12 agosto … ricordiamo …

12 agosto … ricordiamo … #semprevivineiricordi #nomidaricordare #personaggiimportanti #perfettamentechic

2021: Una Stubbs, attrice britannica. È stata sposata con l’attore Peter Gilmore e hanno adottato un figlio, Jason. Dopo il divorzio sposò l’attore Nicky Henson e hanno avuto due figli: il compositore Christian Henson (nato 1971) e il musicista-compositore Joe Henson (nato 1973). (n. 1937) 2021: Tarcisio Meira, pseudonimo di Tarcisio Magalhaes Sobrinho, attore brasiliano. Sposato per quasi 60…

View On WordPress

TV Guide -  December 28, 1963 - January 3, 1964

Anna Marie “Patty” Duke (December 14, 1946 – March 29, 2016) Actress of stage, film and television. She first became famous as a tween star, winning an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress at age 16 for her role in The Miracle Worker, which she had originated on Broadway. She later starred in the sitcom, The Patty Duke Show. She progressed to more mature roles upon playing Neely O'Hara in the 1967 film Valley of the Dolls. She served as the president of the Screen Actors Guild from 1985 to 1988, four years after her Patty Duke Show co-star William Schallert held the same office

In 1982, Duke was cast alongside Richard Crenna in the ABC sitcom It Takes Two, from Soap and Benson creator Susan Harris. The socially topical series depicted both Duke’s and Crenna’s characters as a modern career couple (hers was a lawyer, his a surgeon) and the moral and personal challenges that abounded from their professions. Helen Hunt and Anthony Edwards played their teenaged offspring. Although It Takes Two was praised, ABC cancelled the series after one season due to low ratings.

Duke would subsequently work with Susan Harris on a new ABC series, Hail To The Chief, which premiered in April 1985. She appeared as the first female President of the United States in the ensemble, all-star series (the cast featured Dick Shawn, Herschel Bernardi, Glynn Turman and Ted Bessell as Duke’s husband, among others) and the material was topical yet off-the-wall, much in the fashion of Soap, like which it was partially serialized. Hail To The Chief was less successful than the star’s and producer’s previous joint effort of It Takes Two and was cancelled after seven episodes. In 1987, Duke returned to series television in another short-lived comedy, Karen’s Song, which aired on the fledgling Fox network.  (Wikipedia)

Vote for your favourite, the top 9 will proceed in the bracket. Since theyre all different shapes and sizes, make sure to click into the full views!

Paget Eliminations

Other Artist Eliminations

Full captions and details for each illustration below the cut:

All Sidney Paget illustrations are for the Strand Jul 1891 - Dec 1904

"I carefully examined the writing." Scandal in Bohemia Characters: Holmes, Watson

"I tried to interest myself in a yellow-backed novel." Boscombe Valley Characters: Watson

"She raised her veil." Speckled Band Characters: Helen Stoner, Holmes, Watson

"Something like fear sprang up in the young lady's eyes." Beryl Coronet Characters: Holmes, Mary Holder

"He held it up." Yellow Face Characters: Watson, Holmes

"He deliberately knocked the whole thing over." Reigate Squires Characters: Watson, Holmes

"Why, if it isn't Mr. Phelps!" Naval Treaty Characters: Insp Forbes, Percy Phelps, Mrs Tangey

"That is Baskerville Hall in the middle." Hound of the Baskervilles Characters: Holmes, Watson

"Good-day, Dr. Watson." He cried." Hound of the Baskervilles Characters: Watson, Mr Frankland

"He sent it to me in that state, with his curse, upon my wedding morning." Norwood Builder Characters: Mrs McFarlane, Holmes

"Someone has been tampering with it," he said." Black Peter Characters: Hopkins, Holmes, Watson

"A woman rushed out into the room." Golden Pince-Nez Characters: Anna

With the way I had to watch New Amsterdam do Helen Sharpe and Sharpwin dirty, I'm just really happy with what Dick and Kory got for 3+ seasons and will get in these last 6 episodes.

Sure they could've been developed more during season 2 and 3. But even then I still saw moments that showed just how much they love each other.

We got PRINCESS MAR'I GRAYSON in live action for the first, and likely the last, time ever. Not once but twice (maybe even a third time if we're lucky). And we couldn't have gotten a cuter little girl. The perfect mix of her parents.

Dick and Kory were confirmed as endgame before they even held hands!! Everything before and since then has been the journey to that endgame and I've enjoyed all of it. I can't wait to see these next few episodes. My babies are going on their first date 🥺😭. And I better hear the words "I love you" from both of them!!

And for Kory... Starfire has been my favorite character since I was like 8. To see her come to live action as a woman that looks like me has been so amazing. Anna was born to play Starfire!! From her voice, to her mannerisms, to her looks! Her performance has been the best every single season. I don't care what anyone thinks, the writing for Kory has been the most well-constructed of any character on the show. Her growth from season 1 to 4 has been so enjoyable. Her evolution from hot head to compassionate and motherly has not been her becoming "weaker" or "soft", but shown her becoming a true leader.

I'm gonna miss Kory, dickkory and the Core Four so much 😭😭😭😭😭 I'm not ready to say goodbye to that family. But I love what we got. Even the bad parts (aka s3).

Gonna go crazy with the edits after part 2 is done.

As mentioned by the wonderful @foreverinthepagesofhistory, there exists an anecdote about Tatiana Nikolaevna's wig falling off in 1913 and her running to hide from everyone out of embarrassment. This comes from the book 'Four Sisters' by Helen Rappaport:

"One day, when she was playing a skipping game in the park with Maria Rasputin and some young officers from the Corps de Pages, Alexey’s dog had run up to her barking; Tatiana got her foot caught in the rope, tripped and as she fell ‘her hair suddenly tumbled down and, to our amazement, we saw a wig drop off’, Maria recalled. Poor Tatiana ‘revealed to our eyes and those of the two embarrassed officers, the top of her head where a few short, sparse hairs were just beginning to grow’. She was absolutely mortified, and ‘with one bound she was on her feet, had picked up her wig and dashed towards the nearest clump of trees. We saw only her blushes and vexation and she did not appear again that day.’"

Rappaport references Matryona 'Maria' Rasputina's book 'Real Rasputin' here. I unfortunately cannot find this version of her memoirs anywhere online (I think she wrote about three, and 'Real Rasputin' was her first), so I sadly can't check the actual quote for any more information.

If I'm being entirely honest, I don't know how much I believe this. Neither Olga nor Maria Nikolaevna's diaries from 1913 ever mention Rasputin's children Matyrona (Maria), Dmitri, or Varvara visiting them for fun and games, though they do talk about sometimes being in their company.

