#man and van heston

[hotvintagepoll]

Welcome to the HOT AND VINTAGE MOVIE STARS bracket! we are currently voting on the HOTTEST and VINTAGEST male movie stars from 1910-1970. (we will do the ladies next.) Submissions for hot vintage men are now closed, but we are accepting propaganda for those already in the bracket.

Round 2 of the Hot & Vintage Men Tournament will be posted Saturday, January 6th, with some spillover to Sunday if needed, and will last a week. All the round 2 polls can be found and voted on under the tag #round 2. All polls—including the shadow bracket of men already removed from the main tournament, as well as additional fun mini polls—can be found in the #hotvintagepoll tag. Every poll in the Hot & Vintage Men Tournament is tagged with the hot man in it if you need to search for a hot man in particular.

Between rounds, any propaganda (photos, videos, gifs, or text) submitted for your favorite Hot Vintage Man who is in the next round may be added to the official propaganda field in the polls, giving your fave an advantage in the next round. Once rounds start, any propaganda sent in is posted as its own separate post, searchable under the hot man's tag.

FAQs:

"Where is [my favorite hot man]?" It depends. Have you checked all the polls in the tag? Have you done a tag search for him? If you still haven't found him, either nobody submitted him or he did not fit the criteria of being a movie man from 1910-1970.

"Can I still submit hot men?" No, the submission window has closed. Please do not send in men you wish had made it into the bracket. I can't do anything with those asks and they just make me sad.

"I have hot women to submit!" Amazing! Please wait to send me your ladies until I post the submission form for that bracket. Asks submitting ladies don't count—you need to wait until the submission form.

"I have additional propaganda for the hot men!" Great! Send me an ask or reblog the poll and add your propaganda to it. I don't have time to read all the propaganda but I boost what I can.

If you're submitting propaganda for your hot man, I don't accept propaganda that's from beyond the end of this tournament's era (ie don't send me pics of them in the 70s onwards).

I don't post or boost negative propaganda about any hot man. If you really hate that a certain hot man is winning, send me positive propaganda for their hot opponent. If you think a hot man shouldn't even be included in the bracket because of scummy things they did in their lifetime, please read my take on it here.

If I see repetitive, trolling, and/or bigoted remarks in the comments, I may block you from this bracket. If you want to point out a hot man's flaws or misdemeanors, that's fine, but if I see consistent bad-faith trolling, you will be blocked.

"My FAQ isn't on here :(" send me an ask! I love hearing from you guys—just please check these basics first.

"WHERE ARE THE HOT MEN. I want to see all the hot men competing in one place!!" You can find all the round 1 matchups here (thank you @markwatnae!), and everyone who made it to round 2 below the cut. Thank you for being here! Enjoy the tournament.

Hot Men of Round 2, in no particular order (I will post matchup links once round 2 begins)

Omar Sharif vs Alain Delon

Sammy Davis Jr. vs James Dean

Gregory Peck vs Lex Barker

Robert Redford vs Sidney Poitier

Charlton Heston vs Jeremy Brett

Dick Van Dyke vs Marlon Brando

Cesar Romero vs Cary Grant

Rock Hudson

Peter Cushing

Jimmy Stewart

Conrad Veidt

Bela Lugosi

Vincent Price

Gene Kelly

Harry Belafonte

Christopher Plummer

Errol Flynn

Burt Lancaster

Oscar Michaux

Paul Newman

Clint Eastwood

Sessue Hayakawa

Carman Newsome

Robert Earl Jones

Gary Cooper

Paul Robeson vs David Niven

Clark Gable

Humphrey Bogart

Toshiro Mifune

Ronald Colman

Harold Nicholas

Danny Kaye

John Carradine

Gilbert Roland

Benson Fong

Guy Madison

Buster Keaton vs Noble Johnson

James Shigeta vs Peter O'Toole

Montgomery Clift

Frank Sinatra

Fred Astaire

Basil Rathbone

Turhan Bey

Boris Karloff

Peter Falk

Laurence Olivier

Tyrone Power

Donald O’Connor

Michael Redgrave

James Edwards vs Anthony Perkins

Fernando Lamas

Johnny Weismuller

Sabu Dastagir

Rex Ingram

Bing Crosby

If you have any additional questions, or propaganda to submit for the men above, send me an ask here.

[precaffeinatedsalomon]

The Omega Man, Blaxploitation, and Melvin Van Peebles’ : Classified X (1998).

“These details of The Omega Man’s adaptation reveal the sensitivity, if not subtlety, with which the plot registers deep transformations in the parameters of the political at two sites: on one hand, the specifically (white) American anxieties about the racialization of urban space, conjured by the siege of the last, white man in his townhouse and, on the other, the insurgence of a figural Third World and the dizzying expansion of the phenomenological scale—in short, the globalization of the experience of the political.”  On the Cultural Projection of Population Crisis: The Case of The Omega Man by Justin Sully

 The deeper significance of  The Omega Man(1971) was encumbered in my mind by the racist commentary and imagery in the film. It can be claimed to be a product of its time. Regardless of its intentions, I want to share this Melvin Van Peebles documentary titled Classified  X (1998). It gives a history of the racially stereotyped portrayal of African Americans in cinema.

[twola]

Devil's Backbone : Limpany I

Pairing: Arthur Morgan x Fem OC/Reader POV Tags: Longfic, Slow Burn, Smut (18+), Violence, Canon-Typical Injuries

Limpany’s burning was a lot more than meets the eye. Deception, greed, and murder follow everyone touched by Leviticus Cornwall. A story where the Van der Linde gang gets even more inescapably involved in Cornwall’s dealings, with the survivor of the massacre at the heart of it all. Slow burn. Pre-Blackwater and beyond.

Limpany I: Business, The Fine Institution

The story begins, as many do in nineteenth century America, with business magnates and robber barons.

➵ AO3 Link ➵ Fic Masterlist ➵ Next

Oh Lord, Oh Lord, what have I done? I've fallen in love with a man on the run Oh Lord, Oh Lord, I'm begging you, please Don't take that sinner from me Oh, don't take that sinner from me.

- The Civil Wars, “Devil’s Backbone”

--

“I do believe that this is the beginning of a beneficial partnership, Archibald.”

Crystal glassware clinks, as two men proceed to sip the amber liquid contained within. One of the men clears his throat, pulling slightly on his silken tie at his neck. “I agree. The output of the mines is too large at this point without having reliable transportation down the Lannahechee.”

“Good. My office will confirm the details, to include the stake in the mine.”

Archibald Jameson nods, knowing that he did not have much choice in the matter. The goblet of cut glass between his fingers glints back at him as if mocking him. Glancing back up to the man opposite him, Archibald smoothes his mustache as a waiter refilled his glass. 

“Leviticus, as I mentioned before in my letter, any sort of rumor of mismanagement or financial distress is simply that, rumor. Jameson Mining and Coal is operating at record capacity.” Jameson states, waving the waiter off from the table.

“Why, Archibald,” the greying man across the table leans back in his chair, a mischievous grin across his face, “I completely understand. Please don’t misconstrue my intentions. I simply am investing in a business I see as an opportunity for growth."

Jameson hid the grimace he wanted to give, knowing that the cash infusion that he was getting from the man across the table from him would stabilize the mining operation in the wake of strikes over the past year. He needed this, as much as he wanted to stay far away from the encroaching industrialist.

“Mister Cornwall."

A thin, middle-aged, bespectacled man in a grey suit approaches the table, carrying a small briefcase. He turns to Jameson, “Ah, Mister Jameson, it is a pleasure. Cameron Spence, Vice President of Cornwall Kerosene and Tar.” 

Jameson nods, extending his hand in greeting. “Pleasure, Mister Spence.” Spence nods back, taking a seat at the circular table. 

Leviticus Cornwall clears his throat, causing a suit-clad butler behind him to jump slightly, and rush to a cabinet to obtain another goblet. The young man places it on the table, filling it with the same amber liquor as the glasses on the table.

Jameson glances out the window, to scenery rushing past. Past the green trees, he could see the glint of the sun on Flat Iron Lake. The butler, a young man barely old enough to grow facial hair, pipes up. “G-Gentlemen, we will be arriving in Saint Denis within the hour, as we have just passed Rhodes.”

Cornwall waves the boy off, who seemed relieved to be dismissed. He nods, placing the decanter he had been pouring from in the center of the table. The boy moves toward the back of the rail car, opening the mahogany door and closing it again behind him.

“Jameson, have you met the mayor of Saint Denis? Lemieux?” Cornwall asks, grabbing his goblet, and taking a large draw. 

“Of course. My brother Heston spends a lot of time in Saint Denis, can’t expect him to spend all of his time on that godforsaken island.” Jameson replies, taking a sip from his glass. The expensive whiskey is smooth down his throat, with none of the burn of cheap swill.  Spence places the briefcase he was carrying on his lap, opening it and taking papers from it, putting them down in front of Cornwall. 

Cornwall gave a cursory glance, reaching over the paperwork to a box of cigars on the table. He opened the black lacquer box, grabbing one and offering it to Jameson with a raise of his eyebrows. Jameson accepts it, as Cornwall struck a match to light his own. 

He leans back in the chair as he pulls from the cigar, blowing smoke toward the ceiling. It plumed in the air of the railcar, dancing around the pretentious crystal chandelier sensually.

“He’s a feckless fool, but with enough persuasion ,” Cornwall gives a knowing look, “…he can be of use.”

“So, Mister Jameson, now that you’ve seen the Heartland Oil Fields, do you have any commentary?” Spence asks, raising his eyebrows as he moved papers in and out of his briefcase.

“I will not pretend to have knowledge of the running of an oil refinery. Had it been a coal mine, then I could give some commentary.”  Jameson states, diplomatically, as he lit his own cigar.

Cornwall smirks, chuckling to himself.

Cameron Spence brushes his forehead with a silk handkerchief, catching beading sweat. “Certainly we’ve arrived in Lemoyne…” He places another piece of paper in front of Cornwall, to which Cornwall seemed a little more interested than the previous stack.

“Ah, is this from Mister Varley? I’m glad we were able to convince him that his best option was to accept a purchase offer from us.” Cornwall places the cigar on the ashtray, picking up the letterhead and glancing it over. “Was the price good?”

“Couldn’t be beat, Mister Cornwall,” Spence replies, cooly.

The train car lurched, and all three men look toward the window. Green forests had given way to the brown waters of the Kamassa Delta, the engine slowing down as it passed over the bridges over the bayous. Smokestacks of Saint Denis approached rapidly as Jameson pulled on his silk tie that was quickly collecting humidity against his neck.

Cornwall grimaces, tapping the ash from the tip of his cigar into the dish on the table. “Can you believe that the city put up a statue of that pompous ass McKnight?” He points out the window with the cigar, as the slowing train car passes next to a brick warehouse emblazoned with MCKNIGHT & CO in blue and white paint. 

Jameson glances out the window, taking note of the warehouse. Gone unspoken were the plethora of other warehouses with Cornwall’s name on them - but Jameson knows not to mention that. He knows the rumors of Leviticus’ temper, and having spent the last few days in his presence, he isn’t itching to find out the veracity of those tales.

Spence takes a drink of whiskey from his tumbler. It seems he knows not to prod the raging bull.

Cornwall continues, “I guess Saint Denis was so desperate after the war she whored herself out to the first man with money to come in. Not as if he was the only financier to come in after this city was flattened."

Jameson and Spence catch each other’s eyes quickly in the silence. The message was clear. Both men knew Cornwall came sweeping into the destroyed Southern city as well, to take advantage of cheap land, labor, and lax reconstruction laws after the war. McKnight was just the one flashy enough to get a statue out of it, but it was Cornwall with his name on every train, every trolley, half of the warehouse district.

The train lurches to a stop, its whistle pierces the tepid afternoon air. As the noise of the engine dies down, the hustle and bustle of the city outside replaces the metallic clanking and steam boiling. Horses and bells, the cries of seagulls on the docks, the comings and goings of thousands of people. A saxophone trills in the distance.

Cornwall stands, downing his whiskey, and extends his arm toward the door of the car. “After you, gentlemen.”

Jameson grabs his top hat from the butler who reappeared in the car. Spence gathers his paperwork, shutting it in his briefcase as he clicks it shut before following Jameson out.

The mine owner grimaces as he steps down from the car, the humidity and heat of Saint Denis hitting him like a furnace. He would never get used to it down here, especially after spending so much time north in Annesburg, and east in New York and Chicago.

Spence and Cornwall follow suit, Cornwall stepping ahead with conviction toward the station building. 

VICTORY STREET TROLLEY STATION

CORNWALL CITY RAILWAY

Spence opens the door to the station, holding it for Cornwall and Jameson. Jameson grabs it from him, bowing his head to a woman who had followed the trio in. Inside the ornately decorated station, people sat on the numerous benches, waiting on trains, trolleys, and stagecoaches. Cornwall blazes past them all, cutting across the waiting room to open the door to the street.

A carriage is waiting out front. The driver, who was leaning against the coach, nods to Cornwall and climbs the carriage, pulling on the reins of the horses. 

Leviticus Cornwall stops, turning back to the two men accompanying him.

