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Back to the grind...
Feb. 12th, 2002 03:08 amMy sense of well-being did not improve on the rousing closing note of my previous post, so I whittled my list of to-dos down to a necessary minimum and got them done. I did some shopping for essentials, scheduled some online payments and sent a couple of letters.
I watched The Maltese Falcon, starring Humphrey Bogart, Mary Astor, Sydney Greenstreet, and Peter Lorre. It's a noir classic and was director John Huston's first film. As is the case whenever I watch Casablanca, I seem to always note some additional detail every time I watch The Maltese Falcon, too.
This time, I paid particular attention to the character of Miles Archer when he first appears in the office he shares with Sam Spade. I'd never noticed his facial expressions before, but he almost steals the scene with his lascivious look at "Miss Wonderly," who is his and Spade's new client, followed by some "va-va-va-VOOM!" expressions directed at his partner.
The film was also Sydney Greenstreet's film debut (at the age of 61, no less!), according to the Internet Movie Database. Every time I watch the film, I am impressed with how quickly the script establishes Greenstreet's character, Kaspar Gutman, who seems refined and well spoken, but whose lust for the falcon makes you feel you have a better chance entrusting your life savings to a used car salesman on a handshake than giving this man the time of day. Greenstreet even managed, in my opinion, to make some of his lines sound like poetry, as in:
While at the IMDB, I ran across a link for another noir favorite of mine, The Third Man, starring Jospeph Cotton and Orson Welles. Many films at the IMDB have a link to memorable quotes, and The Third Man is no exception. My favorite line in the film comes at the conclusion of Martens' and Lime's ride in the ferris wheel, where the latter turns to the former and says:
My eye caught the name of Alida Valli (credited in the film simply as, "Valli"), who I recall presented a strikingly beautiful figure on the screen. Ever curious about performers - especially strikingly beautiful actresses - who go by (or try to go by) a single name, I clicked on her link.
The page that appeared revealed that the lady is still alive and, apparently, working (her latest film was released last year), and a look at her filmography showed that she has worked in a number of movies. My eye was drawn to one entry, though, where Valli played the role of Kira Argounova in an Italian version of Ayn Rand's We The Living that was released by the fascists in 1942 as an anti-communist film. She was 21 or 22 at the time.
Some time ago, I recall reading that the popularity of the film caused the censors to reassess their thinking about the story, which hewed pretty closely to the book. In truth, the fascists had released a film that argued against all dictatorships, including fascism, so the film was removed from theaters. Somehow, it survived to be rediscovered, repackaged, and released in 1986. I've never seen it, but now knowing that Valli was in the film gives me another reason to track it down.
Following the IMDB link for Ayn Rand, by the way, suggests that a television production of Atlas Shrugged may be released sometime this year. That sounds intriguing, though the only additional information available is a credit for one Susan Black for writing.
* * * I went to sleep - or tried to - just short of 6 pm without having eaten dinner. (I'm sick of filling my stomach up just before going to sleep; though it may help me drift off, I'm sure it also helps me gain unwanted weight.) I'm not at all sure I actually fell asleep anytime before 9:45 pm, which was 15 minutes prior to the time I'd set the alarm for.
I snoozed my way to 10:30 pm and then got up to face the "day." Upon arising, my throat was somewhat less sore, but I'd acquired a stuffy nose during the time I was horizontal to compensate for it. Though far from bedridden, I'm also not exactly healthy. Ah, well...
Six hours or so left. Then it's a swing by the bank and home again for rest.
Cheers...
I watched The Maltese Falcon, starring Humphrey Bogart, Mary Astor, Sydney Greenstreet, and Peter Lorre. It's a noir classic and was director John Huston's first film. As is the case whenever I watch Casablanca, I seem to always note some additional detail every time I watch The Maltese Falcon, too.
This time, I paid particular attention to the character of Miles Archer when he first appears in the office he shares with Sam Spade. I'd never noticed his facial expressions before, but he almost steals the scene with his lascivious look at "Miss Wonderly," who is his and Spade's new client, followed by some "va-va-va-VOOM!" expressions directed at his partner.
The film was also Sydney Greenstreet's film debut (at the age of 61, no less!), according to the Internet Movie Database. Every time I watch the film, I am impressed with how quickly the script establishes Greenstreet's character, Kaspar Gutman, who seems refined and well spoken, but whose lust for the falcon makes you feel you have a better chance entrusting your life savings to a used car salesman on a handshake than giving this man the time of day. Greenstreet even managed, in my opinion, to make some of his lines sound like poetry, as in:
I distrust a close-mouthed man. He generally picks the wrong time to talk and says the wrong things. Talking's something you can't do judiciously, unless you keep in practice. Now, sir, we'll talk if you like. I'll tell you right out, I'm a man who likes talking to a man who likes to talk.It also occurred to me, during this viewing, that although there's a lot of guns being waved around throughout the story, there is actually only one gunshot heard in the film (the one that kills Archer).
While at the IMDB, I ran across a link for another noir favorite of mine, The Third Man, starring Jospeph Cotton and Orson Welles. Many films at the IMDB have a link to memorable quotes, and The Third Man is no exception. My favorite line in the film comes at the conclusion of Martens' and Lime's ride in the ferris wheel, where the latter turns to the former and says:
In Italy for 30 years under the Borgias they had warfare, terror, murder, and bloodshed, but they produced Michelangelo, Leonardo da Vinci, and the Renaissance. In Switzerland they had brotherly love - they had 500 years of democracy and peace, and what did that produce? The cuckoo clock.It's not that I endorse the sentiment (its's wrong, actually, and should be the subject of a future post), but the way Welles delivered it was masterful.
My eye caught the name of Alida Valli (credited in the film simply as, "Valli"), who I recall presented a strikingly beautiful figure on the screen. Ever curious about performers - especially strikingly beautiful actresses - who go by (or try to go by) a single name, I clicked on her link.
The page that appeared revealed that the lady is still alive and, apparently, working (her latest film was released last year), and a look at her filmography showed that she has worked in a number of movies. My eye was drawn to one entry, though, where Valli played the role of Kira Argounova in an Italian version of Ayn Rand's We The Living that was released by the fascists in 1942 as an anti-communist film. She was 21 or 22 at the time.
Some time ago, I recall reading that the popularity of the film caused the censors to reassess their thinking about the story, which hewed pretty closely to the book. In truth, the fascists had released a film that argued against all dictatorships, including fascism, so the film was removed from theaters. Somehow, it survived to be rediscovered, repackaged, and released in 1986. I've never seen it, but now knowing that Valli was in the film gives me another reason to track it down.
Following the IMDB link for Ayn Rand, by the way, suggests that a television production of Atlas Shrugged may be released sometime this year. That sounds intriguing, though the only additional information available is a credit for one Susan Black for writing.
I snoozed my way to 10:30 pm and then got up to face the "day." Upon arising, my throat was somewhat less sore, but I'd acquired a stuffy nose during the time I was horizontal to compensate for it. Though far from bedridden, I'm also not exactly healthy. Ah, well...
Six hours or so left. Then it's a swing by the bank and home again for rest.
Cheers...