'After dinner [I] played, at Papa's request, religious things [music] and everyone went to Anya's where Father Grigori's entire family was present: Paraskovia, Feod[orovna], Mitya, Matryona, and Varya... and Zhenya.' - Olga's diary, Christmas day 1916

It's also important to note that Maria believed in Anna Anderson for a time, and a common criticism for those who supported her claim was that they didn't actually know the family well at all, so she might have put this anecdote in her book to try and combat this. Knowing that Tatiana wore a wig might have added to this supposed closeness she was trying to convince readers of.

Her memoirs have been questioned time and time again as to how accurate they actually are - she tries to paint her father, Grigori Rasputin, as having been framed for the downfall of tsarism, and she believes him entirely innocent of the various allegations against him. There are more inconsistencies. For example, in her memoirs she writes degradingly about Felix Yusupov (who was involved in the murder of her father), then named her two dogs 'Youssou' and 'Pov' after him... Also, the cover of her memoirs are quite funny, it reminds me of a bad film poster lol, but that is besides the point.

Also, Tatiana's album has photos of her posing on the Standart and on the beach with her wig off, which might suggest she was at least a little comfortable showing her shaved head to some people, like her favourite officers. When OTMA had their heads shaved in 1917, they also posed for various photographs and found it funny, not embarrassing - but it could be argued that was because they were going through it together, rather than Tatiana being the 'odd one out'.

Personally, I also don't enjoy 'Four Sisters'. Helen Rappaport sadly put quite a few misconceptions and outright lies into her books, so her quoting from a very unreliable source doesn't surprise me sadly.

I also want to add that despite being a little harsh here about her memoirs, Maria Rasputina was a fascinating woman. She actually worked as a lion tamer in a circus for a few years, and there's a video of her doing this which you can see here. She ended up being mauled by a bear whilst working for the circus, but continued working with the company and advertising herself as the performing 'daughter of the mad monk'. She also claimed she was psychic and held seances. She needs her own book about her!

Cosplaying Patty Duke as Neely O’Hara in Valley of the Dolls (1967)

Take one of my closet cosplay of Patty Duke as Neely O’Hara in the telethon scene in Valley of the Dolls (1967)

Or, as Patty Duke herself called it, “Valley of the Dreck.”

Why Duke would continue to feel chagrin over Dolls and her performance even after the film developed a devoted cult following is no great mystery. Dolls was Duke’s first film after the end of her sitcom, The Patty Duke Show. What Duke envisioned as a potential first step in a full career of proper adult work was marred by an abusive work environment and resulted in a funhouse mirror reflection of the novel and, eventually,  a cornerstone of Camp.

Take two of my closet cosplay of Patty Duke as Neely O’Hara

Duke wasn’t the only one in the cast hot off major television roles: Barbara Parkins and Lee Grant had prominent roles on Peyton Place, Martin Milner and Paul Burke  starred in Route 66 and 12 O’Clock High, respectively. However, for Duke, Dolls held extra weight: between the end of her sitcom and the production of Dolls she had been institutionalized for her mental illness and she had finally been able to seek work free from the abusive management team she had as a child. There would naturally be a lot riding on Dolls for her, professionally and personally. For Dolls to not only be a shitty filming experience but a dud of a film—garnering Duke bad reviews—would understandably leave a lasting bad taste in her mouth.

Despite Duke’s negative recollections of the production and release of Dolls, it’s clear in her memoir, Call Me Anna, that Duke approached the role of Neely in earnest. She would be immediately dispirited, however, witnessing first hand the poor treatment of Judy Garland, originally cast as Helen Lawson, and experiencing abuse of her own from the director Mark Robson. Duke even alleged that casting Garland in the role was a publicity stunt; as it was long rumored that Duke’s role of Neely O’Hara was inspired by Garland.

A troubled production isn’t always destined to fail and, in fact, Dolls was successful at the box office. However, in this case, what resulted was a sort of “passionate failure”—to quote Susan Sontag—which has cemented its place in Camp canon over the fifty-six years since its release. Quite a few writers have examined that more thoroughly than I could here, so rather than doing a full literature review, let me instead recommend you do some reading on your own about Dolls’ Camp pedigree. Instead, taking note that I love Valley of the Dolls, I can provide some context on how the film became what it is—and why Patty Duke suffered for it.

Take three of my closet cosplay of Patty Duke as Neely O’Hara

Read on BELOW the JUMP

Buy me a ☕

Jacqueline Susann’s bestselling novel, Valley of the Dolls, published in 1966, is also a Camp classic (in a wholly different manner than the film—another story for another time). Regardless of Camp status, the novel pushed a lot of boundaries in terms of the social mores of the 1960s. Susann frankly depicted drug abuse, queerness, female friendships, and the difficult realities of living life on your own terms as a woman in the social climate of mid-century America. As you might imagine, a Hollywood film made in 1967 would hardly be able to present much of that effectively.

To start with, the filmmakers heavily sanitized the entire work and also condensed the timeline of the story significantly.* The language used and nature of conversations are heavily censored or completely removed. The events that form the basis of the three lead characters forming their friendship are elided or rewritten, making the intertwining of their lives/careers feel like little more than a narrative device.** In my opinion, the most obvious victim of the changes is Duke’s Neely O’Hara.

The novel takes place between the mid-1940s to the mid-1960s, with relevant flashbacks/backstory for many of the characters. Neely is only a teen at the start of the book and is in her mid-thirties by the end. Obviously adapting a novel to a single feature-length film requires truncations. Characters are removed/reduced/remixed and a lot of backstory is erased—understandable and expected. But, a puzzling choice in the case of Dolls is that the bulk of the events of the nineteen years of the book are still included in the film. Which means packing a lot of pretty serious life events into a drastically shorter timeframe—a move destined to produce absurdity.

“Neely had no education, but she had the inborn intelligence of a mongrel puppy, plus the added sparkle that causes one puppy to stand out in a litter. This puppy was clumsy, frank and eager, with a streak of unexpected worldliness running through her innocence.” — Valley of the Dolls, Jaqueline Susann

In the case of Neely, she has her big break, gets married, gets a Hollywood contract, gets addicted to pills and booze, her marriage falls apart and she has an affair with/marries her costume designer who then cheats on her and they divorce, she hits rock bottom and she’s institutionalized, then she steals Anne’s boyfriend and when she’s poised to make her big comeback, she gets sloshed and can’t go on. All of that goes on in the film with little to no change in fashion or styling to indicate time passing. This makes Neely’s rise and fall and rise and fall come off as absolutely outrageous.

No matter how earnestly Duke might have pursued her characterization of Neely originally, she was going to emerge looking ridiculous. [IMO, ridiculous in a highly entertaining, non-mocking way, but nevertheless ridiculous.] Whether it was possible to foresee this outcome at the time, I can’t know for certain. However, Susan Hayward’s insistence on having her hair white, instead of being bald from cancer treatment (screenplay) or hair treatment gone awry (book), makes me wonder if the more seasoned performer saw the writing on the wall and wasn’t willing to commit to such extremities?