“It certainly has been a pleasure, Mister Jameson. I will be sure to take you up on that offer to head up to Annesburg soon.” Cornwall thrust his hand out, Jameson grasps it.

“Absolutely, Leviticus. I look forward to working with you.” Jameson took his top hat and placed it on his head. “Mister Spence, it was nice to meet you.” He says, turning to Spence, "Gentlemen.” 

Archibald Jameson smooths his mustache down as he paces down Victory Street, heading toward the waiting trolley car that people are boarding. He boards, ignoring the hustle of people boarding behind him as he slides into a seat. He reaches into his breast pocket, pulling out a worn piece of paper with an address on it, before refolding it and tucking it back in his jacket.

“Milyonne Avenue, Milyonne Avenue!” The conductor calls over his shoulder. Archibald brushes dust off the sleeve of his coat, straightening in his seat. The trolley lurches to a stop, and he moves to stand up, pacing toward the front of the car. He steps off, glancing at the street corner. Mansions line the street’s north side, with perfectly manicured lawns and black wrought iron gates. 

The well-dressed businessman crosses the divided street after the trolley jerks forward, its bell tolling in the afternoon sun, which gives no respite to overheated men in woolen coats. Dust in the air is choking, for even with the oppressive humidity, it has not rained in Lemoyne in god-knows how long.  He reaches the sidewalk, following it for a block before coming to a tailor’s shop. He strode past the shop’s door to a second one, an ornate mahogany polished to perfection. 

He knocks on the door, waiting several moments until the door swings open. A woman clad in black dress answers, nodding with recognition when she encounters the guest. “Mister Jameson… you’re expected upstairs. Please, come with me.”

Jameson follows her inside the door, following her up the staircase to the second floor. The staircase opens to a large parlor room, hazy with smoke.

“Archibald - what an honor for you to stop by and see your younger brother while in town. God only knows Annesburg keeps you busy.”

“Heston.”

Heston Jameson reclines in a leather chair, smoking out of a pipe. His black uniform top hung open, the silver buttons glinting down his chest. He reaches to the coffee table in front of him, picking up a cigar and offering it up to Archibald. 

The older brother takes the cigar, moving around the table to the matching leather chair, taking a seat while pulling a matchbook from his pocket. 

“Henrietta - pour a glass for my brother, will you?”

“Yes, Mister Jameson.” The woman who had answered the door nodded, curtseying slightly, before exiting the room.

“So, brother, what brings you to Saint Denis? ” Heston reclines back again, taking another draw from his pipe.

“Meeting with Cornwall, the new stakeholder in the mine” Archibald strikes a match, lighting his cigar with a retort. 

“Ah,” Heston replies, “Charming, isn’t he? I do know he has been involved with Colonel Fussar in Guarma, trying to put down those pesky rebellions,” He takes a puff, quirking his eyebrow, “Practicing for Annesburg?”

Archibald gives his brother a withering glare as he draws on his cigar. “I have been sending several of the troublemakers from the mine your way.  Are your reforms working?”

Heston smirks. “Law and order always prevails, brother. It may take more forceful tactics at times, but it will always prevail over savagery and brutality.”

“Well, for propriety’s sake, I can’t jail all of the striking miners and send them to you. That’s a little too on the nose.”

“Misters Jameson…” The woman, Henrietta, comes back to the parlor with a silver tray, two glass tumblers of whiskey upon it. She hands the first glass to Heston, moving around the table to Archibald with the second. Archibald nods his thanks.

“I thought you weren’t going to be living here, Heston.”

“I’m not - I only obtained this apartment for when I stay. I can’t spend all of my time on Sisika, the one place worse than Annesburg.” He replies, taking a sip from the glass.

“Or when a poker tournament is announced?”

Heston chuckles. “I will admit I have my vices.”

Archibald sips at the whiskey, rubbing at his temple. “Cornwall is quite the beast to deal with. No wonder he owns everything in the west.”

“Did he take the mine?” Heston asks, quirking his eyebrow, “Because if he did, you can come work at the Penitentiary.  I’m sure I could find you a position.”

Archibald glares. “No, dear brother, he did not take the mine. I still am the majority shareholder.”

“Bah, shareholders. I run Sisika exactly how I want to run it. There are no shareholders I have to answer to.”  Heston enunciates the noun with an air of disgust.

“Alas, I can’t run the mine like your kingdom.”

“Shame, you’d probably get a lot more done.”

Archibald downs the rest of his glass, and wonders to himself why he is agreeing with his younger brother.

—

Cornwall’s carriage pulls into the yard, past the open gate, waved in by armed men. After it clears the wrought iron, the gate is pulled shut again. The driver pulls on the reins, and the two horses whinny and come to a stop. The carriage door bursts open, and an impatient Cornwall disembarks before it has even come to a complete stop. Spence follows him out.

Cornwall paces toward the door to the warehouse’s office. Bursting through the door, he paces forward to the wall, which is adorned with a large map of the states of New Hanover, Ambarino, and West Elizabeth. Large swathes of the map are shaded in the Heartlands. 

Leviticus Cornwall takes a drag from his cigar, leaning back and blowing the smoke straight up into the air.  “Business, what an institution.” He remarks, wistfully.

“Speaking of which…’ Spence notes, fingering through several pieces of paper, “There is still the business of Limpany. Shaw has outright refused all offers. He has been most difficult to deal with.”

The older man frowned, his mood souring immediately. His eyes dart to the side of the map, where the Dakota River cleaves West Elizabeth from New Hanover. At a meander of the river, an area buffeted by cliffs is circled in red ink.

Spence continues, “I have been more than generous with monetary offers - but the man has been stonewalling everything.”

Cornwall turns to the desk in the office and smashes his cigar into the ashtray slowly, his aggravation rising.

“Take care of it. I don’t care for your excuses, Cameron.”

Spence bristles slightly. “Leviticus, this is not going to be as easy as a single oil derrick in the hills. Varley was alone, you’re talking about a town.”

“Sir, business doesn’t give a damn about some four-building town nor suffer the fools who impede,” Cornwall states icily.

The younger man pursed his lips, looking down at the paperwork on the table. He started to gather it together. 

Cornwall glares at him.

“Spence, I trust you will take care of this to my satisfaction.”

“Yes, Mister Cornwall.”

[gilmoregirlsrevival2016]

Season 1 Gilmore Girls References (Breakdown)

Yay! All the season 1 references have been posted. Before I start posting season 2, I wanted to post this little breakdown for your enjoyment :) It starts with some statistics and then below the cut is a list of all the specific references.

Overall amount of references in season 1: 605

Top 10 Most Common References: NSYNC (5), Willy Wonka & The Chocolate Factory (5), Taylor Hanson (6), Leo Tolstoy (7), Lucky Spencer (7), Marcel Proust (7), PJ Harvey (7), The Bangles (8), The Donna Reed Show (8), William Shakespeare (10)

Which episodes had the most references: #1 is That Damn Donna Reed with 55 references. #2 is Christopher Returns with 44 references 

What characters made the most references (Only including characters/actors who were in the opening credits): Lorelai had the most with 237 references, Rory had second most with 118, and Lane had third most with 48.

First reference of the season: Jack Kerouac referenced by Lorelai 

Final reference of the season: Adolf Eichmann referenced by Michel 

  Movies/TV Shows/Episodes/Characters, Commercials, Cartoons/Cartoon Characters, Plays, Documentaries:

9 1/2 Weeks, Alex Stone, Alfalfa, An Affair To Remember, A Streetcar Named Desire, Attack Of The Fifty Foot Woman, Avon Commercials, Bambi, Beethoven, Boogie Nights, Cabaret, Casablanca, Charlie's Angels, Charlie Brown cartoons, Christine, Cinderella, Citizen Kane, Daisy Duke, Damien Thorn, Dawson Leery, Donna Stone, Double Indemnity, Double Mint Commercials, Ethel Mertz, Everest, Felix Unger, Fiddler On The Roof, Footloose, Freaky Friday, Fred Mertz, Gaslight, General Hospital, G.I. Jane, Gone With The Wind, Grease, Hamlet, Heathers, Hee Haw, House On Haunted Hill, Ice Castles, I Love Lucy, Iron Chef, Ishtar, Jeff Stone, Joanie Loves Chachi, John Shaft, Lady And The Tramp, Life With Judy Garland: Me And My Shadows, Love Story, Lucky Spencer, Lucy Raises Chickens, Lucy Ricardo, Lucy Van Pelt, Macbeth,  Magnolia, Mary Stone, Mask, Midnight Express, Misery, Norman Bates, Officer Krupke, Oompa Loompas, Old Yeller, Oscar Madison, Out Of Africa, Patton, Pepe Le Pew, Peyton Place, Pink Ladies, Pinky Tuscadero, Ponyboy, Psycho, Queen Of Outer Space, Rapunzel, Richard III, Ricky Ricardo, Rocky Dennis, Romeo And Juliet, Rosemary's Baby, Sandy Olsson, Saved By The Bell, Saving Private Ryan, Schindler's List, Schroeder, Sesame Street, Seven Brides For Seven Brothers, Sex And The City, Sixteen Candles, Sleeping Beauty, Star Trek, Stanley Kowalski, Stella Kowalski, Stretch Cunningham, The Champ, The Comedy Of Errors, The Crucible, The Donna Reed Show, The Duke's Of Hazzard, The Fly, The Great Santini, The Little Match Girl, The Matrix, The Miracle Worker, The Oprah Winfrey Show, The Outsiders, The Shining, The Sixth Sense, The View, The Waltons, The Way We Were, The Scarecrow, This Old House, V.I.P., Valley Of The Dolls, Vulcans, Wild Kingdom, Willy Wonka & The Chocolate Factory, Wheel Of Fortune, Who's Afraid Of Virginia Woolf, Working Girl, Yogi Bear, You're A Good Man Charlie Brown

Bands, Songs, CDs:

98 Degrees, Air Supply, Apple Venus Volume 2, Backstreet Boys, Bee Gees, Black Sabbath, Blue Man Group, Blur, Bon Jovi, Boston, Bush, Duran Duran, Everlong, Foo Fighters, Fugazi, Grandaddy, Hanson, I'm Too Sexy, Joy Division, Jumpin' Jack Flash, Kraftwerk, Like A Virgin, Livin La Vida Loca, Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds, Man I Feel Like A Woman, Metallica, Money Money, My Ding-A-Ling, NSYNC, On The Good Ship Lollipop, Pink Moon, Queen, Rancid, Sergeant Pepper, Shake Your Bon Bon, Siouxsie And The Banshees, Sister Sledge, Smoke On The Water, Steely Dan, Suppertime, Tambourine Man, The B-52s, The Bangles, The Beatles, The Best Of Blondie, The Cranberries, The Cure, The Offspring, The Sugarplastic, The Wallflowers, The Velvet Underground, Walk Like An Egyptian, XTC, Ya Got Trouble, Young Marble Giants

Books/Book Characters, Comic Books/Comic Book Characters, Comic Strips: 

A Mencken Chrestomathy, A Tale Of Two Cities, Anna Karenina, Belle Watling, Boo Radley, Carrie, David Copperfield, Dick Tracy, Dopey (One of the seven dwarfs) Goofus And Gallant, Great Expectations, Grinch, Hannibal Lecter, Hansel And Gretel, Harry Potter (book as well as character referenced), Huckleberry Finn, Little Dorrit, Madame Bovary, Moby Dick, Mommie Dearest, Moose Mason, Nancy Drew, Out Of Africa, Pinocchio, Swann's Way, The Amityville Horror, The Art Of Fiction, The Bell Jar, The Grapes Of Wrath, The Hunchback Of Notre Dame, The Lost Weekend, The Metamorphosis, The Portable Dorothy Parker, The Unabridged Journals Of Sylvia Plath, The Witch Tree Symbol, There's A Certain Slant Of Light, Tuesdays With Morrie, War And Peace, Wonder Woman

Public Figures:

