This and That...

A few things to clear off the desk today. First, to answer to what I’m sure is your burning curiosity about the screen caps I used for my post to illustrate the first chapter of my cozy mystery “Cadmium Yellow, Blood Red”. This was a lot like playing with paper dolls, or those Colorforms things when we were kids. They are in order:

“The Turning Point” (1952). My lead character female character is played by Alexis Smith.

An actual Hampden Ale advertisement.

“Vertigo” (1958) - car traffic.

“The Best Years of Our Lives” (1946) - apartment building and lobby.

“The Sleeping Tiger” (1954) - female lead still played by Alexis here. Dirk Bogarde was in the mirror reflection, but I erased him. Don’t you wish you could to that with more people?

By the way, try finding a shot of nekkid people copulating on the floor of a swanky apartment in an old movie. I wasted some of the Best Years of My Life looking. Imagine my disappointment. I settled for….

“All About Eve” (1950) - apartment interior and stairs

Actual photo of the Wadsworth Atheneum, Hartford, Connecticut.

“Vertigo” again, this time the lady in the museum.

“The Sleeping Tiger” again - shot of modern art.

“Executive Suite” (1954) - Since Alexis wanted too much money, I put her on suspension and continued the movie with Nina Foch. From the back, who can tell?

“Executive Suite” again - desk blotter.

“Make Haste to Live” (1954) - Nina Foch started making too many demands, like only blue M&Ms in her trailer, so I put her on suspension and hired Dorothy McGuire to finish the film. It was dark in this scene. Who’s going to know? When are these actresses going to learn that it’s my studio and I call the shots? Seven-year contract means shut up and do what I tell you.

“Make Haste to Live” again.

“Make Haste to Live” again. You don’t really get too many dramatic scenes around an office desk, which in my mundane world I think is the most exciting place in the world. The male lead is played by Stephen McNally.

“Vertigo” again - painting.

“How to Steal a Million” (1966) - the lead male is taken over by Peter O’Toole. Stephen McNally complained too much about the script. Since we never see either of their faces, I’m thinking of not giving them screen credit.

Next on the things to do list: Announce that this coming Thursday I’m giving a talk on Melzar Mosman, one of the foremost American craftsmen in the casting of bronze statuary of the 19th century, and a sculptor as well, at the Chicopee Public Library in Chicopee, Massachusetts. If any of you are in northern Connecticut or western Massachusetts and you are fascinated by 19th century bronze sculpture (and let’s face it, aren’t we all?) then do please drop by, I’d love to meet you. I’m showing slides.

Hey, I don’t make fun of your work.

Next on the list is a preview of Thursday’s post. I recently recommended the movie “The Sleeping Tiger” to someone (see screen capture reference above) at the YouTube link below, where it is posted in a single file. Then it later occurred to me that this would be a pretty nice opportunity for us to discuss a movie that we all have access to at the same time. Usually when we classic film bloggers post reviews, our readers inevitably have either never seen the movie, or saw it a long time ago and passion for it has waned. Or we were too young to get it. Or too old to remember it.

Here is the link on YouTube for “The Sleeping Tiger” starring Alexis Smith, Dirk Bogarde, Alexander Knox and Hugh Griffith. It’s a dark, psychological suspense story that takes place in England and was filmed there. I’ll be talking about it on Thursday, and there will, of course, be spoilers. Enough to choke a horse. So, watch the film first and then go back to my post when you can and do please let us know your opinions. My favorite thing about this blog is reading the comments. I learn new facts, I gain insight with the fresh perspective you give me and we give each other.

Think of it like a book club, where we’re all reading the same book so we can talk about it.

See you Thursday.