Take four of my closet cosplay of Patty Duke as Neely O’Hara

With the benefit of time, fifty six years after the film’s initial release, the Camp factor of Dolls has only increased. If it had been competently adapted and had better direction, I feel confident that we wouldn’t still be talking about it in 2023. And, if Patty Duke’s performance hadn’t been so wildly over the top, Dolls might have been kind of dour and slightly boring. That’s not to deride Barbara Parkins, Sharon Tate, Susan Hayward or Lee Grant, they did great work with what they were given—but they also weren’t given jobs as impossible as the adapted Neely.

Duke’s performance is often derided (even by herself) and Dolls did end up being deleterious to her transition to adult screen roles. But, her Neely O’Hara is a Camp icon and I have a great affection for her work. It’s a performance that’ll stick with you—love it, hate it, or laugh at it. Maybe it’s the irony of having such a young actress (only twenty two!) so convincingly portray a performer that’s already been chewed up and spit out by the industry. Maybe it’s the energy she brings—the bottled up ambition to make it stick and no longer be thought of as a kid. If nothing else, Duke’s Neely is one of a kind.

“Camp taste is, above all, a mode of enjoyment, of appreciation—not judgment. Camp is generous. It wants to enjoy. It only seems like malice, cynicism. (Or, if it is cynicism, it’s not a ruthless but a sweet cynicism.) Camp taste doesn’t propose that it is in bad taste to be serious; it doesn’t sneer at someone who succeeds in being seriously dramatic. What it does is to find the success in certain passionate failures.” — Notes on Camp, Susan Sontag

What do you all think about this film? It’s divisive for a lot of very good reasons! And also bad reasons!

---

Footnotes:

*Only in writing this did I learn that one of the two screenwriters credited for Dolls, Helen Deutsch, is also the screenwriter who adapted Paul Gallico’s The Love of Seven Dolls into Lili (1953). If you have also read the book and seen that film, the, um… creative choices there would also leave you questioning some things. Though maybe I should give her some leeway and assume that they weren’t strictly her creative choices given that, under the studio system in Hollywood at the time, it’s not likely that a closer adaptation of the book could have passed the censors or been palatable to studio heads. Ditto with Dolls.

**Most instances of queerness of the characters (mostly Jennifer and Anne) are erased entirely. I will talk about this more in future posts!

Court Circular | 14th March 2023

Buckingham Palace

The King held an Investiture at Buckingham Palace this morning. Her Excellency Fiamé Naomi Mata’afa MP (Prime Minister of the Independent State of Samoa) was received by His Majesty this afternoon. The King received Sir Antony Radakin (Chief of the Defence Staff). His Majesty received Lieutenant General Tyrone Urch (Chief Royal Engineer, Corps of Royal Engineers). The Rt Hon Jeremy Hunt MP (Chancellor of the Exchequer) had an audience of The King. The Queen Consort, Patron, this morning visited Elmhurst Ballet School, 249 Bristol Road, Edgbaston, Birmingham, to mark their Centenary and was received by Professor Helen Higson (Vice Lord-Lieutenant of West Midlands). Her Majesty this afternoon visited Southwater Library, Southwater Square, Southwater Way, Telford, and was received by His Majesty’s Lord-Lieutenant of Shropshire (Mrs Anna Turner).

Kensington Palace

The Prince of Wales, Joint Patron, the Royal Foundation of The Prince and Princess of Wales, this afternoon held a Meeting at Windsor Castle. The Princess of Wales, Joint Patron, the Royal Foundation of The Prince and Princess of Wales, this afternoon received Professor Eamon McCrory (Board Member, the Royal Foundation Centre for Early Childhood Advisory Group) at Windsor Castle.

St James’s Palace

The Duke of Edinburgh, Patron, The Duke of Edinburgh’s Award, this afternoon visited Balfour Beatty plc, West Service Road, Raynesway, Derby, and was received by His Majesty’s Lord-Lieutenant of Derbyshire (Mrs Elizabeth Fothergill). His Royal Highness, Patron, The Duke of Edinburgh’s Award, later visited Stonebridge City Farm, Stonebridge Road, Nottingham, and was received by His Majesty’s Lord-Lieutenant of Nottinghamshire (Sir John Peace). The Duke of Edinburgh, Patron, The Duke of Edinburgh’s Award, this evening attended a Dinner near Newark.

Kensington Palace

The Duke of Gloucester this morning visited Birdoswald Roman Fort, Gilsland, and was received by His Majesty’s Lord-Lieutenant of Cumbria (Mrs Peter Hensman). His Royal Highness today visited Cumbria Clock Company, Castle Workshop, Penrith. The Duke of Gloucester this afternoon visited Askham Hall, Askham, Cumbria, to celebrate Hospice at Home’s Twenty Fifth Anniversary. The Duchess of Gloucester, Patron, Asthma and Lung UK, this afternoon received Ms Sarah Woolnaugh (Chief Executive) and Mr Michael McKevitt (Director of Services).

TSC characters as Zodiac signs:

(This isn’t based on their birthdays by any means this is just what I see them as)

Aries: Emma/Aline/Matthew (I don’t think I need to explain)

Taurus: Tavvy/Kit/Jem (Tavvy and Jem are self explanatory. Kit was put here because Taurus are known for calm temperament and Kit held his anger in the entire series of TDA until Ty was raising livvy from the dead)

Gemini: Mark/Magnus/Simon (They know everyone’s secrets and act like they don’t when asked)

Cancer: Thomas/Grace (it just makes sense to me. Thomas the Mother at it again, and Grace the emotionless to emotional in five seconds)

Leo: Jace/Jesse/Anna/Will (AGAIN, I’m not sure how Jesse got here but he seems like the kinda guy who (once around people long enough) would be arrogant in a joking way.)

Virgo: Helen/Alec/James (Intelligent, on the outside they are fine, but on the inside THEY ARE HURT)

Libra: Kieran/Isabelle (they are beautiful without trying and are very sweet until provoked)

Scorpio: Alastair/Dru/Tessa (I don’t know how Tessa ended here, but her sense of humor is definitely Scorpio Tier)

Sagittarius: Julian/Clary/Ariadne (Straight Sagittarius vibes I have no idea (spontaneous bastards))

Capricorn: Ty/Livvy/Christopher (these three are always working on something and have goals that never waiver)

Aquarius: Cristina (she’s the only one to give me the vibes, I almost put Simon here)

Pisces: Cordelia/Lucie (I see them being the same sign and they are both very intuitive and emotional. They also seem to like daydreaming a lot)

(Give me suggestions on what characters to add!)

'“Barbenheimer” is more than just a meme. It’s a full-fledged box office phenomenon.