Adolf Eichmann, Alfred Hitchcock, Angelina Jolie, Anna Nicole Smith, Annie Oakley, Antonio Banderas, Arthur Miller, Artie Shaw, Barbara Hutton, Barbara Stanwyck, Barbra Streisand, Beck, Ben Jonson, Benito Mussolini, Billy Bob Thornton, Billy Crudup, Bob Barker, Brad Pitt, Britney Spears, Catherine The Great, Catherine Zeta-Jones, Charles I, Charles Dickens, Charles Manson, Charlie Parker, Charlotte Bronte, Charlton Heston, Charo, Cher, Cheryl Ladd, Chris Penn, Christiane Amanpour, Christopher Marlowe, Chuck Berry, Claudine Longet, Cleopatra, Cokie Roberts, Courtney Love, Dalai Lama, Damon Albarn, Dante Alighieri, David Mamet, Donna Reed, Edith Wharton, Edna O'Brien, Elizabeth Barrett Browning, Elizabeth Webber, Elle Macpherson, Elsa Klensch, Elvis, Emeril Lagasse, Emily Dickinson, Emily Post, Eminem, Emma Goldman, Errol Flynn, Fabio, Farrah Fawcett, Fawn Hall, Flo Jo, Francis Bacon, Frank Sinatra, Franz Kafka, Fred MacMurray, Friedrich Nietzsche, Fyodor Dostoyevsky, Gene Hackman, Gene Wilder, George Clooney, George Sand, George W. Bush, Harry Houdini, Harvey Fierstein, Henny Youngman, Henry David Thoreau, Henry James, Henry VIII, Herman Melville, Homer, Honore De Balzac, Howard Cosell, Hugh Grant, Hunter Thompson, Jack Kerouac, Jaclyn Smith, James Dean, Jane Austen, Jean-Paul Sartre, Jennifer Lopez, Jessica Tandy, Jim Carey, Jim Morrison, Jimmy Hoffa, Joan Of Arc, Joan Rivers, Jocelyn Wildenstein, Joel Grey, John Cage, John Gardner, John Muir, John Paul II, John Webster, Johnny Cash, Johnny Depp, Joseph Merrick AKA Elephant Man, Judy Blume, Judy Garland, Julian Lennon, Justin Timberlake, Karen Blixen AKA Isak Dinesen, Kate Jackson, Kathy Bates, Kevin Bacon, Kreskin, Lee Harvey Oswald, Leo Tolstoy, Leopold and Loeb, Lewis Carroll, Linda McCartney, Liz Phair, Liza Minnelli, Lou Reed, M Night Shyamalan, Macy Gray, Madonna, Marcel Marceau, Marcel Proust, Margot Kidder, Marie Antoinette, Marie Curie, Marilyn Monroe, Mark Twain, Mark Wahlberg, Marlin Perkins, Martha Stewart, Martha Washington, Martin Luther, Mary Kay Letourneau, Maurice Chevalier, Melissa Rivers, Meryl Streep, Michael Crichton, Michael Douglas, Michelle Pfeiffer, Miguel De Cervantes, Miss Manners, Mozart, Nancy Kerrigan, Nancy Walker, Nick Cave, Nick Drake, Nico, Oliver North, Oprah Winfrey, Oscar Levant, Pat Benatar, Paul McCartney, Peter III Of Russia, Peter Frampton, Philip Glass, PJ Harvey, Prince, Queen Elizabeth I, Regis, Richard Simmons, Rick James, Ricky Martin, Robert Duvall, Robert Redford, Robert Smith, Robin Leach, Rosie O'Donnell, Ru Paul, Ruth Gordon, Samuel Barber, Sarah Duchess Of York, Sean Lennon, Sean Penn, Shania Twain, Shelley Hack, Sigmund Freud, Squeaky Fromme, Stephen King, Steven Tyler, Susan Faludi, Susanna Hoffs, Tanya Roberts, Taylor Hanson, Theodore Kaczynski AKA The Unabomber, The Kennedy Family, Groucho, Harpo, Chico, Zeppo, and Gummo Marx AKA The Marx Brothers, Venus and Serena Williams (The reference was "The Williams Sisters"),Thelonious Monk, Tiger Woods, Tito Puente, Tom Waits, Tony Randall, Tonya Harding, Vaclav Havel, Vanna White, Vivien Leigh, Walt Whitman, William Shakespeare, William Shatner, Yoko Ono, Zsa Zsa Gabor

Misc:

Camelot, Chernobyl Disaster, Cone Of Silence, Hindenburg Disaster, Iran-Contra Affair, Paul Bunyan, The Menendez Murders, Tribbles, Vulcan Death Grip, Whoville, Winchester Mystery House

[alexlacquemanne]

Décembre MMXX

Films

L'Incorrigible (1973) de Philippe de Broca avec Jean-Paul Belmondo, Geneviève Bujold, Julien Guiomar et Charles Gérard

Sans issue (The Cold Light of Day) (2012) de Mabrouk El Mechri avec Henry Cavill, Bruce Willis, Verónica Echegui et Sigourney Weaver

Lucy (2014) de Luc Besson avec Scarlett Johansson, Morgan Freeman et Choi Min-sik

L’Homme à la Buick (1968) de Gilles Grangier avec Fernandel, Danielle Darrieux et Jean-Pierre Marielle

Astérix et la Surprise de César (1985) de Gaëtan et Paul Brizzi avec  Roger Carel, Pierre Tornade et Pierre Mondy

Le Pacha (1968) de Georges Lautner avec Jean Gabin, Robert Dalban, Dany Carrel et André Pousse

Astérix chez les Bretons (1986) de Pino Van Lamsweerde avec Roger Carel, Pierre Tornade, Graham Bushnell, Serge Sauvion et Pierre Mondy

Les Grandes Gueules (1965) de Robert Enrico avec Bourvil, Lino Ventura, Jess Hahn, Marie Dubois et Michel Constantin

Mademoiselle de Joncquières (2018) de Emmanuel Mouret avec Cécile de France, Édouard Baer et Alice Isaaz

Fais pas ci, fais pas ça : Y aura-t-il Noël à Noël ? (2020) de Michel Leclerc avec Valérie Bonneton, Isabelle Gélinas, Guillaume de Tonquédec, Bruno Salomone, Yaniss Lespert, Tiphaine Haas et Cannelle Carré-Cassaigne

Top Secret (The Tamarind Seed) (1974) de Blake Edwards avec Julie Andrews, Omar Sharif et Anthony Quayle

L'Homme qui n'a pas d'étoile (Man without a Star) (1955) de King Vidor avec Kirk Douglas, Jeanne Crain, Claire Trevor et William Campbell

Fanfan la Tulipe (1952) de Christian-Jaque avec Gérard Philipe, Gina Lollobrigida, Noël Roquevert et Olivier Hussenot

Ben-Hur (1959) de William Wyler avec Charlton Heston, Stephen Boyd et Haya Harareet

Le Plus Grand Cirque du monde (Circus World) (1964) de Henry Hathaway avec John Wayne, Claudia Cardinale et Rita Hayworth

Chouans ! (1988) de Philippe de Broca avec Philippe Noiret, Sophie Marceau, Stéphane Freiss et Lambert Wilson

Spectacle

La Main Passe (1972) de Georges Feydeau avec Sophie Desmarets, Alfred Adam, Jean-Pierre Darras, Françoise Engel, Pierre Doris, Georges Montillier, Max Montavon, Daniel Prévost, Philippe Dumas, Christiane Muller, Annie Roudier, Jacques Balutin, Marc Dudicourt et Aimé Jean

Ma femme s'appelle Maurice (1999) de Raffy Shart avec Michèle Bardollet, Philippe Chevallier, Jacques Ciron, Régis Laspalès, Isabelle Moulin, Claire Nader, Bernard Rosselli

Beaufils et fils (1980) de Raoul Praxy avec Bunny Godillot, Georges Beller, Francis Lax, Pascal Mazzotti, Yvonne Clech, Marcel Charvey et Bruno Balp

Le canard à l'orange (2019) de William Douglas Home avec Sophie Arthur, Nicolas Briançon, Anne Charrier, Alice Dufour et François Vincentelli

Tailleur pour dames (2008) de Georges Feydeau avec Pierre Arditi, Emmanuelle Devos, François Berléand, Marie-Anne Chazel et Marthe Villalonga

Le père Noël est une ordure (1986) de la troupe du Splendid avec Anémone, Thierry Lhermitte, Marie-Anne Chazel, Gérard Jugnot, Christian Clavier et Bruno Moynot

13 à Table (2020) de Marc-Gilbert Sauvajon avec Pierre Palmade, Virginie Hocq, Benjamin Gauthier, Joffrey Platel, Agnès Miguras, Christophe Canard et Sandra De Jesus

Le prénom (2011) de Matthieu Delaporte et Alexandre de la Patellière avec Valérie Benguigui, Patrick Bruel, Guillaume de Tonquédec, Judith El Zein et Jean-Michel Dupuis

Une Heure de Tranquillité (2020) de Florian Zeller avec François Berléand, Isabelle Gélinas, Rod Paradot, Nicolas Vaude, Christelle Reboul et Thierry Lopez

La dernière vague (2019) d’Indochine

Séries

Hero Corp Saison 1

Le Village - Révélations - Retour aux sources - À l’intérieur - Duel - La tempête - Au pied des murs

Friends Saison 1, 2

Celui qui déménage - Celui qui est perdu - Celui qui a un rôle - Celui avec George - Celui qui lave plus blanc - Celui qui est verni - Celui qui a du jus - Celui qui hallucine - Celui qui parle au ventre de sa femme - Celui qui singeait - Celui qui était comme les autres - Celui qui aimait les lasagnes - Celui qui fait des descentes dans les douches - Celui qui avait un cœur d'artichaut - Celui qui pète les plombs - Celui qui devient papa : 1re partie - Celui qui devient papa : 2e partie - Celui qui gagnait au poker - Celui qui a perdu son singe - Celui qui a un dentiste carié - Celui qui avait un singe - Celui qui rêve par procuration - Celui qui a failli rater l'accouchement - Celui qui fait craquer Rachel - Celui qui a une nouvelle fiancée - Celui qui est mort dans l’appart du dessous - Celui qui détestait le lait maternel - Celui qui avait viré de bord - Celui qui se faisait passer pour Bob - Celui qui a oublié un bébé dans le bus - Celui qui tombe des nues - Celui qui a été très maladroit - Celui qui cassait les radiateurs - Celui qui se dédouble - Celui qui n'apprécie pas certains mariages - Celui qui retrouve son singe : 1re partie - Celui qui retrouve son singe : 2eme partie - Celui qui a failli aller au bal de promo - Celui qui a fait on se fait quoi avec Rachel - Celui qui vit sa vie - Celui qui remplace celui qui part - Celui qui disparaît de la série - Celui qui ne voulait pas partir - Celui qui se met à parler

Kaamelott Livre III, IV, V

Arthur in Love II - La Grande Bataille - La Fête de l’hiver II - Sous les verrous II - Le Vulgarisateur - Witness - Le Tribut - Le Culte secret - Le Mangonneau - La Chevalerie - Le Mauvais Augure - Raison d’argent II - Les Auditeurs libres - Le Baiser romain - L’Espion - Alone in the Dark - Le Législateur - L’Insomniaque - L’Étudiant - Le Médiateur - Le Trophée - Hollow Man - La Dispute 1re partie - La Dispute 2e partie - Tous les matins du monde 1re partie - Tous les matins du monde 2e partie - Raison et Sentiments - Les Tartes aux fraises - Le Dédale - Les Pisteurs - Le Traître - La Faute 1re partie - La Faute 2e partie - L’Ascension du Lion - Une vie simple - Le Privilégié - Le Bouleversé - Les Liaisons dangereuses - Les Exploités II - Dagonet et le Cadastre - Duel 1re partie - Duel 2e partie - La Foi bretonne - Au service secret de Sa Majesté - La Parade - Seigneur Caius - L’Échange 1re partie - L’Échange 2e partie - L’Échelle de Perceval - La Chambre de la reine - Les Émancipés - La Révoquée - La Baliste II - Les Bonnes - La Révolte III - Le Rapport - L’Art de la table - Les Novices - Les Refoulés - Les Tuteurs II - Le Tourment IV - Le Rassemblement du corbeau II - Le Grand Départ - L’Auberge rouge - Les Curieux 1re partie - Les Curieux 2e partie - La Clandestine - Les Envahisseurs - La vie est belle - La Relève - Les Tacticiens 1re partie - Les Tacticiens 2e partie - Drakkars ! - La Réponse - Unagi IV - La Permission - Anges et Démons - La Rémanence - Le Refuge - Le Dragon gris - La Potion de vivacité II - Vox populi III - La Sonde - La Réaffectation - La Poétique II 1re partie - La Poétique II 2e partie - Le Jeu de la guerre - Le Rêve d’Ygerne - Les Chaperons - L’Habitué - Le Camp romain - L’Usurpateur - Loth et le Graal - Le Paladin - Perceval fait ritournelle - La Dame et le Lac - Beaucoup de bruit pour rien - L’Ultimatum - Le Oud II - La Répétition - Le Discours - Le Choix de Gauvain - Fluctuat nec mergitur - Le Face-à-face 1re partie - Le Face-à-face 2e partie - L’Entente cordiale - L’Approbation - Alone in the Dark II - La Blessure d’Yvain - Corpore sano II - L’Enchanteur - Les Bien Nommés - La Prisonnière - Les Paris III - Les Plaques de dissimulation - Le Vice de forme - Le Renoncement 1re partie - Le Renoncement 2e partie - L’Inspiration - Les Endettés - Double Dragon - Le Sauvetage - Le Désordre et la Nuit - Corvus Corone - La Roche et le Fer

Doctor Who Series 4

Une croisière autour de la Terre - Le Retour de Donna Noble

Chapeau melon et bottes de cuir Saison 5

Le Mort vivant - Tigre caché

The Rookie Saison 2

Sous pression - La Dernière Ligne droite - La Taupe

Top Gear

Spécial Pôle Nord

Les Rois maudits

Le Roi de fer

The Grand Tour Saison 4

The Grand Tour présente... Seamen - The Grand Tour présente : La Chasse Au Trésor

Livres

Astérix Tome 4 : Astérix gladiateur de René Goscinny et Albert Uderzo

Astérix Tome 5 : Le tour de Gaule d'Astérix de René Goscinny et Albert Uderzo

Kaamelott Livre VI : Texte intégral d’Alexandre Astier

[cortibah]

So, I’ve recently replayed Chapter 4, and I might have played ‘Angelo Bronte, A Man of Honour’ while a teeeensy bit drunk, and I may have started thinking and well now I’m stuck with this long-ass HC and/or theory:

Angelo Bronte was behind most of, if not all of, Chapter 4.

