You can read all about him here.

Emerson was also descended from the original Hough who emigrated from Chester, England in 1683 to Pennsylvania, but his ancestors subsequently moved from Pennsylvania to Loudoun County, Virginia.

Family legend has it that Hough’s most famous novel, The Covered Wagon, was based on my great-great grandmother’s journal.

If there is any truth to this story, boy, wouldn’t I love to get my hands on that journal! One of these days I’ll have to venture up to the University of Iowa (Hough’s alma mater) to check out his archive. (There are also letters in the collections at Iowa State and the University of Virginia.)

Besides writing fiction, Hough was also a journalist and conservationist. He once explored Yellowstone on skis and his reports were largely responsible for an act of Congress protecting the buffalo in the park.

One of the highlights of his writing career came when Theodore Roosevelt wrote him a fan letter, praising Story of the Cowboy (1897):

I don’t know when I have read a book that I like more than your “Story of the Cowboy.” I have always been hoping against hope that such a book would be written, but I had about given it up, and there was scant time remaining in which anyone could write it. At last, thank Heaven, it has been done! Not only is it to my mind a most fascinating book, but I think it is as valuable a bit of genuine contemporary history as I have yet examined.

Hough died in Evanston, Illinois, on April 30, 1923, a week after seeing the Chicago premiere of the silent movie The Covered Wagon, which was a huge hit. It ran fifty-nine weeks at the Criterion Theater in New York City, eclipsing the record of The Birth of a Nation. He is buried in Galesburg, Illinois.

findagrave.com

Anyway, I plan to toast old Emerson Hough tonight. And while I’m at it, I’ll toast Teddy Roosevelt and his Rough Riders who stormed San Juan Hill on this day in 1898.