Over the weekend, moviegoers turned out in force for Greta Gerwig’s neon-coated fantasy comedy “Barbie,” which smashed expectations with $155 million to land the biggest debut of the year. But they also showed up to see Christopher Nolan’s R-rated historical drama “Oppenheimer,” which collected a remarkable $80.5 million in its opening weekend.

Hundreds of thousands of ticket buyers refused to choose between the two seemingly different auter-driven blockbusters with sprawling casts and twin release dates. So they opted to attend same-day viewings of “Barbie” and “Oppenheimer,” turning the box office battle into a double feature for the ages.

“This is an unequivocally great weekend for moviegoing,” says David A. Gross, who runs the movie consulting firm Franchise Entertainment Research. “‘Barbie’ and ‘Oppenheimer’ are complementing each other at the box office, not taking audience from each other.”

The cultural craze known as “Barbenheimer” worked to fuel the biggest collective box office weekend of the pandemic era, as well as the fourth-biggest overall weekend in history. It’s worth noting the top three weekends of all time were led by the debuts of sequels in massive franchises (“Avengers: Endgame,” “Avengers: Infinity War” and “Star Wars: The Force Awakens”).

“Studios gave audiences two uniquely different, smart and original stories that were meant for the big screen, says Michael O’Leary, president and CEO of the National Association of Theatre Owners, the industry’s trade organization. “People recognized that something special was happening, and they wanted to be a part of it.”

In the end, though, it wasn’t a competition as “Barbie” loomed large over box office charts, thanks to an inescapable marketing campaign, as well as quality to match the stratospheric hype. At the international box office, the film added $182 million for a stunning global tally of $337 million.

The $145 million-budgeted movie, backed by Warner Bros. and Mattel, dominated the zeitgeist in the weeks leading up to its debut (even reportedly causing a shortage of the color pink) to a degree that’s rare for original fare. (Yes, Barbie is perhaps the world’s most famous doll, but the movie isn’t a sequel or part of a pre-existing film franchise.)

“We have a pink unicorn here,” says Jeff Goldstein, the president of domestic distribution at Warner Bros. “We thought it would be $75 million for the opening weekend. Nobody saw $155 million coming. This doll has long legs.”

Audiences and critics dug the PG-13 film, which landed an “A” CinemaScore and 90% on Rotten Tomatoes. Initial crowds were 65% female (which, duh…), but that’s notable because it’s almost always the inverse for any movie that generates over $100 million in its debut.

Among its many records, “Barbie” also scored the biggest opening weekend ever for a film directed by a woman. “Captain Marvel,” which was co-directed by Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck, previously held the title with $153 million in 2019. “Wonder Woman,” from filmmaker Patty Jenkins, stood as the record-holder for a movie solely directed by a woman with $103 million in 2017.

Gerwig, the Oscar-nominated director of “Lady Bird” and “Little Women,” co-wrote the screenplay with her partner Noah Baumbach. Margot Robbie and Ryan Gosling star as the stereotypical versions of Barbie and Ken, who leave behind the Dreamhouse on a quest for self-discovery in the real world. The cast also includes Issa Rae, Dua Lipa, Simu Liu, Michael Cera, Helen Mirren, John Cena and Will Ferrell.

“Oppenheimer” may be settling for second place — not that Universal or Nolan is complaining. Buoyed by stellar reviews and premium large formats, the biopic about the so-called “father of the atomic bomb” is wildly outperforming expectations for a three-hour-long period piece with little action and lots of talking.

Heading into the weekend, analysts were anticipating a $50 million start, which already would have been notable given the grim film’s subject matter and style. With the bigger-than-projected debut, Nolan has only solidified his status as a box office draw, no matter the genre. And his appeal as a filmmaker spans continents. At the international box office, “Oppenheimer” added $93.7 million for a global tally of $174 million.

“This is a 1940s period piece,” says Universal’s president of domestic distribution Jim Orr. “That speaks volumes to the appeal of Nolan and his prowess as a filmmaker. He has an amazing reputation for storytelling in the biggest format possible.”

Nolan, the blockbuster director of “The Dark Knight” and “Inception,” is known to evangelize about Imax — and moviegoers have taken note. Premium large formats (PLFs, as they are known in the industry) contributed a massive 47% of the film’s domestic tally. Imax alone accounted for $35 million of global ticket sales.

“Around the world, we’ve seen sellouts at 4 a.m. shows and people traveling hours across borders to see ‘Oppenheimer’ in Imax 70mm,” says Imax CEO Rich Gelfond. “This is a phenomenon beyond compare in Imax, and we’re just getting started.”

“Oppenheimer,” which cost $100 million, marks the first time in more than two decades that Nolan isn’t working with Warner Bros. (Yes, the backers of “Barbie.”) He parted ways with the studio over its ill-fated decision to put its entire 2021 movie slate simultaneously on HBO Max.

Adapted from the Pulitzer Prize-winning book “American Prometheus,” “Oppenheimer” is a star-studded character study about theoretical physicist J. Robert Oppenheimer. Cillian Murphy plays the man who led the action at Los Alamos, alongside an ensemble of Robert Downey Jr., Matt Damon, Emily Blunt, Florence Pugh and Alden Ehrenreich.

With “Barbenheimer” taking up most of the oxygen at multiplexes, the other movies that were playing in theaters had to fight for scraps.

Tom Cruise’s big-budget sequel “Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One” took third place, tumbling by 64% with $19.5 million in its second weekend of release. It didn’t help that “Oppenheimer” is all but monopolizing the country’s PLF footprint, where tickets are pricier than standard screens.

The seventh installment in Paramount and Skydance’s globe-trotting action franchise has generated $118.7 million in North America and $370 million globally to date. However, it cost a mammoth $291 million before marketing, so it’ll need to hold its own against “Barbie” and “Oppenheimer” to justify that price tag...'

a continuation of this thread with @wndybyrd

Why someone would waste their time collecting flowers was beyond Helen. It may have been a pleasant enough day, which was a small stroke of fortune she hadn't expected, having certainly forgotten to bring along a warm coat and a muff. Beyond that small stroke of lucky, the daisies that the other woman held were too small to be of use medically and would fail as ornamentation within a few days, assuming this place followed basic laws like the decay of picked plants. It may be attractive in the present, but it was useless in the long-run. There was only so much time. Why bother with flowers?

"I suppose I don't need to tell you I am not Anna," Helen began slowly, as if trying to find her footing. In reality, she was trying to find a single other conversation topic beyond the damnable flowers that marked this woman as an absolute waste of time, energy, and focus. She gingerly took the offered hand, pulling the name Wendy Darling from the depths of her memory, tangled though it was in whispers from a Shadow, once again proving how well it had taught her of this strange world.