We know that Bronte rules the underworld of Saint Denis. We know he has some street kids in his employ. We know he has significant connections to local politics, namely Mayor Lemiuex (and we can assume that he retains those connections even if you complete ‘Idealism and Pragmatism for Beginners’ and spare Jean-Marc). It’s not unreasonable to think that he has connections within law enforcement too - if not actively collaborating, then via crooked cops. It’s also not unreasonable to think that Bronte has a city-wide surveillance network of street kids and other lookouts, all of them not as conspicuous as the men in his direct employ.

Bronte is in a position of power and has no intention of giving it up. We can therefore safely assume that getting there took some serious grit, and that he has had to fend off rivals more than once, both from the city and outsiders trying to get a foothold. I would say it’s not implausible that he would look into any would-be rival as soon as possible - in terms of whatever information is available to him about them.

Bronte seems disinterested in events outside of Saint Denis - he was a ‘customer’ of Catherine Braithwaite (see the letter you can pick up in ‘Blood Feuds, Ancient and Modern’) but he didn’t seem all that upset at what happened. He seems disinterested in the Rhodes feud overall. But, we also know through this that he has contacts outside of the city.

Dutch van der Linde is a wanted man almost everywhere. He’s already got a reputation. Most of the gang also have bounties on their heads, if not for association with Dutch then for their own crimes. Most of the gang are known to associate with Dutch as well. I don’t think the information the Pinkertons have about who is in the gang would be available to Bronte, but what’s publicly available would be. (This part I’m fuzzy on, as I’m not sure if Saint Denis police would be able to get information from the Pinkertons and from there relay it to Bronte or not. It’s not really important.)

It’s reasonable to think that while Bronte didn’t care enough to investigate when Catherine first had issues with the gang, he may have started looking into them as early as Jack’s kidnapping. (It’s also possible that Jack may have blabbed a little - I can let that slide, he’s 4 and John clearly hasn’t had the talk about not being a walking infosec nightmare.)

I will say this though - Dutch surprised Bronte. Based on the time skips, I’d say that ‘The Joys of Civilization’ would have taken place in the morning - probably not later than 8-9am, and for me it ended at around 2pm. ‘Angelo Bronte, A Man of Honour’ can be picked up almost immediately. Meaning that within the space of about 6 hours, Dutch had Bronte’s location and was on his way - even though there’s no doubt that Bronte was already alerted that people were asking about him, potentially even already aware that at least one of them was Dutch van der Linde.

From the outsider’s perspective, that speed - getting a location and hitting it within 6 hours - gives the impression that Dutch and his gang are highly disciplined, well-coordinated, and highly experienced, even if they’re not perhaps as quiet as they could be. Combine this with Dutch’s reputation, and Bronte had good reason to be worried...

...and then he meets Dutch face-to-face. The insults could well have been bravado, or he could genuinely have been unimpressed by what he was looking at. Still - again, this outsider comes into his city, locates him, and is at his front door in a matter of hours. Doesn’t look like much, but still, bit of a worry.

It’s absolutely possible that Bronte set them up already with the graveyard job, perhaps wanting to see how Dutch’s team performed without their leader present. Given that it’s absolutely possible to escape the cemetery undetected, John and Arthur may have further given the impression to Bronte that he was dealing with very skilled, coordinated and disciplined people.

Now, let’s jump forwards to ‘The Gilded Cage’. Who does Bronte point out to Dutch?

Mayor Henri Lemieux, already discussed. Apparently owes Bronte money. In the last part of ‘Idealism and Pragmatism for Beginners’, Arthur can potentially dethrone him as Mayor of Saint Denis. During the beginning of that chain too, he drops the hint that he knows Arthur’s real name. 

Colonel Alberto Fussar, who shows up on Guarma (more on this part later)

Hobart Crawley. I don’t believe he shows up again, but correct me if I’m wrong.

Rains Fall and (possibly) Eagle Flies. They’re not part of the conspiracy, and I feel like they’re probably gatecrashing just a little - but Bronte doesn’t seem to care, or already knew they would show up and didn’t bother trying to stop them.

Hector Fellowes, newspaper tycoon. Again, I feel like Bronte’s comment about killing him was to see how Dutch might react. Too much fawning would have been suspicious too, as would an outright refusal. (And, later, Arthur threatens Fellowes on behalf of Lemieux... more on that in a bit too.)

There’s a few other important people at the party, and I absolutely believe that Bronte would’ve at least had access to the guest list, and absolutely would have been able to place people on it that he wanted there.

First, there’s the finance guy that Hosea talks to, and gets the information about the bank from. Now, don’t get me wrong - Hosea is very careful in how he asks his questions, but he’s still talking about work at a party. It’s very possible that the banker is not a banker at all, or is under orders from Bronte to dangle information - and/or report back if someone seemed awfully interested in the bank in Saint Denis. (This is the slightly crackpot part of this theory.) 

Dutch spoke with Heston Jameson, the head of Sisika Penitentiary, and Crawley. I don’t think it’s a coincedence that Jameson was there. (We’ll get back to him later.)

Arthur doesn’t speak to anyone, but he can be recognized by Lillian Powell if you’ve interacted with her at La Bastille (I think she has 3 or 4 interactions, I don’t know if you have to complete them all before she’ll appear at the party) and obvs saves Algernon Wasp. It’s possible all of the NPCs you can interact with at the party (pouring drinks, accepting the gift, etc) are named, but I don’t have my copy of the game right now to check. ANYWAY. NOT IMPORTANT.

Also - Bronte dangles the trolley station tip. Now, it’s not at all controversial that Bronte absolutely set up Dutch to take a fall this way. I want to explain why, and why the rest of the theory, while admittedly all wild speculation on my part, is made plausible by it.

Firstly, let’s think back to ‘Angelo Bronte, A Man of Honour’. Overall, Bronte has the impression that Dutch and his gang are disciplined, coordinated, well-informed, and generally, damn good at what they do even if they don’t tend to do it quietly. But he’s now met Dutch in-person twice, and he’s clearly not quite sure what to think.

So, he dangles the trolley station This could have gone several ways:

Had Dutch played it cool, accepted the tip but not acted on it at all and stayed out of the city from then on, Bronte may have been led into thinking that Dutch had only intended to stick around long enough to retrieve Jack, and that was it.

Had Dutch played it cool, accepted the tip, not acted on it and stayed active in the city, that tells Bronte that Dutch already had his eye on a bigger prize, and may have marked Dutch as a potential threat. (Or, it would indicate that Dutch had checked the information through someone else.)

Had Dutch accepted the tip and only scouted the station, then backed off, that would have told Bronte that Dutch not only intends to stick around, but is clever enough to double-check information. Again, that marks Dutch as a threat.

But. Dutch did none of these things. Dutch accepted the information, scouted the station poorly enough to fail to notice that there wasn’t that much money there, and was most likely seen scouting the station (remember, Bronte has plenty of surveillance out there).

This could have told Bronte two things, potentially both at the same time.

One, Dutch was exactly what Bronte thought of him - good at pretending to be clever, but not actually that smart. Absolutely out of his depth in a city, and up against someone with more resources, personnel, connections and power than him. In other words, not a threat.

Two, Dutch is either desperate enough or stupid enough to take a tip from someone who he has no reason to believe is an ally, and act on obviously bad information even after checking it himself (either through poor scouting, or sheer desperation). Dutch is desperate for money, and so can be played with that. And where is all the money? The bank. Therefore, Bronte could have deduced that Dutch would likely try to hit the bank soon.

I absolutely believe that Bronte informed the Saint Denis police to watch that station more closely, hence why they showed up so fast. It’s also not inconceivable that he warned them that someone was planning to rob the bank - John notes in the intro to ‘Banking, the Old American Art’ that there’s an awful lot of cops around already. It’s possible that the Pinkertons were informed by Saint Denis police, either beforehand or obtaining the information after coming in to investigate Bronte’s death. (Or even directly from Bronte’s 2IC - while I’m sure Milton & Ross have no more love for Bronte than they do for Dutch, we know they’re willing to work with criminals to catch other criminals, and Bronte’s 2IC could well have been after revenge.)

The only place where Bronte went wrong? He forgot that the gang can move damn fast when it wants to, and was unaware that Dutch is vindictive as all hell.

Dutch actually showed some cleverness in the double feature of ‘Country Pursuits’ and ‘Revenge is a Dish Best Served’. He correctly worked out that Saint Denis is full of Bronte’s eyes and ears, so went to Lagras instead - an impoverished, mostly black and/or Creole community that evidently don’t like Bronte much either, and a good distance from Saint Denis too. I’m sure part of his getting in good with Thomas was commiserating over Bronte, plus the water infil/exfil route is quiet, clearly unexpected, and leaves no trail to be followed. While I’m not sure Dutch was expecting the Legendary Alligator to make an appearance... well, they got out alive.

I don’t think more than 24 hours could have passed between ‘Country Pursuits’ and ‘Revenge is a Dish Best Served’. Bronte was clearly caught off-guard, since he was still in the house, and was forced to resort to hiding in the bathroom.

In other words, what Bronte wasn’t expecting was a repeat of ‘The Joys of Civilization’/’Angelo Bronte, A Man of Honour’ - that under the right conditions, the gang can move incredibly fast. They already knew his location, they just needed a way in - and it’s kind of on Bronte to not think about making sure he was secure from a water infiltration as well. 

Was it smart of Dutch to kill Bronte? I’d actually argue, yes - leaving Bronte alive meant risking reprisal. However, it was absolutely an impulsive decision on Dutch’s part. A better way to handle it would have been to have made it clear from the start that Bronte was never going to be taken alive, but that he’d be executed elsewhere where the evidence could be quickly destroyed. A bit less shocking for the gang.

Had Dutch left Bronte alive, I have no doubt that Bronte would’ve wiped out the gang as soon as he had a chance to. If not out of anger or to remove a threat, then to ensure Dutch couldn’t humiliate him a third time.

But, there was a loose end left - the bank. Again, I think it’s absolutely plausible that Bronte ensured the information about the bank was planted, and/or that he was informed that someone had been asking about the bank at the party.

There’s three possibilities.

One: Undoubtedly, Bronte’s 2IC would have been privy to all of this, either before or after his death. And even if Bronte’s 2IC wasn’t out for revenge, Dutch was an obvious threat that needed to be dealt with. So, Bronte’s 2IC informs the law - someone is going for the bank, soon. Might have even informed them that it was Dutch who would be going for the bank. Bronte’s 2IC works fast, as evidenced by the hostile personnel placed at almost all entrances to the city (and possibly throughout) after ‘Revenge’.

Two: Lemieux, having lost the guy who was loaning him money, may have gone to the law and passed on the information. Lemieux knew who Arthur was, at least, and it’s probable he knew or could easily find out who the rest of the gang are. If Arthur completes ‘Idealism and Pragmatism for Beginners’ in Jean-Marc’s favor, this might also have been a bit of revenge. This possibility has some more holes though, as I’m not sure how Lemiuex would have had information that the gang was planning to hit the bank. I doubt Bronte would have shared it with him.

Three: some combination of both of these.

How the Pinkertons obtained the information and got in on the counter-operation isn’t as important, but they did - and thus, we get ‘Banking, the Old American Art’.

In other words: Bronte got the last laugh.

As a fun bonus, I don’t think it’s a coincedence that John was sent to Sisika and Jameson was at the party. (I’m not clear on how long the guys were in Guarma, but it was obviously long enough for him to be tried and sentenced - I’m sure the Pinkertons wanted it all done by the book and with no room for appeals.) Granted, Sisika is about as secure as it gets, and since others in the gang are at large...

Fussar I think might be a red herring. I don’t remember him recognizing Dutch - even if he had, he would have needed a name (though remembering that Dutch was at Lemieux’s party would have narrowed down the list of potential identities). He and Dutch never spoke though (that I can remember) and while Dutch does stand out a bit, it’s very possible that Fussar never even saw him at the party. Still, it’s kind of a fun little shout-out - and it links ‘The Gilded Cage’, ‘Help A Brother Out’ and the entire Guarma chapter too.

[buzzdixonwriter]

Sci-Fi And The Sincerest Form Of Flattery

I know many of you prefer “science fiction” or “science fantasy” or “speculative fiction” or “sf” or even “stf” for short, but I ain’t that guy…

I’m a sci-fi kinda guy.

I prefer sci-fi because to me it evokes the nerdy playfulness the genre should embrace at some level (and, no we’re not gonna debate geek vs nerd as a descriptor; “geeky” implies biting heads off chickens no matter how benign and respectable the root has become).

. . .

A brief history of sci-fi films -- a very brief history.

Georges Melies’ 1898 short A Trip to The Moon is one of the earliest examples of the genre, and it arrived full blown at the dawn of cinema via its literary predecessors in Verne and Wells.