Wendy Darling didn't appear to be much. She was as pretty as most any other girl, childish enough to still think flower-gathering was a worthwhile activity, and yet managed to, if the stories were as true as they seemed, to single-handedly be responsible for spring. It was unpleasant. How this small scrap of a girl managed that was beyond Helen, but it picked at her and she knew that if left unattended, it would fester. She was tempted to let it.

Realizing she may have waited a moment too long to introduce herself, Helen nodded. 'I am Helen." She neglected to add her last name. It didn't particularly matter here and Wendy didn't seem particularly deserving of it. She wasn't entitled to Helen's family. One eyebrow made a slow journey up Helen's face. "Yes," she said slowly, "of course its... Sewn to him. How foolish of me." She hoped the doubt that her tone conveyed made it clear just how unlikely Helen thought that to be. It wasn't sewn nor stuck to anyone, not to her.

"I am a new arrival, yes," Helen confirmed with one nod, though she didn't deny the smile that wished to form on her face its opportunity. She seemed to have just been handed an insecurity and she knew what to with those. "Perhaps you weren't informed because you aren't as important as you think you are," Helen sniffed dismissively, despite keeping a careful eye on Wendy to gauge her reaction. "And besides, I was brought by someone more important than him, so perhaps you aren't as important or Peter needs to keep an eye on his... Shadow self a bit closer." Helen was determined to win over this Peter. She had the most important parts of him already, but the part that stood in the sun still needed a bit of illumination to her worth. The best way to start would be undermining this Wendy.

“Any schoolchild understands that we must utilise these ideas in our reading strategies; that we must overcome prejudice to accept Darcy as our hero, we must employ a degree of sense to take the correct ethical measure of the misleading attractions of a Captain Wickham or a Frank Churchill and so on. All of Austen's positivist protagonists read situations, refine them, strip the irrelevant information from the significant, and proceed accordingly. They are good readers and as such, as James Wood has noted, they encourage good reading from others. This is the great, humane basis of the English comic novel.

It seems odd, then, that Forster - although his work is so heavily influenced by Austen - differs from her on this key point. His protagonists are not good readers or successful moral agents, but chaotic, irrational human beings. Lucy Honeychurch, Maurice Hall, Helen Schlegel - Forster's people wouldn't stand a chance against Austen's protagonists. Forster's folk are famously always in a muddle: they don't know what they want or how to get it. It has been noted before that this might be a deliberate ethical strategy, an expression of the belief that the true motivations of human agents are far from rational in character. Forster wanted his people to be in a muddle; his was a study of the emotional, erratic and unreasonable in human life. But what interests me is that his narrative structure is muddled also; impulsive, meandering, irrational, which seeming faults lead him on to two further problematics: mawkishness and melodrama. A contemporary reviewer worked out that the rate of unexpected fatal incident in The Longest Journey amounts to 45 per cent of the novel's population. These idiosyncrasies have been seen as grave failings of Forster's. When placed beside two more of his heroes, Tolstoy and Flaubert, he does suffer. Anna Karenina and Emma Bovary are as wilful and irrational as any Forster protagonist, after all, and yet the novels they find themselves in are not. Those two women are like exotic butterflies under glass, held still for our examination within a controlled, measured, rational narrative. Why couldn't Forster manage that?

Forster himself was conscious of the connection between his style and his ethics in an interesting way. He felt his infamous muddle had value, and that the more controlled, clear, Austen-like elements of his style were ethically problematic.

…

Central to the Aristotelian inquiry into the Good life is the idea that the training and refinement of feeling plays an essential role in our moral understanding. Forster's fiction, following Austen's, does this in exemplary fashion, but it is Forster's fiction that goes further in showing us how very difficult an educated heart is to achieve. It is Forster who shows us how hard it is to will oneself into a meaningful relationship with the world; it is Forster who lends his empathy to those who fail to do so. And it is Forster who, in his empathic efforts, will allow his books to get all bent out of shape - The Longest Journey , an infamous melodrama to some, was the novel the author loved best.

Forsterian characters are in a moral muddle; they don't feel freely; they can't seem to develop. Most comic novelists fear creating one-dimensional characters; Forster bravely made this fear a part of his art.”

— Zadie Smith, “Love, Actually”

Paul Laurence Dunbar High School is a public school located in DC. The school was America’s first public high school for African Americans.

As all public school teachers were federal civil servants, the school’s teachers received pay equal to white teachers. It attracted high-quality faculty, many with advanced degrees, including doctorates. Parents sent their children to the school from across the city because of its high standards. Many of its alumni graduated from top-quality colleges and universities and gained professional degrees.

The school was founded in 1870 as the Preparatory High School for Colored Youth. Ιt became known as M Street High School (1891-1916). When its location was changed from M Street, the school was renamed (1916) for the noted African-American poet, Paul Laurence Dunbar.

Dunbar was designated as an academic high school, with other schools providing more vocational or technical training. Dunbar was known for its excellent academics, some African Americans moved to DC so their children could attend it. The school boasted many graduates who went on to higher education and a generally successful student body.

The school has graduated many well-known figures of the 20th century, including Sterling Brown, H. Naylor Fitzhugh, Nannie Helen Burroughs, Charles R. Drew, William H. Hastie, Charles Hamilton Houston, Robert Heberton Terrell, Benjamin O. Davis Jr., Paul Capel, III, Robert C. Weaver, and James E. Bowman. Its faculty included Anna Julia Cooper, Kelly Miller, Mary Church Terrell, A. A. Birch Jr., Carter G. Woodson, and Julia Evangeline Brooks, who was a graduate of the school. Among its principals were Anna J. Cooper, Richard Greener, Mary Jane Patterson, and Robert Heberton Terrell. An unusual number of teachers and principals held Ph.D. degrees, including historian Carter G. Woodson, the second African American to earn a Ph.D. from Harvard.

Until 1954, Fairfax County, Virginia, had no secondary schools for African Americans. Dunbar and several other District of Columbia public schools accepted African Americans from the county before that time. #africanhistory365 #africanexcellence