There were a lot of bona fide sci-fi films before WWII -- the Danes made a surprisingly large number in the silent era, Fritz Lang gave us Metropolis and Frau Im Mond, we saw the goofiness of Just Imagine and the spectacle of Things To Come and the space opera appeal of Flash Gordon and Buck Rogers.

And that’s not counting hundreds of other productions -- comedies and contemporary thrillers and westerns -- where a super-science mcguffin played a key part.

That came to a screeching halt in WWII primarily due to budget considerations and real world science easily overtaking screen fantasy.  Still, there were a few bona fide sci-fi films and serials during the war and immediately thereafter, but it wasn’t until the flying saucer scare of the late forties that sci-fi became a popular movie genre again (and on TV as well).

Ground zero for 1950s sci-fi was George Pal’s Destination Moon, which was an attempt to show a plausible flight to the moon (it was actually beaten to the screens by a couple of other low budget movies that rushed into production to catch Pal’s PR wave for his film).

This led to the first 1950s sci-fi boom that lasted from 1949 to 1954, followed by a brief fallow period, then a larger but far less innovative second boom in the late 1950s to early 1960s.

BTW, let me heartily recommend the late Bill Warren’s magnificent overview of sci-fi films of that era, Keep Watching The Skies, a must have in any sci-fi film fan’s library.

Seriously, go get it.

Bill and I frequently discussed films of that and subsequent eras, and Bill agreed with my assessment of the difference between 1950s sci-fi and 1960s sci-fi:  1950s sci-fi most typically ends with the old order restored, while 1960s sci-fi typically ends with the realization things have changed irrevocably.

In other words, “What now, puny human?”

I judge the 1960s sci-fi boom to have started in 1963 (at least for the US and western Europe; behind the Iron Curtain they were already ahead of us) with the Outer Limits TV show, followed in 1964 by the films The Last Man On Earth (based on Richard Matheson’s I Am Legend), Robinson Crusoe On Mars, and The Time Travelers.

But what really triggered the 1960s sci-fi boom was Planet Of The Apes and 2001: A Space Odyssey.  The former was shopped around every major Hollywood studio starting in 1963 until it finally found a home at 20th Century Fox (whose market research indicated there was an audience for well-made serious sci-fi film and hence put Fantastic Voyage into production).  Kubrick, fresh off Lolita and Dr. Srangelove (another sci-fi film tho not presented as such), carried an enormous cache in Hollywood of that era, and if MGM was going to bankroll his big budget space movie, hey, maybe there was something to this genre after all.

From 1965 forward, the cinematic space race was on, with 1968 being a banner year for groundbreaking sci-fi movies:  2001: A Space Odyssey, Barbarella, Charly, Planet Of The Apes, The Power, Project X, and Wild In The Streets.  (Star Trek premiering on TV in 1967 didn’t hurt, either.)

And, yeah, there were a number of duds and more than a few old school throwbacks during this era, but the point is the most interesting films were the most innovative ones.

Here’s a partial list of the most innovative sci-fi films from 1969 to 1977, nine-year period with some of the most original ideas ever presented in sci-fi films.  Not all of these were box office successes, but damn, they got people’s attention in both the film making and sci-fi fandom communities.

=1969=

The Bed Sitting Room

Doppelganger (US title:  Journey To The Far Side Of The Sun)

The Gladiators

The Monitors 

Stereo 

=1970=

Beneath The Planet Of The Apes [a]

Colossus: The Forbin Project 

Crimes Of The Future 

Gas-s-s-s

The Mind Of Mr. Soames 

No Blade Of Grass 

=1971= 

The Andromeda Strain 

A Clockwork Orange 

Glen And Randa 

The Hellstrom Chronicle 

THX 1138 

=1972=

Silent Running 

Slaughterhouse Five 

Solaris [b] 

Z.P.G.

=1973=

Day Of The Dolphin

Fantastic Planet 

The Final Programme (US title: The Last Days Of Man On Earth)

Idaho Transfer 

=1974=

Dark Star 

Phase IV 

Space Is The Place 

Zardoz 

=1975= 

A Boy And His Dog 

Black Moon 

Death Race 2000

Rollerball

Shivers (a.k.a. They Came From Within and The Parasite Murders)  [c]

The Stepford Wives 

=1976= 

God Told Me To [a.k.a. Demon]

The Man Who Fell To Earth 

=1977=

Wizards

[a]  I include Beneath The Planet Of The Apes because it is the single most nihilistic major studio film released, a movie that posits Charlton Heston blowing up the entire planet is A Damn Good Idea; follow up films in the series took a far more conventional approach to the material.  While successful, neither the studio nor mainstream audiences knew what to make of this film, so 20th Century Fox re-released it in a double bill with another problematic production, Russ Meyer’s Beyond The Valley Of The Dolls, and holy cow, if ever there was a more bugfuck double feature from a major studio I challenge you to name it.

[b]  Other than Karel Zemen’s delightful animated films, Iron Curtain sci-fi films rarely screened in the US, with the exception of special effects stock shots strip mined to add production values to cheapjack American productions (looking at you, Roger Corman).  Solaris is the exception.

[c]  David Cronenberg made several other films in this time frame, but most of them were variations on the themes he used in Shivers, including his big break out, Scanners.  Realizing he was repeating himself, Cronenberg reevaluated his goals and started making films with greater variety of theme and subject matter.

. . .

The astute reader will notice I bring my list to an end in 1977, a mere nine-year span instead of a full decade.

That’s because 1977 also saw the release of Close Encounters Of The Third Kind and Star Wars.

The effect was immediate, with knock-off films being released the same year.

1978 saw Dawn Of The Dead, a sequel to 1968’s Night Of The Living Dead, and Superman, the first non-campy superhero movie aimed at non-juvenile audiences.  

1979 gave us Alien, Mad Max, and Star Trek: The Motion Picture.

These films were not just successful, they were blockbusters.

And none of them were original.

Close Encounters served as an excuse to do a Kubrick-style light show; plot and theme are about as deep as a Dixie cup, and of all the blockbusters of that era, it’s the one with no legs.

Alien’s pedigree can be traced back to It! Terror From Beyond Space (and It’s pedigree goes back to A.E. van Vogt’s “Black Destroyer” and “Discord In Scarlet” in the old Astounding Stories) and Demon Planet (US title: Planet Of The Vampires) by way of Dark Star (Dan O’Bannon writing the original screenplays for that film and Alien as well).

Mad Max, like 1981’s Escape From New York, differs from earlier post-apocalypse movies only insofar as their apocalypses of a social / cultural / political nature, not nuclear or biological weapons.  Mad Max, in fact, can trace its lineage back to No Blade Of Grass, which featured it own caravan of refugees attacked by modern day visigoths on motorcycles, and the original Death Race 2000, as well as an odd little Australian non-sci-fi film, The Cars That Ate Paris.

Not only was Dawn Of The Dead a sequel, but it kickstarted a worldwide tsunami of zombie movies that continues to this day (no surprise as zombie films are easy to produce compared to other films listed here, and while there are a few big budget examples of the genre, the typical zombie movie is just actors in ragged clothes and crappy make-up).

Superman was…well…Superman.  And Star Trek was Star Trek.

And the granddaddy of them all, Star Wars, was a cinematic throwback that threw so far back it made the old seem new again.

Not begrudging any of those films their success: They were well made and entertaining.

But while there had been plenty of sequels and remakes and plain ol’ knockoffs of successful sci-fi movies in the past, after these seven there was precious little room for anything really different or innovative.

1982’s E.T. was Spielberg’s unofficial follow-up to Close Encounters.

1984’s Terminator consciously harkened back to Harlan Elison’s Outer Limits episodes “Demon With A Glass Hand” and “Soldier” (not to mention 1966’s Cyborg 2087 which looks like a first draft of Cameron’s film)

All innovative movies are risky, and the mammoth success of the films cited above did little to encourage new ideas in sci-fi films but rather attempts to shoehorn material into one of several pre-existing genres.

Star Wars = space opera of the splashy Flash Gordon variety

Star Trek = crew on a mission (Star Trek: The Next Generation [+ 5 other series], Andromeda, Battlestar: Galactica [4 series], Buck Rogers In The 25th Century, Farscape, Firefly [+ movie], The Orville, Space Academy, Space Rangers, Space: Above And Beyond, plus more anime and syndicated shows than you can shake a stick at)

Superman = superheroes (nuff’ sed!)

Close Encounters / E.T. = cute aliens

Alien = not-so-cute aliens

Terminator = robots vs humans (and, yes, The Matrix movies fall into this category)

Escape From New York = urban post-apocalypse

Mad Max = vehicular post-apocalypse 

Dawn Of The Dead = zombies

Mix and match ‘em and you’ve got a nearly limitless number of variations you know are based on proven popular concepts, none of that risky original stuff.

Small wonder that despite the huge number of new sci-fi films and programs available, little of it is memorable.

. . .

It shouldn’t be like this.

With ultra-cheap film making tools (there are theatrically released films shot on iPhones so there’s literally no barrier to entry) and copious venues for ultra-low / no-budget film makers to show their work (YouTube, Vimeo, Amazon Prime, etc.), there’s no excuse for there not to be a near limitless number of innovative films in all genres.

But there isn’t.

I watch a lot of independent features and short films on various channels and streaming services.

They’re either direct knock-offs of current big budget blockbusters (because often the film makers are hoping to impress the big studios into giving them lots of money to make one of their movies), or worse still, deliberately “bad” imitations of 1950s B-movies (and I get why there’s an appeal to do a bad version of a B-movie; if you screw up you can always say you did it deliberately).

Look, I understand the appeal of fan fic, written or filmed.

And I get it that sometimes it’s easier to do a knock-off where the conventions of the genre help with the final execution.

But let’s not make deliberate crap, okay?

Oscar Wilde is quoted as saying “Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery” but he was quoting somebody else, and that wasn’t the whole original quote.

Wilde was quoting Charles Caleb Colton, a dissolute English clergyman with a passion for gambling and a talent for bon mots.

Colton’s full quote:   “Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery that mediocrity can pay to greatness.”

Don’t be mediocre.

Be great.

   © Buzz Dixon

[taggedmemes]

SENTENCE MEME ⟶ CUNK ON EVERYTHING / G –– L always feel free to tweak the sentence to fit your muse.

‘it’s got loads of tits in it, so you know it’s grown-up.’

‘if there’s one thing you can say about tits, it’s that they’re not for babies.’

‘it’s a bit like hanging around a ladies changing room of some historical re-enactment society.’

‘game theory is a way of explaining and excusing behaving like a shit because you’ve drawn it all out on graph paper.’

‘now imagine you understood any of that.’

‘you’ve probably got a cardigan and those glasses murders wear in black-and-white films.’

‘scientists sometimes can’t see the wood for the trees, because they’re looking down a microscope.’

‘it looks a bit like they’ve got distracted and started thinking about gin and tonic.’

‘i reckon they should make it illegal, just in case.’

‘they did all sorts of daft bollocks.’

‘do dogs have governments?;

‘is big ben the name of the clock? or the monster?’

‘why has the word ‘governmental’ got the word ‘mental’ at the end? is it a warning?’

‘hair is basically body tinsel.’

‘the worst hairstyles are worn exclusively by white men you wouldn’t want to be trapped in a stalled train carriage with.’

‘he had her head cut off to make her less attractive to other men.’

‘he had a zany sense of humour: he ate peacocks for the hell of it and once had a man boiled to death.’

‘why aren’t there more songs about doctors?’

‘to understand the brain, imagine a cauliflower.’

‘let’s open a shop that sells upcycled clocks made out of old dialysis machines, because that’s the sort of hipster rubbish that sells quite well these days.’

‘you’ll never look yourself in the eyes, or taste your own tongue, or rest your head gently on your own chest and cry your heart out about how you’ll never taste your own tongue.’

‘ice cream is probably the only food to roam the streets in vans looking for consumers.’

‘maybe if there was a brussels sprouts van, then we’d all like them more.’

‘that maniac charlton heston blumenthal made a mustard ice cream, just in case anyone wanted to put the tin hat on a nice dinner by being sick everywhere.’

‘steam is what you get when you make water absolutely furious.’

‘it’s hot, unpredictable, powerful and lethal-- like mel gibson.’

‘the train was the most revolutionary animal that mankind had ever domesticated, until the furby.’

‘we didn’t need to be drunk to walk straight into lamp-posts.’

‘shortly after inventing the spike, they invented stabbing each other.’

‘the jazz police would come down on them like a ton of police.’

‘he stood on hills and told people off.’

in a way, standing on hills and telling people off was very much the internet of its day.’

‘he betrayed him by snogging him in a park.’

‘anyone who’s ever done a long train journey knows babies only have one word and it’s screaming.’

‘maybe it would help if i understood what a hadron was, but i’ve looked it up and it just made my head hot.’

‘even though we all know lies are wrong, lots of people tell lies for a living.’

‘maybe truth went out of fashion because so many liars got away with ignoring it.’

‘light is the fastest animal in the world.’

‘if you sit under an apple tree what eventually falls on your head is an apple.’