american, french and german forenames encoded with aastralean

Aadreo Aanast Aarecd Aarelee Aareleen Aaron Aarore Ada Adam Adele Adelheed Ado Adolt Adrean Adreenne Alaen Alan Alece Alecea Alem Alemander Alemandra Alemandre Alemes Alena Alene Aleson Alhert Alherta Alherto Allan Allen Alleson Alma Almat Aloes Alossa Alrech Alrede Alren Altred Altredo Alwen Amalea Amanda Amandene Amel Amelea Amelee Amher Amo Ana Ando Andre Andrea Andreas Andree Andrew Aneta Ann Anna Annaleese Anne Annecd Annee Annel Annela Anneleca Annelecae Anneleda Anneleese Annelena Annelese Annemaree Annes Annette Ansnar Anthono Antoene Antoenette Anton Antonea Antoneo Arlene Arlette Armando Armen Arnaad Arndt Arnold Arsala Arthar Ashleo Asrel Astred Ate Atto Awe Caenten Calren Camelle Candace Candece Carl Carla Carlos Carmen Carol Carole Carolena Carolene Carolon Carree Cartes Caseo Cassandra Catherene Catho Cecel Cecele Cecelea Cedrec Celea Celene Cendo Chad Chantal Charlee Charlene Charles Charlotte Chelsea Cherol Chester Chloe Chres Chresta Chrestean Chresteane Chrestee Chrestel Chrestelle Chrestena Chrestene Chresto Chrestoshe Chrestosher Chrestot Claade Claadea Claadene Claere Claoton Clara Clarence Clemence Clement Clenton Cletton Clettord Clode Coartneo Codo Colette Colho Colleen Colton Connee Constance Conthea Cora Coralee Corel Corena Corenne Coreo Coro Craen Crestena Crostal Daane Daeso Dale Dameen Dan Dana Daneel Daneele Daneelle Danmar Danno Danohert Dao Daola Dara Dare Dared Daren Darene Darl Darla Darlene Darlheenw Darol Darrell

Darren Darrol Darsten Dart Dasten Date Datee Datherene Dathleen Datho Dathron Datla Datoa Datren Datrena Dawn Dean Deana Deane Deanna Deanne Dedeer Deedrech Deeter Deeterech Deeth Deetrech Dehhee Dehorah Dehra Delea Della Delle Dellee Delleo Dello Delores Delshene Dem Demee Demherlo Den Dendra Denes Denese Dennes Denneth Dent Derd Dered Deren Derrecd Derro Dersten Deseree Dlaas Dlaas-seter Doanlas Dolan Dole Dolores Domenecae Don Donald Donna Donrad Dora Doreen Dores Dorotho Dresta Dreste Drestee Dresten Drestena Drestene Dresto Drostal Dwaone Dwenht Eala Ean Eanece Eanene Earl Eda Edaardo Eddee Eddehard Edeth Edmand Edna Ednar Edward Edwen Eeleen Eelhard Ehono Elaene Elde Eleane Eleanor Elena Elesa Elesaheth Elese Elewaheth Ella Ellen Elmar Elmer Elodee Eloese Elona Elrera Elsa Elsee Eltreede Emel Emelda Emelee Emelo Emma Emmanael Emmanaelle Emmerech Enes Enew Enno Ennred Enrecae Enwo Era Eran Erec Ereca Ered Ereda Erelon Ereloneachem Eren Erene Ererett Eres Erhard Erma Ernest Ernestene Esa Esaac Esahel Esahella Esahelle Essee Estelle Esther Eteenne Ethel Ewald Hahert Hanaette Hanh Hannah Hanne Hannelore Hano Hans Hanter Harald Harhara Harold Harreet Harreo Harro Hastean Hasteste Hattee Hawel Healah Heanda Heat Heata Heather Heatrece Hecdo Hector Hedo Heede Heedemaree Heene Heener Heeno Heenrech Heenw Helda Helde Heldenard Helen

Helena Helenda Helene Hell Hellee Hellmath Hello Helma Helmat Helmath Helna Helne Hen Henededt Henlamen Henoet Henre Henreetta Henreette Henro Hererlo Herhert Herman Hermann Hermene Hernadette Hernard Hernd Hernece Herre Hertha Hertram Hertrand Herwen Hessee Heth Hethano Hetso Hetto Hlanca Hlanche Hodo Hoh Hohhee Hohho Hollo Holner Honnee Horon Horst Hose Howard Hrace Hrad Hradleo Hrande Hrando Hrandon Hrano Hrean Hrednet Hrenda Hrenette Hrent Hrett Hrettano Hroan Hroode Laan Laana Laaneta Laara Laare Laaree Laaren Laarence Laarent Lac Lacas Laccaelene Laccaelon Laccaes Lacd Lacdee Lacea Lacee Laceen Laceenne Lacelle Laco Lacoh Ladas Ladeslaas Ladeth Lado Ladorec Ladwen Laeme Laes Laetetea Lala Lalea Lalean Lalee Laleen Laleette Laleo Lamee Lames Lan Lana Lance Lane Lanece Lanee Lanene Lanes Lanet Lao Lared Lareer Larerne Larnen Larro Lars Lasmene Lason Lass Lasten Lastene Latold Latooa Latta Latw Law Lawrence Lea Leah Lean Leana Leanclaade Leanette Leanlac Leanloaes Leanmarc Leanmaree Leanmechel Leanne Leannee Leannene Leannette Leansaal Leanseerre Leantrancoes Lee Leenh Leesl Lela Leleane Lell Lellean Lellee Lem Lemmee Lemmo Lena Lenda Lendsao Lendseo Lenna Lennee Lenneter Lenno Leo Leon Leona Leonard Leonel Leremo Leren Lermaene Lerome Leroo Lerro Lesa Lesas Lesheth Leslee Lesse Lesseca Lessee Lester Letecea Lett Lettero Lettreo Lewes Llood Lo Loachem Loaella Loaes Loaese Loan Loann Loanna Loanne Locelone Lode Lodea Lodee Lodo Loe Loec Loel Loelle Loes Lohann Lohanna Lohannes Lohn Lohnnee Lohnno Lola Lon Lonas Lonathan Londa Lonette Lonn Lonne Lonnee Loo Looce Lora Lordan Lore Lorena Lorene Lorentw Loretta Lorn Lorne Lorraene Lose Losesh Loseshene Losetena Losette Loshaa Lost Lothar Maarece Maareen Madeleene Madelene Mae Mahel Mahle Malrena Malte Mam Mamee Mameme Mamemelean Mamene Manael Manale Mandalena Mando Mannee Manon Mao Marc Marcas Marcea Marcel Marcella Marcelle Mard Marea Marean Mareanne Mareas Maree Mareechrestene Mareeclaade Mareel Mareer Mareetherese Marelon Marena Marene Mareo Mareon Marlene Marloree Marnaerete Marnaret Marnareta Marnarete Marnee Maro Maroann Marren Marsha Marshall Marta Marten