[filmstruck]

Fall in Love with Van Heflin: A Noir Double Feature by Kimberly Lindbergs

Today Van Heflin is rarely mentioned in the same breath as his high-profile costars—which included Judy Garland, Gene Kelly, Lana Turner, Gary Cooper, Ginger Rogers, Charlton Heston and Rita Hayworth—but during his lifetime, he was often referred to as one of the best actors of his generation. Heflin was a natural performer with uncommon talent who couldn’t be easily pigeonholed. He played heroic cowboys and philosophically minded doctors, as well as ruthless criminals and psychotic cops with equal finesse. While many of his contemporaries were lauded for their ham-fisted theatrics combined with an intense desire to be liked, Heflin often bucked convention. As a result, he can seem strangely aloof and out of place in 1940s Hollywood movies, but his inward-looking performances typically crackled with energy and his everyman disposition comes across as astonishingly modern today.

If you prefer your leading men to be conventionally handsome and “by-the numbers” actors, then Heflin, with his unruly red hair and restless protruding eyes, probably won’t appeal. He doesn’t possess Cary Grant’s charm or Humphrey Bogart’s swagger. Only one book has been written about the man and his lowkey lifestyle did not generate a lot of juicy gossip. Instead, Heflin is one of the earliest examples of a real “actor’s actor,” who won an Oscar for his performance in JOHNNY EAGER (’41) and has two stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame (one for his film acting and the other for television).

To understand Heflin’s appeal, a good place to start is with two exceptional film noirs streaming on FilmStruck: THE STRANGE LOVE OF MARTHA IVERS (’46) and POSSESSED (’47). In both films, Heflin plays atypical romantic protagonists vigorously pursued by powerhouse leading ladies who risk everything to win his affection and respect.

In THE STRANGE LOVE OF MARTHA IVERS, Heflin plays Sam Masterson, a professional gambler who returns to his birthplace and quickly finds himself embroiled in a provincial mystery and complex love triangle involving his childhood pals (Barbara Stanwyck and Kirk Douglas) and an enigmatic femme fatale (Lizabeth Scott). Combining elements of film noir with classic Gothic romances, this unusual Hollywood production is a relentlessly bleak and unforgiving movie. Before the credits roll, two people will be dead and an entire town will have felt the consequences. Heflin is exceptional as the world-weary Masterson compelled to reassess the past while being forced to choose between two beautiful but deeply troubled women. If there was ever a noir that perfectly embodied Thomas Wolfe’s poignant lament that “you can’t go home again,” THE STRANGE LOVE OF MARTHA IVERS might be it.

In POSSESSED, Heflin is David Sutton, a self-centered architect who becomes an object of obsession for Louise Howell (Joan Crawford). After the pair’s romantic dalliance comes to a bitter end and David finds another lover (Geraldine Brooks), Louise begins to lose her grip on reality and eventually suffers a mental breakdown that takes a particularly dire turn. Heflin is not given a lot to do in POSSESSED, but his natural charisma and lowkey acting style makes him an interesting costar for the highly-strung Crawford who was too often paired up with less compelling leading men. Heflin and Crawford make a fascinating match, so it is unfortunate that the film doesn’t spend more time building up their romance instead of focusing on the unfortunate aftermath of their sizzling affair. Despite my minor complaint, this is terrific slow burn noir with a fascinating and melancholy mystery at its shadow strewn center.

[theliterateape]

The Inner Monologue is Making Me Nuts

by Don Hall

I'm having a hard time getting motivated.

Sure, I need to give myself a break—I'm in that specific yet incredibly common place in life when the life I was living turned out to be a fiction and, you know, it takes time to recover. The Japanese proverb (Proverb? Saying? Adage?) that tells me to "Fall down seven times, get up eight" is good and all but I'm finding it difficult to get up.

I listen to podcasts but find that after the conversation I'm hearing ends, I can't recall much of what was said. Abruptly spending far more of my time alone has brought out a few strange behaviors. I turn the television news on and just leave it on so that they sound of voices is just present in the apartment. I talk to myself and tend to refer to the one person in the room as 'we.' As in "We need to get some control on the random snacking," or "Today, we're going to pump out 5,000 words." It isn't really the royal 'we' but more like the 'we' of Charleston Heston in Omega Man or the Wilson of Castaway. Just a few clicks away from the guy standing on the corner jabbering about the mind control coming from the traffic lights and drawing made-up hieroglyphs with his shit on the sidewalk.

Roughly six years ago, I stopped smoking cigarettes and started smoking a pipe. This was less a choice and more a response to the hectoring from the stranger I married but I can't say I regretted it. I like the pipes. I like the reaction I get smoking an old school pipe. It smells like nostalgia. "You smell like my grandpa." As soon as the fiction I had been living was exposed, waking up from a seven year coma like a 2022 version of Rip Van Winkle, I went out and bought a pack of smokes. I suppose in part because I could now smoke in the house as an act of defiance, in part as a "Fuck you" to her. A few months later, I'm still smoking cigarettes. I tell myself "We're smoking to reclaim who we were before all this happened. Sense memory experimentation." As if the act of pulling out a stinky square can bring back the self assurance and confidence I used to wear like a cape.

I'm distracted by the news. Sitting down to write, I find myself writing a sentence, staring at it, then jumping in to check my email which almost always spam, taking a beat to clean out the spam, spending five minutes playing the free Blackjack game in my iPad, then checking the many feeds for any new news. Back to the sentence. I delete it and write another, slightly reworded. Then I check out the Indeed job board for gigs either remote or specific to Denver or Wichita. I get some coffee. I think a moment about the food I'll eat later and how many calories it will attach to my expanding gut. "OK. We maybe need to just crank out 3,000 words today. We'll make up the balance tomorrow."

I check my dwindling bank balance. I do some cursory math to see how long I can manage to keep my bills paid until someone knocks on the door to ask me to join my feces hieroglyphicist on the corner. Back to the sentence. I look up at the iPad and realize that Meghan Daum has been talking for the last hour on her new podcast and I haven't listened to a single word and I debate whether or not to restart it or whether it was important enough to listen to again.

The night before last, I went to bed at a reasonable, adult time, but brought the iPad in with me. I decided to browse Netflix and found Snowflake Mountain. A reality series (I love reality tv) with two hosts who are former military, survivalist types who bring ten Gen Z stereotypes of lazy, sensitive, entitled idiots and teach them through challenges and instruction to be adults. It's funny and salty, lots of fat and sugar, and I binge the entire show until 5am. Thus, my sleep cycle is fucked but I'm flooded with the exact lessons I'm desperately in need of in this period—Responsibility, Self Respect, Motivation. Get up offa your ass and get the routine back in focus.

I take walks most days despite the feeling that Nevada in summer is like living in a giant toaster oven. I've noticed a trend. The first half of the walk has my inner monologue obsessing on the failed marriage, the red flags I ignored, the feeling that she has moved past the divorce so quickly and cleanly, with little to no consequence, that I am nothing more than disposable like a used Starbucks lid or a cached out lighter. The second half becomes a Great Santini speech in my head, barking at me to quit being such a pussy, get the fuck over it, get back into the gym, Gimme fifty pushups NOW!

I always feel better after the second half of the walk but then there's the sentence that isn't gonna write itself, motherfucker!

When I thought I'd perhaps stay in Vegas, I submitted volunteer applications to several causes here. It takes longer than I thought it would because everyone wants a background check before letting you show up and help with abandoned dogs or help in a Food bank. Odd that I could buy a rifle in less time than I can volunteer for a homeless shelter here but these are odd times. I'm less interested in volunteering because I'm leaving. No desire to create new relationships when I'm up and outta here in less than two months.

Yeah, I know I told myself that this whole divorce was something I would just compartmentalize and move on. I’m the sort of person that others see as impenetrable, tough-minded, and, as David called me “a pitbull.” Given my track record, this is objectively true most of the time. I always tend to land on my feet but, gang, this is hard. It may be harder than my previous divorces because of the outrageous circumstances, it may be hard because I was completely convinced we would work. It might be that I’m just getting older and the energy required to just get over it is dwindling. Whatever the case, it’s fucking hard.

No. This is not some cry for help. David also makes a convincing case that getting this sort of stuff off my chest and into the world is a net-positive. I’m not looking for sympathy, empathy, or even a freaking hug. This is simply the inner monologue (which is driving me nuts).

I get the sense I'm simply filling the time. To get through the next few weeks in order to get busy packing. To get as far away from her as possible. I'm biding my time. I don't know if I ever bided time before. Waiting for time to spin itself out so I can start moving forward again. I get the sense that I can't move forward until I'm no longer living 25-feet from her. That's probably sensible.

"We should go to the pool today." "We need to generate 1,000 words today." "We should do some intermittent fasting today." "Jesus—NPR has become insufferable!" "We should read some fiction."

But first, we're going to stare at this sentence some more.

I'm having a hard time getting motivated.

NOTE: Apparently just writing this has me finding the motivation. Go figure.

[papermoonloveslucy]

LUCY & HENRY FONDA ~ Part One

1935-1968 

Lucille Ball and Henry Fonda were more than just co-workers. When Lucy first got to Hollywood, the two actually briefly dated. Lucy remembers,

"We worked long and hard, Ginger [Rogers] and I, in front of our mirrors. We used eye shadow, plenty of mascara, pancake [make-up], deep red lipstick, rouge, everything we'd been taught in the studio cosmetic department. Then we went out to Brentwood, that's where the boys lived. My date was Fonda. Ginger's date was [Jimmy] Stewart. Henry cooked the dinner, and after we ate, Ginger and the boys turned on the radio in the living room and Ginger tried to teach them ‘The Carioca.’ I was left doing the dishes. When I finished, we went out dancing at the Coconut Grove. Freddie Martin's orchestra. There we were, Ginger and I in our long organdy dresses, looking just as summery and smooth as we could. The date stretched into daybreak. We'd had a hilarious, wonderful evening that came to an end at Barney's Beanery. Well, it was dark and we went in and light when we came out. Hank and Jim took one look at us and said, 'What happened?' We said, 'What do you mean what happened?' And Jimmy Stewart said, 'Well, your nighttime makeup is on awful heavy for this time of the morning.' And Henry Fonda said, 'Yuk!'"

In 1975 Fonda told this story at “The Dean Martin Celebrity Roast” for Lucille Ball. Ginger Rogers was also in attendance. He added that "If I hadn't said, 'Yuk!', if I'd behaved myself, they might have named that studio Henrylu, not Desilu."

Perhaps it is a good thing that Fonda and Ball never married as genealogists point out that they are related - 8th cousins. The pair acted in three feature films together and made numerous television appearances opposite one-another. Curiously, although he was sometimes mentioned, Fonda never guest-starred on a “Lucy” sitcom.  

I Dream Too Much (1935)

Producer: Pandro S. Berman Director: John Cromwell Choreographer: Hermes Pan Screenplay: Elsie Finn (story), David G. Wittels (story), Edmund North Songs: Jerome Kern and Dorothy Fields 

Cast: Lily Pons (Annette Monard Street), Henry Fonda (Jonathan Street), Eric Blore (Roger Briggs), Osgood Perkins (Paul Darcy), Lucien Littlefield (Hubert Dilley), Lucille Ball (Gwendolyn Dilley)

Synopsis: Annette Monard Street (Lily Pons) is an aspiring singer, who falls in love with and marries Jonathan Street (Henry Fonda), a struggling young composer. Jonathan pushes her into a singing career, and she soon becomes a star. Meanwhile, Jonathan is unable to sell his music, and he finds himself jealous of his wife's success. Concerned about their relationship, Annette uses her influence to get Jonathan's work turned into a musical comedy. Once she achieves this, she then retires from public life in order to raise a family.

"Lucille replaced Betty Grable, an eighteen-year-old stock player... in the minor role of Gwendolyn Dilley, a bleached-blonde gum-chewer visiting Paris with her parents and little brother.” ~ Kathleen Brady, Lucille

Gwendolyn Dilley (Lucille Ball): "Culture is making my feet hurt."

TRIVIA

At this point in her career, Lucy was a platinum blonde. She had dyed it from her natural mousy brown to get more attention from casting agents and producers. She did not begin coloring her hair its trademark red until the technicolor film Du Barry Was A Lady in 1943.

A brief clip of Lucy in the film is included in “Hollywood the Golden Years: The RKO Story: A Woman's Lot” (1987).  

The Big Street (1942)

Producer: Damon Runyon Director: Irving Reis Screenplay: Leonard Spigelgass, based on the short story “Little Pinks” by Damon Runyon

Cast: Henry Fonda (Little Pinks), Lucille Ball (Gloria Lyons), Barton MacLane (Case Ables), Eugene Pallette (Nicely Nicely Johnson), Agnes Moorehead (Violette Shumberg), Sam Levene (Horsethief), Ray Collins (Professor B)

Uncredited actor Hans Conried played a waiter. On “I Love Lucy” he played Harry Martin in “Redecorating” (S2;E8) and Percy Livermore in “Lucy Hires an English Tutor” (S2;E13), both in 1952. He also did two episodes of “The Lucy Show,” both as her music tutor Dr. Gitterman in 1963.  

'Queen of the Extras' Bess Flowers made numerous uncredited background appearances on both “I Love Lucy” and “The Lucy Show.”  

Uncredited actor Gil Perkins (Mug) later turned up on a 1970 episode of “Here's Lucy” (S2;E21).  

TRIVIA

During filming, Lucy's new husband Desi Arnaz felt so insecure about leaving Lucy and Fonda alone together that he’d often pop by the set to keep an eye on them. His paranoia so exasperated director Irving Reis that he finally banned him from the set.

This was Lucille Ball's favorite of her nearly 80 films. She felt her performance was unjustly ignored by the Academy.

Damon Runyon also created the source material for the hit Broadway musical Guys and Dolls (1950), which starred Robert Alda, who went on to make several appearances on “The Lucy Show.” The two stories share the character of Nicely Nicely Johnson. When the film version was made by MGM in 1955, Lucy and Desi were also under contract to the studio. A brief clip of the film was inserted into the middle of an episode of “I Love Lucy” called “Lucy and the Dummy” (S5;E3), although the clip was removed after its initial airing. Further, when Lucille Ball first came to Hollywood, before becoming a contract player at RKO, she worked for Sam Goldwyn as one of the Goldwyn Girls. In Guys and Dolls, the Hot Box Girls are played by the Goldwyn Girls.

Gloria Lyons (Lucille Ball): “Love is something that gets you one room, two chins, and three kids.”

A brief clip from the film is seen in “Lucy and Desi: A Home Movie.”

“The Good Years” (January 12, 1962)

Produced by: Leland Heyward Directed by: Franklin L. Schaffner

Cast: Lucille Ball, Henry Fonda, Mort Sahl, Margaret Hamilton (Narrator)

Characters included Teddy Roosevelt, Sandow the Bodybuilder, the Wright Brothers, J.P. Morgan, Lizzy Borden   

TRIVIA

This CBS special was billed as 'Lucille Ball's return to television' after leaving Lucy Ricardo behind in April 1960. It would be several more months before the debut of “The Lucy Show” in Fall 1962.   

Based on a best-selling book by Walter Lord first published in 1960 about the years leading up to World War One, the special was a hodge-podge of sketches and musical numbers about the time period 1900 through 1920.

Mort Sahl: “Lucille Ball came into rehearsal. She had a later call and a lot of doubts about the script.”

The 90-minute special was a critical failure and has largely been forgotten. There are few photographs and video copies are held at the Museum of Broadcasting. 

“All About People” (1967)

Director: Saul Rubin

Narrators: Lucille Ball, Henry Fonda, Jack Benny, George Burns, Carol Channing, Eydie Gorme, Charleton Heston, Eartha Kitt, Burt Lancaster, Edward G. Robinson

TRIVIA

This was a 30-minute black and white documentary made by the United Jewish Welfare Fund about its history. 

After marrying Gary Morton (nee Morton Goldapper), Lucille Ball was active in Jewish charities. On December 9, 1961, Lucy had appeared on the “Twelve Star Salute to the Federation of Jewish Philanthropies.” 

Burns, Benny, and Gorme, all later made appearances on “Here's Lucy.” Edward G. Robinson did a cameo on “The Lucy Show.”  

Although Ball and Fonda are both involved in the project, they likely recorded their narration separately. 

Yours, Mine and Ours  (1968)

Producer: Robert F. Blumofe Director: Melville Shavelson Screenplay: Melville Shavelson and Mort Lachman, with story by Bob Carroll Jr. and Madelyn Davis (Lucy’s TV writers), based on the book Who Gets The Drumsticks? by Helen Eileen Beardsley

Cast: Lucille Ball (Helen North Beardsley), Henry Fonda (Frank Beardsley), Van Johnson (Darrel Harrison)

Nancy Howard (Nancy Beardsley) made three appearances on “Here's Lucy.” Tim Matheson (Mike Beardsley) made an appearance on a 1972 “Here's Lucy” playing Kim Carter’s boyfriend. 

Uncredited extras Leon Alton, Paul Bradley, Charles Cirillo, George Boyce, Paul King, Joseph LaCava, and Leoda Richards all made numerous background appearances on “The Lucy Show” and “Here's Lucy.”

Synopsis: A widower with ten children falls for a widow with eight, and they must decide about forming a huge, unconventional family.

TRIVIA

Jane Fonda claimed that her father was deeply in love with Lucy and that the two were "very close" during the filming of Yours, Mine and Ours but that Lucy wasn't in love with him.

After purchasing the rights to the book the film was based on, Lucille Ball became very close to the real Beardsleys and even treated the whole family to a vacation at Disneyland. 

In 1959, Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz, still affiliated with MGM, were going to star as Frank and Helen Beardsley but the studio had trouble with the casting until the late 1960s. In addition, their marriage was then on the rocks, a situation which would have made working together on the optimistic comedy somewhat problematic.

Lucy's old friend John Wayne was initially considered to play Frank Beardsley. The role was cast with Fred MacMurray, but he was replaced by Henry Fonda.  

Frank (Henry Fonda): “I don't quite understand. Am I being stupid?” Helen (Lucille Ball): “No, you're being a man. Which is sometimes the same thing.”

Lucille Ball co-produced the film under her company, Desilu Productions. When the film became a surprise smash hit grossing over $17 million on a $2.5 million investment, she hadn't anticipated the film's huge box-office success and failed to provide a tax shelter for her personal profits, resulting in most of her earnings going toward taxes.

The success of the film led to Lucy being considered to play Mrs. Brady in “The Brady Bunch,” a TV sitcom with a similar story of a blended family. Lucy decided to do her own sitcom, “Here's Lucy,” instead.

In 1968, Van Johnson guest starred on “Here's Lucy” as both himself and an impostor look-alike in “Guess Who Owes Lucy $23.50” (HL S1;E11). The dialogue contained references to Yours, Mine and Ours and their co-star Henry Fonda.

Van Johnson Impostor: “I loved working with that kooky redhead.” Lucy Carter: “Personally, I thought she was much too young for Henry Fonda.”

Johnson was in the cast of Too Many Girls, the film which introduced Lucy to Desi in 1940. Johnson also guest-starred on “I Love Lucy” in “The Dancing Star” (S4;E27) in 1955.

Click Here for Part Two: 1975 to 1979!

[foodcourtuniversitypress]

Funny Phoebe, Funny Joey by Pip Adam

“The One With The Black-Out” During a power outage, Rachel falls for the owner of a lost kitten, a dark, attractive Italian guy. Meanwhile, Chandler is trapper in an automated-teller vestibule with a gorgeous model. It is late and we are tired. The Italian guy is creepy. At this stage we root for Ross. Ross has just found out his estranged lesbian wife and her girlfriend are going to have his baby. Ross has a monkey. It’s a bit up in the air how big a part Ross will get to play in his child’s life. So, yeah, we are slightly, ‘Go Ross!’ and hoping Paolo won’t stay round too long. Rachel doesn’t speak Italian. The woman in the vestibule is a Victoria Secret model but Chandler won’t talk to her. Chandler’s head is talking and talking and talking. Chandler’s head gives bad advice concerning the Victoria Secret model. Poor Chandler. Poor Ross. Also, ‘vestibule’?

“The One With All The Jam” Monica becomes obsessed with making jam as a means of getting over Richard. Still feeling unfulfilled, she decides she wants to have a baby and visits a sperm bank. The sperm bank is not Joey. Ba dum cha. Our daughter starts watching a programme with what she calls ‘laughing in the background’. Monica is a chef but at the moment is unemployed. Monica lost her job after accepting "gifts" from her restaurant's meat supplier. Richard is Tom Selleck – he wears his trousers high and his shirts tucked in but, you can see the appeal. ‘Ooo,’ goes the live studio audience. ‘Aaaaahh.’ Chandler makes a joke. ‘Hahaha,’ goes the live studio audience, laughing in the background. Chandler makes jokes to hold back the sadness of his parent’s divorce. Chandler’s father rejects the gender binary and works in Las Vegas. Chandler makes a joke about this.

“The One With All The Jealousy” Ross becomes obsessively jealous of Rachel’s sexy new co-worker Mark and is convinced he is flirting with Rachel. Monica is smitten with a sexy busboy. Rachel and Ross got together. Ross was angry at Rachel. Rachel was angry at Ross. Ross and Rachel kissed in the rain. Ross and Rachel are going out together. Ross is a controlling bully. Ross goes to Rachel’s work and makes a fool of her. Ross is a creep. Ross is angry at Rachel. The busboy is a player and a liar. Monica wears big fake boobs for her waitressing job. A lot of fun is made of Monica’s big fake boobs and the fact that Monica used to be fat. Monica is always around food. Monica’s big fake boobs catch on fire. Waitressing is hard work.

“The One With The Cuffs” Monica “pulls a Monica” when she caters her mother’s party. Chandler gets himself locked into a compromising position with Rachel’s boss. Monica’s parents are horrible to her, we start to see where Ross gets it from. Monica’s parents think the sun shines out of Ross’ arse. Rachel’s boss is played by Alison La Placa who received extensive training in classical piano and voice. She’s been in Greys Anatomy, The OC, Boston Legal and ER but only once or twice. The joke is Rachel’s Boss is tall and sturdy and good at her job and ambitious – she makes Chandler her bitch. The joke is woman who are a bit like men do that. If Chandler had done it to her he would have found a way to make it funny. It’s not a woman man thing. Chandler’s can make anything funny but Rachel and Monica are the best at prat falls.

“The One With The Girl From Poughkeepsie” Ross debates whether to date a faraway beauty or a less desirable woman who lives nearby. Chandler tries to set up a date for Rachel with some co-workers. Ross cheated on Rachel. Or did he? Then they broke up. Ross is not a nice person. Monica gets smaller and smaller. We play fuck, marry, kill with the cast of Friends. I go Joey, Chandler, Ross – in a heartbeat, fastest reply I’ve made in days. I go Phoebe, Phoebe – but can’t bring myself to kill any of the women. Monica gets smaller and smaller and keeps making food. Rachel is doing fine, you hardly notice how much weight she’s lost.

“The One With Joey’s Dirty Day” On Joey's first day on a major movie, one of Hollywood's legendary stars finds him in a compromising position in his trailer. Rachel regrets asking Ross for a favor when it sparks a new romance. We shout at the TV screen, ‘Don’t Rachel! Don’t! Don’t ask Ross!’ Ross is a creep. Joey has a shower in Charlton Heston’s dressing room because he forgets to shower after a fishing trip. Joey played Al Pacino’s arse in a shower in an earlier episode. Joey is getting older. ‘How you doin’?’ gets old. Joey wears more polar-necked jumpers. His ‘getting older face’ doesn’t match his ‘not getting smarter mind’. The joke is Joey is beautiful and dumb but it can’t last forever and we can’t work out how he’s paying his rent. Phoebe lived on the streets and her mother committed suicide and Joey falls in love with her twin sister. Phoebe has a twin and gave birth to her brother and his wife’s triplets. But all this happened in other episodes. In this episode Joey has a shower and Ross falls in love with Rachel’s boss’ niece. He’ll marry her, Emily not Rachel, but not yet. He’ll marry her, Rachel not Emily, but we can’t think about that because every time we do we feel sorry for Rachel.

“The One With The Girl Who Hits Joey” When Joey starts dating Katie, he finds she packs a painful punch. Ross has trouble making friends with his new neighbours. It’s funny when a woman hits a man. It’s sexy when a woman hits a woman. Katie makes Joey her bitch – she could take him. Monica gets smaller. Then Rachel gets smaller. Chandler gets bigger. His face puffs up. Phoebe stays about the same. Ross’ hair cut changes from one episode to the next. Joey is Joey. Phoebe never gets to see her babies. Ross never sees Ben any more. We don’t get to see Carol and Susan much, which we’re disappointed about because Carol and Susan seem like decent people. Like maybe they are from a different TV show. Like the time Robin Williams was on. Oh, and Jean-Claude Van Damme.  Jean-Claude Van Damme was on Friends. Everyone in Ross’ new apartment block hate him and we cheer and cheer.

“The One With Unagi” Ross tries to teach martial arts to Rachel and Phoebe. Joey hires a look-alike to pose as his twin brother for a medical experiment. Ross creeps up on Rachel and Phoebe and tries to terrify them. When this doesn’t work he creeps up on some other women and is chased but not arrested. We hate Ross. Joey hiring a look-alike for the twin experiment is one of the funniest things that has ever happened in the lives of these six 20-something friends living in Manhattan.

“The One With Monica’s Thunder” Minutes after Chandler proposes to Monica, she plans to celebrate on the town with her pals - until she catches Ross and Rachel kissing. Chandler walks through a door and loses 20 pounds because Matthew Perry gets pancreatitis during the hiatus. The orange shirt he finished last season in hangs on him like a tent. Monica is still tiny in his arms. Rachel’s hair is long but not as long as it was. With Ross and Rachel the writing seems kind of on the wall. Jennifer Anniston is about to meet Brad Pitt. Rachel’s arms are tiny. Poor Rachel. Poor Monica. Poor Chandler. Funny Joey. Funny Phoebe. Creepy Ross. The white dog is on the veranda.

[glenngaylord]

MY MOMENTS OUT OF TIME IN FILM 2019

Instead of a Top 10 List, every year I like to honor a long-discontinued but influential annual column from Film Comment magazine. I couldn’t wait for my father to come home from work with the “Moments Out Of Time” issue.  The writers would cite their favorite scenes, images, or lines of dialogue, even from films they may not have liked, because let’s face it, even bad films may have a great moment or two.