Martene Martha Matheea Mathelde Mathew Mattee Mattheas Mattheea Matthew Mecdael Mechael Mechaela Mecheal Mechel Mechele Mechelene Mechelle Medard Mede Meenrad Melanee Meldred Melenda Melessa Melha Melo Melodo Melren Melton Menael Menan Mendo Menea Menhan Menna Mennee Meranda Mercedes Merco Merdo Meream Meredeth Mereelle Mesto Metchell Mohamed Mollo Mona Moneca Monecae Moneda Mora Moream Moretw Mornane Morres Mortle Naadalase Nadea Nadene Naedo Nael Naellaame Naelle Naetan Nahreel Nahreele Nanco Nanne Nanther Nao Naole Naome Naro Natalee Natasha Nathalee Nathan Nathaneel Necholas Nechole Necolaas Necolas Necole Nedola Neel Nehhard Nelhert Nellee Nelles Nelson Nena Nene Nenera Nenereere Nenette Nenner Neorn Neorne Neornea Neornes Neornette Nerald Neraldene Neraldo Nerard Nerd Nerhardt Nermaene Nermar Nernot Nert Nertrade Nesela Nesele Neselher Nettee Nheslaene Nlados Nlen Nlenda Nlenn Nlorea Noemee Nora Nordon Norma Norman Nottleeh Nottschald Notttreed Notw Nrace Nren Nrenoro Nreta Nretchen Nrete Nretel Nwen Nwendolon Oann Oannecd Oceane Odele Odette Olat Olere Olerea Olereer Ollee Olna Oolanda Ora Ores Orette Oronne Ortrad Osal Oscar Othmar Otto Ottomar Raal Racael Rachael Rachel Radolsh Raener Rahen Raho Ralenten Raleree Ralsh Ralter Ramon Ramona Randall Rando Ranessa Rao Raomond Raomonde Rashael Rassell Rat Ratael Rath Recardo Recd Recde Recdee Recdo Rechard Rechenwa Rector Rectorea Reenhard Reenhold Rehecca Relma Reme Remo Rencent Rene Renee Renena Renenald Renene Renes Reola Reolet Rera Rerean Rerna Rernel Rernenea Rernenee Rernon Reroneca Reronecae Reta Rhonda Roan Rochelle Rodneo Rohen Rohert Roherta Roherto Rohon Roland Rollrath Rolt Romaen Roman Romanne Ron Ronald Roner Ronnee Roo Rosa Rosalee Rose Rosee Rosemaree Rosemaro Rosena Ross Saal Saala Saalene Saalette Sadee Sae Sahene Sahrena Sallo Salrador Sam Samael Samantha Samela Sander Sando Sandra Sandrene Sara Sarah Sasan Sasanne Sascal Sascale Sasee Sat Satrecd Satrece Satrecea Satso Satte Satto Sawanne Scott Sean Searl Sedneo Sedro Seentreed Seerre Seerrette Sehastean Sehasteen Selma Selrea Semon Semone Senesmand Senmand Senno Sereren Sererene Serne Serneo Serro Seter Seth Shane Shannon Share Sharon Shawn Shawna Sheela Shelea Sheles Sheless Shelessa Shelesse Shelleo Shelles Shello Shere Sherleo

Sherol Sherre Sherro Sholles Solanne Solraen Solrea Solree Solrester Sonea Sonla Sonoa Soshea Soshee Sren Srenla Srescella Staceo Staco Stanleo Stella Stere Steren Steshane Steshanee Steshen Stetanea Taeth Taheen Taheenne Tahetha Tahrece Tamara Tame Tammo Tannee Tanno Tanoa Taoe Tara Tasha Ted Telecea Telem Tem Temo Temotho Tena Terdenand Tere Teresa Ternando Terrance Terre Terrence Terro Tettano Theerro Thelma Theo Theodore Theresa Therese Thomas Tlood Tlora Tlorean Tlorence Tlorent Todd Toheas Toler Tom Tommo Tone Tono Tonoa Torone Traade Trace Traceo Traco Trancd Trancene Trances Trancesco Trancoes Trancoese Trand Trandlen Tranw Trares Trecea Tred Treda Treddee Trederec Trederecd Tredred Treedemann Treedrech Tretw Troo Wacharoadreen Wade Wallace Walter Wanda Waone Warren Weehde Welhelm Welhelmena Wellard Welleam Wellee Welma Weltrad Wendo Wenetred Wentreed Wenwel Werner Wernher Wesleo Whetneo Wolt Woltnann

Book Review The Traitor Beside Her Mary Anna Evans #HistoricalFiction #HistoricalMystery #BlogTour #TheCoffeePotBookClub @maryannaevans @cathiedunn