The year brought us so many wonderful films.  Parasite wowed me with its ability to surprise while telling an important story about class divisions.  I think Once Upon A Time In…Hollywood will stop me in my tracks over and over again with its immersive deep dive into late 1960s Los Angeles.  The female-on-female gaze gets a workout in the stunning Portrait Of A Lady On Fire, while Jojo Rabbit masterfully walks a tightrope between hilarious and moving.  Watching Eddie Murphy return firing on all cylinders in Dolemite Is My Name remains one of the most joyous movie experiences of the year. Yet, even I can’t see them all, but here, in no particular order, are my Moments Out Of Time in film for 2019:

A door opens, someone calls out “Honey?”, as the plot veers off in a jaw-droppingly unexpected, biggest WTF of the year direction, turning a light class comedy into something far, far, deeper- Parasite

Upon the assassination of JFK, his enemy, Jimmy Hoffa (Al Pacino) orders the half mast flag in front of the Teamsters' Union to be raised back to its standard position.  As Hoffa looks up at the flag, this chilling, diabolical scene feels like the end of civil society as we know it - The Irishman

“Climb in my fur” - my favorite line of dialogue last year, cementing Jennifer Lopez’s Ramona as an iconic film character who can take sexual innuendo and turn it into an invitation for friendship - Hustlers

“That was the best acting I’ve ever seen in my whole life” - dialogue runner up as a young actress (Julia Butters) whispers into the insecure but committed actor Rick Dalton’s (Leonardo DiCaprio) ear, causing him to weep uncontrollably and giving him the recognition he’s always craved - Once Upon A Time In…Hollywood

A boy spies a flitting butterfly and stands up to get a better look, notices a pair of shoes next to him, and in an instant his entire life heartbreakingly changes - Jojo Rabbit

A vacationing family looks out their window to see…themselves…lined up and waiting to invade their home - Us

A gate which will no longer close on its own.  Two estranged parents and their child manually slide it shut with the barrier separating them from each other.  The battle lines have been drawn with deft precision - Marriage Story

A woman stares at another across a theater.  They have a history.  The symphony plays a striking, propulsive piece which both women know so well.  A searing two minute close-up of the women she sees betrays her anguish, the pain, the missed opportunities, and the suffering of a woman who society demanded could not be herself - Portrait Of A Lady On Fire

Best final scene of the year: Two best friends sit in a car curbside at an airport.  They awkwardly exchange awkward pleasantries even though we can tell they’re really going to miss each other.  A delicate cover of “Unchained Melody” plays over stellar performances of Kaitlyn Dever walking away and Beanie Feldstein looking forelorn, both conveying that painful moment when high school besties part.  Then, suddenly remembering it’s a hilarious comedy, Feldstein almost crashes into Dever, who gets back in the car and they decide they have enough time to get pancakes.  Feldstein yells, “F*ck yeah!” as we smash cut to black - Booksmart

While he’s wanted inside at his premiere, Rudy Ray Moore can’t walk away from the fans waiting outside the theatre, choosing instead to give himself over to them and melting everyone’s hearts, including mine, in the process - Dolemite Is My Name

Wait!  This guy is at your Passover Seder?  You’re related to him?  Now I’m scared - Uncut Gems

A milked cow.  A barn.  A dogfight up in the skies above.  A knife. Two soldiers foraging for food, safety, and a chance to survive the next minute.  Everything changes. - 1917

Matthew McConaughey as Baker Dill (!) spends most of his time howling to the heavens or completely naked, and for these reasons, I will never forget this terrible, amazing film experience - Serenity

When she forgets the words to her signature song, the audience sings them for her, making us all realize that even though she was close to death, the memory of her will never fade away - Judy

Normally, I’d be delighted to open my window and see Isabelle Huppert staring at me from across the street, but here, it’s a hauntingly nightmarish image - Greta

Julianne Moore sings along to an Air Supply song in her car and somehow manages to make her lapse in taste seem heartfelt - Gloria Bell

I love comedic moments built from repetition or missed connections.  When Jack (Himesh Patel) can’t get his parents to sit still for a moment so that he can convince them he wrote the song “Let It Be”, his incredulousness and frustration strikes comedy gold - Yesterday

A young writer negotiates her terms with a publisher, gloriously finding her voice and her power at a time where such bravery seemed impossible - Little Women

A drunk, lonely, middle-aged woman dances alone in a small town honky tonk to Leon Russell’s “Out Of The Woods”, giving us a glimpse into her less austere past - Diane

A dildo with a retractable switch blade - Knife + Heart

What do the sounds of Elton John and Bernie Taupin’s songs look like?  A man crashing out of a window and joining a dancing flash mob at a carnival to “Saturday Night’s Alright For Fighting” felt alive and electric, Yet, even more so, in a moment achieving some level of transcendence, Elton (a fantastic Taron Egerton) falls sideways off of a diving board into a pool where his boyhood self plays the title song on a piano at the bottom.  That we somehow end up at Dodger Stadium where a sparkly Elton greets his fans and flies up into the stratosphere makes his classic soar - Rocketman

A grunge pop star/recovering addict (Elizabeth Moss), not too dissimilar to Courtney Love, sits at a piano and performs a sober rendition of Bryan Adams’ “Heaven”, stripping away the outrageous bravado to quietly break out hearts - Her Smell

“Agency” seems to be on everyone’s lips when describing dynamic, plot-driving lead characters, but Leo’s (star in the making Félix Maritaud) choices don’t fit into a standard box.  His decision, like it or not, is all his. - Sauvage/Wild

In a film filled to the brim with unforgettable, emotionally-laden images, its final shot of a man rowing a boat across turbulent waters moved me to tears - The Last Black Man In San Francisco

To learn from a documentary that the Ten Commandments monuments on display in front of many City Halls across the U.S. resulted from a Charlton Heston-led publicity tour for his 1956 movie epic is to realize, painfully so, that sometimes Hollywood and not the Churches, ruins everything! - Hail Satan?

Although, sooner or later, most of us will end up in a patch of dirt, some long for that moment more than others and find beauty in it - High Life

Watching Laura Dern pull off one of the most notorious literary scandals of modern times gives us one of the most original kicks of the year in a scene with an interviewer.  She hides in plain sight as a novelist pretending to be the terribly British Manager to Kristen Stewart’s fake face of the same novelist in order to build mystique and sell more books - J.T. LeRoy

Who knew that a CGI-animated film for the whole family would have the most bone-chilling sequence of the year?  But there it was in an antique store with Gabby Gabby and the creepy ventriloquist dummies - Toy Story 4

A woman enters her drab Chinese hotel room only to be asked if the U.S. is better by the anxious bellboy.  Afraid to offend him, she merely tells him it’s different.  The things we do to ease the pain of the less fortunate. - The Farewell

Three women.  An elevator on its way to the chairman’s office.  The sideways glances.  The knowledge they all have of what awaits them.  A silent sisterhood until Nicole Kidman’s Gretchen Carlson awkwardly comments, “Hot in here”.  The year’s best calibrated scene - Bombshell

An out gay actor, Mark Patton, confronts the writer of the film which ruined his career and gets an apology.  The years of pain written across his face don’t go away, but a little weight of the world gets lifted from his very relieved, very courageous shoulders - Scream Queen!  My Nightmare On Elm Street

While Tarantino played around with historical revisionist wish fulfillment, director Mary Herron and writer Guinevere Turner tapped into female rage in telling the story of the Manson murders.  When Hannah Murray as Leslie Van Houten carries out one of the murders, screaming as she plunges a knife into someone, we get a rare glimpse into finally understanding what brought her to that point - Charlie Says

After Lily Collins’s Liz demands, “ Release me…what happened to her head?” as a way for doomed serial killer Ted Bundy (a chilling Zac Efron) to admit his guilt, he finally writes with his finger on the glass prison visitor’s window which separates them, one frightening word, “Hacksaw” only to wipe it away immediately - Extremely Wicked Shockingly Evil And Vile

A gay white man and his straight, non-English speaking Latino handyman bond over Madonna’s “Borderline” in the back seat of an Uber.  Matt Bomer’s angsty character finally relaxes and connects with this adorable man (Alejandro Patiño) doing ridiculously cute seated dance moves - Papi Chulo

A young woman rushes to her apartment bathroom and in a seamless transition, she emerges down the aisle of a plane headed for Sweden - Midsommar

Sometimes one can derive great pleasure from a film by simply listening to how Adam Driver says the word “ghouls” - The Dead Don’t Die

An actress known primarily for her own murder gleefully watches herself on the big screen in a Westwood Village movie theater, and in that moment, we finally experience the gorgeous humanity and not the horrendous end of this lovely person - Once Upon A Time In…Hollywood

When you have an icy, almost robotic main character, you need Alfre Woodard to masterfully play drunk and show you all of her other shades - Clemency

I don’t care if the film felt like a xerox copy of the original or if the CGI ruined everything, because Billy Eichner’s Timon arrives at a now barren, picked apart Pride Rock and blurts out,  “Talk about a fixer-upper. I think you went heavy on the carcass.”  - The Lion King

When was the last time you saw a film where a character stops the action to demand of another, “I want you to know about me!”? - The Peanut Butter Falcon

A young Irish indentured servant in 1825 Tasmania watches helplessly as a soldier kills her baby just to stop its crying, and that’s only the beginning of a long line of justifications for her rage - The Nightingale

Nothing like a well-placed coffee mug to illustrate your main theme in the final image of your movie - Knives Out

Tracy Letts’ Henry Ford II feels the sheer power of one of his race cars and provides the most beautiful, unexpected crying scene of the year - Ford v. Ferrari

The funniest crossing a busy freeway scene since Eddie Murphy attempted it in 1999’s Bowfinger - Good Boys

A split second choice at what should have been a routine traffic stop changes the lives of our unlucky, racially profiled, sweet, smart but “not a match” Tinder date protagonists - Queen & Slim

A passport inspector asks, “Purpose of your visit?”  The young man replies, “I’m going to see Bruce Springsteen’s hometown.”  As he stamps his papers, the inspector responds, “I can’t think of a better reason to visit the United States than to see the home of The Boss” - Blinded By The Light

A horribly brutalized gay man wafts to shore only to see the haunting image of a scary clown reaching out to perhaps save him?  Nah, he’s a midnight snack - It Chapter 2

A young child, caught between his parents arguing over the phone, conveys painful messages to the supposed adults in the equation - Honey Boy

Sometimes an unreturned text can send you spiraling so far out of control that you ruin your life and everyone else’s around you - Waves

That last moment of bliss between a husband and wife right before their quiet mountaintop hamlet gets invaded by the sounds of planes overheard and the Nazis arriving to recruit them - A Hidden Life

You may have gotten in shape, but without true growth, the fat girl inside you won’t hesitate to shame another - Brittany Runs A Marathon

Gabriel Luna wins the award for sexiest performance in a terrible movie as a new killing machine decked out in tight pants and a killer stare - Terminator: Dark Fate

A mentally disturbed aspiring comic turned homicidal maniac disastrously makes his late night talk show debut, posing ominously backstage, skipping out with a bizarre tap twirl flourish, and then…well…like a true comic…he kills - Joker

Alec Baldwin, in a stunning monologue, basically shows us the early rise of people like Donald Trump, as all sense of hope gets sapped away - Motherless Brooklyn

An old sailor and his new charge stare down the camera right at us, somehow letting us know that we have no idea what bleak is, so hold on tight - The Lighthouse

A farmer (a never better Bill Camp) barges in on a corporate lawyer to get him to investigate the dying cattle in his hometown.  From such humble beginnings comes something which affects every single one of us - Dark Waters

An aspiring Scottish country singer sneaks away from her Grand Ole Opry tour group to sing alone on the main stage and perhaps get discovered. When she learns that everybody does that, she realizes she isn’t that special after all - Wild Rose

Biggest cinematic moment of dread: When a Chinese billionaire reopens a shuttered Ohio GM plant and hires back some of the workers at half their salaries and without benefits, you know you’ve just boarded a slow moving train to hell - American Factory

Did he do it?  Is he a terrorist?  Or is he a good guy?  How much of his tragic past is still present within him?  That final image will keep me guessing forever - Luce

A devoted Chinese Communist Party Member and abortion specialist knows she can never redeem herself from the part she played in ruining so many lives - One Child Nation

You may take issue with the implications that her real life character traded sex for intel and that she’s no longer alive to defend herself,  but Olivia Wilde gave one of the most vivid, exciting, ballsy performances of the year - Richard Jewell

An actual minute of silence in a film would normally be its death knell, but when Tom Hanks as Mr. Rogers demands it, we rethink our own hurried, impulsive lives - A Beautiful Day In The Neighborhood

Sure she overdid it.  Yes she had an odd, hairy, uncanny face and strangely manicured nails for days.  Overwrought doesn’t even begin to describe it, but when she hits that big note and belts out, “Touch me / It’s so easy to leave me / All alone with the memory / Of my days in the sun”, damned if I didn’t snot cry right along with her - Cats