FEATURED AUTHOR: MARY ANNA EVANS It is my pleasure to introduce Mary Anna Evans as the featured author in The Coffee Pot Book Club Blog Tour that is being held between August 2nd — October 4th, 2023. Mary Anna Evans is the author of the Historical Mystery novel, The Traitor Beside Her (The Justine Byrne Historical Mysteries), released by Sourcebooks on June 6, 2023 (346 pages). Below are highlights of The Traitor Beside Her,  Mary Anna Evans' author bio, and my review of her novel.  Tour Schedule Page: https://thecoffeepotbookclub.blogspot.com/2023/06/blog-tour-traitor-beside-her.html HIGHLIGHTS: THE TRAITOR BESIDE HER       The Traitor Beside Her (The Justine Byrne Historical Mysteries) By Mary Anna Evans Audiobook narrated by Kimberly M. Wetherell Blurb: "Evans's characters are vividly drawn, elevating this story and its revelations about women's little-celebrated contributions to the war effort."— Washington Post "An exciting read with historical tidbits, a hint of danger, and a touch of romance."— Kirkus Reviews The Traitor Beside Her is an intricately plotted WWII espionage novel weaving together mystery, action, friendship, and a hint of romance perfect for fans of The Rose Code and Code Name Helene. Justine Byrne can't trust the people working beside her. Arlington Hall, a former women's college in Virginia has been taken over by the United States Army where hundreds of men and women work to decode countless pieces of communication coming from the Axis powers. Justine works among them, handling the most sensitive secrets of World War II—but she isn't there to decipher German codes—she's there to find a traitor. Justine keeps her guard up and her ears open, confiding only in her best friend, Georgette, a fluent speaker of Choctaw who is training to work as a code talker. Justine tries to befriend each suspect, believing that the key to finding the spy lies not in cryptography but in understanding how code breakers tick. When young women begin to go missing at Arlington Hall, her deadline for unraveling the web of secrets becomes urgent and one thing remains clear: a single secret in enemy hands could end thousands of lives. "A fascinating and intelligent WWII home front story." —Rhys Bowen, New York Times bestselling author for The Physicists' Daughter Buy Links: Universal Link: https://books2read.com/u/4XwxG1 Amazon UK: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Traitor-Beside-Her-Novel/dp/1464215588 Amazon US: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0BGYPLMTH Amazon CA: https://www.amazon.ca/Traitor-Beside-Her-Novel/dp/1464215588 Amazon AU: https://www.amazon.com.au/Traitor-Beside-Her-Novel-ebook/dp/B0BGYPLMTH Barnes and Noble: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-traitor-beside-her-mary-anna-evans/1143344440 Waterstones: https://www.waterstones.com/book/the-traitor-beside-her/mary-anna-evans/9781464215582 Kobo: https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/the-traitor-beside-her Bookshop: https://bookshop.org/p/books/the-traitor-beside-her-mary-anna-evans/18743820 Audio Buy Links: Audiobooks.com: https://www.audiobooks.com/audiobook/672506/ Audible: https://www.audible.com/pd/The-Traitor-Beside-Her-Audiobook/B0BVDLCL7J AUTHOR BIO: MARY ANNA EVANS Mary Anna Evans is an award-winning author, a writing professor, and she holds degrees in physics and engineering, a background that, as it turns out, is ideal for writing her Justine Byrne series, which began with The Physicists’ Daughter and continues with her new book, The Traitor Beside Her. She describes Justine as “a little bit Rosie-the-Riveter and a little bit Bletchley Park codebreaker.” Mary Anna’s crime fiction has earned recognition that includes two Oklahoma Book Awards, the Will Rogers Medallion Awards Gold Medal, and the Benjamin Franklin Award, and she co-edited the Edgar-nominated Bloomsbury Handbook to Agatha Christie. Social Media Links: Website: https://www.maryannaevans.comTwitter: https://twitter.com/maryannaevans Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MaryAnnaEvansAuthor/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mary-anna-evans-a7642810/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/maryannaevans/ Book Bub: https://www.bookbub.com/authors/mary-anna-evans Amazon Author Page: https://www.amazon.com/stores/Mary-Anna-Evans/author/B001JP9ZY2 Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/12395.Mary_Anna_Evans BOOK REVIEW: THE TRAITOR BESIDE HER   The USA's secret program of cryptoanalysis in Virginia toward the end of WWII is explored in The Traitor Beside Her by Mary Anna Evans. A physicist's daughter, Justine Byrne plays a dangerous game of espionage. On the surface, she has been recruited to decode communication from various Axis powers as Allied forces advance on the front lines toward Germany.  However, her primary objective is to find the traitor among the brilliant decoders at Arlington Hall who are deciphering German codes that could steer the course of the war. She cannot trust anyone as she investigates who could be the potential spy. One woman on site has already been killed and others have gone missing. The suspense builds as she hones on potential suspects, risking her life. Mary Anna Evans has written a unique, smoothly-written novel with elements of suspense, romance, and friendship. The story offers the unique perspective of a young, somewhat naive woman thrust into the midst of espionage with minimal training. The story is told primarily from Justine's perspective, but other points of view are used to move the story forward. Justine can only confide in Georgette, her best friend and fluent speaker of Choctaw, who is suddenly brought into the mission. Nora is another intriguing, eccentric character who can see the colors of the music she composes and plays. One of the most fascinating aspects of the novel is to learn about the secret decoding processes that could impact the war as much as the military forces on the battlefield. Each suspect has an interesting backstory that could explain why he or she chooses to betray his/her country. However, the pacing sometimes slows down when the story delves into romance and everyday conversations of women living at Arlington Hall. Readers who enjoy learning more about covert operations that supported the behind-the-scenes war effort of Allies during WWII should enjoy reading The Traitor Beside Her, told from the perspective of a precocious, young woman thrown into the jaws of espionage.     Instagram Handle: @thecoffeepotbookclub Read the full article

Noir Watch: Impact (1949)

Watched:  07/17/2023

Format:  TCM

Viewing:  First

Director:  Arthur Lubin

Over at Noir Alley on TCM, Eddie Muller does not guarantee that the movies are actually great.  He's providing a wide swath of the material that was offered up as what would retroactively be dubbed "noir", providing a survey of the movement's variety of offerings, the people behind those films and the forces that created the movies.  Crime stories and melodramas, mobsters, detectives, femme fatales, virtuous ladies, and well, well beyond.

Impact (1949) is a femme fatale story of *attempted* murder that has some interesting stuff bookending the film and a lot of tedious stuff in the middle, the portion of which is saved mostly by the existence of Ella Raines as human and co-star.  

I confess - I am not a Brian Donlevy guy.  He doesn't do anything *wrong*, he's in plenty of stuff I've watched and enjoyed, but he's just not someone I'd personally place as a lead in this film.  But this is an indie picture and Donlevy was a get as a former leading man of a decade prior, so I understand why they jumped at the chance to put a 49-year-old dude in the role, even if it feels like the women in the film would more likely see him as a fun uncle.

Donlevy is married to Helen Walker, who seems sweet and great and is completely two-timing him with another fella.  Posing as a long-lost-cousin of Walker, the fella hitches a ride with Donlevy where he attempts to bump him off with a crowbar to the noggin and rolling him down a hill.  In his haste to get away from the scene, he drives directly into a gas truck in the finest use of miniatures you'll see in many-a-noir.  

Donlevy recovers, winds up in Larkspur, BFE, and sulks before finding a job and life with Ella Raines.  As one does.  

Because his car done blowed up, folks think he's dead, and he's pondering let it seem that way, even as cops begin to put the pieces together and figure out what his wife was up to.  She's about to go to trial and maybe get the chair when Ella Raines convinces Donlevy to go back and get real justice.

The cops decide they were wrong and Donlevy's absence means he was trying to get his wife killed and he must have murdered the boyfriend despite any real evidence, and.... it's mildly exhausting.  And makes Ella Raines look like a jerk for putting her dude in this spot.

I dunno.  The movie is... fine?  It's not the best thing you'll see, and you can see what an indie picture could pull off in 1949.  It's not nothing.  I just suspect this thing needed some polish in the script room or in editing.  I won't think about it much after this post.  

It is definitely noir, I'll give it that.  It's got femme fatales and virtuous, wholesome women offering something else.  It's got twitchy guys and murder and bad luck.  The most novel aspect was the twist to Donlevy being held for murder, but that never feels like it'll stick.  But we do get Anna May Wong!

I just didn't love it, and that's ok.  You be you, movie. 

https://ift.tt/3a8Kv9V

from The Signal Watch https://ift.tt/umkarR6

Mystery solved: “This was the Cosmic Productions troupe she toured with in 1925. It was mismanaged and the money ran out pretty quick. AMW and other actors were held in a town jail for not paying hotel bills (the production company was supposed to pay them but didn’t).” @kayteesal, Anna May Wong biographer The actors include: Carl Miller; Ruth Storehouse; Harry Figle; Eva Gregory; Kathryn McGuire; Bryant Washburn; Anna May Wong and Helen Holmes. #carlmiller #RuthStorehouse #HarryFigle #EvaGregory #KathrynMcGuire #BryantWashburn #annamaywong #helenholmes #oldmovies #silentmovies #hollywood #1920s #ladiesofsilentfilms #silentfilm #silentmoviestar #silentfilmstar #vintagehollywood #vintagemovies #classicfilmicon #classichollywoodfilmstars #flickers #vintagephotography #oldhollywood #goldenageofhollywood #annamaywongrealness #annamaywong✨ #oldhollywoodglam #chineseamerican https://www.instagram.com/p/ClkzyCvuQR6/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=